Suk Ji Hoon interlocked and stretched his fingers, and shook them out to warm them up. As a result of the bet they had made at the music video set, it was the winner Suk Ji Hoon who would be posting the update.
The loser, probably to no one’s surprise, was Jung Yoon Ki.
“Ah, man. I’m ok. This is all because I’m the leader! This happened because I’m the leader!* It’s proof of my sense of responsibility!”
(TL Note: This was said twice.)
Even Park Tae Hyung was looking at Jung Yoon Ki with pity. Jung Yoon Ki, who was receiving the compassionate gaze of Park Tae Hyung, yelled loudly. As the leader, he had said they could finish the music video shoot in one take to show that he believed in the KK members, but…
Still, one take was unrealistic. Typically, even when they do individual shoots at the studio, it generally takes at least 2 takes. Honestly, group shoots usually require 3 takes at best.
No one guessed correctly how many takes it would take to get the group choreography right.
They went through over 10 takes. It took 5 takes the first day. So Ahn Hyung Seo was over the moon, thinking that he had won.
However, the feedback from Director Choi was cruel.
He said they couldn’t film anymore since the sun had set so they’d try again tomorrow.
What they had shot until then was fine too, but wanting to capture an even better imagery was Director Choi’s greed. However, it wasn’t only his greed. The members also wanted to return to Seoul with the best results since they came all the way to the Dubai desert.
In the end, the shoot extended until the next day.
All together, the KK member had danced the choreography in the desert a total of 14 times.
The KK members, who were practicing the choreography at the rehearsal hall after a day off after returning to Seoul, were seeing the fruits of their labors, as if they had been dancing while wearing weights and finally got them off.
In any case, the results were that Suk Ji Hoon, who had guessed the highest amount, had won, and Jung Yoon Ki, who had guessed the lowest amount, had lost.
After looking at Jung Yoon Ki one time and then looking at the picture on the computer that Suk Ji Hoon was going to post one time, Do Wook turned his head because he couldn’t bear to look at Jung Yoon Ki any longer.
The weird picture of Jung Yoon Ki came from Ahn Hyung Seo.
Ahn Hyung Seo, who enjoys taking pictures, didn’t just have selfies of himself but also had lots of pictures of the members. Among them, there were many pictures that came out funny because they were candid photos.
Additionally, Ahn Hyung Seo and Jung Yoon Ki had spent their trainee days together as well, so he had quite a few pictures from before their debut.
The Jung Yoon Ki in the photo was 18. The young boy, who had just moved to Seoul to become a singer, had a slice of cake in his bare hands, his face twisted. It was hard to tell from his expression whether he was laughing or crying.
According to Ahn Hyung Seo’s explanation, it was Jung Yoon Ki’s birthday that day.
The trainees plotted a surprise for him, and Jung Yoon Ki had a ‘lucky’ day that day. Although they wished him happy birthday, the trainees hadn’t given him even a small gift, and instead they said harshly to him that he needed to practice harder.
Trainee life was already rough not knowing when one might debut, and on his birthday his fellow trainees, whom he had trusted, were acting coldly. Jung Yoon Ki was on the verge of exploding.
The one who pushed him over the edge was the choreographer who was responsible for the trainee’s dance education at that time, Noh Tae Hyun.
Noh Tae Hyun was in on the plot, and his feedback about Jung Yoon Ki’s dancing skills was 10 times colder than usual.
In the end, Jung Yoon Ki, with his tender heart, ran out of the rehearsal hall.
What was waiting for Jung Yoon Ki, who had run out of the rehearsal hall, was a cake that another trainee had brought. The mischievous trainees sang happy birthday to Jung Yoon Ki, who was speechless from a mix of anger and bewilderment, cut the cake, and put a piece in his bare hands.
“Hehe, I swear everyone was really mean back then!…”
When Ahn Hyung Seo said that as if he wasn’t there and involved in the plot too, Jung Yoon Ki quietly clenched his first.
It was obvious based on the picture alone that the person who was having the most fun and laughing like crazy was Ahn Hyung Seo.
The Jung Yoon Ki in the picture had a young face, long before he received a camera massage*.You could say he washed his face with only water.* On top of that, he had recently moved to Seoul and had just started trying to be fashionable, so his clothes were excessive and bizarre.
(TL Note: The phrase refers to the different techniques to make someone look better in video/picture than they are in real life by using different camera angles, lighting, make up, etc.)
(TL Note: I kept this almost verbatim. It means he doesn’t have any make up, skin care, product, etc. on. It’s just his bare face.)
Wearing a muffler with skulls drawn all over it, a red short sleeve T-shirt, and a white beanie. From head to toe, he was a mess.
The situation in the picture seemed like Jung Yoon Ki was bitter and about to cry, but the people watching were dying of laughter.
“Ah, maybe it’s because I was young but look how fair my skin was!”
Jung Yoon Ki tried hard to put a good spin on the picture.
Actually, Jung Yoon Ki had protested very profusely that pictures from before their debut were utterly ridiculous. However, it was honestly the funniest picture, so there had been quite the back and forth between the members who wanted to post it and Jung Yung Ki who had said ”no way”.
Jung Yoon Ki boasted that if they asked Manager Oh Baek Ho he’d probably say ”no” because there was their image to consider.
The photos the members posted on fan cafes for social media were thoroughly managed by the company. They could only post the weird picture with Manager Oh Baek Ho’s approval.
At Jung Yoon Ki’s words, the members posted the picture in the group chat and asked Manager Oh Baek Ho for permission.
[Manager Oh Baek Ho: Hahaha, that’s funny.]
That was the first thing he said. Jung Yoon Ki’s eyebrows crumpled up in an instant. Still, he stayed strong since ‘that’s funny’ didn’t mean he’d give permission to post it on the fan cafe.
[Manager Oh Baek Ho: Post it haha. Yoon Ki’s strongpoint isn’t his face anyways.]
(TL Note: Oh my gosh XD What a burn)
[Ahn Hyung Seo: Hahahaha that’s right. What you said is completely true.
[Kim Won: Is this what you call a truth bomb? lol]
[Suk Ji Hoon: Ok! Understood. Thank you~ (emoji)]
With that leaving an even bigger hurt, Jung Yoon Ki surrendered to the photo getting posted.
“I shouldn’t have guessed one take…whew…”
Along with a deep sigh from Jung Yoon Ki, a candid picture of Jung Yoon Ki before their debut was posted on the fan cafe.
[Title: Before the comeback, a present to the fans (please close your eyes when you click this)
Hello, This is Ji Hoon, your forever magnae ^^
There’s only two more days until the music video release! I’m so nervous…
You’ll know once it’s aired but…we really had a bit of a hard time haha a little haha
I’m absolutely not showing off ^^; I’m just saying we put in that much effort! I hope you’ll appreciate it.
Also at the music video shoot location, the members had a small bet amongst ourselves.
The winner was, of course, me, the strongest magnae v^^v
The loser was our leader ^^~!
We’ll explain the details of the bet after the music video airs!
Please look forward to the music video!
Then, we’ll publish the loser’s punishment picture (photo by X Hyung Seo)]
Once the post was made, it went without saying that the reaction amongst the fans was fervid. The fans were fanatical about seeing a different side of Jung Yoon Ki, who they had seen as chic.
It was honestly funny too, so it became a ‘funny meme’ as it spread on the Internet.
Jung Yoon Ki’s photo from before the debut were useful in various situations such as when one couldn’t eat what one wanted, or when one was finally able to get the thing one really wanted to eat, or when one was frustrated but couldn’t cry or laugh. The cake and facial expression were an excellent combination.
Furthermore, when they heard that the members had had a bet amongst themselves, there were many fans who were curious, and of course many fans who were happy to see how well the members were getting along. To the fans who had been waiting for the comeback, it became a small event.
Curiosity about what the content of the music video was that Suk Ji Hoon went as far as to say they ‘suffered over’ also increased.
***
The ratings for the last episode of Writer Jung Eun Soo’s drama ‘Successors’ was 20%.
While ‘Successors’ was on air, the drama and KK’s ‘Tell Me’ continued to enjoy popularity together as the song continued to keep its place in the music chart Top 10.
The day after ‘Successors’ ended, ‘Tell Me’ fell off the Top 10. However, KK’s new songs were proudly ranked Number 1 to Number 8 on the music chart.
KK’s 3rd full-length album ‘Continue: We Will Continue*’ had a total of 8 songs and they all made it onto the music chart, each ranking one after the other.
(TL’s Note: The first ‘Continue’ was in English, the ‘We Will Continue’ was in Korean)
Their title song had ranked Number 1 plenty of times before, but this was the first time that all the songs from their album occupied all the top ranks in sequence.
It was a remarkable event in the history of the music chart. There was a time in the past when a band that had started to be loved by the nation after going on an audition show released a new album and 6 of the 9 songs successfully made it onto the chart in a queue. However, this was the second time an album from an idol singer was able to accomplish this.
Additionally, if you looked at the chart in real time, the graph was surprising. Other Number 1 songs also show a high curve when they first rise to the top spot, but it was different this time, starting with how many people visited the site.
If the average number of users entering the music site when a song rises to Number 1 is around 40,000 when it ranks first on the music site, the number of users reached 90,000 when ‘Continue’ made it to Number 1.
It was a surprising number. This is what they mean by ‘piercing the roof of the chart’.
It wasn’t just KK’s fans. You could tell how much the public that listens to Korean pop songs were looking forward to KK’s music and how much they listened to it.
[KK’s Full-Length Album ‘Continue’ Tops the Charts As Soon As It’s Released!]
-What’s up with the real-time chart?
-What’s going on with the graph…I’m looking at it but I can’t believe it
-Crazy…the chart is nothing but KK lololol
-Stop KK’s dictatorship of the music chart ㅡㅡ;;
-The new song is really good. All the songs in the album are good…in this day and age when digital singles are popular, it’s rare for a singer to prepare such bangers in their B-track…I’m rooting for you KK!
-There’s also a song with the hottest DJ in New York right now. Was it ‘HEY’? I recommend it!
-Among the B-track songs, < Saying Goodbye > is a ballad but it’s so good ㅠㅠ
-There’s nothing KK can’t do, even dance ballad
-Faithfully listening to KK~ It was worth the wait~!
-The graph is piercing the roof lolol
-PIerce the roof KK!
-It feels like KK now has no singers in Korea they can compete against haha…It’s the miracle of the Han River, miracle of the medium-sized! Who knew this would happen…
-You can taste the capital from the sound lol I think they’ve improved ever since doing the project in the U.S. lol
-It smells like capital~~~~
-Really…it’s insane how high the quality is *nod nod*
-I can’t wait to see them perform. If the song is this good, the performance must be amazing *goosebumps*
-The music video is out now!
-http://mytube.com//watch?k=McdKWsVi
-Lets gooo
The showcase for KK’s 3rd album, which took place at a concert hall in HanGangJin, was filled with fans who had flocked to see KK and reporters who were invited to cover the event.
KK, who introduced three previous hits and two new B-track songs, matched the timing of the music video release at the venue with the timing of the Mytube music video release.
Led by the KK members, the fans started a countdown.
“5! 4! 3!…”
The sound of the fans screaming the countdown made Do Wook’s heart pound.
‘I wonder…’
“2!!!”
“1!!!”
“Kyaaaa―!!!”
The cheers were overflowing with anticipation. The music video started playing on the venue’s TV at the same time.
Also on Mytube, the number of views for the music video that had just been posted was getting higher and higher. An extraordinary energy was gathering.
—
Next chapter: The launch of their album ‘Continue’ is succeessful but Do Wook has something to say to the members.