Chapter 399: Ripple (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 399: Ripple (1)
Kang Gi-yeon took the lead on the concept for this digital single.
I told him to make active use of his "youthful sensibility big data"... but that was just an excuse.
I originally planned to do it myself, but I got shot down. I didn't have the courage to turn on a video conference while lying in bed alone when everyone else had already clocked in for work. So, I just explained the keywords and the overall concept to Kang Gi-yeon and left the rest to him.
"Won't it be hard to come up with ideas while going to school?"
"I have more free time when I'm at school."
Kang Gi-yeon was remarkably confident—I wondered if he even attended his classes. I briefly thought of Jeong Seong-bin, who supposedly won a gold medal in his liberal arts course, and Choi Je-ho, who I doubted had even looked at the academic notices despite my nagging him to look into cyber universities. I really needed to film a "Study With Me" soon.
Anyway, the concept Kang Gi-yeon came up with for Spark’s final album of the year was this:
[Pranksters Who Love Playing the Most]
Our average age passed twenty this year, didn't it? Isn't it a bit problematic if we're still 'pranksters'?
I seriously considered whether I should book a meeting room for a formal consultation, but I held back and decided to read on for now.
At the top was a summary of the previous meeting.
1st Planning Meeting: A light and exciting atmosphere that can encompass both the title track (title TBD) and the B-side, "Speaker." The overall color scheme should be in blue tones to suit the winter season.
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Opinion (Kim I-wol): Requesting MV production for both the title track and "Speaker." Even if we have to reduce the man-hours put into each, this is a time when we must supply as much content as possible to refresh the atmosphere and public opinion within the fandom.
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Opinion (Kang Gi-yeon): Desiring a feeling that extends from "Flowering" and "With List." If the narrative is omitted, I believe there must be a strong visual impact.
Under the subheading "Overall Concept," there was just one large photo.
It was a picture of a skateboarder against a backdrop of a clear blue sky.
Look at him go.
For just a single photo, it contained a wealth of information. An outdoor setting with a refreshing sky and vivid natural light, structures covered in graffiti, a board with neon graphics printed on a black body, and baggy sportswear.
It was an item that required less effort because it didn't need a complex narrative or foreshadowing, yet it could show a variety of scenes and possessed a sense of dynamism.
The subject matter alone was distinct enough that several styling options could be pulled from it. Sure enough, the concept art already had the members' outfits detailed down to the smallest points.
It was all good. It was a style we hadn't tried yet, and it suited the group's image well.
However, there was one problem.
At least one person has to pull off some extreme shots.
The entire group couldn't just ride in a straight line for four minutes in the MV. Someone had to grind down a handrail or flashily navigate a bowl set, like the skaters in the reference videos the dedicated team had uploaded.
Fortunately, Spark had the perfect guy for this.
"Choi Je-ho."
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any interest in learning how to skateboard?"
To an outsider, it might look like I only made Choi Je-ho do all the physical labor, but that was a misunderstanding.
Surprisingly, Choi Je-ho is the type who enjoys learning things. It’s just that "things" usually excludes public education.
There was a reason he never skipped action school or drum lessons. In the first place, someone without ambition or persistence couldn't devote themselves solely to dance for years.
"It sounds like it could be fun."
Besides, it was a high-activity sport. For Choi Je-ho, who rarely hit a wall when it came to using his body, making up his mind wasn't difficult.
I felt like I could do it too if I just learned some simple moves. My gastric ulcer had healed quite a bit, too. As expected, modern medicine is the best.
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s arrangement work was in its final stages, and we had already decided how to film the "Speaker" music video since the planning stages of the Idol Dynasty Annals live broadcast.
"Then let's ask them to find a teacher."
"Right now?"
"Why put off work? It'll only eat into our production time."
I tagged the dedicated team and wrote a request for a quick turnaround. A thumbs-up emoji appeared with lightning speed.
As expected, Choi Je-ho succeeded in mastering some spectacular tricks in a short amount of time. The teacher even grew greedy, saying he had a natural talent. Being the team's center is no ordinary feat.
Park Ju-woo was flying, too. It was as if the board was glued to his feet. Surprisingly, he was the only one among us who already had the basics down.
When I asked how that was possible...
"Si-hu hyung taught me when I was little..."
That was the answer I got.
"I only learned how to ride it, but if I'd known this would happen, I should have gone out of the house more often..."
"No, you're the best among us right now."
I learned the importance of early childhood education in a place like this. Deciding not to think it was too late for me either, I resolved to look into how to get a forklift license as soon as possible, just in case of an emergency.
The one who suffered the most was Jeong Seong-bin. He flailed about, not knowing what to do on the wheeled platform. He claimed the only wheeled object he had ever controlled in his life was a PC bang chair.
"Hyung, your athletic nerves are actually really good."
Kang Gi-yeon praised me.
"It's the result of doing my best to utilize a short amount of time efficiently."
My practice time was only half that of the other members. It was because I lacked time between going to counseling, the hospital, and the law firm. Thanks to rolling around diligently while I was at the practice space, I managed to avoid a level that would be embarrassing to show others.
"Still, no violent techniques."
That's what I want to say, you punk.
Throughout the break, Kang Gi-yeon and I snapped at each other under the pretext of looking out for each other's joints and stomachs, saying things like "You should be the one to go in" and "Hyung, just go lie down and sleep." We would have fought until the teacher returned if Lee Cheong-hyeon hadn't fearlessly attempted a shove-it and wiped out.
Meanwhile, some tasks progressed smoothly. For instance, the filming of the "Speaker" music video.
Following my argument that a band has its own charm in simplicity, we decided to capture the band performing live on a white set with vivid lighting for this music video.
Of course, we didn't lazily copy-paste the Idol Dynasty Annals outfits. The reason we built the set in white in the first place was to show a side opposite to the live stage.
All of Spark transformed into semi-death metal initiates, covered in black and silver. I don't mean we actually painted our faces like pandas; I'm talking about the fashion. Within the range of what could be considered "idol-like."
To give a spoiler, Kang Gi-yeon was actually scary. I'm starting to wonder if giving him that "mature-looking" buff was a good idea.
Once a member finished filming the MV, I had them scrubbed clean and put in the car. We had to preserve their skin since the deadline for the Season's Greetings photoshoot was right around the corner.
Lee Cheong-hyeon, whose eyes were out of focus but whose skin looked radiant, muttered, "I can really feel that the end of the year is approaching."
"There's still a lot of time before winter. In what sense?"
At my question, Lee Cheong-hyeon couldn't answer immediately as usual.
After a moment of buffering, he spoke while staring into space.
"In the sense that I'm so busy my head is spinning..."
As if in a show of empathy, Kang Gi-yeon also turned his head toward the window.
"Go to sleep."
"You too, Hyung..."
Nagging until the very end, Lee Cheong-hyeon disappeared under a blanket. Once the year-end stages are over, I'll have to roll that guy up in a microfiber duvet and toss him onto an electric pad.
Won Chae-hee had been feeling gloomy for the past few days.
She was annoyed by her coworkers who casually said things like, "The idol you liked is in a mess," and she was angry at the reporters who used the photos she took for gossip articles about Kim I-wol without permission.
However, no one made Won Chae-hee feel more disgusted than Kim I-wol's family.
Those sub-human bastards.
When a person finds someone they like, they fall for them easily. Just hearing news that they ate a meal at the same time makes you feel lucky, and if the other person looks tired, you worry more about their complexion than your own fatigue. It's only natural to empathize with that person's affairs as if they were your own.
It was in this context that the Sparklers had been on an emotional rollercoaster.
People who only encounter the surface-level issues have no reason to be emotionally drained. For them, it's just a matter of being shocked for a moment and then saying it's a good thing once a "refreshing" conclusion is reached.
But fans can't do that.
When the sentiment arose within the fandom that those people needed to be crushed from the start, no one came at it with a "Let them face the hammer of the law!" kind of attitude.
Please, let's never be involved with them again. I hope they never interfere in Kim I-wol's life again. Everyone was united in that thought.
But a lawsuit wasn't a simple matter that ended in a week or two. Rather, every time it progressed, stories that twisted people's hearts poured out incessantly.
When she saw news that reporters had surrounded Kim I-wol's family home and made dozens of calls to his parents that went unanswered, she felt a brief moment of satisfaction, but gloom soon followed.
Every time she lay down to sleep, Won Chae-hee thought:
Am I being immature, being this over-invested in an idol?
Should I quit being a fan if it's interfering with my daily life?
And yet, Won Chae-hee didn't close her account. Even if the frequency of checking had decreased, she still subscribed to Bubble Pop.
She didn't catch every update on the hour, but on weekends, she watched the self-produced content she had missed. She watched every bit of the strange video—wondering if it was content tailored for "Exclusive Report"—where six sons of chaebol families asked what tteokbokki was while naturally dipping their fried snacks into the sauce. She even chuckled a few times in the middle.
Whenever she saw her own contradictory behavior, a meme that had been popular for a while came to mind.
Watching you guys is painful, BUT it's lonely not to.
My fatigue keeps growing, HOWEVER, I feel healed when I see you...
"Falling in love is a crime, a crime."
Won Chae-hee sighed. Even today, she had finished preparing to watch the main broadcast of Exclusive Report.
If it gets too nerve-wracking, I'll turn it off. She made a firm vow.
As the broadcast began, Won Chae-hee pulled a fluffy blanket over herself. In the dark room with the lights off, only the screen of the drama that had just started shone brightly.