Chapter 143
Suddenly, a question flashed through my mind.
Why did I assume that I was the only person who had made a contract with the cotton ball?
The term “cotton ball” wasn’t a significant clue. It was just a sudden thought.
The thought that I couldn’t be the only one who had a contract with the cotton ball.
If I really thought about it, there were many strange points.
The peculiar attitude of the cotton ball.
The fact that there was another person, besides me, whose abilities were at 99 despite being a rookie.
Could that even make sense?
It seemed like the other person was also feeling that something was off.
From earlier, they had been glancing at me furtively.
Should I try probing?
“Dahin, you don’t seem like a rookie at all. It feels like you’ve debuted before.”
“!!!”
Dahin clasped her hands tightly and her lips trembled.
“Unnie…! You too…! Saying you’re just two months into your debut… You have a different air about you….”
“…By any chance?”
“By any chance?!”
Our eyes met.
Dahin’s eyes were filled with immense confusion and a bit of joy.
The feeling was strong.
“How about we both show our phones at the count of three? How does that sound?”
I had a feeling that there was another unfortunate comrade.
“Yes, yes!”
“One, two,”
“Three…!”
We cautiously extended our phones to each other simultaneously.
Oh dear.
The moment we checked each other’s phones, we both fell into a panic.
On our phone screens,
[!Sudden Mission!
Win the semifinals of <Dear My Diva>!]
The exact same phrase was displayed.
“….”
“….”
I had a feeling that a lot of conversation was going to be needed.
***
“So, Dahin, you also came over from another world, just like me?”
Our conversation could only proceed after the VCR recording was over.
Before leaving for the dorm, I asked the manager for permission to borrow a car.
Talking like this in the underground parking lot of the broadcasting station made it seem like we were plotting something serious….
Although I had to turn off the black box as soon as we got in the car.
There was no place safer than here.
“Yes…!”
“Then… do you know who ‘Baek Nokha’ is by any chance?”
I asked, wondering if she had come from the same world as me.
She might not know who Baek Nokha is….
However, contrary to my concern, there was a natural look of confusion in Dahin’s eyes.
“Yes! Of course, I know… but why are you asking about her…?!”
“!”
Someone who knows me!
I was so delighted I almost shouted out loud.
But I managed to hold onto my composure.
“I… I was Baek Nokha.”
“What?!”
“I wasn’t originally Yoon Cheong. The cotton ball guy put me into Yoon Cheong’s body.”
“Whaaaat?!!”
Dahin looked extremely shocked.
“Come to think of it… in this world, Baek Nokha hasn’t debuted…”
“Yes, she doesn’t exist.”
“No wonder… the original Yoon Cheong would have been…”
“Failing right about now.”
“!!!”
Dahin was so shocked that her face turned pale.
She seemed more fragile than I expected.
“So Dahin, you were Dahin in your past life and you’re still Dahin now?”
“Yes…! I came to change my fate… No, more precisely, to change the fate of my group….”
I see.
Dahin then explained in detail how she ended up here.
As soon as the label “sajaegi group” was stamped on them, Moment practically abandoned <Inleven>.
After barely fulfilling their contract period, they didn’t renew it.
<Inleven> members only promoted during the first 1-2 years and then couldn’t promote at all.
They had to live day by day with part-time jobs or their families’ help.
Even that, Moment banned, saying part-time jobs would tarnish the “idol” image, making it impossible to continue.
<Inleven> members begged to terminate their contracts, but Moment adamantly refused.
They said it was impossible unless they paid back the investment.
Moment claimed each member owed 700 million won.
But the members, who had neither the money nor the ability to repay such a large debt, found it naturally impossible.
After barely surviving on the minimal salary from Moment, the contract termination day came.
Dahin was walking home, crying her eyes out.
Then suddenly, a handful of fur appeared before her with a “pop.”
-You seem to have some talent too. Would you like to make a contract with me?
That’s what it said.
“…Considering it said ‘too’….”
“I must have been the next person to make a contract after you.”
So that’s why the cotton ball was so busy.
It felt like things were starting to fit together piece by piece.
“Then, what were the terms of your contract, Dahin?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, what did you get in return for coming back?”
Dahin looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“I… I didn’t get any reward….”
“…What?”
No reward for the contract?
Isn’t that too different from my contract to return if I win the Rookie Award?
“Didn’t the cotton ball set any conditions? Like winning the Rookie Award or something?”
“Oh! There was that. If I return… I must revive my group. I was told to win the ‘Grand Prize’ within three years.”
“….”
Although slightly different, the conditions were almost similar.
It felt like the cotton ball intentionally made our conditions different.
To help us both succeed in our missions.
But… if there’s no reward….
“What happens to you if you achieve that condition, Dahin?”
“They said I could… stay in this world.”
“!”
Complete shock.
There’s even a condition to stay in this world.
“Dahin, don’t you want to go back?”
“Me?”
Dahin tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
“N-no. I… I like this world where I can set everything right.”
Ah.
I finally started to understand.
If I returned, I’d be greeted by the life of Baek Nokha, which had been happy.
“No matter what… in this life, I really want to continue being an idol… So I want to stay in this world….”
But if Dahin returned… she would face the unhappy life of her past.
Tears streamed down Dahin’s face as she spoke.
Then she grasped my arm with both hands.
“Unnie…!”
“Yes?”
“P-please help me…!”
Oh dear.
I had a strong feeling again.
“I really want to escape the stigma of ‘sajaegi’…! But I have no idea… I don’t know what to do…. Boohoo. The cotton ball keeps saying to me… ‘Why can’t you handle this on your own? The other one managed just fine alone.’ It never helps me… waaaaaaaah.”
I realized that I had another small creature to take care of.
***
I only managed to calm Dahin down after she had eaten an entire tub of ice cream.
I should remember that cherry-flavored ice cream always works.
…Sigh.
I think I finally understood the meaning behind the cotton ball’s cryptic words from before.
-If it’s you, Baek Nokha, you’ll find a way somehow.
You’re dead, cotton ball.
Was that phrase your way of saying you’d give me someone else to take care of and find a way for?
Dahin had indeed gotten a second chance, but she couldn’t see how to defeat the major agency Moment.
She said it didn’t make sense for her to suddenly do well in this life when she couldn’t in her past life.
She really couldn’t see a way….
Actually, her reaction seemed quite normal.
Anyway, I promised to help her as much as I could.
For Dahin’s sake, but also for ours in the long run.
If Moment blatantly engaged in sajaegi or fraud, it would ultimately harm the music industry.
Then it would impact Steel Blue.
We could even lose the Rookie Award to Moment.
That must be prevented.
Since Dahin’s and my goals aligned in some ways, it seemed best to cooperate and take down Moment together.
…And the kid was a bit pitiful.
It was also a comfort that she was the only one who knew Baek Nokha.
‘Th-that unnie was Baek Nokha unnie… no wonder you’re so amazing…. The songs you released felt familiar…. So that’s why….’
It was a bit much that she almost worshipped me.
But I decided to take good care of her.
I told Dahin to start by driving out all the people Moment had newly recruited.
Since I had handed over my punk collection to them, she should try to drive those people out.
Dahin asked how she could possibly do that, but I told her she had to figure that out on her own.
I couldn’t spoon-feed her everything.
I was in a position of ‘cooperation,’ not in the same group.
Each of us had to do our part.
Anyway, if Dahin had also returned like me, her extraordinary abilities made sense.
She was a seventh-year main vocalist, filled with resentment, with almost no schedule and nothing but practice day and night.
…It would be strange if her abilities weren’t at 99….
“Unnie.”
Ugh.
Startled by the affectionate term, I quickly turned around.
“What.”
It was Yeon Juhong.
“Why are you spacing out?! When I call you unnie, you don’t snap out of it, but when I call you unnie in a cutesy way, you do. Are you suggesting I keep calling you unnie in a cutesy way?!”
“Nope.”
I shivered and pushed Yeon Juhong away.
That scared me.
“Inleven ranked first.”
We were all watching a music show together.
We were also planning our next album and observing the current idol trends.
“Do you think we’ve become rivals?”
Kim Geum asked me.
“…The media would want that. Two rising rookie girl groups. Both receiving praise for ushering in a new generation.”
“Plus, both are from major entertainment companies.”
Ryu Bo-ra agreed, supplementing my words.
“We need to show that we’re on a ‘different’ path from Inleven.”
Currently, Inleven was aggressively appearing on variety shows, pushing their image as familiar idols.
“Thanks to Moment’s massive push, Inleven is everywhere.”
“That’s why their recognition is rising quickly.”
They were good at variety shows and familiar to the public.
They appeared so often on TV that it was almost having side effects.
We couldn’t follow that strategy.
Inleven should go their way, and we should go ours.
That’s how we would survive.
“But how do we do that? Raising recognition without appearing on shows…?”
“Is that even possible…?”
The members all started scratching their heads.
Possible?
“There are many media outlets besides TV.”
“?!”
“There are print media like magazines.”
For example, what about advertisements?
I looked at Yeon Juhong.
“Juhong. Are you interested in luxury brands?”
“What?!”
Yeon Juhong looked at me, then at her clothes, with bewildered eyes.
…
This kid.
Even the comfortable clothes she wore at the dorm were ‘Louis Vinnel.’
That’s it.
What I had in mind was becoming a luxury brand ambassador.
By now, luxury brands should be looking for new models in Korea.
Why did I think of luxury brands?
Steel Blue was at a point where we needed to go one step further in securing our concept.
We needed to turn Steel Blue itself into a brand.
So how should we do that branding?
Branding is actually very difficult.
We needed to solidify our image and concept to impress the public.
But.
What if we borrowed a bit from an existing brand’s image and added to it?
Especially if they were already proven brands?
The brand we represent could, in turn, become our representative image.
We don’t need to completely overlay the image of a luxury brand onto us.
We just need to adjust it appropriately to become one of the many images that construct our identity.
In my opinion, the people who best fit the image each brand is currently looking for are Yeon Juhong and Ryu Bo-ra.
Especially Yeon Juhong.
**Yeon Juhong**
**Singing**: 70/100
**Dancing**: 71/100
**Appearance**: 94/100
**Charisma**: 97/100
**Variety Show Sense**: 90/100
**Special Personal Abilities**:
**Celebrity**: 90/100
**Fan Service**: 86/100
**?**: ?/100
**Recommended Development Traits**:
**Celebrity**
**Fan Service**
**Singing**
**Dancing**
She’s a kid with the personal ability of ‘Celebrity.’
This time, let’s raise Yeon Juhong as a princess.