boyutpedia Chapter 168: Debut (2)
Chapter 168: Debut (2)
Kang Rojun tilted his head at the notification from the ‘AI Simulation.’‘Vitality Booster?? That’s an item I’ve never seen before.’
Out of nowhere, an item called ‘Vitality Booster’ had appeared. The ‘AI Simulation’ had thrown out yet another new item. After briefly checking the status of the members, Rojun scrolled through the piled-up notifications.
There were quite a few notifications.
-[You have achieved the Main Mission ‘Idol Debut!’]
-[Congratulations! You have achieved your Desired Occupation ‘Idol!’]
-[As the first Main Mission has been achieved, your Desired Occupation is changed to ‘Global Idol!’]
For now, it meant that the Desired Occupation had changed from just an idol to a global idol.
‘Well, the moment I debut, I become a proper idol. But the next Desired Occupation is global idol? That’s basically telling me to go global.’
It did seem a bit of a high hurdle to jump straight into the global stage after debuting, but since Kang Rojun was doing this anyway, aiming high was better.
‘Screw it, let’s go for it!’
With his combat power boosted, he continued skimming through the notifications.
-[You have received 100 Coins as a reward.]
-[You have received ‘Vitality Booster (Passive)’ as a reward.]
Two rewards had arrived for the main quest. 100 Coins was a total score, but what was this ‘Vitality Booster (Passive)’? And it was even passive. That meant it was permanent.
‘Weren’t most items given as rewards usually one-time use? I guess passives don’t require title awakening to be granted.’
He knew what a vitality booster usually did, but there was no way the ‘AI Simulation’ would give out something ordinary. Kang Rojun quickly opened the app and checked the inventory.
-[Inventory]
-[1] Vitality Booster (Passive)
He tapped the visible item and the description popped up first.
-『Vitality Booster: You shall possess an iron-like body and vitality that overflows with energy even with just one hour of sleep』
-『User Kang Rojun’s stamina will increase exponentially.』
After reading it, Kang Rojun let out a short laugh without realizing.
‘This is seriously an overpowered??’
If it was as the description said, it meant he would overflow with energy even with just one hour of sleep. In other words, no fatigue or tiredness? Then even if he didn’t sleep, he’d be fine? The wording made it sound like he could go 24, even 48 hours without any problem. He would need to test it, but Kang Rojun was convinced that the Vitality Booster passive was more OP than anything else.
‘In a way, it’s like saying “Don’t sleep, just work until you drop.”’
Without hesitation, Kang Rojun immediately strapped on his smartwatch and pressed the permission button for using the ‘Vitality Booster (Passive)’. A loading circle appeared. Within seconds, a strong pain radiated from his wrist.
The tingling sensation lasted a while.
It felt like electricity coursing from his wrist up to his forearm.
The interesting part was.
‘Huh?’
As soon as the tingling pain ended, a burst of energy exploded within him. How to describe it… it was like his adrenaline had already been boosted, but now it was three times stronger. He had still felt a bit of residual fatigue from his first stage, but that had vanished completely, and his whole body felt like the muscles had become firmer. His mind was clear and sharp.
To put it simply, not just refreshed, he felt brand new.
The effect was spot-on.
‘Damn, this thing’s insane.’
Before he knew it, the passive had been added to Rojun’s status.
-[Passive: Overwhelm / Limit Break / Vitality Booster]
A perfect prescription for Rojun right before his next stage. Of course, it would serve him well in the future too. Then, just as the now many-times-stronger Kang Rojun took off the smartwatch from his wrist.
“Rojun hyung!! Time to go!!”
A call for Vanguard’s next stage had come.
After that.
Back on stage again, ‘Vanguard’ performed the song ‘Bold’ together with dancers. It had been quite a while since ‘Produce That 100!’ but since they had continued practicing, there was no sign of a gap in performance.
-♬♪
Once the performance of ‘Bold’ ended, all the lights in the Gocheok Dome went out, then turned back on a few seconds later. Before they knew it, Kang Rojun and the members were no longer on the main stage but standing on a circular protruding stage designed after a planet.
The fans around the protruding stage could see them right in front of their eyes.
Which meant the screams were intense.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
When Kang Rojun and the members, wearing their signature eye-smiles, waved to the fans, the MC approached them again with cue cards in hand.
“That was ‘Bold’, which we haven’t heard in a while! It’s still so great even now!”
At that moment, a few staff members quickly came up onto the protruding stage and set up five chairs. From this point on, it was time for Vanguard’s talk segment along with a mini-game.
“Rojun-nim, you wrote and composed ‘GreenBee’, which was not only the opening track but also one of Vanguard’s debut songs. That’s amazing, we knew you were great at writing lyrics, but did you also study composition?”
“Yes. I practiced hard, and I’m still studying it now.”
“By the way, what does ‘GreenBee’ mean?”
“It’s a pure Korean word that means ‘a man you long for’.”
Even while answering, Kang Rojun made eye contact with the fans right in front of him. All their eyes were sparkling; some waved at him, others covered their mouths with both hands in excitement.
A strange emotion surged up inside him.
‘It’s the first time I’m seeing them, so why does it feel this good?’
It was because he could feel affection in the fans’ eyes. Kang Rojun thought, maybe this is the bond between artists and fans, and with feelings of gratitude, he tried his best to maintain eye contact with them.
Let’s give them the best fan service possible.
The other members were the same. While Kang Rojun was answering, they kept waving and smiling at the fans without rest.
Thus, the first talk segment ended.
-Ssshh.
The Gocheok Dome went dark again.
‘Vanguard’ quickly moved back to the waiting room and once again frantically changed outfits. The next stage was for one of their debut songs, ‘FlyingBell’, composed by Song Min-geun, who was also present among the audience at today’s show-con.
A bouncy, bright, and cheerful song.
It was chosen to shift the mood, and the ‘Vanguard’ members wore pastel-toned school uniform jackets.
And off they went.
‘Vanguard’ appeared on stage along with the energetic rhythm. The vibe was completely different from earlier, and tens of thousands in the crowd went wild.
-♬♪
This time, the song information popped up on the live broadcast screen again.
-FlyingBell / Vanguard
-Composed by Song Min-geun
-Lyrics by Rojun
The chat exploded upon seeing that Rojun also participated in the lyrics for ‘FlyingBell’. But regardless, ‘Vanguard’ continued performing with bright, smiling expressions. Writer Kim Se-hee, it seemed, had found a song that truly hit her taste.
‘Whoa! Whoa!!! I totally love this!’
Even as she wildly shook her light stick in a trance, she thought of PD Woo Han-suk.
‘If PD-nim were here, he would’ve been seriously moved.’
That very PD Woo Han-suk was watching Vanguard’s debut show-con from his seat at the broadcasting station. His dark circles were still deep, but a wide smile bloomed on his face.
“They’re shining. They’re really shining. Oh, I’m getting all choked up.”
Because the PDs around him teased.
“Well, well? Is PD Woo crying right now??”
PD Woo Han-suk quickly wiped his reddened eyes.
“What, what are you talking about! Who’s crying! It’s just because I yawned, a yawn!”
“Hahaha, yawn my ass. But I get it. Feels like your well-raised sons are finally debuting, huh?”
And it really was. It felt like just yesterday he was nervously watching their mini concert, and now those kids had become full-fledged idols, ‘Vanguard’, performing in front of twenty thousand people.
‘……They’re special to me, ‘Vanguard’ is.’
Surely PD Jung Soo-ryeong and others must be feeling something similar. That’s how many strings had to be pulled for ‘Vanguard’ to finally debut.
Whatever the case, the show-con continued.
Once the ‘FlyingBell’ performance ended, Kang Rojun and the members returned to the waiting room, and the main screens and monitors at Gocheok Dome began playing the official music video of ‘GreenBee.’
A first-time release of the MV.
After the MV ended, a video edited to show the journey of ‘Vanguard’ up to their debut was played, and on the main stage, without anyone noticing, a piano was being set up.
Naturally, the next performer was Kang Rojun.
His outfit had already changed. A calm white shirt and black pants. Then a staff gave the cue sign, and between the opening giant screens, Kang Rojun walked out alone.
As the darkened stage lit up and revealed the piano and Kang Rojun, the twenty thousand fans.
“%*(%&*#(*&!*((!*!!!!!!”
An odd, unearthly scream rang out. A mix of screams and Kang Rojun’s name, it almost sounded like an alien language. The excitement pierced the ceiling of Gocheok Dome, yet Rojun calmly sat down at the piano. A single beam of light shone down on him.
Kang Rojun quietly placed his fingers on the keys and began to play.
-♬♪
It was strange. The Gocheok Dome, filled with tens of thousands of people, suddenly went silent. But it made sense. Everyone had fallen under the spell of Kang Rojun’s stunning visuals and piano performance.
“……”
“……”
A silence filled with awe.
However, the fans watching the live broadcast were different.
-Wow………..wtf
-Rojun’s playing the piano??!! Drooling!!!
-My eyes are melting, my ears are melting… Rojun really seems like a supernatural being
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋthis is insane ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋthis is pure addiction
They flooded the chat with endless praise for Kang Rojun.
-He’s playing the piano with visuals that crush even actors? Even guys are falling for him ㅋㅋㅋ. Fyi, I’m a guy
-ㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜ crying fr
-Rojun plays guitar too, right? There’s literally nothing he can’t do….
-Fuck he’s really crazy
-I love you!! I really love you!!!
It was a fitting reaction to the mood and visuals.
Several tens of minutes later.
Kang Rojun’s piano performance ended, and the other members’ stages followed one after another. Si-hoo and Do-kyung’s rap, Kang-min’s solo dance, and the full members’ event track performance.
Now at the one hour and thirty-minute mark.
Vanguard’s debut show-con had passed the halfway point and was heading toward the final stretch. The audience was now watching Vanguard’s second music video, ‘Flying Bell’.
As soon as the MV ended, the members, now in changed outfits, reappeared on the protruding stage.
“Yes! Now it’s time for a Q&A with the audience here!”
A real-time talk segment involving the audience.
When audience members sent in messages with their questions.
-Rojun: Have you seriously looked this ridiculously handsome since birth?
The members took turns answering.
“No, not from birth. I guess I gradually got better looking?”
-Si-hoo: Why are you so cute?
“Th-thank you! I’ll try harder!”
-Kang-min: Were you born into nobility?
“When I was little, I used to feed the cows at home.”
-Do-kyung: Is your personality originally this intense too?
“No, not at all. I’m actually really sensitive. Right, hyungs?”
Kang Rojun also answered sincerely.
“It’s not a bad thing to have big goals.”
About fifteen minutes of the talk wrapped up, and now ‘Vanguard’ had just three performances left. The final track would be ‘Windveil’, composed by Si-hoo.
Soon, guided by staff, Kang Rojun and the members headed back to the waiting room.
The vibe was great.
They were genuinely enjoying the show-con too.
When ‘Vanguard’ returned to the waiting room, for some reason, the styling team and dance team who had been waiting there broke out into applause.
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
The members blinked in confusion with question marks in their eyes, and the staff clapped while shouting congratulations.
“Congrats!!”
“That was insane! Seriously, congrats!”
“Articles are gonna blow up tomorrow, right??”
“This means even first-week sales are looking promising!”
‘Vanguard’ was still dazed while the staff were buzzing with excitement.
“At this rate, aren’t they really going to set some new record with initial sales??!”
“They should! We already sold out all 20,000 seats at Gocheok Dome!”
“Hell yeah! We’re talking about ‘Vanguard’, breaking album records should be easy!!”
At that, the eldest member Si-hoo stepped forward.
“Wh-what is it?? What’s going on?”
Kang-min and Do-kyung nodded rapidly behind Si-hoo. Kang Rojun stood next to him.
“Tell us what’s going on. Let us celebrate with you.”
The styling team and other staff gave a knowing grin. One of them held up a tablet in front of the members. Naturally, Rojun and the others looked at the screen, and slowly their mouths dropped open.
“……Whoa.”
Kang Rojun’s eyes widened, and then the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.
A totally understandable reaction.
The tablet was showing the live digital music charts. Vanguard’s debut tracks had pushed aside even top idols including ‘Neos’.
[1 (new!)] GreenBee / Vanguard
[2 (new!)] Windveil / Vanguard
[3 (new!)] Flying Bell / Vanguard
[4 (↓3)] Bloom Me / Neos
[5 (-)] Afterglow / Polaris
[6 (↓4)] Zero Gravity / Neos
[7 (↑1)] COTTON SKY / Luminis
[8 (-)] Dizzy! / Essence
.
.
.
.
Because they had taken over the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd spots.