Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 118

“…….”

 

‘Just how much money did they spend?’

 

“…….”

 

‘With this kind of spending… will we even be able to get our settlement?’

 

“…….”

 

‘Are we going to miss out on our first paycheck because of the music video production costs?’

 

I was stunned. Completely stunned. It clearly wasn’t the final version yet, so there were still awkward bits in the compositing and various other areas, but even taking that into account, the quality was almost impossible to believe. I could tell just by looking at the background. I could feel that the polish of this was on a completely different level from any music video I’d seen before.

 

The very beginning was startling. What caught my eye was a dark background—the music video opened in the ‘Hidden World’ that Planning Team Leader Park Sangah had mentioned.

 

‘What is this? Seriously, what is this?’

 

Unidentifiable ruins and structures that couldn’t possibly belong to the modern era were crumbling. There, I saw <Paladin> Joo Wooyoung picking himself up. The director clearly knew how handsome he was, because the camera gave him a massive close-up. Joo Wooyoung’s eyes were glowing. It wasn’t the real Stigma he actually possessed, but a cluster of bright light lingered in his pupils before vanishing.

 

‘It’s short.’

 

His introduction was brief, but it made sense. Judging by the atmosphere, I expected the intro to highlight the members of <Fantasia> in the Hidden World one by one.

 

And as if agreeing with my thought, <Mercenary> Kim Taeyeol appeared next. I saw him heading toward enemy lines holding a halberd among soldiers clad in armor. It would have felt more impactful if he were covered in blood, but they must have decided against it; instead, combat traces and dust were scattered across his face and body.

 

When Kim Taeyeol fell after being hit by enemy arrows, the one who appeared was…. <Priest> Jung Taehee. He held a cross-shaped rosary and chanted a spell, and light poured over Kim Taeyeol’s fallen body. Jung Taehee stared straight ahead and offered another prayer. It was so far removed from his usual self that it was jarring, but he actually looked like a real priest.

 

The same went for <Mage> Kim Haejun. He looked even more like a mage than Jung Taehee looked like a priest. Kim Haejun’s presentation was incredibly flashy, likely having the most effects applied. Effects of basic elements like fire, water, earth, and wind swirled around him. He was seen pushing up his glasses and closing a book he was reading, and as the camera pulled away, it revealed a massive tower where he stood. It was probably meant to be the Mage Tower.

 

Even <Elementalist> Baek Suhyeon benefited from his class. Tiny spirits were frolicking around him. Looking at them, Baek Suhyeon smiled broadly, appearing truly happy. It was the perfect role for a guy who had been lonely due to a lack of friends. Perhaps because his role was to refresh the atmosphere, his smiling face was very striking compared to the other members.

 

Honestly, the one who received the least benefit was <Swordsman> Jegal Hwi. There were almost no effects, to a cruel degree. He simply held a sword and stared at a distant location. But even with just that alone….

 

‘He has an aura.’

 

Yes. He had presence. Despite his clothes just fluttering in the wind, he looked like a swordsman with a deep backstory. I didn’t know if he felt like he’d lost his comrades or like he was shouldering a heavy burden alone, but surprisingly, he was the most memorable after Joo Wooyoung.

 

And then….

 

‘Am I the last one?’

 

In the direction Jegal Hwi was looking, a boy sitting in a dark place entered my pupils.

 

‘Ah, they told me to put a lot of strength into my eyes back then.’

 

I remembered maintaining the Succubus Eye while filming that scene. The serious-looking Lee Unha snapped his fingers, and mysterious summoned creatures burst out of the darkness, swallowing the entire screen.

 

“Whoaaa!! Unha!!”

 

Jung Taehee shouted, but….

 

‘What? Is that it for me? Why was mine so short?’

 

I felt a bit of regret that it ended so quickly. Of course, it was impactful.

 

“What? What is this?! What?!!”

 

Kim Taeyeol shouted in confusion.

 

“Waaah!! Waaaaaaaaah!!” 

 

Baek Suhyeon practically had a fit.

 

The level of the footage contained in that short intro was just that amazing. I wasn’t the only one stunned. When we’d stood in front of the green screen wearing those ridiculous costumes, not a single one of us had imagined the finished music video would look anything like this. Even Jegal Hwi, who rarely showed much emotion, couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

 

‘Is this… is this realistically possible?’

 

Indeed. 

 

‘We started filming right after Idol Classism ended—is it really possible to make an MV of this quality in such a short time?’

 

Unless they’d already planned everything in detail long before filming began, there was no way they could have achieved this level of quality.

 

The intro ended exactly there. It was admittedly short. It just showed the seven of us in less than 40 seconds. But the quality was overwhelming. Every worry I’d had about it looking cheesy vanished in an instant. It didn’t feel like an anime; It felt like a blockbuster film with an absurd amount of money poured into it.

 

‘Is this Hollywood? Did they outsource the music video production over there or something?’

 

And the intro wasn’t even the end. Immediately after the Hidden World flipped, our modern-day selves appeared. Kim Haejun rapping while walking down a street, Baek Suhyeon singing in a forest—each of us performed our parts in locations that felt like our respective symbols.

 

In the middle of that, seeing Kim Taeyeol’s face as he tried his best to look handsome made me a bit embarrassed. He even got a close-up, which flustered me slightly, but he himself looked delighted.

 

“That’s me! That’s me! Me!”

 

“Y-yes, it is.”

 

“My face got a close-up!”

 

He was giving it his all in what looked like some back alley. If you asked whether he was actually handsome, I’d quietly look away, but the scene itself definitely stuck in your memory.

 

And here, the chorus began—the voice of the team’s main vocal, Jung Taehee, rang out. The camera, which had been close on Jung Taehee, pulled back instantly to show all the <Fantasia> members performing the group choreography. When we’d filmed the same choreography over and over again, I’d wondered whether it would actually look good, but unexpectedly, the synchronized dance looked sharp. They had succeeded in capturing the best possible takes. Honestly, I couldn’t help feeling proud.

 

“Wait, this is really….”

 

‘It’s good, isn’t it? I think so too.’

 

Even in the middle of the choreography, glimpses of the Hidden World appeared. That ridiculously expensive-looking fantasy world appeared whenever there was an opening. There weren’t any flashy visual effects at those moments, but somehow they blended perfectly with the mood of the song.

 

Then, the image of Lee Unha sitting in the chair from the intro appeared. The camera zoomed in closer and closer. My eyes filled the entire TV screen.

 

‘It’s my part.’

 

“Unha! It’s Unha’s part!”

 

‘I know. Let me focus for a second.’

 

The next instant, Lee Unha appeared singing in the real world after returning from the Hidden World. When I sang the next line, I changed back to the Hidden World version, and for the line after that, back to the real-world version. From the moment I stood up from the chair, it was modern-day Lee Unha all the way.

 

I had been a bit disgruntled about the short screen time in the intro, but seeing this now….

 

‘No wonder it was short. They obviously invested everything into the second half.’

 

“…….”

 

During Joo Wooyoung’s part, the camera shamelessly worshipped his face, and while I didn’t know what the concept was, Jegal Hwi sat on a railing, pretending to be lonely and solitary. He wasn’t the main vocal, but he pulled off the refrain to add flavor to the song. The bridge part was handled by Kim Taeyeol appearing once more, and the song concluded with Jung Taehee performing the final chorus.

 

There were bits of group choreo in between. What was interesting was….

 

‘Why… am I… the only one… who keeps switching into the Hidden World version?’

 

Was it some kind of hint? Even while I moved to the center to perform the group dance, only Lee Unha’s Hidden World and modern outfits kept switching back and forth. Of course, other members appeared in their Hidden World forms occasionally, but looking back at the MV….

 

‘Doesn’t the Hidden World only appear during scenes with me?’

 

Watching the final group dance confirmed my suspicion. To be precise, the Hidden World glimpses only appeared when Lee Unha took the camera. It looked a bit strange. The title of this song was <PARADISE>.

 

The overall atmosphere really did become more paradise-like. It started dark, but every time the <Fantasia> members gathered to sing, the atmosphere gradually became more like a paradise. The set seemed to get brighter, and it looked as if individuals had gathered to settle in a new environment. No, by the end, it was definitely a paradise.

 

But in the middle of it all, the atmosphere darkened every time <Dark Mage> Lee Unha appeared. I didn’t know if they were trying to express that there was darkness even within paradise, but it felt like an unexplainable, unpleasant sense of distortion. Even during the parts where the music briefly dropped out, Lee Unha always appeared.

 

And even after the performance was completely over….

 

“…….”

“…….”

 

‘Wait. Why am I the only one there?’

 

Lee Unha’s shadow swallowed the paradise, and ending credits began to roll on the black screen. Is this part of the lore? Is it some kind of world-building hint?

 

‘More importantly… do music videos normally have ending credits?’

 

They weren’t long and drawn out like a movie’s, but an entire screen displayed the names of the countless people who had worked on the music video.

 

‘Th-this… this actually makes sense.’

 

It was a work of art. No, it felt like they had created a masterpiece.

 

Clap clap clap clap. I heard the sound of applause.

 

Some of the members were clapping like seals. Even Joo Wooyoung, who always said ‘Let’s trust the staff’, looked deeply moved, seemingly not expecting The World to produce this level of quality.

 

I felt the same way. Rather than questioning how on earth this company managed to pull this off…. I was swept up in the emotion that these guys actually did it. I wanted to give everyone—starting from Planning Team Leader Park Sangah in front of me to every staff member who worked on the planning and production—a huge hug.

 

‘I definitely see her in a new light now.’

 

Planning Team Leader Park Sangah, who had been giving the PPT presentation, was now moved to tears along with us, clapping her hands.

 

‘Is she a hidden gem?’

 

I realized there was a reason Director Gu kept her around. After sniffling for quite a while, Park Sangah finally spoke after we had re-watched the <PARADISE> music video five times.

 

“How do you like it?”

 

“…….”

 

“It turned out really great, right?”

 

I didn’t even want to argue; even if I did, I couldn’t have thought of a single rebuttal.

 

“It’s amazing, right? Isn’t it?”