There are two types of showcases.
First, there is the press showcase, attended solely by reporters, and the fan showcase, where fans can enjoy the performances as well.
Most idol groups held both showcases.
The press showcase was held during the day, taking into consideration the reporters who needed time to prepare their articles.
Then, in the evening, they held the fan showcase, and once even that was over, the reporters would publish the articles they had prepared.
We were no different.
The MC who had hosted and was also in charge of this showcase, Jin Taeseop, called out.
“This concludes the press showcase. Thank you to all the reporters for attending!”
—Thank you~
After saying goodbye to the reporters, we returned to the waiting room.
For a group that had just finished performing onstage, everyone’s energy was surprisingly low.
“Are reporters always like that?”
Harang unnie was outright grumbling.
And she had every reason to. Most of the reporters had maintained complete silence throughout the performance, and the only sounds coming from the audience had been camera shutters and keyboards clicking.
“They say it’s just tradition. What can we do?”
Apparently, reporters had an unspoken rule that they weren’t allowed to show their excitement outwardly at a showcase, no matter how enjoyable the performance was. They were even merciless toward top-tier, famous idols.
Thanks to that, I was looking forward to the fan showcase even more.
Oh, and I was looking forward to the music video and song release at six, too.
“Let’s get your outfits sorted out first, then we’ll have dinner!”
After eating an early dinner—
Finally, six o’clock arrived.
We moved to a white waiting room with a clean backdrop to film our music video reaction.
A tablet was handed to me.
“Thank you!”
“It’s my first music video ever~”
“Ah! What am I going to do?”
“I’m so nervous…”
The members gathered around me in a little cluster, screaming as I held the tablet. Everyone fixed their gaze on the screen.
“Dohee’s on the thumbnail, isn’t she?”
“Oh~ Lee Dohee turned out so pretty!”
“She’s cute…”
“Our maknae is pretty, after all~”
The black-and-white thumbnail showed me gazing up at the sky, with my unusually vivid red eyes shining brightly.
‘Wow… Lee Dohee, how are you even this unrivaled when it comes to atmosphere?’
There I was, looking ethereal.
My red eyes and otherworldly appearance brought to mind the vampires of fiction.
This was art.
Shouldn’t UNESCO preserve me?
How could I possibly look like this?
Of course, while I was busy nurturing my self-love, the reactions around me were just as heated.
“Dohee, stop looking at it and play it already, will you?”
“Ah, she’s looking at nothing but her own face again.”
“What are you doing? Play it already!”
…They were just jealous because I was on the thumbnail.
If they were so bothered, they should have taken first place. Hmph.
In any case, I played the video.
It began in the classroom we had seen in the teaser.
Only this time, it was daytime, with sunlight streaming in.
The members, dressed in school uniforms, left the classroom while coolly saying goodbye to one another.
Then there was Sera unnie, left alone in the classroom after everyone else had gone.
The curtains fluttered in the breeze, and at the moment a streak of sunset shining through them illuminated the corner of Sera unnie’s eye, the bassline began to flow.
Then came a rebellious siren sound.
“Oh~ Eun Sera’s atmosphere is insane~”
“Whoa, when did you film this?”
“When Hana unnie shamelessly went home alone after finishing her own scenes.”
“I need to rest when it’s time to rest~”
Meanwhile, the members who had left the classroom—
Each time they passed a structure that blocked the view between the members and the camera, their outfits abruptly changed from school uniforms into casual and street looks.
When every member’s outfit had changed, the song began with a shot of me provocatively walking out onto the road.
[Seven gifts I’ll reach someday]
‘Damn… I look fucking cool.’
[The way I’ll bloom, just as I am, fit]
“Why did you pause it?”
“Ah, why did Lee Dohee stop it again!”
“She’s looking at her own face again.”
“Ah! Lee Dohee, seriously, enough already.”
“Dohee’s cute, so it’s okay…”
“Dohee… I think this is my scene next…? I want to see my scene too…”
In the end, Hana unnie could bear it no longer and snatched the tablet away.
***
[Everything etched into my DNA is new]
[Because sourness is always refreshing]
Outside the showcase venue.
The song began playing simultaneously from the hands of the fans standing in line.
“Wow, the song is so good!”
“This is crazy. They made the song insanely well…”
“Who’s the composer? The music video is amazing too.”
After watching the music video, the fans began interpreting it in their own ways.
“Here, Dohee is watching the members through a telescope. There were clearly members in school uniforms around her, right? But when you actually look at the members through the telescope, they’re wearing street clothes. Doesn’t that mean they’re throwing off the image they showed in and revealing a new side of themselves? And the telescope represents the fans who are watching them, right? The lyrics and the overall composition of the music video also feel like they’re about a new version of themselves. What do you think?”
Two men who appeared to be friends were talking.
The man holding a light stick pointed at the screen and said,
“I don’t know about all that. They’re just really pretty…”
“That’s true.”
An interpretation of the lyrics was indispensable, too.
[A rose where everything begins anew]
[The place where stars are born, far away]
“The title is Rose Nebula, right? As far as I know, a nebula is where stars are born. So, to that extent…”
“I don’t know anything about that stuff. I’m just saying the girls are pretty.”
“That’s true.”
In any case, admission began at 6:30.
The audience entered the showcase venue while repeatedly playing the song and music video.
And finally, eight o’clock arrived.
The first person to catch the audience’s eyes was the MC they had seen endlessly on .
—Get lost, baldy!
—Boooo!
MC Jin Taeseop, whose hair had recently begun falling out by the handful and whose scalp was becoming increasingly visible, held back tears and said with a playful smile,
“Hahaha! Everyone who has filled this concert hall! And everyone watching through the live broadcast! It’s wonderful to see you all! I’m the MC who hosted and is here to lead today’s event as well! I’m MC Jin Taeseop!”
Jin Taeseop continued the show professionally, tossing out simple games and jokes.
“Then, let’s meet the stage of the glorious debutants! SAVEN!”
The stage grew dark.
A familiar intro began to play.
The title track, .
The central LED screen split apart, and the members appeared.
—Aaaaah!
—Girls!!!!
***
After the “I Fell for You” performance ended, the members came back onto the stage.
Jin Taeseop began proceeding according to the cue sheet.
“Let’s start by introducing ourselves! SAVEN, it’s wonderful to see you!”
“Yes! We’ll introduce ourselves! One, two, three!”
At leader Kwon Hana’s lead, the members shouted their greeting in unison.
“““I’m in seventh heaven! Hello, we’re SAVEN!”””
The fans were delighted even by the unfamiliar greeting.
“It’s great to see you all again! Seeing you like this feels so moving and—yes!? Our trainees have now debuted and become full-fledged idol stars, haven’t they! Idol stars! Congratulations on your debut!”
Following the MC’s gesture encouraging applause, an enormous cheer erupted from the 5,000-seat audience.
—Congratulations!!!
—Waaaaah!
“And there’s one more thing we have to congratulate you on, isn’t there?”
The MC called out with a sly smile.
“All the B-sides charted!”
Music-streaming manipulation had created the popular phrase, [The song is good, though].
In the late 2010s, music charts were being dominated by singers no one had ever heard of or artists whose glory days had long since passed.
They all had the same explanations.
‘I got picked up by the algorithm.’ ‘It was an SNS pick.’ ‘It was an influencer pick.’
Of course, none of those excuses held water, and the music charts lost the public’s trust.
As the charts became meaningless, every streaming service began restructuring its ranking system.
And the music charts became fairer.
However, this process also affected the idol industry.
The influence of fandom power—especially streaming power—had decreased.
Thanks to that, entering the charts at number one, something people had once heard about so often, became a thing of the past.
Of course, top idols still managed to enter at the very top.
“The title track ‘Rose Nebula’ entered the Watermelon chart at number four in real time! It entered the Genie chart at number three! Not only that, it entered the upper ranks of nearly every chart! Judging by its trajectory, number one is practically guaranteed! This is truly incredible! Absolutely amazing!”
SAVEN, who had debuted through the nationwide hit program , possessed enough buzz from the moment they debuted to stand alongside the top idols without falling short.
“Then surely we have to hear their thoughts, don’t we? Hmm… All right! Ye-eun! Why don’t you give us a few words on behalf of the group?”
Park Ye-eun was flustered by the sudden question that hadn’t been on the cue sheet.
She eventually looked toward Dohee, as if seeking help.
Of course, this was happening during a live broadcast onstage.
There was no way Dohee would help her, and Park Ye-eun stammered,
“Uh… th-thank you!”
“Is that all?”
“I-I’ll work hard!”
The MC fleshed out her brief answer and continued the show.
“…Yes! We can feel how moved you are—so moved that you can barely get the words out! I’m sure the fans can feel it too! Right?”
—Yeeaaah!!!
“Yes! The fans all know! I’d love to continue this talk show a little longer, but the staff keep giving me looks! Haha, I suppose we have too much to show you today. Chaerin! What performance have you prepared this time?”
“Yes! Our B-side track ‘Oh’ from our debut album is a lively, energetic teen-dance song that cleverly and adorably expresses the flustered yet thrilling feelings of a girl who has fallen deeply into a love she’s experiencing for the first time! The delicate, repeating piano loop captures your ears, and the diverse, adorable voices of our members bring out its charm even more! Please give it lots of love!”
“Hahaha, that was a great song description, but I can tell you memorized it word for word!”
After the MC’s playful joke, the screen displayed footage of the members recording the song behind the scenes.
The members hurried offstage to prepare for the next performance, and soon the B-side stage began.