Debuting by Riding the Returnee’s Bus Chapter 126

Lee Unha

 

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[Performance][Anonymous: <Fantasia> Debut Showcase Review! (Long Post)]

 

[This is a TMI post, but as an Anon who has never been to a concert or a music show recording because of agoraphobia, here is my review of Fantasia’s debut showcase.

 

I obviously wasn’t planning on going, but I couldn’t skip this one. Whether you believe it or not, my older brother got so obsessed with Lee Unha that he did the ticketing for me too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

 

Looking back, I’m really glad I worked up the courage to go. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

I was super nervous when I first entered the venue, but thankfully, everyone else was a fellow Aether, so I felt more at ease. I was a bit surprised to see quite a few male fans too. Like my brother, many seemed to have joined the fandom through Idol  Classism. My brother saw me looking nervous and told me not to worry because everyone was on the same side ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He was acting like I was heading off to a battlefield.

 

Anyway, it started immediately with <Paradise> ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I was shocked by the volume of the cheers. I thought I was at a full-blown concert ㅋㅋㅋ From here on, I’ll write individual reviews for each member from a fan’s perspective.

 

Taeyeol:

He came out with a crop cut! I know many Anons were worried when Taeyeol made the debut group, but once you see him on stage, those complaints will vanish. Maybe because he’s the only one with a darker skin tone, but he naturally stands out tooㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Also, he was the MVP of the interview. He’s full of ambition ㅋㅋㅋ He looks short-tempered, but it comes off as a likable trait rather than a turn-off. Una kept staring at him as if telling him to stop, which was hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

Taehee:

He dyed his hair blonde and got a leaf cut & perm…. I was absolutely shocked after hearing him sing today. Everyone’s skills have improved, but Taehee proved why he’s the main vocal of Fantasia! And on top of that, he dances incredibly well too. I heard he was an independent trainee; I have no idea how his skills shot up like this in such a short time. He performs like he’s been doing it for decades. A surefire Main Vocal! Ah! During the interview, he was in Unha fanboy mode. He only looked at Una and only looked for Una ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

 Suhyeon:

If you watched Idol Classism, you know Suhyeon is good. He dances well, sings well, and raps well—he had that perfect image… but his real personality seems a bit different. His poodle-like hair is memorable. He and Taeyeol were the most active during the interview ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  Suhyeon also kept checking for Una’s reaction while he spoke ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

 Haejun:

Great at rapping. Honestly, I don’t know much about rap, but even I could tell he’s good. His lyrics pierced right through the noise of my loud brother sitting next to me. Anyway, he’s no joke. You can tell he has a lot of experience because he seems to take good care of the other members on stage… I know he’s been through a lot of bad stuff… seeing him smile made him look truly happy.

 

Hwi:

Honestly, if I had to pick two members whose real-life visuals shocked me the most, it would be  Wooyoung and Hwi. Normally he has a pretty expressionless face, but when he looked at the fans, he’d suddenly break into this huge smile, and I loved that ㅋㅋㅋㅋ His cave voice literally made my heart flutter… ㅋㅋㅋㅋ And during the interview,  Suhyeon kept calling him Jegal hyung, so he basically became Jegal hyung ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Jegal hyung, Jegal oppa, Jegal orabeoni ㅋㅋㅋㅋ All sorts of weird nicknames were popping out.

 

 Wooyoung:

So, so, so handsome. Just handsome. Completely handsome. Truly handsome. I was stunned by his real-life visuals. Seriously. He has a warm-type kind of handsome. Truly. He’s so handsome I doubted my own eyes. His hair was just a see-through dandy style… but it’s different from seeing him on a screen. In person, he’s jaw-dropping handsome. He sings and dances well, but it feels very clean and effortless, without unnecessary flair. His chemistry with Una is great, just like on the show. I felt at peace watching them talk. I heard he shares a room with Haejun, and they seemed to have become very close too.

 

Unha:

Without a shred of exaggeration, he’s like pure vitamin energy born to become an idol. He’s not heart-stoppingly handsome like Hwi or  Wooyoung, but he’s shocking in a different sense. After seeing the showcase today, I understand why so many people, including my brother, like Una. I felt like I was being sucked into him the whole time I was watching. It felt unrealistic. I lost my mind from the moment it was Unha’s part…

 

A total natural-born idol! He said ‘I love you, Aether~’ after every sentence, smiled brightly, and looked like he was doing everything he could for us without showing any exhaustion. ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Not to knock the other members… but because of his responsibility as leader, he seemed to be working two or three times harder than everyone else… I was worried if he could handle being the leader, but he’s doing great ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You know that atmosphere where everyone seems to be paying attention to Una’s reactions? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Today was overall perfect, but personally, I was hit hardest by Una… thanks to him, I’m even thinking of getting a part-time job… ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

Anyway, what I’m most relieved about today is that they didn’t show up wearing costumesㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I actually wanted to see them once, so maybe I’ll get a chance later ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

Ah. I was going to write more, but the MV is about to drop, so I’ll end my review here ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I hope this was helpful! Happy stanning, everyone!]

 

↳ [Anon: I was at the showcase today too, and I agree with everything ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Especially  Taeyeol, he was a total surprise ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠLet’s beat the hate!]

 

↳ [Anon: I was so upset every time I saw posts comparing them to KD, but seeing them today just reminded me that my boys are my boys ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ They were so good ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I hope they go on music shows soon and shut down the talent controversy. Idol Classism ended ages ago, and people are still ridiculing them with clips from back then…]

 

↳ [Anon: 222222222222222222]

 

↳ [Anon: But personally… after seeing Una in person, I felt kind of disappointed about his part. Like you said, he’s working two or three times harder than everyone else… but somehow it felt like his styling was noticeably less flattering too… Maybe it’s just my imagination? I kept unconsciously comparing him with the other members, and honestly, it hurt my heart.…]

 

—

 

“……”

 

There was one person trying to stir up controversy with a comment that really didn’t need to be written, but…

 

“…….”

 

Overall, it was a positive review.

 

Actually, it was a good start. What I felt on-site and what was written in the reviews matched perfectly. It might all be viral marketing, but just looking at the articles that popped up right after the showcase, I couldn’t shake the thought that we had successfully completed our debut.

 

I couldn’t say with 100% confidence that it was a perfect stage, but thinking of the audience’s reaction made the corners of my mouth lift. 

 

After all….

 

‘They were all our Aethers, after all.’

 

They were fans who had gathered solely to support Fantasia. I had no choice but to receive energy from them, and performing while surrounded by that energy naturally led to a better stage.

 

Furthermore….

 

<<Emergency Quest>>

[You, with a 1% contribution to the Demon King’s defeat. Assist the Hero Joo Wooyoung, who had a 99% contribution, and debut together. This is a golden opportunity to become the Hero’s companion.]

<<Penalty for Quest Refusal or Failure: Return to the Other World>>

< You have cleared the quest. You obtain a random reward immediately. >

<< Succubus’ Eye >> has been promoted from << D-Rank >> to << C-Rank >>.

 

I suspected the rank-up of Succubus’ Eye also had an effect.

 

“…….”

 

‘Right. I forgot about this.’

 

The rank had increased immediately after the showcase stage officially confirmed my debut. I remembered being startled for a brief moment before the performance began, but the instant I saw that the random reward was Succubus’ Eye. I had instinctively clenched my fist in excitement.

 

Unlike Siren’s Voice, which ate up too much mana, or Conversation with the Dead, which had very little utility, this was by far my most useful ability—and the one that synergized with me the best. And now, its rank had increased. I hadn’t tested exactly how much more effective the C-rank version was compared to D-rank, but given the heated atmosphere of the venue, it seemed justified.

 

Of course, all we had done so far was successfully finish the debut showcase.The things that came afterward were what really mattered…

 

The reaction to the music video released a few hours ago was also explosive. Technically, the showcase and the MV release weren’t directly linked, but… one good thing after another just kept happening.

 

‘This is good.’

 

“…….”

 

‘This is really good.’

 

It was the same reaction I had when I watched the MV with Planning Team Leader Park Sangah. The public was feeling the same shock we had felt back then.

 

 @Ahn116: What is this? What’s with this quality!! Why!!!! What?! What is this?!

> ↳ @DDMLDMLWL1: Seriously, I doubted my eyes while watching ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ When the concept first came out, I was like ‘What is this?’… but I realize now I was wrong. Sorry for doubting you. <The World>, you guys actually knew what you were doing.

>  ↳ @NC7: Starting today, I withdraw my criticsm for The World. The World and I are one body….

>   ↳ @user-KIM123: Let’s make Fantasia a huge success!! (Fire)(Fire)(Fire)(Fire)(Fire)

 

 @user-ee111222888: Incredible quality video, Incredible quality song, Incredible quality dance, Incredible quality <Fantasia> Vamos!!!

 

 @user-CON6: My boys!!! My boys!!! I’m so proud!!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I was really worried when they said the MV was coming out with ‘that concept’! What on earth happened! What is this!!! I thought I was watching a movie!!!

 

 @davied: No, but why are they covering handsome Una’s face? Why is he wearing a mask in the middle? Even if he’s a Dark Mage, isn’t his styling too dull compared to the others? And he barely appears in the opening intro;;; What is this… get your heads straight… He hit 1st place with an overwhelming vote count on Idol  Classism… anyone would think the person who barely made it to 4th by riding Una’s bus was the winner;;;

> ↳ @NC7:I’ve been holding it in, but seriously… enough already.

 

 @AnimAX08978: Unha’s part is so good… I think everyone knows exactly which part I’m talking about. I keep replaying that section… And there it is again today… that close-up of his eyes… It’s different from that group’s famous center, isn’t it?

 

 @F1WWE: -Masterpiece-

 

 @STORM112: They are so beautiful. (Heart)(Fire)(Heart)(Fire)

 

 @DARK.WIZARD: The MV turned out great. ㅎㅎ Our Unha… you worked hard, didn’t you?

 

 @GOLDSUPER: This music video is truly incredible. I’ve never seen a K-pop music video like this before. It feels like a work of art.

 

 @rlaeogus111: Seriously… when the concept first came out, I wanted to raid The World’s building and smash everything… but after seeing this MV, I want to understand this lore… what on earth are you guys trying to do…

 

 @GpWLS: It’s meaningless to divide Fantasia by generations. They aren’t 4th gen or 5th gen. Fantasia is just Fantasia… Who else could even pull off something like this?

 

 @vuQQuv-112: My jaw literally dropped. Is this quality even real?

 

‘That’s exactly what I’m saying.’

 

“…….”

 

‘Is it really okay for the quality to be this good?’

 

If nothing else….

 

The quality was so good that I felt we wouldn’t lose in terms of MV views. It hit #1 on the trending videos instantly, and I could see the views climbing every time I clicked refresh.

 

It was baffling even seeing it again. It wasn’t the rising views that were baffling; it was the quality of the MV itself. It was the same feeling I had before. Without a hint of exaggeration, it felt like watching a well-made blockbuster fantasy drama. Though there were bits of CG flying around, it felt like the kind of quality you’d see if Hollywood had poured money into it. There was a reason so many comments were calling it a masterpiece.

 

‘No… no matter how I think about it, does this graphic quality even make sense? Did they actually trip to another world and capture the background on camera?’

 

It was a thought so nonsensical it actually felt plausible. If I hadn’t seen the unfinished version beforehand, I would have truly believed <The World> and the MV team had taken a camera to another world.

 

And as if to meet those expectations….

 

Non-K-pop fans and muggles were being drawn in. It seemed the algorithm picked it up perfectly, because as time passed, the views began to rise at an impossible rate. Eventually….

 

“…What’s with these views? Why are they climbing like this?”

 

And….

 

“What is with these chart rankings?”

 

It all happened overnight.