The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 132

At first glance, it was a completely unproblematic combination.

The special stage introduction had been ‘The Future of K-pop Led by Next-Generation Leaders’ from the very beginning.

Zefa is a mega-scale group that has dominated not only domestic but also overseas music charts for the past 2-3 years. Belonging to X2 Entertainment, which is called one of Korea’s big 3 agencies, they’ve achieved dazzling development year after year and risen to ever higher places as K-pop’s leading representatives.

Comet is also a pillar of BK Entertainment, one of the big 3 agencies. Having debuted at almost the same time as Zefa and established a rival dynamic for quite some time now, they constantly compete for music chart rankings.

And CENTIX is an idol that completely shattered all the rookie idol records Zefa had set, achieving the greatest start in history. As many people are already saying, CENTIX’s first-week sales achievement of 730,000 copies will really be hard to break in the future.

A special stage gathering the leaders of these three groups—naturally, everyone should have welcomed it.

But some extreme fans of Zefa and Comet weren’t easily accepting CENTIX.

―No… lol. It’s ridiculous that CENTIX is butting in at that level when they’ve only been debuted for a little over a month, does that make sense

―Zefa(4 years) Comet(4 years) CENTIX (40 days) lmao. Just pure comedy

―Joo-won and Han-ul have met often since before and would probably sync well, so why is some complete rookie getting involved,,, The balance will all crumble

―Just because they broke one first-week record, getting all arrogant and brazenly inserting themselves among seniors is a bit much to watch heh….

The main topic of malicious flow was none other than ‘years of experience.’

Why was CENTIX, who was barely at the level of taking first steps, joining between Zefa and Comet who had been active for 4 years?

Some CENTIX fans had felt slightly uneasy since the introduction video dropped. Because there had never been a single good thing from getting entangled with Zefa’s fandom for the past month.

During 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 broadcast, they forcibly received the frame of unproven trainees.

After debut, they received the frame of a limited-time group only recognized by cable TV.

Even though CENTIX had continuously proven their worth, the happy imagination that public opinion would quiet down to some degree turned out to be completely off the mark.

They had magnificently shed the shell of being trainees and made a spectacular appearance.

They even shattered the forced frame of being cable-exclusive by achieving a terrestrial triple crown.

Now it was reaching the point where they were genuinely sick of it.

―Why is being a fan so hard these days…… Why are those haters so obsessed with us T_T

└I think I’m getting PTSD. As someone who’s watched our kids since ISL, knowing how hard they worked to get here and how diligently they achieved their debut success, how long do we have to keep getting picked on like this

└Trainee→cable-exclusive→acting up when they haven’t been debuted long pattern is truly legendary lol. Just say you hate CENTIX outright, people~

―Feels like looking at an infinite quest window. Solve one problem and another gets generated…….

As clearly shown in MILLENNIUM’s reactions, the successive mental attacks from malicious accounts were effective.

No matter how excellent CENTIX’s fandom unity was, anonymous group harassment was bound to create tremendous fatigue.

However, if they just sat back and did nothing, rumors could spread that they couldn’t respond at all and collapsed, so MILLENNIUM gradually began emphasizing the essence of the controversy.

―What’s funny about those haters every time is that our kids haven’t done anything wrong lol All they do is bring up external factors or use speculation to tear down CENTIX

―Si-hwan would never have said he wanted to go on that special stage in the first place… Every year KIMA special stages come purely from the producers’ heads lol. If you want to complain about why he squeezed in between Zefa and Comet, don’t cause trouble here and go rant on the KNet bulletin board~

└Seriously, idols just get notified, what did Si-hwan do wrong to get picked on like this

―Now they don’t have anything left to nitpick so they’re even going after debut date? LOL. If you look at it in reverse, an idol who’s only been debuted for 40+ days mobilized a terrestrial triple crown and 730,000 first-week sales. If you go by the numbers you love so much, isn’t this side’s weight class much higher? Hehe

The authority for special stages always lies with the organizers.

And artists listen to the established composition and get on stage.

MILLENNIUM poured effort into turning public opinion based on these two most essential arguments.

Actually, they weren’t wrong at all. No matter how much CENTIX was a group currently at peak popularity, they wouldn’t be the first to propose this kind of mega collaboration stage.

In the end, all plans were made on KNet’s side, and Ryu Si-hwan, who ended up at the center of attention by circumstance, had no responsibility whatsoever.

Other group fans who had been watching the situation with interest also began adding their opinions one by one to MILLENNIUM’s reasonable arguments.

―Idols do follow what the producers say~ Going back to the ‘years of experience’ talk that was burning before, it would be funnier if youngest CENTIX rebelled against the PDs’ words lol

―It felt too much like a witch hunt from the beginning

―Since it’s a festival from the start, let’s not fight and just enjoy the stage~~ All three are skilled, so I’m curious what kind of stage will come out heh

└Agreed. If you want to diss RSH, it’s not too late to do it after seeing the stage

└22 If his skills fall short among the senior leaders, it’ll become controversial then. Right now there’s no need to nitpick over nothing

The malicious flow that haters had intentionally released seemed to die down to some extent.

MILLENNIUM felt a slight relief that they had overcome a big mountain, but their insides were still boiling.

In fan cafes and CENTIX homepage masters’ personal timelines, one common wish was gradually emerging.

[※※※Since it’s come to this, I hope Leader Ryu tears the stage to shreds※※※]

So that even such gossip wouldn’t sprout.

So that even haters couldn’t grab the tiniest faults.

MILLENNIUM hoped that Ryu Si-hwan would freely show off his skills on this collaboration stage.

And at the same time.

Creating a heated atmosphere wasn’t limited to just fandoms.

* * *

“Well, I don’t need to say this since our Si-hwan already knows everything.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t be nervous! Don’t lose heart! You’re CENTIX’s leader—!”

“—So show confidence befitting that. Brother, I’ve heard this same thing dozens of times since yesterday.”

“Even if I say it dozens of times, I’m still anxious, hey! Anyway, anyway! Confidence is good, but—?”

“—Courtesy and humility are virtues. I’ve memorized it all, memorized it.”

I smoothly finished manager brother’s words like an auto-response robot.

Since yesterday, I’d heard this exact same repertoire dozens of times, so now I could answer even if woken up in my sleep.

On one hand, I understood why the manager and the other Rave Entertainment people were worried.

Starting from 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉, we had never once been separated.

All filming together, all recording together, all variety shows together.

In such a situation, suddenly having me alone join between heavyweight seniors would naturally make everyone worry.

Especially the public opinion that had dominated idol communities for several days would have contributed to raising my agency’s worry gauge.

Of course, since I always monitor communities, I naturally witnessed all the fights in real time.

‘I’d expected this reaction from when we first received the collaboration stage proposal. Since we’re such rookies, it’s inevitably just part of the troll posts that come out.’

There was no mental damage at all. As if this level of forced logic could scratch my psyche that had been forged in hell.

But as always, what bothered me was that the happiness index of fans supporting CENTIX was declining.

I made one resolution in my heart as I entered a studio in Ilsan.

Like the fans were earnestly wishing with united hearts, I would design the stage in the direction they wanted as much as possible and prove my worth.

From the studio entrance and corridors, I could feel an atmosphere quite different from anything I’d experienced before.

Noticeably many staff and security personnel.

And several PDs I’d seen during 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉.

Signs that some tremendous project was in progress inside were radiating presence everywhere.

“CENTIX Ryu Si-hwan has arrived~.”

“Oh, Si-hwan! Welcome, welcome. You can wait inside here. The seniors will arrive soon too.”

“Thank you.”

After exchanging greetings with the executive PD who welcomed me warmly, I entered the empty practice room.

Seeing the pre-set table and small cameras, they probably planned to film VCR footage too.

I waited for Baek Joo-won and Joo Han-ul to arrive while equipped with a capitalistic smile.

{Master, is it finally time for me to be active?}

‘If there are strange signs like last time, tell me right away.’

{Leave it to me!}

‘Every time I say this, but if you had the ability to read minds too, it would have been perfect—.’

{Ah, Master! That’s asking for too much, I tell you that all the time!}

My reliable support, Cerberus, was sitting on my shoulder in transparent spirit form.

Since I didn’t know how either Baek Joo-won or Joo Han-ul would come out, Cerberus, who could distinguish through scent, was essential.

About 10 minutes passed, and I heard the personnel outside becoming busy.

“Oh my, you were here first.”

“Hello, Senior.”

“We’re acquaintances, so why bow 90 degrees again. Nice to see you, nice.”

The one who opened the door and entered was Baek Joo-won.

Roughly gauging the situation, he was also aware that the current conversation was being filmed.

So I also put on a poker face and accepted his naturally fake handshake.

‘No matter how crazy Baek Joo-won is, he won’t say anything strange while cameras are rolling.’

Two minutes later, with Joo Han-ul’s arrival, the KIMA special stage members had all gathered in one place.

“I think I left pretty quickly, but I’m the latest. Oh my, sorry! Haha! It’s been a while since I’ve seen Joo-won. Si-hwan, this is my first time meeting you! Please take care of me!”

“I should be the one asking for your care, senior.”

I carefully observed Joo Han-ul’s appearance and behavior while chewing over Kang Seon-woo’s words.

‘He said he’s usually very cold. As expected, he becomes a different person in front of cameras.’

The VCR video concept for KIMA was simple.

Awkward greetings between leaders, discussion about the stage they wanted to create, and introduction of what kind of musical tastes they had.

As soon as about an hour of footage was shot, the PDs delivered the notice that they could now freely discuss stage composition.

I thought to myself as I watched even the small cameras being removed.

Now comes the real thing.

Click.

The last staff member closed the door and left.

At that moment, Baek Joo-won wore a different smile from before and casually threw words at me.

“……It’s been quite a long time since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it, junior?”

Yeah, I was waiting for when you’d strike, bastard.