The Idol Who Returned from Hell – Chapter 91

Author: Dawn

“Good God.”

These were the first words that escaped Song Ji-won’s lips as she returned home from work.

Since it was a large gaming company that guaranteed work-life balance, she often came home right at 6 PM sharp.

But 6 PM wasn’t just about leaving work—it had another hidden meaning.

In the idol industry, ‘6 PM’ was like the standard time when new content would be revealed.

While music sources or music videos used to be released mostly at midnight, after the real-time chart reorganization, most agencies now insisted on 6 PM.

Knowing that user numbers were highest during this time when commuting and school dismissal hours overlapped.

From that perspective, 6 PM was the time when both work ended and the sweet nectar of fangirling dropped for Song Ji-won.

Today marked exactly two days since the notice saying to wait for the 25th had appeared.

For Song Ji-won, who had been struggling through difficult work life, something appeared that could give her vitality.

CENTIX’s debut profile photos that she’d never be able to see twice.

“Ugh… I’m so happy I could go crazy.”

Song Ji-won, who always prioritized showering immediately upon arriving home, threw all random thoughts aside and went straight to turn on her computer.

Because the tiny screen of her phone wasn’t nearly enough to properly see her idol’s dazzling visage.

Just for today, the Windows screen that usually disappeared quickly felt as slow as a turtle.

After accessing Stargram and clicking on CENTIX’s official account with a reverent mindset.

Song Ji-won felt like her heartbeat was running wild out of control.

The six photos uploaded in final debut ranking order were all black and white.

Some people might prefer color over black and white, but looking at CENTIX’s outfits, you could feel that the profile photo team’s decision was absolutely right.

“S-suits. Suits. Damn.”

Even Song Ji-won, who didn’t usually curse in daily life, had to surrender before the holy suit fit.

When she clicked to look closely at Ryu Si-hwan’s photo, she really got the strong feeling that Rave Entertainment had gotten serious.

“A choker, sir, a choker!”

Ryu Si-hwan wore a clean suit blazer with a white shirt, his veined hand lightly touching a choker.

Even though it was a close-up shot, there wasn’t a single trace of disgrace to be found on his perfect skin, and those desert fox-like eyes that made many fans’ hearts ache.

Song Ji-won immediately downloaded the photo and set it as her Bluebird account profile picture.

The other members’ visuals besides Ryu Si-hwan were also otherworldly.

After regaining her senses from her bias’s overwhelming presence and scrolling down.

‘……Chae Ha-ru is also damn handsome, seriously.’

Song Ji-won thought that Chae Ha-ru was the only member who could beat Ryu Si-hwan purely in terms of facial features.

Borrowing CENTIX fans’ words, they always called Chae Ha-ru’s face a ‘formal handsome guy.’

While it might seem monotonous in general appeal, when you actually looked at Chae Ha-ru’s face, dozens of different atmospheres were created.

In this black and white suit concept, it looked like some actor had descended.

‘Every single one of them is good without exception…….’

Her bias was her bias and there was also a member she thought was the most handsome, but Song Ji-won still liked CENTIX as a team.

She, who prided herself on having high standards for idols, thought the overall picture created by the six members was too perfect.

[CENTIX First Profile Photo(Black Ver.)]

When a group photo was suddenly released at 6:30 PM as a time-delayed attack, that conviction came back doubled.

“They’re all so tall and lanky.”

Looking at the profiles written during 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉, most members were positioned between 179-180cm.

The tallest was Ma Si-hyeok at 185cm and the shortest was Yu Ha-woon at 174cm.

But looking at the current group photo, there was a strong impression that Yu Ha-woon wasn’t that much shorter compared to the other members.

Song Ji-won accessed IdolNet to see if she was the only one thinking this and thoroughly read through the latest posts.

―I never knew you could literally shine in photos

―Why does the profile photo appear automatically in color to my eyes when it’s black and white

―QS honestly took amazing official pictorials and profile photos like this lmao. That’s why capital is the best

└But to pull out black & white suits from the very beginning to stimulate fan hearts, I can tell for sure that experienced new hires have joined the coordination team or PR team in large numbers. The Rave I knew wasn’t like this, they always just got beaten up and pretended to fix things belatedly

―Anyone who just saw the group photo that dropped??? Looking at it like this makes me think we really picked well, everyone we need to praise each other

└Look at this guys (photo) What’s with Si-hyeok having more than one and a half faces fitting on one shoulder… Usually if one face fits on one shoulder that’s already considered wide

└Honestly that. Among idols I’ve seen recently, the physicals are definitely top tier…… My frozen heart is beating

―But doesn’t Ha-woon seem really tall? Looking at the group shot, he doesn’t seem much different from Si-hwan

└222 I had this thought too

└Right, during ISL episodes 1-2 when they were all practicing together looking in the mirror, there was a clear height difference, but now it seems to have decreased a lot

└Did he grow during these few months? What growth plates

└Mine closed in middle school year 2, so sad

└So how tall are you?? If you’re taller than me I’m reporting you for fraud ^^

└159 so shut up

└Ah lol sorry lol

―I just discovered something that gave me chills (photo) We were too distracted by the kids’ visuals to notice this, but it’s not just a profile photo, it’s ‘Black Version.’ Version means there’s definitely other versions too, this is absolutely certain

└Ah DAMN this is paradise, paradise

└LOL. Since it was black and white with black suits, next must be white version. What outfit did they wear for that shoot

└Similar to black, white formal wear maybe?

└Ah crazy I think I like white…

└Why are you already liking it when it hasn’t even come out yet LMAO

└Mom that person is weird

└You guys don’t seem normal either? ^_^

Stories about the members’ visuals, predictions about Yu Ha-woon’s explosive growth, and expectations for other concept profile photos that could be inferred from ‘Version.’

Until just a few days ago, these were people who were crying that there were no official announcements at all.

As always, as soon as there’s delicious bait, they immediately do a 180-degree turn.

Song Ji-won, who fell asleep looking at Ryu Si-hwan’s beautiful photo all night, faced one problem the next day.

‘Thinking that other versions will come out is driving me crazy! When will they come out, when!’

The ‘Black Version’ bait was easily predictable by anyone.

However, since CENTIX’s side hadn’t announced any dates or schedules, fans had to endlessly wait with an almost certain future.

Don’t they say the more you know a taste, the more you miss it and go crazy?

Fans who had seen high-quality photos kept going in and out of all official accounts, losing track of time.

But perhaps recognizing their fans’ desperate suffering, Rave Entertainment posted [CENTIX First Profile Photo(White Ver.)] just two days later.

As a result, CENTIX’s official account achieved the feat of surpassing 1.5 million followers in less than a month.

Naturally, netizens’ reactions were also heated.

―I thought they’d come out in white suits but what’s with these boyish photos, seriously T_T T_T T_T Why do our kids look good in everything they wear

―Requesting preservation of Kang Seon-woo in white turtleneck (photo)

―Did you all see this?? This is my first time seeing Si-hwan in a hoodie like this, I’m drooling

└For real, the casual clothes vibe makes it even more insane. It feels like this kind of senior is definitely living somewhere in university

└You mustn’t forget that until recently our Si-hwan was a college senior

└I should have written meeting Ryu Si-hwan at school as my life’s wish, ah it’s too late now

―Everyone’s said this already, but they always showed us they lived in a completely different world from us on stage, but unifying them in casual outfits like this makes it even more tantalizing, whew

└The person dressing them probably got nosebleeds too

└I imagined Hwi smiling at me in that loose sweatshirt and jeans

└?? You imagined and then what, finish your sentence since you started

└I think they got a nosebleed and died while imagining LMAO

└That’s right LOL. Still, it would have been a happy death from good imagination

Song Ji-won and other fans who had been together since 〈ISL 2〉 were finally starting to feel that these trainees were really debuting.

Even when the debut confirmation date came out, it just felt like a distant future.

Even when they saw posts about them living well in the dorms, it felt like regular trainees rather than idols about to debut.

But as earnest news started dropping one by one, the waves of reality came crashing in roughly.

And those waves reached their peak on September 28th.

[K-Live finally welcomes the ‘hundred-year-idols’ CENTIX!]

CENTIX’s account was created on K-Live, the real-time video streaming app that domestic idol fans absolutely must have.

Fans couldn’t get their bearings from the numerous logs being thrown at them so rapidly.

[Fi.nal.ly. First K-Live! #CENTIX #센틱스 #FirstBroadcast]

The next day, a notification that suddenly appeared at the top of her phone screen made Song Ji-won, who was leisurely tearing open a face mask, jump out of her skin.

“T-they’re going live right now? In just one day?”

The moment she entered the real-time broadcast half-believing, half-doubting, what greeted her were six boys wearing the White Version profile photo outfits.

[Not sure if it’s working well since it’s our first time.]

[Ha-ru, want to check the screen once?]

[Yes.]

When Chae Ha-ru, sitting at the edge, suddenly got up from his chair and approached the camera.

[Um, should I turn the screen this way?]

At his unexpected close-up shot, the comment window went absolutely crazy.

[I think it’s working, you guys. Everyone, can you see our faces clearly?]

[Can you hear our voices well?]

[If you can hear my voice very clearly, please shoot lots of hearts in the chat window!]

At Kang Seon-woo’s request, the hearts that were already multiplying by the second surpassed one million in the blink of an eye.

[Wow, even though it’s our first broadcast, over 70,000 people have already entered. Thank you.]

[Brother Si-hwan, you can’t just say it with words!]