NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 99 - Production Announcement
Except when they were putting on makeup, all the members kept checking the chat window, but fortunately, no posts about anything dangerous came up.
Instead, the SNS was filled with fan posts enthusiastically sharing their ‘fan appreciation’ gifts.
≫ Today’s Spark Public Broadcast Fan Appreciation Event
At first, I thought ‘They know what they’re doing’, seeing just the drinks and madeleines
But when I found the self-defense spray and the letter underneath, this noona burst into tears
They even included a handwritten letterㅠㅠㅠ
I’m sorry I was blinded by the food and saw your affection late…
└ Wow, a handwritten letterㅠㅠ I’m so jealous
└ My bias is Jeho, and my second favorite is Kiyeon, but I got Kiyeon’s letter!ㅠㅠㅠㅠ He was even bragging about choosing the stationery himself. My baby deserves a hundred kisses
└ Poor Kiyeon, he’s been nothing but kind—why would you do that to him?
└ Oh my goshㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫ Classy rookie boy group’s fan appreciation event
They handed out 30,000 won self-defense sprays for each person because it was dangerous to record early in the morning
+ Handwritten letter
+ Drinks and madeleines
+ Public recording photocards
└ Not sure it’s worth calling it classy… Hmm
└ Fans who post this kind of comment: usually have never received a fan appreciation gift
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat are you even sayingㅋㅋㅋ Besides, the company covered the cost, so it’s a fan appreciation from the company, not an appreciation from your idols?
└ These guys haven’t even received their first earnings yet, and the company covered the cost since they wanted to do something out of their own pocket. Why ignore their intentions just to be sarcastic~
└They haven’t even accepted any gifts or support from fans since debut ㅠㅠ They’re always working hard to give back as much as they can! Please give them loveㅎㅎ
≫ I was startled when I opened the bag and saw a police station map right on top
└ The packaging design is quite unique
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
≫ I did think the madeleines were delicious
but they turned out to be expensive
Came for the prerecording, found the madeleine of my life.
Compared to the time the fans spent waiting, this gesture felt like nothing.
My heart was pounding, filled with a mix of guilt and gratitude.
Maybe that was why. The time waiting for the recording felt so long.
And it seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
“It must be hard for the fans. At least we get to wait in the waiting room…”
“Yeah. We really have to work hard on stage today.”
Lee Cheonghyeon and Jeong Seongbin said as they looked out at the still-dark sky.
Park Joowoo was already warming up his throat in the corner of the practice room.
As I handed each of them a cup of warm water, I said.
“The most important thing is not to lose your voice. Warm up your throat properly.”
“Yes!”
The three members—all but the quiet dance line—answered loudly. Guess they had ignored my advice to save their voices.
* * *
We were finally able to meet our fans again at 3 AM.
“How have you been, everyone?”
“I’ve been doing great!”
“Isn’t it exhausting to come for such an early recording?”
“Not tired at all!”
We, of course, did our best to show an upbeat front to the fans who had patiently waited for us.
The fans, on the other hand, had no obligation to do the same, yet they greeted us without a hint of fatigue.
Some of our fans even wore outfits that I often saw on the subway to work.
I asked a few of them more cautiously.
“Well, the office workers, how are you planning to manage…”
“I took a half-day off!”
“So after this pre-recording, you’ll head straight to work?”
“I don’t want to!”
“I’m going to quit!”
It was amazing how much emotion could be packed into just a few words.
My heart ached. How could they go back to work just like this? I couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Thank you so much for using your precious time off to see us. We’ll give it our absolute best on stage today!”
I had a hard time choosing my words. I really wanted to express this gratitude, even if it was still lacking.
When I bowed in gratitude, the guys next to me bowed as well. Good job, you guys.
Whenever there was a break between shoots, we chatted about all kinds of things with the fans.
“Your hair dye suits you well!”
“Really? But don’t you think Iwol hyung’s gray is a bit too dark? He should’ve gone with something bold, like green!”
“No way, it doesn’t suit his tone!”
Sometimes, from the side, they’d bring me into the conversation. Thankfully, many fans were quick to stop Cheonghyeon from making even bolder suggestions.
But, what did you say? I put a lot of thought into getting my gray hair. This was the first time I’d bleached my hair in my life.
People often wear music video outfits for their first broadcasts, but today Spark was dressed in Boy Scouts style. Only the colors were changed to a fresh blue tone.
“How do you like our outfits? Do they look okay?”
Jeong Seongbin asked and received an enthusiastic response.
I was a little embarrassed because I never wear shorts outside of exercising. But the fans seemed to like it.
Somehow, the previous Spark members wore shorts even in the middle of winter for music video shoots.
For reference, In this round of music shows, we decided to wear outfits related to the wishes that the young Spark members wrote in the time capsule that appeared in the music video.
Starting with the adventurer outfit, which was Kim Iwol’s outfit, we would then have hero outfits, vacation outfits, pajama party outfits, PC room regular outfits, and skateboarder outfits.
There was a reason for this lineup.
‘Who wrote the wish to be a hero?’
‘It’s me.’
‘Choi Jeho, you’re surprisingly outspoken with your suggestions.’
One guy admitted he’d always wanted to wear a hero’s mask at least once since since he only had magical girl toys at home.
‘Joowoo, what’s a pajama party?’
‘It’s when you wear pajamas, order a lot of delicious food, and have a lot of fun…!’
There was also one guy who wanted to have a pajama party that his cousin did with his friends every quarter.
‘A regular customer at a PC room? Do elementary school kids really go to PC rooms that often?’
‘Hyung, have you ever been to a PC room in the afternoon? It’s basically an after-school program.’
‘Lee Cheonghyeon, you’re really familiar with that field, aren’t you?’
‘Oh, Kang Kiyeon taught me all this.’
‘Why is my name coming up here?’
And then there was the guy who wanted to stay in a PC room until he spent all his allowance. These guys had a lot of Children’s Day wishes.
So since we had already put ideas into the music video, we matched the outfits.
I was already worried about the next music show where we might end up wearing skintight costumes. I’d have to pray hard to avoid it starting today.
When Lee Cheonghyeon asked, ‘How’s this song?’, there was a sound of cheering.
The song was pretty hard not to like, but Cheonghyeon seemed thrilled to see the fans’ enthusiasm up close.
“Spark recording will begin now.”
And with the end of the short break, recording resumed.
* * *
The several recordings were completed without a hitch.
Though Kang Kiyeon had a brief moment of panic after a voice crack, he managed to recover by using mental control techniques, making up for the mistake during the next take.
I gave him a reassuring pat on the back for finishing the recording without visibly panicking, despite the cold sweat.
Since the full-scale activities had begun, each day was going to be hectic from today onwards. Even with one music show done, there was no time to catch our breath.
“We’ll also be filming our ‘Challenge! Life Experience’ meeting here, right?”
Our first variety show appearance for this activity period was scheduled to start this very morning. Fortunately, since it was from the same broadcasting station, we could save on travel time.
Spark hadn’t had many chances to appear on variety shows.
With countless idol groups competing and shows featuring everyone from chefs to athletes, the demand for idol guest appearances was steadily declining.
However, Spark needed to appear on a TV show.
No matter how diverse the broadcasting platforms had become, TV and public broadcasting entertainment programs, as well as music shows, were promotional tools that remained valuable.
Up until now, we had compensated for the lack of entertainment programs with a barrage of self-produced content.
During our active period, we uploaded content weekly, with at least two live broadcasts per week, and each member released personal content at least once a month, regardless of promotions.
Adding in spontaneous live broadcasts or additional uploads from individual members, the amount of content was substantial. Among currently active groups, Spark’s upload frequency was probably one of the highest.
However, there was a side effect of replacing all of this with self-produced content. The inflow rate from external channels was low.
In addition, no matter how much we raised the quality of self-produced contents, it was difficult to compete with existing entertainment programs in terms of quality. It was the same even for the camera quality,
If you just look at the individual cams of each member, the technical skills of the equipment, and the available budget, the difference would be obvious.
It would be tough for UA, which already had no money, to raise the budget for self-produced content. We should try broadcasting programs at least once.
With that in mind, I looked into various entertainment programs and one program caught my eye.
It was a program called ‘Challenge! Life Experience’.
‘Challenge! Life Experience’, a variety show where celebrities experienced various jobs.
There was a reason why such a simple entertainment program survived the era of content flooding.
≫ Next week’s episode of Challenge! Life Experience preview
Selling Tanghulu in Hongdaeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Wow, already so tough
└ Just watching the trailer, I feel exhausted already…
In this show, celebrities experienced jobs that viewers could easily recognize
An eight-hour full-time shift, the daily recommended working hours.
In other words, it was an intense job experience where celebrities put in the hard work but didn’t necessarily get as many benefits.
The fact that celebrities did the same job as them and sympathized with the high workload genuinely appealed to many viewers.
Since the show was about experiencing various labor environments, it had often been mentioned in social discussions.
≫ What’s your all-time favorite episode of Challenge! Life Experience?
Sanitation Worker episode vs.
Muljil
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