Entertainment Life With A Camera

Chapter 80:

Chapter 80

What’s our rank?

Who is the young independence activist who captivates the audience in the beginning of the movie ‘The Righteous Army’?

The connection continues in ‘Black Out’… Jo Min-hwan, Ian of Awi reveal a warm two-shot

The audience surprised by the cameo appearance… ‘Why are you there?’

“This is already released.”

Fortunately, there were no malicious comments. 

The fans had already taken over the article’s comments. Ian browsed through other entertainment news.

“Huh?”

A picture of Diamond’s activity period was hanging on one side of the portal site.

‘Who is the rising trot star in the first episode of ‘The Man of Trot’?

…Lim Tae-woo, a former member of the idol group ‘Diamond’, won the hearts of the judges. 

He impressed the viewers with his handsome face, talent, and story.

Lim Tae-woo received good reviews from the judges and ranked first in real-time search after the broadcast.

Ian put down the water he was drinking and skimmed through the article. Jo Tae-woong tapped Ian, who was staring at his phone.

“Is there anything interesting? Break time is over, we have to go.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Ian turned off his phone. Lim Tae-woo would probably do well if he had luck and skill.

***

Time passed and it was the day of Awi’s comeback showcase. 

Awi ate the support food sent by the fans and went up on stage.

They shouted their group greeting and sat down after the photo time.

“This album was participated by all members, can you briefly explain how the work process was?”

“Jin-hyuk and I set up the framework, and we worked on the songs freely with the members’ opinions. There were members who learned composition, so there was no difficulty in working.”

Lee Joo-hyuk added with a smile.

“The members were a lot of help.”

Ian also chimed in.

“It’s almost like Joo-hyuk hyung did all the work.”

There were more reporters than last time at the press showcase, and they kept pressing the shutter.

“The title song is a Latin pop genre, is it similar to the songs that were popular in pop music last year?”

“I think it’s a more exciting song than that. You’ll know when you listen to it later.”

Jo Tae-woong answered.

As the group became popular, there were fewer rude questions. 

They answered sincerely with a comfortable mind.

After successfully finishing the press showcase, Awi entered the waiting room at the concert hall.

“Ah, I’m so nervous.”

Park Jin-hyuk, who was fixing his hair and makeup for the fan showcase soon, bit his nails with an anxious face.

“What’s our rank?”

“Hyung, it hasn’t even come out yet. It’s still 55 minutes.”

The other members were also restless and moved around in and out of the waiting room. Ian poked Kim Joo-young.

“What do you expect this time?”

“I’m number one.”

“Number one? That’s too much. Isn’t it amazing if we get into the top 10?”

“The heart count was much higher than last time.”

Among them, Lee Joo-hyuk, who had the most pressure, was playing a mobile game with a calm expression.

“Hyung, aren’t you nervous?”

“I felt like throwing up earlier, but I’m fine now.”

He was actually trying to relax by playing games, but Lee Joo-hyuk had already let go of everything.

Awi’s chart entry ranks so far were number one with Blue Mix’s song and number six with Jung Se-jun’s song. 

Lee Joo-hyuk thought it would be okay even if he got lower than that. 

He had no regrets as long as he got into the top 20.

“It’s updated!”

“I want to see too.”

The members stuck to Park Seo-dam’s side and looked at his small phone screen.

Park Seo-dam deliberately scrolled to the end of the chart and slowly checked the ranks. 

Jo Tae-woong said impatiently.

“We can go down from above now, right?”

“Hyung, it’s a dramatic presentation. If you’re unhappy, look at your phone.”

“It’s more fun to see together.”

“Huh? Our old songs are up too?”

Thanks to fandom streaming, Awi’s previous title songs were noticeable in between the chart.

“Here it is.”

“Oh, that’s high.”

One of the album tracks was on the chart at number 32. 

At number 23 and 21, and then at number 16 and 10, all of this album’s tracks were on the chart. 

The members exclaimed in admiration. Then they checked the title song’s rank and jumped up.

“Crazy!”

“Fifth!”

“Hyung, we’re fifth!”

Park Seodam shook Lee Juhyuk gently with joy. 

Lee Juhyuk looked at Park Seodam’s phone screen with a nervous expression.

5th place. They really made it to 5th place. Lee Juhyuk clenched his fist.

***

“We’re 5th.”

“5th?!”

Of course, they weren’t the only ones who were excited. 

The fans who were waiting to enter the showcase also buzzed and looked at their phones. 

Their phone bars were already playing muted music.

“This is crazy.”

“Thank goodness…”

Some fans kept refreshing their screens in disbelief, while others raised their voices in happiness.

“5th place is insane. Our kids are superstars.”

“This song is awesome, right?”

Kim Eunha, a fan of Avidom, also came to the showcase. Her fangirling friend Lee Dasol couldn’t get a ticket and couldn’t join her. 

She was standing alone in boredom when she mingled with other fan groups.

“What’s your fan site name?”

“Blue Delight.”

“I followed you! You’re Hyun’s fan site master, right?”

“Yes.”

There was a fan site master among the group. ‘She’s not a top seed.’ Kim Eunha thought and pretended to know her.

“I want to go in already.”

“I can’t feel my legs right now.”

“You brought a camera, right?”

Blue Delight nodded at Sugar Crush’s question. 

They were Ian’s fans, or hommas.

Kim Eunha squinted her eyes. She wondered where the camera was in such a small bag.

“A camera? Where? You can’t take photos at the concert, can you?”

The two hommas looked at Kim Eunha with disdain.

“You don’t know… You have to take photos secretly. And the camera is… here.”

She pointed at her lower body.

There was a trick to bring a camera into a place where photography was prohibited. 

It was to wear a long skirt and attach a camera with a detached lens and body to the leg. And what did they use to attach it? Tape.

“Wow… Do you all do this?”

“It’s a common method among us.”

Most of the fans wore similar outfits for a reason.

“But everyone knows this trick. They can’t catch us, so they just let us go. They can’t lift our skirts or touch our legs.”

“But the foreign kids have no shame. When I went to the US NMA, the guard slapped my crotch to get my camera.”

“Really?! Isn’t that sexual harassment?”

“What can I do… I stayed still, afraid of getting caught. Now that I think about it, it feels awful.”

Kim Eunha closed his mouth, about to say ‘You shouldn’t have done something that makes you feel bad in the first place.’

“But do you know that Pluto and Pinky Lady are dating?”

“Really?”

Kim Eunha raised his voice. Blue Delight whispered as if he was telling a huge secret.

“I know a fan sister who follows Pluto around. She saw them dating at Dosan Park.”

“Oh my… Who and who?”

“Who was it again? I can’t remember, but they said there were three from Pluto and three from Pinky Lady.”

“Did they have some kind of group date or something? I bet my whole fortune that they hit it off at the Arimpyc.”

The people around them laughed. 

They were interested in this gossip, but Kim Eunha didn’t believe their words. 

She thought she should filter them out and chuckled.

“She’s funny.”

“Do you go to the offline events often? Can I have your number?”

Some of them were stalkers, which made her feel uneasy, but she thought it was worth it to get some information from them. 

Kim Eunha hesitated and then gave them her number.

‘I wish I knew someone…’

They exchanged numbers before they entered the showcase.

***

“Thank you!”

“Wow, thank you for giving this to me!”

Awi, who had finished the encore performance, greeted the fans.

Ian stretched as he returned to the waiting room. 

He had practiced all night until yesterday for the quality of the performance, but he was used to it now and felt light.

“Jotang, what’s that slogan?”

“Some fan threw it earlier. So I picked it up.”

“Really? Why didn’t I see mine?”

“I saw the staff confiscating them.”

It was not a good behavior to throw dolls or slogans on the stage. 

Even if slogans were fine, dolls could be dangerous if they hit the singers.

“Finally, a week of music show hell is over.”

“But isn’t it easier without Nnet schedule?”

“It’s comfortable, but don’t say that in front of the managers.”

Awi had a showcase on Tuesday and music shows from Friday. 

If they hadn’t clashed with Nnet, they would have started on Thursday.

“Do you have a day off tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow we’re going to film a dance video for MyTube.”

“Didn’t we already film that?”

“Not that one. The one that’s like a music video with angles and stuff.”

As MyTube’s user base grew to an impressive level, broadcasters started to create separate channels for idol-related content.

“Will it take half a day?”

“Is it that long?”

“That’s what they said. But the fans will love it if we go there.”

The ‘Studio Ringo’ they were going to film tomorrow was a channel created by a retired music show PD.

It was a rising channel among idol fans, as it offered flashy sets and meticulous camera work, as well as individual and facial cams.

“We’re busy even without music shows.”

“Tell me about it.”

Ian and Jo Tae-woong sighed.

***

Awi lay down in the middle of the living room as soon as he entered the dorm. 

Ian, who was staring blankly at the music site, spoke softly.

“Do you want to have a late-night snack and sleep if you can’t sleep?”

“Yeah. Let’s have a party. How about chicken?”

Kim Joo-young jumped up at Park Jin-hyuk’s chicken suggestion and opened the delivery app.