Chapter 331
It was a series of days where everyone felt rewarded for working so hard for the release of the first full-length album.
"Hyung, we've already surpassed 2.2 million in the first week!"
"Already? 2.2 million?"
"Yes!"
Inside the waiting room of MBS's music show.
Yoo Min-ha, who checked the sales status of
Kang Si-yoon and I, who were sitting next to each other on the sofa, looked it up on our phones after hearing Yoo Min-ha's words.
"...It's getting a little scary at this point."
"What do you mean?"
Kang Si-yoon smiled awkwardly.
The face that was usually so confident and playful was nowhere to be found.
"I always think about it when we make a comeback. What if sales drop compared to the last album? If we keep setting new records and then drop once, there will be a lot of attention, whether we like it or not."
"That's true."
"But since we've sold well four times in a row, it feels good....."
"But the pressure also increases."
Song Hyung-bin, who was stretching his neck while looking in the mirror, looked at us with a look that seemed to know what Kang Si-yoon was talking about.
"I think it's inevitable to feel that way. The more we grow, the more attention we receive. We can't help but worry about how long we can live up to those people's expectations."
"..... an interview with seniors Kefka."
"That's right."
Song Hyung-bin nodded to Ji Yoon-chul's words.
Kefka is a senior idol who led K-pop a generation ahead of the idols currently active.
All the members are currently serving in the military and are serving their military service.
Song Hyung-bin and Ji Yoon-chul seemed to have read an interview with Kefka, one of the main players leading the Korean Wave craze, somewhere.
"The seniors also often had these concerns. Will they be able to write better music than now? Will they always be able to meet the public's expectations? They said that they often had slumps while composing while worrying about such things, and they lost their way while trying to make the songs more perfect."
"..."
Heo Yu-bin listened to Song Hyung-bin's words while quietly wiggling his fingers.
I briefly looked at my younger brother, who must have been thinking about things related to composing, and then focused on the leader again.
"What did the seniors do whenever that happened?"
"Surprisingly, it's really simple."
Song Hyung-bin smiled brightly at Kang Si-yoon's question and spread his hands.
"There's something we always say. Let's live without losing our original intentions."
"Yes."
"Whenever our seniors had such worries, they did this. We thought long and hard about why we've been able to achieve such good results so far, and when we focused on what we really liked, the fans liked it too. It's good to try hard, but we shouldn't get discouraged by that pressure and forget the things we like."
"What we like..."
What we like.
Singing, dancing, and connecting with fans better than anyone else on stage.
Growing day by day while working together with like-minded colleagues.
The message the seniors wanted to convey was simple.
It meant that we shouldn't forget those essential things while being lost in the pressure of grades.
Song Hyung-bin continued to speak without losing his smile.
"I also have those thoughts like Si-yoon sometimes. Since this is an album that we worked really hard to make, we need the fans to like it, but what if they don't respond well? But this is already the fourth time I've had these worries, and in the end, the fans always like our music. If we put in our best efforts with sincerity, the fans will always give us unchanging love. So what should we do?"
Silence fell over the waiting room for a moment.
After gathering my thoughts for a moment, I slowly began to open my mouth.
"We should always be grateful for the love and sincerity that our fans have sent us, and only look at the things we like. That will be the driving force that will allow us to create good music and performances."
"That's right, we just have to focus on that."
Song Hyung-bin's words were conveyed to all the members of Seleste.
It wasn't just something we could hear, but it felt clear as if our hearts were connected as one.
"You don't have to think too hard. You don't have to be obsessed with grades. We just have to keep looking at our fans and what we like."
Song Hyung-bin's status window, which was only visible to my eyes, flashed.
[Trait, 'Leader' is activated. The minds of everyone within a 2m radius are focused.]
[Trait 'Leader' preparing to bloom]
Following Chae Eun-gyu and Yoo Min-ha, Song Hyung-bin's trait is preparing to bloom.
I looked at Song Hyung-bin's status window while recalling the feeling that the minds of the seven Seleste members were connected.
'Like Chae Eun-gyu, it's a buff skill that affects all the members.'
It's a similar mechanism to my 'mental communication' skill, but unlike 'mental communication', which shares half of my mental power, Song Hyung-bin's special ability seems to be a form of connecting each other's mental power.
The fact that it's ready to bloom means that it will bloom if there's a specific event..........
'There should be a direct incident like Chae Eun-gyu and Triple Crown, Yoo Min-ha and
Since the system I have originally came from a game, I've become accustomed to the system, so I've had fun completing the members' traits one by one.
Song Hyung-bin's story was effective.
Kang Si-yoon expressed his gratitude with a face that seemed much less worried than before.
"Hyung, thank you. Thanks to you, my thoughts have been organized a lot."
"I told you about the interviews I read with my seniors, what?"
"Still. Thank you."
"...Did you eat something wrong?"
"Huh?"
Song Hyung-bin glared at Kang Si-yoon with a suspicious expression.
"The Kang Si-yoon I know would never say 'Thank you~' so kindly."
"What kind of image am I having?"
"First of all, you definitely don't have a kind and gentle image."
"Ha.......... I need to try to change my image in the future. It won't work."
While the hyungs were having a talk time, Ji Yoon-chul, who was pondering something in the corner, quietly raised his hand.
"......... When I heard Hyung-bin hyung, something came to mind."
"What is it, Yoon-chul?"
"I thought it would be good to prepare something to repay the love the fans give us. We'll do something special during the encore stage....."
"Wow, our Yoon-chul!"
Yoo Min-ha laughed heartily at the youngest's words.
"If you're talking about an encore, you're already thinking about getting first place as a given?"
"T-that-! I can see with my own eyes that the fans bought so many albums!"
"Our youngest is all grown up, all grown up. Oh my."
"Ah, ah, anyway! I think it would be good to prepare some kind of event!"
Ji Yoon-chul, whose face turned red, cut off Yoo Min-ha's words and hurriedly waved his hand.
"A special event during the encore, doesn't that sound good?"
"We always talk about doing something, but we've never done anything memorable."
"Ah, ah! How about that!"
Yoo Min-ha, who had been teasing Ji Yoon-chul until just now, clapped his hands wildly.
It seemed like he had a good idea.
"We uploaded the Highlight Medley a cappella version. There were so many comments saying they wanted to hear the full version, so if we get first place this time, how about singing
"That's good, right?"
"I saw that comment too. I remember it getting 30,000 likes."
"Then we have to do it."
"Since we practiced a cappella for the Highlight Medley filming, we should do it at least once more. It was really hard."
"Good!"
As always, our conversation flowed in one direction in an instant.
Yoo Min-ha's a cappella idea was immediately accepted with full support.
"Then should we tell our pledges during today's midterm interview? Should we tell right away?"
Yoo Minha's buttocks were squirming very evenly.
This is one of Yoo Minha's physical reactions that let him know with his whole body that something very exciting and fun is coming.
Song Hyung-bin stopped his younger brother who was moving like an excited puppy.
"Yeah, today is the first episode of MBS, so we won't get first place right away. Let's declare that if we get first place, we'll do an acapella encore."
"Owu, yeah!"
Yoo Min-ha seemed to be genuinely impressed by the boy's cartoon animation that he recommended to me.
He uses the exclamations from that in real life without holding back.
***
[Welcome Seleste, who made a comeback with their first full-length album,
[Two, three! Hello, this is Seleste!]
Pyo Joo-hyun, who was watching the MBS music show at home, immediately straightened her posture when she finally saw the Seleste members.
She, who didn't even turn on music shows when Seleste wasn't promoting, turned on the TV during the daytime for the first time in a long time.
'Wow, the kids are really handsome today.'
Seleste's face, caught on the music show camera after a long time, was truly the height of beauty.
Pyo Joo-hyun blankly stared at Karis, who appeared with his hair slightly covering his forehead.
It seems that hair and clothes change depending on the person who pulls them off.
Even styles that other idols often wear feel so different when Karis wears them.
[Our first full-length album title song,
The leader, Song Hyung-bin, introduced the title song and concept at the MCs' request.
Then, a sudden request came in.
[I personally thought the chorus was really impressive and addictive. Can we listen to a little taste of
[Oh, yes! Then let's all do it together!]
A request to sing the chorus of
Seleste skillfully grabbed the mic without showing any sign of nervousness.
They showed an impromptu live performance that was full of the feeling of an a cappella version of the highlight medley that all Seleves, including Pyo Joo-hyun, were impressed by.
'Yes, this is the feeling.'
The voices of the seven members beautifully harmonize and reach your ears.
Even the members who are not in the vocal line show off their top-notch skills and build up a solid harmony.
Pyo Joo-hyun clenched her hands tightly, feeling proud of the members' skills.
The desire to hear more welled up, but..........
Unfortunately, she had to be satisfied with this much?
[Oh, and there's one thing we have to promise our fans! If we win first place on Music Show! Legend, we'll decorate the
"Huh?"
Pyo Joo-hyun instinctively dropped the phone she was holding.
Her gaze was blankly fixed on Yoo Min-ha, as if he had read her mind.
First place. We have to make
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