Chapter 95
Chapter 95
Even after the video ended and 'Watch Again' appeared on the screen, Hyelin remained dazed for a while.
A chaotic flood of information churned in his head, making it feel like his brain was on fire.
"Hup!"
A moment later, Hyelin slapped both cheeks to snap himself out of it.
His heart was racing like crazy, and his fingertips tingled.
As if possessed, he clicked 'Watch Again'.
And then one more time. Once more after that.
Only after watching the video three times in a row did it finally occur to him to check the comments.
Hyelin habitually dragged the NeoTube window to shrink it into a smaller screen.
And only then did he realize that he was already on 'HAZERD's official channel.
'Oh, since when?'
Upon checking, it seemed that the moment he clicked the final option 'Keep Going', the teaser had linked and auto-routed him into this channel.
'They set up a surprise like this.'
Given that idol fans would never watch their favorite group's video on a small screen, the plan had worked perfectly.
'......Damn, they're meticulous for what they are.'
Like someone who just witnessed their babbling nephew suddenly recite a calculus formula, Hyelin was briefly dumbfounded.
Then, in the expanded info pane, he spotted the Korean spelling of the group name.
'Ah, so it's read as HAZERD.'
Hyelin smirked at himself, recalling how just moments ago he'd been mentally pronouncing it 'he-i-jeu-reu-deu'.
Since DEAD END had been such an atrocity, HAZERD felt quite decent.
It still looked rather ominous, but... well, the spelling was different from 'HAZARD', which meant 'danger', so there was probably some other positive meaning the company had baked into it.
Nodding, Hyelin belatedly checked the comment section.
Comments
—This is insane seriously T_T T_T Congrats on your debut, guys T_T T_T
—Wow I'm crying, after waiting 2 years we finally get to see you
—Cha-gyeom, I missed you
Since this was the official channel, the atmosphere was all overflowing emotion with no malicious comments or aggressive reactions.
Of course, this was much nicer to see, but in this moment alone... he wanted to see reactions that were a bit more raw.
Hyelin opened the Wit app.
And the second he checked the real-time trends, his jaw dropped.
[1 Happy New Year]
[2 Seo Cha-gyeom finally]
[3 Crazy bastards]
[5 #HAZERD]
[6 Chateebaek]
[9 HAZERD]
Sorasum had completely seized the real-time trending board.
Hyelin's timeline was likewise blanketed entirely with Sorasum talk, and no matter how far he scrolled, there was no end in sight.
'Where did they all come from?'
Even on Seo Cha-gyeom's birthday it was only the same old faces!!!
Feeling a brief pang of betrayal, Hyelin started tapping the keywords one by one to survey the real-time reactions.
The reactions fell into several categories.
The first, of course, was admiration for the revealed members' visuals and the completed lineup.
—Wow Seo Cha-gyeom is still so handsome... Finally I can freely enjoy this face without any toxic comments
—Our stray cat, when did you get all respectable? You can be independent now
—Gyeonwoo-yaaaaaa T_T
—Wait what's their average height? Gyeonwoo is 180 but everyone else looks taller than him except the one sitting. No wait, hold on, looking again the one sitting is *that* guy, the 'It's okay' guy, waht the hell is this asdfghjkl
—Just Chateebaek alone is crazy, and the rest of the lineup is the Wall-Wall Guy, Kim Ha-rok's son, the 'It's okay' guy? Spin the top right now...
The second was a field of analysis rife with every kind of speculation.
[Sorasum's aggro is insane lol]
I was in denial up to the part where they plugged in the charger and it showed 0%, but I held in my laugh when it stopped at 96% and the train flipped over (explaining in case anyone didn't catch it: I think 96% is mocking how Seo Cha-gyeom could only reach 4th because of the blind rule)
[A photo that gives you chills once you realize the train is a metaphor for Mebaek]
(Teaser screenshot_Train interior.jpg)
(Teaser screenshot_Paint flowing from train.jpg)
(<MAKE100%> logo motion.gif)
Look at the last image lol. White text filling up with red, blue, yellow colors... And the paint flowing from the train is also red-blue-yellow... chills
[The color contrast between the inside and outside of the train, I think]
Usually colorful means positive and black-and-white negative, but here it seems reversed
Maybe in the teaser, color = the image Mebaek fabricated?
The way the paint on the sneakers fades as they walk right after stepping out of the train, and completely disappears when they walk into the mist—I think that means they'll start anew, unbound from Mebaek, as if from the very beginning
[Ah, I figured out why the group name isn't HAZARD]
It's short for HAZE ROAD
The fact they keep showing mist fits too
Is mist maybe their concept?
The third was praise for Sorasum's unexpectedly decent planning skills.
—Where did Sorasum dig up the money? Investigate this
—They nailed the liminal space feel inside the train
—The teaser's great, but the pixel art is real aesthetic genius. Feels like the company has one skilled person
—The BGM sense is killer... I was already impressed by how it naturally transitions from arcade game music into weirdcore vibes, and then the teaser song overwhelmed me with a rock sound, damn
—Do agencies usually put this much effort into revealing a group name? I'm seriously so curious to see what the MV will be like
Of course, there were negative reactions, too.
—I can already see the future where they turn into that flop... Actively blocking muggle influx
—I expected this since the article about Gyeonwoo going to that doomed island came out, and just as I thought, he's getting scraps. The Seo Cha-gyeom one-tool is way too severe ha... lol
—What are those dickless bastards acting up for? Are they saying they won't go on QTen?
—Like, we know they're playing victim, but honestly it looks cheap,
Most were predictable types.
People still pinning the end of <MAKE100%> on Sorasum, and the wraiths denying reality and demanding the return of the pre-selected picks who 'should have debuted normally'. Chateebaek's solo stans formed through the survival show.
And to top it off, check-kiting from other rising idol fandoms, their edges sharpened by the surprisingly high buzz.
'That kind of thing can't be helped.'
Hyelin lightly ignored the reactions that were heavily aggro-bait.
But there were reactions he couldn't bring himself to ignore.
Namely, voices of concern that weren't simple attacks or check-kiting... but genuinely worried about Sorasum's future.
—Surely the debut song isn't... this concept... right...?
—No, for real, this needs to be hammered into the skulls of agencies raising boy groups. Debut must, no questions asked, be refreshing ;;
—Suddenly scared that a wishy-washy shithole agency might get swayed by idiots chanting 'refreshing' mindlessly. To Sorasum: Don't trust the people telling you to do refreshing... A mid-tier group debuting with a refreshing concept is a path to destruction
—Bet there'll be plenty of people mocking the group name T_T
—Can Sorasum even maintain this quality? I'm anxious it'll start strong and finish weak. Need to see the MV to feel relieved
—The individual members are good, but each one's impact is so strong that they don't feel like one team. Honestly they feel like 6 soloists,,,
—I mean, even if they try to shed the Mebaek image as much as possible, it won't fully come off, so what if they just deliberately lean into aggro... T_T
—Seriously, they aren't going to make enemies with QTen because of this teaser, right...??
There were also many comments touching on the parts Hyelin had noticed.
The biggest worry was, naturally... whether this strange and dark concept would actually resonate with the public.
'Wh-what's there to worry about! Cha-gyeom is there.'
To shake off the worries, Hyelin replayed the 'HAZERD' teaser video once more.
As expected, it was a visual that erased all concerns.
'There's no way they can flop with this face!'
And just as those words promised.
A few days later, it was proven that there really was no need to worry.
* * *
The heat from the 'HAZERD' teaser didn't easily die down.
Idol communities that had each been discussing completely different things became unified over HAZERD, and fans desperately awaited the next morsel of teaser to carry the buzz forward.
And as if answering that wait, a new post was uploaded to HAZERD's NeoTube channel and official Wit account.
It was a timetable announcing the debut promotion schedule.
[HAZERD MAP]
Below text that looked like an album title, a sensibly designed 3D graphic maze filled the image.
And along the path connecting the entrance and exit of the maze, vibrant signboards were placed here and there. Signboards bearing the dates and names of upcoming content.
Among them, what focused fans' attention the most... was the debut date written beneath an 'X' mark so large it nearly covered the exit.
Next was the fact that the members' individual teasers included not just photos but also 'videos'.
—Wow, Sorasum really prepared for bankruptcy huh lol
—I always liked 11 times 11 being 121 anyway
—The design's gotta be outsourced, right? Where from? I'm amazed at how sleek it is
—Glad it's brighter. Yeah guys, let's live bright and cheerful
—Ah but somehow it doesn't seem like refreshing no matter how I look at it
And so, in that atmosphere where everyone's concerns and expectations were mixed together.
Baek Gyeonwoo's individual teaser was released.
[STAGE 'Baek Kyun―woo']
—Ah I'm so nervous
—30 seconds... short
—Concept, please be refreshing, please
The teaser started by showing someone's point of view.
A first-person perspective, like secretly watching down from a tall building.
At the end of that view, Baek Gyeonwoo in a dress shirt, tie, and jeans was perched on a bench, eating bread that looked exactly like the textbook definition of bread.
It was a peaceful scene, and Baek Gyeonwoo's expression was equally placid.
But then.
A black crosshair appeared over Baek Gyeonwoo's figure.
Click, click.
The sound of machinery whirred, and Baek Gyeonwoo's face was zoomed in on.
A vivid red dot was etched precisely between his brows, right in the center of the crosshair.
Bang!
And then.
The bullet flew.
Ping!
But what followed was only a light, almost playful sound.
The bullet that charged in with fierce momentum hit Baek Gyeonwoo's forehead, bounced off, and dropped to the ground with a ting, ting.
His head merely tilted back slightly from the impact. As if nothing happened, an unfazed Baek Gyeonwoo casually brushed the back of his hand over the struck forehead.
And without any change in expression, he resumed eating the bread.
A little later.......
Having finished the bread, Baek Gyeonwoo slowly raised his head.
His gaze landed directly on the camera. That is, the spot where the perpetrator who had aimed at him was hiding.
In an instant, the first-person perspective screen shook violently as if flustered.
Baek Gyeonwoo's indifferent face staring into the camera contrasted with the shaking screen, creating an eerie tension.
And in the next moment, Baek Gyeonwoo held a gun that had appeared from somewhere.
Without hesitation.
He aimed it precisely at the center of the camera.
Bang!
A single gunshot.
At that same instant, the screen went black.
—......What's the concept supposed to be?
Fans who watched the teaser were confused.
—If this was aimed at overseas military otaku, they could've at least put him in techwear
—Concept aside, the video is really well-made...
—Not giving Baek Gyeonwoo a refreshing concept is a crime, I said
The overwhelming consensus was that the video was well-produced, but many expressed disappointment about the concept.
Because it wasn't refreshing, and it wasn't anything else either—it was just an ambiguous vibe.
But soon, that disappointment also turned into confusion.
Because the next teaser, featuring Kim Yuri, was.......
—Wow, she's been hot among the parasocial love addicts since Wall-Wall Guy days, and now she's just going to reign supreme...
—Everyone fuck off, don't look, she's my girlfriend
—I found out for the first time today that getting too many butterflies makes your solar plexus hurt
—Fuck, so what the hell is the concept
It was the complete opposite of Baek Gyeonwoo's... literally a 'boyfriend' concept.