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Chapter 110: Sound of Spring (1)

[The frightening rise of \'Hurry Up!\' with over 1 million views on MeTube!]

Cherry Blossom unfortunately ended up taking second place yesterday at MBS Show! Music Center. There was only a two-point difference from first place, and it was said that Cherry Blossom overwhelmingly won the on-site vote but was pushed back in the real-time text voting.

Due to the concentrated efforts of the Petite Angels to win the vote, Cherry Blossom lost to Petite More by a close difference—and because of this, Han Myung-Ho almost had a real heart attack out of frustration.

***

The next day, I arrived at the public hall for the recording of KBC Music Stage.

That’s when the call I was waiting for from reporter Jang Moon-Ki finally came.

-Assistant Manager Jung. The article will be out in an hour.

"Is the evidence solid?"

-Of course it is. That bastard Teddy Kim won\'t be able to escape this time. Just watch.

Confidence was evident in Jang Moon-Ki\'s voice.

-I\'ll send you the evidence and part of the article through KkTalk, so check it out.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Jang. I won\'t forget this favor."

-Is that a promise?

"Yes."

-Then can you arrange an interview with Cherry Blossom for me later? I heard they were the hottest topic yesterday.

Yesterday’s final ranking on Show! Music Center! had become more of a topic because it was very rare that the 1st place and 2nd place had only a 2-point difference. Entertainment reporter Jang Moon-Ki who thrived on such topics chuckled, seeing it as a good topic for potential new articles.

"Understood. I\'ll arrange an interview tonight."

-Deal! There’s no backing out! Okay?

After hanging up the call with Jang Moon-Ki, I immediately sent the information to Lee Dong-Min and Kang Ji-Yung.

Lee Dong-Min, who happened to be near the broadcasting station, rushed into the waiting room right away after receiving my message. His hair was a mess as if he had run hurriedly.

"Huff huff huff. Assistant Manager Jung. When will the article be published?"

"He said it will be posted within an hour."

Lee Dong-Min clenched his fist. "Let\'s go!"

Then, he urged me on with an excited expression. "Assistant Manager Jung, follow me. Team Lead Han, you stay here and please take care of the girls."

Leaving the care of Cherry Blossom to Han Myung-Ho, I headed to the main control room with Lee Dong-Min.

As PD Choi Eun-Hyuk moved with the launch of KBC Music World, Cha Tae-Hee, who was the former assistant, was naturally promoted to the new PD of the show.

"Camera 3 and camera 2—please check the settings again. Camera 1, please check the cue sheet."

While checking the camera movements during the rehearsal, Cha Tae-Hee noticed us.

"I\'ll just take a short break and come back."

Cha Tae-Hee came out of the main control room and approached us.

"What brings you here without contacting me?"

"I came urgently to tell you something important."

When Lee Dong-Min nudged me, I presented the information I had received from Jang Moon-Ki through a KkTalk message.

"Ms. Cha, this will be published as an article in a short while."

The KkTalk screen showed a summary of the article, photos to be used as evidence, and a recording admitting to manipulation of music chart rankings.

Cha Tae-Hee\'s expression twisted in an instant. "...Is this real?"

"Why would we show you something that\'s not real unless we were out of our minds?"

The article exposing Petite More\'s massive music chart manipulation made Cha Tae-Hee scratch her head. After all, Petite More was a candidate for first place in the final ranking stage today.

"Ah, why does it have to be today? This is driving me crazy."

Cha Tae-Hee made a flustered expression with today being the day of her first broadcast as a promoted PD and suddenly having a scandal break out. However, she quickly took a deep breath and thanked us.

"Thank you for telling me in advance. I\'ll never forget this favor."

Then, Cha Tae-Hee rushed into the main control room as she had to cross-check if the article was true and report it up the chain from the CP to the higher-ups.

Lee Dong-Min sat down on a long bench in the hallway and let out a deep sigh.

"Sigh. Knowing PD Cha\'s personality, she definitely won\'t just let this slide."

"That\'s true. It seemed like she already had a lot of grievances against TK Entertainment."

"She\'s marked the day, so she\'ll definitely make a big move to screw them over."

"This is totally popcorn-worthy, isn\'t it?"

I couldn\'t keep my hands steady out of excitement at the unfolding situation.

‘But seriously, I need some popcorn. Such interesting events are best enjoyed with snacks.’

Lee Dong-Min couldn’t hide his laughter either. After all, it wasn\'t just Cha Tae-Hee who had grievances against Petite More and TK Entertainment.

"Hehehe. Thanks to you, I\'ll be able to stretch my legs out and sleep well today."

I nodded with a smile.

A little later, Jang Moon-Ki\'s article finally made it to the main page of the entertainment section on the portal site about halfway through the recording of Music Stage.

[(Exclusive) Music chart manipulation for first place. T Entertainment\'s P girl group. (by Reporter Jang Moon-Ki of Weekly Star)]

-Recently, T Entertainment manipulated the music album rankings through bulk buying.

(Photo: During the investigation of bulk buying, our correspondent was made an offer by the consulting firm A during the consultation)

[Recording]

-President K: It costs 500 million won to get to the first place. To maintain it, it costs 30 million won per day. And if it seems like they\'ll fall behind, we can ask for another 30 million won.

-Mr. A: Ah, come on. Isn\'t that all lies? Who would believe that nowadays when even the platforms deny it?

-President K: Oh, don’t be so naive. You know the chart-topping girl group Petite OOOO, right? That\'s all our work. Teddy Kim is a regular customer of ours.

...

A large number of recordings and video files were uploaded following the evidence presented by Jang Moon-Ki. Simultaneously, Weekly Star\'s article quickly topped the live search rankings.

[Breaking News! Petite More\'s Music Chart Ranking Manipulation]

"It\'s all over now."

As soon as I said out loud, the recording of KBC Music Stage was halted. At the same time, all the talent agents of different agencies were summoned to the main control room.

"Petite More will have to drop out of the music show for today. The risks are too big given that they were mentioned in such a serious article."

Sung Ji-Hyuk from TK Entertainment protested and claimed it was unfair. "W-wait. Ms. Cha, this is a misunderstanding. Don\'t believe the article."

"Shut it. The cross-check has already been done!"

Cha Tae-Hee\'s cold tone made Sung Ji-Hyuk flinch. Cha Tae-Hee then turned to the other talent agents and continued. "And just in case any other groups are mentioned in the article, they will be automatically excluded from today’s show as well. Make sure you understand."

Cha Tae-Hee\'s eyes were filled with fierce determination. Several talent agents couldn\'t bear to meet her gaze and lowered their heads.

‘Those people must have manipulated the ranks as well.’

Although several talent agents from medium and small management agencies were sweating, they wouldn’t even be mentioned because the public never paid attention to unpopular idols unless they committed a major crime worthy of the front page of the newspaper.

"GOD.6 will take the place of Petite More. We\'ll continue the recording immediately, so please be ready."

"Yes, Ms. Cha."

"Great. Everyone, please go back to your waiting rooms."

The recording resumed amid the chaotic atmosphere.

Petite More couldn\'t perform on stage today as a result of Jang Moon-Ki’s articles. But the aftermath of the music chart manipulation was far from being over.

***

The MC hosting KBC Music Stage shouted with a fanfare in the background.

"Congratulations, Cherry Blossom!"

Cherry Blossom, who won first place by a whopping 1,200 points, was frozen in shock.

Pop! Pop!

With the sound of fireworks, confetti began to fall from the ceiling. The Hoengseong High School girls and the Cherry Blossom Family in the audience began shouting while holding up their placards.

"Cherry Blossom!"

"Ahhhh! We won first place!"

Although it was just a modest cheer led by twenty people, Cherry Blossom waved their hands continuously with tears welled up in their eyes.

"Thank you!"

"Unnie! We won first place!"

‘This should have happened much sooner.’

The best team had poured their heart and soul into Cherry Blossom\'s new song \'Hurry Up!\' and it was only natural that Petite More’s song was no match to a song made with Bang Seon-Woo\'s composition, Jang Ye-Bin\'s lyrics, and Park Seon-Nyeo\'s choreography.

In the meantime, Cherry Blossom came down from the stage after saying goodbye to the audience. Han Myung-Ho, Lee Ju-Yung, and Lee Dong-Min were all waiting for them with moved expressions.

"Careful~. Don\'t trip over the cables, kids."

But Cherry Blossom didn\'t slow down despite Han Myung-Ho\'s concern.

"Sniffle! Mr. Han!"

"Ju-Yung unnie!"

Han Myung-Ho and Lee Ju-Yung staggered as they each hugged two members.

"You all did really well. I am so proud of you girls."

"I knew it! I told you that you guys could do it! You guys are the best!"

This marked another milestone in my new life after changing Yoo-Jin’s life and saving Miso. Cherry Blossom had finally won first place after nearly disbanding.

Tears of overwhelming joy streamed down my cheeks. Han Myung-Ho and Lee Ju-Yung were also crying as they hugged Cherry Blossom.

At that moment, I made eye contact with Sae-Ri who was looking around the surroundings in Lee Ju-Yung’s arms.

That’s when Sae-Ri broke free from Lee Ju-Yung’s embrace and started running toward me.

"Waaaah! Oppa!"

Thud!

Sae-Ri\'s small head struck my solar plexus as she hurriedly ran toward me.

"Oof!"

I shook my head and gasped for air.

"No...S-Sae-Ri, wait."

I felt like I was going to pass out from the breathlessness. It was such a strong impact that I wondered if I might ascend to paradise or die and go travel back in time yet again.

Sae-Ri, seemingly unable to hear me, was crying sorrowfully.

Eventually, Han Myung-Ho and Lee Ju-Yung had to separate Sae-Ri from me.

"Sae-Ri, stop. You\'re killing Assistant Manager Jung."

Only then did Sae-Ri lift her head from my chest and start to look up at me. Her face resembled that of a tearful and snotty eight-year-old.

"Sniff. Are you okay?"

"No, I’m not okay. It hurts a lot."

The flustered Sae-Ri apologized as she took a step back.

"Sae-Ri, no more running into my arms."

"Sniff... okay. I\'m sorry, oppa."

Sae-Ri looked perplexed as the rest of the Cherry Blossom members reprimanded her.

"I’m joking. It doesn\'t hurt at all. I was just messing with Sae-Ri."

As the three members sighed in relief, the talent agents who were passing by started to clear their throats enviously.

"Cough. Cough."

"Cherry Blossom has a good relationship with their talent agent, huh?"

"I’m jealous."

‘That’s right. Keep staring.’

I couldn\'t help but feel proud.

We wiped Cherry Blossom\'s tears and headed to the waiting room. Reminded of the times they were oppressed by Lee Gi-Cheol and almost disbanded under the pressure of Singer Division 1, Cherry Blossom couldn\'t stop crying in the waiting room for a while.

After finishing the evening schedule, we followed Lee Dong-Min to a top-grade Hanwoo restaurant.

Everyone was concerned that he might get kicked out by his wife for spending too much money. But the moment we saw Lee Dong-Min pulling out the black corporate card, we all exclaimed in unison.

"Wagyu? Forget it! Hanwoo is the best!"

***

[Cherry Blossom\'s new song \'Hurry Up!\' gloriously takes first place!]

[Cherry Blossom. The great uprising of the underdog idols!]

[Petite More. Abrupt halt in all activities!]

[Park Eun-Bin says, "I\'m just a singer who sings and dances, I don\'t know about anything else. Business is the agency\'s affair."]

[Petite More. Apology marketing. Decision to Refund All Music Purchase Costs!]

[The music chart ranking manipulation incident was entirely the personal misconduct of producer Teddy Kim and Daewon Promotion’s President Kim Hong-Won!]

The police launched a massive investigation within just a day, and TK Entertainment also issued an urgent apology. Kim Tae-Kwon, the president of TK Entertainment, drew a firm line stating that all this was done by an individual named Teddy Kim. However, he acknowledged the agency’s responsibility and promised refunds.

All of Petite More\'s broadcast appearances were suspended, and Cherry Blossom indirectly benefited from the situation as a result.

-The girl group throne game. The final winner who overcame Petite More and reached the top is Cherry Blossom.

-The secret to securing first place without music chart manipulation is the power of content.

At the same time, the absence of Petite More from numerous broadcasts led to a flurry of casting calls from the three major broadcasting stations to fill their gap.

"I guess that’s all settled then."

With the wind in our sails, it was time for me to step back as things were running smoothly. After taking a breather at the company’s office, I checked my planner in the underground parking lot.

But there was one more piece of good news waiting for me.

[Everyday V10]

[May 11th, 2020]

-01:00 PM <Deleted Schedule>

(Deleted Schedule: Training on handling celebrities\' families (Basement 2 mini-theater.))

Today was April 29th. I thought this incident wouldn\'t disappear until after Eun-Ah\'s birthday on May 5th and after the contract renewal, but it was already gone.

When I hastily contacted Eun-Ah, she mentioned that her mother who had been passively supportive of her entertainment activities had decided to openly side with Eun-Ah after seeing that Cherry Blossom had won first place.

Apparently, her parents had a huge fight for the first time as Eun-Ah’s mother had prepared divorce papers and a seal, taking a firm stand. As a result, Eun-Ah\'s stubborn father had no choice but to give in.

But as I flipped through the planner, I noticed that all incidents related to Petite More’s music chart manipulation had disappeared one after another.

[Everyday V10]

[Date: May 31st, 2020]

-10:00 PM <Deleted Schedule>

(Deleted Schedule: Golden Road ‘Moonlight Express’ first place celebration dinner. At Apgujeong ‘Yu Dong Galbi.’)

After thinking for a while, I remembered that it was the dinner I attended when Golden Road\'s new song hit first place.

‘Wait a minute. If the celebration dinner for reclaiming first place disappeared because Teddy Kim and Daewon Promotion were under investigation...could it be...?’

"Golden Road. Were you guys also manipulating music chart rankings?"