episode_0170

“Okay, okay!”

“Look here!”

… succeeded in entering the charts.

[73rd Secret Girl – Rookies] New!

And it ranks a whopping 73rd…!

This may not seem like much at first glance, but it was actually quite something.

While all the other songs on the Top 100 chart got there with 24-hour views, our Rookies’ “Secret Girl” entered the chart with just 1 hour of views.

The initial ranking is 73rd, so it is certain that it will rise further in the future.

“Gyaa-!”

“Awesome!! Totally awesome!!”

Thanks to this, our rookies were immediately put into a festive mood.

Rookie YB members Seo Yu-jin, Park Yu-jeong, and Na Han-na were running around the living room shouting, and Lee Hye-jeong and Yoo Seol, although not over the top, had satisfied smiles on their faces.

After making a fuss like that, I, the leader, though a puppet, made a suggestion to the members.

“Okay, now that we’ve confirmed the charts, how about we go to sleep? It’s 1AM right now and we have to wake up at 6AM tomorrow too.”

I’m telling you all that I think you’ve all forgotten: Our break ended today.

Starting tomorrow, another tough schedule awaits us.

The other members heard what I said and only then did they nod with gloomy expressions.

“Ah… , right… .”

“That’s right… . Starting tomorrow, the hellish hamster wheel starts again… .”

Starting next week, I had to go around to each broadcasting station and appear on music shows, so it was clear that my schedule going forward would be even more difficult than it is now.

Realizing that we needed to get some rest, we decided to put aside our excitement for the charts and quickly go to our rooms to sleep.

So I took my roommate Seo Yu-jin and went to the room and lay down on the bed.

Seo Yu-jin, lying next to me as if it were natural, still had a smiling expression on her face.

“Do you like it that much, Eugene?”

“Of course! How hard is it to chart in just 1 hour! Even our current SAV seniors can’t get to 73rd place in just 1 hour? I’m so proud of our rookies!”

Certainly… , after the music site ‘Watermelon’ changed from a real-time chart to a Top 100 chart, it was nearly impossible to enter the charts in such a short period of time.

But our rookies accomplished the near impossible.

To give a rough idea of the reasons….

First of all, I really liked the song “Secret Girl.”

Secondly, Naa’s national popularity was beyond imagination.

Lastly, it was because the current idol world was a land of no-man’s land without any superhumans.

Currently, there are no girl groups signed to any of the big three entertainment agencies, and boy groups are also weak as most of the major groups have reached the end of their active period.

It really feels like Rookies are knocking on the door of the huge, empty castle that is the idol world.

“The ranking will probably go up tomorrow. So, let’s go to sleep.”

“Yes, hehe.”

So Seo Yu-jin forced her eyes to close like a child waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

As soon as Seo Yu-jin closed her eyes, I closed mine too.

I also couldn’t sleep.

73rd place… I had higher expectations because the chart ranking was higher than I expected.

I even… .

‘If this continues, won’t be ranked #1 on the Top 100 by tomorrow?’

I even began to harbor such somewhat vain expectations in my heart.

There were no obstacles blocking our rookies’ path, so I never thought it was impossible.

So I fell asleep dreaming that would reach number one on the charts.

And the next morning.

“Sister! Wake up quickly!”

“Um…, Eugene…? Why…?”

I woke up with a start at the sound of Seo Yu-jin, who had been sleeping in my arms, waking me up.

And the screen that Seo Yu-jin, who was very excited, showed me as she got up was… .

[11th Secret Girl – Rookies] New!

The ranking of was revealed, which rose to a whopping 11th place in just 5 hours.

Seeing this, Seo Yu-jin jumped around the room again in joy, but… .

“… … .”

I was left with my mouth wide open in amazement at the unbelievable results.

Rookies… was it like this?

Even in my past life, I knew about the existence of Rookies.

Since I, who had no interest in idols at all, knew the name Rookies, I can infer that Rookies were very popular in my past life too.

But is this it?

So I finished my schedule for that day feeling a little dazed.

And then that night… .

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

The other members who liked ‘s bigger-than-expected popularity also opened their mouths in surprise like me.

That would be true… .

[1st place Secret Girl – Rookies] New!

It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet… , so , which hasn’t even had a new tag on it yet, is already at number one on all music sites.

#1 on all music sites in less than 24 hours… .

And they’re a rookie… and they’re a girl group too… .

Perhaps right now, our rookies are making records that other girl groups haven’t been able to achieve.

Then Na Hanna spoke in a possessed voice.

“We’re going to a music show starting next Wednesday.”

“… Right.”

“… Are we going to get first place on our music show from the first week?”

“… … !”

The criteria for ranking music shows are based on a number of complex factors.

Unless you are a top-tier boy group, it is nearly impossible for a group to win first place on a music show in its first week.

but….

[1st place Secret Girl – Rookies] New!

The result before my eyes….

It seemed to whisper that it wasn’t just a dream for our rookies to win first place on a music show in their first week.

At this, a feeling of anticipation spread through our hearts.

**

Meanwhile, at that time, Rookies were ranked #1 on all music charts.

“Haaam~”

Han Si-woo, who was preparing a song to give to the Rookies in his studio, was yawning heavily.

“How many hours have I been awake for? … About 26 hours, I think.”

Since Rookies is a project group with a lifespan of one year…, it was clear that the members would be extremely busy during that one year.

But it wasn’t just the members who were busy.

Producing two mini-albums and two digital singles within a year was not an easy task no matter how skilled the producer was.

Even Han Si-woo worked on this alone, making it even more frustrating.

Han Si-woo got up from his seat to take a break from producing Rookies’ next song while drinking energy drinks like water.

“Ugh… .”

Han Si-woo’s studio was located in a high-rise building with a panoramic view of Seoul’s nightscape.

So, he drank a glass of water to come to his senses and looked at the night view outside the window… .

“Ah… .”

I realized something important and quickly moved back to my computer.

“Today is the release date of our kids’ music.”

Today was the release date of Rookies’ music.

To be exact, it’s already been 23 hours since the sound source was released.

Han Si-woo went to the music site, blaming himself for not paying attention in advance and not checking in time.

And the result is….

[1st place Secret Girl – Rookies] New!

Ranked proudly at #1 on the Top 100 chart.

At this, Han Si-woo blinked and checked other music sites.

“ and… .”

And only after confirming that was #1 on all music sites… .

“This is really crazy… .”

An exclamation came from his mouth.

In fact, even though he did make it, was a really well-chosen song.

That’s why Han Si-woo was confident that Rookies would one day confidently take first place on the charts.

But I didn’t know I would get first place this quickly… .

Han Si-woo naturally chose Ha Ye-rin as the main character of this whirlwind.

In the past, during the Naaah days, Han Si-woo heard from PD Shin that Ha Ye-rin was a parachute recruit.

She wasn’t originally scheduled to appear, but the advertiser forced Ha Ye-rin into the empty spot.

That means Ha Ye-rin might not have been in the Rookies.

Rookies without Hayerin….

Of course, the other members of Rookies were all charming friends too… .

“Still, Yerin Yang is almost a god.”

Because of the presence of Hayerin, Rookies was able to shine even brighter.

And Han Si-woo was almost certain that Rookies, which included Ha Ye-rin, could be placed among the top idols within a year.

“At this rate, we could even sweep the music shows this week.”

So he put down the drag while looking at the performance of with satisfaction.

I was planning to look around music sites to see who the Rookies’ competitors were.

And when I had pretty much dragged it down… .

“… Hmm?”

[32nd Python – Poison Heart] New!

He was able to find a song that was released on the same day and at the same time as Rookies’ “Secret Girl.”

It was the sound source of Python, a new girl group from his former workplace YW.

“32nd place… , the start is good.”

In fact, it’s strange that Rookies got to #1 less than 24 hours ago, but getting to #32 at this point is considered a huge success.

Looking at Python’s rankings, Han Si-woo recalled what his former co-worker and Python producer, Su-ah, had said.

‘When the girl group I’m producing now debuts… the term ‘big 3 entertainment companies’ will disappear. Because YW’s solo system will begin.’

Suah isn’t the type to be arrogant… What on earth made those Pythons say that made Suah say something like that?

But despite Sua’s grand statements, Python’s ranking was far behind Rookies.

Han Si-woo then felt light-hearted….

“You’ll know when you hear it yourself.”

I played some Python music, sat back in my chair, and closed my eyes.

He was so tired from the long work that he just closed his eyes and thought of listening lightly.

♪♬♬-!

“… … .”

But as the intro played… and the voices of the Python members came out… .

“… … Hey.”

He got up from his seat, feeling as if he had just woken up.

And then….

♪♬♬-!

This time, I played the song again from the beginning with a decidedly not light heart.

“… … !”

The result was the same.

The moment he heard the song, the fatigue disappeared from his head and a refreshing shock burst out.

‘This feeling… .’

It was a feeling I had felt once before.

The shock and emotion I felt when I first saw Hayerin on stage.

Those emotions that he could not easily feel were welling up in his chest as he listened to Python’s music.