Little Pink Starfish

The teaser started the same way.

The screen filled with roaring flames.

But unlike the first teaser, this one showed more specific, detailed scenes.

Amidst the collapsing wooden buildings engulfed in fire, unidentified people scrambled to escape.

‘Hanbok?’

Though smudged with soot, they wore colorful hanbok.

Some wore military uniforms with jurip (traditional hats worn by military officials), trying to control the fleeing crowd before being swallowed by the flames.

And among them was Han Sion.

Wearing the same striped suit as Lee Iion, Han Sion ran.

But unlike the others fleeing from the fire, Han Sion ran toward the flames.

As a building collapsed in slow motion, Han Sion leapt into the wreckage.

It seemed like he was consumed by the fire, but no.

He crawled forward and grabbed something.

The same pure white mask that Lee Iion had worn.

But it was strange.

Despite all the flames and flying embers, the mask remained perfectly clean.

Han Sion stared down at the mask in his hands.

Wheeeeeeee—

A long, thin whistle sounded again from somewhere.

Startled, Han Sion looked up at the night sky between the burning buildings.

Then, he put on the mask and began to run.

As he ran dynamically, the scene gradually slowed, and the perspective expanded to show the burning buildings under the three moons from an omniscient viewpoint.

At that moment.

Whoooosh!

A massive burst of flames devoured the barely standing structure.

[…….]

Silence.

And then, as if hearing something faint in the stillness—

♬♪♪♪♪

The melody bloomed.

The scene shifted to a clearing lit by moonlight, with the scorched forest and ruins as a backdrop.

The same place where Lee Iion had stood.

Han Sion arrived, raised his hand, and removed the mask.

And began to dance.

Like before, it was an eight-second solo dance.

But while similar to Lee Iion’s, there were subtle differences.

Han Sion’s movements focused more on his lower body.

Whatever it was, it was breathtakingly clean and beautiful.

Enough to surprise K-pop fans who hadn’t paid much attention to Han Sion’s dancing before.

[Mmm- Emnnm-]

A wordless, peculiar hum flowed from Han Sion’s lips.

As before, the camera spun up to show the three moons in the sky.

And the text appeared again.

See you in an hour, TT.

“……”

The teaser ended, and Choi Sehee couldn’t speak.

A strange heat surged inside her body—was she dead?

It felt like it.

This must be the afterlife.

“…Gasp!”

Snapping back to reality, Choi Sehee immediately replayed the teaser.

After watching Han Sion’s teaser about twenty times, she rewatched Lee Iion’s.

Then she read the comments.

There weren’t too many English comments yet since international K-pop fans hadn’t caught on, but there were some.

Most English comments referenced “Color Show” or “R&B.”

They were likely overseas listeners who discovered Sedalbaekil through Colorful Struggle.

But that wasn’t what mattered right now.

Her boys were insane.

The atmosphere was, as always, overwhelming.

Even those who disliked Han Sion couldn’t deny his commanding presence.

That precarious feeling of wanting to approach yet feeling like you shouldn’t.

But lately, whenever Han Sion filmed with the other members, there was a more approachable, friendly vibe.

What truly shocked Choi Sehee, however, was Han Sion’s dancing.

Sedalbaekil had shown relatively little choreography for an idol group.

Mostly because they hadn’t had many official schedules, even on Coming Up Next.

They focused on singing, with dance feeling more like a supporting element.

Not that this was bad, but fans always hoped to see them dance seriously at least once.

And in this teaser, Han Sion did just that.

As she replayed Han Sion’s teaser countless times, Choi Sehee noticed something: Han Sion used one extra beat.

When a beat went “Ddan-dan,” he would insert a small movement in between.

Using his ankles or wrists—small joints.

But it looked amazing.

She wasn’t sure how it would work in group choreography—it might disrupt synchronization.

But as a solo, it was mesmerizing.

Lastly, what surprised Choi Sehee:

-?? Why is Han Sion so good at acting?? This is unsettling.

His acting.

Though she lacked technical knowledge, she noticed that Lee Iion’s scenes used the background heavily.

Even close-ups felt like they included the entire scene.

‘Ah, he used objects to substitute emotional expression!’

Yes, that’s it.

Tension and danger were conveyed through background changes and symbols.

But Han Sion was different.

His emotions were all handled with tight close-ups.

Trying to remain composed in a desperate situation while barely containing his fear yet holding onto reason.

He acted out emotions that would take several sentences to describe.

The way he looked down at the mask was especially intriguing.

He seemed both relieved and disturbed.

‘What are others saying?’

Just as she was about to check the comments, Choi Sehee gasped.

She’d replayed her bias’s teaser so much that an hour had already passed.

[Sedalbaekil – ‘State of mind’ Official Teaser 3/6]

This time, it was On Saemiro.

---

Sedalbaekil’s first teaser dropped at 7 PM.

Which meant that releasing one teaser every hour would conclude at midnight.

It was typical to release teasers around midnight, but starting at 7 PM and dropping six teasers on a Sunday evening to dominate buzz was a first.

Perfect for catching the attention of bored YouTube viewers preparing for work on Monday.

Of course, to pull off such a strategy, you needed confidence in video quality and something buzzworthy.

State Of Mind had both.

-The members seem to have time-traveled, got scattered into five factions, survived separately, and reunited through some great disaster like a massive fire!

-2222 If you look at how they gather in the clearing, they approach from different directions. Probably from opposing forces.

-?? That depends on camera angles. How can you tell directions?

-If you watch closely, you can see that the wind always blows the same way. You can base directions on that.

-Wow, seriously? That’s some next-level analysis.

-The outfits are so different—it must be different nations.

-What’s the meaning of the masks?

-Just a visual prop?

-Feels too significant to be just that.

-Is this really an idol teaser? Feels more like a movie or drama trailer.

-This is Sedalbaekil’s ‘State Of Mind’ teaser! The full MV drops at midnight tomorrow, and music show promotions are starting soon!

-Okay okay, I’ll subscribe and check out the MV. Best thing I’ve watched lately.

-Who’s the first guy? Insanely good-looking even from a guy’s perspective.

-Lee Iion!

-And the second one? Amazing acting.

-Han Sion!

-?? Are they brothers? Why are their names similar?

-If they were brothers, they’d have the same surname, idiot.

-But Han Sion, Lee Iion, On Saemiro… the “3-On” thing gets confusing lol. If they hadn’t debuted through a survival show, they’d probably use stage names.

-Our boys didn’t debut through a survival show… they got backstabbed on a rigged one!

-Oh right.

-The way Prism fandom freaks out in the comments is hilarious lol.

-Prism?

-TakeScene’s fandom.

Sedalbaekil’s strategy was proving extremely successful.

Even agencies with no ill will toward Sedalbaekil were taking notes.

Meanwhile, the fifth teaser dropped.

The fifth teaser featured Choi Jaesung, who was somewhat different.

He seemed to have lost his mind like a zombie, not even aware of who he was until he found the mask.

-This one feels like a barbarian tribe.

-Yeah yeah, with some kind of contagious madness disease.

-Seriously, what kind of idol group does zombie makeup? lol

-They’re serious about their content. Their self-produced content where they played Seotda for room assignments was hilarious.

-They played Seotda? Where can I watch that??

-It’s in Independent Diary Episode 1 on this channel.

-I quit stanning after getting a job, but watching Sedalbaekil go all-in on creative content is impressive. Seeing them prep for Color Show moved me.

-Pretending to be a casual while simping, hilarious~

-lol This is Sedalbaekil’s official channel. Why pretend? Get lost.

-But now that all members are shown, what’s the sixth teaser?

-I’m curious too.

The five teasers shared the same structure.

Each member started in a different place, found a mask, and danced solo in the clearing.

Only Lee Iion’s escape from the flames wasn’t fully shown.

Naturally, curiosity about the sixth teaser skyrocketed.

Logically, the sixth teaser might be the group choreography.

All five members dancing together in the clearing.

But if that’s all, it might feel underwhelming.

The anticipation built up over the five teasers was enormous.

It felt like everything should merge and explode spectacularly…

If such a method even existed.

Another hour passed.

At midnight, transitioning from Sunday to Monday—

[Sedalbaekil – ‘State of mind’ Official Teaser]

The final teaser was released.

It opened with a long, thin whistle.

Wheeeee—

Through the whistle, chaotic cross-cutting showed the five members running through flames, wearing their masks.

Gu Taehwan dodged flames that nearly consumed Choi Jaesung.

As Gu Taehwan stumbled, On Saemiro was shown rising to his feet.

Wheeeeeeeeeee—

The whistle grew louder and clearer, as if synchronized with their racing heartbeats, punctuated by booming drumbeats.

And then.

The five masked men converged on the clearing.

All sound disappeared.

[…….]

[…….]

Only the wind could be heard.

They hesitated, unable to remove their masks.

As if afraid of each other.

As if afraid to expose themselves.

But.

♬♪♪♪♪~

A magical melody shifted the atmosphere.

Lee Iion was the first to raise his pale hand and remove his mask.

As he stepped forward, Han Sion followed, removing his mask.

One by one, they all removed their masks—

And the dance began.

Viewers screamed internally.

While their solo dances were similar, there were subtle differences.

In the first drumbeat, Lee Iion and Han Sion struck their elbows downward, while Gu Taehwan, On Saemiro, and Choi Jaesung raised theirs.

Even the sliding steps varied—some glided with long strides, others shuffled quickly.

Individually, these were solo dances.

But combined, the five solos meshed like perfectly interlocked gears into flawless group choreography.

Sharp-eyed viewers realized the solos and group choreo weren’t filmed separately.

They filmed the group choreography together, then edited out the other members for the solo teasers.

Even the vocals matched.

[Alone— Mmm—]

[Isolated— Emnnm—]

When each member’s part overlapped in sync, it created the full opening line.

The camera once again rose to the three moons before the teaser ended.

SEE YOU TOMORROW, TT

A teaser for the music video release at midnight.

Before long, Sedalbaekil’s teasers would earn the nickname “the most expensive member-focused fancams in idol history.”