Chapter 264: Pre-release (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 264: Pre-release (2)
There is a fairy tale called ‘The Cobbler Grandfather and Little Fairies.’ It tells the story of an old man who runs a shoe shop; one morning, after leaving out some leather to be worked on, he finds a pair of shoes crafted with exquisite skill.
In reality, the shoes were made every night by fairies while the grandfather was away. When the cobbler and his wife made clothes for the fairies as a token of gratitude, the fairies joyfully disappeared.
In this music video, Spark took on the roles of these ‘fairies.’
To give us a sense of unity, we all wore brown overalls reminiscent of leather craftsmen.
We had numbers stitched onto the chest pockets in order of age—for the record, I was 01—and since we filmed this while everyone still had their natural hair colors, the shoot actually took place much earlier than the title track’s.
In the original story, the fairies were supposedly naked, but if we had done that, the music video would have required adult verification and caused a massive social scandal. Instead, we were bundled up from head to toe in beige sweatshirts and overalls. After all, wearing work clothes at a workspace is only natural, right?
Anyway, as soon as I pressed the play button, the title ‘Winter Night’ drifted down like snow, one character at a time, onto the roof of a small, snow-covered cabin. Both the letters and the snow melted into the elegant piano accompaniment.
The camera soon moved through the window of the cabin and into the house.
It was a workshop filled with warm, cozy brown tones. Neatly organized props. Drawers that looked like they would make a pleasant clattering sound, and a background that felt heartwarming just by looking at it.
And tucked away among the tools were components of the Goldberg device used in Flowering.
I figured there was no better setup to evoke the feeling of listening to a song in front of a warm fireplace on a winter night. Though, since we were playing fairies, the entire background had to be handled with CG.
The song began with Jeong Seong-bin’s whispering voice.
『A dark night
Falling snow
The cold wind cannot reach
Inside my small blanket
The time when the day ends』
The six fairies struggled to climb up a giant chair to reach the top of a table.
To film this scene, we had to endure the hardship of climbing a chroma-keyed false wall the height of a double-decker bus.
In contrast to the time we spent sweating, the song was warm and peaceful.
The overall melody was bright and light, like twinkling lightbulbs. However, the bass and accompaniment building underneath were heavy and solid, like snow that had accumulated overnight.
It was the kind of music that made you feel like you were sitting in a camping chair in the middle of a vast snowy field, a single lamp lit above your head, wrapped in a cozy blanket with a hot drink in front of a bonfire. It was a song that made your heart feel more at ease the more you listened to it.
On the table where everyone gathered, six pairs of well-cut leather pieces were laid out.
The six of us huddled together, moving across a manual written on a piece of weathered paper.
The screen showed Choi Je-ho trying to read the small print with a magnifying glass, Jeong Seong-bin dragging a piece of leather as big as himself to compare it with a diagram, and Park Ju-woo flipping the leather this way and that.
Lying face down on the leather, Park Ju-woo rested his head on his arms and kicked his legs back and forth as he sang.
『It was a busy day
To write it all down
I don’t know what I should say
So I only hesitate』
Then came shots of me boldly drawing lines on the leather with a piece of chalk the size of my body, Lee Cheong-hyeon threading a massive needle, and Kang Gi-yeon preoccupied with picking out his favorite buttons from a large wooden plate.
After that, Spark focused on making their respective leather crafts. We pulled dainty scissors out of our chest pockets to snip off stray threads, and Kang Gi-yeon and Park Ju-woo teamed up to carry a long ruler.
『A lonely night
A long time
Worrying about what to write
The hesitation and
The pen circling over the paper』
The leather pieces gradually took shape as they were glued and stitched together.
The video also captured us bursting into laughter as Choi Je-ho and Jeong Seong-bin got the sides of their overalls stuck together while applying glue.
『But you see
There’s so much I want to leave behind
That I think I’ll write it all down today
Even if the night grows late』
Through the dark window, glimpses of heavy snow could be seen falling. From Lee Cheong-hyeon’s fingertips, leather dust from his sanding fell like snowflakes.
The camera looked down from somewhere on the ceiling of the old leather workshop, capturing the six fairies moving busily.
In a single frame, the fireplace glowed on one side, orange lamps shone, and a sofa was visible, adorned with dried flowers and a classic plaid blanket.
『The snow was beautiful
Though the wind was cold
The streets were shining
Because we were together』
Before we knew it, the work was nearing its end. At the same time, the identity of the objects the fairies were making was revealed.
They were small notebooks with leather covers, featuring the same exterior design as the QR album.
The members gathered in the center, dragging their notebooks, which differed slightly in color. Then, we dipped our right feet into pre-dissolved gold ink and stamped a footprint on one corner of the notebook covers. A gold-leafed mark of certification was left on the brown covers.
On the screen, I headed toward a large ink pot. Half of my work clothes were ruined while pulling out a quill pen, but even as I dripped ink everywhere, I didn’t let go of the pen, dragging it along as I walked to my notebook.
『I’ll leave it here
The stories of that time
My heart
That lived in today, in winter』
And then, I wrote in large letters on the notebook:
‘Note’
Slowly, the sun began to rise. We hurriedly scrambled down the table legs and fled the workshop.
Waiting for us were a floral pattern cardigan draped over a small branch and six dainty ceramic cups. There were also six red scarves.
Inside the ceramic cups the six of us peered into was steaming hot milk.
『The wind blows
The powder snow scatters
The grey waves crash
Remember, this winter
The words we shared』
Spark sat side by side in a row on the branch, wearing our scarves. Then, each holding a cup, we watched the sunrise.
The shadows of the fairies, with their backs to the camera, flickered in the shape of ‘Winter Night’ before blurring in the light of the rising sun.
『Because I will
Write down every single bit』
There is a certain beauty in crude things. The sound of wood clashing against wood, the glue marks left along the stroke of a brush, the surface of metal gleaming with varnish, the stitches sewn into leather one by one.
Those things evoke a certain nostalgia. Like a winter night at the end of the year when you look back on your day, and your year.
The concept of this song was to stimulate the emotions that everyone has felt at some point. Whether it worked or not... I’d have to see the reaction.
‘I probably shouldn’t expect an immediate reaction.’
I didn’t expect this song to achieve incredible results right away. However, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s song definitely had potential.
“Is it too much of an easy listening track? Won’t the fans forget it by tomorrow?”
“No, Cheong-hyeon. The song is great. This is my favorite song on the album.”
“Seong-bin Hyung, if you’re a true leader, shouldn’t you say the title track is your favorite?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon spoke with fire in his eyes. Jeong Seong-bin really has it rough, having to promote with a kid like that.
‘Personally, I think going with easy listening was the right move.’
When winter comes, this song will likely creep back into people’s minds. I personally thought the song turned out that well.
In a good way, my expectations were way off.
Released just as December began, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s 『Winter Night』—powered by a cute, animation-like music video, a melody that stirred the emotions of a deep winter night, and the massive boost in public awareness from the commercials—achieved the feat of charting with Spark’s best performance yet, despite being just a pre-release track.
On the evening the results came out, Lee Cheong-hyeon earnestly begged to be allowed to edit the title track’s audio just one more time. I told him it was impossible since the albums were likely already being printed at the factory, but he was in agony.
In the end, we had to settle the matter by comforting him with the promise of releasing a repackage album next year.
Since the release of 『Winter Night』, it had become a daily routine for Baek Hae-won to lie in bed and let tears leak out of the corners of her eyes.
‘When is the album... coming? They must have printed all the stock anyway... Can’t they just send it early...?’
In this state, she listened to the line “Because we were together” on repeat.
『Winter Night』 was a great song to listen to even in a classic sense. If she went out to a street with shops, she could luckily hear 『Winter Night』 playing every now and then.
When a person gets too immersed, their heart starts to ache. Even knowing this, Baek Hae-won wiped her tears again.
To think she had to wait another week for the real title track. To think she had to endure a whole week before the album shipping started!
Give me the album Spark worked so hard on making with leather crafts too! Is it taking long because it’s handmade? If that’s the case, then really send it with your footprints stamped on it!
It felt as if the whole world was out to get her. Now, only the upcoming regular self-produced content kept Baek Hae-won going.
If it weren’t for that, Baek Hae-won would have spent her time playing Magic Eye, trying to deduce the blurry photocard images from the mock-up pictures.
‘Life is bitter.’
Baek Hae-won got out of bed listlessly. Then, she trudged over to her desk and sat down. She really had to prepare for the final exams that were right around the corner... or so she thought.
≫ @spArk_official
First Story. The Snow……
Even though it was just an official account notification, Baek Hae-won tapped the pop-up alert faster than the speed of light.
Dammit.
Spark is always like this. Whenever I set my mind to study, they make it hard for me!
The concept photo that appeared on the screen took the voice right out of Baek Hae-won.
≫ @spArk_official
First Story. The Snow Queen
#Spark #spArk #Iwol #OUR #What_I_Want_to_Say
A snowy field, pristine without a single footprint, sparkling with aurora-like light in between.
A long, white neck wrapped in layers of ornate lace.
A sharp jawline and thin lips that connected smoothly above it, and eyes that looked as if they were sprinkled with ice crystals.
Passing through all these features, Baek Hae-won witnessed Kim I-wol’s two eyes, glowing deep blue.
White eyelashes over half-closed blue eyes, and...
White hair, shining brilliantly, rested upon him.
The man whose personal color was ‘Yeouido Securities Grey,’ who looked like he was born with black hair and would die with black hair—whose only dye job during promotions had been a dark grey.
He had appeared with every bit of color stripped from his hair.
Under the title of ‘The Snow Queen.’