Aram Middle School Arts Festival (3): Blanket Concert and Overnight Stardom
Late at night, after the performance and the chaotic afterparty had wrapped up, Kang Saero flopped onto her bed.
The room's a total mess. No one would believe it belonged to a girl. The bed was a tangled wreck, and she had zero intention of picking up the coat, cardigan, and socks she'd just stripped off.
I'm exhausted... It had been an insanely grueling schedule, but it was worth it. First, she glanced around cautiously. Then she locked the door with a click.
Kang Saero pulled the covers over her head and turned on her smartphone.
Aram Middle School Student Council Official Page
She quickly found the freshly uploaded video on the student council's official SNS account.
Views don't lie, huh. Most other stages barely cracked double digits, but one video had skyrocketed. She'd checked it on the bus ride home, so it had been up for less than 30 minutes—and already it had hit 300 views. It was none other than Kim Seryeon's performance video.
She'd expected it to rack up views, but this many? No way, it's more than the entire third-year class combined. There weren't even 300 third-years who'd attended the festival. Yet the views outpaced the attendees.
Why? The thumbnail's dripping with fan service. The SNS manager had poured their heart into it. Other thumbnails showed stage highlights, but Kim Seryeon's was different.
It's just his face, straight-up. A close-up shot from the afterparty, his handsome features front and center, with the stage subtly composited in the background. Not like views paid the bills—why go this hard? She wanted that face all to herself anyway.
Her petty grumbling lasted only a moment. Kang Saero dove right into watching the performance. She'd been dying for this. She'd held off even on the bus, saving it for this cozy moment under the covers.
Rustle. Face-down on the fluffy bed, she pressed a hand to her already pounding heart. Her finger carefully hit play.
"Kim Seryeon's performance!"
The host's announcement. Then the lights snapped off. A brief silence followed.
"Kim Seryeon, you're so handsome!!!"
"Oppa!!!"
Once the audience—especially the boys—calmed down, the lights returned, bathing Kim Seryeon in their glow. Even watching the video, she gasped inwardly. Whoa...
She'd been backstage during the show, so she hadn't seen it. So this is what he looks like on stage.
Screen-Kim Seryeon shone brighter than ever. Eyes half-closed in immersion, then opening. A refreshing smile. Expressions brimming with sincerity, long fingers gripping the mic. His dynamic stage movement, gestures drawing cheers. Even his eyelashes were long and pretty.
Thank you... Unbidden, Kang Saero silently thanked the pro filming team that had cooperated with the student council. And Kim Seryeon himself, for existing at their school. This is what school life memories are made of.
It was perfect. Aside from one flaw.
"Ugh, the sound sucks."
The roaring crowd and device limitations mangled his voice beyond recognition. They'd cranked the volume for the audience, so it was unavoidable. But she'd prepared for this.
A state-of-the-art recorder. Top-notch quality, recorded from backstage for minimal distance. Cleaner audio, better sound. That was her plan—and a bold investment.
Kim Seryeon's stage? She could watch it anytime. Asking another council member would've gotten her a quick viewing. But she didn't. The visuals were public, preserved on video, but this pristine recording? Hers alone.
Hehe... Her smarts and foresight deserved self-praise. And here was the dazzling payoff.
Praising herself inwardly, she plugged in earphones, fired up the recorder, and played the song. Even after bus repeats, it was gold. Because Kim Seryeon sang it.
What if she synced it with the phone video? Perfect. Phone on mute, she matched the timing flawlessly.
This is too good...
A thought struck her. Hiding under covers, secretly fangirling over a classmate boy's song. Anyone seeing would call her crazy.
So what? That's why she locked the door and did it in secret.
Her blissful viewing didn't stop there. Tap, tap. Click-clack.
- Free video editing software
- Video dubbing
- Replace video audio only
- How to change video sound
- Transfer recording to smartphone
And so Kang Saero's night deepened.
It was a time when the world was changing rapidly. Smartphones had spread, SNS had exploded into life's center, and people could now savor global happenings from bed. Like a handsome middle school boy's original song performance video, for instance.
[Aram Middle School Arts Festival 3-2 Kim Seryeon - Sky Autumn (Original)]
At first, it was just students sharing memories.
Rumors spread, drawing in Aram Middle underclassmen, but few knew of it yet. Until the algorithm chose it.
Now strangers flooded the middle-school-level comments.
Overwhelming visuals. Youthful awkwardness, yet commanding stage presence. A melody polished pro-level, belying its original status. Each element blessed by the algorithm gods.
Riding the platform's algorithm. Then SNS shares.
The video spread like wildfire.
The hype showed no signs of cooling. It even hit portal site real-time trends.
For the oblivious Kim Seryeon, it was mind-blowing. Borrowing a viral meme from the era:
"What... is this... scary..."
His looks had changed. The Star Drawing account, once ignored, now buzzed with unfamiliar DMs.
Red badge glowing.
Everything felt new. But not all good.
Shady black company. Blocked.
Another sketchy firm with bad reviews. Why me for ads? No interest. Blocked.
No. Blocked. Blocked. Blocks flew across the screen nonstop.
Meanwhile, at Yeouido broadcasting station's variety department.
"Choi PD."
Kim Seok-hyun PD, main director of national audition Star's Birth, ordered his newbie subordinate Choi PD.
"Kim Seryeon. Scout him for our audition."
"He's a composer hopeful—audition?"
"Why not? Handsome and sings great. We can snag him."
Handsome? That's half the battle. Composer? If he loves the stage, auditions work. With that recognition and visuals, a teaser clip would explode.
"Send a DM first, Choi PD."
Kim PD was hooked. Perfect timing to train the rookie on simple tasks.
"Use our official team account. Attach a business card if needed. He's a minor, so build trust first. Talk to parents if possible."
But soon, Choi PD slunk back, gauging the mood.
"Uh, Kim PD..."
"What?"
"I got blocked?"
"What? Why?"
"Dunno. See..."
Choi PD's screen showed the pre-block chat.
No time for cards or verification. Instant block.
"What went wrong?"
"Whoa..."
Kim PD couldn't stop marveling at clueless, scratching-head Choi PD.
"That message screams total scammer."
Even instructed, he couldn't have written it worse.