Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Pre-Release Stage Videos
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Proper exercise and a regular, nutritious diet.
I felt the need to manage my stamina, so I didn't let myself slack off during the break.
It was as if the first and second rounds were nothing, a sign that things would only get more hectic from here on out.
“Phew.”
Just as I returned from a light jog around my neighborhood, my hat pulled down low, and was about to drink some water.
Ding.
The notification sound I had set specifically for ‘Red Cube’ went off.
“Did something get uploaded?”
I immediately checked my phone.
[Pre-release: Grade-Specific Stage Videos]
The grade-specific stage videos were up.
My jaw dropped at the production team's fast editing skills.
‘Amazing. They must have pulled an all-nighter.’
After quickly gulping down some water, I sat on the living room sofa.
Wanting to watch the video properly, I connected my phone to the TV and opened YouTube.
[Grade A: The Shining Grade A's ‘When the Red Moon Rises’ Theme Song Mission Video]
I scrolled to check the titles and thumbnails of the other grades' videos.
[Grade B: ‘When the Red Moon Rises’ Theme Song Mission Video]
[Grade C: Theme Song Mission Video]
[Grade D: Mission Video]
[Grade F]
Even the video titles were discriminatory based on grade.
The thumbnails were different too.
From Grade A to D, there didn't seem to be much of a difference.
The problem was the Grade F video.
The thumbnail for the Grade F video was just black.
A black screen.
That was all.
‘They’re truly vicious. An ordinary person wouldn't even think of something like this.’
Putting my judgment of the production team aside, I played the Grade A video.
It didn't start with the performance right away. Instead, it showed the Grade A contestants flashing bright smiles and showing off their charm to the camera.
[We will begin filming.]
I had already felt something was off because only the Grade A video was longer.
Once everyone was in position, the performance began.
I focused on the video, determined not to miss a single thing.
[My heart, stained red]
A gentle smile formed on my lips out of satisfaction.
The video turned out even better than I had thought.
The ten people in the video moved as if they were a single person.
It was perfectly synchronized choreography.
Just then, Haru, the main dancer, walked forward.
Even though I had already seen it all in person, his skill was astounding.
I had the illusion that the quality of the dance suddenly shot up.
‘So this is why the center is so important.’
I was once again reminded of the center's importance.
[Fly farther away]
It was my part.
As befitting the main vocalist position, my face was captured in a bust shot for quite a while.
‘That's a relief.’
Even though the song ended, the video wasn't over.
[Go, Grade A!]
A scene of us comforting each other when we were exhausted appeared.
And then, the production team handed out drinks.
It was CCC Lemon.
The contestants, who were thirsty, happily accepted the drinks.
Then, without a moment's hesitation, they quickly opened the caps and chugged them down.
The incident happened then.
[Gasp.]
[Ugh….]
Those drinking couldn't handle the sourness and started coughing or covering their mouths.
But the camera suddenly moved towards me.
Right towards my face, as I squinted my eyes, clutching the bottle cap tightly in my hand.
“Did I make a face like that?”
The moment I received the drink, I think I made that face for a split second, but I quickly regained my composure.
I didn't know they would use that fleeting moment like this.
It was astonishing that the production team had managed to capture it.
“Let's watch the Grade B video first.”
I immediately played the Grade B video.
‘Huh?’
There were so many differences compared to the Grade A footage.
First, there was almost no camera movement.
It was a style where only the cuts changed from a fixed position.
The stage was different, too.
The overall feel was similar, but the number of lights and props was lacking.
‘I don't know how long this grade system will last, but if I can, it would be best to maintain my rank for as long as possible.’
As I was thinking that and nodding, a Grade B contestant made a mistake while changing formation and bumped into the person next to him.
‘So it was him.’
The person who threw all the Grade B contestants into chaos.
Fortunately, Jung Eun-woo quickly hid him behind his back.
It was a decent response.
The person who made the mistake would need some time to collect himself.
Thankfully, the performance continued without any issues after that.
‘That's a relief.’
↳The guy who covered for the one who made a mistake. What's his name? Please, I'm desperate. I really need to know.
↳I checked all the profiles, and it seems to be Jung Eun-woo. From M-Seven? or something. I'm gonna binge-watch all his past videos before the show starts.
↳Jung Eun-woo. I'll remember that name.
↳Ah. Am I falling in love too easily? Why did I fall for him so fast….
Positive reactions for Jung Eun-woo poured in.
It was understandable.
His professionalism and good manners in casually covering for someone who made a mistake.
There's no way the public would dislike that.
‘He happened to be right next to him.’
↳But they uploaded the mistake as is.
↳I know, right? Usually, even if there's a mistake, they just show it a few times during the main broadcast but don't upload it to the official video.
↳Did he keep making mistakes?
↳If he only made one mistake and they aired it, the production team is seriously cruel.
Come to think of it, it is strange.
Before my regression, the chaos caused by the contestant's mistake meant there weren't any usable takes.
But watching the video just now, Jung Eun-woo handled it so well that it didn't have time to affect the others.
‘I'll have to watch the main broadcast to know for sure.’
I looked at the playlist and saw that individual fancams for each grade had been uploaded.
[Grade A Seo Yoon-seul Individual Fancam: Main Vocalist]
Perhaps because Haru and I were the main dancer and main vocalist, we had descriptors attached to our names, unlike the others.
The view count was higher than I expected.
It was quite high compared to the others in Grade A.
The one with the lowest view count was Choi Jung-woon.
The same guy who picked a fight with me, asking if I could really hit a C6.
‘Well, he was kicked out of vocal training for not memorizing the lyrics, so he didn't have many parts.’
You couldn't tell just from the thumbnail and title, but stories about it must have already spread on social media.
‘There's no place where rumors spread faster.’
People who watched the videos would post short reviews on social media, which would then filter which videos others chose to watch.
After that, people would naturally click on the videos with higher view counts.
‘It'll be hard for him to reverse his individual view count.’
There was nothing dramatic enough in Choi Jung-woon's video to close the gap that had already formed.
I put aside my thoughts on the other contestants' view counts and decided to watch my own fancam.
It felt like they had just zoomed in on my face from the original video.
The moment the first verse began, an "Ah" of surprise escaped my lips.
It was because only the instrumental was playing; there were no vocals.
A moment later, when it was my part, the vocals came in.
‘It seems like it’s only my voice.’
I thought since it was a fancam, it would be like the ones fans usually film, but it wasn't.
‘This will really highlight everyone's individual skills. For people with few parts, the video will feel very empty.’
For the chorus, since we all sang together, everyone's voices came out.
Thanks to being the main vocalist, while I didn't have that many solo parts, I had quite a few high-note ad-libs.
Thanks to that, the periods with only music weren't very long.
I moved my finger to check the comments.
↳Seo Yoon-seul is so good.
↳? What's with Seo Yoon-seul's high notes? Why are they so clean and pleasant to listen to?
↳They're not strained high notes. It's so annoying when you see idols who make these irritating, cringe-worthy sounds and then claim they're good at high notes.
↳Wow. This is insane. I never knew Seo Yoon-seul could sing this well.
My cheekbones rose on their own at the flood of compliments.
↳I just don't like watching Seo Yoon-seul.
↳Isn't this AR?
↳They probably fixed it all in post-production. No way he sang live the whole time they were filming.
Of course, I saw some negative comments here and there.
‘I didn't expect a controversy about singing live. Well, this will probably die down once the show airs.’
After disconnecting my phone from the TV, I went on social media.
Perhaps because I had already searched for ‘Red Cube’ and my name so often, the moment I logged on, related posts flooded my feed.
[LMAOOOOOO. What's with the end of the Grade A video? Seo Yoon-seul's expression is hilarious. I burst out laughing. (Screenshot of Seo Yoon-seul at the end of the performance)]
↳Isn't this that look? The face my dog makes when I'm putting on an Oscar-worthy performance pretending his medicine is delicious.
↳Ahahahaha, for real. I was wondering where I'd seen it before, and that's it!
↳Seo Yoon-seul is the comic relief of ‘Red Cube.’ He keeps unintentionally diffusing the sad atmosphere. From the pixelated stage onwards, he's been on another level.
[What's with Seo Yoon-seul's self-intro where his special trait is Golden Retriever LMAO. I bet the staff wrote that. The staff has a great eye, seriously. They nailed everyone's character. I'm so excited for the main broadcast.]
↳ㅋㅋㅋㅋFrom now on, he's our Goldie. Yoon-die.
↳I like Yoon-die.
[Red Cube is really pushing Seo Yoon-seul.]
↳That's what I'm saying.
↳At this point, isn't this just the 'Seo Yoon-seul Re-debut Project'? I feel bad for the other contestants. They seem like background characters.
↳? The show hasn't even aired yet. They're just using Seo Yoon-seul because he's the most buzzworthy contestant right now. Would they get any attention trying to hype up the other contestants?
↳I was also wondering why they were pushing only Seo Yoon-seul, but after reading the comment above, it makes sense. He's the only one worth promoting to advertise the show. So that's why they cast him.
↳I get the broadcast station's perspective, but I can't help but see it in a negative light.
Even before the show aired, because I had a lot of screen time, there were quite a few negative opinions suggesting I was being pushed.
[Not watching this Seo Yoon-seul favoritism show.]
↳Says you won't watch, but ‘Red Cube’ is right there on your subscription list, isn't it? LOL
↳LMAO, I was curious if the comment above was true, so I checked, and it is. I mean, someone who really isn't going to watch would just quietly block it. They wouldn't post about not watching like this.
↳His subscription list is so transparent.
↳There'll be even more people like this once the show starts. But seriously, Red Cube hasn't even begun, and the hype is insane.
However, it didn't seem like this would negatively affect the show.
The hype for the re-debut survival program ‘Red Cube’ was still going strong, after all.