April 4th, just before noon.
Lights across the vast Gocheok Do flickered on and off repeatedly. At tis, a mix of colorful lights overlapped. Around this ti, Kang Rojun and the mbers of ‘Vanguard’ could be found in the waiting room.
“Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!”
“Ah- I’m nervous.”
“Rojun hyung, share so of that calm with us.”
“Get lost. I don’t have enough myself.”
Today’s ‘Vanguard’ was different from their usual rehearsals. They always used to attend in training clothes or comfortable outfits, but now they were dressed in stage costus. It was all-black suits, but each had slightly different details. The variations were in color or the jewelry they wore.
On top of that, they had full makeup.
And earpiece microphones were clipped to their ears.
Over a dozen mbers of the choreography team were also dressed in similar stage attire. The ‘Vanguard’ YouTube team was in the middle of filming them, and into the buzzing waiting room walked Manager Kim Ki-baek.
“Ready?”
Starting with Kang Rojun, the mbers responded.
“Yes.”
“Yup!”
Then Kim Ki-baek checked the ti. Looking at the ‘Vanguard’ team, he gave a light smile.
“Then we’ll start the final rehearsal.”
Final rehearsal. In other words, it would proceed exactly as the official showcon cue sheet outlined. Every stage, as well as filming, lighting, stage effects, screen visuals, and even the ti taken to change outfits would be thoroughly checked in this rehearsal.
The only difference from the real show was the absence of an audience.
Just before diving into the final rehearsal, Kang Rojun glanced once more at the distributed showcon cue sheet with all the mbers. The flow started with an INTRO stage that captured the vibe of the performance, followed by their debut song stage, the opening talk, a chat with the MC, a music video viewing, and so on.
For reference, Vanguard’s triple title track music videos would be premiered at the debut showcon.
They were scheduled to be uploaded to YouTube the following day.
‘Starts at 8 PM, ends at 10.’
The show’s running ti was roughly two hours, but factoring in the encore stage, it was expected to exceed that. About eight performances including the debut track were prepared, along with quite a bit of talking and video watching in between.
Then, Rojun lowered the cue sheet he had been looking at.
-Swish.
At the sa ti, a staff mber with a walkie-talkie entered.
“You may head to the stage now!”
Soon, Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung ran toward the stage along with the choreography team. From the sound of it, the intro track that would set the mood was already playing on stage.
-♬♪
Even from quite a distance, the thumping sound could be heard. Before long, the mbers of ‘Vanguard’ positioned themselves behind the massive screen.
At this mont, Kang Rojun’s eyes scanned the entirety of Gocheok Do.
‘Even the lighting… the scale is insane.’
He caught sight of the monstrous lighting setup.
The next day, April 5th. Morning.
Online, a flood of articles related to ‘Vanguard’ was pouring in.
《Today (the 5th), ‘Vanguard’ begins their long-awaited ‘debut flower road’ / Photo》
《[Issue Talk] At last, ‘Vanguard’ makes official debut… ‘20,000 seats sold out’ showcon opens at 8 PM》
《This is what an ‘unprecedented debut’ looks like, fans erupt over Vanguard’s official debut news》
《‘Vanguard’ makes official debut today, what can fans expect to see at the ‘show-con’?》
It wasn’t strange.
Today was the day of Vanguard’s debut showcon. It had been a red-hot event, and both the dia and public had been buzzing nonstop about ‘Vanguard’ since early morning.
anwhile, familiar faces got off at a subway station near Gocheok Do. The ti was around 10 AM.
“Wow- look at all the people!! Why is it so crowded already?? The showcon doesn’t start until 8, right?”
“This feels like rush hour on the subway!!”
“This is my first ti at sothing like this… it’s a sight to see, seriously.”
They were the writers of ‘Produce That 100!’. Among them, the hamster-like Writer Kim Se-hee stood out. Of the group, she was the only one who had successfully secured a ticket to Vanguard’s showcon, while the remaining three didn’t have tickets but had followed her out of curiosity. Given the bond ford during ‘Produce That 100!’, it was perfectly reasonable for them to co. PD Woo Han-suk was absent due to circumstances.
Whatever the case, including Kim Se-hee, the writers let themselves be carried along by the flow of hundreds of people.
The vast majority were won.
It was obvious that the destination of this massive crowd was 100% Gocheok Do. The line of people stretched even after exiting the subway station, starting from the stairs.
“Amazing-!”
The path leading to Gocheok Do was literally packed with people.
“This is totally… a hellgate view.”
Writer Kim Se-hee, having gone through this a few tis before, shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
“It’s always like this, always. They sell rch and stuff before the show starts.”
It was true. Around Gocheok Do, ‘Vanguard’-related rchandise was currently being sold, and among the crowd, there were already many who had succeeded in making purchases. The bags they held in one hand, printed with the ‘Vanguard’ logo, were proof.
“Looks like those people over there are doing a giveaway.”
For writers who had zero concert experience, everything was just fascinating. On the other hand, Kim Se-hee pushed through the crowd as she continued explaining.
“From the start, there were 20,000 tickets, right? Even people who didn’t get tickets still co. The majority are here to buy rch, and then there are fans, people who just ca to look around, and even YouTubers and the like.”
“Se-hee, you’re like a total expert.”
“It’s just a hobby for . I only go to concerts occasionally.”
The ‘Produce That 100!’ writer team’s journey toward Gocheok Do was quite grueling. Still, there was plenty to see along the way. Starting with the banners hanging from the streetlamps, printed with the faces of ‘Vanguard’ mbers.
“People are taking so many pictures around those life-sized standees??”
Even the life-sized cutouts of Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung. But that was only the beginning. As the grandeur of Gocheok Do slowly ca into view, Kim Se-hee and the writers couldn’t help but gape at the crowd gathered in front of it.
“What… look at that. It’s scary. Can we even get through??”
So many people had gathered around the booths selling ‘Vanguard’ rchandise and holding various events that there wasn’t even a sliver of space to step into. Each booth was fenced off, and every line was long.
The writers, frozen for a mont, shifted their gaze to admire the enormous banners hung all around Gocheok Do.
Most of the massive banners were group shots of ‘Vanguard’.
In addition, support items from ‘Guards’, the official ‘Vanguard’ fan club, were also on display. After managing with great difficulty to look around the area, Kim Se-hee and the writers stood in line to browse the rch.
Even while waiting, fans were constantly busy snapping photos.
How long did they wait?
Finally, it was the ‘Produce That 100!’ writers’ turn.
“Wow, this is amazing.”
“There are so many types??”
“Seeing Rojun, Si-hoo, Do-kyung, and Kang-min’s faces on rch feels kind of weird.”
“Let’s buy so first. I can already see so sold out.”
“, ! I’m getting a light stick first!”
There were tons of rchandise items. Round planet-shaped light sticks, tumblers, transparent photo cards, slogans, fans, keyrings, bracelets, caps, T-shirts, and more. Quite a few items were already sold out. After buying the items they wanted, the writers turned around and saw that an even larger crowd had gathered.
Startled, they quickly moved away from the booth area and headed toward the front of Gocheok Do.
-Swish.
They stopped in front of the indoor seating chart of the venue.
“20,000 seats… that’s insane.”
“Se-hee, where’s your seat?”
“Fourth floor…”
“Will you even be able to see ‘Vanguard’ from there?”
“Still! Just being one of the 20,000 is a miracle!”
At that mont, hundreds of people began pouring into the still-closed Gocheok Do.
Writer Kim Se-hee, who saw them, muttered as if she knew who they were.
“They’re reporters, reporters.”
Later, around 4 PM, inside the Gocheok Do’s main conference room.
The conference room, set up with well over a hundred press seats, was bustling with journalists. All of them were setting up their caras and laptops. In front of them on the main stage hung a large banner with the ‘Vanguard’ logo, and in front of that, four chairs were placed.
The reporters were currently waiting for ‘Vanguard’.
“They’re making quite the debut.”
“Selling out 20,000 seats was already unprecedented. Anyway, when are the ‘Vanguard’ boys coming out-”
“This is the first ti I’ve seen a press showcase held like an actual press conference.”
“We’re grateful, honestly. We get to see Vanguard’s debut showcon.”
“I need to ask as many questions as I can. Anything about ‘Vanguard’ sells well.”
This was the event being held in place of a standard press showcase. Normally, idol showcases are held twice, once for reporters and once for fans, but since ‘Vanguard’ was doing a special showcon, it seed they were doing the interview first.
Just then.
-Swish.
The front door of the conference room opened, and the boys the reporters had been waiting for entered.
Soon after.
-Pababababak!
The reporters frantically fired their cara flashes, and starting with Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung stood in a line at the front of the platform. For about thirty seconds, they smiled while standing there.
“We will now have ‘Vanguard’ say hello-”
As a staff mber from GN Entertainnt wrapped up the announcent, Kang Rojun was the first to speak to the hundreds of reporters.
“Two, three.”
It was their first official appearance before the press.
“Hello! We are ‘Vanguard’!”
Approximately two hours later.
《[Star Talk] Debut imminent ‘Vanguard’, debut song to be released at 6 PM!》
Vanguard’s debut album was released to the world.
Shortly after 7 PM,
Audiences began filling into Gocheok Do. From the floor seats to the second, third, and even fourth floors. Among them was the hamster-like Writer Kim Se-hee.
‘Whoa…’
Alone, she lost her soul the mont she stepped into the vast interior.
The gigantic stage, a round extended stage modeled after a planet, a ga-sized screen on the main stage, massive monitors scattered throughout, lights embroidered across the ceiling, and hundreds of journalists seated in a designated section.
How could one describe such a sight?
Writer Kim Se-hee could only gape with widened eyes, taking in the concert venue for Vanguard’s showcon. More than anything, what overwheld her was the terrifying number of audience mbers in their seats. The floor seats surrounding the stage were nearly full, and the seats on every level were quickly filling up, making it difficult to spot any empty spaces.
‘This isn’t just amazing, it’s scary!!’
The sheer scale of 20,000 people delivered a sense of awe.
‘All of these people ca just to see our Rojun-nim, Si-hoo-nim, Kang-min-nim, and Do-kyung-nim?! This is honestly so moving!’
In that mont, scenes from her ti on ‘Produce That 100!’ flashed before her eyes like a panorama. She had been emotional during the mini concerts held in Korea and Japan, but today’s Gocheok Do showcon stirred sothing tens no, hundreds of tis more intense.
One way or another, Writer Kim Se-hee finally located her seat and sat down.
-Sseuu.
The ‘Vanguard’ logo appeared on the ga-sized screen on the main stage.
And at the sa ti.
“KYAAAAAA!!!!”
A monstrous scream filled Gocheok Do. Startled, Writer Kim Se-hee scread along. About twenty minutes later? Over 20,000 audience mbers were now seated, and the clock pointed to 8 PM.
At that mont.
-Sseuuu…
The imnse lighting of Gocheok Do began to dim, and soon the venue was enveloped in darkness. What remained visible were the 20,000 ‘planets’ no, ‘Vanguard’ light sticks. It was a spectacular view. As Writer Kim Se-hee felt like she had suddenly been transported into space.
-♬♪
A heavy sound effect began reverberating throughout Gocheok Do, like the universe itself. The humming sound gradually intensified in decibels. Then boom. A strong sound shook the audience seating, layered with heartbeat-like sound effects.
Gu-goong, koong-koong, gu-goong, koong-koong.
Then, a saaaaak! kind of sound exploded across the venue, as the lights on the ceiling beautifully swept left to right, front to back. This was the signal flare marking the official start of Vanguard’s showcon intro.
“Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!”
“Ahhhhhh!!”
“Kyakyaaaaaa!!”
“Kyaaaaaaaa!!”
Screams, howls, cheers, and cries mixed with the wildly shaking light sticks. The energy was intense enough to make the entire venue feel like it was trembling. The sound effects shifted into a grander tone, and the shooting lights turned blue.
Each ti, the screams of the 20,000 audience mbers grew louder. Around the extended stage, hundreds of reporters pointed their index fingers toward the main stage.
“Wow- is that a planet?”
“This intro is legit.”
“GN’s not a top company for nothing?? The quality is just insane.”
Currently, the ga screen on the main stage was displaying a planet representing ‘Vanguard’.
White and blue lights continued sweeping across the audience.
The sound effects and the visuals on the screen heightened the atmosphere. Soon, as the frenzy reached its peak, red and purple lights were added, and the video on the main screen abruptly shut off.
And then.
-♬♪
As a track began playing, photos of Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung rapidly flashed across the ga screen. Mostly upper-body shots.
Screams loud enough to pierce the roof of Gocheok Do.
Multiple caras and drones captured the surging energy of the mont. Lights flowed across both the main and extended stages.
Finally.
“H-Holy…”
Writer Kim Se-hee, who had been watching the intro stage in a daze, widened her eyes as if they might pop out. The ultra-ga screen that had been displaying the ‘Vanguard’ mbers was now splitting open from both sides.
Purple lights scattered, and stage smoke spread across the platform.
And there, under the gaze of over 20,000 spectators.
“KYAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
Four n stood, staring out at the fans screaming at the top of their lungs.
Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, Do-kyung. In other words, ‘Vanguard’.
“KYAAAAAHHH!!!”
“KYAAAHHH!!”
It was the exact mont ‘Vanguard’ officially debuted.
*****
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