Chapter 172
A thin crescent moon hanging in the eastern sky looked like the eyes of a monster glaring at humans. The tall trees lined up on the street bent their dark brown trunks bizarrely, as if they were about to attack.
Everything on this street felt ominous and eerie.
And at the end of that strange path, covered in red light and blue shadows,
A slender silhouette of a young man was walking with a lax posture.
‘Judging by the hair… is it Yohan?’
As Ban Yo-han, with his characteristic composure, walked straight ahead, stepping on the well-kept grass without a care, a world behind him crumbled sequentially.
The wind roared, leaves fell in a flurry, walls collapsed, and costumes changed.
Members sprang out from the side paths like flashes of lightning, marking different geometric symbols on the walls with white chalk.
Meanwhile, a clear yet delicate melody lingered like the dawn mist.
The person watching the video realized only when Ban Yo-han was right in front of them and the camera angle flipped, followed by the appearance of Orca’s logo.
‘It wasn’t Yohan coming closer; it was the viewer who was moving forward, right?’
At that moment, a chill breeze forcefully pushed through the half-open window, whipping the thin curtain.
It might have been spring, but the night air was cold.
The eerie feeling in their chest from the concluding tune of the video was probably due to the cold night.
Getting up, Airy hurriedly closed the window, thinking.
Anyway, calming the excited heart, Airy plopped back onto the bed and checked SNS.
In the meantime, ‘Raon’s face’, ‘Ban Yo-han platinum’, ‘#Orca_Dream’ were trending in real-time.
– This concept is kind of eerie, what do you call this, petite horror??
– But the melody is so refreshing.. Rewind and Fantasy Garden too, Seo Moon-gyeol is truly a master of poignant freshnessㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Anyway, they seem to have spent more money on this music video than the last one.
– I knew it would be a hit from the thumbnail itself!! Ban Yo-han, please keep the platinum blonde foreverㅠㅠㅠㅠ Yohan’s hair, take a hint and grow platinum blonde from now onㅠㅠㅠ
– Seo Moon-gyeol’s hair is slightly purplish-black.. He seems determined to kill at least one person with this vibe.
┗ Another victim here, Lord.
┗ Save a seat for me in hell too.
┗ It’s funny how we all assume we’re going to hell. Of course, I’m boarding the train to hell tooㅠㅠ..
– The atmosphere is just crazy.. The melody is bright but the song is oddly unsettling.. It’s totally my taste, so I’m just cryingㅜㅜㅜ
– Personally, I see Ban Yo-han as someone who laughs easily, jokes around, lives a carefree YOLO life, but is also sensitive and lonely. This album seems to showcase that side, so I’m really looking forward to it.
– Crazy, crazy, when will April 6th comeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ hurry up and release the music videoㅠㅠㅠ
Amidst the soaring anticipation, the second teaser for the music video, released two days later, presented a different atmosphere compared to the first teaser, which highlighted the stark contrast between the eerie video and the cheerful melody.
This time, the video had a bright, fairytale-like color scheme, paired with a peculiar and unsettling sound.
It was the opposite combination of the previous teaser.
In the teaser video, the members, like naive boys mesmerized by the most tempting candied fruit they had ever seen, finally put it in their mouths with sweet expressions.
Crushing sugar chunks. Red strawberry juice dripping onto the grass. Delicate raspberries crushed in relentless hands.
The boys, young yet not young, seemed troubled by the unexpectedly bitter-sweet taste.
Of course, being too happy to the point of discomfort was an unachievable dream for everyone.
Kang Ji-woo, with his slightly brighter red hair than during their Liberation activities, smiled brightly.
And the second teaser video ended.
[Dream]
[2018.4.6. 6PM]
Some keen-eyed Airies, scrutinizing the teaser, quickly noticed a peculiar detail.
– (Photo) Whoa, isn’t this the same location as in the first teaser???
┗ OMG, it is
By actively using lighting, props, and CG, the second teaser transformed the locations from the first teaser into a completely different style.
Most people wouldn’t notice such an extreme change in atmosphere after just one viewing.
—
With Orca’s comeback imminent, the internet buzzed with news related to Pick Heart for the first time in a while.
The list of victims of ranking manipulation from Pick Heart Seasons 1 through 3 was revealed.
In Seasons 1 and 2, one person each, and in Season 3, two people lost their final debut opportunities due to manipulation.
– Trainees eliminated due to manipulated results in Season 3, fourth vote: On Raon (then an independent trainee), Seo Moon-gyeol (Seed Entertainment)
※ Actual final ranking: On Raon 4th, Seo Moon-gyeol 9th
– Wow, manipulation from Season 1 to 3, is this even a country?
– Crazy, On Raon 4th??? Despite the massive scandal right before the live broadcast (all cleared up, of course, but just mentioning for those who might not know), he should have suffered huge losses in real-time text votes, but 4th placeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ..
– I knew it^^ Now, I think it’s a hundred times better that they debuted together with Seed, who takes good care of them, rather than with those terrible agencies, but still, proper compensation please^^
– So pissedㅠㅠㅠㅠ Supporting Raon and Gyeol’s activities in Orca, let’s do even better
– Orca’s comeback is this week, so everyone, please show lots of love and interest
– Alt really needs to do something about this situation if they are human; instead, they are claiming it was the individual act of Jigalse, cutting ties and doing nothing.
– Seed hasn’t appeared on M Stage since the dispute over the Music Box and Kwon Gyoul incidentsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Looks like they won’t be able to appear this time either. How petty.
– I didn’t watch Pick Heart, but I supported On Raon since his ULSSU days because he seemed full of energy. He was 4th place, which they dropped to 11th…
– Seo Moon-gyeol placed 9th with that amount of screen time… If Music Box has any conscience left, they should release the hard evidence right now. Then Jigalse could get a 1-minute reduction in his sentence.
– Even if they’re compensated, how can you possibly compensate for the grueling six months those kids endured, working so hard to debut?ㅠㅠ
Although most comments supported the victims who lost their debut chances due to manipulation, a few comments veered off in a strange direction.
– It just hurts. While debuting as Orca is, of course, a good outcome, if they had debuted normally with Breaker, they would have earned much more money and achieved greater success.
┗ They’re doing well now, so this is a bit much;
┗ But it’s true…
– But I think it’s shameless for those who got tons of push and recognition from the broadcast to act like they know nothing~ and debut with their original agency.
┗ What did the trainees do wrong?? They are also victims.
┗ Try saying that in front of On Raon and Seo Moon-gyeol. They are victims too.
┗ I hope our boys stay out of such things…
– I’m surprised, Seo Moon-gyeol didn’t seem that desperate even when he was eliminated, but he has so many fans supporting him. If it were me, I would’ve lost interest.
┗ ??? What is this even about?????
– Though there are so many desperate folks, in survival shows, those who think they must debut usually don’t make it. Why? Because we don’t really like seeing desperate people. We want to enjoy watching idols, not feel troubled alongside them. So, personally, it was strange seeing GJY make it during the final broadcast.
┗ Lol, couldn’t agree more.
┗ What’s there to agree on? Wes Music officially announced they didn’t provide entertainment services. Grabbing hold of poor Kim Jun-woo and rambling nonsense? Even though the manipulation beneficiaries weren’t revealed, everyone knows who they are. This isn’t the way to handle itㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
┗ What do you mean, this isn’t right? Honestly, Kim Jun-woo’s vocals were just average, yet they kept hyping him up as a main vocal on the showㅎㅎ
┗ Maybe they needed a solid main vocal because the other trainees were so bad at singing^^
┗ The show hyped up Hyeon, saying he was perfectly prepared in dance and vocals. Do they think people won’t notice his narrow vocal range that becomes unstable if the pitch is too high or low?
┗ Haha, Wes is really good at suing for defamation, they’ve already filed charges. See you in court.
Particularly notable were the comments about Ban Yo-han.
– It’s pathetic how fans try to package Seo Moon-gyeol and Ban Yohan as being on a similar level… If Yohan were so great, why did he get eliminated while Seo survived with that screen time?
– Looking at Yo-han, you can tell he was immensely loved growing up. So arrogant.
┗ Yes, my baby is immensely loved because I shower him with love♥♥♥
– Honestly, Yo-han’s position in Orca is the most ambiguous.
┗ 1 is an irreplaceable main vocal, 3 can rap and produce, 4 is physical+dance, and 5 is top visual with above-average stats.
┗ But 2… Singing? Ambiguous. Dancing? Ambiguous. Visuals? When there’s 5 in the group? Entertainment? Lucky to get by with that innocence act. The chances of him ruining his image by showing off: 530%= It wouldn’t matter if he’s in the group or notㅋㅋㅋㅋ. For the other members, it might be better if he wasn’t there because of the loss in revenue share.
– What’s more infuriating is that such a guy will probably continue to earn loads of money while freeloading for a few yearsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (Honestly, with 5 in the group, there’s no reason they won’t get more popular).
┗ He’s smart too, so later he’ll use the money he made as an idol to buy buildings, invest, and live comfortably with a girlfriend. Yo-han is genuinely cunning (in a good way). 5 did a great job interpreting his characterㅎㅎ
– Honestly, if you watch 2 in reality shows or apps, he’s so sensitiveㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Plus, his aunt is the agency CEO, he’s from Gangnam’s 8-school district, has a professor dad, and graduated from Seoul University (complete!). 2 probably pushed for flexible member positions because he couldn’t bear having “sub” attached to his position. Does he think his skills will improve to the main level after a few years?ㅎㅎ
┗ I’m really curious, knowing he’s from such a privileged background, where do you get the nerve to spout such nonsense..?
┗ Wow, Yo-han fans are here, scary, scaryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ~
And Ban Yo-han was somewhat aware of this unsettling trend.