Chapter 47
A few days after DNS Media’s surprise publicity blitz.
Lemon Entertainment launched a massive counterattack.
The PR team, which received twice as much budget as before, started to circulate press releases like crazy.
-New Black, the Something hitmakers, return with self-composed songs
-“This time, it’s a summer season song”, New Black reveal the tracklist of their debut album
-New Black, to land on the music scene next month with their new title song ‘Fireworks’
The PR cost must have been enormous, as some of the articles even made it to the main page.
Thanks to that, our group name rose on the real-time search rankings.
Maybe it was because our name became more known through music shows and music cafes.
This never happened when DNS Media promoted Street Boys.
And it seemed to provoke our competitors.
As if they wouldn’t take Lemon’s counterattack lying down, DNS Media also poured out another round of publicity.
-Lavender Rose, cheering for their junior group on SNS… Who are “Street Boys”?
-Rapper Hesion, praises Street Boys’ leader ‘Hanjo’ for his rap skills
-Street Boys, who rose on the real-time search rankings, are hot even before their debut
The nerve war between the two companies was going on everywhere.
At this point, it was so obvious that anyone could see it, so posts started to appear on idol communities.
-What’s up with Lemon and DNS? They’re so competitive
-Are Kyuho and Hyunsik fighting again?
-It didn’t seem like this when Scarlet and LaRose were competing, why are they doing this?
-Isn’t it because DNS started it? They changed Street Boys’ debut date and song, right? Anyone can see that they were conscious of Lemon
-What are you talking about? Didn’t you see the interview? They said they were going to release it on their second album, but they had enough time to prepare it
-The comment above is nonsense. Anyone can see that they followed New Black
-They’re fighting like crazy
-Who are these guys? They already have fans?? I get that New Black is because of Something, but what about Street Boys?
-They had a debut reality show on Knet, it was pretty popular
-Wow, they’re already fighting like this, I’m looking forward to it
-Some of the comments smell like shit
-They’re just saying whatever they want because they’re rookies
-It reminds me of the epic fight between TNT and Sixty. It won’t be boring for a while
Except for a few fandoms, most of the idol fans were watching with popcorn in their hands, as if they were enjoying the show.
Maybe it was because of these reactions.
The entertainment reporters smelled something and jumped in like hyenas.
-The upcoming boy group war in June, who will be the winner?
-‘Composer-dols vs Composer-dols’, the points to watch in the June boy group war
-June music scene, the bold challenge of rookie boy groups
The entertainment reporters gave a grand name to the competition between the two groups: ‘June Boy Group War’.
Of course, other groups were also mentioned, but it was obvious that they were just for show.
The main focus was the rival structure between us and Street Boys.
Who would have a more successful promotion, whose song would be better.
The general public was still indifferent, but the interest was gradually rising among the idol fans.
There hadn’t been any rival fights in the idol scene since Sixty Seconds fell, so that was why.
Especially since the main singers announced their comeback in July and August, the rookie group fight was a spectacle for the boring June.
Reflecting that, there were some visible changes.
The number of fancafe members increased, and the views of the videos we uploaded on MTube soared noticeably.
The more that happened, the more clear the meaning of this battle became for the two companies.
Opportunity.
Whoever won, it was certain that the winner would monopolize all the attention.
A fight that had to be won at all costs.
In the situation where the two groups and their agencies were sharpening their knives, summer was slowly approaching.
***
May, a studio in Gangnam-gu.
“Wow.”
The New Black members were exclaiming as they visited the studio for the album jacket shoot.
“Hyung, sit down. The sofa is as good as ours at home.”
“Really. This is awesome.”
Wang Ji-ho and Kim Jung-hyun were sitting on the luxurious sofa and giggling.
“Doesn’t this look really expensive?”
“It does. It looks like an Egyptian jar. It would be nice if we had one of these at our dorm.”
“Why would you put it in the dorm? Jung-hyun and Wang Ji-ho would break it for sure.”
Kim Bi-ju and Seo Ri-hyuk were admiring a strange artifact and giving their opinions.
A jar that looked expensive at a glance.
Everything in the waiting room was like that. The interior seemed to say, “Do you think you belong here with your level?”
“They said he’s the best-selling artist in Gangnam. He must be really good. The waiting room is so luxurious.”
“Look at the photos on the wall. They’re all top star seniors.”
“Wow. Oh? But there aren’t many idols, are there? There’s TN… Ah, why?”
“Are you clueless?”
Seo Ri-hyuk pointed with his chin at someone who was sitting in a corner of the sofa with his legs crossed.
Then Wang Ji-ho realized.
He had forgotten that there was someone who had been eliminated from the TNT debut group.
But the other person seemed to not hear their conversation. He was looking at his smartphone with a serious expression.
He looked very focused on something.
Seo Ri-hyuk mouthed a question.
‘What is that guy looking at?’
‘Hyung Jun-hyun, Hyung Woojoo, what are you looking at?’
Kim Jun-hyun blinked and looked at Wang Ji-ho.
His bear-like face had an expression that said he couldn’t understand at all.
Before his booming voice could say ‘What’s wrong?’ without any tact, Wang Ji-ho quickly raised his finger.
Then he opened the messenger.
[Universe Team without Universe (4)]
Ri-hyuk [pdf idiot]
As the two youngest ones were fighting, Kim Jung-hyun, who was peeking at Seon Woojoo from the next seat, played with his fingers again.
Jung-hyun [guys]
Jung-hyun [This time I’m watching a video]
Bi-ju [?]
Bi-ju [No, Woojoo hyung wouldn’t do that]
Ji-ho [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Bi-ju hyung breakdown]
But the other members were also confused.
I [Bi-ju] sighed. “There must be a reason for it.”
Jung-hyun snorted. “Are you kidding me? He’s laughing now.”
We all looked at where Seon Woojoo was standing. He was holding his phone and smiling brightly.
Ji-ho [Bi-ju hyung]
Ji-ho [Seon Woojoo hyung, stop being a fanboy and come to my arms]
I [No way]
I [Seon Woojoo hyung has been composing a lot lately… and working hard… and getting stressed… He’s only human, you know]
I [Emoticon (sob)]
Ri-hyuk shook his head. “Hyung, you look like you’ve been hit hard by reality.”
Ji-ho [LOL LOL LOL LOL]
As everyone was busy exchanging opinions while watching the leader’s bizarre behavior, Seori Hyuk chuckled and typed on the keyboard.
Seori [Just watch]
Seori [He must have something up his sleeve again]
I think I’ve seen enough by now.
I turned off my smartphone and recalled the expressions of the models I had just seen.
At the same time, I slowly moved my facial muscles.
On the black screen of my smartphone, the perfect expression for today’s shooting came to mind.
Perfect.
Ever since I heard that the concept of the album was the freshness of summer, I prepared for the shooting with my imitation ability.
I referenced anything that suited the summer.
I learned the smile of the cider advertisement model, the movement of the muscles around the eyes of the people who appeared in various summer pictorials, and the usual smile of the models on MewTube.
I combined all of that.
It was possible because I practiced my imitation ability.
Before, I could only copy one action exactly, but now I could combine the movements of the muscles naturally.
That’s why I found the optimal expression for the pictorial concept like a chemist who studies the combination of substances for a few days.
The efficiency definitely increased from then on.
The incident that happened when I met Professor Choi Yong-jae at the hospital.
Suddenly, I experienced the past again like a flashback. From that point on, the efficiency of my ability increased.
I still don’t know why that happened.
Well, that’s not urgent right now.
The important thing is to achieve results in this album.
“But…”
I asked the members who were looking at me with a strange expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
They didn’t answer me.
I was about to ask again, tilting my head, when the managers came in.
“The photographer just arrived. Let’s go and greet him.”
As we left the waiting room, Yoon Seok-hwan’s voice followed us.
“Do you know how famous the photographer who is doing the shooting today is? He usually doesn’t work with rookies, but we barely persuaded him to do it. So greet him politely as soon as you meet him. Like the first day you went on a music show.”
“Yes.”
“You have to work really hard on the shooting. The company decided to upload the photos you took today on the internet.”
Everyone nodded enthusiastically, among them Ji-ho asked.
“Manager.”
“Huh?”
“Why doesn’t he work with rookies?”
“Usually rookies make a lot of mistakes. There are a lot of things to point out about their expressions or poses. Well, it’s inevitable because they have little shooting experience, but from the photographer’s point of view, it’s annoying if the shooting subject is clumsy.”
When we headed inside the studio, we widened our eyes.
“What, why are there so many people?”
“What do you mean?”
Yoon Seok-hwan smiled as he looked at the bustling crowd.
“They are the company staff who came to help you with the shooting.”
“Wow…”
There were at least 20 people.
Including the outsourced staff such as makeup and the management team staff who came from the company.
They all came out because of us.
I felt it for real.
When I heard that the company was pouring money into New Black, I was nervous, but now that I see it, I feel it in my heart.
I steeled myself and told my brothers.
“We have to be prepared to break our bones, guys.”
Huh? Why are they laughing?
I was serious, but they were laughing for some reason.
***
The shooting began in earnest.
“…”
The members of New Black stared at one place and blinked their eyes.
“Yeah! That’s it!”
The photographer with gold-rimmed glasses and a beanie pressed the shutter with an excited voice.
“Yeah. Yeah, yeah, with the expression of watching fireworks in the night sky, yeah! That’s right. You’re doing well. You.”
The members looked at each other in silence.
“Did I hear that right? When I was shooting, that photographer was so annoyed with me. He said if I was going to do it like that, I should just quit.”
“Me too. He asked me why I looked so awkward. I’ve never been dissed for my expression before.”
“I got scolded a lot too.”
“He dissed me for being too big to shoot. He said I was the biggest subject he ever saw among idols. He also said my pose was like a sphinx.”
“Hyung. That’s because…”
“Hey, Kim Jung-hyun. If you lie down when he tells you to relax, of course you’ll get scolded.”
Before Seon Woojoo’s shoot, they had endured all kinds of insults from the professional photographer, as Yoon Seok-hwan had warned them.
His expression was so fierce that it made their stomachs ache.
But now, the person who had been so strict with them was smiling all the time.
“It’s kind of unfair that he’s now…”
“He’s doing so well.”
“Right? He’s really good.”
They looked at Seon Woojoo, who was standing in the studio.
A white T-shirt and jeans.
With a sky-blue shirt loosely draped over them, Seon Woojoo smiled and struck a pose.
There was nothing lacking or wanting.
As if to show what freshness was, he had a determined expression.
“Did Hyung always do expression acting that well?”
They were not the only ones who were amazed.
The company staff who came to help with the shoot were also staring at him like they were bewitched.
It was not just because of his appearance.
His expression had something that drew people’s attention.
Like when you see a sunset or a night sea in front of you and you can’t help but stare at it.
“…Huh?”
The members turned their heads at Kim Jung-hyun’s remark.
“What’s wrong?”
“That expression, it’s similar to the ones that the models had in the video that Hyung watched earlier.”
They looked at each other.
“So, that was him practicing his expression?”
“It seems like it.”
“Can you practice with that?”
“It looks like it works…”
They looked at each other again and chuckled.
They realized what their leader had been doing.
Of course, if someone else had done that, they would have said, “Are you kidding me?” and dismissed it as nonsense, but since it was Seon Woojoo, they accepted it.
He was a person who often defied their common sense.
“He’s really amazing. Seriously.”
Seo Ri-hyuk said with a bored tone.
“It’s really lucky that he’s on our side.”
“Street Boys are really screwed. Of all the teams to compete with, they have this crazy guy on their team.”
The youngest’s words made the older ones laugh.
“By the way, didn’t they say they would upload their jacket photos around the same time as us?”
“Oh, right.”
“I’m curious about the reaction.”
They wondered what kind of reaction Seon Woojoo’s photos would get on the internet, since they were so well received on the scene.
As they all looked forward to it.
A few days later, the concept photos were posted on the SNS accounts of both companies.