Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Peaceful Preparations
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The days following my first visit to the company were a whirlwind, so busy I lost all track of time.
Recording songs and learning choreography.
On top of that, schedules like photoshoots and radio appearances piled up relentlessly.
It felt surreal and bewildering that so many people were interested in a group that hadn't even debuted yet.
And now, I was at the hair salon, waiting for my turn for tomorrow's concept photoshoot.
With nothing to do while sitting around, I pulled out my phone.
I wanted to watch Kang Ju-hyeok's teaser, which had been released last night.
‘I meant to watch it yesterday, but I was so sleepy I just couldn't stay awake.’
Yesterday's schedule was especially grueling.
We only returned to the dorm after finishing two YouTube shoots and a radio show.
It would have been nice if that was the end of it, but we then had individual interviews for our reality show.
By the time I finished everything and washed up, I didn't even have the energy to pick up my phone.
I ended up just passing out as soon as I lay down.
‘What was the group's name again...’
I exchanged messages with Kang Ju-hyeok from time to time.
Though, since we were both swamped with debut preparations, it was more like just checking in to say we were still alive.
[I'm debuting in a week. The group name is M-chive.]
‘Ah, right. M-chive.’
I went on YouTube and searched for 'M-chive'.
“The view count is already over 200,000.”
It had only been a day since the video was uploaded, yet it had already surpassed 200,000 views.
The count was still climbing even now.
I glanced up at the thumbnail.
It seemed to be a space theme, with white specks dotted against a pitch-black background.
[M-chive - IF]
It was a very short teaser, only 15 seconds long.
I tapped the thumbnail to play the video.
―IF
It was a medium-tempo song with a calm piano melody.
The space scene slowly brightened, revealing a desolate forest.
Kang Ju-hyeok and the other members began to walk slowly through it.
‘Looks like it's a six-member group.’
―I won't let go of your hand
Kang Ju-hyeok and the other members fell off a cliff, holding hands.
The screen faded back to darkness, and the video ended.
I scrolled down to check the comments.
[This is such a tease. But I guess that's what teasers are for.]
[My heart stopped.]
[How am I supposed to wait until their debut? Sigh... To the company: please release one teaser a day.]
↳I'm already impatient, this is gonna be tough.
[I see why Ju-hyeok told us to look forward to it. How can a small agency produce this kind of quality?]
↳LOL, they really gritted their teeth and prepared for this. You can totally feel it.
↳Honestly, they had to go all out. They got a huge opportunity thanks to RED CUBE; they'd be fools to waste it. A business person can't afford to do that.
↳To be completely honest, I didn't have high expectations. Ju-hyeok said the CEO was a good person. But from what I've seen, nice bosses are bad at their jobs, and the competent ones are jerks... lol
↳So true. It's always the human garbage entertainment CEOs who are good at their jobs. It's so annoying.
↳Is this finally going to change the precedent?
[It's so great hearing news about the RED CUBE contestants one by one like this.]
↳Me too.
↳At this rate, they might end up taking over K-pop, who knows.
Kang Ju-hyeok's debut teaser was a success.
“Good for him.”
Seeing Kang Ju-hyeok get off to a successful start made me feel good.
In a way, he was a rival, but since our promotional periods wouldn't directly overlap, and because I genuinely wished him well, a smile naturally formed on my face.
‘It's actually better if he gets off to a good start. Thanks to the perception that anyone debuting from RED CUBE is talented, we'll benefit from it too.’
With that thought, I put my phone away.
“Yoon-seul. It's your turn now.”
Just then, the manager called for me.
When we first met, we used formal speech with each other, but as we've grown closer, the manager has gradually started speaking to us informally.
“Please have a seat over here.”
“Okay.”
Honestly, I really wanted to avoid excessive bleaching.
When I was promoting as part of GANGSTER-M's second lineup, I had platinum blonde hair once. The dyeing process took forever and was painful, and every time I washed my hair, clumps would fall out as if I were going bald.
‘That was truly awful.’
Plus, during promotions, we were too busy to go to the salon, so my hair color kept turning a weird shade, and I had to regularly use toning shampoo at home myself.
The period right after debut is the most hectic and busy, so all I could do was hope and pray for a low-maintenance hairstyle.
‘It's better to bleach your hair after you've been in the industry for a few years.’
“You haven't dyed your hair, right?”
The hair stylist asked, running their fingers through my hair.
“That's right.”
“Your hair is so light, it looks like it's been dyed. It's rare to see a natural color this light.”
“It's genetic. My mom has light hair, too. My older sister and I both take after her.”
“With your light eyes and fair skin, I think it suits you very well.”
“Thank you.”
The stylist gently gathered a section of my hair and began to contemplate.
“Sir. My scalp really stings...”
I whipped my head around at the sound of Haru's whimpering voice.
It looked like he was getting his hair bleached.
“You must have a sensitive scalp. But what can we do? You're supposed to go platinum blonde, Haru.”
“What?”
“We have to bleach it one more time. I'll apply more scalp protector for you.”
“Platinum blonde?”
Haru asked again, as if in disbelief.
“The company already decided on your hairstyle and let us know.”
Haru looked devastated at the stylist's words.
In that moment, I remembered that Haru's official character doll was a silver hamster.
‘The hamster doll was silver... So this was decided back then. Wait. What color was my doll?’
Thanks to my symbol being a golden retriever, my doll was light brown.
What a huge relief.
If it had been a white dog, I couldn't have ruled out the possibility of having to go platinum blonde.
‘At most, I'll have to bleach it once.’
I steeled myself, thinking I could endure that much for the fans.
“Your natural hair color already suits the concept well, and it would be a shame to change it, so let's not dye it.”
I was so happy I wanted to shout 'thank you' at the stylist, but I didn't let it show on the outside.
“Instead, I think a light perm would look nice.”
“Okay.”
And so, it was decided that I would get a perm.
“Let me know if you feel any discomfort.”
“I will.”
The stylist set a timer and briefly stepped away.
“Wow. I really can't take this anymore. Can I just step outside for a second?”
Haru said, fidgeting in his seat as if desperate for a breath of fresh air.
“What if someone takes a picture of you? Just chew on this and try to bear it.”
The manager handed Haru a coffee filled with ice.
“Okay, hyung.”
Haru crunched loudly on the ice, trying to forget the pain.
“If your hairstyles get revealed now, I'll get a serious earful from the department head and the team leader. So please. If you need anything, just call me. Got it? Don't go out yourselves.”
“Yes.”
There was a reason the manager was pleading with us like this.
Everyone in the group was from a so-called 'failed idol' background, so none of them had ever been properly managed before.
Because of that, if they were thirsty at a broadcast station, they would just go get water or buy a drink themselves, and if they were hungry, they would head to the convenience store without a second thought.
No one ever recognized them when they went out, and they were used to a life where waiting time was several times longer than filming time, so it never even occurred to them that they shouldn't do that.
All the other members, except for me, were like that.
‘Thankfully, I knew all too well that it was best not to leave the waiting room, since I had been popular, albeit briefly, early in my debut and had high name recognition for all the wrong reasons.’
“More than anything, it's for your own safety. When you go out, you must wear a mask and a hat and be aware of your surroundings.”
I felt like a kindergartener being lectured by a teacher.
It was a completely different feeling from the manager I had during my GANGSTER-M days.
‘He's saying the same things, but it feels so different.’
My former manager saw me as beneath him.
He was always trying to put me down, shouting and raising his arm at me.
He never actually hit me, but you couldn't say it wasn't violent.
‘It's a relief that I don't have to live like that anymore.’
The more I looked back, the more I realized there wasn't a single good memory from that time.
If standing on stage hadn't been my dream, I might never have looked toward this industry again.
“I just worry whenever I look at you guys. You know?”
“You scolded us on the first day, and we haven't done it since.”
Haru glanced at us, as if telling us to back him up.
“That's right.”
“We'll be sure to tell you everything, so don't worry.”
Park Ji-ham and I, having caught the signal, chimed in.
“You're good with your words, at least.”
The manager playfully scrunched up his face.
The members burst out laughing at that.
‘It's peaceful.’
I found myself hoping this peace and happiness would last for a long, long time.
Without the faintest idea of what was about to happen.