'Midas Touch' | Aespa Winter x Male Reader

Act 5 | Year 2025: The big meeting

February 2025,

AMA. American Music Awards.

Babylon Garden was yet again nominated for another international nomination. This time for Favourite Social Artist. We will be flying to Las Vegas in May to receive the award. The news shocks the whole nation into frenzy with yet again their own music reached the western media.

That comes the next problem, multiple labels tried to copy us, yet in the past months, they were receiving multiple backlashes. "Plagiarism", "Copycats" were all muttered all around the internet.

And now that Babylon Garden has received yet another award, they were all racing to find the next "Babylon Garden". It's all over the news that they're trying to recreate what our group was having.

This creates the problem that whatever we're doing, they're trying to copy what we did. Pledis Entertainment had received multiple proposals to merge with other companies to take the fame from us.

Our CEO rejected many offers stating that Babylon Garden is Babylon Garden and will not be swayed by monetary benefits. That's where they waged war against us only to be humbled by the results.

Main reason was, copying someone will never produce the same result when they don't own the originality. I already foresee this years ago when we started to win multiple daesangs. Newer groups tried to imitate what we're doing but can't reached our heights due to lack of originality. 

Our CEO said this years ago "When you make music put yourself in the music." Babylon Garden has covered all the issues that they were facing in their music. Depressed, anxiety, self doubt, etc. These are issues we all have faced and over came. That's how we found the way to love ourselves. We can't be replace if the next groups are not authentically themselves.

It saddened me to see that multiple labels had forces newer groups into the "Next Babylon Garden" label, it destroys their creativity. It was a fact that Pledis Entertainment was known as "Self Made Idols". Because for both SEVENTEEN and Babylon Garden, we create our own music.

Compare to other groups, they were forced. Songs they have no power in it, the performance that they have to look at dancing instructors. Unlike us, we created it ourselves. The organic and authenticity was there and felt by the fans. That's what made Babylon Garden as Babylon Garden. Our fans said that the achievements in the west ain't kpop's achievements. 

It was Babylon's achievements.

Me: Are we really doing this CEO-nim?

CEO: It's for the better good Killian.

I sighed as I entered the huge building in front of us. Today was another meeting with the other labels that wanted our presence. Entering the front door, we were met with the other CEO of their companies.

CEO: Let's start.

Sitting down, they started to discuss the next agenda which was to put a kpop group to target the western media. Sounds good enough, yet it will cause a stir of 'copying' of what we had done. 

More so they wanted to take the fame that they created the next 'Babylon Garden'. ANGELs had voiced out, it wasn't wrong to copy us but to take the whole credit to themselves was the problem.

Me: I disagree. You can't simply put a bunch of kpop idols in a group and take the fame.

I finally opened my mouth to counter their arguments. I already saw my CEO chuckling at my outburst. He of all people know how straightforward I was. In this country, respect was everything yet I was taught that respect was earned. Especially with this kind of people.