The article title displayed on Kim Ki-baek’s phone.
《‘Vanguard’ debut show-con, 20,000 seats sold out within minutes of ticket opening… ‘Gocheok Do All-Filled’》
Even at a glance, the headline announced that all 20,000 tickets for Vanguard’s debut show-con had sold out. And in just a few minutes, at that. Kim Ki-baek maintained a faint smile, but Kang Rojun and the gathered mbers wore expressions of disbelief.
“……Huh?”
Si-hoo slightly parted his lips and blinked his clear eyes. The exotically handso Kang-min looked the sa. Do-kyung’s indifferent expression made it hard to tell what he was thinking.
“I’m not seeing things, right.”
Judging by how he kept rubbing his eyes, he was feeling the sa way as the others. And as for Kang Rojun?
‘20,000 seats, sold out??!’
He scread inwardly. It was more shock than joy. And it slipped out of his mouth before he realized.
“Sold out ans there are no tickets left to sell, right?!”
Kim Ki-baek shrugged lightly.
“That’s right. There’ll probably be so scalpers, but the company will do its best to crack down on that- anyway, congratulations. I’ve never seen a debut group sell out a venue the size of Gocheok Do.”
He shoved the phone he was holding back into his pocket. Then, pointing a finger toward the mbers.
“20,000 seats sold out is a big deal, but what’s more important is that it happened in just a few minutes. That ans the public’s expectations for you guys are really high.”
At this point, the GN Entertainnt staff behind Kim Ki-baek were in a festive mood. They clapped joyfully or talked in excited tones. So even approached the ‘Vanguard’ mbers to offer congratulations.
20,000 seats sold out.
Having a debut show-con was rare enough, but the venue being the so-called dream stage, ‘Gocheok Do’? And ‘Vanguard’ sold it out in just minutes?
The symbolism and impact were beyond imagination.
Then, the eldest, Si-hoo, whose soul seed to have left his body, suddenly spread his arms wide.
-Smack!
He lunged at the still-frozen mbers.
“Ahhhh! This is insane! Seriously insane!!”
His frenzy quickly spread to Rojun, Kang-min, and Do-kyung.
“Whoa! W-We really sold out 20,000 seats?! Us?! US??!”
“I still can’t believe it. 20,000 people… wow, 20,000 people.”
Watching Si-hoo hug the mbers and jump up and down, Kang Rojun smiled with his eyes.
“Ah, damn, let’s do a victory lap!”
The mbers, hands on each other’s shoulders, mingled and started running in circles. Kim Ki-baek watched with a pleased expression.
‘20,000 seats sold out, Even top-tier singers struggle with that. Well, the amount of work is going to skyrocket, but it’s still a hundred tis better than having empty seats.’
anwhile, the energy of Kang Rojun and the mbers was through the roof.
“Crazy!! That’s dozens of tis more than our mini concert!!”
Kim Ki-baek and the GN Entertainnt staff left them be for a while.
And though the excited Kang Rojun didn’t notice.
-Buzz.
A short vibration rang on his wrist. It was surely a reward.
anwhile.
While ‘Vanguard’ and the GN Entertainnt staff were celebrating at the music video shoot, the internet was constantly pumping out articles about their explosive impact.
《[Star Pick] Monster Rookie Group Vanguard, Showcase Sold Out “Is This for Real?”》
Recently, the dia had also put out so negative pieces on ‘Vanguard’. Their main point of interest was, “Can ‘Vanguard’ really fill up Gocheok Do?” But no one outright predicted a complete sell-out, let alone one that happened in just a few minutes.
《They’ve Done It Again! Vanguard, Powerful Firepower Pre-Debut…Gocheok Do 20,000 Seats Sold Out!/ Photo》
《20,000 Seats Gone in Minutes? ‘Vanguard’ Conquers the Dream Stage》
But ‘Vanguard’ did it.
They pulled off a full sell-out, as if to prove everyone wrong, and countless dia outlets rushed to blast the news out into the world. Their tone had done a full 180, but that wasn’t unusual. It was a familiar sight in entertainnt journalism.
In any case, the avalanche of articles quickly spread everywhere.
SNS, YouTube, online communities, or ssaging apps used by the general public, and so on.
-ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ They really sold out Gocheok Do
-Congrats Vanguard!!!
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Ugh I couldn’t get a ticket this ti either……….
-That power is insane!!!
-Was it just who thought it was obviously gonna sell out?? Even non-fans seem really into Vanguard, right?
-↑FactsㅋㅋㅋㅋA lot of casuals got into them because of Produce That 100!
-Rojun definitely played a big part, right? He’s been super busy as both writer and actor
-Bet a lot of Japanese fans are coming too
-Damnㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Now the Vanguard haters can’t say a word
-Ah…I’m seriously cursed with slow handsㅠㅠㅠGuess I’ll be saving money whether I want to or not…
Among the stirred-up public, those connected to ‘Vanguard’ showed various reactions. Choi Rina, the top actress who had attempted ticketing just in case, congratulated ‘Vanguard’ but also fell into gloom, blaming her slow hands.
“Ha… As expected, I failed. I researched and tried my best. I really want to see the show-con in person!”
PD Jung Soo-ryeong, PD Woo Han-suk, and others clicked their tongues but still sent their congratulations to the ‘Vanguard’ mbers, while Netflix Korea and Japan posted praises for ‘Vanguard’ on their respective SNS, and Culture Drawer uploaded complints on their official website.
However, many dostic entertainnt companies had varied responses.
So clapped in surprise, while others were blatantly negative. The reason for their irritation was simple. Most of them had overlapping schedules with ‘Vanguard’.
Because ‘Vanguard’ was a competitor they had to contend with head-on.
“Tsk, they really did sell out 20,000 seats.”
“Exactly. Honestly, I didn’t think it would be a complete sell-out.”
“This ans the dia and public will be focused on ‘Vanguard’ again. First, just push out as many articles about our kids as possible.”
“Understood!”
Whether it was debuting new rookies or making a coback after a break, ‘Vanguard’ was a significant obstacle in terms of popularity and influence.
“It’s fine, it’s fine! That debut show-con sell-out can be chalked up to the hype from the opening.”
“A lot of the montum carried over from ‘Produce That 100!’ too.”
“‘Produce That 100!’ was huge. The real test is next. Selling out a show-con is one thing, but if the debut songs suck, it’s over right there.”
“Exactly. If the songs are trash, it won’t last. We just need to establish our place fast and dominate the music charts first.”
Regardless of all that, articles about ‘Vanguard’ kept increasing in real-ti, and after about an hour had passed.
《Vanguard, 20,000 Seats at Gocheok Do Sold Out…Legendary Debut Stage Ready》
They were dominating almost every search site.
That night, at the ‘Vanguard’ dorm.
After finishing a site visit to the music video shoot, the ‘Vanguard’ mbers arrived at the dorm late at night. On the way there and even now, Kang Rojun and the mbers were still imrsed in the thrill of the ‘20,000-seat sell-out.’
“Wow- look at Neriver, there’s nothing but our articles!”
About thirty minutes passed like that.
The mbers finally managed to calm down. Having pulled off an all-kill at ‘Gocheok Do’, they now had to show a performance that lived up to it for the fans. Soon, the mbers gathered in the living room and placed the music video storyboard on the table.
-Slide.
The eldest, Si-hoo, spread out the storyboard and spoke.
“It won’t be perfect, but let’s look through it as much as we can before we sleep.”
The actual music video shoot was scheduled to start in the morning just a few hours later. Though they had already looked over the storyboard until sunset, their fighting spirit was burning again.
“Let’s focus on the storyline first.”
Soon, concern appeared on the faces of Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung. They had practiced the choreography, so that was fine, but the music video involved ‘acting’. And Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung had no acting experience.
anwhile, Kang Rojun was reviewing the storyboard in thought.
‘Fortunately, there are no lines in the MV acting, just emotional facial expressions. If I utilize the roles I’ve studied, I should be able to guide them smoothly.’
On top of that, though still lacking, his acting stats had accumulated. Rojun decided to go through this music video without using ‘AI Automation.’
At that mont.
“Rojun hyung.”
Do-kyung, with an indifferent face, made a request to Kang Rojun.
“Teach acting. No, save .”
“……”
Behind him, Si-hoo and Kang-min also looked at Rojun with the sa expression. Of course they did. For the mbers, Kang Rojun, who had even broken into the Japanese market as an actor, was nothing short of a savior. Then Kang-min opened his mouth.
“The company’s giving us so guidance, but honestly, we’re still not ready. At this rate, we’re guaranteed to get scolded hard while filming the MV tomorrow.”
“No, I don’t care about getting scolded. Just teach us so facial expressions, Rojun.”
“Hyung-nim, please save .”
Kang Rojun chuckled softly.
“Praise , you pitiful mortals.”
“Oh holy hyung-nim. We praise you.”
“Please enlighten this lowly mortal!”
Joking around, Rojun slowly scratched his chin.
“But I’m not really experienced enough to teach anyone. Still, I guess I can handle you guys at least.”
“Oooooh!”
In truth, Kang Rojun was also thinking of giving them a moderate amount of guidance.
‘Thoughts I had while writing about the characters might work well.’
Rather than teaching technique, it was more like offering advice from experience.
“For example… here. The cut where Si-hoo hyung is yelling and getting angry.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Hyung, you treasure your guitar, right? Or maybe the notebook or laptop where you store your compositions.”
“So what.”
“What if Do-kyung broke it? Or set it on fire?”
“I’d be pissed.”
“But then Do-kyung sticks out his tongue and mocks you.”
“I might kill him.”
“If you just express that feeling as it is, it’ll work better.”
Watching the hyungs, Do-kyung chid in.
“I asked you to save , not kill .”
This ti, Kang Rojun t eyes with Do-kyung and pointed at the MV storyboard with his index finger.
“Your character concept doesn’t stray much from your actual self, so don’t make your expressions too exaggerated or overdo it. Try to keep it subtle.”
“Wouldn’t that make it too plain?”
“Well, emotion can also be expressed through the background of the scene, props around you, and the music. The MV director will enhance it through editing.”
“Wow, hyung, you really sound like an actor.”
“I’m not a fake one, though.”
“What about smiling?”
“Just a slight smile. No teeth. Unless the director gives specific directing.”
After finishing his advice, Kang Rojun’s gaze moved to Kang-min.
“Kang-min, sa goes for you. But I think it’s better if you bring a bit more brightness than Do-kyung.”
Like this, Rojun gave each mber tailored tips and advice, and not just with words, he even made them act briefly on the spot.
“Ugh- it feels awkward.”
“It always does at first. Just let yourself go. Don’t worry about what’s around you.”
The acting lessons continued past midnight.
The mbers finally fell asleep soti after 1 a.m., and Rojun, lying on his bed as well.
“……”
Repeatedly went over his own part in the MV until he fell asleep.
The next day, Tuesday, March 2.
The location was a massive set. Caras, lighting, audio equipnt, and more. Dozens of pieces of filming gear were installed, and dozens of staff mbers were present. Among them were GN Entertainnt staff.
It was only natural, this was the filming site of Vanguard’s music video.
From the A&R team to the ‘Vanguard’ YouTube team, and the PR and marketing teams, many were on site either overseeing or assisting. The set designs were truly diverse. There were three warehouse-like buildings, and filming would, of course, take place by moving between all of them.
At this point, the MV director was reviewing the storyboard seriously with the key staff.
“We’ll go in the order of ‘Flying Bell’, ‘Windveil’, and ‘GreenBee’, so start setting up the props.”
“Understood.”
“And play through all the songs once.”
“Director-nim! Please co check the lighting setup over here!!”
As ti passed, the site grew increasingly busy.
-♬♪
Vanguard’s debut tracks were booming through the space as a test, but the mbers weren’t visible yet. They were still in the middle of makeup. At this point, the outfits ‘Vanguard’ would wear today arrived on set first.
“That’s a lot-”
“Of course. They’re shooting MVs for three songs, not just one. Honestly, I think it looks like too few.”
“From the sizes, it’s obvious they’ll use plenty of CG too. Just think how much the production cost is.”
While the MV director was adjusting the lighting angles.
“‘Vanguard’ is ready!”
Soon, all eyes, from the director to the dozens of staff, turned toward the entrance. The ‘Vanguard’ mbers, finished with their makeup, appeared.
The stars of the shoot made their entrance.
“‘Vanguard’ coming in!!”
Their first outfit was school uniforms.
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