On a sunny weekend morning, the debut team guys and I headed to the set where the music video for Colorize's new album would be made.
Kim Ji-su, who got into the van to the set with us, urged the members with all her heart.
"I know you're tired from coming out so early, but once you're inside the set, make sure you greet the staff properly! If your eyes meet, greet them right away. Even if your eyes don't meet, greet them loudly!"
"Yes!"
The PLUTO guys, who had answered in unison, whispered quietly in the back seats.
"From what I heard from Cheong-yun-noona-nim, they spent quite a bit of money this time, so we should look forward to it?"
"But then won't there be no money left to make our album......?"
When Seo Seo-jun made a serious face, I could see Namgung Hyun, who'd been talking with him, gradually turning solemn too.
The usual Namgung Hyun would have laughed off a remark like that, but maybe because it was related to the debut, of all things, he'd turned serious along with him.
"They'll have set the whole budget in advance."
"Heok...... Seol-han-hyung, you're kind of like a grown-up."
What on earth is the image of a 'grown-up' inside Seo Seo-jun?
The company jerks can't be unaware that it's a market where, if you don't draw buzz at debut, you sink without even lasting three years, so surely they wouldn't make the self-defeating move of pulling that crucial debut budget to spend on another group.
Of course, that's just the common-sense version; in reality there are plenty of companies five minutes from total chaos where all sorts of bizarre own goals run rampant, so it's truly unfortunate that you can't let your guard down until you unwrap the package.
For now, all I can do is hope that Solar is running things by making good use of the success data it's accumulated.
There are times when it feels so unsystematic that I wonder how the company keeps rolling, but objectively speaking, Solar did belong among agencies of a certain size.
For starters, there's Jeong Ru-i, a hugely popular solo singer who lands in the upper ranks of the music charts whenever she releases new work, and the girl group Colorize, which enjoyed popularity and album sales on par with the first tier. Besides them, several other artists with name value were signed there too.
It means that unless something pretty big happened, it would never get so impoverished that the CEO had to sell her house to make an album.
That must be why they could keep the group going even though the PLUTO of before—before Baek Ji-hyuk dragged it up by the collar—kept posting disappointing results.
Before long, the van carrying PLUTO arrived at the underground parking lot.
When we got out of the van and entered the studio building, I saw an indoor set lined with countless staff, the kind I'd only seen in behind-the-scenes videos.
Judging by the decorations installed inside, it looked like was the right answer for the album they were releasing this time.
The debut team members, sticking close to Kim Ji-su, politely bowed at the waist to every staff member who passed by.
"Who are these kids?"
"They're the kids who'll be debuting from our company this time!"
"Please take care of us!"
When some staff asked who this group of boys they'd never seen before were, Kim Ji-su stepped up to answer, and the debut team guys matched it by promoting themselves energetically.
At the place where Kim Ji-su led us—walking ahead without hesitation, as if she had a clear destination—a man with a gentle air was talking with some staff.
"This is Oh Seung-won from the Management Team. He's in charge of Colorize right now, but once this round of promotions ends, he'll be joining you as your manager."
"Hello, I'm Oh Seung-won. I look forward to working with you. Feel free to call me hyung."
The genial man introduced as Oh Seung-won held out his hand toward us as if for a handshake.
He was a manager well known among Colorize fans, having been caught on camera diligently looking after the members at all sorts of sites.
Seeing him politely shake hands one by one even with trainees who hadn't debuted yet, it seemed I at least wouldn't have to worry about big problems arising from friction with the manager.
After the greetings, Kim Ji-su added the explanation that responsibility for managing the debut team would soon be handed over from the New Talent Development Team to the Management Team.
As she delivered the news of the parting, Kim Ji-su's expression was dripping with regret, like a parent sending off a child.
Colorize, who appeared on set having finished their preparations, greeted the on-site staff and came toward where the trainees were.
We greeted Colorize politely, just as we had the other staff, and one of the members, Ju-young, peered intently at my face and then asked calmly.
"You're Ji-hyuk, right......? Maybe it's because it's been a while, but you do look kind of different."
I've heard this routine so often that I don't even feel bored of it anymore.
"This is Seol-han, not Ji-hyuk. I told you before that Ji-hyuk left the company, Ju-young."
"Ah...... right. Sorry, I got confused."
"No, it's fine."
When Ju-young, scolded by Jae-woo, made an embarrassed face and bowed her head to apologize, I quickly bowed my head with her.
"Then are you twins? Baek Seol-han...... your name's pure white. Like Snow White."
Ju-young, beaming all over her face, spouted nonsense in a pure tone without a speck of malice.
What on earth do you have to do to be able to imagine something like that?
If anything, I think I look more like the huntsman ordered to kill Snow White than Snow White herself.
"Not Baek Seol-han, it's Pyeong Seol-han. And I'm an only child."
"...A secret of birth?"
"No."
I knew Ju-young's uniquely odd personality had earned her a reputation for a charm that goes beyond 4D into 5D, but dealing with her directly like this, I really couldn't tell where the conversation would bounce next, and it was a little tiring.
Jae-woo, beside Ju-young, looked at the trainees and asked.
"The other kids will have been here before when we shot other music videos, but it's your first time, Hyun and Seol-han, right?"
"Yes! The set's really big!"
I'd expected it to some degree when I asked Namgung Hyun about his trainee period before, but among this lot, Namgung Hyun was apparently the last trainee to join Solar.
Cha Min-seong and Baek Ji-hyuk were the first male trainees Solar picked after planning a boy group, and after that Seo Seo-jun, Ha Hyun, and Go Yeon-gyu came in, in that order, or so I heard.
Still, the experience of rolling around at a major agency couldn't be ignored after all, because the ones setting the current debut team's practice flow weren't Cha Min-seong or Seo Seo-jun but the two trainees from HJ.
Ha Hyun aside, it's surprising that Namgung Hyun became this close not just with the trainees but with the existing artists too, in a short period of just over a year.
"While you're here, learn a lot by looking over our shoulders. What the on-site atmosphere is like, how filming works, that kind of thing. It'll all help when you shoot yours."
"Thank you for looking out for us like this when you must be busy, Jae-woo-noona."
"Our Min-seong's finally debuting, so as a senior I should do at least this much. It's a shame Ji-hyuk isn't here...... but that kid must have had his reasons too."
Jae-woo smiled warmly and lightly patted Cha Min-seong on the back.
The more I see of her, the more clearly I feel she's a grown-up person befitting the position of leader.
If PLUTO had had a leader like Jae-woo instead of Baek Ji-hyuk, that wouldn't have happened. It's a shame.
***
The part Colorize was shooting today included a group dance scene in a ballroom with a high ceiling decorated with countless chandeliers.
Add the light of the ceaselessly sparkling chandeliers to an antique-style set with standout velvet curtains and large windows, and it felt as if we'd stepped right inside a palace from a movie.
Colorize's outfits, too, were mainly dresses lavishly embroidered with beads and lace, like princesses in classical masterpieces.
This album, which captured the flashy, bright atmosphere of spring in full bloom, was well received overall, including the title track .
>Colorize's new album concept photos, getting an all-time great reaction
⤷Feels like romance-fantasy princesses gathered for a tea party, so pretty ugh ㅜ
⤷The styling is seriously like a contest of who can be flashier lolol the kids pulling this off are amazing too
⤷Cheong-yun was already gorgeous but now that she's in her twenties she's oozing maturity, feels like she renews her prime every time
>Colorize's title this time is so freaking good, it's just art
⤷Please listen to the B-sides too, they're so enchanting I sobbed while listening
⤷The song's one thing, but the visual attack is insane too, the concept and hair-makeup-styling are all killer so the MV is a treat to watch
⤷My true spring begins now that I've heard Bloom
⤷Wait isn't Jae-woo's tone a cheat code, her volume is insane and she dances well too, a truly full-hexagon member
Colorize, who had been on an upswing breaking their own records every year, drew in countless new fans when this album, released in their fifth year, gained explosive popularity at home and abroad alike.
If there was one regret, it was that Cheong-yun, the member with the best reaction, missed the comeback promotions due to a leg injury.
I remember that a lighting accident that happened during the music video shoot was the cause of the injury.
Thankfully she was able to return from the next promotions, but Cheong-yun herself always regretted not being able to take part in the promotions right at her career high.
'Wait.'
Come to think of it, isn't this that very music video shoot?
Colorize's music video shoot this time was three days in total.
And today was the second day of shooting.
Cheong-yun's legs still look fine. Someone with an injury bad enough to stop promotions couldn't possibly dance in high heels like that.
Could she have gotten hurt after this shoot?
With that thought, I suddenly looked up at the ceiling and noticed that the chandelier hanging directly above Cheong-yun looked oddly precarious.
...Isn't that swaying a little?
Right now, every light except those around the performers had been turned off to create the dramatic scene where all the lights come on at once the moment the song leads into the final chorus.
Because of this, it was too dark to see in detail, but to my eyes it definitely looked like it was swaying.
Suddenly, a bad premonition flashed through my mind.
The chorus comes three times in total in .
And what was being filmed now was the part for the final chorus.
But in the music video I saw, there was no group dance scene like this in the final chorus.
They might have shot it this way and decided in editing that it'd be better to use a different scene, but going by the circumstances, it seems more like.......
'F—ck, don't tell me.'
At that moment, the chandelier lurched hard, and at the same time the part connected to the ceiling tore away completely.
Having lost what held it up, the chandelier began to fall straight toward Cheong-yun.
There's no time to think any more.
I pushed past the filming staff and dove onto the set.
At the same moment I yanked the arm of Cheong-yun, who was right under the light, and turned my body to shield her.
Right behind us, with a bursting noise like countless glass lights shattering at once, sharp fragments sprayed in every direction.