I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

After all the Rookies members gathered, Kang Hyung-man filled the new dormitory with many things as if he were directly inheriting the Rookies from their NAS days.

The most representative among them was…

Ding ding!

Creek.

“Wow…”

“I never thought I would come here again.”

He had directly brought over the previous dormitory of Rookies.

ZZ Castle located in Gangnam, Seoul. And room 3802 was exactly the same.

Of course, all the furniture had been removed, but Kang Hyung-man filled the dormitory with expensive new furniture.

Although the sizes of NAS Entertainment and Brotherhood Planning were vastly different, as a large corporation versus a startup…

Kang Hyung-man was doing everything he could to make us not feel deprived compared to the past.

“Since we are in the original dorm, it really feels like Rookies haven’t disbanded.”

“…True.”

Even though the company had changed, the members were the same, the dormitory was the same, and even the exclusive producer was still Han Si-woo.

Thanks to that, we felt an illusion as though Rookies hadn’t disbanded.

But soon, we were to experience an event that would make us painfully realize that Rookies had indeed fully disbanded.

“I don’t think we can use the name Rookies.”

“What?!”

We were taken aback by what Han Si-woo suddenly declared in the meeting.

And it was understandable…

‘Not being able to use the name Rookies…?’

The name was an important aspect of the team’s identity.

We had been active under the name Rookies for a year after Na Ah Ah, and we had built so many memories and experiences.

We were Rookies, and Rookies were us, so not being able to use that name felt unbelievable.

“…President, what’s going on?”

“…”

Unable to hold back my shock, I asked Kang Hyung-man, who sighed and replied.

“…I mentioned that we entered into copyright negotiations with NAS Entertainment, right?”

“…Yes, you did.”

Since all Rookies members had come back together, Brotherhood Planning had been in constant contact with NAS Entertainment about the team name and music copyrights for Rookies. They had a lot to discuss in order for Brotherhood Planning to inherit Rookies.

For example, songs like Secret Girl, Breaking Bad!, Meteor, and Eternal Rookies couldn’t be used in concerts or festivals unless we had NAS Entertainment’s permission.

I thought it was fine since NAS Entertainment had shown goodwill towards us, but…

“We were allowed to use the old songs on the condition that the revenue from performances would be shared later. However… the name was firmly rejected on their side. No matter what conditions we presented, we couldn’t use the name Rookies.”

“Why…?”

As I muttered in resentment towards NAS Entertainment, Han Si-woo beside Kang Hyung-man answered instead.

“Since Rookies had a massive hit under NAS, from their perspective, it would be hard to hand over the trademark rights for the name Rookies to Brotherhood Planning.”

“Ah…”

“To be honest, NAS Entertainment was quite generous regarding the music copyrights as well. Since we are starting fresh as a new company… it seems that we have to start again under a new name.”

“…”

If Han Si-woo was saying that, we had no choice.

We nodded in agreement, but…

‘What a pity…’

We couldn’t suppress our disappointment.

It wasn’t just me; other members’ expressions darkened as well.

“It’s disappointing, but it might be a good thing.”

“…Huh?”

Only Yoo Seol spoke calmly among us.

“To be honest, the name Rookies had a bit of an ambiguous feel to it, don’t you think?”

“Why? I thought Rookies was a pretty name?”

“If you translate Rookies directly, what does it mean?”

Rookies translates to… rookie.

Realizing the meaning of Rookies, we collectively went, ‘Oh,’ as Yoo Seol continued.

“Even five years from now, ten years from now… when we carry the name Rookies, we won’t feel like veterans.”

“…”

“We can’t be rookies forever. It’s a shame we couldn’t continue with the name Rookies, but… we have to grow.”

…Yeah, it’s true that if we’re thinking long-term, the name Rookies might not be suitable.

Adding more weight to Yoo Seol’s words, Han Si-woo chimed in.

“That’s right. When Nnet first named us Rookies, it was based on the assumption that we were a project group that would disband after one year. It’s regrettable, but we need to let go of the name.”

“Then what will the new group name be…?”

“That’s…”

At the question of the new name, Han Si-woo smiled slightly and looked towards Kang Hyung-man.

“The director will decide. Normally, these monumental names are usually created by the directors.”

“Ah…”

“That’s right. It’s usually the directors who come up with these names.”

The other members didn’t seem to have any particular objections to Kang Hyung-man naming the team.

It seemed that directors often decide on the group names.

But…

“W-What? The president is going to come up with the name?”

…Only I was startled to hear that.

Of course, it was natural to say that, but it wasn’t because I disliked Kang Hyung-man.

It was just that… I couldn’t trust his naming sense.

To talk about this, I had to turn back time to last night.

Last night.

“Oh, I left my charger in the boss’s room.”

In Brotherhood Planning, I was frequently vague with Kang Hyung-man than with anyone else.

The sofa in his office was so comfy that I often spent a lot of time there, chatting with Kang Hyung-man.

That day, I realized I had left my charger in the president’s office and headed towards the now-empty office.

And then…

“Hmm…?”

As I was about to just grab the charger and leave, I halted in shock as I saw the paper on the desk.

I didn’t intend to snoop, but the content written on the A4 paper was so peculiar that I couldn’t help but look.

– Example) Seoul Sisters… Bell Sisters…

– Idol Crazy Idol

– Ah… what should I name it…

“…What is this?”

I had no idea what that was yesterday.

Only now could I realize what Kang Hyung-man had in mind when he wrote that.

Kang Hyung-man had been pondering our new name since yesterday.

‘But why on earth are Seoul Sisters and Bell Sisters in the examples for naming an idol group in the 21st century?!’

It was Kang Hyung-man who first coined the name Brotherhood Planning.

Now it sounds fine, but when I first heard it, I was baffled.

How could he come up with such a name for a planning company?

But this guy is going to name a girl group…?

“Why? Unnie? Are you unhappy with the president naming it?”

“…No, it’s not that.”

It’s not that I don’t trust Kang Hyung-man.

I trust everything else about Kang Hyung-man.

I just can’t trust his naming sense.

But…

“Ahem, how about I suggest a group name, would you like to hear it?”

“Wow! I’d love to!”

Kang Hyung-man, as if he had prepared for this, cleared his throat and beamed with pride.

‘Why on earth does he look so pleased…?’

With just a name suggestion, he looked so happy, I couldn’t possibly oppose it.

I decided to listen to the name Kang Hyung-man had prepared.

“Okay, then the name of our Brotherhood Planning’s first girl group will be…”

‘Please be a normal name! Don’t name it like a gang!’

I mentally prayed and waited for Kang Hyung-man to announce the new team name.

And at last, Kang Hyung-man revealed the new name…

“ISIS.”

“……”

“For our new team name… how about ISIS?”

“…ISIS?”

It was more ordinary than I had expected.

…No, I thought it would have a gangster-like name like Brotherhood Planning, but ISIS?!

I didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded trendy.

“What is ISIS…?”

“…Is it a name of some mythical being? I feel like I’ve heard of it.”

“President, what does ISIS mean?”

In the end, unable to hold back her curiosity about the name, Seo Yoo-jin asked, and Kang Hyung-man blushed slightly as he replied.

“Idol… Sisters…”

“Idol Sisters? No way?”

“Yep, Idol Sisters. Shortened to ‘ISIS’.”

Idol Sisters it is.

To be honest, maybe it was because I didn’t have high expectations.

It sounded pretty decent.

“ISIS… sounds good!”

“I think so too.”

As the other members nodded in agreement, Kang Hyung-man smiled proudly.

“Actually, I was going to name it Idol Brothers after Brotherhood Planning, but since you’re a girl group…”

“…”

“So, it became Idol Sisters. I’ll use Idol Brothers for when I create the boy group later.”

…Idol Brothers.

Shortened to I-Bro.

…That’s truly a dreadful name.

‘…At least ISIS is better.’

Although it’s unfamiliar, compared to I-Bro, the name ISIS wasn’t bad at all.

“So, is our group name ISIS?”

“Let’s go with that.”

“I like it too.”

Thus, our new team name became ‘ISIS.’

Of course…

“ISIS… it doesn’t quite stick yet.”

Maybe because it’s overshadowed by the familiar name Rookies, it indeed felt quite strange.

“But just like what Seol Unnie said earlier… we can’t be rookies forever.”

“That’s… true.”

The memories and name of Rookies would forever be etched in our hearts.

But…

We can’t remain rookies forever.

So we shed the name of our past, Rookies, and were reborn as ISIS.

At this moment, the one who looked the happiest was none other than Kang Hyung-man.

“I’m glad everyone likes it. In fact, I couldn’t cancel the showcase venue reservation under the name ISIS.”

“…What?!”

We were not the only ones surprised by his sudden shocking statement.

“No, director. Why are you reserving a showcase venue without even having a song yet…?”

Perhaps because he hadn’t heard of this news before, producer Han Si-woo opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

Trying to reassure Han Si-woo, Kang Hyung-man smiled slightly and replied.

“Don’t worry too much, Director Han. The showcase date is four months from now.”

“Four months… that’s not too urgent. But why reserve a venue four months ahead?”

“That’s…”

Han Si-woo’s words were indeed right.

While the showcase venue is important, just why did they book it so soon?

We were about to find out the answer from Kang Hyung-man’s next words while also…

“Gocheok Sky Dome, where Rookies held their concert.”

“……!”

Fell into new shock.

“That place will be the first showcase venue of ISIS.”

Kang Hyung-man was very ambitious.

More than we could have imagined.

[Rookies Reunited? Reborn as a New Group ‘ISIS’…]

[Brotherhood Planning – Where Is That? Reporter Kim Investigated.]

“ISIS… I don’t like it…”

At some point, Ye-rin Su-ho, who had been holed up in her room, only engaging with the internet, clicked on the article discussing Rookies’ reformation as ISIS and furrowed her brows.

The name ISIS… she wasn’t a fan.

More than anything…

[Brotherhood Planning’s CEO Kang said, “ISIS will become a girl group that surpasses Rookies.”]

“This damn gangster… that was him, wasn’t it…?”

This Kang Hyung-man, the CEO of Brotherhood Planning.

He was the one who had viciously beaten up Ye-rin Su-ho back then.

“…That bastard. Because of him….”

Now, on Ye-rin Su-ho’s face, despite having had surgery, a large scar remained faintly.

This was created by Kang Hyung-man.

Ye-rin Su-ho had forgotten the plans she had for Ha Ye-rin and instead deeply nurtured her anger and resentment towards Kang Hyung-man.

On top of that…

[Anonymous: Didn’t you know? Ha Ye-rin and that gangster CEO are close, if you know what I mean.]

Messages taunting him anonymously had been arriving for over a month.

At first, Ye-rin Su-ho didn’t believe the anonymous claims, but being involved in the entertainment world, there was much evidence to support their allegations.

[Anonymous: Ha Ye-rin is notoriously promiscuous. There isn’t a high-profile individual she hasn’t been with.]

[Anonymous: How do you think Yoo Seol and Seo Yoo-jin came to Brotherhood Planning? It’s all because Ha Ye-rin had a fling with the CEO of JJ and SAV!]

If these anonymous messages were true…

“Bitch…”

The betrayal towards Ha Ye-rin made Ye-rin Su-ho tremble in rage.

Her anger, which had once been directed solely at Kang Hyung-man, was now divided toward Ha Ye-rin as well.

“Damn it… I liked you. I loved you…”

I’m stuck in my room because of you…

But you’re living comfortably while getting around with someone else?

…I can’t forgive that.

Since her life was already ruined…

Ye-rin Su-ho wanted to somehow return her suffering to her.

Then it happened.

Ding!

[Anonymous: Do you want me to tell you where Ha Ye-rin lives?]

“……!”

As she read the new anonymous message, Ye-rin Su-ho held her breath and quickly absorbed its contents.

And soon…

She gathered her thoughts and made her decision.

“I don’t like that bastard under whom Ye-rin is working… I’ll just stay in Rookies forever.”

Her eyes reflected emptiness as she muttered that.

In a dark room, just like Ye-rin Su-ho’s.

Shin Si-woo, losing his old looks due to withdrawal symptoms and stress, sent the address of ZZ Castle, the dormitory they shared during Rookies, to Ye-rin Su-ho and leaned back in his chair.

“…”

At the end of his reclining position, a pile of sleeping pills was visible.

Finally, the police had gathered almost all the evidence against him, and he was cornered.

With rumors spreading like wildfire, fans were leaving, and the company had turned its back on him.

Swallowing all the sleeping pills at once could be the best option in the remainder of his life.

But…

“…Just a little longer.”

He resisted.

He wanted to see what kind of fruit the apple tree he planted would bear.

“I want to die on the same day as Ye-rin.”

As Shin Si-woo envisioned that and closed his eyes.

Bang bang bang!!

“Shin Si-woo, it’s the police! Open the door!!”

Sleep eluded him due to the intrusion, but in the darkness, the conclusion he desired played out in his mind.

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