Chapter 397 - 397

Chapter 397

From Seleste's cinematic trailer to the music video, Pyo Joo-hyun felt like she had been hit in the back of the head.

She really don't know who in Sigma Entertainment planned this, but she can't believe they'd give them plot twists like this.

It was a series of exclamations.

'At first, I wondered how they could make a music video with such horror material, but in the end, they drew all kinds of aggro from the trailer and the music video was 100% a youth story.'

In short, it was like a smokescreen.

You could call it a 'youth story disguised as horror.'

The only scenes that made fans' hearts shiver were the photos of the 7 people that were revealed in the cinematic trailer and the unknown shadows that looked like glitches.

In the actual music video, there were no additional horror materials added other than these two elements.

Rather, it showed the beautiful side of college campus life and made us imagine how the members would have played if they were college students.

After watching the music video a couple of times, Pyo Joo-hyun felt that the person in charge of directing this album was really smart.

Idol fans like various concepts, but what they like the most is when their idols look pretty and cool.

When it was said that Seleste had a horror concept, there were many reactions like, 'Is it okay to put this in a music video?'

Idol, horror, ghost. These three keywords don't seem to fit together.

However, when you open the lid, it's a refreshing and lively youth story disguised as horror.

The amazing quality of the song and music video that follows the initial aggro.

The visuals of the members.

And the complex elements of the fresh twist and storytelling worked very well.

'Yes, this storytelling. This was the best.'

Seleste's concept, which started from the cinematic trailer, was solid until the end.

The identity of the shadow in the photo taken by Song Hyung-bin was neither a ghost wandering around the school nor Song Hyung-bin who had become a ghost.

Not all the members were dead, nor had they entered a fictional space.

The anxiety that each member had.

The frustration that they experienced because their studies weren't going well.

It was created because of the frustration they encountered on the way to their dreams.

As shown in the music video, the glitch only appeared when the members were having a hard time.

And when the members gathered together to do club activities or take a break together to heal, the glitch disappeared right away.

In other words, the fears and anxieties that each of them had in their hearts didn't come to mind while they were together.

The fears that they couldn't overcome when they were alone ended when everyone was together.

The unidentified shadows in the photo came from the members' worries, which is perfectly revealed in the last scene of the music video.

When they took the photo again on everyone's shoulders without the glitch, the Polaroid photo was clearly taken and there were 6 people instead of 7.

When she first saw the cinematic trailer, she thought, 'What is this?' But if you look at the story unfolding through the music video, it is really simple and clear interpretation.

Pyo Joo-hyun thought this was really good.

If you throw in difficult content and a complicated worldview for no reason, it will only confuse fans.

Also, the possibility of the general public evaluating the concept as excessive increases.

Just like Seleste did this time, if the story is intuitive and the ending is decorated with a beautiful scene befitting an idol youth story, it will leave a good impression on the general public.

The build-up that was built up step by step before the music video was released clearly showed its effects.

The music video surpassed 4 million views in just 3 hours after its release.

The album pre-order sales were also so high that there were even rumors that it had already sold 2 million copies before the first-day sales had even finished.

'If this is true, isn't it almost the same as the last regular 1st album?'

If Pyo Joo-hyun remembers correctly, the regular 1st album set a new record by selling a whopping 2.01 million copies on the first day of the initial count.

Until then, there were rumors that Seleste would never surpass itself.

Looking at their recent momentum, she thinks it might not be impossible to surpass it.

First of all, the quality itself in all areas has improved by one level.

It was as if everyone at Sigma Entertainment had sharpened their teeth, showing unprecedented progress in various areas such as the quality of the album, the level of pre-promotion, and the content delivered to fans.

Pyo Joo-hyun secretly wished she had tried harder if she had known they would do this..........

But why are they pouring in so much capital now?

'Or is it because they are conscious of Connex?'

A few days after Seleste's comeback date was announced, an article came out saying Connex would also make a comeback at the same time.

She doesn't know if they knew that there would be a lot of fighting among fans, but they must have known that it was a very important time.

More than anyone else, Pyo Joo-hyun hoped that Seleste would crush Connex with a solid performance during this comeback week.

There are still two days left until Connex's song is released..........

'Just looking at , it seems like it can't be beat in terms of popularity or perfection by any other song?'

This isn't just because she's a fan of Seleste.

Really, if Pyo Joo-hyun puts her hand on her chest and think about it with a clear conscience, this song was well-chosen.

The atmosphere that matches the season and the appropriate song length that follows the current trend.

No matter how well COC Entertainment prepares, it will be quite difficult to beat Seleste, who has already been a huge hit two days before them.

'First, I have to go to bed early for tomorrow.'

Tomorrow is the day of the long-awaited special MD shop.

The location of these event shops is always near Hongdae, so it is far from her house, but this was something that a Seleve absolutely cannot miss.

Pyo Joo-hyun checked the MD items she had checked in advance again.

'This is why I earn money.'

***

The day before 's first music broadcast.

"Oh, is it going to be updated now?"

"It's only been a minute, so just wait a little bit."

"I can't stand it."

"Stop shaking your legs, Si-yoon. The sofa is shaking."

"Just let yourself go to the beat~."

"I'm so excited."

Kang Si-yoon, Song Hyung-bin, and I were waiting in the living room to check the sales of on the second day.

I used to check the charts alone for every comeback, but this time, Kang Si-yoon suggested that we all look at it together.

So Song Hyung-bin and I, who know this system well, ended up doing it together.

The other members who weren't here, especially Chae Eun-gyu and Yoo Min-ha, were in a deep sleep.

I looked at the screen where the second-day records hadn't been uploaded yet and turned my head here and there.

'Yesterday was a little disappointing.'

Our last album, , sold a whopping 2.01 million copies on the first day.

I had high hopes for this album because some fans predicted that we might surpass that incredible record.

As a result, was less than 2.01 million by a small margin.

Song Hyung-bin suddenly laughed while flipping his bangs.

"If we had bought the album with our own money, would it have sold 20,000 copies?"

"Hey, hyung. Then it's manipulation, manipulation. Hyung, you'll be caught alone. I won't go."

"I just said it. I would never do it."

As Song Hyung-bin said, failed to set a new record by only 20,000 copies.

1.99 million copies on the first day of initial counting. It's an absurd number, but it was even more regrettable because we had maintained a record of breaking our past records every time.

Because we broke our consecutive records.

Still, if we kept going from the second day, I thought we could eventually break 's 2.48 million copies.

Kang Si-yoon, who had been refreshing the page, suddenly sat up.

"It's up! 120,000 copies!"

"Huh? Wait, isn't this a reversal?"

I also quickly checked my phone.

That's true.

and drew almost similar curves, but there was a slight difference in sales on the second day.

sold 90,000 copies, sold 120,000 copies.

With this, the current album has sold more 10,000 copies.

"See, I said it's all thanks to me?"

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

"No, I'm telling you? What day is today?"

"What day is it? It's the day of the first music show."

"Well, where is that music show?"

I finally realized Kang Si-yoon's intention and opened my eyes slightly.

"Are you saying that sales were high because it was the day we appeared on Music K Countdown?"

"Huh! Who's the MC right now, ahem."

"If you're going to be that specific, when we set a new record last time, our last broadcast was on SBM, so it's all thanks to senior Min-ho?"

"Uh......…."

"I see, Si-yoon. So you wanted to express your gratitude to senior right now. It's late now, so let's call with your phone later."

"Why on earth are you calling on my phone?"

As soon as Song Hyung-bin heard my words, he smiled with an evil expression.

I think he properly benchmarked the expression I sometimes make.

"If you say something nonsensical, you should naturally pay the price. Isn't that right, Karis?"

"That's a fair point."

"...The two of you are really too much."

"What do you mean too much?"

"You never go along with what I say."

"I know exactly what will happen if I go along with it, so why would I do something like that?"

"....."

At my words, Kang Si Yoon became a dumb mute.

He must have realized that if he continued this conversation, he would be stopped even more, so he quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"Uh, uh! Now that I think about it, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow?"

"Why? Because you're thinking about saying hello to Senior Minho?"

"Oh, really! Didn't we already finish talking about that?"

"Who can end it? Never finish it."

"Wow, when did this guy become so evil?"

"It's all because we had a great teacher."

"It's not me, is it?"

"Right?"

Song Hyung-bin, whose eloquence has recently improved, has been playing around with Kang Si-yoon freely.

He also figured it out. The method of putting pressure on Kang Si-yoon is surprisingly simple.

Just don't get caught up in Kang Si-yoon's pace at all and make him mentally confused, and he'll fall apart on his own.

At this level, he's a 1-star boss who doesn't need a separate strategy.

Still, if I leave him alone, I think I might have to listen to what Kang Si-yoon was going to say, so I showed mercy.

"So what did you want to say, Si-yoon? Why were you looking forward to tomorrow?"

"Nothing much... It's been like that since long ago. I've been dreaming of interviewing our members as an MC. I'm nervous because I think that's going to come true."

The word nervous wasn't a word that appeared often in Kang Si-yoon's dictionary.

I looked into Kang Si-yoon's eyes.

The fact that they're shining so transparently must mean that he's sincere.

"It'll definitely be a new experience. People always ask us questions, but tomorrow is Siyoon's day. Oh, so if we get first place, you get the trophy too?"

"Hey, no way. It's not me, but Da-yeon ssi."

"What, you're still using formal speech?"

"...That older sister is honestly scary. Her first impression was really strong, and as I kept watching, that feeling didn't go away, so I just started using formal speech automatically."

We burst out laughing at Kang Si-yoon's words.

'Yeah, this is going to be a meaningful day in many ways.'

Up until this point, we were just excited to see Kang Si-yoon's MC hosting right in front of our eyes.

We couldn't even imagine what would happen after Connex's song was released.