1/01。
〈 ＮＯＸ ﹔ the prophecy 〉 blockberry creative's first boy group。arc I chapter I
01012019
dal
It was raining. Such a coincidence, thought Zhihui as he watched the thick raindrops drumming against the window. Yesterday the weather announcer had predicted a clear blue sky.
He looked at his watch. Forty-five minutes until NOX would finally face the cameras for the first time. The company hadn't sent them out to individual schedules after the members dropped their solo music videos, so this would be the moment which marked their real beginning as celebrities. Well, except for Inyoung who had an acting career under his belt, though he hadn't sung before either.
They had arrived at Jeongdong theater seven hours ago. They practiced the showcase twice before they were ushered backstage to put on their outfits and make up. He was one of the first ones to be ready so he retreated to a corner of the room, to have a little time to himself before the showcase began. Everyone expressed their nervousness differently and some of s had started to annoy them with their loud excitement.
Their MV of El Dorado had been released this morning. Each of them had been scrolling through the comment sections of Youtube and various news articles all morning, monitoring the response. The general consensus was that the song was good and fit the group's vibe but the MV looked more bizarre than aesthetically pleasing. Zhihui couldn't argue with that, he'd also been surprised when he watched the result. Some of the scenes were beautiful shot, such as the forest scene and the boxing ring but overall, the video lacked a coherent theme. And if the company was willing to drop big bucks on CGI, they could have went with something more mystical than a bunch of flying bees. On the other hand, what did he know about cinematography?
Zhihui fought the urge to look at his watch again, knowing that not more than two minutes could have passed since the last time he checked. Instead, he looked around, observed his surroundings to kill the butterflies which started to act up in his stomach.
Manager Oh was talking animatedly on the phone, trying to relocate the outdoor fansign which had been scheduled after the end of their showcase. The downpour was too heavy to still follow through with it as the album photobooklets would turn soft and smudgy in the rain.
Next to him, Sun Seyoon was fidgeting from one foot to another and throwing occasional glances to his superior. He was following the phone conversation with a tense face. Of course, rain on the day of their showcase wasn't the worst that could happen to them, but Zhihui mused that he was probably still feeling pressured. It would have been nice if their day had begun without any hiccups.
A few meters further into the room Shinjo was fooling around with Inyoung, poking his ribs and making him giggle while the younger was trying to escape from him. He finally succeded, but lost his balance in the process and crushed right into Seyoon who had his eyes still set on their manager and stumbled when the yapping Inyoung plummeted into him.
"Sorry hyung!" Inyoung said way too cheerfully as he put some space between himself and the leader. A few metres away Shinjo was straight-out cackling. Zhihui whistled. Seyoon must have realized the involvement of the usual perpetrator.
"Be careful," Seyoon told them with a resigned expression before they went off into another direction. He stared at their retreating backs for a little while longer, a difficult to read expression etched on his face. That was odd. Zhihui's eyes traced his face a bit more intently but Seyoon was already turning his attention on their manager again. So he went back to checking his watch (fourty-two minutes until their calling) and then stared out of the window, watching the raindrops rattle against it.
His mom would be coming to his performance, probably with Changsoo. He knew that his vocal instructor had kept her updated with his practice process after Zhihui moved to the dorms, but he tended to describe things more positive as they were. Zhihui hoped that Changsoo hadn't promised too much and his performance would meet expectations. It was weird. The further the time to perform inched closer, the further the feeling of restlessness intensified.
Haseul would be the MC. Would she tell her group members if she thought that one of the members performed impressively? He hoped she would. He spent weeks polishing the high note of El Dorado, now he was confident to do it well.
His eyes widened as suddenly a thought appeared in his head. Could it be that the other Loona members would make an appearance as well? Did companies usually send out their groups to support a hoobae's debut? He wished Jinsoul would come, he doesn't think that she's ever heard him sing, at least not something difficult. His trainers had commented that he look especially handsome while singing, would Jinsoul agree?
"Perfect weather for today."
Zhihui thoughts about a particular sunbae came to an halt and he turned his head to find Hawon plopping down onto the couch next to him, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes fixated on the window. His expression was particularly sour today.
"Why do you think that?" he asked, only mildly interested.
Hawon's lips curled up into a deprecating way and he drawled, "oh, it just fits the vibe of the music video, don't you think?"
Of course this wasn't the real reason. Hawon's words didn't match his behaviour but the visual had always been vague about his statements, when he spoke at all. "Is your family not coming, or why are you acting like this?"
Hawon made a sound of dismissal. Whatever. Zhihui didn't have time for these kinds of guessing games, his patience was running thin at it was. This was their first official performance, it was important, he won't have it ruined by indulging into his group member's whims. Hawon was probably just searching for an argument, as he knew, people were reacting to stressful situations differently. "Either you tell me what bothers you, or you can just it up."
"You wouldn't understand anyway."
Hawon straightened up before disappearing among the staff and group members as quickly as he came. So much for a nice conversation. Pompous prick.
sion
They entered the stage and Jiwoo's heart beated so fast as if it was about to burst in his rib cage. He was the third member to go up, right after Shinjo and Euikyeol. For a rare moment he was happy about his short height as it allowed him to stand more to the middle, right next to Hawon and Inyoung, the center and visuals of the group. Seyoon, who was even shorter than him, followed after and San, Youngki and Zhihui came at last.
He had been on stage before, back then when he danced competitively, but never had he witnessed such a media presence.. Back then it was mostly three or four reporters and some students of local newspaper clubs, it was incomparable to the scene before him now. At every second bright flashes was exploding in his vision, to the point he saw funny colors dancing in front of his eyes. He wonders how veteran idols hadn't gone blind by now. Some reporters were shouting out their stage names, vying for him and s to look into their directionto get the best shots for next days' article. Jiwoo turned his head whenever he heard someone say 'Sion'.
"One, two, three" Seyoon counted into the microphone he was given and then the rest of them shouted in unison, "Introducing the sons of the night, hello, we are NOX."
They bowed 90 degrees. As Jiwoo came up, he saw that Seyoon stood with his head lowered for a little longer and he felt a sudden surge of empathy. He couldn't image what it must have been like to debut after so many years of trying. One year and three months were already bad enough for him, and he experienced a lot of difficult moments despite having a very good support system within the company consisting of his friends and Jihan. Twelve years sounded like torture.
They started to pose for the reporters, right arms angeled so that their hands were lying on their left chests, right above their hearts. Their thumbs and index fingers were curled to a semi-circle, representing a half-moon.
His eyes searched for his family in the crowd. Would they be satisfied? His mother was very proud of him getting the ending shot in El Dorado but his solo debut had one of the weakest digital sales.
Jiwoo spotted them in the fourth row, right after those reserved for reporters and staff members. His sister was the first to notice his gaze, she started squirming in her seat and waving at him. Jiwoo watched as his mother smacked her over the head and talk reprimandingly at her. Much to her chagrin, Jihyun didn't seem to be fazed and her left arm lifted up to a gun motion as she winked at him. Jiwoo held back a chuckle and averted his gaze.
As his eyes roamed the room again, they landed on Haseul who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. He had been relieved when he found out that his close friend would be the MC for their showcase as it took some of the pressure from his shoulders. He reminded himself that he got this, practiced hard enough that he could do well if he tried. Jiwoo exhaled and turned back to the front rows with the reporters with a dazzling smile.
nova
"Hello, I'm glad so many of you came today. I welcome you to NOX's first official showcase. My name is Haseul, I'm the leader of Loona and have the honor to be today's MC."
She made a short pause as the crowd and the NOX members cheered for her.
"Since I only debuted two years ago, I used to train with some of these guys who are standing next to me here today. Cano-oppa, for example, was one of our first male trainees. He was nicknamed BBC's dancing instructor since he used to help anyone struggling with their choreography, he learned some dances just to help others out."
Cano turned shy as the audience cooed at his sense of cameraderie.
"And Numa-oppa couldn't shut up about the songs he was writing! That had been when he was fresh out of University and so he showed his music degree to anyone who was willing to pay attention."
This time the audience laughed and Youngki laughed as well, albeit very awkwardly. Haseul continued.
"Others have been for a shorter while at Blockberry Creative but there is one thing in common: Each one of them are standing here with me today because they are extremely hard workers and have the potential to make it big."
The crowd and the members clapped again and somebody in the back of the audience whistled. "Though there is somebody among you who seemed to train particularly hard."
All the members' eyes turned to Seyoon who was looking around him with an embarassed smile. Ultimately, he raised his microphone and began to speak. "I think each one of us tried their best. Seeing these dongsaengs train day and night leading up to our final debut made me appreciate them very much."
The members clapped again. San could hear that this time they seemed especially enthusiastic, Shinjo even shouted a cheer. He had realized quickly that Seyoon was someone everybody seemed to have a soft spot for, though he couldn't speak much for himself as he hadn't spend much time with their leader yet. He had heard the story about how the other trainees had found him sobbing before the CEO's office the day he had been told about his solo debut. San entered the company while Seyoon was already preparing for his debut, so he hadn't seen the worst of Seyoon's struggles. Maybe that's why instead of touched, he felt mildly annoyed as his palms started to hurt from the constant applauding.
"So humble!" gushed Haseul. "But you have to admit, training twelve years towards one goal requires a special kind of dedication."
"I-" began Seyoon, his voice thick with emotion, then hesitated. He looked up to the ceiling and turned around, hiding his face.
"Don't cry before we even performed, hyung" chasisted Inyoung. Seyoon laughed though it sounded more like a choked sob.
"Hyung!"
Inyoung went over to where Seyoon was standing and gave him a hug.
This was unplanned. They hadn't been given an exact script but there had been guidelines and a set of potential questions and the way they should answer them. A sudden hug wasn't part of it. But San mused that it suited Sun Inyoung, the acting prodgy. It was dramatic, unified them as 'close-knit brothers' or whatever the guys from the marketing department would think sell out very quickly. It was something that would definitely get mentioned tomorrow morning in the Entertainment news and a part of San was disappointed that he hadn't been the one to come up with the idea.
By the time he finished his train of thoughts, Shinjo and Euikyeol had joined the hug and San quickly did the same, not wanting to miss out on the headline. Little by little, everyone followed suit, the last ones an expiated Zhihui dragging a sulky looking Hawon behind him. (But then, when wasn't Hawon sulky looking? He had to check the photos of the press conference later, to see if one of them included another expression.)
"You can see their love for each other by the way the members treat each other" cooed Haseul, "I think that teamwork is actually the most important factor for an idol group."
San fought the urge to roll his eyes. He doubted that behind the scenes it was as sweet and peaceful as she made it out to be.
Haseul waited a few moments until everyone stood in a line again before she continued, "Anyone who wants to show off their talents today?"
San's hand shot up within milliseconds. This was the moment he's been waiting for. Of course, this was pre-mediated to a degree, they had been told that they'd showcase his girl group dancing and gave him the song he should prepare for. But other members had special talents as well and this hightlighting was going on a first come, first serve basis. He wanted to demonstrate his skills when the audience was still paying attention and his palms weren't hurting from all that clapping. So he took the mic, introduced himself and named his specialty as girl group dances.
"I look forward to your performance," said Haseul as he took the spot in the center of the stage and the lights fixated on him. The first beats of Gashina started playing.
San fixated his gaze onto a camera that was situated directly in front of him and channeled all his energy into conjuring up his inner Sunmi. He was fierce and powerful, angling his head just right and moving his hips to the rhythm. Now with Jo Kwon in the army, South Korea needed a new male idol to fulfill the role of kkap and girl group dances and San was determined to take that spot. The chorus kicked in and he threw himself into the dance, smiling sugary sweet for that flowery pose before breaking out into the gun dance. At the end, he threw in some twerking for good measure. He was pretty sure he saw Zhihui giving him a stank eye but the surprised gasps of the audience were totally worth it. This was a performance to remember. The music stopped and he turned around in a sweeping bow.
"I think I hear the love calls from variety shows as we speak" laughs Haseul as the audience applauded.
He attempted to continue the conversation for a little while longer but everything has it's end and after a bit of banter, Haseul proceeded move on to the next member. San knew that his big moment to leave an impression was over but luckily it seemed to have went splendidly.
He paid attention to serve face even as Haseul started to ask Youngki a few question about his music degree and inquired Inyoung and Hawon for their best model poses. Inyoung brought a hand to his head and grinned at the cameras in a mischievous way while Hawon just stood there and smiled uncomfortably as if he had a tooth ache. After Haseul a bit he admitted his lack of experience with posing. San swallowed back the sassy reply that lied on the tip of his tongue. Dude was trying real hard to be blander than toast. They then talked about a few anecdotes about their trainee time and the MV shooting and afterwards Seyoon and Zhihui competed in a high note battle which Zhihui won by a slight margin.
Then they performed their title track. Everything went smoothly, they dance in synch which wasn't really a given considering the short trainee spans and lack of experience of some members. Inyoung had a part where he did the same flowery gesture with his hands below one of his ears as for his solo song which ignited a round of 'ooh's and 'ahh's from the audience. Youngki looked fierce while spitting his rap. Zhihui, who indeed had spotted the other Loona members in the audience, nailed his high note and held it for a particularly long time.
daebyeol
"Alright, before we'll wrap it up, we'll let our reporters ask a question. Who will be the first lucky one?~" sing-songs Haseul as hands shot up from the first two rows. She contemplates a bit before she points to someone at the end of the first row. A staff comes forward and hands the reporter a microphone.
He took it and cleared his throat, "thank you for granting me the opportunity to ask a question myself. In the MVs, each member seems to play a specific role. I'm curious about how these roles were assigned."
It was Euikyeol's time to answer the question and he his lips. This was a topic that made him slightly uncomfortable so he wished that it was someone else who had to answer it. Slowly, he chose the most vague answer.
"The company chooses concepts that seem to befit each member."
"So, Daebyeol-ssi, you think that the devil is an accurate representation of yourself?"
He took it and cleared his throat, "thank you for granting me the opportunity to ask a question myself. In the MVs, each member seems to play a specific role. I'm curious about how these roles were assigned."
It was Euikyeol's time to answer the question and he his lips. This was a topic that made him slightly uncomfortable so he wished that it was someone else who had to answer it. Slowly, he chose the most vague answer.
"The company chooses concepts that seem to befit each member."
"So, Daebyeol-ssi, you think that the devil is an accurate representation of yourself?"
Euikyeol didn't know how to reply to that. He had been trying to avoid to think about it but it had been nagging on his mind, the parallel. He, too, wondered why his role in the MV was identical to the nickname his high school classmates had used to make fun of him. Now, with the words spoken out loud, for everyone to hear, he was unable to say any words. Suddenly he felt faint, the stage lights seemed too bright, the air too suffocating for him. A low wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd. He opened his mouth to answer.
"I don't think..." he began, but what after? How should he de-escalate the situation when he wasn't even sure about the answer himself? He struggled to form a reply but his head was empty.
A hand reached out for his microphone, and in the next moment Shinjo was speaking.
"That seems a bit far-fetched, doesn't it?" he laughed but after years of friendship, Euikyeol could make out the sharp undertone within his words, "he's good at dark concepts so it was a role that he could pull off best."
The mic was pushed back into his hands but Euikyeol was so out of it that he needed a moment to even recognize the object. He wasn't looking at his friend, his eyes were fixated on the reporter whose expression turned contemplative at Shinjo's words. The crowd overally seemed surprised at the answer but the whispering started to cool down now.
"Thanks for clearing it up" Haseul took over, "now, let's check some behind the scenes material of the music video recording."
Euikyeol knew that she shortened the segment to shield him from any follow up questions that could have caused him discomfort. He felt guilty for her and for s too, he didn't mean to rain on their parade. He couldn't fathom why he had just downed the mood at an once-in-a-lifetime event.
He felt something bump against his hand and in the next moment he realized that it were Shinjo's knuckles. He couldn't help but to smile at the silent gesture of support. He bumped his own knuckles back to signal that he way okay. No reason to cry over spilled milk. They were going to be fine. Scratch that, they were going to be legendary.
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