Debuting Together
A message had come from Lee Yena. Park Siwoo headed straight downstairs.
Where is she?
He scanned the surroundings, and from a distance, a suspicious-looking woman in a hat and mask came walking toward him. Even in a loose, oversized dress, her hourglass figure was unmistakably on display. She'd clearly tried to hide it, but beauty like hers wasn't something you could simply conceal. Park Siwoo had no trouble recognizing the woman approaching as Lee Yena.
"Siwoo."
Just as he'd expected, it was her.
"Follow me."
Park Siwoo gestured, and Lee Yena nodded. He headed straight into the company building. Since it was the middle of the workday, they didn't run into anyone. And so the two of them stepped into the elevator alone.
"We're heading straight to the practice room once we get there, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I should take these off."
She yanked off her mask and hat. The weather had been quite hot, so her face was glistening with sweat. As if she'd anticipated as much, she'd come with only the lightest of makeup. And with the hat gone, her hair was a tangled mess — the exact opposite of the elegant Lee Yena the world usually saw.
Park Siwoo had only seen her this disheveled once before. That first night, in bed.
"Whew. I can finally breathe."
Lee Yena let out a sigh and smiled brightly. It was a bare face without a trace of makeup, but that natural look only made her more beautiful. Park Siwoo was staring at her in a daze when he noticed a strand of hair stuck to her cheek. She was too flustered to notice it herself.
"Yena."
"Yes?"
"There's a hair stuck to your face."
"Huh? Really? Where?"
She pointed at completely the wrong spot. The sight was so cute that Park Siwoo smiled faintly. Meanwhile, the elevator was climbing fast, nearly at the floor with the recording studio.
No choice, then.
Park Siwoo carefully reached out. As his hand approached her face, Lee Yena's eyes widened slightly, as if startled. But she didn't pull away. Instead, her cheeks flushed faintly, as if she were waiting for his touch. A strange tension hung between them.
Feeling his heart pound, Park Siwoo peeled the strand of hair from her cheek. The skin that brushed his fingertips was soft and warm. Before he could savor it any further, the elevator arrived, and he hurriedly withdrew his hand.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Park Siwoo and Lee Yena stepped out of the elevator side by side. The recording studio where Neon Heart was waiting was a short walk away. As they made their way down the hall, a door to a nearby studio suddenly opened.
Kim Yuna emerged, yawning lazily. The moment her eyes met Park Siwoo's, she leaped up like a cat that had been electrocuted.
"P-Producer?!"
She took a deep breath, as if trying to calm her startled heart, then looked to Park Siwoo's side. At the same time, her expression went ice-cold.
"Lee Yena...?"
"Hello, Yuna."
Lee Yena greeted her with a demure little smile, then took a step closer to Park Siwoo's side. Her arm pressed flush against his body. Seeing that, Kim Yuna frowned.
"You two know each other, I take it?"
"Well, yes. We've known each other for a long time. Quite intimately, actually."
Lee Yena ran her tongue across her lips — and she did it in a thoroughly suggestive way. It was so provocative that Kim Yuna's cheeks flushed as she stammered.
"W-what. What are you even saying?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. I've been seeing him for a long time. I'd rather ask you — what were you imagining?"
At Lee Yena's question, Kim Yuna's face turned even redder. She'd been thoroughly caught in Lee Yena's wordplay.
Why does she always pick fights she can't even win?
Looking at Kim Yuna, Park Siwoo let out a deep sigh.
"Yena, that's going too far."
"Ah — I'm sorry."
She apologized immediately. Park Siwoo took a step away from her and spoke to Kim Yuna.
"It's exactly as she said — we've known each other for a long time. She's been a fan of my music."
"Ah..."
Kim Yuna nodded, as if relieved.
Why is she relieved?
Park Siwoo couldn't make sense of her reaction and wore a puzzled expression. Just then, a door opened across the hall, and Cha Seungjun stepped out.
"Oh, Producer."
The moment he spotted Lee Yena, his eyes went wide.
"Whoa — Lee Yena!"
He came rushing over. Kim Yuna openly frowned at the sight of him, then turned to Park Siwoo.
"I'll be heading back in now."
"Ah, yes. Go ahead."
The moment Park Siwoo answered, Kim Yuna disappeared back into the recording studio. Cha Seungjun arrived at the same time.
"Lee Yena, I'm a huge fan. Wow, you're even more beautiful in person."
"Hehe. Thank you."
"Let's head inside first."
"Ah, yes."
Lee Yena nodded at Park Siwoo's words. They started walking, but Cha Seungjun didn't follow. When they looked back, he was still frozen in the same posture as before, locked up from the shock of seeing her.
He'll come on his own.
Park Siwoo left him behind and went into the recording studio. The space was divided into two areas: one for playing instruments, and one for the engineers. The room where they'd been watching the pre-release earlier was the work studio, of course — and the Neon Heart members weren't there. Apparently they'd decided to squeeze in some practice in the meantime, because they were holding their instruments and playing.
A deep bass note rang out. As if on cue, the song ended the moment they walked in. The Neon Heart members spotted Park Siwoo and began coming out one by one.
But then Lee Yena linked her arm through his. Before the startled Park Siwoo could even say a word, the Neon Heart members appeared. They took one look at Lee Yena pressed right up against his side and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Huk."
"I-it's really Lee Yena."
"Holy—"
Everyone's eyes went wide. Everyone except Seol A-yeon. For some reason, she wore a slightly distant expression.
Must be nervous meeting a senior artist.
Thinking that, Park Siwoo jabbed Lee Yena in the side with his elbow — the message was clear: unlink your arm, now. Only then did she pull her body away from his.
"Hello, everyone. I'm the singer Lee Yena."
When Lee Yena spoke in a bright, refreshing voice, Ha Seungjin answered with a flushed face.
"Hello. I'm Ha Seungjin, leader of Neon Heart. It's an honor to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine. It's nice to meet you."
"I-I'm Jang Junhyuk!"
The introductions wrapped up quickly. They were introductions in name only — it felt more like a fan signing. Everyone was scrambling to get even a single word in with Lee Yena.
That's Lee Yena for you.
She was the most famous singer in South Korea. Looks, vocals — she didn't lose in a single category. The absolute best. Neon Heart's reaction wasn't strange at all. But still.
Business and personal need to stay separate.
Park Siwoo clapped his hands once, loudly. Every gaze in the room turned to him.
"Let's get the challenge ready."
Only then did the Neon Heart members snap back to their senses and start moving. They cleared away the chairs, making space to dance.
"We'll start right away."
Saying that, Park Siwoo picked up his phone. Just then, Cha Seungjun, having finally come to his senses, burst into the recording studio.
"Ah — I'm sorry!"
Perfect timing.
"Seungjun. Film this for us, would you?"
"Yes, sir. Got it."
"And A-yeon, Yena — could you two stand a little closer together?"
"Okaaay~"
Lee Yena answered cheerfully. In contrast, Seol A-yeon merely gave a small nod. Just as Park Siwoo was about to ask if she was all right, Cha Seungjun spoke.
"Starting now. One, two."
At the same time, music began playing from the phone. Fortunately, Seol A-yeon danced along to the song without any trouble. Her movements were smooth, as if that earlier expression had never existed.
Has she always been this good at dancing?
Park Siwoo was a little surprised. Seol A-yeon had been truly terrible at dancing — so stiff she'd looked like a rusty robot. It was still a bit awkward, but now she was at least actually dancing. The problem was her partner. Lee Yena was the one who'd originally created this dance and this challenge, after all. From the hip pops to the smooth body waves, her dancing was perfection itself. If she'd been an idol, she would have taken center without a doubt.
The challenge wrapped up with a blown kiss. For some reason, Lee Yena's kiss seemed to be aimed at Park Siwoo himself rather than the camera — but he decided that was just his imagination.
"Great work, everyone."
Saying that, Park Siwoo took his phone back from Cha Seungjun and checked the video. It was a challenge clip without a single wasted frame — perfect.
"I'll upload it right away. Everyone's okay with that?"
Ha Seungjin nodded.
"Yes."
"Yena?"
"I'm fine with it too."
"Okay."
Park Siwoo snapped his fingers and uploaded the video. A clip titled Neon Heart with Lee Yena went up on the Shorts platform.
"Whew."
That was done, then. Park Siwoo let out a hot breath.
"Great work, everyone."
"Yaaay~ Great job!"
After the high-five, he turned his head and said,
"We've only got two days left, so let's all give it everything we've got!"
"Yes!"
Ha Seungjin and the Neon Heart members nodded with bright smiles. Only Seol A-yeon kept her face stiff.
Just then, the phone he'd tucked in his pocket started ringing like mad. Notification after notification poured in with no sign of stopping.
No way.
Park Siwoo hurriedly picked up his phone. The challenge video Lee Yena and Neon Heart had filmed had been uploaded to the Guitar Hero account, so whenever comments were posted, the notifications came straight to him. Lately the volume had been so high that he'd blocked comments on most of his videos.
But not this challenge video.
Park Siwoo opened YouTube. The moment he checked the view count on the Shorts video he'd just uploaded, his eyes went wide.
"N-nine hundred thousand?"
And that wasn't the end of it. As if the thing were broken, the video's view count was climbing at a steep, almost vertical angle.
This kind of trajectory...
Park Siwoo had only seen a video climb like this once before — when BTS's latest song dropped. That track had surpassed a hundred million views within a day of being uploaded. And now, Neon Heart and Lee Yena's video was climbing at that same kind of rate.
Of course, it won't hit a hundred million.
A hundred million views was only possible if your influence reached overseas. No matter how world-class Lee Yena was, there was a limit to what Neon Heart's song alone could do. But that didn't mean the current surge was meaningless.
Awareness of Neon Heart and their debut schedule was spreading far faster than he'd anticipated.
With this kind of firepower...
On par with ENTRA. No — even beyond that. Park Siwoo clenched his fist tight.
Just then, Seol A-yeon, who had been gloomy the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
"Um... would it be all right if I filmed a challenge with Yena one-on-one?"