translation by mourningmoor
"What should we do?"
As soon as we returned to the dorm, Roa brought it up.
"From the company's perspective, the tour is profitable, so they’ll be happy, but the fans will feel disappointed."
Siu nodded in agreement.
"Right. The atmosphere has been a bit off since the US tour was announced."
The atmosphere was indeed a bit off.
Two weeks into this album promotion, seven music show appearances, four variety show appearances, and three magazine photoshoots.
We wrapped up the album activities like that, went through the awards season, and welcomed the new year.
And we kicked off this year with the Seoul concert.
Up to this point, Filaments were ecstatic.
They just poured out requests for a nationwide tour, complaining that the capacity of the gymnastics stadium wasn’t enough, but there didn’t seem to be any major complaints.
Things were fine until the Japan concert schedule was announced.
Japan is the closest country to Korea, and while the ticket booking process was a bit annoying, fans could still attend the concert if they had the means.
The fans hoped that after finishing the Japan concert in mid-February, we’d return to Korea for a nationwide tour or start preparing for the next album.
But then the Hong Kong performance was announced, followed by a five-city North America tour.
They said if the fandom dreams, we make it happen, and if we dream, the fandom makes it happen. But it seems we dreamed too bigㅠㅠㅠㅠ I dreamed of our idols becoming global stars, but now they’ll hardly be in Koreaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
I’m disappointed. I wish they’d just do a nationwide tour in Korea instead.ㅠㅠ
But I should still congratulate them, right? ㅜㅜ Our babies’ dream was to go on a world tour and film a documentary.
Right. Let’s congratulate them. Roa’s dream was to have a solo concert at Gocheok Dome, but since they did it at the gymnastics stadium, that dream wasn’t fulfilled. At least Jaewon’s dream is coming true.
You can’t call a North America tour a full world tour, but I’m scared their dream of a real world tour might come true. That means we won’t get to see them as much.
The company is blinded by money. They’re sending them on tour just because they’re doing well.
Remembering the interviews from their debut year, fans who supported our dreams sighed deeply, feeling disappointed again.
It was indeed a troubling issue.
Of course, not all reactions were like this.
Let’s not do this. This is all happening because our kids are doing so well. And overseas fans are also Filaments. They have the right to see our kids’ concerts too.
Domestic fans worked hard to recruit overseas fans. This is what we dreamed of. Don’t block the kids’ dreams.
Since it’s come to this, let’s conquer America too.
I’m Sandy. I live in San Francisco, USA. I’m so happy that LIT is bringing a concert to LA. Don’t be mad. There are many Filaments in the US too.
The majority of fans supported and understood the overseas tour.
That made me even more grateful.
But in this situation, if South America and Europe tour dates are announced?
That’s different.
"It’s going to be chaos, right?"
Hanjoon asked.
The other members all nodded in unison.
"Should we not go?"
At Hanjoon’s simple solution, Roa jumped up.
"What if we give up the tour? We’re not at the level where we can pick and choose performances yet."
"If we say no, will the agency give us other disadvantages?"
"Uh, I don’t know?"
We returned to the dorm, but no one could wash up comfortably, all sitting together with their heads bowed.
No matter which option we chose, the risks were high, and we discussed various possibilities.
I silently watched the members and left the room, saying I’d wash up first.
My thoughts were a bit tangled.
Recently, my magic circles have leveled up a lot.
They had been stagnant for a while, but it seems <King of the Jungle> and <Survival, Music Genius> were effective.
Add to that <Gentleman> and the album activities.
It seems the influx of overseas fans caused a rapid change in the circles.
At this rate, reaching the 9th circle won’t be a problem.
I’ll probably easily surpass the 9th circle by the time of the North America tour.
But that’s not the issue.
The owner of the magic circle.
The problem is how much magical power that mage has.
When I inscribed the magic circle on Go Dajin, it was already above the 8th circle.
I won’t know if he’s still at the 8th circle or has surpassed the 9th until I face him.
What if he’s at the 9th circle? Then it’s not something to celebrate just because I’ve achieved a circle upgrade.
In fact, there’s no limit to the 9th circle.
There’s no higher circle, so it’s just called the highest level, but even within the 9th circle, the levels vary greatly.
So how do you gauge a magical power level above the 9th circle? There’s only one way. By taking a mana test with a ‘grade discriminator’ made from pure magic stones from the Kalvaros Mountains.
I once received a ‘measurement impossible’ judgment on that test. Because my magical power was too high.
That means even if I achieve the 9th circle tomorrow, it’s not the same level as before. I could be weaker than that mage, and I could easily fall into danger.
"I need to keep upgrading my circles. To do that, I have to go on an overseas tour."
Expanding to South America and Europe will definitely open the path to circle upgrades.
But I can’t let the domestic fans feel disappointed.
Then there’s only one way.
To grab both.
I turned the shower to full blast and teleported.
* * *
Kim Chanyeong, former director of HS Entertainment, waited in the same spot as always.
10:20 PM.
"It’s about time."
Then a strange wind blew from the end of the alley.
"He’s here."
He’s never a second early or late.
Then Ichan appeared from the end of the alley.
The blue light rising like a heat haze gave me chills.
The oppressive aura emanating from his slow approach was no joke.
What was I thinking, messing with someone like this?
No matter how I thought about it, it was absurd and frustrating.
Ichan, now right in front of me, smiled coldly.
"Were you waiting for me?"
"If I weren’t, you’d find me and throw a fit, wouldn’t you?"
He learns fast, after all.
I trained him that way, so he had no choice but to wait quietly.
"I like this about you, Director. You don’t cower in front of me."
The blue energy shimmering in his black eyes seemed to ripple with amusement.
He’s scary. A terrifying being. That’s why I’m putting on a brave face.
I have to do this to feel less scared.
"Why today? Do you have something else for me to do?"
Kim Chanyeong, who was kicked out of HS Entertainment after being framed as the mastermind behind the lighting accident and the song theft incident involving Kang Ichan, had to face prosecution.
HS Entertainment’s CEO Jang Myungwoo teamed up with Jung Yoobin and pinned all the blame on him. And then he came to me and said something ridiculous.
[Chanyeong-ah. You should’ve done things properly. Why did you handle things so sloppily?]
[Sloppy? Jung Yoobin caused all the trouble, and I was the one cleaning up after him. He should’ve caused less trouble.]
[We’re just meant to handle the dirty work for the artists. What are you talking about?]
[Why are you so scared of Yoobin?]
[Scared? Who’s scared? Anyway, just admit to everything and go to trial. Then Assemblyman Jung will get you a suspended sentence.]
There was no way out.
All the evidence had already been fabricated, and going against Jung Yoobin’s father, who was being considered as the next ruling party leader, was impossible.
Then Ichan appeared in front of Chanyeong.
It was during the prosecution investigation.
He was drinking alone at a street stall near his house when Ichan plopped down on the chair across from him.
[Why do you have any loyalty to Jang Myungwoo to take the fall for him?]
The guy who won all the rookie awards and announced his star status so grandly sat down so casually at the street stall, making my heart sink.
[Are you crazy? Walking around at this hour? What if someone takes a picture?]
[What does it matter? Neither of us is under HS anymore.]
[Right.]
I laughed hollowly and downed a shot of soju.
It was funny that the instincts of a manager were still there. And for Kang Ichan, whom I had trampled on.
But then Kang Ichan said something outrageous.
[Jang Myungwoo received a huge sum of money from Assemblyman Jung Yoobin’s father. It wasn’t an investment in the company but a personal investment.]
The taste of the alcohol vanished instantly.
[Ah, you knew? But you didn’t give Director Kim Chanyeong a single penny, so I’m a bit upset. You make me do all the dirty work.]
Without saying a word, he recited my innermost thoughts.
[Then there’s a way out, isn’t there? Assemblyman Jung wrote down the money he gave Jang Myungwoo in his slush fund records and was wondering how to get it back. Do something about it. That’s your specialty, isn’t it?]
I had been thinking about it.
I thought about driving a wedge between Assemblyman Jung and Jang Myungwoo to get out of this mess.
But that alone wouldn’t shake either Assemblyman Jung or Jang Myungwoo. Their bond is stronger than you think.
To do that, I’d need to touch on something more sensitive. Like Jung Yoobin.
At that moment, Ichan spoke again.
[Do you need something more sensitive? Like Jung Yoobin?]
It was as if he was reading my mind.
[Then how about this? Jung Yoobin, that kid, learned all the wrong things and became a real troublemaker. He said all sorts of things during his psychiatric consultations.]
[Jung Yoobin had psychiatric consultations?]
[You didn’t know, Director? Well, this is a secret between Jang Myungwoo and Assemblyman Jung.]
Then he handed me a document.
[This is the medical record I got from the doctor at that hospital. It’s perfect for shaking things up between them. And it’s great for blackmail.]
For the first time, I felt fear.
Ichan’s gaze, tone, expression, the oppressive air around him.
The man in front of me was not the Kang Ichan I knew.
[You, what is this…]
[What do you mean? I’m sparing you because of Kim Wooyoung. If you’re going to do dirty work, do it for a greater being.]
I instinctively knew.
That greater being was the person sitting in front of me, in the form of Kang Ichan.