"A new member?"
The place where all the members of Gupailbang were gathered.
The one who shouted loud enough to make the meeting room ring was our group's main vocalist, Ju Jaha of the Mount Hua Sect. Naturally, this is also his real name.
Jaha pointed his finger at the member sitting next to him and continued in a sharp tone.
"Namgung Jun hasn't even been here that long, so what's the reason for picking a new member already?"
Namgung Jun, who was actually being pointed at, seemed to welcome the recruitment of a new member. He hadn't been able to get close to Jaha, who was the same age, and seemed to have a hard time mingling with the existing members, so he probably thought things would get a bit better if a new member joined.
On the other hand, the reason Jaha was getting worked up like that was because he was afraid his parts would decrease.
Jaha, the main vocalist, had the most parts even when there were 10 members, but since he was originally a guy with immense greed for parts, he often had conflicts with the sub-vocalist, the member from the Zhongnan Sect. Now that the Zhongnan Sect guy had left, most of the vocal parts had become his. Jaha probably hated the idea of having to share them again.
"Members leave all the time, new ones come in—what are the Beggars going to think!"
For reference, Beggars is Gupailbang's fandom name. …It just turned out that way.
"I heard from Brother Ilgeom that the new member won't take any parts."
Lee Taegeuk, who had been quietly watching the situation, finally spoke up as Jaha's voice grew louder.
Lee Taegeuk, who is in charge of the Wudang Sect in Gupailbang, actually has a rumor that he studied under the Wudang Sect leader. I don't know if it's true, but his movement is artistic, so he is also the main dancer.
Taegeuk likely said it to calm Jaha down, but Jaha jumped up as if a button had been pressed instead.
"Do, do you think I'm opposing the new member recruitment because I'm afraid my parts will decrease?!"
"No. Brother Ilgeom just said so. I was going to oppose it too if my parts were going to decrease."
Taegeuk, the main dancer, didn't originally have many parts. It must be a considerate remark to save Jaha from embarrassment. Jaha also realized that Taegeuk had spoken out of consideration for him, and his sharp attitude softened a little.
"…He really won't take any parts?"
"He said he just asked to debut."
"How can he debut without taking parts?"
"Maybe he's part of the dance line."
"Are you okay with that, Brother?"
"It's better to have more people for the dance break. The choreography for the debut song was also tailored for a large number of people."
"Hmm...."
Jaha sat back down slowly and crossed his arms. That was equivalent to saying, Do whatever you want now.
"I am against it."
Unexpectedly, the one who voiced opposition was Baek Nahan, who is in charge of Shaolin.
Not just me, but Jaha, Taegeuk, and even Namgung Jun were surprised.
"This is the first time I've seen Nahan speak."
Namgung Jun muttered blankly.
Even though Nahan is the youngest, he has a more mature personality than the older brothers. He is such a taciturn friend that one might wonder if he really came back from cultivating the Dao or if he is practicing a vow of silence. So naturally, he had followed the concept acts ordered by the CEO without a word until now, never argued with other members, and when other members caused minor incidents, he heated up the community boards under the title of 'Gupailbang's Last Conscience.'
For such a Nahan to be against it. There must surely be a significant reason.
"Nahan-ah, may I ask why you are against it?"
"He is ominous."
"…Huh?"
"I feel a disturbing energy."
…Did he get consumed by the concept after rolling around as a martial arts-dol for a bit? He wasn't a kid like this. However, Jaha and Taegeuk, who have spent a long time with Nahan, didn't seem to think it was just a simple concept act.
"Since Nahan says that, I suddenly feel scared."
"Come to think of it, we haven't even seen the new member's face yet. I want to see him before deciding."
Did Nahan have divine powers? Since he had been so quiet from his rookie days, it was understandable that he commanded a strange trust. It felt like he wouldn't speak in vain.
Since the CEO told me to become the Heavenly Demon's dedicated lackey, I will probably see Nahan speaking often from now on. Ah, I forgot to mention this.
"The newbie will come with the CEO in a little while, and I've been assigned to be his dedicated manager. We'll be seeing each other often from now on."
"…He's a newbie, but he has a dedicated manager?"
"Then who is the general manager?"
"The CEO said he would do it."
The pupils of the members, excluding Nahan, shook violently. Namgung Jun asked cautiously.
"I heard the CEO used to work as a manager too when K-tsch was a small agency… but isn't he past that level now?"
"Hey, what is 'level'?"
"Ah, I apologize."
Namgung Jun apologized immediately as soon as Jaha tackled him. Jaha seemed a bit flustered but maintained a calm expression. I can see why the two of them can't get close.
"I'm curious just how amazing this newbie is that Brother So-ui is dedicated to him and the CEO is managing him generally."
Taegeuk spoke calmly, but his displeasure was evident. Even I would feel my stomach turn if a stone that just rolled in received all the attention from the higher-ups. Jaha suddenly tilted his head.
"But didn't you say the newbie has no parts?"
"It's true that he has no parts."
"...?"
The CEO, upon receiving the message that the part the Heavenly Demon wanted was the two-line opening, readily agreed. On top of that, he volunteered to be the general manager himself. In my opinion, the martial arts-obsessed CEO with a suspicious amount of money seemed to have decided to pour his financial power and energy into fangirling over the Heavenly Demon on this occasion. Indeed, as a guy who made martial arts-dols because he was crazy about martial arts, he couldn't just stay stuck in the company with a real Heavenly Demon around.
"Hello, Gupailbang everyone~"
Speak of the devil, the CEO opened the meeting room door and entered cheerfully. Following behind him, the Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon entered in turn.
The members stood up from their seats to greet the CEO, but their gazes went to the Heavenly Demon without bowing their heads completely.
The Heavenly Demon had changed out of his flowing martial arts attire into proper modern clothing.
"The fit of that dress shirt is insane."
I only admired it inwardly, but Jaha muttered it out loud. …But isn't that dress shirt brand the CEO's custom-made brand? It seems the CEO has already started his fangirling.
He couldn't do anything about the long hair, so it was still hanging down long, but since his face supported it so well, it seemed he could appeal with an unrealistic image.
"You heard the story, right? This is Gupailbang's new member, Mr. Wi Hwajin. His concept is the Heavenly Demon. Just as you guys did in your early debut days, I asked him to over-immerse and act for a while, so I hope you understand even if this friend is a bit rough."
For the sake of the members' mental health, we decided to keep the fact that the Heavenly Demon is the real Heavenly Demon a secret. The Alliance Leader knows the new member's identity is the real Heavenly Demon, but since he is such a smart and tight-lipped kid, he will probably smooth things over well from the side so the identity isn't revealed.
At that moment, Taegeuk raised his hand and asked.
"Isn't our concept the Righteous Faction?"
No, is that the most important thing to you guys, even after seeing that aura, that face, and that long hair with your own eyes? Come to think of it, that was also the first thing I asked when the CEO said he would put the Heavenly Demon in Gupailbang.
The CEO smiled brightly and answered kindly.
"The setting is that Gupailbang took in the Heavenly Demon, who fell into a parallel world during the Righteous-Demonic War, and is rehabilitating him."
"…Pardon?"
I thought the CEO had suffered qi deviation not only in his head but also in his mouth, but looking at the face of the Heavenly Demon standing next to him, he was calm. Is this an already agreed-upon setting? Seeing him accept such a setting quietly, he must really want to debut quite badly. Whatever the reason is....
This time, Jaha raised his hand high and asked.
"CEO-nim! How old is the newbie?"
"He says he is twenty-four."
…He was younger than me. Although he did look young.
"Ah, he's older than me. Brother Heavenly Demon, please take care of me!"
The reason Jaha, who had been foaming at the mouth in opposition just a moment ago, suddenly acted so friendly was because the CEO was right in front of him. Being calculating is a good virtue for an idol, but Jaha is the eternal No. 2 in popularity within Gupailbang because it shows too much. The No. 1 is Baek Nahan.
Suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity, I looked at Nahan, and he was looking at the Heavenly Demon with an indifferent attitude, considering he had firmly expressed opposition saying it was ominous. Did his desire to oppose disappear after seeing that shining beauty?
The Heavenly Demon stared at Jaha blankly, then raised one corner of his mouth in a mean smile and answered.
"Fine. I look forward to working with you, Mount Hua Sect."
I had given the Heavenly Demon a heads-up about the members' appearances beforehand to prevent the same thing that happened with the Alliance Leader.
The member with short hair wearing a hood or hat is Wudang Sect's Lee Taegeuk. The member with pink hair who is cute and talks a lot is Mount Hua Sect's Ju Jaha. The one with the flashy delinquent look is Namgung Jun of the Namgung Family. The one with hair, an ascetic look, and a youthful face is Shaolin's Baek Nahan.
The reason 'hair' was added to Nahan's description was that the Heavenly Demon tried to distinguish the Shaolin member by the presence or absence of hair. For reference, the Alliance Leader is the greatest handsome man in the current idol scene, with an attractive angular jaw and wide, monolid eyes.
"What is it, Brother~ Your expression is too scary! You don't need to be nervous! But Brother, is your hair really your hair?"
I think being that tactless is the secret to Jaha surviving in Gupailbang for so long.
The Heavenly Demon, who had been taking in the members one by one with indifferent eyes, spotted me and moved his steps this way.
"Administrator wr… Hey. You were here."
The Heavenly Demon called me by a strange title. It seems the CEO told him he shouldn't call me a wretch.
"How is it?"
How is it, he asks. Does he mean the clothes?
"It suits you well."
The Heavenly Demon smiled arrogantly as if he knew I would say that. At that moment, the tactless Jaha cut in.
"Brother So-ui is much older than you, so you shouldn't use informal speech~"
"It's okay, Jaha-ya. It's because he's a foreigner."
"Even if he's a foreigner. Surely there's a hierarchy in Brother's country too?"
Jaha seems to want to establish dominance right from the start. Is hiding the fact that the Heavenly Demon is the real Heavenly Demon really beneficial for our kids' safety?
Fortunately, instead of attacking, the Heavenly Demon replied as if he was hearing all sorts of ridiculous things.
"The strong one is above, and the weak one is below."
"Is that the culture of Brother's country?"
Jaha-ya, it's because he's a person from the Central Plains where everything is decided by power. Jaha didn't give up there and asked further.
"Then who is above Brother? The CEO-nim?"
"I am above all creation."
"…This Brother's concept is solid."
Jaha seemed to get fed up with the Heavenly Demon and backed off, but soon turned his question target back to the CEO.
"Then when will Brother Heavenly Demon perform on stage with us? Since this week is the last broadcast of our promotion, are we preparing the new album together?"
The CEO answered with a gentle smile.
"Lord Heavenly Demon's debut stage has already been decided."
* * *
The martial arts concept idol group
A Beggar of 6 years who has been a fan of Gupailbang, nickname 'WorldRank0Jeilgeom,' opened a post newly uploaded on WeTaxi, the idol app under K-tsch.
– MuhyeopDolIsWhatOtaku: I'm a late fan, but why is the fandom name Beggars (Gaebang)? Is it because we have an open (gaebang) mindset to stan martial arts-dols?
Ha. If they are a late fan, they should at least search like a late fan, but it was a post where not even a shred of such sincerity could be felt. Fortunately, it was a hidden page that the members couldn't see, and since her mental strength had been toughened by ridicule from all sorts of fandoms in the early debut days, WorldRank0Jeilgeom, shortened to Sejelgeom (World Best Sword), left a comment with an indifferent face.
└ WorldRank0Jeilgeom: You say you're a late fan, but you suddenly deal extreme damage?
Sejelgeom gave a rebuke instead of explaining the origin of Beggars. There is a saying in Beggars: "Baek will explain anyway." It means a Baek Nahan fan will explain it anyway. Sure enough, a Baek Nahan fan left a comment below hers.
└ 108NahanJin: They say one of the factions in Gupailbang is the Beggars' Sect. Nine factions as members plus one faction as the fandom equals Gupailbang.
└ MuhyeopDolIsWhatOtaku: Oh, what kind of sect is the Beggars' Sect?
└ JahaYaLetsMarry: Beggar sect.
└ MuhyeopDolIsWhatOtaku: ?
Sejelgeom smirked, remembering her days of joining the fandom at the sight of the late fan flustering. She also only learned that the Beggars' Sect was a beggar sect appearing in martial arts after she started fangirling over Gupailbang.
It was just like the insane agency that debuted martial arts-dols to name their own fandom after a beggar sect. In the early days of debut, everyone was confused and tried to change the fandom name to things like Murim Alliance, Fated Encounter, or Gupa Inn on their own. But because the Gupailbang members steadfastly referred to the fans as 'Beggar-do everyone' whether in acceptance speeches or special thanks to, they ended up using the name Beggars even though it was dirty and petty.
Even the Gupailbang members found it hard to accept that they had to call their fans beggars in the early days of debut. However, the K-tsch CEO resolved the fans' backlash and the members' cognitive dissonance with his financial power. On the day of Gupailbang's first concert, the K-tsch CEO did a reverse tribute of tablets worth several hundred thousand won engraved with the fandom name Beggar-do and each fan's real name. Even she, who had rolled in the idol scene for over ten years, couldn't help but be surprised by that scale. Compared to the K-tsch CEO, they were indeed beggars. That was the first time she was that surprised since learning that the members' names were all real names.
'How can Ilgeom's name also be Jeilgeom....'
While she was thinking that sincerely, not just as fangirl rambling, an unusual post came up on WeTaxi.
– FiveFactionsOneAlliance: Beggars, looks like Dog-tsch recruited a new member again
└ WorldRank0Jeilgeom: Again? Has it even been 3 months since Namgung Jun was recruited?
└ FiveFactionsOneAlliance: Go to the CEO's account
– 108NahanJin: What will it be after Namgung Family? Sima Family? Zhuge Family?
└ JahaYaLetsMarry: Zhongnan Sect
└ 108NahanJin: Zhongnan Sect left ages ago
└ JahaYaLetsMarry: 2nd Generation Zhongnan Sect
└ 108NahanJin: 2nd Generation Zhongnan Sect left too
└ JahaYaLetsMarry: Ah ;lol sry lol
└ WorldRank0Jeilgeom: Don't feed the troll above. It's a Mount Hua malicious fan who always leaves Zhongnan Sect comments on posts like this and enjoys the reaction
SoWhatWudang: Aren't they not even Nine Factions anymore anyway? It would be funny if the Heavenly Demon Cult joined lol
└ FiveFactionsOneAlliance: There are still kids who don't know Gupailbang is a Righteous Faction concept
└ SoWhatWudang: Why so serious at a joke?
WeTaxi started to burn up with the bait of a new member. When Sejelgeom could no longer check the incoming feeds one by one, she turned off WeTaxi and went into K-tsch CEO's SNS account. This CEO, crazy about concept acts, even banned Gupailbang members' SNS because it didn't fit the martial arts-dol concept. Since only official photos were uploaded on WeTaxi too, one had to go into the CEO's account to see new bait, even if it was unfair.
A new post was up on the CEO's account. Below a black solid color photo, the following text was written.
– New Face. Coming Soon.
'While banning our kids from using English saying it doesn't fit the concept, he himself is doing this 'New Face Coming Soon' bullshit.' Since there were not just one or two Beggars who thought the same as her, the comments below the latest post were full of polite curses. Knowing that the K-tsch CEO bastard is a huge attention seeker who enjoys even curses, Sejelgeom didn't waste her energy scribbling curses.
'Will our Ilgeom be okay....' Since he's a kid with a lot of affection and a weak heart, he probably accepted it without being able to say no once. She could only pray that the newly joined member had more talent and a more amiable personality than Namgung Jun.
At that moment, the CEO's feed updated and a new post came up. The moment she opened the new post expecting maybe a photo of Gupailbang kids after a long time. Sejelgeom froze right there.
– 2022.xx.xx. Heavenly Demon, debuts.
The reason Sejelgeom froze right there wasn't because of the concept of Heavenly Demon, which didn't suit the Righteous Faction. It wasn't because of the photo of the long-haired handsome man with a refined and decadent appearance rivaling her bias Jeilgeom, which was uploaded with the text, either.
It was because the Heavenly Demon's debut date was none other than this coming weekend, the date of the last music broadcast for this album activity.
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