Damn Idol – Episode 136
I was surprised to find myself feeling such an emotion.
Originally, I'm someone who doesn't feel much excitement for achievements outside of album sales.
Even single tracks are the same.
It feels good when a track does well, but if it's a single with no connection to an album, there are times when it actually annoys me.
Because it's a waste of all the buzz and attention poured into the single, and I wish it would all be focused on the album instead.
I know it's a foolish thought, but human emotions don't go according to will.
Especially since I'm a regressor who can't control himself once the dam of his emotions bursts.
And yet, to think I was worrying over and feeling disappointed by a remix track's ranking…….
It was rather unfamiliar.
But I didn't hate that unfamiliarity.
Because it felt like I was living a life that only happens once.
Just then, seeing Choe Jaeseong approaching awkwardly from afar, a chuckle slipped out.
Choe Jaeseong's lips jutted out several feet at the sight of my laugh.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because it suits you."
"I almost died from embarrassment, you know?"
"So who told you to lose at rock-paper-scissors?"
"Kuaack!"
Choe Jaeseong, in zombie makeup, did a zombie impression, but it wasn't scary at all.
Members who heard the noise and came over added a word each.
"Wow, it's more realistic than I thought."
"Can I touch it?"
"How long did the makeup take?"
The members' voices were high in pitch.
Their faces were also flushed red; they seemed excited.
Because we were in the middle of filming a music video at Anyang Art Park.
No, should I say we were on standby for filming?
It's something I've experienced to the point of being sick of it, but for Sae Dalbaekil, it was their first music video shoot.
Because the music videos for songs released on Coming Up Next were all making films.
Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and finding it novel.
While I was thinking that, the MV director overseeing today's shoot approached.
Due to the tight schedule, he had disappeared after barely greeting anyone upon arriving on set.
"I heard you all are filming a music video for the first time, is that right?"
"That's right."
"Sh…… it won't be easy."
Was he about to curse just now?
If there was one thing I felt once again while preparing the music video, it was that money came first, and Billboard came second.
If we had been missing even one of the two, I don't think we could have secured a competent filming crew to match this insane schedule.
We even got the filming permit for Anyang Art Park thanks to Billboard.
"We'll begin filming!"
And so, our first music video shoot began.
* * *
Choe Sehui, who had now completely made Sae Dalbaekil her main base, aimlessly scoured the internet.
No, to be exact, it wasn't that she had nothing to do.
She had no bait.
Because as long as she had bait, she could do infinite things!
'Two weeks ago was nice.'
When Colorful Struggle had just charted on Billboard was nice.
Because the members had periodically released unreleased cuts on the official website and official accounts, communicating frequently.
Choe Jaeseong had also shared, behind the hyungs' backs, a video of On Saemiro, I I-on, and Gu Taehwan voice-cracking during Color Show practice and being embarrassed.
He was caught in just ten minutes, and a photo of him kneeling with both hands in the air was posted, but…….
[Someday I'll catch even Sion hyung's pitch deviation too (magnifying glass emoji)!!]
Choe Jaeseong wasn't discouraged at all.
But more than anything, the bait that had thrilled fans the most was the photos taken at the LA amusement park, Six Flags.
Choe Sehui was close to being Han Sion's individual fan, but I I-on (with that face) wolfing down an American hot dog
and Gu Taehwan (with that face) riding a merry-go-round
were fun, so.
The sight of all five of them riding a family attraction together really looked close.
But as the era of grand bait ended, the era of great poverty arrived.
For two weeks since the music show schedule was revealed, nothing had been uploaded.
Like an oasis in a desert, the Colorful Struggle K-pop remix had dropped, but that was it.
She had already licked and licked it down to the nanometer, to the point she could play the video with her eyes closed.
Of course, she knew TT must be grinding their cartilage for Sae Dalbaekil's first official promotion.
But even so, what was regrettable was regrettable.
Couldn't they upload even a practice video of the already released K-pop Struggle (Colorful Struggle K-pop version)?
"……Bait."
Just when Choe Sehui, as if possessed by No-Face, was muttering,
ding.
A YouTube notification popped up on her smartphone screen.
She subscribed to quite a few channels, so it happened several times a day.
"……!"
But this time was special.
A symbol of three deep blue circles of different sizes intersecting irregularly against a snow-white background.
The Sae Dalbaekil official channel profile.
Over the past two weeks, she had had the same false alarm over a hundred times, but this time it was real.
And the identity of the video was.
[Sae Dalbaekil – ‘State of mind’ Official Teaser 1/6]
It was a teaser.
"Hup!"
Choe Sehui jumped up from her seat and dashed to her computer, her mind racing.
State of mind.
It was a song title she was hearing for the first time.
Which meant this was another promotional song outside of K-pop Struggle.
Furthermore, 'Teaser 1/6' was meaningful.
Did it mean the teaser was one-sixth of the original song?
No, that would be too weird.
Then could it mean there were six teasers?!
'Huh, but Sae Dalbaekil has five members?'
She wasn't sure.
But whatever it was, she was ready to enjoy it.
In the meantime, the computer boot-up that had felt like a thousand years finished, and Choe Sehui accessed YouTube with a reverent heart.
She took a pleased look at the view count rising at quite a steep rate, then clicked the video.
The beginning of the teaser was a fire demon (火魔).
Trees blazing cracklingly.
Wooden buildings silently collapsing within the flames.
Countless embers scattering in all directions and wreaking havoc on the screen.
Beyond the screen illuminated with slow & fast techniques, sounds of guns and cannons were heard, and people's screams and shouts faintly spread.
At that moment, the screen expanded.
East, west, south, north.
There wasn't a single place that was intact.
War…….
Or a mountainside full of wooden buildings that looked like the heart of a civil war or rebellion.
Though it was the time for moonlight to descend, it was a place eerily bright due to the rough flames burning the whole world.
Against the backdrop of all that…….
A man wearing a mask was standing.
[…….]
Tall height and long limbs.
A scorched and torn striped suit, as if he had made his way through pandemonium.
A pure white mask that seemed it would prevent even the moonlight from descending.
At that moment.
Fweeeeeee
—From somewhere, the sound of a long, thin whistle was heard.
A long whistle note that was cool, slow, and sorrowful, as if comforting the space filled with fire demons and screams.
The sound seemed about to break but didn't, seemed about to disappear but didn't.
Rather, it gradually seemed to reveal its presence.
Boom!
The moment the drum's first beat came in, it changed into a clear melody.
♬♪♪♪♪~
Intense drums.
A clear but dirty melody.
Sincere lyrics spat out with a sticky and intense vocal.
Shattering the boundary between rap and vocals, stimulating only the listener's auditory pleasure.
Born under the influence of post-hardcore rock, considered the brother of mumble influenced by Southern.
Emo hip-hop.
The moment the sound filled the screen, the man raised his white hand and removed the mask.
It was I I-on.
I I-on, having tossed the mask aside, began to dance to the beat.
Using his arms and legs widely while finely chopping the beat, the camera walked in tandem with slides that clicked perfectly to the beat.
After about eight seconds of solo dance, I I-on's mouth opened.
[Alone
— Apart—]
At that moment, the camera whipped toward the sky, illuminating the three moons floating in the night sky.
With the subtitles, the teaser ended.
"Huk."
Choe Sehui belatedly came to her senses and let out a ragged breath.
It didn't feel like she was watching a teaser.
She thought she was watching some kind of art film.
It was true that Sae Dalbaekil had successfully built up recognition and settled into the public's favor, but they weren't making much profit yet.
Even what little money they had earned from track revenue had been invested into fan kits.
So there weren't many people who thought the first music video would reek of money.
No, more than that, there had been more doubt about whether they were even filming a music video.
Yet the video's quality was no joke.
The background scale and camera angles and such…….
'Ah, I don't know.'
She didn't know how to explain it.
They had simply destroyed everything.
She felt like she should make everyone in the world watch the teaser and receive a 100-page A4 review with 0% letter spacing and 10-point font.
Goosebumps rose the moment the whistle transitioned into the beat, and she screamed the moment I I-on removed the mask.
When he danced against the contradictory backdrop of fire demons and moonlight, she almost lost her mind.
Not to mention the outfit that was scorched and torn to show skin, yet had a perfect fit?
If the teaser's protagonist had been Han Sion, she would have lost her mind.
'But why is only I I-on in it?'
This type of teaser isn't unheard of, but usually they make it impossible to know exactly who the character is.
If he had danced without removing the mask, it would have been perfect.
As expected, did this mean there were multiple teasers?
While thinking that and trying to look at the comments, something floated up on the teaser screen she had thought ended.
A thick straight line was drawn diagonally across the gently swaying 'See you next time' under the three moons.
See you next time
Like erasing a misspelled word.
And soon, the new subtitle that rose was.
See you in an hour, TT
"?!"
She wasn't particularly proficient in English, but she knew what "an hour" was.
Wasn't it saying they'd see each other in an hour?
Sure enough, when she scrolled down to the comments, the English experts were saying the same thing.
But that wasn't all.
—That outfit! It's the one from the K-pop Struggle voting video!!
A bolt of lightning flashed through her head.
That's right.
It was the striped suit from the Colorful Struggle version voting held on the official website.
'What? Is the timeline connected? Or is Colorful Struggle getting an MV too?'
All sorts of imaginations came to mind.
Looking at the comments, there were many troll comments, but also many that faithfully interpreted the teaser.
—The three moons in the sky, rather than meaning the name Sae Dalbaekil, I think it means a different dimension from reality…….
Opinions were divided below the interpretation.
But most people who watched the teaser couldn't properly focus on the comments.
They kept looking at the clock because they were so curious about what would happen in an hour.
When that hour had passed.
[Sae Dalbaekil – 'State of mind' Official Teaser 2/6]
"……!"
A real video had been uploaded.
This made it certain.
That there were six teaser videos.
They were probably filmed for each member, but the Sae Dalbaekil Choe Sehui knew wasn't that simple.
Surely, some kind of device was hidden inside.
Choe Sehui immediately played the second teaser.
The protagonist of the second teaser was Han Sion.