Chapter 186: Joy (23)

Chapter 186: Joy (23)

Amidst the whirlwind of our comeback preparations, our agency was actively spilling secrets about our new track across BlueBird. In some teasers, they even showed the enigmatic look of the school in our MV and shared a candid shot of Joo-Han collaborating with the indie sensation Hongdae Peanut Butter, who had lent their talents to our track's climax.

Though their intentions were a mystery, it was clear that both YMM and KEW had poured their hearts into this release and stirring up a storm of anticipation among our fans. This probably explains the electric atmosphere during our Q-app live session.

“We've had a sneak peek at the music video, haven't we?"

“Absolutely. And let me tell you, it blew our minds. Rings, you are in for a treat. It's an absolute blast." Jin-Sung was hamming it up, despite being petrified at the sight of his own image in the yet-to-be-revealed reaction footage. Him pretending to be brave was, frankly, quite comical.

“Why? What's going on? Why the laughter?" asked Jin-Sung.

As the others snickered under their breath, Jin-Sung's cheeks flushed a rosy hue, and he swiftly turned away.

“Ahhh! Aaaaargh!” Goh Yoo-Joon playfully mimicked Jin-Sung's dramatic reactions to the music video, sending everyone into fits of laughter, Jin-Sung excluded.

The chat room was buzzing with playful curiosity.

— What's the joke? Share with the rest of us ????

— Feeling left out here ??

— What's Jin-Sung up to now? Lol

— Why all the laughter? ?? Spill the beans!!!

I gently nudged Jin-Sung to encourage him to share his thoughts and said, “Let's hear from our youngest first, who had quite a dramatic response to the music video. Jin-Sung, care to share your impressions with our Rings?"

Jin-Sung shot me a glare, and his lips were pursed in annoyance. “Me? Why me? It's not that funny, is it? How dare you all laugh!"

Jin-Sung shrugged off my hand in a huff and shoved me aside. His great strength sent me tumbling into Joo-Han's lap in a comical heap.

“Oof! Ah, that hurts!"

“Ahahaha!” The laughter wasn't at Jin-Sung's expense this time. It was my unwitting slapstick that had everyone in stitches.

For a moment, I thought, ‘Maybe it's just us who find this funny.’ However, that didn't stop the laughter from bursting forth. After a good while of uncontrollable giggles over something so trivial, we gradually calmed down and steered the conversation back to where we left off.

“Anyway, about the music video, it had this eerie vibe to it even during the shoot. But seeing the finished product? It was chilling in the best way."

Goh Yoo-Joon ruffled Jin-Sung's hair affectionately as he stated, “True. You know, despite the lack of outright scary scenes, there's this underlying creepiness to it that's just...unsettling."

Joo-Han nodded in agreement. He then turned to me as he was curious about my take. “And Hyun-Woo, what did you think?"

“I...” I pondered for a moment before responding. "It made me realize just how deep and serious our Chronos universe is. More than I initially thought."

“Ah, I felt that too,” Yoon-Chan chimed in. “When we were filming, it was hard to grasp the full picture with all the retakes and scene shuffling. But watching the completed music video, I was like, 'Wow, our story is genuinely captivating.'”

“Exactly," Joo-Han affirmed. “This time, we've delved deeper into the Chronos narrative, continuing from where ‘Parade’ left off."

Our individual reflections on the music video wrapped up neatly with Joo-Han's summary.

“Now that we are live on Q-app, let's not just talk about the music video release. How about we catch up with each other first?" I suggested.

Jin-Sung had been scrolling through the chat and piped up. “There's a lot of buzz about Graduating in the chat."

“Oh, right. Have you all seen the Graduating trailer?"

“And the sneak peek clips? Have you watched them?" Goh Yoo-Joon and I asked simultaneously. This prompted a flurry of rapid responses in the chat.

“Wow, you've all seen it, huh? That's amazing!" Jin-Sung exclaimed. He looked impressed, as he passed me the phone.

“How was the shoot, you ask?" Goh Yoo-Joon mused, his gaze wandering. “And you, Hyun-Woo? How did you find it?"

“For me, it was an absolute blast. It hardly felt like we were filming at all."

“Same here. It was like heading back to school at the start of a new term, just making friends and having fun. So, when you watch the broadcast, you will see us just being ourselves, without any hint of camera shyness."

“Don't miss it."

Yoon-Chan scrolled up through the chat and said, “Someone's wondering if Joo-Han plans to do a live review after the song's release."

“Oh, a live review?" Joo-Han perked up. “We skipped it for ‘Blue Room Party.’ But this time around, I've got a lot on my mind that I'd like to share, and I'm eager to hear directly from the Rings. Maybe we will even touch on ‘Blue Room Party.’"

Joo-Han grinned and gestured toward the camera. “Look forward to tonight!"

We had plenty of time to communicate with the Rings and address their questions while intermittently introducing the topics we had prepared. The conversation naturally drifted from the upcoming song teaser to lightsticks and then to the fan club inauguration.

“Here's a lengthy comment, just a sec," I said, pausing to read through a detailed question.

I then read, “Hello, Chronos oppas. I became a fan after ‘Blue Room Party’ and have since become a full-fledged Ring. I really want to attend the first fan club inauguration, but my parents have set a strict rule against it until after I start high school. Still, I'm dying to know, so I'm boldly asking. How will the inauguration proceed? And will there be a DVD release?"

The question was polite and adorable, typical of a Ring. All of our eyes naturally turned to Joo-Han for the answer.

After exchanging a glance with the manager behind the camera, Joo-Han turned back to face us. “I'm handling the setlist for the inauguration. Do you remember the survey we conducted on BlueBird?"

“The one where we asked, 'Which Chronos performance do you want to see?'"

“Exactly. We've sifted through the wealth of feedback you provided and selected what's feasible for us to perform. We are aiming to present a diverse showcase. We will focus on having fun because you can always count on us to look cool."

The brief glimpse I caught of the setlist candidates included everything from “Rapping Hyun-Woo”, “Dancing Park Yoon-Chan,” and “Reenacting scenes from some TV show.” Literally, every possibility was listed there.

The chat was overflowing with endless suggestions and desires. We proceeded to highlight some of the standout comments, occasionally teased the new song, and shared some laughter. Then, the manager gave us a signal that it was time to wrap up.

I got the cue and started to conclude the livestream. “It's been such a pleasure chatting with everyone, but look at the time! In just a mere three minutes, our much-anticipated music video will be unveiled to the world."

“Oh man, I can't help but feel butterflies in my stomach. We are still pretty green when it comes to these big reveals, you know?" said Goh Yoo-Joon.

I gave Goh Yoo-Joon a reassuring pat on the back as he clutched his chest. Nerves got the better of him, and I offered some encouraging words. “Let's hear your thoughts after you've watched it, everyone. Can you believe it? Only two minutes to go."

“I bet everyone's frantically refreshing their pages right about now," Jin-Sung chimed in with a chuckle.

I nodded in agreement and prepared to wrap up our session. “We are deeply grateful for this time spent together today. We will catch up in just a short while! Ready, everyone? One, two, three!"

“Thank you so much! We are Chronos!"

“Take care!"

“Bye Rings!”

As our energetic livestream wrapped up and we took a brief moment to relax, the premiere of our second album's MV “Joy” went live on Q-app and UTube without a hitch.

***

Spanning an impressive thirteen minutes, the MV could easily be mistaken for a short film. As it played out, the powerhouse fanbase of Chronos, affectionately known as the Rings, fell into a hush across their social media feeds.

A handful of fans were busy sharing their instant reactions on BlueBird. However, the majority of them set aside the distractions to dive deep into the new track, witness the fresh looks of the members, catch glimpses of the dance sequences, and follow a narrative deeply rooted in the lore of Chronos. Clearly, the year-end performance had captivated a wide audience.

Thanks to the year-end performance, a surge of both domestic and international fans contributed to a rapid climb in the view counts, shattering the previous records for Chronos. This also prompted reaction-UTubers, who had previously featured "Parade," to upload their real-time responses immediately.

This overwhelming reaction far exceeded what we had anticipated, given our budding popularity. Not long after, the floodgates opened like a dam bursting at the seams and unleashed a torrent of heartfelt posts from fans.