Chapter 59: Corporate Promotional Video Shoot (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: Corporate Promotional Video Shoot (2)
“Don’t you think shade 21 is too dark for I-wol?”
“If we use anything brighter, his features will get washed out. We can’t have that.”
“Hmm… Should we change the makeup for every set?”
The three experts surrounded me, engaged in a heated debate.
I still wasn't used to the experience of having cosmetics I’d only ever heard of by name applied to my face. For a twenty-nine-year-old office worker, this level of attention was overwhelming.
Moreover, all three of them looked incredibly serious, as if there were some grave problem with my skin tone.
To my eyes, everything from shade 17 to 23 looked exactly the same, but the staff members' brows remained furrowed. It was an environment where it was impossible not to feel self-conscious.
“It’s not just the brightness; I-wol has a bit of a pale, sickly vibe… I-wol, you’re not feeling ill, are you?”
“No, I’m perfectly fine.”
At my answer, the staff member gave a bright smile of relief.
Then, she began tapping my face incessantly with something that felt like a sponge.
This sensation—it was my second time experiencing it since the profile shoot, but I just couldn't get used to it.
I wondered how many more makeup sessions awaited me before debut. My heart fluttered for several reasons.
The power of a complete transformation was immense in many ways.
First, there was Choi Je-ho.
Since his role was ‘rough around the edges but surprisingly cute,’ he was assigned the most delinquent style among us.
Not only was his outfit a mess—I had no idea where he’d ditched his tie or why he’d left two buttons undone—but his hair was also flashily styled with wax. He’d even dyed it dark grey.
Do high schoolers use wax these days? I wouldn't know, since I kept my hair plain for all three years.
In comparison, Jeong Seong-bin looked like a clean-cut class president.
Unlike the other five, whom you’d want to avoid in the hallway, Jeong Seong-bin had his hair dyed dark brown to highlight the gentle energy in his face.
We went with a dark shade because light brown might have been too soft for his ‘cold on the outside, lukewarm on the inside’ high schooler concept. It was a good choice.
Park Ju-woo was specially graced with a sky-blue knit vest.
It was because that color was Ju-woo’s birthstone color. Fans never miss even these tiny details.
Ju-woo in a knit vest looked good even to my eyes, and I’m usually indifferent to whatever Spark wears.
I predicted that once the music video was released, comments like ‘Park Ju-woo looks fucking good in a knit vest’ would start popping up.
To create a disheveled look, they used a hairdryer to make his hair look windswept, and the final result was quite good. He looked exactly like a kid who’d been caught sleeping and kicked to the back of the classroom.
Lee Cheong-hyeon looked normal at first glance, but he showcased a look that was slightly extraordinary in the details.
For instance, despite being a student, the end of his tie was tucked into his pocket, or he wore socks with flashy paint patterns with his dark school uniform. I even planned to have ink stains on his sleeves for the drama scenes.
The guy had even dyed his hair purple. Because of his role in the MV, he pulled off a scientist look that was beyond peculiar—it was breathtaking.
In contrast to the free-spirited Lee Cheong-hyeon, Kang Gi-yeon was dressed with suffocating neatness.
His shirt was buttoned to the very top, and his tie was perfectly tightened, creating a powerful impression that contrasted with his sharp features. He even wore a black turtleneck underneath.
Since Choi Je-ho already had the delinquent-face-with-delinquent-clothes look covered, we tried a different direction for Gi-yeon, and as expected, it was excellent.
As a bonus, I gave Lee Cheong-hyeon and Kang Gi-yeon the friendship items that Cheong-hyeon loved so much.
As previously discussed with the Planning Team, I attached identical straps to Cheong-hyeon’s belt loop and Gi-yeon’s bracelet. They were shaped like cute dolls.
Once I organized all these details and handed them over to the Planning Team, the ‘3 pieces of advice for improving stage quality’ that had been clinging to me like leeches were finally fulfilled.
After all six of us finished our makeup and changed into grey school uniforms arranged to fit our respective personalities, the filming began in earnest.
As for the choreography, we’d practiced it until the soles of our shoes were worn down.
Thanks to pulling my hair out all night to scout the location, I’d chosen a place so perfect that the System gave me experience points without a single complaint.
So, just like the recording not long ago, this music video shoot would surely proceed smoothly.
…Or so I naively thought. It was a complacent judgment.
“Stop filming for a second.”
At the filming director’s words, the music video set fell silent in an instant.
My breath was caught in my throat from dancing three times in a row, but I couldn't even make a sound.
This was because everyone, from the filming staff to the managers, had gathered in front of the monitor to watch the footage with serious expressions.
What was the problem?
Was the axis tilted to one side because we hadn't practiced centering the stage enough?
Or was there a member whose expression was still too dark?
Or maybe…
‘Is it because the picture looks weird now that I’m in it?’
While I was spiraling through all sorts of thoughts, the manager’s gaze turned toward us.
“Guys, come here for a second.”
At the manager’s call, we cautiously approached the monitor.
The director then played the footage we’d just shot.
Embarrassing faces flickered in and out… no, that wasn't it.
“…The mouth movements don't match at all.”
“You see it too, don't you, I-wol?”
That was it.
The members of Spark, who had never practiced lip-syncing in their lives, had focused so hard on the director’s instruction to ‘be conscious of the movement paths while dancing!’ that they had ended up just bobbing their mouths.
As a result, many of them had shut their mouths long before the lyrics were even finished.
Even though the audio clearly featured everyone singing the chorus, their mouth movements were all over the place.
In a world where fans capture music videos by the 0.1 second and share slow-motion GIFs, what would happen if these free-spirited mouths were made public?
≫ What has one body but six mouths?
└ Spark.
└ Correct. Your prize is the Lip-sync Meme of the Year.
└ Is that really a prize?
I could see it as clearly as a video. We’d be saddled with a disgraceful nickname like ‘Synchro-dance idols (except for their mouths).’
This was all my fault for forgetting that Spark’s past debut music video had been an emotional ballad.
Back then, they’d just sat there bobbing their mouths, so it hadn't reached this level of disaster.
Since we couldn't exactly master lip-syncing on the spot, we ended up having to film the music video while singing live with the veins in our necks popping to create a sense of realism.
I could only hope the video team would capture this well.
After the music video shoot, which felt like it had strained my throat even more than the recording, album planning began at UA.
Of course, album planning wasn't easy either.
It was because Yu Han-su had returned, filled with spite.
“So… you want to release the debut album in three versions?”
“Yes. We’ll show the flow of a day through three concepts: Before School, During Class, and After School.”
It seemed he’d finally grasped the school youth concept this time, but not a chance.
Who releases a debut album in three versions? Especially at a small-time agency.
Would you want to buy three albums from kids whose faces and names you haven't even memorized yet?
Meanwhile, he looked quite proud of himself for coming up with three ideas.
It seemed Yu Han-su didn't know the common sense that the less competent a person is, the more they help others by not touching the work.
It was a moment that confirmed my belief that I had to get rid of that man.
Even while I was seriously contemplating how to make Yu Han-su drop out, his mouth didn't stop.
I wasn't the only one not listening to him.
The Planning Team, who had to work directly with Yu Han-su, already had no light in their eyes.
I’d heard that the Planning Team was also fighting their own battle against him.
‘Team Leader Seon and Yu PD got into an argument?’
‘That’s what I heard. Since they’ve both been in the field for a long time, I guess their difference in opinion isn't easily narrowed.’
The words the manager swallowed after that were obvious even without hearing them.
It would be something like, ‘It’s less a difference of opinion and more one side blocking the other’s one-sided stubbornness…’
I mean, what does that man know about fieldwork?
The reasons I’d been able to push my proposal to the Planning Team without much trouble were: first, it was before the company had a proper plan; and second, my age and position as a trainee allowed my actions to be framed as ‘the ambition of a young trainee.’
But imagine a third party coming in when a project is already underway, without even properly understanding the history, and trying to boss everyone around.
That doesn't look proactive; it looks reckless.
So, from the perspective of the Planning Team who had been working on this all along, Yu Han-su couldn't help but look obnoxious.
Compared to the Planning Team, I was practically a saint for listening to his remarks. Be grateful, man.
In the bleak atmosphere, only the PPT I’d had to stay up all night organizing on Yu Han-su’s orders flickered by without anyone’s interest. My heart ached.
Perhaps noticing everyone’s soulless attitude, Yu Han-su stopped his presentation and spoke.
“Everyone, you are actually listening to me, right?”
His tone was so rude he could have gone toe-to-toe with Choi Je-ho.
Still, I had to praise his ability to never let go of the floor despite being terrible at his job. Not everyone has that kind of shamelessness.
“PD-nim, what exactly do you mean by that?”
The Planning Team Leader asked, not hiding her displeasure. Yu Han-su replied without backing down.
“Well, everyone is listening with such an obvious lack of enthusiasm. How is the person giving the PT supposed to feel motivated?”
A psychological battle, three seconds away from a dogfight, ensued between Yu Han-su and the Planning Team Leader.
I hurriedly lowered my gaze to the keyboard I was using to flip through the PPT.
Soon, the sarcastic voice of the Planning Team and Yu Han-su’s reckless retorts filled the meeting room.
It was then. The System appeared over the keyboard.