Second Try Idol

After the first two episodes of Again After Rainfall, fan communities, including the one on BlueBird, were flooded with posts from the Rings. The first trending keyword on BlueBird was ‘baby lullaby.’ Regardless of the situation, scene, or background music, the focus of the episode would unexpectedly shift to Suh Hyun-Woo, who was sleeping while a lullaby played. The Rings found this very cute.

- LOL, our Hyun-Woo is so cute and funny even though all he does is sleep. He easily makes the cut. 😂

- What's with the lullaby hashtag trending, ahahahaha?

- My baby must've been really tired... He looks so cute sleeping. Let him rest. 😢

Moreover, news that the same-aged duo got their driving licenses and Jin-Sung lamenting a failed piggyback ride took turns dominating the trends. This showed a very positive response to Again After Rainfall.

- If Yoo-Joon boasted about his license in front of me, I'd roll around praising him, saying, "Well done, my baby! You even managed that tough task awww. You will save the world next!” 😂

- It's funny how Joon flaunts his license, but it's even funnier that Leader Kang wants to make him a driver. 😂

- Did the same-age duo go get their licenses together? So they got Type 2 licenses? Going for Type 1[1] with flair? (I am obsessed over useless details)

However, the general public's response was still lukewarm.

Expectations were high. People wanted to see more Korean-centric content this season through fan cams and articles on UTube compared to the previous season. However, viewers were disappointed to note that even basic preparation scenes were missing from episodes one and two.

- You'd think it was a solo broadcast for Chronos. 😂

- It felt like the broadcast was too focused on pleasing Chronos fans. It was all just sleep and no performances, yikes.

- The above comment is ridiculous. Chronos only had about ten minutes in episode one, idiot. You wouldn’t have complained if this was another solo singer. People sure love yapping.

- Why don't you complain about other cast members filling up the first episode? You all seem to have a lot of complaints about idol participants.

- Honestly, it's a bit weird to not show even one scene of music performance practice in a music variety show. Was it like this last season too?

- Yes.

While both fans and the general public expressed dissatisfaction with the members’ screen time, their desires were at opposite extremes. Since the Again After Rainfall team recruited idols, it was true that they primarily targeted their fans. Therefore, the general public wished for the performances to be shown sooner.

While many aspects were being discussed among fans with videos, GIFs, and screenshots, the general public found the show boring. However, neither the production team nor the cast was anxious. Serious practice and performances would be shown on episode three. Chronos and the production team were confident in the quality of the performances, and the negative comments were not as numerous as they had expected.

Once the performances started, the negative public opinion would naturally fade. In a few days, clips from episode three's performance would be pre-released. Thus, the Chronos members simply enjoyed the fans' reactions and well-edited screenshots, engaging with fans on the Q-app about the aired episodes.

Meanwhile, Kang Joo-Han and Suh Hyun-Woo were in a serious meeting with YMM staff.

***

Ding!

A notification sound that a Q-app live session had started could be heard. Goh Yoo-Joon, Jin-Sung, and Yoon-Chan were probably sharing their belated impressions about the Again After Rainfall episodes with the Rings. Regardless of the public reaction, both we and the fans were very excited and enjoying this situation.

In the midst of this, Joo-Han and I were sitting expressionlessly and facing the company's staff.

“Guys, reacting so strongly isn't going to solve anything," Supervisor Kim irritably said.

Joo-Han was firm in his stance. “Sir, we can't function in an unstable environment. How is Su-Hwan hyung supposed to handle our schedule by himself? During the music video shoot, you guys barely managed to care for us even with the help of the stylist noonas and Supervisor Kim.”

“I said we'd hire someone during the comeback. This isn't something you kids need to worry about."

“This is definitely something we need to worry about. It doesn't seem like we are meddling in others' affairs to me."

“Ugh, you guys."

The director’s frustrated sigh reminded me once again of our demands. “We need to be protected. Strong measures are necessary."

We requested terminations and lawsuits from the company. They were angry at our sudden demands, but they couldn't yell or berate us because we were Chronos. We were the current hot group on YMM's growth track. Thanks to the recent advertising effect and buzz from Again After Rainfall, we were the idol group receiving the most attention at the moment.

This was the big difference between a major and a minor agency. Unlike large agencies, once an idol group from a small agency made it big, they gained a significant amount of influence. For a company that even struggled with sales, launching an idol group required sheer luck and relied on the potential of each member. Once the group debuted, their treatment quickly improved. The CEO had even taken out a loan to move our accommodations and appease the mistrust of the members and the pressure from the fans.

“Can't you be patient?"

We silently shook our heads. The director tried to say something else, but held back and sighed. Another characteristic of small agencies was that the treatment of each member varied in importance. This was something I felt from the changing treatment of the trainees and recognized as a fact after stepping into the industry as a trainer.

Joo-Han and I were among the most well-treated members within Chronos. I was the sub-leader and the member with objectively the most popularity within Chronos, and Joo-Han oversaw the overall production of our songs. Therefore, we had the biggest influence on the company. Our demands were rather bold.

“If you don't take strong action, we will proceed with personal lawsuits as mentioned."

Supervisor Kim's face turned pale. A personal lawsuit felt different to the public than a lawsuit at the company level. A company lawsuit might show that, although the company had been negligent in staff management, it was still taking steps to protect the artist.

However, an artist proceeding with a personal lawsuit could suggest that the company prioritized protecting a staff member who leaked personal information over the artist. This could lead to issues between the company and the artist, automatically delaying the upcoming comeback.

According to Ji-Hyuk from High Tension, losses from delaying comebacks were significant. A company like YMM, which had been procrastinating in hopes that the buzz would die down as it looked out for its own well-being, might only be spurred into action by such measures.

“We are not saying we won't respond. We are discussing how to respond with the least impact, which will also ensure no incidents for your comeback."

“We need an immediate response. Some members even had their family members’ phone numbers leaked."

What was there to wait for when we had already suffered? Of course, we had no intention of delaying our comeback. Considering the amount of effort we had put in and how much the fans were anticipating our comeback, we couldn’t postpone it.

However, we didn't let that show. Even a clumsy act like this should prompt some action. If YMM still refused, we would truly proceed with personal lawsuits.

The decision was easy when thinking about which side would suffer more. The problem was, whatever decision was made, Supervisor Kim, Su-Hwan, and even the executives would be heavily criticized for neglecting the artists and how they managed their staff.

“…Alright. We were going to fire Hyuk-Soo and post an official notice anyway even if you hadn't said anything."

Liars. They had planned to covertly fire him, waiting until the fans would not suspect the dismissal of a staff member for leaking personal information.

“Let's just wait one more day. We will find a way to respond without making things worse. Don't mention lawsuits or anything, you guys. We will handle it."

The executive couldn’t do anything else if we actually went through with personal lawsuits. Eventually, he gave in.

We got up, somewhat incredulous but relieved. “Please take care of it. We trust you. We will go back to practice."

After we left, It took less than a day for the issue to be resolved.

1. YMM Entertainment fired manager Hyuk-Soo in the evening.

2. The road manager and his girlfriend were selling Chronos' information both domestically and internationally.

3. All twenty-one usernames used to sell the information on the website were disclosed.

4. The recent dormitory break-in incident also occurred because the perpetrator bought this information.

5. Notices and apologies regarding the anticipated lawsuits were posted on the company's website and Chronos' online fan community.

The news circulated quickly and became a hot topic, and many fans were outraged. This obviously resulted in a backlash against YMM.

However, everyone at the company knew that this was the best course of action. It was bittersweet to see that such an issue, which had been dragged on ambiguously for weeks, could have been resolved in just half a day with the simple threat of personal lawsuits.

1. The different types of driver's licenses refer to different classes of vehicle operation rights. Type 1 allows the holder to drive a larger and more variety of vehicles like transmission trucks and buses. Type 2 is a more restricted license compared to Type 1 and is more common in Korea. It is limited to operating smaller vehicles, like regular cars that meet specific size and weight criteria. This does not allow the driver to operate transmission vehicles. ☜

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