Chapter 200. Everything Has Its Uses (4)

The members of Eddios headed to the waiting room prepared for them as soon as they arrived.
This was the largest room other than the main hall at Angel’s House. There were many mirrors, clothes, and cameras so it was just like a waiting room at TV stations.

“Ris, your eye make-up is ruined.”
“Where? Wait, you’re lying!”

Jung MinAh giggled after seeing that Christie An had put on thicker make-up on her eyes than usual.
The waiting room was usually tense, but as veterans, the girls were in a leisurely mood.
Although their expressions contained leisure, all of the people in the waiting room moved around busily.
Even Lee HyunJi applied powder to Seo HanYu’s face, trying to help, while KangYoon also covered up a pimple on Han JooYeon’s face with concealer.

“JooYeon has it the hardest this time.”
“……”

KangYoon’s soft words made Han JooYeon fall silent.
According to the original plan, they could prepare their next album with leisure.
She felt sorry to the members of the group since she had interrupted their rest and to KangYoon as well.
After the concealer makeup, KangYoon gave her the lipstick.

“What color was this again? Red vel… something. Anyway, you prefer this color, don’t you?”
“It’s red velvet. How did you know that?”

Han JooYeon looked at KangYoon in surprise after accepting the lipstick, but KangYoon replied with a smile.

“This much is basic since you guys are my kids. Well then. Looks like you’re all done. Change your clothes and get ready.”
“Yes.”

Han JooYeon blankly watched as KangYoon left the room.
No manager was as delicate as KangYoon. Moreover, he wasn’t a manager, but the President.
At that moment, Jung MinAh came to her.

“…You like him?”
“Whoa? Yeah…”

When Jung MinAh pouted in jealousy, Han JooYeon shook her head and chuckled.

“…Sheesh, I swear you’re haunting him.”

All members of Eddios knew that their leader liked KangYoon. They also knew that she got jealous easily.
Han JooYeon sighed seeing that their leader became childish whenever he was involved with something.

“Haunt him? What?”
“Nothing. I can understand. If it’s a guy like him…”
“Goddammit, what do you mean!”

When Jung MinAh became angry, Han JooYeon started giggling.
Thanks to this friend of hers, she felt like she was getting better.

***

MG Entertainment, China branch, located in Shanghai.
Inside the meeting room of a building that looked very fancy on the outside, the Branch President put down the script that the producer and a screenwriter had brought and shook his head.

[I apologize, but I don’t think JinSeo fits this role.]

This drama was a romantic comedy about a lady, who was over 90kg in weight, losing weight and taking both love and work. It was titled ‘The doll-like lady’.
However, the Producer seemed to have confidence in this work and tried to persuade him.

[This drama will make it big without fail. The plot is likable by both men and women. Moreover, we already have Zhong Taixu and Yang Zheng as her counterparts already. It will be perfect with Miss Min JinSeo.]

Zhong Taixu and Yang Zheng were extremely famous actors in China. Both of them were good-looking and had extremely good acting skills.
However, the Branch President was firm in his stance.

[Looking at the scenario, it looks like JinSeo will have to act as a fat lady. That means JinSeo will have to dress up like a fat lady. It’s not easy for her to show such a side.]

When the Branch President looked like he would not change his mind, the screenwriter, a lady, spoke up this time.

[I am confident in my scenarios. Moreover, as far as I know, these types of scenarios are quite common in Korea as well. These types of scenarios are becoming more and more popular in China as well. I hope Miss JinSeo can come to a decision after reading it.]
[……]

Even the writer tried to persuade him proactively, but the Branch President did not give approval easily.

‘With JinSeo’s personality, I don’t know what decision she would come to. However, this does not fit with the company’s instructions. An action-genre would be much better.’

The company’s motto was that she should only show the beautiful and princess-like side of hers.
It was better to not take this scenario if she had to disguise herself as a fat woman. If this was action, at least she would look cool. But a fat lady?
The Branch President thought a little before speaking.

[…Okay. I shall contact you later after looking over it.]
[We’ll be waiting for a positive reply.]

After seeing the Producer and the Screenwriter out, the Branch President returned to the meeting room.
At that moment, a female employee, who was cleaning up the meeting room, was about to take the script.

“Assistant manager Yoon, just throw that away.”
“What? President, don’t we need to give this to Miss JinSeo to have her look over it?”
“…It’s fine. That will bring more trouble anyway.”
“Branch President?”

The female employee was shocked, but the Branch President did not retract the order.
In fact, he went a step further.

“Just shred it. Leave no traces.”
“…Understood.”
“Also, don’t tell anyone that those people visited today. Especially JinSeo, you got that?”

After warning the employee, the Branch President went back to his office.

‘JinSeo won’t stay put if she finds out though…’

If she found out, huge trouble would occur.
This was like not giving her a choice. She thought that something was going awfully wrong here.

‘Let’s just do as I’m instructed.’

However, she came to a realistic decision and brought the script to the shredder.

***

Wonju, Gangwon-do.
Although the showcase took place in the countryside, many people had arrived in order to meet Eddios.
The Angel’s House’s sports field had already become a temporary parking lot, and some of the fans even rented a whole coach in order to come here.
There were five hundred people attending the showcase.
Considering the size of the audience or the size of the stage, it was no different from a fan meeting.
However, various instruments were installed within the hall, while many cameras were recording the whole thing.
This was a large-scale project that would be broadcasted live to FinesTok.

“The lights are shining–”

Inside the hall where the rehearsal was happening.
The six girls danced in unison while Han JooYeon sang.
A powerful voice rang out from her and the sounds were adjusted accordingly to the venue.

“So this is what it’s like to be on the scene.”

President Ha SeYeon’s eyes gleamed as she exclaimed at the sounds from the speakers that rang in her heart.
KangYoon smiled as he replied to her childish reaction.

“This is why people go to live concerts. Is this your first time at one?”
“Other than during college festivals… I don’t remember going to one.”
“Looks like you studied a lot during your student days.”
“I might look like this, but I majored in engineering. Things turned out this way. The boys there were all not to my liking… oh my, what am I even saying.”
“Hahaha. Majoring in engineering means not going to concerts? I didn’t know that before.”

President Ha SeYeon’s face reddened a little as she realized that she was using weird logic.
KangYoon concentrated on the light that Eddios was making with a smile.

‘It’s white. What is the mechanism behind making a silver light?’

Even while recording this album, all he saw was a white light.
Although white light was sufficient to satisfy the audience, KangYoon wanted more.
He didn’t want to stay satisfied with just white light and wanted to create music that produced silver light.

‘to your heart — I’m’”

Ailee Jung winked and twirled her fingers.
seeing that, some of the staff cheered soundlessly while waving their hands.
It was at that moment.
The white light shook and the light became more intense.

‘It’s being influenced by the choreography. It looks like I should make that stand out a little more.’

While watching Eddios’s dry rehearsal, KangYoon thought about a lot of things.
After the rehearsal, KangYoon headed to the lights director.

“Director, can I have a look at the progression for ‘White’?”
“Over here.”

KangYoon had a look at the progression of the lights that contained every single beat of the music.

‘I’d better remove all the lights with color on it. And the psychedelic lights too. Wouldn’t it be better if I used moving lights?’

After thinking, KangYoon spoke his opinion to the lights director.

“Please remove all the lights that have color.”
“That will make things bland though. Is that alright?”
“I think we should focus on contrast. Also, why don’t we add moving lights for a fancier effect?”
“Understood. Instead, can we do one more rehearsal for that?”
“Yes.”

KangYoon radioed the manager.

– Is it the dress rehearsal already?
“No, they can come out as they are now.”
– Okay.

Soon the manager brought the members of Eddios back to the stage.

“Thank you, President.”
“Not at all. Please take care of us.”
“Yes.”

The rehearsal took place again.
The lights with the red and blue tones disappeared and the moving lights took their place. The stage became somewhat simpler.

“Oh you’re gleaming–”

When Ailee Jung stepped forward, the three spotlights installed at the center all shone down upon her. The lights overlapped with each other to create a fancy effect.
The remaining members of Eddios waved their fingers in the air and made her stand out. The gloves they were wearing stood out against the light.
After the rehearsal, the audience started entering the hall one by one.
People started sitting down on the five hundred chairs prepared for them. At the same time, red lights appeared on the cameras, indicating that they were on air.
The curtains covered the backstage, and behind it, Eddios, KangYoon, Lee HyunJi, and Ha SeYeon gathered around.
Before any performance, Eddios became nervous. Knowing that fact, KangYoon spoke calmly.

“Many things have happened until now. But even so, you’re in a better position than when you just returned from America.”
“……”

Everyone nodded.
Back then, they had doubts about being able to make a comeback at all. If it wasn’t for KangYoon, none of them would have talked about releasing an album.

“I always say this, but…”
“Leave everything else to you and perform to our best efforts?”

When Jung MinAh interfered, KangYoon made an awkward smile.

“…You know me well.”
“How many times do you think we’ve heard that?”
“Hahahahaha.”

Everyone giggled.
KangYoon also chuckled and put his hand out.

“Go and break a leg. We are~”
“Eddios! Dreamy~ Eddios! Showtime! Eddios!”

The nine pairs of hands all rose into the air.
Everyone became determined and the members of Eddios stood in line.
Han JooYeon also stood at the right end, which was her beginning position.
At that moment, KangYoon approached her.

‘You’re too tense. You’ll get injured like that.’
‘Ah… yes.’

Like always, KangYoon patted her shoulders before going off somewhere.

‘…Should I create a big scandal too?’

Just as Jung MinAh grumbled on the inside, the sound director’s voice could be heard over their earpiece.

– We’re starting.

When everyone nodded their heads, the curtains rolled down and the members of Eddios showed up in front of the audience.

“Waaaaaa—-!!”

The showcase for Eddios’s Christmas single, ‘White’, among the cheers from the audience.

“I will stay with you and look after you — we all want you to stand up again–”

With Han JooYeon’s voice as the start, Edddios’s stage began and the audience all stood up from their seats.
Although there was the handicap that she was involved with a scandal, Han JooYeon looked at the audience with determination.

“Cheer up — We came all the way here — just a little more —”

Her voice rang even more within the hearts of the audience.

“Waaaa—!”

The audience cheered for Han JooYeon, who seemed to be more energetic than ever today. The scandal? Everyone here didn’t mind such a thing and waved their hands.
Seeing that, Han JooYeon seemed to have gained more energy and showed the full extent of what she could do.

“I don’t know for sure– but I know that we can change this — you! are the main -”

Seo HanYu was the next one to sing.
As Han JooYeon had gone full-power from the beginning, Seo HanYu had to raise her voice as well.

‘Unni…’

No one among the members of Eddios could win against Han JooYeon in terms of vocal power.
Seo HanYu glared at Han JooYeon briefly before continuing with her part.
KangYoon’s eyes gleamed when she saw that the light had become even stronger than what he saw during the rehearsal.

‘Looks like JooYeon is working hard. Is she planning to spend all of her energy in one hour?’

He had just told her that there was no need to be so tense, too…
KangYoon shook his head.

“Looks like JooYeon’s quite passionate today.”
“You tell me.”

Lee HyunJi muttered as she was of the same opinion.

‘I told you not to push it.’

KangYoon shook his head thinking that singers were very stubborn beings.

***

Perhaps thanks to Han JooYeon’s efforts, the showcase ended on a positive note.
Eddios’s Christmas song, ‘White’, started wiping the charts, and the girls started an intense schedule.
Although the scandal was mentioned in the news article at times, KangYoon did not stay still about it.

– World Entertainment claims damages against Hidden Catch
– Hidden catch sued for defamation of JooYeon of Eddios
– Intruding a celebrity’s private life? Is Hidden Catch going to be sued?

Around two weeks before Christmas, the war between World Entertainment and Hidden Catch surfaced on the internet.