Chapter 214: Joy (51)

“Let's start shooting!"

“Sure!"

“Get ready! Go on three!...And cue!" Just like that, the debate filming for the Rings inauguration kicked off.

As the director signaled, the background music we would hear on a debate show filled the room. We all gathered around Joo-Han at the center, launching into a serious discussion, with everyone looking grave and thoughtful.

“Man... I'm craving some kimchi fried rice," said Goh Yoo-Joon.

“The guy who smashed the toilet's talking big. I can't believe it. Why did you even break it?" asked Joo-Han.

Their serious faces belied the trivial nature of their conversation, but since this scene was meant to be audio-free—just background music and visuals—it didn't matter.

“Shouldn't you worry if your buddy got hurt first?" asked Goh Yoo-Joon.

“Did you get hurt?" I asked.

“Heh, nope."

I tried to grab Goh Yoo-Joon's collar, but Joo-Han pointed a stick at us. “Quiet down, you two. We are going live with audio."

“Got it."

“Alright."

We halted our tiff and zipped it as the music came to a stop.

Joo-Han was now at the center. Raising the cue card, he started, “Hello, everyone! Welcome to the first-ever Chronos Debate."

“Woohoo!"

“Yay!" Jin-Sung banged on the desk with excitement.

“I'm your host, Kang Joo-Han, and I’m also the leader of Chronos."

“Yay! The best leader!"

“The king of copyrights!"

Joo-Han smiled, pleased with our reactions, and he moved the session along. “It feels like we just debuted, but here we are, having finished our second album and gearing up for our first Rings inauguration."

This discussion video would air around the time of the inauguration and not now, as there were still a couple of weeks left in our second album’s promotion schedule.

“We've all had our fair share of thoughts on group activities and things we wish were different or could be improved. Let's openly discuss these."

“Great idea. We often avoid such topics in our talks."

Joo-Han nodded in agreement. “Our team has prepared two topics for today's discussion. Let's dive into the first one."

He peeled a sticker from the panel beside him.

[Topic 1: Is Chronos okay as it is?]

“Our first topic is 'Is Chronos okay as it is?'"

“Yes, I think we are doing fine!" Goh Yoo-Joon answered promptly and made Joo-Han point at me with the stick.

“Hyun-Woo, keep the guy next to you quiet, please."

“Sure thing, sir.

Shh

! You are interrupting the boss here!" I mockingly slapped Goh Yoo-Joon on the back like a gangster. He just laughed it off, seemingly immune to the pain by now.

Joo-Han continued hosting. “We’ve been working hard as Chronos, but if there are areas we’re missing, let’s discuss what they might be and how we can address them.”

“Me!" exclaimed Jin-Sung.

“Yes, Jin-Sung. You have the floor."

“Our public recognition seems really lacking."

“Wow."

Jin-Sung came out with a surprisingly astute comment. Right, Chronos was popular, but our mainstream appeal could use a boost. Despite the success of "Blue Room Party," our group's recognition didn't quite match up to it.

Around our debut, a member from High Tension was already ranking high in brand reputation, while only Tinta University's fancams and

Graduating

appearances had brought me and Goh Yoo-Joon into the rankings. However, we were in the mid to late tenth of the rank.

“But haven't Yoo-Joon and Hyun-Woo been getting more recognition lately?" asked Joo-Han.

“Our recognition did go up with

Graduating.

" After Goh Yoo-Joon responded, Yoon-Chan cautiously raised his hand.

“I think... our content was a bit lacking."

“Right, I felt that too. We barely have any content, do we?" I agreed wholeheartedly with Yoon-Chan's point.

“While we've been doing some solo stuff, it feels like we are missing group content, doesn't it?"

“Yeah, Hyun-Woo's right. In retrospect, our group's activities have been a bit limited since the debut," replied Joo-Han, reflecting. Indeed, YMM, an agency with little idol management experience, was slow on the content rollout.

I felt this more keenly because of my prior dealings with YU's executives. While High Tension had launched their lightstick right off the bat, we only started making ours once we were on a roll.

Other idols who debuted around the same time had released at least one season DVD for fan meetings and, of course, had plenty of main and side content on

UTube.

Therefore, High Tension was enjoying a massive fan influx, both domestically and internationally. The difference a well-maintained database made was enormous.

Unlike the major companies familiar with managing popular idols, YMM only had Allure, who broke through late after a long period of obscurity. As a result, the management teams seemed struggling to figure out how to manage Chronos, who had attracted a large fanbase even before their debut.

On top of that, YMM naturally gravitated toward music-centered activities as they were a company that focused on solo artists. This led to our lightstick coming out as late as Allure’s, with the management of our fan club and content rollout following suit, slow and steady. It was an unavoidable situation.

“Ah, I wish we had our own group content on

UTube

or

Q-app

, like video concerts or individual variety shows."

“And how about we all get into the habit of doing

Q-app

live broadcasts more often?" suggested Goh Yoo-Joon.

“I'm on board with Yoo-Joon's idea," Joo-Han agreed. “Let's make live broadcasting a regular thing. We all love interacting with our Rings, but we are not going live nearly enough. Whether it's solo or as a group, let's have more live streaming."

“Absolutely!"

“Any other thoughts, everyone? Anything about Chronos's future is fair game."

The members mulled over their suggestions in silence. To be honest, we were quite content with our activities. Even though group variety show invitations had dwindled, we still got decent opportunities for individual and group activities.

“Come on, we need some input. The audio is waiting," Joo-Han urged, and I raised my hand.

“Not a big deal, but I'd like to request Jin-Sung to put a hold on bulking up," I said.

“What! Why? That's personal!" Jin-Sung protested and jumped up.

Joo-Han turned to me and asked, “Does Jin-Sung's bulking up have anything to do with Chronos's future, Hyun-Woo?"

“Yes, every time he jumps over the vault, it's just too heavy." I threw in my two cents, holding a bit of a grudge. “Chronos's choreography is getting tougher by the day, and my dance partner is just too strong, too powerful, and too heavy."

“That's not fair!"

“True, every time Jin-Sung does the vault move, we can hear Hyun-Woo groaning."

“Exactly."

“Right."

Everyone but Jin-Sung nodded. Though it wouldn't have been audible in the broadcast, they had all heard me groan every time Jin-Sung used my back to vault over.

Joo-Han pretended to ponder and finally said, “Let's go with the victim's suggestion. Jin-Sung, maintain your current physique for now."

Jin-Sung wasn't convinced, but the discussion ended there with a round of satisfied applause from the members.

“Let's wrap up the first topic. We will make live broadcasting a habit to keep in touch with our fans more frequently. Jin-Sung will maintain his physique, and we will positively consider regular group content. I will talk to the company about it. That's it. Next!" Joo-Han moved on to the next topic.

[Topic 2: Is Kang Joo-Han’s autocratic system okay?]

"Ah!"

“Oh no... Joo-Han, your era might be over." We sighed and threw some comments toward Joo-Han, who looked bewildered at the panel before him.

“Who else is as democratic as me? Ha. You all agree, right?"

An eerie silence fell, but Joo-Han kept his cool and carried on. “An odd topic, but let's split into pro and con for a debate. If you support my autocracy, move to the right. If not, the left."

“Hmm, do we take our chairs?"

“Whoever picked this topic did a great job. Finally, the dark truth of Chronos will be revealed."

“So this is it."

The consensus naturally leaned toward the opposition, with three opposing votes and only one in support. The solitary support vote was merely Yoon-Chan's attempt to balance the expected landslide.

Joo-Han shrugged and said, “Folks, the other members don't understand my heart. What ungrateful kids."

Goh Yoo-Joon chuckled, “Maybe it's time you step down a bit. I still can't forget the rap writing incident during the competition show."

Jin-Sung exclaimed, “And I can't forget being forced to sit down and study! With homework and everything!"

‘Huh, I didn't have any unforgettable incidents

.’

Joo-Han glanced at me, waiting for me to speak, and then said, “So, I guess Hyun-Woo doesn’t have hard feelings toward me. How about moving to the support side? The script says, 'Please appropriately distribute the ratio between the pro and con teams.’"

“Um... okay."

Joo-Han had always looked out for me. Without any real grievances, I stood up and moved next to Yoon-Chan.

“Look at Hyun-Woo, the traitor," remarked Goh Yoo-Joon.

“I will support this," I said. Thinking about it, me being on the support side might work well for Joo-Han passing me the sub-leader role.

As I settled in, Joo-Han silenced the opposition and picked up his stick again. “Alright, let's start the second debate. I will let the support side speak first.”