Chapter 232. When a Workaholic Leader Takes Power (1)
Turning back time…
The very next day at 6 p.m., after Kang Hajin had pulled off an album smash and Dan Haru had dropped a major spoiler, flipping the dorm upside down.
The ‘big spoiler’ that everyone in Destiny had been waiting for was finally revealed officially, all because of Haru’s one comment, “next week.”
**<Kairos, launching 1-week special activities with the song ‘KICK OFF’… Ready for ‘A Countdown’>**
**<Notice of Kairos’ participation in ‘KICK OFF’ music show>**
**<Kairos’ Kang Hajin to appear as special MC on ‘A Countdown’… Will Jini-Hyuni chemistry return?>**
**<Kairos, launching a ‘Monthly Project’ for fans… ‘LET US’ teaser revealed>**
– Oh my God, guys?
– Is Kairos possibly made up of 14 people, each with two bodies?
– Thanks for working so hard ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
It was the signal flare of the so-called **<If they don’t give us the Rookie of the Year Award after working this hard, we’ll blow it up>** operation.
* * *
The time was the day of filming for **”Today’s Kairos: Saegim High School Edition,”** when it was officially decided that Kang Hajin would be Kairos’ leader.
Right after returning to the dorm after filming late into the night, Hajin summoned all the members to the living room.
-This is the first and last time I’m going to ask this, and I won’t ask again.
-…….
-Do you really not regret choosing me as the leader?
Hajin asked seriously, far from the person who had been pointing his finger at Jung Siwoo with his shirt unbuttoned just a moment ago.
But despite the weight Hajin put into his question, the members’ answers were quick and light.
-Yep.
-Yes!
-I honestly wanted you to do it from the beginning, so it doesn’t matter to me.
-I trust my choice.
-Are you asking the obvious?
-To be honest, I’m still a bit nervous… Ow! That hurts, Seo Taehyun!
-Shut up, can’t you read the room!?
-What does the mood have to do with it when I’m asking for your opinions?
-Yah, seriously, how dare you keep fighting while the grandpa is speaking!? If you keep this up, I’ll make sure you two reconcile!??
Kang Hajin, who had seriously asked but got nothing in return, slammed the table while yelling at the noisy high schoolers. Of course, he moderated the intensity just enough to set the mood, fearing that hitting it too hard might earn a scolding from Jung Siwoo.
Anyway, once he had everyone’s attention back, Hajin declared this to the members.
-Okay. Then, as your leader, I have something to say.
-What’s with the serious tone?
-My goal this year is the Rookie of the Year Award. I will absolutely win it.
With a voice full of conviction and his eyes shining brightly.
Just with those two things, the members present could tell that this was Hajin’s true intention and a goal he would surely achieve. Realizing this, the playful expressions on the members’ faces quickly vanished, and a somewhat serious atmosphere began to flow between them.
Unlike his usual playful demeanor, everyone here had experienced how strong Hajin’s energy could be at times like this.
Hajin looked each member in the eye as he spoke.
-To achieve that, I need your agreement.
-Agreement…? Winning the Rookie of the Year is something everyone dreams of….
-To achieve something that everyone dreams of, I’m asking for your agreement to pour everything into the remaining months of this year.
Hajin pulled out a notebook that Doha always carried around from Doha’s bag, asking for agreement, and tore out a blank sheet of paper. He then listed the names of all the year-end events on the paper.
-Recently, the number of award ceremonies has definitely increased, but there still aren’t that many that are recognized for giving out a proper Rookie of the Year award.
Hajin used his pen to cross out the names of ceremonies that were only known by their names or those that held year-end performances but didn’t actually present awards.
-If we make another comeback at the end of the year, the places that can consider those results are limited to these.
Once again, he crossed out lines on the paper.
Now, only the names of the fairly large award ceremonies that anyone with even a foot in the idol industry would have heard of remained on the paper.
Hajin pointed to one of them with his finger.
-For reference, you should consider that we might not win here if we’re unlucky.
Seeing the name, Taehyun laughed bitterly and agreed with Hajin’s statement.
-Right. …They’re definitely going to give it to Renes’ next group.
-Huh, why? They haven’t even debuted yet?
It was Siwoo, who had been quietly looking at the list while leaning on the sofa, who answered Eunchan’s puzzled question.
-This award ceremony is known to be close with Renes. Almost all the grand prizes have gone to Renes artists.
-But… shouldn’t award ceremonies be fair? It doesn’t make sense to give awards just because they’re close.
-I know. There are so many things in the world that don’t make sense, right?
Siwoo shrugged his shoulders and answered, making Eunchan’s face look slightly shocked. Waving his hand in front of Eunchan’s eyes, Hajin brought the conversation back to the original topic.
-Well, anyway. If we exclude them, we don’t have many left. And we can’t be sure that those ceremonies will definitely give us the award.
Hajin, circling the names of the award ceremonies with his pen, then put the pen down and made a three with his fingers.
-From what I can see, unless a comet-like rookie suddenly appears out of nowhere this year, the Male Rookie of the Year will definitely be a three-way battle. Believer, us, and Renes’ next group. But honestly… If we just maintain our current form, I think we can beat Believer, and the only variable is Renes’ next group.
Although Hajin vaguely remembered the path Renes’ next group, Lanyon, had taken in the previous timeline, that memory was only in Hajin’s mind.
Whether Lanyon would debut with the same concept and song in this timeline, whether the member composition would be the same, and whether they would gain the same popularity—none of it was certain.
Moreover, due to Lanyon’s significantly delayed debut, there was also the possibility that their Rookie of the Year award could be pushed to next year….
-That’s why I want us to do everything we can.
Still, Hajin wanted to make the most of the hard-won opportunity.
Winning the Rookie of the Year Award wasn’t just about performance and judging; fan voting ratios also couldn’t be ignored. The most boring and exhausting part of idol work, the voting grind, was entirely proportional to the fandom’s loyalty.
Even Hajin himself had struggled to escape the lower ranks during the debut survival show despite his high public recognition, just because he didn’t have a core fan base.
‘Without popularity, the path is narrow, but without a core, you can’t survive.’
That simple principle applied not only to survival shows but also to the boy group industry.
Currently, Destiny was forming a fairly solid fandom due to various rising star obstacles, unjust criticisms, and the members’ skills and synergy, along with an abundance of content….
But Hajin thought it wasn’t enough.
-The most important time will be the two months from October to November, when our activities end and Lanyon starts their debut promotions.
Kairos’ next digital single comeback was scheduled for early to mid-November.
After that, they would be busy preparing for year-end stages, so the only time to make a decisive move was those two months.
Those two months would be the crucial period.
-During those two months, let’s pour out as much content as possible. Starting big and finishing small would be embarrassing, so let’s do it consistently within our limits.
Hajin didn’t stop there; he began to concretely explain the content he had been planning to the members. He almost recalled a time when he used to hear complaints like, “Do you think you’re the only one who’s good at this?” But Hajin trusted the members and continued his story to the end.
And as if to reward that trust, the members listened attentively to Hajin’s words until the end, occasionally adding their thoughts or actively giving opinions on parts that needed modification.
-…Then, shall we summarize our opinions like this?
-Sounds good!
-Let’s do it. Good job, Hajin.
At the end of a long conversation, the final results of the opinions of all seven members were conveyed by Hajin to the company during a meeting that week.
Ji Suho, who had been promoted to Director and was now solely in charge of Kairos, listened to the members’ stories and found a compromise between the members and the company by reflecting on realistic factors such as budget, manpower, and the company’s plans.
In the process, some ideas were discarded, and some ideas changed completely, but overall, Hajin was satisfied.
No, in fact….
-Thank you, Director.
-…? What’s this all of a sudden? Why the awkwardness?
-Just… It reminded me of the old company.
In fact, he was happy.
Everything about this flow.
All the passion, all the attitude, all the process.
Hajin felt an overwhelming thrill that he couldn’t resist.
-You live long
enough, and you get to work with people like this.
-Do you want to keep saying ridiculous things? You’re like an old man.
-I’m definitely old. If we only consider the time I’ve lived, it might be similar to yours, Director.
-How dare you compare yourself with me.
-I’m joking! I’m joking! Ow! Suho-hyung!
The burnout-suffering twenty-nine-year-old Kang Hajin was no more.
Recharged through good experiences with good people in good times, Hajin seemed ready to run again, perhaps without even realizing it himself.
Seeing Hajin, who seemed more lively than during the Maze of Mirrors, Suho said with a gentle smile.
-So… The first runner for Monthly Kairos is you, Hajin, right?
-Yes. I still want to give the other guys more time to prepare.
In other words, he meant that even without enough time, he could create something worthy of presenting to everyone.
Suho liked the glimpses of Hajin’s instinctive confidence. The confidence Hajin had in his abilities was not due to arrogance or complacency.
It was, in a sense, an instinct.
The natural attitude of someone who knows their stats and what they can achieve with them, learned through long experience.
-Sometimes… I think I understand why people say you resemble Taeil.
-…That’s the one thing I don’t understand at all. Me, like Seo Taeil sunbae? I’m not even close to his level.
Even so, there were times when Hajin showed endlessly low self-esteem like this.
Kang Hajin seemed to know the limits of what he could achieve and the steps to surpass those limits, yet he never assessed his potential at a high level.
As if he were a young lion tethered from an early age, unable to pull out even the smallest stake.
-Well, when you think about it, he’s a Seo, and you’re a Kang, so how could you resemble him? He’s him, and you’re you.
-You change your stance in less than 3 seconds?
But instead of pointing that out, Suho simply decided to support Hajin completely so that he could properly prepare for “Monthly Kairos.”
-Prepare well. I’m looking forward to it. Kairos’ first solo performance.
And soon, the result of that support was set to be revealed to the world.
**<[LET US DANCE] K:RUS HAJIN│Performance Video│‘In to It’ by Jack Swing>**
“…Ah. This is more nerve-wracking than the kids’ debut stage.”
Even though he had already reviewed the video hundreds of times, Suho couldn’t hide his nervousness and took a deep breath.
But there was no way he was going to be stupid enough to miss the premiere just because he was nervous. Popping open a refreshing can of beer to celebrate his end of work, Suho checked the thumbnail of Hajin’s “LET US” video.
In a space bathed in blue light, Hajin, under a spotlight, danced barefoot on stage, wearing only a black short-sleeved shirt and black pants. It was a scene so beautiful that even he found it breathtaking.
As Suho clicked on the video, the countdown to the premiere was nearly over.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1….
After what felt like an extremely long 5 seconds.
The only thing visible was the darkness on stage.
As the spotlight flashed down, Hajin’s silhouette, turned away from the stage, appeared.
The beat of the song echoed from afar.
The camera smoothly zoomed in on Hajin’s face, who, with a lazy, sexy smile on his lips, slowly turned his head to meet the camera’s gaze.
Then, in contrast to the video, white titles filled the screen with a flash.