#6. What is Business Gay Performance? (6)
“Seowoo. Listen carefully without misunderstanding.”
Usually, words like these are really easy to misunderstand.
“It’s nothing big… just a small favor, sort of.”
Which means it’s something big and a very large favor.
As if proving my intuition, Han Seongkyung’s expression was very serious. She looked like someone carrying a huge burden, and strangely, she also seemed to be gauging mine and Jihan’s reactions.
Was there a reason for that? Anyway, she’s the general manager, and in other companies she’d be like our boss.
As the silence continued, my insides started burning with anxiety.
“What’s the matter?”
The contract was already done, I came on time today, and I was supposed to move my stuff to the dorm later.
‘What other problem could there be?’
It was hard to endure the prolonged silence. The void stimulated imagination, and I always thought of bad scenarios first.
As soon as my hand on my knee flinched, Jihan’s hand came over and covered the back of my hand. He pressed down with gentle force, seeming to notice I was about to pick at the hangnail next to my fingernail.
Sure enough, when I turned my head slightly, Jihan was looking at me. It was his characteristic meticulous and stern expression. If Han Seongkyung hadn’t been in front of us, it would have been a face that would have nagged for a long time.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but there’s been some noise about Seowoo joining.”
Jihan’s eyebrow twitched.
“Of course, the company has no objections. The withdrawal issue was agreed upon before Seowoo was even mentioned. Rather, we consider that thanks to Seowoo, we completed the branding of the Arcus Project as a good opportunity…”
She sighed and continued.
“But it seems fans don’t see it that way. As you know, Arcus is a bit of a special case. It’s composed of members who gained word-of-mouth recognition even before debut, so there are rumors going around worrying whether Seowoo will adapt well to the group and debut safely.”
“Rumors are just rumors.”
Jihan answered. His voice was so crisp it was almost cold.
“I don’t think it matters. It’s not like Yoon Seowoo lacks talent or looks. These are stories that will disappear after debut.”
There wasn’t a hint of wavering in his additional words saying “He’s good at it.” So I forgot about looking at Han Seongkyung and turned to stare intently at Jihan’s profile.
‘Without even having seen properly.’
In the past, we spent time together practicing dance and singing, but recently it hadn’t been like that. It was because I had been avoiding him after clearly recognizing my feelings for Jihan.
Not because I disliked it, but because if we stayed together in the same group, my feelings for him might be completely exposed. Because I was afraid Jihan would be angry at me for crossing the line without permission. No, beyond anger, I was afraid that after seeing each other our whole lives, we might fall to a relationship worse than strangers.
Even if your heart isn’t like mine, I don’t have the confidence to live without you.
“I know too, that Seowoo is good at it. But… beyond skill, I’m talking about the intimacy between group members.”
“Intimacy…”
When I managed to tear my gaze away from Jihan, I could see Han Seongkyung giving me an awkward smile.
It meant what she was about to say was the main point.
“So, I have a suggestion.”
Han Seongkyung’s gaze glanced toward our two overlapping hands.
“Let’s do BGP.”
“What?”
“I thought about who to pair you with, but it’s become clear. You two doing it would be best. How fortunate that you have a childhood friend. While we’re at it, let’s spread some rumors like that too…”
Jihan still had the same disapproving expression as before. However, I couldn’t immediately understand what she meant and stammered.
“Wait, wait a minute. General Manager.”
“Yeah, Seowoo. You think so too, right? BGP would be just right, don’t you think?”
“No, that’s not what I…”
I tried to lift up our joined hands but failed. Jihan apparently had no intention of letting me go. I slyly raised my left hand.
“What’s BGP?”
I feel like I’ve heard this word several times but I don’t know the exact meaning. Is it some kind of new slang?
“Business Gay Performance.”
“What?”
“So, it’s about giving fans bait. Making it look like you two are dating. You know that kind of atmosphere that’s sort of believable or not? That kind of thing.”
Han Seongkyung raised her index finger.
“Yoon Seowoo and Jihan.”
“…What?”
“From what I see, the visual match is right?”
The alpha-beta thing that’s popular among fans. And the marketing trend of subtly giving bait for that to capture fans’ hearts…
“Wait.”
I jumped up from my seat. Jihan’s hand, which had been pressing down on the back of my hand the whole time, dropped away as if it had never been there.
“Wait a minute!”
Han Seongkyung drank her coffee with a determined face. The finger that had pointed at me and Jihan in turn was now naturally gripping the mug.
“General Manager, this is a bit…”
“Good? You’re confident you can do it well? I think so too.”
“I’m 0-year-old friends with this guy. How can we do something like that…”
“Who said to really date? Just pretend, just pretend.”
That’s even more of a problem.
“No. That’s also a bit… What era are we in, General Manager? If you sell this wrong, it’ll only backfire!”
Pretend to date? So create a good-looking picture for fans and perform it like a performance?
It was ridiculous. The approach itself was strange, and most of all, my heart wouldn’t survive. Debuting in the same group was already like walking on thin ice, and on top of that, subtly spread dating bait in front of fans.
Even with this ridiculous story, Jihan remained calm throughout. I couldn’t stand it anymore and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him rapidly.
“Jihan, don’t just sit there listening, say something. Huh?”
“Mm.”
He, who had been thinking deeply with his legs crossed, looked up at me.
“Isn’t it fine?”
“…What?”
“If you get less hate and debut with me, is BGP really a problem? I wouldn’t mind dating you either.”
Every word that came out was a bombshell statement. After hearing ridiculous things consecutively, heat rose not only in my forehead and temples but also in the back of my neck.
While I was frozen from the throbbing headache, Jihan grabbed my hand and made me sit down.
“You must have a reason for suggesting this, General Manager.”
Han Seongkyung nodded.
“I’ve been periodically monitoring and checking trends, and the backlash over Maki leaving seemed pretty strong, so I thought of this method. Actually, even if that weren’t the case, um. It would be a lie if I said I’d never thought about it.”
“…”
“You four have very distinct personalities. You have the advantage of having non-overlapping, non-buried charms, but… there’s an undeniable feeling of being superficial, so the strategic planning office had been worrying about it for a long time. We can’t have stories already coming out that group activities are just nominal and you’ll all scatter to individual activities or solo debuts later.”
Jihan laughed and said as if lamenting.
“I came in to do group activities, but I guess fans knew about my future activity direction that I didn’t even know about.”
“I’m suggesting this because I think we need an excuse. Anyway, there’s nothing that clarifies group unity more than creating intimate relationships between members.”
When I listened, it sounded plausible. That was exactly the problem. Even I, who had been standing up until just now, was tempted and listening to her words seriously.
I quickly shook my head to come to my senses and was about to say let’s look for other methods besides ‘BGP’, but.
“That sounds good.”
“Hey!”
Flustered, I clenched my fist and hit Jihan’s shoulder with a thud. I really hit him hard, but Jihan didn’t budge.
“It’s for reducing backlash against the joining member, right? Even if they agreed with Maki leaving, they might feel uncomfortable about an unfamiliar member suddenly joining.”
“That’s right.”
“But I much prefer debuting with Seowoo over a 4-member system. It’s already been decided anyway, so I don’t see what’s wrong with doing some image-making. We’re already really close too.”
“Exactly.”
“No, that’s not… that’s not it…”
I hit Jihan’s shoulder with my fist again and gritted my teeth, whispering.
“Are you crazy? What are you thinking?”
Of course, Jihan didn’t even pretend to listen. Instead, he sent me a look asking why we wouldn’t do something that could be solved so cheaply. It was maddening.
“Let’s do it.”
Jihan said as if driving in the final nail.
“Pretending to date me, let’s do that.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
