By Zephyria The painful reality that remained after the debut was that my song, which the genius Sung Se-han liked so much, was ultimately neither here nor there.
—Park Gun-woo just needs to not screw up.
“What…? Hey, Sung Se-han. Why are you talking like that?”
I was taken aback by the painful criticism, but I didn’t have anything to say in protest. Sung Se-han seemed to know that Gun-woo Hyung was too conscious of him, even losing his own color. That flawless bastard.
—Tae-kyung, have you decided what to sing for the content video?
“Huh? It’s not confirmed yet, but… I’m thinking of singing Yae-eun Noona’s song.”
Hmm. Sung Se-han sighed softly and trailed off. Whenever he does this, I bring the phone close to my ear, afraid that I won’t be able to hear his voice well.
—Tae-kyung, you should sing a song that brings out your emotions.
Wow. He’s boldly interfering now?
“Hey, our content team put a lot of thought into choosing that song….”
—If they put that much thought into it and that’s all they came up with, they should have just asked me. I’ll pick one for you by the end of the day.
“What…? Hey, that’s….”
—Ah, I have to go now. Let’s talk again later.
I looked at the phone that had been cut off, and I felt like my blood pressure was rising again. That bastard. I’m being too nice to him, so he’s crossing the line?
“Haa…! I’ll get you back for this.”
Once I get my Inferiority Score to 0, I won’t be lenient anymore.
February 10th. 12 PM.
The first member of our team was revealed on YouTube.
⌜Hello, everyone. I’m ‘Gun,’ the leader of the boy group that Global Enter is introducing for the first time in three years!⌟
Even though we filmed it together, my legs were shaking as I watched Gun-woo Hyung’s video.
⌜I’m in charge of writing lyrics, composing, and lead vocals in the team!⌟
I was glad that the makeup and clothes suited Gun-woo Hyung’s boyish charm. Pretty boys are always in demand, so wouldn’t the reaction be good…?
Anxious, I even started biting my nails.
⌜The first song I’ll be singing for you is Kim Seok-joo Sunbae-nim’s ‘Your Birthday.’⌟
‘Your Birthday’ was a love story about a boy who remembers the birthday of a Noona he has a crush on and secretly prepares a gift.
Gun-woo Hyung put his heart and soul into the ballad, re-recording it twenty times, so my nose felt stuffy as I listened to the song.
“Ah, damn… why do I feel like this.”
I was glad that I wasn’t watching the video with the members. I almost showed the embarrassing sight of sniffling.
That was the extent of my appreciation.
After the 5-minute and 33-second video ended, I started to sweat profusely from the suffocating tension that followed.
In the previous debut content, the drama video, the total views for all six episodes didn’t even exceed 10,000.
The reactions and views we had expected while preparing the content were so different from reality that we were feeling unexpected anxiety.
At that time, one of the hundred or so comments was Kim Hyuk-soo’s accusation of school violence.
“Haa…! I’m going crazy!”
Suddenly, the nightmare came back to me, and I clutched my head.
“Hoo! Calm down. Lee Tae-kyung, calm down!”
I unconsciously refreshed the page and was surprised, my eyes widening.
It hadn’t even been 20 minutes since the video was uploaded, but there were already five comments.
“Wow! Crazy…!”
[You sing well. I’m looking forward to the boy group coming out of Global Enter.
The first member is my style… I’ll keep watching haha.
Seems like the best cover of Your Birthday haha.
I was so excited by just a few comments that I quickly took out my phone. It was to tell Gun-woo Hyung, who must be trembling in the studio. Then, I suddenly stopped, pausing my movements.
[Is this the group that Kim Tae-kyung is in? The members all seem good, so I’m looking forward to itㅋㅋ]
[I wonder when Kim Tae-kyung will be revealedㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Huh…? Kim Tae-kyung must be talking about me…? How do they know me….
“Ah.”
It seems that people remember me because of the photos I took with Sung Se-han.
“Not bad…?”
If we can get our team’s name out there like this, I can do something for Sung Se-han….
“Whatever.”
I shook my head and jumped up. Speak of the devil, Sung Se-han’s phone call rang before I could even leave the practice room.
“Hey, Sung Se-han. Why haven’t I been able to reach you lately?”
In a situation where the Status Window is quiet and not giving me any sudden events, I should at least meet Sung Se-han to lower my Inferiority Score….
—Tae-kyung, your video is being released tomorrow, right?
“That’s right, but….”
Haa, I wish you would just stop paying attention.
—Did you do Yae-eun Noona’s song?
No. I sang the song you recommended, you bastard.
Soo-in quickly choreographed it and even hired a dance team to prepare it properly, what are you going to do about it.
“Don’t watch my video.”
—Hahaha.
Sung Se-han laughed as if he was really enjoying himself. Hearing his laughter after a long time somehow made my chest feel tight.
—It’s fun these days, Tae-kyung.
Sung Se-han keeps saying it’s fun, which makes my head even more complicated.
Even after reaching the top idol position, he’s saying he hasn’t had fun all this time. I don’t understand at all.
I hardly slept.
I replayed Gun-woo Hyung’s video, checked the views, and worried if there were any bad comments….
I dozed off for a moment and then checked the views again, and it was already dawn.
9 AM. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since the video was released, but the views were already over 30,000.
“Thirty thousand two hundred… wow…!”
Is this right…? I had to check the numbers several times.
“Crazy… the total views last time didn’t even reach 10,000…!”
My heart was beating so fast that I couldn’t sit still. Then the meeting room door opened, and Jeong-min came in.
“Tae-kyung Hyung, eat this at least. You didn’t even eat breakfast properly.”
Jeong-min put the sandwich he bought in front of the company on the table. His bangs were wet, as if he had gone in a hurry. What a thoughtful guy.
“Hyung, don’t be nervous. Gun-woo Hyung’s video may have fewer views, but it will gradually increase. So….”
“What? What about the views?”
Haa. What am I going to do with this immature guy.
“Maknae, do you know how hard it is to get a hundred views? To get that, a whopping 100 people have to listen to our song! Haa… You really need to know how huge the number 10,000 is. Always remember how grateful and precious each positive comment is. Otherwise, no matter how much the numbers increase, you won’t know the true meaning and won’t be able to be satisfied. Maknae, we are now prepared to….”
“Ah, Hyung! Tae-kyung Hyung, why are you so excited? I just said that because I thought Hyung was too worried….”
Tae-kyung narrowed his eyes and stared at Jeong-min.
“Are you really saying that because you’re worried about me?”
“No, actually… the company is also promoting us carefully and we’ve been preparing hard, so I just hope we get a lot of views.”
Jeong-min, sitting in the chair across from Tae-kyung, scratched his head.
“If we don’t do well after the company pushed us this much, I’ll feel bad.”
“Why do you care about what the company thinks?”
It’s all debt we have to pay back anyway.
“We just have to do our best.”
Anyway, Tae-kyung was so relieved that the company was actively accepting the content we were requesting.
In that respect, Tae-kyung was so grateful to Gun-woo Hyung for fighting with the content team every day and actively securing support.
11:58 AM.
After spending hours alone in the conference room, Tae-kyung was so nervous that he became calm instead.
So, he started munching on the sandwich that the Maknae had bought. But he couldn’t taste anything.
Before 12 o’clock, Tae-kyung put the sandwich down on the table.
And at the stroke of the hour, he mechanically played his video.
⌜Hello. Let me introduce myself! I’m Lee Tae-kyung, the second member of the boy group that Global Enter is introducing after three years.⌟
Ah, what is this? Why is my makeup so heavy? I look like I have a terrible personality…?
⌜I’m the main vocalist in the team. Um, I’m twenty years old. Please take good care of me in the future!⌟
I’m going crazy! It wasn’t like this when I was monitoring it… Why is it so awkward? I didn’t force myself to smile like that, did I?
⌜Singing is my main thing, but I also like dancing. So… I worked hard to show it to you all. I hope you… enjoy it!⌟
Tae-kyung couldn’t watch anymore, so he covered his face.
Why do I seem like I’m sucking up so much? Haa…! I’m so embarrassed I could die. Really…!
⌜The song I’m going to sing is Britney Spears’ ‘Sometimes’. Ah, and the choreography was done by Soo-in, who is in our team’s Maknae line!⌟
As the intro began, Tae-kyung lifted his head abruptly. But he still held his burning face with both hands.
“Wow…!”
Tae-kyung was mesmerized by the camera work that started with the bright blue sky and led to the wide rooftop of the company. Who knew a filtered screen could look this refreshing!
With a full shot of six dancers and Tae-kyung dancing on the wide rooftop deck.
The song was starting.
His song…
Tae-kyung couldn’t breathe.
Did he move so freely…? Did he have that kind of expression?