[As expected of Jung Eun Soo! ‘Successors’ first broadcast rating 15%]
[A chaebol* again? It’ll be a little different this time… ‘Successors’ is off to a good start despite concerns]
(TL Note: A chaebol is a conglomerate, usually super rich)
[KK brought on for ‘Successors’ OST, ‘Tell Me’ gets good reviews alongside the drama!]
[KK did it again! Successors OST is skyrocketing on the music charts]
[Joo Min Ho ♡ Kim Shin Ae, the moment they held hands! Highest rating 16.3%]
[Women’s hearts swoon at Top Star Joo Min Ho showing his abs!]
[Joo Min Ho, Kim Shin Ae, Park Jung Bin, even Lee Jenny…all the young stars are gathered in ’Successors’]
[Joo Min Ho – Kim Shin Ae’s ending scene, KK’s ‘Tell Me’, it did it all!]
-Successors is really fun lololol
-It’s so cheesy…Why are you watching something like this…lolol…I couldn’t stand to watch it because it’s low-class lolol
-You’re even lower class you *beep*
-To each their own hahaha lolol
-Writer Jung’s work is totally predictable. That destroys the excitement of the viewers. You don’t need to watch it lol.
-But it was worse this time, even compared to previous ones hehehe
-Wow, one of the lines…(Satan’s school…Gabriel appears…) Oh my gosh, it was really shocking
-Sa.Sc.Ga.App.!!!!*
(TL Note: Abbreviation of the above sentence, *Sa*tan, *Sc*hool, *Ga*briel, *App*ears)
-The actor doing the narration deserves an award lolol
-I acknowledge this comment lol. I had a really hard time watching it too.
-It’s true that it’s cheesy, but I’m watching it for the eye candy
-Still, there no other writer who can make this many fun dramas lolol
-It’s only the first episode so I’ll have to see how it goes lol. It’s definitely fun! lol
-There are so many parts that make my heart flutter~~♡♡♡♡♡ KK’s song is good too~~♡♡♡
-KK’s OST is so freaking good!!!
-Tell Me! The second it came on, the voices were so good that I was in awe. Also, it was by KK. I guess they do OSTs too now. They’re doing great!
-I’ve been waiting for KK’s comeback, it’s nice to at least hear their voice like this!
-Seriously T.T Really… I hope it’ll come soon!
– <<< Please stream this to raise the ranking of Tell Me on the music charts >>>
-Joo Min Ho is so handsome
-KK’s Kang Do Wook acts too, doesn’t he? He would have been a good fit in Successors
-Excuse me, there are already actors who are doing well. I think that comment is thoughtless*
(TL Note: So that the sentence below will make sense, the word for thoughtless/careless is gyulsol)
-Geez lololol Why so sensitive and soft? lolol. I didn’t even say what kind of role he should have played. lolol. How is this a comparison? lol
-I don’t know what gyulsol means ㅡㅡ;;
-Kang Do Wook drama sochwi*~~~~
(TL Note: sochwi means fulfilled/granted)
-What does sochwi mean? I heard the Winter Olympics are going to be held at Sochi
-Grandpa….T.T It means wish fulfilled…T.T
(TL Note: It stems from the words for wish *so*won and fulfilled/granted sung*chwi*)
-It’s been a while since I’ve heard KK’s song! I hope it’ll top the charts~!
-What is KK up to these days?
Writer Jung Eun Soo’s ‘Successors’ did not seem to be drawing as much attention as its predecessors, but it still seemed like it would easily get over 20% in ratings.
The OST ‘Tell Me’ that KK had sung did as well as the ratings of ‘Successors’. Even people who didn’t watch clicked on it out of ‘faith in KK’, and it rose to second place on the music charts.
As the broadcast continued, ‘Tell Me’ became more and more popular, and to this day was competing for first and second place against the ballad singer Huh Gun’s song.
It was doing well enough to even quell the worries of the KK members, who had the comeback just around the corner and were nervous whether their next album would do well.
Also at that time. Leaving the fans, who were looking for them in Korea, behind, KK was standing in the middle of the desert.
***
“In big trouble?”
“What happened?”
“The music video shoot…they said before that they’re changing the concept, right?”
“Ah, right. We didn’t get to attend the concept revision meeting. They said they’re just making it on a larger scale, where is it? Are we going overseas or something?”
“But Baek Ho, what do you mean by big trouble…”
The KK members asked in a frenzy when Manager Oh Baek Ho delivered the news that the music video filming location was decided.
The previous music video concept was to film using mirrors and water to express the passion, sweat, and continuous efforts of youth contained in the title song.
Initially they planned on making a mirror room covered with mirrors. They wanted to convey a message of, ‘it keeps going on,’ by showing scenes where the image is repeated endlessly like a maze. Expressing things more beautifully by adding sparkling effects through CGI lighting was a core technique.
The members dancing against a Milky Way-like background with about 1cm of water on a glass floor had been picked as the main scene to show the group dance of the chorus.
They thought they could get a variety of shots as the water splashes.
However, when the comeback plans got postponed, the Fan Marketing team and the Album Production Team had to have another meeting with the outsourcing agency regarding the music video shoot.
At Production Director Kwon Heung Jo’s orders, it was decided to do the music video on a larger scale.
Director Kwon Heung Jo felt that since they had plenty of capital and time now, they should invest in the music video, which could be considered one’s calling card, to aim for entering the global market.
The members simply thought that they would shoot at a larger studio with top-of-the-line equipment when they heard that it’d be on a bigger scale.
“Wow…”
However, where the members arrived was Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Thrown on a plane, 14 hours and one layover later, the members couldn’t help but be out of it after arriving in Dubai. Just as in New York, Dubai had a completely different landscape from Korea.
The members were overwhelmed by the colorful high-rise buildings that could not be seen in their entirety no matter how high they looked up.
The music video film crew was expected to arrive on a different flight the next day. To stay in top condition, the members were having a day off, resting at a hotel in the center of Dubai.
The spacious hotel room was located on the 72th floor, and the room had a panoramic view of Dubai’s city through a big glass window.
The room itself was very good too because it was equipped with all state-of-the-art facilities.
Dubai’s weather, with the scorching sunlight, was incredibly hot, but that was only outdoors. The inside of the hotel room was heavenly.
The members were enjoying themselves like they were on vacation, not a music video shoot. They were rolling around on the fluffy bed, drinking tropical fruit juice, or swimming at the hotel pool.
So far, besides being tired from the long flight, they didn’t understand at all what Manager Oh Baek Ho meant by ‘big trouble’.
Manager Oh Baek Ho had avoided giving an explanation by saying they could get the music video details from the Director when he came.
Then, the next day.
Along with the music video film crew, the rest of the staff, including the stylists who would be in charge of makeup and costumes and a few company employees, arrived.
The KK members, who had finished getting ready, were in the car being driven to the filming location by the local guide early in the morning. The members were excited and had looked online for all the places that might be a good location to film a music video the day before.
“Souk Madinat? Are we going there? Is that where we’re filming?!”
Ahn Hyung Seo asked with a loud voice.
Among the places they had looked up yesterday, Souk Madinat was a famous tourist attraction in Dubai. Just looking at one photo of it gave you the feeling of ‘Middle East!’
If they shot a music video with that in the background, they could create an exotic and mysterious vibe.
When Ahn Hyung Seo asked, the other members also looked at Director Choi, who was in the passenger seat, to explain the details of the music video.
Director Choi was the Director in charge of the title song music video shoot this time.
They had previously filed ‘Howl’ with Director Choi. At that time, he filmed the music video with a one-take technique and made the rhythmic choreography of ‘Howl’ stand out.
Since they had to accentuate KK’s impressive and vibrant performance, the company determined that Director Choi was the right person to direct the music video this time.
Honestly, Director Choi was a person who produced sophisticated creations worthy of the 21st century, but actually had the vibe of a third-rate film director.
Therefore, the members had some doubts when filming ‘Howl’, thinking, ‘Can this Director really…’ Contrary to how Director Choi was in person, the results were extremely memorable. Thanks to that, the members didn’t worry about the quality of the music video, even though Director Choi now looked like a fashion terrorist in a shabby jumper and hiking pants.
When Ahn Hyung Seo asked, Director Choi answered slyly as he smoothed out the end of the old cap he was wearing,
“Nope. Today’s shoot will be in the desert! Did you say Manager Oh didn’t explain it to you?
“What?”
It was Park Tae Hyung who was surprised to hear that it was in the desert. He was the one who asked but he got even more surprised and covered his mouth.
“Desert! Picture it! It’s vast, mysterious…! How incredible nature is!”
“Huh? What do you…”
Even Do Wook asked what Director Choi meant by desert. Director Choi finally gave a proper explanation after Do Wook asked.
“That beautiful landscape and KK dancing dynamically in it, sweating~I’m going to capture that.”
Jung Yoon Ki, who had already closed his eyes, was leaning his forehead on the car window. It seemed as if he could tell what was in his future.
The other members opened their eyes in disbelief and had an expression that said, ‘there’s no way’. Suk Ji Hoon shook his head.
“De…desert?”
“That’s right~!”
Director Choi yelled in a loud voice. When Muhammad, who was their local guide as well as the driver, looked surprised, Director Choi said “Nothing, Nothing!” in bad English and reassured Muhammad.
And so, with the members, who were surprised by the sudden desert shoot, in tow, the car arrived at the Dubai desert.
They thought ‘boundless and profound’ was only used for the ocean, but it was boundless and profound with sand. The sight of the desert, which they were seeing for the first time, was vast and beautiful as Director Choi said.
However, that was only for a moment. The scorching sun was blazing right above them.
With their individual outfits on, the members got in formation and checked their positions. Even though they had only stood briefly, there was already sweat dripping down from their foreheads.
It was difficult to move even a few steps to fix the formation. Every time they moved, their feet sunk deep into the sand and their shoes quickly became covered in sand.
Jung Woon Ki, who was weak to the heat, couldn’t even think about moving and stood helplessly, fanning himself with his hands.
“What in the world is going on…”
Ahn Hyung Seo muttered, dazed.
“Don’t they typically use CGI for stuff like this? Wouldn’t that be cheaper than this?”
For the first time in a long time, Suk Ji Hoon was in complete agreement with Ahn Hyung Seo. It was hard to grasp the idea behind all this.
The stylist approached them and fixed the makeup, which was smudged from the sweat, again.
“Mmph, sand, there’s sand in it. Ahhh!”
Kim Won, who had his mouth open as he got lip products put on, made a fuss that there was sand getting in. Ptui, ptui. It was a chaotic scene watching him spit out the sand.
The members were already uncomfortable as it was because sand seemed to get in their mouth and nose every time the wind blew. Their eyes stung so they kept rubbing it and every time they did, the stylists got irritated that their eye makeup got erased.
“I’m not sure if it’d be possible….to dance here…”
Park Tae Hyung, who had been warming up, said.
Do Wook, who was next to him, looked at him, concerned. Park Tae Hyung was the lightest among them. If it were an environment that he couldn’t dance in, it went without saying that the other members wouldn’t be able to either.
“Would it be too difficult?”
When Do Wook asked concernedly, Park Tae Hyung, who warmed up a little more, replied,
“It is possible, but…compared to dancing on a normal floor…”
“Inevitably it’d be difficult.”
Do Wook nodded his head.
The company and music video team must have made the decision after a lot of deliberation. If they thought it were impossible, they wouldn’t have tried it to begin with, so it wasn’t impossible.
‘But…’
Do Wook thought.
The filming crew was busy preparing for the shoot. They had to hurry after going through rehearsal to get the timing right if they wanted to shoot KK dancing with the setting sun.
It took a lot of work just to move the equipment. All the staff rolled up their sleeves and set up the filming equipment in the desert with their faces wrapped in towels. It also took effort to prepare the equipment in a way that sand wouldn’t get in.
“Wow, gazelles!”
“What, where, where?!”
Meanwhile, Kim Won spotted three gazelles. The members’ gazes turned to where the gazelles were. The slender gazelles quickly disappeared into the distance.
“Man, that definitely was fascinating…”
Jung Yoon Ki muttered weakly as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Do Wook also nodded his head. It truly was such a beautiful place that it was hard to imagine what kind of shot they would be able to get.
The problem was that it was beautiful only to look at, not to dance in.
‘I wonder…if we’ll be able to dance beautifully for the music video.’
While he was worrying, Director Choi’s loud voice rang out to alert them to be on standby for filming.
—
Next chapter: We learn the concept for KK’s next album