#25
It was a marketing strategy overflowing with tactics that forced group fans to buy all versions of the album. But that doesn’t concern me. I naturally picked out only Imun’s version of the album and smiled smugly.
This new album had an overall black and white design. There was an indescribably profound atmosphere emanating from Imun, who had his hands wrapped around his neck while looking downward.
What on earth can’t he do? Imun, who had digested every different concept in each music video as if it were his own, seemed to have demonstrated his abilities without fail this time too. If idol talent had tiers, he was undoubtedly in the celestial realm.
After selecting a perfect album without a single crease, I glared at the display rack again. I was facing a problem more difficult than expected. After contemplating for a while without reaching a conclusion, I reached out with a serious expression.
Well, why not buy two? I thought it would be nice to keep one for storage and actually open the other one. Humming to myself over what seemed like a wise decision even to me, I put two albums in my shopping cart.
*
As I entered the house, Mari greeted me with a cheerful voice. After handing the album to Grandmother, I sat down next to Mari as if passing a baton.
Mari seemed to have come over today without any particular purpose. While watching her inhale tangerines that stained her fingertips yellow, I realized I hadn’t been asked to translate idol SNS posts or articles lately.
“These days, do you not, you know, like idols anymore?”
“Huuuh? Of course I do!”
“Ah, does he not post on SNS these days? You haven’t been asking me about it.”
“Ah! It’s okay, I made a Korean friend. She transferred a few weeks ago.”
Mari talked about her friend with an animated face. It seemed that she had approached the friend first because of their obviously Korean full name, and they rapidly became close after discovering they liked the same idol. The way she spoke with a bright smile looked quite joyful.
“Don’t exclude her, get along well.” When Hajun admonished her with concern, recalling past memories, Mari waved her hand dismissively as if to say ‘don’t state the obvious.’ I patted her head approvingly and played along with her endless boasting about her friend.
“I never knew having a friend with the same hobby could be so fun!”
“Right? It’s fun to hang out with friends who share your interests.”
Which idol did Mari like again? Since I’d always tuned out whenever the topic changed to idols, I couldn’t remember even the group name, let alone the names of the idol members. As I was trying to recall our previous conversations, she suddenly shrugged her shoulders in disbelief.
“What are you saying, acting like you know when you don’t even have friends.”
Ignoring her sparkling eyes that seemed to say ‘Hurry up and counter-attack!’, I grabbed the remote control. The best strategy for such an obvious provocation was to not react at all.
“What, is that it?” As she continued to taunt me even more, I snorted at her. It was then, as I was flipping through TV channels, that Grandmother passed by and casually dropped a comment.
“Junnie has a friend. A friend with a very nice voice and personality.”
Mari’s eyes widened instantly. Before I could respond, she leaned in uncomfortably close.
“No way! Really?”
“Y-yeah.”
When I nodded reluctantly, her threat came back: “I won’t believe it without evidence!” The way she interrogated me with exactly the same tone and behavior as Grandmother suggested she wouldn’t be easily convinced.
Does everyone find it so hard to believe I have a single friend? Suddenly becoming aware of reality, Hajun sighed and glanced at his phone.
Lately, whenever they video called, Imun would excessively display his idol talents. Most of the time it was with the impure intention of securing another video call, but even knowing this, I couldn’t help but be swayed by his eye smile.
As I captured him one photo after another, not wanting to miss even a fleeting moment of his charm, the number of photos accumulated in my secret folder had become substantial.
If I showed these to Mari. After a brief consideration, I quickly abandoned the thought and smirked. Since she was a fan of Korean idols, there was a high possibility she would know OnS. With my eyes fixed on the news, I opened my mouth casually.
“Grandmother is my witness. Don’t believe it if you don’t want to.”
As I refrained from saying more, Mari exclaimed “Hmph!” and sulked. “As expected, Hajun is just all looks, unlike OnS.” Among her grumbling words were terms difficult to ignore. Hajun turned his head slowly like a malfunctioning robot.
“…What did you just say?”
“Th-that you’re just all looks? I’m sorry… I was just saying.”
“No, after that.”
“Huh? …That you’re different from OnS…?”
“By OnS, do you mean On The Sky?” Mari gave a small nod with a nervous expression, as if my serious face was frightening. “I see.” Smiling again as if nothing happened, Hajun turned his eyes back to the TV.
I almost made a huge mistake by showing her! Assuming she would have immediately recognized Imun’s identity upon seeing the photos, a chill ran down my spine.
It was premature in many ways to reveal my relationship with Imun to someone who was excessively fond of idols. After privately praising my judgment from a few minutes ago, I casually covered my goosebump-covered forearm.
Who would have thought the idol she had been praising all this time was OnS? Wondering if my stiff acting had been exposed, Mari asked curiously:
“Hajun, are you perhaps interested in OnS?”
“Um… Well… A little?”
“Ooooh! Who?! Which one do you like?!”
As soon as I finished speaking, Mari took out her phone with sparkling eyes. The way she carefully flipped through her photo album made me laugh spontaneously.
‘It feels the best when a non-fan becomes a fan.’
Is it really that good? Staring at her as she personally demonstrated the advice she’d given me, I subtly probed:
“…Who’s your favorite?”
“What about you?! I like Saha the most! He’s so cute, unlike his age!”
The photo she showed me featured a green-haired man smiling playfully. It was the same man who had interrupted my call with Imun.
“His name is Saha?” “Yes! His real name is Park Seoha, he’s from Jeju Island, and he’s twenty-one…” While half-listening to the story that didn’t matter to me, I continued looking through her collection.
Although it was mostly focused on Saha, other members appeared occasionally. When Imun finally appeared after what must have been the umpteenth photo of Saha, I stopped her hand like lightning.
His photo, smiling brightly while squinting one eye as if dazzled, was something I didn’t have in my D drive.
“Wait, can you send me this one?”
“Do you like Imun?”
After quietly rolling my eyes, I nodded sheepishly. Mari giggled as if she understood perfectly and suddenly stood up.
“I have Imun’s photocard too!”
“What’s a photocard?”
“Photocard is called ‘poca’ for short.” Mari explained smugly and then rummaged through her bag to take out her wallet. The moment I saw the small, fluttering photo the size of a credit card that she held out, I unconsciously opened my eyes wide.
In the card, Imun was winking while cutely pouting his lips. A sudden materialistic desire arose in me, one I’d never experienced before. After staring at the photo for a long time, Hajun brazenly said:
“Give me that too.”
“Wh-what? You can’t have this!”
“Mari… Who do you like more, me or Imun?”
When I imitated Imun, who would always smile prettily when making difficult requests, Mari blushed and pouted. “Using your face like that is cheating!” Despite my determination to buy her brunch at least ten times, the card easily fell into Hajun’s hands.
This is quite a good method. While awkwardly looking at the trophy I’d acquired, I asked out of curiosity:
“Where do you get these?”
“They come with every album. There are different types for each member… unless you buy tons of albums, it’s hard to collect them all. Actually, I want Saha’s…”
“There are… many types? Besides this one?”
“Yeah, yeah. There should be four or five types?”
The memory of a day when I’d blabbered about buying lots of albums for Imun without knowing anything flashed through my mind. Vaguely recalling the balance I’d seen in my bank account recently, Hajun scratched his cheek.
“Then I just need to buy a lot. If I buy like… 500, can I collect them all?”
“Whaaat?! You’re going to buy 500 albums?! That’s going to be quite expensive!”
“That much doesn’t seem to matter. By the way, I’ll give you all the Saha cards.”
“Wowww! Hajun, you’re the best!” It was when I was watching her bouncing around with a face mixed with confusion and excitement.
“If you’re going to buy them anyway, let’s order directly from Korea! With 500 albums, you might get selected for a fan signing event!”
“Huh?”
“Fan, signing event? What’s that?” I asked in confusion, but there was no reply. She seemed quite busy searching for something on her phone. “Fan signing event? Fan, signing event, ah!” After muttering to myself several times, I moistened my lips in anxiety.
“If I get selected, do I have to go to Korea for the signing?”
“That’s right, but I can’t guarantee you’ll be selected. Some people get selected after buying just one album, while others can’t get in even after buying hundreds…”
So it’s like a loot box. I thought every industry had the same methods to extract money from consumers. After chuckling lightly and looking at Imun’s photocard, she suddenly raised her head as if she had found what she wanted.
“I shared the page with you. Come on, let’s order quickly.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
