Debut or Die

Chapter 73

During the boring music show pre-recording waiting time, one of the VTIC members who was touching his smartphone as he liked told Cheongryeo.

What he showed was the 9th most popular video on WeTube in real-time.

[Number 1 Idol got hit by water at the showcase!]

[On the evening of the 18th, an idol group’s debut showcase was held at Red Square. The audition that heated up the internet a few months ago, <Idol Inc.>…]

Issue WeTuber was excitedly talking about the showcase water bottle incident while adding personal opinions.

“This is him, right? That Idol Inc..”

“…Ah.”

Cheongryeo looked at the screen and remembered the ridiculous personality test.

“Park Moondae.”

[He’s quick-witted.]

Just in time, the video showed a small, ambiguous-quality fancam (due to copyright issues). It was the scene where Park Moondae gently took care of the situation.

“Isn’t he really smart?”

“That’s right.”

“But it’s such a shame. We had the same schedule…”

Other members who were sneakily watching from the side also joined in and clicked their tongues.

“It’s been a couple of days since Tnet acted recklessly.”

“Their index is good, but it’s a pity that they won’t get first place.”

The slightly sympathetic tone presupposed the conviction that they would win in the second week as well.

In fact, it was inevitable.

[#1 Night Sign / VTIC]

It was the daily ranking of the nation’s largest music site.

Since the music charts were reorganized so that they couldn’t be seen in real time, it was impossible to break through the existing music charts and immediately win first place unless it was dire.

‘It takes a week at the earliest.’

The same was true for Testar’s music, which would be released at midnight.

Then, if Testar’s album sales in the 1st week beat VTIC’s 2nd week with a triple score or higher, they could expect to win first place on the music show, but unfortunately, their initial period overlapped with VTIC for about a day.

Unless Testar in either case set a record that was crazy enough to exceed expectations, their loss was meant to be.

Of course, even if they were from the audition, saying that a rookie boy idol won first place on the music charts was absurd.

“Ah~ If we have time to worry about hubaes, let’s just do our best!”

“Right!”

VTIC quickly returned to their respective interests.

And Cheongryeo rested his chin and thought.

‘…I might lose.’

* * *

The debut showcase ended safely in an enthusiastic atmosphere.

But there was no special after-party.

“We just debuted, we can’t appear like a hoppang on TV. We were fed a lot~”

(TL notes: Hoppang = a steamed bun, usually filled with red bean paste.)

“Hoppang is delicious!”

“Your face has to look good, you can’t be so chubby that makes people want to eat you.”

“Aha!”

Cha Eugene was convinced at once. After appreciating Keun Sejin’s amazing communication skills for a while, I became the subject of conversation again.

“Still, Moondae’s achievement is the real after-party.”

“T-That’s right”

“It was great.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

“Haha, this guy is embarrassed!”

“…”

I… Since the end of the showcase, I had been hearing the words like ‘Park Moondae’s quick wit is the best in the world’.

Rather than being embarrassed, I just felt uncomfortable.

In particular, it seemed that Keun Sejin was doing that on purpose to embarrass me even more.

“You all worked hard, wait… Let’s take a rest.”

“Yay~”

“Finally.”

Anyway, instead of an after-party, I received a short break. At Ryu Chungwoo’s words, the members scattered to the dorm, showing a wide spectrum of reactions from relief to joy.

For your information, I slept. Lee Sejin, who shared the same room, also slept, improving sleep quality.

‘I miss the characteristic of not having to sleep.’

But reality show cameras were still running. Thanks to that, we had to gather in the living room again after spending a short personal time.

“Looks like everyone had a good rest.”

“Hehe.”

Cha Eugene, who obviously forgot the snack, laughed.

And we all looked at Ryu Chungwoo’s smartphone.

“It’s amazing that it’s already released.”

“I-I’m nervous…”

Because the debut album would be released at midnight.

Why don’t you don’t watch it on your own instead of watching it as one group together…. Well, maybe it was because this image would come out nice.

“Oh! It’s coming!”

Soon, the smartphone clock unit changed.

[00 : 00]

“D-Did the song come out?”

“Are you looking at it now?”

Kim Raebin firmly organized it.

“It takes more than an hour to see it on the 24Hits chart.”

“An hour…”

Lee Sejin disappeared into the kitchen, spitting out a sigh. It seemed he was trying to bring some water.

‘…There’s a high probability that it won’t show up after an hour.’

Because we had to compete with an hour-long performance among other songs that were counted over 24 hours.

Even VTIC ranked 87th on the 24-hour chart after an hour.

Perhaps Kim Raebin tried to continuously explain this fact, but he closed his mouth after making eye contact with me.

“…?”

Isn’t it okay to explain it this time?

Keun Sejin said with a smile, as if trying to offset the tense atmosphere.

“Then we… How about watching the ‘Magical Boy’ music video first?”

“Ah.”

Right. We hadn’t seen that yet.

I had just returned to the dorm and had a break, so I didn’t really have the time to think about it

‘The reality show staff asked to film a reaction for this as well.’

“That’s a good idea.”

“Look in the big one!”

Cha Eugene quickly picked up the remote control and changed the TV screen to WeTube.

There was no need to search, the music video was on the top spot in real-time.

[Testar(TeSTAR) ‘Magical Boy’ Official MV]

“Yees!”

“W-Wow.”

The members stared at the screen as if they didn’t realize it and finally came to their senses.

“Oh. The thumbnail is Moondae.”

“I-It came out well.”

The thumbnail was of Park Moondae looking back in front of the classroom window.

Behind the white curtains, the sky colored with scarlet and purple was shining with backlight.

‘Is this first-place privilege?’

I looked at the thumbnails in disbelief, then pressed the play button using the remote control that Cha Eugene was holding.

“Oh.”

The music video for ‘Magical Boy’ started playing with Cha Eugene’s embarrassed voice in the background.

The video started with the thumbnail screen.

[…]

In the meantime, Park Moondae was looking out the window at the setting sun in an empty classroom.

The moment he looked back and made eye contact with the camera.

The song started.

– I will meet you tomorrow

I’ve been thinking about it all-day

Have a dream blue as the day

The screen changed.

The old and broken campus was clearly visible under the midday sun and suddenly, glistening soap bubbles that were dyed purple poured down.

????-????-??-

And in the ordinary places of the school, the images of the members doing extraordinary actions passed by each part.

– Even if the world is cold

Dreams are sweet

Even if reality collapses,

Dreams are clear

In a destroyed classroom, Cha Eugene was sitting at a desk unscathed alone.

He lined up animal-shaped dolls at the corner and turned their gears. Because of the shadows and lighting, the dolls looked like small creatures.

– I don’t want to be locked

I want to fall asleep.

I’m drawing a dream

But reality is breathing

All the time…

Seon Ahyeon, who was sitting on a bed in the infirmary, tore off a pillowcase. Instead of cotton, shiny dandelion fluffy things popped out of it and sparkled around the bed.

-All that time.

Maybe it’s what I needed

The magic to the future

So I

Ryu Chungwoo shot flowers in the garden with a toy gun. Instead of bullet balls or water, a stream of light burst out and blue petals soared

And a zoom that unfolded on the rooftop with a purple sunset.

-Cast a spell

Make a wish come

true true true

– Dive into the future quietly

– Cast a spell

Make a dream come

true true true

– Sleep with a dream, blue

The interlude that came out after the chorus had more split in beats, followed by a splendid dance break.

The midday rooftop was cross-edited, and the mysteriousness of the purple background scene deepened.

“We had a hard time because we did a new makeup.”

“That’s right! Everyone, if you look closely… There is a difference between the photo taken during the day and the photo taken at sunset both in the outfit and makeup!”

Keun Sejin explained to the camera.

It was true.

In the daytime background, we were almost bare-faced, and in the sunset background, we had something like glitter and flushes under our eyes.

As for the costume, they added more accessories when filming the sunset background.

‘If we had to film it in one day, it would’ve been like hell.’

Fortunately, the cut came out well, paying off the hard work.

????-????-??-

And the second verse.

Kim Raebin came out of the back after strange finger movements that seemed hypnotizing.

And he did a melody rap in a slow, complex, and very strange rhythm.

Crossing the broken cabinet in the hallway was Kim Raebin who was sitting on a stack of piles and throwing awls.

“Oh!”

“Your voice is good.”

“…Thank you.”

Kim Raebin replied a little awkwardly, unable to hide his pride.

“But how did you pick something scary like an awl, Raebin-ssi?”

“…Because it’s so cute…?”

“…?”

Keun Sejin’s mouth fell shut at the answer beyond his imagination. I answered pleasantly instead.

“Let’s say so.”

“Right. It’s so cute, Raebin.”

I was relieved to see that the color of the music video was okay so I reacted more comfortably.

On the screen that followed, Lee Sejin appeared last.

Lee Sejin was standing inside the school building, looking at the main entrance. The school ground was visible through the glass door.

And in the bridge before the last chorus.

The tone of the music box, which was a riff melody, was lowered, and a vocal melody followed on top of it.

– What I can’t hide even if I hide it

Maybe it’s magic

out of breath and trembling

A dream.

Lee Sejin broke the glass door.

At that moment, along with the sound of a film rolling, the cuts came back together.

A strange whisper passed by, like a tape being turned backwards, and then a cut was inserted without music

.

Park Moondae walked into the school ground from outside the school.

[…]

Soon, Park Moondae, who stopped in front of the entrance, stretched out both hands and grabbed the handle. And.

Click.

Set the lock.

…Click.

As the film turned around, the final chorus burst out along with the choreography.

– Cast a spell

Make a wish come

true true true

– Sleep quietly into the future

– Cast a spell

Make a dream come

true true true

– Fall into the dream, blue

Before I knew it, the area around the rooftop where the choreography took place had turned into a more unrealistic space.

The railings surrounding the rooftop were broken, forming transparent crystals. And like a prism, it distorted the light.

Like the light that disturbed the background, the choreography had become more complicated and the curve had become stronger.

????-????-??-

At the end of the choreography. The members naturally changed the formation to a circle. The song ended as soon as they laid their heads together on the rooftop.

Thud.

Purple soap bubbles popped out.

[…]

And a black screen appeared.

In the midst of the slowly arranged inst of ‘Magical Boy’, the classic ending credits went up like a short film.

Only then did the members start talking again.

“Wow!!”

“It turned out so well?”

“Thank you, director.”

“I-I think it came out great…”

It had become a strange situation where no one accepted each other’s words because they spoke simultaneously.

But no one cared and they talked excitedly.

“Really, um, it’s fun because it came out meaningfully.”

“I think fans will have fun discovering the various details.”

“Yeah, we like it, so I hope the fans will like it, too~”

The atmosphere couldn’t be any warmer than this.

‘We made a good start, so they’re excited.’

Thanks to this, when checking the music charts, the tension wasn’t so high that it felt uncomfortable.

And the result.

“Wow! It went in~”

We were ranked 85th and 88th.

‘…One song is slightly higher than VTIC.’

The popularity of the audition that had been booming nationwide was bigger than I had expected.

‘It’s crazy.’

However, perhaps because there were more people who were more accustomed to words like ‘real-time number 1 entry’, the members were just happy.

Even if I knew it in my head, all I could see right now was the top 80.

So a more intense reaction erupted next.

“A-All our songs…”

“Gasp.”

On other music sites where real-time charts were still alive, Testar’s title songs showed off their spirits by taking first and second place side by side.

[No. 1 Hi-five / Testar] New!

[No. 2 Magical Boy / Testar] New!

[No. 3 Night Sign / VTIC] ?2

[…]

All four songs released from this album were even included in the top seven.

Of course, after a while, it would be pushed back by VTIC in an instant. It was crazy, though.

The members, who finally realized it, continued to look at the smartphone screen in shock.

“L-Let’s take a screenshot.”

“That’s a good idea.”

It was a good signal that erupted from the beginning of our activity when we had not even appeared on music shows yet.