Little Pink Starfish

“First place for the first week of March is…”

“It’s… Sedalbaekil! Congratulations!”

---

On March 3rd, during MShow’s music program, Sedalbaekil was awarded the glory of Mixdown’s number one spot.

Looking at the score, it was close.

Mix Way had pulled together a monstrous number of first-week sales and broadcast activity points.

But the gap in digital chart scores was far too great.

MShow was the music program that weighted digital sales most heavily, so this result made sense. However, there was some controversy over the broadcast activity score.

Despite never appearing on TV programs, Sedalbaekil’s broadcast score wasn’t zero.

Mix Way’s fandom protested fiercely.

-Even if Sedalbaekil’s broadcast points were zero, wouldn’t they still have won?

-Yeah, exactly. Mix Way doesn’t even have a single song in the Top 5 on the charts.

-Sedalbaekil’s class remains unmatched.

But their arguments didn’t gain traction.

Public opinion had already shifted entirely to one side.

Sedalbaekil’s.

Sedalbaekil not only performed as well as the audio—they performed better. Mix Way, in contrast, utterly failed.

Singing isn’t everything in being an idol, but the stage matters immensely.

Because they’re singers.

With things unfolding this way after the show, both Lion Entertainment and SBI Entertainment sprang into action.

The busier of the two was Lion Entertainment.

The first thing Lion did was file a formal complaint with MShow.

The mic setup had been changed. The AR configuration had been altered.

As a result, their artist suffered serious image damage.

This was a very serious issue.

Especially since Mix Way was the only artist that day who experienced this problem.

But Mix Way was positioned in direct rivalry with Sedalbaekil, and MShow had invested in Sedalbaekil’s album.

Anyone would find this suspicious.

The problem was—even MShow didn’t know why it had happened.

“Was this really a mistake?”

“Seems like it.”

“What do you mean ‘seems like’?”

“Well, who knows? Maybe someone from SBI Entertainment paid someone off.”

“Hey! You’re a CP, is that something you should be saying?”

“Stage management is the PD’s responsibility. Don’t look at me.”

“Seriously? That’s your defense?”

“What’s upper management saying?”

“Dunno. There’s a lot of talk. Some are saying it worked out well in the end, others are saying this is disgraceful for the network.”

“So what do you think’s going to happen?”

“It’s up to Lion. They’re threatening to report us to the Fair Trade Commission.”

“What, like the FTC’s a magic wand?”

“It’s just a bluff. They’re not really gonna follow through. Mix Way’s still a group with high profit margins for their tier.”

“True.”

“But weren’t they the ones who started dragging Sedalbaekil into a first-week sales PR war?”

“You. It was you, wasn’t it? You helped Sedalbaekil for a bribe.”

“Come on, don’t insult me.”

The MShow variety director and the CP exchanged such words, but they both knew.

This would blow over.

Lion Entertainment couldn’t afford to completely sever ties with MShow, and MShow would never admit they sabotaged Lion.

Even if the FTC got involved, they wouldn’t intervene in a case like this. And even if they did, nothing would come of it.

It wasn’t the first time there had been a broadcasting mishap.

Mic setups had failed before.

There was even a time when a certain indie band appeared and the guitar didn’t transmit at all.

The top comment back then was: “Thanks to MShow, I learned how clearly bass can be heard.”

The second most liked comment: “They sabotaged it on purpose because indie bands gaining popularity is a threat.”

The staff responsible got roasted, but that’s just how things go at broadcast stations.

With a long enough history, repeat mistakes aren’t surprising.

What the variety director was wondering was:

‘Was it really just a coincidence? Or did SBI Entertainment interfere?’

If it was the former, then Sedalbaekil was heaven-blessed. If the latter—then they were dangerous.

Just thinking about it wasn’t the scary part.

Anyone could have the thought.

But very few would actually do it.

Even in the crazy world of showbiz, there aren’t many who’d go that far.

‘Should I dig around?’

The director thought about it—but then flinched as Han Sion’s expression flashed through his mind.

He wasn’t the company CEO. Just an idol.

But it was absurd how often Han Sion’s face came to mind.

Everyone in the industry knew Sedalbaekil’s leader—and SBI’s true captain—was Han Sion.

In the end, the director dropped the thought.

Even if he did dig, SBI would deny it.

It definitely wasn’t because he was afraid of Han Sion’s reaction.

“Alright, you can go. Actually—if Lion said anything about next week’s show, let me know.”

“They said it depends on how this situation is handled.”

“Just give them whatever they want. Except admitting fault.”

“It’s not like we did it on purpose.”

“Exactly. And even if we did, accidents like this aren’t unheard of.”

So the link between MShow’s ground staff and upper management was secured.

This would soon become the station’s official stance.

While Lion Entertainment was handling PR, quelling Mix Way’s fandom rage, and managing the media, SBI was doing the opposite.

They were throwing fuel on the fire, helping it spread as far as possible.

Their goal: drive public focus toward the stark contrast between Sedalbaekil’s third-week sales and Mix Way’s second-week numbers.

Ultimately, they wanted the world to see the full one-month sales comparison between the two groups.

Lion may have started it—but SBI would end it.

“How are the reporters reacting?” asked Director Seo Seunghyun.

“They’re going wild,” his subordinate replied.

“Looks like they’re refreshing press kits in real time.”

“They’re writing nonstop.”

It was only natural.

Sedalbaekil had been perfect today. Mix Way had been humiliated.

So which would journalists focus on?

Sedalbaekil’s perfection?

Mix Way’s disgrace?

The answer was obvious.

The latter.

People prefer negative narratives over positive ones.

Mockery, hate, ridicule—those draw them in.

Because the public is far more brutal than expected.

The clash between SBI’s and Lion’s PR teams proved it.

In terms of company power, SBI couldn’t match Lion.

Lion was still the center of the entertainment cartel, with deep pockets and strong bonds with journalists.

Yet SBI’s PR team was dominating.

Because the topic, not the company, held more weight.

Lion was requesting positive spins. SBI wanted negative spins.

And negativity sold better.

So people began comparing Sedalbaekil and Mix Way’s album sales in real time.

Still, Director Seo wore a strange smile.

A little wistful.

He wasn’t about to cheer for Sedalbaekil, but he hoped the public wouldn’t go too hard on Mix Way.

The members were young, and only doing what they were told.

They hadn’t decided to cling to first-week numbers.

Sure, Cheonha got a bit cocky on social media—but what twenty-something guy doesn’t?

Showing a little team spirit by poking the rival group wasn’t a huge sin.

Even so, Seo Seunghyun wasn’t a romantic—he was a company man.

He wasn’t paid to be sentimental.

He had a job to do.

“Think of any friendly journalists with good pens?”

“I’ve got someone in mind.”

“Then let’s do a feature. About live performances in K-pop. Frame it like: live singing should be the default.”

“And the implication being: Mix Way should’ve been able to handle it?”

“Exactly. Shut down all that talk about AR settings or whatever. A real singer should be able to go live under any condition.”

---

The internet remained in chaos for a while.

Despite Lion’s efforts, the tide didn’t change.

-The performance wasn’t bad per se, but shouldn’t the vocals come first?

-Exactly. Singing to AR and saying “Look at our dancing!” is kinda off.

-If that’s the case, just become dancers.

-Look at Sedalbaekil. People said they weren’t K-pop enough at first—but since they can sing, they make it work.

-Han Sion keeps producing songs that suit him perfectly too.

-Yeah yeah yeah

To the public, Sedalbaekil became the ideal for what a K-pop idol should strive toward.

Mix Way? The cautionary tale.

And the sales talk didn’t stop either.

Everyone now knew:

Sedalbaekil 1st-week: 680,000
2nd-week: 320,000
Combined: 1,000,000

Mix Way 1st-week: 690,000

-When are Sedalbaekil’s 3rd-week and Mix Way’s 2nd-week numbers coming out?

-Soon lol probably within the hour.

-Rumor says Mix Way’s second week might be 500k.

-Some say it’s 50k.

-Too many dumb rumors, just waiting for the official report.

And then, finally, the updated figures for Sedalbaekil’s third week and Mix Way’s second week were released…

-???????

-???????????

-This has to be an error, right?

The reaction was full of question marks.

-!

-!!

-This isn’t a mistake, right?

Or full of exclamation points.

-….

-…….

-Ha… this isn’t a typo, is it?

Or silence.

The reason was simple.<STAGE>

469,3**

Sedalbaekil’s third-week sales were approximately 470,000.

Not quite reaching their first-week number, but surpassing week two by far.

Selling nearly half a million albums in week three was nearly unheard of.

The only explanation was the power of the music itself.

It couldn’t be explained by marketing.

On the other hand, Mix Way’s second-week sales:<STAR WAY>

100,0**

Just barely over 100,000.

They almost didn’t even make it to that. But the fandom rallied, feeling their idols were being unfairly criticized.

Many who already secured fan signings still opened their wallets.

But in the end, it didn’t matter.

-lololol what is this

-47k in week three?? Are you serious??

-So Stage already sold almost 1.5 million?

-They’re gonna break records at this rate.

-Mix Way lolololol

-Harakiri idols lololololol

-Seriously, who told them to start a fight over first-week sales lol

-Choi Daeho’s probably rolling in his grave lol

With the Sedalbaekil fanbase blaring their victory horns, Mix Way’s fandom had no words left.

A perfect K.O.