The Villainous Member Has Returned! Episode 108
* * *
August Entertainment Agency, commonly known as AG Ent.
A prestigious house of solo singers and actors.
They had yet to properly launch a successful idol group, and if one were being honest, the agency itself was mid-sized.
Nevertheless, the reason people continued to harbor subtle expectations for AG lay in the company’s mindset.
The mindset that we are upright, honest, and will compete with skill alone.
The reliable skills of the agency’s solo artists, and above all else, their killer song and project selection.
Thorough support for their artists and a quality that always strives to do its best. Content that continues steadily without being forgotten, even when uploaded suddenly.
[ Track After: Lady Swan – Calendar (Targeting Star Ver.) ]
Though that image had taken quite a hit due to Lady Swan’s failure, people still couldn’t help but hold onto at least a sliver of expectation, thinking, ‘But it’s still AG.’
Why?
“Honestly, I thought the company wouldn’t offer us a renewal first.”
“Yeah, me too! But they scheduled a group meeting. Wow, it had been a while since we went to such an expensive restaurant.”
“They told us we could leave if we wanted to, and that if we stayed, they would support us in doing what we wanted….”
“Our tastes are a bit on the niche side. I thought we wouldn’t be able to do this kind of thing at other places.”
“I wonder if our team could release another album later. Everyone’s busy with individual schedules, though….”
“Unnie, I don’t have a schedule. If recording is booked, I can run right over.”
“Ah, come on, really! Haha….”
Because they don’t pretend not to see those who do their best.
Treating each other with respect and maintaining decorum.
There was such a background to why AG artists felt pride in their agency and continued their activities.
Of course, it was also true that when major accidents occurred due to the company size not matching well with such full-scale artist support, they couldn’t handle it… but…
That said.
How could people not be excited that a company already sending such overwhelming support toward its artists was debuting an idol group backed by capital and an excellent visual director?
“Ah, damn, my hands. My hands are shaking!”
Neulbom Mir, who had run breathlessly into a bathroom stall, hastily unlocked her phone.
People were always hungry for something new.
However, they hoped that new thing wouldn’t be cheap.
Quality content, a well-crafted script. And the hope that this fun wouldn’t be a one-off.
TiOZe, which had already shown that potential and gained recognition through
‘Please, please please please! I hope they did something amazing, no matter what!’
Embracing 80% expectation and 20% anxiety, the moment Neulbom Mir tapped the link to that site she had seen earlier.
“…….”
Her eyes couldn’t help but grow wide.
* * *
Clicking the link next to the phrase ‘Who stole the dog?’, a single photo appeared large on a self-produced site.
Whether it was America or Mongolia. Whether it was a desert or a village. A location difficult to pinpoint.
At the top was a calendar marked with a red X on a date that already had a one-month grace period.
And below, a typical dog harness commonly used around the ’90s was lying there all alone.
[Wait, what? I thought it was a teaser but there’s~~ nothing, just a dog collar]
[⎿I know right ;; what is this? Is this a mood sampler?]
[⎿All I know is that the kids’ MV filming location might be a wasteland, nothing about the mood or whatever]
[I get that the debut is in a month… but it’s kinda funny they made such a fuss just to upload this lololol]
[Siyeon is dragging them @Sereeeslover Who stole the dog? Again, trying to philosophize as idols by assigning all sorts of meanings to a dog… Mun Yunha and her art disease, tsk tsk]
[⎿Aren’t you embarrassed posting this with a Serenia fan nickname? You should just honestly say you’re upset Mun Yunha was stolen from you… Of course, I don’t really get it either heh]
Reactions flooded TiOZe’s first teaser: What is this, they’re being compared to other rookies next door, give us an explanation, and so on.
However, comments that flipped such reactions upside down in an instant also began to appear.
[Guys, did you try pressing the dog collar? lol]
[⎿What? What? What? What is this?]
[⎿Crazy, I cry whenever I see lost dog flyers, I’m about to tear up right now]
They were testimonies from those who hadn’t just passed over the site but had poked around everywhere.
Indeed, when pressing the dog harness on the teaser site, the screen expanded and hidden content was listed out in a row.
[AG Trading Company @HARDWARE_store Crazy guys, I pressed the collar on the site and a missing dog’s name popped up, plus info on people close to that dog, and they’re all ToZ members, please]
[The dog’s name is 100% the fandom name, I’m betting my entire fortune]
[⎿Xenon×Xenia, this is an official stock]
[So fans are the dog now? And someone stole that dog and they’re looking for it?]
[⎿Holy shit, the guts to put out there that someone stole their fans while they were preparing for debut is insane, and putting up a wanted poster saying they’ll find them again is insane]
[I looked at the background image of the kids’ info and it looks like a scout membership card? ㅠㅠ A boy scout member who took care of the dog? This works, seriously works]
[⎿Hurry up and print that ID photo from the membership card and put it behind your phone case so you can go around saying he’s your boyfriend]
[⎿Wow damn, I guess the ID photo is the first concept photo]
These days, idol concept teasings were mostly done through SNS posts.
Along with album pre-orders, timetables, and simple images.
However, Mun Yunha, the visual director in charge of TiOZe’s debut album, didn’t like such obvious methods.
“Fast accessibility, eye-catching images. All of that is good. But is it fun?”
“Huh, fun…?”
“Yeah. People get tired easily if it’s not fun. That’s the worst for an idol who has to keep promoting.”
You have to make them anticipate.
“What will come next, what will surprise them.”
And so, the first teasing Mun Yunha created by working herself and her team to death was exactly this.
A treasure hunt.
Don’t be satisfied with simply showing them; let people feel joy in searching together.
Click—
[Lost Dog!
Name: Xenia
Gender: Not sure!
Characteristics: Very gentle, likes the person who feeds it, can do backflips
Caretakers: Yuchan / Jaeha / Chunyong / Logan / Hwaseong / Siwoo]
Click—
[Jaeha
Age: 21
Birthday: ????/10/24
Characteristic 1. Left-handed
Characteristic 2. ????????
Characteristic 3. ????????]
Click—
[Chunyong
Age: 20
Birthday: ????/04/12
Characteristic 1. Scar on the back of his neck
Characteristic 2. ????????
Characteristic 3. ????????]
“…Good lord. What is all this.”
“Jihwaseong, what are you doing right now… Ah, you were looking at our teaser?”
“Yeah. You have to look at this more complicatedly than I thought? Wow, damn, I didn’t expect this kind of thing…”
“What’s complicated about it. You just keep clicking. People with good observation skills probably found everything already.”
“Well, of course Yongyong hyung would….”
Jihwaseong scanned the site that Mun Yunha had poured her heart and soul into with his eyes once more, clicking through the other members’ information one by one.
Name, birthday. Age and characteristics.
The first traits revealed were mostly related to the body, and most of them evoked a strange imagination.
“Whew, they said Yuchan hyung’s trait is having three moles in a row on his collarbone? The Director-nim told us to write down anything physically special about ourselves, so I wondered what to write….”
“What did you write, Jihwaseong?”
“I just, well… wrote that my double eyelids disappear when I’m tired.”
“Pfft, then you’ll purposely loosen your double eyelids and take photos later.”
“Huh? No, I’m not that tired yet? And didn’t you say today’s photoshoot was just a camera test!”
“That’s true. But our schedule is tight, right? There’s about a month left. We’ve already started practicing our song and choreography, so how could they not push up the concept photo shoot schedule?”
“But still, the site just went up this afternoon, so what do you mean….”
Kim Chunyong flashed a fanged smile at Jihwaseong, who questioned back in surprise.
“Man, since the site went up this afternoon, we’re shooting today. We’re busy now.”
That they’d shoot today too.
“It’ll definitely go up. Hyung guarantees it.”
In the aesthetics pursued by aesthetic fanatic Mun Yunha, boldness and naturalness also existed.
In other words, this could become a concept photo even without directly calling it one.
At Kim Chunyong’s words, Jihwaseong looked around the studio with wide eyes.
Staff members busily moving around with filming equipment, people checking real-time reactions on SNS and communities.
“…Ah.”
No matter who looked, it was clearly an idol album photoshoot site.
In other words, TiOZe’s first schedule had already begun.
* * *
“…Hoo.”
Watching Jihwaseong run off saying he needed his makeup touched up, I placed my hands on my hips and let out a light sigh.
With only about a month left until debut.
During that time, TiOZe’s schedule had truly been…
Terribly busy.
Even the daily schedule the company had divided up to accommodate us was like that.
Recording sessions, choreography practice, album jacket photo shoots, self-produced content filming.
“Today, we’ll finish… everything, up to where we learned.”
“A-all the way to where we learned? No way….”
“Dan, ce break… we’ll keep doing it until we get it.”
“W-wow….”
“Mr. Yuchan who is in the room right now shouldn’t say wow….”
“…….”
Practice, practice, practice!
“Siwoo. Did you get some sleep?”
“Uh….”
“No, I saw you didn’t sleep a wink yesterday! That’s not okay, Siwoo. I didn’t want to nag, but… practice is only for when you practice. Okay? It’s bad for your health.”
“Th… then Logan hyung too. Yesterday, he kept saying he wanted to practice guitar with the song… playing guitar with his headphones on….”
“Oops. You saw that?”
“We’re in the same room… how could I not see that?”
“You two are exactly the same, really. Good job, good job.”
Within an already busy schedule, it was natural for those with the desire to do better to tire physically.
Logan, who could write lyrics and compose, participated in arrangement with the A&R team.
Siwoo constantly checked stage movements.
Yuchan hyung started work at the vocal room from 7 AM, and Hwaseong wrote lyrics for the rap parts assigned to him.
I was in a relatively better situation, having discussed and mixed some of my originality into the choreography Jindasol had already created.
Moreover, since all of that was being captured by reality cameras, I couldn’t even rest properly.
Watching someone walk toward the concept photo shoot disguised as a camera test, I clicked my tongue.
“Next pair! Jaeha, Hwaseong, please go in!”
“Yes!”
Hwaseong is Hwaseong, but well.
What worries me the most is….
“Hello, I’m Jaeha of TiOZe! Please take great care of today’s shoot. Thank you in advance.”
As expected, it’s Jaeha hyung.
The other members each had their own roles and were busy enough, but they couldn’t compare to Jaeha hyung.
Informing the members after participating in the visual team’s on-site concept meetings—that was Jaeha hyung. Hearing about it first and making announcements when preparation schedules changed—that was also Jaeha hyung.
Because we still didn’t have an assigned road manager, contacting the company every time we moved somewhere was also Jaeha hyung.
“Jaeha hyung. When on earth… do you wake up? Even when I woke up at 5 AM, you weren’t in bed.”
“Aah, I just woke up a little earlier than you. I had to go to the company for a bit to hear some things. The operations team seems really busy these days.”
“What is it?”
“Mm… I’ll tell you later.”
“…….”
“Ah, I really will tell you. Haha, don’t worry.”
Though he had told me we’re in the same boat, as always, maintaining that secretive air while overworking himself—should I say?
It really bothers me.
I lent a hand to Jaeha hyung, who was quickly passing out water to the staff, while carefully examining his complexion.
No, he was still handsome. Perfectly handsome, but….
And in that gaze of mine.
“…Huh?”
That something caught my eye was a coincidence.