WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

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Chapter 40

“Yes, the production team of  <Ultimate Idol> and participating idol group leaders, VOV’s leader Yeojun, WEEKANIZ’ leader Yuyoung, IONER’s leader Yeeun, Loop7’s leader Heerae, and Chenstin’s leader Yooho, are entering one by one. Please welcome them with a big round of applause!”

A big round of applause, my foot.

If even one reporter here clapped, I would personally hand the announcer a million won.

The experience of stepping onto a press conference stage for the first time…… Well, it wasn’t exactly great.

The photo journalists were busy snapping away.

The video journalists were glued to their cameras.

And the reporters were too busy typing up their articles to even glance up.

The only people here who actually clapped with any sort of enthusiasm were the production staff gathered in the corners of the room.

And honestly? I was more nervous than I expected.

It felt different from filming.

Like every single one of my cells was suddenly plastered with someone’s gaze.

However, those reporters probably couldn’t care less about me.

“Now, to start, let us watch the highlight reel! This reel actually includes footage from yesterday’s first recording and was edited just this morning!”

The announcer proudly recited their lines.

……Was this really something to brag about though? It was more like the editors shredded their souls into confetti and used the pieces to finish this stupid thing.

“Alright then, let’s watch the highlight reel together!”

Swoosh……

The video started with an animation of a comet with a long tail floating through space.

This almost screamed generic idol audition teaser.

[Shining Idols on stage]

With this tagline, clips of the idols’ past performances flashed on screen

[However]

[Can they shine forever?]

Following that rhetorical question a series of news articles began scrolling across the screen.

[VOV under fire for fan café inactivity… Logged in only ‘3 times’ in a year]

[WEEKANIZ’ Baek Gyeom: ‘I hate intrusive fans’ stirring up controversy on LiveJet]

I just knew that bastard Baek Gyeom would show up here.

I swear someday I’ll sew that mouth of his shut……

But Baek Gyeom wasn’t even the main issue here.

‘Why are they showing articles like these……?’

Why on earth were such attacking articles being used in the highlight reel for a prime time idol show?

To borrow the expression the Status Window used, I detected ‘moisture’ on my back.

[IONER embroiled in airport altercation with fans… Seen yelling and shoving]

[(Reporter: Park Doyoon) There is testimony that the IONER leader ‘used violence’ against a fan at the airport.]

……Wait? Park Doyoon?

[On the 23rd, a video titled ‘IONER fan being shoved and yelled at’ was uploaded to an online community.]

‘Park Doyoon. That’s me, right……?’

[WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung: “I’ve regretted becoming an idol.”]

[(Reporter: Park Doyoon) WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung sparked controversy by saying, ‘I’ve regretted becoming an idol.’]

[Yuyoung admitted to fans during a stream on LiveJet ‘To be honest, there are times when I regret it.’]

[……However, Yuyoung’s statement is being criticized for being overly candid. Online fan communities voiced their opinions stating, ‘He must have known that fans would be upset by that. How utterly reckless’......]

[… Recently, ‘attitude controversies’ among idols have become increasingly frequent. Beyond just disappointing fans, some argue that idols now lack professionalism. It’s time for idols to embrace responsibility to shed the stigma of having ‘dead-fish eyes’.]

This is…… Karma, isn’t it?

“……”

I once thought while watching Baek Gyeom….

No, actually, it wasn’t just Baek Gyeom.

It was a universal thought I had about people who spoke recklessly or were overly consumed by self-confidence.

Words that stabbed others would inevitably come back to stab you someday.

I still believed that.

Actually, I believed it more strongly than ever at this moment.

Because right now, I have been stabbed with a 100% fatality rate, damn it……

“Sigh…….”

Was this also a form of suicide?

And suicide didn’t even come with insurance payout.

“Whoa, that’s brutal…… Did that reporter come here today?”

“I checked the guest list with CP Park earlier. He’s not here.”

“Oh, what a shame. Such a key contributor to this program… I wonder why he didn’t come.”

“Haha, maybe he got reassigned to another department.”

I overheard the writers and PD whispering to each other, their conversation amplified by the large speakers like a weapon.

No, that person is actually here, you know?

Fully present and witnessing the end of his humanity right now, thank you very much.

Thus concluded the absurd, ego-infused article disguised as commentary by the infamous reporter, Park Doyoon.

Not long after, another piece of footage appeared on the screen.

This time, it was a clip from the weekly awards segment of KCN’s music program, <Music Now>.

The muted footage showed a female solo artist giving her acceptance speech after receiving an award.

And then a round spotlight effect appeared on the screen all of a sudden.

The light moved around, shining on the award recipient first, before wandering as if searching for another notable person to highlight.

Finally, it stopped on a man standing in the back row.

He seemed to be a member from Chenstin, though I couldn’t immediately recall which one.

“Uhm……”

The male idol presumed to be from Chenstin wasn’t even looking at the stage, despite the award ceremony happening right in front of him.

Instead, he seemed to be chatting with another idol member standing beside him, his head fully turned to the side.

Showing no regard for anyone watching, he shook his shoulders while laughing. Definitely not a good look.

When he was finally done with his conversation, I thought he would look forward again, but instead, he lowered his head completely, still not looking at the stage.

His disinterest and lack of focus were blatantly obvious to anyone watching.

[Where have the passion and dreams gone?]

The next clip appeared on the screen.

This time, it featured IONER.

It was a behind-the-scenes video shot by KCN’s affiliated magazine label for online distribution.

The members were sitting in two rows, four in the back and three in the front, arranged for an interview.

This time, the sound was included.

―Members of IONER, could you share your plans for the new year?

The reporter asked the group with a cheerful voice.

But the members seemed off.

It wasn’t even a difficult question, yet no one stepped forward to answer. Each of them just wore awkward expressions.

The reporter, clearly uneasy, forced a smile and said, “How about you, leader Yeeun?” eventually pointing one of them out.

Yeeun took the mic with a stiff expression.

―Well, just… I hope everyone stays healthy. Heath is the most important thing. Yeah.

―Anything else you’d like to share with your members or fans? There are plenty of things we need to protect, not just our health, right?

It was rare to see an interview where the reporter’s question was longer than the interviewee’s answer.

―Yeah, that’s true, but…… health really is the most important, so…… yeah.

And like that, the interview abruptly ended.

Oh wow. Yeah, that definitely was something that deserved the backlash it got.

[An idol without passion is no longer a ★!]

That bold slogan flashed across the screen, signalling the start of the edited highlight reel.

The first sequence resembled a fixed-frame surveillance camera.

A couple of people stood in the hallway, chatting.

Their faces were heavily pixelated, making it difficult to tell which group they belonged to.

Even the uniforms were totally generic, making it difficult to tell which group they belonged to.

Judging by the yellow and red of their uniforms, it wasn’t anyone from WEEKANIZ.

[??? : Ah, what the hell kind of training camp-like beeep is this……?]

[??? : What was even the point of telling us to come wearing our stage outfits?]

[??? : Urgh, what the hell? Screw this BEEEEP]

“Gasp.”

A stunned gasp echoed from somewhere.

The harsh censorship beeps covering the swearing sharply stabbed into my ears.

The room began to stir.

[??? : Ah, erm, I mean…… Isn’t it just because KCN told us to come?]

The camera zoomed in on someone slumped in the hallway, scratching his head in a purple tracksuit as they dropped a bombshell of a comment.

[??? : Feels like I’ve been drafted again……]

[??? : Can I get an exemption from enlistment if I do this show then?]

[??? : Sigh…… I should’ve gone for track and field instead of being an idol.]

Aah, damn it, no matter how you look at it……

……That was me, right?

And the idiots adding to the nonsense after my resigned comment obviously were Baek Gyeom and Yoon Sanho.

“Wow, that’s rough.”

The guy who had just gaped moments ago chimed in again, this time backing up my spiraling disbelief. Thanks for the support, I guess?

[In an era where 200 idol groups debut every year]

[What makes one idol group succeed, and another fail?]

[What makes one person succeed, and another fail?]

[Reigniting the passion of those who’ve lost their dreams and drive begins now.]

[Boys, awaken your sleeping dreams]

[<Failed Idol> Reset Project.]

[<Ultimate Idol>]

[First broadcast on KCN, 10th, 7 pm.]

……In all the press conferences I had attended up until now, had there ever been one this silent after the highlight video ended?

It was like everyone collectively dropped dead.

I had already thoroughly killed myself with those damn articles that came out before.

(Though, to be fair, I was pretty sure the rest of the guys sitting next to me were feeling the same way.)

Even the reporters seemed too stunned to react, as if they couldn’t process the shocking tone of the highlight video.

And why wouldn’t they be? This was blatantly……

A video with the clear intent to criticize.

Were they for real? They actually managed to get a program with such a provocative concept greenlit by both our agencies and the broadcasting network?

I couldn’t believe it.

I didn’t want to believe it.

“Erm…… Yes. That was certainly an impactful highlight video. It felt almost like we were watching a hard-hitting investigative documentary addressing pressing social issues, rather than a lighthearted variety program. It doesn’t seem to be just a simple entertainment show, does it? PD Kim, could you explain the concept behind this program for us?”

Even the announcer seemed a bit flustered.

It looked like they only received the cue sheet and script but hadn’t actually seen the highlight reel until now.

Honestly, though, the more I thought about it, this might be the kind of video that shocked you more the second or third time you watched it. Having to see it just once might actually be better.

“Yes. It seems like everyone was a bit surprised by the highlight video. Understandably so, haha. But, well, that’s actually the honest intent of our program.”

Amidst a room full of complete silence, an oddly haughty voice began to echo, totally at odds with the mood.

“Do you know how many groups debut in Korea in a single year? Nearly 200 groups. And how many aspiring trainees dream of becoming idols? Roughly speaking, around 3 million. 3 million dreamers and only 200 debut groups. Statistically, the odds of debuting are incredibly slim, hundreds to one. But there’s a phrase that’s been trending recently in idol fandoms. ‘Dead-fish-eyes’. Have you heard of it before?”

PD Kim immediately continued.

“As you saw in one of the earlier articles, it’s a term used to describe idols who appear lifeless, as though their eyes lack focus. It’s about idols showing disinterested attitudes during fan events, or, as we saw earlier in the interview footage –no offense to our guest, leader of IONER – being somewhat unprofessional in their conduct. These are real issues that have been observed. So, while our program may feel a bit intense and rough around the edges, our intention is to candidly address these problems and help them navigate their professional dilemmas and slumps in a healthy way.”

……I had no idea where to even start.

Now, I could literally feel the moisture on my back.

However, apparently, the PD wasn’t done speaking yet.

Could it be that the real loose canon here wasn’t the idols but that guy?

“As for the observation footage from earlier, I’m sure some of you may be wondering why we would show something like that, right? But here’s how I see it. While talent is undoubtedly critical for achieving success in any career, having genuine respect for and love toward one’s profession is equally vital. It’s about being honest with yourself. Through this program, I hope everyone involved can take the time for self-reflection and think ‘What about me? Have I been living up to my role?’ That’s the mindset with which we created the show and the direction we’ll continue to take it.”

I saw the PD set down the mic with a satisfied expression.

Somehow, the last lingering doubts in my mind about this show’s premise had been completely resolved.

They had been about the rating.

5% viewership.

How could a stuffy TV network pull off such high ratings?

And the participants weren’t even top-tier groups. How could they possibly achieve a miraculous 5% viewership rating?

The answer was simple.

A hybrid spectacle combining the morbid allure of ‘watching a fire’ with the thrill of ‘watching a fight’.

It was, quite literally, a ‘hybrid battlefield’.

‘If you’re going to kill me, couldn’t you just do it right here and be done with it?’

I muttered to myself as I stared into the void, but the strange software from another world remained just as silent as ever.

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