Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 117

For a while, Orca had often been considered a tool used to undermine Breaker.

‘The talented boy group Orca is smoothly preparing for their debut amidst ranking manipulation controversy surrounding Breaker?’

…They were often compared in this way.

Of course, the opinions of Orca and their fans weren’t particularly reflected in such trends.

Coincidentally, the positioning by the media and netizens had been subtly favorable, and being compared to Breaker had worked in Orca’s favor in terms of recognition.

It was like the journalists and idol fans were spreading Orca’s name without the need for separate promotional costs.

The agency didn’t actively resist this trend, just watched to ensure things didn’t get too extreme.

However, now that Breaker, which had been like a public enemy, disbanded and the members went their separate ways, Orca, who had received relatively favorable evaluations and subtly established themselves as prominent rookies even before their debut, was suddenly perceived as a target to be wary of.

Currently, among those speaking negatively about Ban Yo-han, there were likely former Breaker fans who had been hurt by the previous comparisons to Orca, as well as fans of completely different idol groups.

If not, it could be people who simply enjoyed the vile act of slandering others.

The former farmers, who had escaped from the fire-like pit of Pick Heart, where there wasn’t even water to drink, and had briefly basked in the extremely comforting peace, felt the need to renew their mindset ahead of Orca’s debut.

– (Screenshot) I don’t understand why they’re promoting such a vulgar and bizarre golden spoon image.

┗ Read the full article properly. The point of the promotion was that the son worked hard to get accepted as the top student at the university where his father is a professor. No one promotes a golden spoon image without reason. The fact that he is a professor’s son was known from Yo-han’s university community.

– What does educational background matter for an idol? No matter how much you promote it, if their main job skills are lacking, it’s useless.

┗ Not a fan of these guys, but honestly, breaking into Seoul National University through regular admission is a unique selling point, right? It’s impressive that he got in through regular admission. LOL

┗ 2222 Just the fact that he studied hard as a student is likable, not just for idols. Plus, Yo-han is doing well enough in his main job, so there’s no need for surrogate concern.

Reporters, looking for a trending topic ahead of the college entrance exam, rushed to publish related articles.

[A unique entrance exam support video from an idol who scored perfectly on the college entrance exam two years ago]

[Pick Heart 3’s 13th place Ban Yo-han turns out to be a perfect scorer in the 2016 entrance exam… “Wishing for good results as much as the effort put in by the students”]

Given the sensitive reaction to related issues just before the college entrance exam, Ban Yo-han’s story spread to student communities and other entertainment communities.

[A trainee idol giving up S University’s top admission to prepare for debut… Shocking]

[Pick Heart idol’s legendary academic background .wetube]

[(Study Motivation) Compilation of celebrities’ academic backgrounds]

– LOL Honestly, you have to acknowledge the determination to leave Seoul National University and pursue an idol career.

– It’s his life, so he can do what he wants, but his parents’ hearts must be breaking. They sent him to a good university…

– He has everything. I guess I need to at least study well…

– I attended a summer special lecture with Yo-han at school. He was really handsome and very popular. LOL

┗ Any stories? I’m curious.

┗ He was originally a student who got into university through early admission, but after missing an entire day of midterms in his first semester of third year due to illness, he became a regular admission fighter. I remember the teachers going crazy then.

┗ That’s insane…

As a result, the overall atmosphere acknowledged Ban Yo-han, and the fans took advantage of this momentum to fend off the trolls.

– I’m curious how great the lives of those who criticize him are.

– He didn’t get into university dishonestly through money, so criticizing him for this is a bit much, don’t you think?

– The homeroom teacher who used to scold us for watching idol videos right before the college entrance exam was surprised to hear that Yo-han was a perfect scorer. LOL. Oppa, I’ll come back as your junior and treat you to a meal.

* * *

While Ban Yo-han’s matter was a hot topic on the internet, Orca was at a salon, getting their hairstyles changed ahead of their music video shoot.

In the case of On Raon, his current black hair suited him so well that the director in charge of Orca’s visuals, Joo Yeol-eum, struggled with deciding whether to change his hair color. However, he made a bold decision.

As a result, On Raon was currently sitting in front of a mirror, hands clasped in prayer, smelling the distinct scent of the salon.

‘Please let my scalp be strong and resilient.’

Though he had never bleached his hair before, On Raon knew well enough that the process was quite painful and could seriously damage his hair.

Moreover, Ban Yo-han, who had experience with bleaching, had scared On Raon by telling him to prepare mentally after hearing about the expected number of bleaching sessions.

And thus began his first experience with bleaching.

At first, he thought, ‘Huh? This isn’t so bad,’ as the stylist skillfully worked on his hair.

But after the second and third times, and continuing the next day with the fifth and sixth times… as the stylist meticulously stripped the color to the limit, On Raon’s scalp started to sting, and he realized it was only a matter of time.

Thinking he might as well zone out and conserve his strength, On Raon entrusted everything to the hairstylist and zoned out. In the end, his scalp took such a beating that his HP (Health Points) was reduced several times.

‘But now that I think about it, if my HP drops to 0, do I actually die?’

[Tip! If HP reaches 0, you will be in an incapacitated state. If this state persists for a long time… something very bad will happen, so please be cautious.]

So, it didn’t mean immediate death.

At least he didn’t have to worry about becoming posthumously famous as an idol who died from bleaching his hair.

On Raon thought nonchalantly.

‘Still, surely they wouldn’t let me die, right…?’

Seeing that they didn’t specify exactly what “something very bad” was, it seemed like the next step might be something equivalent to death.

“All done.”

The hairstylist, who had worked hard over two days to achieve the desired color, was moved by her own work. This was it.

“Your hair is in such good condition that as long as you take care of it, you shouldn’t have any major concerns immediately. You have a lot of hair too.”

Finally, On Raon let out a sigh of relief.

Even though there were no immediate concerns, his hair had already crossed a point of no return.

It was fortunate that his scalp held up well; otherwise, he would have been in big trouble.

On Raon groaned as he got up from his seat.

* * *

A few days later, Orca and the staff were filming their music video, overcoming the budget limitations with human effort.

“Let’s introduce ourselves!”

“On and on, ORCA! Please take care of us!”

The atmosphere on the set, which began with Orca’s group greeting, was quite serious.

The members, who repeatedly shot to achieve the best results, were sharp as blades.

However, it was more of a finely honed sharpness, like a well-maintained sword before an important battle, rather than a dangerous tension ready to explode at any moment.

The current practice sessions were similarly intense.

When they returned to the dorm after practice, they would find ways to make each other laugh and chat lightly, but…

### Chapter 117

No one could hear about how they had endured the biting sea breeze on an exceptionally cold day without shedding tears.

Due to the unusually chilly weather in early November, after finishing the music video shoot, Manager Gwak Sang-hyun meticulously checked the members’ health for several days to ensure they hadn’t caught colds.

Although On Raon, known for being the weakest, showed some signs of a cold, he recovered quickly after taking medicine and getting a good night’s sleep, so their schedule wasn’t affected.

And then, on the day before the college entrance exam, which was also two weeks before their debut showcase.

An earthquake hit Korea.

The earthquake was one of the largest on record, so the college entrance exam was inevitably postponed.

‘Now that I think about it, there was an earthquake around this time in my world too, which postponed the college entrance exam… Is this kind of natural disaster unfolding similarly to what I remember? Or is it just a coincidence?’

On Raon reminisced upon hearing the news.

“They said it’s postponed by two weeks?”

“Yeah, it’s postponed to the week after next.”

‘If I remember correctly, it was postponed by a week in my memory…’

As a quasi-regressor, On Raon realized with some regret that the two worlds he knew were too far apart and different for him to use what he knew effectively. He decided to focus on his main job.

The Seed employees were deeply troubled by the bad news that came just before the debut.

The new date for the postponed college entrance exam exactly overlapped with the debut showcase.

And…

“Seong-ha, are you okay?”

Due to the influence of his parents, who were teachers, Gyun Seong-ha had managed to maintain a certain level of academic performance and was also planning to take the college entrance exam this year.

Since the showcase was scheduled for 8 PM, Gyun Seong-ha could theoretically take the exam and still make it to the showcase, but it was unlikely he would be able to perform at his best.

“…I can take it next year.”

Gyun Seong-ha, who had been preparing for the college entrance exam by sometimes asking Ban Yo-han about things he didn’t know, seemed quite disappointed but made his decision quickly.

“Really? Are you sure about this?”

Gyun Seong-ha nodded without hesitation in response to Kang Ji-woo’s question.

“Yes.”

“Alright, I understand.”

Gwak Sang-hyun, who was with the members, patted Gyun Seong-ha on the shoulder and went outside to inform the company.

* * *

At midnight the next day.

The first change Orca made in line with the album concept was to unveil a new logo design.

**ORCA** [(Logo Video)]

When the video played, the sound of a cool breeze descending a mountain valley could be heard like waves crashing.

On a pale light blue background, there was a killer whale made of pure white lines, with a blizzard swirling inside its back, which would normally be black.

And below it, the presumed album title, ‘FREE WINTER,’ was neatly written.

– Oh, the logo is pretty.
– Is it a winter concept? The quality is nice.
– Exciting!

Following this, the tracklist and concept photos were released day by day.

The concept photos were taken at various parts of a school in a dawn-like dim atmosphere, featuring trendy training outfits.

Ban Yo-han, wearing an ivory training top over a school shirt and light gray school pants, and Gyun Seong-ha, sporting a navy short-sleeve training top with arm sleeves as a highlight, were the first to have their concept photos released.

The next day, a photo of Seo Moon-gyeol, who had zipped up his black tracksuit top to his neck and rolled up the pant legs to show his ankles, was posted.

On the third day, concept photos of Kang Ji-woo and On Raon were uploaded.

Kang Ji-woo wore a loosely fitted navy tracksuit with red stripes, and On Raon wore an oversized white shirt unbuttoned over a white short-sleeve tee, paired with black tracksuit pants with vertical stripes.

The members’ exceptional visuals splendidly overcame the low budget limitations.

– Wow, the concept looks great. I’m really looking forward to it.
– Gyun Seong-ha looks amazing, totally my type.
– What’s up with those faces and proportions…
– They’re all so handsome, they can’t really fail.
– Wow, On Raon’s fit is insane. He’s like a doll, so envious.
– Director Joo Yeol-eum, I trusted you. I don’t see how this relates to winter yet, but you look excited, so I’m satisfied.
– Did all the kids keep their original hair colors? It’s pretty but a bit plain.
– Not feeling it.
– It looks good, so I’m interested. Not a fan, but I’m saving the photos.
– The concept photos are great. Let’s keep this quality up for the rest.

And on November 27, three days before the debut showcase, the teaser for their debut song ‘Liberation’ was released.