TITLE: Chapter 409
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As the saying goes, "to lose your health is to lose everything." No matter how much money you have, it’s all useless if you're sick.
That’s why the rich do their best to stay healthy, some even hiring personal trainers. But I don’t need to go that far.
Because my girlfriend is a fitness maniac.
After a thorough stretching session, Ellie began to run fiercely on the treadmill. In no time, her entire body, starting with her brown hair, was drenched in sweat.
I was running next to her, but I couldn’t last more than thirty minutes before slowing down. Ellie, however, kept going at top speed for another twenty minutes.
A while later, Ellie stepped off the treadmill and wiped her sweat with a towel.
Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she was wearing black leggings and a white sports bra. Her smooth abs and slender waistline were on full display.
If this had been a hotel gym, everyone—men and women alike—would have been staring. It’s a good thing I built a gym in our house.
“You could be a sportswear model.”
“Actually, I’ve already gotten offers from Nike and Adidas.”
Bester had recently released a new commercial from footage they’d shot before, and Ellie’s popularity skyrocketed once again. (And the view count for the Royal Fish and Chips commercial also saw a huge spike.)
Bester’s products, including their rash guards, were selling like hotcakes for the summer season, and thanks to that, modeling offers were still steadily pouring in.
“That's a shame. Other people are dying to become celebrities.”
Ellie smiled as she drank some water.
“Maybe I’ll do it again later if the opportunity comes. I’ve always wanted to be a Nike model… Oh! Speaking of which, Nike is hosting the Seoul Night Race this year.”
“That’s the one where you run through the city at night, right? Is it fun?”
“Of course. It’s fun to run with a lot of other people.”
A night race is exactly what it sounds like: running at night. It’s not a marathon where you compete for rankings, but an event where people gather to enjoy running and finishing a course together.
The urban running craze that started in the U.S. and Europe had spread to Korea. It was a movement with a positive message: let’s exercise together in our own living spaces instead of traveling far away.
Of course, behind it all lay the marketing strategies of sports brands.
If you’re going to run in the city, you can’t just wear any old shabby clothes, can you? Naturally, you have to buy nice sportswear (preferably from a famous brand).
It’s similar to how a hiking trail turns into a parade of outdoor brands.
“Alright, that’s enough rest. Time for squats.”
***
“…Okay.”
I was at work when I saw Taek-gyu watching a video on his tablet with a blissful smile.
I glanced over and saw what looked like a live stream of some girls.
“Who are they?”
“A girl group called Pure Girls.”
“Poor Girls?”
Taek-gyu shot up, offended.
“Pure Girls! Watch your pronunciation. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t. How am I supposed to know if it’s Poor Girls or Pure Girls when I’ve never heard of them?”
“As a matter of common sense, what girl group in the world would be named Poor Girls? You think they’d come out dressed in rags, banging on tin cans with spoons like a troupe of singing beggars?”
“…Sorry.”
His detailed explanation was strangely convincing. I had thought the name was a bit odd for a girl group.
Taek-gyu accepted my apology.
“Of course, it’s true that they’re poor. It’s a little sad to watch them sometimes. I heard their dorm is a two-room semi-basement apartment.”
“Wait, you’re interested in 3D girl groups now?”
Taek-gyu was, surprisingly, a huge girl group fanatic.
It was just that all his interests were 2D. Believe it or not, 2D idols are a real thing.
Advances in technology have given rise to virtual idols, like virtual singers or Vocaloids. These virtual idols release albums regularly, sell all kinds of character merchandise, and even hold fan meetings and concerts using screens and holograms!
Thousands of fans gather at concert venues, going wild for the dancing and singing of a virtual idol.
It might sound bizarre, but it’s all true.
“Hmph, it’s just that I hadn't found a group that I liked until now. I have high standards, you know.”
“…”
I guess it would be hard for a real person to capture that 2D aesthetic.
Taek-gyu paused the video and looked at me.
“Curious about Pure Girls?”
“Not really.”
“Let me explain. Listen carefully.”
“I said I’m not curious.”
“The story of Pure Girls begins…”
Taek-gyu casually ignored me and began his explanation.
Pure Girls was a four-member group that debuted two years ago.
Early in their debut, they appeared on a few terrestrial broadcast music shows but failed to gain much traction. Their second album fared no better. And now, with the release of their third digital single, they were barely managing to get screen time on cable channels.
“Yi-eol was originally on ‘Idol Maker 99’ and was part of the QQ Project. After that group disbanded, she became the leader of Pure Girls.”
Freshness is the lifeblood of a girl group. The chances of a group that didn’t make it big at the start succeeding later are incredibly slim. Through member departures and replacements, the team’s leader, Yi-eol, had steadfastly held her ground and led the group, or so the story went.
Looking at a picture of Yi-eol, I saw she had chubby cheeks and large, monolid eyes. Thanks to her pale skin and pigtails, she exuded an innocence that matched her group’s name.
I could kind of see why Taek-gyu had become a fan.
Sang-yeop, my senior colleague who had sidled up next to us to listen, chimed in.
“Hmm, Pure Girls, you say.”
“You know them?”
“I think I’ve heard the name.”
Since K Company owns Edm Entertainment, he’s well-versed in the Korean entertainment industry. Well, he also meets a lot of female celebrities.
“Succeeding as an idol is no easy feat. How many idol groups do you think debut in a single month?”
It sounded like a brain teaser you’d get in a job interview.
I thought for a moment before answering carefully.
“About ten teams?”
“Ten?”
“Is that too many? Then five?”
Sang-yeop burst out laughing.
“Are you kidding? On the low end, it’s 50 teams. Sometimes it’s over 80.”
I was stunned.
“Fifty groups, not fifty people?”
“Yep. Fifty groups. That’s hundreds of people. And of course, that includes not just rookies, but plenty of idols who are re-debuting for the second or third time.”
Fifty teams a month meant 600 teams a year.
“Can the Korean market even support that?”
“Of course not.”
For the size of the Korean market, this was an extreme state of saturation. This wasn’t just limited to the music industry; it was the same for the entire entertainment world.
“If you launch ten groups, you’d be lucky if even one of them turns a profit. The rest are fortunate if they just break even.”
In market terms, it was a bloody red ocean.
From an agency's perspective, they could at least diversify risk by creating multiple groups, but an individual had to bear that risk entirely on their own.
And yet, the reason everyone still wanted to be an idol was…
“In a way, you could call it a lottery. Most of the time, nothing happens, but when one hits, it’s a massive jackpot. It's like what they say in behavioral economics: humans tend to value a low-probability, high-payoff event more highly than a moderate-probability, moderate-payoff one.”
For example, take this.
The first-prize lottery winnings are about 2 billion won, with odds of roughly 1 in 8 million. You could change that to winning 20 million won with 1-in-80,000 odds, or 2 million won with 1-in-8,000 odds, and the expected return would be the same.
But if you asked people which of the three lottery tickets they’d buy, most would choose the 1-in-8-million chance to win 2 billion won.
“You see those kids on cable music shows and think they’re nobodies, right? But even that is a dream stage for someone. The kids who become idols are really gritting their teeth and giving it their all. If people know an idol's name, you can consider them a huge success. There are countless others who disappear without ever appearing on a terrestrial broadcast music show.”
Taek-gyu said with a note of pity.
“Why can’t Pure Girls make it big? All the members are so pretty and hardworking.”
Sang-yeop shook his head.
“As always, effort and success aren't necessarily proportional. There are idols who fail to get popular even with looks, talent, hard work, and a major agency pushing them with all kinds of marketing. On the other hand, a girl group on the verge of disbandment can shoot to number one because of a single viral fancam. Of course, without blood, sweat, and tears, you won’t even get a chance to seize that opportunity.”
***
Ellie and I were drinking coffee in the living room when Taek-gyu rushed out and turned on the TV.
“Our Yi-eol is on SBC Music Box today. It’s their first terrestrial broadcast for this album.”
Ellie asked, “Who’s Yi-eol?”
“She’s the leader of Pure Girls.”
“Pure Girls?”
As expected, Taek-gyu excitedly launched into a long-winded explanation about the group. He even searched for photos and videos to show her.
It's a fan’s psychology to want others to like their favorite idol. In industry terms, you’d call this proselytizing, I guess?
“But didn’t you say getting on a terrestrial broadcast would be tough for them?”
“Looks like things worked out for them, thanks to someone.”
“Don’t you like girl groups, Jin-hoo?”
“I don’t know. I don’t have a particular favorite.”
“Why not? Korean girl groups are pretty, sing well, and dance well.”
“Well, that’s true.”
It wasn’t just girl groups; Korean idols in general have skills that are second to none anywhere in the world. The Korean Wave isn't popular for no reason.
“You do like girl groups. Why can’t you just admit it?” Taek-gyu tattled to Ellie.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“He was a fan of Thirty-One when he was in the army.”
“Ah… Thirty-One.”
Now I remembered. Come to think of it, one of the members of Thirty-One, an idol named Rina, looked a little bit like Yuri.
“Heeh, so you were a fan of girl groups, Jin-hoo.”
“Well, it wasn't so much that I liked them, but my superior officer was a huge fan.”
“Your superior?”
“You met him before. Sergeant Kim Jae-hak.”
I explained to Ellie.
Even men with zero interest in girl groups find themselves getting into them in the military. And their taste is generally dictated by their superior officers.
If that superior is a passionate fan of a certain group, you’re forced to listen to the same song on repeat until your ears bleed. Before you know it, you find yourself humming embarrassing lyrics like ‘You’re so electric~ My heart’s electric~’ while digging ditches.
Not that I’m speaking from personal experience or anything…
Ellie nodded as if she understood.
“So are you still a fan of Thirty-One?”
“No. They disbanded around the time I was discharged. Yuna and Rina became actresses, Jessie went to China, and Joohee started an A-Tube channel recently.”
“You seem to know a lot for someone who’s not interested.”
“…For some reason, articles about them keep popping up whenever I go online.”
Still, since they were the girl group that got me through my military service, I hoped they were all doing well.
“I think our Yi-eol is on now.”
On the TV screen, the MCs were chatting with each other.
“Hayun, do you know which group we’ll be introducing next?”
“Of course, Sehun! It’s the girl group that hit number one on the real-time search rankings even before the show started. I heard a very famous person is a huge fan of this group, right?”
“That’s right. They say he likes them so much, he personally invested in their agency. Shall we bring them out?”
The four members of Pure Girls appeared.
“Hello! We are the pure and refreshing Pure Girls!”
The male MC asked, “Is there anything you’d like to say to that person?”
The leader, Yi-eol, gripped the microphone, bowed her head deeply, and said, “Th-thank you, CEO Kang Jin-hoo! We’ll work even harder to live up to the faith you’ve shown us!”
“The lovely girls who’ve even captured the heart of CEO Kang Jin-hoo. Shall we have a listen? Here is Pure Girls with ‘Catch Me Please’!”
“Pfft!”
I spat out the coffee I was drinking.
Ellie stared at me with an incredulous look.
“I guess you really do love girl groups, Jin-hoo.”
I waved my hands in panic.
“N-no, that’s not it.”
“What’s not it? It’s okay. Just be honest. You don’t think I’d get mad just because you like a girl group, do you?”
“…”
Then why did her voice sound so angry? Was it just my imagination?
“N-no, I’m truly innocent!”
Ellie calmly sipped her coffee and said, “It’s fine. It’s not a crime to like a girl group.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“But it is wrong to hide it and secretly invest in them.”
“…I’m innocent.”
How on earth did this misunderstanding happen?
Did their agency use my name to stir up buzz? That was a definite possibility. What wouldn't you do to get famous?
But if they had any common sense, it’s not something they would do. How would they even handle the fallout?
If not that, then…
I looked at Oh Taek-gyu.
For some reason, Taek-gyu had a look of profound shock on his face.
“What the hell! I was the one who invested the money, so why are they thanking Kang Jin-hoo?”
“So you were the culprit after all!”
“I just got some interest income recently, so I decided to help out our Yi-eol.”
“How much was it?”
“Three billion won.”
With that kind of money, you could buy a small-to-medium-sized entertainment company outright.
Who in the world dumps 3 billion won on a girl group they like?
Well, putting that aside…
“Why did you drag my name into your fandom activities?”
“What are you talking about? I specifically told them to relay through Edm Entertainment that the investment was from OTK, my initials!”
“…”
I could see how they might have made that mistake.
“Ah! It’s starting. Let’s talk after this is over.”
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