Chapter 91: Debut (14)

Chapter 91: Debut (14)

Jin-Sung was someone brimming with passion and skill, and teaching him had me riding a wave of excitement, something I hadn't felt in a long while. Our plan was originally just to cover the first verse of the choreography, but we got so caught up in the moment that we ended up completing a full-song cover. By the time we wrapped up the recording and passed it to our UTube channel manager, the clock had struck 4 AM. Luckily, we had a free day ahead of us.

Back at the dorm, I had a deep sleep and was slurping down some ramen that Joo-Han had whipped up when our cover video popped up on UTube. The reaction was astonishingly positive, almost shockingly so. I decided to hold off on the comments and rewatched the video first, keen to ensure that our bloopers and casual banter had been edited out. I had given clear instructions to the manager, but sometimes they got creative for extra views.

A comment I had briefly seen earlier was littered with '????????' (a string of laughter). Seeing it already seeded some anxiety in me...

“Ah, seriously? I specifically asked for all that to be edited out."

And there it was... every single moment of us talking and fooling around made it into the final cut. As I muttered my annoyance, the manager leaned over to see what I was fussing about on my phone.

“What's the problem? It's adorable."

“But we were aiming for a cool vibe with this one," I protested.

What was initially a video just shy of four minutes had ballooned to ten. I was baffled at how much they had added in.

The video started off just as I wanted, with the intended music overlaying our flawless choreography. I was pleased until the cover ended and suddenly, a “bonus clip” started, showing the same footage but stripped of the music, exposing the raw version.

Instead of the sleek soundtrack, all you could hear were the slightly jumbled sounds from the speakers in the practice room, the squeaking of our shoes, and of course our voices.

— Jin-Sung is a turtle! A turtle! Turtleeeee! Brainwash yourself! You are moving too fast!

— Ughhhh! So frustrating!

— Jin-Sung, you can do this. Hold on! Just endure this part, and it will speed up!

— Why is the wave even so slow!?

My voice sounded desperate as I tried to teach Jin-Sung the beauty of moving slowly, and there were his frustrated cries. No wonder the comments section was erupting in laughter.

I scrolled down to take a look at the comments myself.

ASK_WIFI · 1 hour ago

???: Jin-Sung is a turtle!!! Turtle!!!

???: Uwaaaah! The rabbit inside me is waking up!!!

Likes 309 Dislikes 0

2 replies

└AHAHAHAHHA

└LMAOOOOO my inner rabbit ????????????????????

SHER · 30 minutes ago

Watching this, it's clear Jin-Sung is the main dancer, but Hyun-Woo seems better at these flexible, sexy dances

Likes 123 Dislikes 4

2 replies

└But the lack of flexibility is the catch

└????????? that reply tho ????????????????????????????????????

Jin-SungHyun-WooFan · 1 hour ago

Freak, my favorites dancing together! My happiness for the year is complete.

Likes 52 Dislikes 0

“Thank you, Director. Thank you so much!" our manager said, his voice cracking with gratitude as he almost banged his head on the table in relief. Director Lee Won-Jae, slightly taken aback by the reaction, tried to calm him down. However, there was an evident sense of relief on the director’s face, as if he had been liberated from a burden by granting us this opportunity.

“If Chronos weren’t famous or didn’t play a big role in the incident, we wouldn't have been able to offer you this slot."

“Let's coordinate the live broadcast date. In-Hyun, could you get in touch with us regarding Chronos's schedule? Let’s work things out.”

“Yes, of course!”

“Then, shall we wrap up the meeting here? Great work, everyone.”

With that, we all stood up and bid farewell to the ones leaving the meeting room. “Thank you so much!”

As the room door closed, Joo-Han grabbed the manager and started shaking him, being unusually excited. “Hyung, we have really hit the jackpot. You know that, right? Tell Supervisor Kim not to touch our setlist. We will handle it ourselves!”

“Uh, what?”

“Tell Supervisor Kim to keep his hands off the setlist, okay?” Joo-Han’s voice and gaze were intense as he made his point.

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

“Me... me, too.”

“Huh? Why Supervisor Kim?” Lee Jin-Sung asked, clueless. In response, Park Yoon-Chan gently patted his back, wearing a bittersweet smile.

“Lee Jin-Sung..."

“Yes?"

“Because Supervisor Kim's music taste... doesn't really align with ours," Park Yoon-Chan explained softly, while Joo-Han placed a hand on Lee Jin-Sung's shoulder.

“Yoon-Chan is putting it nicely. Simply put, he lacks a sense of music. Considering how he opposed every hit track we've had, I actually wonder how he became the head of the A&R team."

Supervisor Kim might have business acumen, but his musical intuition was questionable, and he was blissfully unaware of it.

“Alright, I will tell him that you guys want to handle it yourselves," the manager agreed, still processing the whole situation.

Our less-than-stellar global popularity had cost us a first-place finish, and it still stung until now. Domestically, sure, we had success, but there was always room for improvement. After all, the “Parade” I knew wasn't meant to end here. It should have been a sweeping hit, dominating high schools nationwide, but whether it was our shortfall or YMM's, calling it a major hit felt like a stretch.

The live broadcast with UNET was our chance to showcase “Parade” not just domestically but also to K-POP fans worldwide, seizing an opportunity we hadn't fully capitalized on yet.

I listened to the members' discussion before voicing my thoughts. “We need to focus on making the setlist not just complete but also visually entertaining. How about going all-out with dance songs, leaving out ballads?"

“Skip the ballads?" Joo-Han stopped shaking the manager and looked at me, surprised.

I nodded. “Going all dance songs will keep the viewers more engaged."

Joo-Han thought about the overall harmony of the broadcast while I considered the after-impact. We had different perspectives.

“Dance songs can vary: some are mellow, some are intense, and some are upbeat. If we mixed in a ballad, it might showcase our skills, but it could also feel relatively dull. Especially considering the clips will be uploaded on UTube..."

Joo-Han pondered for a moment, resting his chin on his hand, and then nodded. “You might be right, but we need to think more about it."

“What are you two talking about?"

“Yeah, I didn't get it either."

“Um... I'll explain in a bit," Park Yoon-Chan whispered to Goh Yoo-Joon and Lee Jin-Sung.

I proposed this as I considered the broadcast more than just a UNET live show. It was about maximizing views on UTube. After all, according to the statistics, dance performances by popular idols gained significantly more views than ballads. Additionally, given that the majority of UNET channel users were international K-POP fans, highlighting K-POP's distinctive dance aspect would expand our reach better.

Therefore, the idea was to capitalize on our strengths and go with all dance songs to maximize our exposure.