Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 277

The members, dressed up and entering the fan signing hall, lined up and shouted the team slogan that now rolled off their tongues.

“On and on, ORCA!”

“Hello, please take care of us today as well!”

The excited cheers of the Aeri echoed high in the fan signing hall.

Some fans gasped at the sight of On Raon, whom they hadn’t seen in a while.

Yoon Seon-woo was one of them.

‘What the, why is he so beautiful today?’

On Raon was always handsome, but today, he seemed to have made a special effort, radiating a gentle and bright aura all over.

If the word ‘lovely’ became a person, it would be On Raon…….

Usually, his face was a perfect 5:5 ratio of warm and cold, but today it was 10:0, as if an early spring day had arrived while looking at him.

‘My preference is black hair with a 1:9 ratio of warm and cold, but this is good in its own way too.’

Yoon Seon-woo, who had become a fan of On Raon, displayed his ever-developing face-appreciation skills internally while fiddling with his prepared camera.

On Raon, sitting down with a particularly youthful face, chatting quietly with Seo Moon-gyeol next to him, looked ahead and waved slightly at the fans watching him.

The gentle voice saying he missed them into the microphone caused groans from here and there.

Anyway, there had been many concerns due to various issues, but seeing his bright face, it seemed he had rested well.

Soon after, the fan signing event started in earnest.

There wasn’t much difference from usual, but a lot of people, sitting in front of On Raon, started by showering him with praises like a rap.

“Raon, you’re the most handsome, cutest, prettiest, coolest, and loveliest in the world…….”

“The way you move lightly and quickly when dancing is the best, and I love your voice when you sing. Your smile is like a miracle that divides the sky and the sea…….”

On Raon, who had met fans several times and was trained for most flattery, didn’t know what to do today with the detailed and abundant compliments from the Aeri who came prepared.

“Thank you. Really. I want to record this and listen to it over and over.”

Sometimes, even fans who weren’t here for the first time burst into tears as soon as they made eye contact with On Raon.

“Sniff, Raon…….”

On Raon, who quickly gave up calming the fan, instead dabbed at their tears with a tissue.

‘I should cry too……!’

A few fans who had been watching On Raon from their seats thought impulsively in the overly thrilling situation.

However, thinking it was relatively rational not to show a face messed up with tears in front of him, they calmed down again.

That fan probably didn’t cry because they wanted to.

As someone guessed, the fan who started crying even more sorrowfully after On Raon wiped their tears tried to calm down in embarrassment and regret, but the tear ducts that had once malfunctioned showed no signs of drying up.

“Ugh. Really, I don’t want to be like this, sniff…….”

“It’s okay. You can cry. I’ll talk more.”

“Are, are you eating well, sniff…….”

“Meals? This morning, I had rice with kimchi stew that Ji-woo hyung made, and for lunch, I had Vietnamese noodles delivered from a famous restaurant. Should I tell you what I had for dinner last night? Is that okay? Why are you so upset? Look at me. I’m eating well and sleeping well, so you don’t need to worry. Really.”

Gwak Sang-hyun, who had quietly placed a new box of tissues on the table, praised his foresight for leaving On Raon’s spot for last, anticipating this situation.

The fan, who had been crying continuously, finally calmed down near the end, only making occasional hiccup-like sounds. Nodding at On Raon’s ‘see you again’ and covering their reddened face with their hands, they returned to their seat.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Raon.”

The next fan was much calmer compared to the previous one.

Of course, that didn’t mean there wasn’t the obligatory praise session, which could be considered a required course for today.

“Raon, you did some acting in the new music video, right? You were so good at it. I watched the acting parts a hundred times as if you were ready to shoot a youth drama right away. It wasn’t awkward at all and…….”

On Raon, who had just finished signing, had to listen to rapid-fire compliments again.

Of course, compliments were always good, so On Raon, with a broad smile on his face, listened to the fan’s praises while slyly checking the post-it note with questions on it.

Q. What do you think about the members these days? Please write in 5 syllables♡

The names of the members were listed below.

“Just write whatever comes to mind right away. It doesn’t have to be exactly 5 syllables.”

“Got it.”

1. Ji-woo: AgainRaise

2. Yo-han: WantToBeClose

3. Gyeol: ILikeHyungToo

4. Seong-ha: LifeCutPhoto!

On Raon, exchanging simple current talks, quickly wrote answers to the post-it questions and handed the album back to the fan.

“Isn’t Ji-woo hyung really handsome these days? He looked so handsome in the music video that it was the best ever.”

The fan agreed with On Raon’s generous assessment.

“Yes. But in my eyes, Raon is number one. What does ‘WantToBeClose’ mean? Do you want to be close?”

“Yes, that’s right. I tried to match it to five syllables.”

The fan laughed out loud at that.

**“Even more than now?”

“Even more than now.”**

On Raon, who had chosen ‘want to be closer’ over ‘should get closer’ because the latter might seem too distant, cheerfully answered while using an insertion mark to add ‘more’ in front of the already written ‘want to be closer’.

The fan, who had even received brief explanations for the words written under Seo Moon-gyeol and Gyun Seong-ha’s names, began to sense the staff’s gaze from behind.

However, since leaving without being told to would be a great loss, the fan firmly asked the remaining question.

“Oh, right. Do you think you can get 1st place this time?”

Having been asked similar questions a few times already, On Raon was able to answer with a comfortable smile.

“I’d really love to, but since we’ve missed it many times before, I can’t be certain we’ll get it. But I really do want it.”

Satisfied with On Raon’s sparkling face as he spoke of his hopes, the fan started to gather their things.

They could feel the piercing gaze of the staff indicating it was hard to let them stay any longer.

The fan also realized they had spent much longer talking with the members than usual.

“Good luck with the rest of your activities. I’ll keep supporting you. Fighting!”

“Fighting! Thank you for coming. See you again!”

Thus, the fan signing event, which proceeded more leisurely and for a longer time than usual, ended, becoming a memorable and abundant event for the fans.

—

The next day.

We received the news that ORCA had been selected as the 1st place candidate for this week’s Music Round after finishing rehearsal and getting our hair and makeup done in the waiting room.

Since we had been 1st place candidates several times during our last activities, the members received the news relatively calmly.

“Who are the other 1st place candidates besides us?”

The group that was jointly nominated had previously experienced several 1st place wins as well and belonged to a mid-sized agency.

“Guys, we need to decide on our 1st place promise.”

“What didn’t we get to do last time?”

“Sharing one microphone to sing, switching parts while singing, carrying a member on our backs.”

“Oh, it feels a bit uneasy to decide since we’ve narrowly missed out so many times. If the gap was big, it’d be fine, but it’s always so close…….”

“Hey, don’t say such negative things!”

“If we do win, it’ll be our first, so let’s not do anything too flashy or difficult. You’ll probably be too busy crying.”

At Gwak Sang-hyun’s mischievous advice, I turned to Kang Ji-woo and asked.

“Hyung, do you think you’ll cry if we get 1st place?”

“Me? I’m not sure…….”

Kang Ji-woo tilted his head but soon answered with a bright smile.

“But I probably won’t cry? I’m the leader, so I have to give a speech. To our respected CEO Ban Ga-eul, Director Joo Yeol-eum, Team Leader Choi Bo-ra…….”

Kang Ji-woo confidently recited the company members’ names, saying he had memorized them all overnight.

The staff teased Kang Ji-woo, saying they’d see how well he’d do during the live broadcast.

“Gyun Seong-ha will definitely cry.”

“…….”

Gyun Seong-ha couldn’t deny it with a clear conscience.

“On Raon, let’s see if you cry or not.”

“I don’t know if Raon will cry or not.”

After a nonsensical debate in the waiting room about whether I would cry or not.

“And even if we don’t make it, let’s smile and congratulate the 1st place winners like last time. Got it?”

Kang Ji-woo’s calm words brought the excited waiting room atmosphere back to earth.

But since it was the right thing to do, everyone nodded calmly.

“Yes.”

“And you all remember what we talked about yesterday, right?”

Ban Yo-han asked, looking at me, while the members exchanged glances.

“What?”

“What did you talk about?”

To the curious staff, we just smiled silently.

—

After waiting for a few hours, the live broadcast of Music Round began.

Until the moment we announced our 1st place promise during the 1st place candidate interview, the members remained calm. But at some point, they started getting so nervous that it seemed amazing we finished the live stage safely.

“Guys, why are you so shaky when you usually aren’t?”

“No, I’m not shaking.”

“Okay, Ji-woo. Since you’re not shaking, stop drinking water, and don’t forget to manage your expressions when you get the results.”

Just before going up on stage for the 1st place announcement, Gwak Sang-hyun, while alternating between our cold hands, seemed to be giving us some advice.

After Gwak Sang-hyun was moved to a far distance by the Music Round production team, we felt the other singers around us glancing at us.

“We’re going up on stage now. ORCA on the left and the last girls on the right.”

Following the staff’s instructions, we stood at the front of the stage with the girl group who were the other 1st place candidates.

‘I should’ve drunk some water too…….’

**Under the hot lights, my mouth dried up, and I slightly regretted not drinking any water.**

“Now, let’s see who will take the 1st place on Music Round this week. We’ll reveal the results right now.”

After the MCs’ remarks ended.

Finally, it was time to find out who won 1st place.

An empty score chart appeared on the monitor in front of us.

Kang Ji-woo, standing in the middle of our group, tightly held the hands of Seo Moon-gyeol and me on either side.

A moment later, we watched, hand in hand, as the scores were revealed one by one.

We led in the digital and album scores, and the real-time text voting score, which had been partially revealed during the broadcast, showed that we were overwhelmingly ahead.

If we added up all the other scores…

Wow.

“ORCA! Congratulations!”

We actually did it.

The trophy and microphone were handed over to our side.

Kang Ji-woo, who was standing closest to the MCs, received the trophy, and with teary eyes, he took the microphone.

He was still holding my hand, probably too nervous to realize he hadn’t let go yet.

“Uh, so, uh….”

Despite saying he wouldn’t cry, tears streamed down his face, and he couldn’t speak properly because he was busy wiping them with the back of his hand.

“We are really… really thankful to everyone who helped us receive this award. This is our first 1st place….”

Kang Ji-woo, with a face mixed with tears and laughter, took a few deep breaths and spoke his prepared speech in a trembling voice.

“To my aunt, CEO Ban Ga-eul, Director Joo Yeol-eum, Team Leader Choi Bo-ra, our hardworking managers, Sang-hyun hyung, Dae-hyun hyung….”

Kang Ji-woo started crying so much that he couldn’t continue, so Seo Moon-gyeol, standing next to him, took over the microphone.

“To Yoorim noona, Seung-heon hyung, the hair and makeup staff who always make us look great, the stylists, the security guards who protect us, and our members’ parents, thank you so much.”

Seo Moon-gyeol, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly choked up and stopped talking, so the microphone, having nowhere to go, skipped over the still-crying Kang Ji-woo and came to me.

Gyun Seong-ha, standing next to Seo Moon-gyeol, had been repeatedly sitting down and standing up, hiding his tear-streaked face with the trophy, unsure what to do.

“And our Aeri! We got 1st place!”

The Aeri below the stage cheered, waving their light sticks as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“Thanks to all of you, I am incredibly happy to win 1st place for the first time with a song I wrote.”

My words, spoken naturally and innocently without any particular intention, made everyone present momentarily wear a puzzled expression as if asking, ‘What did he just say?’

Before the awkward atmosphere from the shock could set in, Ban Yo-han, who had received an encore microphone from the staff, promptly chimed in.

“That’s right. This time, ‘Again’ is a song written by Raon!”

Even the members, who had been too busy crying, nodded in agreement, which was somewhat touching.

“Kyaaaah!”

The Aeri finally understood the significance and screamed louder than before.

Seeing my close-up on the screen, I smiled brightly as if I had the whole world.

I briefly thought about crying with the members too.

‘But I should smile.’

The people I like should be happy seeing my handsome face.

“We will always work hard and do our best to make you all happy. Thank you!”

To those bastards who ruined my beautiful plan, I hope they just look at my good-looking face, eat well, sleep well, and then die out of jealousy.