"...Thank you."

"I'm so sorry! Showing you something this bizarre the moment you got here!"

"Not at all. It's lively. I like it."

Unlike the polite words coming out of his mouth, Division Head Haruto of Unibex was looking at Raon with a distinctly suspicious gaze.

'Please, no more!'

That look from Haruto was burning Raon's insides to cinders.

Today, with the contract with Division Head Haruto ahead of them, Haruto had asked to see the members in person, and Raon had been the one assigned to personally guide him around the station.

And at first, the tour really had been going smoothly, warm and pleasant as they watched Iam's new-song stage together.

But then—

-"Ohho, a big shot from Japan, you say? Kono yaro! Name ten ja neyo!"

-"You crazy bastard!"

Everything had been ruined by Lee Sion.

She had vanished somewhere, so Raon had told Yunsik to go drag her back, and then Lee Sion had come barging into the waiting room, kicking the door open.

If that had been all, maybe he could have somehow passed it off as a harmless incident, but then, right in front of Division Head Haruto, she had suddenly blurted out the sort of delinquent-sounding line that left Raon's head pounding, and God knew where she had learned it.

-"Kono yaro! Name ten ja neyo!" ("You bastard! Don't look down on me!")

What kind of Japanese had she learned, exactly? It was aggressive enough to remind Raon of the yakuza he had run into back when he was promoting in Japan.

-"The protagonist says stuff like that every time they meet someone in games···."

Sensing the killing intent radiating off Raon, Lee Sion had hurriedly tried to read the room and ask whether that wasn't just a friendly greeting.

Just like always, Lee Sion was KJ Entertainment's resident anomaly, wrecking situations without a speck of malice.

And Sion wasn't the only problem.

The moment he stepped into the waiting room, the other members twisting Yuri's legs had been just as bad.

-"It's a traditional Korean game!"

-"A traditional game?"

-"Yes! It's what friends do when they're messing around until someone tells the truth!"

Even as he said it, Raon knew it was an absurd excuse, but there was no way he could tell him it was a torture method from the Joseon era.

By some miracle, thankfully, Haruto had just accepted Raon's explanation with an "I see."

-"I'd like to ask you to guide Division Head Haruto around the station today."

-"Don't worry! My Japanese is basically native level."

-"If being good at Japanese were all we needed, we probably would've hired a freelance interpreter."

-"Huh?"

-"You're being asked because of your recognition in Japan as PD Raon, and because as our producer at KJ Entertainment, you can introduce the members better than anyone."

-"What's this? Compliments all of a sudden?"

-"The members' true selves need to stay hidden until after the contract."

Suddenly, Raon remembered the conversation he'd had with Sanghyeok before being assigned today's guide duty.

If it had only been about guiding Haruto around, they could have hired someone else who spoke Japanese. Sanghyeok had pleaded with Raon, desperately, to make sure the Iam members looked as normal as possible.

At first Raon had wondered what in the world Sanghyeok meant by that, but then, like a lightning strike, the Iam members' past conduct had flashed through his head.

'Dangerous!'

And no wonder.

-"Where's the Wokou pirate?!"

At some point, the Iam members had become infected by Lee Sion, who carelessly blurted out dangerous lines with no filter whatsoever.

Of course, KJ Entertainment employees, Raon included, knew those weren't serious remarks so much as joke-like nonsense, but to anyone else, it looked exactly like bullying the only foreign member in the group.

'Serves Yuri right, but still···.'

Kurosawa Yuri.

Iam's only foreign member, and the key figure who was supposed to become the centerpiece of this push into Japan.

Raon, who knew Japan fairly well, believed Yuri had enough of a character to work in Japan too.

Her cute, innocent look gave off the feeling of a heroine from a Japanese teen movie, and thanks to the diet she'd gone on for their recent comeback, she now had a more mature charm too.

And that wasn't all. She also had a side to her that almost felt sly, the way she knew exactly how to play to her own strengths.

-"Yuri not good at Korean···."

With acting good enough to make anyone who knew Yuri's Korean vocabulary was better than most native Koreans faint on the spot, Yuri was always skillfully slipping out of crises.

If anything, Yuri used the fact that she was the only foreign member to attack the members and staff with the migrant-worker shield whenever things turned against her.

But—

-"Since ancient times, the Wae have been treacherous to the core···."

-"That's your line, Sion-chan!"

-"I never thought the day would come when I'd agree with Lee Sion, but Kurosawa Yuri··· you're a life-form that should not exist!"

-"Kyaaaah!"

If Yuri had a flaw, it was that she betrayed people far too easily.

'I kind of get why the girls feel this way.'

Obviously, the member who had suffered the most damage at Lee Sion's hands was Sion's number one victim, but if you had to pick second place, that was Yuri without question.

Betrayal that came as naturally as breathing.

She really did drift back and forth and betray the members as if she'd lost the ability to care what anyone felt, to the point that now, when it came to anything Yuri said, even the cleaning staff in KJ Entertainment's building wouldn't trust it.

But what was truly frightening about Yuri was that even though everyone knew she was going to betray them, somehow, at some point, they still wound up trusting her anyway.

In fact, during the last "Yunkyung Rebellion" the members had stirred up, the Iam members had stopped paying attention to Yuri at some point, and they had nearly fallen straight into the trap Lee Sion had set.

If Yunkyung—who hated using her family's power and money more than anything—hadn't steeled herself and pulled out the secret technique of calling in bodyguards, they would have been completely done for.

Anyway, that betrayal seemed to have imprinted Yuri's danger level onto the members once again, so lately, whenever anything even vaguely suspicious happened, the members' daily routine was to grab Yuri and interrogate her.

-"Sion-chan··· help me! The girls are bullying me!"

-"What meaning is there in extending a hand to a sinking ship?"

-"What? What does that even mean?"

-"Farewell, Kurosawa Yuri. I shall never forget your help for the rest of my life."

-"Lee Sion!!!"

Yuri had desperately asked Lee Sion—the very person who had lured Yuri into betraying the others—for help, but Sion had cut her off with brutal decisiveness.

Which made sense. The one who had thrown the members into trouble had been Lee Sion, but the one they resented was Yuri for betraying them, and Sion was thoroughly pleased that all of the members' hatred was currently focused on Yuri.

Thanks to that, Lee Sion had been able to go on living her usual life by using Yuri as a sacrificial offering.

'Yuri's going to get her sooner or later.'

Raon could already picture it clearly: before long, Yuri would be plotting something vicious against Lee Sion.

But that wasn't what mattered right now.

The urgent priority was getting through negotiations safely with Unibex, who would play an important role in Iam's move into Japan.

Since he had promoted directly in Japan himself, Raon knew very well how important a local partner was.

He himself had only managed to rise to the top despite the disadvantage of being a Korean artist because Unibex had fully supported him.

Recently, Unibex had been drawing a lot of criticism over one controversy or another, but even so, that didn't change the fact that they were still the best partner.

"Now then, shall we start talking with the members?"

"Sounds good."

They absolutely could not let Lee Sion and the others keep tearing the place apart, so Raon hurriedly shifted the subject into meeting mode.

'We have to stop anything that might cause problems in the negotiations!'

A precious opportunity Sanghyeok, the CEO, had worked hard to create.

He couldn't let anything ruin something this important—something that could let not only Iam, but KJ Entertainment too, jump up to the next level.

Haruto hadn't come to see the members in person today just for a simple chat. It was obvious he was here to look for things he could use as material in future contract talks with KJ Entertainment.

Absolutely. Absolutely, under no circumstances, could he let Haruto see the Iam members' true selves.

***

"At the moment, the response to all of you in Japan is very hot."

"Honto?"

" 'Honto' is informal!"

"...Yes, that's right."

The Japanese word that suddenly popped out in response to Haruto saying Iam was popular in Japan hadn't come from Yuri or Raon.

Because the only person here who spat out Japanese in short, arrogant little bits—usually no more than a single word, and somehow sounding shallow every time—was Lee Sion.

'Where in the world did she learn Japanese?'

Ever since Sion first met Yuri, she'd always spoken this clumsy Japanese now and then.

At first Yuri had thought Sion was making fun of her, but after living with her, Yuri had realized that wasn't it.

Xie xie, ni chi pa le ma, spasiba, guten Tag.

If you saw the way Lee Sion regularly tossed out little scraps of different languages from around the world, you could tell that was just how she was.

Even now, despite not actually being able to communicate properly, she was flustering Haruto with her awkward Japanese.

Was it because a girl young enough to be his daughter had answered him in Japanese that crossed the line from informal straight into rude?

Haruto wiped cold sweat from his hand and continued speaking.

"Actually, for about the last month, Idol Ground 100—the program all of you appeared on—has also been airing in Japan."

And from Haruto's mouth came talk of Idol Ground 100.

"That got exported all the way to Japan?"

"Yes. Up until now, the kinds of video content exported from Korea to Japan have mostly been dramas or films. Those were the kinds of content Japanese viewers tended to want."

Yuri nodded at Haruto's words.

Back when Yuri lived in Japan, she'd known people who watched Korean dramas or films, but she had never seen or heard of anyone watching Korean variety shows.

Of course, there were people in Korea who watched Japanese variety shows with subtitles too, so there was no law saying Japan couldn't have people like that as well, but even if they did, it was obvious they'd be a minority.

It had already been six years since Yuri left Japan, but Korean variety shows weren't suddenly going to become a trend there overnight.

So for a moment Yuri could only wonder, Would Japanese people really like Agbaek, even if it became more than just a massive hit in Korea and turned into a cable-variety legend?

But only for a moment.

"Times have changed. In the past it definitely would've failed, but now Idol Ground 100 is becoming a popular variety show."

Haruto was telling them that despite all those bad conditions, Agbaek was succeeding in Japan too.

"Korean idol fandom keeps growing among younger viewers, and the show hit the tastes of people who had grown tired of old, traditional Japanese variety content exactly where it counted. The overall ratings may be a little lower, but among viewers in their teens and twenties, it's performing extremely well."

Haruto's explanation was so long that Raon, doing the interpreting, stumbled over his words a little, but the rough core of it was this: it was because of Idol Ground 100's unusual nature. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The idol-debut process in Korea, which was completely different from Japanese idols.

It seemed that by mixing that Korean system with voting that resembled Japan's own idol-selection systems, the show had ended up feeling unfamiliar and fascinating at the same time to Japanese viewers.

"Even though you haven't promoted in Japan even once yet, you've already developed a fandom there on your own. It would be a shame to let an opportunity this good slip away."

Saying it would be a waste to miss such a heaven-sent chance, Haruto immediately tried to persuade the members to prepare Japanese promotions as soon as possible and move in quickly while riding the popularity of Agbaek.

"Our Unibex has considerable influence inside Japan. Normally, you would need a process where you adjust to Japanese promotions by doing regional performances, and gradually build recognition and a fandom, but if you work with us, we can shorten that period and make it far more effective."

Haruto wasn't a scammer, but Yuri felt like she could suddenly understand why people got taken in by scammers.

"Does that mean we can really promote in Japan too? Isn't that something only top idols get to do?"

"Shinyu unni! Doesn't that mean we're top-tier now too?"

"Im Yunkyung, you're way too excited right now. Even if our numbers are good, compared to our seniors who've already entered Japan···."

"Try saying that after you lower the corners of your mouth, Seo Ryujin. Anyone looking at you would think you just won the lottery."

Even now, under Haruto's smooth-talking spell, the members looked like they were already imagining a rosy future.

Starting with the younger line—Shinyu and Yunkyung—who were already chattering as if Iam had succeeded in Japan, even Ryujin and Ayeon, who were trying to act calm, were clearly just as excited, grumbling with their words while the corners of their mouths refused to come down.

'They're all so naive!'

But Yuri wasn't.

She hadn't promoted in Japan, but she had lived there, and because of that, she knew perfectly well that Japanese entertainment agencies could be every bit as vicious as Korean ones—if not worse.

Especially in the case of Unibex, where Haruto was now a division head. It was definitely a major agency, but it was also notorious for its ugly rumors.

Right now he was coating everything in sugar, trying to lure Iam in as if all they had to do was enter Japan and he'd guarantee their success. But if things didn't go the way Unibex expected, there was a high chance they'd just leave Iam to rot.

No, being left alone would be the best-case scenario. Considering the possibility that Iam might sign with another agency instead, Unibex might even try to damage Iam's image or interfere with their activities.

That was why it was a bad idea to show goodwill carelessly.

Right now, what mattered was thoroughly verifying exactly how Unibex intended to support Iam, and precisely how much support they were actually willing to provide.

Promotion in Japan.

Returning to her home country as a famous idol was the thing Yuri had dreamed about most.

-"Kurosawa? That girl got full of herself, said she was going to be an idol, and ran off to Korea, didn't she?"

After Yuri crossed to Korea alone chasing her idol dream, the people she'd thought were her friends laughed about her behind her back.

Maybe it hadn't started that way, but once she'd given up school and gone to Korea, then failed to produce any news for a long time, in a way it was only natural.

Of course, Yuri herself didn't care about the way people back home reacted.

But that didn't mean it was fine what the family she had left behind had to endure.

Her family had believed in Yuri and supported her even amid all the whispering and gossip.

For their sake too, Yuri had no choice but to become harsher and work harder.

That was why entering Japan was not just some simple overseas activity for Yuri.

'Maybe Sion-chan really is the only one.'

Among the excited members, Yuri looked toward Lee Sion, the only one watching Haruto with a calm expression.

Most of the time she was only thinking about how to mess around, but when something important was at stake, she was more reliable than anyone.

"Mr. Haruto."

Gulp.

The moment Lee Sion called Haruto in a low voice like that, it was obvious at a glance that even he had gone tense.

"Moving into Japan sounds good, but we should still make sure of what needs to be made sure of."

"...What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I know you're impressive, Mr. Haruto, and Unibex is too, but realistically speaking, I guess it's hard for us to just believe everything you're saying without question."

At Lee Sion's words, an unidentifiable tension ran through the waiting room in an instant.

Even the members—and Raon, who was interpreting—looked surprised by how sharp Sion's response was.

"My demands are simple."

"Anything··· please, go ahead and say it. We'll show you that Unibex did not build its reputation for nothing."

With everyone's attention fixed on what exactly she was going to ask for, Lee Sion kept silent for a brief moment, then finally opened her mouth.

"Would it be possible to get an autograph written by hand from the author of One Piece?"

Yuri's eyes rolled back, and she launched a dropkick at Lee Sion.