Chapter 86
Holding a solo concert for an idol group wasn't actually huge news in the entertainment industry.
Current idol concerts were typically festivals enjoyed only by the respective idol's fans.
Nevertheless, a very small number of idol groups generated massive buzz just with concert announcements alone.
[Starting with CROSS's North American tour, their final stop is Jamsil Olympic Stadium.]
[NEXT, two Tokyo Dome concerts in Japan sold out completely in 10 minutes.]
News of global groups beloved by overseas K-pop fans, surpassing Korean idol groups.
Concert news of global idols popular overseas was always one of the biggest headlines.
And now, while it wasn't overseas concert news, there was a group generating just as much buzz.
[WEUS, first solo concert in August]
The group showing unrivaled achievements among those called the next-generation idols.
The news of WEUS's first solo concert was announced.
Beyond simply the symbolism of their first solo concert, the scale of this concert itself became a huge topic.
[WEUS, historic scale from their very first solo concert. Accommodating approximately 44,000 attendees over two days at Gocheok Dome]
-Wow... They're doing their first solo concert at Gocheok Dome?
-For other idol groups, Gocheok Dome is practically a dream stage... WEUS is entering Gocheok Dome in their debut year ㄷㄷ
-Aren't they pushing too hard? I don't think WEUS is at that level yet
-They've been popular lately, but Gocheok Dome is debatable... Will they be able to fill it?
-WEUS is impressive though. Has there ever been a group that grew this much in such a short time?
The symbolism of their first solo concert and the symbolism of Gocheok Dome, one of the largest venues in Korea.
Those two symbolisms combined, and WEUS's solo concert was generating tremendous buzz even before ticketing began.
***
As the buzz around WEUS's concert grew, there were people trembling with anxiety.
-Ah... Please let me succeed at ticketing this time.
-I'm a loser hand who failed all the Guk-a broadcasts... I couldn't even go to any offline events after debut. Please, just this once, everyone yield to this poor soul... ㅠ
└I hope you succeed this time ㅠㅠ
-I'm boldly giving up on standing. Even 2nd floor, no, 3rd floor would satisfy me.
└Human greed has no end and repeats the same mistakes...
They were WEUS's fanclub Wish, facing today's concert ticketing.
With the fanclub presale starting in just an hour, WEUS's fan cafe was bustling with fans preparing for ticketing.
Of course, there were also pitiful souls who couldn't join this atmosphere.
-Uwaaaah I want to do ticketing today too ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Why did I miss the fanclub registration ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Everyone looks excited... As someone who couldn't join the fanclub, I'll take a break from cafe activities today... ㅎㅎ
-Will there even be 1st floor seats for general sale tomorrow? Hahaha...
└Give up... Giving up makes it easier.
WEUS's fan cafe, where the joy and sorrow of fans who could participate in the fanclub presale and fans who couldn't join the fanclub were divided.
Watching that scene of chaos, Kim Soyoung clenched her fists without anyone noticing.
'Not much time left now.'
A fan of Seonwoo Rin since the national idol days, Kim Soyoung had of course participated in WEUS's official fanclub recruitment.
She was waiting for ticket open at a PC bang today for the fanclub presale.
'PC bang is definitely the way to go for ticketing.'
She wasn't sure how effective it actually was, but it was a routine she'd always done, so Kim Soyoung naturally came to the PC bang.
Of course, she wasn't alone.
"Why are you shaking so much?"
"Shaking, what shaking... Anyway, I'm really counting on you, Minji. You know that, right?"
"Soyoung, have you ever seen me fail at ticketing?"
Kim Soyoung felt much more relieved by her friend Song Minji's confident words, whom she'd brought as a ticketing mercenary.
Song Minji was a comrade who shared her long history of fangirling, and was currently a passionate fan of CROSS, so they didn't get to meet often, but she readily came out as a mercenary for this ticketing.
Although Kim Soyoung's wallet had become noticeably thinner thanks to the beef cost used to recruit Song Minji.
'As long as I can go to the concert, what's a few pennies...'
Soothing her aching heart like that, Kim Soyoung gathered her focus.
Her instincts made her sense that today's ticketing wouldn't be easy.
'It's good that my bias is doing well, but at times like this, it's okay to be a bit less popular... Is that asking too much?'
WEUS's rapidly growing popularity lately.
Seeing posts saying even Japanese fans were preparing expeditions for this concert, perhaps thanks to Seonwoo Rin's activities, Kim Soyoung wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as a fan.
'Still, it's a relief the scale is at least this big.'
WEUS's concert taking place over a weekend. With a capacity of 22,000 per day, it was an enormous large-scale concert with a total of 44,000 seats over two days.
'Surely there isn't a single seat for me among 40,000 seats?'
Finding comfort in her trembling heart like that, while chatting with her friend Song Minji whom she hadn't seen in a while.
Before she knew it, that time was drawing closer.
-10 minutes until ticketing...!
-Ughhh I'm so nervous I feel like I'm going to die
-Dear God, I've never wanted anything this desperately in my life... Please...
-Guys, remember. Ticketing isn't about sincerity, it's about skill!
Kim Soyoung left the cafe's live chat where messages were gradually decreasing and opened the Interpark website on her screen.
"Soyoung, are you really going for the closing concert?"
"It's two days anyway, so it's the same."
"Still, the closing concert will be more intense..."
"It's fine, I'm not even going to aim for standing."
Kim Soyoung responded appropriately to Song Minji's words and focused all her attention on the Interpark website.
Staring intently at the countdown synchronized with Interpark's server time for almost 10 minutes.
Only the moment of countdown remained.
'Phew... Calm down. Trust the skills you've honed for today, Kim Soyoung.'
"Soyoung, don't worry. I'll get you the very front seats."
"Wait, 10 seconds, 9 seconds now..."
Kim Soyoung placed her hand on the refresh button, waiting for the moment.
'Now!'
Exactly on the hour, she calmly clicked the reserve button as she had prepared.
Then the screen instantly turned white.
'N-No way...'
Kyaahhhh-
Amidst the anxiety from the white screen, a scream from someone in the PC bang reached Kim Soyoung's ears.
Just when she thought it might be a WEUS fan who failed ticketing.
"Soyoung, the screen loaded. Enter the captcha."
"Y-Yeah..."
Kim Soyoung came to her senses at Song Minji's words, who looked 10 times calmer than herself, and stared at the screen.
'W-What is this?'
Alphabets in the captcha that were ambiguously confusing, as if only when there was no time.
Kim Soyoung considered pressing refresh, but soon realized there was no time to waste and concentrated all her senses on vision to enter the captcha.
The result was.
'S-Success?'
The screen slowly transitioning again.
Measured by time, it would only be a few seconds, but for Kim Soyoung right now, that time felt like an eternity.
Glancing to the side, she saw her friend clicking on the 1st floor standing section with her mouse.
And finally, the seat map slowly revealed itself on her own monitor screen.
Kim Soyoung placed her mouse over the central area of the 3rd floor without any lingering regret.
'It's already too late. All the popular sections must be sold out.'
It was an accurate judgment without a shred of doubt, even Kim Soyoung herself thought so.
If only the screen hadn't frozen in that state.
"Ah! Aah! Aaaaaah..."
Even pressing the refresh button quickly, the screen wouldn't go past the loading page.
'It's over.'
A complete failure.
Would there even be seats left if she went back in now?
Still, wouldn't there be at least one seat?
When many thoughts were flashing through Kim Soyoung's mind as she stared at the loading screen.
'Wait, what about Minji?'
Right, she had taken out insurance.
Even if it wasn't a good seat, Song Minji wouldn't have failed completely like her.
"Minji, how'd it go?"
"W-Wait a moment."
Song Minji's voice, sounding uncharacteristically excited, came through.
Looking at Song Minji's screen, she could see it had already moved to the payment page.
And the seat that briefly came into view was.
'Standing right in front of the main stage?'
For a moment, she almost hugged Song Minji in joy, but the process wasn't over yet.
Calmly entering her date of birth, and finally the moment she pressed the complete button.
[An error occurred during payment processing.]
"..."
"..."
A brief silence lingered between the two friends in that moment.
***
[WEUS concert, ultra-fast sellout despite ticketing site server down.]
'It's starting to feel real around this point.'
When she first heard about holding a concert at Gocheok Dome, her initial thought was, 'Is that even possible?'
But seeing articles like this, she was gradually starting to realize their popularity.
'I didn't expect it to sell out completely.'
Yesterday, after seeing the article, she had doubts and even checked the ticketing site herself.
Perhaps due to traffic, the site loaded slowly, but after checking directly, it was indeed sold out.
'This makes it a bit more nerve-wracking...'
She'd been on quite a few music shows including competition stages, but standing in front of 20,000 people would be on a completely different level.
And that's 20,000 fans who came purely to see WEUS...
She felt both anticipation and fear for something she'd never experienced before.
'Anyway, I have to do my best as much as I can.'
After entering the full-scale concert preparation period, she'd been using all her time except for a few important schedules solely for concert preparation.
This too seemed like the company's consideration for them preparing for their first solo concert.
'And this is all I manage with that consideration. Is a world tour really something humans can do?'
When a brief respect for idol seniors was rapidly growing within her.
Her phone suddenly rang.
'What's going on?'
"Yeah. What's up?"
-Oppa...? Have you been well...?
"Just get to the point."
Seeing her trailing off, it seemed like she had a request.
I brought down my rising lip corners and answered as kindly as possible to my sister's call after a long time.
-Hahaha, are you busy?
"Yeah, I'm busy."
Crack.
I thought I heard a strange sound from somewhere?
When my lip corners were gradually rising.
-Wanna die?
My sister's patience couldn't hold for even 5 seconds, and I instinctively knew this was the limit.
"Hahaha, so what's up, sis?"
-Can you get me some concert tickets?
"Concert? What concert does a high school senior need..."
-No! I'm not going. A unnie I know is currently refusing to eat or drink right now.
'A unnie I know?'
I heard something strange, but I decided to stop joking around.
'What about your friends? Are they all studying since they're high school seniors?'
-No... They all want to go, but...
"Alright. I'll send you 10 tickets, so share them with your friends. Come see it yourself if you want to."
-Eh? Really? 10 tickets?
"But make sure your friends get proper permission from their parents."
-O-Of course. Thanks, oppa...
"Yeah, see you next time."
I felt a bit proud for acting like an oppa for the first time in a while.
Just as I was about to end the call, my sister's urgent voice suddenly came through.
-O-Oppa! Wait!
"What now?"
-That is. It's absolutely not because I'm curious. The kids keep asking who's doing unit stages with who...
Click-
I naturally hung up the phone and set it down.
'Haa, unit stages...'
I sighed at my sister's last words and thought.
'Everything's going smoothly, so why did they arrange the units like that.'
These days when concert preparation was going smoothly, my only worry. Unit stages made my head throb again.