The company gathering ended much faster than expected.
After a round of food and drinks, everyone just disbanded immediately.
I thought we would party until we dropped, but it seems we showed surprising restraint today.
Probably because the future schedule is going to be much busier.
While the actors may have finished filming, editing has just begun.
The production PDs from Phoenix might have done a rough cut, but ultimately, Director Bang is the final decision maker and the project must pass through his hands to be finished.
There’s just so much work to be done on their end too.
Truthfully, that’s something they should handle themselves.
I have more pressing issues to deal with because, right now, I’ve been kidnapped by Heavenly Yuah’s van.
I’m currently being escorted to Seoul, surrounded by Heavenly Yuah and Moon Suyeon.
When Moonsuyeon and Heavenly Yuah appeared at my table, the mood turned strange after Lion started talking about female idol groups and then fled.
In the midst of this odd situation, when Director Bang called me, I quickly escaped.
But that might have been a mistake because as soon as the gathering ended, I was immediately kidnapped.
They loaded the stylists, Yang Yuli, and even that kid into my van, while the van driven by Heavenly Yuah only had me, her, and Moon Suyeon.
Thankfully Heavenly Yuah’s manager is driving the van…
…
As soon as the manager and I made eye contact, she put up a barrier cutting off the driver’s seat.
I’m not sure what’s going on, but maybe she’s determined to let the manager deal with any consequences.
Alternatively, maybe Heavenly Yuah already warned her about something.
This is quite an absurd situation.
“…But why is this happening all of a sudden?”
“Because, Mr. Siwoo suddenly ran away.”
“But isn’t ignoring when the director calls you a problem?”
“Who’s ignoring? If he just played around and came back, that would’ve been fine. Suddenly jumping to another table made it look like you did something wrong. This is your self-inflicted punishment.”
“Actually, people from another table invited me over. I’m not a top star like the two of you. I’m new.”
“So, we just left you alone during the gathering.”
“In any case, we’ve shown sufficient courtesy. The one causing problems is Mr. Siwoo.”
“…Ugh.”
Reasonable.
But wouldn’t anyone else have done the same thing?
How could I return when all those scary stares were pointed my way?
Thinking it would simply blow over with time seems to have been a miscalculation on my part.
“…Alright. So, what’s the issue here?”
“It’s not necessarily an issue… but it seems Mr. Siwoo has shown an interest in girl idol groups.”
“Girl idol groups? Isn’t that a little off?”
“What exactly is inappropriate?”
“Because if any scandals happen involving girl idols, it’ll be extremely troublesome. This would be far worse than the incident where Mr. Nam Hyun-ho was beaten up.”
Well, reasonable, but…
This conversation is heading in a strange direction.
“Mr. Siwoo, did you hit Mr. Nam Hyun-ho?”
“Hitting? Who said hitting? It was just a sparring session. A light one.”
“Calling punching someone ‘sparring’ doesn’t work. So what about Mr. Jo Yoo-shin?”
“Ah, that was just a bit of etiquette…”
“People call that ‘assault’ Mr. Siwoo.”
“Why is this conversation veering toward that?”
“Mr. Siwoo, you are categorized as a subject requiring strict management.”
“Yeah, you might need a bit of management.”
“Shouldn’t you, Predecessor Suyeon, rethink that claim?”
These women are really spiraling into odd territory.
In any case, I need to calm down this situation, which means I have no choice but to reveal something I didn’t want to disclose.
If the initial belief that I’m interested in girl idols isn’t resolved, these senseless attacks will likely continue.
I have no idea which button triggered this reaction, but both seemed far too earnest about nothing worthwhile.
“I’m not particularly fond of girl idol groups.”
“That seems contradictory to what you just said.”
“Sure, but that was during a conversation with Predecessor Lion. You can’t directly state you dislike idols when you’re one yourself.”
“That wasn’t the vibe I was getting.”
“The topic of girl idols came up for a reason.”
“Reason?”
Although reluctantly, I told the truth.
The context in which the girl idol groups were mentioned was due to the new girl group being launched by Lion’s agency, PMC.
“Ah, got it.”
“That’s the girl idol group Mr. Siwoo is interested in.”
“You’re with PMC, right, Mr. Lion?”
“True, I heard they’re prepping something fierce this time.”
“What’s PMC’s style?”
“They go for a strong style, right?”
“Girl groups are usually built on a dreamy base, enhanced with either sexy or crush themes depending on member composition.”
At that, the conversation started to veer off in a bizarre direction again.
People really should listen to someone fully before responding.
I have no interest in PMC’s girl group style.
It feels like I’ve eaten ten sweet potatoes; my throat is closing up.
“In fact, my mother’s daughter is included in that group.”
“…Huh? Mother’s daughter… Does that mean your sister?”
“No, not my sister. Mother’s daughter.”
“…Isn’t that the same as your sister?”
“Ho ho ho. Why so serious? Mr. Siwoo, aren’t you making this funny? Do you dislike having a sister?”
Seeing Moon Suyeon’s laughter made me realize I probably failed at my poker face.
Thinking about the unappealing girl being my sister gave me the chills.
I’ve long erased the word ‘sister’ from my vocabulary.
Anyway, things seem to have improved a little after revealing that my mother’s daughter — not my sister — will debut via PMC.
The focus has now shifted from analyzing which girl idol groups I like to figuring who this sister of mine really is.
“PMC debut group? That’s impressive.”
“So, who is it?”
For the benefit of these two, who were full of curiosity, I searched PMC Entertainment’s official website and various idol fan communities.
It’s common knowledge that large entertainment agencies start building a fandom long before the debut.
To my surprise, my mom’s daughter is quite known in this industry.
The official teaser hasn’t been released yet, but some basic profile information is already available.
I showed them a few photos.
“Wow, she’s quite pretty, isn’t she?”
“Now that you mention it, she does resemble Mr. Siwoo. Their face shapes are similar if you look closely.”
Both of them nodded, saying she was pretty.
Ah, no, that annoying girl isn’t pretty at all… Well, yes, I admit she’s beautiful.
Beautiful, my mom’s daughter is.
A miraculous combination of all the best traits from my father, who exudes warmth, and my mother, who hides uniqueness within her ordinary appearance.
This girl is undeniably good-looking.
Had the sudden transformation not occurred, this girl would’ve been far more superior to me until now.
She became a trainee at PMC at a young age purely due to her looks.
Even when she abandoned her idol dreams for beauty school, her appearance still gave her various advantages.
She occasionally received offers to become an actress.
Her special talent was rubbing these advantages in my face while making me bake mochi bread.
Fortunately, there’s a significant age gap between us; otherwise, having her in the same grade would’ve been exhausting.
Girls incessantly asking me to introduce them to my sister would’ve been relentless.
“Visual center, Baek Hayoung…”
As it turns out, my mom’s daughter is now highly regarded as the visual center of PMC.
This seems off, but since this is reality, I have to accept it.
Of course, I still believe the future of K-pop is bleak.
“What’s this… ‘new girl group name recruitment?’ What is this?”
“What? Oh, PMC has been doing this.”
“Really? PMC decides group names like this?”
“It’s a tradition, if you can call it that.”
While the two women were gazing at the photos, I found an intriguing event on PMC’s official website.
“New girl group name recruitment.”
In other words, they were soliciting names for the new idol group.
According to Moon Suyeon, a K-pop expert, PMC has always chosen group names this way.
Idols performing under names selected by fan votes tend to foster more dedicated fandoms.
“But, the result was something as random as ‘Nuclear’? Hmm, PMC itself seems…”
PMC Entertainment.
Definitely not a private military firm.
The name PMC stems from Park Min-chan’s stage name back in his composer days.
Despite being just initials, it naturally generated many memes.
Though stressed by it initially, Park Min-chan seems to now find enjoyment in it.
“Fangirls’ snipers.”
“Fanboys’ bombers.”
“And ‘Nuclear,’ which will detonate in the music industry.”
All absurd names proposed by fans.
Even Park Min-chan, who decided to hold another event in this situation, seems quite off his rocker.
“Let’s see, since we’re here, I’ll submit one as well?”
“Huh? Is Mr. Siwoo participating in the event?”
“Yes, sort of. For fun. It seems lots of people are participating, so why not?”
As a way to repay Lion, who gave me a sense of humiliation by running off without an explanation, I decided to contribute one very shocking and provocative group name.
Thinking about the indignity our unappealing daughter once brought me, I can’t afford to miss this event.
So, they’re a five-member girl group?
A girl group based on a mix of diverse concepts: dreamy, sexy, pure, etc. These chameleons can handle all sorts of concepts.
Wait, how is that even possible if my mom’s daughter is the visual center?
“If the company allows provocative names… Well, considering names like ‘Nuclear,’ why not… Pentakill? No, no, pent…nill?”
“…What’s that?”
“Isn’t this good? Pentnill.”
“…Isn’t that too extreme?”
“Isn’t it catchy and stimulating?”
“Too stimulating?”
“What’s pentnill, anyway?”
“It’s a highly addictive morphine-based pain reliever with immense potency.”
“Ah… a drug.”
As I imagine PMC staff cursing at this point, laughter involuntarily bubbles up.
How absurd would they feel?
They’d probably think it’s just another crazy person.
“But isn’t this too much since your sister is debuting?”
“Ah, this is fine. Fans of drugs are kind of underground anyway.”
“Better than pesticide, I guess.”
“Anyway, it’s just something that will be laughed off. What’s the harm?”
But the world is vast and full of crazy people.
Moreover, PMC’s fans belong to the extreme type among obsessive fans.
Otherwise, idol groups like Nuclear wouldn’t have been born.
Of course, PMC’s President Park Min-chan isn’t entirely sane either.
