SCT-Novel Chapter 158: Acceleration (7)
Chapter 158: Acceleration (7)
Kang Rojun, who received the music video storyboards for ‘Vanguard’ debut songs, had a fairly large curiosity rise in his eyes.‘So this is a music video storyboard-’
Rojun, who immediately lowered his gaze to the received storyboard, was also handed a tablet. Manager Kim Ki-baek, smiling weakly as he handed it over.
“You can look at it on the tablet, or just use the paper storyboard. I thought paper might be easier for you as a writer, so I printed it separately.”
“Thank you.”
“What do you think? Seeing the official storyboard for the music video, doesn’t it feel real?”
Rojun, who still had his gaze fixed on the storyboard, gave a faint smile with his eyes.
“It’s fascinating, and also exciting.”
“That expression is quite different from when you were scolding the Japanese actors as a writer.”
“Really?”
Kim Ki-baek slowly nodded.
“Yes, when you’re reading as a writer or actor, you give off that charismatic vibe, but now, you look like a rookie idol just before debut.”
At that moment, Rojun seemed to remember something and changed the subject.
“Ah, Manager, I have something to ask. Would it be okay if I handle a simple personal schedule early tomorrow morning?”
“A personal schedule? What kind?”
“I’d like to go alone. I’ll head out early and be back at the company by morning.”
Kang Rojun calmly explained what kind of schedule it would be, and Manager Kim Ki-baek accepted it and advised him to leave as early as possible when there would be no people around.
“As you know, covering your face is a basic.”
“Yes. Understood.”
After finishing the conversation, Kang Rojun returned his gaze to the storyboard.
‘I still prefer paper over a tablet.’
He slid the tablet into the seat pocket in front of him and scanned through the storyboard. It started with ‘GreenBee’.
‘Feels kind of like a comic.’
The backgrounds and drawings in each panel.
Kang Rojun had seen storyboards during the filming of ‘Rental Lover’ as well. However, it was his first time seeing a music video storyboard. The feeling was similar, yet different.
‘Is that supposed to be me?’
The storyboard was drawn in quite a detailed manner, indicating when Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung would get solo shots, when full shots would appear, bust shots and inserts, choreography cuts, acting cuts, and so on. Since each song had a different concept, the storyboards for ‘GreenBee’, ‘Windveil’, and ‘Flying Bell’ all had distinct atmospheres.
Darkness, intensity, liveliness.
Of course, there were also notes on camera movements and the color and texture of the sets. After watching the storyboard for dozens of minutes, Kang Rojun smiled.
‘This is going to be fun.’
The more he looked, the more his curiosity grew.
It was going to be a heavy workload. After all, they had to film three music videos at once. But at the moment, there wasn’t a trace of future hardship in Rojun’s mind. Perhaps because of that, he slept like a baby on the way to Japan, but on the way back to Korea, he was so absorbed in the storyboard that he didn’t even think about sleeping.
Soon, Rojun’s team arrived at the airport.
Unlike at departure, there were no reporters or fans this time. They had quietly sneaked into the country without anyone knowing.
Before they knew it, it was nighttime.
Kang Rojun and the GN Entertainment staff quickly got into a van and left the airport, and about an hour later, Rojun arrived not at the company, but at the dorm.
Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were waiting for him.
“Rojun! You came straight here??”
“Oooh- Writer-nim.”
“Oooh- Actor-nim.”
The members, all wearing matching bear pajamas, instantly clung to Rojun. Do-kyung was the first to speak in a dry tone.
“Hyung. Spill the tea.”
“Spill what.”
“How were the top Japanese actors?”
Si-hoo and Kang-min, seemingly dying of curiosity, quickly nodded their heads.
“Me too! I’m curious too! Since you’re a writer, did you like, direct the actors and stuff??”
“There was a Japanese actress who fell for you, wasn’t there?”
Rojun looked at the members like baby birds begging for food.
“……”
Without a word, he walked into the room. The members followed him in a line. Rojun came back out to the living room silently. And again, the members trailed right behind him. Sitting in front of the table, Kang Rojun spoke solemnly.
“Do you want to hear it?”
The baby birds lined up around him.
“We want to hear it!”
“Me too!”
“Totally want to hear it.”
At that moment, Kang Rojun vaguely felt something.
‘Would it feel like this if I had younger siblings?’
The mood wasn’t bad, and Rojun casually shared the story of the script reading for ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ with the members. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung perked up their ears and listened intently. They reacted with shock, laughter, surprise, and exclamations.
Naturally, the topic shifted to the music video storyboard.
“You saw the MV storyboard, right?? It looks insanely good.”
‘Vanguard’ spent the night up until midnight fired up over music video talk.
The next day, early morning on the 23rd.
Around 5 a.m. Because they had gone to bed late, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were sleeping so deeply they wouldn’t have noticed if someone carried them off. But in the pitch-black room, Kang Rojun quietly got up. He quickly got ready to head out. He covered his face with a hat and mask, threw on a black short padding jacket, and grabbed a car key with a B logo.
-Swish.
Kang Rojun, leaving the dorm, arrived in front of his own car parked in the underground parking lot. Looking at the car with affection in his eyes, Rojun said,
“Come to think of it, this is the first time I’m driving this.”
Feeling like he had shaken off all fatigue, he started the car and gently stepped on the accelerator.
“Wow- this is awesome.”
Impressed, Kang Rojun drove through the roads, which still had only a few cars on them. His destination was a columbarium in the Yongin area. Parking in the 24-hour lot, Rojun walked with familiarity.
He then stood in front of his parents.
“……”
He silently looked up at the white urns.
This was the personal schedule Rojun had mentioned to Manager Kim Ki-baek. Visiting his parents. Once he got busier, it would become harder to find time. Now was better than later.
Kang Rojun, who silently looked at his parents for a while,
-Swish.
Pulled out a photo from his padding pocket. A album jacket photo of Rojun. One taken as a test, and now shown to his parents.
“Dad, Mom. I’m an idol now. Crazy, right? But it feels crazy to me too.”
Rojun wanted to share all the bizarre things that had happened lately, but he didn’t have much time. Even if he didn’t say everything, his parents were probably watching over him.
“I’ll do well.”
He tucked the album jacket photo back into his pocket. In his heart, he wanted to leave it there, but if someone saw it, it could become an issue, so he had no choice. After seeing his parents, Kang Rojun got back into his car.
His destination was, of course, GN Entertainment.
-Vroom!
Driving on the expressway, Kang Rojun was filled with even more courage.
Later.
Arriving at the company a bit earlier than the other members, Rojun first completed his daily mission at the gym, then met up with Manager Kim Ki-baek and the rest of the members.
With that, ‘Vanguard’ jumped straight into practice.
-♬♪
They began with group choreography practice to the sound of ‘GreenBee’ echoing through the practice room. The four members practiced together for hours, and then later mixed in with the in-house choreography team to synchronize until nightfall.
The same routine continued the next day.
“Do-kyung! Your footwork’s still too fast!”
“Yes, sorry!”
‘Vanguard’ focused on group choreography not only for ‘GreenBee’ but also for ‘Windveil’ and ‘Flying Bell’. The practice, which had been focused on choreography for two days, exploded in volume from the third day as vocal training and music video blocking were added.
Not just for Kang Rojun.
‘Wow- this is seriously intense??!’
The members were completely worn out every day by a schedule on a totally different level compared to ‘Produce That 100!’ Not only the ‘Vanguard’ members but the entire GN Entertainment was in a state of high tension and extreme busyness. The main shoot for the music videos was just a few days away, and with the debut show-con on April 5, there was barely a month left.
A brief personal practice in the morning, then group practice, vocal training, music video blocking and movement practice, back to group practice, and a final review.
That was the daily routine for ‘Vanguard’ these past few days.
Thanks to that, the days Kang Rojun could enter the studio were extremely rare. Though it was unfortunate, there was no helping it given the circumstances.
‘Things should ease up a bit after the music video shoot.’
Around that time, Netflix Japan uploaded a video from a few days ago showing the script reading session for ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’.
《[StarTalk] Netflix Japan reveals script reading scene of ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’! Rojun holds his own among top Japanese actors / Photo》
They posted it on their official YouTube channel.
Because the project was receiving huge attention in both Japan and Korea, the view count soared quickly, and in particular, Japanese fans flooded the video with a massive number of comments in no time.
GN Entertainment also moved as if they had been waiting for this moment.
[Channel Name: Vanguard]
[Subscribers: 5.55 million]
[Videos: 17]
They uploaded a video to the ‘Vanguard’ channel, which had surpassed 5 million subscribers, focusing on cuts of Rojun during the script reading.
-[‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ Script Reading] Check out Writer Rojun (feat. Actor)!!｜Vanguard
This video gained views several times faster than Netflix Japan’s version. Fans’ reactions were explosive.
-ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ Look at Rojun focusing….. so fucking handsome……
-Writer and actorㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s just a god-tier comboㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-What is this;;; the Japanese actors look like squid next to him;;
-He’s probably busy preparing for the debut show-con, and he still went to Japan for the script reading??
-2:21 Rojunie’s visuals exploding right here
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋLike seriouslyㅋㅋㅋ all the Japanese actors look like regular people next to Rojunㅋㅋㅋ
-Exactlyㅋㅋㅋ Bet the Japanese actresses had heart attacks seeing Rojun
-Sigh….. Rojun speaking Japanese is criminally attractive
-When you watch Rojun’s acting videos, you can definitely tell he’s got the real stuff
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.
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Soon, the media caught the scent and started firing out articles. It became a hot topic in the blink of an eye, but the entertainment industry at the time was already full of issues. From rookie idols to famous idols debuting or making comebacks, a full-on war was taking place, and every entertainment company had no choice but to go all in on promotions and marketing.
Alongside that, several other agencies, probably thinking the same thing, started throwing shade toward ‘Vanguard’.
《Debut Show-Con ‘Vanguard’, Can They Fill the Gocheok Dome?》
《‘Vanguard’ Debuting at Gocheok Dome… Will It Be Grand or Embarrassing?》
《[Big Issue] An Unprecedented Debut Show-Con at Gocheok Dome, Some Call ‘Vanguard’ Arrogant》
《Reasons for Vanguard’s Imminent Failure, Posted on an Online Community / Photo》
These provocative articles drew in clickbait traffic and malicious commenters. Gradually, the number of negative comments bashing ‘Vanguard’ grew. However, Kang Rojun and the other ‘Vanguard’ members were too focused on practice to pay any attention, and GN Entertainment stayed the course without wavering.
Soon after.
[@Van_guard official]
[Posts: 33]
[Followers: 3.127 million]
[Following: 2]
An official announcement was uploaded to the ‘Vanguard’ SNS account.
-[Hello! Fi! Na! Lly! The day has come for ticket sales to open for the debut show-con you’ve all been waiting for! March 1st at 8 PM……]
It was the announcement that tickets for the debut show-con would go on sale. Naturally, this post wasn’t just on Instagram, it was also shared on GN Entertainment’s official website and elsewhere.
-There’ll be a seat for me, right…? There has to be… Please let there be…
-March 1st at 8 PM!!! I’m lining up at 7!!!
-I need to rush to the PC room right after workㅠㅠㅠ
-Just one ticket for meㅜㅠㅜㅠㅠ
-I want to go!! Seriously!!
Excitement built among both fans and the media. Upon hearing the news, Kang Rojun’s anticipation also spiked.
‘Wow, ticket reservations?? Already?’
That day, March 1st, soon arrived.
《[Issue Talk] Today at 8 PM, ‘Vanguard’ Debut Show-Con Ticket Sales Open!》
While practicing, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung kept checking their phones whenever they could. This scene wasn’t unique to them, it was the same across the entire entertainment industry.
In various broadcasting stations.
“‘Vanguard’ show-con tickets go on sale today, right?? What do you think the outcome will be?”
“Who knows, I mean, they’ve been getting a lot of buzz, so it won’t be bad.”
“That’s all you think? I feel like it’s going to blow up.”
“Still, it’s Gocheok Dome. Even top-tier singers make headlines just for filling that place.”
Entertainment companies, media outlets, and more kept chattering non-stop about ‘Vanguard’. So were the countless idols currently running through their schedules at this very hour.
Before they knew it, the time was 7:30 PM.
Inside the van, the ‘Vanguard’ members were on the move to somewhere. Even while in transit, they monitored various articles and public reactions on their phones.
“Don’t you think the number of articles dissing us has gone up??”
“Right? The closer it gets to 8 PM, the worse it gets.”
Compared to the other members, Kang Rojun was a bit less excited, but even so, he went through and tapped ‘Dislike’ on each article.
“Hit Dislike. On every article that trashes us.”
Ten minutes later, after getting out of the van, ‘Vanguard’ immediately forgot all the thoughts they’d just been having.
“Wow-”
“This is insane.”
“Are we… shooting the MV here??”
Their jaws dropped at the sight of the massive music video set. They had arrived early to the completed set for a simple rehearsal.
And it was understandable.
“Tomorrow’s already the day? MV shoot day.”
Tomorrow was the day of Vanguard’s music video shoot. Before long, Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were running around like kids visiting an amusement park for the first time, constantly marveling at the set.
Manager Kim Ki-baek watched them with a faint smile. The other GN Entertainment staff were the same.
Just then, the staff began to stir.
-Swish.
As the ‘Vanguard’ members were busily exploring the set, Manager Kim Ki-baek approached them.
“Everyone, gather around for a moment.”
Excited, Rojun and the members gathered in front of Kim Ki-baek, who showed them his phone with a faint, subdued smile.
“A double celebration.”
Immediately, Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung’s eyes widened.
“No way.”
It was only natural.
《‘Vanguard’ debut show-con, 20,000 seats sold out within minutes of ticket opening… ‘Gocheok Dome All-Filled’》
It was a complete sellout.