Chapter 33. Youngchae, Master of Alterations
Acting might be optional for an idol, but for a top-tier idol, it was practically mandatory.
A group could become popular for a while, but if the individual members had no personal charm, that popularity wouldn't last.
We usually called the ability to understand your own charm and show it at the right time star quality.
But that wasn't exactly something you could obtain through effort alone.
If a member lacked that natural spark, one of the best things they could work hard at was acting.
Of course, I wasn't saying Serin had no star quality.
Every member of Blue Moon had it.
Just look at Choi Joo-hong.
He'd only sat in on one Blue Moon meeting, and his creative spirit had already caught fire.
Acting could create charm where there wasn't much before.
More importantly, it could also develop the charm someone already possessed.
And it was about time we had at least one card we could confidently play if an outside drama role came in.
Among the members, Serin seemed to have the strongest natural talent for acting.
So somewhere in the back of my mind, I'd already wanted to develop her into an acting idol first.
The acting coach I chose for that important job was Yeo Eun-joo.
She accepted immediately without making a fuss.
Apparently, she still felt grateful over the Shongshong incident.
Then again, I hadn't really asked her for anything or received any repayment from her since then.
When I told the members I could bring in Yeo Eun-joo, they were even more shocked and excited than they'd been over Choi Joo-hong.
Did any of them regret giving up the lead role in the music video?
Maybe.
But there was nothing we could do about that now.
It wasn't only my opinion that Serin should study acting seriously.
We all thought it was a good idea.
Still, one of the other members might have quietly backed down because she wanted to give Serin the chance.
For now, there was only one opportunity, so Serin would get it.
But someday, I should check the acting ability of the other members too.
"Greetings, brothers! Today, together with my member unnies, I shall challenge the terrifying cream-bread mukbang!"
And so, whether through acting or social media, the members slowly began gathering attention before the new song's release.
Today was the day of Aran's mukbang content.
Aran piled cream buns into a mountain and gave the camera an exaggeratedly respectful greeting.
Live Nutube comments immediately began pouring in.
Hey, Aran little sis. You finally came?
Are all of you eating together today?
They're obviously going to fail again. Why did you unwrap so many?
Where's Youngchae?
"Youngchae unni is in charge of the comments today. She says she doesn't like cream buns."
"I'm right here."
Youngchae waved from behind the camera to make her presence known.
Aran said Youngchae was managing the comments because she disliked cream buns.
But there was another reason.
For Serin, I'd made a special request to Yeo Eun-joo, whom we'd gotten to know through the Shongshong incident, and arranged acting lessons.
Anna had opened a little segment on Aran's Nutube channel called 〈Anna's Korean 365〉, where she worked hard answering grammar questions.
It wasn't popular, but she was doing it.
And as everyone could see, Aran was firmly establishing herself through mukbang.
As for Youngchae, she'd started slowly taking pictures in whatever outfits she already owned that could be properly coordinated.
I'd already gotten her about three additional outfits.
Then, around two days ago, she declared that she needed to improve how the clothes fit her and threw herself into a fierce diet.
She said she wanted to lose around five kilograms.
As far as I could tell, the only thing Youngchae had to lose was the dangerous amount of charm she carried around.
[Mission!) 10,000 won if Kim Serin eats one bun while crying in character!]
"Oh! We got a mission! It's for Serin unni. We have to collect that ten thousand won right away! You can do it, right, unni?"
"I-I'll try."
Serin picked up a cream bun and began rolling her eyes around as she tried to invent some kind of story.
The atmosphere was extremely chaotic, but an actor needed to be able to perform anytime and anywhere.
"Have you ever eaten a cream bun soaked in tears? Even now, whenever I see this bread, I remember Corporal Choi, my comrade from thirteen years ago! I miss you, my brother-in-arms!"
Aran, sitting right beside her, immediately began stirring up the viewers.
[Mission!) Another 10,000 won if you keep going with the military concept!]
"Oh! Unni! Another ten thousand won came in. They want you to continue! Military concept! Military concept!"
"M-Military?"
Serin thought for a moment, declared she'd accept the challenge, and began eating the bun.
She simply stared blankly ahead with unfocused eyes while slowly putting the cream bread into her mouth.
I had no idea what tragic backstory she was imagining, but somehow the performance drew you in.
"Battalion Commander Kim Serin? About this promotion review... I'm afraid you didn't make the list."
The moment Aran added that line from the side, Serin's pupils shook violently.
Her mouth had stopped for a moment.
Then she began chewing faster.
After biting off the final piece and swallowing it, a single tear slowly rolled down her left cheek.
Ah! Commander Serin! Stay strong!
This is way too real LOLLLLL
That tear timing is insane LOL. If she planned that, I admit she's an acting genius.
Why does she make the bread look so delicious ㅠㅠㅠ Doesn't Do-hyung feed you?
"Ugh... I'm full."
"You're full after one?"
The viewers were shocked that Serin had forced herself to finish the entire cream bun even though she was full.
Aran and Anna weren't surprised at all.
Aran's commentary had been good, and Serin's quiet little streak of insanity had come through perfectly.
Of course, they didn't finish all the cream buns.
There was a 50,000-won mission if they ate everything.
But just counting the ones we'd helped unwrap earlier, there were at least ten.
Aran, Anna, and Serin tried their best to finish them.
In the end, they could only groan and roll around on the floor.
It was exactly the disastrous ending the viewers had wanted.
"Good work, everyone. Forget gaining weight. Overeating is bad for your health, so next time let's prepare an amount you can realistically finish."
"I thought this was realistic. I figured we'd manage if we ate slowly."
Aran said that while rubbing her stomach.
Of course she had.
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
"I'll look up some recipes for the leftover cream buns."
"Ugh...!"
Serin's face turned pale when she looked at the mountain of cream buns still remaining.
While the other members lay defeated, Youngchae cleaned up the camera and bread.
Then she checked her phone to see the time.
She froze and stared at the screen for a while.
"Youngchae, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Ah, no. I just... got a direct message from someone."
A direct message meant someone had contacted the account where she posted her fashion photos.
She'd only uploaded a few pictures so far.
But whenever Aran uploaded a mukbang video, they also included a link to Youngchae's Personstar account.
"Who sent it?"
"It says... Teacher Hong Eun-hye."
Hong Eun-hye?
The moment they heard the name, the members jumped up and crowded around Youngchae.
It was a famous name.
Hong Eun-hye was almost half celebrity herself.
She was a fashion designer who frequently appeared on major network variety programs to give styling advice to celebrities.
Recently, she'd also opened a Nutube channel called 〈Hong Eun-hye's Fashion People〉.
[Hello, Youngchae. I checked your private DM very late, didn't I? I'm sorry. I receive so many requests for fashion consultations. Still, thanks to the mukbang channel Blue Moon runs, I came across your account. I watch your appearances on the mukbang stream from time to time. You're especially charming when you smile.]
Hong Eun-hye had sent Youngchae a long message.
A while ago, Youngchae had messaged her asking to appear on her channel, often shortened to Hong Fashion People.
Hong Eun-hye was only now replying.
"It looks real! I think this really is Teacher Hong Eun-hye's account!"
"Open the profile from the link. Let's make sure!"
The members made a huge fuss.
But Youngchae herself remained calm and carefully read the entire message.
"There's a record of the message I sent her. It's definitely Teacher Hong Eun-hye. There's a blue verified mark here too."
Youngchae pointed at the blue check beside Hong Eun-hye's account name.
[I've become curious about the different kinds of fashion you wear, Youngchae. You seem to enjoy street looks and leather most often. Have you ever considered going fully grunge? You have such clean lines that I think a proper office look would suit you very well too. Ah, this isn't something we should discuss through messages. It would be better to meet on our channel. My reply was so late that I don't know what your schedule looks like now, but please check and contact us if you're interested!]
"She wants to meet you on the channel! She's talking about Hong Fashion People, right?"
"Obviously! Tons of celebrities go on that show. Is Youngchae going to become a model now?"
Since Youngchae herself couldn't openly celebrate too hard, the other members clapped and cheered for her instead.
"She really contacted me. I just sent a few messages as part of my daily routine. I never actually expected to appear."
Youngchae spoke while trying to hide her excitement.
"That's how people buy lottery tickets and eventually win. Anyway, congratulations. Didn't I tell you your fashion sense was good?"
"Wow... Youngchae really accomplishes things the moment she decides to do them."
Serin laughed in disbelief.
After that, watching 〈Hong Eun-hye's Fashion People〉 became part of my daily routine.
The show was generally made up of three segments.
〈X's Closet〉, 〈Hong's Closet〉, and 〈Hong Eun-hye's Fashion People〉.
For 〈X's Closet〉, they practically brought the guest's wardrobe from home and used it to show several outfits during filming.
If the guest had any fashion concerns, they talked about them and listened to Hong Eun-hye's advice.
If not, they immediately moved on.
In 〈Hong's Closet〉, Hong Eun-hye brought clothes from her own shop and presented them to the guest.
The guest then had to coordinate an outfit on the spot.
Sometimes Hong Eun-hye also gave them a keyword or theme.
They simply had to build an outfit that matched it.
Finally, in 〈Hong Eun-hye's Fashion People〉, the guest dressed according to a theme Hong Eun-hye recommended and took photos.
Those photos were then published in the magazine of the same name, 〈Hong Eun-hye's Fashion People〉, which she personally produced.
And this week's theme was "alteration."
That couldn't have suited Youngchae any better.
She was the same person who had altered a hanbok for 〈Music Bang Bang〉.
〈Hong's Closet〉 wouldn't be a problem either.
They provided so many clothes that it was almost like moving an entire clothing store into the studio.
Someone with Youngchae's sense should have no difficulty combining them into good looks.
The problem was 〈X's Closet〉.
If Youngchae participated, the segment would probably be called 〈Youngchae's Closet〉.
But as far as I knew, Youngchae lived in the dorm and barely had anything that could be called a wardrobe.
Three or four pairs of tops and bottoms for going out.
That was almost everything she owned.
I'd bought her a few more outfits recently.
But compared to the other celebrities who'd appeared on Hong Fashion People, Youngchae might as well have been naked.
"Hyung! Today's the monthly meeting. We need to go now."
Dae-hun spoke while gathering his things.
The monthly meeting.
The same monthly meeting that had always been held with every team except Team 2.
Now Team 2 was finally allowed to participate.
As a manager, it was only proper to attend diligently and plan strategy.
Of course, there had been that one time when I'd skipped the weekly report meeting and run off to Geumsan.
But back then, I was an eyesore.
Now we were popular stars.
"We seriously have a lot to report today, don't we? Choi Joo-hong's comic went up too, and the response is crazy."
The album cover wasn't even the only issue anymore.
Just as Dae-hun said, the first episode of Joo-hong's four-panel comic had already been posted on the website.
120,000 won per panel.
We'd gotten a fairly cheap rate.
The fandom was already demanding that the album cover be made with this same level of quality.
"Yeah. We have plenty to report. Let's go."
