Little Pink Starfish

Of course, there was a ton of work to be done for that to happen, and I couldn’t be sure everything would align perfectly.

There were so many factors required for SBI Entertainment to devour Lion Entertainment’s place.

But as a returnee, I knew one truth.

No—I should say I felt it.

It’s simple.

If your goal is clear, and you know exactly how to reach it, and you keep pushing without rest, then achieving that goal is always possible.

Sure, the world is full of uncertainty.

Just like how Choi Jaesung got hurt, bad luck and coincidence can obstruct your goal.

It could even happen repeatedly.

But you still shouldn’t give in.

If you try, and try again, and then try once more—then you can always reach your goal.

So, destroying Lion Entertainment and taking its place? That’s easy.

Even if luck isn’t on my side, I’m confident I can achieve it after trying a few times.

Of course, someone might laugh at that.

If achieving your goals is so easy, then why haven’t you sold 200 million copies yet?

You’re whining around without even grasping how much time has passed, and now you’re acting all high and mighty?

But the premise is different.

As I said before, in order to achieve a goal, you need to know the right method.

And I don’t know that.

I’ve tried selling albums in countless ways, but not once have I been confident I’d found the correct answer.

I know how to get high MV views, and I know how to inflate streaming sales numbers.

I’ve written countless Grammy-winning songs, and I’ve written a song that hit over 50 billion streams on TikTok.

But I still haven’t figured out how to make people buy physical albums.

Tiered events like fan signings based on purchase volume? They’re meaningless.

But the demon once said this:

[You’re too bound by the rules of regression. Have you ever once indulged in the rules of success?]

The rules of success.

What could that be?

Aside from selling 200 million copies, are there other rules?

Is there a way to count albums I produce for non-members as fully mine?

Or can I categorize them as ‘my album’ even if I don’t produce the whole thing?

Of course, I doubt it’s something like that—but that’s all I can think of.

As I was lost in thought, PD Kang Seokwoo came over and spoke to me.

“You worked hard, Shion.”

“I didn’t do anything, really.”

“This whole project came about because of you, Shion. Don’t look so grim.”

Was I scowling?

Actually, Reversed World had diverged somewhat from the original variety show format I had envisioned.

Originally, I imagined Sedalbaekil showcasing their skills in a more straightforward way.

Literally more like a singing class, where the mentor and student would pair up to release a project single.

Naturally, that single would be a huge success.

But PD Kang Seokwoo, after hearing why I wanted to plan a variety show in the first place, recommended changing it to the current format.

He said it would be more effective this way.

After hearing his explanation, I agreed with him.

I may be average at planning variety shows, but I’m excellent at evaluating them.

I’ve experienced so many shows over the years—of course I’d be good at it.

But it seemed like PD Kang Seokwoo thought I was upset about the format change.

Well, I didn’t bother to deny it.

Letting him think I was disappointed might help bring out his best effort.

“Oh right, Han Shion.”

“Yes?”

“Has WWDC’s organizing team said anything yet?”

“It’s a go.”

The next shoot for Reversed World was in the United States.

To be precise, at WWDC.

---

[……We offer our endless thanks to artist Fade, who has devoted his talent and passion to Take Scene, and wish him the best in the path ahead……]

Fade’s voluntary departure was officially announced.

Lion Entertainment’s press release and Fade’s personal SNS post were ordinary.

Fade was said to be stepping away from the industry due to mental health struggles, including panic disorder, and Lion Entertainment had agreed to respect his wishes.

But very few believed that at face value.

-lol he was always in the tabloids, looks like he finally got kicked

-Didn’t Take Scene hit big in Japan?

-Yeah, but Fade probably had 0% ownership in that success

-What are you talking about? How can a team member have 0% stake?

-No, he really didn’t.

-Nah nah he was like -10%. It would’ve done better without Fade.

-Ah. Can’t even argue with that.

-LOL

-This place is full of trash. He’s retiring because of mental health and y’all still act like this;

-This is the guy, right? The one with the audio of him apologizing to Han Shion?

-Yep, that’s him.

-Says a lot about his personality lol

-Of course someone unpopular kept showing up in gossip and online news. Nothing but a speck.

-Yeah yeah

People seemed to have forgotten that Fade was once a cast member on a variety show that peaked at 19% viewership.

They treated him like just another failing celebrity.

Surprisingly, even Take Scene’s fandom reacted the same.

Except for his solo fans, most welcomed his departure.

-It was stressful seeing Take Scene dragged down every time his name came up… Glad it ended cleanly.

-I’m shocked Choi Taeho let him go so easily.

-Right??

-Now that this happened, I hope they kick out the rest of the pests and finally invest properly.

-Please give us some domestic promotions!

That was the public reaction, and deeper circles showed even more brutal opinions.

But whether public or behind-the-scenes, one thought was shared: Choi Taeho let Fade go too easily.

There’s a saying in entertainment: there’s no such thing as a celeb who never messes up.

Only those who’ve been caught, and those who haven’t.

Of course, that’s not 100% true.

Some genuinely go through their careers without scandals.

But that saying exists because most celebs do mess up.

And in that sense, the alleged things Fade did? They were manageable scandals.

It’s not like he drank and drove, or did illegal drugs.

There are people out there who did both and are still working.

Of course, Fade wasn’t popular enough to be worth investing in if he’d really done something.

But that doesn’t mean you just let him go.

Normally, Choi Taeho would’ve slapped a leash on him until the contract expired.

No entertainment work, no joining other agencies, no other jobs either.

Brutal, but that’s the rule.

You have to go that far to keep the other celebs at Lion Entertainment thinking, “If I screw up, I’ll end up like that.”

But that didn’t happen with Fade.

The moment he was out of Take Scene, they coolly ended his contract too.

That wasn’t normal.

-Heard Han Shion went ballistic and that’s why.

-Han Shion freaked out at Fade?

-Yep yep, apparently Han Shion leaked all those articles about Fade too.

-That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

-Han Shion gets the wildest hate accusations lol

-He’s HipShion, after all lol

-It’s not even like Fade had one big controversy. Just a bunch of rumors flying around.

-Yeah yeah, probably got dumped because Lion knew something and wanted to pre-empt it.

-Where does Han Shion even fit into this picture lol

So that’s what the public thought, and it made sense.

As one netizen said, it’s not like Fade did anything definitive.

Just “He supposedly did this,” “He supposedly did that,” “He’s actually a bad guy,” and so on.

But this was the ‘bullet’ Han Shion had shown to Choi Taeho.

He hadn’t fired it.

But he had made it clear that he had a bullet he could fire at Fade.

When would that bullet be most powerful?

When Take Scene succeeded.

When Fade became famous and turned into Lion Entertainment’s cash cow.

If the bullet was fired then, the destruction would be enormous.

The more Fade succeeded, the greater the damage would be.

That meant, from Choi Taeho’s perspective, Fade’s success became a burden.

If he succeeded, it was a risk to the company. If he didn’t, there was no reason to keep him.

In a way, it also meant dragging down Take Scene with him.

Normally, Choi Taeho would’ve tried to negotiate with Han Shion.

Everyone in this small industry knows what happens when you go after someone with facts.

If you attack, you get hurt too.

But Choi Taeho knew Han Shion wasn’t someone you could negotiate with.

So he ditched Fade.

Han Shion’s signal had played a big role.

He understood what Han Shion meant when he made an offer to one of Take Scene’s main members.

“If you just drop Fade, I’ll maintain a good relationship with Take Scene.”

Choi Taeho even subtly checked with Head Director Seo Seunghyun to confirm.

“We can’t keep butting heads with big agencies forever. SBI Entertainment has to break into the mainstream even without Sedalbaekil, right?”

That was the process through which Fade was discarded.

Exactly as Han Shion wanted.

But Choi Taeho didn’t know two things.

First, the real reason Han Shion wanted a good relationship with Take Scene.

Second…

‘Maybe Choi Taeho is actually afraid of Han Shion.’

That was what Team Manager Park thought to himself.

He saw the situation clearly, so he couldn’t help but think that.

Choi Taeho showed no intention of fighting Han Shion, who was baring his teeth.

He just seemed content that Han Shion had pulled them back in.

‘It’s over.’

Perhaps Park was the first to realize who had won in the battle between Han Shion and Choi Taeho.

Other than Han Shion himself, that is.

---

Fade’s retirement vanished without causing any waves.

Currently, South Korean netizens were focused on a few different things.

First, who is Saoi?

Interest in Saoi from Show Me was growing by the day.

Some even said they’d protest in front of Channel Motion if Saoi didn’t turn out to be a top star.

That’s how much Show Me was portraying Saoi as someone incredible whose identity was hidden.

And that interest was only fueled by Saoi’s talent.

[Show Me Episode 4 / Saoi’s 3rd Preliminary Performance / “My fame is perfect doubling”]

While Saoi was gaining traction, someone else was rising fast on another front.

[After True Original, is another dark horse heading for honorary graduation?]

[2-Time Masked Singer Champion “Harmless Electrolyte”—Netizens Guess Their Identity?]

Harmless Electrolyte, who won Masked Singer twice in a row.

Granted, honorary graduation becomes hard from the third appearance.

Once a contestant gets close to that, the producers start pulling crazy lineups.

Even the producers admitted it themselves.

They keep in touch with certain strong vocalists and secure verbal agreements to appear if someone challenges for honorary graduation.

But many were already guessing who Harmless Electrolyte was.

-It’s Lee Ion lol

-Isn’t it basically 100% him?

-Yeah yeah, pretty sure it’s him.