Chapter 16
The college student took a deep breath and played the video.
The members got up one by one and walked down the hallway of the pure white castle.
The moment they reached the end of the hallway and the castle gate, the high archway opened and the intro began with a brisk synthesizer.
-Um Come in
"Cra, crazy, voice......."
The college student swallowed her exclamation at the gentle tone of the handsome man.
-Waited for you
-The SET is now complete
-Nah Nah Nah Nah
The five members freely roamed the amusement park and the castle looking for something.
-Don't you worry It doesn't have to be grandiose
A boy who found a treasure chest. He folded his innocent cheeks and picked up the cross necklace that was lying around in the treasure chest.
𝅘𝅥 ♬ - 𝅘𝅥♬𝅘𝅥𝅮 -
Then, a sharp-faced boy playfully swung a fencing sword that looked like a knight's armor.
-The brightest knight
-Our own tactic that will brighten you and me
Group choreography cuts on a pure white background and individual close-ups of the members intersect.
'It's true that everyone is a visual member.'
-It's our opening
A boy with a smooth yet manly face threw a card with a heart drawn on it and continued a soft singing rap.
-Move just for you
-Lightly ahead our dive
The song had already passed the second verse and was heading toward the bridge.
-Coloring this world with the light of you and me
The part where puppy's handsome face exchanged high notes.
'How can you sing well with such a face?'
The college student's eyes fluttered.
The members found a magnificent throne and crown deep in the castle.
As the dimple murdered held out the crown toward the screen, the lights came on in the quiet amusement park and the carousel and Ferris wheel began to move.
𝅘𝅥 ♬ - 𝅘𝅥♬𝅘𝅥𝅮 -
The choreography unfolds against the backdrop of a gorgeous amusement park.
The pure white castle is beautifully colored in various colors.
-Now we play
After a while, the video ends with the screen turning black with the snap of a handsome man's finger walking toward the camera.
The college student who had been sighing meaninglessly the whole time met eyes with someone on the screen the moment the music video ended.
It was herself who was smiling happily without knowing it.
She coughed in embarrassment, hiding her expression.
'I'm crazy. This is possible.'
She clenched her fists as she regained her sense of reason.
How long has it been since she saw such a well-made music video on the male idol scene?
The song, the choreography, the visuals, and even the visual beauty.
Even as someone who has been a fan for 5 years, she could find no fault with it. No, she even felt an instinctive attraction. Just like 5 years ago.
'First of all, the song is really good.'
Thanks to the unique melody line, she was humming the chorus even though she only heard it once.
'TP gritted their teeth.'
The visual beauty, coordination, and even the members' visuals were pleasing to the eyes the whole time.
She logged onto SNS after a long time with the aforementioned expression.
— The song is so good aaah Summer vacation mood ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Fluffy Soft The music video itself is youthful ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
— TP really sharpened their knife this time ㅋㅋㅋㅋ It seems like they're investing in this group as a legend
—First of all, the video is so pretty, but the kids' faces are even prettier
— It's so scary that TP Entertainment can come out with such good quality when they really focus and push it TP is really big now
As expected, everyone had similar feelings.
The college student started searching while faithfully pressing the heart on the comments that seemed to represent her feelings.
'Is the music video and personal poster the only things that have been released so far?'
Then she carefully looked into the sasaeng attack incident that she had heard about from her classmates a while ago.
'What kind of a piece of shit is stalking such innocent and pure kids?!'
You have to eat rice and beans to come to your senses.
'You're not badly hurt, are you? If they forced their debut with injured kids, I won't leave TP alone.'
She sighed deeply in regret and began to seriously study M8.
Among them, the member whose information was known was....... Puppy Kim Eden.'
It seemed like he was the trainee who had been at TP the longest. There was a screenshot circulating that he had briefly appeared in the Pink Lime music video.
'Wow, his face is the same as back then.'
They can't say that it was plastic surgery.
She must be a high school student now?
She turned on YouTube on the TV and played the music video repeatedly, focusing on M8 as if she was being sucked into the screen.
Unfortunately, she knew that the name of the handsome man who gave her a visual shock was 'Kwon Yoo-hyun', but there was no more information.
'With this level of visual, he must have been quite famous in the school... no, even in the region.'
The college student didn't put down her smartphone until there was no more new information.
[Interpretation of M8's 'OPENING' M/V]
: Mpal's debut song concept seems to be chess. Empal, who lives in a white castle, is white among black and white.
[*Mpal = M8]
(Music video capture_MaknaeKimEden1.jpg)
(Music video capture_MaknaeKimEden2.jpg)
[*Maknae = youngest]
First, Eden is the chess piece Rook. The look symbolizes the castle wall, and at the very beginning of the music video, Eden is guarding the castle
(MV capture_ VeryStrongMaknaeKangSeHyun.jpg)
Sehyun is a knight. The fact that he's holding a sword in the middle of the music video, and the lyrics of the song are, The brightest 'knight'ㅠ
(MV capture_ GodLeaderBeautifulAppearanceChoiSungJun.jpg)
Sungjun is a queen. If you look at the card Sungjun is holding, it's the queen of hearts.
(MV capture_ SoDamnHandsomeKwonYooHyun.gif)
Yoohyun is a pawn. In a chess game, the pawn that moves first can move one space or two spaces only on the first move. If you look at the ending choreography, only Yoohyun walks two steps and it ends. It means that the game has just started
(MV capture_CuteRabbitShinYeonwoo1.gif)
Lastly, Yeonwoo is a bishop, but in the middle, Yeonwoo is holding a cross
(MV capture_CuteRabbitShinYeonwoo2.gif)
And then he puts a crown on the camera.
But why put a crown on the camera? That means the viewer is the king now; that is, king=fan: The lights in the amusement park come on like the lights are on, so the game can proceed only when there is a kingㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Honestly, I'm not a fan yet, but I'm just fascinated by the face and want to analyze it, but while writing this, I feel like I've become a real fan, and my heart is pounding right now.....ㅠㅠ
'Wow, they're showing the world view properly from the beginning.'
The fan is the king?
She can't help but get immersed in this.
A college student who had never been interested in chess before started to study the rules of chess.
When she looked at her watch absentmindedly, it was already past midnight.
'What, already?!'
Only then did the college student realize that she had not eaten anything since waking up today.
-M8(엠에이트) DEBUT SHOWCASE LIVE STREAMING 6/28 14:00 (KST)
She headed to the kitchen with her eyes fixed on her smartphone where the showcase schedule was displayed.
'It's a showcase.'
She wondered if they're good at live performances and how will they do on stage.
'What is their real personality like?'
She should have watched the teaser when her friend told her to.
If she had seen that face a little earlier, she could have gone directly by buying a ticket instead of streaming!
The college student felt regretful, but at the same time, she looked forward to tomorrow.
Her time began to pass quickly again.
***
The day of the showcase finally arrived.
"Yoo Hyun-ah, are you really nervous?"
Shin Yeon-woo, who had just finished his makeup and returned, asked as he sat down next to me.
I looked back at Shin Yeon-woo with a puzzled look.
"You haven't said anything since a while ago,"
"Ah."
Did I show it too much? I nodded coolly.
"I'm really nervous."
Shin Yeon-woo smiled and encouraged me.
"We practiced a lot, right? Out of all of them, you worked the hardest."
"...I'm still lacking."
Just like when it evaluated the debut group, I didn't know how it would try to shorten my lifespan again under the pretext of idol virtues.
All I can do is to spend all my life in practice.
'.... But I think I wouldn't die on stage.'
There was a variable.
[Daily Quest Arrival!]
[Respond to an Emergency!]
[Reward Life 24:00:00]
Today's daily quest arrived early in the morning on the way to work.
As expected, there is no information about when or where the emergency will occur.
However, since there is a big event called the showcase today, it will probably be on stage.
I have to consider all the emergency situations that can occur on stage.
'The number of views for the music video is cruising.'
It's been 16 hours since the music video was uploaded. The current number of views is 670,000.
The problem is that the number of views is increasing at a slower rate.
'Of course, those who are interested have already seen the video, so it's true that the speed decreases as time goes by....
Main quest is to reach 1 million within 24 hours, 8 hours left until the deadline.
330,000 views are missing. If this trend continues, it's dangerous.
'I'll have to see the result at the showcase.'
"What if the seats are empty?!"
"Hey, Kim Eden, don't worry. The reporters will be here."
"No~!"
I listened to the two youngest members' banter and collected my thoughts
The only thing I can do right now is to finish the showcase stage safely.
I took a deep breath and controlled my breathing.
***
The M8 debut showcase site was filled with a buzz of anticipation.
On the other hand, the rookie reporter was extremely nervous.
He had been working day and night for the past few months, but now he had barely escaped the situation of staying up all night at the police station.
'Is this finally my first case?'
The rookie reporter swallowed hard.
In fact, today's showcase case for M8 wasn't his responsibility.
That's because TP, which had been relying on Pink Lime and established singers, was introducing its first male idol.
And on top of that, the number of views for the music video was the best among recently debuted groups.
That meant that a rookie reporter like him wasn't supposed to be in charge of the case in the first place.
- Aah! Why on earth! Are there any people left?! Send someone to the scene first! I'll get there as fast as I can!!
Was it heaven's will?
The senior who was originally supposed to be in charge of the showcase had a delayed flight, so he, the remaining member, had to come alone to make up for it.
'There are already a lot of fans. Didn't you say that they sold out quickly and released additional tickets?'
Even though they were a rookie group that had only released a debut song music video, the audience seats, except for the seats reserved for reporters, were filled with fans.
As expected, they were the group with the most buzz among the idols who had recently debuted.
It was already a well-known fact that there were no notable faces in the male idol scene after Clicker's hiatus.
In front of that huge gap, the rookie reporter could finally realize how thirsty the idol fans were, ready to support any suitable group that appeared.
'If I stop here, I'll get a year's worth of punishment from the senior.'
The senior said that he would come to the scene as soon as possible, but the chances of him arriving by the end of the showcase were close to zero.
The rookie reporter fixed his camera with a determined mind.
The room gradually became darker, signaling the start of the event.
The noisy room became quiet as if it had made a promise. He took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the camera viewfinder.
The lights on the stage came on and the intro began.
-Um Come in
'Is that Kwon Yoo-hyun who got hurt in the Sasaeng incident?'
Focus on Kwon Yoo-hyun! It would be better if you could capture something like the scar from the accident.
This is something that the senior emphasized dozens of times.
He thought it was too much for the young men who looked younger than his youngest brother, but there was no choice for a rookie reporter who had to criticize if he had to.
The rookie reporter pressed the shutter at a speed proportional to his passion.
He kept his eyes fixed on Kwon Yoo-hyun and exclaimed in admiration.
'The live performance is also good?'
He already knew that the song was good.
Even though he had watched the music video dozens of times before coming to the showcase and practiced it, it was an addictive song that he didn't get tired of.
Even for him who was used to music videos, M.Eight's live performance was stable enough to sound almost the same as the music video source.
On top of that, the clean lines and the big, fast movements were all sharply executed with exciting choreography. But at that moment.
"!"
The beret worn by Kim Eden flew into the air.
At the same time, everyone around the rookie reporter began to press the shutter at the same time.
'Oh my, what to do?'
The rookie reporter also sighed and was filming at that moment. An amazing sight unfolded.
Kwon Yoo-hyun, who was moving towards the center, quickly snatched the hat as if he had been waiting for it.
"?!"
- It's the beginning
- It's our opening
And he leisurely performed his part while putting the hat on his head.
"Oh!
"Wow! Haha!"
Exclamations erupted from around the rookie reporter.
-With the light of you and me
Kim Eden and Kwon Yoo-hyun looked at each other and built a pleasant harmony.
Kwon Yoo-hyun put the hat on Kim Eden's head with a playful expression.
Kim Eden's pleasant laughter, which was faintly laughing, flowed out through the microphone.
'Are you really a rookie?'
The wide-eyed expressions that seemed to be enjoying this situation were also quite cute to the man's eyes.
- Coloring this world
Kim Eden also performed the high-pitched part cleanly.
Good job.
The rookie reporter who was watching the stage with a happy smile belatedly felt his heart sink.
'Ah, damn it! Photo!'
He hurriedly focused on filming again.
***
In a friendly atmosphere, M8's first stage ended.
The lights on the stage changed, and the MC walked out onto the stage.
"Hello, I'm Kim Dong-yoon who is hosting M8's debut showcase today!"
Actor Kim Dong-yoon, who is an actor under TP and also active as an MC, skillfully led the showcase.
"Wow~ The audience seats were really full today! The stage was so cool. I couldn't help but lose myself in it. I'm really proud to be a part of TP."
The audience, who were still reeling from the stage, responded with cheers and applause.
"It's an honor to be with you as you begin the new artists of our TP Entertainment. Let me introduce you. Everyone, this is M8!"
M8 walked out onto the stage with the sound of the shutter and the enthusiastic cheers of the fans.
They had a brief greeting time for each member.
After a smooth talk with the MC, the Q&A session with the reporters began. The questions were within the expected range.
At the end of the formal Q&A session, one reporter asked a question jokingly.
"Earlier on stage, Eden ssi's hat fell off and Yoo Hyun ssi snatched it away. Was this planned?"
The audience burst into laughter.
In the meantime, the rookie reporter was pressing the shutter while focusing on Kwon Yoo Hyun through the viewfinder. That was when.
"Wow......."
Kwon Yoo Hyun looked at Kim Eden standing next to him and snickered.
The reporter felt like that moment was in slow motion.
He pressed the shutter as if he was possessed by the smile that made even the same gender lose his mind.
He could tell instinctively.
That this photo would cause a big stir today.
—