translation by mourningmoor
"Not bad? You've grown a lot. Kang Ichan?"
Did you get emotional because I came to see you?
…
Like you said, I'm not going to give up.
Oh, by the way, I'm going on that show. Be My IDOL.
So just wait right there. I'm coming to get you.
"Come. I'll be waiting. Kim Wooyoung."
The message was from Kim Wooyoung, Kim Chanyeong Director-nim's cousin and the former leader of MuteSeven.
During the concert earlier, I thought I saw Wooyoung somewhere to the left of the extended stage.
But I was too focused on the performance to check properly.
I looked around when we were giving our final greeting to the fans, but by then, he was already gone.
He said he was staying in Nagoya. When did he come back to Korea?
And on top of that, he's going on that show? This guy… In a way, we've got quite the persistent connection.
If it's a persistent connection, maybe I should make it even chewier.
T.N. The phrase "chewier" here is a play on words in Korean, referring to making a relationship or rivalry more intense and drawn-out, similar to how something chewy takes longer to break down.
"PD-nim."
I called out to PD Pyo just as he stepped into the waiting room.
"I'll accept TVH's offer."
"Huh?"
"I'm going on the show."
* * *
From the next day, we started another grueling schedule.
Because the Japan concert was only 18 days away.
We reshot the poster and remade the concert promotion video to match the Japan concert.
We revised and refined the choreography and made slight adjustments to the setlist.
That meant practice after practice.
In the midst of all that, the road manager interviews were being conducted.
I found a short break in practice, so I was working on a song in the studio.
PD Pyo sent me a message.
Come here right now.
Come here right now. Short but intense.
Not like I didn’t know the reason.
“Ha, this guy. Can’t you handle it yourself?”
I got up from my seat and made my way to the 6th floor at a leisurely pace.
The moment I stepped into the CEO’s office, PD Pyo’s lips parted, and a lion’s roar of a shout burst out.
“You bastard. Do you have a brain? Or not?”
The reason was obvious. Kim Chanyeong must have come to the company for the road manager interview.
“This was your doing, wasn’t it? Telling that guy to come for an interview.”
Of course, it was my doing. I laid out enough foreshadowing on the last concert day that even an idiot could get it.
“The one who’s not thinking straight is you, PD-nim.”
Still can’t see the bigger picture because of emotions, as always.
“You admit he’s talented.”
“Hey! No matter what, do you think I’d let someone who messed with you join my team? No way in hell.”
Come to think of it, PD Pyo is really consistent. It’s both his strength and his weakness. And right now, it’s obviously the latter.
But I couldn’t back down any further.
“Hire him. I need him. Director Kim Chanyeong.”
If we let personal feelings get in the way and fail to move forward into bigger opportunities, there’s no future. PD Pyo knows his own weaknesses well.
He knows, but right now, he’s too furious to control himself.
At least he’s improved enough to ask for an explanation first.
“What the hell are you planning?”
“I’m planning to catch two rabbits.”
“Two rabbits?”
T.N. “Catching two rabbits” is a Korean idiom that means achieving two goals at once.
There’s really not much time left.
Now that the owner of the magic circle has found out my identity, I have no idea what kind of unexpected factors will come into play.
“Overseas tour and domestic activities.”
For me, there’s no other option. I have to keep the domestic fans satisfied while securing overseas fans.
“I’ll do both.”
“What, what are you saying? This kid—”
As expected, PD Pyo jumped in outrage.
“Do you have any idea how hard that is? The moment you finish one concert, there’s another waiting. And on top of that, you want to do domestic activities? Separate rehearsals, MV shoots, music show appearances—it’s impossible. The members’ mental states will be completely wrecked.”
Every performance requires something fresh, from stage movement to scripted comments, even adjustments to the setlist. Naturally, we spend most of our time living in the practice room.
Meanwhile, the flood of appearance requests is overwhelming, to the point where even 24 hours in a day aren’t enough. And now, I’m trying to add album promotions on top of that. Even the greedy PD Pyo shook his head at the thought.
But that’s only true if I were a normal idol. And if I didn’t have the right people supporting me.
“If Director Kim Chanyeong becomes our manager, it’ll be possible. He’ll push us to the brink.”
PD Pyo scoffed, still unconvinced.
“And you think just pushing yourselves will make it work?”
“If it’s our members, it will.”
Yeah, if it’s our members, it’s possible.
Because these guys have the kind of grit that isn’t ordinary.
“And the songs? Do you even have time to write them?”
“Yoon Jooheon-seonsaengnim is already offering us songs. What more do we need?”
Through Survival, Music Genius, we recently got connected with the composer Yoon Jooheon, and he officially reached out to offer us songs.
There was absolutely no reason for us to refuse. His songs aren’t just handed to anyone.
“And if we bring in Director Kim Chanyeong, the songs will come naturally. That guy is actually pretty useful. He’s got top-tier composers in the industry lining up…”
“Hey, you can’t fill the whole album with other people’s songs. You need Jess. K’s tracks.”
“I’m obviously going to write some too. I’m already making Jaewon work on them.”
At this point, even PD Pyo couldn’t argue anymore.
“We’ll handle the songs and practice ourselves, so PD-nim, just hire Director Kim Chanyeong.”
From the perspective of someone as ambitious as PD Pyo, there was no justification to refuse. No reason to either.
“And schedule things tightly so we can fit in activities between the tour dates.”
This is going to make his heart race.
Where else would he find an artist handling all of this on their own?
Sure enough, his face flushed as he opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking, his voice trembling.
“Hey. No matter what, how can we hire someone who was a director at HS Entertainment as a road manager? Do you really think Kim Chanyeong would agree to that?”
“He said he’d swallow his pride and do it. And I need him.”
Looking at PD Pyo’s face, he already seemed to have made up his mind.
“Just trust me a little, okay? You get the tour you love, without upsetting Filament.”
Time to hammer in the final nail.
“No matter what, I—no, we will make this work.”
* * *
18 days have passed since the Seoul concert ended.
L.I.T has already arrived in Tokyo three days ago and has been carrying out their schedule.
This Japan tour schedule is a week long.
Three days of concerts, the remaining four days are packed with broadcast appearances, photoshoots, and in between, they also have scheduled self-produced content filming.
Inyoung's older brother, Inseong, arrived at the Tokyo Dome to see the long-awaited concert.
Inyoung, who was supposed to come with him, had to choose between Tokyo and Hong Kong due to their parents' pressure, so she gave up the Tokyo concert.
Apparently, the first concert in Hong Kong happens to be Kang Ichan's birthday or something. Anyway, she absolutely had to go to Hong Kong, and with a gaze full of lingering regret, she canceled her Tokyo concert reservation.
Because of that, Inseong ended up coming to Japan alone.
He thought there wouldn’t be many male fans, but when he arrived, he realized that wasn’t the case. Seeing quite a few male fans besides himself made him feel relieved.
Yeah, L.I.T isn’t just a group popular among women. They’re all talented, after all.
Feeling proud, Inseong went straight to the goods shop as soon as he arrived at the Tokyo Dome. He had a favor to do for his younger sister.
Apparently, there are limited-edition goods that are only sold in cities where the concert is held.
Anyway, Inseong had no interest in goods, so he planned to just buy what his sister wanted.
Of course, things didn’t go as planned. Even after buying everything Inyoung asked for, he lingered in the goods shop for quite a while, and in the end, he left only after buying every L.I.T album released in Japan.
"L.I.T. Get rich."
It was a heartfelt shout.
Some of the Filaments nearby chuckled.
No, why are they laughing?
He spent so much money. Since it came to this, it would be nice if L.I.T really became rich.
Honestly, he hadn’t planned on spending this much, but after listening to the music on the CD player set up in the corner of the goods shop, he completely surrendered.
The Japanese versions of the songs had a completely different feel. Should he say they had a unique charm?
Once you fall for L.I.T, there’s no way to resist.
So he admitted it. Falling for L.I.T is inevitable.
After leaving his heavy bags at the storage area, Inseong entered the Tokyo Dome arena.
"Wow."
The moment he stepped inside, he let out an exclamation without realizing it.
No matter how popular L.I.T was, they were still just entering their third year as a boy band. Could they really fill up the Tokyo Dome arena?
But his worries were completely unnecessary—crowds of people filled the entire venue.
He got goosebumps.
"I feel this every time, but L.I.T is seriously amazing. Captivating even people from other countries like this."
It was fascinating.
Most idol groups tend to have specific charm points they focus on, but L.I.T had no such limitations. Because of that, their fan base was diverse, and their reach was broad.
The fact that there were so many different reasons to fall for L.I.T meant their appeal was that diverse.
Some people fell for their visuals, while others were drawn to their warmth and sincerity.
But most, like Inseong, became fans because of L.I.T’s music.
That’s why their concerts and future activities were so exciting.
And why people kept rooting for them as they constantly tried new things.
Today was no exception.
Inseong was particularly interested in the opening stage.
He was curious.
Would an opening stage heavily infused with Korean elements be well received in Japan? A country that subtly dismisses Korean history and culture—how would they react to this performance?
He was secretly looking forward to it.
And the moment it started, his expectations were exceeded by 1000%.
The opening stage was slightly modified from the PMA performance.
Since they were overseas, he thought they might tone down the Korean elements a bit—but it was the opposite. Instead, they poured in even richer and more vivid expressions of Korean sentiment.
The cheollik became even more extravagant, and the melody was deeply infused with the sorrowful essence of han (T.N.: a uniquely Korean concept of deep, unresolved sorrow). Roa’s opening dance was extended slightly, and it had such a poignant, solemn feel, as if he were performing a traditional Korean salpuri dance (T.N.: a dance used to release lingering spirits and sorrow).
Seeing L.I.T’s stage, what would the Japanese fans think? Would they boo?
Inseong looked around.
The vast Tokyo Dome arena was filled with silence.
Did they hate it? No, they were all overwhelmed by the performance.
It was only after Roa’s solo dance ended and the other members appeared that the audience finally breathed.
Following the mournful salpuri, the grand stage of began, continuing spectacularly. The audience, shaking their light sticks wildly, cheered and eagerly awaited the next song.
But the song that followed was .
"No way. That song—it’s the one Kang Ichan remade into a gugak (traditional Korean music) version on <Survival, Music Genius>, right?"
Every Filament in the audience, without exception, was ecstatic.
"So they’re finally performing that stage here."
Ten days ago, a poll was conducted through L.I.T’s official SNS.