The Idol Who Returned from Hell – Chapter 156

Author: Dawn

The warning signs had been sufficient.

While juggling a grueling practice schedule, I’d occasionally exchanged promotional ideas with the planning director, who was brimming with determination to prove his abilities once again.

In what order should we release comeback-related news to draw the most certain aggro?

And how should we structure comeback show stages to give fans greater satisfaction?

Thanks to those efforts supporting us, even the surprise trailer release received tremendous response, and that passionate momentum carried straight through to our comeback show.

I looked at MILLENNIUM sending us fervent cheers and drank kimchi soup that wasn’t kimchi soup.

If things went well, we might even hit a career high with our first comeback.

But with everything rushing forward like a whirlwind, it felt like all those warning signs had become completely useless.

“……I still can’t believe it.”

Yu Ha-woon muttered while touching the million seller club congratulations message CENTIX had received from the hit charts.

“It doesn’t feel like much time has passed since 〈ISL 2〉 ended, but we’ve already released our second album and even sold a total of 1 million copies. Brother, is this a dream or reality?”

“It’s too realistic to call a dream. But it’s so absurdly amazing that it’s hard to call it anything else.”

“Right? I’m not the only one who thinks that way, am I?”

We were just trainees without any recognition until a few months ago.

Having debuted through twists and turns after surviving a survival competition more brutal than anyone expected, each of these records felt even more precious.

Especially for Yu Ha-woon, who had been anxiously struggling at his agency before appearing on 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉, this million seller certificate would feel like a family treasure.

I lightly touched Yu Ha-woon’s fluffy hair and smiled gently.

I don’t know when it started, but it had become one of the habits all the members naturally did now.

“The initial sales count just finished. If additional fan signing events are held during our promotion period, we might sell over 1 million copies with just this second album.”

“Every morning when I wake up, all I can think about is living more earnestly, Brother! I’m full of motivation!”

The surging motivation within Yu Ha-woon soon found an outlet.

Because our manager proudly announced our variety show schedule.

“Guys, the long-awaited terrestrial variety show is confirmed! And it’s a weekend variety show!”

“Ooh~.”

“Which program is it?”

Weekend terrestrial variety.

The power of variety programs airing during the time slot when people spending honey-sweet holidays at home watch TV the most goes without saying.

With just a well-structured format and production staff who know how to bring out the cast’s charm, it’s an opportunity to hit not just a home run but a grand slam.

I was mentally picturing a couple of decent programs and roughly sketching the situation when.

“It’s decided that we’ll appear on 〈Memory Time Traveler〉!”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Memory what did you say?”

Similar clueless reactions came from the other guys’ mouths too.

They must have expected some relatively big name to appear since it was called a terrestrial variety show.

I was equally deflated.

‘A program I’ve never heard of, and that’s supposed to be a terrestrial variety show?’

Our manager laughed heartily as if he knew we’d react this way.

“It’s a program that aired as a pilot broadcast when you guys were busy with year-end activities and comeback preparations. You know how there are lots of classic variety shows from the past? It’s a concept where they reconstruct legendary episodes from those shows and have current celebrities try them out.”

“What’s a pilot broadcast?”

“It means they did a beta test to see if this program would be interesting and get good ratings before it entered regular programming.”

Kang Seon-woo gave a crisp explanation to Chae Ha-ru’s question.

It was somewhat jarring to see a scene quite opposite to their usual images.

‘If they went from pilot to regular programming, does that mean it had some potential?’

First, let me ask about the fundamental point we need to address.

“Since this is our first weekend variety show appearance, the program needs to be decent. How were the ratings for the pilot broadcast?”

“I heard they were pretty good. You know how there’s been so much talk about variety programs among viewers lately. In that situation, classic variety shows have that raw flavor, so there were quite a few comments saying it was nice to see that kind of ‘real variety’ for the first time in a while. Many people said they enjoyed the nostalgia too.”

“I see.”

“And SBM also put it into regular programming after considering the numbers, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

Right, if one of the three major terrestrial broadcasters made the big decision to convert a pilot broadcast to regular programming, that’s their responsibility.

But wait a minute.

“Oh, but Brother, has it aired since converting from pilot to regular? I’ve never seen it on SBM. There don’t seem to be any NeoTube clips either.”

“Ha, haha, well actually.”

This time it wasn’t a hearty laugh but quite an awkward one.

I waited for our manager’s answer with some anxiety.

“Your stock has risen so much that love calls have been pouring in from everywhere.”

“Yes.”

“Among the broadcasting stations sending love calls, SBM especially strongly pleaded that CENTIX absolutely had to be brought in as the first guest for 〈Memory Time Traveler〉. Since it’s the first regular programming episode, they said they desperately needed a guest who best fits the program’s identity while also bringing buzz.”

……I think I know what context they wanted us in.

When it comes to classic variety, there’s the characteristic of proceeding without any embellishment. Nothing like getting help from PDs or receiving privileges and filming comfortably.

It’s exactly what our manager called ‘raw flavor’ earlier.

And what kind of broadcasts has CENTIX appeared on lately?

〈Re:Meet with Centix〉 reality show, whose second episode of season 2 has aired.

With only a TV giving missions remotely, the members’ completely natural daily lives were broadcast through frenzied editing for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

The scene of members throwing popcorn and pillows at each other while watching a horror movie in the immediately previous broadcast came to mind.

‘Are we the ones who’ve shown the closest image to raw flavor recently?’

Moreover, since CENTIX was continuing to grow daily in the idol market, the 〈Memory Time Traveler〉 production team would have had no choice but to make a strong appeal.

After hearing our manager’s additional explanation, the members nodded.

“So are we going to film tomorrow?”

“No, since it takes at least 1 night 2 days, we’re leaving right this afternoon.”

“What, variety for 1 night 2 days?”

What kind of enormous format is waiting that it’s like this from the start?

I sent an SOS to the being I had to rely on in situations like this.

‘Just help me survive and come back.’

{Master, this is just my feeling, but I think this will be the most fun few days you’ve had recently! I’m so excited!}

‘Every time you’ve said you were excited was a moment of pain for me.’

{Hey, don’t worry too much! At worst, you can just pin everything on that smiling hairtail gentleman next to you.}

Even Cerberus had relegated Kang Seon-woo to neighborhood punching bag status.

We finished preparing in about an hour and moved to the SBM studio in Tanhyeon.

Unable to contain their curiosity, Ma Si-hyeok and Chae Ha-ru searched for articles and videos related to 〈Memory Time Traveler〉 in the van.

“They, they really brought back old variety shows exactly as they were.”

“Why are there only games that push you to extremes…?”

Both quickly made panicked expressions and let out weak sighs.

Then Seong-hwi and Yu Ha-woon, drawn by curiosity, also watched the brief introduction video.

“Are we really going bungee jumping if we get bungee jumping, Brother?”

“Ahahaha, probably? I think it’s not bad. Thrilling stuff is fun.”

“It does seem like it would be fun!”

“But this is content from the pilot, so. We don’t know how today’s regular programming format might have changed.”

You have to open the lid to see what’s inside.

CENTIX entered the Tanhyeon SBM studio with a mix of excitement and tension.

The 〈Memory Time Traveler〉 set was quite well-decorated. True to the program title, you could see they’d spent money here and there to implement a futuristic science lab interior.

After brief greetings with the relatively familiar regular MCs, we immediately began recording.

The format was roughly like this.

Each episode invites guests and randomly selects one ‘nostalgic variety show’ to begin filming.

And the regular MCs watch that footage in this studio and film reactions.

In other words, unlike other famous variety shows, the variety elements are created entirely by the guests’ power alone.

Without being able to borrow help from MCs.

‘It’s clearly a high-risk system.’

Without outside interference, if the guests bring out their natural flavor, it becomes a huge hit.

But conversely, if they don’t know the first thing about variety and start ruining the broadcast, even veteran MCs have no way to cover for them.

This means CENTIX’s role as the first participants in such a program is more important than ever.

“Then everyone, our 〈Memory Time Traveler〉, the first guest of the first episode! The idol group that’s truly causing a sensation these days, we have CENTIX here with us!”

“Hello everyone!”

“We’ll give our greeting, two three!”

“All eyes on us! Hello, we’re CENTIX!”

Formal opening interview questions like whether we usually enjoy watching variety shows and whether we weren’t still in kindergarten when these classic variety shows were popular flowed smoothly.

Once the intro portion was sufficiently filled, suspicious movement was detected from the production team.

The prominent MC playing the leader role in the center spoke in a meaningful tone.

“I did a little preliminary research. Hmm, I’m not sure if this is real or just a broadcast concept, but I heard that one of the CENTIX members might be extremely flustered soon, haha.”

“One of us?”

“What’s that? Do you guys know?”

That in this situation, someone might be very flustered.

I maintained a calm expression while turning my head.

The timing when it’s decided what classic variety CENTIX will experience.

In other words, a situation with very high probability of going to a probability game.

If there’s someone who would have a fit in that case, the conclusion comes easily.

Cerberus, sitting transparently on my shoulder, seemed to have the same thought and chuckled.

{Ah, looks like our hairtail friend is about to shine already? What if Master’s screen time disappears?}

‘I’d be comfortable if that lucky bastard takes all the tough screen time.’

Soon, a giant roulette emanating majestic presence appeared from far away.

Not the usual paper or plastic board that broadcasting stations bring, but a roulette made of genuine steel material that matched this studio’s concept perfectly.

It looked so heavy that you’d wonder if it was even possible to spin it.

As soon as the steel roulette entered the studio center, today’s protagonist grabbed his hair and groaned.

“Production staff, when will I be able to escape from this roulette hell? Huh? How long do I have to suffer like this every time a roulette appears!”

“Now, now, Seon-woo. If you keep pulling your hair like that, you’ll get early baldness like me, so stop. The important thing isn’t that. The roulette isn’t important!”

At the MC’s words, quick-witted Seong-hwi rushed forward.

Since we were sitting in a row in the back seats, we’d only been looking at that roulette’s majestic back.

The moment he saw the roulette’s front, maniacal laughter burst from Seong-hwi’s mouth.

“Ahahaha! Ah, this is seriously amazing. We were just talking about whether we’d really do bungee jumping earlier, right?”

“We… were?”

“At this level, bungee jumping would probably be better.”

“What the heck is it?”

“I’m dying of curiosity.”

“Me too!”

Naturally drawn by Seong-hwi’s expert aggro, we lined up in front of the roulette as if we’d made an appointment.

As I slowly looked around at the classic variety concepts attached to the board in uniform sizes, I immediately understood why Seong-hwi had let out that mad laughter.

Along with ‘Experiencing 5 Extreme Sports’ which included the bungee jumping we’d seen earlier, there were all sorts of classic variety formats like ‘Successfully Catching Sea Bream’, ‘Making Three Meals a Day in a Mountain Village’, etc.

But among them, there was one section that particularly caught everyone’s attention.

“Sur, sur, surviving on a deserted island for one day?”

“A deserted island? Really?”

“If we get the deserted island, do we really go to a deserted island?”

The younger members bombarded the production staff with questions, looking incredulous.

For some reason, my anxiety only grew larger the moment I saw those roulette options.

These sad and anxious premonitions never seem to miss their mark.

“Then our roulette prince, Seon-woo, please give it a refreshing spin!”

“Uaaaah……”

From the moment Kang Seon-woo, who holds the national shit-luck position when it comes to roulettes, was designated, the feeling was strange.

“No, no, no! Stop! You have to stop!”

“Brother, get a grip!”