Chapter 324: Variety Show Season

"Our dear astras," Akira cooed. "Don't you think it's so cute?"

- That's it. I'm legally changing my name to Astra.

- Astra sounds so cute. But what does it mean?

"Zeth, do the honors of explaining the fandom name," Jaeyong said.

"First," Zeth started off. "Astra means 'star' in Latin. You are our precious stars! In other cultures, it also means 'extraordinary weapon.' In this sense, you are the people who help us level up in the idol world."

"That's right," Jisung said. "It is also related to our group name abbreviation, EVE, since stars can better be seen during the evening. That means you shine with us, and we also shine with you."

"Lastly," Ren continued. "We want to remember our humble beginnings. We will never forget we came from Rising Stars, and I know that most of you have supported us since the beginning of the show. You were our starlights, and now, you're our astras!"

- I love the meaning! Ji, let me kiss you.

- Proud astra here!

- #OCTA still outsold.

- Your fandom name is literally 'octopus.' I don't think you have the right to speak.

"Well, we'll be going back to the Show Show Song in a while, so we'll be saying our goodbyes now," Jaeyong said after Chul gestured for them to end the live.

- Aww, don't go!

- We want to speak with you more.

- Let's watch them during the live show, guys! Have fun, my boys.

"We'll see you next time," Casper said. "Thank you for tuning in, astras!"

"Bye, astras!" Akira loudly exclaimed.

The other members waved their hands goodbye, too. Then, the live stream ended.

Chul clapped as he stood from his seat. "Great job, boys. Let's go back to the Show Show Song filming site now."

Akira groaned as he leaned his head against Jisung. "Can we rest for a couple of minutes?"

"You can rest when we get there," Chul said.

***

The live show had finally ended, and the group was on their way to Azure to have the meeting Chul had told them about yesterday.

LUNIX took the crown this time because they had a higher broadcast score. It was their very first win for this comeback, so they, too, were emotional when they received their trophy.

EVE finally arrived at Azure, their eyes already weary from their nonstop schedules. It was now nearing the evening, and they hadn't gotten the opportunity to rest ever since.

They entered the conference room with Chul, and they saw three people, who were most likely from the marketing team.

Chul smirked once he saw them, taking a seat next to them.

They faced the boys, all with serious expressions, causing the members to become nervous.

"Uh, did we do something wrong?" Jaeyong asked.

"Of course not," Chul said, breaking the tense atmosphere. "We actually have some pretty exciting news for you."

The boys let out sighs of relief, visibly relaxing in their seats.

"Remi will brief you on what to do," Chul said, gesturing to the only woman from the marketing team.

Remi nodded in acknowledgment. "First of all, I want to take this time to congratulate you for finally debuting and commencing your promotion period."

The boys clapped for themselves, smiles appearing on their tired faces.

"Your song did pretty well, especially for a boy group debut. This means that you've captured even the general public's heart. However, for you to be more recognized by the general public, there's an essential step we must take," she continued.

"And that is—variety shows."

Akira tapped his foot on the ground, growing more excited with their announcement. He had always wanted to go on variety shows. As a member of RAVEN, their company didn't give them plenty of opportunities to go on variety shows. However, now being under Azure, he knew he would finally fulfill his dream.

"We have prepared three variety shows for you to attend next week," she said. "We weren't able to book a whole gig for the entire team, so we divided you into three teams. Two teams with three members and one team with two."

Jisung pursed his lips, a bit disappointed they wouldn't be able to promote their album on a variety show altogether.

"These are opportunities some rookies are dying to have," Remi continued. "So, we suggest you do your best and capture the hosts' and the viewers' hearts. Through that, you can increase your popularity not only as a group but also as an individual."

After hearing Remi's words, the boys grew increasingly ambitious.

June, too, felt pretty excited. He wasn't excited to join such variety shows, per se. He was just an avid fan of these types of shows when he was still in his old body.

If Mei Ling's hobby was K-pop, then Jun Hao's was variety shows.

He enjoyed watching different people and artists making a fool of themselves, and it also became his stress reliever when things got too hectic in his life.

June watched more Chinese variety shows, but he also dabbled in Korean ones from time to time.

'Crawling Man' and '3 Days, 2 Nights' were some of his favorites.

"Chul delegated you to the variety shows based on your personalities—since we believe he knows you best," Remi continued.

Chul nodded and smiled.

"Today, I'm going to tell you which variety show you're going to be joining," Chul said. "The filming will take place next week, and the airing time will vary between shows. Expect it to be aired a week or two weeks after filming, though."

The boys nodded, excited to find out which variety show they were assigned to.

"First is 'Forgetting Sisters.' They have an 'International Stars' theme next week, so we decided to send Ren, Akira, and Casper," he announced.

"Forgetting Sisters? I love that show," Sehun exclaimed. "My little brother watches it every week."

June has never watched the show, but he has seen viral clips from the show on Navel. It was more popular for K-pop enthusiasts since they often invited idols to their shows.

It employed a classroom setup, where the participants took turns asking questions about their ridiculous experiences while others tried to guess them. Idols were also given opportunities to show off their skills during the talent sections. All in all, it was a trendy show, especially for the younger generation.

"Are we forgetting that Casper's not a foreigner?" Ren raised his hand.

"He studied in the States when he was younger, right?" Chul asked.

Casper nodded. "In middle school."

"That's good enough," Chul said.

"The next variety show on our roster is 'Idol Space.' They didn't have a slot for a whole group, so the three representatives will be filming with other rookie idols," he said. "For this corner, we'll have Zeth, Jisung, and Sehun."

June nodded in agreement. He believed those three would best represent the team on a show that only has idols. It involved different talent corners and games, highlighting idols' charms and wit.

The three mentioned members were the most competitive members in the group (surprisingly), so June was sure they'd stand out in a room full of idols.

"Now, for the last variety show..." Chul said, a smirk reappearing on his face.

For some reason, he appeared happier compared to the other announcements, causing June to narrow his eyes in suspicion.

Jaeyong and June were the only ones left without an assigned variety show, so it automatically meant they were going to take the last one.

"We have—Quiz God."