Episode 82
Now, a week has passed since We:uS released their second mini-album and began their promotional activities.
We:uS's astonishing performance records were one of the hottest topics among K-pop fans in Korea.
[We:uS's 2nd Mini Album Surpasses 900k First-Week Sales. 10th All-Time Highest First-Week Sales for a Boy Group.]
Showing a meteoric rise in sales compared to their debut album where they broke the first-week sales record for a debut album, the first-week sales approached the threshold of nearly 1 million copies.
Unfortunately, they couldn't cross the 1 million mark, but just getting close to it was enough to make people truly realize We:uS's popularity.
On top of that, the music video views, which could also serve as a gauge for their overseas popularity...
[We:uS 'We' Official MV]
Views: 68,432,285
The MV, which had just passed its one-week mark, showed a view count approaching 70 million.
At this rate, the growth trend indicated it would easily surpass 100 million views.
What was most encouraging was that the response from overseas fans toward We:uS had explosively increased.
Comments from overseas fans in various languages were being posted in real-time in the MV comment section.
It had reached the point where it was hard to find Korean comments in We:uS's MV comment section.
Because of that, there were occasionally voices of complaint from fans, but most accepted it positively, saying it was the inevitable fate of a K-pop group.
As We:uS's overseas response began to grow larger with just two promotional cycles, analysis posts about We:uS's overseas popularity started to increase in Korean K-pop communities as well.
[We:uS's China and Japan Response for This Album]
[Overseas K-pop Fans' We:uS 'We' MV Reaction Compilation]
[We:uS's 2nd Mini Album Slowly Gaining Response in the US]
Whenever such posts went up, the comment sections were quickly filled with admiration for the album's performance, along with comments from people looking forward to We:uS's overseas activities.
-It's still early so I'm being cautious, but has there ever been a group with this level of overseas response from their debut year?
└Almost none. Didn't even the current top-tier groups start overseas activities around their 2nd or 3rd year?
└Cross did eat up the Asian market from their 2nd year, but...
└That's because they're Cross lol
-Honestly, achieving this without any foreign members deserves recognition. If they had a Chinese or Japanese member, their overseas popularity would probably be much bigger than it is now.
└Shouldn't Eugene Kim be considered a foreign member? lolol
└Eugene Kim is Korean... haha
-It seems like there's a response on overseas charts, but it's right to still wait and see. Anyway, I admit that this level of achievement is amazing.
-Personally, I do want to see We:uS expand overseas quickly lol
***
Before releasing this album, the CEO had made one request.
Which was to show some results in the Japanese market as well.
Of course, due to various constraints, the company had put that request on hold for now.
They had to focus on Korean activities right away, and there was no time to spare to create a Japanese debut album.
I heard that thanks to the success of this album, the CEO's obsession with entering the overseas market had temporarily subsided.
Of course, that didn't mean the company had completely given up on the Japanese market.
They were said to be considering various methods for We:uS's advancement into Japan.
In fact, I heard that the Japanese version of this album's title track had already been adapted.
And it wasn't like there were no results in Japan right now either.
Out of the 900,000 copies sold in the first week for this album, about 50,000 copies were said to have been sold in Japan.
'50,000 copies...'
Of course, compared to the sales in Korea, it didn't seem like a huge number.
But considering we hadn't even properly promoted in Japan yet.
It was hard to consider it a small sales figure.
'I did hear that the last K-pop concert stage became somewhat of a hot topic in Japan.'
It felt amazing how fans in Japan knew about us and even bought our albums.
Anyway, although we hadn't officially started Japanese activities yet, We:uS did have a certain level of popularity within Japan.
And the reason I was having such thoughts right now was...
'Because I am currently in Japan.'
The solo schedule the manager had told me about.
Actually, I had heard it before this comeback, so I had buried it in the back of my mind for a while.
I didn't expect it to be today.
[Hello! Welcome to The Prince! Please introduce yourself.]
[Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Sunwoo Rin, the leader of We:uS.]
Japan's national idol group, Prince.
A legendary Japanese idol group that had been active as top idols for 20 years.
And the show I was appearing on today was a variety show that such a national idol group, Prince, had been hosting for 10 years.
It was a famous Japanese program that was quite well-known in Korea too.
The reason was...
"Annyeonghasimnikka. Nice to meet you, Rin-ssi."
Because Sakurai Jun, who was greeting me in Korean right now, was a famous pro-Korean figure even in Korea.
"Yes, nice to meet you, Sakurai-ssi."
"Please feel free to call me Jun-chan."
Looking at Sakurai Jun asking me to call him by his famous nickname, Jun-chan, I gave an awkward smile.
'That's a very hard nickname to say...'
My internal sense of intimacy hadn't formed enough yet to call an ajusshi in his 40s that.
Anyway, whether it was thanks to Sakurai Jun or not, Korean celebrities and idols appeared on The Prince quite often. It was a popular program in both Korea and Japan.
[Stop speaking Korean... You guys are just talking to each other right now.]
[He gets all excited on his own whenever a Korean guest comes.]
Fortunately, before I had to say that embarrassing nickname out loud, the other members of Prince, seemingly used to this, grumbled and cut Sakurai Jun off.
[Anyway, Rin-ssi is really good at Japanese.]
[Right, it's amazing, isn't it? He seems to speak Japanese much better than Jun speaks Korean.]
[Thank you. I studied continuously in my spare time.]
[Your pronunciation is so good!]
[I'd believe it if you said you were Japanese.]
The tension was incredibly high from the start.
The members of Prince, who had been excitedly talking about my Japanese skills, soon came to their senses and continued the show.
[And our other invited guest today is...]
[It's the leader of the band LIME, Hiro-ssi!]
[Hello, I'm Hiro.]
Actually, there was no way I could appear alone on a show like this.
The corner I appeared on was a segment within the variety show called 'Genius x Genius'.
This corner featured two people who claimed to be geniuses competing against each other. Usually, they would argue over a single topic about who was the bigger genius.
'Leader of a band... Is he famous?'
I looked at the man who was introduced as the leader of the band LIME, my opponent.
He looked to be around my age, and fitting for a rock band member, he had his hair dyed a flashy red.
'That's even more extreme than my hair color...?'
As I was looking at Hiro like that...
'Hmm?'
Hiro, who had been exchanging greetings with the members of Prince, seemed to sense my gaze and turned his eyes toward me...
Hehe—
And gave me a smile that seemed to carry some meaning.
The moment I saw that smile, my assessment of him was somewhat complete.
'He's not normal.'
Like that, Hiro, who received an 'abnormal' verdict from me the moment we met, took his seat as well.
[Then, since we've invited two geniuses today, it's time to find out who is the bigger genius.]
[First, we need to check with the two of you directly. Rin-ssi, Hiro-ssi, do you admit that you are geniuses?]
[Yes, I admit it.]
[Of course.]
It was a broadcast concept, but both my hands and feet felt like they were curling up from cringe.
'I need to stop the members from watching this.'
If the members saw this broadcast, it would probably give them about three weeks' worth of teasing material.
However, unlike me, Hiro, nodding as if it was a matter of course, didn't seem to possess any sense of shame.
[First, we have a video prepared to prove that the two of you are geniuses. Let's watch it together.]
Along with the MC's words, the prepared video started playing, and the video was about the band LIME and Hiro.
[A 1st-year rookie band LIME. But they are already enjoying explosive popularity. Recognized for their musicality with their 1st full album, they've surpassed 2 million album sales! Showing the incredible record of ranking 1st on the Oricon Album Chart for 10 consecutive weeks!]
'2 million copies?'
Facing a far more amazing opponent than I expected, I looked at Hiro with slightly surprised eyes.
Seeing Hiro's face trying hard to hold back a bursting smile, it seemed he very much liked the atmosphere of being the center of attention right now.
As I was thinking once again that he wasn't normal...
On the screen, footage of the band LIME's activities flashed by, and Hiro playing the guitar and singing on stage was also shown.
[Alright, that was the VCR video about Hiro.]
[Amazing, right? The band LIME is already expected to be the next-generation national band.]
[What's even more surprising is that he hasn't even been making music for a full year, yet he released his first full album.]
[He's truly a genius.]
The video ended, and enthusiastic praise poured out from the Prince members.
An overwhelmingly high tension, as expected.
I was starting to think this was what Japanese broadcasts were like when...
[Then let's watch the video about Rin-ssi together now.]
A video of my appearance on National Idol floated onto the screen.
Along with my activities in the audition, We:uS's debut and my current status were introduced with subtitles.
'Looking at it like this, it feels a bit strange.'
Watching my biography in Japan, of all places, felt extremely weird.
I felt like I understood how Hiro felt earlier...
*Tingle—*
At that moment, I felt a gaze with an unusual vibe from somewhere, so I turned my head...
'Why is he acting like that?'
I saw Hiro glaring at me with an intense gaze.
Did he think we were some kind of real rivals?
As I was thinking to myself while looking at Hiro's gaze...
[Sunwoo Rin, the leader of We:uS, Korea's top idol group leading K-pop.]
With a massively burdensome subtitle, my VCR video ended.
[Wow, that's amazing!]
[Debuting directly through an audition without any trainee period, and in 1st place at that!]
[He's definitely a genius.]
[Right, he's a genius here too.]
As expected, exaggerated reactions continued.
[I think everyone will have no objections to both of them being geniuses.]
'That person over there looks like he has a lot of objections?'
As I felt those two eyes, brimming with self-consciousness, staring at me...
[Well then, it's time to properly compete to see who the bigger genius is between the two of you.]
[Are both of you ready?]
The first to react to Sakurai Jun's words as he looked at me and Hiro was Hiro.
[I have never lost to anyone since I was born.]
[Ooh!]
[Full of confidence!]
I wondered how there could be such a shounen manga-like line, but combined with the Prince members' enthusiastic response, for a moment, I wondered if I was the abnormal one here.
And.
'I think I've held back a lot until now?'
Hiro's gaze, which had been looking at me like I was the rival of the century since earlier.
I had been enduring it with the thought that it's a variety show and probably a broadcast concept.
But swept up in the atmosphere of this place, the words I had been holding back inadvertently popped out of my mouth.
[Then today will be your first time losing.]
At the words that came out of my mouth in that instant, I saw Hiro's face immediately stiffen.
[Ohhhhh!]
[This is what makes it fun, when both sides step up like this!]
[It's burning up!]
[This is youth!]
At my words, the Prince members stood up and cheered.
Looking at that scene, I...
'Crazy, what did I just say...'
It was a moment where, for some reason, I suddenly didn't want to go back to Korea.