I Became the CEO of an Idol Company in a Game Chapter 19

<Episode 19>

 

A week had passed since the comeback day, and the morning of Spade Joker’s fan signing event arrived.

From early morning, the company was bustling.

“Han Suseok.”

“Yes.”

“The preparations?”

“They’ve all arrived safely.”

“Good. And you passed along what I said to the manager, right?”

“Of course.”

“Great. That’s a relief.”

A fan signing event.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the day to firmly stake out those who had become fans after watching Reverse Perspective, so they wouldn’t leave for somewhere else.

“Alright. Tell them to pay special attention to safety. No one should get hurt.”

“Understood.”

“Then you can go.”

“Yes.”

Han Suseok gave a light bow and left the CEO’s office.

I stretched my stiff neck and shoulders.

“Ugh.”

A groan slipped out naturally.

“I want to succeed quickly so I can hire multiple secretaries and just live a life stamping approval documents.”

Compared to other entertainment CEOs, I was far more restless.

‘I’m only a CEO in title. Just in title.’

To clear my head, I decided to check the reactions to Spade Joker’s music video.

 

[Spade Joker’s music video is good. The agency really got its sense back. A song and MV that tell the story of a small seed growing into a big tree… what a concept. The members look so fresh and pretty, and the ending is touching. Because of the tree, people gather and enjoy themselves there. It also kind of feels like it’s showing how people find joy through the performances Spade Joker delivers.]

↳ I was wondering why people suddenly appeared under the tree, so that’s why.

 ↳↳ Now that I read this, it makes sense.

↳ So it’s depicting the trials Spade Joker goes through to become idols who bring joy on stage…

 

[Our boys have such distinct features, I’ve said so many times that clean makeup and styling suit them best, and now it’s finally being accepted.]

↳ I’m so moved.

↳ I have no regrets now. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them look that happy on stage.

 ↳↳ Don’t say you have no regrets! We need to work hard now and get them in first place!

 

[Everyone, the company did their part this time, and Spade Joker gave their best. Now it’s our turn! We have to step up!]

↳ We really have to get them in first place.

↳ We’ve always said it… if they get a proper comeback, we’ll buy albums and stream like crazy. Then we really have to do it this time. It’s our turn now.

 

You could see the fans’ determination to make Spade Joker win first place.

‘I don’t see any posts saying something’s lacking.’

In previous cycles, fans would always express disappointment whenever a song was released.

No matter how many things were fixed, they were never satisfied.

‘It feels like we finally cleared the first level with a full three-star rating.’

“Then it’s time to move on to the next level.”

 

***

 

Spade Joker was trembling ahead of the fan signing event.

“Hyung Jawook…”

Leejoo called out to their manager, Kim Jawook, in a trembling voice.

“Yes? What is it?”

Kim Jawook responded immediately.

“Are you feeling sick? Should I get you some medicine?”

“No, it’s not that.”

At Leejoo’s answer, he sighed in relief.

“Then what is it?”

“I’m really nervous. Did a lot of fans come?”

“Yes.”

“…Ha. I see. A lot came.”

Leejoo took deep breaths, trying to calm his pounding heart.

“Whatever you do, the fans will be happy.”

Kim Jawook said in a low voice.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Leejoo’s anxiety, he nodded reassuringly.

“I’ve met the fans, you know. They really love Spade Joker. So don’t worry about that. Now, you should go in before it’s too late.”

The members forced bright smiles and began walking.

They seemed even more nervous than before their comeback stage.

“Waaaaaa!”

“Guys!”

“You’re so pretty today!”

Today, Spade Joker wore the same denim-on-denim outfits from the music video.

They sat in order: Sora, Cain, Juseok, Leejoo, Heeseo, and Zen.

“One, two. Hello, we are Spade Joker.”

Following the leader, Cain’s voice, they greeted the fans.

“Waaaaaa!”

“So many people came today.”

Seeing the venue filled with fans, their emotions swelled, and they instinctively looked upward to hold back tears.

“I hope we can have a fun time today.”

The fan signing officially began.

“Hi!”

The first fan greeted them loudly, trying not to sound like a bleating goat.

“Hello.”

The members were the same.

They were extremely nervous but pretended to be calm.

“I brought something, can you wear it?”

The fan shyly took out a face chain.

Just as Sora reached out to accept it, the manager, Kim Jawook, intercepted it.

“Hyung.”

Sora looked at him with a pitiful expression, clearly not wanting to lose the fan’s gift.

“I’m not taking it away. I just need to check it for safety reasons, so don’t worry.”

Both Sora and the fan sighed in relief.

“Haha, that’s a relief, right?”

“Yes.”

Kim Jawook carefully inspected the face chain.

He had been instructed by the general manager that safety was the top priority, and even gifts from fans had to be thoroughly checked.

“You can’t trust everyone just because they’re fans. There could be people pretending to be fans. No one announces they’re going to do something bad beforehand. That only happens in cartoons.”

After hearing that, Kim Jawook felt a strong sense of responsibility.

He felt that the safety of all members rested on him.

“No issues. Sorry for suspecting.”

He apologized politely to the fan and then put the face chain on Sora.

“Sora! Look over here!”

“Over here too!”

Some fans pulled out large cameras, so-called “bazooka cameras”… and started taking photos.

After snapping a few shots, they quickly hid them back in their bags.

Seeing that, Kim Jawook grabbed the microphone.

“Dear fans, you don’t need to hide your cameras. The CEO said he’s grateful to the fans and instructed that filming should not be restricted at the fan signing. So feel free to take photos.”

As soon as he finished speaking, cameras of all kinds popped out from the fans.

The members burst into laughter.

“Looks like you were all waiting for that.”

Zen, who was last in line and had no fan seated yet, picked up the microphone to communicate.

“Yeah!”

“Please take pretty pictures!”

“Of course!”

Soon, a fan sat in front of Zen.

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

Zen smiled brightly at the fan.

“I brought something.”

“What is it?”

The fan placed a yellow rose crown on the table.

“The manager said it has to be checked before wearing it.”

Since there was only one manager for six members, checking items took time.

Eventually, even a staff member from the PR team joined in inspecting fan items.

The crown was placed on Zen’s head.

“Thank you so, so much for coming today.”

“I’m going to come so often you’ll get sick of me.”

“No matter how many times you come, I won’t get sick of it. It makes me happy.”

The fan placed a hand over her chest, overwhelmed with emotion.

‘Why are they so kind? If I hadn’t come today, I would’ve regretted it so much.’

“Wouldn’t it be boring just sitting there looking at us?”

“What are you talking about? Just looking at your faces is fun!”

“Really?”

“Yes! So don’t worry about anything!”

“Alright. Ah, the signing ended too quickly. Next time, I’ll make my signature more complicated to buy more time.”

“Thank you for saying that. But your signature is already so pretty. I’ll be over there, so look at me sometimes, okay?”

“Okay. I promise. Take care.”

As she finished and was about to return to her seat, a staff member stopped her.

Confused, she looked up, and the staff handed her chocolate churros and coffee.

“This is a gift from CEO John Raid Lombardi for the fans.”

The fan looked at the coffee in surprise.

On the cup was Spade Joker’s face along with the phrase:

“Please give lots of love to Spade Joker.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Enjoy.”

Feeling a bit hungry anyway, the fan returned to her seat and continued watching the fan signing while enjoying the coffee and churros.