"Oh~ Idolco."

"It's starting this week."

When the advertisement for the new season was released, some of the guys, who had been watching the drama, were insincerely admiring it.

There were probably not too many expectations. We had just filmed it, so they were just pretending to acknowledge it.

However, when the thirty-second advertisement was almost over, their composure turned into absurdity and embarrassment.

"My, god."

It was because more than half of the promotion focused on TeStar's greatness and whether there would be an appearance in season 4.

'...They went with the easy way.'

Season 3 was incredibly popular at the time it was airing, and even the debut group succeeded beyond the momentum, so there has been nothing like this in the early stages of aggro.

'They probably put the advertisement at the end of this drama intentionally.'

After all, didn't they place the advertisement right after the prime-time drama where Bae Sejin, the former participant of IdolCo season 3, made a surprise appearance?

It meant that they were aiming to paint this kind of picture in the first place. There was a reason why the company did not skip the offer and handed it to Bae Sejin.

'So, it's TeStar's fans whom they picked as the main audience for the early stages of the show.'

"...Hmm."

Even if there was not a deep overlap with the fan base, it wasn't very good that there could be a leakage in the fandom.

Since it was T1 we were talking about, they probably thought it wouldn't matter if there was a change in revenue transit because the kids who would debut in season 4 belonged to them anyway.

'Anyway, it will attract the real consumer base after the buzz has been created in the beginning.'

However, if season 4 didn't go as well as expected... they might use TeStar as the chance again.

'That's not good.'

The way I saw it, season 4 was a ticking time bomb.

I've already seen the bullshit that happened during the Rookie of the Year award with the controversy over Ryu Chungwoo's and the show writer's relation, so if there was any controversy over fairness in season 4, it was easy for us to get entangled in it.

Even so, after debuting, because of the scandals, whether big or small, the album quality and the image were the things that pressed down the fatigue that tended to easily increase. It was more difficult.

'We have to end it here with this amount of appearance.'

...And, if possible, I hoped the amount of footage this time was small.

I also knew. It was a hopeless wish.

'Those bastards, they'll pick the individual cuts, too...'

They would probably feed as much as they could using TeStar until their own buzz was on track.

Sure enough, Keun Sejin, who was scrolling through his phone, smiled.

"Oh~ We also appear in other previews."

Just by hearing the sound, I could tell it was well put together and edited with the sounds of TeStar greeting and the screaming of the participants of this season.

"I-it's a bit embarrassing..."

"Ahyun hyung came out very handsome. I think you do not have to worry because it will be nice!"

"That, uh, uhmm..."

I guess Kim Raebin's words were the most embarrassing to him. I was well aware of it.

On that day, I checked the responses to Bae Sejin's drama appearance, and I also briefly checked the reactions to IdolCo's new season before ending my daily routine.

So far, there has been little conflict with only some buzz, but somehow, I couldn't get rid of the thought that this was like the night before the storm.

And a few days later, the new season of IdolCo began airing.

* * *

"Loviewer, bye bye~"

"Bye bye~"

Keun Sejin pressed the button on his smartphone as he said goodbye energetically.

There happened to be some time, so I held a W Live.

I'll be honest about the topic this time. My repertory ran out, so I just did some simple cooking.

Still, I believed it should be fine since I was cooking meat. First of all, the guys who ate it were satisfied.

"Can I eat this?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

The last half of today's menu, beer chicken, went into Cha Yujin's mouth.

'He's eating well.'

This guy had the best appetite among the members (who had empty schedules) in the W Live today.

The members were me, Keun Sejin, Cha Yujin, and... Bae Sejin.

"You worked hard, hyung."

"Well, I didn't do much..."

Bae Sejin muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"No. Hyung helped me the most with cooking."

"...Really?"

"Yes."

"Well, ahem, well, if you say so."

Keun Sejin focused on making things funny and Cha Yujin focused on eating, so it was honestly safe to say that Bae Sejin was the only assistant.

Besides, to borrow Keun Sejin's expression, Bae Sejin was quite 'cooperative'.

He made a lot of reactions and tried to actively participate in friendly conversations that were unrelated to the live stream's progress.

And Bae Sejin's efforts would pay off with greater results than he himself would expect.

Because the timing was very good.

'Bae Sejin acted really well in the drama.'

It was a well-known fact that Bae Sejin used to be a child actor, but the general image of him was that his skills were inferior to the other members because of the amount of screen time he got in .

Therefore, his appearance in this drama made his skills in acting become recognized again and his stock value recovered considerably.

This was how it went.

It was a very sensible cameo role, and even though his appearance was short, it left a deep impression as his acting skills were great.

'It's beneficial for him.'

So, if I had to nitpick, the only problem would be Bae Sejin's solo fans and anti-fans having the thought 'Shouldn't he rather just act?'

However, the talks about that have not been placed on the cutting board, so it was enough for now.

'It will be fine if he keeps showing his good sides like this in the contents.'

Having the atmosphere that he enjoyed group activities was enough.

'It will be perfect for him to start seriously acting in two or three years in terms of morality.'

Well, I didn't actually know what the situation would be like from the end of next year, though.

If it was really the end of my status abnormality by that time, there was no need for me to focus on struggling to get the achievements like this.

'Of course, I have to focus on it now.'

That was why I was going to monitor the new season of IdolCo, which wasn't even out in the market for consumers yet.

The first episode with TeStar clearly seemed to be fishing bait, so I waited for the second episode.

"Moondae-moondae, what are you doing~?"

"I'm going to watch this time's IdolCo."

"Oh~ That's a good idea."

I took over the unoccupied living room TV and went on WeTube. The guys, whom I filmed W Live with, snuck around me and settled down.

'They must have been secretly curious.'

Just then, I was able to see the clip from the broadcast on the main page.

These things were usually released after some time has passed, but it seemed that the current hot topic of conversation was fairly urgent.

"Oh~ Thumbnail Moondae!"

I was the official first-place winner.

Anyway, I selected the video right away.

On the screen, there were individual shots of TeStar members with serious faces against a dark background.

It seemed that the cut was made to set the atmosphere that said, 'Our IdolCo is such an amazing program'.

"Ugh~ This is no joke."

"It's cheesy!" //TN: 'Cheesy' was in English.

"...Haa."

The video went straight ahead, leaving the guys, who haven't tasted IdolCo's show business after a long time, unable to get themselves together.

TeStar members were embarrassed to see and reminisce about their own season 3 appearance footage as the warm BGM came out.

"Wow~ Moondae can't lift his head. Are you embarrassed by the chicken feet? Are you that embarrassed by the chicken feet you ate so deliciously?"

"Shut up."

And the scene was followed by this season's participants who were watching TeStar members' appearances in IdolCo and their activities.

"...It was a good time."

"Cheer up, guys~" //TN: This was originally in English.

"I hope it will work out."

The members, who watched this scene with compassion and sympathy in their own way, sighed when the next scene came.

↗

The scene was replayed three times to highlight the appearance because each TeStar member was being captured.

An interview with the participants was the cherry on top.

I bet on the beer chicken that the poor last contestant was going to be torn on the Internet for calling her immediate senior by a nickname instead of honorifics.

"Mm, it's more embarrassing than I thought."

"Why?? I like it!"

While the members' opinions were divided, the intense welcome on the screen settled down a little when TeStar members took turns to deliver words of blessing and support.

First was Cha Yujin.

There would probably be several people acting displeased saying that he could only say such words because he never received any evil editing, but it would be fine because those kinds of talks would come out no matter what Cha Yujin said.

Next person was Bae Sejin.

Well, if someone tried to incite by saying that this guy was only able to say these obvious things because he had no talent, it would backfire and fail.

Next was... Keun Sejin.

He laid out an excuse that 'you might fail'.

He focused on the challenge itself rather than the achievement.

Well, so far there was nothing to be desired here. The program also raised its status a little to the point where it wouldn't be unpleasant.

'Is there a difference between a quick-witted guy?'

Anyway, overall, it has been good so far. There was no strange editing, and it seemed like there would be many more people who liked it.

However, my turn hasn't come yet. Because I was the last one.

"Moondae hyung!"

"Oh~ Last!"

As the video's playback bar almost reached the end, Park Moondae on the screen picked up the microphone.

Then suddenly, a soundless flashback scene started to appear.

"...?"

Scenes of Park Moondae dancing to Popcon, practicing without sleep during grading evaluation, and stretching after choreography practice passed by one after another.

And... there was also footage of me sitting on the bed by myself with a troubled expression.

"..."

That part was unaired. That cut seemed to be from when I became aware of 'Park Moondae's' past.

The scene of Park Moondae on stage with a slight smile while shouting a catchphrase among the participants of the same team, was briefly captured.

Park Moondae, who became a TeStar member, bowed his head on the screen again.

"..."

"...That."

Bae Sejin carefully opened his mouth.

"I don't think that's the kind of feeling it had."

He was right. This was pure fabrication.

I was asked, 'You're the first-place winner so please make the speech longer', so in the midst of the participants' favor, I gave passable words of support.

So that kind of... I didn't put any nuance that was connected to Park Moondae's activities in the last season like a panorama.

Obviously, there were no tears from the participants either.

Those kids were just enjoying themselves.

However, this wasn't surprising.

"This is IdolCo after all."

"That's... true."

With this conversation, everyone in the room accepted it.

However, it looked like that wasn't the case on the Internet.

"Moondae-ya, there are some articles again."

"...Is that so?"

'These bastards, seriously.'

This was the taste of IdolCo's aggro that I haven't had for a long time.