Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: 22nd Floor: Music Video Premiere 0 seconds!
The screen changed.
Next to me, a nervous So-mi was clinging tightly to my arm, and Sua also swallowed hard, focusing on the screen.
[Heart Steeler]
Pink letters appeared on a black background before slowly fading away, and a sound like a heartbeat gradually grew louder.
Thump… thump… thump…
The heartbeat in the intro of the music video began to grow louder as the lights slowly came on.
Serenia's original concept was the common, run-of-the-mill girl crush concept. And this was an era when easy-listening songs claiming to have that same girl crush vibe were flooding the market.
We decided on a slightly different path, one that could still pull off the original concept well.
'Should we mix in a bit of a sexy concept?'
The intro reflected that suggestion.
As the red lights slowly brightened, I appeared on screen, my pink head bowed.
I stood against a black background under the crimson lighting, wearing a red dress with a plunging neckline.
The camera gradually zoomed in on my face in time with the thumping beat, showing me slowly lifting my head.
Ugh, this is so embarrassing…
Thump, thump, thump…!
Then, with my face magnified to its limit, I slowly raised my head and licked my lips with a slurp. The scene was a close-up.
It was a breathtakingly sensual shot.
But the scene quickly transitioned to our rapper, Hye-ri, whispering her rap.
I don't even have to look at the chat to know it's already going wild.
After the short rap, a powerful beat dropped.
It wasn't the easy-listening music popular at the time, but an intense beat that made your heart pound. The genre was a rather intense dance-pop.
So-mi and I started singing the first verse together.
The music video's plot mirrored the lyrics.
The concept was a sexy female warrior who seizes love for herself.
So the video had fight scenes and some risqué moments. I showed off my superior physical abilities without holding back, performing all the combat scenes without a stunt double.
Everyone was pretty shocked at first.
Still, I only displayed a human level of physicality, so I didn't get reported or anything.
"Aaaahhh!!"
Our young Hye-ri even screamed during the scene where I tore a person apart.
"Wow… They did this with CG?"
The quiet Rain expressed her admiration for the high-budget editing.
Then came the dance break during the bridge.
After Hye-ri's calm rap, I reappeared in the plunging red dress, grinding my pelvis as if I were in the cowgirl position.
As I slowly rose while shaking my hips, my body overlapped with Sua and Rain, who were in slightly revealing outfits.
Their figures were quite voluptuous as well, creating a distinctly sensual atmosphere.
"Hye-ri, So-mi, close your eyes!"
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"
What's with that girlish reaction…
Hye-ri, who spits all sorts of lewd things in her raps, was acting shy.
So-mi was watching with wide eyes, peeking through her fingers.
The song concluded with Sua and Rain, now back in normal outfits, belting out incredible high notes in harmony, followed by a group dance.
It turned out really well.
This song and music video focused on one thing and one thing only.
Can we give the viewers and listeners a dopamine rush?
We just relentlessly hammered in every stimulating element humans crave.
For sexiness, we boldly exposed cleavage and showed girls grinding on each other.
Musically, we packed it with an intense beat and insane high notes belted out in full voice.
We were a group that wouldn't get another chance if we failed anyway.
With the determination to show everything we had, we didn't hold back, even incorporating flashy and powerful choreography that was closer to what male idols performed.
In fact, the powerful choreography was easy for me, so it wasn't hard to learn. Although I was a bit stiff compared to the other members during filming, the post-production editing made it look completely natural, with no hint of my awkwardness.
"Phew…"
Sua, seemingly tense, let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the sofa.
We all exchanged glances,
and then turned on the chat.
- Wow… - Holy shit, she was gorgeous!! - Who called her ugly Do-hee? - The viral marketing really paid off. - Fucking insane lol - Blue pill... - Pure bliss. - Came to see the ass-girl, ended up actually cumming. - Holy fuck, how much did they spend on this MV? - How are these girls unknown idols? - I came for Lee Do-hee, but the other members are fucking pretty too? - This is the debut of a legendary group. - Wow... I watched without breathing.
Most of the people in the chat were here for a dopamine fix, not because they held any ill will toward us, so their reactions were honest.
The community addicts and dopamine junkies were satisfied.
Well, we made it to give them a massive dopamine dump.
As I thought, Korea was thirsty for this.
The lineage of sexy girl groups had been cut off since the early 2010s.
It wasn't that no one tried the sexy concept after that, but there was a chronic problem.
They were overly geared toward a male audience, and it was painfully obvious they were trying to cover up their lack of skill and visuals through sexual objectification.
When you don't have exceptionally good songs, aren't great dancers, and don't have outstanding visuals, it's hard to succeed with just a sexy concept.
Of course, some of them did reasonably well, but they were severely lacking compared to top-tier idols.
As a result, they were cursed by women as "dirty bitches who sell their bodies" and became disposable eye candy for men, not even worth stanning.
But now, a sexy girl group with skill, visuals, and great music had appeared like a comet. It was impossible not to cheer.
"Now?"
"Okay, let's go…"
Gulp…
After confirming the positive public sentiment, we immediately started a live stream. The people who had stayed to bask in the afterglow of the music video became our viewers.
"One, two."
"Hello, we are Serenia~~!"
- ??? - What, a surprise live stream? lol - Wow, their real-life visuals are insaneㄷㄷ - Ooh - Wow lololol - They're coming on right after? lol - So Do-hee's boobs are real. - They look so innocent with light makeup lol - Are these the same girls who were flying around and grinding on each other just now? - They're much prettier with less makeup.
The reactions were all compliments.
There was a reason we started a surprise live stream.
Why don't idol agencies usually target male fans as consumers?
It's simple. Because they don't make money.
But isn't that funny?
Men spend more money on RPGs and mobile games than anyone.
There are tons of men who diligently collect anime character figures and goods.
Men spend more money on female streamers and VTubers than anyone else. So why are they considered unprofitable?
The reason goes back about 10 or 20 years.
Back then, the culture in male-dominated online communities was a bit different.
It was a time of endless ridicule and discrimination against so-called ssipdeok [nerds/otaku] who spent money on female idols and enjoyed subcultures like anime.
It was an era when the derogatory meme, "You watch that kind of stuff?" was popular.
Because of that, the purchasing and consumption rates of shy male fans dropped, so companies naturally created idols tailored to the tastes of the female fandom, which generated profits.
The ridicule continues today, but most of the people doing it are the same types who are obsessed with something else, so that mocking atmosphere has largely disappeared outside of fan wars.
Companies know that men have high purchasing power, but they don't try to tap into it. With the recent addition of gender conflicts, they don't want to take the risk of ignoring the backlash from female fans who dislike the influx of male fans.
Knowing the future, I know that in a few years, a girl group with a predominantly male fandom will emerge and become a huge success. But at this point in time, it was still an untapped market.
So, what does this all mean?
It means that if you cater to men's needs, they can become a fandom with plenty of purchasing power.
- Kyaa~ - So damn pretty. Why didn't I know about this group? - Upvote if you can't sexually harass Lee Do-hee now that she's shown her face lol - I think Serenia coin is about to moon, so I'm buying it all. - For real, they're gonna blow up. - She looks so fucking hot.
Of course, since this was the MuTube chat, there were still a lot of unfiltered comments.
While my members were frozen, unsure how to react, I stepped in.
"Alright, everyone! These girls are minors. No sexual harassment, and no sexual compliments! You can direct all of that to me!!"
"Huh, Unni?"
"Hey, are you crazy?"
- lolololol - Okay Do-hee, you're fucking hot, you bitch. - You gave permission? You gave permission? You gave permission? - But who's the bitch speaking informally? lol - No bad words to minors, no no. - Lee Do-hee, bring out those tits! - Fucking bitch, I wanna rail you so bad.
"Wow… you're actually doing it just because I said so? You're out."
I moved the mouse and banned the guy who crossed the line.
- lolololololol - You gotta draw the line somewhere tsk tsk - What, you told us to do it lol - Mmph mmph!
What male fans want is very simple.
They just want you to hang out with them a bit. There's no need to try and farm them for simps.
They also dislike high-level sexual harassment and obvious attempts at milking them. In fact, accepting that kind of behavior just makes the atmosphere weirder.
But engaging with them moderately gives them a sense of familiarity. That familiarity soon becomes a bond, and that bond leads to them joining the fandom.
How do I know?
Because… I was once a shy male fanboy myself…
Just by creating an atmosphere that doesn't exclude the male fandom, the shy male fans who have been ostracized from the idol scene will flock to you.
My members also got the gist of the atmosphere, responding to the viewers' chats in a lighthearted way and casually talking about the topics we had prepared.
It was a communication broadcast that people of all ages and genders could enjoy comfortably.
To be honest, existing Serenia fans and female fans might have felt a bit uncomfortable, but with the men dominating the chat, they became the shy ones. We couldn't help it if some of them left the fandom because they couldn't handle it.
Thanks to my experience of being tormented (?) by malicious viewers on internet broadcasts, once I set the mood, everything flowed very smoothly.
The broadcast, riding the wave of excitement, went on for three hours, far exceeding the planned one hour, and only ended after midnight.
We used to struggle to get even 100 viewers on our live streams, with chats popping up only rarely. Now, with tens of thousands of people actively chatting, our members were thrilled.
"Phew… Was that a success?"
"Probably?"
"I don't remember what I said… I didn't say anything stupid, did I?"
As So-mi made a bewildered face, the other members teased her.
"We saw you dancing so passionately earlier. Hehehe…"
"Seriously, how could you get so triggered by the viewers and dance with all your heart! Hahaha!!"
When So-mi had said her specialty was dancing, someone in the chat commented, 'Hmm, is she really that good? I didn't really see it in the MV.' Provoked, she had pushed the living room table aside and danced like a madwoman.
"Ugh… so embarrassing… Why did I do that… Hwaaang!"
"It's okay, it was cute. Keuk…"
"You danced really well with such a serious expression, though. Keuheup!"
Teasing each other like that, they finally calmed their excitement in the early hours of the morning and went to bed.
*
The next morning.
If yesterday was the preliminary skirmish, today was the main battle.
The stage performance… it's crucial.
People generally don't put much faith in what they see in music videos. They're heavily edited and benefit from camera angles, so music shows are the real opportunity to showcase skills and stage presence on an equal footing.
Most of the GIFs, fancams, and Shorts that fans consume are created here, so appearing on music shows is a must unless you're a global-level group doing overseas concerts.
And Lanet is a bit more lenient with its standards than other broadcasting stations. We would be able to show off the kind of performance that would get censored elsewhere.
6 AM.
We were in the road manager's car, on our way to appear on Lanet's music program, 'Last Count Down.'
Haaah… why so early in the morning…
The live performance was at 7 PM, but we had to be there at dawn.
Everyone was exhausted from staying up late, so we were all completely drained during the ride.
"Aish, I told you to just do one hour and turn it off yesterday…"
The road manager's nagging went in one ear and out the other.
I only got… three hours of sleep…
We had to wake up around 4 AM to wash up and do some simple preparations. I saw the other members expertly sleeping in the car and fell asleep myself, only to be woken up by our manager at some point.
"Let's go, girls. Wake up, it's starting now."
Starting now…?
The other members woke up with practiced ease, fixing their faces and hair with hand mirrors.
"Ah, this is your first time, right, Do-hee unni?"
So-mi, who was next to me, helped fix my face and hair for me.
And when we stepped out of the van…
Click!! Click-click-click-click-click-click!
The sound of countless camera shutters assaulted us, and we were met with a sea of cameras and a large crowd.
What is all this?
"Unni, let's go, quickly. Follow me!"
I linked arms with So-mi and followed her dazedly.
We frantically struck poses and had our pictures taken at what looked like a photo zone before heading to the waiting room.
"Huh…? This is our waiting room?"
We entered the room with a sign that read [Serenia Waiting Room] and found a spacious and comfortable-looking room.
"Hm? What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the disbelieving reactions from the members and staff.
"Unni! This is huge! We always had to share a cramped waiting room with other groups!"
"Wow… Is this what success feels like?"
"No, something's weird… We haven't even gotten number one yet."
"That's what I'm saying. Did a room suddenly open up?"
I checked the Apple Chart. We had entered the Top 100, but we were still only in the 60s.
For reference, [Heart Steeler] had reached 40th place at dawn yesterday, which made So-mi and Hye-ri cry their eyes out.
The members and the manager all found it strange, but they pushed their suspicions aside with a "well, good is good" attitude and went inside.
Did the director pull some strings for us…?
It seemed likely.
We rested, rehearsed, went around greeting people, and acted like energetic rookie idols.
The only strange thing was that the PD came to visit us personally.
"Oh, so you're Serenia! Hahaha!! It's fine, it's fine. Just rest comfortably. Let me know if you need anything."
The PD didn't say much else, just checked our faces, gave some token words of encouragement, and left.
"Is he always that friendly?" I asked, curious.
"No, he's the guy who used to completely ignore us…"
They said he was like a different person.
The person I'd provided sexual favors to was a PD for a different variety show, so I thought it wouldn't matter here, but it seems sleeping with the station director had a huge effect. Now that he and I have a rather… intimate relationship, we'll probably receive much better treatment than at other stations.
After finishing rehearsals and the pre-recording for our second album, we had a lot of free time.
It seemed they had deliberately given us a convenient time slot, letting us get all our work done in one go.
Without any interruptions, we comfortably napped and ate snacks during our waiting time. Before we knew it, it was time for the broadcast to begin.
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