WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

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

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Chapter 44

The atmosphere in the waiting room was completely different from before.

Everyone looked pale, as if all the blood had drained from their bodies.

“……We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”

Meeting my gaze, Heerae gave an awkward laugh.

I forced out an equally awkward smile in response, but inside, I was far from okay.

More than anything, I could feel cold sweat forming on my back.

A physical reaction that always hit me when I sensed a threat to my life.

[Notoriety : 75

Notoriety Keyword: Backroom deal]

“Hah…….”

Looks like Kim Heetae’s article is hitting hard.

What did he mean by ‘connections’? I basically strong-armed my way in!

……No, well, if you thought about it, this was actually still better.

After that, I kept scanning the endless flood of related articles.

Fortunately, none of them seemed as devastating as Kim Heetae’s clickbait nonsense.

Some were even criticising the show itself.

<‘The Ultimate Idol’…… A desperate grab for ratings? The show’s unreasonable ‘Tear everyone done’ concept>

Honestly, I agreed so much I almost wanted to send them a donation.

However, since I had no choice but to win this mess of a competition, I couldn’t afford to chime in.

“Leaders, we can’t leave yet. Please wait a little longer before heading out!”

There was still some time left.

I decided to stop reading the articles and used this short break to examine the source of my notoriety score, which was the most pressing issue.

I first checked the posts where people had shared articles and added their own comments.

<@ This is so brutal, I think I’m gonna get a stomach ulcer>

It was a fan whose profile picture was of Heerae.

<@ Wow, isn’t this practically character assassination? If it were me, I’d just bash my own head in with the mic and die lol>

Hmm…… I wasn’t exactly sure who the guy in the profile picture was, but it seemed to be one of IONER’s members.

<@ What even is this show? It’s screwing over idols, screwing over the fans, and neither the participants nor the main audience actually want any of this. Who the hell planned and approved this bullshit? I’m so horrified my hands and feet are trembling.>

└ Yeah, seriously…… I’m thinking about making a boycott meme. Our Chenchen’s already get hurt enough just from dancing, and now they’re supposed to get emotionally wrecked as well? No way……

Clearly Chenstin fans.

Since their group was still young, a lot of their fans seemed to take on a more nurturing, almost motherly role.

<@ Did they really have to joining this……?>

Even VOV’s fans seemed uneasy.

But no matter how far down I scrolled through the reactions, I couldn’t find a single person who seemed to be a WEEKANIZ fan.

What the hell?

My notoriety score had gone up a lot, so there had to be some sort of discussion about Ahn Yuyoung happening somewhere.

<@ Wow>

“Wow?”

I instinctively read it out loud.

What kind of reaction was that?

Was that good or bad?

At least they were on our side. The fan’s profile picture was a stage photo of Gong Haram.

I decided to narrow my focus and investigate further.

I clicked on their profile and switched to a timeline that only showed their own posts.

<@ This is gonna turn into the Ultimate Hate Comment Championship>

<@ Sounds fun. Gotta join in>

<@ There’s gonna be a live broadcast with audience participation, right?>

<@ What if that Tue guy…… gets shot to death by fans of that Mon guy…… on stage?>

└ This is just the flop idol route. ‘Group reshuffling’ mode.

└ Wow

“So that’s what that ‘wow’ meant.”

basically…… A spectator ‘watching a fire from across a river’.

Even though their profile picture was Haram, they were still bold enough to treat WEEKANIZ as if the group had nothing to do with them. It almost made me want to learn their ways.

As expected, the backlash from Chenstin fans was very intense.

They were already coming up with slogans calling for a boycott of <Ultimate Idol>, the idol personality destruction project.

<#HateCommentFactory_Boycott_UltimateIdol>

Seeing so many people adding their voices to the cause made me feel like justice was still alive and well……

But I couldn’t just ignore the fact that this was only a tiny fraction of the overall reaction.

After all, these were just opinions visible on the public feed.

A significant number of people were also sharing the boycott slogan on private accounts with added commentary.

The slogan had been shared 300 times, yet only two or three posts were actually visible when clicked. It truly was a strange phenomenon.

Now, with that being said.

Just because Chenstin’s fandom had gone full-on ‘Protect our Chenchen babies’ mode, did that mean the other fandoms were blindly following suit?

Not really.

Each fandom’s reaction had subtle differences.

For example, IONER’s fans. How should I put this……

Well, they were just as aggressive as Chenstin’s fans, but their tone was a bit rougher.

<@ Never seen a show that kicks idols down like this before…… What makes the network so confident that they can just beat idols like a drum? Teach me your way, lolol>

<@ Is this a fight between shit and chaff or something?>

└ If anything, the shit is just one–sidedly beating the chaff.

└ For a piece of shit, damn…… It sure acts like it’s married to the chaff. Damn clingy.

<@ Guys, but if they win, they get money and a song…… Our dear Yeeun’s the type who’d swim through sewage just to come out on top>

└ True, idols=money lolololololol

└ Facts. Gotta have cash so our Bumin can finally make an impact on the industry.

They had somehow mastered the art of both being self-deprecating and posting hate comments at the same time.

This kind of high-level skill wasn’t something you could just develop overnight. It required years of deep immersion in internet communities.

Watching them, I made a mental note to be extra careful around Yeeun.

First off, Yeeun might actually punch me ( Which, granted, could be spun into some kind of sympathy narrative, but… I really didn’t want to get hit. I mean, it would definitely hurt, looking at those solid fists that seemed like actual rocks)

Second, his fans would drag me through hell, slowly and relentlessly.

Like someone trying to murder me with a spoon, if that made sense.

VOV’s fans weren’t as combative as those of IONER.

Out of all the fandoms I had been monitoring so far, theirs seemed to be the most reasonable.

<@ T-T I really wish they hadn’t joined. This program…… It’s so obvious the kids are gonna get hurt. Is this really worth it……>

<@ Sigh, this is so upsetting T_T>

<@ Still, if they did something wrong, they should just apologize and work hard. That’s probably the best way to handle this……>

Not only did they react to the situation itself, but they even offered practical solutions, which made them seem like a pretty level-headed group.

Since the fandom was likable, the group’s members also came across as likable.

Especially that Yeojun guy. He was a total model student type, so there was no harm in getting close to him.

The downside was that they were so normal and sensible, that they wouldn’t attract much attention, no matter good or bad.

Playing it safe wasn’t an option for me.

The crazy guy who would even swim through a sewer to get on top was actually me, not Yeeun.

<@ Worried about our boys. I hope they’re at least getting fed properly.>

<@ If the producers are gonna make a show like this, they better make sure to handle things responsibly. Don’t just trample on kids who are trying their best.>

Loop7’s fandom was like a mutated version of Chenstin’s.

Wait, since Loop7 debuted first, did that mean that Chenstin’s fandom was a mutated version of Loop7’s?

Either way, they both had a critical stance toward the show, but the way they expressed it was different.

I had thought Chenstin’s fandom was full of motherly types of people, but after seeing Loop7’s fans, that thought completely disappeared.

The real moms were here.

<@ I’m worried…… Is the idol industry always like this? So harsh, so quick to curse at anyone who doesn’t agree with them. It’s hard to be a fan of our Muhan~ haha.>

└At that age, I guess it’s understandable. Ten years ago, I was the same…… Anyway, let’s just stick together and enjoy ourselves. Haha.>

There were quite a few posts that hinted at their actual ages.

How did Loop7 end up capturing the hearts of actual mom-aged fans?

The reporter in me was genuinely curious about that.

Did they drop a trot song or something?

After carefully observing each fandom’s reactions, I had a pretty good grasp of their tendencies.

So now, the most important question,

Where the hell were the WEEKANIZ fans?

……I had no clue.

There were barely any visible reactions.

And the ones I did see were like that Haram fan earlier, just dropping meaningless exclamations like ‘Wow.’. No one was actually expressing an opinion.

It was starting to feel a bit frustrating.

Then, a particular post caught my eye.

<@ Hmm…… Since it’s come to this anyway, let’s just adopt Haedun lolol>

Adopt?

I immediately clicked on the user’s profile.

Their profile picture wasn’t of any WEEKANIZ member.

It was just some random natural waterfall.

Not exactly relevant.

I started scrolling through their posts.

<@ Honestly…… He should just take this chance to switch to chan>

└ True, they have a separate team for choreography over there, so he wouldn’t have to come pump them out anymore just to live.

└ Right. Our Haedun wouldn’t have to do choreo slave labor anymore…… He’s the type who could shoot right up if he just had one proper chance, but too many people are holding him back.

└ He can’t rise to the heavens

└ Fuck T-T give our fairy his robes back, you broke-ass woodcutter

Oho, I see now.

This account seemed to be a public account run by a Haedun solo stan.

By ‘Chan’, they were probably referring to Chenstin.

They were making the absurd suggestion that Haedun should be ‘adopted’ into that group.

The reason being…… because he was in charge of creating our choreography?

Listen, kids. You may not know this, but Seo Haedun absolutely loved making choreography.

It definitely wasn’t because our members lacked ability…… Well, okay, maybe that’s a little true.

But anyway, Haedun enjoyed having full creative control.

Some fans, huh? Didn’t even know their own bias’ tendencies.

Or maybe Haedun’s poker face was just that unreadable.

This account only had 100 followers and followed 120 others, but every single post was a goldmine.

Well it was for me at least.

It was basically a living archive of everything Haedun’s solo fans wanted.

<@ Haedun switching to Chan (But M follows him like a hunchbacked old man) vs. Just staying where he is

└ Ah, shit

└ I can’t help but cry for him, this is just so tragic TTTTTT

└ It’s the difference between getting executed in a flower field or slowly drowning in mud.

……Who the hell is M?

Based on the context, ‘M’ seemed to be a member of WEEKANIZ.

Was there anyone in the group whose name started with an M?

Yuyoung, Haedun, Tae Oh, Haram, Baekgyeom, Sanho, Ire, none of them had an M.

So this ‘M’ probably was some kind of nickname exclusively used by Haedun’s fans.

‘…… Monday.’

Oh, right. WEEKANIZ’ fans often referred to the members by days of the week.

Yuyoung was Wolyoung (Monday), Haedun was Hwadun (Tuesdays), and Tae Oh would be Soo Oh (Wednesday)? I didn’t look up his stage name yet.

‘Monday…… Monday……’

“……Monday.”

Monday, Day of the moon..

MONDAY.

Fuck, it’s me.

Wait, this is bullshit. Seriously!

Why was I, no, why was Ahn Yuyoung seen as some kind of useless deadweight dragging down Seo Headun?

I wasn’t that incompetent, right?

I even sang better than Haedun, okay?

“Hah…… This is so messed up.”

The mere thought that comments like these would keep chipping away at my condition made my temples throb.

How the hell would I even rehabilitate fans like these?

They already had ‘Ahn Yuyoung is an incompetent idiot who only holds back Seo Haedun’ seared into their brains, and nothing would change that.

If Ahn Yuyoung danced better than Seo Haedun, they would hate him for outshining their bias.

If he danced worse, they would hate him for being incompetent.

Damn, this was tough.

“Driving me crazy……”

I muttered under my breath, slightly annoyed.

I must have been pretty engrossed in all this because only now did I start hearing the sounds around me again.

It seemed like it was finally time to leave.

With a nonchalant swipe, I refreshed the public account of that little demon behind the screen.

<@ ……Hey, what the hell is this?>

Huh, a new Pings post from just 3 seconds ago?

Attached was a seemingly ordinary screenshot of a Pings feed.

What is this??

“@weeknzz_liked this post……?”

……Wait.

What account was I using to browse again?

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