The Problematic Member Has Returned! Episode 146
If idol music show promotions were the alpha of an active period, offline fan signing events deserved to be called the omega.
[Always Yeonwoo @Yeonwoojung___
(photo)
I looked back at the Post-it Yeonwoo left me after so long!
That day I was in really bad condition because I had a cold, but he wrote something really long, so when I got home later and checked it, it was a vin chaud recipe that’s good for colds… (crying) (crying)
And when I saw the PS where he wrote that he was sorry he couldn’t make it for me himself, I seriously vowed to love Yeonwoo for the rest of my life
This is why Yeonwoo will forever be the head of the top tier♡]
[⎿(This account has been blocked by the author) It’s not like you got anything amazing, why are you making such a fuss over him just telling you a recipe?? Do you sob every time you watch a cooking channel on WTube?]
For a fan and singer to meet face-to-face and talk, however briefly; to actually communicate with the singer I like; and to gain the strength to support my singer once more from the memory of that moment.
That was why the competition among fans to win a spot at a fan signing event was always bound to be fierce.
Every fan signing event entry site said that they “selected winners at random.”
In other words, there was no such thing as a guaranteed cut-off for fan signing events, commonly known as “line-up ranking,” and even if you bought a lot, you could fail; even if you bought only a few, you could win.
However, idol fans never believed those words.
Because there had been far too many precedents.
[Title: Summary of the Gangnam Recordplay Incident
You saw how they previously posted a notice saying that their fan sign winners were chosen by random lottery and that they’d report anyone spreading rumors about line-up ranking, right?
But this time, a Serenia fan who went there for a short-term cleaning job at their store found the line-up ranking list ;; A printed one…
So that fan uploaded the list to SNS > Recordplay identified who uploaded it and declared they would report them > furious Serenia fans went to beat them up > the firepower went crazy and even reached the WTube channel “I’m Curious About Idols” > Recordplay admitted wrongdoing and is scheduled to deliver apology money to the Serenia fan they said they were going to report
The K-pop market is so peaceful today too that I can’t help but laugh
Actually, it’s not funny]
[⎿What happened to that Serenia fan? They must’ve gone through so much stress ㅠ]
[⎿⎿They used the apology money to go to Sounddeep Gangnam and enter an offline fan sign]
[⎿Did they get in?]
[⎿They failed]
No matter how much the fan signing event entry sites denied it, line-up ranking definitely existed.
Because of that, the fan signing cut-offs for each idol and each entry site floated around SNS and communities like ghosts, and fans who wanted to be sure they would meet their idol bought more albums than that cut-off.
However, that was something only fans of idols whose numbers could be somewhat predicted through previous promotions could do.
Who could know the cut-off for ToZ, when this was their first fan signing event?
That was something even ToZ, who would be visiting the site to sign that day, could not know.
Well, it would have been a little strange for idols to know that anyway.
[So nobody knows the ToZ fan sign cut yet? How many copies do you think I should buy? Should I go get a tarot reading for this, wtf ha]
[⎿Don’t get a tarot reading, just count numbers and look with your mind’s eye and you’ll see how many you need to buy, okay, starting now
1… 2… 3…]
[⎿How many? 3 copies?]
[⎿No, 123 copies]
At any rate, because of those reasons, the Xenias, for whom this was their first fan signing event, could not help but have a different mindset.
[ㅇㅇ @tkrlRns
I’ll tell you the cut-off for the ToZ fan sign at Hapjeong Call Mu
I checked the store purchase list, I can show you
Open chat ▷ http//:dlrjf.
thrsi.
kr]
[⎿Don’t fall for this, everyone. They ask for a fee first and then blow up the chat room. I got 50,000 won ripped off by this person]
[⎿⎿They told me, though? They said 10 copies?]
[⎿How does 10 copies make sense, please, you got scammed too, snap out of it]
[Siu Hada @singsingull_ll11
(photo)
The electronic receipt for the albums I bought to go meet Siu arrived!
Please let me get in (praying) (praying)]
[⎿Wtf, you swiped 150 copies, seriously insane]
[Did you hear that the Son Jaeha big-name account on SNS dropped 160 copies this time…? Does that make sense? During first-week sales they said they bought 100 copies lol but 160 for a fan sign? No, if you’d bought that during the first-week period, the kids’ results would be better right now;;]
[⎿Looking at your post history, it seems like you only bought one copy, so isn’t it really weird for you to say that to someone who bought 260 copies in total??]
[⎿Wtf, where do you even put 260 copies, one whole bookshelf must be nothing but albums]
[⎿I wish that Son Jaeha big-name account would give me just 3,000 won so I can buy takoyaki]
Overheated, passionate, buying albums like it was a competition.
[Is this really right? Sorry, trees. Sorry, Earth.]
There were people who viewed this phenomenon negatively, but it was difficult to place the blame for it on the fans.
[Top Male Idol Instructor @Mega_Sky11
The first-week sales tally has begun for “Monochrome,” the first mini album by Wiz, the rookie boy idol group ambitiously announced by Queens. Their momentum is truly frightening.]
[⎿And the fan signing album purchase proofs for ToZ, who debuted before Wiz, have also been a hot topic day after day. Their firepower is truly astonishing, isn’t it?]
[⎿I understand that one can look at this with a negative gaze. However, as expected, I don’t think we can blame the fans.]
[⎿When you love someone, don’t you naturally want to see them and want to do anything you can? If one must criticize this album-buying rush, I think one should point to the structure of the market itself. A structure created since the days of first-generation idols.]
[⎿Moreover, in this situation, AG has declared that “from later albums onward, all fan signs will be changed to random lottery hosted by the agency without exception,” so I see it as taking steps in a better direction.]
[⎿Next, I will post Wiz’s first-week sales chart ranking. I have a lot to say about that as well.]
[ㅇㅇ @qornvk
Please stop preaching your useless philosophy and analyze the Wiz members a bit. I’m so curious about Taei and Jaden, seriously, these guys are not ordinary. Their eyes are clear and steeped in madness]
[⎿Top Male Idol Instructor @Mega_Sky11
I also find those two very interesting. I will return with my next post ^^]
And so, on the day of ToZ’s first fan signing event, which had caused all sorts of talk and trouble and had properly driven buzz.
[ToZ 1st Mini Album Offline Fan Signing Event: Sounddeep Gangnam]
The scene was, truly…
“Did you bring the Post-its? What about the telephoto camera? I just have to wait here, right?”
“Yeah. Damn, I’ll make sure to convey your love for Siu properly.”
“Tell him I donated 300kg of cat food under Siu’s name too. You can’t forget.”
“Got it. …
Ah, shit! I’m nervous! What should I say to Hwaseong? If I say I’m researching because I wish his hair grew out blond, will he believe me?”
…
A spectacle.
The faces of the fans lined up one after another, waiting for the members’ signatures, were mostly filled with excitement.
Filled with thoughts of telling them how much they liked them, and how they had come all this way for them.
However.
There were also people who were not like that.
“Whew, fuck….”
On Neulbom Mir’s face, as she waited for her turn that would soon arrive, there was so much worry it would have looked strange to others.
Her head was filled with an unexpected concern.
‘…What if Chunyong is different from what I expect? What if, because of that, I end up being disappointed in my singer for no reason?’
Neulbom Mir, a fansite master who had always liked trainees only until the survival show and then drifted like a hyena in search of other trainees afterward.
It was only natural for her, who had grabbed onto an idol for the first time, to have such concerns.
After all, stories about people going to fan signs, becoming disappointed in idols, and leaving the fandom circulated through communities and SNS more than a little.
She wanted to like Kim Chunyong, whom she had named a “miracle,” as long as possible, truly, for a very long time.
…
Preferably even after Kim Chunyong retired.
So in a situation this extreme, she had no choice but to waver.
‘Ha, shit. Should I just go home even now? I don’t want to be disappointed in Chunyong. If I don’t know what he’s like, I can like him forever!’
This place she had confidently come to after boldly buying 200 copies.
The flower crown for Son Jaeha, which she had received from AG Trading Company after they ultimately failed to meet the cut and lost the fan sign.
And her curiosity, wanting to get to know Kim Chunyong better, the person who had ultimately brought her all the way to a place like this.
“The next person may move!”
“…
Yes!”
Those countless reasons guided Neulbom Mir’s steps toward Kim Chunyong, who sat at the very front of the fan signing table.
“H-Hello, Chunyong….”
“…
Ah, yes! Hello. Um… you’re noona, right?”
“Huh? Yeah. Th-That’s right… You can call me noona, yeah. You can call me Neulbom noona….”
‘Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. It’s really Chunyong. Kim Chunyong, talking and breathing and smiling!’
At her first fan signing event of her life, facing her favorite, Neulbom Mir forgot what she had planned to say and the gift she had meant to give, and simply stared blankly at Kim Chunyong.
And what brought Neulbom Mir back to her senses was…
“Noona, noona. Please give that to me under here.”
Kim Chunyong, who had his bright red hair as usual, and whose face looked especially solemn and sharp today.
And after he brought the shopping bag in Neulbom Mir’s hands under the table, there was no time to stop him.
“No, if you just put that on like that….”
“Haha, Hobin hyung said earlier that it was okay. Shouldn’t it be fine? From what I can see, it fits me perfectly!”
“Chu, Chunyong? Gasp….”
“What do you think, noona?”
Kim Chunyong, who had draped the pitch-black Japanese-style school uniform that had been inside the shopping bag over his shoulders, looked at Neulbom Mir with a slightly different, delinquent-looking smile from usual.
“…
You brought it for me, right?”
Something Neulbom Mir did not know, and Kim Chunyong did.
And something that had been a wound to Shooting Rex.
“Ah. I finished writing the autograph and the Post-it. Um, they say it’ll be chilly tonight. Please take care of yourself….”
“Wait, wait! Chunyong. Th-This. Will you wear it? You don’t have to wear it now, even later….”
“We will deliver the gift later. You can’t give it now.”
“No, I’m not giving it to the security staff, I’m giving it to Chunyong….”
“I’ll take it. If it’s not allowed, it’s not allowed!”
That was the fact that Shooting Rex had already delivered this outfit to Kim Chunyong once, and that Kim Chunyong, a rookie idol at the time, had not been able to wear it.
“Chunyong, if you do this, uh. Won’t you get scolded by the agency staff…? They don’t usually let you just wear clothes and stuff. The other members are only wearing things like hats too….”
“Uh, that might happen. But more than that….”
The returned Kim Chunyong had always carried guilt and regret toward Neulbom Mir.
Not being able to make someone who had taken your side happy stayed in your heart forever.
That was why, setting aside a bit of embarrassment, and the scolding Yu Hobin would later give him—“What were you going to do if there was something dangerous inside!”—and so on and so forth…
“Does this suit me?”
With the face Neulbom Mir liked most, he only wanted to do what she wanted.
The best gift an idol could give a fan.
“Uh….”
Neulbom Mir, seeing Kim Chunyong’s slightly arrogant expression that she loved most and his bright smile that showed his canine teeth, froze for a moment and simply stared at it blankly.
Some feelings reach their destination in the end, even without being spoken.
“It really, really suits you, Chunyong….”
[Shooting Rex @Shooting_REX
Chunyong would’ve looked so good if he wore a gakuran ㅠ
Next time I’ll definitely succeed with the gift!!]
In the end.
“Ah, I’m glad. I was worried this might not look good on me….”
“No, what are you talking about? I brought it for you to wear! Listen while you sign, Chunyong. Did you see that you’re known overseas as ‘Chuchu’? No, it’s okay if you haven’t. I’ll tell you. When you danced with Jin Dasol’s crew, seriously….”
“N-Noona. Slowly, slowly!”
And so, while Kim Chunyong was enthusiastically continuing his tearful reunion with Shooting Rex, no—Neulbom Mir.
The other members’ signing sessions were also proceeding enthusiastically.
“Logan, because of you, I’ve been watching overseas soccer these days too, I’m going crazy… I even bought an Everton third kit uniform!”
“God, seriously?! You might’ve bought the same one as me!”
“Hwaseong, please. I seriously wish you’d stay blond forever… No, of course, black hair is good too, and red hair, and blue hair!”
“Wow, noona. You think the same as me? Huh? No, I also wish my hair grew out blond!”
Amid the continuous display of fan signing skills so smooth they were hard to believe from rookies, what especially caught people’s eyes even there was…
“I don’t think I applied to any schools where my grades only just met the cut-off. Have you decided on the school you want to go to?”
“Um, Yuchan-ssi. Time is up….”
“Just a moment! Do you at least want to receive some energy before you go? You came all the way here, so it feels a little wrong to just leave, right?”
“Yuchan oppaaaaaak….”
“Receiving energy is one thing, but for your lunch at the exam site, it’s best to pack what you usually eat, okay? Take care of yourself, and seriously, good luck! …
Gasp, are you taking the CSAT this time too? Great. First, your target universities….”
It was the college entrance lecture of Bang Yuchan, the shining top student of Korea University’s Department of Practical Music.