Idol Hides His Military Service

“A famous Korean idol! A survival-show-born girl group that won Rookie of the Year after facing off against idols from major Korean agencies like LYNX and VYNNIA during last year’s heated Korean girl-group war! Today, the members of Iam have come to Oshaberi!”

Clap clap clap.

As soon as the MC’s introduction ended, the sound of applause from the studio panelists and audience rang in Hiyori’s ears from where she sat in the audience seats.

'I finally get to see Iam!'

Hiyori stared without even blinking, afraid she might miss even a moment of the Iam members as they gradually appeared through the studio entrance and walked inside.

Oshaberi.

A famous Japanese talk-variety program where the panelists, made up of geinin—Japanese comedians—chatted back and forth with the guest stars.

Even if extremely famous celebrities appeared on Oshaberi, the show’s trademark was that after praising them at the beginning, the panelists would mercilessly attack the guests from the middle onward.

Because of that, it was considered one of Japan’s most popular variety shows since viewers could see embarrassed and troubled sides of celebrities they normally never got to see.

As a result, countless entertainers wanted to appear as guests on Oshaberi regardless of the awkwardness, and it was so difficult to get on the show that even famous overseas stars occasionally appeared.

'I can’t believe Iam is really appearing here.'

For Iam to appear as guests on Oshaberi today was truly incredible.

Of course, Korean idols had appeared on the show from time to time before, but all of them had only appeared after becoming hugely popular in Japan.

For their first activity in Japan to be Oshaberi—there was no way to see this as anything other than Unibex, their local partner company, putting serious effort into supporting them.

Iam.

-Hiyori! Did you watch Idol Ground 100 yesterday?

-Of course I did! I can’t miss even a single second of Sion!

-I like Ayeon better though! Doesn’t she seem super charismatic?

-Ayeon is great too, but Sion feels kind of like a prince.

These days, the topic Hiyori, a high school student, talked about with her friends every day at school was none other than Idol Ground 100 and Iam.

Idol Ground 100, which had begun airing in Japanese two months ago, was currently causing a massive sensation among Japan’s younger generation, especially students.

And understandably so. The idea of one hundred pretty girls appearing and competing in a survival show to become a girl group was extremely interesting.

Unlike Japanese idols, Korean idols captivated viewers with charismatic and outstanding performances.

'Japanese idols are childish and way too blatantly targeted at men, so I don’t like them, but Korean idols are cool!'

Unlike Japanese female idols, who mostly appealed to male audiences with cute and clumsy charm, Korean idols were becoming increasingly popular among girls around Hiyori’s age because their dancing and singing looked cool.

A new Korean Wave among the younger generation, different from the earlier Hallyu boom that had been popular among middle-aged women.

Hiyori had even seen TV programs calling it the “Second Korean Wave” or things like that.

And among those young K-POP fans, the hottest group was Iam.

[Idol Ground 100 Stage Performance Compilation]

「(Agbaek stage performance compilation)」

⤷Sion looks like a completely different person on stage

⤷I think it’s cheating that the person who was climbing walls to get to a convenience store suddenly sings and dances with such a serious expression

⤷I’m jealous of Korean fans!!! If I had watched this live, I definitely would’ve voted too! I wanted Suyeon to debut

⤷Yuri was my one-pick, and thankfully she debuted. Even though I already knew she debuted in Iam, I have no idea how tense I was the whole time watching

⤷Korean idols really are amazing. How can they prepare performances that cool in such a short time?

⤷Korea only looks flashy because they push idols as a national policy project. Japanese idols start from the bottom without any support...

⤷Yeah, you can keep watching your school-festival performances by yourself. I like Korean idols

⤷Are there really this many ethnic Koreans in Japan?

There were several reasons Idol Ground 100 was causing an unexpected sensation in Japan.

First, the fact that there were one hundred trainees appearing.

The one hundred trainees, as if the show had shoved them in with the mindset of “surely there’s at least one person here who fits your taste,” perfectly struck the preferences of Japanese viewers, who especially liked unique individuality.

-Do you guys know Park Soyoon has a fanclub in Japan now?

⤷Who was Park Soyoon again? I think I heard the name before

⤷The school-bully bitch who got instantly eliminated on Agbaek

⤷Holy shit, that crazy bitch?

⤷But why does she have a fanclub in Japan instead of Korea?

⤷Apparently some weirdos in Japan thought she was a “real bad girl” and made a fanclub

⤷The perverts over there really are different

How else could there even be a fanclub for Park Soyoon, who was now hiding away and no longer even mentioned in Korea?

Not only that, but the narrative of one hundred trainees fighting through fierce survival to debut as shining idols also perfectly targeted Japanese tastes.

And above all,

[Are Korean idols comedians?]

「(A gif of Lee Sion shouting Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro)」

⤷Because of Sion, the survival show would suddenly go from intense tension to full-on variety comedy in an instant, and it was so fun

⤷This is my first time seeing an idol break bricks with her head

⤷How does she constantly cause incidents without resting for even a second www

⤷Even Ayeon, who looked like an ice princess, loses her concept whenever she’s with Sion www

⤷Japan needs to learn this kind of comedy from Korea

⤷If there were idols like this, I think I’d become a fan too

One of the biggest reasons was the various bizarre antics Lee Sion showed throughout Agbaek.

Once Lee Sion’s nonstop string of incidents and accidents throughout Agbaek became known,

[There are tons of videos on Iam’s YouTube channel you haven’t seen]

「(Iam YouTube channel link)

It even has Japanese subtitles, so it’s amazing! Everyone absolutely needs to watch these videos」

⤷These are really just YouTube channel videos? This is basically broadcast-program quality

⤷Didn’t they debut less than a year ago? Why is there so much content already?

⤷After watching all this, you also need to watch Three Kingdoms and the reality show that came after Agbaek

⤷Besides these, there are tons of variety shows the members appeared on too! The military show and jungle show are absolute must-watches

⤷Apparently Lee Sion was in a drama too. What drama was it? Can we watch it in Japan?

⤷I Kiss Your Tomorrow in Japan is officially available in Japan too. Sion only appears briefly, but it’s a fun drama, so I recommend it

Not only Agbaek, but also the programs the Iam members had appeared on until now were spreading through word of mouth.

Because of that, despite only just beginning activities in Japan, Iam had already gained enough popularity and buzz to develop an actual Japanese fandom.

'It was insanely hard just getting tickets to today’s audience recording.'

Oshaberi was already notoriously difficult to attend because of how popular the program normally was.

Since today’s guests were rookie Korean idols, Iam, Hiyori had thought it might be a little easier this time—

But then she remembered how shocked she had been by the competition rate, which was fiercer than when many top celebrities appeared.

All the friends who had applied together with her lost the lottery, and only Hiyori got lucky enough to win, so she was overflowing with anticipation at finally seeing Iam in person.

'What kind of amazing performance will they show? It’s their first Japanese variety appearance—will they do well? What if they make them do something weird?'

Soon, with an excited heart, Hiyori looked toward Iam as they finally appeared in the studio.

Since it was clearly their first variety show in Japan, her heart pounded at the thought that they would surely show the cool performances she had seen in videos.

However,

“Doke! (Move!)”

“Eh?”

“Mimi tsuitennoka? (Are your ears blocked up?)”

“Ah, sumimasen.”

What Hiyori witnessed was not an idol’s dazzling performance, but some delinquent punk.

“What the hell? Did she just steal his seat?”

“Didn’t they say they were rookie idols?”

“She’s insane. Even Japanese stars don’t immediately attack the senior-most geinin like that···.”

The moment Lee Sion entered the studio, she immediately coveted a better-looking seat and stole it from a seated panelist with the speech and tone of a thug.

“But what exactly did I just say? That person looked startled.”

“It was extremely polite Japanese, so I think he was surprised hearing a Korean say it.”

“Was that it? As expected, the refined etiquette of the Eastern Nation of Courtesy cannot be hidden.”

“As expected of Sion! Let’s just keep going like this!”

“Okay!”

Watching Lee Sion calmly converse in Korean with Kurosawa Yuri after sitting in the stolen seat, Hiyori could not close her hanging-open mouth.

***

“Miss Sion’s fighting skills shown on Korean broadcasts have become a hot topic in Japan as well. Could you show us in person?”

“Osu!”

At the MC’s question, the Iam member answered in bizarre Japanese without hesitation.

'Is she insane?'

Takashi, a famous Japanese geinin, was horrified watching that.

It had been written in the script, but he had not expected them to actually go through with even this brick-breaking stunt without cutting it.

“Haa! Yah!”

Pow!

Leaping into the air and spinning once before shattering the wooden board held by a staff member with a kick was not variety-show material, but more like an acrobatic trick you would see at a circus.

“Hoit!”

But apparently unsatisfied with just that, the Iam member next smashed the brick placed on the floor apart with a knifehand strike.

Crash!

Along with the loud smashing sound, the brick exploded into pieces and dust rose throughout the studio.

“Suge!”

At the unbelievable breaking show performed by a girl—an idol, no less—not only the MCs and panelists in the studio, but even the audience could not help screaming out cheers.

“Sss···still a little disappointing. Normally, the finishing break should be done with the forehead···.”

But apparently still unsatisfied, the Iam member muttered in Korean with a dissatisfied expression.

“What did Miss Sion just say?”

“Ah···well···she said she feels disappointed because she thinks she could have done an even cooler breaking demonstration.”

“Even more than that?”

When the curious MC asked, the interpreter hurriedly translated Lee Sion’s words into Japanese, but for some reason, Takashi noticed the awkward expression on the interpreter’s face.

Anyway, after the noisy breaking show finally ended, Oshaberi returned once again to its normal peaceful talk-show atmosphere.

'Guess it’s about time for me to step in?'

Takashi watched the Iam members and panelists laughing and chatting happily together as he started measuring the timing to jump in.

From the moment they first appeared, the Iam members had burst in with shocking insults, and for people supposedly appearing on a Japanese variety show for the first time—hell, for rookies at all—they were rampaging around like lunatics, so the atmosphere in the studio right now could not have been better.

“If they actually learn Japanese properly, they’ll seriously be dangerous.”

“That Lee Sion member and Kurosawa Yuri have amazing chemistry. They rival actual geinin.”

“I thought they’d act quietly since they’re popular Korean idols, but this is unexpected. They don’t refuse anything they’re asked to do either.”

At first, it felt like they had brought in street thugs instead of idols, but once everyone realized the Japanese member Kurosawa Yuri had been joking around, the atmosphere in the studio softened dramatically.

Afterward as well, Iam continuously drove the broadcast forward nonstop, showing off talents, dancing, and singing.

At this rate, it was obvious a fun broadcast would come out of this. An extremely ideal recording set.

However, Takashi had to stop that.

-This is really okay?

-It doesn’t matter. Just push forward and finish it.

-I’ve gotten plenty of requests to attack celebrities before, but this is my first time with foreign entertainers.

-Unibex will take responsibility for the aftermath, so don’t worry and attack them.

-Not Unibex. Director Agaragi, right? Well, either way, I’ll trust you and go ahead.

Before today’s Oshaberi recording, Takashi had received a secret contact from Agaragi, a division head at Unibex he already knew.

Shockingly, the request had been to deliberately ask Iam, who were scheduled to appear, extremely sensitive and uncomfortable questions in order to damage their image.

'Looks like their internal situation is a complete mess too.'

Takashi did not know the internal affairs of Unibex in detail, but he could tell this request was a type of internal power struggle.

Hunting dog.

Takashi was a geinin whose trademark was vicious verbal attacks, and he had earned the nickname because he often accepted requests from agencies to attack entertainers and smear them with bad images using that persona.

A vicious commentator who openly brought up and tore apart internet rumors or secret gossip circulating through the entertainment industry on broadcast.

There were truly more than one or two celebrities whose images had been ruined because of Takashi.

Of course, acting that way normally got a person ostracized in the entertainment industry and among fellow celebrities, but thanks to Japan’s peculiar sense of authority toward veteran entertainers, combined with the image that somehow what he said always seemed correct, he had remained active until now.

Moreover, the agencies making requests to him also had countless weaknesses Takashi could use against them, making him a lawless thug that no one dared touch.

And that man began tearing into Iam.

“But if you came from Korea, you’re probably good at sexy stuff too, huh?”

“Excuse me?”

“No, I mean Korea has this image where you have to do those kinds of things to succeed in entertainment. You girls aren’t like that too?”

“Takashi-san, maybe those kinds of comments are a little···.”

“It’s a joke! A joke. I just asked because you’re from Korea.”

Because of Takashi, who brought up sexual rumors that could be fatal to a girl group and shamelessly brushed them off as a joke, the atmosphere in the studio instantly turned cold.

“I heard Koreans are educated to want Japanese people dead from childhood. Did you girls get educated like that too?”

Takashi casually continued bringing up sensitive topics between Korea and Japan that were considered taboo whenever Korean entertainers appeared.

'The PD is just a puppet anyway, so they can’t edit this out.'

If anyone else had said those things, they obviously would have been edited out, but the PD, whose leash Takashi held, had no choice but to broadcast them while swallowing tears.

“For rookies to appear on Oshaberi right away, maybe you did some sexy favors in Japan too?”

After relentlessly attacking Iam like that, Takashi finally thought he had bitten into his prey enough and paused briefly to examine Iam’s reaction.

A merciless attack harsh enough that an ordinary woman might have burst into tears.

'Are they crying?'

Takashi turned his gaze with anticipation, wondering if the Iam members might already be in tears.

“Shine! Kuso jiji! (Die! You fucking old man!)”

Along with a thunderous shout in Japanese, a dropkick was flying straight toward his face.