Chapter 7

Chapter 7 — If Someone Asks About Our Future

“Wow. Are we really wearing these?”

The Malcolm outfits arrived in a rush the day before the event.

They were so late that at first, I thought they had decided to screw us over completely.

But the quality of the outfits was much better than I expected.

They couldn’t even be compared to those ridiculous outfits from last time.

The combination of black and white was neat, matched with jeans, making them fairly comfortable for stage outfits.

It wasn’t going to be a huge stage anyway.

If the outfits had been too flashy, they might have actually had the opposite effect.

So these guys were capable of thinking about things like this too.

They had missed the deadline, but I decided to overlook reporting them to the fan café.

Even if I did report them, they would probably start throwing around words like defamation or spreading false information, and I would only end up with more trouble.

“Did you really get permission from the director and the CEO for these?”

“Hm?”

Youngchae asked with a serious expression.

Daehun was already under my control, so there was no need to get his permission.

The problem was Osu…

But Osu himself had been the one to tell me to try whatever I could.

“Yeah, yeah. I got permission. Don’t worry.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

Youngchae smiled brightly.

This was the same Youngchae who had kept a gloomy expression even while eating delicious cake.

Was this what an uncle felt like when he bought nice clothes for his niece?

I felt even more proud than when I had discovered the hidden camera inside the teddy bear headband.

“How long can we keep wearing these?”

The clothes had been sponsored to the company, so they belonged to the company now.

It wasn’t like there were any other celebrities around to share them with.

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. These are just for this event. After that, we can throw them away.”

“Wow!”

“And stop worrying about things like this. Just focus on dancing. I’ll take care of everything else.”

The members applauded loudly with their tiny hands.

“Unnie! Let’s practice in these today.”

“Sure, sure! Sweat stains will look absolutely wonderful on white clothes.”

While Anna and Aran started their usual comedy routine again, Youngchae looked back and forth between me and the clothes with an awkward expression.

“What? Are you worried I got these through some shady method or something?”

“Why would that even matter? They’re just clothes. It’s nothing. …There is one thing that’s a little disappointing, though.”

“Right. They said there won’t be any cameras at this event, didn’t they? It would’ve been great if you could appear on national television wearing something like this.”

Serin joined the conversation, and Youngchae gave a faint smile.

I wasn’t sure if that was exactly what she had meant by disappointing, but at least she seemed to agree.

Even if their old outfits weren’t covered in sequins, Blue Moon had practically looked like cyborgs whenever they appeared on television.

If disappointment could dig a hole, they would’ve already drilled through the Earth’s mantle.

“You’re disappointed because there won’t be cameras?”

“Yes.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to show off my talents again.”

I wasn’t just a professional manager.

I was also a professional fansite photographer.

If this wasn’t going to be broadcast, taking a few amazing photos for the internet would be child’s play.

The very next morning, the members gathered in front of the office with bright expressions again.

There was a weekly business report scheduled that morning.

They completely ignored the monthly meetings, yet somehow the weekly business report required everyone to attend.

What exactly was there to check every single week?

“You all look happy.”

“Of course. It’s been a while since we had an event. And the outfits are nice too.”

Ah.

Right.

The outfits.

Surely they wouldn’t ask about today’s event during the meeting, right?

“Daehun.”

“Yeah?”

Daehun, who was always the only one running around like his life depended on it, answered with a blank expression.

“What do you even talk about during the weekly business report?”

“Hmm… It’s different every time. Unlike the monthly meeting, there isn’t really a fixed agenda. Usually, they just check the girls’ condition and make sure they understand their schedules. Then it ends.”

That explanation still didn’t give me a clear idea of how the meeting actually went.

Still, I couldn’t ruin everything right before success, like a nine-tailed fox being exposed on the ninety-ninth day of eating raw liver.

First, I needed to secure anyone who could be persuaded.

I called Daehun aside to show him the new outfits.

“What’s all this?”

“They’re the new outfits I got. And if the clothes come up during today’s meeting, try to keep the conversation away from them.”

Daehun looked at the clothes.

The moment he realized they had absolutely nothing to do with the group’s original concept, he sighed.

“Wow… Hyung, you’re seriously something else.”

He pressed his fingers against his temples, yet still couldn’t stop looking at the outfits.

“They’re pretty, right? Think the CEO would like them if I showed him?”

“Hyung. Osu’s motto is ‘Dig only one well.’ Anyone can see that Serin is suited to singing, Youngchae to dancing, and Anna to rapping. So why do you think he refuses to think about anything except keeping them together as idols? …It’s the same with the group concept. If he sees these, he’ll probably tell us to change back.”

Well, that sounded exactly like the kind of person who would leave Blue Moon looking like cyborgs for years.

Anyway, if Osu noticed and told us to return to the original outfits, we would be in trouble.

What I had been given was freedom to act.

Not permission to openly rebel.

If I wanted to change Osu’s mind, the correct strategy was simple.

Show results first.

Report later.

“It’s not like we’re filming the event and submitting the footage anyway, so he won’t know what they danced in. I’ll do what you asked, so let’s go to the meeting first. We’re already out of time.”

“Please do.”

Daehun probably understood what the real problem was too.

He just hadn’t been willing to step forward before.

But if I was offering to become the human shield, there was no reason for him not to help.

We left the costume room and started heading toward the CEO’s office with the members.

That was when the phone inside my pocket vibrated twice.

A text message.

[Web Message]

Would you like to see the future?

Choice 1. Yes

Choice 2. No

(If there is no response for 5 minutes, Choice 1 will automatically be selected.)

The moment I saw that familiar attention-grabbing spam message, my heart started pounding.

Come to think of it, quite a lot of time had passed since I received the second future message.

Since the Kim Yoonja stage matter still hadn’t been completely resolved, I hadn’t expected another message yet.

Should I check it now?

Daehun and the members had almost reached the CEO’s office.

I could probably wait until the meeting was over before checking the photo.

But who knew?

It might be a photo from one or two minutes into the future.

I had only received two of them so far, but the time gap between the future photos and the present seemed completely random.

Better check it immediately.

I replied with the number 1.

The image arrived right away.

I had once received a photo taken two months in the future.

Trying to reassure myself, I checked the image information first.

Title: 3/10

Date Taken: 2022.07.17. 12:35

What perfect timing.

The meeting was about to start.

It was nine in the morning right now, meaning this photo had been taken only about three hours from now.

I supposed I should be grateful that it wasn’t just one or two minutes ahead.

I was extremely thankful that this thing showed me the future.

But three hours was cutting it a little close.

Still, I was glad I hadn’t waited until after the meeting.

Without wasting another second, I checked the contents of the photo.

For some strange reason, the person in this photo was Kim Song.

He was the main MC of the live program Live Singing Contest and a nationally beloved singer famous for his hit song Peach Blossom Life.

Mr. Kim Song was sitting in the passenger seat of a car while wearing a suit.

The scenery outside the window definitely didn’t look like Seoul.

And his expression looked extremely dark.

“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

I groaned without realizing it.

Daehun and the members turned toward me.

What was this photo supposed to mean?

So what if Mr. Kim Song was riding somewhere in a suit on a Sunday?

Wait.

What time was the photo taken again?

I checked the image information once more.

12:35 p.m.

That was strange.

The live broadcast of Live Singing Contest started exactly at 12:30.

I didn’t know where the location was, but Mr. Kim Song absolutely should not have been sitting inside a car at that time.

He had hosted the show for nearly forty years without missing a single broadcast.

There must have been some reason he hadn’t reached the venue yet.

He was late.

But why send this photo to me?

The Jang Taek incident had felt random too.

But in the end, it had become a good opportunity for Blue Moon.

Surely this photo was the same.

But we had a weekly business report…

First, I searched online for the schedule of Live Singing Contest.

—July 17, 2022: Chungcheongnam-do, Geumsan County Episode

At least it wasn’t somewhere like Haenam or Geoje.

But Geumsan was still plenty far away.

If we finished the entire meeting before leaving, we would be far too late.

“Team Leader Do? The meeting’s about to start. Aren’t you coming in?”

Daehun asked from in front of the CEO’s office.

I put my phone back into my pocket and looked between Daehun and the members.

Daehun was one thing.

But these girls always did exactly what their company told them.

Even when they hated their bizarre dance concept, they never changed a single move on their own.

The same went for their clothes and their songs.

No matter how ridiculous the company acted, they continued trusting it until the very end.

And yet Osu didn’t even trust his own idols.

Instead, he kept spouting nonsense about how he had supposedly planned some national-level operation or whatever.

“Hey, girls. Get in the car.”

“What?”

Thanks to the teddy bear headband photo, we had avoided a huge crisis.

And if they managed to renew their contracts, Kim Yoonja’s concert could become a stepping stone.

I was confident I could make that happen.

And after getting involved with Jang Taek, we might even be able to aim higher afterward.

Thinking about all that, there was no reason not to gamble here.

I still didn’t know what kind of opportunity would appear at Live Singing Contest.

Based on the situation, maybe they would need someone to fill time until Mr. Kim Song arrived.

But even being a substitute act for Kim Song would become a topic of conversation.

“Why? What happened?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Hurry up! We don’t have time.”

The members looked around in confusion before suddenly running toward the stairs.

“Team Leader! What about our outfits?”

“I’ll bring them! Just get in the car!”

As I headed toward the costume room, Daehun grabbed me.

“What are you suddenly doing?! I told you, you have to attend the weekly business report!”

“There’s somewhere more important we need to go.”

“Hyung. This weekly business report is basically like morning roll call in the military. And it only happens once a week! That makes it even more sacred!”

Daehun clung to me, but he was simply dragged along as I kept walking.

“At my level of seniority, you think I need to show up for roll call? Just tell the CEO I’m sick.”

“I’m begging you. Bring the girls back. Do you want to see me become sick instead?”

“Sorry. But between you and them, I’d rather you be the one who gets sick.”

I grabbed all four outfits, still hanging on their hangers, and immediately headed down to the parking lot.

Pantheon had used a van.

Universe had a 2009 Starex.

Still, five people including the driver fit inside without any problems, so I didn’t really have any complaints.

Though I might lose my mind if Team 3 turned out to have a better car.

The members were smiling from ear to ear even while hurriedly changing clothes.

For now, I had told them that Live Singing Contest had suddenly contacted us because one of their invited singers had cancelled.

“Whoa. I thought our event had just been moved earlier, but it’s Live Singing Contest! How did you suddenly get us onto that?”

An extremely excited Serin asked me.

Her voice was so powerful that if she sang at karaoke, they would probably have to lower the echo by five levels.

Idols almost never appeared on that program, but among everything Blue Moon had experienced so far, it was still the biggest show.

Her excitement was understandable.

“Well… obviously, my incredible sales skills finally showed their true power.”

“Wow! My mom watches that show every week!”

I couldn’t exactly tell them that we hadn’t even been invited yet and I was just going there because I had seen a photo from the future.

Naturally, that only made them praise my abilities even more.

At this rate, they might seriously start believing Anna’s joke that I worked as a manager during the day and a secret agent at night.

Kim Song’s delay.

If my guess was really correct, and if we could use all that extra time, then the members would have a real chance to show some of their charm.

All I could do was pray that too many substitute singers didn’t show up.

“Wow. Changing clothes in the car really makes us feel like popular idols.”

“Team Leader, you’re not sneaking glances back here, are you?”

Aran, who was clearly in a great mood for the first time in a while, asked in an excited voice.

I didn’t want to turn around in the first place.

And I was driving in the passing lane, so I didn’t have the luxury of looking around anyway.

I had already tilted the rearview mirror away.

“I really hated the weekly business report, so this is great. I wish we could skip it every week.”

“Right, right.”

Anna complained.

“Why? Does something happen during the weekly report?”

The inside of the car suddenly grew quieter when I asked.

As if I had said something I shouldn’t have.

It reminded me of the reaction Youngchae and Aran had shown when I asked about Solis.

After a moment, Serin spoke.

“They always just tell us to lose weight. We’re trying, but it’s not like weight disappears overnight. Hearing it every week is pretty stressful. I heard other teams actually talk about more constructive things during their meetings.”

To be completely honest, I had briefly wondered whether it was because they had no actual business to report.

But the members had a perfectly reasonable reason to hate it.

They called everyone into a meeting just to talk about weight?

Osu openly treated them like failed idols even to their faces.

Of course the girls wouldn’t feel good about it.

Still, telling idols who were already stuck in a permanent off-season to lose weight every single day…

Osu truly had no conscience.

“He’s the worst to me! Team Leader, am I the fattest one among us?”

Aran asked angrily.

I wasn’t even the one who had called her fat.

Yet somehow, I felt like I was being scolded.

“I’ve never thought about that. Aren’t you just imagining it, Aran?”

“No. He really complains about Aran the most. Right, Youngchae?”

Serin agreed and asked Youngchae.

Maybe it was because I had only managed male idols before.

I definitely didn’t have the kind of eye capable of distinguishing a few grams of body fat between people.

Youngchae, sitting in the passenger seat, pressed her fingers against her temple and nodded.

From her expression, it looked like she had been bothered plenty too, even if not quite as much as Aran.

“Youngchae, he tells you to lose weight too?”

“Of course. Well, I should lose some anyway.”

Youngchae had spent years repeatedly going through intense dance practice.

She was almost as thin as Anna.

Not that the other members were fat.

If Osu was still telling even Youngchae to lose weight, then it was probably just something he said out of habit.

“Youngchae, you already look nearly underweight and he still says that? That’s seriously too much.”

“Fans aren’t exactly going to check our InBody results.”

She wasn’t wrong.

But if you kept thinking that way, when exactly was your mind supposed to rest?

Even now, she looked as troubled as Admiral Yi Sun-sin preparing for war.

They said stress alone could make people lose weight.

Youngchae seemed to be doing everything possible to lose weight all by herself.

“You really seem to have a lot on your mind…”

“Team Leader.”

Anna lowered her hand from her temple and looked toward the navigation system.

“I saw Namwon bamboo rice on TV and it looked really delicious. Can I search for a good restaurant near the event venue?”

So that was what she had been thinking about.

Maybe I should be relieved that her worries were much more enjoyable than I had expected.

“Ugh. I feel like it’ll smell like bamboo. I don’t want it!”

“Then we can eat tteokgalbi. That’s meat.”

The members went back to excitedly chatting like people about to leave for summer vacation.

But not a single one of them corrected the fact that bamboo rice was famous in Damyang, not Namwon.

The character “Kim Song” in this story was inspired by the late Song Hae.

Song Hae contributed greatly to the development of Korean culture and the arts and enriched the lives of countless people every Sunday.

May he rest in peace.