Chapter 178
While everyone was asleep, I went out to the living room alone and watched music videos on my laptop.
No, at first, I started with the color film.
Then, I watched the teaser, and finally the music video.
I don’t know how many times I watched it on repeat.
I watched it so much that I got tired of it, and then watched it again.
They were well-made videos.
Ryu Bo-ra
Song: 80/100
Dance: 77/100
Appearance: 98/100
Charisma: 90/100
Entertainment Sense: ?/100
Special Personal Skills:
Acting: 92/100
(New!) Directing: 76/100
Recommended Skills for Development:
(New!) Directing:* 76/100
[Your member has developed a new skill.]
[Why not nurture this newly discovered talent?]
They were so well-made.
Such a notification popped up.
For a talent that had just emerged to start with a high score of 76…
This really was a talent…
“But, when you did the Menucal thing.”
I had asked a while ago.
“Yes.”
“You always had your phone with you.”
“I did.”
“What were you watching on your phone all the time?”
At my question, Ryu Bo-ra remained silent for a long while.
She just focused on eating the cucumber slices in front of her.
Then.
“I watched dramas and movies.”
“…What?”
“Is that surprising?”
Of course, it was.
Who would think that someone was watching dramas during that exhausting and chaotic survival period?
“Yes.”
“It was hard to endure without doing that.”
Ryu Bo-ra looked up at me with her characteristic, straightforward gaze.
“If I wasn’t immersed in different stories and worlds… If I only focused on my reality, I felt suffocated.”
I can’t describe how shocked I was by her words.
Who would have thought that Ryu Bo-ra, who always seemed so strong, would have such thoughts?
“There was so much to do. So many people are watching me. People who had expectations of me, people who wanted me to fail… There were too many of them. But I didn’t want to do it.”
Ryu Bo-ra picked at the cucumber and put it in her mouth.
“So, that’s why I did it. To endure.”
Ryu Bo-ra chuckled softly, meeting my eyes.
“But after you bought me that tuna kimbap.”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t need to escape to other worlds as much.”
“Why?”
“Because you yourself were a completely different world to me. You were a person so different from me.”
Ryu Bo-ra spoke in a firm voice.
That’s why.
That’s why she chose the concept for this color film.
Someone so different from her, someone who seemed like they could disappear into another world at any moment.
She made the video for that person.
As I watched Ryu Bo-ra, I had a vague thought.
This kid’s talent… must be directing, I guessed.
But to think it was true.
“You’ve grown a lot, Ryu Bo-ra.”
The abilities of Ryu Bo-ra that I hadn’t checked in a while were truly impressive.
To think a person could grow this much in such a short time.
It made me realize.
How many traces I was leaving in this world.
To be honest, it would be a lie if I said I didn’t notice anything while acting.
I knew.
What the members were planning.
What they were preparing for me.
But I pretended not to know.
For many reasons.
Because I felt like I should pretend not to know when the members were having so much fun preparing.
Also, because these videos… felt like they were showing my current situation.
The future I had been avoiding was coming closer.
[Every winter, I dream of a place I can never return to.]
The caption on the screen.
And the image of myself reflected above it.
Everything was reminding me of reality.
That I was not a person of this world.
That I would have to leave eventually.
And.
That I would… forever miss this world.
-Are you troubled, Baek Nokha?
“!”
At that moment, a fluffy bundle popped out from behind my shoulder.
“You…!”
I called out to the fluffy bundle in a hushed voice.
-There’s no need for that. Your members can’t hear anything anyway.
“So, am I in my subconscious now?”
-No. This is your reality. I just blocked the sound.
It can block sound too? It knows how to do all sorts of things.
I laughed.
-Why are you laughing?
“Just because.”
-You’re really an incomprehensible human.
The fluffy bundle floated around me.
-So, Baek Nokha, how do you feel?
“About what?”
-How do you feel about the feelings your members are sending you?
I didn’t answer.
How did I feel…
I missed Baek Nokha’s life.
The fans who loved me.
In this world, our fans were called Everblue.
In Baek Nokha’s world, my fans were called Greenies.
No fan was more or less precious than the other.
They were equally precious, equally missed, and equally appreciated.
In this world, I had my members and the new acquaintances I met.
The honor? Wealth? Those I accumulated as Baek Nokha? I could give them up anytime.
But there was one person I couldn’t give up.
I couldn’t give up on my mom.
What was the reason I came this far in the first place?
What was the reason I struggled so hard until now?
-But you know, Baek Nokha.
The fluffy bundle grinned with a wide mouth.
-Why didn’t you look for Baek Nokha in this world?
“You said she doesn’t exist.”
Was it lying to me?
-Yes, she doesn’t exist.
“Then there’s no reason to look-”
-For ‘now.’
“!”
What was it talking about?
I grabbed the fluffy bundle with my hand, not understanding its words.
“What do you mean by that?”
-I was just going to watch and end things when it seemed appropriate… but you’ve done such a good job.
Even as I held it, the fluffy bundle remained relaxed.
-I thought I might as well give you this hint.
“Hint, my foot. Just tell me.”
-I don’t want to. I prefer kids who figure things out on their own!
This crazy sociopath fluffball.
“You….”
-Originally, I didn’t have to tell you anything. Think of it as a service.
The fluffball slowly faded and slipped out of my hand.
-You should be grateful I told you this much. Understand?
“Grateful, my foot.”
-You really have a bad personality… But that’s what I like about you!
The fluffball chuckled and completely disappeared.
However, the question lingering in my mind would never vanish.
Steel Blue’s music video is so cute.
Are the members real high schoolers? Three of them are, right? Feels like pure youth…
Isn’t Steel Blue’s music video perfect for summer?
Steel Blue’s album specs and merchandise are adorable.
The album comes in two versions:
Ver. Beyond All Time
Ver. Beyond All Worlds
Album specifications:
-Photobook
-Members’ name tags (Time ver: high school name tags, World ver: employee badges)
-Everblue x Steel Blue exchange diary for June~July (decorated with members’ handwriting)
-Mini standees of members (Time ver: high school students, World ver: adults)
-Photocards
-Lyrics booklet
-Poster
Merchandise:
-Badges (featuring members’ club characteristics, e.g., Seo Baek-young’s kendo wooden sword)
:Perfect for hiding your fangirl side, so cute
-Film photos of members in school uniforms
-Members’ symbolic color LPs
:Limited edition, sold out in one second… please release more, you guys!
And many more cute items
This really makes fangirling worthwhile.
Ah… My bank account, I can’t protect you this month.
Finally, the music video was released.
The album was also fully launched.
Just before the first-day sales check.
Everyone knew the importance of this album, so everyone watched the screen nervously.
Until now, I had explicitly told them not to check the real-time trends.
I was the only one occasionally checking to ensure everything was okay.
I wanted them to focus on preparing for the comeback.
But now, it was time to check.
“Let’s not get our hopes up too high.”
At my words, the members nodded.
“Just the love we’ve received from our fans so far is more than enough. You know what’s much more important than these numbers, right?”
“Ah!! We all know, so just show us already.”
Kim Geum said, pulling at her hair.
Such an impatient girl…
In the end, I clicked on the real-time album chart tab.
“…”
“…Is this… is this really our result?”
“Unnie, I think you clicked on another idol’s results by mistake.”
“This can’t be real….”
Everyone had a look of disbelief.
Was it because the results were too bad?
No.
“It’s ours.”
It was so unbelievably good.
“Is this even possible?”
“Wow. This is for real…!”
“Isn’t this a record for girl groups in Colors?!”
“Guys, you really worked hard.”
First-day sales.
An astonishing 410,000 copies.
“At this level…? This is almost…?”
Even I doubted the incredible number for a moment.
‘Could it be that Moment’s historical reissue orders are included…?’
But no matter how much we denied it, reality was reality.
And it was a very happy and grateful reality.
[Steel Blue’s second mini-album ranks 11th in first-day sales among all girl groups from day one!]
[Creating a blockbuster legend… Steel Blue’s first-day sales reach 410,000 copies]
[This year is ‘Steel Blue’s year, achieving 410,000 copies on the first day]
—
PUBBLE
Juhong♥
Thank you so much, everyone ㅠ.ㅠ
Isn’t this too much..?
Juhong♥
All I need is the love of Everblue….
PUBBLE
Buy it before it’s too late
A promise for first place?
Buy it before it’s too late
Hmm
What do you want to see????
Buy it before it’s too late
You want me to wear a volleyball uniform in the MV?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
PUBBLE
DebutMom^^
A kendo outfit? Live performance while wearing kendo gear?
You guys really want to see me suffer, right?
DebutMom^^
Then I’ll do it
PUBBLE
YoonRida
Since I’m the student council president, a first-place promise seems so sweet
YoonRida
?
You want me to carry Juhong on my back and perform live?
(pretending not to know)
YoonRida
Okay… okay… I’ll do it…
PUBBLE
Ryu Bo-ra
Acting while rolling up the script?
Ryu Bo-ra
Yes, I’ll do it
Is there anything else you want?
Ryu Bo-ra
Oh, a flick on the forehead for Geum?
Ryu Bo-ra
Isn’t that too easy?
Thanks to the crazy sales trend, articles poured out.
Is Steel Blue’s first-day sales for real?
A girl group selling 410,000 copies??
This is huge, really huge
New groups really need to do survival shows…
Doing both Top Idol and Dimady makes their sales skyrocketㅋㅋㅋ
Almost doubling their sales with every album release
Seems like Steel Blue has gained overseas fans
Chinese bulk purchases are insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ
There’s still 300,000 more copies that haven’t been counted yet………..
An additional 300,000 receipts are going to be uploaded….? Is this real…?
Album sales usually depend on overseas fans…
They’ve got fans from Southeast Asia, South America, Japanㅋㅋ
Colors must be thrilled
They’ll earn a hundred times what they invested…
Even just browsing the internet, it was clear how well the album was being received.
Hmm.
While the skyrocketing album sales were great.
There was something that started to make me uneasy.
Ding!
[CEO Hong Yeonseo]
As expected.
I immediately received a message from CEO Hong.
CEO Hong Yeonseo
Can we talk for a moment?