Chapter 508: Side Story 1. Idol Maker 99 (1)

Side Story 1. Idol Maker 99 (1)

Friday night, 11:00 PM.

I sat in the living room with Taek-gyu, eating pizza and watching TV. Taek-gyu had turned on the TV immediately. Just as the program was starting, Ellie came home.

"What are you watching?"

"It's an idol selection program called Idol Maker 99. They select 11 members out of 99 contestants through competition to debut as idols."

Ellie nodded.

"Ah! I know what that is. Wasn't it about picking boy idols?"

"Last season was boy idols, but this season is girl idols."

It takes a lot of money to raise an idol.

Anywhere from hundreds of millions to billions of won. But what if they fail after debuting? The company has to bear that risk entirely.

That is why idol survival programs emerged.

From the agencies' perspective, they can reduce investment risk. From the broadcaster's perspective, they can secure viewers and earn revenue from production. And the viewers can feel the emotion of creating and raising an idol with their own hands.

"Hmm, is it a kind of IKEA effect?"

"Something like that."

The IKEA effect refers to consumers having greater affection for products they have put time and effort into.

Naturally, people tend to have more affection for idols they voted for themselves rather than idols launched solely by an agency.

Thus, Idol Maker 99 gained sensational popularity and was already in its fifth season. And today was the final broadcast to select the debut group.

Sitting next to me, Ellie gave me a slight side-eye.

"Why do you like girl idols so much, Jin-hoo?"

I quickly shook my head.

"It's not me. I'm only watching it because Taek-gyu likes it."

"Then do you dislike them?"

"Well..."

If I had to choose one or the other, I'd be closer to liking them, right? I dare say there is no man in the world who dislikes girl idols.

"In my eyes, you look much younger and cuter, Ellie."

"Tsk! Liar."

Despite her words, her expression showed she was clearly pleased.

No matter how pretty girl idols are, can they compare to the Fish and Chips Fairy?

Taek-gyu pointed at the TV and said.

"That's Rina. Cute, right?"

She was a bit short, but she had delicate features and big eyes.

She felt more cute than pretty. She looked a bit like Min Ha-young, too.

"I sent a text vote earlier."

I asked Taek-gyu.

"What about Pure Girls?"

"Pure Girls are Pure Girls. Shouldn't I nurture the next generation of scholars?"

The Vice President of OTK Company is working hard for the development of Korean entertainment.

I thought for a moment and asked.

"If it's Rina, is she a magical girl?"

At my question, Taek-gyu blinked.

"What kind of crazy talk is that?"

Ellie also looked at me with pathetic eyes.

I quickly shook my head.

"Don't misunderstand. That question was strictly tailored to Oh Taek-gyu's level."

I feel somewhat wronged.

"Hurry up and send a text vote."

At Taek-gyu's urging, Ellie and I sent the 100-won text votes.

And finally, the voting closed.

The rankings were announced starting from 3rd place. Since the top ranks had already been outlined to some extent through previous votes, there wasn't much tension.

Ellie asked.

"Since debuting is the same whether you're 1st or 11th, isn't the ranking competition within that range meaningless?"

Taek-gyu shook his head and explained.

"1st place gets to be the center and main vocalist. The higher the rank, the bigger the role within the group, so higher is better."

"Ah! I see."

Anyway, 1st and 11th place differ by ten ranks, but they debut in the same team. On the other hand, 11th and 12th place differ by only one rank, but their fates are split.

Also, as the ranks went lower, the vote difference became razor-thin, so there was tension and excitement about who would be picked.

Every time a name was called, the trainees burst into tears of joy. Just like that, ten members were picked, and the 1st place was revealed. And now, only the final eleventh member remained.

The host called three girls forward. They were ranked 11th, 12th, and 13th; only one of them could debut.

Fortunately, Rina was included among them.

"Is she going to get cut at this rate?"

Taek-gyu said with conviction.

"That can't happen."

The camera zoomed in on the three girls' faces, and the host opened his mouth.

"The final 11th member is..."

Amidst the tension and silence, the host shouted.

"Yoo Han-bit!"

Applause and cheers erupted from the TV, and Taek-gyu grabbed his head and shouted.

"No!"

Whether they were in the top 11 or not, everyone cried, rejoiced, and congratulated each other.

They were scheduled to be active as a project group on the world stage under the support of GJ Media for the next two years.

Taek-gyu still looked like he couldn't recover from the shock.

Then, suddenly, he jumped up and shouted.

"This is rigged!"

"Huh?"

Taek-gyu grabbed my shoulders with both hands and shouted.

"Think about it! Does it make sense that Rina didn't make the debut group?"

"Why wouldn't it make sense?"

"Rina failing... This is impossible!"

"But it actually happened."

"That's why it doesn't make sense."

Taek-gyu said firmly.

"It's clear those bastards rigged it."

I was dumbfounded and said.

"Who rigs an idol selection program? Does that make sense?"

"Why wouldn't it make sense? The agency could have paid money to rig it."

"There might have been some favoritism, but I don't think they rigged the votes."

There were a whopping 99 contestants in Idol Maker.

It is impossible to allocate equal screen time to all 99 people in every episode. Naturally, the focus would have been on the popular ones and trainees from large agencies, which would have acted advantageously in the voting.

Just as in elections, candidates running with the nomination of a major party have an advantage over independents.

"No. This is definitely vote manipulation. I thought something was a bit strange from before. This isn't just about Rina. Do you think I'm this angry just because Rina fell out of the debut group?"

"Wasn't that it?"

"This is employment fraud!"

"...Huh?"

Why is employment fraud coming up here?

Taek-gyu spoke decisively.

"They did their best because they were told that if they worked hard and got picked, they would debut. But what if the debut group was decided from the start? How is this different from a public corporation accepting job applications, conducting interviews, and then picking the executive's son?"

"Hmm..."

Hearing that, he has a point.

To others, they might be trainees whose names and faces are unknown, but everyone who appeared on the program must have competed with their lives on the line to grab the opportunity called debut.

But what if the debut group was fixed from the beginning? So no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get in?

Taek-gyu crossed his arms and said.

"I will definitely uncover the truth."

***

Jung Han-soo graduated from the Department of Mathematics at Korea University and joined the Golden Gate Korea Branch.

He was a financial engineer who analyzed and processed economic and financial data to create financial products or automated trading programs.

Unlike ETFs that hold stocks based on weight like funds, derivatives like ELS and DLS require sophisticated design. Whether interest rates rise or fall, exchange rates surge or plummet, or underlying asset prices go up or down, the managing firm must absolutely not suffer a loss.

In fact, there are often cases where managing firms suffer huge losses and go bankrupt due to incorrectly issuing options or derivatives.

As most advanced financial techniques are based on financial engineering, he was a top talent even within the financial sector.

After work, Jung Han-soo headed to the OTK Company building.

In the conference room, there were not only employees from his team but also OTK Company employees. A total of 10 people.

The reason they gathered like this was because they received a summons from the Vice President of OTK Company.

"Why did he call us?"

"Did you hear anything?"

"It's my first time seeing the Vice President this close."

Everyone looked curious about why they were called.

A moment later, a young man wearing a gray tracksuit, three-stripe slippers, and horn-rimmed glasses appeared before them.

He looked like an ordinary unemployed man you might find at a neighborhood PC bang, but no one ignored him based on his appearance.

Because he was the second richest man in the world and the Vice President of OTK Company.

"Hello. Nice to meet you. I am Oh Taek-gyu."

After finishing his greetings, Oh Taek-gyu looked around at them and said.

"From now on, we will proceed with a very important task in secret. It has nothing to do with your work, and you can think of it as a side job. I will pay the costs for this out of my own pocket. Those who are busy or uninterested may leave now."

Naturally, no one stood up.

The best financial engineers in Korea were gathered in this room. And the Vice President of OTK Company was trying to proceed with something even spending his own money.

Everyone gulped.

Jung Han-soo felt his fingertips trembling.

'What is he trying to do? Is he planning something huge that will shake the global financial market?'

Amidst everyone holding their breath, Oh Taek-gyu declared.

"What we will do from now on is uncover the vote manipulation of Idol Maker 99. Based on the data released so far, we must find evidence that the ranking selection was rigged."

A long silence followed the completely unexpected statement.

Then, Oh Taek-gyu blinked and asked.

"Don't you know Idol Maker 99?"

The work intensity in the financial sector is beyond imagination. They are so busy passing out when they get home that they don't have time to watch variety shows.

Still, since it was such a popular program, most knew the name even if they hadn't watched it themselves.

Jung Han-soo cautiously raised his hand and asked.

"Uh, um. Are you saying that program was rigged?"

Oh Taek-gyu said with conviction.

"Yes. Those bastards rigged it very openly."

"Are you saying they pushed specific trainees?"

Even if they say it's fair competition, there are many ways to push a specific trainee.

Giving them good editing, giving them easy missions, making them the center during group performances, having the judges praise them, etc.

There had been much controversy about this issue before.

However, making the program is entirely the discretion of the production team. You can have complaints about it, but you can't impose sanctions.

"No. They manipulated the votes."

"Is there any basis?"

"The basis is that Rina was eliminated. Rina being 13th is impossible."

What on earth is this about?

So the conclusion of this story is...

'He's doing this because the trainee he supports was eliminated!'

Oh Taek-gyu said firmly.

"Those who do not believe me may leave. However, those who believe in Rina's potential and hope for Rina's debut, please follow me."

'No, I mean, who the hell is Rina?'

'Am I the only one who doesn't know?'

'Why does the name Rina suddenly remind me of Inverse ETFs? Is it just my imagination?'

Everyone looked bewildered, but not a single person stood up. After all, it was a good opportunity to make an impression on the Vice President of OTK Company.

Korea's top financial experts began analyzing the Idol Maker 99 voting results all at once.

The reaction was generally negative.

"Good grief. They're saying there's manipulation in an idol selection program?"

"This is ridiculous."

"GJ Media isn't a mom-and-pop store; it's a conglomerate dominating the domestic entertainment industry. Would they really rig something like this?"

"Is he angry that the trainee he supported was eliminated?"

"I think he's just doing this because he's bored."

Jung Han-soo felt the same way.

'Does it make sense that the votes were rigged?'

A company like GJ Media could debut any trainee they wanted. There was no need to take such an unreasonable risk on a program watched by the whole nation.

...Or so they thought for a moment.

Less than 30 minutes after starting the analysis, everyone noticed something strange.

"Uh! What is this?"

"Why does a constant number keep appearing?"

"The number 7473 keeps repeating."

"It's not like it's an arithmetic progression, what is this?"

"Wait a minute. What was the total number of votes this season?"

"18,683,511 votes."

"7473 is 0.04 percent of 18,683,511."

"Oh! That's right. It looks like that's the constant."

"Why did this result come out? Is this a coincidence?"

Jung Han-soo was shocked.

'What? Was this really rigged?'

***

Notes:

1. Fish and Chips Fairy: A nickname for Ellie in the series.

2. Reference to the anime "Slayers", where the main character is Lina Inverse.

3. Inverse ETF is often nicknamed "Inverse" (In-bus) in Korean trading slang, which sounds slightly distinct but in the context of financial engineers, hearing a name like "Rina" might trigger random financial associations or jokes.