Episode 8: If Only They Could Earn Their Keep
I’m subscribed to 17 YouTube channels in total.
Over 10 of them are related to entertainment and girl groups.
The rest cover mukbangs, fashion, comedy, gaming, and so on.
[TL Note: Mukbang (먹방) – A Korean term meaning “eating broadcast,” where hosts eat large amounts of food while interacting with viewers.]
Every precognitive video that’s arrived so far has come from one of my subscribed channels.
The upload dates range from one month to a year in the future.
This means I can see up to a year into the future.
But there’s one catch: I only get videos from channels I was already subscribed to.
It’s been about 10 days since the first Free Sense truck accident video, and not a single video has come from a non-subscribed channel.
If I’d been subscribed to stock market, investment, or real estate channels, I could’ve made some serious cash…
Oh well, I figured I could just subscribe to lottery or stock-related channels now.
But despite subscribing to those, no videos have come from them.
It seems the “future subscription channels” were locked in based on the day the first video arrived.
This is just my gut feeling, but it also feels like the videos come from channels I’ve liked a lot or watched frequently.
One more thing: even from my subscribed channels, the videos aren’t always useful.
For example, a video came from a channel run by a former low-tier girl group member, but it was just behind-the-scenes stories from her active days—nothing worth predicting.
Same with a mukbang video.
Entertainment-related videos were mostly gossip, like an actor getting discharged from the military or a comedian posting something controversial on SNS.
So far, the truck accident video from the first day has been the most useful.
To summarize:
1. One video arrives daily at exactly 5:00 p.m., and it disappears after I play it.
2. It comes randomly from one of my 17 subscribed channels.
3. No videos come from channels I subscribed to after the first video arrived.
4. The video stays until I watch it.
5. Not all videos are helpful.
Anyway.
It’s been two weeks since I started this job, and Free Sense hasn’t had a single external schedule since the morale-boosting event.
Worse, I haven’t even caught a glimpse of GraceOne, my original reason for joining VIP Entertainment.
They’re currently in Japan for activities.
They’ve returned to Korea a few times for variety shows or CF shoots, but they haven’t come to the company office.
[TL Note:CF (Commercial Film) – In Korea, CF refers to a TV commercial or advertisement. A CF shoot means filming a commercial, often featuring celebrities.]
My department is Management Team 2.
Team 1, the company’s flagship, handles GraceOne, while Team 2 is responsible for Free Sense and, apparently, male trainees they plan to recruit next month.
From the vibe I’ve picked up over the past two weeks, Team 2 seems to be shifting focus from Free Sense to the upcoming boy group.
What the hell?
That means I’m screwed.
I came here to see girl groups, not a bunch of sweaty, hairy dudes.
Male trainees are probably high schoolers, like 15 to 18 years old.
The thought of the practice room, filled with the fragrance of GraceOne and Free Sense, being overtaken by the stench of teenage boy sweat brought back memories of a post-gym-class high school classroom. My nose was already stinging.
Sigh… I’m getting further and further from GraceOne.
I was already disappointed when I got assigned to Free Sense, but the idea of managing a boy group makes Free Sense feel like angels sent from heaven.
Even if they’re an unpopular group, and even if I don’t have any ulterior motives, a girl group is still better than a boy group, right?
I’m not even hoping for GraceOne anymore.
My number-one wish now is for Free Sense to avoid disbanding and at least become a group that can “earn their keep.”
But their current situation is just too bleak.
The response at the morale-boosting event was amazing, and Seung-ah’s quirky talent fit the current trends perfectly. I’d hoped posting the performance videos on their official fan café, SNS, and idol communities would spark some buzz.
But with their near-nonexistent recognition, the response was depressingly minimal.
To put it in perspective, a “24-year-old regular guy Kang Hyun-jong’s deer cry impression” would probably get more attention.
Even the article about Free Sense helping the truck accident victim got buried under ChanceMaker’s explosive scandal.
I was disappointed, but how must the members feel?
They’re probably wandering aimlessly in a tunnel with no end in sight, not even with a car but on foot.
They come to work every day, but there’s no schedule. They practice diligently among themselves, but there’s nowhere to showcase it…
I’m indirectly experiencing that same bleak feeling.
I was hired as a road manager with driving as my specialty, but I’ve barely touched the steering wheel.
Nor has anyone in the office given me specific tasks.
The company’s system is already streamlined, with tasks clearly divided, and it’s not like they’d ask a field worker like me to handle office duties.
Even mundane errands like fetching coffee or making copies are handled by office newbies who started around the same time as me.
I just show up at the office, head to the practice room with Free Sense, and do simple tasks like calculating meal expenses or filming practice videos—stuff even an elementary schooler could do.
The members don’t ask me to do anything either.
I’d rather be busy. Even though I’m in my probation period, I feel guilty for not even earning my keep, and my self-esteem is taking small hits, like a damage-over-time debuff.
Team Leader Jeon Min-yong, perhaps feeling bad that I’m stuck in the practice room with nothing to do during a time when I should be learning the ropes, cracked a joke.
“If we had more artists, you could at least fill in as a road manager and get some field experience… but there’s nothing for a trainee to train for. Untrainable.”
“…”
“It was a joke.”
“Oh… yeah…”
“My jokes are pretty lame. Not even frog-level.”
Did he just… rhyme?
Still, two weeks isn’t a short time.
The fact that Jeon’s started speaking casually to me and showing his goofy, uncle-like charm is at least a positive development.
At 32, he’s not quite old enough to be called an uncle, but he seems to love first-degree, cheesy humor.
I’ve also slowly gotten closer to the Free Sense members.
The member I feel most comfortable with and click with best is the leader who feels like the youngest, Lee Seung-ah.
“Team Leader seems to secretly love his uncle jokes.”
“Yeah, totally! Min-yong oppa’s great at uncle humor.”
“Didn’t he say something earlier? Like, his jokes are so bad they’re ‘frog-level’ or something…”
“Pfft! His jokes are so bad they’re froggy! Hahaha, that’s hilarious!”
Seung-ah’s reactions are top-tier.
She laughs a lot and has a habit of playfully hitting the person next to her, which, from a guy’s perspective, could be misinterpreted as flirtatious.
‘Does she like me?’ That kind of thing.
To other girls, it might look like foxy behavior, but for Seung-ah, it’s just her natural demeanor.
Her voice is cute without being cringey—she’s just born adorable.
Adorable, period.
“Ugh, unnie, you actually think that’s funny? I’ve never laughed at Min-yong oppa’s jokes, not once.”
On the other hand, Kwon Ah-hyun is blunt and reserved with her emotions.
Despite a first impression that might seem cold or standoffish, she’s not particularly prickly—just a bit of a pessimist.
And then there’s the youngest, Baek Jin-ah.
“Ugh. I wanna see a stag beetle. I’ve never seen one in my life. Have you guys?”
“Oh my gosh, what is she even saying? I still can’t get used to you.”
The more you know her, the more unpredictably 4D she gets.
Even Ah-hyun, who’s known her for almost a year, can’t adjust—imagine how I feel.
“I saw one in elementary school. A boy in my class brought one to school. It was gross at first, but the horns were kinda cool after a while.”
And Seung-ah, entertaining her stag beetle talk—what is she?
“I wanna. Make a stag beetle hair clip.”
Baek Jin-ah, you absolute lunatic.
What kind of mental universe do you live in to think of putting that on your head?
These days, people who live half-heartedly are said to be “living just because they were born.” But Jin-ah feels like she was accidentally born in the wrong dimension.
I’ve met my share of so-called 4D people in my life.
I’ve got friends who are top-tier weirdos, and I consider myself a bit unhinged and impulsive by default.
But Jin-ah is a whole new level of weirdo I’ve never encountered.
To put it nicely, her sensitivity and perspective on the world are unique.
She’d fit right in with art, literature, or creative fields, even if she weren’t an idol.
“I should make one later. A stag beetle hair clip.”
Though she lacks build-up, her conclusions are oddly tidy.
At first glance, you might think she’s perfect for variety shows, but her polarizing personality could easily breed antis, so she’d need to be careful.
Seung-ah, with her great reactions and bright energy, or Ah-hyun, with her blunt honesty, would fare better on variety shows.
Seeing these girls, each with their own distinct layers like a geological cross-section, come together under the idol category and practice in sync, I couldn’t help but think they actually mesh surprisingly well.
They’re like an ice cream cake blended with different flavors, each distinct yet harmonious.
On one hand, I couldn’t help but wonder: if, by some miracle, Free Sense shot to fame and gained wider recognition, just how far could they go?
Even though I’m just a road manager, the title of “manager” has sparked a sense of responsibility and ambition for my artists.
My gaze naturally drifted to my phone.
The future videos.
If a video came that could directly help Free Sense, like the truck accident one, it might be worth a shot…
Did my wish somehow reach the system of this supernatural ability?
On the 15th day since joining the company, a Sunday and my day off, at exactly 5:00 p.m., as I was waiting to see what future video would arrive before meeting friends for dinner, it came.
Ding-dong.
“Here it is.”
The channel was ‘All the Girl Groups in the World’, and it included exactly what I’d been hoping for—content about Free Sense.
The upload date was about a month from now.
I hit “Like” first, then pressed play.
[#Heartwarming Stories of Girl Groups with Beautiful Souls]
–Hello, this is SemoGirl from All the Girl Groups in the World.
–Today, we’re diving into stories of girl group members who’ve made a big impact on fans and those around them.
–The first episode features Somin from Today’s Girl, also known as the ‘heartwarming idol’…”
Free Sense was the third segment.
–Third up is Free Sense. Remember the story from last April when Free Sense and their manager helped handle the aftermath of a near-collision with a truck?
–The victim in the truck was a man in his 60s…
So it was related to that accident.
Because I prevented the crash, the future video’s content had adjusted accordingly.
The truck driver, after over 10 hours of major surgery, thankfully regained consciousness.
His wife had called Team Leader Jeon Min-yong to express her gratitude.
But that was the last we heard from them.
According to the SemoGirl video, the Free Sense members took the initiative to visit the driver in the hospital, and the story gained traction after being picked up by the press.
It became a hot topic…?
How big of a topic could it have been for Free Sense to be featured in a heartwarming stories segment alongside famous girl groups?
Despite our company sending out press releases about the accident for days, there had been little response.
Still, if it became a topic, it’s worth a try, right?
Right now, Free Sense is in a state where they’d grab at not just straws but even a loose thread on a T-shirt to make something happen.
***
The next day at work, I casually brought it up with Team Leader Jeon.
“Team Leader, has there been any follow-up from the truck driver’s side?”
“Nope. That call from his wife was the first and last.”
“Oh…”
“Why? Did they contact you?”
“No, it’s not that… I was just thinking, since he’s probably still in the hospital, maybe we should visit him.”
“Come on, they should be the ones reaching out to us. Why should we go to them?”
Jeon’s reaction was that there was no need to go that far.
The driver was safe, which was a relief, and since we’d already put out several articles about the incident, we’d done our part—that was his vibe.
Pushing further felt like overstepping, so I didn’t press the issue.
Instead, I dropped a hint to the Free Sense members.
“What if we visited the truck driver from that accident?”