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Becoming a 1st place nominee after a week.
The three spirits, looking into the memo beside the Demon God, tilted their heads simultaneously.
– Eh? 1st place nominee?
– For an evil spirit’s wish, I understand it…. Actually, being a 1st place nominee is something we wanted to do too.
– But why a 1st place nominee and not 1st place?
Perhaps because they themselves were musicians, the three spirits empathized with the desire to be a 1st place nominee—
“How insolent.”
– ???
Here was an entity who was an active idol yet did not empathize at all.
“It dares to step forward in a week where this Demon God is a strong candidate for 1st place nominee?”
The three spirits stared blankly at their master….
– Is that the point of anger? Yo?
“Is it not obvious.”
– Would it be fine if it weren’t that week-?
“Somewhat fine?”
– That’s right! Demon God-nim is a 1st place nominee, so something like an evil spirit shouldn’t step forward!
“Indeed!”
Rock and Indie glared at Trot, who was busy flattering, but Trot rolled his eyes to the side and pretended not to know.
The Demon God scanned the three of them.
There are a few things to do to deal with the evil spirit.
Having finished his judgment for that, he pointed at Trot.
“Trot, you will act as the team leader among the three.”
– Team leader?!
– Team leader?
– A title! Oh my, thank ya, Demon God-nim!
Rock and Indie protested fiercely.
– Demon God-nim! To fall for flattery! Yo!
– We have always had an equal relationship!
– Ahem, team members. Now you must listen to me.
Trot tried to suppress Rock and Indie.
“Be at ease. It is a temporary team leader. Depending on your contributions, you can be replaced at any time.”
– Eh.
This time, Trot stuck his tongue out.
Whether the three spirits did so or not, the Demon God’s explanation continued.
“Do not be fooled. This evil spirit caused minor injuries to 1st place nominees, and this week even caused a major injury.”
An existence already harming people.
Even now, this supply room, the nest where the evil spirit hatched, was swirling with distorted malice.
“The desire to be a 1st place nominee is the same. The evil spirit’s desire will inevitably harm people, whether in the process of achieving it or in the result.”
Reborn here as a powerful evil spirit,
And even setting a specific date of one week later, it was even more so.
It will definitely commit some act a week from now.
Hearing this far, the three spirits finally nodded.
– I see! Yo!
– Then what should we do?
– Demon God-nim, will you begin tracking it?
“No.”
Different evil spirits have different types.
This guy is connected to the specific condition of a 1st place nominee’s stage.
Before that, it’s hard to even find it—
“I must go to my schedule.”
The Demon God, an idol, cannot stay stuck in the broadcasting station.
– That is true! Yo!
– We must wait for a week from now, then.
– It can’t be helped.
The three spirits nodded at the Demon God’s words—
The Demon God’s shocking ‘command’ followed.
“Therefore, you guys remain in the broadcasting station. Under the guidance of the team leader, that is.”
– Eh?!
– Us?!
– Me guiding them?!
“Hmph. Just wait, you say? This Demon God? That cannot be. Naturally, shouldn’t I mobilize my subordinates to prepare for battle.”
The Demon God pointed his finger at the three spirits.
“Here, the subordinates to be mobilized are naturally you guys.”
– T-That may be true! Yo!
– What on earth do we do…?
The Demon God commanded as their master.
“Start by cleaning here. Leaving traces like this does no good. Since they are spiritual traces, they will be erased if you spirits scrub them squeaky clean with your hands.”
– S-Such! Squeaky clean?
– With our hands?
“Team leader, if the results are unsatisfactory, you will have to take responsibility.”
– Eh…, being a team leader…, doesn’t seem as good a thing as I thought….
However, the most important task was not cleaning.
“And the task you must do is—”
The Demon God added a few instructions.
“Now, to finish these tasks, you’ll have more than enough time to tour the broadcasting station, won’t you? I am pleased to generously grant your reward.”
– …….
The three spirits, already spirits, turned even paler.
They thought they should be more careful when mentioning rewards next time.
***
They thought they would leave straight for their schedule.
“Since it’s our first time today, let’s greet the director before we go.”
The CEO personally took Pantheon and went to Star Gayo‘s PD Park Chang-su.
Heading to the console room, EXI just happened to be coming out.
Probably because they are rookies too, they came to greet him.
“Wow, Kang-yul. Let’s definitely see each other next week too.”
“Of course, Director-nim.”
Park Chang-su, who followed them out to the door, couldn’t take his eyes off Kang-yul.
It seemed he was already thoroughly bathed in Kang-yul’s light.
The PD turned his head to Jang Young-bae as well.
“EXI will naturally appear, right?”
“Of course. We don’t care about such ghost stories.”
Such words were exchanged between the two.
‘The ghost story is becoming famous. It has reached the point where the director asks the cast.’
While the Demon God had such thoughts.
This time, EXI and Jang Young-bae disappeared without any particular contact with Pantheon.
Over there, the CEO and PD Park Chang-su began their greetings.
“Director-nim, nice to meet you. I am Origin’s CEO Gu Hu-shik.”
“I’ve heard your songs well. I am Park Chang-su.”
Even if not as much as in the past, a public broadcast music show PD still holds a high status.
However, PD Park Chang-su did not act arrogantly, and bowed in greeting with the CEO as well.
After a few words of well-wishing, Park Chang-su brought up the topic.
“Pantheon will naturally appear next week too, right?”
It couldn’t be that Pantheon would say they couldn’t come out here, it was just a question for confirmation.
And, Park Chang-su received a definite answer regarding their appearance.
“Of course! Hand over the 1st place nominee!”
“Ugh?”
To the greatly startled Park Chang-su, the equally startled CEO hurriedly explained.
“This is our Pantheon. Sun-woo is from overseas, so his speech is still awkward.”
“Ah, from overseas.”
““Hello, Director-nim!””
With the other members’ polite greetings, Park Chang-su calmed his startled heart.
This time too, the gods’ correction made the situation understandable with the word ‘from overseas’.
“Haha, Sun-woo’s unique way of speaking must not be a concept? It’s the same normally?”
“You say I mimic my way of speaking as a mere concept?”
“Wow, it really isn’t.”
“Of course. So, the 1st place nominee is?”
The Demon God’s demand continued.
They were originally a strong candidate for 1st place nominee anyway, but he definitely had to stand on the 1st place nominee stage where the evil spirit’s appearance was expected.
“That we can only know after more tallying?”
“Manipulate it! Make at least that much effort!”
“Sun-woo!”
The CEO and members intervened and stopped the Demon God.
Even so, to commit all sorts of disrespect to a public broadcast music show PD.
Cold sweat trickled down.
Staring blankly at the Demon God, Park Chang-su finally opened his mouth after a long while.
“Sun-woo is amazing.”
“Yes, our Sun-woo is, in a not-so-good way, a little amazing—”
“I was so surprised seeing EXI’s Kang-yul earlier, you see? Since I’m a music show director too, I’ve seen an overflowing number of idols. Kang-yul’s visual and aura were so unrivaled. I thought he would have no competitors in this generation.”
“…….”
Park Chang-su shook his head.
“But the moment I saw Sun-woo, I realized I thought wrong. It’s a truly mysterious visual and aura. Should I say his distinct characteristic is amazing.”
The word distinct characteristic explained the Demon God’s visual and aura well.
There was that something in the Demon God that surpassed standard visuals and auras.
“Will you worship?”
“A-Ah no…. That’s a bit.”
Fortunately, the PD still had his reason left….
“Anyway, it’s before the tallying, but you’re a strong candidate for 1st place nominee. Sun-woo, keep working hard.”
“Hmph.”
The Demon God nodded.
That much talk is enough. Because pouring effort into activities is a given.
“See you in a week, Director.”
The Demon God showed his distinct characteristic to the end and came out.
***
EXI, and Pantheon.
It wasn’t just industry insiders predicting their 1st place nominee lineup.
Fans too began predicting the lineup on SNS and communities.
– Going back and forth into the 3rd week after passing the 2nd week of activities shivers
└ Yeah yeah The areas of strength are different too
└ The rivalry structure doesn’t break. Honestly, the showdown between the two groups is fun to watch for idol fans who don’t have a main bias lol
As the idol fans said, the two groups engaged in a close match as the weeks added up, and to third-party eyes, this structure was purely highly entertaining.
Conversely, it meant the fans whose main bias was the two groups were in an uproar.
Among them, it meant Pantheon’s fans were in an even bigger uproar.
– Kyaaaak! Kyaaa!
└ Wor! Wor! Wor! Wor!
└ Ship! Ship! Ship! Ship!
└ The opportunity for 1st place on public broadcast has finally come, what is this!
└ A close match, we cannot dare permit it!
Pantheon’s fans were already deeply upset since the interview incident, and gathered even more out of a sense of crisis that even their 1st place might be blocked.
– You are eating your meals well, right?
└ Yes! Are you sleeping well?
└ Is your skin firm?
└ Yeah!
Their combat power was well-preserved as always.
– Starting the status summary
A clever fan began to lay out the current status.
First, album sales 10%.
– Kuuugh… I’m frustrated… EXI is an Izm rookie so the volume itself is different
└ Ugh.. I already poured my whole salary in.. Should I break… my installment savings…
└ You can’t! Pantheon members sent an oracle absolutely telling us not to do that. Installment savings are a no!
└ Because they said they want to give worshippers a better real life
└ B-But. I want to worship more…
└ Let’s consider it fortunate. If it wasn’t 10%, EXI would have had an overwhelming advantage
Pantheon’s fans swallowed frustrated tears.
If it weren’t for the oracle telling them not to harm their real life, the core fans would have burned their bank accounts and offered them as sacrifices.
Still, like the last fan’s words, the reflection ratio was low, so EXI’s superiority didn’t lead to a score gap.
The area with the largest ratio was the digital music chart.
A total of 55%.
– Wor! Ship! Let’s worship!
└ Wor! Ship! The public is recognizing it too!
└ Fufufufu. It’s a fascinating song. A strong-strong-strong-strong song and makes you breathless when listening, who knew it hid an amazing effect…
The amazing effect the fans mentioned was—
– Because if you play it as a work song while doing any task, you get breathless while your work efficiency increases by 200%
└ Testimonies are coming up that even when studying, your brain works faster
└ I posted a testimony because I was an early experiencer, and it’s real. However, it has the side effect of giving you a massive headache afterwards
└ Did you post that in the writing too?
└ Fufufufu I kept it a secret?
└ Worship
Pantheon originally had public appeal, and the song mysteriously caught the ear well too. It was stably maintaining in the 20-30 range.
And Pantheon’s songs, even if not the title track, all had strong ‘chart staying power’.
– Ugh… ‘They’ don’t seem like debut idols either…
└ The review is that ‘they’ are also easy to listen to and have addictiveness
└ When it comes to addictiveness, it’s our Pantheon, and Demon God-nim!
└ Though it slightly has a bad addiction feel…
└ Are you a heretic?
└ No! Worship!
EXI was also in the 30-35 range, boosted by a song that was easy to listen to.
Still, in digital music, Pantheon clearly had the upper hand yet.
EXI was following closely, but the public pick was Pantheon.
And lastly, there was the global/SNS score.
This was 30% too, an area that couldn’t be ignored.
– Kuuugh… Another frustrating area…
└ I was prepared for it, though
└ As expected, globally, they are more… Ugh… Demon God-nim, please punish them!!!!
– If they do global marketing with Izm’s capital power, well…
└ Nutube MV views, Spotify streaming, short-form challenges are all exploding…
└ Then should we explode the headquarters of Nutube, Spotify, and the short-form platform?
└ I adopt it as an official agenda
└ Agree! Worship!
└ Agree2222 Worship2222
Countless agreements and worships followed below.
If explosions could be caused by willpower alone, each headquarters would have collapsed multiple times over.
– However, to think there would be global reactions to the male gods of Pantheon unexpectedly
└ Global occult fans! Rise up! Worship!
└ Were there that many occult fans?
└ And, overseas clubs
└ Pardon? Clubs?
Occult aside, overseas clubs were an out-of-the-blue area no one expected or aimed for.
– They say it’s used as an EDM remix or with a dark mood in overseas clubs
└ Eh? This song?
It was an area where even Pantheon fans were puzzled.
But what could they do if they said they used it.
Overseas tastes are unpredictable; sometimes aiming for it and trying fails, while conversely, a song gets exported entirely unexpectedly.
– They will soon worship too…
They were Pantheon fans smiling gloomily, resembling the Demon God.
Ultimately, if EXI was mainstream global, Pantheon could be said to be niche global.
Even third-party fans came to pay attention to this week’s music show.
– At this point…
└ Right. Fan voting and live broadcast scores will become really important too?
└ Even if EXI leads in early buzz and fandom size..
└ Pantheon’s fandom has such strong cohesion so I don’t know
└ Pantheon might overturn it?
└ Of course they have to do the stage well.
└ Pantheon originally does stages well. As long as there’s no special situation on the day, they’ll do well, right?
As long as there’s no special situation.
“Huuuum.”
The Demon God, who was preparing that special situation, took his eyes off the phone.
He left the three spirits at the broadcasting station and had them prepare.
Becoming a 1st place nominee is almost certain too.
Now, it was time to prepare the final piece.
The Demon God stood up resolutely.
“Ji-ho.”
“Hm?”
“How about getting some shut-eye if you’re tired? Don’t we have many schedules.”
“????”
Currently inside the van.
Hearing the warm voice worrying about Ji-ho’s condition, all the members looked at the Demon God and Ji-ho.
Tae-young asked quietly.
“Ji-ho, did you perhaps do something wrong to Sun-woo?”
They had never heard him speak that warmly.
If something was wrong, it must be completely wrong.
“Me? I did? No? I didn’t do anything wrong to Sun-woo though?”
Ji-ho was also flustered and retraced his memory.
Let alone doing something wrong, he recalled the recent memory of getting hit on the head with a knife-hand strike.
“Think harder, Hyung. There must definitely be something.”
“Right, Ji-ho. Think more.”
Yoon-seo and Ha-gyeom also cheered for Ji-ho.
“What are you all saying. I merely looked after Ji-ho.”
““That is the problem.””
Why is it a problem?
I always look after my subordinates?
Tilting his head, the Demon God even placed a snack in Ji-ho’s hand.
“Hiiik!”
As if that snack were a death row inmate’s last meal, Ji-ho’s face was dyed with terror.
Unable to endure it, Ji-ho eventually shouted.
“So? What do you want to say? Just say it quickly!”
“If you insist.”
The Demon God also retraced his recent memory, recalling the moment he hit Ji-ho with a knife-hand strike.
That moment when Ji-ho was unintentionally possessed.
“Ji-ho, do you perhaps want to try playing an active role?”
“An active role? On stage?”
A stage with an evil spirit.
“You could say that.”
“You could say that?”
Ji-ho was engulfed in a feeling of ultimate ominousness.
You’ve got to see this next! Crow's Golden Fragment will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
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