Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: READY TO COMEBACK?(4)
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We hurried over to Team Leader Ji.
"Hello, Team Leader Ji."
"Team Leader Ji!"
Team Leader Ji adjusted his glasses, his face lighting up as he spoke.
"You guys arrived early! The director should be here soon."
"Is it the same director from last time?"
"Yes! We've got Director Lee Yun-hyuk again. Unless something comes up, he'll probably handle all our shoots from here on out. He's just that talented."
Sure enough, considering how he'd turned even that outlandish concept into something with decent visuals, the guy was the real deal.
"Alright, let's get you into wardrobe first, then straight to hair and makeup. This way!"
We followed Team Leader Ji to the waiting area.
Unlike last time's studio shoot, this was outdoors at a rented location, so everything was set up under a white tent.
We changed into our outfits first. Fitting for a school shoot, they were all uniforms.
"Wow, these uniforms are seriously pretty."
"Yeah. Nothing like the ones from my old high school."
I silently agreed with Han Tae-hee as I examined the clothes up close.
A navy blazer with gold accents on the buttons and edges, a white dress shirt, a red tie, and gray slacks.
'They even have name tags?'
Ours were custom-made, each jacket sporting a name tag in different colors for each member.
"Me, Jae-oh, and Su-rim have blue ones?"
"Mine and Jae's are green!"
"Ours are yellow."
"Looks like they're color-coded by grade."
It was a nod to how real schools often differentiate name tags by year.
"Being in the same grade as Jae-oh and Park Su-rim... This is gonna be fun."
"Tae-hee, we're friends, right?"
"Jae-oh. On the same level?"
"Yeah, Tae-hee. We're friends."
"Oh-ho. Look at these kids."
They were having a blast. I chuckled at the three goofing around and giggling. Kids gonna kid.
After changing, we each got our hair and makeup done by the stylists.
As I sat there savoring the gentle touches for a while, a cool autumn breeze brushed my cheek.
Thank goodness it was September. If it'd been summer or even early fall... it would've been brutal.
Just then, Sun-ah noona, who was blending foundation onto my face, grinned.
"Jae, you're gonna love this."
"Hm? Why?"
"No smoky eyes this time."
"...For real?"
"Yep. Going for something sheer and natural this round. Like it's barely there. You know the vibe?"
I couldn't stop my lips from curling up.
Honestly, that smoky makeup we'd stuck with from the last MV shoot through promotions had been torture.
Objectively, it clashed so hard with this face that I could barely stand looking in the mirror in the waiting room.
But it wasn't just me—it was the concept—so I'd swallowed it down like bitter medicine...
"Whoa, no smiling. How am I supposed to do makeup if you grin like that?"
"Ah, sorry."
"Jae's hyped."
"That obvious?"
"Totally."
What thrilled me most was that if we did light makeup like this in the MV, our future promos would likely follow suit.
Music show stages usually carried over the MV concept almost unchanged.
'The Sunlighters will love it.'
Our Sunlighters... didn't seem too keen on our heavy smoky looks either.
All in all, this second shoot was shaping up nicely.
* * *
Once we were prepped, we headed back to where Team Leader Ji was.
Way more gear had been set up since earlier.
Team Leader Ji, chatting with the director, spotted us and waved.
"Perfect timing—the stars have arrived. Over here!"
"Hello!"
"Great to see you again, Director Lee."
"Yeah, good to see you kids."
Director Lee Yun-hyuk looked much the same as a few months back.
He scanned us over and nodded approvingly.
"Ooh, yeah, Heme looks right like this. All fresh-faced high schoolers. Of course, last time the concept was so intense, no helping it."
"Right."
"We like this better too."
Director Lee burst out laughing at Go Eun-young's words.
"Love the honesty. Anyway, you seem ready, so let's dive in. Unlike last time, this one's got a bunch of scenes with extras."
"Extras?"
News to me. Team Leader Ji chimed in from the side.
"They're all waiting inside the school building right now. Today's outdoor shots are focused on you guys, so no extras there."
"Got it. So let's all stay sharp and minimize the NG's."
"Yes, sir!"
"Okay. Personal shots first. Leader, you're up..."
And with that, we kicked off the MV shoot proper.
We embodied the concepts we'd been briefed on ahead of time, acting out the assigned scenarios as the camera captured them.
While peeking at the other members' takes on the live monitor, I thought to myself.
'Feels like autumn youth.'
The scenes with leaves scattering in the wind nailed that vibe.
We spent time filming behind-the-scenes clips for the Planet Log that'd go up later with the members.
Finally, my turn came.
Checking the storyboard, the director called out to me as I stood in front of the camera.
"Let's see... Jae, wanna start with this prop here?"
"Sure."
He handed me a thick hardcover book titled *Celestials, Space, and the World*.
I took it.
"We're shooting you sitting under the tree reading. One leg bent up, the other stretched out. Rest the open book on the bent knee and read."
"Got it."
I sat under the tree as instructed, opening the book while recalling what Team Leader Ji had told me about my MV character.
*'Literary boy. The perfect model student, quietly reading and lost in daydreams. Lately, he's been feeling an odd disconnect whenever he looks at the stars, so he's diving into related books.'*
I loved books anyway, so playing this was easy.
Just do what I always did.
Not knowing that, the director seemed thrilled.
"Thought it last time too, but your acting's so natural."
"Ah, thank you."
"Next scene..."
Anyway, good is good, right?
The MV shoot spanned the whole weekend. With actual students at the school, they only got permission for Saturdays and Sundays.
We filmed classroom scenes inside with pre-hired extras, shots walking the halls, and fun evening/night scenes around the school grounds with the members.
The building was so pretty, every angle popped.
A few days later, after individual reshoots in the studio, the MV wrapped.
Around then, our comeback articles started dropping.
Seeing the Sunlighters explode online, I took a deep breath.
'Let's nail this comeback too.'
Time marched on, and finally, September 5th.
The comeback day that felt eternally distant during practice had arrived.
EverPlanet's first comeback.
* * *
A room with posters of seven guys plastered on the walls and a notebook scrawled with their seven signatures propped up like a shrine on the desk.
The room's owner, a teenage girl, sprawled on her bed, furiously surfing the net on her laptop.
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[Anon] 10 minutes till comeback...
Just 10 more minutes till my faves' comeback...
Shaking so bad I'm gonna die fml ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Teasers were so freaking pretty, expectations thru the roof...
If I die, EverPlanet did it...
Too pretty... RIP...
Comments (6)
- Same, waiting for MV drop fml nerves shot
└ 10 mins left hang in there ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
- Looks shot at a school, can't wait, they'll be so refreshing ㅠㅠㅠ But will it connect to debut concept?
└ Ugh love refreshing... Probably? Teasers had some CG superpowers sprinkled in
└ From space to school outta nowhere... wtf are they going for fml... My boys' ultimate weakness: their agency
└ Fair ㅠ
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The girl, chatting with other fans via her forum post, suddenly recalled EverPlanet's debut concept and their first MV.
*'At first, I thought the concept was over the top...'*
But the more she watched, the more addictive it got.
Even denying it, her body was honest—she'd looped that MV so many times, she'd admitted she was hooked.
*'Come to think of it, that last MV...'*
She remembered the members as guardians of the solar system's planets, battling white-clad soldiers with their unique powers.
It ended with a white flash as they all lost consciousness.
This new MV probably picked up from there, but swapping mysterious space for an everyday school... She couldn't guess what was coming.
*'Dying to know what it's about. Time, hurry up...'*
Eager, she kept glancing at the clock.
Thump, thump.
As midnight—the release time—approached, her heart pounded wildly.
When the clock struck twelve, she refreshed EverPlanet's official L-Tube channel.
A new video popped up.
[EverPlanet (EverPlanet) 'Bloom' MV]
"It's up!"
She let out a joyful shriek and clicked frantically.
After a brief load, the video page opened.
UJ Entertainment's intro played first—a black spaceship streaking across a white screen, scattering stars.
*So nerve-wracking.*
Then EverPlanet's second mini-album title track <Bloom> MV began.
The girl focused every ounce of attention on the unfolding footage.