pappabearbooks Chapter 150: Gocheok (5)
Chapter 150: Gocheok (5)
-[“Today, we’re here to share some news about Vanguard’s debut showcase. ‘Vanguard’ will be holding its debut showcase at Gocheok Dome.”]As she watched Kang Rojun’s briefing in the video, Choi Rina seemed genuinely surprised, covering her mouth with one hand.
“Wow, amazing.”
The manager in the passenger seat turned his head after hearing this.
“Huh? What did you say??”
Choi Rina quickly shook her head.
“No! It’s nothing!”
“What.”
Choi Rina quickly averted her gaze from the manager and turned her eyes back to ‘Vanguard’ on the screen. More precisely, to Rojun. Her eyes remained wide open.
‘This is crazy, it’s seriously amazing. They’re debuting at Gocheok Dome??!’
She too knew about Gocheok Dome. Especially because she had thrown the opening pitch for a game there about a year ago. Even if she hadn’t, Gocheok Dome was a well-known venue in the entertainment industry.
‘I’ve heard of top idols holding concerts at Gocheok, but a rookie group debuting there? Isn’t this the first time?’
What Choi Rina mumbled to herself was the correct answer. Gocheok Dome was occasionally used as a concert venue by famous idols. However, that wasn’t very common, just a few cases. Even now, if an artist fills up Gocheok, it makes headlines. And a rookie idol group debuting at Gocheok Dome? There wasn’t even a precedent.
It was the kind of scoop worthy of making headlines.
At that moment, Kang Rojun in the video opened his mouth again.
-[“We’re planning to go with a debut showcase mixed with a concert vibe. Please look forward to our debut show-con at Gocheok Dome!”]
It wasn’t just a debut showcase, it was a debut show-con, a showcase combined with a concert. Choi Rina’s already wide eyes expanded even more. Well, it’s Gocheok Dome, after all. Just doing a standard showcase there would be a waste.
‘Ha…… I totally. Totally, totally want to go!’
Choi Rina could almost hear the roar of over 20,000 people echoing inside the grand Gocheok Dome. Just imagining it sent chills down her spine.
“…I’m going to get that ticket, no matter what.”
In the video, Kang Rojun and the members of ‘Vanguard’ continued wrapping up by thanking their fans and sharing recent updates.
And it wasn’t just Choi Rina watching the video.
‘Vanguard’ was nearing 5 million subscribers, and tens of thousands of people watched the video at the same time as her. Naturally, comments began flooding in instantly.
-….What??? Gocheok Dome???!
-They’re debuting at Gocheok Dome… insane
-Gocheok Dome?? Whoaaaa!!
-Gasp
-Why are they so damn handsome?? Especially Rojun, his face is unreal
-WowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋVanguard’s level is insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋNever thought of Gocheok Domeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Glad I stanned VanguardㅋㅋㅋㅋIsn’t this the first time someone’s debuting at Gocheok in idol history??
-I hope one of those 20,000 seats is mine…??
-Gocheok Dome debut;;;
-Oh damn that’s lit
-GN really knows what they’re doingㅋㅋㅋHonestly thought they’d start with music shows, but a debut show-con at Gocheok Dome…
-ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ what a display of power
.
.
.
.
Everyone was going wild with explosive reactions. Shock, amazement, admiration, high praise, anticipation, and more. Of course, not all reactions were positive. There were plenty of hate comments too.
-So over the topㅋㅋㅋGocheok has over 20,000 seats, they’ll probably fill a few thousand and flop
-↑I don’t think they’ll have any trouble filling itㅎㅎㅎ
-Yeah rightㅋㅋㅋEven top singers barely fill it
-Agreed, Vanguard’s being a bit cocky
-The idiots are here again
-Just ignore the trolls
But the fans of ‘Vanguard’ quickly drowned them out. Interestingly, there were quite a few comments in Japanese as well. It made sense. Every video on Vanguard’s channel included Japanese and English subtitles. Japanese fans were also ecstatic about the news of the debut show-con.
-I’m definitely going to Korea to see Vanguard this time!!!
Whatever it was, although not everything, the bait of Vanguard’s debut show-con had been thrown to the fans, and it spread instantly through SNS and online communities.
GN Entertainment was monitoring the situation in real time.
From this point onward, PR and marketing capabilities were crucial. To sustain the blazing firepower, you had to throw as much fuel as possible, without interruption. There was no way a major company like GN Entertainment’s PR and marketing team didn’t know that, and Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had come by to check the situation, was satisfied.
‘Okay, the engine’s revving properly.’
In fact, the PR and marketing team looked busier than ever.
“The video hit over 700,000 views in less than an hour!!”
“Keep dropping shorts! Start sharing on Vanguard’s official Insta too!”
“Yes!!”
“What are the reporters doing?!”
“Articles are starting to pop up!”
“They’re too slow! Push them harder!! What were they doing when I told them to be on standby!”
There was plenty of prepared material about the ‘Vanguard’ debut show-con. GN Entertainment had already set up a strategy to release the rest gradually, starting with Gocheok Dome. Right now, they were still in the early stages of that strategy. So for now, they had to draw in as much attention as possible.
There’s a saying that idols live and die by hype.
In the entertainment industry, idols are the most sensitive to trending topics. Of course, ‘Vanguard’ had been making waves since their start, but that didn’t mean they had conquered the world. There were still plenty of groups with even larger fandoms.
“There are tons of idols debuting or making comebacks! If we go soft, it’ll fizzle out quick! Go all-in like crazy!”
The floodgates had opened, and now it was war. They had to bombard the media and public opinion with massive firepower, sensational, salty, sweet, and spicy, enough to knock them off balance.
Soon after, Manager Kim Ki-baek stepped out of the PR and marketing team’s area.
-Swish.
He walked slowly but steadily. While the entire GN Entertainment building was buzzing, the only place that remained calm and deep was the recording studio. The place handled by Song Min-geun and the producing team. Inside the recording booth, the members of ‘Vanguard’ were singing the song ‘Flying Bell’, already for several hours.
-♬♪
Since Song Min-geun was practically a veteran and called a domestic legend.
“Si-hoo, the ‘Flying’ part was good, but the ‘Bell’ part is a bit high. Lower it by two tones.”
“Yes!”
He was merciless in production. Back in ‘Produce That 100!’, the ‘Vanguard’ members were amateurs, but now they were almost professionals. Half-hearted work made no sense. Even so, Song Min-geun noticed the kids’ growth.
‘The kids’ overall tension has improved. Well, GN is thorough, so it’s expected, but Rojun, that kid… his presence is way bigger than the others.’
Manager Kim Ki-baek should’ve let them know that the world was going crazy outside, but for now, he quietly watched Vanguard’s recording.
‘Can’t disrupt the mood here.’
It was the final track recording for Vanguard’s debut album. The recording of ‘Flying Bell’ wrapped up only late at night. Because of that, all the schedules the members were supposed to do today got pushed back.
But who cared about things like that?
“Thank you for your hard work!!”
“Thank you for your efforts!”
The most important thing was that the debut song recording ended without issues. The vocal recording of three tracks had just finished, but for the producing team, the real work started now. From session recording to mixing and mastering, there was a mountain of work left. Anyway, Manager Kim Ki-baek gave a faint smile to the ‘Vanguard’ members as they finally stepped out of the recording booth.
“Everyone’s alive, right?”
The members, completely drained, replied with difficulty.
“……Yes.”
At least Kang Rojun was still lively.
‘Damn- that was intense. It’s already night? Time flew by.’
It was only then that Song Min-geun, who checked his phone, shouted at the ‘Vanguard’ members while his belly jiggled.
“You, you guys are debuting at Gocheok Dome?!!”
Later.
The ‘Vanguard’ members who had come out of the recording studio got into the van heading to their dorm. It was already late at night, and they had to be up early again tomorrow. Even if they slept now, they wouldn’t get many hours.
Kang Rojun and the members were exhausted, but Kim Ki-baek, sitting in the passenger seat, still kept a weak smile.
“Mm- This isn’t enough to wear you out, right? Once promotions start in earnest, there’ll be days you can count on one hand when you actually sleep at the dorm. You should enjoy this while it lasts.”
“……”
“……”
The kids had more or less caught on. They knew that right now was the only time they’d actually be able to sleep. Still, Manager Kim Ki-baek soon delivered good news to the ‘Vanguard’ members.
“Today, the news about Vanguard’s debut show-con at Gocheok Dome was dropped. Check it out.”
The ‘Vanguard’ members’ eyes widened, and they suddenly looked like they weren’t tired at all.
“This is crazy! What’s up with the video views!!”
“The comments… are even crazier??”
“There’s a flood of articles coming out.”
“What about our Instagram??!”
“I’ll check it!”
Their energy returned instantly. As expected, for idols, fans’ attention is both medicine and food. Kang Rojun was no different.
‘Weird. Just a moment ago, I felt like I’d fall asleep the second I lay down, but after reading the fans’ comments, the sleepiness disappeared completely.’
Meanwhile, Kim Ki-baek began briefing the ‘Vanguard’ members on the showcase.
“First of all, the booking for Gocheok Dome is complete. Your debut showcase slash concert. That is, the show-con. Once the date is finalized, we’ll begin stage construction right away.”
At this point, not just Rojun, but Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung had eyes that sparkled. With a faint smile, Kim Ki-baek continued his explanation.
“All three choreographies are done. I checked the videos the choreo team sent, and they came out amazing. Originally, there was a meeting with the choreo team scheduled for today, but since the recording ran long, it’s been pushed to tomorrow morning. We’ll begin practice right after reviewing the choreography.”
After the choreography talk, Kim Ki-baek moved on to the music video topic.
“The music video storyboards are nearly all in, so the confirmed shoot date will be announced soon. Mm- what’s most important is Vanguard’s condition and performance ability. Depending on your state, the confirmed dates may move forward or back slightly.”
However, Kim Ki-baek was certain: with the current energy of ‘Vanguard’, the schedule would more likely move up than get delayed.
“One more thing to share about the debut show-con, you’ll be performing not just your debut tracks, but other songs as part of special event stages. It wouldn’t make sense to do only three debut songs for a show-con at Gocheok Dome, right?”
Rojun was the first to ask a question.
“What kind of other songs?”
“They’re not confirmed yet, but every song you’ve performed up until now is a candidate. From ‘Produce That 100!’ or in Rojun’s case, even ‘Rental Lover’. Solo, duet, group, whatever gets confirmed, I’ll let you know right away. The show-con’s cue sheet will follow a standard format, but on a larger scale.”
Normally, an idol showcase is structured as performance, talk, performance, event game, performance, more talk and fan interaction, and a video segment, then another performance. Adding concert elements meant increasing the number of songs shown.
Afterward, when the ‘Vanguard’ members arrived at their dorm, they didn’t immediately pass out after washing up.
“The online communities are on fire??!”
“Gocheok Dome really is something else.”
They gathered in groups in the living room, busy checking reactions on YouTube, SNS, communities, and more. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were more excited than ever.
“Ah- but there are a lot of hate comments too.”
“There are people cussing us out directly.”
“Ha, I really wanna reply.”
In the center, Kang Rojun calmly tried to settle them down.
“Ignore the hate. They’re just jealous.”
“R-right??”
“Yeah.”
“Come to think of it, Rojun-hyung always got the most hate, right? How do you just ignore it?”
Rojun casually shrugged as if it wasn’t hard at all.
“I’m used to it.”
Si-hoo, slightly surprised, asked again.
“You’re used to being hated?”
“Yeah.”
It was an answer that included the period from his ugly days, but expressionless Do-kyung interpreted it differently and nodded deeply.
“Rojun-hyung is super damn handsome. Of course there’s tons of jealousy.”
The members kept chatting until 2 a.m. and only fell asleep around 2:30 a.m. They woke up four hours later, around 6:40 a.m., when Manager Kim Ki-baek showed up at the dorm again.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The first one out of the room was Kang Rojun. His hair was wild, but Kim Ki-baek gave him double thumbs up.
“Even with messy hair, Rojun’s visuals are still top-tier.”
Now more or less used to compliments about his looks, Rojun gave a small bow and replied.
“Thank you. I’ll wake the others right away.”
The zombie-like ‘Vanguard’ members barely managed to wash up and left the dorm quickly. They arrived at the company just before 8 a.m. The place they gathered was the large practice room. The ‘Vanguard’ boys sat in a row at the back of the studio, and GN Entertainment’s in-house choreo team took their positions in front.
Soon after.
“We’ll start with ‘GreenBee’. Just watch for now.”
A dozen members of the choreo team.
-♬♪
Began performing the finished choreography for ‘GreenBee’.
And Kang Rojun’s eyes were.
“……”
Full of vitality.