They Chose the Wrong Target

By this point, it seemed like the agency might be hoping that Hanbyeol, an ordinary person burdened by becoming known, would make a mistake.
Because for an idol, even a controversy involving family, not themselves, makes it hard to avoid a drop in image.

However, Hanbyeol had never caused a scandal.
Thanks to his businesswoman mother and professor father, he was financially comfortable, but they were extremely busy because of it.

Even if it was due to eighth-grade syndrome, following his brother, who matured relatively early, Hanbyeol also faced reality early on.

Partly because he had watched Taeha, who became a trainee, from the side, but also thanks to his brother who debuted before Hanbyeol’s own eighth-grade syndrome could sprout, he had become careful not to let harsh words slip out.

So he was confident in the effectiveness of the image management he had built up over a long time.

“So, I’m not going to respond at all.”
“Instead, you figure out how to use the situation to your advantage, brother.”

He himself was ordinary, but his brother was smart, so he would find a solution.
Hanbyeol’s trust in his brother was firm.

But at his younger brother’s words, Yuseong actually broke out in a cold sweat.

“You must have something in mind already, right, hyung?”

Taeha cautiously asked at this.

Yuseong remained silent, unable to answer, and Hanbyeol also quietly stared at him like that.

Eventually, Yuseong let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“……I knew it. With your personality, if you’ve decided to flip the table, you wouldn’t just sit still.”
“Hanbyeol-ah… Hyung’s personality isn’t that harsh.”

It is harsh.
Plenty harsh.
And his personality is damn nasty too.
Hanbyeol narrowed his eyes, recalling his brother’s actions since debut.

“Alright, fine… let’s say that.”
“Hanbyeol-ah. Hyung is just an ordinary idol.”

An ‘ordinary idol’ goes around legally dismantling things while establishing a label?
An unbelievable notion, but Hanbyeol reluctantly accepted it.

Yuseong, who had been staring intently at Taeha getting out of the car, spoke to him.

“Can I get your phone number?”
“Why would an idol ask for a civilian’s number?”
“It’s not because I’m an idol; it’s to get the number of my younger brother’s friend…”
“And, hyung isn’t interested in minors…”
“We’re becoming adults soon?”

Please don’t make hyung out to be trash.
At Yuseong’s almost tearful voice, Hanbyeol awkwardly averted his gaze.

After getting Taeha’s number, Yuseong spoke calmly, unlike the playful action and voice he had used with Hanbyeol earlier.

“I heard your career goal is to be an idol.”
“I also heard you recently left your company.”
“Ah… yes.”
“I’ll contact you.”

At Yuseong’s words, Hanbyeol’s eyes widened and he gave a small clap.

Oh, is it the comeback of trainee Ji Taeha?

****

Hanbyeol, fiddling with the DAW filled with recorded MIDI, looked at his phone.

The phone, whose screen had been constantly lighting up, soon lost power and dimmed.
The feeling that it would flare up again whenever things started to get a bit quiet definitely felt like someone was deliberately stirring the pot.

“No matter how I think about it, the company is really incompetent.”

When you think you’ve succeeded, you can’t see the thorns ahead.
It was hard to believe that the company’s PR team wouldn’t have noticed something even Hanbyeol had picked up on.

Thanks to Hanbyeol saying he would do nothing and leave it be, Yuseong seemed to be waiting for the company’s situation to worsen further.
If they mess up in their haste and cause a scandal, it would naturally create a favorable situation for the Cha.N members.

The agency, unable to hold onto the Cha.N members who are preparing to leave for their label, is trying to use everything they can while they still have them.

Especially since they need to showcase the new group before they can no longer use the Cha.N name for promotion if they fail to keep them.

The day before, after returning home, Hanbyeol called Taeha to ask about something he was curious about.

“About the junior group… was that really just speculation from articles?”

Even if he was a former trainee, he couldn’t necessarily know about matters related to another company.
Moreover, the audition notice had only gone up recently.

For Hanbyeol, no matter how he thought about it, it didn’t connect to a new group debuting immediately.

He had a follow-up imagination: What if they’re just using the temporary buzz to stir up a minor controversy about an idol’s family, then use the conditions to quell it to threaten his brother…?

While reality is always scarier than imagination, he thought this might be a bit of an overactive imagination.
But it had its own logic!
So maybe that’s why his brother couldn’t respond…

“No, but recruiting trainees at your brother’s company was recent, right?”
“So I thought maybe they just formed a trainee team and are investing now…”

‘–It’s true they didn’t have trainees. And it’s also true they recently started recruiting trainees.’
“But, why…”
‘–If they bring in trainees who were in the debut lineup at other agencies, they can start debut preparations right away. There are probably quite a few who transferred over.’

Taeha was a trainee on the verge of debut but had recently left his company.
Because of that, he knew that Cha.N’s agency had taken in trainees who were in the debut lineup at other agencies.

As the voice suddenly cut off, Taeha, seeming to sense Hanbyeol’s thoughts, let out a breath that sounded like a smile over the receiver.

“Did the company contact you, hyung?”
‘–Yeah. With a condition for debut by early next year at the latest. I refused, though.’
“Why?”
‘–Even though as a trainee I might not know much, I’ve seen and heard things…’

Taeha didn’t continue further, holding back.
Ah, so you know what that company is like too.
Just seeing how they handle this matter made my head throb.

As mentioned before, reality tends to be more absurd than imagination.

Hanbyeol, who had been framing all the company’s actions around his brother and the Cha.N members, removed his hand from the mouse as he recalled a company proposal he hadn’t even told Yuseong or Taeha about yet.

‘That doesn’t make sense. I’ve never been a trainee.’
‘From my perspective, Hanbyeol-gun also has plenty of potential…’
‘I’m in a very burdensome and scary situation right now. I’m struggling even now because my personal information is spreading.’
‘Ha, Hanbyeol-gun! We need a contract to block this for you as much as possible. If Hanbyeol-gun just joins our agency, we can immediately discuss matters related to debut schedules…!’

It was because of a call from that company’s new talent development team employee, who had asked if he had any intention of joining the agency.
It meant that talk of Hanbyeol’s skills hadn’t reached the company’s ears.

Their way of handling things is so slapdash.

No wonder it’s unsatisfactory.

Thinking about it, it was truly absurd.
The agency’s idol groups already each held the title of being self-producing.

Perhaps because fans also recognized Cha.N’s poor conditions, groups that debuted after [Pick, My Dol!] Season 2 always had at least one member in the top three who was capable of producing.

Just where did the conglomerate’s capital go?

If they’re already subtly promoting using Cha.N’s name, the lineup must already be finalized.
So where did the idea of immediately bringing in someone like him, with zero trainee experience, to join the debut lineup come from?

‘A company flashy on the outside but essentially no different from a hole-in-the-wall shop.’
That was the reality of StarV, the agency to which Cha.N and groups from other seasons of [Pick, My Dol!] belonged.

Because of this, Hanbyeol kept replaying the same section.
His work felt slower today.
His thoughts were so tangled he felt lost on how to edit it.

He had no intention of becoming an idol, but with the surroundings so noisy, it was inevitable for his mind to become complicated no matter how much he tried to stay calm.

A company like this wouldn’t just sit still.
That was Hanbyeol’s thought.
He had no confidence at all that this would end with just his own matter.

And that thought soon manifested in reality.

Kang Jaehwi
Looking for Choi Hanbyeol to check articles.
http://www.starstorynewsch.kr/…
http://www.starstorynewsch.kr/…

Do Eunhan
Why did you bring this;;?

Kang Jaehwi
Have you heard about this?

Seeing the news articles linked below his friend’s message, Hanbyeol’s eyes widened like a fish’s as he closed the window.

‘–Cha.N’s Yechan, ‘School Violence’. The truth of the controversy?’
‘–The truth about rumors surrounding Cha.N member Yechan continues to be debated…’

The world is full of people so blinded by immediate gain that they do foolish things.

Until now, Cha.N had avoided major controversies.

Of course, due to the devilish editing of the program, the created image had followed them for over a year, but as time passed, more people began to judge Cha.N solely on their own merits.

However, for the youngest member Yechan, who had relatively fewer variety show appearances, that past image still lingered.

“There’s no possibility at all.”

Hanbyeol trusted the Yechan he had seen directly more than the rumors.
School violence…?
Maybe on the receiving end, if anything.

Hanbyeol trusted the Cha.N members he had voted for.
And he trusted his brother.

“Yeah, above all, with someone of Choi Yuseong’s personality, there’s no way he’d have a crazy person in the group…”

Hanbyeol’s mutter echoed in the room.