“Hyung, are you sure that you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

“They say you got gastritis from overwork. Even though I told you not to overdo it…”

“I’m really alright.”

All the members’ eyes narrowed. I pretended not to hear them and picked up my phone. We were already heading to the music video set.

[Seo Hojin: Hyung, aren’t you going to die from overwork??]

[Seo Hojin: no answer, no answer, no answer]

[Seo Hojin: Don’t come crying to me next timeㅡㅡ]

[Seo Hojin: Hah… Still no answer

but if you get really sick, just get out of there.]

Let’s just ignore Seo Hojin.

[Lim Hyunsoo: Crazy;;; What’s with the leak]

[Lim Hyunsoo: How the hell do you manage your company?]

[Lim Hyunsoo: Btw, they said that the song is well-picked outㅎ I agree~ Hehe]

He sent messages to brag, so I sent Lim Hyunsoo my most sincere answer.

[Me:  ㅇ]

“Did you collapse because you were shocked by that leak?”

“No, he was clearly overworked.”

“Well… It’s understandable that he collapsed from overwork. Hoyoon hyung worked the hardest.”

The others eagerly agreed, nodding their heads.

“You don’t really look like such a strong-willed person.”

“What do you mean I don’t look like that?”

“You look like you grew up without suffering, hyung.”

“Me?”

Laughter poured out.

“Hey, back when I was younger–”

“Urgh, it started again.”

Hey! I’d been through so much. If I wrote about my hardship before I got possessed, it would have been published as an autobiography, become a bestseller, and would have been made into a movie so touching that peoples’ snot and tears would have been enough to fill the Han River!

Ring!

[No comment!]

…If I included that stupid system window, it would have gotten classified as a fantasy story, not an autobiography, but anyway, that’s how it is, okay?

“Anyway, I’m glad you came to your senses.”

“All of us were on the verge of losing it, but after seeing hyung collapse, we also came to our senses.”

How did they grow so close to me before I even noticed?

I ignored them and continued to play our song. I was in a hurry to match the beat that was still a little off. I had no more time left because I had been sent to the emergency room.

“Ah, we’ve arrived.”

After going to the salon, getting in the car, and closing my eyes for a while, I arrived at the music video set in the blink of an eye.

Sung Jiwon was nervous, carefully stroking his chest. Kim Sunghyun tapped me on the shoulder to signal me to get off.

We got out of the car and started things off by bowing 90 degrees to the staff as soon as we saw them.

“Hello!”

“Hello, and thank you very much!”

“Oh, are you the ones who caught that robber last time?”

“T-Tthat’s right!”

“You were so cool. I saw an article about it. Let’s do our best today!”

The staff opened their eyes wide and smiled at us and greeted us cheerfully. As I entered the studio, I saw the stage set that seemed to have been built in a hurry.

“Wow, is that the set?”

“It’s amazing!”

‘Looks low-budget…’

Actually, they called it a stage set, but it felt like they were trying to gloss over the low budget with lighting.

President, you bastard, I asked you to support us properly. Next to the other members who walked around with sparkling eyes, only my expression was rotten.

While looking around, I made eye contact with a man in his 40s standing before a camera.

“Hello! We’re The Dawn.”

“My, that scared me.”

I could tell at a glance.

That guy was Director Jung whom Lim Hyunsoo had mentioned. There seemed to be quite the age gap between us, but he looked at us properly. I felt like we would be able to get along.

Director Jung smiled at us.

“Maybe it’s because you’re rookies, but you sure are enthusiastic. We’re going to complete each individual teaser and the music video in one go. I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes! We look forward to working with you.” 

His personality seemed better than I thought. I made eye contact with Director Jung. He grinned as he held out his hand. 

“Seo Hoyoon, right? Lim Hyunsoo cursed until his mouth was dry talking about you.”

…Was that meant to be praise? 

I was rather taken aback but I still wore my business smile. I took his hand and answered curtly. 

“I don’t know what he told you about me though.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry, he didn’t tell me any details either. But I heard that, unlike a rookie, you seemed to have the spirit of a veteran. I heard that there is a lot of talk about your song getting leaked… I believe you also know that this controversy will pass as long as you do well, right?”

‘That’s kind of pressuring.’

But I just laughed shamelessly. 

“I’ll do my best.”

“Okay, I look forward to working with you today.” 

I wanted to talk a bit more with Director Jung, but since the other members were curious as well, it was rather hard holding an honest conversation with him. 

I’d just talk to him later and if he seemed useful, I would hang on to him. 

“Guys, come over quickly! Let’s try on your costumes.”

The stylist, who normally only worked with actors, waved towards us with her arms raised and called us. The members were a bit too shy. 

“Making your clothes was really complicated.”

“Sorry!”

“Huh? What are you sorry about? Actors don’t usually wear these kinds of clothes, so we rarely have an opportunity to make them. It’s been a while since I had so much fun.”

“Thank you, Miss.” 

“Just call me noona!” 

When Kang Yichae spoke politely to her, the stylist answered happily. She skillfully divided and handed out clothes to each member.

According to the plan pushed by the maknae of the planning team, the concept was divided into two parts.

Our eyes got strange as we received the clothes. They looked rather complicated. 

After whining for a while, I finally got dressed and stood before the mirror. A deep blue uniform was draped under my hair that was close to indigo blue, and a shoulder strap was wrapped from my right shoulder to my lower left side. 

I didn’t really know if that looked good, so I just stared. 

“Wow, Seo Hoyoon, you look amazing!”

“…Does it look okay?” 

“It’s not just okay! I think you were born to wear this because you have such a cool vibe.” 

“Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome!” 

The stylist and hair stylist were both happily watching from the side. Then the other members started to come out. Sung Jiwon suddenly shoved a camera to my face. 

“Wow, Hoyoon-ah! You look really great in that!” 

“What are you filming?” 

“The manager asked us to take some behind-the-scenes shots at the shoot.” 

I had a slight hunch. Sung Jiwon was wearing a uniform similar to mine, but his hair was slightly different. The bright brown hair that shone when the light fell on it really suited him. 

At that moment, Kim Sunghyun, Jung Dajoon, and Kang Yichae popped out. What they were wearing looked more like a military uniform than our uniforms. Stylists were busy trying to arrange their hair and clothes as they rolled up their sleeves while wearing g walkers. 

“Kids these days are really tall.” 

“It’s more fun dressing them if their legs and arms are long.” 

“Ah… Hehe.” 

Jung Dajoon smiled shyly. Kang Yichae had already snatched the camera from Sung Jiwon and was running around like a puppy. 

“Say hello to the camera!” 

“Oh? Should the staff say hello?” 

“Of course!” 

“I’m sorry. Kang Yichae, come here.” 

“Don’t wanna!” 

“That punk…” 

He cling to the staff and acted far too wild, so Kim Sunghyun approached him and dragged him back after hitting him.

It was then.

As we were waiting to go out, a song began to resonate throughout the quiet set. 

“Ah…”

It was our song.

The low beat, the hum, and the lyrics Lim Hyunsoo had harassed the members to re-record countless times before eventually finishing the song, which probably came out even better than the White Cherry song he had been working on, came out of the speakers. 

It was only natural that the singers’ song would appear in their music video, so the staff just continued to focus on their work after a short pause, but neither I nor the other members managed to move. 

“…It’s our song.”

Kim Singhyun smiled softly. Jung Dajoon kept his mouth tightly shut after having been chattering non-stop until just a moment ago. 

‘Dang. ‘

It was a song we had listened to and practiced countless times already, so why did I feel so touched?

The stylist and hair stylist smiled and added a few comments, looking at the members as if they were cute. 

“Your song is really well chosen!” 

“It’s really addictive. It’ll become insanely popular once it comes out.” 

“T-Thank you.”

Jung Dajoon nodded his head slightly. 

I glanced at him and, suddenly feeling a bit playful, I pressed the back of Jung Dajoon’s head forward. He stumbled a little. 

“Ah, hyung. What is it?” 

“Let’s do well today.” 

***

“A little more emotional! Don’t move so awkwardly in front of the camera, and look emotional, Jiwon.” 

“Yes!”

Director Jung was stricter than I thought. There was a tiger behind that smile.

I heard from Lim Hyunsoo that he was the type to do things moderately, but why was he working so hard?

“Wow, you’re so meticulous.”

“It’s like you know all the details.” 

I seriously had to buy a really expensive bottle of sake for Lim Hyunsoo later. 

“It’s incredible, that momentum.”

“I know…” 

Sung Jiwon looked embarrassed. He also seemed a little nervous.

He had a sufficiently sad expression on his face, but Director Jung continued to make Sung Jiwon retake the shot, as if he could do more. 

“No! You have to look even further away!” 

“Ah, yes!” 

Kang Yichae was enthusiastically filming everything with the camera for our behind-the-scenes video, and Jung Dajoon was restlessly watching Sung Jiwon getting more and more frustrated.

“Hyung! Think about the chick you bought and raised in front of the school when you were in elementary school! I heard you cried when you had to leave it!”

“Hey, hey!”

Sung Jiwon turned red when Jung Dajoon shouted that.

The staff burst into laughter. However, Director Jung was quite serious.

“Shall we use that? Let’s continue with the feeling of missing that chick more and more.”

‘…?’

“Imagine what that chick would look like if it grew up to be a chicken.”

What the hell is he talking about?

‘Is this some kind of modern art thing?’

Could I say something like that? No, I couldn’t.

But what was really unbelievable was that Sung Jiwon, who was still embarrassed with his ears bright red, had a really sad expression as soon as the camera was turned again.

‘…No, is it just the face?’

I couldn’t help but rub my chin because I was so confused, but Director Jung got really excited and talked more about chicks.

“Yes, that’s it! That’s the face! what was the chick’s name?”

“Chi… Chicken.”

“Okay, think of Chicken!”

“Chicken…?”

“He’s a lot crueler than I thought, Jiwon hyung…?”

Jung Dajoon and Kang Yichae muttered quietly to each other. This was like Dumb and Dumber.

“Would you be able to act like that after receiving these orders?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

Kim Sunghyun nodded silently at my mutterings.

“The years of experience he gathered as a trainee don’t go anywhere after all.”

Kang Yichae didn’t let go of that camera even while desperately holding back his laughter, showing the spirit of a professional. I would have to see how they would edit this later.

Sung Jiwon seemed embarrassed, but he showed no signs of nervousness. He had been so nervous when we went to the recording studio last time.

‘Just what is his deal?’

I tilted my head. He was so scared last time.

“Next, Kim Sunghyun-ssi!”

“Yes!”

Kim Sunghyun answered bravely and walked out.

The red light of the camera turned on. He took a deep breath and adjusted his expression as he sat down on the chair placed in that space surrounded by cameras.

“Let’s try looking a little colder, Sunghyun-ssi!”

At Director Jung’s orders, Sunghyun bent his head slightly and looked forward. His figure really fit the image of a cold and thorough person.

However, when I looked at Director Jung, his mouth was sticking out a little as if he was dissatisfied.

‘No way.’

I quickly gestured to Kang Yichae. He nodded, asked the staff to quickly write something into the sketchbook we had received in advance, and lifted it up.

“Hyung, look here!”

When Kim Sunghyun looked at him in surprise, he saw a type of quiz written by Kang Yichae in flying letters.

Kim Sunghyun frowned as he looked at it. Some of the staff were reading along with him.

“How does a gentleman greet…?”

“What? Is it some kind of quiz?”

I took the sketchbook from him and flipped a page, raising it over my shoulder. Kang Yichae then shouted.

“The answer is…!”

“… Shin Saimdang [1] ?”

The atmosphere immediately became chilly. In particular, the area around Kim Sunghyun, the person who solved the quiz, became as cold as the North Pole.

Of course, Director Jung became excited again.

“Shin Saimdang! Your expression right now is very good! A very cold image!”

“…”

“Ice cold! As if you hate the person before you!”

It worked.

‘Good.’

‘Yeah.’

I gave Kang Yichae a thumbs up. He nodded and came up with a second quiz.

Several staff members that had some unique tastes looked at this situation with interest.

“What do… Dragons say… when they rise up into the sky?”

“What? Ascension?”

“The answer… Will be revealed by Jiwon hyung!”

Taken aback by the sudden momentum, Sung Jiwon held up the sketchbook. Kim Sunghyun was really suffering, but he couldn’t just ignore the correct answer, so he couldn’t help but look at that sketchbook. Sung Jiwon shouted in embarrassment.

“The answer is… I-I’m rising up…!”

“…”

“Did someone turn on the air conditioner?”

I asked Jung Dajoon. He shook his head with a puzzled expression. Eventually, even the actual temperature seemed to have dropped by 10 degrees.

Sung Jiwon bowed his head in embarrassment, and Director Jung, who said it was good and commanded the camera and took a video, finished filming Kim Sunghyun in five minutes.

“It’s perfect, there’s nothing more to change.”

Director Jung let Kim Sunghyun go with a satisfied smile on his lips. Kim Sunghyun trudged out of the camera’s view as if he was exhausted for some reason. I, on the other hand, gave Kang Yichae another thumbs up.

“Well then, Seo Hoyoon, come up next!”

Ah, it was finally my turn.

Kang Yichae wished me good luck. I stood in front of the camera and looked at the glaring light and reflectors.

I didn’t really know how it would feel standing here. I’d always been the person behind the camera.

“Seo Hoyoon-ssi, don’t be nervous and just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Subtlely, as if you have an ulterior motive.”

‘…Sigh.’

I felt like director Jung knew something about the incident with Lim Hyunsoo.

I frowned and looked at the lighting changing several times in a few seconds. I was kind of nervous.

“What? Are you nervous?”

“Haha… Yes.”

Director Jung smiled slyly as he sneakily questioned me. I smiled awkwardly and recalled the advice Lim Hyunsoo and Joo Woosung had given me.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes to the camera. Director Jung’s eyes, which were shining for some reason before, quickly became serious.

“I love your eyes right now, –Okay.”

Director Jung did a close-up to start, then gave me an okay sign. I slowly moved my fingers and looked ahead.

“Just a little more, look down and smile.”

I was quite lucky that my character concept in this project suited me. If I had to continue with the cute and lively pineapple concept, saying that I shouldn’t die so early, I wouldn’t have been able to immerse myself in it as easily and take a good video.

“Alright, So… Hmm, I like it.”

Director Jung nodded and gestured. As I walked out slowly, the members’ eyes were fixed on me.

“Hoyoon-ssi, you’re really good at working with the camera, aren’t you? It’s worth looking forward to.”

“Thank you.”

“Come here and have a look.”

I felt a little strange as I went next to Director Jung and looked at the video on the screen.

The Seo Hoyoon who moved in the video and the Seo Hoyoon who stood frowning under the blue lighting, everything looked so unfamiliar.

‘It’s fascinating.’

…I felt like this wasn’t me.

“What do you think, do you like it?”

At that time, the ringing sound and dialogue choices appeared before me.

[Choices

‘Fuck.’

I quickly chose.

“I’m so handsome.”

“What? Hahaha!”

That was the best option as well as the easiest. When I spoke so brazenly, Director Jung burst into laughter and slapped me on the back.

“Seo Hoyoon-ssi, you really have a good sense of humor.”

“…”

Does that mean I am not actually handsome?

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