Idol Hides His Military Service

“Hyung, what are you watching again?”

“You’re here? Wanna watch too?”

“You’re the agency CEO, and you’re sitting here watching another group’s showcase. Isn’t this... breach of fiduciary duty?”

Park Taesu let out a dry laugh at the man’s whining as he barged into the CEO’s office without even knocking.

“We need to keep an eye on them. They might end up being Links’ biggest rival.”

“Oh, please. There you go exaggerating again. Three months—no, if they last long, maybe half a year? A project group has a built-in limit. What rival to Links?”

“For a project group, KJ put together a real setup.”

“Still a newborn company. Newbies have a ceiling.”

Even after Taesu explained, the man stayed lukewarm, replying like it was nothing.

“Jaehyeok, you guys were a newborn company too.”

“Yeah, and you know how much we suffered for years? We’re only just barely starting to breathe.”

Yoon Jaehyeok.

Back when he was a producer at TSP, he and Park Taesu had been close like brothers. But a few years ago, Jaehyeok left on his own, saying he wanted to run an agency himself.

It wasn’t some messy split, so they stayed in touch and met up now and then—and they were still close enough that Jaehyeok could show up like this just to talk.

Now he ran Big Art Entertainment, had gotten his boy group WTX on track, and had risen to a point where you could honestly call him a real agency CEO.

“We’re still tens of billions in debt. If WTX hadn’t bounced back, we would’ve gone bankrupt.”

“That’s the entertainment business. Whether you hit or you flop doesn’t just decide survival—it decides what kind of company you become.”

“SY, YH, even TSP... how many times did they eat dirt before they finally put out a proper idol group? You think KJ is different? A newborn is a newborn.”

“Maybe.”

“Huh?”

Taesu understood why Jaehyeok was skeptical about KJ and Iam—but this time, Taesu could feel it was different.

“Did you watch Iam’s MV?”

“No.”

“After the showcase, you have to. They’re going in a completely different direction from Links.”

“What’d they do that’s so different?”

“Starting with actually putting a story in the MV. It feels like they reinterpreted an old-school vibe through a modern lens.”

“That... isn’t easy.”

At Taesu’s words, Jaehyeok’s expression turned serious.

And it made sense—these days, idol MVs usually focused less on story and more {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} on showcasing the group’s concept, like a fashion runway.

So doing the exact opposite wasn’t an easy challenge at all.

“Just watch.”

Taesu pointed at the TV installed in the office, and Jaehyeok’s gaze naturally shifted to the screen.

Iam’s debut showcase stage, being livestreamed through YouTube Live.

“Huh?!”

“What the hell is that?!”

But the moment they saw the Iam members on stage, Park Taesu and Yoon Jaehyeok couldn’t help raising their voices.

Usually, for a showcase—especially a debut showcase, not a comeback—the agency obsessed over the members’ outfits.

In the idol world, nothing mattered like first impressions. Agencies didn’t want their group to get looked down on from the start, so they either drenched them in luxury brands or put them in custom outfits made specifically for the showcase.

When Jaehyeok debuted WTX, how many luxury labels had he begged just to borrow outfits?

That’s how important showcase styling was.

But—

Pick me now, pick me wow

The name that’ll make your heart flutter

Among all these countless stars

Pick me—now!

As they danced and sang Spotlight—the Agbaek theme song Jaehyeok knew well—Iam’s outfits were... different.

“Magical girls?”

Bright, flashy outfits loaded with lace and frills.

And it looked like they’d embedded beads here and there, too—storybook outfits that little kids would love.

Iam was performing on stage dressed like that.

“What is this supposed to—”

To Jaehyeok, wearing something that playful at a showcase—the very place that decided a group’s first impression—was basically suicidal.

If the image got branded as cheap, there was no undoing it.

[Let’s give Iam a big round of applause for finishing their entrance stage!]

Waaah!!!

But the crowd reaction was unexpectedly not bad—no, it was blazing hot.

“Why are they reacting like that?”

By Jaehyeok’s common sense, it made no sense.

“Was it... on purpose?”

“What are you even saying, hyung? On purpose? For this?”

Jaehyeok’s words came out sharp as Taesu stared at the stage with a meaningful look.

“The live online reaction isn’t bad.”

“What? Hand it over. I wanna see!”

Jaehyeok took the laptop sitting on the table from Taesu and started reading the YouTube Live chat scrolling in real time.

And unbelievably, just like Taesu said, the chat was full of friendly, positive reactions to Iam’s magical-girl outfits—so much that Jaehyeok started wondering if reality had broken.

“Considering Iam’s public popularity, this was a calculated move. A meticulous play to pull out positive reactions with a shock concept like this.”

Normally he would’ve snapped, Stop talking nonsense.

But the reaction really was good—and the messenger was Park Taesu, the head of a Big Three agency—so somehow it sounded like a plausible analysis.

[Your outfits today are really flashy. Are these what you’ll be wearing during promotions too?]

[No! For today’s showcase outfits, the Yours fans voted and recommended outfits they wanted to see us in. The one we’re wearing right now is one of those.]

[Oh! Then there are lots more outfits coming?]

[Yes! But we can’t wear all of them—so today, we’re going to draw outfits chosen by Yours from a random box! Please look forward to it!]

“Hyung, you said it was meticulously calculated.”

“That’s not what matters, Jaehyeok. A bold attempt like this—without skill—would just end as a passing trend.”

“Don’t change the subject, you old man.”

“Iam has both charm and skill. Aren’t you excited? Seeing Links—the total culmination of everything TSP planned—go head-to-head with Iam.”

“That much?”

“That much. After watching the MV that dropped yesterday, I became sure Iam won’t end as a one-hit trend.”

There wasn’t a hint of joking on Taesu’s face as he spoke to Jaehyeok.

***

“All right! Starting now, we’ll have a Q&A time where the members personally draw questions that fans collected in advance, and answer them!”

Jang Junseok’s hosting was so smooth, you’d believe he wasn’t an actor anymore, but a full-time MC.

“First up, Gahyeon—please come out and draw a question!”

“Yes!”

At Junseok’s cue, Lee Gahyeon—wearing a raccoon-shaped pajama suit—waddled toward the question box.

“No matter how I think about it, didn’t a ton of Links fans swarm the Yours fan café?”

“That’s a fair point.”

“I agree with Sion’s opinion!”

“Magical girls, and now animal pajamas? That’s too much.”

Not just Lee Gahyeon—every one of us was standing on stage in different animal pajama suits.

And honestly, it was hard to believe this miserable reality: that we’d even performed on stage wearing this.

- You’ll be wearing outfits the fans selected by vote.

We didn’t even know what today’s showcase outfits were until we arrived.

Producer Raon had only told us that we’d be wearing outfits fans selected at random—and that we’d naturally find out what they were once we got there.

Click, click!

Countless people were hammering camera shutters, taking pictures of us.

At least the crowd seemed to be enjoying our bizarre outfits, which was a relief—but that didn’t make them any easier to wear.

First magical girls. Second animal pajamas.

What were the fans thinking when they picked these?

It made you desperately want a sincere sit-down interview.

“Aren’t they cute?”

Im Yunkyung—the culprit who’d drawn the animal pajama outfits from the random box—must’ve felt the murderous energy. She started making frantic excuses, but it was already too late.

“Yunkyung. Animal pajamas... you crossed the line by a lot. It’s been a while since we’ve had a long, serious talk at night, right? Look forward to tonight.”

“Leader, that’s not fair! I didn’t put it in—I just drew it! And right now we need to focus on the showcase!”

Maybe she could tell I meant it—Yunkyung tried to change the subject.

But I couldn’t forgive this.

- Im Yunkyung in a squirrel pajama suit is so cute!!! Aaaah!!!

A rough, booming shout aimed at Yunkyung came from the audience.

She was still young enough for that kind of cute to work.

We weren’t.

Still, like Yunkyung said, now was the time to focus on the showcase.

“Um... the hardest part while preparing this album was probably... that our title track choreography is really high-difficulty, so...”

Lee Gahyeon was carefully answering the question she’d drawn.

Did they filter the questions in advance?

It was canned questions and canned answers, and it was starting to feel weirdly boring.

“Isn’t this boring?”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s a showcase. Shouldn’t we do something like a stunt or a special skill or something?”

When I murmured that to Ryu Ayeon beside me, she looked at me like I was insane.

“Hey. Do you think a showcase is a circus? This is where we introduce ourselves.”

“Still. It’s kind of dull.”

“Please, just for today, don’t cause trouble. Do exactly what they tell you!”

It was unfair. When had I ever caused trouble?

And, of course, my gut feeling was right.

“How do you feel about finally revealing your debut today?”

“First, we want to thank the fans who waited for us, and also CEO Kim Sanghyeok, Producer Raon, and everyone who worked hard while we were making our debut album, and always for us—”

Now it was Seo Ryujin’s turn—answering as the leader.

Haaahm.

And in that moment, I saw it.

As Seo Ryujin kept going, some fans in the audience started yawning without even realizing it.

‘At least Lee Gahyeon looked airheaded enough to be funny!’

Even if she said the same boring line, Lee Gahyeon was funny for some reason.

Seo Ryujin, on the other hand, had a magical ability to calm the room down.

Honestly, it felt like she’d decided to turn this place into a library because she was worried about the audience’s sleep schedule.

- Sion! Steal the mic!!!

It wasn’t just me—apparently the staff felt like this couldn’t go on either, because from behind the stage, they were giving me desperate signals to shut Seo Ryujin up.

“From here on, I’ll answer!”

“Lee Sion, what are you doing all of a sudden—?!”

I walked up to Seo Ryujin, who was answering with everyone’s hopes resting on her, and she protested, asking what the hell I was doing.

Without saying a word, I pointed at Producer Raon, watching us from backstage.

- Switch it. Now!

Raon couldn’t actually shout it, but she was opening her mouth wider than ever—screaming silently.

When Seo Ryujin saw her face, she had no choice but to loosen her grip on the mic.

She still didn’t seem to realize the terrifying disaster she’d caused. When she handed me the mic, her face was full of regret.

But now—

Now it was my time.

“Now we’ll ask Sion some personal questions!”

Junseok looked like he’d finally survived now that Seo Ryujin had stepped back, and he quickly shifted the vibe into a new talk segment.

“Oh! The first question is already really interesting. This one got the most recommendations from fans.”

“Ask me anything.”

“Sion likes Ronaldo, likes Seiker, and among Romance of the Three Kingdoms characters, likes Liu Bei—so how does a horrifying hybrid combo like that even happen? That’s the question from Yours nickname ‘Lee Sion’s Back-Slap Smash.’”

“...”

The other members’ question segment felt like mostly normal questions.

So why were mine like this?

I hesitated for a moment.

“Sion? Please answer!”

But stalling at a moment like this was a sin, so I decided to answer.

“Emotion.”

“Huh?”

“Ronaldo’s goals have emotion. Some people say Messi is better at soccer, but Messi’s goals don’t have emotion.”

- Wow, that’s a hardcore toxic Ronaldo fan...

Someone in the audience muttered that smear.

But it was an undeniable truth.

“Same with Seiker. Other players make great plays, but the only player who inspires me is Seiker.”

- Then why do you play top Xerath?

More hater smears flew at me, but I ignored them and kept going.

“Among Three Kingdoms characters, the only person who can throw hundreds of thousands of troops into the grinder for his brothers is Liu Bei. What Liu Bei does has romance.”

“So that’s why you like Ronaldo, Seiker, and Liu Bei?”

“Yes!”

That felt like a solid answer.

“Um... that was a very memorable answer. All right, moving on to the next question—oh! This one is about the entire team.”

Junseok pulled out a new question slip, smiling like he couldn’t wait to hear the answer.

“Do you have any goals you want to achieve while promoting as Iam? And if you do get number one, what kind of pledge would you make? That’s what Yours asked.”

Oh.

The moment I heard it, I thought, Perfect.

“Me included—none of the members will be satisfied with just one number one.”

“That’s a very bold ambition.”

The members and fans looked startled by my instant answer.

But they shouldn’t be.

“We won’t be satisfied with getting number one once. Not one, not two, not three... During this promotion period, our goal is to sweep every music show win—a grand slam! And if we achieve that grand slam...”

“If you achieve it?”

“I’ll do a Ronaldo, a Seiker, and a Liu Bei cosplay with Seo Ryujin and Ryu Ayeon, and we’ll hold a signing event in Myeongdong!”

Waaahhh!!!

A roar of cheers erupted from the audience—louder than anything we’d heard so far.

Even the reporters who came to cover our showcase were grinning as they hammered their shutters at my statement.

***

[LeBron-Sion’s Decision Showcase]

(A shot of Lee Sion stretching her fingers while shouting “Not one, not two, not three.”)

↳After Ronaldo, now LeBron? This bastard Lee Sion really has an eye for GOATs only.

↳What rookie declares a grand slam at a debut showcase? That’s insane.

↳If any other group, if any other member did this, people would call it arrogantㅋㅋㅋ Why does everyone just laugh it off when Lee Sion does it?

↳Even Links’ fandom is laughing and loving it.

↳This is Lee Sion!!! That guts from jumping the dorm fence isn’t dead yet.

[KJ Entertainment CEO’s facial expression change]

(His mouth falling open, Kim Sanghyeok’s eyes widening more and more.)

↳Give up. Looks like your idols are beyond controlling.

↳ㅋㅋ After this, when they finished the stage and walked off, pics went up on fansites of Lee Sion getting punched in the side over and over by Seo Ryujin and Ryu Ayeon.

↳Don’t tell me that pledge wasn’t discussed in advance?

↳Are we really getting Ryu-naldo, Seo-iker, Yoo-Sion?

↳Ahㅋㅋㅋ I can’t resist this. I bought the album immediately.

Click.

Silence filled the office.

Staring at the monitor, Sanghyeok said nothing, just clicking the mouse—while Raon stood beside him like a criminal.

“I’m sorry, CEO. I should’ve trained the girls better—”

“PD Raon.”

“Yes?”

Sanghyeok cut her off before she could finish her excuse.

“Album preorders increased by ten thousand copies after the showcase.”

“What?”

At Sanghyeok’s words, Raon let out a scream without meaning to.

Ten thousand copies was the kind of number that could be a typical girl group’s first-week sales.

For it to increase by that much was absurd.

“Even one music show win changes everything—from ads to event fees.”

“Yes, it does...”

“But if we grand slam...”

Sanghyeok stopped and closed his eyes for a moment.

Then he opened them again, and his mouth moved.

“We’ll need to prepare the cosplay.”

After finishing, Sanghyeok went back to clicking the mouse in silence.