Normally, Spark’s schedules were packed right before and after a comeback, and during comeback week. This was because, aside from booking related show appearances for promotion, there weren’t many places for them to go.

However, Spark’s recognition had now clearly risen. To the point where, on a public level, “the public had a positive image of this idol group.”

And when that happened, something interesting occurred.

“A solo commercial came in?”

Commercials started coming in. From a fairly well-known brand, and for a solo member.

The first solo ad went to Choi Jeho. A fitting move for the group’s center.

It was good news, so I wanted to congratulate him with a happy heart. If only the brand that had offered the contract wasn’t such a familiar one.

‘Here.’

‘What’s this?’

‘Birthday present.’

The brand of the tracksuit I had received as a gift from noona years ago.

The same store whose logo had shown up in the promo materials when Choi Jeho modeled their sportswear line back then.

“Even when so much has changed, some things stay the same.”

My hand unconsciously went to the edge of the document. I fiddled with the innocent paper.

“So? What’s the concept?”

Lee Cheonghyeon asked for my permission before taking the materials.

I vaguely remembered him promoting something like a functional zip up hoodie. He was a sportswear model back then, too.

“Um...”

Lee Cheonghyeon flipped through a few pages, his eyes widening as he read the title, one syllable at a time. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“‘A sexy man looks different from the fit up’?”

“What?”

How utterly absurd. When did our house’s Center Emperor become the Sexy Emperor? And the copy is so cheesy.

Sure enough, the paper said exactly what Lee Cheonghyeon read. My hands itched with the urge to update the Dotion work request page.

The references were bold, too. Poses and compositions straight out of men’s magazines. Even though it was supposed to be a clothing ad, you could barely see more than a sleeve, making it unclear what the ad was even selling.

“Are you going to shoot an ab commercial instead of a clothing commercial?”

Kang Giyeon asked as he looked at the reference materials. Choi Jeho just shrugged his shoulders.

While there were those who walked the same path as in the past—albeit with a different flavor—there were also those who didn’t.

Unlike the old Lee Cheonghyeon, who first became known through sports drink and perfume ads, the new generation Lee Cheonghyeon was offered a direct contract for a jewelry ad.

A jewelry ad—not even a watch ad—made the Spark members react in bewilderment. Lee Cheonghyeon was still too young to take on a watch commercial. If the target was middle aged men who buy luxury watches or young men who have established themselves in society, Choi Jeho or Jeong Seongbin would have been the right choice.

However, the key point that needed to be highlighted in a jewelry commercial was a little different. As was the case with Indenia, extreme beauty that could showcase the accessory to its fullest was an essential requirement for a jewelry commercial.

A pure yet balanced face, glamorous but not artificial—those were rare. Celebrities already exposed to many markets had public recognition, sure, but they lacked freshness.

And in such a situation, a big fish in the free agent market appeared, satisfying all the conditions, possessing both recognition and freshness, and with a reasonable price tag (...). Who wouldn’t take notice?

“You’re going to shoot a pictorial for the new collection, right?”

“Yeah. They said it’s a necklace, bracelet, and ring set. Chanyoung hyung said we’ll be filming the whole day.”

“Sounds like a long shoot. Must be because it’s a luxury brand.”

Jeong Seongbin muttered, seemingly worried. He seemed to feel sorry for his younger member, who was being called out for work even though it was non promotion period.

“Don’t worry, hyung. I’m a professional at being photographed! Have you forgotten the days when we all trained under Iwol hyung?”

“That’s right. If needed, I’ll help you practice too.”

“You heard what that hyung said, right? I’ll come back with a legendary pictorial, so don’t you worry!”

Lee Cheonghyeon flicked his hair with his fingertips and acted cocky. All those days of scolding him and drilling camera training into him were paying off.

“Are we starting to see a difference in individual schedules now?”

The situation was slowly changing from the days of the one off variety show “Genre Switch” or “Unmanned Rest Area,” where the cast was conveniently chosen from within Spark. Love calls, after all, usually targeted a specific person.

It would be nice if the balance of commercials and variety shows was well maintained, but in reality, that was difficult. No matter how hard the company or the planners tried, it was hard for all members to be chosen by the market.

“There’s a saying that great talent matures late, so I hope they don’t get impatient over the immediately visible differences.”

I tried my best not to be conscious of the other three as I skimmed through the catalog Lee Cheonghyeon had brought. Then, Kang Giyeon took the booklet from my hand and said.

“Don’t worry about us too much.”

“Huh?”

“You’re worried our ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ prides would be hurt by the solo ads, right?”

“Well...”

“I already talked to Lee Cheonghyeon when he was sulking in the practice room, but aside from thinking that I need to work harder, I’m not jealous or anything. They pushed us so much in the full album, so there’s nothing to be jealous about.”

I was surprised by his unexpectedly mature comment. Did the system give Kang Giyeon “maturity” itself, not just an “appeal of mature charm”?

“I don’t know what Seongbin hyung and Joowoo hyung think, though.”

“No, I was the one who went on “Genre Switch” alone!”

Jeong Seongbin waved his hands dismissively. All the members’ gazes turned to Park Joowoo, who had never been on a solo variety show and had yet to shoot a solo commercial.

Park Joowoo blushed and said in a small voice.

“For me, it’s enough that the members practiced their instruments for me...”

It was an incredibly modest statement. As no one could bring themselves to say anything, Park Joowoo seemed to decide to be a little more ambitious and declared boldly.

“Since we all practiced together, someday, I’d like to be able to perform together on stage too...!”

Oh, Joowoo. Be a little more greedy...

Until the day of the commercial shoot, Choi Jeho worked out like his life depended on it. Because I nagged him nonstop. I hounded him so much that neither the company nor the manager ever had to say, “Jeho, you need to get your body ready before the shoot!”. The fact that Choi Jeho’s self management cycle had never once faltered probably played a part as well.

As a result, the current Choi Jeho...

“Wow, this is truly worthy of acknowledgement.”

...had his physique acknowledged by 19 year old Lee Cheonghyeon, his former roommate, current teammate, and someone who had seen his hyung’s bare torso with his own eyes at their vacation spot.

Lee Cheonghyeon repeatedly clapped and gave thumbs ups, while making noises like an old man. Smacking poor Kang Giyeon’s forearm, he said.

“Before, hyung’s body was a sculpture, you know? Now, it’s an embossed leather seat.”

“Then isn’t the ‘before’ better?”

“No. A sculpture is just hard, but with an embossed leather seat, you can just imagine the soft touch beneath the firm surface.”

“You seriously have no filter.”

Kang Giyeon grimaced in disgust. Ignoring his friend, Lee Cheonghyeon patted Choi Jeho’s back and chattered on, “How did your body get even better? Hyung, maybe you should have pursued working out! But then our team wouldn’t have a center, so stop working out now!”

“Hey, do I need to lose more?”

Choi Jeho asked me. His voice was full of irritation.

“You weren’t aiming to lose weight in the first place, were you? Haven’t you built enough muscle? You look better than when the brand first contacted us, so I don’t think anyone will complain on set.”

“I’m hungry.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

It must be incredibly difficult for a kid who used to eat three containers of salad at a time to reduce his food intake to a third of that. His face showed zero emotion when he ate chicken breast.

“Eat something after the shoot. Or should I order something in advance?”

“It’s fine.”

Choi Jeho leaned his head back on the sofa.

Still, Choi Jeho had really changed a lot. In the past, he wouldn’t have even noticed his younger members being mindful of him while he was dieting, but these days, when it was mealtime, he was the one who brought it up first—voluntarily!—telling them not to worry about him and to just eat. Kang Giyeon’s eyes had gone wide.

Despite saying he was hungry, Choi Jeho packed his things to go to the gym, saying he was feeling stressed. I was pretty sure he already worked out at dawn. I truly didn’t understand what kind of algorithm his brain was running.

We all had PT sessions as a baseline, but recently, a new face had joined the little gym squad consisting of Choi Jeho and me. Someone who wasn’t just Kang Giyeon dropping by occasionally or Park Joowoo being dragged in for extra lessons—but someone who had practically become a regular.

“You hyungs really work out a lot.”

“The strength to work comes from physical fitness.”

“That’s true, but.”

The moment the promotion period ended, Jeong Seongbin was inducted as a new gym goer. He made a firm resolution to shed more body fat this time.

At first, I was against it. Jeong Seongbin was one of the members in Spark who had a hard time building muscle. I didn’t really want to recommend it, because if you lose fat the wrong way, you could end up looking haggard.

“If you lose more, won’t your body get too skinny?”

“Hyung, haven’t you seen the clip from the end of year music festival’s closing stage, where it’s just us?”

“...”

I’d seen it. When Spark was just among ourselves, Kang Giyeon was the “super cute baby pebble.” But the moment he stood next to members of other groups, he suddenly became “the Portrait of Young David,” “the Owner of Boulder Arms,” “the Young Duke Returning After Slaying Monsters.” And that was the least extreme comparison; Choi Jeho was simply being treated like a human metasequoia.

(TL note: Metasequoia, or dawn redwood, is a genus of fast growing coniferous trees. Source: Wiki.)

Jeong Seongbin’s situation wasn’t much different, so he seemed to be trying to at least reduce his torso circumference...

“Seongbin.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“We’re not meant to be a skinny type group.”

...Not a chance. Don’t try to force your blessed frames into someone else’s standards.

At my words, Jeong Seongbin accepted it without a single protest. Then he set off on a long trek to find an open spot for weight training. His shoulders, unbowed and proudly straight, were quite amusing to watch.