Chapter 32

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Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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‘First, I’ll finish the things that need to be done quickly.’

First of all, I grabbed Seon Ahyun, who was stammering at people’s questions and requests around the advertisement boards.

“Give me your phone.”

“Uh, huh?”

“We should take proof shots.”

“…!”

Only then did Seon Ahyun come to his senses and slowly head in front of his advertisement board. I turned on the camera of the smartphone I received.

People responded immediately.

“Ah, photos!”

“Let’s step back a bit~”

“They’re taking photos of the kids!”

Surprisingly, the people who were crowding passionately began to take the initiative to step back and keep their distance.

…Maybe because I’ve seen too many people trying to get photos at the cost of their lives, it seems my worry was a bit excessive.

“Straighten your shoulders.”

“U-Uh, yeah!”

“Ahyun, you’re so handsome!”

The last words were not said by me, but by someone who looked like a fan of Seon Ahyun.

Seon Ahyun’s face turned bright red as if he had broken down.

“N-N-No, I’m not……”

After muttering like that a few times, Seon Ahyun creakily straightened his body.

Anyway, I mechanically adjusted the composition and took the photo, and the moment I lowered the smartphone, Big Sejin shouted from the side.

“Moondae! Me too, me too!”

Holding Seon Ahyun’s smartphone as it was, I turned around and took a proof shot for Big Sejin as well.

It was annoying to take because Big Sejin changed his pose several times.

But people were also diligently filming that scene with their smartphones.

“Cute……”

“Do another pose too~”

‘…In this case, wasn’t there no need for me to take proof shots in particular?’

I could have just gone in today and downloaded anything that popped up on the internet.

“Moondae, you too!”

“Ah.”

Since it would be strange if only I didn’t take one for now, I also moved in front of my advertisement board.

Seeing the advertisement board completely revealed after everyone stepped back from right in front of it, I even felt a sense of intimidation from its size.

The photo used for Park Moondae’s advertisement board was the one taken during the production presentation.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a cheek poke or a finger heart photo, but the face as big as a gate was a bit embarrassing.

‘…Let’s not make eye contact.’

Turning my head slightly, I saw the phrase written in the background.

[Park Moondae]
[A blue-chip stock that appeared like a comet!]

At the very bottom, even ‘Please buy a lot of shares♡’ was attached in small letters.

“…….”

The point that it was a very impactful phrase… I wouldn’t be able to deny it.

‘They must have worked hard.’

I silently took a proof shot. I had to show at least this much sincerity.

And as soon as I took the photo and stepped away from the advertisement board, people’s words poured out again.

“Did you come to see the advertisements?”

“Ah, what should I do… .”

“Did the filming go well?”

“I’m voting for you!”

The number of people was increasing enough to soon hinder traffic. It was definitely worse than when I got off the bus stop alone. It was the disadvantage of coming as a trio.

At this rate, won’t we be criticized for being a nuisance?

I wanted to do something for them before leaving, but it seemed it would be difficult.

‘I should use the advantage of coming as a trio.’

I winked at the other two. Fortunately, they looked like they understood the signal.

We bowed our heads repeatedly.

“Thank you!”

“We will work hard!”

And we immediately ran to the nearest exit.

As three tall men ran all at once, a path naturally opened.

“We’ll head in now~ thank you!”

Big Sejin turned around, waved his hand, and shouted. As I followed along quick-wittedly, I heard several voices answering.

“Huh? Guys!”

“Go home safely!”

“Fighting!!”

Fortunately, there were no people who felt it was rude, and they were bright voices.

It was the first time I ran while hearing so many voices of support.

The feeling was very… subtle.

I immediately caught a taxi from the exit we popped out of.

“Ah! It was really good!”

As soon as the taxi started, Big Sejin said with a grin.

Seon Ahyun was also nodding his head vigorously, looking quite excited.

‘Was it that good?’

Of course, I felt a sense of debt beyond being grateful. But my mood didn’t particularly rise because many people recognized me.

Is it a matter of temperament? Or… .

‘…It could be a matter of age.’

Since those guys are all 21 years old.

By the time I was thinking lukewarmly alone, Big Sejin suddenly pulled out his smartphone with a ‘Ah!’ exclamation.

And soon, a vibration came to my phone.

[(Photo) (Photo)]

It was a photo of me taken in front of Park Moondae’s advertisement board.

On top of the advertisement board that was washed out white because the exposure value was wrong, my face, which was all blurry and crushed because it was shaken, was floating.

“…….”

This bastard is terribly bad at taking photos.

“Hey, doesn’t the sense of realism come alive because it’s shaken?”

It’s a photo where you can’t recognize anything other than the sense of realism because the sense of realism is too overflowing.

When I stared at the guy without a word, Big Sejin burst into laughter and pretended not to notice as he spoke to Seon Ahyun.

“Haha… right, Ahyun! My proof shot is also on your phone, right?”

“Ye-Yes! Wa-Wait a moment.”

Seon Ahyun hurriedly turned on his smartphone and uploaded the photos to the group chat.

They were the photos of Big Sejin and Seon Ahyun that I took.

‘Why are you uploading your own photos too?’

He must have uploaded them all at once because he was flustered.

“Oh~ the photos Moondae took are… .”

Big Sejin, who was looking at the screen while pretending to be cheerful, stopped his mouth for a moment as if he were lost for words.

And with a slightly flustered face, this time he began to make exclamations that seemed real.

“Uh, oh… . You’re really good at taking photos.”

It was natural since I had earned my living with that for a few years.

I also glanced at the screen.

There were about four or five photos per person that were perfectly horizontal, had natural body proportions, and captured expressions and poses well.

It seemed my skills hadn’t grown rusty.

While I was feeling a bit proud, Big Sejin added in an awkward tone.

“…Um, next time I’ll try to take good ones for you too. I’m sorry.”

This also seemed to be sincere.

Big Sejin without the taste of business, I’m seeing all sorts of things today. I just shrugged my shoulders.

“Well… photos with a sense of realism are fine too.”

“…!”

Big Sejin made a surprised face for a moment, then quickly grinned and turned the subject.

“Right? Ah, speaking of which, is the delicious restaurant Ahyun recommended going down the drain like this? It’s a pity.”

“I-It’s okay. N-Next time if we come together… .”

“…Hmm.”

Right. We did talk about that too.

It was impossible to go to the restaurants Seon Ahyun had looked up now.

Since he had picked only places that were popular on SNS, if we went with this group, we would end up having our meal broadcast live on other people’s SNS.

Furthermore, perhaps because Seon Ahyun wasn’t very talented at searching, they were places that smelled of viral marketing, so the value for money was poor.

I was lost in thought for a moment, then checked the navigation passing through Ewha Womans University Station.

“Driver, could you turn toward Yeonhui-dong for us?”

“It’s possible~”

“Yes, then… .”

I turned around to the two in the back seat.

“I know a quiet place I know, do you want to go there?”

“Ooh~ naturally, I’m in!”

“I-I’d like that!”

That’s it then. I asked for the driver’s understanding and operated the navigation to mark the restaurant.

And it was only after the meal was all finished that I realized I had volunteered to do something I didn’t necessarily have to do.

Good grief. I’m becoming friends with them!

* * *

“Huuuummm.”

The woman looking into her smartphone let out a painful groan and agonized again and again.

On the screen, the choices that threw her into the pit of agony were floating.

[Major Discount on Idol Inc. Stock Packages! ~80%]

Under the large banner, stocks bundled with all sorts of services sold by the group companies of Tnet, the channel where was aired, were seen.

For instance, if you bought this music streaming site package from Tnet, you would also receive a 3-month streaming pass with a 50% discount and the right to buy 20 shares of .

In short, she could give Moondae 20 more votes.

These broadcasting station bastards sold stocks in the form of such packages except for the monthly subscription tickets that could give one more vote per day!

The scary thing was that because the discount rate for these packages was high, they were designed in a dual structure where existing service users bought these packages to get discounts and then fell for .

‘The sales tactics are truly severe… .’

The woman sighed and clicked the page scroll, then saw a message that had just arrived pop up.

It was a message from that friend who had spoon-fed her Park Moondae through the audience application.

[Yeonju: Crazy crazyㅠㅠ A witness account of Moondae is out! (Link)]

‘Heok.’

The link she hurriedly clicked connected to an SNS post.

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[Oh, I just came out to eat with my blood relative and saw an Ajusa participant, I think it’s the guys who sang the SoftSweet song? (Photo)]

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In the attached photo, Park Moondae, Seon Ahyun, and Big Sejin were seen receiving stone bowls containing samgyeotang (ginseng chicken soup) at a partitioned table.

Long response posts followed under the photo.

-Look at the eyes looking at the samgyeotang, guys, they’re going to pop outㅋㅋㅋ

-As expected, K-samgyeotang is better than chicken without roots, they know a thing or two

└Please stop the discrimination against chickenㅠ

-I’m in favor of these three continuing to stay close.

-Ah, they must have gone to eat this after seeing the advertisement boardsㅠㅠ I love you guys, you cute thingsㅠㅠ

‘Advertisement boards?’

With a feeling of ‘just in case,’ the woman searched for ‘Park Moondae advertisement board.’

Immediately, a post from a few hours ago that was being shared by the tens of thousands appeared at the top.

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Moondae came and took a proof shot of his advertisement boardㅠㅠ Although he couldn’t stay long because too many people gathered, he was cute and kind, so he broke my fangirl heart. Even though he wore a mask, his handsomeness pierced through. He’s extremely handsome in personㅠㅠ (Short video)

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When she played the attached video, it showed Park Moondae, wearing jeans, a black hoodie, and a black baseball cap, taking a photo in front of his advertisement board.

[You’re handsome!]
[I’ll buy a lot of shares, Moondae!]
[Um, thank you… .]

Park Moondae answered as if he were a bit embarrassed by the pouring words of the people.

And the video ended with him and two other participants running away cheerfully and disappearing.

-Cu te

-Moondae is more social than I thought?

-ㅠㅠAs expected, Moondae-doggy is not headcanon but officialㅠㅠ What, Tibetan fox? Heresy!

-PD bastard who edited him as clueless, please die, our kid was just calm

-Blonde hair and a hat are a perfect match

‘Cute…! So cute!!’

Stamping her feet, she suddenly realized that the photo on Park Moondae’s advertisement board was familiar. It was the photo her friend showed her, saying they took it themselves!

She quickly composed a message.

[Minso: Wow, didn’t you put this up? Congratulations, Moondae saw it and left! (Link)]

[Yeonju: I already saw that and was fainted, and now I’ve come to my senses… It’s not something I put up, but something the fan union did, but still, I’m so excited… moved…]

When asked ‘Why didn’t you tell me this first,’ the answer came, ‘My heart was trembling too much to type.’

The woman chuckled and sent a congratulatory emoticon. And she thought.

‘I also want to do something for him.’

She wanted Park Moondae to do well and to see many cool stages.

In the end, she returned to the purchase page from earlier and bought the music package.

After happily buying Moondae’s shares, in the samgyeotang restaurant witness account post where she checked if there was anything else, a fight had broken out before she knew it.

-Please take down the photo. Stalking is a crime.

└No, I just happened to see them by chance, what do you mean stalking;; it’s just a witness account

└Is taking a candid photo of someone eating a witness account? Talk some sense.

└K, I’ve blocked you, bye

After this conversation, the reaction of the people who were burning with excitement fizzled out awkwardly.

Because they had been reflexively excited by the rare witness account since it was hard to get news about Park Moondae, but then they realized it could be an invasion of privacy.

The woman also closed the window awkwardly. She had forgotten that Moondae hadn’t even debuted yet.

‘That’s because… he was so good…!’

Recalling her recent audience experience that made her mind go blank even thinking about it again, she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

“Heok! broadcast!”

That’s right. In the first place, she had been looking at the stock purchase page using the gap while waiting for the broadcast of Idol Inc.

She hurriedly turned on the channel, and fortunately, she could see the logo of the broadcast that was just starting.

“Whew… .”

While she was relieved and letting her mind go for a moment, suddenly the MC’s meaningful face came on the broadcast.

“…?”

[Everyone, do you happen to remember the promise of ?]

As if sitting at the discussion room desk and speaking, the MC hit the desk seriously.

[I promised that everything would proceed according to your will. So, even now, numerous votes for the final debut number, evaluation song selections, and so on are ongoing on our homepage.]

For reference, people who were crying, saying ‘I voted for the final debut number too small in the beginning,’ were slowly appearing.

[And today, I’m going to implement one more of those promises. Everyone. While watching until now, have any participants you don’t want to see appeared?]

‘What…?’

Before the viewers who were confused about what this was suddenly as soon as the broadcast started, the production crew dropped a huge bomb.

[Then sell that participant’s shares! With the newly introduced , you Shareholders can deduct the shares of participants you don’t want to see from now on!]

“…?!?!”

[The ‘Stock Buy Tickets’ that you Shareholders purchase can also be used as ‘Stock Sell Tickets’ from now on. In other words! Instead of buying a specific participant’s shares, you can sell them and make them negative!]

It was the arrival of hell.