It was almost like a national rule for the winner of the previous season to appear in the audition program.

In particular, TeStar was a living witness to the success of , so even I would have asked for TeStar's appearance no matter what if I was a member of the production crew.

And since our current agency was also affiliated with T1, it was obviously impossible to refuse.

"Guys, think about it. Wouldn't it be cool? It's like the appearance of the champions!"

"Oh~"

Keun Sejin chuckled at the manager's words. He seemed to want to tell the manager to stop talking bullshit but was holding back.

"Has everything been already discussed about us appearing?"

"Well, it kind of seems to be the case. Since you guys are in the same company, they thought the loyalty should be kept."

They wanted to talk about loyalty now.

'Half of the guys here have been smashed with evil editing more than once.'

Whether everyone had similar thoughts or not, some of them looked like they thought of this as ridiculous and smiled bitterly.

However, Cha Yujin raised his hand with a face that looked like he was thinking deeply about something.

"Hyung-nim! Is it for girls this time?"

"Huh? Ah, you mean the participants?"

"Yes!"

"That's right. They're girls!"

"Oh."

Cha Yujin spoke with a serious expression.

"Some of my fans consider me their boyfriend. I don't want to do this!"

"Puh-huck!"

I heard Seon Ahyun choking.

"Hey~ You just have to be careful~ It's not like you're going to date them!"

"If I meet a nice person, dating is natural! You never know your feelings!" //TN: He said 'natural' in English.

"All you have to do is say something cool on set and then come back. There wouldn't be a chance for things to go that far, Yujin-ah!"

That was true.

'I don't think they're going to have us be particularly involved on-screen.'

T1 wouldn't want to cut the stomach of the golden egg-laying goose that was TeStar. They would not unnecessarily damage TeStar's brand image.

However, there was a chance the participants themselves would be misunderstood because of the editing.

'Participants neglecting practice because they are distracted by the appearance of a popular idol...'

That was a very familiar arrangement. It evoked nostalgia even.

Being involved in those kinds of things was just tiring. And that was not the only risk factor.

'I think these bastards are planning something useless.'

Since the season three we did was so successful, there would obviously be various forces clung to this in season four to control it.

Looking at the time gap alone, it wouldn't be weird if they already started it last year since it was unusual how there was a year-long delay.

'The probability of controversy spiked up to 100%.'

I didn't want to be involved in that mess in the slightest.

'I have to protect as much as possible.'

Wouldn't it be better to focus on how we're perceived than looking cool? I should have a briefing with them later about this.

While I was sighing internally, Kim Raebin, sitting beside me, quietly raised his hand.

"Uhm, then I could give a song that suits the female key I wrote as a mission song..."

"You can't."

"No, Raebin-ah."

"...? I understand."

Before the manager could answer, Kim Raebin quietly lowered his hand back down in the pouring dissuasion.

It was fortunate that he wasn't a stubborn guy.

'Use your passion for producing somewhere else.'

We were going to take the direction of being involved as little as possible.

"When is the filming?"

"Uh, I think it's next week. It doesn't take long and it's just a short take in between."

"Oh~"

I leaned against the backrest while listening to the conversation between the manager and Keun Sejin.

"Ah, it's on Thursday. The day of Moondae's variety show schedule!"

Ah, I knew when it was.

* * *

",the best singer character is..."

"Park Moondae's 'Groom of May'!"

Pupupuff!

The sounds of cheers resounded with the confetti bursting.

I could already imagine there to be captions such as 'Three consecutive victories!' above the panelists' applause.

"Congratulations!"

It was the first 'Groom of May' performance in a while after four weeks of absence because of the special program.

And this was also my last win.

It was because in order to maintain the freshness in this program, the number of times a character could receive a win was limited to three times.

'It's over.'

The timing was just right.

For the second time, I sang a rhythmic tango song, and this time, I even sang a nostalgic nocturne about reminiscent of memories.

'Of course, I arranged the climax to be longer.'

Thanks to this, I was able to win three times and cleanly get off, so I felt at ease.

I exchanged the final thoughts I had prepared with the panel in moderation.

Now, let's thank the viewers and the members...

"Moondae-ssi, don't you have any thoughts of appearing again as a new character?"

"That's right! It's so sad to let you go."

They were saying that, but I knew that there would be talks about how I didn't know when to stop.

"If there is a chance, I hope to visit again in the future. I had a lot of fun and I was very happy while I was Groom of May."

That was the truth.

'Thanks to this, I could recover quickly.'

Having a schedule where I could make preparations alone helped me sometimes when I felt uncomfortable meeting Ryu Chungwoo.

I felt at ease not having to think about anything else as I was getting busier.

'...Between that, counseling was also helpful.'

It felt awkward to admit it, but confiding in an expert certainly worked even if it was only a scratch on the surface.

Thanks to it, I didn't have much other thoughts now. The number of consultations has also been reduced.

'I think I can settle up with the status window without any difficulty.'

While I was sorting out the current situation in my mind, the MC continued to progress with great enthusiasm.

I should also focus on the shoot.

"'Groom of May' who had three consecutive wins in the hall of fame, will produce character products with the support of the Korea Culture and Arts Committee."

For reference, this was a kind of public service project in which all the profits did not go back to the broadcasting station but were donated.

"Viewers! Thank you for your interest in this product that helps children in hunger!"

However, the donation wouldn't be in my name but in the program's name.

'These highway robbers.'

They were taking away the tax benefits too.

Of course, thanks to this you could just gain recognition. If there were any problems with merchandising, the responsibility would fall onto the broadcasting station.

"Thank you for all these times."

"We loved it too~"

"See you again!"

A staff member came out of nowhere and put a doll in my arms. It was the 'Groom of May' doll with flowers on its face.

'My god.'

They even used the promotion effectively.

I smiled and waved the doll once, bowed to the judge and the audience, and came down the stage.

I heard the MC's voice shouting the ending comments from above.

"Thank you for your hard work~"

"You worked hard, Moondae-ssi!"

"Thank you, thank you."

The sense of accomplishment was pretty good. I fiddled with the stuffed toy in my hand.

'...Should I put it in my bedroom?'

We were going to change roommates soon, so I would have to arrange it somewhere to commemorate when I changed rooms later.

'Well, this one's done.'

The variety show, that I started by myself, was now over.

Now, it was time to finish filming the variety show of TeStar's visit to its birthplace.

"Moondae, welcome~"

"How was it?"

The questions came out as soon as I got in the car.

I shook the doll in front of them.

"I won."

"Ooh~"

Applause came out. It wasn't even their business, but the reaction was good. With this momentum, it seems we could play an active role as reaction bots on the set of .

"I-is this the product?"

"Yeah."

"Wow..."

"It's better than I thought. I think it would be fine to tell them we should make something like this and put it in the album~"

After the flower head doll was subjected to a business analysis, it settled in front of the window behind the seat.

And the car moved on straight ahead and ended up in front of a familiar big building on the outskirts.

"Uwaah... Nothing has changed."

"It's really been a long time."

I'd bet on the flower head doll that he omitted 'I didn't want to see it again' from the sentence.

Even Ryu Chungwoo bitterly muttered.

"Hmm... All right. Let's do well."

"Yes."

Revising the script, we have already learned, TeStar entered the set of where they were filming.

And the situation that we were notified of was confirmed.

"Heol! Guys!"

"Oh~ Hello!"

Inside the set was Gold 1's group... Golden Age.

Of course, it wasn't just that group. Right there, Gold 2 was glancing this way.

"Oh~ It's been so long, Heeseung! I heard you're a model. How have you been?"

"Hehe, that's right! Sejin hyung-nim, how have you been?"

The production team had gathered all the participants who have been active to some extent after appearing in season three.

'Isn't this too much?'

It seemed that they were planning to launch after raising the hype of to the fullest, but I wondered if it would have the opposite effect because the audience would be quite divided due to the difference in gender.

'Well, it has nothing to do with me.'

It was better for us if season four failed.

If it went as well as season three, even if the gender was different, the favored survival show group would change, which means there would be a spill.

'Hmm, I don't know how it's going to turn out.'

Let's finish the filming safely.

"Ah, TeStar is here~ Welcome! Thanks for coming."

TeStar shook hands with the extremely friendly PD and greeted the show writers. Among them, there was the well-known writer Ryu Seorin.

"Hello."

It was the writer who gave me the business card in the karaoke room and who was the reason for the controversy of being Ryu Chungwoo's relative.

And maybe even if there was originally a high probability of it coming out, being relatives...

'That's enough.'

After all, writer Ryu Seorin passed the situation on without acting like she knew anyone in particular. It was quite a wise decision.

The PD gave a quick briefing before going into filming.

"Everyone, are you all familiar with the directing now?"

"Yes!"

"Please do it in a cool way~ Coolly!"

The direction of our appearance was as follows.

After the season three achievement video was played to the participants of this season, the parties would suddenly appear in front of them, give them words of support, take questions and then leave.

'My hands and feet are cringing.'

I had no problems doing it. However, it was embarrassing to clearly see what kind of effect the person planning this was aiming for.

"D-do you want some chocolate?"

"...Yeah. Give me one."

"Give me too!"

I should at least recharge my sugar intake.

Soon after munching on the chocolate Seon Ahyun gave me, it was time for filming.

"Going in in five seconds~"

The participants of season three, who were waiting on the installed device in front of the ranking ceremony set, appeared in front of the season four participants on the lift together.

I could already hear the screams.

"Uwaahhh!!"

"Really? Is this for real?"

I couldn't believe the directing either, but it was true.

'Don't tell me they're going to overly edit me just because I won first place, right?'

I was already concerned about monitoring this.

* * *

"Huu."

"Ah, I was more nervous than I thought."

The camera followed us even after the filming was over, perhaps for the behind-the-scenes story.

I lightly smiled, waved my hand, and also threw some cheering comments.

"Fighting!"

"I hope season four will be a hit."

It wasn't like I really wanted it to be a hit anyway, so I could just say as much as I wanted.

Although... my hands were sweaty because the shooting was quite embarrassing. Should I go wash up?

"Ah, I'm going to the bathroom for a second."

Instead of the manager who was away somewhere, Keun Sejin raised his head while looking at his phone.

"You're not going to ask for the participants' numbers are you, Moondae-ya? I believe in you~"

"Yeah, sure."

We just happened to see another participant from season three flirting with a participant and asking for her number. I didn't even feel like responding back asking if he thought I was as crazy as that.

'Seems like they were confident of not getting caught.'

I shrugged and walked down the hall.

As I was walking away from the noisy set, I suddenly heard a sound following me from behind.

'No way?'

When I turned my head, there was a different person than expected.

It was Choi Wongil.

Was there any reason why this guy would come after me?

"Uhm, hyung."

"...?"

Choi Wongil spoke with a conflicted expression.

"What is it?"

"...This, I don't know how to tell you this. Please be careful."

"What should I be careful about?"

"Of our, agency."

"...!"

He was bringing this up himself?

First of all, I made sure that no one was around to prevent the same disaster as last time.

"There's nobody around. I also checked."

Oh my.

'I guess he learned something in his own way.'

I smiled and turned around completely to face Choi Wongil.

"Okay. Why your agency?"

"...Do you know our main vocalist? Not me, but that hyung."

"Ah, him."

It seemed he was talking about the guy from Golden Age who did the whole chicken with a ribbon thing when I was 'Groom of May' in .

"Sure. I know him. Why?"

Choi Wongil continued hesitantly.

"I think... they're going make a comparison with you, hyung."

"With me? How so?"

Why would they do such a reckless thing when he got K.O'ed in ? When I was also the first-place rank in the survival show at that?

Choi Wongil lowered his head.

"Well, with academic backgrounds..."

"...!"

"That hyung is a student at Korea University."

Oh god.

'There was also that.'

That's right. This 'Park Moondae' didn't even graduate from high school.

Having lived as a college graduate and right after that as an idol, I almost forgot about 'Park Moondae' being a high school dropout.

There were some surface talks about it sometimes, but even that didn't come out often these days.

'Since it was that much of a weak material for talks.'

In the first place, I wasn't the only idol who has dropped out of school.

It was only highlighted a lot during when the family history was being emptied out.

It also played a role in making the background of the character 'Park Moondae' sturdier, so it wasn't particularly a weakness.

This meant that if this was approached wrongly, they might face backlash, such as innocent people in Golden Age being persecuted.

Even though I'm saying this myself, it wasn't like I wasn't popular.

'I guess they already speculated about skills over there.'

I deliberately sounded out Choi Wongil.

"Wouldn't attempting that be excessive? I want to know if you're sure about this."

"...I don't know. It's not like they told me. It's just something I happened to hear in the company... That hyung, they wanted to push him forward with the image of a young master. I heard them talking about using Park Moondae hyung as material."

"..."

So, instead of making it one-on-one against me, they were going to push him with the image of having a golden spoon with the impression of 'an elite with exceptionally good academic background and family'.

And as one of the numerous counterexamples, they were thinking of stealthily writing me into it.

'They're doing all sorts of things.'

Of course, I couldn't know if they would really use it, but it was definitely an attempt worth trying for an agency that used media manipulation well.

"I'm, I'm sorry for not knowing more. It's just... I've caused you a lot of trouble... so I wanted to apologize. That's why I told you. I'm sorry."

"...Okay."

I held back a sigh.

"First of all... thanks."

"...!"

Choi Wongil seemed startled, but he nodded his head looking a bit more relaxed.

"Thank you. I, uhm, I will go now..."

"Yeah. Get back safely."

For a moment, I watched Choi Wongil as he ran and disappeared, then clicked my tongue in my mind.

'This is vague.'

This wasn't a thing I could do something about even if I was aware of it. I had no intentions of doing anything unnecessary such as retaking the CSAT and attending college right now.

'Should I just put significance to the fact that I knew about this beforehand?'

And in any case, it didn't seem to be a big issue even in the case of an emergency. It would just be kind of annoying.

I shrugged my shoulders and continued walking down the hallway.

'I don't have time to stop by the bathroom.'

I walked quite a bit as the doorway on the other side got closer. I thought about leaving the set from there.

Then I saw an unexpected encounter at that doorway.

"...I hope you'll think about it! That sunbae is a really nice person."

"..."

Some staff and Bae Sejin were finishing up a conversation.

'The PD?'

To be exact, Bae Sejin with a firm expression had received something from one of the producers of .

The PD soon left, and I approached Bae Sejin.

"Hyung."

"...Uh, huh?"

Bae Sejin seemed a bit dazed.

"What's going on?"

"That..."

Bae Sejin looked conflicted but soon swallowed and talked.

"They asked, if I wanted to try doing a drama."

"...!"