“I got a call from Yak PD-nim at dawn yesterday and he chose good songs. Now we just need to refine the concept. Good work, Seol-ah, Doun-ah.”
Onseol and Ma Doun put the 10 guide tracks onto a USB and handed it to Yak PD. And Yak PD listened to all those songs and contacted Director Gye telling them to make track 2 the title song and track 8 the sub-title song.
Since no one expected that Yak PD, who was famous for having an excellent ability to predict hit songs, would choose those particular songs, there was no preparation for those tracks. Director Gye, who heard the news belatedly, said it was an emergency and contacted the staff at dawn, working hard all night to select concept drafts suitable for the title track, track 2.
“At dawn, the staff and I held a meeting about what concept would suit the songs Yak PD-nim chose, and after careful consideration, we picked one from several drafts.”
Director Gye brought up a PPT.
“This is the concept for this title track.”
On the displayed screen was a black suit and a man with a mysterious appearance. And reading the text written below, all the members were surprised and opened their eyes wide.
-Magician.
Magician? That kind of magician I know?
Before the members could properly process it, images appeared one after another on the PPT. Scenes of fire coming out of hands, or scenes of smiling playfully even though the body was cut. When even magic involving confinement underwater appeared, the members’ faces turned pale.
‘How are we supposed to do that?’
After a silence, everyone looked at the young man smiling brightly with his body cut by magic and let out sighs while covering their faces. Even for Ka Jerim, who had been Cha Hohyeon, a 5-year veteran idol, those photos were too overwhelming and he couldn’t hide his troubled expression.
‘Do I have to sing while dismembered? Or they’re not going to tell us to match sharp choreography underwater, right?’
Since it was a completely unexpected concept, his imagination continued endlessly, leading to all sorts of bizarre imaginings. Thinking of some members dancing and singing while performing escape magic inside a water tank was truly horrible.
Everyone seemed to be thinking similar things, unable to say a word properly and staring at the screen with vacant expressions. Then, Onseol, who came to his senses first, said.
“Weren’t we originally supposed to be doing… a different concept? The CEO didn’t say anything like this to me earlier either.”
Actually, the things that were mentioned before Ka Jerim joined weren’t like this. Most were keywords like ‘separation’ and ‘love’, and not even the letter ‘ma’ of magician had ever been mentioned.
As if agreeing with Onseol’s words, the remaining members except Ka Jerim also nodded their heads and looked at Director Gye, but he just shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalantly.
“After receiving the songs from PD-nim at dawn, the staff talked again, and we decided to overturn all your concepts.”
“What?”
“The songs Yak PD-nim chose last night were track 2 and track 8.”
Oh my. Onseol and Ma Doun, who recalled track 2 and track 8, narrowed their brows. Tracks 2 and 8 had insanely flashy beats, and upon receiving advice from the PD that it would be good to have various genres, Onseol and Ma Doun had made these songs in a style completely different from usual, almost as if challenging themselves.
“Of all things, he chose those songs?”
“Yeah, of all things. We were a bit surprised too.”
From the time they were making them, there were many trials and errors, so they hadn’t even considered for a single percent that they would become title tracks, but it was despairing that the chosen songs happened to be those.
“Anyway, these songs are far from ballads in atmosphere, so we redid the concept.”
“……”
“Still, the photos I just showed you were a joke. You don’t think we’d put you in a water tank and have you cut bodies on broadcast, right? They said that would make the news as trainee abuse.”
The fact that they thought that far seems to mean they did consider it though…… When everyone stared at Director Gye with faces full of distrust, he vehemently denied it.
“Ah, I’m telling you it’s really not! You guys will only do really simple magic on stage!”
“Simple magic?”
“Yeah. Like shooting fire.”
……That’s simple? One of the images Director Gye had shown earlier came to mind. The members turned pale recalling the man with a calm expression as if it wasn’t hot, in the middle of large blazing flames, not small lighter-like fire.
“My dream is longevity though.”
“Eden-ah, how old are you now…… Ah, that’s not it.”
Director Gye hurriedly said.
“What are you guys even thinking?!”
“We’re imagining jumping into flames.”
“Would I make you do something like that?! It’s tiny fire, tiny fire!”
Director Gye hurriedly clapped his hands to change the atmosphere.
“And it’s D-80. We can’t be doing this, we need to start work right away.”
80 days left until debut. Within that time, they had to finish working on two songs, shoot a music video, and even practice dancing and that ridiculous magic. At Director Gye’s words that they couldn’t waste even an hour, the members soon came to their senses and sat up straight.
“Oh right. We also thought about the group name, and Doun, you had a name you wanted since early trainee days, right? The one we opposed because it was too gloomy.”
Ma Doun’s eyes widened and he looked at Director Gye with a happy face like a child. His pale face was flushed red with anticipation.
“We removed it from the candidates because it was too dark a name for a ballad group, right? But since this concept was set as magician like this, the name Doun chose came to mind and it seemed good.”
“Ah, don’t tell me that one? The one Doun hyung really wanted to do?”
When Seon Hobeom asked that, Ma Doun nodded his head and answered that was right. Onseol said, “That’s not bad either,” and Park Eden also slowly nodded his head, agreeing it was fine.
“What name is it?”
Only Ka Jerim didn’t know what name it was. To Ka Jerim, who alone didn’t understand, Onseol kindly answered.
“It’s nothing special. It’s ‘Abyss,’ it was a word Doun liked since his trainee days.”
“Abyss?”
“Yeah, the spelling is A-b-y-s-s, and it means abyss. Doun really likes things like the deep sea.”
Ma Doun really loved the ocean, and among that, he had great interest in the deep sea. So much so that all his YouTube-related videos were things like deep-sea fish.
For such a Ma Doun, the word Abyss, which had the meaning of abyss and pit, was a word he really liked. So he had recommended Abyss as a group name candidate, but at the time it was excluded from the candidates because the name was gloomy for a group discussing separation or love.
“Most groups’ identity is revealed in their first song, and our first concept is magic. Magic is an illusion, but if you don’t realize it, you can’t see even an inch ahead, which felt like an abyss. Is everyone okay with it?”
“Well, Doun hyung really wanted to do it. I’m fine with it.”
When Seon Hobeom nodded saying it was fine, the remaining members also agreed. Ka Jerim thought Abyss was much better than POT (Fort), which had been named by flipping TOP upside down with the meaning of becoming the best even if backwards, so he nodded saying he liked it.
“I’m so touched……”
Ma Doun seemed choked up that everyone agreed, covering his mouth and unable to hide his excitement, repeatedly saying, “The name I came up with is being used.” Ka Jerim, sitting next to Ma Doun, burst into laughter at his appearance. Director Gye looked at Ka Jerim and Ma Doun thinking ‘They seem to have gotten close already,’ chuckled, then brought up the PPT and continued his explanation.
“In the choreography, we’ll use props like these.”
The PPT had images of handcuffs, red roses, neckties, cards, keys, candles, clocks, and ropes. Of course, he knew those props were magic tools, but hearing they would use them on stage gave a somehow strange feeling.
“I brought the prop photos in advance to help a bit when you go to write lyrics after today’s meeting ends. We can remove from these or add to them. Anyway, the meeting ends here!”
“……Crazy. Isn’t this a perverted concept?”
This bastard. Director Gye, as if offended that the images he carefully collected at dawn were being treated as perverted, struck Seon Hobeom’s head hard.
Seon Hobeom appealed that the rest of the members must be thinking the same thing, asking why only he was being hit, but the remaining members lightly ignored Seon Hobeom and headed toward the studio. Only Ka Jerim remained, reading Seon Hobeom’s mood before following behind.
“Oh my, look at that shitty personality.”
Director Gye clicked his tongue looking at Seon Hobeom, who was like a disobedient seven-year-old.
Like that, the day of D-80 came to an end.
* * *
[Beep- Yoon-ah. This is Yak PD. Are you feeling okay? I was going to visit you in the hospital, but you’re currently……]
A voice message echoed from inside the blanket. The hospital room was pitch dark with the lights off. Only the moonlight gradually entering from outside illuminated the interior, but the hospital room was a complete mess.
The desk and vase that had been in the single room were overturned, and flowers were rolling on the floor. The drinks received as gifts were also not in the refrigerator but scattered here and there on the floor.
[……they say you’re not doing well so I can’t see you. When are you being discharged? Are you really okay? Anyway, contact me when you get better. I have something important to tell you. Don’t skip the examination saying it’s bothersome, and more than anything, recover quickly h……]
After Yak PD made several admonitions, he soon cleared his throat with an awkward voice, said he loved him, and ended it. And only after a long while did Go Yoon, who had heard that voice message, slowly emerge from under the blanket.
