Chapter 89
Chapter 89
Mary's rookie group, OWR, was a true new wave.
The album received rave reviews from critics, who called it the year's best album including both the title track and b-sides.
They stood on stage barefoot, mint-colored ribbons tied around their ankles, leaving K-pop fans bewildered yet intrigued and successfully making a powerful impression.
Their first-place encore live, which proved they hadn't only focused on visuals, had already reached 2 million views.
And so... despite the fierce lineup, OWR signaled a complete generational shift with just their first album.
Then came September.
Even after OWR wrapped up promotions, the syndrome they created persisted, while the fervor <MAKE100%> had stirred up had somewhat cooled.
Drawing considerable attention.......
Giddeun made their comeback.
"Can I watch this?"
I asked Baek Gyeonwoo, the tablet already displaying Giddeun's music video thumbnail.
Baek Gyeonwoo answered while eating a waffle at the kitchen table.
"Watch it if you want."
His expression was perfectly indifferent, no attempt to hide anything.
It didn't seem like the kind of bad blood where just hearing someone's voice made your blood boil.
Kim Yuri used to plug her ears every time she heard an OWR song.
"Giddeun? Why are you watching that?"
Freshly showered, Han Neuti plopped down next to me and asked.
I scooted over to make room for him and answered.
"They're competitors. We should do reconnaissance."
"Ah, yeah, I guess so."
Han Neuti agreed with an uncomfortable expression, unable to reveal his true feelings.
It was obvious what he was thinking.
'He must think they're not really a level worth being wary of.'
The fact that Giddeun's achievements were unremarkable... wasn't dismissive, but an objective assessment.
Still, no matter what, they were from a major agency, weren't they?
Maybe back in the day, success or failure was decided within a year of debut, but these days, you truly never knew when a group might blow up.
An agency as large as Youth wouldn't disband a team just because their numbers weren't good, so they'd likely push even harder to promote them.
So we couldn't let our guard down.
'I also want to avoid overlapping concepts with a major agency.'
I waited for Han Neuti to settle in, then finally pressed play.
"......."
And I finished watching it.
My review was as follows.
'They really went all out.'
Eastern-inspired concepts had always been grand in scale. Low-budget ones looked shabby, after all.
Giddeun, who had made the Eastern concept their signature, had boasted flashy performances since debut. So much so that they filled the stage with backup dancers at every music show.
The unfortunate part was that the response had been lukewarm despite that.......
'As expected of a major agency.'
You'd think they'd pivot if the response was that poor, but it felt like they had only upgraded while maintaining their unique Eastern concept.
Originally, Giddeun stuck solely to hanbok within the Eastern framework.
But in this comeback, they combined modern outfits with traditional patterns and embroidery, preserving the Eastern concept while diversifying the designs.
Eight different costumes appeared in this one music video alone.
'This is practically a declaration of intent.'
The signature move, where they covered their faces with their palms and slowly revealed them, appealing purely to visuals, was also quite decent.
'And.......'
There was one thing I realized anew.
"Gyeon-woo."
"What."
"Make a gesture like this, like this."
This was why Kim Yuri had asked me that question after watching OWR's teaser.
Whenever the music video cut changed, I found myself imagining what it would have been like if Baek Gyeonwoo had been in this group.
"......."
"Never mind if you can't be bothered."
I had asked him to do it because, no matter how I looked at it, the choreography seemed to suit Baek Gyeonwoo better than Giddeun, but he looked busy, so I decided not to pester him.
'No matter how I look at it, it feels like they had Baek Gyeonwoo in mind.'
Especially this rap part.......
It would have been a perfect fit if Baek Gyeonwoo had taken it, but right now, it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Why did they reach for unnecessary greed without even having a proper rapper?
Well, anyway, Giddeun's comeback was good news for us as well.
Why?
'We can finally announce Baek Gyeonwoo's recruitment.'
The plan was to release articles about Baek Gyeonwoo joining as soon as Giddeun's promotions ended.
Hiding him away like a hidden card and then revealing him as a surprise at debut... wouldn't that be cruel to Baek Gyeonwoo's fans?
Honestly, it was also uncertain whether interest in Baek Gyeonwoo would even remain by then.
Rather than that, I judged it right to let the fans, who were surely exhausted from the endless waiting, know the new news and make them boil over once more.
And our hidden cards... were already outstanding anyway.
I turned off the tablet and offered genuinely well-wishing words.
"Hope they wrap up their promotions well."
* * *
An idol community, sometime in October.
[Congratulations on Giddeun's first ever music show win!!!!]
Career high with a comeback album after almost a whole year♥
So proud of our Giddeunies, sob sobㅠㅠㅠ
Comments
—I'm a fan of another group, but this song is legit a masterpiece, congrats on 1st place congrats congrats!!
—Let's keep doing even better from now onㅠㅠㅠㅠ
—Empty house robbers...
└You think just anyone can pull off an empty house robbery?
—If Baek Gyeonwoo had joined, they would've literally stepped foot at the entrance of Tier 1, what a pity
└LOL our kids are enough, what's this about Baek Gyeonwoo
└Ah, these guys are seriously clueless...
As Giddeun wrapped up their historically successful activities, the music industry had literally become an empty house, leading to a collective monologue filling the forums.
[Watching Neuti and Cha-gyeom's vlog, it's noticeable how they're getting closer]
[How far along is Mebaek's derivative debut]
[Haejun and Cha-gyeom were actually close, looks like lololol]
[Newly added Han Neuti Rei theory just when you're about to forget.ssul (new!)]
[Yoon Haejun is truly a legendary idol]
[Wonseok Ji Seungho, wake up. If you like women that much, please just leave the group]
[I still imagine it, the parallel universe where Yoon Haejun and Seo Cha-gyeom debuted together owr...]
[What's the reason OWR is spelled owr and not OWR]
[Kim Harok, my mom's ultimate bias, but the son might just become my ultimate biasㅠ]
And amidst this monologue, there was one legion emanating an intensely bitter aura.
[Gyeon-woo, what are you doing, are you doing well?]
Please, just open an Inheart account at least...
If you're alive, just say you're alive, pleaseㅠㅠ
Comments
—Isn't he going to appear on a dating show later?
└You bastard
The fans who had nervously awaited Giddeun's comeback and confirmed Baek Gyeonwoo's absence were deeply disappointed.
Because it had been confirmed, once and for all, that Baek Gyeonwoo had left Youth.
However, for the fans of Baek Gyeonwoo who remained until this point, that wasn't a concern that exceeded their disappointment.
What did the company matter when they didn't even know if he was dead or alive?
Drying up from the complete lack of any news, they eventually resorted to relying on sasaeng intel.
[I asked if Baek Gyeonwoo going to Sorasum was real]
Seeing how the sasaengs all unanimously say it's true, it seems like it's legit, but why the hell is there no article...ㅠ
In Sorasum's vlogs, only Han Neuti and Seo Cha-gyeom appear, and Baek Gyeonwoo isn't mentioned even once... If Baek Gyeonwoo being at Sorasum is real, why are they only storing Baek Gyeonwoo awayㅠㅠ
Sigh, honestly... at first I didn't want to believe he left Youth for a broke-ass agency, but now just please... I wish some kind of official news would surface, as long as it's not a permanent hiatus into being a civilian...
Comments
—Pat pat...
—Gyeon-woo went to an actor agency, I also saw him at a web drama audition
—It's Sorasum, a sighting photo even surfaced, so what's the reason you still can't believe it
└Didn't they say that photo wasn't Baek Gyeonwoo? They said it's just someone who looks like himㅠ
And then.
[Baek Gyeonwoo's letter is up]
Finally, an update on Baek Gyeonwoo was revealed.
More surprising than the revival of an ultimate bias they thought was dead.......
[Wait, so the Airplane Duo reunion is real???]
Was the fact that the update came from Sorasum's official channel.
[I thought only the fans were tenacious, but the guy himself is also tenacious with this combination...]
[Chateebaek, insane hahahahahahahahahaha]
[Where can I buy Sorasum stocks]
[Member lineup is legendary but the company is dogshit broke vs a god-tier major agency but the members are dogshit ugly, which option are you picking?]
[Just how many weaknesses does Sorasum have on these kids?]
[Are you watching, I will never lose the Airplane Duo again now, RIP Lee Wiyeon]
Baek Gyeonwoo joining Sorasum was a fact most had gradually pieced together and sensed thanks to the sasaengs, but it becoming official was another matter entirely.
The forum was instantly plastered with posts about Sorasum. Enough to sweep away the ambitious comeback article of some Tier 2 idol group without a trace.
The 'Chateebaek Vlog' uploaded shortly after Baek Gyeonwoo's letter was posted easily surpassed the in-house content view counts of currently active idols and even hit the trending video charts.
The vlog was simply them asking and answering about each other's recent situations and stating they would continue to devote themselves to debut preparations, truly nothing special.......
[Is it even possible for these three to be on the same team?]
[Watching the Chateebaek vlog and I literally can't stop taking screenshotsㅠㅠㅠ]
[Why is their banter so funnyㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋ Looks like they've already gotten close]
[No... what... these aren't the same tight-lipped kids I saw on Mebaek...]
[Wow, honestly I was getting so tired of waiting lately but now I'm completely healed]
[Just looking, it seems like Cha-gyeom is the leader lololol]
[Tried blending the average face of Chateebaek]
Handsomeness itself was the finest content.
Just looking at their faces generated endless things to talk about, so pure fangirling and fanboying alone produced 24 hours' worth of content.
Additionally, the company interior, which served as the vlog's background, also became a small topic of conversation.
[Does Sorasum have two practice rooms? This and this have different backgrounds]
[Seems like everywhere the kids filmed the vlog is inside the company, and it's clean and decent!!]
[Maybe cause I had zero expectations...;;; unexpectedly Sorasum doesn't give off broke company vibes]
The recently completed and tidy ground-level practice room and the pleasant meeting room alleviated the fans' anxiety to some degree.
But as with all things... there wasn't only positive feedback.
[It's good but... still, it compares to the majorsㅠ]
[No but how did the Airplane Duo both end up leaving Mary and Youth for Sorasum...]
[Honestly, maybe because Han Neuti started out at a broke agency from the beginning, unlike the other two, he fits the underdog vibe well (not a hate comment)]
[Gyeon-woo, I'm sorry. I think what I liked was "Youth trainee Baek Gyeonwoo"]
[Baek Gyeonwoo's life was ruined by the Airplane Duo fans, yeah yeah. Someone at his level could have definitely gone to a better company]
[Guess Youth booted him? LOL, well, how could they carry a kid stained with the rigging image]
The reactions mainly stemmed from antipathy toward the fact that Baek Gyeonwoo's agency had been downgraded from a major to a mid-tier company.
Seo Cha-gyeom's and Han Neuti's fans had already reached a consensus: 'We can't undo it anyway, so let's stop bashing our Sorasum and just support them.'
To them, this public sentiment was far from welcome.
—Ah, those fans. I've utterly hated their extreme behavior since the spinoff, and now they've followed all the way here. Wow, this bad blood is seriously tiresome
—Aren't three survival show originals too many??? When Mebaek's public perception is already in the gutter... It's not a used marketplace, just how many are they picking up?
—It was more fun back when the Kkam-gyeom fans were just delusionally fantasizing about the debut concept among themselves...
—Fuck, I had a dream last night that I was being chased by an airplane, it felt so shitty
—That pathological lying thing about Mr. Baek, is that for real and that's why Youth kicked him out? Hmm???
And so, the fans waiting for Sorasum were increasingly dividing into camps of anticipation, excitement, anxiety, containment, and so on.
Then one day.......
An unexpected figure appeared to lend strength to the 'anticipation' side.
"Haejun-ssi, you look bright? What kind of question is it, to make you react like that?"
A random question corner on a live radio broadcast.
At the DJ's question, Yoon Haejun smiled bashfully and read the question that had appeared on the monitor.
"9245-nim sent in, 'I heard you're close with Cha-gyeom, do you still keep in touch these days? If your promotions overlap, please make sure to film a challenge dance together.'"
The company advised refraining from mentioning other groups as much as possible.
Instead of following the advice, Yoon Haejun rolled his eyes as if he'd made a mistake, seeking the manager's permission outside the booth.
Then he answered in a deliberately glum voice.
"Cha-gyeom is busy preparing for debut, so. We haven't been in touch for a while."
"Ah, Cha-gyeom-ssi is preparing for debut! Then could it be... when roughly?"
"Oh, that's... I'm sorry......."
"Oh dear, I was just joking. It's hard to tease rookies. Ahem, I am really, really looking forward to Cha-gyeom-ssi. But we'll be able to see him soon, right?"
"Yes, I'm looking forward to that day too."
And he added.
"Cha-gyeom... will become the best idol, after all."