translation by mourningmoor
I was slightly surprised.
The total number of seats for the two-day fan meeting was 8,000.
The number of members in the L.I.T fan community on Universe was 1.8 million.
The number of paid 2nd-gen Filament members was 720,000.
Because of this, the 8,000 seats sold out in just three minutes.
The fan community was flooded with requests to hold the fan meeting in major cities.
Of course, that wasn’t possible.
The fan meeting was one thing, but we were also in the middle of preparing for a mini-album.
In early July, with the release of a new song approaching, we were practicing day and night.
Even amidst all that, the arrangement and choreography for the unit songs turned out incredibly well.
All the members were fully immersed in practice, satisfied with how things were going.
That’s when Gyuhyung quietly called me over.
“Hey, your mom called.”
It seemed Kang Ichan’s mom had called Gyuhyung.
“Maon contacted her and said they wanted to buy Seokhyun’s song.”
Just as I expected.
“And?”
“Your mom cursed them out for a solid minute. She said not to worry and to go ahead with the performance.”
I expected that too.
I nodded and returned to the practice room.
There was one week left until the fan meeting.
What would Maon’s next move be after failing to persuade the composer’s family?
I asked the members during lunch.
“Maybe the venue?”
That was Hanjoon’s answer.
“I hate Graphstar’s songs. That’s why I’ve been blocking them all this time. I even bought all the copyrights and erased their traces. But now these young kids are going to perform them? Huh? This time, I couldn’t even buy the copyright? What should I do?”
It was a plausible assumption.
“They’ll have to block the performance itself.”
At Hanjoon’s words, the other members nodded.
“They’ll pressure the venue.”
Honestly, that’s the only way they can stop us.
Other than canceling the performance.
“Does Maon really have that much power? Enough to cancel our performance?”
Even if they’re a big agency, do they really have that much influence?
At the end of the day, they’re just an entertainment management company.
“Maon doesn’t have that power, but SS Group does.”
“SS Group?”
“Yeah. It’s a huge global conglomerate. A few years ago, they invested heavily in Maon and made it a subsidiary. That’s how Maon grew so big.”
I’ve heard of that company.
The Troifle where Yoo Noah lives was built by the SS Group, right?
Troifle exists in capital cities all over the world.
It’s kind of ridiculous that such a massive construction company would invest in a place like Maon.
“There’s even a rumor that SS Group invested in Maon because of Aki. So, if Aki wants something, the SS Group will move. That’s the kind of power we’re talking about.”
As Hanjoon spoke with a serious expression, Jaewon furrowed his brows.
“Wait, but can a mere entertainer really wield that much influence over SS Group? What’s their relationship? Is she their daughter?”
Then he scoffed.
“That’s ridiculous. SS Group isn’t a domestic company like Oseong or NG. It’s a massive conglomerate rooted in the U.S.”
“True.”
At Jaewon’s words, the other members also nodded.
But they agreed that it wasn’t something they could dismiss as completely baseless.
If we were up against the SS Group instead of Aki, it would be like hitting a rock with an egg. Everyone hung their heads in frustration.
And the members’ worries became reality that evening.
The Olympic Hall notified us via official letter that the performance was canceled.
They claimed there was an issue with the venue, making it impossible to hold the event. They offered to pay triple the penalty fee and nullify the contract.
The company was in an uproar.
The entire fan meeting was on the verge of being canceled because of one unit song. It was chaos.
“Well, I guess we just need to change Aki’s mind.”
I said nonchalantly after hearing the news during practice.
I had expected something like this, so I wasn’t surprised.
“As long as she doesn’t interfere with us, we’re fine.”
This was what I had been pushing for from the beginning.
To crush anything that got in our way.
“But she’s already interfered. That’s the problem. The venue is posting the announcement tomorrow. There’s no room for negotiation.”
“Then let’s take a break from practice.”
I stopped the practice after hearing the news from Gyuhyung.
The members, drenched in sweat, slumped to the floor, unable to hide their disappointment.
Once the venue posted the announcement tomorrow, the L.I.T fandom would also be in an uproar.
Roa, who had been racking his brain about what to do, turned pale.
“Hyungnim, we’re in big trouble, aren’t we?”
“Well, it’s the venue’s issue, so it won’t directly affect us too much.”
But the fallout would be massive.
We were about to become tragic icons, with our first-anniversary fan meeting canceled just a week before it was supposed to happen.
“Let’s all head back to the dorm. Practice is a bust today anyway.”
Just as practice was getting fun, the energy was completely drained.
After quickly organizing my thoughts, I asked Gyuhyung to take care of the members.
“Hyung, I’ll do some work and then head back. Can you take the kids to the dorm?”
Then I left the practice room without looking back.
* * *
Maon’s CEO Kim Yangho felt a chill run down his spine.
At thirty-six, he had become the CEO of Maon thanks to his animal-like instincts.
But now, those instincts were telling him something was terribly wrong. No, even without those instincts, he could sense it intuitively.
“What the hell is all this?”
He had been lying on the sofa, listening to Rachmaninoff’s piano concerto, but now he was standing in front of his desk.
And his secret safe was wide open.
Only Kim Yangho knew the safe’s combination. And it wasn’t a safe that could be opened just by knowing the combination.
It had an iris recognition feature, so it couldn’t be opened unless he did it himself.
“Did I open it?”
But he had no memory of it.
He didn’t even remember getting up from the sofa, let alone opening the safe.
A thief must have broken in. Or maybe he was losing his mind?
With trembling legs, he approached the safe.
Inside the safe was his lifeline.
Everything he had done to take over Maon, the gifts he had given to political and business leaders, the dirty secrets of his artists.
His fortress, where he had hidden both his weapons and his shields, was wide open.
With shaking hands, he rummaged through the safe.
Fortunately, most of the items were still there.
Just as he was about to let out a sigh of relief, he noticed something was missing.
He had numbered everything, so it was easy to tell.
“Only one thing is missing.”
“Aki. That bitch’s file is gone.”
This can’t be happening. To protect Maon from the SS Group, he needed to hold onto that.
A pale-faced Kim Yangho began frantically searching his office.
* * *
Aki was feeling a bit bewildered.
Just as she was about to drive out of the company parking lot, Kang Ichan got into her car.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She yelled in anger, but Kang Ichan just smiled calmly.
“Let’s talk, shall we?”
“Why would I talk to you…”
“Then just shut up and look.”
He then spread out a few photos.
Her lips trembled.
“You’ve done a lot, Aki sunbaenim.”
“You, you bastard. Where did you get all this? It’s all fake. Fake.”
“Fake? There’s video too. And audio recordings. Oh, and notarized documents. Your CEO is quite thorough.”
Aki’s face turned pale.
“D-did CEO Kim give this to you?”
“No, I stole it. CEO Kim must be in a panic right now. He was planning to use this to blackmail you, but it’s gone.”
In the dark car, Kang Ichan’s black eyes gleamed eerily.
“This would be enough to bury you, sunbaenim.”
He then slowly flipped through the documents in his hand.
“I know a bit about the law. You’d go to prison. For a long time.”
For a moment, she couldn’t think straight.
Should she gather evidence of Kang Ichan’s actions and report him, or should she let it slide? Her mind went blank.
“I’m warning you, don’t get in my way. You’ve got a long way to go.”
One thing was clear.
“And I have a terrible temper. If I get pissed off, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Kang Ichan, this bastard. He’s completely insane.
“Let’s keep it quiet, okay?”
And as insane as he is dangerous.
“I’ll keep this safe. So you better keep your mouth shut. And your heart too.”
An intense fear, enough to make her hair stand on end, washed over her.
She could see the cold killing intent in Kang Ichan’s eyes.
“About our fan meeting, let’s get that sorted out by tomorrow morning.”
She had no choice but to nod.
As she nodded, Kang Ichan smiled in satisfaction. His expression was terrifyingly sinister.
For now, she had to retreat.
“O-okay. I’ll handle it.”
She desperately wanted him to leave, but Kang Ichan, still smiling, continued.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Her heart sank.
“About Graphstar. Why are you doing this? There’s something, right?”
Graphstar. The name she didn’t want to hear came up.
She clenched her teeth without realizing it.
“Why did you kill the composer?”
This time, her heart dropped.
Her chest heaved so much she could barely breathe.
Kang Ichan, who had been watching her with cold eyes, smirked.
“Don’t want to answer? Then I’ll take my time to find out.”
Every word felt like a declaration of war.
“If you interfere again, I’ll release this first. Got it?”
She nodded so hard her neck might have snapped.
Then, he gave her another sinister smile.
“Good. Then I’ll see you later, sunbaenim.”
* * *
May 25, 20XX.
The day of L.I.T’s first fan meeting.
Kang Mina, an editor in charge of idol coverage for Weekly Music Q, arrived in front of Olympic Hall as a fan, not a reporter.
It had been years since she attended an idol fan meeting as a fan.
And the fact that her favorite song, <Change>, was included in today’s performance made her emotional.
She set up a camera near the back entrance of the venue, reviving her old fangirl instincts.
Soon after, Juhee and Yoojung showed up with cameras.
Both looked incredibly excited.
“They’re excited too. Really excited.”
Of course they would be. It was a monumental day for Graphstar’s song to officially be performed.
It was a miraculous day when a song that had been treated like a forbidden taboo would be sung without any obstacles. Of course, this was only for the old Stellas.
“This is so great.”
Kang Mina recalled her conversation with PD Pyo five days ago.
[Don’t worry, reporter. We’ve taken care of everything.]
[Taken care of?]
[Maon apologized. They said they wouldn’t interfere since they don’t own the copyright. They even offered to send congratulatory flowers.]
It really worked out.
She decided to set aside her lingering feelings about Graphstar for today and fully enjoy L.I.T.
And shortly after, L.I.T’s car finally arrived at the venue.
The sound of shutters clicking filled the air like background music.
The light had descended.
With a light heart, Kang Mina clicked the shutter to her heart’s content.