“A bit more relaxed?”

“Yes, I’d like you to ease up a bit compared to now. This scene will be inserted calmly...”

The production team, reviewing the practice footage, made that request. Apparently they thought it was a bit too intense.

I was bewildered.

They’d asked for natural, so we’d done it as usual.

But I said okay anyway. I had no clear idea what “easing up” meant.

“But...”

The assistant director asked,

“Do you always practice like this?”

“Yes. You said natural, so we did what we always do.”

“...That’s really hardcore. Feels just like when we filmed a b-boy crew back in the day.”

I laughed at his dismay.

“Most rookie idols are probably similar to us.”

The rookie period is usually when idols practice the most. Schedules are lighter and the desperation to succeed is greater. We weren’t special. Even at TJ, debut seniors trained twelve hours a day as the norm.

Embarrassed by the producers’ surprise, I returned to the others.

“What did they say?”

Rihyeok asked.

“They want us to practice more relaxed?”

“No, they said we should ease up.”

“Ease up?”

Junghyun blinked.

“How do you ease up... like this?”

“Hey, that’s too relaxed, Junghyun.”

We laughed at him flopping his limbs like a squid.

Still flustered by the request to ease up, we immediately performed a more casual version. They cheered, saying exactly that was it.

Satisfied that they got what they wanted, we moved locations.

Now it was time to record.

We were to shoot a few cuts in the second-floor studio due to negotiations between our company and PBS. Some deal had been made so that our song would briefly feature in the documentary. It was the official audio release of “Night Sea,” about to launch soon.

In the documentary they’d likely run a passing shot with melody and lyrics while saying “The hero is now active as a singer.”

While Rihyeok and I warmed up our voices fiercely before promotion, the others moved elsewhere.

“Where are you going?”

Biju asked, puzzled.

“They’re interviewing us for the documentary too.”

“Interview?”

“They said they’ll ask about what type of person you hyung normally are.”

“Oh...”

At my reaction, Rihyeok said regretfully,

“What a shame. If it weren’t recording we could go in and talk all about you.”

“No, you have to go with me.”

Then to the two goofballs grinning behind Biju he said,

“I’m not worried about my second-born, but you two really have to speak well. Don’t say anything weird.”

“Don’t worry, hyung. I’ll explain well.”

“Right. I’ll tell them exactly how great hyung is.”

“...I’m really uneasy.”

I couldn’t help frowning at their gleeful faces. Good grief.

“When it comes, I’ll supervise.”

“Right, Biju. You’re the only one for the job.”

“But hyung, how much should I say? If they ask about his daily life as a hero...”

“Just answer honestly. As you feel it.”

“Then I should say on rest days he lounges in the dorm living room, doesn’t fold laundry, and leaves it to me and Rihyeok...”

“Uh, Biju.”

“Yes?”

“Sorry, hyung.”

My forlorn apology made the members burst into laughter.

“Do well, hyung.”

They waved as they left. Their eager departures made me smile unconsciously.

Second-floor studio.

Admiring the modern interior, the production crew was impressed. They’d been shocked by a pink sofa and patterned cushions in another room, but objectively it was well decorated. Cozy feeling.

One member had a keen interest in this, so he’d decorated it. He’d even hung the photos on the wall: the members in school uniforms posing on a flower bed. It looked oddly like a family portrait, and the crew smiled.

Meanwhile, they showed particular interest elsewhere.

“It seems all idols have studios attached.”

“Right? Amazing.”

“Actually our members are exceptions.”

Director Yoon Seok-hwan replied.

“Woo-ju has composing talent. We made the room so he can work comfortably.”

“Composing?”

The crew looked intrigued. Having researched mainly the hero story, they knew little about idol activities.

“Oh, I know that.”

Only Jung Woo-jeong spoke up.

“I looked it up: ‘Something,’ the song you did with Jang Sa-won, was composed by Woo-ju.”

“Yes, co-composed.”

Yoon Seok-hwan answered proudly.

“And the debut title track was made by him too.”

“You seem really proud.”

“...Is that obvious?”

The manager scratched his cheek sheepishly.

“The song you’ll hear now was composed solely by Woo-ju. With help from our A&R team, of course.”

“Oh, that’s the one the PD mentioned.”

“Yes, so please film it well.”

They nodded casually. They’d heard about the composing but weren’t specially interested. Just following orders from the main PD.

Soon an A&R employee came down and sat at the studio table. The song was already recorded, but he was brought in to make it sound good on camera. He pressed the talkback button and said to the members inside,

“Ready to start.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The documentary crew began filming in sync.

On the blinking [REC] screen appeared two members wearing headphones.

The crew watched with everyday expressions, scenes they’d seen often on cultural programs: voice-over narration matching recorded footage.

Thus they watched casually until...

“...?”

A rich volume filled the room through the high-end speakers. A sophisticated intro. I involuntarily formed a small exclamation with my lips, perhaps due to the volume.

Notes flowed into the ears like droplets from the speaker.

‘...Not bad.’

I’d expected an idol track, but this was a gentle melody. A song fit for a summer night. Something to listen to while walking alone in a dim park, lost in thought.

When the intro ended, the vocals came in, and they blinked at the spreading colors of Rihyeok’s voice.

‘He’s good.’

I clicked my tongue, thinking idols aren’t for everyone these days, and then Sun Woo-ju’s voice joined. Two vocals mingled, tickling my ears.

‘...Nice.’

Beyond technique, the song itself was good. Even someone with no musical ear could sense its quality. A quiet excitement stirred, like attending a premiere of a soon-to-be hit film.

“Director, this is releasing soon, right?”

“Yes. It was originally Woo-ju’s demo. We’re polishing and re-releasing it. We already have a promotion plan.”

“Does it have a title...?”

“Oh. It’s called Night Sea.”

Yoon Seok-hwan smiled. As if they empathized, the crew asked,

“It turned out well, don’t you think?”

They nodded without a word.

Meanwhile, as Sun Woo-ju and Seo Rihyeok sang “Night Sea” as a duet, the other members were summoned to the company meeting room for interviews about Woo-ju.

“What kind of person is the hero, I mean Sun Woo-ju, normally?”

At that question, each of the three members reacted differently. Kim Biju asked for time to think, Kim Junghyun spoke without hesitation, and Wang Jiho quickly assessed the best angle before answering.

Their responses varied, but their conclusions converged—so much that the crew wondered if they’d coordinated.

“Sun Woo-ju?”

And finally Seo Rihyeok, after a brief thought, gave the same answer as the others.

As the Chuseok special recording for Joo Se-han approached, we were busier than ever, experiencing different reactions.

“...Uh, th-that’s... Joo Se-han! Right?”

“Wow, you look so different from on TV.”

“Can I get your autograph?”

More people recognized us at rest stops and on streets—not just idol fans. Strangely, when we walked in smaller groups people would shrug, but when all five of us were together one or two would spot us. It was curious. Since debut and “Something” promotions, non-idol fans rarely knew us. Variety’s power was immense. General public who didn’t care about idols recognized us.

Of course most of those few said “Oh, that Joo Se-han!” or “That basketball kid!” without knowing our names. A few times I almost said “Hello, we’re rookie boy group Joo Se-han” by habit.

Meanwhile, aside from broad recognition, our fandom saw no major change. Fan cafe membership held steady, our soufflé fans got excited about the Chuseok special or reality show tidbits as usual. We realized: variety is best for mass recognition, but activities for fans remain our core work. Lately, our main focus was promoting the song.

-[Entertainment IN] New Black Interview “Surprised and grateful for interest from broadcast...”

-New Black “Night Sea” audio release preceded by MV reveal

-[Exclusive] How one fandom became “Soufflé”

After our company pushed promotional materials, hundreds of abuse articles flooded major outlets. The official audio release of Night Sea. Initially we planned a simple promotion, but after Joo Se-han’s appearance the management changed strategy: seize the moment. We did everything we could: interviews with favorable reporters like Oh from Entertainment IN, radio promotions. Unfortunately no variety. Offers came in, but out of respect for Joo Se-han’s Chuseok special content, we couldn’t go elsewhere first.

Having finished all promotion, we were now in a car returning to Seoul, watching on a tablet PC.

“Ugh, I’m nervous. So nervous.”

The youngest fussed.

“Why am I nervous when I’m not even singing? Why is that, hyung? Why am I shaking?”

“Because you’re blocking all the AC for us?”

“...Come on, you notice everything fast.”

When Jiho shifted, the long-blocked vent sent cool air our way. Biju adjusted it so everyone felt the breeze.

“I’m nervous too, hyung. We all went out to promote together, after all.”

“Exactly.”

Junghyun mumbled while nibbling jelly,

“I’m nervous too.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Actually I’m not, but I felt I should say it.”

I laughed at his nonchalance. Our main vocal, silent until now, was refreshing the tablet screen continuously.

“This is distracting, Rihyeok. I told you to hold on a bit.”

“I’m anxious, that’s why.”

Then he asked Seok-hwan hyung in the passenger seat,

“Director, when will our MV drop?”

“Wait. It’ll go up ten minutes before the hour.”

“Okay, we’ll wait. I’m waiting calmly too...”

“Calm? I heard your sleep-talk last night. Damn...”

Before Rihyeok could speak, I covered his mouth with my hand. My struggle to silence his biting crocodile mouth had the brothers laughing.

While Biju mediated, Junghyun suddenly asked,

“Oh right, what does grandmother say? Does she know Night Sea is officially releasing tonight?”

“No, I need to tell her now.”

We hadn’t spoken much recently. Every call, she grilled me, “Since when did you get so good at sports?” I tried evading, but she has a villainous ability to detect lies. I almost renamed her “Supervillain Kim Deok-soon” in my phone.

Well, once the song’s out, I’ll call her.

“How are the fans reacting?”

Junghyun said, looking at his phone.

“They’re all excited. We’ve been promoting every live broadcast, so expectations are high.”

“Speaking of, should we go live on stream?”

“Not yet. Let’s do it after the audio drops when we greet them.”

I looked around at the members.

“Remember last time after we took school uniform photos and did the second live? Fandom wrote promo ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) posts on idol communities, but reactions were mixed.”

“Is it okay to film someone’s school without permission?”

“Feels like they’re just taking pictures without consent.”

“Am I the only one uncomfortable?”

“If I were a student there, I’d feel weird. It’s outside the school, but still.”

Our soufflés deleted the posts in surprise later, but most comments were negative. Even our company was embarrassed. We’d considered everything before going live and never expected that reaction. So we reduced live frequency and took a more cautious approach, especially as our name spread.

“Ugh, one minute left!”

Huddled around the tablet, we trembled. Then countdown began and we refreshed the company’s YouTube main page.

6:50 PM.

A fresh video titled [WooJoo & LeeHyuk - Night Sea Special MV] appeared. With eyes full of tension and excitement, Rihyeok clicked.

But instead of our expected MV, an unrelated clip played.

“Ah damn, what is this? Scared me.”

It was a pre-roll ad. Panicked, I said,

“Skip it quick... huh?”

But five seconds later, when we tried to skip, we blinked in confusion. We couldn’t help it. Something entirely unexpected was playing.

“I am an ordinary university student.”

With that narration, on a shaking subway a handsome man held the strap and looked at his phone. The image was crisp, movie-like.

And the actor in campus clothes and glasses was someone we all knew.

“...That’s me, huh?”

Thanks to the youngest’s face on screen, we immediately realized: this was the ad we’d filmed. The SNS CF “Magic School” for the school uniform brand EverDream.