Chapter 263: Pre-release (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 263: Pre-release (1)
“Good work today. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, you too, Manager. Get home safe!”
With a final greeting, Manager Dae-yeon closed the front door of the dorm.
At that moment, I reflected on his behavior. The etiquette he’d displayed today easily ranked in the Top 10 of the most well-mannered people I’d ever met.
He didn't drop his honorifics just because we were younger—I would have normally told him to speak comfortably first, but I was waiting for the right time since the Spark brats needed time to adjust to a new manager. Then there was the way he provided route guidance beforehand like a polite taxi driver, and his consideration in asking whether to play music or not.
Finally, he showed the kind of meticulousness that is an essential skill for any office worker by leaving those detailed notes.
If that note had been his job application, I wouldn't have even bothered with an interview...
No, I still would have. I would’ve interviewed him for five minutes and then hired him on the spot.
Even better, behind the list of foods containing caffeine, he had included a list of non-stimulating cafe drinks.
It was likely for Park Ju-woo. That touch made the gesture twice as touching.
My instincts as a (former) HR manager were screaming. This man was the real deal.
“Why are you just standing there at the entrance instead of coming in?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had come out to get some water, asked.
“Our Cheong-hyeon, the track work is finished, so why aren't you sleeping?”
“I’m hydrating to manage my vocal cords.”
“A valid reason. Go on in.”
“Okay.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon really did just drink his water and head back in. I quietly took off my shoes, making sure not to wake the others, and made a firm resolution.
I am definitely keeping Mr. Pyeong Dae-yeon.
I will make him one of Spark’s people until one of our contracts expires.
I’m screwed.
Baek Hae-won thought to herself. No matter how she looked at it, there was no way she was going to do well on her finals.
What is Spark even doing! They aren't giving us a comeback!
Of course, it hadn't been that long since 『MISSION』 came out. And yes, she had been happy thanks to the onslaught of Chuseok special self-produced content. She had also loved getting the full set of photocards and mini-posters from Indenia.
But a Sparkler left without a flame is just a girl alone in the dark!
Ugh... Give me Spark...
Hae-won displayed the rare talent of translating her thoughts directly into her fingers.
≫ Ugh... Give me Spark...
└ Did you see Iwol’s Bubble Pop? It was so cute.
└ My blood-Spark concentration isn't high enough with just that.
└ I guess I spoke out of turn.
There was no joy in life. Hae-won collapsed onto her bed with an empty heart.
Now there’s really nothing left to do but vote for the Rookie Award.
While other fandoms were forming alliances for mutual benefit, Spark didn't really have a group to pair up with. Their relationship with the Parte fandom was famously terrible, and while the members were close with Berion, they were direct rivals for the Rookie Award.
The mass coordinated action team had tried to contact rookie girl group fandoms, but that hadn't panned out either.
≫ I heard a rumor they’re doing a boy group x girl group song swap at this year’s Music Grand Festival. Anyone know where this came from?
It was because depressing rumors like that were circulating.
Dammit, please stop pairing male and female idols as couple MCs! Haven't you ever heard of 'boys and girls shouldn't sit together after age seven'? If you're going to make them swap songs, do it by lottery or assignment, not by picking each other!
Because of that, all potential alliances had frozen over, leaving Sparklers in a position where they had to secure the Rookie Award for Spark through sheer self-sufficiency.
The boys had done their part. Four comebacks in a year, a ton of variety show appearances, great viral marketing, and even a first-place win on a music show.
All that was left was voting—nothing but voting.
Baek Hae-in had also joined the voting frenzy after being threatened that if he wanted his friend to receive the Rookie Award—which you can only get once in an idol's career—he’d better do exactly as she said.
Now, all Hae-won had to do was encourage voting, rewatch the boys passing by like background scenery in self-produced content, binge-watch old content, study fan videos uploaded in the past week, clean her room, study for her trashy finals, and...
≫ @spArk_official
spArk 2nd Mini Album 『OUR』 Promotion Schedule
...Enjoy the comeback.
...Comeback?
COMEBACK?!
Hae-won bolted upright. Doubting her own eyes, she tapped the pop-up notification to read the full text.
≫ @spArk_official
spArk 2nd Mini Album 『OUR』 Promotion Schedule
Hello. This is UA.
Spark’s second mini-album, 『OUR』, is scheduled for release on Monday, December XX.
Please refer to the image below for the promotion schedule, album pre-order details, and specifications.
Thank you for always cherishing and loving Spark.
.
.
Mom... our boys are having five comebacks in a year, not even counting the survival program...
Faced with the appearance of "filial idols" the likes of which she had never seen, Hae-won couldn't suppress her surging emotions.
But are the boys' health okay? Is it alright for them to work this much? Should I go plaster UA’s building with Post-its?
As Hae-won agonized, the phone in her hand vibrated. It was a Bubble Pop notification.
≫ Iwol
Mi-heon, did you see our comeback announcement? I kept saying I was busy lately, and finally, I can reveal why...
≫ Je-ho
I’m having a comeback.
≫ Je-ho
You already read the whole announcement?
≫ Je-ho
Why are you so fast?
≫ Seong-bin
The comeback announcement is finally out! It was hard holding back what I wanted to tell you, haha.
≫ Jue
We’re having a comeback~ Were you surprised? :D
≫ Cute Pretty Visually
It finally dropped ㅠㅠ The comeback announcement ㅠㅠㅠ We were keeping the embargo so strictly ㅠㅠ
≫ Cute Pretty Visually
Are all the members on Bubble Pop right now? Mi-heon, be honest. What number was mine in the order you read them?
The members on Bubble Pop seemed very excited. They said things like "look forward to so-and-so's performance" or "let's see each other often at the end of the year."
Right, as long as you guys are happy.
Hae-won wiped away a tear. Just then, the most recent message from Kang Gi-yeon caught her eye.
≫ Gi-yeon
Is the album okay? I hope you like it.
Is the album okay?
I’m sorry, Gi-yeon. I haven't even looked at the album design yet. You guys are talking too much...
Hae-won finally snapped out of it. Since her Gi-yeon had asked if the album was okay, she had to check it immediately.
The details page was designed with bright red images that gave off a strong year-end vibe. Though, because of the group's name, it also brought to mind a blazing torch of revolution.
The album title was 『OUR』. It was divided into two types: ‘Note’ and ‘Story book.’
At a glance, the Note version looked like it had a leather cover. Upon checking the specs, it turned out to be thick paper.
The Note version was about the size of a small diary. Below it, it was described as a QR Album.
A member-specific accordion book style rolling paper...? The configuration is insane.
On the other hand, the Story book was a square size, similar to a regular picture book. Unlike the Note version’s leather-diary design, the cover had the feel of a high-end paper manuscript.
They’re editing the rolling paper into a handwritten manuscript format and putting it at the back of the photo album?
This meant she’d be able to see the rolling paper regardless of which version she bought. Hae-won breathed a sigh of relief.
Until she saw the words ‘Photocards (24 types)’ right below it.
Two album versions? Fine. They were pretty. And in this digital age, buying a QR album might be better than contributing to environmental destruction with paper albums.
But 24 types of photocards? When there are only six members?
Hae-won recalled a time when her former bias group had released a total of 77 types of photocards. The atmosphere in the fandom back then was, needless to say, a total disaster.
No matter how much the agency explained that they were celebrating "Lucky Seven" by capturing the jewel-like moments of the seven members, the anger hadn't subsided easily.
Compared to 77 types, 24 was nothing. But still!
As Hae-won agonized, she finally noticed the small print.
≫ Photocards (24 types)
Note ver. Photocard 2 sets (12 types / 6 types each)
Story book ver. Photocard 2 sets (12 types / 6 types each)
1 Photocard set (6 types) provided per album
In other words, buying one album gave you a whole set of photocards. One for each of the six members.
For those with a specific bias, this was a much better situation than getting one random card per album and having to trade. Even though the total number of types had increased, the burden of collecting a full set was reduced.
Only then did she see the blurred photocard images of Spark.
In the Note version, there was one set where they all had red cloth wrapped around their necks like scarves, and another set where they were in various poses wearing brown outfits that were too blurry to see clearly.
In the Story book version, there was one set of extreme close-ups with brilliant colors that looked like something major was happening, and another set in what appeared to be a common group uniform.
One of the brilliant-colored versions was almost entirely white. It was so bright she wondered if there had been a printing error.
What exactly is the Story book concept? Are they making a fairytale?
The photocards were so blurry yet vibrant that even Hae-won, seasoned by years of being a fan, couldn't tell who was who.
At that moment, Hae-won was seriously contemplating—not whether to buy the album, but how many to buy.
As the release time for the 『Winter Night』 music video approached, Lee Cheong-hyeon grew increasingly anxious.
“What if... the reaction isn't good?”
Eventually, he started biting his nails. Kang Gi-yeon tried to pull his hand away, but it was no use. Cheong-hyeon started shaking his leg instead.
Cheong-hyeon had never put a slow-tempo song at the forefront before. The slowest BPMs they’d had were 『The Third Letter』 and 『Starlight』, but the former was a digital single for the fans and the latter was a cover.
This was an undeniably slow, easy-listening track. Perhaps that was why Cheong-hyeon was more shaken than he’d been since making their debut song.
“Iwol-hyung, you’ll let me live even if this doesn't chart, right?”
“Don't say things that make people suspicious.”
I answered jokingly, but Cheong-hyeon’s clasped hands looked truly pitiful.
“After this promotion is over, I’m going to hibernate every winter.”
He even went as far as declaring a regular hiatus. It was a strong expression of his will to never listen to carols again.
“Enough of that.”
I went and sat down next to him. Spark’s MeTube channel glowed brightly on the tablet.
And the moment I refreshed the page with a few swipes...
“Ack! I can't look!”
“Everyone, gather around. Let’s watch the MV.”
The music video for Spark’s year-end pre-release track, 『Winter Night』, had been uploaded.