Chapter 191
After the two-day concert had ended, Steel Blue got their first vacation since their debut.
However, no vacation was given to the fans.
While they reviewed the backlog of content and waited for the next, an announcement about the year-end awards show was made.
**Platinum Music Awards criteria announcement:**
Digital sales 30% + Physical sales 30% + Judges 20% + Votes 20%
Voting methods summarized below
Paid and free voting are separate, so follow the instructions carefully
**BMA voting announced:**
Digital sales 50%, Physical sales 20%, Judges 15%, Votes 15%
When I started stanning idols, I learned that…
They charge for votes? I thought voting would be free;
There are paid votes?;;
Sometimes it’s better to have paid votes, lol.
└2222 lololololol
This is truly a grinding experience.
Why can’t they just let us vote once, why every day?
└Voting every day is mild… sometimes it’s every hour lolololol
Some fandoms use macros for this.
└True… let’s not do that. It’s not that we don’t know how to use macros; we just choose not to.
A live broadcast text vote costs 200 won.
But isn’t the rookie award for female idols a given this year?
It seems the male idol category is more competitive.
For female idols, there’s only one clear candidate.
Wasn’t this year just Steel Blue’s year?
Yet, it’s a dirty world where we still have to push for votes…
Just give it to the one with the best results.
Shouldn’t Steel Blue get the grand prize instead of the rookie award?
Steel Blue was number one in digital sales this year.
They should receive both the rookie award and the grand prize; you can only win the rookie award once in a lifetime, why wouldn’t they get it?
The rookie award is very special to idols… sure, the grand prize is too, but make sure to give them the rookie award.
I can accept the rookie award, but the grand prize too? lolol that’s a bit much… many idols sold more albums than Steel Blue.
└That’s only physical sales. Is there anyone who doesn’t know that Steel Blue dominated digital sales this year? Both “Paper Doll” and “Eternal Summer” were mega hits.
└└Both digital and physical sales are considered, why focus only on digital sales lol. Many idols had mega hits with physical sales too~~~~ Steel Blue isn’t a clear winner.
Just give them both.
Even if Steel Blue’s performance was overwhelmingly strong, the fans couldn’t be reassured.
In the idol world, the word “reassurance” was a death flag.
The moment you felt reassured, you’d lose…
If it seemed certain that our idols would win, we had to push even harder.
Why? Because we had to beat the other side in votes, at least.
Honestly, we’re still a bit disadvantaged in digital and physical sales.
Let’s go all out with our voting power.
Yes, if we focus on the categories where voting counts the most, it’s totally possible.
Let’s break through at least one category.
The stronger we became, the more united the opposing fandom would be.
Since the rookie award was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, fans of all rookie idols were sharpening their knives.
Especially for awards shows that didn’t separate male and female idol categories and only awarded one team the rookie award, the competition was fiercer.
There was no awards show where you could let your guard down.
And.
“We need to win the rookie award outright to be recognized?”
There was one more person who couldn’t let their guard down.
-Of course. I never said I acknowledged joint awards.
“…”
I’d thought this before, but this cotton ball… was very particular about conditions.
Right.
From the moment the <Platinum Music Awards> were specifically mentioned in the quest given by the cotton ball, I had felt uneasy.
But there was no mention that joint awards weren’t allowed!
-It’s obvious even without saying it, right? I like words like ‘only’ and ‘solely’.
“…”
I glared at the cotton ball, which was cheerfully floating around me.
“The <Platinum Music Awards> often have joint awards. In fact, the rookie award has been given jointly three times in the past five years. Shouldn’t you be lenient about this?”
-Why should I?
The cotton ball grinned widely.
-I want to see you win it outright. Other people also prefer a solo award over a joint one, don’t they?
“…What if.”
I grabbed the cotton ball and brought it in front of me.
“What if I can’t win or it’s a joint award?”
-Then our deal fails.
“You won’t save my mother?”
-Why are you asking something so obvious?
The cotton ball sounded genuinely puzzled.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through for a year…?”
-That’s your problem, not mine, Baek Nokha.
“And.”
Regardless of what the cotton ball said, I continued.
“How can I be sure you won’t interfere? You could use those strange powers of yours to meddle.”
-….
At the word “meddle,” the cotton ball’s grin grew even wider.
It was a sinister smile.
-Right. You can’t know for sure, Baek Nokha.
The cotton ball easily slipped from my grasp.
-But I won’t deliberately use my powers to interfere. I don’t intend to interfere with this world that much.
The cotton ball sighed.
-You know that, right? That I dislike interfering.
It’s not that he dislikes it; it’s that he’s restricted.
Instead of directly extracting joy from people, he uses contractors like me.
There must be some restriction on the cotton ball.
I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but…
I had the confirmation I needed.
The cotton ball had never outright lied to me, even if he had intentionally withheld information to mislead me.
…Except for once.
I had verified it with Dahin and Dan Ha just in case.
Both said the cotton ball had never lied.
That’s what made me more uneasy.
“By the way.”
-Yes?
“Then why did you lie in the beginning?”
I looked the cotton ball straight in the eye.
“You clearly told me ‘Baek Nokha never existed in this world’. But Baek Nokha definitely existed here.”
I thrust the documents that Baek Juha had investigated at the cotton ball.
“Isn’t this an obvious lie?”
-….
The cotton ball closed his mouth.
Instead, he opened eyes I’d never seen before.
This guy had eyes?
-I never lie, Baek Nokha.
“But you did.”
-It was a misunderstanding because the concept of ‘Baek Nokha’ is different for you and me.
What is he talking about now?
I looked into the cotton ball’s eyes.
They were unusually large, black pupils.
-The ‘Baek Nokha’ you know and the ‘Baek Nokha’ that existed in this world…
The cotton ball swelled up as he spoke.
-…are different.
It grew larger, as if to swallow me whole.
-I think this every time… you really don’t understand gratitude.
As the cotton ball grew, I started feeling drowsy.
No.
This guy again….
-I have never lied to you.
Even in my fading consciousness, I strained to hear the cotton ball’s final words.
-Someday, you’ll realize that.
**<Platinum Music Awards>.**
The most well-known awards show in Korea and simultaneously the most controversial.
Some called it the most prestigious awards show.
Others said it was just a highly publicized garbage show.
Regardless, it was certainly the most famous and the most talked about.
Of course….
Due to its notoriously harsh voting system, it was infamous among idol fans.
**Platinum Music Awards, are you really that obsessed with money?**
lololol
Taking advantage of idol fans, aren’t you? You bastards… fuming
You have to pay~ to vote~
At least the popularity award is the only paid vote, thank God.
└If the other awards were paid votes, we’d have boycotted it long ago.
At least the major categories have free votes… though you have to check in every day, haha,,,
Voting counts for only 10 percent, it’s maddening to participate but we can’t not do it.
Anyway.
Fans worked hard to ensure their idols won an award.
And so, the day of the long-awaited awards show arrived.
**Crazy PMA Steel Blue’s styling is insane**
Watching the recaps, all five members were in black dresses, insane
Steel Blue always nails their styling
The shop isn’t even that famous, but their makeup artists highlight the members’ faces well
Since changing stylists, their outfits have been on point, love it
**Today’s PMA rookie award nominees**
**Rookie award category:**
– Steel Blue
– Inleven
– Arex
– Deadline
– EightCase
No distinction between male and female idols.
This should go to Steel Blue…
Didn’t Inleven make a strong debut this year too?
└If Inleven was a strong debut, Steel Blue was a mega punch.
Didn’t Arex have good album sales this year? Probably sold the most among them.
└But their digital sales were nonexistent, haha. Isn’t it ridiculous to give the rookie award to an idol who couldn’t even break into the top 50 in digital sales?
└└Arex fans, please stop causing trouble with the rookie award…. Who doesn’t know Steel Blue has it in the bag?
But doesn’t PMA sometimes mess up?
They’ll be doing great, then suddenly pull something strange in major categories.
Yes, with 20% judges and 20% votes, unexpected results do happen.
Even so, it’s usually just the second place taking first, but for fans, it’s infuriating.
I wish the judges and votes would just disappear, and awards were given based on performance.
Sometimes they favor TMM idols since they’re a TMM affiliate lol.
└For real? Then they might give it to Inleven.
└└Honestly, giving the rookie award to Inleven is a joke… haha… TMM wouldn’t go that far.
└└└You still trust TMM? Good for you.
Are you new to PMA? Steel Blue and Inleven will both get it.
└This is even worse.
While everyone was arguing about who would win the rookie award.
“Kyunga unnie!”
“Juseon Juseon Juseon!”
Steel Blue was excited to meet people they hadn’t seen in a long time.
<Member Profile>
Name: Kim Geum
Height: 163 cm
Shoe Size: 225 mm
Vision: L: 0.8, R: 0.9
Position: Main Rapper
Family: Mother, Father, Older Brother
Education: Haneul Elementary School graduate, Haneul Arts Middle School graduate, GED
Birthday: September 23
Blood Type: B
Hobbies: Composing, playing with members
Motto: It must be because I’m too cute.