Chapter 320: Lead-off Hitter (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 320: Lead-off Hitter (2)
≫ UA, you absolute bastards.
A sports concept with Choi Je-ho as the captain? Choi Je-ho, the oldest member?
I can’t take this. I’m suing.
└ Describe the feelings of a Sparkler when they realized the 'C' on the uniform actually meant Captain. (113 points)
└ Je-ho was always the oldest member anyway.
└ It’s like… you know how I-wol is the 'celestial' oldest brother? It’s that kind of vibe.
└ I have no idea what that means, but I totally get it, which makes it funnier lol.
└ As a newbie who joined the fandom during Unmanned Rest Stop, I’m so confused… Choi Je-ho… you were this kind of person…?
≫ Last time, Serenity Cheong-hyeon came out, so I prayed for Rose Quartz Cheong-hyeon.
I didn't think he’d actually show up. Sorry for being such a demanding otaku, but this is seriously insane. Cheong-hyeon, you’re the best.
└ Burgundy Je-ho was the biggest shock in the teaser, but after seeing the MV… I can’t get Spring Cherry Blossom Cheong-hyeon out of my head…
└ Why even go to a cherry blossom festival? Just watch the OAHN MV and look at Lee Cheong-hyeon.
≫ Seong-bin, congrats on escaping the 'Group Leader' role.
Even though you’re the vice-captain now, you’re slowly distancing yourself from power, one step at a time.
I support your retirement from leadership. But you can’t retire from being an idol, okay???
└ Isn’t it hilarious how the kids took on roles that are subtly opposite to their actual personalities this time? lol
└ I barely held it together with social butterfly Ju-woo and rebel Cheong-hyeon, but I lost it when I saw lazy grasshopper I-wol. hahahahaha
└ I’ve never seen an MV where I-wol is sprawled out this much.
≫ Is it just me, or is everyone else obsessed with the fit of their pants too?
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Look at this with me. Guess whose legs these are. The prize is a chance to become a Spark fan.
└ Whoa, what the? Why are their legs all like eight-foot-tall ghosts?
└ Baseball was a beautiful sport after all…
└ Why is the prize a 'chance to become a fan' lololol.
└ But I get it. If I saw those legs, I’d become a fan too.
└└ So, did you join the fandom, OP?
└└└ I’ve been a fan since debut.
└└└└ Sorry, I see your taste is as straight as an arrow.
└└└└└ hahahahaha What are you two even talking about?
└ I’m being serious right now, who is number 3? Isn’t that just a pro athlete, not an idol?
└└ That’s Je-ho, the team center! He’s a fitness nut who does an hour on the StairMaster^^ And he can lift a log by himself.
└└ Where did the log suddenly come from lol.
└ Everyone’s thighs are… whew…
└ I have a lot to say, but I’m holding back because I’ll probably get banned if I do.
└ This is urgent, who is number 4?
└└ That’s Gi-yeon, the maknae of the team!!!
└└└ No way, how does the maknae have this kind of talent?
≫ I think Spark’s new song is good for casual listening.
It’s not exactly 'easy listening,' but it feels like the kind of song that’ll keep popping into your head.
└ Personally, I’m not a huge fan of this one… I feel like the vibe is too similar to their previous songs.
└ For a sports fan, a song with this vibe is rare and precious, so why? ㅠㅠ There aren't many songs that give off this much summer + youth + exhilaration!! ㅠㅠㅠ
└ To the person above, go listen to all the title tracks and B-sides from Spark’s 1st and 2nd albums! You’ll find a lot that fits your taste.
New posts poured in every time I refreshed the page. I read through them with a sense of pride.
“That’s cheap. Monitoring the reactions all by yourself.”
“Cheong-hyeon, are you sure your mental state won't crumble if you see hate comments?”
“Hyung, can’t you stop looking at those too?”
“I’m joking. We don’t have many hate comments.”
Ever since the incident where Kang Gi-yeon’s malicious comment files were deleted and the subsequent counseling, I had established my own set of guidelines.
I wouldn't enter communities with an excessively high ratio of hate posts, and I would ignore posts written by accounts that existed solely for slander.
Perhaps because of that, the number of aggressive posts that felt like a stab to the gut had decreased significantly. Since I had already learned seven years' worth of negative feedback in one go, I decided not to add any more to the pile.
“Gi-yeon, they say we picked the right protagonist for the MV.”
I shared the results with the one person who was banned from monitoring but was likely more curious about the reactions than anyone else.
≫ I think Spark picked the right center for this MV.
He fits the concept perfectly.
└ Gi-yeon’s face is really unique… He looks sharp as a blade, but there’s a boy inside him.
└ Since he appears as the center often, you can really feel how well he dances.
≫ @TheCrowThatCriesWheneverILikeGiyeon
Caw!!! Caw!! Caaaaawwwwww!!!!!!!!!!
└ Impressive. They’ve been doing this every five minutes.
└ At this rate, won't the account get suspended because they think it’s been hacked? ha큐ㅠㅠ
≫ Gi-yeon’s concept execution for this title track is insane.
From the uniform to the school vest to the sleeveless top, everything looks good on him.
His personal color is definitely 'Summer Boy.'
└ Our kid’s personal color is… Summer…?
└ Sparklers getting confused in the weirdest places.
Kang Gi-yeon cleared his throat and turned his head away. I guess he was embarrassed by the praise.
There were also several speculative posts added to the mix.
≫ I just realized OAHN can also mean 'Own A Home Now.'
Is it too much of a stretch to think this 'home' refers to home plate?
└ This is Kim I-wol we’re talking about. You never know where he’s dropped a bait.
└ But I think that’s right?? Home base is usually just called 'home.'
≫ There’s an expression 'end on a high note.'
Considering the OAHN MV ends with the word 'End,' maybe they’re connected titles.
≫ 'End' might be the story after high school baseball is over.
If none of them are playing baseball anymore, I’m going to cry.
└ I won’t accept any ending where all six of them aren't on the national team… I’ll go protest in front of UA.
Thanks to them, it was fun imagining how the atmosphere would shift when the next teaser dropped. Of course, that was only possible if the next result turned out well.
The earliest schedule is the radio, and from next week, it’s music shows, fan signs, and filling in for the Worry Sharing Meeting. And what else was there…
As the promotion period approached, the monthly schedule became packed. The variety show appearances were mostly outlined, but with everything from substitute roles to additional casting calls coming in, it was a grueling process of forcing more books into an already overflowing shelf.
Usually, projects get easier once they’re announced. To think that in the idol world, the announcement is just the beginning—even after a year since debut, I still haven't fully adjusted.
Can I handle all the upcoming issues in this state?
I had learned that trying to solve everything alone was just a form of stubbornness. Perhaps now was the time to ask others for help.
The most trustworthy person within Spark was Jeong Seong-bin. As I had initially thought, I wondered if I should recruit him to prepare for Choi Je-ho’s potential injury…
“Everyone, I have one announcement to make before we resume practice!”
…But seeing Jeong Seong-bin gather the members as soon as the break was over, I cleanly gave up on that plan. I couldn't add more burden to a kid who was already so busy.
Manager Chan-yeong was busy, and Ju-gyeong was even busier. If Manager Dae-yeon weren't still in his adjustment period, I might have slipped him a request.
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no suitable candidate. If only Assistant Manager Hwang or Supervisor Song were here… No. If Supervisor Song came, we’d become a co-ed group.
Regardless, there was no time to discuss whether I had adjusted or not. Seeing how busy I was even after regressing, maybe I was just born to be a workaholic.
I wrote 'Devise Countermeasures' in my diary and stood up.
It was no exaggeration to say that an idol’s rise and fall depended on their concept. At least, that’s what Won Chae-hee believed.
How many groups had ruined their careers with ridiculous concepts?
Long ago, a group Won Chae-hee liked had adopted an absurd 'celebrity' concept that made her lose all interest.
At least so far, Spark hadn't had such issues. Spark had a knack for taking only what suited them perfectly.
Though they had variations like MISSION or Winter Night, the core structure remained similar. They all shared the keyword 'Youth.'
Perhaps that was why, in the case of the new song On A High Note, the song was good as always, but…
The MV concept is a bit disappointing.
…As a veteran of the idol scene who had seen it all, Won Chae-hee felt a slight sense of regret.
They say sports are special when it comes to 'her boys,' but this market had already cycled through countless sports like basketball, soccer, and American football. Even Spark themselves had performed a volleyball-themed stage in the Idol Dynasty Annals.
Furthermore, fans were already speculating that the other title track, End, would be connected to the first song. It was becoming more likely that End would also be a youth sports story.
It would have been nice if they had added more variety, like the agent concept they did for MISSION. Perhaps because her expectations were so high, the disappointment followed.
With those faces, those physiques, and that talent, wasn't it a waste to only do 'youth' concepts? She knew that high school days never return, and once you move toward a more mature route, it’s not easy to try a youth concept again.
Still, the person who loves more always loses. Won Chae-hee tried not to forget that fact while being a fan. How many fans had been hurt after being the only ones who were sincere?
She had used her precious vacation days to attend the event in Daejeon, so she had done her part.
I’ll just like them as much as I can, and I won’t expect anything more than their main job from an idol.
From the moment she decided to stan Spark, Won Chae-hee had maintained this principle—aside from bashing the agency when they did something stupid.
So, she could overlook a bit of conceptual overlap. If worst came to worst, someone at UA—sadly, most likely Kim I-wol—would see a post about people getting bored and come up with an improvement plan.
Inwardly, she thought, Well… it’s not like I have to watch the teaser exactly on time, but she didn't really have anything else to do anyway.
Is my life, consisting only of work and being a fan, okay?
After a brief moment of reflection, Won Chae-hee concluded it was all futile and opened the teaser that had just been uploaded.
The sound of a sandstorm, like something out of a desert movie, came from her phone.
As if she had returned home after going out on a day with heavy yellow dust, sand seemed to blur the screen. Soon after, a silhouette appeared, pushing through the massive sandstorm.