Rockstar Again - Chapter 93



Only Noblemtl

Episode 93. The Boatman (2)

“sorry…….”

“No. I understand. I did that too. What.”

Kim Du-ri bows his head again and Ahn Chi-seop has a kind expression.

It was a bit of an unexpected sight.

Kim Du-ri was the type of person who did his work without making any mistakes, so he never had to bow his head to others. Ahn Chi-seop wasn’t a particularly kind person to others.

To summarize the process leading up to this, while revealing the identity of the Blue Porcelain member at the meeting, Kim Du-ri exploded because he thought they were making fun of him and ignoring him.

There was a bit of a scuffle.

It was only after Ohana listened to Ahn Chi-seop’s words that she came to believe that Na Tae-pyeong and Kim Du-ri were telling the truth.

Compared to Ahn Chi-seop, who was not very trustworthy, Ohana was a pretty trustworthy person.

Kim Du-ri, who had calmed down, opened her mouth again.

“So… … To summarize what the PD and your older sister said. Hong Young-pil and that gangster-looking uncle are friends. Yoon Tae-joo… … and the chairman, the three of them used to play music together when they were young? And they got older and got together?”

“yes.”

“Mr. Hong Young-pil’s profile says he’s 51 years old on the portal… … He’s 53 in old Korean age. No matter what, he’s over 50? Of course, a friend who resembles a gangster would be the same age. Chairman Yoon Tae-joo’s profile says he’s 53. Is he older? All three of them were born in the 70s?”

A hollow laugh came out of An Chi-seop’s mouth.

It’s funny to see Kim Du-ri organizing things.

A rookie rock band in their fifties.

One of them is the CEO of a large corporation.

“huh.”

“It’s an unusual combination, but I can understand why you said you’ve made music together before. It also feels like you’re finding your dream late in life… … It’s not a bad thing, is it?”

“okay?”

“But why is Dong-ha popping out here?”

“… … I don’t know.”

“… … Ha, shit. I overheard that. How can I make a story with this… … .”

Even if it’s not a drama, the writer plays a role in determining the flow of the story.

In survival shows, the writers are the ones who dictate the winner’s narrative. What I’m saying is that there is no angle to it.

The combination was so random.

“You don’t have to catch the story. I told you. That guy is a genius.”

“?”

An Chi-seop smiled as he looked back and forth between Kim Du-ri and Na Tae-pyeong, both full of doubts.

“Hong Young-pil’s identity has been revealed. How has the atmosphere changed? More than half of the young fans have left. Instead, he has gained more public recognition. The song that Hong Young-pil sang with his face exposed was exactly like that. 30s, 40s, 50s? Anyway, it’s a rock ballad that those generations grew up listening to. It’s not the song he used to sing, but definitely popular.”

“… … That was true. The song had to be really good.”

“Hey, needless to say, the song was good.”

“?”

“Instead of losing the power of the core fans that were forming, we gained popularity. If Dong-ha’s face suddenly pops out later, what will happen?”

“Ah… …! There’s going to be chaos? Like when Dong-ha appeared as Dong-ha-shin in Housekeeper?”

“That’s right. The birth of a rock band with popularity and core fans. And look at the members’ ages. Who in the world would call this a rock band with these members? Right?”

“No matter how many fans there are for idols, they’re not like that, right?”

“So. Who is the current tier 1 5th generation male idol? If you just look at the size of their fandom, it’s NBD9, the group we debuted. But we won’t have to fight them, and we’ll even get firepower support from them, right?”

“oh.”

As Ahn Chi-seop’s explanation continued, Kim Du-ri began to nod his head repeatedly.

As a professional writer for music broadcasts, the explanation was very concise.

Idol fandoms are exclusive.

Among them, the exclusivity of male idol fandom is beyond words.

It’s natural to fight with other fandoms of the same era.

If the weight class is similar, they bite each other because they are similar.

If the weight class is big, you grab the ankles to bring down the big guy.

They keep a close eye on lower class idols and prevent them from moving up in class.

They constantly issue restraining orders to female idols and harass them so they can’t even come near their older brothers.

The exclusive mentality of the fandom is even more effective for members who were part of a team often referred to as ‘two-legged friends’.

Simple withdrawal is not the answer.

If you leave and do activities that are harmful to our oppas. Simply put, if you do activities as a male idol, whether solo or in another group, from that moment on, you become a scapegoat and the fans start hunting for scapegoats.

In Lee Dong Ha’s case, even though it was before his debut, the fandom still refers to NBD9 as 9 plus 1.

This is possible because Lee Dong-hae had the largest individual fandom at the time of his election.

“The genres are different, so they’re not even competitors?”

“That’s right. I think the lineup was a very calculated decision. We all know that guy was a hipster who wanted to do rock.”

“With the minor genre of rock… … hiding its identity… … it captivates rock fans… … .”

“We will attract public attention by forming a group with members over 50 years old.”

“On top of that, they have a large idol fandom? Oh, of course the main one would be NBD9, but there wouldn’t be any problem with the secondary one, since there’s no overlap at all?”

When Ahn Chi-seop confirmed that Kim Du-ri had followed him, he snapped his fingers.

“That’s it. It was all meticulously calculated and gathered the members. No one else. That guy, Lee Dong-ha.”

“Even if you recruited other people, how can you explain why Chairman Yoon Tae-joo is a member? What is it that Yoon Tae-joo regrets? Or did he really have a dream in music? A conglomerate chairman…?”

“Dreams? That’s ridiculous. It’s obvious that it’s business. Look at Elon Musk who’s launching spaceships, or the CEO of Blue Farm who’s posting on social media every day. And the same goes for Cheong-Ah Gu Se-ryeong. The reason they’re drawing aggro isn’t because they’re crazy, right? Drawing aggro like that helps with corporate recognition, and it also helps solidify your position. It’s all directly related to money.”

“hmm…….”

An Chi-seop hit his chest as he watched Kim Du-ri swallow her breath after following him closely.

First, confirm the joining of Blue Porcelain and the identities of its members.

I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep for several days.

What kind of combination is this?

So, what was the intention behind this combination?

This is a conclusion I reached after much deliberation.

Everything that guy moves is thoroughly calculated. I thought he moved around as he pleased, but it was the complete opposite.

I’ve been watching from close range, so now I have a rough idea.

The character Lee Dong-ha formed in Ahn Chi-seop’s head.

‘A genius. But a hipster kid who wants to do rock. But he’s not only a genius in music, he’s also smart and good at strategizing.’

“When that guy Lee Dong-ha was chosen, he asked me to meet Chairman Yoon Tae-joo. Since I couldn’t do that, he left without looking back. Now that I think about it, even if I had allowed him to meet, I think he would have made excuses and left midway. He had planned it from back then. After he quit our program, he probably met him somehow and made a deal. Chairman Yoon Tae-joo, even though he’s a tycoon, would have the image of an artist and a friendly feeling. As for Dong-ha himself, he got the picture of holding rice cakes in his hands while doing rock music, as I mentioned earlier.”

“A business band gathered under Lee Dong-ha’s plan?”

“There’s no other way to explain it. After all, that’s how the picture flows.”

“Then, has Hong Young-pil’s identity been revealed…?”

“I think Lee Dong Ha and the company planned it out in advance. They probably figured out that they could gather the core fandom whenever they wanted by revealing their faces. They’ll also support NBD9, which I mentioned earlier.”

The three people gathered in the conference room nodded in unison.

An Chi-seop’s words are quite credible.

The world doesn’t revolve around Lee Dong-ha, but Lee Dong-ha’s actions so far have been so unique.

It’s an idol audition, but a shocking appearance with an appearance that doesn’t seem like an idol.

From a power player with a shabby appearance to a Cinderella wearing glass slippers.

After voluntarily stepping down from the confirmed debut group, he demonstrated his ability as a hit song maker by putting male and female idols at number one on the charts within half a year.

It may seem like we’ve lost a lot in the meantime, but we’ve actually gained a lot from moving.

Potential to become a top vocalist.

The image of a musician based on flashy guitar playing skills.

As idols spread across the world and the industry grew larger, the position of singer-songwriter became rare.

This image was built up in just half a year.

They say that an idol’s face is all about money and popularity, but it’s poisonous to building an image of someone with talent.

But I made this with that moving face.

These are things that I would never have been able to obtain in half a year if I had gone the traditional route.

The most important thing of all is the world’s attention.

There are a very small number of people for whom even their daily activities, such as eating, drinking, and breathing, become issues, like walking billboards.

In Korea, Jo Pil-yong, the star of the 80s who was praised as the king of singers, was like that.

Seo Ji-tae, who appeared like a comet in the 90s and changed the music of Korea, was like that.

In the 2000s, there was Kwon Ji-hoon.

Since then, countless idols have emerged and taken wealth, fame, and cheers from fans, but none of them have created issues as if they were the center of the world.

When I said I was in Kota Kinabalu, Kota Kinabalu travel packages started selling out like hotcakes.

Let’s say you’re going skiing in Switzerland, there’s been a surge in inquiries about trips to Northern Europe. It’s a well-known fact among industry insiders that sales of ski products, a winter sport, have increased.

With a few SNS uploads, the popularity of skiing, which had lagged behind snowboarding, has skyrocketed.

A while ago, he posted on SNS that he had moved somewhere. Even without looking, we will soon know by the number of plane tickets sold. I wonder where he posted about.

“The world doesn’t only focus its cameras on Lee Dong-ha. That doesn’t make sense. I’m saying there was direction and a scenario.”

FD Na Tae-pyeong, who had been deep in thought over Ahn Chi-seop’s words, opened his mouth for the first time in a long while.

“PD-nim. Then, will Lee Dong-ha show his face on stage this semi-final?”

“Why?”

“The next opponent is A.Fly, right? They’re an idol band with a large fandom for a rock band. Uwha, regardless of whether the song is on the charts or popular, the fans end up voting, right?”

“… … .”

“When Hong Young-pil revealed his identity, the fandom lost its momentum, right? The round where Uhwa performed was against an indie band, so the remaining fandom was enough.”

It’s not just because it’s Hong Young-pil, but because it’s the same for anyone.

It’s because of my age.

The fans that lead the Korean music industry are women in their teens and twenties.

They cheer for their brother, not for their father.

I will send you some applause of encouragement.

An Chi-seop asked cautiously.

“What will happen if I don’t tell you?”

“I guess so. The group I thought was my brother’s band was actually my dad’s band. I’ll cheer them on, but I’m not sure if I’ll cheer them on passionately. The big Apple fandom. Which group do you think will vote more?”

“… … .”

“The guys on the A.Fly side are very strong, even though they have a lot of numbers. You can see that, right? There are no overseas restrictions, so foreign fans will vote, but compared to big idols, their numbers are small, but they are unrivaled in the rock band position.”

“… … .”

“So, like PD-nim said, if it was all planned by Lee Dong-ha and Cheong-a Entertainment, then it’s time to do it.”

“… … .”

“no?”

“Uh… … . I thought you weren’t going to open it?”

Na Tae-pyeong tilted his head at the sight of Ahn Chi-seop’s bewildered face.

“Then it wasn’t planned?”

After Na Tae-pyeong finished speaking, five minutes of silence passed as the three people in the conference room looked only at Ahn Chi-seop’s mouth.

And finally.

“… … Taepyeong-ah. You, do an interview with a reporter. As an anonymous source.”

“yes?”

Amidst everyone’s puzzlement, Ahn Chi-seop continues to speak.

“From our perspective, is it better for A-Fly to go up or for Blue Porcelain to go up?”

“… … Well, it’s Blue Porcelain, right? The voting is done by the fandom, but the broadcast is about the topic, right?”

“So. In terms of topicality, Blue Porcelain is way ahead of the curve.”

“?”

“Based on what he’s done so far, I think he has plans this time too. But does that mean we should just give up? If we’re just going to let the waves roll by, why have a captain? We should do what’s best for our team.”

“How?”

An Chi-seop laughed evilly at Na Tae-pyeong’s question.

“You have to apply some ointment so that the fandom doesn’t scatter. What can you do? Just give it to them through interviews and let it out. If you let it out, that crazy guy will start acting up again. Oh, I didn’t know Hong Young-pil was a member. The member we met was young and very handsome. You know, things like that. Things that keep giving the fans illusions.”

“ah…….”

“This isn’t directly helping or lying, is it? It’s not like I’m revealing a secret either? Vocal A is handsome and young. What’s the problem?”