Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: READY TO COMEBACK?(3)
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After finishing the title track recording with the revised lyrics, we moved right on to recording all the album tracks.
Among them, recording track 4, [Secrets Are Always Red (Red)], which I had personally contributed lyrics to, brought a fresh wave of emotion.
*So this is what it feels like to sing a song I wrote myself.*
For the first time, I was glad I’d gone through all that hardship learning producing from Kim Kwang-myeong.
With all the recordings wrapped up, including the members’, and the choreography mastered to the point where we could pull it off in our sleep.
Now, all that was left for us was the album jacket photoshoot and the music video shoot.
“Guys, the company wants us to each send a selfie. A pretty one.”
“A selfie? Why?”
“They said it’s for the album photocard. Jae, what’re you gonna wear?”
...Scratch that. There was one more thing.
It was the selfie shoot for the photocards.
Photocards are one of the inclusions you get when you buy an album.
They’re usually made from members’ selfies or the best shots from the jacket photoshoot, and each album comes with exactly one, randomly selected.
They said album sales skyrocketed after introducing photocards, which fueled fans’ collecting urges alongside fan sign event entries.
Anyway, what Park Su-rim was saying now was that we needed to take selfies for this super important purpose.
Got it. I understood. But there was one problem...
*I really suck at selfies.*
The fact that I was seriously bad at selfies—what people call a “selfie cripple.”
Memories started flooding back of family teasing me about it since forever.
I could take decent photos or videos of other people, but my own selfies always came out weird no matter what. They tell you to angle at 45 degrees—what the hell does that even mean?
Before I knew it, I was staring at the members, each gripping their phones and snapping away. That’s when Han Tae-hee, tilting her head because something wasn’t working, reached out to Go Eun-young.
“Give me your phone, Eun-young.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Photos are best on a Berry Phone. My camera’s just not cutting it.”
“Oh, yeah, true. Okay, I’ll snap mine quick first.”
“Cool.”
The others didn’t seem to have much trouble with selfies.
...Does it have to be a selfie?
The photo Eun-young took of me the other day... that one was pretty.
I desperately wanted to just ask Eun-young to take one for me.
“Jae, you not taking one?”
“Huh? Oh, uh... yeah. Gotta do it.”
But I couldn’t exactly be the only one slacking while everyone else was hard at work.
I finally picked up my phone and opened the camera.
Switching straight to selfie mode, “Ha Jae’s” clear face popped up on the screen.
I fiddled with the angle this way and that, snapping a few shots.
*Yeah, the results are trash, as expected.*
It was definitely Ha Jae’s face, but none of them looked like Ha Jae.
My nose looked ridiculously long, and my jaw was way too short by comparison...
Even switching filters in the camera app didn’t help.
If anything, this one made me look too sickly yellow...
*I should’ve practiced more.*
Karma from skimping on selfies was hitting me hard.
As I stood there totally stumped, someone suddenly poked their head over my shoulder. It was Kim Kwang-myeong.
“Got it done? Lemme see.”
“Nah, no way.”
“What? Now you’re hiding it, I wanna see even more.”
I hurriedly tried to hide the phone from him—or rather, the awful selfie on it.
But unfortunately, Kim Kwang-myeong was faster.
“Why? What’s the big deal?”
No idea how, but that guy must have some high agility stat.
Snatching the phone, he took one look at my selfie and burst out laughing.
“Pfft-hahaha! What the hell, how did you take a photo like this?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Lemme see.”
“No, don’t...!”
At his shout, everyone swarmed over like a pack of dogs to check out my fresh selfie.
My desperate yelp couldn’t stop them.
A brief silence followed. Like they were all speechless.
I squeezed my eyes shut. I knew exactly what was coming next.
And sure enough, soon enough, from their mouths...
“...Jae. Sorry, but I gotta laugh.”
“Pfft. Wow, hyung, this is brutal. What’s with the yellow filter? Heh...”
“Yeah. Jae, my dad doesn’t even take pics like this.”
“Jae, you’re the same age as CEO Oh? Hilarious!”
“Oh, Teddy. You know ‘same age’ too? Not bad.”
“Of course, Tae-hee hyung! I’m a Korean Master now.”
“...”
The laughter exploded.
In the midst of this massive laugh fest, a wave of embarrassment hit me, and I clamped my mouth shut, head down.
Then it hit me—unfair! So I suck at selfies sometimes, is that worth all this roasting?
I glared at them, eyes wide.
And these jerks just laughed even harder.
“Stop laughing.”
“Puhaha! Ehehe! Kekeke!”
“I said stop.”
“Uhahaha! Haha! I’m dying. Wohaha!”
“Hey, stop laughing already!”
If you ask nicely, they don’t listen!
In the end, I yelled out amid the laughter.
At least that had some effect.
Park Su-rim, clutching her stomach, went wide-eyed and gaped.
“Whoa. Jae’s mad.”
“Jae... got angry?”
“She’s got a temper deep down. Didn’t you know? That’s why we fought a lot back in the day.”
Was she trying to fight me now and forever?
I shot Kim Kwang-myeong an even sharper glare.
Then Teddy, looking guilty, sidled up and grabbed my hand with a super sorry face.
“Whoa, Jae. Don’t be mad. I’m sorry. You’re just so cute, that’s why.”
“Yeah, whatever. Everyone sucks at selfies sometimes. It’s fine.”
“If you’re upset, sorry, Jae. I just thought it was adorable.”
“Everyone except Teddy and Jae-oh hyung, get out of my sight.”
“Whoa. Why me? I said it’s okay?”
Go Eun-young pointed at herself, looking wronged.
I gave her a cold stare and replied flatly.
“I saw you laughing the loudest earlier. Louder than Kim Kwang-myeong.”
“Busted.”
Eun-young grinned sheepishly and scratched her head.
After giving her a quick glare, I spoke up sincerely.
“But... is it okay if someone else takes it for me?”
“Doesn’t seem like an issue?”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. If you think you can’t get a good one, want me to take it?”
“Yeah. Please.”
“Got it. Hold on.”
Eun-young grabbed her phone and stood next to me.
She held it up high in selfie mode, angling it around my face.
I’d thought she’d take it from afar. I froze for a sec.
“We’re doing it like this?”
“Yeah. Gotta make it feel like a selfie. Don’t worry, I’m good at this.”
True to her word, Eun-young held steady at one spot and held down the shutter for burst shots.
Then she showed me the results.
“How’s this? Good enough, right?”
“Oh. Nice?”
No exaggeration—it was really good.
It captured Ha Jae’s mirror-image self perfectly, all neat and tidy.
Plus, the filter was spot-on, giving it a bright, vibrant tone.
Eun-young definitely had a knack for photos.
“Cool, I’ll send mine and yours together.”
“Thanks, Eun-young.”
“But practice selfies a bit, hyung. We’ve got so many ahead where we’ll need ‘em.”
“...Yeah.”
“Want me to teach you? It’s not that hard.”
...Why do all my members wanna teach me stuff?
But fine. Learning more is always good.
I nodded.
“Yeah. How do I take good ones?”
“First, find the angle that suits your face best. Like when I took yours just now, about this distance...”
Eun-young sat beside me, held up the camera, and demonstrated.
I listened intently to her explanation.
*If I do that, I can take good selfies too.*
“Now try once more.”
“Got it.”
I took the phone back and tried again just like she said.
Way better than before... but still kinda awkward.
“Much improved from earlier. Now just practice a little whenever you’ve got time to get the feel. Skip weird poses. Stick to this vibe, keep at it, and the knack’ll come. Took me time too, y’know.”
“Got it. Thanks, Eun-young.”
“And that concludes Go Eun-young’s Selfie Masterclass. Fee... I’ll take an apple yogurt smoothie.”
“You little.”
“Hehe. Suddenly craving a drink.”
Eun-young scratched her head with a goofy grin.
How can you resist when she’s this cute? Guess I’m getting it...
I ruffled her hair and stood up.
“I’ll grab one. Wait here.”
“Whoa, for real? Sweet!”
Slipping on my jacket, I headed out of the practice room, thinking.
*Feels like I gained a cute little sis outta nowhere.*
* * *
With the photocard selfies sent off, now it was really just the album jacket and music video left.
Riding in the van driven by manager hyung to the MV shoot location, I thought.
*Once this is done, we’re fully prepped for comeback.*
Recordings were wrapped, choreography perfected enough for a music show stage tomorrow.
It really hit me—comeback was right around the corner.
*Gotta nail this shoot.*
I nodded to myself, determined.
The van finally pulled up to a high school.
“Guys, we’re here. Let’s go.”
“Whoa, we’re shooting here?”
“The school’s so pretty.”
The members couldn’t hide their awe at the view outside the window.
And for good reason—the school was gorgeous.
Layered gray brick walls, a central building like a castle, and green-sloped roofs.
Nothing like the schools I knew.
Han Tae-hee seemed to think the same, whistling as soon as we got out.
“The high schools I know don’t look like this. Aren’t they usually boxy?”
“Exactly. This is like a castle.”
“Kinda like in dramas.”
“Yeah, they must film a ton of dramas and movies here.”
Shooting an MV in a place like this.
They must’ve pulled some serious strings for the location.
That’s when a very familiar voice rang out from beyond the parking lot.
“Hello, everyone!”
Team Leader Ji was waiting for us.