boyutpedia Chapter 161: Acceleration (10)
Chapter 161: Acceleration (10)
When people witness something grand or awe-inspiring, there are times when their bodies simply freeze without any reaction. That was exactly what happened to the members of ‘Vanguard’. The stage being set up at Gocheok Dome, the endlessly stretched seats, and so on.‘Even if I take a picture, there’s no way I can capture this.’
What Kang Rojun muttered to himself just now was the correct answer. No matter how many hundreds or thousands of photos are taken, the current emotion and that immense scenery can never be contained in a single photo.
So he captured it with his eyes.
‘I swear, out of everything I’ve ever seen in my life, this is the most jaw-dropping place.’
It wasn’t just Rojun. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung, who stood frozen with their mouths open, felt the same way. However, their hearts began to beat faster and faster. Their hearts were pounding so hard, it felt like the beats could be heard in their ears.
“……”
“……”
Am I really going to perform here?, Are twenty thousand people really coming to see us?, Can we actually fill this place?, Will we be able to do well?
The members were each swept up in countless thoughts.
The fear grew in size, but even greater than that was the joy.
‘This is insane.’
Just a few months ago, they were nothing more than ordinary kids. But now, they were artists looking out at 20,000 seats. The overwhelming emotion generated from that gap is something that can’t be put into words.
Soon, starting with Kang Rojun.
-Swish.
Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung looked at each other’s faces as if it were prearranged. They didn’t particularly say anything, but they could tell by looking at each other’s eyes. That adrenaline was endlessly surging.
At that moment.
“Hm-”
Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had been chatting briefly with the nearby stage construction team, returned.
“Let’s put aside the emotional wave for a second and gather around, okay?”
He explained that the stage construction at Gocheok Dome would soon be completed, and that rehearsals would begin immediately afterward, then added an additional briefing.
“Once the construction is wrapped up, the show-concert performance staff will come in first to do equipment rehearsal.”
That means the staff will first come in to check the overall stage conditions, along with cameras, sound, lighting, and many other elements.
“The staff rehearsal will take roughly, a few days, and then it’ll be Vanguard’s stage rehearsal. We’re going to invest as much time as possible into that. Then, right before the concert, we’ll do a final rehearsal, which will be conducted exactly according to the show-concert cue sheet. You’ve done this before during ‘Produce That 100!’, right?”
During the final rehearsal, not only the stage but the members’ makeup and outfits are all done exactly like the performance. They even check the time it takes to change clothes, so aside from the absence of an audience, it’s essentially a full performance.
“For now, just keep that in mind.”
There was less than a month left until their debut show-concert.
Later.
On the morning of Monday the 8th, after having been focused on music video filming for a while, ‘Vanguard’ showed up at the company early in the morning for the first time in a while.
‘It’s only been like a week, why does it feel like forever since we last came here??’
Kang Rojun and the members first attended a meeting with GN Entertainment’s executives. The main topic, of course, was related to the upcoming debut show-concert. After being briefed on various matters they needed to know, the members left the room first, and afterward, Rojun parted ways with them and headed straight to the gym.
After completing his mission, Rojun’s next destination was the practice room.
Loosening up his body by cracking his neck side to side, he muttered.
“There’s a lot to do, I better get to it quickly.”
He immediately began the scheduled practices. Starting with vocals, rap, and dance. For reference, the group practice mixed with the other members would begin in the afternoon. After completing the first round of practice, Rojun dove into acting practice without even catching his breath.
That’s because not only was the debut show-concert approaching, but so was the filming for ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’.
Even just up to this point, several hours flew by in an instant.
Next, the place Kang Rojun visited was the studio.
-♬♪
The sound of piano keys could be heard. Next came the guitar. After playing instruments to loosen up his body, Rojun moved on to reviewing and studying lyrics writing. Mixing in Japanese and English. After about an hour of lyrics study, Rojun murmured to himself.
“The lyrics for our debut songs are finished, so I should probably start reviewing those lyrics writing proposals that the manager mentioned.”
He finished the lyrics for the already completed ‘Song No. 1’ and ‘Song No. 3’. Writing lyrics, playing the piano, and checking them with his own vocals. Repeating this process. There wasn’t really any part where he got stuck.
‘Songs I wrote myself definitely come together better.’
As soon as he finished his lyrics work, Kang Rojun stretched with a refreshing yawn and moved on to composition.
‘Song No. 3’ was finished, so now it was time for ‘Song No. 4’.
“Hm, what should I make this time.”
One ballad, then two dance tracks, ‘GreenBee’ and ‘Song No. 3’, even if the tempos were slightly different. After spinning his pen around for a moment in thought, Rojun made his decision.
“Rap. Let’s make a rap track. But one with a bit more mainstream appeal.”
He wouldn’t be as professional as Do-kyung, but that didn’t mean he should neglect it. He needed to keep pushing himself to improve. Kang Rojun recalled how he used to listen to light rap tracks on his way to construction work in the past. Not too deep, just something that could make anyone nod along.
Having decided on rap for ‘Song No. 4’, Rojun began thinking about its concept.
“Something like spring, something refreshing would be nice.”
He started sketching out the overall color and vibe.
However, there was no need to rush. He had plenty of time, and composition still leaned more toward practice for him. Soon, Rojun checked the time. The moment to meet up with the members was approaching. Still, Kang Rojun didn’t get up right away.
Because there was still one thing left.
“‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, ‘Blood Hunt’ are progressing nicely. PD Jung Soo-ryeong will handle her part well anyway. Hm, should I try writing something new now?”
Up to now, his work on the writer side had mostly been brainstorming ideas or writing a synopsis. These were just to keep his skills sharp. He had planned to write another piece only after seeing some real progress with his previously drafted works. That had already been discussed with Culture Drawer.
Now that those projects were finally moving forward, he could take his time with the next one.
-Swish.
With arms crossed, Kang Rojun scanned the list of materials he had steadily jotted down, now displayed on his laptop, then rubbed his chin.
“Maybe something like a historical drama. Or a fusion historical drama. Fantasy. I’ve wanted to try that, and it might not be a bad idea.”
After finishing up his personal work, Kang Rojun joined the members again to continue their group practice. This routine repeated over several days. If they had group practice in the morning, Rojun would work on his personal projects late into the night, and if it went even later, he would sacrifice sleep at the dorm to make time.
Of course, the other members were also practicing intensely.
“Si-hoo hyung, Rojun hyung didn’t come back to the dorm last night, right?”
“Yeah. He said he just crashed at the studio after working.”
“Whoa.”
“……Should I just sleep in the practice room tonight too?”
To catch up with Rojun, they pushed themselves to practice twice no, three times as hard.
GN Entertainment was accelerating its preparations for Vanguard’s debut show-concert. From small things like light sticks, slogans, life-size standees, and banners, almost every employee was practically glued to Gocheok Dome. The music video team was also ramping up its editing speed.
Meanwhile, ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, which had recently completed its second script reading, was making headlines.
《「Like a Kaleidoscope」 Script Reading Complete, First Filming Imminent》
While consistently promoting the drama in Japan, they were now finalizing the date for the first day of filming. Naturally, talk of Kang Rojun came up during this process.
“When would be a good day for Rojun-nim to film?”
“Since his debut is right around the corner… I think it’d be best to coordinate with GN Entertainment for sometime near the end of April.”
So it was tentatively set for after Vanguard’s debut.
Then came Thursday, March 11th.
《[StarTalk] ‘April 5th Debut’ Vanguard, Concept Photos Revealed! / Photos》
On their YouTube channel, social media accounts, and other platforms, Vanguard’s concept photos were pre-released. Group shots and solo shots of Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung. The concept photos, infused with various themes, sent fans into a frenzy the moment they were posted.
-I’m going crazyㅠㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠㅜㅠI love it so much!!
-Yo what’s up with these four’s faces ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ this is amazing ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The school uniform shots… super handsome and cute
-This is insane wow
-Ah it’s chaos
-Personally, I think Vanguard is the best-looking among current male idols
-Kang-min totally killed it in the refreshing concept
-All the guys look great in dark stylingㅠㅠㅜ
-Rojun… what more needs to be said, even with his hair up he looks perfect seriously
-Do-kyung already has that delinquent face, so that cold vibe suits him perfectly
-Shit, even Rojun’s eyebrow bones are handsome
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ honestly when it comes to visuals, it’s gotta be Rojun ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Because the buzz was already overflowing, the media quickly pushed out articles.
《Vanguard Nears Debut, ‘Unprecedented Atmosphere’… Fans Buzz Over Concept Photos》
《Vanguard’s Concept Photos ‘Overflowing with Handsomeness’’, Japanese Fans Also Flocking In!》
Vanguard’s concept photos soon took over social media.
A few days later.
A van was driving down the road. Inside were six men who looked unmistakably handsome at a glance. From hair to makeup, their visuals were on another level. And for good reason, they were the members of the popular male idol group, ‘Neos’.
‘Neos’ had already made their debut in Japan and enjoyed significant popularity across Asia.
They were currently even discussing expansion into the U.S.
Every time they made a comeback, topping the charts was a given. That’s how solid their fandom was. Their agency, ‘Big Star Entertainment’, was considered one of the ‘Big Three’ in Korea. Having just received a song from the currently trending idol composer ‘Pineon’, they were launching a promotional and marketing blitz with full force.
The ‘Neos’ members were making their comeback that week.
They were on their way to a press showcase ahead of the comeback. After the press showcase, a fan showcase was scheduled for the afternoon. But inside the ‘Neos’ van, there was no tension, only composure. All six members were seasoned with experience. Two were wearing eye masks and dozing off, while one listened to music with earbuds and stared out the window.
The remaining three were lightly chatting while looking at their phones.
“Our comeback came too fast.”
“Right? Ah- I haven’t even had time to fully get my body in shape.”
“We were originally supposed to come back in April, then they suddenly pulled it a whole month forward.”
“They say it’s because of ‘Vanguard’.”
“What the hell, now it looks like we rushed our comeback because we were scared of them.”
Suddenly, Vanguard’s name came up. At the same time, the ‘Neos’ members’ voices lowered.
“Even if ‘Vanguard’ has that ‘Produce That 100!’ momentum, isn’t our agency being too passive? What, are we seriously going to lose to some rookies?”
“The ‘Produce That 100!’ effect is already over. That was ages ago. The idol scene moves lightning fast. Sure, they’ve got that ‘launch hype’ right now, but I bet it’ll die down fast after that.”
“’Vanguard’ is kinda annoying, though. It’s not just us, ‘Essence’ doesn’t like them either.”
It was only natural to keep a wary eye on competitors.
“Sure, going head-to-head is fun and all, but if the company tells us to jump, we jump. Laying the groundwork first and waiting isn’t a bad move either.”
“Right, and our songs are good this time. We can crush them with music.”
“But I really didn’t think ‘Vanguard’ would actually sell out Gocheok Dome.”
“I told you, it’s all debut hype.”
Just like that, the ‘Neos’ members arrived at the venue for their showcase. The ‘Vanguard’ talk faded, and they began focusing on their own showcase again.
At that moment, the gray-haired member who had been looking at his phone suddenly widened his eyes and called out to the others.
“Hey! It’s up!”
The ‘Neos’ members furrowed their brows and asked,
“What’s up?”
“The ‘Vanguard’ music video teaser just dropped!”
“Huh?! Really? Just now?!”
“Yeah, just now!”
Some crowded around the gray-haired member, while others quickly pulled out their own phones. All six ‘Neos’ members immediately logged on to Vanguard’s YouTube channel.
[Channel Name: Vanguard]
[Subscribers: 6.01 million]
[Videos: 23]
Sure enough, a freshly uploaded video sat at the top. As the gray-haired member said, it was Vanguard’s music video teaser.
-Vanguard ‘GreenBee’ Official Teaser
As soon as they saw it, the ‘Neos’ members focused on Vanguard’s title track, ‘GreenBee’.
“The title track is ‘GreenBee’?? What kind of name is that.”
“Are they releasing a single? A mini album? What was it again?”
“I think it’s a mini.”
“Just watch the teaser first!”
Then, the gray-haired member’s eyes grew wide again.
“Wait, what??”
The reason was simple.
“Another MV teaser just dropped??!”
Multiple music video teasers had been uploaded in a row.
-Vanguard ‘Windveil’ Official Teaser
-Vanguard ‘FlyingBell’ Official Teaser
A total of three teasers.
“What… What is this. Three MV teasers?? Three?? Not just one?”
Soon, the ‘Neos’ members figured out why there were three music video teasers.
“Wait… ‘Vanguard’… Don’t tell me it’s a triple title track release??!”
*****
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