Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Debut Countdown (4)
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Music like the opening to some sci-fi movie, paired with footage straight out of a space documentary.
Over the drifting cosmos filled with countless stars, white subtitles appeared.
[Long ago, in this vast universe, there were seven planets that protected the peace of the solar system.]
At the same time, a close-up of the solar system.
Planets orbiting a brightly shining sun came into view.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Faint lights emanated from all the planets except Earth.
[The avatars born from those seven planets, the eternal masters of their worlds, EverPlanet.]
Then, starting from Mercury, each planet flashed by in quick succession.
Seven boys sat atop them in their own unique poses.
Their faces were close-upped in the passing frames, then pulled away again.
[The energy of the planets that birthed and raised them granted them immense power. Their mission was to protect the solar system using that power. And so, they always united their strengths to fight off the enemies of the universe.]
The grand BGM morphed into future trap laced with mechanical sounds.
The boys transformed into warriors in an instant, matching the shift in music.
With fierce gazes, they unleashed their special abilities against figures clad in pure white.
As they reached out, lightning poured from the sky, water and ice surged, flames roared. Winds howled, healing light shimmered, telekinesis activated, and the earth quaked.
A brief montage of battle scenes followed. In the end, their overwhelmed foes fled in haste.
[EverPlanet was strong. Thanks to them, the solar system remained at peace. It felt like that time of peace would last forever.]
At that moment, as they smiled watching the retreating enemies,
[Until that day.]
A massive burst of light, a white flash like a tidal wave, crashed over them.
The boys were swallowed by the blinding light and sucked into somewhere unknown.
The screen faded to white.
Over it floated a black planet emblem and the EverPlanet logo.
The one-minute teaser ended just like that.
'A bit iffy, huh...'
Having finished watching, she scratched her head at the vague unease.
It was definitely a pretty convoluted concept.
In one word, it sat right on the line between unique and cringey.
The CG screamed "budget production"... No groups had debuted with a concept like this before, probably.
She could kinda see why the forum reactions were like that.
'Still, the kids' visuals are solid overall?'
She dragged the playback bar to rewatch the close-ups of the members' faces.
Yep, not bad at all. Sure, screen lighting helped, but even accounting for that, they looked good.
Proving the point, the L-Tube comments were way more positive than the forum posts.
- Concept's kinda weird, but anyone know the name of the freezing guy?? Need it asap
└ That's Han Tae-hee, theater major from Seoyon University, famous for being hot. Thought he'd go actor but idol instead
└ Thx thx
- Wtf is this concept, they're gonna flop in no time lmao
└ Fr lmao, making this instead of bringing back Redby comeback... Woong-jae lost his touch?
└ Kinda harsh on kids who haven't even debuted yet;;
└ Hope you flop too
- Earthquake boy is cute lol, visuals aren't bad?? Concept's a bit over the top tho
└ Yeah, fix the concept right and they'd blow up, plus if Woong-jae's composing the song it'll be good
- Everyone hates the concept but I love it... Visuals are great too ㅠ EverPlanet debut diehard
└ 2222 it's better than I thought? Actually good
└ 333
- Lightning dude looks just like my doggo
└ PFP is your dog?
└ Yup
└ Fr identical
- Fire shooter mixed?? Vibe is intense ㄷㄷ
└ Looks like it
└ Looked it up, British-Korean halfie
└ Whoa epic
She shared their sentiments.
The concept was... yeah, but the kids were surprisingly appealing, drawing her in.
'Especially that one, total type for me.'
With her cat-like face obsession—always diving headfirst into fan-girling, earning her the nickname "robotic butler" from friends—the earthquake-causing guy was a fresh face right up her alley.
Brushing aside the odd concept, she started digging into the group from the teaser.
Pre-debut, there wasn't much leaked info, so she quickly gathered what was out there.
'Name's Lee Jae. Cute.'
After bingeing the members' official Flitter posts, she'd even joined the official cafe.
The fan cafe was still quiet, with low member count and few posts.
After leveling up, she browsed the sparse cafe and spotted a fresh recruitment notice.
They were gathering fans for audience seats at the pre-recording for their M-League debut stage soon.
'Weather's nice these days... Got nothing going on, maybe hit up an offline?'
Mid-summer or winter? She'd skip even for her faves.
Pre-rec auditions meant waiting outside forever; too hot or cold and you're drained before entry.
But June was perfect.
'If the real-life visuals click, might switch allegiances.'
Wonderland was taking leave soon for military anyway.
If they showed promise, worth digging in deep.
Claim a home-master spot from debut.
She posted her application comment, then pulled out her prized cannon camera, treated like a shrine relic.
The thought of running an offline event after so long already had her heart racing.
* * *
Two weeks after filming wrapped, snippets of our footage were edited into teasers and scattered across the web.
Proof that debut was right around the corner.
The moment I heard EverPlanet's official YouTube launched and the MV teaser dropped, I checked netizen reactions.
As expected, the unique concept split opinions hard.
'Still, seems like we've got some buzz going.'
Debuting as the labelmates of sound-chart dominator Redby, with an idol concept that goes all-in—either way, we were generating online chatter.
For a fresh idol group, buzz was king.
You gotta get your name out there first to even have a shot.
No recognition? No streams.
Noise marketing or not, etching our names in people's minds was step one.
From that angle, even mockery meant reactions—and that wasn't a bad launch.
'It'll get better bit by bit. We won't stick to this concept forever.'
...Right? Or are we sticking with it...?
Sudden anxiety hit, but I shoved it down.
I wasn't the only one checking reactions online. No one said it, but it showed.
They'd seen the hate. As debut loomed closer day by day, a few looked jittery.
If they're like this already, how'll they handle later?
Thought about telling them not to sweat it, but decided to watch first.
My words wouldn't sink in right now anyway.
Time passed, and debut eve arrived.
After final checks, we headed to a nearby meat joint at CEO Oh's call.
Dropping his name got us a private room.
Opening the door, there sat CEO Oh and Director Hwang at the floor table.
"Kids, you're here? Sit."
"Take a seat."
Debut eve summons from the company head Oh Woong-jae and number-two Director Hwang. Kinda heavy if you overthought it.
But that didn't matter to us now.
Because...
"CEO, you're treating us to premium beef?"
"Flower sirloin. Eat just enough not to puff up tomorrow."
"Whoa, love you, CEO Oh!"
"Love you!"
"Love me only when food's involved, you punks."
Flower sirloin awaited!
CEO Oh knew how to deliver.
Raked in copyright cash, huh. Knows when to splash. Trusted you, sir.
Plates arrived quick: vibrant red, marble perfection.
Whoa, looks delish.
Sizzle—the grill hit, beef aroma flooding my nose.
The scent had my mouth watering. Eat now.
Then CEO Oh flipped a piece himself.
"Alright, kids. Dig in. Idol life starts for real tomorrow. Fuel up right for killer activities."
"CEO...!"
"You thrive, the company thrives. Got it."
"We'll grind our bones to dust!"
Go Eun-young's shout cracked everyone up.
"Save the bones."
"Yeah, grind 'em and I'm in trouble."
Director Hwang and Manager Han piled on jokes, lightening the mood further.
As the meat neared done, CEO Oh filled glasses with soju.
"Toast before eating. No booze tomorrow with music shows, so water and soda. Glasses up."
"Yes."
Man, flower sirloin needs that soju chaser.
Sucks not drinking, but hungover debut stage? No way.
Han Tae-hee and I filled each other's soda glasses, then raised them.
All glasses up, CEO Oh cleared his throat.
"Some messy stuff happened, but we sorted it pre-debut. Now, just grind hard and make EverPlanet succeed. Got it?"
"Yes!"
"I'll back you all out—me, Director Hwang, Manager Han. So like Eun-young said, bone-grinding resolve. Let's crush it. To EverPlanet's success!"
"To success!"
Clink. Ten glasses collided at his toast.
Then we ate. A perfectly grilled flower sirloin slice melted in my mouth.
"Whoa, so good."
Pure bliss.
Topped with well-fermented kimchi? Honey.
This place nails beef.
[You've consumed truly delicious food. For 1 hour, stamina and passion recovery +20%.]
The inevitable alert popped up with the tasty meal.
Truly delicious? Weak phrasing, but no time to nitpick.
How long since beef? Flower sirloin at that.
Me, members—we grilled and scarfed like mad. Sirloin? No holding back.
Barely spoke, battle-mode eating, and it vanished quick. Sucks we couldn't pig out more face-bloat fears.
Post-meal, we thanked CEO Oh again leaving the shop.
"Thanks, CEO."
"CEO Oh, I'll earn cash later and get you a T-shirt. The BEST CEO ever."
Felt his wallet echo in 3D surround thinning out at checkout.
Still, beef boost had confidence surging. Nothing impossible.
Thanks, CEO. We'll grind for real. EverPlanet fighting. Protect the solar system. Azza azza.