NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 215
Originally, our Rookies were only scheduled to appear on music shows for two weeks, but since we took first place in most of this week’s shows, we made major changes to our schedule.
Thanks to that….
Boom!
[Congratulations! The number one for the fourth week of November’s Music Boom is none other than Rookies’ “Meteor”!]
We dominated first place in most terrestrial music shows all the way to the fourth week.
Having a digital single take first place in music shows without any album sales points and doing it for several weeks in a row is no easy feat, so various media outlets featured our Rookies prominently.
However, the biggest gossip among people wasn’t about us Rookies.
[The drug scandal hitting the entertainment industry. It has been revealed that famous idols and actors are involved…]
[Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency “The investigation is still in its early stages, so we cannot confirm any details…”]
It was the drug scandal that struck the entertainment industry.
Although no specific names were mentioned yet…
The police had already started their investigation, and once news spread that the suspect list included various famous entertainers, chaos hit the idol industry as well.
‘…We’ll take care of this ourselves. It’s embarrassing, but our Brotherhood Planning knows how to completely ruin someone’s life.’
Because of what Older Brother Sang-gu said last time, I realized that this incident was orchestrated by Brotherhood Planning.
‘What kind of company is Brotherhood Planning…?’
It’s my company, but I still don’t know how far the power of Brotherhood Planning and Kang Hyung-man stretches.
One thing is for sure… Shin Si-woo is finished for sure because of this.
Shin Si-woo was so addicted that he secretly smoked marijuana in the broadcasting station, and with Older Brother Sang-gu taking evidence like his hair, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to escape this incident.
Thanks to Brotherhood Planning…, I was able to overcome yet another wave.
In the past, if something like this happened, I would have felt burdened rather than gratitude for someone else helping me…
‘I hope Ye-rin learns how to live with others… You’re no longer alone.’
‘If anything happens, always rely on the adults… You can rely on me too.’
…With a little change in mindset this time, I decided to feel greater gratitude toward those who helped me in this situation rather than any burden.
As Older Brother Sang-gu said, I am not alone, and this world is not a place to live alone…
And through this incident, my gratitude also extended to O Ah-ra of Python.
Regardless of the reason, she had helped me tremendously, and it was true that I might have been in big trouble without her.
But….
“Um…”
“……”
“Hey…!”
“……”
O Ah-ra kept avoiding me whenever we met. She was giving me a look that screamed she hated me.
So, I never got the chance to properly express my gratitude to her for that time.
However…, an unexpected situation soon approached me with that opportunity.
“Everyone, have you all arrived?”
“Yes~”
Director Jeong, who suddenly called us to headquarters during our schedule, informed us of unexpected news.
“The year-end awards ceremony is coming up in less than a month; are you all aware of it?”
“…!”
…Honestly, I hadn’t been paying much attention to it.
However, considering our Rookies’ performance this year…
It looked very likely that our Rookies would win an award.
‘For example, the Rookie of the Year.’
Among the rookie idols debuting this year, there was no group that had performed better than us Rookies.
The only challenge might be Python, but honestly, based only on results, Python was also falling behind our Rookies by a lot.
Unless there were unexpected variables, it seemed obvious that our Rookies would win the Rookie of the Year award.
‘The Rookie of the Year…’
I hadn’t been too concerned about the year-end awards ceremony until now, but thinking I might actually win an award made me a little nervous.
“The year-end awards ceremony is quite large, so you all need to prepare a lot.”
Especially since the year-end awards ceremony attracts many attendees…, I should think of it as being on the scale of Na Ah Ah’s final round.
It would require thorough preparation to perform on stage in front of that many people.
As our Rookies nodded in agreement, Director Jeong dropped an unexpected statement.
“Oh, and the most important thing is that… a special stage has been arranged.”
“A special stage?”
“Yes, since it’s a festival where popular idols gather, there will be special stages in addition to the main stage.”
“What kind of special stages…?”
“For example, there will be collaborations with other idol groups.”
“…!”
Director Jeong picked up a document from his desk to check the schedule and stage lineup and informed us.
“Each broadcasting station’s award ceremony will have different special stages. This time, at Nnet’s NANA…, let’s see… Ah.”
Hearing the following words from Director Jeong, I couldn’t help but gasp.
“Yoo Seol and Ye-rin will collaborate with O Ah-ra and Kanna from Python as agreed by YW Planning.”
“……!”
Yoo Seol and me.
And O Ah-ra and Kanna from Python collaborating…
What kind of combination is this?
“Sisters! Let’s not lose to the Python folks and do our best!”
“If it’s O Ah-ra and Kanna, we can definitely create a great stage! Fighting!”
“Ah…, um.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Other members cheered us on, boosting our spirits, but… Yoo Seol and I couldn’t help but feel a bit dazed.
The first meeting of the suddenly formed special stage team took place in the practice room at NAS Entertainment.
Honestly, I had been anxious since Shin Si-woo was from YW Planning…
But meeting in the NAS practice room made me feel relieved.
In the vast NAS Entertainment practice room, only three people were waiting for the YW members to arrive.
Me, Yoo Seol, and… Han Si-woo.
Han Si-woo was responsible for directing this special stage and was going to handle various arrangements…
“Hah…”
“What’s wrong, Producer?”
“Oh, nothing, I guess I’m just a bit nervous seeing the YW juniors with the NAS business card.”
Since he had been with YW for over a decade, it seemed he had mixed and complex emotions when seeing Python.
And Han Si-woo wasn’t the only one with complicated feelings.
‘I wonder if we can perform well on stage.’
I had wanted to express my gratitude to O Ah-ra, but because she was keeping me at arm’s length, I couldn’t.
For whatever reason, O Ah-ra currently strongly disapproved of me.
With many fans likely gathering at the year-end awards ceremony…, I was quite worried about whether we could collaborate properly with such a strained relationship.
Just then, while Han Si-woo and I were sighing over our different worries.
Creek.
“Hello?”
The YW people revealed themselves.
Since we had previously agreed to meet with a minimum number of people, there were only three members from YW.
O Ah-ra from Python, Kanna, and….
“Whoa…!”
Currently, the producer of Python and a member of YW’s flagship girl group “22nd Night,” Sua.
Since 22nd Night was one of the legends in the girl group scene, Yoo Seol’s eyes widened as she recognized her, and she lowered her head deeply.
“…Hello!”
“Oh, yes. Hello.”
“I’m a huge fan, Sua!”
“Haha, thank you.”
When Yoo Seol, rare for her, turned red in the face as she happily greeted her, Sua also seemed pleased, smiling and shaking her hand.
“…Sua, you’re here.”
“I heard my brother was here, so I came right over. It’s been a while.”
They seemed to be close as Han Si-woo and Sua greeted each other casually…
“Ye-rin, long time no see~”
“…Ah, hi.”
I awkwardly greeted Kanna, who still possessed the trait of being a pervert.
“……”
Only O Ah-ra gave a vague greeting to Han Si-woo and completely ignored me and Yoo Seol.
“O Ah-ra, you’re the leader of Python, right? I’m meeting your direct juniors here.”
“…Yes, nice to meet you, Producer Han Si-woo.”
Han Si-woo might have thought that O Ah-ra was just shy, but I could instantly feel her cold glare towards him.
Thus, a meeting started without resolving the chilly atmosphere between the Rookies and Python.
“Now, we need to take care of the special stage that will be part of the 3rd part of NANA.”
“…!”
I was surprised to hear that we were in charge of the opening stage for the 3rd part.
Typically, as you move from the 1st part to the 3rd part, it’s the most popular groups that handle the stages, and the opening of the 3rd part is an extremely important slot.
For us rookies to be in charge of the 3rd part stage rather than the 1st or 2nd part… was quite a burden.
But the surprises didn’t end there.
“Actually, I have a personal thought that I’d like to leave the planning of this stage to you.”
“Wait…?”
“I believe all four of you here are proud juniors who will lead K-pop in the future. I hope this special stage serves as an opportunity for your growth… Sua, what do you think?”
“Hmm…”
All four of us were taken aback by Han Si-woo’s words, but Sua thought for a moment, resting her chin.
“Sounds like a good idea. Let’s leave this to the kids.”
“Producer…!”
Nodding her head, she agreed with his suggestion.
Of course, Yoo Seol and I have experience with planning such stages through Na Ah Ah, but the Python members looked just as bewildered.
Yet Sua seemed to believe in her Python members, patting O Ah-ra and Kanna on the shoulders and giving them a confident look.
“It’s something you’ll experience someday, everyone. You all have enough talent. If you utilize this opportunity well, you can grow even more.”
“Haha, don’t worry too much. Sua and I will oversee everything and help you!”
Thus, it was reluctantly agreed that this special stage would be independently planned by me, Yoo Seol, O Ah-ra, and Kanna.
“Everyone, let’s start the idea meeting to figure out what concept to go with, so we can also take some time to get to know each other. Sua and I have to step out for a moment to talk about something.”
“What kind of talk? What is it?”
“Just come with me. We’ll be back soon.”
After Han Si-woo and Sua left, only we remained in the vast practice room.
‘This feels nostalgic.’
Sitting around like this in the practice room, I couldn’t help but recall the days I spent in Na Ah Ah.
The difference now is that… our team’s members were almost like an Avengers lineup.
But from my experience during Na Ah Ah, there was a major lesson to be learned.
“Um, so what concept shall we go with…?”
“…Tch.”
Right, no matter how great the members are, if they don’t get along, it’s useless.
Seeing me trying to lead the meeting based on my experiences from Na Ah Ah, O Ah-ra clicked her tongue and ignored me, instantly turning the atmosphere cold.
And at that moment….
“O Ah-ra.”
“……What?”
Yoo Seol spoke up, her voice icy compared to O Ah-ra’s.
“With the year-end awards ceremony approaching and not much time left… shouldn’t we reconsider your attitude, given that we’re on the same team?”
“……”
“I’m not sure what reason you have for acting this way, but please cooperate. Since we’re doing this special stage, let’s make it enjoyable.”
Here it comes, Yoo Seol’s sharp words.
With her assertiveness causing my heart to race, Kanna and I shrank back a bit.
Still, O Ah-ra seemed intent on pushing back against Yoo Seol’s words, raising her eyebrows to meet her gaze, but….
“……”
“……”
“…Yes.”
Before a few seconds passed, she lowered her eyes…
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”
“Hah…, …Yes, Ye-rin. I’m sorry for being reckless. I’ll cooperate well.”
In the end, she lowered her head even to me, showing a defeated demeanor.
‘What…? Is it because of the Emperor-level charisma that Seol has…?’
Certainly, Yoo Seol’s presence was overwhelming, but aside from that, O Ah-ra seemed to portray an even more submissive side towards her.
“Okay, shall we start the meeting now?”
“Yes…!”
Anyway, with Yoo Seol taking charge, the temporary team embarked on an uneasy beginning.