<Episode 71>
As soon as I hung up the call with Han Suseok, I saved A-Pen’s leader’s number first.
[Hello, this is John Raid Lombardi, CEO of Ramos Entertainment. I heard you’ll soon be discussing contract renewal. If you’re open to it, I’d like to have an in-depth conversation regarding a contract with A-Pen. I’ll be waiting for your reply.]
A-Pen would definitely waver when they saw this message.
Because they’d want to grasp even at straws.
Despite practically carrying the company on their backs, their contract ratio had remained at 2:8 for ten years, and with the recent fan-signing incident, even whatever little attachment they had left must have disappeared.
JM Entertainment’s actions were no different from openly treating A-Pen’s fans like ATMs.
‘Even if they don’t contact me today, they will soon enough.’
They would need time to verify whether my message was real or a scam.
So…
“Let’s wait calmly.”
Bzzz
At that moment, a message arrived from Kim Jawook.
[We ran into a group called Spade at today’s music show, and the members seemed very flustered. I thought I should inform you.]
Right. How shocked must the Spade Joker members have been?
Joo Youngjun caused the mess, but I was the one cleaning it up.
[If they really copied us, it’ll only hurt them in the end. And you know how every successful product eventually gets counterfeits, right? It’s probably because your popularity has grown so much, so tell them not to worry. Please take good care of the kids by their side. I’m counting on you.]
I sent the reply like that.
And I vowed to return everything Joo Youngjun had done to me over the past nine regressions.
***
[Spade? LOL. yeah, a shovel. There’s actually a group named “Shovel”? Seriously ridiculous. What, are they planning to scoop up the K-pop market with a shovel? Logo plagiarism, choreography plagiarism, and even lip-syncing? I won’t even bother mentioning styling since everything looks the same anyway. But even the formations are copied neatly. There aren’t many groups that use a 6-member formation like that… most usually hide one member in the back.]
↳ They copied so much I don’t even know where to start pointing things out.
↳ Amazing. Truly amazing.
↳ That agency CEO really has no sense at all.
Looking at the SNS reactions, it didn’t seem like it would be easy for Joo Youngjun to build up the group Spade.
‘People these days have such high standards. Who would like it when you blatantly copy another group like this?’
He lacked so much sense that it made one question whether he was even fit to be the CEO of an entertainment company.
He always told me I was lucky, but the one who was truly lucky was Joo Youngjun.
If you looked at it closely, the way Spade Joker and A-Pen had been managed was similar.
Yet A-Pen had become a top-tier idol group, while Spade Joker had been labeled a failed group.
‘Still, I should keep an eye on Spade’s activities for a while.’
***
Clover was furious, but held it in.
Because today was the day Spade Joker’s reality show would be released on OTT.
[Spade Joker’s Card Draw in Bangkok]
To quickly calm down, Clover pressed play.
[Hello!]
The video started at the airport.
The Spade Joker members greeted the camera with excited faces.
It seemed to be a Thai airport.
[We’ve just arrived at the airport.]
Since it was their first overseas trip, they seemed more energetic than usual.
[We’ll head to the accommodation first.]
[Yes!]
At the PD’s words, they answered in unison like kindergarteners.
The camera briefly showed Bangkok’s scenery through the car window.
Soon, they arrived at their lodging.
[What do you think?]
The accommodation was stunning, there was a wide living room and even a luxurious-looking pool inside.
[This is amazing. Are we really staying here?]
The members ran around inside, looking around in excitement.
[You can stay here.]
Cheers erupted.
[But only if you draw the right card.]
The atmosphere instantly changed.
The members blinked.
[Huh?]
[We told you at the start, didn’t we? Everything in this show is decided by cards. We prepared three cards. One lets you use this entire place. One gives you access to that smaller building next door you saw earlier. And the last… well, there’s a tent outside. You’ll be staying there.]
The gap between the best and worst was extreme.
[That’s too harsh!]
[Just draw well.]
They sighed.
With resigned faces, they started discussing which card to pick.
[We’ll go with the middle one!]
Cain picked the middle card.
[WAAAAAH! We got this place! We got this place!]
He couldn’t hide his excitement.
[Really?]
The others checked and cheered together.
[Hyung, you did great.]
They enjoyed the moment for quite a while.
Clover watched them with a huge smile.
“Ah… they’re seriously so cute. Are these the same guys who were wearing suits and performing sharply on stage just earlier?”
The gap between their stage image and this was huge.
[Then can we unpack now?]
[Yes.]
They excitedly chose rooms and unpacked.
Their luggage mostly consisted of sunglasses, hats, summer clothes, and swimsuits.
[Now we should eat dinner, right?]
[Are we drawing cards again?]
Heeseo asked with a worried face.
[Yes.]
At the same time, a caption appeared:
[Spade Joker is destined to suffer through cards from now on.]
Clover felt a pang in their heart.
Even though it was for entertainment, they wanted the members to eat well and be happy during their overseas trip.
‘Still… it’s kind of cute watching them get disappointed too.’
Dinner options were local food, Korean food, or convenience food.
At least starving wasn’t an option.
This time, they drew Korean food.
[This might actually be good. We haven’t tried Thai food yet anyway.]
After rationalizing, they headed to a Korean tteokbokki place in Thailand.
[Everyone.]
[Yes.]
[Any fun stories from your trainee days?]
At the writer’s question, they tried to recall memories.
[None?]
When no one answered, the writer asked again carefully.
[Nothing really worth telling… we just practiced and rested. That’s about it.]
The mood turned solemn.
[Then… your CEO has been a hot topic lately.]
[Yes.]
[If your CEO were an idol, what position do you think he’d have?]
They thought for a moment.
[I think main dancer. You know, that intense member who dances really well.]
Everyone strongly agreed with Sora.
[Yeah, that fits him perfectly.]
While chatting, they arrived at the tteokbokki place.
Even though it was strange to eat tteokbokki on their first day in Thailand, they ate happily.
Soon, episode 1 ended, followed by a preview.
[Ha…]
It showed the members sighing deeply and the staff hurriedly holding a meeting.
But Clover wasn’t fooled.
Variety shows always made things look dramatic when they weren’t.
‘I won’t fall for that twice.’
Still, they couldn’t help looking forward to the next episode.
Spade Joker would finally start sightseeing, and that couldn’t be missed.
***
A-Pen had placed a phone on the floor and was huddled together, talking.
“Doesn’t this feel like a prank?”
“I think so too. Who would even try to take us? The CEO would never let us go.”
When their 7-year contract ended, they had no intention of renewing.
But the agency threw out something close to a threat.
If they left, they would have to change everything… the group name, official SNS accounts, YouTube channel, and even the fandom name.
Because of that, they had no choice but to sign a 3-year extension.
“What if the CEO is testing us with this?”
“That’s very possible.”
They thought the CEO might be trying to tie them down.
It was exactly the kind of thing he would do.
“But what if it’s real? Then aren’t we missing a chance?”
“Then… should we just call? If it’s not the CEO’s voice, we can ask for a video call. We know what John Raid Lombardi looks like, so we can confirm that way.”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
And so, A-Pen’s leader called the number that had sent the message.
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