Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Debut Countdown (3)
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Day by day, time slipped by, and our debut preparations picked up even more speed.
We wrapped up recording all the tracks, and the choreography practice hit its final stages.
By now, we could nail the dance even if someone woke us up in the middle of the night.
Once we reached that point, we finally dove into music video filming.
We piled into the van at the crack of dawn, heading to the set.
The members were buzzing with excitement.
"I've never been to a set before."
"Me neither, Tae-hee hyung."
"I looked up Blue Black sunbaes' on L-Tube, and it was no joke."
"What about ours,Jae-ohhyung? Think they made it super cool like outer space? That's our concept, right?"
"Like Galaxy Wars?"
"Galaxy Wars? As if our company has that kind of budget. It's probably just some half-assed planet models or whatever."
"Kwang-myeong, you're too negative."
"You're too positive, hyung."
"Anyway, I hope it's something epic. Right?"
We drove for a good while before arriving at the set.
But something was off about the place.
"Whoa, are sets usually this... green?"
Aside from the lights, cameras, and white floor, the entire set was bathed in green.
Green screen, chroma key. They were filming against that green background and layering CG on top to finish the MV, it seemed.
"They said the background's all CG."
"Oh... CG..."
"I was kinda looking forward to it..."
"Epic props..."
"...That's why I told you not to get your hopes up."
The guys were visibly disappointed.
Even Kim Kwang-myeong, who'd been talking smack, looked like he'd secretly hoped for more—he couldn't hide his letdown.
Kids, through and through.
"Guys, let's get changed and do makeup."
"Yes..."
Disappointed or not, work was work.
We followed the stylist to the waiting room.
When I got my outfit, I froze inside.
'We're filming the MV in this?'
Yeah, I knew our concept was incarnations of planets guarding the solar system.
So, naturally, the costumes matched that.
But this thing in my hands? Hard to swallow.
'No way... even for a Saturn guy.'
A shirt with thin black, yellow, and ochre lines mimicking Saturn's stripes and rings, white pants slashed in multiple spots like they'd been hacked up, and a black jacket dangling with pockets too awkwardly sized to hold anything.
It screamed "Saturn concept!" from head to toe.
'There's a person behind the concept.'
Definite black history material for fans down the line.
Knowing full well and still racking it up made my vision go dark.
But what could I do? Had to wear it.
I swallowed my tears, got dressed, sat down, and let them do my makeup.
An hour later, hair and makeup done.
I glanced in the mirror and squeezed my eyes shut.
'Oh man, this is...'
This face with this hair and smoky makeup?
The front bangs shooting up like flames, heavy eyeliner, and black-and-yellow eyeshadow mimicking Saturn's hues—it was tear-inducing.
But no crying.
Crying would ruin the makeup.
I swallowed my unspeakable feelings and looked at the others.
"Is this eye makeup right?"
"Probably. Blue Black sunbaes did a ton of it too."
"We haven't even debuted, and you're calling them sunbaes already?"
"Gotta practice now. I heard even Beethoven's a sunbae."
"Whoa, for real?"
Kim Kwang-myeong, in his self-glowing gold-foil shirt as Venus, grumbled like he hated it.
Lee Jae-o, in emerald shirt as Uranus, just seemed resigned.
They didn't look half bad, those two.
"Eun-young, it suits you pretty well."
"Oh, Go Eun-young. Smoky panda eyes or what?"
"Yeah. It looks good on Su-rim hyung and Tae-hee hyung too."
The others pulled it off okay too.
Han Tae-hee? That visual would shine even in a burlap sack. Park Su-rim, Teddy, and Go Eun-young had strong features, so the bold colors and heavy makeup worked overall.
Then Han Tae-hee nodded and shifted his gaze to me.
"I'm whatever. But Jae..."
"Hmm..."
"...Haha, hey! Looks good! It's fine, Jae!"
"Jae, you panda?"
"Shut it if you're not."
Guess I drew the short straw on concept victim. Damn.
* * *
Dressed and made up, we headed back to the green set.
As we entered, Manager Hwang was chatting with a guy.
"Oh, the kids are here. Introduce yourselves. This is director Yoon Hyuk, who's shooting our MV."
"Hi, nice to meet you."
"Hello."
We bowed.
He waved casually—like he'd done this a million times—and fiddled with the camera.
"Alright, we'll start with individual shots, then group ones. It's chroma key anyway, so not much to shoot. After that, change outfits and do individual photoshoot. Sound good?"
"Yes, director. Please take care of us."
Manager Hwang bowed and stepped back.
Filming was the director's domain—he wasn't getting involved.
The director eyed us over and said,
"First time shooting an MV?"
"Yes."
"Chroma key makes it extra awkward, but just act to my cues as best you can. You all know the concept?"
"Yes. Guarding the solar system..."
Park Su-rim trailed off, and the director nodded knowingly.
"Tough concept to pull off. But hey, gotta do it to make money. Strong concepts stick in people's minds."
"Yes..."
"Anyway, I hear you've studied your characters, so immerse yourselves. That's how it turns out good. Got it? Leader first. Who's the leader?"
"Me."
"Alright, you then. See the X on the white floor? Stand there."
Park Su-rim stepped to the center, face tense.
Individual shots began.
The rest of us sat quietly in the back chairs, watching.
Couldn't mess up hair or makeup.
"Su-rim hyung looks nervous."
"Yeah. Super obvious."
"Whoa, lightning pose? Epic."
"We gotta do that too?"
"Probably."
Time passed, and we knocked out individual shots one by one.
While waiting for mine, scrolling Fleets or whatever, a small camera approached.
What? I turned to it.
The staffer holding it whispered,
"Behind-the-scenes vid going up later. Just chat naturally."
Ah, MV behind footage.
Fans love peeking behind the curtain.
That's why they film on-set stuff ahead and edit it up.
I smiled lightly at the camera.
"Hey, it's Jae. We're here shooting the MV.Jae-ohhyung's doing his solo shots right now."
"Yo, Jae. Whatcha doing?"
Teddy popped up behind me.
Perfect timing. I grabbed him and hit interview mode.
"My buddy Teddy's here. Teddy, first MV shoot—thoughts?"
"Hmm, nice. Wonderful. But green screen sucks."
"CG'll make it cool later."
"Still sucks now."
"Right."
Classic Teddy—brutal honesty.
"Cool. Say something to fans seeing us for the first time. Right to the camera."
"English okay?"
"Sure."
"Hi, I'm Teddy from EverPlanet. I'm so looking forward to meet you guys..."
Damn, accent's killer.
I stuck out my tongue at that native British English.
After his greeting, Teddy grinned and slung an arm around me.
"Jae, your turn!"
"Uh... okay."
What to say?
I mulled it over, gathered my thoughts, and spoke.
"Not long now till we meet you all. My heart's already racing. We're practicing hard to show you our perfect selves. EverPlanet, guarding your side—we'll blast off soon. Just wait a bit."
Came off super corporate.
Should I ask them to edit it? As I pondered, Teddy waved at the camera.
"Thanks, bye!"
"Yes, perfect."
The staffer, satisfied, moved on.
Then—ding! A familiar chime, and a notification popped up.
[Conducted an interview that captured fans' hearts. Charm +1]
Oh, did I nail it?
Scratch the edit request.
Smug little smile creeping up when the director called,
"Next, number four!"
My turn.
"Nail it, Jae."
"Yeah."
I patted Teddy's "Fighting!" shoulder and headed center stage.
Stylists swarmed, tweaking outfit, hair, makeup, then backed off.
Suddenly, every light, camera, and staffer zeroed in on me.
'Whoa, nerves kicking in.'
Thought I had no stage fright, but this? Tense.
The director waved like no biggie.
"First time's nerve-wracking?"
"Yeah, kinda."
"It's nothing—don't stress. How you gonna handle live broadcasts later?"
Fair point.
Live streams are coming eventually. Gotta get used to it.
Deep breath, okay sign.
"Alright, shooting. Like building a wall from the ground—like this!"
"Yes."
"High, cue!"
My role: Saturn's incarnation, guardian of the solar system, wielding earth powers borrowed from Saturn's energy.
Cold exterior, but warmest, most merciful inside among members.
Director called for poses and acting to match.
"Good, like that. Head down more—yes! Now hug knees, look skyward—yes, that pose."
Weird as hell... but I did as told.
Green screen didn't help immersion.
[Passive skill 'Performance' level up to Beginner 5. Adds flair to your performances.]
Leveled up Performance mid-shoot.
Unexpected bonus.
Everything I do levels me up, huh.
Duh.
"Okay, good. Damn, you take to the camera well. Solid acting too. First time? Feels experienced. Anyway, good work. Next!"
"Thanks."
Others followed.
Teddy—who'd been smooth on behind cam—tensed up and fumbled a bit, slowing things, but overall smooth.
Filmed various group scenes, dance routines.
Repeated the same dance from every angle.
Changed to sleek black-and-white suits for more solos, then wrapped.
Entered at dawn; now sky was dimming.
Exhausted, we boarded the van. Manager hyung said,
"Hurry and eat dinner. You must be starving."
"Yes..."
MV shoot: success.
We'd see the green-set results about two weeks later.
* * *
Boring late-spring holiday.
With her fave idol group Wonderland on hiatus after peak hype, fan Homma had nothing to do. Bored face, clicking mouse.
'Photobook sold out—nothing left.'
Killing time L-Tube surfing for tunes, browsing communities, she spotted an entertainment post.
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[Entertainment] Boy group debuting in June—MV teaser.mp4
Caught this L-Tube surfing—mind blown ㅠㅠ
Watch and judge
(Video)
I couldn't finish—total shock
Where does K-pop go from here?
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Bare post besides L-Tube link, but comments were popping.
- This Red B junior group? Concept epic fail
└ Fr like shooting Galaxy Wars
└ If you're doing it, do it right—CG trash, too fake
- Uh, this is a bit...
- Otaku vibes...
- Am I the only one dying?? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Go Eun-young telekinesis—lost it so funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Idol concepts hit the limit now lol
- Woong-jae snap out of it—stop anime... seriously what is this with normal kids, not Sailor Warriors
└ Sailor Warriooooors ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Omg now I see ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
What warranted this?
Curious, she clicked the vid: 'EverPlanet (에버플래닛) 'BLAST OFF' MV teaser'.
Epic BGM swelled, stars-filled cosmos flowing across the screen.