* * *

“I was expecting the CEO to speak to us directly, so I waited…”

Yoonbin couldn’t hold back any longer and finally spoke up.

“Our team’s name is changing.”

“Suddenly?”

It was typical of a small, disorganized company.

Originally, the team was named “OOO,” which was meant to signify beating “PPP” by choosing the letter “O,” which comes before “P” in the alphabet.

The name was likely to attract ridicule from PPP’s fanbase, 3P, so it was a relief that they were changing it.

Jemin thought it was better that the name “OOO,” which wasn’t even pretty, was being changed.

“And they didn’t even bother to tell us?”

“So, what’s the new name?”

“Don’t tell me we’re really going to be called ‘Longevity’?”

Just as Yoonbin was about to reply, they were each called in for their concept photo shoots.

“I’m even more nervous since they haven’t released our timetable yet.”

“Jemin~ Look over here!”

Since their agency wasn’t well-off enough to hire a PD to film a reality show, they bought a cheap camera and made the members film behind-the-scenes footage themselves.

With a polaroid on his head, James approached Jemin with a camera.

“Hello~”

Jemin, quickly switching to his idol persona, smiled brightly and waved at the camera.

Woohyung glanced at Jemin and then looked away.

“Woohyung’s here too! Woohyung and Jemin! The brother duo~”

It seemed like James, once thought to be slow at learning languages, had suddenly improved in Korean.

Jemin was annoyed that his name had been pushed back and even more upset at being grouped with Woohyung under the nickname “brother duo.”

On top of that, Jemin, being the older one, was even more irritated that “Je” was part of the nickname.

“I don’t have a brother like this.”

Woohyung was always the first to say things that would annoy others.

“Does he think anyone enjoys this?”

Jemin turned his back on the camera and glared at Woohyung. Woohyung didn’t seem to care. Jemin turned back to the camera, smiling brightly again.

“Actually, I’m the older one~”

“Jemin looks so young~”

“Thanks, James!”

Jemin felt satisfied since it indirectly insulted Woohyung for looking older.

“Woohyung! Say something to the fans!”

Jemin glanced at Woohyung with concern, wondering if his bad temper would cause a video of him being rude to circulate after their debut.

“I’ll show you on stage.”

Even though it was meant for fans, Woohyung’s tone was business-like.

“I miss you all~”

Jemin, blinded by ambition, hogged the final shot by acting overly cute for the camera. His exaggerated baby talk would probably get criticized for being regressive.

“Ew.”

Woohyung pretended to gag and walked away. That jerk. Jemin, still turned away from the camera, silently mouthed curses at him.

This behind-the-scenes footage would later be uploaded a week after their debut under the title “[4LAB] Longevity Concept Photo Shoot Behind the Scenes” and would only get 92 views in its first week.

---

“But shouldn’t there be four members if the team name is 4ever?”

Eunhan tilted his head, puzzled, and voiced his concern to the other members. The team name had been hastily changed to “4ever” just before their debut.

“It’s common for team names with numbers to be related to the number of members.”

The CEO had insisted on the name “4ever” because he had a reason for pushing the “Longevity” concept.

‘The CEO must really want to live a long life. Considering how much people criticize him behind his back, he probably will live long.’

Still, since it was an idea that came from the CEO’s mind, they were willing to tolerate its tackiness.

“Do you think there could be last-minute changes to the debut lineup?”

Jemin asked, clinging to the faint hope that Woohyung might get dropped from the debut group.

“To avoid issues in case there’s an unfortunate incident that leads to a lineup change, they don’t want to link the team name to the number of members.”

The CEO, still teary-eyed from the ordeal, explained.

He had learned this lesson two years ago when a member of the boy group “Jumping Jumping,” which Q2P had launched ambitiously, left without notice, leading to a lawsuit.

The CEO had thought he treated the member well, but they still wanted to leave badly enough to pay a reduced penalty instead of continuing the contract.

This member had been the center, the visual, the main vocalist, and the main dancer, so the group ended up disbanding after lengthy discussions with the remaining members.

Although the other members stayed until their contracts expired, they didn’t renew and left.

Q2P’s CEO, who hoped for a comeback, was all in on the debut of “4ever.”

That’s why he wouldn’t compromise on his tastes.

“This will work!” he thought to himself.

“An official press release was sent out yesterday, so be careful. Watch what you say and do.”

The CEO, who was the least careful of them all, gave this warning.

Yesterday, the company’s SNS account finally posted the debut timetable for “4ever.”

The design quality made it clear that the company hadn’t spent any money on it.

“If we did a college group project presentation like this, we’d get an F, right?”

It looked like it was made in MS Paint rather than Photoshop, and its simplicity highlighted its tackiness.

It was clear they had scoured their computers for free fonts to avoid paying for them.

At least it wasn’t in Times New Roman or Comic Sans, so that was a small mercy.

Should they praise the company for being conscious of copyright? C

onsidering the company’s limited staff, the CEO might have done it himself.

“Jemin hyung! Did you see our article?”

“Yeah, I did.”

There was no way Jemin, who searched for news five hundred times a day, would miss it.

When other companies were preparing debut groups, rumors about who was in the lineup, their positions, and past photos often circulated online. But Q2P had none of that.

There were no fans following the agency, and aside from Woohyung, this was everyone’s first company.

Occasionally, there were posts about Woohyung.

• Does anyone know which agency Jung Woohyung joined?ㅠㅠ

└ I think he’s just studying songwriting and transitioning to producing.

└ That’s a shame… I was going to follow him if he debuted.

Jemin wondered if Woohyung’s debut with Q2P was some kind of well-kept secret or wild card.

Why wasn’t there any buzz?

Why did no one know?

Jemin considered anonymously leaking a spoiler, but quickly dropped the idea.

He didn’t want to risk Woohyung stealing the spotlight after debut.

“But the article didn’t make it to the main page of any portal sites, right?”

Of course not. The CEO’s connections didn’t stretch that far.

The article was published by a fringe news outlet, not a major one.

Not only did it fail to appear on any portal site’s main page, but it wasn’t even connected to a portal site at all.

Clicking on it led to a website cluttered with ads, from explicit webtoons to erectile dysfunction treatments and diet supplements.

You had to manually close each ad before you could read the article.

[Didy Weekly = Reporter Kim Chunok]

A rising entertainment company, Q2P Entertainment, is preparing to launch a new boy group.

Q2P Entertainment, known for debuting the boy group “Jumping Jumping” two years ago, has announced plans to debut a new boy group.

This group is said to consist of stable members with both visual appeal and talent.

However, details about the team name and members remain under wraps, sparking curiosity.

[Photo credit = Q2P Entertainment’s official SNS account]

Reporter Kim Chunok, all rights reserved.

At least the reporter had written a decent article. The problem was that it wasn’t linked to any portal site, so there was no way to track the number of views.

You couldn’t even leave a comment unless you registered on the site, so there was no way to gauge reactions.

“Do people even know we’re debuting?”

There was no way to check people’s reactions or public opinion.

No related articles were being written. I mean, who would even search for “Q2P” in the first place?

And if someone did, it was probably just by accident while looking up “P2P.”

“I’m so excited.”

“You’re the only one who’s excited?”

I wish I could be as endlessly optimistic as Eunhan.

Jemin, trying to boost the group’s visibility, shared an article in an online community.

But all he got in return was indifference.

The only comment was a painful one: “These guys will probably disband in two years, just like JumpingJumping, lol.”

“In two years… I’ll be 26, and it’ll be tough to debut again.”

The debut schedule itself wasn’t bad.

Jemin was just worried because he knew what was inside the package.

Maybe they should have tried harder to grab attention, like the CEO suggested.

Looking back, even those bizarre concepts seemed insufficient to catch the public’s eye.

“Honestly, our teamwork isn’t that great either…”

Even though it’s said that business relationships can’t become family, idols need a brotherly bond.

Fans know this and thrive on it, but 4ever was just a bunch of individuals fighting their own battles.

Sometimes, Yoonbin tried to gather the team, looking visibly worn out, but it wasn’t easy.

With Jeongwoo lost in his own world, Eunhan and James who didn’t think much, and Jemin, who would spiral into negativity, Yoonbin had too much on his plate to handle alone.

“Can we really debut when we’re such a mess?”

Jemin liked that they could debut quickly without any more delays, but that was about it.

As the debut date approached, fear started to outweigh excitement.

With the song, choreography, and concept all in such a state, could he really survive in the fiercely competitive entertainment industry?

Even the member lineup was just okay, and he didn’t have a role so crucial that he was irreplaceable. Jemin’s confidence was hitting rock bottom with each passing day.

* * *