get-shopping Chapter 175: Downfall (1)
Chapter 175: Downfall (1)
A private dining room restaurant near ‘JTVM’.Around the time the live broadcast of ‘Music Beat’ had just ended, several people familiar with room-style restaurants frequented by broadcasting station staff were preparing to eat.
Among them were PD Woo Han-suk, who had met ‘Vanguard’ earlier, and veteran singer Park Hyun-jung.
Along with a few writers and staff.
About five or six people had finished ordering and were waiting for the food, and among the two sitting across from each other, it was Park Hyun-jung, with her long permed hair tied back, who spoke first.
“‘Vanguard’ kids are really soaring as soon as they debuted. After that album sales hit the jackpot, they even grabbed first place on the music show. With a start like this, I can’t even imagine how big they’ll get by the end of the year.”
Woo Han-suk, with deep dark circles under his eyes, gave a crooked smile.
“They need to do even better. Somehow- when I look at them, I feel something different.”
“Like a bit of a dad vibe? But PD-nim, you’ve made a lot of shows like ‘Produce That 100!’, haven’t you? Why only feel that way about ‘Vanguard’?”
“Well. I think it’s because ‘Produce That 100!’ started differently from other shows, with complete non-celebrities. The kids had great talent, but it felt like I was the one who discovered them and opened the door for them... It’s just that kind of vague emotion.”
“Come on, with the popularity you drew in both Korea and Japan with ‘Produce That 100!’, you definitely hold a big stake in ‘Vanguard’, PD Woo.”
That was true. How much money did GN Entertainment save thanks to ‘Produce That 100!’? Plus, right after the show ended, Woo Han-suk handed the kids over directly to GN, which was a huge move. If he had gotten greedy and tried to run ‘Vanguard’ under ‘JTVM’, it was obvious they wouldn’t have gotten this far this fast.
Anyway, having brought up ‘Vanguard’, Park Hyun-jung rested her chin on her hand and slightly shifted the topic.
“Still, ‘Vanguard’ has been properly thrown into the jungle that is the idol scene, so I do worry a bit about whether they’ll adapt quickly. Especially after earlier, with those ‘Neos’ kids.”
“Hyun-jung-nim, you seem to be especially fond of ‘Vanguard’?”
“...Well, I’ve gotten attached to them. I saw them even before their debut. Especially Rojun, he’s the lyricist for my song, so of course I care about him.”
“Hahaha, ‘Black and White Sound’ did well too, right?”
“I’ve been recommending Rojun like crazy to the singers around me lately, whether it’s for composition or lyrics.”
PD Woo Han-suk, with his arms crossed, suddenly put on a serious expression.
“Anyway, ‘Neos’ already has a bit of a bad reputation.”
“I know. I’ve heard bits and pieces.”
“This industry is all about popularity... Plus, ‘Neos’ are technically seniors to ‘Vanguard’. But I think ‘Vanguard’ will adapt just fine. Si-hoo-nim is a bit soft, which worries me, but if Rojun’s the leader, then it should be okay.”
“Really? Rojun stands out so much, wouldn’t he be the one to get the most envy and jealousy?”
“Most likely. He kind of holds that position of a rolling stone in multiple industries, idol, writer, actor.”
Woo Han-suk looked up and let out a small sigh.
“But I’m not worried about Rojun at all. How should I put it... a bit unusual? Special? He’s unique, Rojun is.”
“True. Just look at that crazy face of his, he’s totally unique.”
“No, not in that way. Not in the usual idol image kind of way... There’s this ruggedness like someone born and raised in the wild. It’s strange. His core is solid. Si-hoo, Kang-min, Do-kyung, they all aim for idolhood, but Rojun has no regrets. He’s been that way from the beginning.”
“Yeah, when I first saw Rojun, I thought something was off. He didn’t have that typical soft, fake demeanor that idol trainees often show.”
Woo Han-suk nodded slowly, recalling how Kang Rojun had crushed the Japanese participant during ‘Produce That 100!’.
“When the switch flips, he has this bulldozer-like drive.”
He wrapped it up.
“Because of that wild edge, Rojun might actually suit the jungle better.”
At the same time, in the hallway of the ‘Music Beat’ waiting room.
Kang Rojun’s low and upright voice rang out.
“Sunbae-nim, did you just do that on purpose?”
Thanks to that, the entire ‘Neos’ team in front turned around to look at Kang Rojun, and both Si-hoo and Kang-min gaped at him. Clearly shocked. On the other hand, Kang Rojun.
“......”
He was indifferent. There was no trembling heart or nervousness about having spoken out, just a calm feeling. It made sense. Rojun had already experienced situations like this quite a few times, even back when he looked hideous.
‘If nothing else, there's one thing I know for sure. If you stay quiet, they take you for a moron.’
On the flip side, if you bite back like a dog, they might go wild for a bit, but the bullying tends to decrease dramatically. Or they stop altogether.
Soon, Si-hoo whispered quietly to Kang Rojun.
“R-Rojun-ah. I’m okay.”
“Yeah. You seem okay. But if we let it slide, the next time might not be so okay.”
The manager from the front, on the ‘Neos’ side, furrowed his brow and questioned Rojun.
“Huh? What did you say?”
Kang Rojun replied without a change in expression.
“One of your members hit our member’s shoulder as he passed by. I was wondering if it was intentional.”
“......”
The manager and a few from ‘Neos’ turned to look at the gray-haired member. The gray-haired one stared hard at Rojun. Kang Rojun didn’t particularly avoid his gaze. Maybe because it was their first time experiencing this, the ‘Neos’ team looked extremely flustered.
But Kang Rojun didn’t back down in the slightest.
‘A senior should act like a senior if they want to be treated respectfully.’
When Rojun first appeared in the entertainment industry, people often called him an “ecosystem disruptor". Everyone referred to him as either a disruptor or a monster. Sure, his jaw-dropping skills and insane visuals played a part, but it was also because he gave off a different vibe from typical idols.
Like right now.
Normally, it wouldn’t show, but once the switch was flipped, he didn’t stop. Why was that? To be blunt, it was because Kang Rojun was a different breed from the idols standing here. He didn’t lack anything, nor did he have anything to lose. So, he had no reason to go with the flow or follow the norms.
There was a huge difference in the suffering Rojun had lived through compared to them.
A matter of intensity, perhaps.
A true disruptor.
Now that this disruptor had started to rampage, the leader of ‘Neos’ whispered to the gray-haired member.
“Hey, did you hit his shoulder?”
“......”
"Did you or not."
“A little.”
“Ha-”
The leader scratched his head roughly.
“Apologize. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“......”
No apology came. Soon, the leader forced a smile and spoke to Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, and Kang-min.
“Sorry, sorry. I’ll apologize on his behalf. It must’ve been a misunderstanding, he’s just really bad at noticing people around him.”
The ‘Neos’ manager stepped in to mediate.
“Yeah yeah, let’s not blow this up. Doesn’t seem like a big deal. We’ve apologized.”
Kang Rojun gave a polite bow.
"Yes, I understand."
Keeping his manners, Rojun turned and headed toward the restroom, with Si-hoo and Kang-min following behind after bowing belatedly. The ‘Neos’ team also resumed their steps. In the meantime, talk about Kang Rojun erupted.
"Wow - what's with him? That new idol is crazy, right?"
“Hey hey, Jae-chan. Did you really hit their shoulder??”
“...Sort of happened.”
“This is nuts.”
“Come on, is it okay for rookies who debuted just a week ago to go off like that in the hallway?”
“This is ridiculous.”
Amidst it all, the leader emphasized to his members.
“That guy, Rojun, he’s got madness in him. Did you see his eyes?”
Later.
Once inside the restroom, Si-hoo and Kang-min checked that no one else was there, then immediately clung to Kang Rojun.
"No way! Rojun-ah, I seriously thought my heart was going to explode.”
“Same. Hyung... please, blink your turn signal or something.”
“Sometimes I swear, you act like you have no rearview mirror.”
“Are you sure it’s okay though??”
Rojun reassured the members.
“It’s fine. They’re not seniors we see often anyway.”
“Still... what if you get a bad reputation?”
“So what.”
He answered inwardly too.
‘I’m used to being rejected.’
Kang Rojun had long passed the stage of fearing being hated by others. He wasn’t someone who would be shaken by something like this. Whatever the case, once they returned to the waiting room, Kang Rojun and the members picked up the trophy and bouquet and took commemorative photos right away.
“One, two, three!”
-Click!
Not just once, but several times.
As soon as the commemorative photo shoot ended, the members began preparing for their next schedule. In the meantime, Kang Rojun quietly leaned toward Manager Kim Ki-baek and muttered softly.
“Manager-nim, actually... something happened in the hallway.”
“Something? Like what?”
Rojun explained the incident with ‘Neos’ that had just occurred, and Kim Ki-baek’s expression was ambiguous, somewhere between a smile and a blank face.
“Hmm- ‘Neos’ made a move first, huh?”
“I let it go with a light response.”
“And Rojun just charged straight in?”
“I’m sorry.”
As if there was no need for an apology, Kim Ki-baek patted Rojun’s shoulder a couple of times.
“No, you did well. You’re the leader. I’ll handle the aftermath. It’s just, this could crack your image, so next time, call me first.”
"I understand."
As Rojun bowed and turned around, he faintly heard Kim Ki-baek mumbling from behind.
“Those guys... kind of annoying.”
With a subtly chilly smile added to it.
Meanwhile.
Right after the live broadcast of ‘Music Beat’ ended, news articles were pouring in.
《[Star Issue] Vanguard grabs first place on ‘Music Beat’ right after debut / Photos》
《‘Vanguard’ sheds tears after taking No. 1 on ‘Music Beat’, a double celebration including 2 million first-week sales!》
Reporters who witnessed Vanguard’s first music show win live were quickly spreading the news.
《‘Vanguard’ starts off with a win on ‘Music Beat’... Fans say, “Other music show wins are totally possible too!”》
《Topping all kinds of charts + 2 million first-week sales + music show win! ‘Vanguard’ charges forward like a runaway train after debut》
《“Has there ever been a rookie idol group like this?” ‘Vanguard’ sweeps records right after debut》
However, the music show buzz was just the beginning. Starting tomorrow, they had a series of music show schedules lined up. Judging by the current momentum, even two or three consecutive weeks of music show wins seemed well within reach.
While news of Vanguard’s win on music shows was spreading rapidly online, a post uploaded just minutes ago on a certain community was gaining traction.
[Hey, isn’t Neos’s new title track ‘Bloom Me’ kind of similar to this foreign song? (link)]
-Whoa… it really does sound similar??
-It’s not just similar, it’s practically the same ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Neos plagiarized??
-Stop Trollingㄴㄴㄴhow is that similar at all
-Yikes… to my ears, it sounds kinda alike
-Wtf is this nonsense ㅋㅋㅋㅋis this thread full of Vanguard fans only??
-It’s not reaching, it literally sounds the same ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Didn’t Pineon compose ‘Bloom Me’?
-Neos confirmed for plagiarism
-Chill, similar chords don’t mean plagiarism ㅋㅋㅋ
-It’s just… not a subtle similarity
A potential controversy was brewing over ‘Neos’ comeback title track ‘Bloom Me’, which many were saying sounded like a foreign song. Since the composer was the famous Pineon, his name was also being heavily mentioned. For now, opinions were sharply divided between “yes” and “no”.
-The ones saying it’s not plagiarism probably didn’t listen to the foreign song linked above??
-No, we listened, and we’re saying it’s not
-The excuses are insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Although the topic was heating up, it was still confined to the underground corners of the internet. Very few people knew about it yet. But the snowball had started rolling.
-Gonna share this on another forum
-Me too
It didn’t seem like it would take long before it reached the mainstream. And on the morning of the 16th, one day later, a female journalist at a media outlet turned on her laptop as soon as she arrived at work. She seemed to have a routine of scanning articles on various search sites after clocking in.
“Ugh, it’s all Vanguard articles.”
She casually logged into various communities through SNS. Then, she sensed something off.
“Hmm? Hmm??”
Her eyes suddenly widened.
“‘Neos’ title track… plagiarism??”
She immediately put in her earphones and clicked the link to the foreign song circulating in the community, the one people said resembled ‘Neos’ track ‘Bloom Me.’
-♬♪
She cross-checked. She alternated listening between the foreign song and ‘Bloom Me’ several times, and after about ten minutes, reached a conclusion.
'...This is worth making public??'
The female journalist quickly began writing an article.
At the same time, in Japan.
Near Saitama, in front of a large concert venue, GN Entertainment staff members could be seen. They were filming the venue on their phones.
“This place is big too. What’s the max audience capacity again?”
They shared information.
“Between 25,000 to a maximum of 30,000.”