SS Chapter 48: Tea Time

TL: FoodieMonster007

The performance of 『MooNStruck lOve』 was excellent, far beyond just good. This was not another case of simply receiving a satisfactory report card. spArk had shown explosive growth at several turning points, like with 『MISSION』, and 『MooNStruck lOve』 was no different.

No matter how solid spArk's position became or how much public recognition they accumulated, releasing an album did not guarantee they would sweep first place. Some seasons brought explosive results. Other times, they gained traction through word-of-mouth late in the promotion cycle, barely snagging a trophy on the final broadcast. Sometimes, their performance only matched their previous album.

However, 『MooNStruck lOve』 provoked such a fervent response for a specific reason.

≫ They say youth is best for nostalgia and nothing beats sexy for brainwashing. There's no one next to me screaming to stream, but I'm here by myself watching the MV five hundred million times like a crazy bastard and listening to Moonstruck Love from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep XX …It was because the sexy concept has historically been an idol's ultimate weapon. The concepts remembered for a long time are the youth concepts, but what could captivate people in a short period was the endorphin-bursting sexy concept. If 『An Unspoken Story』, which was predicted to become a 'pension song' that would generate steady income, was the long-loved steady seller type, then 『MooNStruck lOve』 was the bestseller of its release week. Didn't spArk's first number one win also come from 『MISSION』?

Go look at the comment section for one of their refreshing songs. Everyone will be there, pretending they don't know any better, begging for just one more comeback with that kind of song. Pure, innocent, refreshing, and youthful concepts are usually only appreciated for their true value after time has passed. The only reason 『An Unspoken Story』 managed to draw an immediate reaction was because we meticulously timed its release with the right season and when the 'cool-down' for that concept was over. I really worked my brain to the bone for that one.

Until now, spArk had built its career by meticulously crafting youth concepts. Since we had already released many albums like that, my judgment that it was time to satisfy the fans' needs was correct.

≫ Please, I'm begging you, give us individual fancams of the dance practice video too. I know it's not possible but please!!!!!!!!!!! I'm begging like this, please.

└ Everyone on my timeline's profile picture has changed to a woman kneeling and crying, for real.

≫ Is a soft, sticky-rice harvest mouse's back allowed to look like this?

I seriously can't go on.

└ Following MISSION Kim Iwol is Moonstruck Park Joowoo …(while preciously protecting the youngest members who said they'd do a reverse MISSION)

└ Iwol, you succeeded in raising your little brother.

≫ I think I just loved how spArk's 'young master' line pulled off the sexy concept so perfectly. The elite-feeling Kim-Jeong-I, I'll forever love how these exact three get venomous and glare with sharp eyes.

└Then what type are Jeho, Joowoo, and Kiyeon?

└deserted island type.

└└Hahahahaha

└They must have a wildness to them.

└└Hahahahahahahaha

≫ A collection of MoonLove Cheonghyeon fancams that are getting good reactions on the forums lately

Cheonghyeon got a particularly good response on the popular post about the MoonLove MV, so haha, I gathered some pics from what is, in my opinion, his best promotional period ever!

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And for the ending, my one-pick, the legendary colored lenses + hair and makeup Cheonghyeon

Please give the boys lots of love! Thanks for reading!

└ No, f*ck, how can a person have that face without any photo editing?

└ I'm so jealous of the people who were there. I heard he's even more amazing in person.

└Lee Cheonghyeon has the face, but his physique… He's so damn tall. I was shocked because he was taller than I could have ever imagined.

└The most unbelievable part is how he's so good at his main job on top of all that. He should have at least been bad at dancing.

└There was a reason Linys was holding on tight and not letting go.

≫ I feel like even within spk, the dance line is especially good at pulling off this kind of concept.

Their immersiveness, I guess?? The concept is a perfect fit for them. The clothes are a perfect fit too.

└The clothes are a really perfect fit, that's for sure.

└└Hahahaha, you mean they're tight-fitting? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

≫ The oldest hyungs are being so mature I want to die.

They act like a mix of old men, high school boys, troublemakers, and contrarians at the dorm, so seeing them like this is doubly agonizing. They must have brought this concept out when the Han River water is warm as a consideration for me.

└Just hold on a little longerㅠ Iwol said to look forward to the last broadcast.

└My savior from hell strikes again.

└Just how many versions of this meme are there? Haha

Everyone seemed to love it. Even in the conference room where the air conditioning blasted, my heart felt warm, as if I held a burning sweet potato.

So, what happened to our vow to be 'refreshing-idols' for life? We did stick to our cool-toned blue this time as well. It's just… the color palette was a bit menacingly sharp. We even used blue lighting. We really did our best.

Besides, the theme was pure love. How innocent is that? I deliberated deeply so this album would not interfere with future ones. This way, even if spArk did a youth concept again, people would not feel a sense of dissonance and think, 'They were partying in the club before, and now they're playing the pure-hearted man?'

The members of the dedicated team were all pleased because the growth in album sales had finally broken its stagnation. The unusual pre-order numbers led to first-week sales figures we had never seen before.

When our expectations became reality, it was a simultaneous festival and hell. We had opened the floodgates and dug a reservoir for the water to enter, but once it started pouring in, we had to do more than just row the boat. We had to create an artificial waterfall.

Turning this into a worthwhile tourist attraction required us to inject the maximum amount of capital and infrastructure. This meant we all had to pour our very souls into the work. When I first saw the design proposal for the final broadcast outfits, my eyes widened.

Since the promotional period was nearing its end, the meeting finished quickly. We were in a state of happy zombification as we said our goodbyes and left the conference room.

Right, there was that comment earlier about wanting individual dance practice fancams… Is it too late to film them now? I thought the relay dance came out well enough, but that was shortsighted of me. The results might turn out well if we film them in the music video outfits against a white background.

I turned on my phone, reviewing points from the meeting. The calendar was already packed with schedules through the next month. Determined to find an empty slot no matter what, I stopped in the middle of the hallway.

The six of them don't have to film on the same day, but would it cost a lot to rent the studio for two or more days? We already filmed the group choreography video in the practice room, but I want to avoid using the company's practice room since the outfits wouldn't show up well there.

I tapped on various dates, checking the members' schedules.

"Greetings, Sunbae!"

A booming greeting echoed. Two trainees who had recently joined UtopiA stood there, their hands clasped respectfully.

"Hey. Are you heading to the office?"

The need for a new group had been under discussion for some time. Hellas had joined the agency, but they were a much more senior group than us. With spArk itself approaching its seventh year, their presence was a far cry from a transfusion of new blood.

This was a major reason why UtopiA had willingly spent the money to support spArk's three comebacks a year. A major corporation's capital would not be significantly affected by neglecting one team. They would also have the guts to not even bat an eye if fans cursed them for using a senior group's money to develop a new one.

But UtopiA doesn't have that kind of nerve, does it?

It meant that to both make money and avoid accusations of neglecting their signed idols, they had to obediently support spArk. Otherwise, fans would rip them to shreds for 'raising junior idols with the money spArk earned'. You can't always live life doing only what you want. If you want to create a new group, you have to be mindful of the existing fandom.

To be honest, I knew little about this myself, since spArk was all UA had back in the day. I heard that Mr. Yuur, who had managed a whole line of junior groups at a major agency, had offered some advice written in blood. Thanks to him, we also reaped the benefits.

These two were the trainees who had joined with the goal of debuting the year after next. I could tell just by looking at their faces that UtopiA had become much better at 'getting' idols than before. They had brought in two people, a perfect pair of a 'cool-type handsome man' and a 'warm-type handsome man'.

I did not try to make further small talk and just wished them a safe trip. They were so rigidly disciplined that it would have been cruel for a senior to hold them up with chitchat. I put my phone in my back pocket and was about to head to the practice room when the breakroom door across the hall opened.

"Iwol."

"Sunbae-nim?"

The person who called me was Mr. Yuur. He gestured for me to come over. When I did, I found all the members of Hellas gathered together, eating snacks.

"Why'd you call Iwol over! We're just here pathetically depleting the company's snack supply!" one of the senior members exclaimed self-deprecatingly.

I took an empty seat and replied, "Depleting them? Didn't you all buy these, Sunbaes?"

The snacks provided in the office were always about the same. As long as the supplier or packaging did not change, the restocked drinks and snacks were always the same old things. I had handled the snack supplier contract at Hanpyeong Industry and frequented the UtopiA offices like my second home. Did they really think I would not know the unit price of these individually wrapped premium snacks and bottled drinks?

They must have bought these for the company staff to eat since they were here for a meeting, right?

Just as spArk had secured three comebacks a year, Hellas had also landed a full-group comeback during the peak Christmas season. Since they were a group of people who had a hard time gathering in one place, they took a more leisurely preparation period. They were not desperate for promotions like us, who worked as if we were roasting rice seeds on a lightning strike. That was probably why they could coolly decide on a comeback even during a brutally competitive season.

spArk might think they would be instantly buried if they did not work, thanks to my intense brainwashing, but for a senior group, it was normal to focus on individual activities like Hellas and only gather just enough so the fans would not feel disappointed. No, that's not right. The very fact that Hellas was still capable of a full-group comeback without having disbanded over some controversy made them a top-tier idol group, a model for all idols.

"Iwol, do you want one? You're not eating since you're in the middle of promotions?"

"Just stick one in your pocket. You'll eat it eventually if you take it with you."

"What do you mean, just one? That's so heartless. You should give him six."

And just like that, a tea time was suddenly held. While the participants were a gathering of handsome young men, the vibe from the paper cups in their hands was the spitting image of a taxi drivers' meeting in front of a vending machine.

"Why did you order work vests for Cheonghyeon and Kiyeon? I saw the package when it arrived and thought it was for a staff member."

"Our youngest members are so admirable…"

I swear, I had no intention of staying for long. If the senior members had not kept mentioning topics that I couldn't stop talking about, I would have gotten up much sooner.

"Aren't you guys sick of each other after sticking together for so long? You all still live in the dorm, right?"

"They say that if even one of us moves out, Cheonghyeon won't stand for it."

See? Isn't this exactly the kind of topic that would make it impossible for me to stop talking? A full day wouldn't be enough to explain just what a crazed idol that guy, Lee Cheonghyeon, was.

"And it's not you who won't stand for it, Iwol?" Mr. Yuur asked with a laugh.

"Aish, as long as there's no outside interference, we're perfectly peaceful among ourselves."

"Is there some gutsy outsider trying to interfere with spArk?"

"You reached out your demonic claws to Seongbin too, Sunbae."

I responded to his preemptive attack by tattling. The news that a grand-senior had tried to poach the bright and promising leader of another team provoked a fierce reaction.

"Hyung did? To make Seongbin the youngest member of Hellas?"

"Isn't it a total breach of professional courtesy to snatch away a leader, of all people?"

"No, I'm serious. He took Seongbin for a 'life counseling' session twice."

"Seongbin's going to transfer soon, then."

I could not even laugh, genuinely worried that Jeong Seongbin might actually be dragged away, but the senior members were the only ones having fun.

If Jeong Seongbin really deserts us, I'll have to tell Lee Cheonghyeon to go and catch him. Now that Lee Cheonghyeon is all grown up, it wouldn't be a bad experience for him to chase after a member for once. I hope he enjoys the role-reversal experience of catching a runaway while reflecting on his own past.