Licorice (3)
Lunatic Entertainment.
It was the name of a new company established by the Blood Alliance for this project.
Of course, there were many difficult conditions to meet in order to establish an entertainment company, but it wasn’t that difficult for a blood alliance with both power and money to meet those conditions.
With unlimited money invested, Lunatic Entertainment took on a promising appearance in no time.
Not only was an entire building with a cafe provided as the company’s headquarters, but talented people who were recognized in this field were also scouted one after another in exchange for huge salaries.
“Brother Park, did you hear the news? I heard that Team Leader 3, who quit a while ago, moved to a new company···.”
“Really? No, I was wondering why someone who was sure to be in an executive position within a few years quit. The place he went to was just a new company? Did they give him the position of CEO there?”
“But that startup is no ordinary startup. It seems like a large corporation is pushing it forward, and the amount of capital invested is astronomical. It seems like they offered enormous salaries to not only Team Leader 3, but all the scouted employees.”
“Oh, right, no matter how good the money is, it’s like that. In a place where the future is uncertain···.”
Naturally, the news couldn’t help but attract the attention of people in the industry.
There are quite a few entertainment companies that appear and disappear every year on this scene, but there aren’t many companies that grow their influence so aggressively by pouring in so much capital.
In addition, Jin So-ran, the second-in-command of the blood alliance and the initiator of the project, did not simply spend capital while carrying out the work.
‘The future of all of us vampires depends on this. We have already received the Lord’s permission, so there is no need to hesitate any longer.’
For those with sick family members, he provided them with mysteries that were difficult to obtain with money alone, such as healing abilities and potions, and for those with grievances, he used his power and connections to relieve their grudges.
To increase the loyalty of those on board and make them do their best for this project.
The unprecedented idol group Lycoris, made up entirely of vampires, was the result of countless efforts.
When everything is ready and there is not much time left until debut.
The surprise press release, which was distributed as part of a publicity stunt, created an uproar in society as expected.
-Huh? An idol? Who? A vampire?
-ㅋㅋㅋYou’re joking. I won’t be fooled.
└No, it’s real. Why isn’t this a scam??
-If you’re a vampire, you’re a mine. But you’re coming out and saying you want to be a celebrity? This country’s going crazy.
└What I’m saying is, it’s the end of the world. What on earth are the Guardians and the civil servants doing? They’re not arresting those guys.
I was somewhat prepared for it, but the reaction wasn’t all that good.
Although the image of vampires has improved over the years through various incidents, the stereotypes ingrained in them were too deep-rooted to tolerate their social status as celebrities, who were no different from symbols of the sun.
It is common to complain to the community, and even to direct and indirect criticism and insults at those involved.
The only good thing is that the reactions weren’t all negative, so it seems like the effort was worth it.
-Wow…; But everyone’s visuals are no joke. The music video teaser is playing endlessly. I can’t get out of it…
└I also stared blankly for a while before finally coming to my senses. Is this what they mean when they say you’re being bewitched by a fox?
└Fox X Vampire O
└This is not only a visual but also a visual with a great synergy with the song. The music in the teaser isn’t that long but it sucks you in. I want to hear the full version soon;;
-No, but if you think about it, it wouldn’t be bad for us, right? We don’t have any reason to hang out with celebrities anyway, so if it’s a vampire or something, it’s just nice to look at, right?
└Really lol
Of course, there was a little bit of, just a little bit of, public opinion manipulation involved.
Still, it was true that not everyone was negative.
“Hehehe, okay···. Click like here too···.”
Licorice’s lead vocalist and youngest member, who is also in charge of cuteness, Lee Na-hee was lying face down on the sofa in her dorm, looking at the smartphone in her hand and mumbling.
Of course, there were more bad comments than good ones, but she didn’t show any particular reaction other than mercilessly pressing the report button on those comments.
‘Well, I’m used to getting cursed at just because I’m a vampire.’
All members of Licorice are carefully selected talents.
Since mentality is a significant factor in the evaluation criteria, she had the mental strength to overcome something like this without much difficulty, despite her young age.
“Nahee! Are you searching us again? Didn’t the company tell you not to look at stuff like that?”
“ah!”
At that moment, the smartphone was ripped out of Nahee’s hand along with a woman’s voice that sounded like a reproach.
She fumbled for her phone while lying face down, but soon gave up and slumped down on the sofa.
As you can see from the fact that she, a level 4 vampire, was able to have the item stolen without even noticing it, it would have been nearly impossible for the opponent to get the item back with just her power if she had wanted to.
The main dancer of Licorice and the leader in charge of sexiness—Yoon Seol, a level 6 vampire, sighed deeply while holding the phone that had been taken away.
‘There’s nothing good about continuing to hear such negative words. It may seem okay now, but irritating memories don’t go away and continue to accumulate deep in your mind.’
And when something happens and your heart becomes weak, they will take advantage of that gap and burst out all at once.
Yunseol, who already knew this fact well from experience, looked at the young youngest with eyes full of worry.
As is the case with most idols who debuted recently, the members of Licorice are not that old.
The oldest, Yun Seol, is only twenty-two.
On the other hand, the youngest, Nahee, was only a middle school student, so on average, she would be in her late teens.
But there was one blind spot in this ‘age’…
‘Three out of the five of us are returnees, so we have more experience than our registered age, but you’re really just a kid of that age.’
The problem was that it was based on the age of the Earth, not the actual age experienced.
Another high school member who had become a vampire on Earth was very diligent and had kept his distance from public opinion as the company had told him to, but I couldn’t help but worry because the youngest member, Nahee, couldn’t control her curiosity.
‘Should I just confiscate the phone…? But it’s a bit much to do that to just you… Ah! Yeah, that’d be a good idea.’
At that moment, a good idea suddenly flashed through Yunseol’s mind.
She slowly opened her mouth, looking intently at the girl pressed against the sofa.
“If you keep doing that, I’ll tell Director Ha everything. You keep disobeying company guidelines.”
“Eww! Mr. Director?”
“Yeah, I guess it would be better to just leave this phone with the manager. You can just ask for it whenever you need it, right?”
At those words, a look of burden appeared on Inahee’s face.
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It had to be that way.
The character named Director Ha that came out of Yun Seol’s mouth was definitely not an ordinary person.
“Sister! That’s a bit···”
‘Chief Ha’, who recently joined the Licorice team.
No one knew his real name.
Director Ha is just Director Ha.
Even the president of Lunatic Entertainment probably doesn’t know.
To that extent, he was in a special position.
Unlike the other employees who are busy day and night as their debut approaches, he does not do anything.
Just sit back, eat something, and watch the situation unfold.
But that just made him seem more special.
‘There’s a limit to parachuting. There’s no way that person would be an ordinary manager.’
A watcher sent from above, or a high-powered person in case of danger.
That was the identity of Director Ha that the executives and staff of Lunatic Entertainment, including Licorice, thought of.
Of course, there was no one who could treat him comfortably.
···In fact, I was so overwhelmed by his appearance and atmosphere that I didn’t dare to speak to him.
“I’ll let it slide this time. But next time you get caught, will you really do as I say?”
“···okay.”
In the end, Inahee Lee had no choice but to nod obediently to Yunseol’s threats.
I didn’t want to get on that scary old man’s bad side just to satisfy my curiosity.
Yunseol smiled bitterly as she looked at Nahee, who was pouting after receiving her smartphone back.
I still think she’s young for her age.
‘If the higher-ups assigned such a person to us… it means they judged that if we were to operate, that much trouble would arise.’
The members of Lycoris have become stronger than before thanks to the grace of Lord Heinz.
She sighed as she recalled Director Ha’s level, which even she, who had reached level 6, could not fathom.
I hope there won’t be too much of a fuss.
Time passed like that.
The day has finally come for Lycoris to debut.
***
“Hmm, is this finally the real start?”
Hair neatly slicked back, a manly, thick-lined face, large, dark sunglasses, and a black suit that looks like it could burst at any moment.
The moment anyone saw her, Harley, who was dressed in a shrunken outfit, slowly stroked her chin.
Then I slowly looked around the stage just before the debut showcase started.
It seemed like all the hard work in the media had paid off, as the place was packed with people showing off the interest they had been pouring into Licorice.
‘Well, I guess that can’t be helped.’
Isn’t this the world’s first vampire idol group?
Even though I thought it might be dangerous in my head, there was something about its fatal charm that made me want to take the risk and see for myself.
As an entertainment reporter, it would have been difficult to give up on material that was expected to attract this many views.
‘Of course, not all of them came here because of such special interest.’
Harley closed her eyes tightly and covered the surrounding area with her territory.
All my senses except sight began to jump around wildly.
‘As expected. It seems there are quite a few friends who don’t like this event.’
He was sitting calmly in the official seat while everyone was busy, and he let out a hollow laugh.
But I didn’t move my body directly.
Because the vampires of the Blood Pact, who had thoroughly prepared for this day, were secretly but quickly eliminating those who displayed such suspicious behavior.
‘Yes, those who are supposedly ruling the nights of Korea should not fall for such shallow tricks.’
From a middle-aged man carrying a bag containing a priest bomb and wandering around the buildings surrounding the venue, to a woman who tried to infiltrate the venue using her business card as a reporter, to stage staff who were hired as audience members chosen through a lottery and workers to prepare the showcase stage.
A large number of people were caught plotting something directly or indirectly or being used by someone without their knowledge.
‘Tsk, were vampires really this hated?’
Harley frowned and clicked her tongue lightly.
The level of each of them was not that high.
To the point where they were all subdued by vampires who had been observing the situation before they could even attempt anything.
What this means is that it was not some powerful dark force that intervened, but something they had planned themselves.
To disrupt this monumental event where vampires are about to emerge into the world of light.
‘···Is it because of this?’
At that moment, using “Machine Inside: Calicas”, Hesperon was able to find useful information in the sea of information.
It all started with a secret community I discovered while digging through the internet records of some of the people I had subdued.
-Eternal death to monsters that suck human blood.
-I think it’s time to go see my daughter. Thank you all for everything. As a thank you, I’ll bring at least one more parasite.
└Good luck.
└I will follow you soon.
A community of victims who have lost family or friends to vampires.
It was a gathering of people whose hearts were already completely closed and who looked at the activities of the Blood Alliance with cynicism.
‘···This is.’
In fact, the fact that the Blood Alliance has taken its current moderate course all happened after Heinz came to power.
Until just a year ago, when the hardliners were in power, the vampires of the Blood Pact were terrifying creatures in their own right.
But what good would it do to tell the victims of that time that ‘we are different now than we were back then’?
‘···It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do about it right now.’
There was no choice.
There was no way I could compromise with those whose resentment had already reached the tip of my head and was eating away at me.
The only fortunate thing is that no matter how hard they struggle, it doesn’t mean much.
It was the same no matter how many people from the Awakening were in that gathering.
The Blood Alliance is the mainstream force that truly dominates the nights of South Korea.
There was no way that people who were not transcendent could interfere with an event that was being held with their lives at stake.
‘I’m here just in case the Bancheonhoe intervenes.’
I hope the showcase goes smoothly for a while.
Finally, the previous order was over and it was time to announce the debut song.
“Is it finally starting?”
In fact, it was the most important part of today’s event.
Because right now was the moment to show the public the first stage of ‘Licorice’.
~♪
A beautiful intro song flowed through the venue.
A song that High Elf Harris and his friends from Elven Kingdom did their best to create, and even played the instruments themselves.
The pinnacle of ‘harmony’ contained in the music penetrated the hearts of the listeners.
“Hmm, this is···.”
“Wow, I thought it was amazing just from the fact that it was released as a teaser···.”
Emotions are being dragged in at will.
A beautiful melody that is so sweet that it makes you wonder how it was recorded. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a heavenly performance.
Following the emotions, consciousness also began to immerse itself on the stage.
And the moment when a captivating and deadly beauty is placed on top of the waves of melody flowing like a storm.
“······!”
“······.”
The hands of the reporters who had been busily typing on their keyboards to report as quickly as possible stopped.
The eyes of those who were secretly moving their fingers and broadcasting the live broadcast on SNS were fixed on the stage.
The strength slowly drained from the bodies of those who had been full of prejudice and had been keeping their arms crossed the whole time.
Could this be the song of the Sirens, who led sailors to their deaths on the sea?
The synergy of the elven music filled with harmony and the vampire’s voice full of charm was enough to steal the minds of Earthlings who had little tolerance for sound.
And at the same time.
Lycoris’ debut song, ‘Amaryllis’, has been released on music and video sites.
***
As expected, the response to the debut song was explosive.
Even those who were just waiting to see how well they could do were unable to open their mouths.
While all indicators are showing a steep upward trend.
Licorice is riding on its popularity…
“Look, that’s a real licorice. No kidding. It’s even prettier in person.”
“Shhh! Idiot, shut up, please! The smallest girl over there can tear you to pieces with her bare hands!”
“Huh!”
I was at the broadcasting station to film a music program that would be broadcast nationwide.
“···I won’t tear it.”
Inahee Lee, the smallest girl, pouts and mutters softly as she faces the gazes of those around her who are obviously having a hard time.
They must have whispered to themselves, but no one present could have failed to hear them.
The members of Lycoris smiled awkwardly at the obvious fear contained in those words, as if they were seeing a wild beast that had escaped from us.
“Hahahaha! This is really interesting, isn’t it? I’ve been to all the broadcasting stations! Oh? What is that? It looks so interesting!”
Of course, Director Ha, who was always full of energy, didn’t think about anything.
