Chapter 1201: Soaring (1)

It had been an incredibly long flight.

I opened my eyes when I felt someone shaking me, only to discover that we had already arrived in Korea.

"……Where are we?"

"Korea."

Producer Gu Jaeyoung’s deep voice reached my ears.

I looked at his face, which was covered in dark circles beneath the eyes.

"Producer, are you all right? You look really pale."

"Look in a mirror, Wooju."

"A mirror?"

I turned on my phone and switched to selfie mode, revealing my haggard face.

Click!

I looked tired, but somehow the picture came out looking more delicate and refined than usual.

I looked back up at him.

"I look fine."

"……."

The producer shook his head with an irritated expression, then rose from his seat and grabbed his duffel bag.

While the production staff staggered to their feet with exhaustion written all over their faces, I shook my younger members, who were still nodding off.

"Guys. Wake up. We’re in Korea."

"Mmm… Mmmmm……."

They shook their heads to clear the fog, stretched like cats, and turned toward the window.

The Gimpo Airport Business Center came into view.

Jiho rubbed his eyes.

"Oh, we really are in Korea."

"Ah… I think I have a headache from sleeping too long."

"Ri Hyuk, you should put on a mask. You look exhausted."

Ri Hyuk nodded and took out a mask.

"Should I hand them out?"

"Yeah."

"Everyone looks completely worn out. One for Biju, one for Wang Jiho, one for Junghyun……."

Ri Hyuk’s eyes met mine as I held out my hand.

He withdrew the mask.

"I’m not giving you one."

"Why?"

"You annoy me."

My younger members and I looked at one another, our faces hidden behind masks after the long flight and our greasy hair pressed down beneath caps.

For no particular reason, we started laughing.

"We’re in Korea, guys."

"We really are."

"The moment I get home, I’m making ramen. I’m putting two eggs in it."

"I’ll put in three, hyung."

As we stepped off the plane, an endless list of foods we wanted to eat spilled from our mouths.

Kimchi stew, army stew, tteokbokki, rabokki, fermented soybean stew, seaweed soup, hangover soup, spicy beef soup….

After returning from Antarctica, we were all craving piping-hot broth.

"Guys!"

We turned toward the voice calling us from a distance and saw Mingi and Wonseok waiting to greet us.

"Hyungs!"

We scurried over and hugged them.

"We missed you."

"You worked hard. Good grief, every last one of you looks awful."

"Don’t even get me started, hyung. It was seriously rough."

"And I heard you still made a new song in the middle of all that."

The managers divided our luggage among themselves, and the moment we left the airport, we were greeted by the crowd of reporters and fans waiting outside.

"How does everyone feel after visiting Antarctica?!"

"Wooju, did they confiscate your sunglasses?!"

We called out, "It was fun!" to the reporters snapping photographs beneath a barrage of camera flashes, then greeted the cheering Souffles.

We gathered together and addressed the cameras.

"Please look forward to the upcoming ~~!"

"Waaaaaaah!"

Our bright smiles lasted only until we climbed into the car. The moment we did, we practically sank into the seats.

Wonseok, sitting in the front passenger seat, looked back at us.

"You’re going home, right?"

"Yes."

Normally, we would have stopped by the company immediately after returning to discuss work, but none of us had the energy now.

"Wow."

Jiho swept the hair off his forehead and rubbed his face with both hands.

"I must’ve been really tense. Now that all the tension’s gone, my legs feel weak."

"Same."

It had not actually been a dangerous shoot.

However, because we had been working with a small production crew and needed to manage every variable at the filming location, every nerve in our bodies had remained taut throughout the shoot.

Biju explained it to our curious manager.

"We never said anything, but everyone was on edge the whole time. On the boat back from King Sejong Station, the camera directors wrapped their memory cards in several waterproof layers and held them against their chests."

"Was it yesterday? Did you hear what one of the directors said? He told us that if he fell into the sea, we should save the memory cards first."

"My goodness."

Wonseok laughed.

"A lot must’ve happened."

"We’ll tell you more when we come in tomorrow… Yaaaaawn~"

A yawn burst out in the middle of my sentence.

"Get some more sleep until we reach the dorm."

"Okay."

I closed my eyes for a moment.

It genuinely felt as though I had only blinked before we arrived at the dorm.

Feeling the cold morning air against my skin, I accepted my suitcase from the managers and waved.

"See you this afternoon."

"Sure."

With the sound of the vehicle driving away behind us, we entered the dorm lobby.

We were exchanging greetings with the security guard, who asked whether our trip to Antarctica had gone well, when—

Ding—

The elevator doors opened, revealing a six-member group.

The TeenSpirit members stepped out with their hands resting delinquently atop their suitcase handles, their eyes widening when they saw us.

"Hyungs?"

"Oh, hi."

"What the heck? Where have you been?"

"Antarctica."

"Ahahahahaha!"

They cackled as though they were watching someone who had lost a punishment game.

We narrowed our eyes.

Jiho tapped me on the arm.

Hyung, that thing.

Ah.

I looked at someone laughing uproariously among them.

A handsome blond with delicate features.

His fur-trimmed hood shook with the force of his laughter as I gave him a gentle smile.

"Yeonhu. Yeonhu."

"Yes?"

"Ha."

I swept back my hair and gave him a devastating smile.

"Not easy, is it?"

"……."

As the soul drained from Yeonhu’s eyes, my underlings and the TeenSpirit members slapped hands and burst out laughing.

"Kyarararak!"

"Ahahahahahaha! Ahahahaha!"

"Hey, I told you! I said there was a hundred-percent chance this hyung would make fun of Lee Yeonhu! Hah!"

Their reaction was even better than I had expected, and I smiled proudly.

Yeonhu’s cheek twitched.

"Hyung. Are you good at fighting, by any chance?"

"Yeah."

"Not easy, is it…."

Everyone burst out laughing again.

No matter how precisely I copied his expression, it was clearly difficult to reproduce the original creator’s particular "Not easy, is it?" energy.

Yeonhu scratched his head furiously.

"Ah, damn it. I shouldn’t have appeared on that show."

"Then why did you do it?"

Yeonhu grew irritated at Jiho’s innocent question.

"People call someone like you because you can act. Who the hell would call a nobody like me?"

"Huh? You’d be fine if you practiced acting a little."

"Ha……."

"You’d just have to put in a little effort."

"!"

We spoke to the visibly agitated Yeonhu.

"Calm down. Calm down."

"Oh, our Yeonhu’s makeup turned out so well today. If you get angry this early in the morning, it’ll ruin your makeup. There, there~"

"Our kid was born good at acting, so he can’t understand why other people struggle with it."

As we continued talking, a TeenSpirit vehicle pulled up outside the lobby.

Their leader, Hwiyeon, waved.

"We should get going."

"Come to think of it, where are you going? It isn’t touring season, is it?"

"Ah. We’re filming a travel reality show."

"The one for the streaming service?"

Hwiyeon shook his head and paused, considering how to explain it. Before he could answer, Hahyeon, who was the same age as Jiho and his friend, quickly spoke up.

"We’re doing it for that thing. Coco."

"Coco?"

"That app launching soon. They said we need to film original content for it, so we’re leaving for the shoot today."

Before he could continue, the TeenSpirit managers called out to them.

Hwiyeon grinned and waved goodbye.

"We’ll see you when we get back."

"We’re off~!"

We waved at them as they disappeared with laughter.

Once the pretty boys had put some distance between us, they turned around with obnoxious expressions and shouted.

"You guys went to Antarctica~ We’re going to Thailand~!"

"It must’ve been freaking exhausting~ But we’re going to have a freaking great time~"

"I say ‘jeon,’ you say— Hey, hey. Run. Their expressions look bad."

When we started walking toward them, all six scrambled away and became jammed inside the glass revolving door.

"Argh! Stop pushing!"

"Anyone who pushes me is a bastard. Aah! You bastard!"

They looked so pathetic that they were not even worth chasing down and punishing.

Shaking my head, I smiled at the others.

"How big is MOP?"

"By current standards, they’re probably the biggest after our company. TJ comes next. Why?"

"I have a new dream."

My younger members stared at me.

"I’ll acquire MOP, keep those bastards close, and punish them personally."

"!"

It was a new dream born in the sixth year of my idol career.

That afternoon.

After resting and heading to the company, we learned from Seokhwan exactly what Coco was.

"This."

A news article was displayed on a portal search page.

-New Idol Communication App "Coco" Is Coming

When he opened the article, we saw the word "Coco" written across a chocolate-chip-cookie-shaped logo.

Between the logo’s colors and the cocoa-like name, the entire design naturally brought chocolate to mind.

Jiho let out an "Ah."

"This must be what TeenSpirit was talking about. They’re filming something that’ll be released exclusively here."

"Right."

"But what exactly is Coco?"

"An all-in-one idol content application?"

Our TF team leader explained.

"You know how we’re developing Ade as an integrated app for all the idols under our company? A fan-community application."

"Yeah."

"Coco is an app developed by TJ Entertainment."

"Ah……."

Come to think of it, I had heard something about that.

While we were developing Ade, other entertainment companies had also begun developing similar services.

Considering how many companies had entered the market at once, the experts analyzing it must all have reached similar conclusions.

Junghyun raised a question.

"But TeenSpirit is under MOP. Didn’t you say TJ developed that app?"

"Strictly speaking, TJ didn’t develop it alone. The project started with TJ, but MOP and KM now own shares in it as well."

"Hooh."

We had been largely unaware of recent developments in the domestic entertainment industry, so the explanation was fascinating.

Seokhwan adjusted his glasses.

"You know that our company had already become the biggest in terms of scale even before acquiring SNH Entertainment, right? Although ninety percent of that is thanks to your revenue…."

"We know."

"Now, after the enormous success of and the NBS channel, the gap has become impossible to compare. In terms of revenue, even if you combined TJ, KM, and MOP—the former first-, second-, and third-ranked companies—they still wouldn’t be able to compete with us."

"My goodness……."

I immediately understood what had happened.

The major agencies that normally snarled at one another appeared to have formed an alliance after witnessing the recent situation.

Seokhwan continued.

"To put it simply, the content TeenSpirit is filming is meant to create an exclusive barrier. In the past, there was only Netplus, but now more streaming services are appearing one after another, right? They want to create content that can only be watched on their platform."

"What about the Y app?"

"I heard the Y app is planning to shut down its service. It’s only a rumor, but it could happen as early as next year……."

Seokhwan continued.

"Especially after our recent merger with SNH Entertainment and the talk of a Lemon Ade concert, the alliance among those three agencies has been solidifying."

"Ah…."

"I don’t know the details, but apparently they’re also planning to hold their own joint concert in response. In any case, these are things no one could have imagined before. Those agencies, of all places, holding a joint concert?"

I pictured a concert featuring the artists from the other major agencies, and my eyes widened.

Han Taehyun. TeenSpirit. Serenity. NYX. Trickster. Wonder Child. Blink, and more.

Even excluding TNT, who were inactive because of military service, it was a lineup that could fill the Olympic Stadium and still run out of seats.

"It doesn’t affect you all that much, but…."

The math ghost shrugged and grinned.

"The companies are going to war."

"War…?"

"For example, there will be conflict over which artists join which applications. Ade on our side and Coco on theirs will each try to attract as many singers as possible. There are plenty of other companies that need fan-community platforms."

A battle between Lemon Ade and a chocolate-chip cookie.

I nodded as I imagined a bloody struggle breaking out between two strangely adorable names.

"It won’t be easy."

"No, it won’t."

Seokhwan then continued.

"But that’s something we need to resolve, not you. Your work is what matters."

He turned the laptop screen toward us.

"As it happens, KG International has replied."

"They did? What did they say?!"

"They like it."

My younger members and I slapped hands in celebration.

"The rights to officially belong to Lemon Entertainment now."

"Waaaaah!"

"The idea wasn’t bad. Promoting the album in conjunction with a web drama……."

"It was my idea. Mine."

"Yes. Jiho’s idea was extremely good."

After briefly discussing a few matters, including finding a writer for the screenplay, we got to our feet.

We were about to head to the producing team to pass along details concerning the new album when Seokhwan called us back.

"Wait. One more thing before you go."

"?"

"Well……. Ah, this…."

Seokhwan closed his eyes and muttered.

"We shouldn’t have used a ladder game to decide who had to tell you…. I shouldn’t have suggested it."

"…?"

"Well… that…… This…."

After struggling for a long time to begin, our TF team leader gave us an awkward, gum-baring smile.

"You’ve now become major stars who achieved tremendous success in America, right? What sort of responsibility comes with becoming a superstar?"

"The responsibility to love our fans and not cause stupid scandals?"

"Y-yes. That too, but what do famous Hollywood stars begin doing once they become successful? It becomes a major social issue when they start doing it."

"Drugs…?"

"No, no! Not that!"

Apparently unable to bear it any longer, he finally said it himself.

"They start participating in social causes. Building homes for people who lost theirs to tornadoes, visiting homeless communities, traveling to the Amazon rainforest to film environmental documentaries."

"Yeah."

"We thought it might be time for you to start participating in that kind of activity as well."

We looked at one another and nodded.

"That’s a good idea."

"It is."

"Right? It is, isn’t it???"

Seokhwan desperately sought our agreement with a smile.

What was wrong with him today?

He looked exactly like someone who had done something wrong.

"As it happens, you’ve received several proposals related to environmental protection campaigns."

"Oh."

"Would you like to… read them?"

Our eyes widened the moment we received the English documents.

A logo depicting the world’s continents surrounded by olive branches.

The sight of the UN logo filled all of us with excitement.

"The UN? I think this is from the UN."

"There are tons of organizations here whose names I recognize!"

While Seokhwan nodded like a broken doll, as though that was exactly what he had meant, we began reading the contents.

Ri Hyuk summarized them for us.

"‘We were greatly inspired by your recent activities……’ What activities did we do?"

"Do they mean visiting Antarctica? We only went there to cook."

"I’ll keep reading. ‘You spoke to viewers around the world about Antarctica…’ Ah, they must mean our livestream. Anyway… it says they would like us to participate in their campaign."

"That’s incredible!"

"Wow, this is seriously incredible…!"

We were laughing and pressing our hands together when Ri Hyuk continued.

"And this activity……. This activity…."

"What is it, Ri Hyuk?"

"Requires a visit to Antarctica."

Plop—

Junghyun dropped the bread he had been eating.

"What……?"

"‘Our objective is to show Antarctica in its untouched state, particularly regions far removed from human footprints.’"

"What? Where?"

"‘The United Nations looks forward to cooperating with you.’"

The wording sounded innocent, as though it were being spoken with bright, sparkling eyes, but it was a difficult proposal for us to refuse.

We could refuse it, of course, yet it somehow felt as though we should not.

[According to the news I heard, NewBlack has refused to participate in a UN environmental organization’s Antarctic campaign.]

[Look at Sunny. He refuses to protect the environment, yet he plays an environmentally conscious character like Peng! What outrageous hypocrisy!]

[…Voters! Did you see that? Even NewBlack has admitted it! Global warming is a hoax! It’s fake news!]

I did not know why an elderly man with corn-colored hair blowing in the wind suddenly appeared in my mind, but….

Thud—

My younger members and I collapsed to the floor at the same time.

"Aheu-heu-heuk… We only just got back……."

"No, I said I wanted to visit Antarctica one more time! I didn’t say I wanted to go there all the time!"

"Mom… Noonas… Wooju hyung……."

All we could do was cling to one another and sob.

-But we did not know it then.

-That this would lead to an extraordinary stroke of fortune…….

"Really?"

I shook my head at my younger members, who had stopped crying and were staring at me.

"No. I just added that narration…. I thought my heart would break if I didn’t at least do that."

"……."

My younger members burst into tears again.

"Uheuheuheuheuk!"

"Kkeoheuheuheuheuk!"

This was clearly supposed to be a happy and honorable opportunity.

Yet I could not understand why the tears would not stop flowing.