The Maknae Has to Be an IdolVolume 114

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝓸𝒎 Only

I thought about what would happen to Only One if we won. First of all, they wouldnt be able to gain the initial popularity they had before my regression.

They would have to walk a very long and difficult road. Initial popularity for idols varied a lot depending on the agencys reputation but also depended a lot on the amount of investment they got in areas such as promotional expenses, album order fees, and production costs. If the agency saved money in any of these areas, it was most obvious in the album portion.

In the world before I regressed, the reason why Only Ones debut album could sell more than 300,000 copies was because it was a product worth buying from the consumers perspective. However, the change in the initial debut album would probably be just one of the numerous changes that would occur due to my intervention.

I was sure that many things would change- not just the initial debut album sales. Only One wouldnt be as successful as they were before and wouldnt be able to enjoy life as luxuriously as they did before my regressions. My thoughts were about to continue, but

Stop. I cut them off. This was not the time to worry about Only One. Even if Only One failed to win, their very lives were not at stake.

I need to win this show. I had nowhere to step back, at least to protect Do-Seung. I remembered what Do-Seung from another world said to me.

I have to succeed in the mission no matter what, at all costs Even if I used cheap and dirty tricks, I needed to succeed. My heart couldnt grow weak just because of my inner conscience, which had no clear shape or form. I strengthened my resolve and leaned my head forward.

Episode 5 of The Showcase 2 was starting. What they were going to air today was the third competition, and it was the competition we won.

We would definitely be the main characters. Since Only One became the main character after winning the second competition in the previous episode, it was time for us to take back the main character role once again. And sure enough

Oh!

Wow!

Tae-Yoons performance is so refreshing even after seeing it again.

We were definitely the main characters in this episode.

* * *

Before the fifth episode of The Showcase 2 aired, many heated conversations took place on the internet. Only One and Sirens fandom was growing to be around the same size. Only One had Kang Hyun-Sung, who had more public recognition than everyone else by far, but the size of the core fandoms made up of dedicated fans was around the same size for both groups. Perhaps due to this factor, there were a lot of organized hate comments about each group from the other party.

Geez, I think Siren fans who say Woo Yeon-who is good at singing are seriously capping

Am I the only one who thinks its sooo obvious that theyre so heavily filtered?

Bong TY loooves women; hes like a dead fish usually but when he moves next to Nahyun, he suddenly comes alive

Ah its so freaking hilarious that they argue that Park Dong J is a vocalist, but hes bad at singing so he just dances and stays in the back

Isnt this song plagiarized? It sounds similar to this song.

There was no concrete evidence behind the malicious comments haters from each fandom were spreading about the other party. However, it was a fact that the two groups were competing to win the final show. Furthermore, they were performing with a similar fandom size for the show, and the current public opinion could significantly determine the future of each group. As a result of all these complex factors, there was evidence that a couple of malicious fans were showing signs of organized hate against their rival group.

Whats wrong with these f**kers?

Just move on and dont hate our idols for no reason

Wow, our guys have really succeeded now that theyre getting hate

Wait, do you seriously think Only One can win if you act like this?

Yeon-Hoon cant singhaha

So much yapping about plagiarism because the chorus overlaps a tiny bit

However, Siren fans also moved systematically to block and address rumors attached to Siren.

Ah, screw you. So who is in your idol group besides Kang Hyun-Sung?

You guys at least know all our idols names I dont know anyone except for Kang Hyun-Sung

Reply: FR if not for Kang Hyun-Sung, they have nothing

Rather, they attacked Only Ones fandom back. However, Only One and Siren showed no significant activities that could be open for criticism by both groups. Furthermore, all of these activities were carried out in the dark under secret accounts, so most of the consumers were unaware that such activities were happening.

Like this, while an intense war of nerves between the two groups occurred in the dark, episode 5 of The Showcase 2 aired. The first start of episode 5 was to summarize the previous episodehow Only One won the second competition and how the second competition went. Peoples reaction to this poured out.

Ah, Young-Ho crying is seriously my tear trigger.

aww Only One, lets only walk on smooth and even paths pls

The Only One fans reminisced about the previous performance.

Our guys were really good too

Please let them win first place today (fingers crossed)

Sirens fans had high hopes for the performance this round, and the following scene was the announcement of the third round of missions. People watched this scene with great interest. The third-round competition mission was already spoiled by those who were in the audience, but people only knew for sure once they saw it with their own eyes.

No, it really is a joint mission fuck~

Ah, just let them do their own thing

Its not a special performance but the main performance is an alliance?

So damn ridiculous

Two different reactions poured out about the joint mission. One side questioned why the show was doing such a ridiculous and unnecessary mission. This side was mostly made up of heavy consumers, who had a high degree of loyalty to one group. However, other consumers, who didnt have a high degree of loyalty to one group and were mostly just interested in the show, welcomed this mission.

Wow, am I finally going to see Kang Hyun-Sung and Bong Tae-Yoon together? Crazy

Our country ppl really love mixing things here like bibimbap lol

Its already getting interesting fr

People who were tired of the set atmosphere for each group and performance thought that the joint mission was a nice change. The next scene was when Kang Hyun-Sung forced Bong Tae-Yoon into his team, and the reactions to that were as follows:

What hahaha why is Kang Hyun-Sung so obsessed with Bong Tae-Yoon?

hahahaha it became a Tae-Yoon team w/out Tae-Yoon haha

whats with the producers and hosts who allowed this lol

he looks like he lost his country (Bong Tae-Yoons soul leaving his body after losing rock-paper-scissors.gif)

So spill the tea, whats their relationship?

The light consumers of the program seemed to enjoy the comedy created by the program.

Ah damn it, Ive been skipping Siren cause that Bong whatev has no charm or charisma whatsoever

Hyun-Sung, my man, please get to your senses

Ah, why the hell is he doing that?

Did the producers make him do that? It doesnt make any sense

However, the heavy consumers reacted badly to this situation.

What, is there a problem with Kang Hyun-Sungs personality?

Damn Tae-Yoon seems seriously pissed

If I stepped forward to perform with the members and worked hard to gather them all but someone just pulled that shit on me, Ill be hella mad too

No, this is just too damn unreasonable. Why the heck is he doing this?

Sirens fans accused Kang Hyun-Sung of trolling, and Only One fans criticized Bong Tae-Yoon for his lack of talent. However, regardless of these reactions, the broadcast continued. Each team was divided into three, and there were scenes of them practicing. They also showed scenes where members said their ideas one by one and began forming their stage. The notable scenes during this process were Kim Joon-Hyuk and Lee Young-Joons trolling. However, in the show, they were edited as suffering from poor conditions rather than outright trolling.

Kim Joon-Hyuk and Lee Young-Joon are the ones who quit the program, right?

Reply: yeah, they quit in the middle cause they couldnt handle it anymore

How on earth can they come up with such a bizarre idea?

Reply: it comes up in the show that they werent feeling well

Although they were losers who caused trouble for others while trying to lead the performance and quit after fighting each other, they were portrayed somewhat differently on the show. It was because the conflict between the show's participants was not very beneficial to the overall storyline, and if the production crew released Kim Joon-Hyuk and Lee Young-Joons trolling as it was, it would cause a bad controversy instead of a hot buzz.

In the broadcast, they were portrayed as slightly dumb side characters 1 and 2, who gave out weird ideas because their condition and mentality werent good. Scenes, where they sighed deeply and said they werent usually like this in interviews, helped support this narrative. Of course, the interviews they used were completely taken out of context. The editing repeated that Kim Joon-Hyuk and Lee Young-Joon were in a bad mental state or condition throughout the broadcast.

Damn, they just left because they went through a mental breakdown freew(e)bnovel

But its understandable in a survival program

Onebyone is over at this rate

How can they perform with only three members?

The production crew succeeded in giving a reasonable explanation for Kim Joon-Hyuk and Lee Young-Joons departure, which actually happened out of the blue. In the process, the scene where Bong-Tae-Yoon roasted them with facts was completely edited out.

On the other hand, if one picked a few of the main scenes that were highlighted in the training camp, the first one would bethe opening scene when Siren overslept and was the only one in shabby practice clothes.

Why is only Sirens outfit 100% real lol

did they really come out straight from bed?

hahaha they really overslept and only had time to wash their faces lol

But because they all have good proportions, they still look cool

wait haha dont put our guys next to Only One noooo they went all out in their outfits

And another highlight scene was when Kang Hyun-Sung stood at the center and performed during the midterm checkup.

Hyun-Sung is the center?

Hyun-Sung is acting cutesy?

Ah noooIm swooning

Why does Hyun-Sung look so seductive when making a cute expression? Is that normal?

Reply: Beep. Thats normal

Cute sexyI think Ive opened my eyes to a new world?

Yet, in the end, two other scenes drew the most attention.

What lol why is Bong Tae-Yoon so good at random play dance haha

There are times when he honestly looks possessed and its seriously insane

Is he really a madman hahaha whaaaaat

I think I might throw up from laughing too muchseriously, pls stop

First was Bong Tae-Yoons Random Play Dance.

That's crazy, are these two a match made in heaven?

Those two got 18 by themselves?

They didnt plan it beforehand, right?

And the second was Kang Hyun-Sung and Bong Tae-Yoons One Voice.

lol there was a reason why Kang Hyun-Sung was obsessed with getting Bong Tae-Yoon as a team member haha

Reply: he was driven by instincts

Reply: but even then, Tae-Yoon has no stage presence

Reply: Fuck get out of here. No need for useless hate

These scenes were the ones that received the most attention. The practice scenes that came out afterward passed by quickly, and it moved on to the day of the competition. In a way, the main event was the competition scene, but there were too many scenes that could be called highlights in the training camp.

At this rate, the competition might be boring in comparison.

Ah, but todays episode was legendary lol

I keep thinking of Bong Tae-Yoons random play dance

So naturally, people had no choice but to worry about the performances while looking forward to it at the same time, as the production crew might have focused too much on the beginning of the episode. However, Park Soo-Chul and the other production crew were professionals, and they wouldnt make such an amateurish mistake. As if to prove that all the viewers concerns were unfounded, the real high point of the episode was the competition. No, to be more accurate, it was with Bong Tae-Yoon after the competition.