Little Pink Starfish

Album 12. The First Day

It was 9 PM when I arrived in Korea, but there was somewhere I needed to go before heading to Sedalbaekil’s dorm.

Uncle Hyunsu’s house.

Today was his birthday.

We talked often on the phone, but it had been a while since we saw each other face-to-face.

Was the last time when the members and I visited him in the hospital?

“Hey, kid! I almost forgot your face.”

“Sorry. How have you been?”

“I’m still stuck at the hospital as usual.”

“How did you fix the geocentric coordinate system?”

“What?”

Ah, right, this meme hasn’t become popular yet.

Human memory is so strange.

Why do I remember these useless memes but not the abbreviations Choi Jaesung taught me?

Then Uncle suddenly hugged me tight.

“Kid, you’re doing well these days, huh?”

“I’m just doing my best. Happy birthday.”

“Don’t say ‘happy birthday.’ Makes me feel old.”

Smiling, I handed over the gifts I bought in New York.

I knew exactly what he liked, so they matched his tastes.

“But Sion.”

“Yes?”

“Why do these clothes all look small? Is it just my imagination?”

“I bought them two sizes smaller on purpose. So you’d lose weight to fit into them.”

“You’re pushing my diet too?”

“Yes.”

This was real advice as a regressor.

If Uncle could fit into these clothes, he’d meet a really good marriage partner.

I once got curious and asked him about his love story, and it was pretty absurd.

If Uncle lost weight, strange confidence would bubble up inside him and he’d get the impulse to open his own private clinic.

So he’d go to a real estate office, where he’d fall in love at first sight with the daughter of the owner.

What’s funny is, when you repeat regressions, you start witnessing randomness.

Like the comedian Burnett Adel, who sometimes gets caught for DUI hit-and-runs and sometimes doesn’t, even though I do nothing.

But with Uncle, there’s no such randomness.

If he loses weight, he always meets Aunt. If he doesn’t, he never meets her.

I don’t know what the correlation between dieting and opening a clinic is, or why a guy with no money to open a clinic even goes to a real estate office…

But Aunt is a good person.

I hope they meet again in this life too.

“Uncle, should I get you a gym membership?”

“Hey, it’s not like I don’t have money. I don’t have time.”

“If you lose weight, I’ll get you an autograph from a celebrity.”

“I don’t even like any celebrities.”

“Then just lose weight.”

“You brat.”

While we were bickering, the delivery food arrived.

After setting up the food, I lit the candles on the cake I brought.

We sang happy birthday and started eating when Uncle spoke up.

“But Sion.”

“Yes.”

“You can really get me a celebrity autograph?”

“Why? Is there one you want?”

“Not really, but to get an autograph, you’d have to meet a celebrity. You can’t go on variety shows, right?”

“If I work hard, something will happen.”

“You keep causing trouble though. What’s after the Color Show?”

I never told Uncle the details because I didn’t want him to worry.

But it seemed he already knew everything.

Well, he’s a smart guy.

According to my dad, Uncle was too smart to be valedictorian.

Studying was too easy for him, so he slacked off.

Though not enough of a super-genius to slack off and still be top, just a regular genius.

That’s how Dad put it.

“I have a plan.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Just lose weight.”

“Hey!”

Honestly, there’s nothing I need help with yet.

If I do, it’ll be later.

Maybe in about a month.

“So if everything goes well, what will you do? A world tour?”

“I can’t do a world tour yet.”

I’ll just promote like any other idol.

Music shows, fan signings, variety shows.

We do have our self-produced content, but up till now, it’s been mostly functional.

To stir up provocative issues, fight against Lion Entertainment with political schemes.

Of course, we added enough entertainment value, but looking at the official site, fans also wanted small, casual content.

Not necessarily issue-driven stuff, but showing chemistry among members.

I agree.

I need to experience that too, and the members want to do it.

Our opinions align on this.

“You still look good though. Are you getting along with the members?”

“Yes. They’re all good people.”

“Bring them over sometime if you have time. I’ll treat you guys.”

“If you lose weight.”

“You brat…”

“I mean it.”

---

Inside Lion Entertainment, there was talk about releasing TakeScene’s music video earlier than scheduled.

Of course, because of Sedalbaekil.

Whether Sedalbaekil intended it or not, TakeScene’s teaser was completely buried under the Color Show teaser.

There’s no guarantee the same wouldn’t happen to the music video.

So the suggestion was to deviate from Lion Entertainment’s usual release pattern.

But this was vetoed by Choi Taeho.

The official reason was that changing the schedule would confuse the artists.

But the real reason was pride.

Running away from Sedalbaekil would be humiliating.

Since the 1980s when Korea’s show business began, no artist has ever beaten capital.

Not only in Korea.

Even the Beatles, trying to avoid agency fees, went independent but got burned and returned to the arms of capital.

Running away would make Lion Entertainment a laughingstock.

That was Choi Taeho’s real concern.

Besides, it could just be a coincidence.

It’s unrealistic to think Sedalbaekil could control a giant company like Colors Media’s video schedule.

The schedule couldn’t be changed anymore.

The debut scheduled for August had been moved to July, then delayed again to August because of Drop Out and NOP.

And so, on August 26th.

TakeScene’s official music video was released.

[TAKE# ‘Scene Stealer’ Official M/V]

Choi Taeho and Lion Entertainment staff kept a close eye on the Color Show channel.

But even after 30 minutes, nothing was uploaded.

Last time, it had been less than a minute apart.

‘Was it really just a coincidence?’

But historically, “Is it over?” was a cursed phrase.

The Color Show’s trademark rainbow-hued background.

Five boys, arm-in-arm, smiling brightly.

The team name spelled not in English but phonetically.

[Sedar Back Ill – Colorful Struggle ‖ A COLOR SHOW]

A video with nothing to complain about was released.

Choi Taeho suddenly realized his hand was trembling.

“Damn it.”

He cursed under his breath, trying to steady himself.

Then he moved the mouse and clicked the video.

Starting with Han Sion’s electric guitar, as each member entered, musical elements layered in, culminating in an explosive song.

Colorful Struggle.

Absurdly enough, as he watched, Choi Taeho thought the music was good.

Many thoughts and negative emotions crossed his mind…

But even so, the song was good.

He couldn’t deny it.

---

Recently in the showbiz industry, there was talk that while the Color Show was impressive, people’s expectations were getting excessive.

Journalists, chasing ad clicks, wrote increasingly sensational headlines.

It was good to have buzz, but the direction was risky.

[How much success must Sedalbaekil achieve as the first Korean guest on Color Show?]

[What was the view count for the Japanese artist who appeared on Color Show?]

If Sedalbaekil belonged to a major agency, their PR team wouldn’t have let it slide.

Media marketing needs proper handling.

But Sedalbaekil had no PR team, so journalists wrote whatever they pleased like runaway trucks.

This was dangerous.

When expectations are too high, people get disappointed even at decent outcomes.

Imagination is always more glamorous than reality.

However…

Sedalbaekil met those expectations.

Not in views or external achievements.

In the music.

-Are they insane lololol

-Wow, this is crazy. I have zero interest in idols, but who are these guys? They’re insanely good.

-Do idols these days do this? I didn’t know since I don’t follow.

-No no, it’s just these guys doing it.

-Aren’t they basically an indie band anyway?

-But in their self-content, they said they consider themselves idols. They want to be idols.

-Oh really? Whatever, as long as they’re good at what they do.

-It’s so great to see Korean youth shining on such a global program. Though I do wish they sang proudly in Korean instead of English.

-Sir, who sings in Korean on Color Show;;

-I’m falling for Han Sion’s guitarㅠㅠ

-I love Lee Eon’s screaming part that kicks it off. Feels like it clears my blocked energy.

-Did Han Sion write this song too?

-Yes yes yes yes.

-Does he have a song pouch or something? Every song is a hit.

The view count on Color Show skyrocketed.

Along with it, Sedalbaekil’s behind-the-scenes challenge video also surged.

What was interesting was that the views on Color Show’s official channel and Sedalbaekil’s own channel were about the same.

This meant two things simultaneously.

First, it created huge buzz domestically.

Second, it barely created any buzz internationally.

Which was natural.

From the perspective of foreign music fans, there was no reason to click a thumbnail of unfamiliar Asian boys with a name they couldn’t even read.

-Are these boys K-pop artists?

-Fuck. Color Show has really gone too far now.

In 2017, K-pop was still a subculture internationally.

A little later, it would move into the mainstream, but not yet.

So many left dismissive comments without even watching.

-No no. Friends, watch this video.

-Craaaaazzzzy! Insane!

-From the song to the production, it’s all crazy. Best Color Show video I’ve seen.

-Where can I find their hit songs?

-Why isn’t this K-pop group dancing? I love their dances.

-Because it’s perfect as it is.

-Can’t argue with that.

The gap between those who watched and those who didn’t was extreme.

But it didn’t last long.

-Wait. Isn’t this the guy who played with Donald Magus? Looks exactly like him?

-What are you talking about?

-(Link) This video blew up on Reddit and forums.

-Oh my god. What is this?

-It’s the impromptu performance from Seaside Heights. Insane.

Han Sion and Donald Magus’s impromptu performance was causing a huge reaction in foreign communities.