<Episode 46>
The preparation for Spade Joker’s comeback album finally began.
With both the comeback and the fan meeting happening together, the company became even busier than before.
Amid all that, Kang Woojin still found time to teach acting to the Spade Joker members here and there. According to him, they were actually quite good at acting, and he even said it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have them try proper acting later on.
‘Though I’m not sure if he said that out of his own ambition.’
And today, the sample dolls designed by the Spade Joker members arrived.
“Wow, they’re cuter than I expected.”
Han Suseok let out an impressed remark as he looked at the dolls.
“We need to name these too, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“Why not mix the members’ names with animal names? That’s what most people seem to do.”
Looking at official dolls sold by other agencies, most were named after the idols’ nicknames or names.
Some were named based on the doll’s appearance, but either way, there wasn’t much difference.
“Kata, Judali, Jennyang, Heekkaengi, Seopoksi, Juraeji. Let’s go with those.”
Since Jen and Heeseo were both cats, it felt better to use different expressions rather than the same term.
“Sounds good.”
“Upload the drawings that Spade Joker made to the SNS account. That way, fans can start guessing that the dolls are coming soon.”
“Got it.”
“And give these samples to the members.”
“To them?”
“Yeah. They loved the light sticks when they got them, remember? They’ll like these too. Plus, they designed them themselves… of course they’d be curious how they turned out.”
“Understood.”
Han Suseok gave a small bow and left the office.
In just three days, Spade Joker was scheduled to leave the country to film a reality program. Even though it was only a short 2-night, 3-day trip, the members were already full of excitement.
Given their young age and the fact that they’d never been abroad before, it was only natural.
‘Though it won’t be all fun and games.’
At the end of the day, it was still a variety show.
Since meals and accommodations would be decided through card games, some members might end up not eating properly.
Of course, they wouldn’t be starved completely.
‘Still… maybe they’ll enjoy it anyway.’
If they saw it as a meaningful experience of going abroad, it might still be fun.
‘Well, that’s not what matters to me right now.’
***
Suddenly, six photos were uploaded to Spade Joker’s official account.
[Revealing the drawing skills of Spade Joker members in full.]
The images were animal characters drawn by the members.
↳ ????
↳ Are we getting dolls? Official dolls? Is that it?
↳ ↳ Wow, these are dolls, right? We’re finally getting official ones.
↳ I’ve been waiting for official dolls!
The fandom, Clover, was overjoyed.
They were finally shedding the frustrations they had endured.
[A friend once told me to switch fandoms after seeing me stan them. Said there were no proper official goods, their songs were weird, no dolls, and even the light stick looked like something from a cheap shop. That hurt so much back then… but now we finally…!]
↳ That friend was too harsh.
↳ Seriously, that’s too much. A real friend should just stay quiet.
↳ If they stan too, they should know, you can’t just quit whenever you want. That’s why it’s called a “bias accident.” It hits you suddenly like an accident. It’s not a choice.
↳↳ Exactly. Like, I chose to like Spade Joker? I’m jealous of new fans. We suffered so much.
↳ Let’s brag now! For a small agency group, they’re treated really well.
↳↳ Right. A CEO who doesn’t treat fans like ATMs? Rare.
[Alright. The members’ animal forms are decided. No objections accepted. Cain is a cheetah, Juseok is an otter, Zen and Heeseo are cats, Sora is a fennec fox, and Leejoo is a red panda.]
↳ LOL, yes! all my picks.
↳ I refuse to accept this.
↳ …No. This isn’t right.
[Nooo. Juseok is a marten. My precious baby marten. Raise your hands if you support marten supremacy.]
↳ Here!
↳ Yes, Juseok is a marten!
↳ Zen is a fennec fox, not a cat…
↳ I’m crying.
↳ We’re being oppressed.
[But seriously, none of them has drawing talent. Still, I can tell they tried… the erased marks and handwritten notes.]
↳ LOL, they really did their best.
↳ At least the effort came through.
↳ Company, please fix it up nicely.
↳↳ LOL, we rely on the company too easily now.
↳↳↳ Yeah… even I feel strange about it.
[LOL I can’t wait for the dolls. I need to buy an event bag now. I never bought one because I had nothing to put in it.]
↳ Same.
↳ We finally have something to carry.
↳↳ We used to just bring light sticks in drawstring bags.
↳ Starting shopping today. Need it ready before the dolls arrive.
↳↳ Already started shopping.
Clover’s heart raced at the news of official dolls.
***
“Hello, sir.”
I gathered the female trainees I had been keeping an eye on during the last observation variety show.
They greeted me nervously.
“Sit comfortably over there.”
“Yes.”
Even though I told them to relax, their posture remained stiff.
“Do you have any idea why I called you here?”
Kang Seoah carefully shook her head.
“Really?”
I thought they would at least have some idea, since I called them into the CEO’s office… but apparently not.
“Are we… getting cut?”
Mio asked cautiously.
I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t answer right away.
“We’re really working hard. We’ll work even harder.”
When I didn’t respond, Im Hyeju hurriedly spoke, thinking they were really about to be cut.
I raised my hand to stop them.
“You’re not getting cut. You thought you were?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
I couldn’t understand.
They were the only ones who had received good evaluations.
“Senior trainees told us… If you’re called to the meeting room, it means a debut. If you’re called to the CEO’s office, it means you’re getting cut.”
“What?”
That was the first I’d heard of it.
‘So there are rumors like that among trainees.’
“That’s not true at all. I called you here to have you practice a debut song.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
At my confirmation, their shoulders relaxed and smiles spread across their faces.
“You happy?”
“Yes!”
“Then listen to the song first.”
I played the track composed by Choi Minjun.
In the meantime, the lyrics had been fully completed.
“The title is [DREAMING].”
[NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA]
“The song is so good!”
“It feels great!”
[NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA]
They were already reacting positively before the song even truly began.
[Softly closing my eyes
Shall I take a look for a moment
At the place
Where my heart
And yours meet]
It was my first time hearing the completed lyrics, too.
[I’ll slowly approach
So you won’t be startled
And wake up]
[Secret conversations
Entering your heart]
The trainees, who had been chatting excitedly at first, now focused on the song.
[Sometimes I
Still wander
Through a fragile dream]
[Before the sunrise
With a happy smile]
After the first verse, a beautiful music-box-like melody followed.
[The eyes that look at me
Shine clearly and brightly]
[Red moon
Blue night sky
Calm air]
[Nothing makes sense
A sight I’ve never seen
Among vividly felt sensations]
Raising the key and using falsetto made the dreamy feeling even stronger.
[Though this moment can’t last forever
I’ll cherish it
As my own memory
And convey this feeling
(AH)]
[Sometimes I
In a fragile dream
Will you support me?]
[Before the sunrise
With a happy smile]
All the trainees sitting here had soft, delicate tones, making the song suit them even better.
When the song ended, they applauded.
It wasn’t a forced reaction; it was genuine.
“Sir, the song is really good.”
“The choreography isn’t ready yet, so practice the song among yourselves for now. Since you don’t have individual practice rooms yet, use Spade Joker’s practice room. And for reference, your group name is ‘Florence.’”
“Florence.”
Mio repeated the name.
“Sir, we’ll really work hard.”
“Good. Work hard.”
“Yes!”
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