Chapter 23: The Idol's Technique That Never Fails

During the night, two more album cover candidates that An Juwon had worked on were uploaded to the Firstlight account.

[B cut is also beautiful, what a pityㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Juwon really put his heart into the para activitiesㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[↳If para activities don't go well, he would immediately switch to acting…….]

[It looks like a pro did the work……?]

[↳An Juwon has a high level of academic and artistic talent; he doesn't just study hard but also works hard at school life.]

[↳↳He actually comes to school quite often. The first time I saw him at school, his facial features and aura gave me goosebumps, but now the mystery is gone. Are celebrities not busy?]

[He must have studied hard]

[↳I'm Sandy, and that's just talent]

[↳↳Just talent222]

[Juwon and Jiwon really have the makings of high schoolersㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Juwon is the new kid who transferred, and Jiwon is the stable Prom King…….]

[↳I saw this on Xflix]

[↳Juwon was quietly drawing something when he transferred, and it turned out to be the female lead…….]

[↳↳That's so thrilling…….]

[The Firstlight members seem to have good specs; their brains are also quite good, as seen from the first round.]

[When Jiwon found his iPad, he kept pressing the password to extend the inactive time, which was creepy.]

[Hyosuk left his walkie-talkie behind, and his expression when he realized it was so good…….]

[↳That was cute]

[↳But when I heard that he was also nervous, I almost cried…….]

[What a crazy national bias meme lololololol]

[↳???]

[↳????????????]

[@khgif_1228

I only like the face]

[↳lololololololololol I only like the face]

[↳What is kh? Is it not a fan account? lololololololololololololololol]

* * *

The music video shooting began.

I decided to cover my silver hair because it didn't fit well with the members and the current concept. I changed it to 'pink.'

I looked at the mirror on the shooting site.

"Wow, it looks like an idol."

When I said this to myself, the members next to me looked incredulous. Well, would anyone other than an idol have pink hair……?

It's a very light color, almost indistinguishable from silver, but the staff's reaction was not bad after I covered it with pink. Especially, the stylist who bleached my hair said that my hair, as an idol, is my best feature. It's a very job-centric thought.

"This hair seems to be okay. When it was silver, I felt like the staff didn't like me much."

Maybe because I have a slight affection deficiency, I want to do something to make the staff feel better if they seem uncomfortable with me.

With that in mind, Shin Jiwon, who was next to me, replied.

"No, it's just that you're too cool…… Ah, not cool in a bad way, is there a similar good word? You don't like being called cool."

"Chilly?"

When An Juwon suggested it, Shin Jiwon said.

"No, he can't understand that. His hair is not that great."

"This kid, I thought he was mature, but his personality shows."

"Hey, ten thousand won."

"Ah……"

We agreed to pay ten thousand won every time we swore. Of course, I am the most disadvantaged. But as always, I need to put money on the line to get serious.

Fortunately, I am the one with the emptiest wallet among us, so I decided to exempt myself from paying if I quit smoking. Hehe. A tough but hopeful life…….

For the first outfit in the music video, we wore school uniforms.

I dropped out at eighteen and stayed in my room, so the time I could wear a school uniform was short. Still, it's longer than the three youngest members. Sometimes I feel sorry for the youngest members who couldn't wear school uniforms much.

The shooting location was an abandoned school in Seoul, which hadn't been closed for long, making it look like a school on vacation.

It feels strange to come to school after a long time.

When I asked Park Heetaek, the CEO, about my music video shooting, he said to push it regardless of the Firstlight fans' reactions. It seems that my drawing attention is somewhat helpful.

And unexpectedly, so far, VMC has not shown any significant reaction to the national bias edit I leaked.

I also haven't heard any news about changes in the music show schedules after our comeback. I expected to receive a call telling us to stop, but it's a bit unsettling.

However, through a slightly faster social life and long dreams, I learned that companies, which seem like mountains to me, can sometimes make absurd demands over trivial matters. Even if I think it's nothing, VMC is definitely paying attention.

Anyway, I plan to find a way to renew my image, but I don't intend to confront VMC until the start of this activity.

If my actions cause too much trouble for Firstlight's activities,

The Haeul fans will never forgive me, and I won't forgive myself either.

* * *

One thing I realized today during the shooting is that each Firstlight member has a unique standout feature. I think I had overlooked this because of Shin Jiwon.

Especially, when Han Hyosuk, who I thought had a noble scholar-like image, angrily untied and threw his school uniform tie, all the female staff on the set cheered. The members wanted to tease him but turned away to avoid making him feel uncomfortable. Honestly, it was funny.

If I wanted to bet on the music chart performance, I would have chosen the song by a famous producer with high-quality production, which was also a final candidate along with my song.

The goal of this Firstlight activity is one: to make the name "Firstlight" stick in people's minds.

So, we poured all our money into a stronger choreography, a stronger beat, and the music video.

The music video shooting has been going on for four days, and the choreography is so intense that you need an oxygen tank after one performance.

Fortunately, the members are in their prime, and they continued the shooting with passionate, fiery eyes until the end.

* * *

I don't know how the days are passing until the comeback.

I'm a bit better off because I don't have many external schedules, but the other members are extremely busy with various group and individual schedules.

While the members are out on their schedules, I, being a non-voluntary homebody, only worked on songs at home.

My lease on my apartment was still valid, but the company said it was ridiculous to continue living there, so I moved out of the room I used as a closet in the Firstlight dorm. In exchange, all my clothes came out into the living room, making it messy, but the members didn't complain at all. They seem to be quite considerate.

Today, I went to the company to watch the music video teaser, which would be released at 1 PM.

As I entered the company, my phone rang, and it was my sister.

"Hey, sis."

-Mom wants to call you, but she's too nervous to do it.

"Really?"

Since there's a ten-year age gap, my sister sometimes feels like a mother to me. I can be more honest with her than with my mom.

-Do you ever call home?

"Well, sis can do it."

-It costs a lot in phone bills. You do it. You're the youngest.

"I'm just nervous. Don't say anything."

-Why are you nervous? The song is good. You did your best.

Hearing that the song is good, which is a family's honest opinion, eases my tension a bit.

There's a small theater-like room in the company, and we decided to watch the teaser and the entire music video together for the first time with the members and employees.

I found a seat among the members who had finished their schedules.

This was the moment my song, which I composed, would be publicly revealed for the first time. No kidding, my heart is beating so fast it feels like it might jump out of my body.

Both the members and employees were very nervous, and no one was talking.

This is a life-or-death activity for the company.

I can't guarantee that I will ever be this nervous again, even if I make a lot of music in the future.

Since it's a digital single, we decided to release one of the two music video teasers a bit earlier instead of a highlight medley.

This time, we didn't release a concept trailer because the album and song style, as well as the concept, are completely different from the previous one, and we need to match it with our own variety show and storyline.

So, this is literally the first video we're showing to the fans for this activity.

"Man, I feel like I'm going to throw up."

Hwang Saebi, who was next to me, said what I wanted to say. I didn't think he had the stamina to be nervous, but he surprised me. Anyway, all the Firstlight members have big ambitions.

"Me too."

As I answered, it was 1 PM.

For 26 seconds, the music video teaser played on the screen.

The faces of the seven Firstlight members in school uniforms flashed by one by one. The last scene was the one that got the best reaction on set, where Han Hyosuk untied and threw his tie.

As soon as the teaser ended, Min Jihoo jumped up.

"Hyun, the Haeul fans can't help but love this!"

"Minjo, calm down and sit."

"How can I calm down? What are you talking about?"

While I was talking to Min Jihoo, the other members were all looking at the YouTube comments.

"The teaser reaction is insane. It's…… really good."

"Wow, they really like it. The Haeul fans actually didn't like the previous concept."

Yeah, that's why I said I didn't fit in with you guys…….

By looking at the members' expressions as they read the comments, I could guess the reaction to this teaser.

The Haeul fans are so busy talking about the Firstlight members that they don't have the energy to talk about me. It seems like they're saying good things.

I raised my hand and asked.

"Can we watch the teaser one more time?"

"Sure, let's watch it again?"

"Ugh, the composer wants to watch it again, we can watch it a hundred times."

Oh, composer. It's true, but it feels weird.

Anyway, the company employees are subtly praising me a lot. It's probably for mental management. I secretly like such flattery……. I like being praised…….

I was thinking that it would be nice if the fans really liked it, when suddenly a status window appeared.

[12,245 views remaining to complete the mission]

[11,900 views remaining to complete the mission]

[11,8