The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 107

While examining the entertainment industry of reincarnated South Korea, I couldn’t just pass by information related to Zefa.

The super-scale entertainment company X2 that sends affiliated trainees to 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉, and the idol group Zefa that X2 ambitiously planned.

The Leader Baek Joo-won looked like just an ordinary handsome male idol when I saw him in photos.

But whether it was because I’d heard Seong-hwi’s story or because that’s how he actually looked in person, I felt an even more delinquent-like atmosphere from him.

“Senior, why are you here? Didn’t all your music show activities end?”

“That ended ages ago. Today I came to film one KNet variety program. It’s break time in the middle, so I came out and ended up running into you like this.”

“Really, it’s almost like someone set up a prank.”

A strange psychological battle cut through the air.

I tensed my body slightly and glanced at Seong-hwi.

‘I have a feeling an unexpected situation might happen.’

{Master, that human is giving off a really dangerous smell. I don’t think you should carelessly step forward.}

‘It’s not the unpleasant smell you told me about during 〈ISL 2〉, but a completely different level?’

{Exactly, Master. The typical scent of trash I frequently smelled in hell is stabbing my nose.}

‘If only there were some way to find out other information—.’

{The possibility of success is almost zero, but I’ll keep trying to read that human’s mind by following the smell. But as I just warned, the chances are zero, zero, Master!}

‘Got it.’

Quick-witted Kang Seon-woo also seemed to have detected the strange current between Seong-hwi and Baek Joo-won.

“Oh my, hello, senior! We should have greeted you first! Hey guys, what are you doing, let’s greet him quickly!”

“Ah, yes!”

“Hello, senior!”

“Greetings!”

Watching CENTIX hurriedly give proper greetings, the remaining Zefa members behind him smiled awkwardly and said “You don’t need to bow that deeply.”

But Baek Joo-won at the front kept staring intently at Seong-hwi with the corners of his mouth turned up.

“So, how did you feel after finishing your first music show, Hwi? Do you finally feel like you’ve become a proper idol?”

“I don’t know when exactly it was, but compared to when I practiced a long time ago, it was extremely fun. When was that again, my memory is a bit hazy.”

“Haha, it was fun?”

“Yes.”

Seong-hwi, who absolutely wouldn’t back down from Baek Joo-won’s words, smiled with slight madness flickering in his eyes.

“All the members are kind and work well with me, so practicing definitely had a good feel to it.”

“Ah, I see, our Hwi.”

Baek Joo-won’s eyes were smiling, but his lower jaw gradually twisted.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak again, Cerberus, who had been concentrating intently on my shoulder, suddenly opened his eyes wide and urgently shouted.

{Master, if you leave things alone, chaos will break out! The rotten smell just exploded inside that sinister human’s mind—!}

“Hello, Senior. Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m CENTIX leader Ryu Si-hwan.”

I quickly stepped forward and bowed my head.

Then I reached behind my back and lightly tapped Seong-hwi’s hand.

Only I know what happened between Seong-hwi and Zefa.

It was a conversation we had when Seong-hwi was isolated in the hospital room with an injured ankle during 〈Back in the Time〉.

That means the other guys have no idea about the awkward relationship between Baek Joo-won and Seong-hwi.

If this invisible psychological battle continued here, the atmosphere would turn strange.

Moreover, this is clearly a broadcasting station.

We absolutely cannot cause a disturbance in this place with many watching eyes and listening ears. We’re rookies who just stepped foot in the entertainment industry, and Zefa are proper seniors.

So I had to cut off the conversation before Seong-hwi’s personal emotions exploded.

“I’ve been listening to your music frequently from before and practicing alone, so it’s truly an honor to meet you at the broadcasting station like this.”

“Ah, Si-hwan! I watched 〈ISL 2〉 too. You really sing well. Congratulations on taking 1st place, sincerely.”

“Thank you. Senior, congratulations on achieving the triple crown with your album as well.”

Before Baek Joo-won could react, another member from behind responded to my words.

He had refreshing features and thick eyebrows that left a strong impression.

His name was definitely… right, Seok Jae-han.

“You listened to our songs. I’m rather flattered, you know?”

“The title track 〈Walk on Fire〉 was great too, but I was particularly moved by 〈Only Your Back〉 on track 3. Even though it’s a completely different lyrical song from your powerful image, I could still see your colors, so I thought we’d like to have that kind of maturity someday.”

“Whoa. You listened to the B-side tracks too? Amazing.”

It was a moment when I felt rewarded for the preliminary research I’d done after reincarnation and consistently checking idol industry news.

The other Zefa members also seemed quite surprised when B-side track talk came up.

Thanks to this, the cold atmosphere Baek Joo-won had been radiating settled down somewhat.

“We’ll probably see each other often anyway. Let’s end today’s greetings here, everyone. You juniors must be extremely tired since you just finished recording.”

“Not at all, senior!”

“Thank you for your concern!”

“And you don’t need to be that tense with discipline. We won’t eat you.”

Unlike Seok Jae-han, who saw us off with kind words, Baek Joo-won kept staring at Seong-hwi with sharp eyes until the end.

I glanced at Seong-hwi’s eyes just in case, and sure enough.

He was just one step away from crossing over from subtle madness to definite anger.

If I loosened the reins on that crazy bastard here, everything I’d worked to smooth over would turn to bubbles.

So I had no choice but to take a physical approach.

I grabbed the shoulders of Seong-hwi and Chae Ha-ru on either side and bowed deeply.

“We’ll see you later, Senior!”

“Um, Brother Si-hwan, why go this far—.”

“Please just stay quiet and keep your head down.”

Thanks to the collaboration between Cerberus and me, we barely managed to prevent a major disaster.

Only after joining up with the Rave Entertainment people waiting in the lobby could I exhale the breath I’d been holding.

“Wow, the Zefa seniors were kinder than I expected.”

“Did it look that way to Ha-woon? I was so nervous I thought I was going to die.”

“Eh, really, Brother Seon-woo? You were nervous enough to tremble?”

“Hmm.”

Kang Seon-woo looked at Seong-hwi, who was still maintaining a face like he’d eaten shit.

“It seems like there’s something to discuss when we get to the dorm. But shouldn’t this kind of thing not appear on camera?”

“I’ll tell manager brother in advance. We have something personal to discuss among ourselves, so please turn off the reality cameras temporarily.”

“Good, leader.”

When we returned to the dorm, we sat on the living room sofa and listened to Seong-hwi’s trainee days story.

I was less shocked since I’d already heard it before.

But since the scene of us talking in the hospital room was broadcast during 〈ISL 2〉 as content mentioning the importance of survival programs, it came as a fresh shock to the other guys.

“……So that’s why you were so angry during the 1st round.”

“Ahaha, why react so seriously to something that’s all in the past.”

Ma Si-hyeok seemed to be the most shocked.

He had the look of someone who finally understood why Seong-hwi had harshly scolded trainees who weren’t following practice during the early broadcast.

“I had no idea and…… didn’t even know why you were so angry.”

“It would be strange if you knew, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey, why are you even apologizing.”

While Seong-hwi himself reacted with a really-it’s-fine tone mixed with jokes, Ma Si-hyeok offered a sincere apology with a dejected expression.

“I didn’t know how you felt at the time and didn’t seem to help…… I was sorry.”

“No, why are you apologizing for that. It really doesn’t matter.”

“……Cough.”

“Ugh, what kind of idol life are you planning with such a big body but weak heart.”

Chae Ha-ru, who had been silently listening to Seong-hwi’s story, handed Ma Si-hyeok a tissue and opened his mouth.

“No wonder I felt thorns in Senior Joo-won’s words. To roughly summarize the situation, he really bullied Brother Hwi for no particular reason, so I’m more worried about the future. There will be many days when broadcasting schedules overlap like today, and someday we’ll meet at music shows too.”

“What should we do about the uncomfortable feelings that we or Hwi feel each time……”

Kang Seon-woo also seemed concerned about Seong-hwi’s emotional control.

When I nodded, Seong-hwi propped his chin and sighed.

“I know what everyone’s worried about. Honestly, as long as I have a brain, I know I shouldn’t speak rudely in public places like that. But when Baek Joo-won openly picks fights like today, my reaction goes out unconsciously.”

“Will Si-hwan have to suppress him like today every time?”

“Huh?”

The arrow of responsibility was suddenly pointed at me.

Kang Seon-woo sent a wink and even gave a thumbs up.

“I saw it, you know. Right when Hwi was about to lose it, Si-hwan appropriately cut him off. Among us, you’re the only one who can control Hwi, Si-hwan.”

“Is this the noble responsibility of a leader?”

“You’re truly cool, Brother Si-hwan.”

“Um, I didn’t say anything, but the decision’s already been made?”

Everyone nodded enthusiastically at my question.

Even Seong-hwi, the subject of the discussion, was looking at me with sparkling eyes.

It was a sight that made me sigh involuntarily.

“……Fine, I’ll try my best to suppress him.”

“So reliable!”

“Ahaha, thinking that Brother Si-hwan has my back makes me feel much more comfortable?”

“If you keep acting crazy just because you feel comfortable, I’ll cut ties with you.”

“How cold!”

I reached out mentally to my only ally.

‘Cerberus, I’m really glad you got that astral projection ability. Help me out.’

{Hmph! You finally realized you can’t do without me, right?}

‘I’ll specially give you extra snacks.’

{Oh yeah!}

* * *

If you ask about the most beautiful graph among all graphs that exist in the world, nine times out of ten they’ll answer like this.

A graph that draws a steady upward curve without any declining points is the best.

And CENTIX’s debut album 〈Revelation〉’s initial sales record was steadily drawing that upward curve.

As Zefa’s male idol group debut initial sales record quickly approached, naturally MILLENNIUM was in festival mode every day.

—CENTIX day 4 initial sales real-time record: 520,000 copies breakthrough as of 7 PM

└Wow, at this rate hitting a new record is almost confirmed, right??? This is insane??

└There’s no way they won’t sell 40,000 copies in 50 hours lol. Prepare the champagne!!

└Surpassing ZF’s record is obvious, the important thing is how much they sell on the final 7th day. I pray for unbreakable numbers to come out

└If they hit 700,000 copies I’d have no regrets. Debut initial sales new record + simultaneous entry into all-time initial sales top 5

—Breaking Breaking: GrapeFruit chart 〈Chronic〉 enters 9th place!

└I’m more shocked by the daily top 100 ranking than the initial sales record lmao. The current performance is at a level that’s breaking through the roof, isn’t it?

└9th place before even going on public broadcast music shows is really legendary pace since the chart revision

└If it wasn’t for the chart revision, they would’ve hit 1st place ages ago, so unfortunate

└No no, if they’d hit 1st on the pre-revision chart, they would’ve gotten more hate for streaming manipulation. Even if it’s slower, rising on the current chart is much better

If we just enter the top 5 of the GrapeFruit chart by the time the first week of activities ends.

Getting a trophy in the second or third week becomes more than just a pipe dream.

—Rave should row harder when the tide comes in. One reality show isn’t enough firepower!!

—For real, going on variety once would be the most efficient

└Waiting patiently for WI

└Lmao. Weekly Idol appearance is confirmed, rather MBS will probably send love calls first even if Rave doesn’t say anything. Please bring CENTIX

└Idol success always started with Weekly Idol. I’ll believe in that legend this time too

Initial sales volume, music chart rankings, and even talk about good variety programs to appear on in the future.

MILLENNIUM, who had been enjoying a fanlife filled with pure topics, suddenly remembered one important fact.

—Come to think of it, do we have anything definitively revealed about our kids’ concept or worldview?

—Right, around this time there are usually analysis posts uploaded by a bunch of Conans

—LOL. Everyone forgot because they were watching the CENTIX kids’ initial sales records, didn’t they?

—The kids mentioned they directly participated in writing lyrics in the reality show lol. We were the ones who dropped the ball! Sorry kids! We were wrong!

The Easter eggs in the music video and hidden messages in the lyrics that Ryu Si-hwan had emphasized when discussing the album and title track direction.

Despite being the point where the most effort was put into CENTIX’s debut, it ended up buried because of other good news.

Fortunately, several MILLENNIUM who had been on standby in front of computers and phones began demonstrating their true worth.

[The hidden points of 〈Chronic〉 that I organized because I wanted to see them.txt (Long post, lots of speculation, CMIIW)]