The meeting with Spacer happened the very next day, lightning-fast.
Technically, I met Spacer’s CEO—Kwon Hee seung—in a conference room.
“Oh, Hee seung—long time no see!”
“Ah, hyung!”
I took a seat as Keun Sejin and Kwon Hee seung exchanged exuberant greetings.
Then, as if copying Keun Sejin, someone slid the chair next to mine into place and sat—Cha Yoo jin. He folded his arms and murmured,
“Lunch after this?”
Why did you tag along?
“If you’re hungry, stay at the dorm.”
“I’m bored. I have no scheduled shoots.”
Right, his personal schedule really did end early—he’d shot four days straight in one block. How? Because he chose...
[Camping Diary: Our Stories Grow]
...a show that gathers troubled youth for a camping retreat, with a celebrity acting as camp counselor to listen and help them grow emotionally. A network program doomed on launch day.
– “We don’t care about your problems.”
– “Use that airtime for real bullying victims, you idiots—empathizing with perpetrators?”
– “Celebs aren’t experts—this ‘healing camp’ bullshit...”
– “They’ll squeeze tears out again. Ugh.”
– “They should bring their scandalous celeb campers on to launder their image—double laundering lol.”
Who greenlit this? The old-school concept got roasted. Yet once it aired, it just settled into lukewarm ratings.
– “They call them troubled youth, but they’re just kids who need counseling.”
– “Half of those stories are made up—already exposed as a shopping-mall owner and aspiring actor lol.”
└ “Sigh.”
Even the staged sob stories ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) were by now old hat. So when word got out that Cha Yoo jin would appear...
– “What’s he doing there?”
– “I’d rather see him on Waterbomb.”
– “He’s so positive, going to get torn apart by those teens.”
Fans and general viewers alike wondered what on earth he’d say.
But on air...
Participant: “Whoa, Cha Yoo jin!”
Participant: “TeSTAR’s Cha Yoo jin? Really? There he is!”
Cha Yoo jin: “......”
Cha Yoo jin: “We do not address a counselor that way.”
“????”
He spoke in a military tone no one expected. Sure, it could’ve come off awkward, but...
Participant: “Excuse me, do we have to do rock-climbing?”
Cha Yoo jin: “No questions until the end.”
Participant: (gulp)
A veteran of military-style reality shows, he deployed every standard phrase flawlessly.
– “What is this even?”
The bewildered participants and viewers fell silent. Seizing the moment, Cha Yoo jin expertly took control of the late-teen campers. Once he had their attention, he’d gently listen and nurture them—exactly when they needed it.
– “Why the drill-sergeant tone but camp-counselor attitude?”
– “Cha Yoo jin is hilarious and heartwarming...”
– “So this is what an experienced American camp counselor is like?”
With that unique style, he mastered the room—balancing strictness and kindness, humor and seriousness, defusing any image controversy. And the show even created a meme with the on-screen subtitle “Counselor-da,” capturing incredible cost-efficiency.
Did he plan it all? Probably not—he’s too impressive. I remembered what he said when choosing it:
“I have experience now.”
“......”
Right now he was next to me, nodding with a stony expression.
“And I have the right to hear this conversation. I’m part of the team.”
Fair enough. Since he’s sharp, he might offer good ideas on the fly. I decided to factor in Cha Yoo jin’s remarks.
At that moment Keun Sejin and Kwon Hee seung completed their pleasantries and sat down, beaming. Kwon Hee seung’s eyes gleamed.
“So, Mundae hyung, are you going to produce for Spacer? Whoa!”
That was the pitch.
“First, I need to confirm something.”
“...Yes?”
I interlaced my fingers.
“Can I trust you?”
“...!”
“Even if we’re in the same agency, you’re still a competitor. Don’t you doubt whether I’d hand over a plan that only makes Spacer succeed and leaves us behind?”
“......”
Kwon Hee seung fell silent. Of course he’d had that doubt.
The three of us from TeSTAR waited patiently. After a brief silence, he gave an awkward laugh.
“Oh, no?”
“...!”
“But honestly, who doesn’t do that, hyung?”
Hee seung chuckled, sounding almost enlightened.
“When we were at T1, every staffer designed plans to benefit the company, right? So we never got a plan that only helped us...” He trailed off and then gave a thumbs-up.
“Isn’t that how society works? Everyone looks for mutual gain.”
“I see.”
“Right!”
Sure enough—a pragmatist who made money on stocks.
“And since you’re telling me all this, I actually like it. You warn us if anything in the plan could harm Spacer or help you. Right?”
“I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
Better to disclose potential conflicts now than risk an unpleasant surprise later.
‘Feels like reading an insurance policy.’
Just then,
“Wow.”
“...?”
Why are you sighing and admiring?
“Hyung... that’s top-tier conscience—top 1%. Be proud.”
“......”
“Hyung, you act like you’re humble, but you’re basically a saint, right?”
“You think so, Mundae?”
No.
“Seriously—there’s no benefit for you, yet you still worry about us while helping our group...”
I pressed my temple and spoke:
“Anyway, let’s start.”
“Okay!”
Kwon Hee seung nodded, excitement and tension flickering on his face. Keun Sejin smiled and began:
“Hee seung, you know that new WonderHall rookie group, iter?”
“Yes.”
Kwon Hee seung’s expression briefly flickered with the controversy, then cleared as Keun Sejin continued:
“They’re going to be a huge help to our Spacer promotion!”
“...?!”
Precisely: we would make them contribute.
A few dozen minutes later...
“......”
Kwon Hee seung sat in stunned silence, as if hit by a storm. Clearly he was shell-shocked.
“Take your time. Think it over.”
“No... can we really do this?!”
“I told you because it works.”
“Right... if you say so, hyung.”
Hee seung stared at the table, counting patterns in the grain. Just then,
Rrrrring!
“Ah, excuse me.”
“Sure.”
His phone rang. He stood, closed the door, and left the conference room.
Thud.
“......”
After a short pause, I spoke:
“You called them yourself?”
“No. I think it really is them.”
I’d assumed he stepped out to consult the other Spacer members. Actually, we’d planned to bring more Spacer members, but he insisted on coming alone.
“Is he the leader?”
“Spacer doesn’t have a leader system, but Hee seung is ranked first and is center, so he’s kind of the de facto leader.”
“Oh.”
Why are you looking at me? You’re center.
I tapped the table for a moment, then stood—surely his call was wrapping up.
“I’m stepping out too, for the restroom.”
“Okay.”
I quietly slipped out to speak with Kwon Hee seung alone. Thud.
But as I closed the door, I heard his voice faintly in the corridor—he was still on the call.
“Hey, come on! This song is really good, I swear. Believe me! Hyung, you’ve got a real talent for composing, why worry?”
“......”
“If promotion goes well, it’ll chart. Now that the company’s in good shape, we’ll do even better... yeah. Good luck with recording.”
He ended the call, sighed, then met my eyes.
“Oh—uh, hyung,” he stammered.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“I figured...” He cleared his throat.
‘Damn.’
I held back a sigh and continued:
“...Your team seems close.”
“It is.”
He leaned against the wall and exhaled.
“But honestly, not everyone works as hard as you guys. Our ‘Azusa’ season was really unusual.”
“...”
He seemed mortified to have me overhear, but he pressed on, as if resolved to tell the truth:
“I sometimes wonder how it’d feel if I debuted back then. But I did make it to the finals.”
Ah. I realized what he meant: not the entire finale, but the last member call.
‘Final member nomination.’
My first-place privilege:
“Participant Park Mundae, by right of first place, you may choose one of the fourteen finalists to debut with you.”
And I... let the viewers choose, to minimize backlash:
“I choose the participant ranked seventh, as selected by our viewers.”
Yet among the remaining finalists, the one I was closest to as a teammate was Kwon Hee seung. Gold 2. He couldn’t have had no expectations five years ago—if even now I recall it.
‘And TeSTAR wasn’t exactly thriving back then.’
But instead of lamenting, he shrugged and said:
“I realized I like my team now. Sigh... I got too attached.”
“...”
“The hyung you called earlier has no confidence but is so fun. He composes great songs... but our streaming numbers aren’t great.”
Spacer is objectively stable. Their popularity dipped naturally after the survival show, and streaming fell, but physical sales steadily climbed and overseas fandom is solid.
Yet people always compare, and who’s the easiest comparison?
“TeSTAR.”
Spacer must’ve heard that comparison more than once from the company.
But before me, he shrugged and said:
“So, please, hyung—I want to try this challenge. I’ll hear the other members’ opinions, but I’ve already decided to go for it!”
“...”
“Let’s prove Spacer is still a strong group!”
“...All right.”
“One life! Or well... if we get another chance—anyway.”
I chuckled. Kwon Hee seung winked, then my eyes fell on the persistent popup still hovering:
[Confirm Holder of “■■■ Fragment”]
Absorb “■■■ Fragment (1/4)” into “Company Use ”?
※ This will take some time.
“...”
We’re going to use him to deal with that rookie group anyway. Might as well upgrade the company system by pulling the fragment ourselves—no need to leave debt on that kid.
So... why not?
I silently responded to the status window.
‘Yes.’
The popup began to glow.
“...!”
“Shall we head back in?”
Kwon Hee seung, oblivious, showed no reaction—but a stream of light from the popup wrapped around him. As it returned smoothly to the popup...
[“■■■ Fragment (1/4)” Retrieval Complete!]
All popups vanished and a new, very simple one appeared:
[Updating “Company Use ”]
‘Is that it?’
I expected some bodily reaction, but nothing happened. As I leaned in to examine the popup further...
Thunk!
“...!!”
“What—what is it?”
The conference room door burst open. Keun Sejin stood in the doorway, face ashen. He shouted,
“Call someone! Yoo jin’s collapsed!”
“...!!”
I rushed in. Under the table lay Cha Yoo jin.
“......”
Why?
“Park Mundae!”
“Yes.”
I sprang into action—calling for staff and heading to the emergency room. Yet even as I ran, I thought:
What the hell just happened?
Through it all, the system window stayed right beside me:
[Updating “Company Use ”]
