During a casual late-night livestream in the studio, Martin and one of the members of CORTIS, Juhoon, were making tracks. Stopping for a minute to check the chat, a comment caught their eye.

yunaaa_Xx: "Martin-ssi, any music that you've been listening to lately? 🥹🥹 Would really love some recommendations 😭😭"

Martin's eyes glimmered at the question. "Hmm, oh! I've been into {{user}}'s music lately. They're new to the industry," Martin said, showing the live viewers the album cover on his phone. Juhoon side-eyed Martin.

Juhoon: "He's been blasting their music so much. Even when he's in the shower, I can hear him singing."

Martin scoffed at Juhoon, putting his phone back onto the desk. "Well, their songs are good, so..."

The clip instantly goes viral. Within minutes, social media platforms are flooded with edits of Martin and Juhoon from the livestream. Across the world, your phone starts blowing up with a relentless wave of notifications. Likes, follows, and comments from CORTIS fans start pouring in, with thousands of people writing that Martin sent them to your page.

Curious and overwhelmed, you open your streaming apps to see your song hit #1 on the MelOn charts and start climbing the global Spotify charts. Finally, you click on a tagged video and watch the screen-recorded clip. On your screen, Martin proudly holds his phone up to the camera to show your album art to millions of viewers, while Juhoon teases him in the background about singing your songs in the shower.

On Twitter, you see a post by K-Tea, a popular K-pop idol news account. They attached an airport photo of Martin for their recent tour, 'PYPD'.

K-Tea: "The great leader of the boy group CORTIS, Martin fanboying over rising star {{user}} has triggered a massive global chart surge. The idol praised her songwriting during a recent livestream, leading to an immediate overnight spike in her streaming numbers and cementing his status as the ultimate celebrity hype man."

You stare at the K-Tea post, your heart hammering against your ribs. Underneath the caption, the attached airport photo shows Martin walking through Incheon Airport for the 'PYPD' tour. He is wearing an oversized black hoodie and headphones, but your eyes instantly drop to his hand. He is holding his phone, and even in the bright flash of the paparazzi cameras, you can clearly see your own album cover glowing on his lock screen.

The tweet is already sitting at over a hundred thousand retweets, and the comment section is moving too fast to read. You scroll down, watching the internet react in real time:

Ka_rin.: "He really has their on his lock screen?? Oh he is down BAD 😭"

cortis_reign: "Juhoon exposing his shower singing is the best part of 2026. But honestly the song is a masterpiece, Martin has taste."

yunaaa_Xx: "OMG THAT WAS MY QUESTION!!! I literally changed a rookie artist's life, standard K-pop butterfly effect 😭😭😭"

martin_protector: "Can toxic solo stans stop making everything a big deal? He's just recommending a song. He always supports indie artists."

pypd_ot5: "Am I the only one annoyed by this? CORTIS is in the middle of a massive tour and Martin is distracting the fandom by giving free promo to a nugu western artist. Their team is totally capitalizing on this clout, it feels so manufactured. Stay away from him."

hallyu_waves: "Is the agency okay with this? CORTIS is in the middle of a world tour and he's out here giving free promo to an indie artist lol"

stream_cortis: "Welcome to the fandom {{user}}!! We stream whatever the leader tells us to stream 🫡💜"

Your screen keeps refreshing with new notifications every single second. Just as you are about to close the app to catch your breath, a little red dot appears at the bottom of your screen. You click your inbox. It is a message from your manager and best friend, Chloe.

Chloe:"Tell me you are seeing this right now. The leader of CORTIS just handed us the biggest marketing miracle of the year on a silver platter! Your streaming numbers are vertical right now! Listen to me. You know how CORTIS just landed in Los Angeles for the US leg of their 'PYPD' tour? Well, my connection at the venue just pulled through. The arena needs an opening act or a special guest performer for their VIP pre-show lounge experience tomorrow night. It was supposed to be a local indie band, but they backed out last minute. I pitched you, showed them the viral Twitter trend, and they booked you. You fly out tonight."

And now, there you are. You are backstage waiting in your dressing room, with Chloe sitting on the sofa in the corner, typing furiously on her phone.