The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 162

Based on what the manager said, it means our settlement payments that should have been distributed normally aren’t coming in due to the company’s internal circumstances.

Well. Rave right now only has a faint image of being a decent company in my head because they’ve handled CENTIX’s work well, but if I think about how they spectacularly ruined QS, our direct seniors, they’re close to being trash-tier.

They invested a lot of capital in us, but it seems various interests became tangled and complicated in the process of obtaining that capital.

“Still, both your debut album and this album sold way more than imagined, so it should be resolved quickly. They say once the investment costs are cleared to some degree, it’s over, so at the earliest, around the end of March, last year’s 4th quarter and this 1st quarter settlement payments will come in.”

“I’m not in urgent need of money right now, so it’s fine.”

“There’s nothing we can do about the company’s circumstances anyway……”

“Can’t be helped!”

Fortunately, the members seemed like they weren’t particularly bothered by it.

I also nodded calmly and gave a signal that it was okay, but I was a bit concerned about Chae Ha-ru sitting at the very end of the conference room, whose expression had darkened considerably.

Since I can’t talk about it here, I’ll ask him later in the room.

“Anyway, I’ll update you guys as quickly as possible when news comes in! Besides this, there’s one separate piece of good news.”

The manager pulled out a document envelope while grinning.

“Our first group advertisement casting came in!”

It was a series of contrasting news.

A notice that settlement payments were delayed, followed immediately by talk of advertisement casting to go earn money.

I wondered if the manager had deliberately delivered it this way, but it wasn’t unwelcome news at all.

No matter how much album sales pierce the sky and music chart performance is good, in terms of unit price alone, one advertisement like this is much more valuable.

But I had a momentary doubt.

‘……Don’t tell me they desperately need quick cash so they brought any random weird advertisement?’

An idol’s image is their life.

If they appear as an advertising model frequently shown on TV, the association with that advertisement becomes very strong due to frequent exposure.

From that perspective, if they end up promoting a very strange product that isn’t suitable for hiring idols as advertising models……

It could become quite troublesome.

I quietly clasped my hands together and prayed that a normal advertiser’s name would come up.

“I was also a bit puzzled when I first heard it. Huh, why does this brand want you guys? But after seeing the message later, I understood.”

The anxious feeling amplifies again.

I remember that when word choices like that come up, things have rarely been okay.

“You guys have always been so good at physical activities. Looking at the message, they said they’ve had their eye on you since you played dodgeball on 〈ISL 2〉. Anyway, it’s a popular sports brand, so it should be fine.”

“A sports brand?”

“Yeah. Kaipol launched a new outdoor wear line, and they requested CENTIX saying we’d be a good fit for that image.”

I breathed an internal sigh of relief and washed away my anxiety.

If it’s Kaipol, it’s an overseas sports brand with quite a solid position. They make various products like sportswear, shoes, sports equipment, and even sponsor sports teams.

‘Come to think of it…… wasn’t the baseball team that sponsored 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 sponsored by Kaipol?’

I have a vague memory of seeing it when I was researching this world’s South Korea before participating in the survival show.

To think we’d be connected like this.

Still, unlike my worst expectations, it seems like we hit a decent advertisement, so that’s fortunate.

If things had gone wrong, we could have ended up filming a constipation medicine commercial with the idol title.

“You have to go film the advertisement tomorrow morning, so manage your condition well. Don’t sleep too late! If your faces swell up, it’ll be a disaster.”

“What happens if I eat ramen before sleeping?”

“Then I’ll completely cut that person’s share from future group advertisements.”

“Hiic!”

Yu Ha-woon, who had been trying to joke around, immediately tucked his tail and promised he wouldn’t even eat raw ramen crumbs before being released.

After returning to our respective rooms and washing up, all the fatigue that had built up seemed to hit me at once.

I felt my body, which I had confidence in for stamina, become slightly stiff, so I massaged thoroughly with warm water.

‘It wasn’t just a forced march level.’

The period preparing for 〈Find Me〉 was also tight, and even after the comeback, we did all kinds of filming along with music show schedules.

There was even a variety show where we spent a night on an uninhabited island mixed in, so it was amazing that no one had collapsed until now.

‘The physical training I forced on the kids definitely had an effect.’

While we were stuck in the practice room, whenever we were bored, I’d pull out jump ropes and force training sessions.

The members consistently followed my guidance while making groaning sounds every time, knowing how important stamina improvement was.

As a result, we’re somehow enduring this murderous comeback schedule.

After finishing my shower and coming out, Chae Ha-ru, who had been quietly staring at the ceiling from his bed, greeted me.

“Brother, you worked hard today too.”

“No, you as well. Without you, 〈Memories Time Traveler〉 would have flopped without generating any buzz.”

“I just did what I had to do, nothing much.”

After saying that, he fell into contemplation again with a dark expression.

I silently shook my hair with a towel while carefully choosing words in my mind.

This is a sensitive topic for anyone, but it could be especially so for Chae Ha-ru.

“……Ha-ru.”

“Yes.”

“Are you worried about the delayed settlement payments?”

When I brought up the settlement payments, Chae Ha-ru looked at me with his characteristically empty gaze for a moment.

Then he chuckled and shook his head.

“I just felt impatient like an idiot by myself. I want to earn money as quickly as possible to help my parents. They’re people who understood everything when I said I wanted to become an idol without knowing anything and jumped into an agency, so now it’s time for me to repay them.”

Chae Ha-ru, who despite having a brilliant mind and attending a science high school, decided to become an idol thinking of his parents who were struggling financially.

After various twists and turns, he debuted through 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 and achieved meaningful results, breathing the air of high places.

That’s why he knows better than anyone that his current self is the only pillar that can restore his poor family.

Getting impatient is natural in a way.

“I’m not worried. As the manager said, our performance has been so good, our share will come back quickly. I just…… my expression probably darkened because I want to quickly pay off the debt for them.”

“Did you know I’d ask after seeing your eyes?”

“Brother always looks at my face closely to gauge my mood. Besides mom, no one stares at me as intently as you do.”

I couldn’t say anything since it was true that I judge Chae Ha-ru’s current state by whether his eyes look like dead fish or not.

At least it wasn’t as serious as I was worried about, which was fortunate.

“We sold over 1 million copies total this time, so settlement will be processed quickly. Tomorrow’s advertisement will bring in even more.”

“I know.”

“So let’s not worry too much. Everything shows on your expression. You can’t have those dead eyes again when filming the advertisement tomorrow.”

“I’ll put some spirit into it.”

“Rather than spirit, it’d be better to get a good night’s sleep now.”

I turned off the lights along with saying good night.

Whether talking with me helped reduce his worries, Chae Ha-ru quickly left for dreamland with light snoring.

I also eventually took a deep breath and went to sleep while checking community reactions on my phone.

Tomorrow feels like it’ll be another long day.

* * *

Going to sleep early with Chae Ha-ru yesterday was the right choice.

“We’re going all the way to Yangpyeong?”

“Since it’s an outdoor wear advertisement, they’re filming outdoors.”

“I’ll have to sleep in the car……”

Kang Seon-woo, who usually doesn’t sleep well in cars, brought an eye mask for some reason today.

After leaving the message ‘I had a feeling we’d be going far~!’, he immediately fell into deep sleep, and following his lead, the other guys also closed their eyes to get some rest during the long travel time.

Only Chae Ha-ru and I stayed alert and received additional information from the manager.

“Are there many running scenes?”

“There’s running from a distance, jumping high, and scenes kicking a ball too. Since this isn’t simply advertising one product but a new brand line advertisement, it seems like clothes, innerwear, and shoes will all be emphasized once each.”

“That’s why we’re leaving so early, because it’ll take a long time.”

After departing for Yangpyeong at 7 AM, we arrived at a forest entrance where cool air was flowing.

Before the actual filming started, we each put on the sportswear we’d be wearing.

“……Is this how you swing a racket?”

“Ahaha, Brother Seon-woo doing that makes it look like he’s catching bugs with an electric fly swatter.”

“You’re just saying I look pathetic in a roundabout way!”

Kang Seon-woo, who had shown serious athletic incompetence until now, once again swung his tennis racket with incredibly awkward movements.

Rather than hitting a ball, it really felt like Seong-hwi said – like he was buzzing a fly swatter through the air.

On the other hand, there was also a member who got assigned a surprisingly sweet role.

“I really just have to wear padding and run?”

Ma Si-hyeok kept asking while wearing a black short padded jacket.

For the padding portion, they said he just had to jog and then zip up when the camera did a close-up.

Hearing that, Kang Seon-woo clung to Ma Si-hyeok’s shoulder asking to switch parts, but the answer came back that assignments were already finished and it was hard to change.

“I can run well too!”

“Lies. Brother, I still remember you falling by yourself during the name tag game.”

“Hey, Yu Ha-woon, come here. I told you not to casually mention my dark history like that.”

“Hehe!”

Today too, CENTIX’s behind-the-scenes power broker wore a bright smile while punching people in the solar plexus.

When Kang Seon-woo made a completely non-threatening honey punch, Yu Ha-woon scurried behind me to hide.

“Brother, I think our filming will be the most fun, don’t you? I’m wearing soccer cleats for the first time in so long!”

“Can you actually kick the ball properly?”

“Hey, Brother, why are you like that! No matter how bad I am, would I be worse than Brother Seon-woo?”

The youngest puffed out his chest with a confident tone, but in my eyes, the scene of him getting out instantly with somehow 2% lacking reflexes during the old dodgeball match was clear.

Still, well, kicking a soccer ball is relatively easy, so I’ll let it slide.

The problem was my part.

“Now, Si-hwan is the most important. Actually, the person in charge who requested CENTIX casting said they fell for Si-hwan from the first time they saw him playing dodgeball on the broadcast.”

“Ah……”

“The portion that’ll go at the very end of the advertisement is Si-hwan’s part, and here you’ll be wearing the windbreaker, pants, and sneakers as a set. And the scene we’ll film is, just like you showed before, jumping really high! Magnificently! It’s a jumping scene! Everyone’s really looking forward to it!”

I gave a thumbs up and an awkward smile to the staff member handing me the sportswear set.

Back then I was just playing dodgeball like crazy to get benefits.

I’ve suddenly found myself in a crisis where my knees might give out from early morning.