Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 63 Do We Have to Go This Far? (3)

It was obvious to anyone that this would make a convincing scene if it was aired.

But considering the repercussions that would follow, it would have been wiser to fill it with a different scene. 

The episode was only 20 minutes long anyway.

They also filmed the scene of grilling meat with a surveillance camera, which looked realistic enough. 

And they spent over three hours on clearing the field, with Kyunghwa as the main focus, so there should have been some scenes from that.

I never expected them to pick this as the main highlight.

“Let’s just check the whole thing first.”

Everyone tried not to look at Seong-won, who was holding a cat with a stiff expression, and pressed the play button again.

From the members who were flustered by the cat sucking on a bottle, to Seong-won who couldn’t take his eyes off the cat while filling his empty stomach.

They captured it all very well, like a sitcom.

And this time, too, Kyunghwa was behind a folding screen. 

They had sent a long footage of him clearing the field, but none of it made it to the edited version.

“I’ll call the PD right away.”

I picked up my phone with a grim expression. After a few rings, the PD answered the phone like he had just woken up from sleep.

-Oh, Ise. What’s up? I worked all night to send the file and I’m resting now.

What’s up? Thanks to this guy, I don’t have to worry about low blood pressure. I calmed myself down and answered.

“PD, there’s something wrong with the edited version you sent us. There’s a scene that we didn’t know we were filming.”

I tried to solve it as reasonably as possible, with a soft voice.

-Oh, really? Which scene is the problem?

What scene was it? I heard Ye-jun grinding his teeth next to me.

“It’s because of the part that was filmed when we came back from the vet with Seong-won, not the next one.”

-Ah~. Why that part?

I wondered if he knew or was pretending not to know. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it, so I answered without backing down.

“I wanted our conversation to… not be made public as much as possible. Seong-won and I were both emotionally unstable at that time, so I was worried about how people would react if it was revealed.”

Then the PD answered casually.

-Hey, Ise. You’re too scared. Do you think we couldn’t filter out any problematic conversations? We only left the parts that would have a positive effect and organized them well, so don’t worry too much.

What are you talking about? If you send out the scene where the kid cried and made a fuss, you’ll get criticized for being immature, selfish, and cheesy. Do you know how many celebrities get bashed for that?

Of course, I could have benefited from it. Me, not Seong-won.

If I were the original Ise, I might have wanted to promote myself that way. But I wasn’t.

“Um… I appreciate your concern, but…”

Before I could finish my sentence, the PD cut me off with a change of attitude.

-Ise. Do you do this show once or twice? Can’t you understand if an adult tells you nicely?

That one sentence made me feel like the thread of patience I had been holding on to snapped.

“I understand your intention to put it in because it would help with the buzz, but. It turned out to be a production that wouldn’t make good stories easily, didn’t it?”

I felt like tearing up the ID card with Lim Hyunseong’s name on it. Are you older than me? Have you eaten more bowls of rice than me? How old were you when the 88 Olympics were held? Do you know how to use a stick?

But I was twenty-four now. A Z-generation Ise.

-I know what you’re worried about. But that’s confirmed by the company, so unless there’s another issue, it won’t be changed.

I couldn’t believe it. 

I was the one who paid the money, but why wasn’t I the final decision maker?

Of course, I knew how it happened.

The IP rights of the YouTube channels [Boys in Crisis] and [Climax] belonged to the company.

“I understand. I’ll talk to the manager and get back to you.”

-What are you doing? You seem very upset right now, but calm down and think again. What will really help the group? You know you can’t go on like this, right?

He was a person who pretended to care for others until the end, but he really scratched me inside.

“…”

A cold silence hung among the members. What do we do now? I waited for a moment to let everyone calm down before opening my mouth.

“I’ll call the manager right away.”

But then, unexpectedly, Seong-won stopped me.

“No, don’t do that.”

“What?”

“What are you saying?”

Kyungwha and Ye-jun twisted their faces almost simultaneously, as if they heard some nonsense.

“You don’t have to worry about me getting scolded for causing trouble because of the cat. And it’s not like you’re wrong.”

Seong-won spat out words mixed with a sigh, as if he was mocking himself.

“It’s not just because of you. Last time, you also brought a cat on purpose for the broadcast, didn’t you? That’s part of the reason too.”

“But I’m still the biggest worry, aren’t I?”

No one had anything to say. That was a clear fact.

“Then just let me go. That would be more helpful for the group activities.”

I couldn’t understand what he was thinking when he said that. What was his motive for cooperating with me like this?

While I hesitated and couldn’t answer easily, Kyunghwa intervened.

“Let’s contact the manager first. We filmed a lot of other scenes, but they were all cut and only the cat story is getting too much attention. I don’t like that either.”

He was right.

Kyunghwa already had a reputation for being a background character, so he needed to increase his weight this time.

I calmed myself down and called the manager.

But the company’s position was not much different from the PD’s.

‘This side has more buzz, so there’s nothing we can do. Are you guys going to be picky about cold or hot rice now? If you want to get noticed even a little bit, you need to put in more provocative stuff. It’s not enough.’

The cheap advice they threw at us, saying that broadcasting was always like that, plunged the dorm atmosphere into a total crisis.

I was the one paying the money, and we were the ones appearing on the show. But we had nothing we could do.

There were extreme ways, like changing the staff or putting pressure on the company through our parents.

But we were the ones who had to bear the consequences of doing that.

‘It would be more troublesome if that side spread something like a staff sighting later.’

In the end, it was the same conclusion. There was nothing we could do.

I turned my head and looked at the members’ faces. They all had gloomy expressions, but Seon-woo was especially trembling like a mouse in front of a cat.

He wasn’t the one who tormented me, but I felt sorry for him just by looking at his face.

‘Let’s try to cheer up the mood somehow.’

“Guys.”

The members’ eyes were focused on me. They looked at me with hopeful expressions, but…

“First of all, let’s eat.”

The only thing I could do for them right now was to prepare a special meal.

The fridge raid party started in a gloomy atmosphere.

Thanks to the recent purchase of raclette tools, I melted cheese and wrapped various meat products and meat in it.

‘Calories will explode, but it’s okay for a day.’

I cooked the ingredients carefully, making sure Seon-woo didn’t overeat.

Squeak, cheese melted and meat cooked, and Seongwon opened his mouth with a red face.

“…Please say something.”

He couldn’t even lift his head, as if it was a very hard thing to say.

Then Seon-woo started to blurt out anything, not knowing what to do.

“Me, I’m not going to eat a lot of meat today, so you can cook a little bit for me!”

Seon-woo had the courage to start the conversation, so it was my turn to help.

“It’s okay for today. Just be careful not to overeat.”

He always growled. Maybe he cared about Seongwon this time, Ye-jun deliberately followed Seon-woo’s words with a brighter voice.

“Do you want to go to the boxing gym with me after eating? You should learn the basics too.”

“Should I? I’ve lost a lot of weight now, and I’m not dull or anything like before…”

“Huh? Really? You’re not soft?”

The atmosphere became lively again, and I finally felt relieved.

In the afternoon, the revised choreography plan arrived earlier than expected, and we connected the living room TV with the members and checked it on a big screen.

There was no need to mention who the center was, and Kyunghwa opened his mouth after checking Seon-woo’s movement.

“Seon-woo really worked hard on his diet. I think we can shoot the teaser this time, so let’s do our best.”

Everyone agreed with a smooth atmosphere. He had gone through a tough diet that lost almost 25kg in a short period of time, so he had no choice but to accept it.

“Yes! You gave me the center, so I’ll work really hard…!”

He had been at a loss all morning, watching the older members, but he looked relieved.

We set the official practice schedule for next week and shared the plan to learn the choreography individually this week.

Even if everyone was not feeling well, we had to do what we had to do. It seemed to be settled for now.

***

The problem that I thought was solved reignited three days later. 

When the second episode of ‘Boys in Crisis’ was released, the expected reactions lined up.

[- Everyone, please keep tissues in front of you. It’s hard to open your eyes because of the tear glands exploding]

[- What should I do… Is the cat temporarily protected at the dorm now?]

[- Severy is so out of this world kind, is this guy really twenty-four?]

[ㄴI like Severy’s voice too, I keep listening to him whispering]

[- 17:32 Ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Seon-woo fell so hard, I cried and laughed and got horns on my butt]

[- Is the cat healthy now!?]

[ㄴIt’s in the description and on the official SNS! They said they will adopt it to someone around the members as soon as it recovers well]

Of course, it was not only in a positive sense.

[- Ryu Air today’s air presenceㅋㅋ]

[- Everyone is so kind in the conversation, butㅋㅋㅋ It’s so artificial, don’t you see the script?]

[ㄴWhy do you live in such a twisted world?;;]

[ㄴYou’re the only one who thinks thatㅇㅇ]

[ㄴThe members might see this, so don’t leave these comments…]

[Looks like they’re starting to form a fandom, lol. Look at them bickering in the replies. You can’t expect to hear only good things when you broadcast. If you only wanted to listen to nice words, you shouldn’t have come out.]

[- I had a bad feeling when the cat came out… They didn’t hurt it on purpose, did they???]

[Keep your delusions to yourself]

[- Kyunghwa, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t come out if you’re not going to do anything? Hahaha]

[Your skill at free-riding on Ryu Gonggi is improving by leaps and bounds]

The views increased more than the first episode, and so did the so-called malicious trolls.

I asked the company to manage them, but I couldn’t help but run into them from time to time as I monitored the latest comments.

“Don’t mind the comments. The editing was too focused on the cat this time. Next time, just ask them to put more of you in.”

I didn’t feel good seeing Kyunghwa’s stiff expression.

In a flash. As the tension continued, the status window appeared in front of me as if to stimulate me.

[Time left until the test ends (contract expires): 85 days]