“Can we hear the reason you want to face Spark, Ond?”

Mr. Hellas Yur’s microphone was passed to Doah, Ond’s maknae, who had been busily waving his hand from his seat.

“I’ve watched Spark’s cover performances... really! Without missing a single one!”

“This is true. We watch them a ton in the dorm.”

Testimonies from his housemates poured in from the side. Pointing at us who bowed in gratitude, Doah continued.

“Seeing the last season, it seems the song exchange stage happens only once, so I worked up the nerve and came out here. I want to see Spark cover one of our songs!”

His enthusiasm was impressive. He had to know that asking for a junior group to cover your song could make you look insecure, yet he showed no hesitation.

“Was what he said during the pre-interview true?”

We’re really invested in this program. We’re the type who gets along well with other artists,

More than wanting to appeal with these points, I could feel he genuinely wanted Spark to sing their songs.

“However, the choice belongs to Spark. I imagine Spark has also given a lot of thought to whom they’d like to face in the first round. What do you think, Spark?”

Mr. Hellas Yur asked kindly. That said, there wasn’t really much of a choice.

“We’d love to!”

If a senior asked us, of course, we’d accept gratefully. No room to be picky.

Parte naturally ended up paired with Slay. Filming ended with a request to prepare well for the next contest.

As I was exchanging farewells with other teams and about to leave, Mr. Polo called me. Then he waved his phone.

Returning to the waiting room and checking my phone, there was a text from Mr. Polo.

Hellas Polo sunbaenim

[Mr. Iwol]

[Do you have any plans after this??]

[If not, do you wanna grab a meal~]

[As a repayment for subbing on the radio!]

The timing was awkward for a meal. Calling it repayment felt odd too, the radio fill-in had been last year. And it was the first time he’d ever made such a sudden invitation.

MCs didn’t have voting rights, but even so, calling out a contestant from a survival show, especially a junior group, was unusual. Someone with Polo’s seniority couldn’t possibly be unaware of the potential ripple effects if this meeting were discovered.

Even so, if he was going out of his way to ask, there had to be a reason.

Me

[Won’t fans be waiting for you after work, sunbaenim?]

Hellas Polo sunbaenim

[They probably all went home after seeing Hellas Yur hyung off hehe]

[Only the production team knew I was appearingㅠㅠ]

After confirming there was little risk of trouble, I informed my manager in advance and headed to the parking lot. Mr. Polo was waiting for me in the driver’s seat.

“Do you like sushi, Mr. Iwol? There’s a good place nearby.”

“I do. If you’re okay with it, sunbaenim, shall we go there?”

“Sounds good. I’ll make a quick call to the restaurant and then we’ll head out.”

It must have been a regular spot, Mr. Polo secured a reservation in no time. As befitted an expensive car, it pulled away before I even had time to feel it move.

On the way, we made light conversation. Mostly about recent happenings.

“Do you have a license, Mr. Iwol?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Figures. Spark isn’t really at the stage where you can go out traveling for fun yet, right?”

“Of course. We have to work hard!”

Mr. Polo burst out laughing. Maybe my answer sounded insincere. I urgently needed to recheck my outward attitude.

After thoroughly unsettling me, Polo calmly finished parking. A type of restaurant I would only look up when reserving a family dinner for Manager Nam was in front of my eyes.

“Sushi......”

“Yes, sushi place.”

“Aren’t sushi and omakase pretty different?”

“Think of it as interest accrued because the promise got delayed!”

Mr. Polo said casually. All I could do was squeeze my eyes shut.

We were guided to the innermost private room. Once the door closed, Mr. Polo took off his outerwear.

“Sorry for calling you suddenly. You must be tired from filming just now.”

“Not at all. Sunbaenim worked harder.”

“Do you think hosting is more tiring than being on stage? Besides, Hellas Yur hyung handled most of it. I just had it easy.”

He seemed used to attributing credit to others and speaking humbly. Yet, it didn’t feel like he was excessively putting himself down.

“This isn’t about being too humble because people look down on you.”

“Then what is it?”

“You’ve gotten used to self-deprecation.”

Was it because Choi Jeho’s words came to mind? I found myself needlessly thinking about the difference between the person in front of me and myself.

Even something as socially common as treating someone to a meal for helping out, I still found myself wary and suspicious, wondering if ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) there was some catch.

While I was agonizing over how to accept the goodwill, the appetizer arrived just in time. Mr. Polo asked while taking a spoonful of Japanese-style steamed egg.

“How do you feel about appearing on ‘Idol Annals of the Dynasty’? Wasn’t it burdensome?”

“There’s really only one answer I can give!”

“Was that a bit inappropriate question for the program MC to ask?”

Mr. Polo laughed loudly. I couldn’t bring myself to laugh. Where do you plan to bury me......

“The reason I asked to see you today is partly because of the radio thing, but.”

Mr. Polo put down his spoon. I also straightened my posture further.

“I found out something today that’s been bothering me. I called you to tell you about that.”

His hand reached for the cup of steaming water. I wondered why he was beating around the bush like this.

“It’s embarrassing since it’s like spitting on my own face but... It seems MYTH is trying to benchmark Spark heavily.”

“Ah, yes.”

For a conglomerate that supposedly had everything, it was despicable behavior. Even thinking back on it, it was so petty I could only laugh. Though I held back because doing that in front of a MYTH person wouldn’t be polite.

“Did you already know?”

“Pardon?”

Instead of continuing, Mr. Polo threw a question.

Did he really think I wouldn’t know? With how blatantly and foolishly they were going about it?

“I guessed it because I know the internal situation, but Mr. Iwol.....”

“I don’t know why we were the target, but it was obvious.”

“Wow.”

Mr. Polo let out a small exclamation. Judging by his reaction, he really had come just to tell me this.

“Then sunbaenim, why did you feel the need to...”

I didn’t finish with “tell me this on purpose.” The intent was clear enough.

The next dish arrived, briefly interrupting the conversation. Once the server’s footsteps faded, Mr. Polo gave a bitter smile.

“I’m not trying to act like a good person. From the moment I recognized the company’s fault and didn’t raise an issue, I’m the same as them. It’s awkward to call it an excuse, but Hellas Yur hyung tried talking once, but it seems the conversation didn’t go well.”

“.......”

“But, um... Spark works hard at everything.”

I was worried you might feel helpless if you only found out later.

Mr. Polo smiled awkwardly.

To begin with, it wasn’t really a situation where anyone could intervene. It was not like Parte stole our unique IP, and I had rarely seen cases preventing ambiguous plagiarism under the pretext of similar concepts in idol activities.

Once someone said, “It just happened to overlap,” there wasn’t much the one being copied could do. When someone subtly imitates you, it often feels like you’re the only one bothered by it.

And could an idol responsible for a company’s stock price really take their company head-on? I only rammed into them because I had no subordinates under Yu Hansu or Hong Unseop; otherwise, even I would have hesitated. Whistleblowing wasn’t easy.

“You don’t need to worry about us.”

“Doesn’t it stress you out? It’s incredibly annoying when someone keeps poking at you like that.”

“It’s not like Parte sunbaenim is our only competitor.”

I was indirectly saying that we weren’t about to fixate on just one group and neglect keeping the other groups in check. Mr. Polo covered his mouth, stifling a laugh.

“Newri noona must be happy. To have such strong juniors in the company.”

“Wouldn’t Parte sunbaenims be happy too? They have Polo sunbaenim.”

“Are you asking me to buy dessert too?”

“No way.”

Thanks to wrapping up the talk amicably, we could enjoy light chat during the main meal. I couldn’t exactly laugh off his comment about Hellas Yur sunbaenim counting the days until he could eat with me, but everything else was pleasant. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

While waiting for Manager Chanyoung, Mr. Polo asked while drinking the coffee served as a palate cleanser.

“What will you do when you get back, Mr. Iwol?”

“Tonight?”

What would I do?

“Figure out how to survive.”

I’ll make 101 plans to crush that agency. I’ll tell the Spark guys not to even associate with Parte. If Allover was the block list last year, this time it’s your junior group. Just because I don’t denounce them everywhere doesn’t mean I won’t put up an iron wall.

At my words, Mr. Polo made a chilling remark that he regretted renewing his contract with MYTH. Afraid someone might overhear, I double-checked that the door was closed, then respectfully lifted his coffee cup with both hands and held it up to his mouth

Spark wasn’t particularly surprised even after hearing the news of Parte’s “Great Spark Copycat Operation.”

“With an environment that lacks nothing compared to ours, why bother?”

...No, they were surprised. Just in a slightly different direction.

“Maybe they think they got robbed during the last ‘Idol Annals of the Dynasty’. There was a lot of talk about Parte sunbaenims winning 1st place.”

Kang Giyeon explained his own conclusion to the reluctant Lee Cheonghyeon. Lee Cheonghyeon nodded stiffly.

“We’ll push forward with what we planned, but even if we’re fine now, seeing our ideas reproduced right in front of us could hit hard. Brace yourselves, everyone. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Only Jeong Seongbin answered energetically. The others’ eyes were filled with rebellious spirit.

“If they even take Cheonghyeon’s song, I won’t be able to stand it...”

“That won’t happen. That would be outright plagiarism.”

After soothing the quiet revolutionary Park Juu, it was already dawn.

While chasing everyone out to go to sleep, Jeong Seongbin called out to me quietly.

“Hyung. The script for the middle part of the drama came in. I put it on the desk.”

Usually, the manager delivered drama-related work, but since I came in late, it seemed Jeong Seongbin became the carrier.

“Thanks. Right now......”

“.......”

“......I’ll just skim through it and sleep!”

“You don’t say you won’t read it. Go ahead and read comfortably, then sleep. Just set your alarm a bit later.”

“Okay. Good night.”

Thanks to the leader’s generous grace, I was able to check the script before sleeping. I couldn’t be more grateful for how flexible Jeong Seongbin was when it came to work.

After everyone went to bed, I stayed alone in the empty living room, reading the script. Only the occasional sound of turning pages echoed through the quiet space.

This peaceful atmosphere was short-lived.

“......Huh?”

The abruptly shifting story of the drama flustered me.