The Condition for Becoming a Kind Idol Leader, Chapter 20
Concept photos for 0CEAN BLUE, one of the two versions of the Summer Special Album, had finally been released.
The first image to go up was a group shot of the members, framed against a white sand beach and a blue, glittering sea.
Wearing white tops and light denim in slightly different styles, the members were all leaning into the frame with bright smiles, as if they were huddled together for a selfie taken on a selfie stick. It had the effortless, sunlit feel of a group photo shot in one go, everyone crowding in from the front and laughing.
Some fans squealed with delight, but others, all too familiar with Kwon Dae-do’s sick obsession with worldbuilding, quickly began to suspect something.
There was no way he would hand them such an obediently peaceful concept.
After all, this was the same man who had dressed them in school uniforms for the previous album’s music video, then made one member brutally kill another.
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(Concept1_Group_Photo.jpg)
(Individual_LimSe-bin.jpg)
There is definitely a soul attached to Lim Se-bin’s hair. How does hair even move like that in the wind? Mine gets hit by a breeze and turns into some mangled husk cut. Fuck, nature is literally helping him. Human druid Lim Se-bin, and the nickname “Lim Se-bin = elf” is just the truth, no objections accepted.
(Individual_KyeonIn-woo.jpg)
Kyeon In-woo with a surfboard tucked under one arm? Kyeon In-woo, whose T-zone is so handsome it should be illegal? Kyeon In-woo, even his eyebrows are gorgeous? Okay, but honestly I’d rather have him tuck a blade into his side than carry that surfboard. I’m heavier, sure, but our volume is probably similar, right, In-woo? I float well in water.
(Individual_GoYoung-in.jpg)
Young-in, I’m sorry,,, even getting splashed with water is art, a spectacle, a masterpiece. What color is that hair—pastel blue? I was so distracted by every bone in his wrists and ankles that I only noticed the bracelet later. Fuck, did you drink milk diligently when you were a kid or something? How can even your bones be handsome? From now on, my ideal type is a man with pretty bones. I’m getting X-rays instead of face photos for blind dates from now on, yeah.
(Individual_CheonSa-yoon.jpg)
Fuck, Cheon Sa-yoon already has those white sails in the background forcing the black-hearted otaku in me into a reluctant conversion, and now this holiness? I’m joining the Angel cult starting today. Seeing his face has awakened faith I didn’t even know I lacked. His legs are so long he can pull off a beach robe, while if I wore that thing it would drag across the floor and basically let me mop the ground clean, haha.
(Individual_PyoJae-ho.jpg)
Pyo Jae-ho, from today onward you are legally obligated to preserve, once a day, a selfie of yourself with your bangs pushed back so the world can know your features remain this intact and are doing humanity a service. What the hell, him coming out of the water is insane—no, don’t come out—no, do come out—no, actually don’t, it’s dangerous—no, come out right now.
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When I look at that concept photo again and again, it really does feel fresh, right? It’s blue and it’s the sea—can I have a little hope here????????
Wait, what the hell—am I dreaming?
What is this, seriously? What am I looking at? Why does this actually feel like summer????????
And then when the music video drops, I swear they’ll be spraying blood instead of water.
No, don’t be fooled. That sea is actually the tears we’re all about to shed.
You people have completely lost your minds lolololololol
I’m genuinely not used to this, guys. You weren’t the kind of group who’d just show up in short sleeves like this, were you? Am I the only one who feels weird about it right now? T_T
Whoever sprayed water on Go Young-in, I’m not letting this go. Fuck, thank you. Please accept my bow.
Why does the group concept photo feel this unfamiliar? We’ve never even seen that kind of bright smile from Sa-yoon or In-woo, not on variety shows, not in behind-the-scenes content, nowhere. Have they really lost their minds?
Exactly, 22222. There must have been a reason they never smiled. They were protecting my heart. This is the age of idols who considerately try to prevent fan cardiac arrest.
Kyeon In-woo’s wink is a capital offense. He should be sentenced to life imprisonment for walking around with one eye closed for the rest of his life.
Fuck, stop trying to force an interpretation on it lololol
If Pyo Jae-ho isn’t wearing that layered rash guard, he’s violating some bullshit law anyway. Just arrest him and archive the evidence.
I can feel it in my heart, and my heart is a freshness specialist. This really is fresh.
Look at it from the front, back, side, or upside down—no matter how you slice it, it’s freshness, 100 percent. Absolutely freshness.
Fuck, Double D, are you seriously not going to pull some scam with the concept photo after all this? I’m picturing cheerful summer boys right now, and if the teaser drops and blows my mental state to pieces again, then fuck—
This is giving me PTSD, lol.
Honestly, I liked the school-uniform concept too, haha. If they’re gorgeous, shouldn’t they be wrung for at least triple the tears—blood, sweat, and tears? Back then it really felt like I’d gone in to buy a macaron and gotten a dense dark brownie shoved into my mouth by force, lol.
The Zero One fans had started out by half-refusing to believe the concept, thinking it was impossible, only to lose their minds the moment they saw how good the photos actually were—while also growing furious at the company.
What the hell, you sick bastards? If you could do it like this all along, then why the hell did you keep doing it that way before? Double D Entertainment was insane. And yet, after blowing up for a while, they slowly decided to compromise with the situation and just enjoy it.
Fine... the kids are pretty. That’s enough if the clothes are decent. And the members are getting along, their arms and legs are all intact, too. Peaceful. Nice.
Once the fans had accepted what was happening, they dropped their suspicion and started enjoying themselves without restraint.
Trending in South Korea
Zero One freshness — 50,107 posts
Could it be a lie
Double D
Fresh concept
Our concept photos
Could it really be fresh?
As the title says.
Honestly, I’m sick of people yapping about freshness all the time. If it isn’t fresh, they’ll drag it, and that bullshit is so fucking annoying that I can’t stand the constant “freshness” sermons.
Same. I do like freshness, but the people who shove it down everyone’s throat have totally killed the mood for me.
The timing is so fucking obnoxious. Of course they’d drag this up right when there are fresh concept photos and fans are all ready to look at them. They really can’t stand to see people enjoying themselves, huh.
(BLUE_WAVE_chorus.MP4)
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Section 14 | A perfect idol periodically makes time to communicate with fans.
He’d already skimmed through a fair number of reactions, but the damn status window still kept blaring at him. It was while Go Young-in was muttering under his breath, cursing the thing out in his head, that he spotted something strange in the middle of the concept-photo posts.
This is... what now?
While he was checking fan reactions related to the concept photos, he found one suspicious post.
It got deleted quickly, but there was a photo of him with some woman at a café, right? So who was that woman? They looked pretty close.
Was there a post like that?
Yeah, it got deleted pretty fast, but there was a photo too lol.
Wow, so you dug up a dead boring post nobody cared about just to stir trouble? That’s kind of pathetic. Is your main fandom life really that much of a snoozefest?
Fuck, they’re already trying to sour the comeback by dragging in some fake aggro post. They really can’t stand seeing fans excited, huh.
Oh dear, human, oh dear, human, oh dear, human, oh dear, human, oh dear, human, oh dear, human, oh dear, human, oh dear, human...
It was just a simple rumor post, but the status window had kept buzzing and buzzing until the moment he saw this one, then stopped dead. Like it had wanted him to look at it. This thing might not just be a simple status window after all.
If it had been a sighting rumor about Pyo Jae-ho or Lim Se-bin, he would’ve laughed it off; those two had no reason to go out and make friends with anyone. But because it was Cheon Sa-yoon, he couldn’t just brush it aside.
What’s more, there had apparently been one time when he’d come back late without saying a word. That was annoying, and oddly unsettling.
Section 2 | A gentle idol leader talks with the members often, even if only briefly.
Would that bastard really tell him anything just because he asked? And how was he supposed to drag in a guy who wasn’t even in the practice room?
He didn’t even know where Cheon Sa-yoon was right now. He’d vanished again the moment practice ended, without a word.
Section 2 | A gentle idol leader talks with the members often, even if only briefly.
What a pain in the ass, this status window.
He’d be back to practice soon anyway, so why not just ask him then? Why did it keep interfering with other people’s behavior like this?
Fuck it. As if he’d.
Despite what he said, Go Young-in quickly tidied his hair, got ready to head out, and then sprang to his feet, gripping his useless phone with a little more force than necessary.
Fine. He would. Actually, he would.
There was no guarantee that post was real, but if it was—then what?
Go Young-in had never really had a thing for hats, so he borrowed one from Kyeon In-woo and loaded himself down with a mask before heading outside. Before he left, he also texted the manager to say he was stepping out for a bit and got permission.
The members still didn’t seem interested in where he was going.
At least when he borrowed the hat, Kyeon In-woo had asked where he was headed. He’d just looked disgusted the instant he heard the answer, though, and turned away as if he couldn’t bear to look.
Before leaving, Go Young-in opened his messenger app and decided to send a text first.
Tap-tap.
Section 28 | A gentle idol leader offers warm words and actions to the members.
Section 28 | A gentle idol leader offers warm words and actions to the members.
Section 28 | A gentle idol leader offers warm words and actions to the members.
Fuck.
If Go Young-in ever collapsed, the diagnosis would obviously be a blood-pressure spike caused by acute stress. Did the damn system really have to make him send texts like this? Thanks to that crazy status window, it wasn’t like he’d ever get accused of swearing in public.
The blinking cursor looked almost exactly like the status window blinking at him, and the fact that it was getting under his skin only made him wonder whether he was still a functioning human being.
What was the problem, really? The guy didn’t answer calls anyway, and he didn’t read texts either, so did it matter if the message was sloppy? Huh?
He didn’t even have anything decent to say, and asking point-blank where he was would sound awkward, so in the end he sent only his name, three letters hanging there by themselves. There was no way he’d see it right away. Last time, the bastard hadn’t even finished reading it—
Ping.
Go Young-in stared at the phone screen in silence.
His eyes weren’t malfunctioning.
Why are you replying?