Team Leader, You're an Idol Now - Chapter 13

“A reality show… ENBEAT should film one too.”

As Woo-Gyeom walked into the supermarket, his eyes lit up. He knew that at this time, reality shows documenting the debut process were all the rage.

“But we haven’t even finalized the debut lineup yet, so I hadn’t really thought about it.”

Still, after actually seeing Byeong-Gu filming a broadcast, the thought struck him that they needed an opportunity to build public recognition.

“The rookie period overlapped with JD before, right.”

ENBEAT would debut within a year at the latest. Serevina would likely debut in about six months as well, which meant their rookie periods would overlap.

“We have to take the Rookie of the Year award, no matter what.”

To become a top star, you had to stand out the most among idols debuting in the same era. And the beginning of that path was the Rookie Award.

“Fuck, of all people, overlapping with JD. They look like they’re revving up to rebrand this time too. Fans are definitely going to jump ship.”

The group Byeong-Gu was in had a huge advantage when it came to building an early fandom, senior-junior fandoms boosting them, or fans transferring over from junior groups.

ENBEAT, on the other hand, didn’t even have senior idols to lean on, let alone any recognition for their company within the music industry.

“I should at least submit a proposal to the company.”

Woo-Gyeom thought of a survival-style reality show that would determine the debut lineup. The most popular variety show right before his regression had also been an idol survival program.

“But I don’t know if a broadcaster would approve it.”

As far as Woo-Gyeom knew, CEO Kang Jae-Guk had connections with broadcasting stations.

“Still, it’s more like sending celebrities as guests to popular shows… probably not enough pull to ask for an entire program slot.”

There was no guarantee a broadcasting station would schedule a standalone reality show for a brand-new agency and an unknown planning team with no famous names.

“Still, you don’t know unless you try. I’ll need to hit the PC café after grocery shopping.”

Woo-Gyeom loaded ingredients into the cart while thinking through broadcast formats, completely unaware that SNS was already exploding.

***

Sebit had come near the agency because of a flagship idol’s schedule.

“There’ve been so many sudden schedule cancellations lately.”

And sure enough, the schedule had been canceled, not through an official notice, but via a post the idol wrote on the fan café.

“Ah, fucking JD. Making the kids announce this themselves? I took a day off for this. But it’s weird to just go straight home.”

Sebit was furious, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave immediately. She had gone out of her way to come here, leaving empty-handed felt like a waste.

“One, two! Let’s dill! Hello, we’re Sereviner!”

That was when it happened. Near the agency, JD’s newly debuting idol group came out to promote.

“Ah, my friend said she photographed one of the new debut lineup kids.”

Sebit recalled her friend’s words. Thinking she might as well take a few photos of the member her friend liked, Sebit moved toward the filming location.

Using her telephoto lens, Sebit snapped shots of the debut team. She managed to take a few photos of faces her friend might like, but none suited her own taste.

“Why are they all so mediocre?”

Compared to the flagship idol, the debut lineup felt severely lacking.

“No punch, maybe? Or even standing together, the team has no character…”

Then Woo-Gyeom appeared.

Sebit quickly flipped through the photos she had just taken.

The pose, forming a heart with his cheeks pressed together, was genius. The shot came out perfectly. She immediately messaged her friend Haru.

Haru, we’re fucked.

What are you talking about?

Haru assumed Sebit was talking about the schedule cancellation, Sebit had already been cursing nonstop on her private SNS account.

Yeah, I saw the cancellation;;

There’ve been witness posts everywhere
Looks like they never intended to go on air
That place is so far from the company
If he went there on a date, he’s seriously insane

Sebit almost agreed and went on a rant, but the idol being crazy over his girlfriend didn’t matter to her anymore.

No, that’s not the point.

Huh?

I saw Sereviner or whatever.

Holy shit, did you shoot them?? How are they??

Wait, did YOU find someone too?

Are we switching together??

Haru was thrilled at the idea of Sebit jumping fandoms. She had already started losing affection for the idol she followed.

And if Sebit, who took insane photos, moved to a rookie, the influx would be massive.

[Photo]

[Photo]

Sebit sent Woo-Gyeom’s photos. She had rushed to a nearby PC café and edited them in Photoshop.

One photo of him doing a cheek-heart.

One photo of him waving directly at the camera.

Sebit waited tensely for Haru’s reaction.

…Who is this? Why is he here?

JD’s new plant?

Did JD finally realize what an idol is??

Did JD wake up??? Legendary

You think so too, right?

But I’ve never seen this face

Did they keep him hidden in a jewelry box?

Sereviner debut confirmed, explosive growth confirmed

Holy shit even looking again, that aegyo is insane

Haru zoomed in, marveled, zoomed out, marveled again.

The face wasn’t textbook handsome, but it was perfect for early fandom bait.

Apparently he’s still a trainee under Pan Entertainment

They say he trained with JD before…

The other kids asked if he’d been doing well

God, thinking about it again hurts my chest…

They ran into him by chance today and dragged him into the rookie broadcast…

…

But what followed completely shattered Haru’s assumptions.

The man in the photo looked like pure JD-core, but he wasn’t JD.

And the fact that he hadn’t even debuted yet was even more shocking.

Soon, another message came from Sebit.

…
I’m going.

Going where? Switching? To HIM??

I get it but, no, hey

He’s a trainee!! Do you have any idea how pointless trainee stanning is? Are you insane??

Hey

HEY!!!!

The shock kept piling on, ending with Sebit’s sudden declaration.

“I know. Of course I know.”

Sebit muted notifications entirely thanks to Haru’s DM screaming.

Among fansite masters with private accounts, pre-claiming trainees wasn’t rare. Most cases ended badly, or the trainee never debuted and was forgotten.

“But he’s different. He’s going to make it big. I felt it, full body chills.”

Sebit posted an announcement on her existing fansite account.

[close]

A black background with white text went up, explaining she was closing the account due to personal reasons and would continue cheering for the idol’s future.

“Wow. Look at the retweet speed.”

Turning off notifications had been the right choice. The app’s alert screen was completely unusable.

Comments poured in, regrets, farewells, and even foreign mentions from people who didn’t know the language.

“Everyone, I’m leaving in search of happiness. Please don’t hate me too much. That bastard’s obsessed with his girlfriend anyway, this was overdue.”

Sebit immediately made a new account. No hesitation. She already had an ID picked out.

My_White_WG

Because Woo-Gyeom’s smile felt pure white.

“Even his surname is Baek.”

With rose-colored glasses firmly on, Sebit even thought something like Baekseolgi (white rice cake) would be a cute nickname.

Once the account was created, she uploaded photos immediately.

「Photo / Photo」

#BaekWooGyeom #PanEntertainment #TheIdolWhoChangesTheBoard #Trainee

The post went up instantly. Watching the quiet account, Sebit added one line to the bio.

Wishing for you to shine the brightest light in the world.

Fansite bios were all similar, but Sebit always liked words like world and light.

“Well… can’t be helped.”

She did hope, just a little, that people would recognize her.

After retweeting the post from a few other accounts, the retweets exploded.

People had realized it was Sebit’s new account.

And the photos were, unsurprisingly, stunning.

“Please succeed. Please.”

Sebit closed her phone, unaware of how far that single photo would spread.

Real-time search rankings filled with Pan, Baek Woo-Gyeom, and World side by side.

The viral wave Sebit had started reached Woo-Gyeom’s company, and the broadcasting stations.

***

“Ugh, this is so heavy. I should’ve ordered delivery.”

Woo-Gyeom headed back to the dorm carrying bags in both hands. He had gone all the way to a PC café in a burst of motivation.

“Did I overdo it making a proposal for the first time in a while?”

He glanced at the proposal stuffed in with the groceries, outlining a survival format that hadn’t hit its boom yet.

“Since observational formats are popular right now, maybe pitching survival first would be good.”

Byeong-Gu’s smug face, bragging about filming reality, came to mind. Heat boiled up from deep in his core.

“Of all times, we run into each other on my first vacation, and he hands me motivation.”

Woo-Gyeom had been a team leader before; Byeong-Gu was no match for him. But to Idol Woo-Gyeom, Byeong-Gu was an enemy.

He’d handled it calmly earlier, but as long as Woo-Gyeom was an idol, he couldn’t stand the thought of Byeong-Gu doing better than him.

“If we grab attention with a survival show first, debuting later should still be fine.”

Woo-Gyeom reached the dorm and opened the door, immediately setting the bags down.

“Fuck, where is it?”

Something was wrong.

There was a strange voice coming from his room.

“Raul said he went to his parents’ place and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”

Woo-Gyeom quieted his footsteps and peeked through the door crack.

It wasn’t a thief.

“Bisil?”

Bisil was rummaging through Woo-Gyeom’s room.

Woo-Gyeom held his breath and watched.

“What’s he looking for?”

Bisil let out a heavy sigh and collapsed into a squat.

“Where the hell would a trainee keep his phone?!”

Woo-Gyeom’s face hardened.

“Uncle? Phone?”

The managing director popped into his head instantly.

“Don’t tell me… does the director have something going on with Bisil? They kind of look alike if you think about it.”

They even shared the same surname, Hong.

It had been strange from the start that someone as sketchy as Bisil had been brought in.

“He’s been acting weirdly cocky too… no way.”

Woo-Gyeom flung the door open.

Bisil startled and stumbled backward from the drawer.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?”

Woo-Gyeom stood in the doorway.

Bisil shoved the drawer shut and got defensive.

“What, what?!”

“I said what the hell are you doing rummaging through my room, you fucked-up creep.”

“N-no, I was just- ”

“You have sticky fingers? Or are you just a pervert? What are you doing in my room?”

Woo-Gyeom had no intention of letting this slide.

“Who’s a pervert?! Shit!”

Embarrassment flashed across Bisil’s face.

“No, seriously, this is shady as hell. Sneaking into someone else’s room and digging through their stuff.”

Woo-Gyeom looked at the open drawer.

That’s where his phone should’ve been.

“Good thing I returned it to the company in advance.”

The moment Woo-Gyeom had called Manager Bong, he’d decided to hand it in.

He’d wiped and turned it in last night. If he’d kept it longer, things could’ve gone seriously wrong.

“I’m reporting this to the company. And I’m warning the other members too. How do I know you only searched my room?”

“Please, hey, I messed up! But I’m a victim too! I didn’t want to do it, I was asked!”

“What bullshit is that. Who asked you?”

Woo-Gyeom replied coldly.

Beep-

Someone entered the dorm at that moment.

Seeing a chance for a witness, Woo-Gyeom turned.

“Oh, perfect ti-”

“There you are!”

“…Huh?”

Team Leader Ma rushed in.

As Woo-Gyeom tried to explain about Bisil, Team Leader Ma grabbed his wrist and pulled him.

“Come with me. Now.”

“What? Where?”

Woo-Gyeom stared at him in confusion.

“What the hell did you do?”

“…What?”

Team Leader Ma looked frantic. Then he hurriedly pulled out his phone and showed it to Woo-Gyeom.

“…How many tens of thousands is that…?”

Woo-Gyeom’s photos had gone viral.

The retweet count was absurd.

“The broadcasting station wants to see you, because of this.”