The Idol Who Returned from Hell – Chapter 97

Author: Dawn

“I think I’ll feel empty without this personal mic now.”

Ma Si-hyeok spoke quietly with his eyes closed.

Maybe it was because his already scary-looking impression was made even worse by the dark circles under his eyes. He looked particularly moody today.

Sitting next to him getting makeup, I silently agreed.

‘Black Shot was the easy life.’

The Black Hash Entertainment I had debuted with in my previous life wasn’t small enough to be called a failed company.

They just had fewer debuted groups in the entertainment industry, but they were abundant in terms of support.

But CENTIX in this life was backed by two massive whales.

On top of that, thanks to the modifier of being a group created through a national audition program, all sorts of promotions were thrown in to respond to that attention.

In short, I had no idea we’d be filming this many videos even before debut.

“Still, today’s a bit easier. We get to see the physical copy of our album for the first time too.”

“That’s right, I was so curious! The manager said they put their heart and soul into the album.”

“How many versions was it again, Ha-woon?”

“Three!”

“Oh, three versions means there’ll be a lot of content for review videos too.”

Kang Seon-woo also rattled off mechanical questions and reactions, probably because he only got 3 hours of sleep yesterday.

He was already thinking about content even before filming had started.

Of course, I had barely slept either, but I was quite benefiting from the stamina naturally trained in hell.

I felt a bit of fatigue creeping in, but it wasn’t to the extent that it showed in my appearance.

So while the other guys closed their eyes even briefly to receive makeup, I kept my eyes wide open and communicated carefully with the stylist.

“I think I could handle a bit more of a part today.”

“Oh, do you want to show your forehead today?”

“Haha, I just feel like I’ve been doing a lot of covered hair lately.”

“Any style looks good on you, so order whatever you want.”

The styling team that had handled our coordination for 〈ISL 2〉 was naturally staff sent by Rave.

So most of CENTIX’s hair and makeup team were people I was already familiar with.

“Wow, it’s clean-cut Si-hwan today. Everyone, which do you prefer between clean-cut Si-hwan and covered Si-hwan? Please share your opinions in the comments below so our indecisive brother can make up his mind.”

“……Are you done with makeup already?”

“Ahaha, I was first in line!”

Honestly, I would feel disappointed now if Seong-hwi didn’t stick his phone in my face at schedule locations.

The content managers had apparently finished figuring out his tendencies and just handed him the filming camera before leaving.

“You’re not planning to take selfies today too, are you?”

“Should I ask if they need more photos to supply?”

But thinking about it, to live as an idol in the future, I’d have to take at least several thousand selfies.

If Seong-hwi, who calls himself a selfie expert, thinks my photos are terrible.

Practice is essential.

“No, even if it’s not for photocard selfies, let’s take some today.”

“Did the sun rise in the west today? What’s gotten into you, brother?”

“Why, can’t I do this?”

“Brother Si-hwan’s occasional tsundere moments like this are really nice.”

After completing the setup, we entered the filming studio.

The studio wasn’t that grand.

A white background with one spacious table and six chairs set up behind it.

“Hello!”

“Hello, please take care of us!”

We greeted the camera director and staff and took our seats.

Everyone found the tiny cameras attached throughout the table fascinating and brought their faces close.

I cleared my throat and shouted the now-familiar chant to signal the start of recording.

“Two, three. All eyes on us! Hello, we’re CENTIX!”

“Finally, our first mini album 〈Revelation〉 has been officially released! Everyone applaud!”

“Wooooo!”

“I want to see the physical copy quickly!”

“We’ve actually never seen it either, so we’re very curious.”

Rave was amazing for not showing the physical albums even to the artists for this kind of unboxing concept video.

A staff member brought over our debut album released in three versions.

“Wow.”

“It’s so pretty, so pretty.”

“Amazing, really.”

Here I realized it again.

Ah, money really is the best after all.

I touched the package box coated with a smooth material.

“This feels so good.”

“The package box color came out so pretty too.”

“Should we open one version at a time?”

Chae Ha-ru first opened the 〈Revelation: Black Version〉 in front of him.

A luxurious glossy black case.

Inside were really diverse special items so MILLENNIUM could enjoy gacha to their heart’s content.

“There’s so much stuff inside.”

“Ha-ru, take them out one by one.”

“First, the photobook. Ah, this was so funny when we were taking concept photos.”

“I have something to say about this harness!”

Yu Ha-woon suddenly raised his hand while flipping through the photos in the photobook.

“The outfit was exactly the same as in our music video, the harness. The scene where I wore this was lying on the floor then getting up—.”

“Ah, I think I know what Ha-woon is talking about. I was right next to you.”

“I was so embarrassed then…… No, I was just about to get up but I must have laid down wrong because the harness got all tangled around my butt area and I had such a hard time. So we stopped filming and Brother Seon-woo untied the straps next to me.”

“Hey, how did you lie down that the straps got tangled like knots? Did you rub your butt on the floor—?”

“Brother, brother! Director, this is a cut, cut!”

With members who could seamlessly continue with embarrassing comments the moment I let my guard down, the editing team was probably destined to struggle quite a bit.

I quickly handled the situation and pulled out 2 photo cards from deep inside the case.

“Like this, each album contains 2 photo cards. Oh, Si-hyeok and Hwi came out here.”

“Wow, Ma Si-hyeok really came out well in that photo. Personally, that’s my favorite pic from the black version.”

“Ah, no. I really can’t take selfies either, so Hwi scolded me while teaching me.”

Apparently I wasn’t the only student in Seong-hwi’s selfie class.

After distributing the photo cards to their respective owners, we diligently reviewed the remaining lyric book, random member ID card, and sticker sheet.

While opening the next version, White, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘2 photo cards per member for each version. So 12 total photo cards to collect per version, 36 cards across all versions. Plus ID cards, 6 times 3 equals 18. This…… how much money would it cost to get a complete collection?’

Of course, complete collection isn’t mandatory.

But looking at recent trends, apparently ‘Dragon Ball complete collection’ is basic to prove you’re a hardcore fan.

Considering each album costs 15,000 won…… I’ll skip the rest.

Originally, I expected only two versions to be released, but it seems Rave Entertainment judged they could profit even by investing more money to add another version.

We successfully finished the review video by opening up to the final Diamond version.

“Oh, now that I think about it, only Brother Si-hwan didn’t pull his own photo card.”

At Seong-hwi’s words, everyone’s attention focused on my hands.

The other five were each holding one or two photo cards with their faces, but I was the only one empty-handed.

“Even after opening all three versions of the album, we couldn’t collect all six faces…… How amazing must the people who collect everything be.”

“The answer is simple, guys. When it’s this hard to even complete a collection, imagine how much effort the people who get tickets to our future fan signings will have put in.”

Our first fan signing event, which would proceed after the first week of music show promotions ended.

The MILLENNIUM who break through that incredibly high wall and win tickets are really betting astronomical amounts of money to come see our faces.

Whether everyone properly understood Kang Seon-woo’s words.

“We really need to live our lives to the fullest.”

“We love our fans.”

“MILLENNIUM are the best in the world!”

Everyone seemed to have their spirits recharged a bit despite being tired.

But as soon as we got in the van for the next schedule, everyone was wiped out.

“Krrrr……”

“Zzz……”

I couldn’t help but chuckle seeing Ma Si-hyeok with his eye mask flipped over, even drooling.

“Brother, do you have a tissue?” (+) ^[1]

“Oh, I do. Why?”

“The kids are drooling in their sleep.”

Only after showing leadership by wiping Ma Si-hyeok’s mouth could I finally catch some sleep myself.

It really was just a nap.

I had to wake up again after barely 20 minutes of closing my eyes.

“Si-hyeok, wake up.”

“Huh—? Ah, did we arrive……”

“Yeah, man. Drink some water and get it together.”

“Thank you……”

“Today’s schedule is the last one, so let’s hang in there a bit more.”

The last schedule, but the most grueling and energy-consuming one.

None other than the first rehearsal for our debut show.

“Today is the first rehearsal, but there’s almost no time left until the 23rd, right? So we’re going to do everything step by step like it’s real, including the costume changes. Everyone understands?”

“Yes.”

Even though there was no one in the audience seats, a strange tension hung in the air.

Then, as I touched the microphone and glanced over the members, I could see everyone’s expressions had stiffened slightly.

‘Well, we have to do 3 songs besides 〈Chronic〉.’

Track 2’s 〈Uprising〉, track 4’s 〈Winning Shot〉, and the 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 theme song 〈HIT〉.

A lineup with no time to catch our breath was waiting for us.

I have no doubt about CENTIX’s abilities.

We really made it here through blood-thirsty competition.

But since this would be our first time doing a total of 4 songs in one performance, we absolutely couldn’t let our guard down.

“Everyone come here.”

What I could do in this situation was simple.

“I always said it, right? Just go enjoy the stage and come back.”

“Yes!”

“This time, it’s really a stage just for our fans. And we’re no longer in a situation where we’re being evaluated, but really in a debuted situation. So feel free to have more fun and enjoy it. The sweat we’ve shed will never betray us. Got it?”

“Yes!”