Little Pink Starfish

It was the same when he first auditioned with Coming Up Next’s rookie development team. This was what Han Si-on did best.

Defying expectations.

Music had been with humanity for a very long time, and so had commercial art.

Even people without much musical knowledge could create quite decent melodies just by stringing together a few sound sequences arranged by money chords.

Because they’ve heard these sounds too many times before.

Han Si-on was skilled at giving the audience familiar sounds, then suddenly tearing them apart to build a peak, and then returning back to familiarity.

For Han Si-on, who had composed so many songs, there was no longer any such thing as “composition theory,” but this was the method he liked the most.

But this time, it was even more fun.

It was On Saemiro who provided the familiarity, and Han Si-on who switched it into unfamiliarity.

The lack of discomfort in that tension was because both of them produced beautiful sounds.

If there are still sounds

That I left for you

If those sounds reach you

How wonderful would that be

At first glance, “When The Curtain Falls” seemed like a song of someone who was forced to leave their lover.

But in reality, it expressed Han Si-on’s reflections on the world after his regression.

Han Si-on, who could compose, mix, master, and direct everything, had one thing he rarely did: writing lyrics.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t write lyrics, but he didn’t enjoy it.

Most of the lyrics of the songs he had sung with Sedalbaekil were memorized lines co-written with professional lyricists.

There were songs like “Colorful Struggle” where Han Si-on took the lead in writing, but even then, a lyricist’s touch was involved.

But not this song.

This song was purely and entirely written by himself.

Frankly, even Han Si-on found it a bit surprising.

‘I can’t believe I’m singing this song with someone else.’

It was a song that either wouldn’t be sung at all or would be sung alone.

Those were the only two options.

But while working on Sedalbaekil’s second full album, he felt this song would fit.

So he was singing it with On Saemiro now.

The song calmed down again, and On Saemiro formed a pleasant tone.

The repeated formation and rupture of the song created catharsis.

The high-pitched range created by the two vocals poured out over the acoustic guitar sound.

“When The Curtain Falls” mixed elements of city pop and folk rock.

But to be more precise, it would be categorized as unplugged rock.

A track created entirely with pure instrument sounds, without any electronic elements.

It strongly evoked the feel of 80s songs, yet the melody itself was very sophisticated.

That was the kind of song it was.

And so, the song ended.

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As Han Si-on and On Saemiro’s song ended, so did Self Made.

The screen displayed the closing subtitle, “Thank you for watching.”

But viewers didn’t take their eyes off the screen.

Not because they were immersed in lingering emotion…

“Huh?”

Han Si-on appeared on screen again.

Smiling mischievously, he touched a turntable (an LP record player), and the screen swiftly shifted to show the turntable.

There were three LP records on it, with familiar colors and shapes.

Three overlapping deep blue LP records of varying sizes.

Looking closely, they overlapped from above but were arranged at different heights when viewed from the side.

Its meaning was all too familiar.

Anyone who had visited Sedalbaekil’s YouTube channel even once would recognize their symbol.

Three overlapping deep blue circles.

At that moment, the LP record on the far left began to spin.

An intro of familiar music started playing.

It was “Separate,” the first track and title song of Masked Robber’s unit album, Stage Side A.

R&B fans already hailed it as the best Korean R&B track ever released.

However, those with keen ears might notice that the version playing now sounded subtly different from the original.

The BPM was oddly different, and the sound texture felt off.

Not better, but worse.

The unique up-and-down dynamic of rhythm and blues had weakened, and the compression, or velocity in piano terms, that Han Si-on constantly emphasized, was lowered.

For those familiar with the original, the shadow of it made them overlook it, but for those hearing it for the first time, it felt a bit bland.

Then “Separate” abruptly stopped, and Han Si-on played another LP record.

This time, it was the first track from Choi Jae-sung’s unit album Stage Side B.

It was “Drop,” which was currently enjoying massive popularity, dominating trend and buzz indices like a monster.

But again, there were changes.

The synth-pop based on new jack swing sounded like a deflated balloon.

The satisfying bounce was gone, leaving behind a rather ordinary electronic pop.

After about five seconds, that track also stopped, and the final LP record started spinning.

Stage Side C, released on music sites alongside the Self Made finale.

The first track was “When The Curtain Falls,” which had just been broadcast.

There were changes here too, but in a different direction.

The guitar riff sounded stronger, and the BPM was faster.

It leaned closer to a bold guitar sound rather than a delicate one, producing a much more sophisticated sound than the usual folk rock vibe.

Whether they liked Sedalbaekil or not, whether they liked Han Si-on or not, people focused, unable to figure out what kind of video this was.

Then Han Si-on grinned and spoke.

[STAGE.]

Just one word.

Then Han Si-on spun the LP records.

Unlike before, he spun all three at once.

And then…

♬♪♩♪♪♩♪

Music flowed out.

Instead of the new jack swing rhythm that formed the backbone of “Drop,” the guitar riff from “When The Curtain Falls” became the foundation.

Even so, the bouncy synth-pop drum line remained.

The rhythm from “Separate” filled the back as the secondary layer.

The three songs that previously sounded weakened now combined to create a perfectly harmonious sound.

It was hard to even classify its genre.

R&B was present, synth-pop was present, unplugged folk guitar riffs were present.

Altogether, it created a powerful sound that could be described as electronic house or hip-hop.

But the public didn’t care much about genre classification.

What mattered was whether the music was good or not.

And this was…

-Yo!!!! This is insane!!!!!

It was good.

No other explanation was needed. It was just good.

As the music played, captions appeared on screen.

[2+2+1 = ?]

[Sedalbaekil Full Album 2nd: STAGE]

[2018. 2. 18]

[Coming Soon]

Yes.

The video broadcast after Self Made ended was an album release commercial.

There was a time when albums were advertised on TV, but that method had long since faded for many reasons.

It was revived through Sedalbaekil’s partnership with M Show.

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-Wow lololololol

-So if you combine the three unit albums, a new song comes out lolololol

-Huh? Isn’t that only if you combine the first tracks?

-No no no, go check YouTube trending. Some music YouTuber tried it and freaked out.

-The ridiculous thing is that no matter how you mix them, it sounds pretty good.

-Combining Masked Robber’s track 2, Choi Jae-sung’s track 3, and On & On’s track 4 was amazing;

-How is this even possible?

-They say you still need to tweak it a bit. Mixing all three together boosts the compression too much, so you need to cut some parts. Even that YouTuber said he has no idea what the actual 2nd album will sound like.

-If you combine Side A, B, and C to form the final product, isn’t this basically a combining robot?

-Oh, no wonder every unit album’s last track was named STAGE.

-So that’s the title track?

-Yeah yeah yeah, now YouTubers are putting in insane effort trying to deduce the full song.

-There are over 30 possible combinations that sound decent lololol

-lolololol

-Hip Si-on, pure and simple.

-But isn’t Side C seriously good? The hype about the album release buried it a bit, but the On & On unit album is seriously amazing.

-2222 It’s playing nonstop at lounge pubs in Itaewon right now. Even at places that only play foreign music.

-Foreigners keep asking what song it is, but I couldn’t explain it.

-Why? Just say that Sedalbaekil is preparing their 2nd album and they split it into 3 unit albums… shit, that doesn’t even make sense when I say it.

-Exactly lolololol

-An unplugged guitar-based album working in 2018? And even sounding hip?

-Old school is new school.

-Seriously though, this is peak Hip Si-on. People were freaking out about how he divided the album into units for his musical ambition, and he just kept smiling.

-Yep yep, Hip Si-on’s smiling.

-And his decision to release his own unit album last, fearing it might be buried by the album announcement. True leadership.

-But it didn’t get buried lol On & On’s songs are amazing.

-When they do a unit with Lee Eion, Han Si-on, and On Saemiro, will it be On & On & On?

-With their naming sense, it’s totally possible.

-lol God really doesn’t give everything, does He.

-Masked Robber, Choi Jae-sung, On & On lol the names are kind of lame.

With Self Made airing, M Show flooded TV with commercials for Sedalbaekil’s 2nd full album.

Some wondered how much money Sedalbaekil must have spent, but the ads were free.

It was one of the proposals offered when M Show officially partnered with Sedalbaekil.

Of course, they didn’t just air the 60-second video shown after Self Made. They also distributed a 15-second version tailored for TV.

Regardless, word of Sedalbaekil’s 2nd full album spread rapidly.

Meanwhile, Han Si-on and On Saemiro’s Stage Side C…

1 – When The Curtain Falls (new) (hot)

2 – Is It My Fault? (new) (hot)

3 – Drop (hot)

4 – Same Place (new) (hot)

…dominated the charts.

Even with such explosive buzz, it was impressive that Choi Jae-sung’s “Drop” still held onto 3rd place.

At this point, entertainment agencies across Korea were dumbfounded.

“Seriously, do they think they’re the only singers in the world…”

“Where’s the professional courtesy… where’s the professional courtesy…”

It had been three weeks now.

The Top 10 was constantly filled with Sedalbaekil members like constellations.

Just when Masked Robber’s momentum seemed to wane, Choi Jae-sung rose.

When Choi Jae-sung’s strength seemed to fade, Han Si-on appeared.

Then, unexpectedly, Masked Robber’s tracks began climbing again.

All of this was because of the news that they would all be combined into the 2nd full album.

Once the unit albums lost steam, what would come next?

The 2nd full album, STAGE.

“Sigh… working’s hard.”

“The head of PR is taking hair loss meds…”

“The CEO’s on stomach medicine…”

In short, it was the Sedalbaekil occupation period.