translation by mourningmoor
For a very brief moment, a post appeared on an idol community forum before disappearing.
Whether it was a troll or genuine, a lunatic who introduced themselves as an intern at Blade Entertainment claimed to be making a "conscience declaration" and uploaded some photos.
Along with the photos, there was a short post.
The reason Kang Ichan scrapped his initial idea for the 3rd round of <Survival, Music Genius>. It’s because of a leak.
The photos were screenshots of a conversation with someone named kt******.
kt******
I’ve sent an advanced payment of 1 million won.
So, what you’re looking for is specifically related to this 3rd round stage, right?
kt******
Yes. Videos, documents, anything is fine. I just need to know what Kang Ichan is preparing for this stage.
And if it’s successful, you’ll pay more?
kt******
Just succeed. I can give you a lot more. The more accurate the information, the more I’ll pay.
I’ll contact you.
Tuesday, **/**/20**
Video
I’ve sent you a video of them practicing.
kt******
Looks good. Do you have any plans or documents?
If you pay more, I’ll bring them.
kt******
I’ve sent the money.
Wednesday, **/**/20**
(Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
Please send the money.
Those who happened to see these photos were shocked.
The photos were only up for about a minute. But someone quickly saved them, and they spread rapidly across fan communities.
By Monday morning, the photos had taken over the real-time trends on SNS.
#3rd_Round_Idea_Leak #Pre-Leak #KANG_ICHAN #Survival_Music_Genius #Another_World
And among the numerous hashtags, '#Taei_Too' was mixed in.
"Taei too……."
Let’s take a look.
Clicking on the hashtag brought up related posts in order of popularity.
Taei is too bad. Taei has no conscience. Taei went too far. He crossed a river he shouldn’t cross.
"Kwon Taei. What are you going to do? This is what you were trying to do to me."
This was all part of the plan Taei had set up to target me.
He created a stage with the same concept, made sure I heard about it through a junior from his agency, and planned to have T.I.ONE’s fandom, One Tiers, accuse me of plagiarism once the same concept was revealed on the live broadcast.
Then, Taei’s junior would leak that Taei’s stage concept had been shared in a group chat with Roa, and post it on SNS.
With circumstantial evidence secured, One Tiers would go wild, and we’d be branded as a copycat group of T.I.ONE.
But now, the tables have turned, and Taei is the one who’s been exposed. By now, his mental state must be completely shattered.
Well, with this, Taei will probably stay crushed for a long time.
As I sipped coffee in the company break room, I scrolled through my phone for a number.
"Good thing I saved this number."
Then, I called Kim Junmo.
After a few rings, Kim Junmo picked up.
―Kang Ichan. What’s up?
His tone was brusque, but there was a hint of warmth in his voice.
"How have you been?"
―Me? I’ve been fine. Thanks to you.
There was a lot of meaning behind those words.
Even though we’re in the same company and part of the same group, Kim Junmo really disliked Taei.
Seeing Taei get stomped on must’ve felt good.
―So, why the sudden call? You’re not calling because you miss me, are you?
"Why not? I was curious about you, sunbaenim. Wondering how you’ve been."
As I laughed and replied, Kim Junmo snorted.
―You’re full of it.
Then, he suddenly lowered his voice and asked seriously.
―What? Are you curious about Taei?
"Wow. Sunbaenim, your intuition is unmatched."
―What do you want to know? Should I tell you how he got chewed out in the CEO’s office?
I already knew that without him telling me.
With Taei single-handedly ruining T.I.ONE’s image, of course, he’d get chewed out.
"No, I’m not curious about that."
―Then what?
"What I’m curious about is Taei sunbaenim’s phone number."
It’s time to shut that damn mouth for good.
* * *
The real competition in <Survival, Music Genius> starts from the 4th round.
The 12 singers who survived the 3rd round will enter a true battle to become genuine singer-songwriters and capable producers.
Like last season, the 4th round mission is producing.
Each contestant will choose a singer to arrange and produce for.
And in the 4th round, instead of the contestants, the singers they produce will take the stage.
In other words, the 4th round is about proving their skills as producers.
I was slightly torn about who to produce, but the answer was already clear.
The singer I chose was Kim Jaewon.
I plan to put our maknae on the stage for the 4th round.
Because of this, the broadcast cameras followed us for longer to capture the preparation process.
But then, something slightly embarrassing happened.
Seo Hanul, an indie singer who’s emerging as another dark horse this season, named me as the singer he wanted to produce.
When I heard about this through the production team, I politely declined.
I have my own mission to complete, and with album preparations overlapping, I simply don’t have the time.
But damn it.
Seo Hanul showed up at the company with a broadcast camera in tow.
“Ichan-ssi.”
True to his reputation as the idol of the indie scene, he had a warm, friendly smile.
“I wrote a song for you, Ichan-ssi.”
I clearly declined, but maybe he didn’t get the message.
I briefly activated my mental detection but quickly turned it off.
Behind his clean mask and friendly smile, he had a surprisingly chatty mind.
To put it nicely, he had a chatty mind, but to be blunt, his mental world was noisy.
“After watching your performance in the 2nd round, I was inspired…”
Then, without even considering my opinion, he played a demo.
“This song is for you, Ichan-ssi. Isn’t it good?”
The song was quite good.
“It’s nice.”
As I nodded, Seo Hanul’s face lit up even more.
“Thank you. I knew you’d like it. Let’s create an amazing stage together.”
“No. That doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to it.”
This guy. He took my compliment as permission to produce for him. This is problematic.
Instead of frowning, I smiled slightly and tried to reason with him within common sense.
“Sunbaenim. I’m also a contestant in the 4th round.”
“I know.”
You know, and yet you’re doing this?
“I have my own mission to complete, so I need to arrange and produce for my singer. I don’t think I’ll have the time.”
“I’ll adjust to your schedule, no matter what.”
Seo Hanul, with his earnest eyes filled with desperation, looked at me pleadingly.
Annoyance crept in subtly.
The broadcast guys. Bringing cameras along with Seo Hanul means they want this format.
It’s clearly unfair, no matter how you look at it.
Of course, it’s not a situation I can’t handle with my abilities. It’s just annoying.
Well, no matter how capable I am, I don’t need to take on this kind of burden.
He’s not even one of our members.
“I still think it’ll be difficult. Trying to do both might mean I can’t do either properly.”
I’m sorry.
I bowed deeply and tried to avoid eye contact as I raised my head.
I thought this level of refusal would make him back off.
But it seems he came with some serious backing.
“Ichan-ssi?”
The elevator doors opened, and PD Ki Yoongu appeared.
Ki Yoongu, the main PD of <Survival, Music Genius>.
The very person who got me cast into the show through his connection with writer Jeong Haeseong.
Ha, if PD Ki Yoongu personally asks, the story changes.
“PD-nim, you’re here too?”
I greeted him with an awkward smile, and PD Ki also smiled uncomfortably.
“Can we talk for a bit?”
What does he want to talk about?
I sighed softly and reluctantly nodded.
Alright, let’s hear what he has to say.
PD Ki took me to the stairwell, let out a big sigh, and spoke.
“It’s because of Taei. The forums are in chaos. Calls are flooding in, and the mailboxes are overflowing.”
And how is that my fault?
“How could the production team not know about the plagiarism? Didn’t they verify beforehand? Didn’t they rehearse properly? If this is how it’s going to be, they should just cancel the live broadcast. Why are they doing this if they’re not capable?”
He wasn’t wrong. Every word was true.
“Did they take money from Mega Entertainment? Did they decide from the start that Taei would win? They’re turning a blind eye to all this. They knew from the beginning that they were pushing an unqualified contestant to the 3rd round. It’s a mess.”
Whoever it was, they only spoke the truth, but still.
“And?”
“The show’s image is completely ruined, and we’ve only just passed the halfway point.”
Ruined, huh? As expected of writer Jeong Haeseong’s friend, his choice of words is brilliant.
“So, we all gathered under the director for a meeting.”
I could guess what came next without hearing it.
As PD Ki said, to restore the show’s ruined image, they need something groundbreaking. And with Seo Hanul, who’s rapidly rising in popularity, wanting to produce for me, their eyes must’ve lit up.
“What if we show something like a bromance between Ichan-ssi, this season’s biggest star, and Hanul-ssi?”