# Chapter 82
“I don’t attend showcases often, so I’m not sure if this showcase is unusual or if it’s just me.”
Sounds of agreement were heard in response.
“Right? I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I was under the impression that journalists would be here asking questions. When I occasionally see showcase articles, the artists are photographed on the photo line, but that doesn’t seem to be happening for Ki Hyunshin and Crop Five. I was worried I might have missed some information.”
It wasn’t a pre-planned comment, but those natural remarks seemed to create a comfortable atmosphere.
The conversation flowed comfortably, and both Ki Hyunshin and Crop Five seemed to speak much better than usual.
There was a segment where Ki Hyunshin and Crop Five talked about each other, and Cheon Hojae showed interest in their collaboration.
They had already discussed it several times on broadcasts.
But some people might not know about it, and it was a good topic for casual conversation, so Ki Hyunshin and Crop Five each shared their story.
“That’s amazing. Even if you admired and respected a senior artist, it’s not easy for such a connection to develop, is it?”
“Our manager really loved Hyunshin sunbaenim. As some of you may know, our manager was doing very well at a major corporation before returning for us. We wanted to give our manager a gift. That gift was Hyunshin sunbaenim. We thought bringing in Hyunshin sunbaenim would help our manager. We worked incredibly hard for it.”
Cheon Hojae’s expression brightened progressively while Irun was speaking.
“Irun-ssi. I’ve been watching you since the beginning, and it seems like you’re talking much more these days. I really love your deep cave-like voice, and I’ve been hoping you’d speak more. Hearing you talk at length like this makes me feel like my wish has been granted.”
“Thank you. I’ll talk more from now on.”
“Yes, please do. And since we’ve mentioned our manager several times, we can’t not call them up, right? I think they must be here somewhere—where are you?”
This wasn’t planned, and I had no intention of going on stage.
So I tried to pretend I didn’t notice until the end, but suddenly a spotlight fell right on me.
Screams erupted, and I was startled, covered my ears, and lowered my head.
Laughter could be heard from all around.
“Our manager looks just like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. We’ve already spotted you. Come on out. There’s nowhere to escape.”
I never thought Cheon Hojae’s voice could sound so reproachful. Somehow, I had no chance to escape.
“Well, it seems you won’t come out without applause, so please, everyone, give a round of applause.”
Did I say earlier that the cheers were deafening?
That was a lie.
Compared to the cheers that erupted then, the previous ones were absolutely nothing.
I even felt like I was getting undeserved attention.
It also felt like I was stealing the spotlight from others who deserved it…
When I went up on stage, the Crop Five members approached me.
“I can go by myself, you know?”
I practiced ventriloquism, filling my voice with complaints about being called out, and the members laughed.
“MC-nim. Our manager is cursing at us.”
Cheon Hojae, with his kind face, smiled and told me not to do that.
I greeted him and sat in the chair that the staff brought.
“Wow! I can’t imagine what I would have missed if I hadn’t come today. I really like our Manager Kang Seomin. Manager Kang Seomin is both a manager and a CEO, right? I guess you’d prefer to be called CEO?”
“No. I prefer to be called manager. Because that’s what I am.”
Ooooh!!
Exclamations and loud applause erupted from the audience.
Ki Hyunshin and Crop Five also clapped enthusiastically.
“Wow, that’s really cool! I can imagine how empowering those words must be for Crop Five. I understand you held a high position at a company that many people would love to work for. It couldn’t have been easy to give up that position and come here. What was your reasoning? Honestly, this question isn’t on my prepared list—I’m just personally curious and using my MC privileges to ask.”
Laughter was heard, and I became increasingly nervous about answering without making mistakes.
“I thought I had to go when they called me. Crop Five aren’t exactly thorough or meticulous kids, so I was worried they might inconvenience others if I left them in someone else’s care. It felt like leaving a child by the water—anxiety-inducing. Even when I was elsewhere, I couldn’t concentrate on work… So I thought I might as well watch over them up close.”
Cheon Hojae bent over with laughter, and Crop Five looked proud.
“This might sound like a joke, but from what I’ve observed, it’s 100 percent true. That’s exactly how Crop Five is, and that’s exactly how the manager feels about Crop Five.”
When Ki Hyunshin provided this testimony, Cheon Hojae laughed even harder.
The conversation continued in a consistently warm atmosphere, and their performance was prepared once again.
I thought I could finally go back down and relaxed, but Cheon Hojae was not an easy opponent.
Next, he suggested that I co-host with him, which meant I was trapped there without being able to move.
* * *
[Did you see Crop Five’s showcase? Did you see Seomin hosting? Honestly, isn’t he just too cute and lovable? If the manager is this charming, how are the singers supposed to appeal to fans?]
[Crop Five all look like puppies. You can totally see how happy they are whenever Seominnie is with them.]
[Dagyeong’s skin is completely like whipped cream. It’s so white and literally glows.]
[I was worried that Sijin was very sick, but I’m relieved it’s not that serious. I didn’t realize Crop Five’s voices would harmonize so well with God-Hyunshin. Sijin did so well covering God-Hyunshin before that I had high expectations for this album—why did his throat have to act up now of all times?]
[Will he be missing from all the album activities? So disappointing.]
The response to the showcase was passionate and didn’t die down for a long time.
Fancam videos were uploaded one after another, and there were many videos of me enthusiastically co-hosting next to Cheon Hojae.
I was nervous and flustered at first, but somehow I got into it and seemed to get too carried away.
I kept making Crop Five do embarrassing things until eventually Cheon Hojae stopped me with a smile.
The best reactions came when Crop Five looked at me with contemptuous expressions while I laughed excitedly, thinking I’d gotten the better of them.
Those who would come to a showcase would be people who liked us, and most would watch whatever we did with motherly smiles.
‘Still, I was showing off too much.’
While I was secretly monitoring by myself, Cha Yeonwoo approached without me noticing and teased me about it.
“Hey, if our manager doesn’t work and only watches videos of himself, what are we supposed to do? Isn’t this workplace negligence?”
“Oh, no. I’m not watching videos of my manager. I’m watching videos of your manager.”
“Ah, that’s right. Got it. But hyung, at this rate, aren’t you going to start getting casting offers?”
It seemed like he was joking, but it actually happened.
At first, I thought it was a prank, but gradually more and more calls came looking for me.
Hyung said that I might actually be pretty good at it and suggested that I seriously consider it, but the person who most strongly opposed it was Sijin.
At first, Sijin didn’t seem to take it too seriously when he heard people say I might get offers, but he grew increasingly anxious.
He kept asking me several times if I was really not going to do it.
I hadn’t really been considering it, but seeing Han Sijin act that way made me wonder if I should try it.
The fact that I thought that way solely to make Sijin anxious showed I was pretty hopeless myself.
Whenever this happened, Sijin would circle around me like a puppy that needed to pee, asking if I really had to do it.
I didn’t have to, but when I asked why he was acting that way, he said he’d prefer if I didn’t, and I nodded.
He probably didn’t expect me to give up so quickly, so Sijin was delighted, asking if I really meant it.
Crop Five was incredibly busy with broadcast activities with Ki Hyunshin, barely having time to breathe.
And Sijin, who didn’t need to participate in their schedules, spent more time with me.
Usually, even if I accompanied them while managing their schedules, I would have to watch from behind the camera or wait alone while they recorded or did broadcasts.
But now, we could be together whenever we wanted without those constraints.
I hadn’t considered that Sijin might have given up all those opportunities for me, but at some point, I suddenly realized it.
