Little Pink Starfish

Ordinary fan sign events usually coincide with the initial sales tracking period.

This is a marketing strategy by agencies that links fans’ desire to see the artists with album sales records.

So even if it’s not during the initial sales period, fan signs are often scheduled during periods when album sales matter.

Records and sales are forever.

But not for Sedalbaekil.

They announced that they would hold fan meetings or fan signs after finishing four weeks of album promotions.

[Because I hope the desire to listen to music stays pure.]

This was Han Sion’s answer to a question during a live broadcast.

The general public reacted with their usual “That’s so Hip Sion,” but the fandom had mixed feelings.

-Do we really have to do that?

-Can you really separate wanting to support them and wanting to listen to the music?

-How are they even going to organize the fan sign? They said they don’t want to use album sales as the criteria.

-Is it really going to be 100% random?

-It’s touching that they seem to be thinking of us, but also a bit confusing.

-I would just prefer if they did the usual album purchase cutoff.

-Why? I actually really like it this wayㅎㅎ No other idol group does this.

-Right. On the flip side, if Sedalbaekil became obsessed with making money, it’d feel weird? Since there’s no company, it all seems like the members’ will.

-They’re not even skimping on MVs or promotions, shouldn’t they earn at least this much?

-Exactly. The key point is that there’s not even a music video. What kind of idol title track doesn’t have an MV?

-But! They’re on the verge of selling 1 million albums.

-ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ This is kinda exciting.

-Even Prism (Take Scene fandom) doesn’t pick fights anymoreㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Of course! They’re on a different level!

-We’ve never been disappointed in them. Let’s just wait and see.

While the fandom was settling their thoughts like this, it was actually the other agencies that were getting antsy.

Why aren’t they maximizing profits with merch?

If they linked fan signs to album purchases, they could have sold 2 million copies, right?

Why aren’t they doing concerts?

Look, if it’s because their company structure isn’t fully set, we can help.

How about giving us 20%, no, 30% of the revenue?

You keep 70%.

We’ll do all the work!

Such inquiries flooded in through director Seo Seunghyun several times a day.

Some large PR agencies even offered to run fan signs for free in exchange for an MOU.

These were offers that wouldn’t come unless Sedalbaekil was being extremely highly valued.

Because it meant they were willing to endure present losses to build a good relationship with Sedalbaekil.

In other words, they were sure Sedalbaekil’s future value would easily make up for current losses.

It was only natural.

Sedalbaekil members themselves might not fully grasp how popular they were, but right now, Korea was in Sedalbaekil’s era.

Parents who lived through the 70s and 80s adored Sedalbaekil.

A father listening to idol music with his daughter, or a mother with her son—this was rare.

But Sedalbaekil embraced both generations.

And not just that.

They were receiving considerable attention even in America.

The devil’s talent brought together old rockstars (not literally rock genre artists) who were fading into history.

An album that mixed an unmistakably 2017-level sophisticated sound with 1970s-80s sensibilities.

Anyone who properly listened to <The First Day> couldn’t help but applaud.

Of course, since the language was different and they hadn’t promoted in the US, they weren’t part of mainstream culture.

About 250,000 albums were sold in the US, so they’d only reached half-gold (500,000 sales) so far.

This was still a level even underground artists with regional popularity could achieve.

But regardless of sales, they were receiving overwhelming praise.

Chris Edwards even revealed that the next release, <Players>, was composed by Zion.

Given all this, to outside companies, Sedalbaekil was a land flowing with money and gold.

They were desperate to get in.

They wanted to get close.

If they had known this would happen, they would’ve helped when Choi Daeho was going crazy!

If only they could get a single feature!

They should’ve tried to get them on variety shows in advance!

Lamentations were coming from everywhere.

But Sedalbaekil, and Han Sion who led them, showed no interest.

Or rather, it seemed that way.

But that was only because they didn’t know Han Sion’s exact situation.

For Han Sion, the album had to remain pure.

Marketing had no place in the pure desire of fans wanting to buy an album.

[If you try to own someone’s moment with a resource exchangeable for anything in the world, that is offering, worship, and conquest.]

If album purchases were linked to fan signs, it might not count as a proper devil’s count.

If people cared more about the reward than the desire to buy the album?

Then it wasn’t really owning someone’s moment through pure means.

Of course, the devil hadn’t explained it this thoroughly, but this was how Han Sion interpreted his words.

That’s why the fan sign would also take place only after all promotions were over.

Titi was curious how they were planning to manage it, though.

Then, one day in October.

[Today’s Kookmin University Festival video!]

As usual, Titi was hanging out on the official site.

Sedalbaekil’s homepage was shabby in design but functionally perfect.

At first, the overwhelming amount of features was confusing, but one quickly got used to it, and now it was very convenient.

So although fans uploaded videos on YouTube, they preferred posting on the homepage.

That way they could enjoy genuine fan reactions without trolls (well, not entirely absent).

Moreover, in the past, you had to pay a subscription fee on certain platforms to regularly exchange messages or interact with artists.

But Sedalbaekil’s homepage had its own communication features.

That’s why the public started calling Sedalbaekil “communist idols” lately.

Not literally communism, but in contrast to idols openly obsessed with money, it meant something opposite.

Though communism doesn’t actually mean that, the meme spread widely since everyone understood the gist.

Then, a long-awaited notice popped up from the management team.

<We are looking for TTs who want to participate in the fan sign!>

‘Finally!’

‘It’s here!’

Since nobody had any idea how the fan sign would be run, the fandom quickly clicked on the notice.

A Google Form-like survey popped up.

There were very detailed questions.

Select dates you can attend 100%?

Pick your favorite time slot?

If you could meet only one member, who would it be?

Your favorite song?

What on earth were they planning?

---

Indeed, money makes people smile.

After receiving their settlement payments, the members all seemed more relaxed.

Especially Onsaemiro…

“Onsaemiro. I told you to save some money.”

“Can’t I just complete a few bucket list items before saving…?”

She was obsessed with shopping.

Buying tons of small items priced between 10,000 to 30,000 won.

But looking at her bucket list made me feel a bit sorry, so I let her be.

It was really modest.

She was completing most of her bucket list, but apparently hadn’t yet eaten fish cakes until she was full.

Where would you even find fish cake stalls in October?

This wasn’t intentional, but as we declined most variety show offers, our value was going up.

In this industry, rarity equals money.

As we were going about our days, I heard an interesting bit at today’s festival.

Whether by luck or misfortune, we had never encountered Take Scene while doing events so far.

Either the agencies were deliberately avoiding overlap, or Ryan Entertainment was being careful.

Even after being humiliated by us, Choi Daeho’s influence hadn’t vanished.

Ryan Entertainment was still one of Korea’s top three agencies, and Choi Daeho remained one of the most successful producers.

So it wasn’t hard for them to avoid overlapping schedules with Sedalbaekil.

But…

Today, at Gunam University’s festival, we would meet Take Scene.

Since we were suddenly booked, Take Scene couldn’t avoid it.

What was interesting, though, was that none of the Sedalbaekil members seemed nervous.

“We’re the closing act anyway. Take Scene’s opening.”

“Really?”

“And…”

Onsaemiro whispered in my ear.

“I met Juyeon on Masked Singer.”

“Right.”

“And I won.”

Well, that’s true.

Take Scene isn’t an easy group.

It’s rare for someone to debut in Take Scene instead of For the Youth, but I knew the name Take Scene even before.

Among them, Juyeon would succeed as a solo vocalist after shedding the idol label.

But…

Even excluding myself, Sedalbaekil was now better.

In the past, there was bias due to personal ties, but objectively, that was the case now.

So I chuckled.

Up until now, Sedalbaekil members lacked confidence because of my presence.

It sounds like something a middle schooler would say, but it’s true.

I’m a regressor who has dedicated countless years to music.

I’ve always lived at the top of the Billboard, won Grammys, and was considered one of the greatest singers ever.

So my skills are not something that can be hidden or easily avoided.

That’s why <The First Day> succeeded, and why Sedalbaekil gained confidence.

I’m looking forward to our next album.

Once the Self-Made project with PD Kang Seokwoo is finished, I want to start album production.

I know it’s usually time for a single or mini-album…

But I like physical albums.

I’ll have to coax them.

As I was thinking this, the festival began.

Personally, I didn’t expect Take Scene to show up in the waiting room.

Busy artists usually time their arrival precisely for university festivals.

We weren’t sitting here because we wanted to.

We were filming Self-Made, capturing Sedalbaekil attending their schedules.

Given our relationship with Take Scene, Ryan Entertainment’s van waiting outside and just leaving after their stage would’ve been the norm.

But no.

“Hello. You’ve been well, right?”

As if prepared from before entering, Take Scene’s leader Seeu smiled naturally and greeted us.

Sedalbaekil members all stood up to return the greeting.

I wasn’t sure, but apparently some Sedalbaekil members were close with Take Scene members.

Wasn’t Goo Taehwan close with Ready?

Aside from Fade, I had no particular bad feelings either.

But relationships are shaped by circumstances—there was no way we could still be close.

Watching the awkward greetings, I approached Fade.

“Hi?”

Fade bit his lip, glanced at the Self-Made cameras set up for filming, then gave a slight nod.