The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Late in the night, I sat on the toilet seat with my laptop on my lap and prepared to launch our video. I couldn’t do this outside when the rest of my group was sleeping, and my laptop’s screen flashed with the application video for The Showcase we shot two days ago. Because the thumbnail zoomed right into Yeon-Hoon’s face, I was sure that most people would try clicking on it.

‘But it will be hard to get the rights to participate with just this.’ Even I knew that this was nowhere near enough to guarantee a spot in the show. Though we worked hard on this video, it was just a silly, funny video that friends might laugh about and feel embarrassed about in the future. If a person who didn’t know us saw the video, they could just pass over the video disinterestedly.

‘But context is key.’ Even this shoddy video could gain new meaning depending on the context. Like how words gained new meaning depending on how they were sequenced in a sentence, the exact words could mean something drastically different if there was an event or description attached next to it. And I waited until I could throw this video into the best context it could be situated in.

Today’s date was January 31st at 11:50 p.m. The deadline to join the first round of applicants was January 31st at 11:59 p.m. I finished all my preparations so that I could upload the video with one click of the button. Yet, I was waiting for the catalyst that could propel our group out of complete anonymity.

‘When is it?’

Ding.

“It came up.” It was a video of five handsome guys titled, ‘Only One.’ Only One was the debuting group from TH Entertainment Agency. I was familiar with their faces because they achieved great success and fame in my past life. Yet, in this life, Only One was still a no-name idol group, and they appeared still youthful and inexperienced. Five minutes after Only One uploaded their video, I uploaded our video, so that our Siren’s video was right next to theirs. Simultaneously, a new message appeared.

—Application Process to The Showcase 2-First Chance is Closed.

The option to upload videos disappeared from the page. The Showcase’s first round of applicants officially closed with Siren’s video to be the last one uploaded. After confirming this fact, I closed my laptop. Then, I snuck out of the bathroom and went under the blankets.

“Urgh.” Yeon-Hoon hung his leg over me and snuggled close to me. But I carefully removed his legs and prepared to go to sleep. The die had been cast now. I needed to see the results of the throw. I was over 90 percent sure that I hit the jackpot, but I couldn’t celebrate just yet. I needed to sleep first because I predicted that we would be quite busy tomorrow.

***

Late in the night, the conference room of The Showcase2 - First Chance was stirring in quite the excitement. All the producers who were plotting to kill the producing director for making them pull an all-nighter were in a festive mood now.

“Did Kang Hyun-Sung’s team really apply?”

“Yes! It’s Kang Hyun-Sung’s ‘Only One’ team!”

“Ahhhhh!”

They were all fixated on the name, ‘Kang Hyun-Sung’. Hyun-Sung was a member who ranked 2nd place in the huge hit idol survival program from 2 years ago, Select Your Idol.Select Your Idol was a program that got 100 idol trainees and made the public vote for their favorite. Though the show was always tied with controversies, Select Your Idol achieved massive success in the end because of how entertaining it was.

Furthermore, the project group that debuted from this show, ‘Yours’ did tremendously well. They made 500,000 album sales in a week, had an all-kill in the music charts, achieved triple crowns in a music show, and so on. And as someone who ranked 2nd place in such a successful program, Hyun-Sung was a key member of his team. Thus, it was huge news that Hyung-Sung was applying to this program.

“It must be because his company is so small.”

“Yeah.”

“This is good for us.”

Kang Hyun-Sung’s original company had been small. Thus, after receiving massive support from large companies as part of a project idol group, he must have found it difficult to adjust after returning to his original company. He must have been well aware that his group stood a low chance of success if they debuted in their current states and applied for this program.

“All their visuals are good as expected of Hyun-Sung’s team.”

“Their company is famous for that. Though it’s small, their ability to find talents is amazing.”

It was hard to decipher what Kang Hyun-Sung was feeling after performing like a first-tier idol and having to start from the bottom again.

“Kang Hyun-Sung’s mentality is amazing.”

“He’s famous for that.”

“What a contrast from his soft and pure appearance.”

There were already rumors inside the industry that no one could match up to Kang Hyun-Sung’s pure grit for succeeding. Perhaps, he had gone half-mad after participating in such a rigorous competitive environment as Select Your Idol, but behind his gentle face, there was an obsession for success that was close to madness. There were even rumors that he had cried so sorrowfully on the last episode of the program not because he was happy to have won second place but because he felt so regretful that he failed to win first place.

“Is the group’s name, ‘Only One’?”

“It means that they will be the only ones at the top.”

“Seems like Hyun-Sung was really upset to have not won first place.”

“This is a good sign Kang Hyun-Sung is the last one to apply for The Showcase.”

The producers discussed and were checking for other applicants when one person murmured.

“Huh?”

“What?”

One more video popped up.

“Oh, come on. I wanted to end this day with Kang Hyun-Sung’s group,” the producers said and checked the last video’s team.

“Siren?”

“From WD Entertainment. Has anyone heard of them?”

“Hm. It’s my first time hearing the name. Is it a new company…?” The producers looked at the Siren video’s thumbnail next to Only One’s video.

“…He’s handsome.”

“Yeah, what’s with him?”

They spoke with hushed voices. These were visuals hard to see from small-sized companies.

“Look at the guy in the very front…it’s quite astonishing.”

“Why is a guy like him in this company…?”

These were shocking visuals, and the guy who stood at the very front and had his face zoomed in was particularly good-looking. His round eyes shone, and his pale skin glowed. Though he looked generally soft and cute, all his facial features stood out. His appearance was the embodiment of the phrase, ‘pretty and handsome.’

“Well, it’s good for the program if guys with good visuals come out.” Everyone thought and replayed Siren’s and Only One’s videos.

“W-What?”

“Gasp!”

“W-Wait! Play their videos again!”

Everyone peered into their laptops more closely after a surprising turn of events. Then, they played Siren’s and Only One’s applicant videos simultaneously.

—Hello! We! Are! Sweet! Boys!

This was the Siren video’s introduction.

—Hello! We! Are! Sweet! Boys!

And this was Only One’s introduction. The last two videos to come up were precisely in sync.

“They are the same,” somebody commented.

***

After The Showcase stopped accepting more applicants, the idol community buzzed with news about Kang Hyun-Sung. It was shocking that after not showing many activities after the disbandment of ‘Yours’, he had gathered a group of no-name idols and applied to come out in another survival program.

—This is crazy. Is Hyun-Sung from Only One really the Hyun-Sung from Select Your Idols??

Reply: Shit. Is that really our Hyun-Sung?

Reply: Only One? Sounds like some name from the early 2000s.

Reply: How could a first-tier idol come out as a no-name idol group? This is ridiculous.

Reply: Noooo Hyun-Sung :’((( I’m going to kill the CEO of his company. Nobody can stop me. If news comes out that there was an arson in TH Entertainment, it’ll be me.

There were many people who predicted Hyun-Sung’s fall from stardom after he moved from a big company to a small one. But as if he was laughing at them, Hyun-Sung immediately became the center of the idol community’s attention with his most recent appearance.

—Our genius Maltese…I will follow you to the ends of the earth.

Reply: But don’t you think this is too much? He’s going on another survival program? It feels as if he is too obsessed with succeeding. It’s a bit too much…

Reply: You should worry about yourself first and touch grass, you low-life idol junkie.

All sorts of opinions were pouring out about Hyun-Sung’s appearance in The Showcase. This news was especially shocking because Hyun-Sung was an idol who already had a reputation for turning his life around and rising to stardom despite his lacking environment. And as many feeds and pages filled with talks about Only One, new types of comments began to flood in.

—???? What is this??

One person asked.

—Isn’t this the same as Hyun-Sung’s group?

Reply: For real?

Reply: ??

People began to bring the Siren group’s parody of ‘Sweet Boy’ which was the same as the video that Only One uploaded.

—What loooool I don’t think you can even call this plagiarism.

Reply: This makes me laugh lol

Reply: But this is crazy

There was no controversy about one team copying the other because both teams took their idea from a separate, single source. Furthermore, since the teams uploaded their videos with a five-minute time difference, it didn’t seem like there was enough time for a group to copy another group’s video.

—Ha. Is this destiny or what?

Reply: What destiny? Don’t compare Hyun-Sung with some no-names.

Reply: Ah don’t start your fan wars here.

—But how is this even possible for them to be so alike?

—This is seriously hilarious haha

—Perhaps, handsome guys even think alike.

People continued to talk about the issue. Since there was nothing about this incident that could be controversial, they simply enjoyed the funny coincidence. And the people who learned about the incident grew more interested in all aspects of it.

—Anyone wants to see more pictures of our cutie pie, Hyun-Sung?

Reply: He shakes up the whole K-pop world with his visuals.

Reply: But don’t you think everyone in Only One also looks good?

Reply: Yeah, everyone is above average. Should I start following them?

Truthfully, there wasn’t much to go on the fact that two groups parodied the same meme that was already kind of dying out. But this was something that could put Siren on the map and help people recognize the group members’ faces.

—But the two groups’ parodies are pretty good

Reply: The Siren’s one is more to my taste.

Reply: Both groups’ faces don’t belong to small companies.

As Only One’s video racked in views, Siren’s video also garnered more.

—I have been replaying this video for one hour and it never seems to get old??

Reply: Who are you talking about?

Reply: Siren. I’m talking about their video.

Then, some even uploaded videos where they divided the Siren’s and Only One’s videos into two parts and showcased them side by side.

—Siren and Only One both look so good.

Reply: I will never get sick of seeing handsome faces.

Reply: Can’t both groups just debut?

And when two groups were coming out on the same screen, people were able to make more objective assessments.

—I honestly think Siren’s is better.

Reply: I agree.

Reply: Besides Hyun-Sung, everyone else in Only One is lagging.

Reply: Hyun-Sung has gotten all sorts of care and support by now but the Siren guys didn’t get any of that yet…considering that, aren’t the Siren guys better?

Many thought the Siren beat the Only One team in terms of their visuals, but because everyone had their own types, there were others who thought the contrary. Furthermore, some people had negative opinions about the incident and felt displeased that two identical videos had been posted at similar time frames.

—Stop bringing Hyun-Sung’s name into this. Despite whatever any of you say, it doesn’t change the fact that he used to be a first-tier idol.

—Shouldn’t his company seriously look into this matter instead of laughing about it?

Yet, even bad press was good press and led to our video going viral. Thus, the next morning I uploaded our video, Siren video’s view count was 101,476, and Only One video’s view count was 150,754. There was only about a 50,000-view count difference between our videos. Among the applicant videos that had been uploaded on the page, both videos were overwhelmingly above the rest in terms of view count.