'What about TeStar's Rookie of the Year award, again?'

I could already guess what the post was about but I clicked on it anyway.

As I expected.

'I roughly expected this reaction.'

Wasn't this what could be heard since we were active at the same time as VTIC? The fact that we were destroying the social ecosystem.

It was honestly understandable.

' is quite popular.'

Since we were a group that debuted with the halo of such a popular audition program, it wasn't strange to hear things like 'this was the tyrannical authority of a broadcasting company and a large conglomerate.'

However, the contestants suffered terribly while filming the show, and in the first place, the higher-ups thought the show would fail at first and almost gave up, so it was a bit unfair to be cursed at.

'Anyway, the public opinion about this isn't strong enough to change the tide.'

Looking at the comments, the atmosphere was embarrassingly one-sided to say that people were fighting about this.

//TN: In case someone has forgotten, aggro means meaningless attention-seeking behavior, so basically 'attention whore'.

The latter half of the comments were practically making a mockery of the original poster.

'Hmm, I don't really like this atmosphere.'

It was probably right that this post was just an aggro, but the problem was that there were some comments ridiculing the performances of other rookie groups that debuted this year.

They didn't seem to be TeStar's fans but just some people who found mocking others to be fun.

'Giving them room to fight with the fans of the other rookie groups that debuted this year like this isn't good.'

It was a bit annoying but not that big of a deal. The post wasn't particularly popular that it would attract attention, and TeStar's score wasn't so low that people could criticize it.

I just shrugged and went to another page.

And the following week, even when I was in the middle of preparing for the year-end award ceremony's practice I didn't worry too much about the Rookie of the Year award.

* * *

The mirror in the practice room was all foggy.

"Let's rest and, haah, let's go again."

"Huff huff..."

"I, I'm dying."

If Cha Yujin was saying that then that would explain everything about the other guys' condition even without saying.

'Cha Yujin... has it the hardest, though.'

This was because Cha Yujin's solo choreography part of the song we were practicing was quite long.

It looked like the finished work would be great since there was even riding an aerial installation put in... the problem was that it was terribly hard for the person doing it.

"Water, please?"

"Yeah..."

I threw a bottle of mineral water I was holding to Cha Yujin.

"...Me too, please."

"Moondae, me too please, I beg you."

I threw the water to both Sejins who were at a distance. And for a moment, the practice room became quiet. Everyone was pouring water into their mouths.

It was not until quite a while later that Seon Ahyun looked up and spoke.

"S-still...I think it will be cool when we do it."

"That's right."

"If the camera is held properly, it will be a great performance."

At Kim Raebin's words, giggles erupted here and there. And Kim Raebin was a little confused as he couldn't figure out why people were laughing.

'Funny guy.'

I took out my smartphone with a smirk on my face. I was going to use the break to check the progress of the Rookie of the Year award voting.

However, as the manager came into the practice room hands full of drinks, I naturally put the phone down.

"Hyung!"

"Coffee!"

"Thank you so much for making it iced..."

The manager asked while handing over the drinks.

"Yeah... Guys. Is the practice going well?"

"Yes!"

"If we keep the practice schedule like this, I think we can pull it off well at the awards ceremony."

"Hmm, that's great! But guys, come sit down for a bit."

"...?"

Ryu Chungwoo, who was relaying the progress as the representative, was a bit taken aback, but soon calmly called the members together.

"What is it?"

"...Do we have additional schedules?"

"No, it's not like that. Uhm..."

The manager had a troubled face. After hesitating a few times, he spoke seriously.

"They said... there will be an article coming out tomorrow. Regarding IdolCo."

"...!"

"Tnet tried to block it as much as possible, but it didn't seem to work. We are also preparing a response article, so don't worry too much."

"...What kind of article?"

"Well, there's a rumor going around about the participation in IdolCo, but it'll be okay because we already have all the rebuttal materials. In particular, it seems like Chungwoo got caught in this, so Chungwoo, don't panic."

I barely put up with the silence.

'It must have unraveled now.'

This was 100% about the writer being a relative.

'The writer also kept her mouth shut so I thought this wouldn't become a big deal for a year.'

It seemed like there were many who joined to dig up things since the group was doing so well.

Ryu Chungwoo must have guessed this since his face had darkened, but he didn't seem flustered.

However, he cautiously asked.

"...Do I have to go say something more about this?"

"I haven't heard anything about that... Wait a minute."

The manager went out to make a call again with a puzzled face.

And the atmosphere of the remaining members naturally slumped. It was because the adrenaline, which was offsetting the fatigue of practice, had just disappeared with the news.

Keun Sejin asked seriously.

"Hyung-nim, you're probably tired, but can you briefly explain what's going on?"

"...Of course."

Just as Ryu Chungwoo had told me everything at the last drinking party, he repeated the same words to the members.

To sum it up, the writer, who was a distant relative and who he barely knew, contacted him through a family reunion.

Most of them were relieved as they felt that this would not escalate into a big problem if the explanation was delivered well.

"Mm, then there's no relationship between you~"

"That's right... I don't think this will grow much if there is an explanation."

Ryu Chungwoo still looked bitter.

"I'm sorry for causing unnecessary controversy at such an important time."

"I-it's okay! Hy-hyung, don't worry too much..."

"Well, what can you do about something that has already happened~ Let's hope things work out for us!"

Bae Sejin quietly added his words.

"Ryu Chungwoo, if you're like that then I should have already left the group."

"...!"

This guy was even making self-deprecating jokes now.

And Cha Yujin brightly responded.

"That's true!"

"Hey!"

"Haha!"

Since the hot-tempered Bae Sejin was laughing, the atmosphere became more relaxed.

"Well, worrying doesn't make a difference~ Should we continue practicing?"

"That's a wise decision."

Although the manager, who came back after finishing the phone call, was a little taken aback when he saw us already back to practicing, he returned with peace of mind.

Then the next morning, after I was concerned about the fatigue and just fell asleep, a series of articles appeared.

That was an expected lineup.

Comments instantly increased on a few articles on the society page and not the entertainment page.

"Don't look at the comments."

"...Okay."

Ryu Chungwoo looked worried.

"...The fans must be having a hard time."

Fortunately, a series of rebuttal articles also appeared immediately.

Usually, in these cases, the rebuttal articles often did not receive proper attention.

However, the response was made immediately within a very short time, and because Ryu Chungwoo's existing image was good, he was able to rise to the top of the portal news tab.

Of course, the efforts of the fans were great.

Most of TeStar's fans were understanding, and public opinion also quickly began to recover.

The company's press and public relations team was also contacted separately.

"It doesn't look like it's becoming a big problem. But still, let's refrain from social media for a while, Chungwoo."

"...Yes. Thank you."

Ryu Chungwoo looked relieved, but he seemed a bit distraught since he couldn't post anything, such as an apology or gratitude to his fans.

I held back a sigh.

'...Talking about this would be difficult.'

In fact, it had been confirmed that some communities on the Internet failed to restore general public opinion.

The suspicion and criticism of Ryu Chungwoo grew stronger, and eventually, the arrows were directed at TeStar as a whole.

Of course, this wasn't a normal atmosphere, so it didn't last long and subsided to some extent. It was because of the people, who were tired of things going this far, taking the lead in the latter half.

The company thought that those internet places would move on quickly if another issue broke out, and seemed to have pushed it back in the priority list as they focused more on dealing with the mainstream media.

Therefore, the public opinion that doubted TeStar's legitimacy did not disappear immediately and remained an inconvenience.

And not long after, this conversation eventually came out again.

What was different from last time was that there were people who actively responded.