NOVEL NEXT Chapter 41
Two weeks after the shoot.
The music video teaser is released on Friday.
I was having lunch with Seo-yoon Unni and Woo-ah Unni at the company while refreshing our company’s YouTube channel.
At 6 PM, a new video was uploaded.
[X1 TRES ‘Thinking of You’ TEASER]
“It’s out.”
I immediately clicked the video.
Seo-yoon Unni and Woo-ah Unni, who were watching me, said,
“What? It’s out? Let’s watch together.”
“I wanna see too!”
Woo-ah Unni and Seo-yoon Unni leaned in close to check out my phone screen.
Since it was a teaser, the video was less than 30 seconds long.
Most of the video showed the X1 seniors, and my appearance was just a fleeting shot of my back at the very end.
“Eh, not much of me in there.”
“True.”
“Ah, it’s just a teaser, that’s why!”
After replying to my Unnis, I dropped a comment at the bottom of the video.
[Just from the teaser, this song is gonna be a jackpot, right? And who’s that girl at the end? Even just from the back, you can tell she’s pretty.]
Seo-yoon Unni and Woo-ah Unni looked at me as I commented.
“What are you doing?”
Seo-yoon Unni and Woo-ah Unni sighed and chimed in.
“So pathetic.”
“I approve.”
What’s wrong with me?
“Hurry and leave a comment too, Unnis!”
.
.
.
Two days later, the music video was scheduled to drop on Sunday.
Early in the morning, an alarm bell blasted in my room.
Ugh, so loud.
Since I love sleeping in on Sundays, I definitely wouldn’t have set the alarm for morning.
I picked up my phone to check — it was 6 AM.
Ah…
I thought I set it for 6 PM when the music video and audio would be released, but apparently, I accidentally set it for 6 AM.
Well, since I was up, I went out for a morning jog.
But I didn’t last long and just turned off the alarm to catch some more sleep.
Rest is important too, right?
When I finally opened my eyes, it was 12:14 PM.
Feeling refreshed.
After all, it’s Sunday; my job is just to lounge around at home.
As I opened the door and stepped outside, the smell of rice hit me.
Mom was in the kitchen preparing a meal.
Dad wasn’t in sight, probably still snoozing away.
Mom saw me come out from my room and said,
“Our girl is awake?”
“Yes! What’s for lunch?”
“Your favorite stir-fried pork!”
I secretly liked it but sighed as I replied to mom.
“Ha… Mom, my diet is ruined because of you!”
Mom shot back with a serious face.
“I made it because you said you wanted it! What’s the problem now? Just don’t eat it.”
“Well, that’s not…”
Not wanting to hear another lecture, I escaped to the living room, where Do-ah was sprawled on the sofa watching TV.
I plopped on top of Do-ah.
She squirmed under me and complained.
“Ah~ Unni! You’re heavy!”
“Aww, you secretly love it? Do-ah is just a shy one~”
“No, seriously, you’re heavy!”
“Don’t care~ I’m gonna stay like this with Do-ah.”
Do-ah let out a dramatic wail.
“I said you’re heavy!”
“But Unni is light~”
Hmm… Is it not?
I think 166 and 51 is okay.
I briefly let Do-ah go and took out my phone to search the internet.
‘Height and weight of 166 girl celebrities’
The celebrities that came up in the search had the following height and weight.
168 cm and 50 kg.
168 cm and 46 kg.
166 cm and 49 kg.
Hmm…
I guess I really need to diet.
They say the time before debut is the toughest for dieting…
Crap.
I searched for fat loss diet, and dieting while eating online.
While browsing various articles, Mom called me.
“Do-hee, the rice is ready, so wake up Dad.”
“Yes~”
I entered the master bedroom to wake Dad up.
Dad was lying on the bed like a dead mouse.
I called out to Dad from a distance.
“Hey, Dad~ Time to wake up~”
“Get up~”
“Uncle, you can’t sleep here.”
Despite my gentle words, Dad didn’t move a bit.
I had no choice but to climb on the bed and shake Dad’s head.
“Wake up!”
Finally awake, Dad tightly hugged me as I was shaking him.
I asked Dad.
“Are you awake?”
Dad gave no answer and kissed my cheek.
– Smooch –
“Ugh, your breath stinks. Don’t do that.”
– Smooch –
Dad held on tight and wouldn’t let me go.
“Ugh, I said your breath stinks!”
“I don’t know~ Dad doesn’t have bad breath.”
“Ugh, let me go!”
Dad kept holding me until he was fully awake.
After being tortured by Dad, I finally got free and trudged to the dining table.
Sitting down on the chair, I said.
“Ah, it was such a refreshing morning, but now it’s ruined.”
Mom placed the rice in front of me and said.
“It’s lunchtime.”
“I don’t care~ It’s morning for me since I just woke up~”
As Dad came out, he said to us.
“Good morning~”
Sigh.
Everyone sat at the table and started eating.
During the meal, Mom said to me.
“Why are you picking at the pork stir-fry I made for you?”
“I think I need to diet.”
“You? You don’t have any fat to lose. Just eat.”
“No, I’m currently 166 cm and 51 kg, but other celebrities are 168 cm and 47 or 49 kg!”
Dad chimed in.
“Our daughter is at the age to grow, so a little weight gain is okay. And you’re already too thin.”
Definitely.
That makes sense.
“Right? I can just eat then?”
“Yes. Let’s eat quickly.”
Yeah, eat quickly and grow up to repay Mom with a big chest.
Dad continued.
“So the music video is coming out today, right?”
“Yeah, at 6 PM.”
“Should we all watch it together in the living room?”
“Yes, sir.”
Do-ah’s eyes sparkled as she said.
“Sis, does that mean you are a celebrity now?”
Mom replied.
“With no fans, what celebrity? Just a regular person.”
“Oh dear. Why would there be no fans?”
“What, are there any?”
I struck a flower pose with a bright expression and said,
“I’m me. I’m my No. 1 fan~”
“Ugh…”
Dad chimed in.
“Then I’ll be the No. 2 fan~”
I shot him a serious look, reaching out my hand,
“Sorry, but our fan club requires a paid membership.”
Dad grabbed my arm and started kissing from my knuckles up my arm.
“Ah, what are you doing!”
I quickly pulled my arm back.
As I held my arm up to my nose, it smelled like stir-fried pork.
Ah.
8 minutes before the music video and audio drop at 5:52 PM.
My family was all gathered in front of the living room.
The TV was connected to my phone and playing YouTube.
– Ding Dong –
The doorbell rang.
“Delivery is here~”
“Yeah, I’m going out~”
I headed to the front door to get the chicken.
Holding the chicken, I set it on the living room table and prepared to eat.
Phew… On a monumental day, you gotta dig into some chicken.
I waited for 6 PM, tearing into the chicken.
And exactly at 6 PM,
I refreshed the Topist Entertainment’s official YouTube channel endlessly.
And the music video was up.
[X1 TRES ‘Thinking of You’ Official MV]
Phew.
This is nerve-wracking.
“Are you going to click it?”
Mom replied,
“Yeah, hurry up and click.”
I calmed my racing heart and hit play.
Here we go!
Ah.
An ad.
I really should sign up for YouTube Premium.
After waiting 15 seconds, I quickly hit the skip button.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1ZCtuby9OTkdKQ0NDZnVQOStOTUhKWlQ5dzJ0NHFNTHBtVit6UEkvcllBUA
This time, it’s really the music video.
It opened with a gentle bass, showing a subjective perspective of a person standing in a white corridor with no one around.
The perspective wandered down the hallway and opened a classroom door.
As the door opened, a distant voice began to sing, and the screen transitioned to show the X1 seniors performing on stage with a band.
Then, as the view returned to the classroom, it showed me sitting by the window with my arm resting on my desk, studying.
The filtered screen highlighted the sunlight streaming in through the window.
The perspective gradually zoomed in from the outskirts of the classroom, getting closer to me.
As it got closer, I put down my pen and stretched my arms high.
Feeling a presence while stretching, I turned my head and smiled brightly at the center of the screen.
‘Wow… This is insane. I just triggered a fan copy bug.’
The screen switched to show my notebook.
The notebook had traces of writing and doodles with hearts.
Then a wide shot of the classroom revealed only my notebook and workbook left, while I had vanished.
Flashing back and forth, it showed the X1 seniors performing and singing for about 5 seconds, and then there I was on the playground, wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt and athletic shorts, running with my hair in a ponytail.
The camera chased after me.
Tired from running, I lay down on the grass, and the camera looked down at me from above.
My pose while lying down… was… displaying a little presence in the chest area.
The chest was asserting its presence.
After being cross-edited with X1 seniors’ stage videos, the scene returned to the classroom, reflecting me sitting by the window, gazing outside.
This scene of looking outside appeared more poignant, thanks to the blue-toned filter.
As the song entered the highlight part, a clip of me holding a castanet and dancing awkwardly came on.
My awkward dance contrasted with the previously poignant scene, making it seem even cuter, while still appearing somewhat nostalgic.
Then, one by one, clips of X1 seniors on stage were interspersed with my images from school life.
Me playing the piano in the music room.
Me splashing water from the faucet while goofing around on the playground.
Me spinning a globe in the science lab.
And then the last highlight part of the song.
As the scene returned to the classroom, my face, smiling brightly, was gradually zoomed in on, and it faded out when my face filled the screen.
In the center of the faded-out black screen, the phrase ‘Thinking of You’ was stamped, marking the end of the music video.
I clapped lightly and said, “Isn’t it great? I really like it.”
My mother said, “Was it always this significant?”
“I don’t know, I just heard I was the main character. I didn’t expect to be in it this much. Let’s watch it again.”
Do-ah, who had been staring at the screen with her mouth open and in a daze, said, “I want to be a celebrity like you, Unni!”
Um… Do-ah should only ever look at me…
Until I went to bed, I kept replaying the music video and checked the comments where I was mentioned.
[ Passing by as a fan… Is the song and music video not beautiful? ㅠㅜ The kids are busy with their comeback, but I casually listened to ‘Thinking of You’, and it seems like a song that matches public taste, so I think I’ll be listening to it every day. ㅠㅠ Especially the female lead is so pretty ㅠㅠ ]
[ X1’s first unit ㅠㅠ So good… Excitement… Seriously… Jackpot, number one on the music charts. But who is the female lead? ]
[ Is the female lead’s beauty real…? I can’t even speak. ]
[ Wow, I’m the same gender but I think I’m falling for her, isn’t her face really too pretty? The song is good too, and the female lead is so beautiful. Is this a movie? ]
[ I was smiling the entire time watching the music video… Huh, the female lead is so beautiful, she’s an angel… ]
[ Wow, it’s so nostalgic. The music video is a hit; it really feels like the female lead was my first love, capturing the radiant moments of first love and embedding them in the music video… ]
Hehe.
I can’t help it.
I have to leave a comment too.
[ The female lead is insane. I feel like I’ve fallen in love with her. ㅠㅠ ]
The next day, I arrived at the company.
I walked into the dance practice room.
I wondered if I was the first to arrive, but Seo-yoon Unni was already there.
“You’re here?”
“Yes!”
“Did you see the music video yesterday? It was pretty.”
Hearing Unni’s words made me smile, and I covered my mouth with my hand.
“Oh my! Did you see it?”
“Ugh, why is she acting like that again?”
Then she tossed her hair back and walked forward, shouting, “That’s right~ That’s me~ the angelic beauty female lead. That’s me~”
Seo-yoon Unni looked at me with a seriously displeased expression, but whatever.
I’m just satisfied~
I hope I debut soon.