Chapter 48
When our photos were uploaded on Lemon Entertainment’s official SNS, we were all catching our breaths in the practice room.
It was a break time right after the practice.
The youngest, who had laid his head on my thigh, sprang up.
“Hyungs! Look at this, it just came up!”
“Really? Let me see.”
The five of us gathered around the smartphone like meerkats.
On the screen that Ji-ho showed us, there were our photos posted on Lemon Entertainment’s official SNS account.
We gasped as we flipped through them.
“Wow, we don’t look like ourselves, we look like different people.”
The youngest was right, we really looked like different people.
The ones in the photos were not us, but young men from another world.
Ji-ho, who wore a red hairband and smiled brightly.
Ri-hyuk, who sat in front of a canvas with a sea painted on it, with a chic expression and paint smeared on his face.
Bi-ju, who held a yellow flower in his hand and looked at it lovingly.
Jung-hyun, who lay down leisurely and bit into a green apple.
The concept shots that brought out each of our colors were so impressive that I would want to know who they were right away if I were an idol fan.
“The photos are really pretty. I’m going to send them to my mom, dad, and sisters later. This is the first time I’ve seen such a good shot of myself in years.”
“Wang Ji-ho, how do I look? I think I came out well.”
“You totally did, I admit.”
“Yeah?”
“You look like a pirarucu right now, but in the photo, you look like a cool handsome boy.”
The warm atmosphere of the youngest line turned into a mess as Ri-hyuk searched for pirarucu.
“I came out well. How about you?”
“I think I’m okay. Actually, I was more worried about how our kids would come out. The shooting site was so tense that day.”
“They all got scolded a lot.”
The hyung line smiled calmly as if they were relieved.
“Huh? The last one is Woojoo hyung’s and the group shot!”
“What? Why are there so many photos?”
“They’re up!”
My concept shot and group shot just came up.
And…
I’m embarrassed to say it with my own mouth, but my personal shot was really the best.
“Wow…”
The younger ones opened their mouths wide and looked at the photo.
In the screen, I was sitting on a box with purple fireworks sticking out, smiling.
Refreshing.
I felt proud for some reason as I saw the smile that seemed to make me feel refreshed.
I did everything to practice that.
From magazine pictorials to the expressions that models in bikinis made.
It was worth preparing.
“I thought it was amazing at the shooting site, but it’s really awesome.”
“It’s amazing how I keep looking at it.”
“Right? How do you make such an expression?”
Ri-hyuk, who was moving his facial muscles strangely to imitate me, snickered.
I was embarrassed, so I changed the topic.
“How’s the reaction to our photos?”
“It’s just likes for now. I guess our fans don’t know yet. It hasn’t been long since they posted it.”
The fans only gave us about 10 likes so far.
“I wonder what it’ll be like when it spreads on the internet. Won’t they make a fuss over Woojoo hyung’s photo?”
“I know. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Honestly, even if we look at it, it’s something…”
As the younger ones said a word each, I also felt excited.
A photo that I think came out well.
I wonder what people will say when they see this photo.
***
After Lemon and DNS posted their concept shots, the photos went up on the idol community.
-[Spoiler] Boy group concept shots for debut in June
The post had concept shots of New Black, Street Boys and two other groups lined up.
-Looks like Lemon is going for a refreshing concept?
-They both picked good concepts
-Who’s the brown-haired one?? He’s so prettyㅠㅠㅠ
-Isn’t that the filter of their lives… They didn’t look like that when I saw New Black on the music showㅇㅇ
-Oh, they’re not bad?
-You have to see them to knowㅋㅋㅋ They’re just profile pictures
-But they’re all visually striking. Is it because Lemon is an actor agency that they picked unique kids?
-When are they debuting?
-Hey. Why are you guys only talking about New Black? Street Boys must be sad
-You’re worse for hitting them like this
-Street Boys’ concept is so fierce… They all look like they want money for their eyes.
-They’re already obsessed with them ㅅㅂ ㅋㅋㅋ They should watch their performance.
Similar posts came up, but most of them were full of compliments for the concept shots posted by Lemon.
It was a clear win for New Black.
It was only natural.
New Black’s refreshing concept was more approachable than Street Boys’ hip hop warrior concept, and the photos taken by an excellent photographer caught more attention.
Of course, there was another big reason.
-That brown-haired one is totally my type… What’s his name?
-Is there more than one brown-haired one?
-You should get it if I say it, don’t you have any sense? The brown-haired one we’re talking about is the only one here.
-the brown-haired one
-Why do you put the definite article ㅁㅊ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
From the comments asking for his name.
-He looks so mysterious… I can’t take my eyes off him.
-ㅇㅇ I don’t know if it’s because of his expression, but I keep looking at him.
-Wow… Look at his expression. He doesn’t look like a rookie at all. He has something.
-He looks good enough to watch on stage even with just a photo.
To the praises for his expression.
But there were always sharp people.
-But he looks so familiar.
-I keep looking at him because it’s so amazing, and I think I know what this is.
-?
-It feels similar to that gif. This one.
(A gif of a model walking with a smile in a swimming pool)
-Oh? This is it.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What’s with the similarity?
-They look totally different.
-His mouth shape is similar.
-There is a similar vibe. A kind of feeling that makes you feel refreshed just by looking at him in the summer? He has a good concept.
-This is the most refreshing idol concept shot I’ve ever seen.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I feel like I have to call him unnie after seeing that gif above. I keep feeling overlapped.
-If he debuted as a girl group, the old men would have gone crazyㅋㅋ
-Agreeㅋㅋㅋ Why is he so pureㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-There are already some posts on the male-dominated community.
As the comments on the post said, the concept shot of the rookie male idol member also entered the male-dominated community.
[Seon Myung-joo’s son is debuting and his visuals are amazing ㄷㄷㄷ]
-Is he top tier?
-Totally.
-He’s national top… ㅋㅋㅋ I’ve never seen anyone who looks like that around me.
-He’s top tier in small and medium-sized cities. He’s borderline in metropolitan cities.
At first, there was a debate about what percentage of the top he was, but soon the topic moved to somewhere else.
-Ah… But his expression is so… I don’t know how to say it… Nice.
-Hyungs, would you give him your number if he smiled like that and asked for it?
-I would.
-What are you talking about;;;
-We’re disgusted here, but I think I’d be shaken if I saw him in front of me.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why are the comments like this?
-It’s because of his expression. If the pictorial photo was a woman, many hearts would have been broken.
-Isn’t it a man’s heart?
-Ewㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The post reached the best as the comments became full of arguments about whether they would give him their number or not.
The reason for this was because of Seon Woojoo’s expression.
The smile that was full of freshness was made from the beginning by gathering the attractive parts that did not distinguish between men and women, so the effect was also not gender-specific.
Maybe it was because men also found it strangely captivating.
It was an unexpected side effect for the person himself.
***
Eulwangri Beach.
While we were out to shoot the outdoor part of the music video, I was suffering from an untimely pain.
“Hey! There’s someone on the sand over there.”
“Oh, I’m drawn to him.”
“Wow, isn’t that the magnetic man Seon Woojoo?”
“Huh? He’s running away. Catch him!”
As I ran like a madman, the younger ones with mini cams chased me like a pack of hyenas on a hunt.
“Guys! Don’t run and be careful, you’ll get hurt!”
The voices of the company staff who said that were full of laughter.
They were the ones who teased me as soon as they saw me.
I’m going crazy.
No, it’s good that the concept shot reaction is hot.
Why did it become a hot topic in the men’s community of all places?
And it didn’t end there. It got imported back to the idol community and the situation got worse.
‘Something like, “The rookie male idol who became popular in the male-dominated community.jpg”.’
You know what happened next.
Everyone at the company teased me.
The managers chuckled.
The younger ones went crazy.
I wish it was the soufflé incident.
When they made fun of me for mispronouncing New Black as soufflé, it was almost nothing compared to now.
Now, I’m twice as miserable because we’ve gotten closer.
“Gotcha!”
I was finally caught by the three excited brothers.
“These devilish things.”
“Wow. Woojoo hyung, our family goes to church.”
“Uh…”
“But I don’t go.”
I resisted the urge to smack the youngest one who was giggling.
I’m holding back because of the music video, really.
Of course, it was more because of the handycam in their hands right now.
The company was running a reality project where they filmed our daily lives because the concept shots got a lot of attention.
“Wow, Woojoo hyung is pissed again.”
“I’m not pissed.”
“It’s been a long time since I saw this expression after the soufflé. Fans, can you see? This is the expression our eldest hyung makes when he’s angry. Oh, why is Ri-hyuk hyung next to him like that? That hyung always has a bad expression, ugh!”
Ji-ho, who was grabbed by the collar by Ri-hyuk, dropped the camera, and Jung-hyun lightly caught it in the air.
Then he smiled and filmed me.
“Why, do you want to tease me too?”
“No, I just like watching more.”
Jung-hyun asked me while I was snickering.
“How do you feel about the concept shots getting more attention than you expected?”
“Uh, I’m very grateful. I had no idea it would become an issue like that, but I want to say thank you. I mean, gender is not a very important issue when it comes to liking idols, right…”
“Hyung, you look like you’re crying.”
“No, I’m not. Maybe some salt got in my eyes.”
Jung-hyun diligently changed the angles and captured my faint figure walking against the backdrop of the sea.
As I moved my steps leisurely listening to the sound of the waves.
The shooting equipment was still being set up on the sand.
Bi-ju, who was sitting under a parasol, waved his hand and shouted when he saw us.
“Guys, our guest is here!”
“Guest?”
“I guess Nayoonie noona is here.”
“Oh, the Kakao appearance?”
“…Cameo. Jung-hyun hyung, cameo.”
It’s common to use cameos when shooting music videos.
For the purpose of sending out a line of press articles later.
“Long time no see, everyone.”
Behind Bi-ju, a small-framed girl group member, Daisy, appeared.
A face with fair skin and big eyes.
She looked like a cute block of tofu waving her hand.
We greeted her warmly for sparing her time for the fireworks music video shooting.
“Hello.”
“Noona, long time no see!”
The kids greeted each other warmly.
It was a polite greeting.
Daisy, who was chatting happily, brought up something as if she had remembered it.
“By the way, I bought some sushi for you guys to eat later.”
The sincere welcome that came out right away made the other person look nervous.
Sushi was a big deal.
***
The morning shoot was a success.
We had practiced the choreography like crazy, so it paid off to match our fingers and toes.
The director also praised us constantly.
He said we might finish by evening.
“Good job, everyone!”
After greeting all the staff with a 90-degree bow, I finally took a seat at the table under the parasol.
Daisy, who had finished the cameo shoot, was with us.
“Wow, noona spent a lot of money. There are almost 60 people, including the staff and us.”
“Right? I’m kind of rich.”
Daisy laughed cheekily, as usual.
She was the same as when I saw her in January, when I threw her a luggage.
The only thing that changed was her clothes, according to the season.
Daisy, who was chatting with the kids, looked at me.
“But oppa, you’re hard to see. I thought I’d run into you once, since the studio is attached and all. I went to ask you about my composition block several times, but you were never there.”
“Did you? You should have left a note.”
“I wasn’t that curious.”
The person who shrugged his shoulders suddenly lit up his eyes as if he had thought of something.
“Oh, speaking of composing, how about fireworks? Do you like it? The A&R team always talks about it when I go there.”
The ones who answered that were the younger ones.
“Look forward to it, noona. Woojoo hyung made a really good song. We wrote the lyrics too.”
“Well, I hate to admit it, but the song is decent. It suits our color well and it was well made.”
“Me and Woojoo hyung worked hard to make it.”
“It feels like our song every time I listen to it.”
The kids were excited, while the person who actually made it was quiet.
I didn’t know they were so proud of the song I made.
“Wow. It must be really good.”
Daisy said with a curious expression.
“Not to mention, every time I go to the music show, I hear this all the time. The other group kids come and ask me. They say your junior group has a new song coming out, how’s the song?”
“…Really?”
What is this nonsense?
“The rumor is fast in this industry. Everyone is interested because of the competition with DNS.”
“Really? For us?”
“No, not you, this oppa.”
Everyone laughed at Ji-ho, who made a sullen face.
“They’re amazed that you have a self-composed title track this time. They wonder how good the song is, and if it’s going to be another hit like Something. Even I’m curious, you know.”
“The other group people do that?”
“They pretend not to, but they’re really interested. Yesterday, I went to greet Teen Spirit in their waiting room, and they were subtly digging.”
She said with a displeased tone.
“They keep asking me how your junior kids’ song is. It’s obvious what they’re up to. They want to be nice to you in advance, in case the song does well.”
“…”
“That’s how they all calculate. I mean, composing is something that you can succeed once by luck, but if you succeed more than once, it’s skill. They think that if they’re nice to you when you’re a rookie, they might get a good song from you later.”
It’s scary when you think about the entertainment industry.
The kids who haven’t even graduated from high school are living with their antennae up, wondering who will do well and what their potential is.
Sometimes it feels disgusting.
“Be careful of the kids who come to you, whether they’re boys or girls. There are a lot of foxes.”
“It’s okay.”
Ji-ho said reassuringly.
“First of all, Woojoo hyung doesn’t like girls.”
“I’m going crazy because of him. Hey, don’t say that, what does that make me?”
“Of course, the man of charm.”
“Woojoo hyung, it’s not bad to have guys like you.”
Instead of helping me, who was suffering, the younger ones joined in teasing me with giggles.
Daisy laughed as if she couldn’t stop them.
“You guys are really mean, really.”
“Right?”
“Yes, so don’t give these idiots a solo song later, and work with me or our sisters.”
“Suddenly, I’m intrigued.”
There were immediate reactions to the subtle suggestion.
“Don’t try to seduce our hyung, noona.”
“That’s right. We’re so good to him.”
“Come on, say something, hyung.”
I didn’t answer.
As if he wasn’t sure, he looked at the younger ones with a vague sense of anxiety.
“What, why aren’t you answering?”
I felt like laughing when I saw the guys who had teased me all day being anxious.
It felt refreshing.
I ate a piece of sushi and smiled.
The rice was very sweet.