The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 19 - New Roommate (2)

 

Why is he here?

 

‘It’s not that strange.’

 

At the time, Victory was promoting their new song and traveling from place to place, so it wasn’t unusual for them to hold a guerrilla performance by the Han River.

 

Still, it felt sudden.

 

Of course, there was no way Kang Ye-seong would recognize me.

 

“Looks like they’re about to start!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong’s eyes lit up as he stared at the “stage.”

 

Though honestly, calling it a stage was generous—it was just a well-kept patch of grass.

 

The five members of Victory took their positions. A booming intro blasted through the speakers, and the performance began.

 

Yes! We Are Victory!

Seize the victory!

Yes! Catch My Victory!

I’ll give you this victory!

So be mine! My woman!

Crazy macho! Macho crazy!

If you’re a man, take her! Someone else’s woman!

Yes! We Are Victory!

Seize the victory!

Yes! Catch My Victory!

 

No matter how many times I heard it, the lyrics were still bizarre.

 

Then came the choreography.

 

The members, who had been standing in a circle, shifted into a straight line. From his spot in front, Kang Ye-seong extended his arms outward, and the others followed, fanning out behind him.

 

With ten arms spread like a half-circle behind him, it looked like—

 

“It’s like a gwangbae…”

 

That halo of light often seen behind Buddha statues. And with Kang Ye-seong’s strikingly handsome face front and center, the effect was even more pronounced.

 

Lee Yoo-seong was completely absorbed in the performance, gazing at the group with a dazed look.

 

“Gwangbae? What’s that?”

 

Seo Do-hwan, confused by Lee Yoo-seong’s comment, tilted his head. Meanwhile, Victory’s performance was hitting its climax.

 

Yes! We Are Victory!

Seize the victory!

Yes! Catch My Victory!

I’ll give you this victory!

You, who said you’d be my woman!

No regrets!

If you’re a man, take her! A woman like you!

Yes! We Are Victory!

Seize the victory!

Yes! Catch My Victory!

 

Ddan! Ddadan!

 

With that end-of-the-century-style beat, the performance came to an end.

 

For a moment, the audience stayed silent, as if in a trance, before bursting into applause.

 

It had only been three minutes, but thanks to the intense choreography, all the members were drenched in sweat. And yet, Kang Ye-seong was smiling.

 

As the leader, he stepped forward to address the crowd.

 

“Thank you! We’ll be making our comeback this Friday on Show! Champion Music! so please give us lots of love and support!”

 

Clap clap clap—!

 

The cheers and applause rang out, but I knew the truth—these people would forget about Victory the moment they walked away.

 

Not a single one would tune in for their comeback stage.

 

Soon, the members were led away by a man with a rather intimidating look.

 

“A bodyguard?”

 

“No, maybe their manager?”

 

“His face is way too scary for a manager.”

 

“Come on, hyung! If that’s the standard, then you—”

 

“What did you just say? You want a beating?”

 

“W-whoa!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong stumbled back. He could have easily overpowered Seo Do-hwan if he’d wanted to.

 

‘Such a nice kid.’

 

If it were me, I’d have planted him straight into the grass.

 

Still, watching the two of them bicker made me smile as I followed behind.

 

“How was it?”

 

“It was good! But… the song didn’t really fit them somehow.”

 

“Yeah, I thought the same. They sing well, they dance well, but something just feels… off, right?”

 

That was exactly why Victory never made it big.

 

Their bold, macho concept clashed with their supposedly pure, delicate image, and the lyrics were nonsense.

 

It wasn’t even catchy.

 

Just “Victory” shouted over and over—it was exhausting from a listener’s perspective.

 

‘Still, I’m going to save them.’

 

Or rather—make them.

 

Just like the top-tier idol group “NIKE” that Kang Ye-seong was part of before his return. No—if possible, even bigger than that.

 

Once we got back to our spot, I immediately turned on my phone.

 

Seo Do-hwan and Lee Yoo-seong had gone off to buy snacks for a proper picnic.

 

The first thing I checked was information about the Victory performance we’d just watched.  

 

Victory’s fans, with a mix of affection and frustration, referred to the group as “Bigdol.”

 

[BigdolForever (@ILOVE_Victor_)]

I heard our Bigdol performed at the Han River—did anyone see it?

 

The top post had no likes or replies.

 

Scrolling down, I found another post from the same account.

 

[BigdolForever (@ILOVE_Victor_)]

Does anyone have a fancam of our Bigdol at Han River Park? Please share it with meㅠ

 

#ShowChampionMusic_You’reMine

#HaBeu_DropDead_JustDie

#ParkChan-byeol_MyHope

#RolledOmelet

#OurStar_ParkChan-byeol_LoveYou

#StrongResponse

 

The hashtags underneath were all trending in Korea in real time.

 

Just how desperate must they be, borrowing unrelated trending tags just to find a video of Victory’s Han River performance? One of those hashtags was even for celebrating the birthday of a popular idol group member.

 

It wasn’t so much that they had no pride—the poster’s desperation was almost pitiful.

 

‘Maybe I should’ve filmed the performance…?’

 

But I quickly shook my head.

 

Sure, having footage could have made it easier to approach Victory later under the guise of being a fan. But considering which agency they belonged to, it would’ve been a risky move.

 

I checked other online communities.

 

There were no posts about the Han River performance, but I did find a few threads about Victory’s new song.

 

[Guys, just a little more]

The MV’s almost at 100k views… Let’s go…

The damn small company scraped together every last cent they had, and it’s still not enoughㅠ These kids are the future. When are we getting the face-benefit privilegesㅠㅠㅠ Guys, please terminate your contracts and go somewhere elseㅠㅠㅠㅠ

 

Not even a million—just 100,000 views.

 

But to Victory’s fans, that number seemed like a dream come true.

 

?[DaebakMuseExists]: People, pleaseㅠ Look at this visual that survived even this crappy MVㅠㅠㅠ I’m begging youㅠㅠㅠ It’s not a scam, I swear.

?[ㅇㅇ]: But what if they just look like crap?

ㄴ?[BigdolLet’sHitItBig]: Look at your own face.

 

The random troll in the middle was ignored—clearly, they weren’t new to this.

 

[This Week’s Comeback Stage]

They’ll do well, right? I’m never worried about our kids—they always do great—but I’m worried the damn broadcast station will ruin their visuals with bad camera workㅠㅠㅠ

 

This post was filled with genuine concern, and the comments underneath kept the same tone—no trolls this time.

 

?[LoveMyBoys]: Shouldn’t you be more worried about the agency than the broadcast station?

?[BigdolLet’sHitItBig]: For real—if they screw our kids over again like last time with their crap work, I won’t let it slideㅠ

?[BigdolMajorShareholder]: Time for a rebellion.

?[Let’sSucceedBigdol]: Damn, guys, please escape from King as soon as possibleㅠ

 

“King” was the name of Victory’s agency, and their fans didn’t hesitate to call for “rebellion” at the drop of a hat.

 

[Honestly, I’m Worried]

We all know how bad the MV turned outㅠㅠ I can’t help but sigh, thinking the comeback stage will be the same (sniff) When is King planning to actually do their jobㅠ?

 

?[ㅇㅇ]: It’s 돼, not 되.

 

?[BigdolLet’sHitItBig]: Why are you nitpicking grammar when you’re not even a Nike?

 

?[ㅇㅇ]: So I can’t correct your mistakes now? Typical trash-tier fansㅋㅋ

 

Here, “Nike” was the nickname Victory used for their fans—exactly the same as the name of the group Kang Ye-seong had been in before his return.

 

That was why he cared so much for his fans.

 

It was what they called “fan giveaways,” or reverse support.

 

He and the other members would chip in their own money to do things the agency wouldn’t—buying coffee for fans, giving them lunchboxes, that sort of thing.

 

Of course, this was only possible because the number of fans showing up wasn’t that high. Kang Ye-seong couldn’t have handled a large fanbase financially. Victory as a whole was the same.

 

King Entertainment had some capital, but no idea how to use it properly. Even the MV that fans were criticizing clearly showed a lack of funding.

 

After briefly checking the music video myself, I went back to reading the posts.

 

?[OurBoysAreInTheMainLineup]: Daebak-nim, don’t bother with trolls, but can I ask you something?
?[BigdolLet’sHitItBig]: Sure.
?[OurBoysAreInTheMainLineup]: Is Gaechul’s liver in good shape?
?[BigdolLet’sHitItBig]: …Probably? Why?

?[OurBoysAreInTheMainLineup]: I heard organs are selling for a good price these days. I was thinking of selling Gaechul’s so we can re-shoot the boys’ MV.

?[BigdolLet’sHitItBig]: Ah, haha…

 

Gaechul’s real name was Kim Sang-cheol. He was the CEO of King Entertainment, and the man constantly cursed at by Victory’s fans. If you wanted to “save” Kang Ye-seong and make him happy, he was someone you absolutely had to get rid of.

 

The problem was, this time the process would be far more troublesome than before.

 

Because Kim Sang-cheol was—

 

“Yoon-hoo-hyung! We’re back!”

 

“I didn’t buy alcohol.”

 

“Do-hwan hyung was going to, but I stopped him! I did good, right?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong and Seo Do-hwan, who had gone to buy snacks, returned. I took the bag from Lee Yoo-seong and praised him.

 

“Yeah, you did well. Come sit. Let’s eat quickly and head back.”

 

“Okay~!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong answered brightly.

 

We pushed Victory’s performance out of our minds for the moment and focused on our picnic. Of course, the conversation soon circled back to them.

 

“What does that lyric ‘Michyo macho, macho michyo’ even mean?”

 

“Probably nothing. They probably just stuck it in for the rhyme.”

 

“But maybe it has some hidden meaning?”

 

No, it didn’t. Those were just lyrics thrown in to suit the CEO’s taste.

 

I kept quiet and took a gulp of cider. Maybe it was the sweet potato sticks, but my throat suddenly felt tight.

 

Hopefully this wasn’t foreshadowing that dealing with Gaechul—no, Kim Sang-cheol—would be as frustrating as swallowing a dry sweet potato.

 

‘That won’t happen.’

 

If things didn’t go smoothly, well… there was always the option of using my fists.

 

I don’t like resorting to violence, but when it comes to Kim Sang-cheol and his company, King, it’s justified.

 

This time is no exception.

 

I looked over at Seo Do-hwan and smiled.

 

“…What?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

Seo Do-hwan frowned.

 

“Boss, you’re plotting something, aren’t you?”

 

“What makes you think that?”

 

“Because you’re grinning in such an irritating way.”

 

How does he manage to phrase things so perfectly?

 

I smiled and shoved a sweet potato stick into his mouth.

 

“Eat.”

 

“Boss, wait! Hey!!”

 

I dumped the rest of the sweet potato sticks in after it, grinning as Seo Do-hwan coughed. Lee Yoo-seong quickly passed him a soda, and I burst out laughing as he gulped it down.

 

“Aren’t you a total psycho?”

 

Seo Do-hwan yelled, but I kept chuckling. Meanwhile, a new post popped up in the Victory fan community:

 

[Please, I’m begging you]

Can’t someone please buy out King? Our boys could really make it bigㅠ They could totally go first-tier, but the agency keeps holding them backㅠ Honestly, I wish they could just disband and go somewhere else, but you all know how hard that isㅠㅠㅠ

 

Reading the heartfelt plea, I couldn’t help but smirk.

 

After Seo Do-hwan, then Lee Yoo-seong—now, it was time to change Kang Ye-seong’s life.