Chapter 163
We had to extend our activities for another week even after our originally scheduled three weeks of music broadcasts.
We couldn’t afford to not appear as first place nominees, especially as rookies.
However, now it was truly time to wrap up our activities.
Continuing any longer would just have a negative effect.
“Wow. We finally arrived.”
This was Honolulu Airport in Hawaii.
“I felt like I was going to die on the plane. Why is it so far?”
“But I absolutely love it. It’s Hawaii!”
“Indeed. It’s amazing.”
Why did we come all the way to this distant country?
We were contemplating how to spend roughly two weeks before the members’ official solo activities began.
After some discussion, we impulsively decided to head to Hawaii.
We figured it would be hard to enjoy a vacation in Korea.
While staying in the dorm would be fine, I didn’t want to confine the members there.
They were young kids.
They needed some sunshine to grow.
Luckily, CEO Hong also agreed with my decision. She even gave us some spending money, telling us to rest well.
We planned to bring the minimum number of staff.
…However, CEO Hong insisted on assigning us a stylist.
She said we couldn’t walk around looking too shabby even during vacation.
According to CEO Hong, an idol should remain an idol even in hell, not just Hawaii.
Honestly, it was annoying, but I understood.
“Let’s not talk about work here. We talked so much about work on the plane that I couldn’t even enjoy first class properly.”
Kim Geum said with an exasperated look.
“Sorry.”
“So let’s just play now.”
“Okay.”
We grabbed our luggage and headed straight to the hotel.
We booked this place out of our own pockets, so I hoped the members liked it-
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Wow!”
…It was clear they liked it.
Was this Seo Baek-young’s first time on a plane?
Yeon Juhong and Kim Geum were obviously thrilled.
Even Ryu Bo-ra’s lips were twitching in a smile.
“For the next ten days, let’s forget everything and just rest.”
“No work at all, just rest! Promise!”
“Cheong, hurry up and promise!”
The members glared at me with fierce eyes.
Ugh.
“…Let’s just film a vlog for one day.”
“What’s your problem?”
“I was just thinking of our fans…”
“Your plan was to film for a whole week, wasn’t it? What can you even do in one day?”
Their quick change of attitude was impressive.
Thus, we reached an agreement.
We would work for just one day and spend the rest of the time relaxing and enjoying the beach.
“But I have a question.”
“Yeah?”
I approached Seo Baek-young and asked in a small voice.
“That time… When you, Geum, and Juhong were whispering. What was that about?”
“Oh, that.”
Seo Baek-young laughed sheepishly.
“In case someone really attacked Bora, we decided to snap out of it immediately. If the bodyguards couldn’t handle the situation… I would stop the person first, and the other two would protect Bora. It was our little strategy meeting. Honestly, I didn’t think we’d ever have to use it. But it actually happened.”
“…!”
“Even so, as the older one, I had to protect her.”
“Why didn’t you discuss it with me?”
“Would you have listened if I told you? You’d just end up getting hurt instead. It’s better for someone like me with at least some training to handle it.”
I couldn’t deny it.
If I had been there, I probably would have taken the stab for Ryu Bo-ra.
“Juhong and Geum initially opposed the idea, saying it was too dangerous, but they agreed after seeing my taekwondo skills. After all, it was the most efficient way to protect Bora.”
She was more rational than I thought.
I was slightly hurt that they didn’t include me in their plan…
But now, I just felt grateful.
“Thank you.”
“What are you thanking us for? We just did what we had to do.”
Seo Baek-young patted my shoulder and then walked over to talk to the manager.
I followed behind her.
“Manager, you should rest a bit too.”
“Guys, but… we’re getting so many casting offers. What should we do?”
“We decided to decline all of them. No media appearances.”
Even before coming here, and after arriving, the casting offers kept coming.
But I had already drawn a clear line with Colors.
I told them we wouldn’t do any media exposure, no matter who came knocking.
Even if CNM came, we wouldn’t do it.
I was aware.
I knew there were surprisingly many casting offers coming from the U.S.
Most were small radio shows, but still, it was quite something.
However, we weren’t considering expanding into the U.S. for the time being, so it wasn’t something to consider.
The members felt the same.
“I know, but…”
The manager looked very troubled as she glanced at us.
“We got a call from the Phillip Show…”
“No, we won’t go even if it’s Phillip-”
“C-can’t we go?”
“!?”
What?
We all turned to look at Yeon Juhong.
She, along with Kim Geum, had been the most determined to rest.
But suddenly, she wanted to go?
“I… I’m a huge fan of Phillip…”
Ah, fandom is valid.
Prism Homma vented her frustration about not being a native English speaker.
She had to wait for subtitles to appear!
The current international reaction was hot, with all sorts of memes and trending search terms.
And she was the only one who couldn’t enjoy it in real-time…
I also wanted to enjoy it in real-time…
Prism Homma beat the ground in frustration.
If only I had studied English when I was young…!
It was a regret that came too late.
And then.
About three hours after the broadcast ended.
A translated video was uploaded on OTube.
Prism Homma hit the play button at lightning speed.
[Phillip: Our third guests today are girls from a very distant country.]
[Phillip: You probably know them. These days, no one on OTube hasn’t seen them.]
[Phillip: Honestly, I first saw them on the news while eating breakfast.]
[Phillip: Let me introduce them. They’re Steel Blue from Korea.]
With a sly smile, Phillip began the introduction.
Then, the camera panned to Steel Blue sitting comfortably in their chairs.
They were all dressed in a way that looked casual yet stylish.
[Phillip: Hi, thanks for coming all the way here.]
[Cheong: No problem. We were on vacation in Hawaii anyway.]
‘Why is Cheong’s English so good…?’
Prism Homma was surprised by Yoon Cheong’s fluent English.
Although she wasn’t fluent in English herself, it was clear that Yoon Cheong was speaking effortlessly and fluently.
[Phillip: Oh, really? In Hawaii?]
[Cheong: Yes. We got a call during our vacation, and we debated whether to come or not… but the members are fans of yours, so we decided to come.]
[Phillip: You debated whether to come?!]
Phillip collapsed onto his desk, looking wounded.
[Cheong: You know, we were enjoying our vacation. The rule is to turn off our phones during vacation.]
[Phillip: Ah, right. You deserve to enjoy your vacation. Don’t you?]
[Baek-young: Of course!]
Hearing that they were enjoying their vacation, Prism Homma felt a sense of relief.
Actually, there had been some trolls since the news of their appearance on the Phillip Show came out.
They were saying things like, “They rejected all the Korean schedules to go to the U.S. instead?”
“Do you have no pride?” they mocked.
But
Steel Blue was emphasizing that they were just enjoying their vacation in the U.S. and happened to make an appearance by chance.
Their presence here was purely coincidental. They were on vacation.
[Phillip: I must say, getting you guys on the show was really tough. We probably called about a hundred times.]
[Cheong: You know how heroes respond immediately to emergency calls but are a bit reluctant to appear on shows. Please understand.]
Yoon Cheong responded to Phillip’s half-joking, half-serious remark with humor.
This made Phillip, as well as the audience, burst into laughter.
Prism Homma found this moment incredibly fascinating.
But it wasn’t just Prism Homma.
Oh my, I’m watching the Phillip Show,
Yoon Cheong is so relaxed, hahaha.
It’s like, “We’re on vacation, but you guys begged us to come, so here we are.”
I like this vibe more, hahaha. I didn’t like the idea of acting like being on the Phillip Show was such a huge honor when they are top stars in Korea.
└2222
Even as rookies, their relaxed attitude is really the killing point, hahaha. It’s charming.
[Phillip: So, can you explain what happened?]
Yoon Cheong glanced at Ryu Bo-ra.
Ryu Bo-ra smiled brightly.
[Bo-ra: Actually, I’m called the Baby Princess back in Korea.]
[Phillip: ?!]
[Dylan: Phillip, don’t believe everything you hear. This girl used to be an actress. The role she played was a Korean princess.]
Phillip’s sidekick, Dylan, teased Phillip about Ryu Bo-ra’s joke.
Phillip pretended to wipe his sweat with a handkerchief.
[Phillip: Okay, got it, Princess. But what does that have to do with this incident?]
[Bo-ra: A princess always has a villain threatening her.]
[Phillip: Ah, right, right.]
[Dylan: These girls are funnier than you, Phillip.]
[Phillip: Honestly, I was thinking the same thing.]
‘Bo-ra speaks really well.’
The show’s atmosphere was very pleasant and cheerful.
Although she wasn’t as fluent as Yoon Cheong,
Ryu Bo-ra was also doing quite well.
It was because she spoke without hesitation, even if she used simple vocabulary.
[Bo-ra: This villain was the same. He had been threatening me since I was young.]
[Phillip: Gasp.]
[Bo-ra: He disappeared for a while, but when I debuted as a singer, he reappeared and started threatening me again. Then… as you saw, he came on stage and swung a knife at me.]
Even though the story had already been reported in the news, hearing it directly from Ryu Bo-ra’s mouth felt different.
The good thing was, maybe because she had rested a bit,
Ryu Bo-ra’s expression looked much brighter than before.
[Phillip: Let’s watch the video from that moment.]
The screen changed.
The video of the stage at that moment started playing.
Steel Blue and Phillip appeared in a small window, showing their reactions.
[Bo-ra: In that dangerous moment… ta-da.]
[Baek-young: I appeared.]
Baek-young raised her hand with a proud smile.
The members covered their faces in embarrassment, but Seo Baek-young was very confident.
Phillip applauded the meme star who finally appeared.
[Phillip: I’ve watched your kick video a hundred times.]
[Baek-young: I understand. I’ve watched it a hundred times too. I was pretty cool back then.]
[Dylan: These girls are really something else.]
Seo Baek-young spoke hesitantly, with the help of a translator, as she wasn’t very good at English.
But her confident attitude made her appear even cuter to the fans.
[Phillip: So, you guys are both princesses and heroes?]
[Baek-young: No. We’re all princesses and all heroes.]
[Phillip: (?)]
[Baek-young: Why not? Even in movies, princesses are also heroes.]
[Phillip: That… somehow makes sense.]
After exchanging a few more jokes,
Steel Blue’s performance time arrived.
Steel Blue sang one verse each of <Blue> and <New Color>.
After the short performance, the interview resumed.
[Phillip: But I’ve heard your lyrics are really interesting. Can you tell us about them?]
[Cheong: Sure. Our songs are always about fighting for ourselves and our fans.]
[Juhong: Doesn’t that fit perfectly with our current situation?]
[Phillip: It does. It’s like a prophecy.]
The Steel Blue members nodded enthusiastically.
[Bo-ra: And we will continue to fight for each other and our fans in the future.]
[Cheong: We’re heroes who can become strong at any time.]
[Phillip: Can I call you back if you become hot heroes again?]
[Cheong: We’ll come if we have time. As I said earlier, heroes usually only appear in emergencies.]
[Phillip: I might as well just ask Dylan to hit me.]
Thus, the show ended on a cheerful and enjoyable note.
Wow, this is a total entry point for new Steel Blue fans.
They’re so cute.
The reaction in Korea also began to heat up again.