The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 101

Still, there was one consoling point.

The place where we were filming the music video reaction was Rave Entertainment’s headquarters.

That meant.

“It’s possible to go home quickly!”

“For me, it’s actually harder.”

“Huh? Why?”

Unlike Kang Seon-woo who was full of hope, Chae Ha-ru was radiating dead fish eyes.

“Brother, don’t you get this feeling? Our beds are waiting just across one hallway. But we’re still working in full makeup. It’s hope torture, hope torture.”

“I’ve been feeling this from before, but Brother Ha-ru sometimes sounds like someone who’s lived through everything in the world.”

“I’m a bit sleepy right now.”

Chae Ha-ru didn’t bother to refute Yu Ha-woon’s words.

I understood the younger guys’ feelings.

Having a showcase in one day’s schedule would make you feel like your stamina was completely drained, but running additional schedules right next to the dorm was like that.

I threw a few words to boost their morale.

“This is just the beginning. There will be many harder things ahead, and getting used to it quickly will be beneficial for us too. Let’s think positively, everyone. Like Seon-woo said, we can go straight to the dorm once this is over.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re feeling a bit tired after finishing the debut show.”

I lightly poked Chae Ha-ru’s solar plexus with my index finger.

“In other words, the emotions you felt on stage are still lingering. Rather than thinking it’s hard, let’s try to recall the passion the fans gave us.”

“Whoa, Brother Si-hwan really is a language magician. Just being next to you makes me naturally exclaim things.”

“I’d like you to tone down that one-sided praise too.”

“Who else would do this kind of thing for me? Please cherish it.”

The other members couldn’t hold back their laughter at Seong-hwi’s shameless words.

Well, changing the atmosphere was all that mattered.

I should think positively too.

This wasn’t even a difficult schedule to begin with.

We just had to watch the 〈Chronic〉 music video and react to it.

Moreover, since the completed version would be the first reveal even to us as the original artists, it would feel fresh.

“I’m so excited!”

“Actually seeing my own acting makes me too embarrassed and difficult.”

“It’s okay, Si-hyeok. We’re already immune since we saw everything on set.”

“That’s really comforting, Brother Si-hwan.”

“Oh oh, was that the first time Ma Si-hyeok got mad at Brother Si-hwan? You’re heading toward character collapse—”

“I didn’t get mad!”

“Ahaha, you just got mad at me though.”

As soon as we sat down, CENTIX’s stream-of-consciousness conversation style started again.

The PD in charge of filming our content sent a quick cut signal as if he’d gotten used to it.

So I quieted the guys down using the efficient method I’d recently mastered.

“We’ll give our greeting, two three.”

“Huh, huh? Brother, if you suddenly start like this!”

“Turn down the audio, turn down the audio!”

“Brothers, turn off the local broadcast!”

Nothing else was needed.

Just shouting the chant would automatically switch the members into broadcast mode.

After all that chaos, we were finally able to focus completely on the music video playing on screen.

The first scene was the one that appeared in the teaser.

Six figures collapsed without any movement in a space completely covered in darkness.

A white galaxy flowed slowly across the sky.

Click, click.

The sound of clock hands turning six times was heard, and after that the white galaxy fell downward and changed to a sky-blue light.

“This scene has meaning too!”

“Shh, if we reveal things like that, MILLENNIUM won’t have fun guessing, Ha-woon.”

“Ah, right!”

Yu Ha-woon, who had gotten excited and was about to spill the hidden points in the music video, was quickly suppressed by Seong-hwi.

The hourglass, which was the key point of our music video, descended from the sky, and I on screen reached my hand upward.

The moment my fingers touched the hourglass, the music began.

「My love is chronic, chronic

My chest hurts every time I think of you

I want to breathe, I want to escape

Pain, deep in my heart」

Ryu Si-hwan, with his arms and legs bound by cold chains, lightly tugged at his shirt.

Around him, glass fragments and broken items were scattered messily.

When I heard they were renting an abandoned factory, I was honestly a bit shocked.

But I was satisfied that they’d created a properly dark atmosphere.

「As if bewitched by something, my eyes go blind

Even when I reach out, can’t feel a thing

But this feeling, this trembling that resonates in my body

I wanna chase it」

Chae Ha-ru was sitting by a lake where water rippled beautifully.

Similarly, cold shackles were fastened around his neck.

He reached out trying to touch the light-filled surface, but couldn’t reach it.

“Looking at it like this, Ha-ru kinda looks like that guy from mythology? What was it, the one who got completely drunk on his own face.”

“Narcissus?”

“Oh right, him! Sitting by the water and all, plus his face gives off exactly that feeling.”

Everyone seemed to agree with Kang Seon-woo’s words.

‘……For me, the only Narcissus is Seong-hwi.’

I quietly thought while watching Seong-hwi’s individual scene that appeared next.

「Shouting into the void

Toward you who might be listening somewhere

Save me, Save me

Free me from my time」

Seong-hwi was trapped in a room filled with mirrors on all sides.

Going forward, backward, or sideways, he remained in place.

When he sharply turned around toward the camera, his alluring profile was reflected in the surrounding mirrors too, creating quite a cool effect.

After the individual shots, the chorus came in following the heightened beat.

An exhilarating group dance unfolded under the sky where the white galaxy sparkled.

「My love is chronic, chronic

And only you can save me

SAVE ME」

During the middle section where Kang Seon-woo and Ma Si-hyeok’s rap parts continued, the slowly flowing galaxy appeared.

The more violently each of us moved in our bound positions, the more the white stars’ colors changed.

Cracks appeared one by one in the iron chains that seemed like they could never be released.

Fractures also occurred in the tightly packed mirrors and crystals.

“That struggling was pretty hard.”

“Right!”

“Ah, fans watching this might worry. Those iron chains were obviously all props! And they didn’t hurt at all either.”

On set, the director just said “Just thrash around as much as possible!” so I wondered how this would turn out.

Fortunately, appropriate CG effects were added so it didn’t look awkward at all.

When the second chorus passed and we entered the bridge, the white galaxy now had a bluish tint.

All the chains binding us had been released.

The music video racing toward the climax was crowned with Chae Ha-ru’s solo shot.

The guys seemed excited with anticipation too.

“We can finally see this!”

“I’m really looking forward to it, brother!”

“Everyone seems to be expecting more than necessary—”

“Now, now. Let’s quietly watch.”

Chae Ha-ru, who had been sitting blankly by the water, turned his gaze to the sky.

The galaxy reflected in his pupils was truly spectacular.

The stars that had only been white now all held beautiful sky-blue hues.

「Shine brilliantly for me」

「Move my world」

「Soak it with your color alone」

The moment the lyrics connected one by one.

All sound temporarily disappeared.

As if someone had flipped an hourglass upside down, the stars poured down like rain all at once.

Chae Ha-ru, who had been looking at the sky, naturally fell splash into the water.

The very scene using wire equipment that everyone had been anticipating.

“Wow, it really came out like falling into water.”

“Brother, wasn’t that wire hard? I would’ve been too scared to do it!”

“Since it was falling backward, my armpits got pulled a bit, but other than that it seemed okay. Ah, the air mattress was really soft.”

“Y-you’re saying that so casually?”

Chae Ha-ru casually shared the heroic tale of being suspended on wires and vertically dropping onto an air mattress like it was nothing.

Yu Ha-woon’s expression of shock with his eyes practically popping out after hearing that was priceless.

The music video’s Chae Ha-ru slowly sank below the dark lake surface.

His hand reached upward pitifully as if wanting to grasp something.

Then the hourglass that appeared at the beginning slowly descended and gently touched his fingertips.

The starlight that had been sparkling inside the hourglass was released all at once, brightly illuminating the dark underwater.

Even I could see that the music video production team had put tremendous effort into this scene.

“Really cool.”

“It turned out so well.”

“Amazing, really amazing.”

The song that had disappeared resumed along with Ryu Si-hwan’s high note part.

Under the now sky-blue galaxy, CENTIX passionately performed the final dance break.

After editing where each member’s face passed by once, everyone struck a pose clutching their chests and the music video ended.

Instead of mechanical reactions, we sent heartfelt applause.

Thanks to the completed version turning out much cleaner than expected, our satisfaction felt like it was piercing the sky.

“Ah, that was delicious! CENTIX’s music video was really delicious!”

“All our hard work paid off!”

“Everyone, please watch it lots and lots! Likes and comments are essential too!”

“Let’s put in some energy before we go! Hands together!”

So I was also drawn into Kang Seon-woo’s spontaneous after-party vibe.

“One, two, three! CENTIX, let’s work hard on this promotion!”

“Let’s work hard!”

“Waaaah!”

“Hoping for success, hoping for success.”

Well, since it wasn’t bad at all, I added a word hoping for success too.

When the music video reaction filming was completely finished, we raised both hands and welcomed our manager.

“Guys, you worked hard today—”

“Dorm! Dorm! Dorm! Dorm!”

“I want to sleep quickly. I only got 3 hours of sleep the past few days so I’m really sleepy.”

“Brother Si-hyeok, can’t we eat dinner first?”

“—I know you want to rest, but just let me say one last thing before we go! Really sorry!”

Our manager bowed his head repeatedly while apologizing profusely.

“It’s just that now the music and music video are released. And you’ll be doing music shows starting Thursday, so you’ve really debuted.”

“Of course! That difficult debut! We did it!”

“What that means is, we can now open the official accounts and communication platforms. Everyone check the group chat once, alright?”

The group chat had the IDs and passwords for official SNS accounts that our manager had left.

“Originally the company managed the accounts before debut. Now you can also post your own writing and photos by adding hashtags in front.”

“Wow, finally!”

“Brother Si-hwan, this worked out well. Let’s freely post those selfies we practiced.”

“……Was this your grand plan?”

“However, from now on, photos you want to post on official accounts need to be reviewed by me first. It might be troublesome, but this is company policy so I hope you understand.”

We nodded our heads.

This was a natural process. Posting photos randomly without prior review could cause controversy.

“And have you all tried this platform?”

Our manager clicked on an app in the app store and showed it to us.