CEO Ha Seo-hwan and the managent team staff looked at Manager Kim Ki-baek. The managent team seed quite shocked, their eyes wide open, while CEO Ha Seo-hwan had an intrigued expression on his face.
Because of what Manager Kim Ki-baek had just said.
CEO Ha Seo-hwan repeated it almost exactly.
“Prepare for Vanguard’s Japan concert right away?”
Ki-baek nodded nonchalantly.
“Yes, CEO-nim.”
Quite a bold move considering his flat tone. Soon the surrounding managent team mbers, still with wide eyes, jumped in.
“M-Manager-nim? ‘Vanguard’ officially debuted just two days ago??”
“…Isn’t that too fast? We haven’t even started dostic schedules yet.”
“Preparing for a Japan concert right after debut……”
The staff’s reactions weren’t strange. It had only been two days since their debut showcase concert ended. What kind of idol group would think of an overseas concert right after debut? Normally, you’d build up recognition and montum, then ride the wave at the right ti.
It seed like an idea Kim Ki-baek had co up with alone.
While the surrounding staff were surprised, Kim Ki-baek remained calm.
“Hmm- it’s ‘Vanguard’. Their concept itself is about being first and having a unique image, so they need to start differently from other idols.”
As if telling him to continue, CEO Ha Seo-hwan gave him a look, and Manager Kim Ki-baek continued speaking.
“I believe Vanguard’s moves must be completely unconventional. Of course, we shouldn’t neglect the dostic schedule. We’ll carry out everything as planned, but also prepare the Japan concert in advance.”
“Sounds like you want to rush into the Japan market.”
“I don’t see any reason to hesitate. For starters, the Japan version of Vanguard’s debut album is already sowhat prepared. Thanks to Rojun. We can jump straight into recording. Plus, not only Rojun, but Si-hoo also speaks Japanese. The remaining two mbers are studying hard as well.”
“That’s true.”
“Most idols, whether dostically or internationally, take more than a year, sotis even several years, before they move overseas. Many never even get the chance. But, ‘Vanguard’ has already secured a significant number of Japanese fans since ‘Produce That 100!’.”
“……”
“Even the the songs from ‘Produce That 100!’ dominated the Japanese charts, and both ‘Produce That 100!’ and ‘Rental Lover’ are still ranking high on Netflix Japan.”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan nodded slowly.
“Even though it wasn’t a large-scale event, the Japan mini concert was sold out too.”
“That’s right.”
Then Manager Kim Ki-baek recalled ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’.
“If you monitor it, you’ll see that ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’ is drawing significant attention in Japan. Rojun is the most popular, and the other mbers’ fandoms are also solid. Quite a number of Japanese fans even ca to the debut showcase concert. Taking all this into account- I think the Japan concert is definitely worth a try.”
As CEO Ha Seo-hwan seed increasingly convinced, nodding slightly, Manager Kim Ki-baek, glancing at his boss, added an explanation.
“A venue about the size of Gocheok Do in Japan shouldn’t be too hard. Ah- of course, not saying it’s 100%.”
The other staff were shocked again.
“G-Gocheok Do size?! That big?? Wouldn’t sothing mid-sized be more appropriate?”
“If we can’t fill the seats… won’t there be backlash in the press, damaging Vanguard’s image? Especially since other agencies are already trying to stir things up.”
Maybe they weren’t wrong, because Manager Kim Ki-baek shrugged his shoulders.
“That could happen. If we announce a Japan concert, people will definitely yap about us being arrogant, showing off from the start, and so on. But-”
CEO Ha Seo-hwan, who had been quietly listening, finished Ki-baek’s sentence in a firm tone.
“If we’re going to do it, better not do it half-assed. If it’s confird, it needs to be bold.”
“Exactly. As I said at the beginning, if we want to secure the ‘first-ever’ title and record, we need to go big in scale and move fast in scheduling. That’s the only way we can grab the record of ‘shortest ti to Japan concert after dostic idol debut’.”
It sounded like a very flashy plan, but as the staff expressed, there were issues such as whether they could fill all the seats. If that happened, ‘Vanguard’ would take a hit one way or another. It was right after debut, a ti when even a falling leaf had to be handled with caution.
However, CEO Ha Seo-hwan made his decision imdiately.
“Each team, share and start preparing for the Japan concert.”
It was clear.
“We can’t put ‘Vanguard’ at the forefront with just ideas.”
That ant the answer was execution.
One hour later.
Manager Kim Ki-baek gave a brief schedule briefing to Kang Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung, who had gathered in the practice room.
“Your official schedule starts tomorrow morning, with a pictorial shoot. Right after that is a YouTube variety show, followed by filming a profile video and content for Vanguard’s YouTube channel that’ll be used for promotional articles. There will also be interviews with dia outlets and magazines in between.”
Even a brief listen made it clear how packed the schedule was. For now, Kim Ki-baek didn’t bring up the Japan concert to ‘Vanguard’. He seed to be planning to ntion it once a clearer outline had ford after etings with other departnts. At present, ‘Vanguard’ had to focus on their dostic schedule.
“We’ll kick off music shows on Friday. We’ll move from dawn, and you all know it’s ‘Music Beat’ on ‘JTVM’, right?”
At this point, Kang Rojun was inwardly amazed.
‘Whoa- music shows. The ones I only saw on TV, I’m finally going there. It’s going to be like idol heaven?’
A long ti ago ca to mind. After finishing a construction job and collapsing onto bed, just before passing out, the idols on music shows appearing on TV. Looking at those dazzling stars, Kang Rojun had quietly muttered, “I envy them.”
But now, Kang Rojun was headed to that very stage.
Whatever the case, Manager Kim Ki-baek flipped a page in his diary.
“Vanguard’s first promotional track is ‘GreenBee’. After ‘GreenBee’ ends, the order will be ‘Flying Bell’, then ‘Windveil’, just keep that in mind. Variety shows at the broadcasting stations are being coordinated. Mm- the debut album has three title tracks, so the promotion period will be quite long.”
While explaining, Kim Ki-baek made eye contact with Kang Rojun.
“Rojun, since you also have to handle your individual schedule, please take care of your condition.”
Rojun recalled the passive ‘Vitality Booster’ and smiled with his eyes.
“I’m good to go.”
Later.
From early morning on the eighth day, Kang Rojun and the mbers entered the salon. The official schedule had begun in earnest. Just as Kim Ki-baek had briefed, today was expected to be very intense, but since this was the true start of Vanguard’s activities, the mbers were in top condition.
And Kang Rojun? Needless to say.
‘Wow! Energy is surging!!’
anwhile, on day three since their debut track release, Vanguard’s songs were still holding the top three spots.
[1(-)] GreenBee / Vanguard
[2(-)] Windveil / Vanguard
[3(-)] Flying Bell / Vanguard
.
.
.
Articles mixed with positive reactions that said it was expected, and negative ones that said it was too early to tell. anwhile, reactions from various idol fanbases were growing increasingly aggressive.
Regardless, Vanguard’s growth was undeniable.
Their stories were all over communities and social dia, and the number of followers on Vanguard’s YouTube channel and SNS accounts was increasing rapidly. Sa went for videos related to ‘Vanguard’.
The music video views for the debut songs had already surpassed 10 million.
However, as dia and public interest in ‘Vanguard’ exploded like this, other entertainnt companies didn’t sit still. They began launching even more intense and fiery dia play campaigns for their competing idols.
As a result, the idol scene had beco a battlefield, chaotic, though without actual bloodshed.
Especially the ‘Neos’ side, which the dia frad as a rival to ‘Vanguard’.
《Fans sward to see the coback of ‘Neos’, first fan signing event since coback successfully completed / Photo》
They were promoting their moves more aggressively than ever.
《‘As expected of Neos’, coback album first-week sales hit 1.03 million copies!》
Lately, there had been a lot of talk about first-week sales (album sales within the first week of release). Well, you couldn’t talk about idols without ntioning first-week sales.
《Neos lines up the charts → first-week sales hit 1.03 million / Photo》
《‘1.03 million copies’, Neos makes it big right after coback… Becos a first-week million seller!》
《Neos surpasses 1 million in first-week sales! We dig into their proven skill and popularity》
The first-week sales for ‘Neos’ had already been announced a few days ago, but it felt like they were still being emphasized over and over.
However, ‘Vanguard’ didn’t have ti to care.
-Click! Beep beep beep
Starting from a pictorial shoot, they were busy just getting through their schedule. Rojun and the mbers didn’t even have ti to eat properly, taking care of als in the van while on the move, and Kang Rojun simply enjoyed experiencing his first official schedule.
‘I’m not tired at all, but it really is hectic. But it’s crazy fun.’
Vanguard’s first schedule after debut didn’t end until late at night. Except for Kang Rojun, the other mbers were completely exhausted, but Manager Kim Ki-baek warned them that “today’s schedule was actually pretty light.”
Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung knocked out instantly.
But the full-of-energy Kang Rojun.
‘Off to the studio again tonight, I’ll just get about 30 minutes of sleep there.’
It was, as expected, heading to GN Entertainnt.
Friday, the 9th.
Today was the day of Vanguard’s first music show recording. The location: ‘Music Beat’ at ‘JTVM’, where PD Woo Han-suk worked. The format was pre-recording. While music shows are generally live, about half of the idol performances are done via pre-recording.
There are many reasons for this, but primarily, pre-recordings make the directing and filming process smoother.
Vanguard’s pre-recording started at 5 a.m.
Which ant they had to begin preparations by 3 a.m. In fact, Kang Rojun and the mbers boarded the van around 3:10 a.m., and Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung, still half-asleep, groaned.
“This is weird… My eyes won’t open.”
“Si-hoo hyung, your eyes look a little swollen.”
“Is it just , or does it feel like my brain hasn’t woken up? I’m not gonna die, right?”
“You won’t die, Do-kyung. But isn’t this still amazing? We’re going to a music show.”
“It’s aweso. But Rojun hyung… why do you look so fine?”
“I’m sleepy too.”
“For soone sleepy, you look way too alert.”
After going through various steps, ‘Vanguard’ finally arrived at ‘JTVM’. First, Rojun and the mbers greeted PDs and dozens of staff with a 90-degree bow. A few minutes later, they moved straight to the waiting room.
The mbers were bouncing with excitent.
“Wow! This is the music show waiting room!”
Kang Rojun felt the sa excitent. But there wasn’t much ti to enjoy it, and ‘Vanguard’ imdiately began preparing for the pre-recording. They were scheduled to rehearse first, receive so directing notes from the PD, and then move into the official recording.
For reference, several hundred fans were expected to attend Vanguard’s pre-recording.
Music shows on each network typically recruit fans before an idol’s pre-recording. It was similar to how the audience worked during ‘Produce That 100!’. The process differs slightly depending on the broadcasting station, but the general structure, rehearsal performance, monitoring, corrections performance, was the sa.
From the fans’ perspective, they couldn’t afford to miss Vanguard’s first music show stage, so hundreds of them, ard with light sticks, were.
“Excuse , what number are you?”
“Number 66.”
“Thank you.”
Lining up for the pre-recording.
The fans had arrived at ‘JTVM’ around 4 a.m., much like ‘Vanguard’ themselves. Knowing this, GN Entertainnt had prepared reverse fan gifts like lunchboxes for the fans attending the pre-recording.
Of course, with Vanguard’s photo printed on them.
Then, from the waiting room, Kang Rojun and the mbers, dressed in all-black suits and wearing ear mics, stepped onto the pre-recording stage. It was ti for the rehearsal. The stage for ‘Music Beat’ was quite large, and perhaps due to prior coordination with GN Entertainnt, it was decorated elaborately with things like planet models.
Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung were busy checking out the stage.
“Wow… the quality is insanely good.”
The stage production itself was impressive, but so were the caras set up in the front, the lighting, and the planned stage effects, it was a grand treatnt. It was almost unheard of for a music show to go to such lengths for a newly debuted idol group. This was only possible because it was the hot group ‘Vanguard’. They were being treated no less than already popular, established idols.
Soon after, as ‘Vanguard’ took the stage, Kang-min, who was looking around, tilted his head.
“They said fans were coming to our pre-recording, but where are they?”
Do-kyung replied in his usual blunt tone.
“‘Music Beat’ lets fans in not during rehearsal, but once the main recording starts.”
“Ah-”
At that mont, a slightly chubby female PD approached the stage and smiled at ‘Vanguard’.
“Let’s start Vanguard’s rehearsal, please take care of us.”
Within seconds, ‘GreenBee’ played across the entire stage.
-♬♪
Vanguard’s first music show pre-recording had begun.
anwhile, back in the waiting room, the ‘Vanguard’ styling team must have just heard sothing from Kim Ki-baek.
“What?!”
They exclaid with excitent and asked Manager Kim Ki-baek again.
“‘Vanguard’ already got an ad deal?! And even a solo comrcial for Rojun?!”
*****
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