Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Midnight Hug, It's EverPlanet (1)
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The moment our eyes met, Park Su-rim was the first to bow deeply toward him.
Typical leader—such polite behavior was ingrained in the guy.
"Hello, sunbaenim Bae Joo-yong!"
As he greeted, the other members followed suit, bowing in unison.
I joined in too. Half the battle's won with a good greeting.
He chuckled softly and waved his hand dismissively.
"Oh come on, you're all so formal. No need for that. I'm not some old-school Sunbae who nitpicks if you don't bow at ninety degrees."
Bae Joo-yong. He was the leader of X.Y.Z, a fourth-year group with a tough, intense concept.
Debuting from a mid-tier agency, X.Y.Z had built a solid fandom with their beastly idol image.
Maybe that's why—the leader himself had a sturdy, muscular build. He was pretty big too. About the same height as Lee Jae-oh, the former athlete standing at 190 cm. That said it all.
I'd heard somewhere that a big heart comes with a generous personality. Maybe there's truth to it.
Bae Joo-yong smiled kindly and patted Park Su-rim's shoulder lightly.
"Relax, just relax."
"Yes, got it!"
"Oh man, I said relax. And there's someone here Sunbae to me anyway."
He pointed at Go Eun-young with a hearty laugh.
Fair enough. Go Eun-young had appeared on *Your Vocals Have Grown* five years ago, so by debut Sunbaeity, she was the Sunbae.
I glanced subtly at Go Eun-young, curious about her reaction.
Because a few years from now, she'd crash and burn in a power-trip scandal, wielding her status like a weapon.
Maybe the yellow sprouts of that controversy were sprouting even now. And if so...
I'd have to stop it somehow.
But against my expectations, Go Eun-young's response was remarkably humble.
"Oh no, no. We should go by official debut years, sunbaenim."
I could've seen her saying, "Nice to meet you, junior," and it wouldn't have been weird.
Considering how she'd shown pride in her vocals and a subtle arrogance before...
Anyway, her humble reply softened the atmosphere even more.
Bae Joo-yong scanned us once over, then glanced at the script the writer had handed him and spoke up.
"Let's see... EverPlanet? Which agency?"
"Ah, UJ Entertainment."
"UJ? Oh, the one with PD Oh Woong-jae as CEO? So you're Redbi's juniors then?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I'm close with the Redbi guys. Our promotions overlapped a lot. This is great!"
His voice genuinely brimmed with delight as he said it.
Bae Joo-yong took a sip of his Americano and sat down.
He grabbed a pen from beside him, scribbled something on the script, and asked,
"By the way, everyone prepared a talent, right?"
"Yes. We got the heads-up in advance."
"Okay. What about the mid-show cover song?"
Mid-show cover song. Exactly what it sounded like—a cover of a famous song by another artist, slotted in around the middle of the broadcast.
Usually live, so it really showed off your skills.
And the company had decided this one in advance.
Since an X.Y.Z member was DJing, covering one of their songs made sense.
Go Eun-young, our vocal mainstay, answered Bae Joo-yong confidently.
"We're covering 'Promise' from sunbaenims' songs."
"Oh, really? Can't wait."
Bae Joo-yong winked, blinking one eye to show his excitement personally.
Just then, the PD, who had been talking with the writers, looked our way and said,
"We're about to start recording. Everyone, head into the studio please."
"Yes, PDnim. Oh, and usually this is live broadcast, but I've got an overseas concert next week so I have to fly out. Had to make it a pre-record. For rookies, pre-recording's easier anyway. Two birds, one stone. Alright, let's go in? No more standing around."
At Bae Joo-yong's urging, we stood and headed into the studio.
Opening the beige door, the studio inside was laid out like some company's executive meeting room.
Centered around the desk where DJ Bae Joo-yong sat were two long tables extending like wings on either side.
Of course, unlike a normal meeting room, it was packed with mics, cameras, computers, and gear.
As we entered, the maknae writer placed seven script copies on the seats and said,
"EverPlanet members, don't sit by age order—mix it up, please."
"Uh, mix it up?"
"Yes. Keeps the flow from getting monotonous."
Makes sense. Most variety shows go by age order too.
Probably a radio thing, adding some variety.
We mixed as instructed and sat. The scripts on the desks caught my eye.
I skimmed mine quickly.
It started with self-intros, outlined the show's flow, and had sample lines to reference.
*It won't follow the script exactly.*
Talk-heavy content always veered into unexpected directions mid-convo.
While staff prepped during the downtime, I pulled out my phone and logged into Plitter.
The magazine was out—time to check fan reactions.
Searching "XX0615 Ladies Closet EverPlanet" brought up a few.
[PrettyPlanet @Pretty_Planet0602
EverPlanet pictorial in XX0615 Ladies Closet
Burst into Han River-level tears when I saw it... Their visuals could conquer the world, no cap? Thought the planet concept was weird at first, but seeing the pictorial fit it perfectly—feels like Oh Woong-jae's big picture... Yeah kids, you're pretty, I love you (EverPlanet pictorial caps)]
[Han Tae-hee's One Time @HTHonlylove
Did y'all see Tae-hee's pictorial? She's a total idol now, fr. Tae-hee's beauty is insane—how was a god-look like this hiding til now... Doesn't make sense she's a fresh debutㅠ Who sprayed the holy water, thank you thank you, 500 deep bows~~ XX0615 Ladies Closet pictorial etched in my memory forever (Han Tae-hee pictorial cap)]
[Planet of EY @PlanetofEY
Go Eun-young pictorial in XX0615 Ladies Closet is perfㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Our kid's a singing genius and pictorial genius—how'd they nail it so hard~~! ㅠㅠ That growing-phase baby face snake... love it... Can't wait for her in a few yearsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Others came out super pretty too!! Got butterflies from Lee Jae-oh... Was gonna stan Eun-young only but might go all-fan lolㅋㅋㅋ ㅠㅠ]
[K-Pop Loving Linda @Linda_K_Pop
XX0615 Ladies Closet EverPlanet pictorial, interview
Hits deep as their first interview. Early debut days, no more teaser crumbs after scouring everything—sad. But this interview's packed with good info. Su-rim and Jae-oh especially speak so nicely. Wanna see the full EverPlanet 10 Commandments mentioned... Pictorial's too pretty, group shot's my wallpaper now. Gonna review this while waiting for Midnight Hug :)]
As expected, great pictorial reactions. They really shot it well.
Most visible responses were super positive—relief.
Then a staffer checked the mic and headset in front of me, nodded, and said,
"You're all good on mic and headset. First time on a visual radio recording?"
"Yes."
"Recording cameras are there in the center—see? Look that way for self-intros or talents. When drinking water, pull away from the mic as much as possible. Radio can stray from the script, but stay calm, improvise on the fly. Big flow stays mostly the same though."
"Got it."
After checking all seven members' gear, the PD called out that recording starts in one minute.
Whew. Kinda tense. I'd only ever listened to radio, never been on it.
And it wasn't just me—the others looked stiff too.
Bae Joo-yong whispered soothingly, like no worries.
"Not live, so don't stress. Relax, relax. Mess up? We redo it."
"Really?"
"Of course. That said, let's aim for one-take—stay sharp. If I go off-script, don't panic. Pretend you're chatting with a close bro, talk easy. Loosen up. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Final mic and headset checks done, the PD beyond the studio gave us the eye signal.
Recording really starting now.
"Alright, rolling in. High, cue!"
Red light lit on the ON-AIR button near the studio ceiling, and Midnight Hug's opening song melody flowed through the headphones.
The opening was X.Y.Z's hit 'Promise' with lyrics tweaked for the show.
X.Y.Z members had recorded it special for Midnight Hug.
- Baby, promise me right here
To share midnight hugs with me
Whatever you want, whatever you wish for
I'll make it all come true, oh
Opening ended, Bae Joo-yong nailed the timing on his opening remarks.
Nearly a year as DJ showed—no lie, super pro.
"Another night, at the edge of it all—X.Y.Z's Midnight Hug, for you. Hello, your midnight host Joo-yong here. Hope you're wrapping up your night nicely, folks? I'm having a blast tonight, thanks to these friends I just met. Fresh debut but overflowing charm and skills—this sparkling seven boys keep it anything but dull. Let's introduce today's guests sharing the Midnight Hug with us. Hot new rookie group—EverPlanet. Hello!"
"Hello!"
"Hello there."
Following Bae Joo-yong's intro, all members greeted into their mics.
Applause effect sound blended in naturally.
"Yes, our EverPlanet friends. Welcome. Group greeting ready?"
"Yes, we have one!"
"Give the Midnight Hug listeners a cool one."
"Yes, right away. One, two."
On Park Su-rim's cue, we shouted our group greeting in unison.
"Turn Around! Hello, it's EverPlanet."
Visual radio, so we struck intro poses for the camera too.
After the booming group greet, Bae Joo-yong clapped and continued.
"Wow, sharp and cool. Group greetings these days are on point. Ours back at debut? We'd die of embarrassment, wanted to hide. Anyway... Mind if we go around with quick self-intros? Starting here."
Bae Joo-yong pointed at the table across from me.
Han Tae-hee, closest to him, looked at the camera with a bright smile and began her self-intro.