The new song to be released had already been prepared at the same time as the debut song.
It took some behind-the-scenes work to prepare a double title track at the last minute, but the important thing was that the performance had already been completed.
So, when was the perfect time to explode this original energy?
"Raebin, the finals are already this week."
"That's right!"
This was right after Kim Raebin's 〈School Rapping〉 final stage.
When Kim Raebin won and our popularity was at its peak, it would be best if we made a comeback with this song.
But was it too hasty to think that Kim Raebin would win?
'No.'
Unless Kim Raebin sang the first verse during the final stage and messed up somehow, this was a game he couldn't lose.
As I watched Kim Raebin sitting in front of the sofa and furiously tapping away at his laptop, I recalled his biography during 〈School Rapping〉.
First of all, his appearance scene.
[Uh-uh.]
[Participant with a strong impression appears]
When a fierce-looking guy wearing full piercings came in, there were looks of wariness, admiration, and searching.
However, the mood changed with his next words.
[Hello. I am Kim Raebin from Wishze, a group that debuted 35 days ago. I'm looking forward to it!]
[!]
Kim Raebin was said to have responded without any doubt when asked to openly emphasize 'new faces' and 'idol groups'.
Of course, the editing came out like this.
[Why go here?]
[Honestly, since he's from a large agency, there are probably other ways.]
[And he's handsome. (Laughs)]
It was obvious. It was like they couldn't admit it.
However, this time, like an obvious but popular cliché, the evaluation was overturned.
[Hmm?]
When an ambiguous beat started playing and all the other participants chose to skip it, Kim Raebin jumped in and started rapping with a puzzled look on his face that seemed to say, 'Why aren't you guys joining in too?'
And he did extremely well.
[!!!]
In conclusion, when the first episode of 〈School Rapping〉 ended, Kim Raebin's cipher was listed as an unofficial clip in the popular video rankings on WeTube.
Of course, there was a lot of backlash.
-A 17-year-old doing this? This must be rigged ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The company must have told him in advance ㅋㅋ Do you guys actually believe this?
-Even if he knew the beat in advance, shouldn't his flow and punchline be acceptable? If you don't have a sense of it, it's not something that can be done easily
└I guess you also received coaching with him~
However, Kim Raebin performed well in his next solo exhibition as well.
-??
And then the team match, and then the collaboration match.
The process of creating his own song.
After recording for three days and broadcasting it in quick replay, there was nothing more to talk about.
[I work in this way, but it is still difficult to purchase more professional equipment, so I often rent a company studio!]
[I have some time left today, so I'm thinking of concretizing a new beat. And as a guide vocal, I have Moon- No, I have Ryu Gunwoo hyung.]
And that song was damn good too.
Every time the program ended, his songs even appeared on the real-time music charts, proving his skills.
-Originally, he failed as a producer, so they tried to convince him to become an idol after seeing his face.
-The world is fucking unfair. It's like shit.
-Well, from my perspective, it feels like a thoroughly planned product, like a unique manufactured product from an idol agency. If he runs out of repertoire, he'll be in trouble.
That didn't happen.
Kim Raebin emerged as an overwhelming candidate for the championship, both in name and reality, winning all missions like breaking a seal from episodes 2 to 9.
In addition, the fact that he was the grandson of a strawberry farming family in Gangwon-do combined with his naturally polite appearance made him quite popular as a character.
A stable two-headed carriage.
At this point, even some of the people who were looking at it crookedly changed their attitude slightly.
- ㅋㅋㅋ I feel like I want to shoot the bastard who tried to persuade Kim Rap to become an idol. Now he'll have to live in a dorm for 7 years and waste away. I can't stand it.
-Yes, worldwide K-pop is more profitable~ Of course, if you look at the money, you'd choose to be an idol from LeTi ㅋㅋ
-All the people who see his face are obsessed with him. Kim Rap is the winner anyway, so is there really a need to stop being an idol?
It meant that one's ability was recognized.
It had to be that way. Kim Raebin was stirring around as if he were a species disturbing the ecosystem.
On the contrary, even though the production team created Kim Raebin's crisis situation for fun, it was revealed in the next episode that it was a fraud, and viewers' perception was further strengthened.
And now, only the final ending was left.
Ryu Cheongwoo sat friendly next to Kim Raebin.
"How is your relationship with the cast? Is everyone still nice to you?"
"Yes. Since they think I'm younger, they're more considerate."
Kim Raebin nodded in approval. It seemed like they understood the pressure a 17-year-old would feel.
However, it seemed like he also had something else on his mind.
"I… However, is it really okay if someone else features on my next song? I thought it would have a promotional effect as the viewership ratings were decent, so…"
He was asking why the person who would feature in his last project wouldn't be a member of Wishze.
This was because the feature of Kim Raebin's last song was a popular member of FluffySweet who was a lead vocalist.
I chuckled.
"A feature is originally a collaboration with an outside party. Performing on stage will be more meaningful if you do it with someone else rather than us."
"Indeed… ! That's true."
Of course, this was not the real reason.
This was to control the level of acceptance by people.
'Group recognition shouldn't feel like coercion.'
Such blatant tying actually caused resentment.
Delicate control was necessary to prevent the now-inflated buzz from being extinguished or turning into antipathy.
Of course, this did not mean that we would stop being associated with it at all.
"Still, we want to go watch the finals in person, is that okay?"
It would be heartwarming to at least cheer for him.
"… ! Of course, I am grateful!"
"I'll go and cheer hard!"
"Thank you, sunbaenim!"
"Uh, Raebin, we debuted together, so call me hyung!"
"Umm."
I took my eyes off Kim Raebin, who was exchanging jokes with Oh Yoonshin, and checked the schedule again.
And three days later…
On the set of 〈School Rapping〉, where all members took time off from their schedules, confetti exploded on the center stage.
Pop.
[〈School Rapping] Season 2, the long-awaited winner is… Kim Raebin!]
Wow!!!
There were no twists or unexpected situations.
Kim Raebin won on the last stage with an overwhelming, competency-oriented performance that pushed through technique.
'It was useful to give advice in this direction to prevent disagreements.'
Moreover, he was the only one who pushed it to the level of violence.
The featured song with a member of FluffySweet was the best choice in that it slightly brightened the mood and improved the quality of the song by pushing the tone and response.
Attempts to disparage Kim Raebin would not work.
'Good.'
[Th-thank you! I will repay you with even more improvement!]
I applauded Kim Raebin, who held up the Great King's golden ID card while receiving congratulations from the cast.
Preparation was over.
A few days later…
[School Rapping winner emerges]
[Kim Raebin, who was an idol from beginning to end]
[Honestly, it's such a waste for Kim Raebin]
Kim Raebin won, and it was a weekend after three days filled with articles and reactions as expected from a popular survival show.
Slowly, articles began to appear.
[LeTi Monster Rookie Wishze, "Self-produced album to be released soon"]
This was news of Wishze's comeback with their self-composed title track. It was already announced during pre-orders, but the media was deliberately encouraged once more.
The keyword was 'self-producing'.
Naturally, people were attracted to the article title, which inevitably reminded people of Kim Raebin, and the topic that had not cooled down yet.
-I think I'll listen to this one.
-Is Kim Raebin in this group? It'll be a good song
└Not only Kim Raebin, but Cha Eugene and Ryu Gunwoo are in this group too.
└?
└Four-legged Friends Jaehyun and Cheongwoo are also in this group~
└The three funny guys who worshiped newspapers in King of Escape are also here.
└What on earth is happening?
This post was screenshotted and circulated around the Internet. I applauded this as a desirable phenomenon.
There was no need to pause any longer.
"It would be better not to split up the teaser. There is no need to waste this buzz with a teaser."
"Okay."
So, after satisfying expectations with a teaser that included only the addictive whistle sound of the bridge, the song and music video were released the very next week.
• * *
"…"
Inside an international plane…
A man sitting in first class accessed the Internet using the recently launched in-flight WIFI.
It was something that did not suit his tendency to read books, but now there was something he wanted to see.
'Ah, it came out.'
There was no need to search for anything. As soon as he accessed WeTube, the video he was looking for appeared.
[위시즈(Wishze) '타이머(Timer)' Official Music Video]
It was a new song by the rookie group Wishze.
Perhaps because their debut activities were excellent, the number of views was already impressive.
The man recalled their debut for a moment, then nodded inwardly.
'Yes, it was good.'
Wishze's debut mini-album met the demand of the KPOP fandom with a minor yet artistic sensibility that presented a ghost story of a modern European-style boarding school.
The stage was also great. The dance performance using props was also very unique and attractive.
So much so that he almost accidentally sent out a long review to a certain person.
'It's a good thing I didn't send it.'
The man let out a small sigh of relief.
Such commercial and harsh emotions would not have been familiar to the man originally… Somehow, he kept coming back to it.
"…"
The man erased the feeling of sinking for no reason.
Because it was not a feeling that was helpful for working. Instead, he clicked on the video he wanted to watch.
Wishze's new song.
'Will it give me a similar feeling this time?'
In fact, Wishze fans had similar expectations. An intense and provocative dance song.
But when the man actually clicked on their new title… It wasn't what he was expecting.
[Um, h-hm~]
As before, there was a band-feeling, but it was more relaxed.
[Should I turn the timer and go to the past?
Back when we were still together]
The sound became lighter.
And the singing style was grooved and simple.
[Smile on your shy face
A meteor falling from above us
I still remember it today too
Thinking about U]
The song unfolded as high-quality instrument sounds met two types of catchy melodies.
There was no avant-garde story or grand narrative in the music video.
It was just that the choreography cuts on the rooftop of a cool night school with shooting stars raining down and the personal cuts filled with equally cool objects were all mixed up.
A song that was about childhood memories from the past.
A song that everyone could listen to comfortably, regardless of who they were.
So to speak, there was nothing to cringe about. So, there was no difference in likes or dislikes.
It was just extremely popular and stylish.
A song that everyone would enjoy.
Right now, the melody was already in the man's ears.
[Move the timer
Your image on cam
The picture is shiny
When I think of it, it flashes in my mind]
He liked this too.
It didn't give off the same feeling as before, but this stripped-down, popular song somehow touched his heart.
[Sparkle!]
He even watched the ending of the music video where the members looked back and smiled.
It was good, but… he was strangely upset.
"…"
But after thinking about it, he turned on the messaging app.
'… It seems like he doesn't like me very much.'
Still, he wanted to contact him. So he typed the text with slightly trembling hands.
[I really like the song.]
[I'm on my way to Korea, and I think I'll hear it a lot on the streets.]
The recipient was 'Ryu Gunwoo'. And just as the man, Seon Ahyeon, thought, when he arrived and was carrying out his schedule, the streets were filled with Wishze's music.
• * *
"What rank are we?"
Cheongryeo smiled at the nervous question and lifted up his smartphone. Floating on the screen was the daily music chart.
"First."
"… !!"
"It's a big hit!!"
The experienced idols were also laughing among the screaming people.
No matter what, there was no way to get to #1 on the music charts without doing something crazy like this, so honestly, it would be a lie to say that it wasn't impressive.
'Actually, this is our first time too.'
VTIC probably didn't experience this often either. I took a fresh look at the daily #1 song.
"Thank you, Raebin!"
"Thank you so much!"
"It's nothing at all. I don't deserve to receive such an undeserved thank you for the achievement we all achieved together…"
"Good job, Kim Raebin!"
"Ack."
I chuckled as I watched Kim Raebin collapse in a heap of countless hugs.
Cheongryeo smiled while approaching me and spoke softly.
"The most difficult thing remains. Maintaining our position."
"Yes."
That's right.
If we wanted to focus on our music, sustaining power was a must.
'We have to solidify our ranking and run for a long time to get the right score.'
Although both the song and strategy were all good, I wasn't too confident in defending our ranking, but that didn't mean I was going to give up from now on.
So, we needed to make sure that the song was consistently heard in entertainment programs and internet content.
"We can't be pushed around by T-Holic."
"It's going to be busy."
This time, we would be having all-star tours and overseas activities aimed at the global market.
All efforts were put into scheduling promotional appearances.
… As a result, things like this happened.
"… ! Hello."
… … This meant appearing on a variety show with Seon Ahyeon.
I managed to respond.
"… Yes."
"I had no idea it would be like this."
Oh, me too.
'I'm going crazy.'
Why was a popular Ballerino appearing here as a special feature and joining us?