[Chief, please cover me with some support fire.]
Upon receiving Seon-ho’s text, Yoo Ayeon replied playfully.
[Roger that.]
The reply was playful, but the result was anything but.
A clear and decisive support fire came flying in.
The moment the CP in charge of Idol War called MOK’s PR team, the situation was effectively over.
“Ah, yes. So…”
Team Leader Choi Ki-seok of the PR team, who was on the call, glanced at Seon-ho and said,
“You’re saying you decided to cast them after seeing our company’s Manager Han Seon-ho, right?”
The other PR team employees nearby all turned their eyes toward Seon-ho upon hearing that.
There were only two PR team employees left at the office due to the blacklist situation, but just one person was enough for gossip to spread quickly.
Now, it was only a matter of time before the entire company found out.
“Of course. Our company has an excellent training system. You shouldn’t underestimate new managers. These days, the newbies are even better at networking.”
Team Leader Choi chuckled warmly, playing along with the CP on the other end of the line.
Just moments ago, Choi had been fuming after meeting with reporters over the blacklist incident.
With reporters swarming in to sink their teeth into the scandal, he had been burning with anger—but now, his mood had lifted.
“I’d love to meet you in person and hear more about the program. Are you free this evening?”
As Choi said, there were still hurdles left before Personal Color could be finalized for casting.
They needed to negotiate sponsorships for the show and show appropriate courtesy to the KBM Variety Department.
If push came to shove, MOK’s popular idol group might even have to make a special appearance on Idol War.
However, with the CP being this cooperative, as long as MOK showed some good faith, there shouldn’t be any major obstacles to casting.
It was a fantastic opportunity.
For the team Personal Color, it could be called a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Idol War was a program that every agency with an idol group would desperately want.
Airing on public broadcaster KBM.
The biggest viewership share among weekday variety shows, airing on Wednesday nights.
The previous show was the hit variety Chicken Race.
Since Chicken Race had been idol-focused, there was a high chance that Idol War would inherit its viewership.
In truth, MOK had been eyeing Idol War for a while. They just hadn’t had a team suitable for it.
Personal Color and Low Five were still a tier too low, and Blacklist and July Girls were already so popular that they didn’t need to join a survival show.
But if the CP himself wanted to cast Personal Color?
It was something to celebrate with open arms.
“Understood. We’ll need some time to discuss internally. I’ll call you back around five o’clock on this number.”
After exchanging a few more words, Team Leader Choi ended the call.
The moment he hung up, his gaze shifted to Han Seon-ho, who was standing with Kang San and Kwon Hosan.
“Hey, rookie!”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re Han Seon-ho, right? Hye-mi’s former manager and a friend of Prefer? I can tell just by looking at you.”
“I’m the rookie manager Han Seon-ho.”
“What did you do to make the CP guy like you so much?”
Seon-ho gave a small smile at the team leader’s joking question.
That made Choi Ki-seok burst out laughing.
“Oh, look at that smile. What, is it already confidential information?”
“No, sir.”
“Yeah, right! Hey, looks like Kwon might finally be walking the flower path, huh? This is huge!”
“Is the CP being favourable?”
“Favourable? He’s downright favoured toward you.”
Muttering to himself, the PR team leader started mentally calculating.
“If we sprinkle some groundwork at KBM’s drama department, we can promote Jia’s drama at the same time. Flood the media with articles, add a bit of noise marketing… We can even bury the blacklist scandal. It’s a total win-win.”
He looked genuinely thrilled.
In fact, Choi was one of the people who thought it would be a waste for Personal Color to fade into nothingness.
“Now, there are three key points. How well our PR team promotes, how good a song the A&R team can make, and how well the management team can support them.”
As he spoke, Seon-ho, who had been quietly listening, opened his mouth.
“I’m not sure if I should bring this up right now, but…”
“Go ahead, anything’s fine. What? You want me to talk about getting you a bonus?”
“No, not that. It’s about the song.”
“What about it?”
“After hearing about the potential casting, Prefer and I already worked on some songs.”
At Seon-ho’s unexpected words, Kwon Hosan asked,
“Songs? What kind of songs?”
“Songs that would suit Personal Color.”
“Together with Prefer ?”
“More accurately, I shared my impressions of Personal Color with Prefer. Like, this member gives this feeling, that member gives that feeling. Then suggested what kind of vibe might fit.”
Everyone at MOK knew that Seon-ho and Prefer were close, like a team.
But most people assumed Seon-ho was just lending his name because Prefer had financial issues.
Kwon asked,
“Was Autumn Leaf made the same way?”
“Yes. I conveyed the feelings I got from Hye-mi to Prefer. That’s how we’ve always worked.”
Team Leader Choi cut in.
“Wait a sec… So Prefer handles the technical side, and you handle the inspiration?”
“It’s not a strict division. Prefer handles all the actual composing. I just pass along the sources.”
“No wonder… I used to wonder how a composer with social anxiety and agoraphobia could make songs that felt so… full of love. Turns out, that scent was yours.”
At the word “love,” Seon-ho looked puzzled.
“Love?”
“If you listen to Autumn Leaf, you can feel that the composer loves not just Hye-mi but also Su-rim. And if you listen closely, it feels like he loves the listeners too. If that’s not love, what is?”
Choi’s words were surprisingly sharp.
Because Seon-ho’s goal in making songs was genuinely to make people feel happy through music.
Seon-ho nodded.
“Maybe it is my influence. I just want as many people as possible to feel happy when they listen to music.”
That word “influence” from Seon-ho carried the weight of a quiet affirmation.
A firm assertion that Prefer’s role was crucial in creating the song.
There was a reason why Seon-ho chose to reveal his influence like this.
He had arranged for Personal Color to appear on a variety show, aiming to use it as a way to draw out the group’s true feelings.
But what if he couldn’t create the song to be used for the show?
It would all be in vain.
It wouldn’t be entirely meaningless since it’s still good for Personal Color… but…
The Idol War couldn’t end up being just a temporary fix that covered up Personal Color’s issues.
It had to be a real solution.
That was why Seon-ho had revealed his influence.
Not to show off, but to broaden his range of action.
Sure enough, an immediate response came.
“Hm… so you’re saying you conveyed to Prefer the feelings you had for Personal Color, like when you made ‘Autumn Leaf’?”
“Yes.”
“Can I hear the song?”
“I do have a song that matches the theme for the first week of Idol War, but it’s not a finished version yet.”
“The first week’s theme? What is it?”
“Team introduction.”
“Ah, right. Since one team gets eliminated every week, and there are seven teams competing over eight weeks… the first week must be like an orientation.”
After saying that, Choi Ki-seok turned to Kwon Hosan and asked,
“Would it be okay if we listened to it now? I know I’m not part of the A&R team, but I’m really curious.”
“Of course. I’m curious too.”
When Seon-ho took out his phone, Team Leader Choi Ki-seok brought over a Bluetooth speaker.
As expected from an entertainment company, even the PR team had a Bluetooth speaker.
A moment later, the song Seon-ho had stayed up all night creating began to play through the speaker.
Three people from the PR team, two from the artist management team, and one from the actor management team—
In total, six people let the lively rhythm seep into their ears.
Choi Ki-seok had always thought Personal Color was a team with unfulfilled potential and had been paying close attention to them.
Because of that, whenever the A&R team created a song for Personal Color, he would often be the first to listen to it.
He had believed that the reason Personal Color hadn’t risen in popularity wasn’t because of the songs.
Given the prestige of the name MOK, the songs assigned to Personal Color had generally been good.
However, now—his thoughts changed.
The songs previously assigned to Personal Color were good, but they were just good songs.
This song, though…
How should I describe this?
After much thought, Choi Ki-seok finally found the right word.
The song Prefer created had a sense of “compulsion.”
A compulsion that made you think of Personal Color without even realizing it.
A compulsion that clearly implanted the team’s image in the minds of anyone who had seen them even once.
It was to the point where he thought that if Personal Color couldn’t succeed with this song, it might be better to just disband the team.
When the song, a little over four minutes long, ended, the first person to speak was Kwon Hosan.
“This… is the title something like ‘Paint’?”
“Paint?”
“Yeah, as soon as I heard it, it felt like five vivid colors splashed onto a white canvas. Even the chorus seemed like it would suit a title like ‘Paint.’”
Seon-ho replied with a smile.
“We were actually thinking ‘Vivid.’”
“Ah, Vivid.”
Kwon Hosan mumbled the word ‘Vivid’ a few times before nodding.
“That’s even better. The song’s really good.”
“So… would it be possible for Prefer to handle all the songs for Idol War?”
“Well, I can’t give you a definite answer right now… but personally, I’d like to suggest it to the higher-ups.”
Although he couldn’t explain it, Kwon Hosan had recently felt a subtle thread of hope forming for Personal Color.
And now, he thought he finally understood the nature of that feeling.
Kwon Hosan glanced sideways at Kang San. While everyone else was looking amazed, Kang San wore an expression like he had bitten into something bitter.
Strangely enough, it was Kang San’s sour expression, more than the others impressed faces or Seon-ho’s confident one, that brought him a sense of reassurance.
Kwon Hosan said,
“Seon-ho, let’s not tell the kids until the contract is officially signed. If we tell them too early and it falls through, they’ll be disappointed.”
“Understood.”
“Team Leader Choi, if it’s confirmed, could you contact us right away?”
“Of course.”
“And Team Leader Kang.”
Before Kang San could answer, Kwon Hosan added,
“We have another schedule. It’s okay if we leave first, right?”
“…Sure.”
But Kang San’s furious gaze wasn’t directed at Kwon Hosan—it was aimed at Han Seon-ho.
“Thanks. Let’s go, Seon-ho.”
With that, Kwon Hosan and Seon-ho left the PR team office.
Personal Color’s schedule wasn’t much different from the day before.
The only difference was that yesterday they had gone around university festivals in Gyeonggi Province, while today they were touring the greater Seoul area—and despite the shorter distance, the insane traffic made it take even longer.
In the midst of this repetitive schedule, Director Kwon Hosan and Seon-ho had formed a subtle sense of camaraderie.
It was natural. They were both keeping the same secret and waiting for the same news.
There were several times when they locked eyes while staring blankly at their phones and exchanged awkward smiles.
“Jiwoon, you drive. Seon-ho’s probably tired from the task I gave him yesterday.”
“Understood.”
They hadn’t told Jung Jiwoon about the Idol War casting deal.
Not because they didn’t trust him, but because there was no need to add another person to the list of those anxiously waiting.
Despite the growing nervousness between Kwon Hosan and Seon-ho, the schedule pressed on—and yet, no call came.
Not even at 1 a.m., after their final stage of the day ended.
Did something go wrong? Did the broadcasting station demand too many sponsorships?
On the road where the Personal Color dormitory finally came into view in the distance, Director Kwon Hosan was lost in a sea of worry and speculation.
And then—
bzzz bzzz.
His phone vibrated.
The caller was Team Leader Choi Ki-seok from the PR team.
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