The Toxic Member Has Returned! Chapter 198
SNS and community idol boards were, as always, blazing hot with talk of whichever idols had made their comebacks at that moment.
[Isn't SLEDIX going to hit 2 million copies this time? Even with Leopold and 2OCD, this really feels like top tier]
[⎿Honestly, I think Jeong Yeonu carried like a million of those himself]
[Honestly, Monghoe and the fantasy oriental vibe < It's obvious, but they really wrap up the obvious incredibly well. Familiar taste + MSG + consecutive tracks. This is a true legendary restaurant]
[⎿Seeing him dance like his body is breaking despite his years in the industry, it's truly rapturous fr]
[⎿Especially Juyeong seriously ;; Wasn't he originally from the vocal unit? He danced his ass off, anyone would think he's from the dance unit]
Pre-order numbers, songs, stage composition, choreography.
To outsiders, it might have seemed more than enough, but those who poured all their leisure time into this after returning home didn't stop there.
[@@@@Idol posts for this month's promotions@@@@]
Wasn't the fastest way to go viral online said to be stating your opinion in the comments and fighting with people who opposed it?
[Serenia's Yein, I'm a bit disappointed she cut her hair this time... She was really pretty when she had it long and tied back in a ponytail]
[⎿Yein said it was too hard to manage long hair and she wanted an image change, so she cut it. Don't speak if you don't know]
[⎿No, who said I didn't know? I'm just saying I'm disappointed ;; If you have a different opinion, just scroll past, why are you picking a fight for no reason]
[⎿Yeah looking at you, you don't even seem like a fan, I got annoyed seeing you add your two cents. If you're butthurt, delete your post]
[I actually liked Chu Yein with short hair? Chu Yein's neck is freaking pretty, and since she went short you can see it so well, I love it]
[⎿Dropping a like of agreement]
Idol fans were no different.
Only, the subject of their opinions happened to be their own idol.
Idols grow by consuming attention, and fans love pouring out the attention that comes to them and talking about it, so should we call them a perfect pair?
[Forget the Chu Yein short hair controversy, do other Serenia fans besides me have no sense of crisis? Is it even plausible that Choe Gaon and Serenia split the music show wins? Serenia was dominant on the charts ;; Where did AG get the money from, ugh lol]
[⎿Yeah I compiled an unhinged conspiracy theory PDF and I'm reporting you to the board admin]
[⎿That damn PDF lololol Does AG even care? Yeah I have lots of accounts, go ahead and report me]
[⎿If you put 001 on your account and say you have many accounts, you're basically confessing that 002 and 003 are yours too... Enjoy your permaban]
[Even if Serenia's fandom beats Choe Gaon's fandom to a pulp, what does it matter? In the end, the one pushing both aside and taking first place is SLEDIX lol What did Choe Gaon even do wrong]
[⎿Hey hey, Serenia fans' bones are going to break, go easy on them]
[⎿No but isn't this also indirectly dissing Choe Gaon? The point is SLEDIX takes first place in the end]
[Crucial Boy G @Everygaoon (photo) (photo)
Hiding on anonymous boards to bash other people's singers and spin conspiracies... Is it fun? I don't see how this benefits your singer lol If you're jealous that Gaon has been active for so long but is still hot like a rookie these days, just say you're jealous]
Of course, it was always a close call, teetering on the edge of crossing the line.
Anyway, the important thing was that even this attention, which threatened to cross the line yet didn't, was the exclusive property of popular idols.
Idols had to focus on that no matter what they did.
Drawing even a little more attention.
With music, choreography, stages.
Making fans, the public, and even uninterested people listen and watch one more time.
In that context, ToZ, who had returned with a repackage this time, had been thrown into a situation with unknown results.
[Seeing ToZ's stage this time, they really sharpened their knives... but there's something lacking, like there aren't enough self contents and plus-factor activities?]
[⎿The song is catchy and I keep humming it, but I wish they'd appear on more things. Not enough exposure]
[ItsOnFire @fireworksday No but what's the point of Hwaseong and Chunyong having good chemistry? They don't appear anywhere... I noticed this since AG's survival show but their follow-up response is really slow lol They don't know to row when the tide comes in]
[⎿How do you know the idol's name is gchy < Seeing such a rapid change in stance from how much you were cursing yesterday, my heart feels strange]
[⎿Don't use such a profane nickname for Yongyong]
[⎿I think this shamelessness is something to be emulated. I respect you]
[Siuhada @singsingull_ll11 (photo)
During this promotion, Siu will appear on a variety show and give away 50,000 won worth of gift certificates through a #drawing (crying)(crying)
Please, our black cat, just one animal program...]
Good songs, stages, and choreography were prepared.
But they lacked the device to definitely make those things pop.
And the ones who felt this more keenly than anyone else were none other than ToZ's perfect pair, the Zenias.
During their debut album 'Hide and Seek', was it because Zenia was depicted as a puppy?
"Did you see? Did you see?"
"Mm, mm. Yes, it's a mess. This is why people who don't use SNS and only do communities...."
"Right! Honestly it's annoying? But! I too! Like these people! Think that AG should push them on variety shows more... *hic*."
"Me too, me too!"
"Yes!"
Three Zenias gathered at a bar in Gangnam, Seoul, were half-drunk and literally on the verge of becoming puppies themselves.
"Hiss, is everyone... okay? Should we, should we drink more?"
"Yeees, I'm fine. Tomorrow is Saturday anyway... More! Let's drink!"
"...Three 500s here!"
Neulbomireu, a SNS name who stanned Kim Chunyong; Yongyongguri, a part-timer at Hanmaeum Private Practice Room; and AGMulsan, a Son Jaeha fan who had bonded with Neulbomireu since the survival show.
"Hah... This repackage is really good. Really good. The charts and album sales are all good right now... b-but promotion is lacking... *hic*."
As soon as she finished her words, AGMulsan slammed her 500cc beer mug down on the table with a thud and started hiccuping.
Water stains trailing from the glass, an oden soup nearly showing its bottom, and skewers that had been stripped bare down to the wooden sticks.
All of it testified to just how long they had been planted in this bar.
"Right! Self content, why isn't self content coming up? It should be coming out by now?"
"*Sob*, behind-the-scenes from music shows aren't enough...."
"Mm, that's... true."
While the remaining two were on the verge of becoming real dogs rather than puppies, Neulbomireu, the only one still half-conscious, sympathized with them while keeping her hands busy.
The things atop the chopstick holder, placed at the very top of the drinking table.
She was busy protecting the decorated photo cards of Kim Chunyong and Son Jaeha.
"Mmm, Chunyong...."
Looking at the decorated poca with red and black cubic parts and a tiny fox figure attached, Neulbomireu quietly muttered.
Whenever they talked about whether ToZ's exposure was truly lacking lately, Neulbomireu would try to say something, only to have her throat clog up.
Things like debut and comeback timing, or when self content comes out.
She had worried endlessly.
Because after constantly watching trainees during survival show activities, he was the first idol she had ever come to like.
'I wish Chunyong would do better. I wish he'd rise to a higher place! This isn't enough!'
Whenever she felt he was lagging behind others in anything, she would flood her private SNS account with stress-induced posts as if fire had landed on her feet, and at times would grow exhausted by her own negativity and quit SNS for a while.
However.
Neulbomireu fiddled with her beer mug for a moment, rolling her eyes, then continued in a slightly drunken, slow voice.
"It's a bit strange for me to say this... but won't something else come out soon?"
"Mm? Neulbom-nim... you're being surprisingly calm...!"
"Ahaha... Yes. It is a bit odd for someone who closed her account because of this to say it."
"Eeh, do you have something to rely on? Like a broadcast station connection, or someone at the agency...?"
"No, no. Of course not!"
It wasn't that kind of reason.
Somehow, every time Neulbomireu suffered like that, content packed with Kim Chunyong would pop out one after another with a 'I've prepared everything because I know you're worried' feeling.
Like, right now.
Ding! Ding!
Just as her phone, which she had set to sound notifications today of all days, rang with a loud Witube channel alert, the eyes of the three women planted at the table snapped toward it.
A Witube channel notification filled the screen.
[
o.
W' relay dance content first-ever behind the scenes?]
And even...
It wasn't just one.
[ Ep.1 'Ready to W.
o.
W!']
Two at the same time, no less.
"...It's the relay dance teaser and self content. It's my first time seeing Mu:de's relay dance team post a teaser too."
"Gasp, wait! This is really up, right now!"
"L-let's watch together. Turn up the volume!"
It took 30 minutes for the three of them to plant their faces against the small phone screen and watch the videos.
"...I should die."
"Huuurk... W-wait, I, I need more alcohol...."
"Slowly, both of you."
Watching the two of them quietly, Neulbomireu's face now bore a smile similar to that of her bias.
"...Slowly."
Idols grow by consuming attention, and fans love pouring out the attention directed at them and talking about it, so should we call them a perfect pair?
What is the best thing to show such a pair?
Opinions varied on this.
Album purchases, music streaming, promotional activities on SNS and communities, and so on.
However, having watched the countless actions Kim Chunyong had shown, Neulbomireu believed there was one promise that preceded all of that.
Trust.
The thing Neulbomireu relied on, who had felt this way every time people were busy worrying.
"...If I wait slowly, Chunyong shows me everything."
What she relied on wasn't a broadcast station or the agency.
It was only her bias.
"I-I'm done drinking! Let's watch it again! This time while on DeokTalk too!"
"No, what's with the stickers on their faces? Huuung... Jaeha-yaa...."
Making fans, the public, and even uninterested people listen and watch one more time.
Neulbomireu, who had returned from her days as a toxic member, knew very well what that method was, as did her bias.
"Then, I'll play it."
Among the women who had started downing soju and beer with the thought that 'the kids' faces are the side dish,' ToZ, sporting flashy hair and makeup for this promotional period, revealed themselves once more on the phone screen.
- "Hello, Zenias! We are ToZ!"
To live up to the trust their perfect pair had shown them, with their faces plastered full of their own stickers.