NOVEL WEB Chapter 281
Chapter 281. The Important Thing (3)
“Did you say you’d do it?”
Kang Hawon asked as he lay comfortably on the bed, flipping through a comic book.
“What was it again? A cutesy-sexy girl group?”
“It’s *innocent-cutesy*, okay? That’s really important in this industry. Be careful.”
“Oh, right. So, are you doing it?”
With a voice that sounded like he couldn’t care less, Kang Hawon asked again. I, too, dropped the comic book I had been flipping over my face and replied.
“It was too reasonable of an offer to refuse….”
Playing house with the Italian mafia?
Just thinking about it was crazy fun.
On top of that, the song selection was perfect.
– Am I hearing this wrong?
– Your reaction seems spot on.
– They’re going to do ‘More More.’
More More, what was that again?
It was the title track of a certain girl group that came out about ten years ago. Like songs from that era, it was a love anthem with no sense of self-awareness from the singer, and from start to finish, it was all about “I love you so much I could die.”
The lyrics were simple, but the melody was catchy, and it had a lot of iconic dance moves. It was so popular that whenever a pretty or handsome celebrity appeared on TV, they’d ask them to perform the song’s choreography. It became a national hit.
Moreover, the original girl group, who were from a smaller company, had gone through a tentative disbandment years ago and quietly continued their individual activities. They were a typical example of a nostalgic “those days” girl group. I wondered how this song made it onto the selection list, but it turned out that one of the members, who was now an actress, was hosting an end-of-year stage. It was essentially a tribute performance as a nod to her.
At this point, I thought about it seriously.
1. Is this a bold song choice that can outshine Utopia’s cover?
▶ YES. (What could beat the Italian mafia playing house with Kongsooni?)
2. Is the song’s popularity or fame insufficient compared to other groups?
▶ YES. (It’s a national anthem where everyone sings the chorus as soon as they hear the intro.)
3. Is there any risk of us being overshadowed by the image of the original song?
▶ YES. (If anything, we’d be ruining the original image, not getting overshadowed….)
4. Is there any risk of getting caught up in a pointless senior-junior battle?
▶ YES. (It was a tribute stage for a small company’s miracle girl group, so the optics were good.)
And finally,
5. Honestly, does it sound fun?
▶ Hell YES. (Yes.)
“You’re really an incurable moth to a flame, Hawon….”
Why can’t I practice self-restraint?
I grabbed my forehead, lamenting my own recklessness. Kang Hawon calmly closed his comic book and replied to me.
“You’re just figuring that out now?”
“You little….”
“Give up, hyung. You’ve always been like this.”
I know that too, you brat.
Grumbling, I turned over and pulled the blanket towards me. I stretched my legs out to rest them on Kang Hawon’s body, and he resumed reading his comic, using my legs as a cushion.
“I’m going to sleep now, so wake me up when the manager hyung comes to pick me up later.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve been sleeping deeply lately because I’m tired, so don’t be surprised.”
“Sure.”
To carry out the purpose for which I had squeezed out some time to return home, using my belated birthday as an excuse, I covered myself up to my neck with the blanket and closed my eyes.
I needed to enter the space of the subconscious, but having tried it a few times at the dorm, I couldn’t help but feel conscious of Jung Siwoo and Lee Doha, so it just wasn’t working.
Whispering the entry keywords softly so that Kang Hawon couldn’t hear, my body soon became heavy, and my eyes closed. Passing through the familiar darkness, I found myself in my familiar and welcoming workspace.
“This time, it’s not that beach from before?”
It was a shame since I had grown attached to that place because it was pretty in its own way.
Thinking pointless thoughts, I approached the center of the workspace and slammed down on the bright red emergency call button I had used the last time to summon the ‘Entity’. After pressing it once and getting no response, I rhythmically hammered it with enthusiasm, like I used to practice pen beats in the classroom, until I finally got a reaction.
[……Do you think I’m some kind of customer service center?]
Instead of the usual ‘voice,’ a message from the ‘Entity’ appeared on the blue system window this time.
I shook my head as I sat back on the sofa.
“I would never think of you, our valuable main office customer, in such a rude way. I actually came with something important to say today. It’s urgent.”
[Go ahead.]
“Give me a birthday present.”
When I confidently held out both hands, the ‘Entity’ seemed so taken aback that it couldn’t even respond.
But whether it responded or not, I continued with my purpose.
“Give me a birthday present. I’ve already decided what I want.”
[What is it?]
“Give me back Thirteen.”
The still blue and transparent system window remained unresponsive. But if I were going to back down, I wouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.
“Dolja being quiet makes me uneasy. I’m going to win the rookie award soon, and I’m diligently following your orders to preserve the timeline. But I can’t do it alone. Give me back Thirteen.”
[But….]
“I don’t care about things like humanization, so you figure it out. Honestly, it’s annoying for you too to be summoned by me like this all the time, isn’t it?”
Perhaps it was true that it was annoying, as the system window remained silent without any reaction.
Looking at the quiet system window, I candidly shared my honest feelings, which I had been thinking about all this time.
“I need a friend. Someone who knows everything about my life.”
[…….]
“At least until the business with the Regressor ends, I think I need Thirteen. Please. I’m helping you guys too. Give me back Thirteen.”
Then, a reply from the previously silent ‘Entity’ appeared a bit later.
[Alright. I’ll think about it.]
“…Thanks.”
[Is that all?]
“Yes. That’s it.”
[Alright. Take care of the remaining days.]
It was a strange farewell, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about that.
Having finished my business, I turned around and walked out the door. With a flash of bright light, the world flickered again.
‘There really won’t be much time left from now on.’
If I got through this month safely, it would mark a year since I returned to the current timeline.
And I sincerely hoped that this would be my last winter at twenty.
‘Once this winter is over….’
The first step to passing this winter was winning the rookie award.
Thinking of the Chosen Regressor, who I couldn’t know what was on his mind at that moment, I opened my eyes to the familiar feeling of nausea.
* * *
As early December rolled around, the media hype for the end-of-year stages kicked into high gear.
Each agency leaked information about what amazing stages their artists were preparing for the year-end, and the broadcasting stations and organizers promoted how incredible the lineup would be to attract more sponsors and ads.
Among all this, the one thing that drew the most attention from idol fans was this:
**[20XX QBS Music Festival] Kairos, Lanion, Stormheader… Senior Idol Cover Stage Teased**
While it was nice that they prepared special stages every year, fans were always thrilled just by the fact that they would get to hear songs that they wouldn’t usually hear. People started sharing their thoughts, wondering who would cover what song.
**[My Ideal QBS Senior Idol Cover Combinations]**
Kairos – Utopia
Lanion – Spear
Both are so clearly Rene and Miro successors, I’m curious lolololol
– Kairos did a Utopia cover at their last concert, and the fancam was crazy.
– But looking at it all together like this, the agency presidents’ tastes are super obvious.
– Hasn’t it been announced who’s covering what yet?
└ Nope, not yet.
– There’s a rumor that Stormheader will cover Spear’s song.
└ What? Who?
**[I love senior idol covers, but I thought there’d be at least one idol collab]**
Lanion’s Cha Minseok, Xiao Jun
Kairos’s Seo Taehyun, Lee Yugeon
Stormheader’s Raki
Mixmatch’s Gong Seongwoo—I thought there’d be a stage with this same-age line-up.
I can’t believe no one planned this killer same-age line collab.
– I knowㅠㅠ I was a little hopeful for some end-of-year stage bonding since Taehyun and Minseok know each other, but so disappointing.
└ Are Seo Taehyun and Cha Minseok close?
└ Yeah, they went to the same dance academy.
└ But they barely greeted each other during music shows, so I think it’s just that they went to the same academy.
**[Is Kairos staging a coup? Is this happening? IS IT HAPPENING???]**
Ugh, my hands are shaking, please.
I need to see our drop-dead gorgeous Jung Siwoo in a uniform hitting those 7 high
notes.
While people were spinning their own happy theories, someone threw a wrench into their daydreams.
@TkdsTkdddf
**QBS Music Festival Cover Stage Spoilers**
Stormheader – Spear *Make My Way*
Lanion – Utopia *Coup d’Etat*
Kairos – Cheongwol Girls’ *More More*
Genation – Themis *Lover Boy*
….
Retweets: 478 Quote Tweets: 3,409 Likes: 100
The tweet read like pure rumor with no verification, but the details of the artists and songs were so specific that it spread quickly across the internet. The account disappeared not long after, possibly reported, but this only fueled its credibility.
People, shocked by the audacious spoiler, began to dig in with renewed intensity.
**[Is the QBS spoiler real?]**
Are they really doing that?????????? That’s so random.
– Doesn’t seem real lolol. Rene would never give their idols a Miro song.
– It’s such a ridiculous combination that it’s hard to believe.
Out of the blue, Stormheader snatched a top idol group’s song, and Lanion suddenly got stuck with a song from an unrelated senior group. Fans of both groups responded fiercely, with Stormheader’s comparatively smaller fandom clashing with Lanion’s, creating a wave of negative opinions.
But the team that created the most significant impact, enough to overshadow even that clash, was Kairos.
**[Saw the spoiler, and it’s so outrageous lolololololol]**
Kairos doing *More More*? That’s literally the most unlikely pairing in the world.
– It’s absurd whether it’s real or fake tlqkf who thought it was a good idea to make those masters of dark music do *More More*?
└ Why… We have Taehyun and Haru… We can be bright and lively too…
└ Don’t cry, let’s talk it out.
– If it’s real, it would be fun… I want Kang Hajin to do Shane’s part with *Tralalala More More* there.
└ Stop saying scary things for real.
**[So Kairos is doing this? Really???]**
(*More More* iconic part gif)
I’ll pretend not to know until you confess
Are you telling me Kairos is going to do this crazy love song full of whines???
– I’m curious in multiple ways.
– If this is true, both QBS and Kairos are super determined.
– Hey, our boys can be refreshing too. Why…
└ Don’t cry, let’s talk it out.
└ You never listen to me, 씨양ㅠㅜ
With everyone’s attention focused on them, QBS poured all their efforts into keeping the information under wraps and heightening the buzz.
And so, time flew by,
– It’s happening, it’s really happening!
The long-awaited day of the music festival had finally arrived.