★ The Second Life Idols Lucky Plan – Chapter 177
[PR: I'm back (: ]
"... You remember me?"
Baek Yi-hyun responded with a smile to Do Ji-hyuk, who had a surprised look.
"There's no way I wouldn't remember. Our debuts coincided with each other."
Orchid and Black Ocean debuted 6 years ago, two weeks apart, and spent their first promotional period together. It's hard to imagine now, but at the time, the two groups seemed to have been standing at a fairly similar starting line.
'Because the two groups started under similar conditions.'
They come from small and medium-sized agencies with ambiguous influence, and each is a rookie who launched with a certain amount of fan base.
Black Ocean was a group that completed their pre-debut through B-Best Entertainment's trainee reality program. Orchid was an idol who debuted through a survival program conducted by RE Entertainment.
It seems that Orchid's fan base was a little bigger due to the influence of Survival, but
the influence of the program itself was so-so, so the fan base was still only a handful.
Therefore, at the time, the awareness of the two groups seemed to be so similar that it was impossible to determine who was superior, but after that, they were completely different.
Unlike Black Ocean, which did not receive a reasonable response, Orchid attracted a large fan base from its debut song.
That wasn't all.
'Among the male idols who debuted together that year, none of the groups survived other than Orchid.'
It is said that dozens of idol groups debut in a year, and only a few survive among them, but the year that Orchid and Black Ocean debuted was even more miserable.
Orchid ate up all the attention that year and grew rapidly, entering the ranks of top-tier idols in just two years, but other than them, no other team achieved decent results.
"I did."
Therefore, Do Ji-hyuk had a look of surprise on his face, as if he didn't know that he remembered him. Baek Yi-hyun continued speaking while looking at that face.
"I also know some of the former members."
"... Oh, are you talking about Donghyun?"
Right after that, a smile appeared on Do Ji-hyuk's shaking face. Baek Yi-hyun tilted his head as if curious.
"It's been a while since I heard that name. How is Donghyun doing?"
"Haha, I'm not sure about that. It's been a while since I contacted him. After I returned from the military, I lost touch. It's only natural since the team was disbanded in the first place."
Do Ji-hyuk joked slyly and lightly crossed his arms. Then, he stared at Baek Yi-hyun quietly and asked.
"Come to think of it, weren't you close to Donghyun Hyung at the beginning of your debut? Mr. Yi-hyun... Oh, can I call you this? I guess the name is ambiguous. It is true that I made a re-debut, but I definitely debuted with Mr. Yi-hyun."
"Please choose the one that is more convenient for you. As I said before, I have no intention of being a senior. Personally, I'm also glad to see you, because I still vividly remember you from the beginning of your debut."
"It's surprising. I don't think Donghyun Hyung was the type of person who would talk about the members."
"Ah, no. That's not what I heard from Donghyun. I don't know what you'll think if I say this... ... ."
And in the following words, I could see Do Ji-hyuk's smile becoming incontinent.
"At that time, Jihyuk remained in my memory for a long time because he was the only member of Black Ocean who seemed to have a lot of thoughts."
"... ... ."
"That doesn't seem to have changed. So I'm glad."
In response to Baek Yi-hyun's words, Do Ji-hyuk was silent for a moment without responding. It was as if he was trying to guess what the guy was saying, or as if he didn't know which words to pick out.
"... I lived as the youngest for several years, including my time as a trainee. He must have a lot on his mind. I guess that's what being the youngest is all about, right? Being in a position where you have no choice but to suffer from the pressure of your Hyung."
It wasn't long before Do Ji-hyuk became a social face again. Do Ji-hyuk naturally changed the topic again with a sly tone.
"So it's good now. It still doesn't feel real that I suddenly went from being the youngest to the eldest. However, there are also good points. Because I know the hardships, I am trying my best to be good to my youngest. Right, Chanhee."
"Yes? Uh... ... ."
Yu Chan-hee, who was watching the strange confrontation, looked startled by the sudden call. However, Yu Chan-hee soon naturally matched his mood.
"... What makes you good at that? I've never felt that way before?"
"Ah~ It's like this. The youngest children don't know how their older siblings feel. I wonder if our Chanhee will change when he grows up."
"Yes, Chanhee. What if you don't know the feelings of your brothers like this? It's so sad."
"Hey, why are you talking? You're the youngest too!"
"In terms of age, I am the youngest, but in terms of position, I am in the position of taking care of you... ... ."
In addition, Se-rim Cheon added his words, and a hastily created cheerfulness filled the waiting room, which had been sinking. As I saw that, I tapped Baek Yi-hyun on the shoulder.
"Hyung, I think you and I will have something to say about the order of corners later. Do you want to talk about it separately? I want to give the members some rest before the live broadcast."
"... Is that so?"
I left the waiting room with Baek Yi-hyun, who was smiling brightly. Then, I moved to another location and asked as soon as I entered the guy's waiting room.
"So, why did you talk like that to Do Ji-hyuk?"
"Me?"
Baek Yi-hyun asked back with an innocent face, as if he didn't know anything. I had no intention of hiding it anyway, so I let out a small sigh as I was being bothered once again for no reason.
"I just warned Do Ji-hyuk to behave well."
There was only one reason why Baek Yi-hyun mentioned the black ocean by citing the past, which was not necessarily related to Do Ji-hyuk. I guess he's telling us to be careful and not get caught up in unnecessary accidents, just like he did during Black Ocean.
In response to my response, Baek Yi-hyun did not leave out anymore.
"Is it noticeable?"
"You said it was me, didn't you?"
"That's right. But it wasn't a warning. Rather, it's closer to a compliment."
Baek Yi-hyun sat back in his chair and continued talking as if he was having fun.
"You are the one who survived until the end, Mr. Jihyuk. He is definitely a quick-witted person. I just asked to keep that attitude no matter what happens in the future. I also hope that OneDear can continue its activities safely."
"It's pointless. If he had been that bad in the first place, don't you think Do Ji-hyuk would have been divided when the Black Ocean members exploded?"
"Ahaha, that's right. It is certainly Jihyuk's credit that Black Ocean could continue its activities for three years. So I felt like there was a need to be more careful."
"What?"
And Baek Yi-hyun immediately asked me an unexpected question.
"Have you ever met the Black Ocean members? Yoo-ha."
"Wait, do you mean..,"
Black Ocean was an idol group that debuted with a total of 6 members, including Do Ji-hyuk. Four of them caused problems, and one person stopped activities due to health problems, so in the end, only Do Ji-hyuk was left.
'I know that Do Ji-hyuk also cut ties with all of those members in the first place.'
In the meantime, there was no way I would have met the Black Ocean members. From the beginning, it seemed that Do Ji-hyuk also did not want to mention the black ocean in all of his activities.
"The four people who had the accident were similar at the beginning of their debut. He couldn't be careful about what he said or did, but he was greedy and short-thinking, so Jihyuk, the youngest, had to cut them off and warn him every time."
However, Do Ji-hyuk seemed to have a good relationship with the members on the surface. He was able to be in the position of 'beloved youngest' in his own way because he carefully observed the members' behavior and cleverly controlled them while maintaining his friendly attitude.
"I think it was probably because they didn't know that they were being controlled by Do Ji-hyuk. At least Donghyun thought Jihyuk was easy."
"Does that concern what you warned Do Ji-hyuk about?"
"Yes. Only the youngest, who was so easygoing, survived. Jihyuk was the one who cut off the kite first."
I frowned, not immediately understanding what Baek Yi-hyun was trying to say. However, from the words that followed, I was able to realize what Baek Yi-hyun was trying to warn Do Ji-hyuk.
"Then Jihyuk succeeded in re-debuting on his own."
"... ... !"
Baek Yi-hyun looked at me with eyes that seemed to be measuring, and then spoke dryly.
"I don't know, but wouldn't the members who lost their relationship be quite upset right now? At least the Lee Dong-hyun I know seems to be that type of person."
"You think those who caused a stir themselves and stopped their activities will now want to bring down Do Ji-hyuk?"
"I just warned you in advance because I heard something."
"What did you hear?"
"I can't say for sure when, but... ... ."
Baek Yi-hyun quietly muttered.
"It is said that V-Best is preparing a male idol unit among existing singers."
After hearing those words, I quietly thought about the celebrities who remain at Bbest Entertainment.
Currently, only female idol group artists working under B-Best Entertainment exist. The male idols stopped their activities a long time ago and now they have gone their separate ways.
So what remains.
'... He's preparing to return.'
* * *
"Nice to meet you, OneDear! Can you please say hello first?"
"Yeah. Then, I'll change my seat."
After the live broadcast started, I stood up from my seat and headed toward the members at the same time Baek Yi-hyun asked me to say hello. I sang in front of the members who were smiling brightly.
"two three."
"BE YOUR WORLD! Hello, this is OneDear!"
After the greeting to the slogan was over, I sat on the sofa in the center. Baek Yi-hyun, who was sitting on my left, smiled while looking at the members on his right.
"Ah, I feel strange when Yoo-ha greets me there."
"Ahaha, actually, we also feel strange because Yoo-ha is coming over. How can I say it, it feels like I'm visiting my family's workplace?"
"Same as me. My younger brother and his co-workers are visiting our house."
"Ah, are we starting a fight over Yooha's family position?"
"I really don't want to lose this. Do you know what kind of sleeping habits Yoo-ha had when he was five years old?"
"We now know Yoo-ha's sleeping habits~!"
"I'm sorry, but could Yi-hyun and the other members please stop? What are the importance of sleeping habits?"
The radio show, which started with an exchange of pointless jokes, went off without a hitch, as if the strange war of nerves in the waiting room had never happened.
After promoting the new album and performing the title song, it was time to reach the Q&A corner with listeners watching the radio in real time.
"'The number one pledge for the last activity was skydiving, so will there be a promise for this activity as well? There is also a chat that says, 'I'm also curious if there's anything you want people to look forward to in this activity.' Do you have any separate pledges?"
When the question I had been waiting for arrived, I looked at the camera and opened my mouth.