Chapter 248: Let’s Give It a Try
[Analysis of Universe Dust's Mini 3rd Album Concept Trailer]
It seems this mini 3rd album continues from the previous one, which followed the journey to find ‘you’ in a world where ‘you’ had vanished.
In the concept trailer that’s been released, the world is completely destroyed.
Kang Siwoo appears to have crash-landed in the wrong timeline and, after walking for a long while, runs into Do Seohan.
The reason he was startled there probably stems from not having seen another person in a long time—and judging by his reaction afterward, Kang Siwoo seemed to be meeting Do Seohan for the first time.
However, Seohan immediately said, “What are you doing here?” upon seeing Kang Siwoo.
It seems like he’s already met Kang Siwoo across multiple timelines.
Then came the second concept trailer released today.
It showed Ha Junseo and Seo Ian reuniting in the same way.
The first thing Junseo said upon seeing Ian was…
“So you came too.”
Judging from this line, the members who were scattered across various timelines during the last full album are finally gathering in a single timeline—
And sadly, it seems their final destination is a ruined Earth.
Ah… this is too good.
Let’s go, Doubles’ take on an apocalypse series...
– I read it, but I still don’t really get it. Kang Siwoo’s face is public welfare.
└Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ So true.
└That much is seriously undeniable.
└I thought I was the only one not getting it, but there’s a whole line of Dusties like me here.
└Honestly, you’re not supposed to try and understand the Doubles universe. At this rate, they’ll drop the theory of relativity next.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Help us, liberal arts majors.
– There’s definitely a space nerd among the higher-ups at Doubles.
└Nah, if there were, it wouldn’t be this half-baked.
└OMG ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Brutal truth incoming ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└But our kids’ faces… the vibe… in the midst of the apocalypse… I like it.
– I think this interpretation is accurate. Judging from the concept trailer, this album’s gonna have a pretty intense concept.
└Doesn’t feel too strong, maybe still within Universe Dust’s usual color.
└2222 It feels like a concept that balances performance well.
└The music video’s vibe feels like it’s made to hit internationally. They mean business.
└Doubles are definitely grinding their teeth these days. Push our kids all the way to superstardom.
└Honestly, I’ll take any concept. Just drop the teaser already ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– I can feel it. Stardust’s upcoming album is going to blow up.
└Let’s go for a million-seller first-week sales….
└No, let’s go double million-seller ㅠㅠ
└Hope they pull out a killer beat this time.
└Say what you will, but Doubles really knows how to make a banger. Let’s believe.
– Meanwhile, Do Seohan with black hair… insane. I want to call him “oppa.”
└How old are you?
└Five years old.
└?
.
.
.
.
“We just finished practice and are now eating dinner.”
Munch, munch.
Jin Sehyun gave a thumbs-up as he hurriedly devoured the instant rice he whipped up.
“Mmm. Tastes good.”
Music video filming, self-content shoots, and variety shows lined up for comeback.
Lately, even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough, and there was barely any time to go live.
So he carved out a moment right after practice.
Jin Sehyun skimmed through the comments with his eyes and smiled softly. With the comeback just around the corner, fans were hungry for even the tiniest teaser.
He shook his head and responded.
“You want spoilers? Sorry, Do Seohan already gave away too much.”
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Our runaway youngest Hamjji
– Do Seohan is the ultimate filial idol….
– Did you know Seohan dropped a spoiler yesterday too?
But that last comment caught him completely off guard.
“Huh? He did it again yesterday?”
– Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Sehyun’s eyes just popped wide open ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Totally flustered ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Look at Sehyun scrambling to search it up
“What did he say yesterday?”
Taking care of the youngest was never easy. While chewing on his rice, Jin Sehyun scanned the live comments flooding in.
“Ah. He said we filmed the music video… Yeah, we did.”
Thankfully, it was a spoiler within acceptable bounds.
Relieved, Sehyun let out a short laugh. Amid the stream of comments, he spotted one asking what Seohan was doing right now and answered it briefly.
“Seohan… went to practice.”
Their practice start times had been about the same.
They’d finished group choreography and vocal lessons from early morning till now…
But Do Seohan disappeared without even having dinner.
Jin Sehyun gulped down a sip of soda and let out a quiet exclamation.
“Wow, but seriously, Do Seohan practices all day.”
– Oh my gosh, our Hamjji is about to slay K-pop ㄷㄷ
– Why is Mam-Seohan so diligentㅠㅠㅠ Please rest a bit
– I’m hanging in there for Universe Dust’s 3rd mini album….
He’s always been diligent, but never quite the obsessive level of Ha Junseo, who was notorious for being a practice maniac.
Besides, Seohan had a naturally fast grasp of choreography, so he usually caught up quicker than others.
But lately…
Something about him felt different.
It felt like he was gritting his teeth and pouring every bit of himself into it.
It was admirable—but also concerning.
Not something he could openly share, though. Jin Sehyun scraped up the last of his rice and mumbled softly.
“…He’s really grinding his teeth these days.”
Stardust’s practice room.
Late at night, when the lights should’ve long been off, two people’s wailing voices echoed through the space.
Seohan stumbled and flopped to the floor, his arms and legs trembling.
“Augh.”
What time was it now?
After belatedly checking the clock, Seohan let out an impressed murmur.
“Wow. We’ve been going at it full speed for five hours?”
“I took a break in the middle. You’re the one who didn’t stop.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Ha Junseo clicked his tongue and took a sip of water to moisten his throat.
Soon, as if that wasn’t enough, he started rummaging through his bag for his tumbler to secure a caffeine fix.
After barely managing to refuel with caffeine, he asked Seohan,
“Take it easy, will you? Why are you practicing in such a rush?”
“…Is it that obvious?”
Having that kind of ferocity was fine, but the road ahead was still long.
They weren’t going to finish everything with just this album, and they were still only two years into debut—burning through all his energy now wasn’t exactly the best path forward.
Seohan knew that too, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
Aiming for a double million-seller had made him impatient.
Album sales were out of his hands now, so the only thing he could do was practice endlessly.
Maybe that was how he was trying to ease the anxiety.
Ha Junseo placed a hand on Seohan’s shoulder and spoke.
“Pace yourself. You’re gonna collapse like this.”
“…Like you did, hyung?”
“Pfft, that hit hard.”
“You’re the one in charge of being frail in our team.”
“Ahem.”
Ha Junseo let out a fake cough and smiled awkwardly.
He understood the concern, but on Seohan’s side, this was desperate.
Seohan grinned and shrugged his shoulders.
“There’s not much time left. Just until then—I’ll give it my all.”
Two weeks remained until the comeback.
Even if he had to pour out his soul, he had to achieve this goal.
According to Kim Woochan, this was a matter of survival.
Seohan swallowed a dry lump in his throat and once again focused all his nerves into his fingertips.
The choreography he had danced easily hundreds of times flowed out smoothly.
At this point, he could probably do it with his eyes closed.
He knew dancing the same moves over and over in the practice room didn’t directly help album sales…
But there was one thing it gave him.
Confidence.
An unshakable belief that he would pull it off.
“Double million-seller…”
Let’s give it a shot.
Two days had passed since the release of the Seohan X Ian duet OST album.
They figured the reaction would be decent, since the drama was already popular—but a pleasant surprise had arrived.
“Seohan, did you see this? Our OST ranked number one.”
“Huh?”
Seo Ian shyly held out the Melon daily chart.
After hitting number one in the OST genre daily chart, it hadn’t slipped and continued to hold strong.
“Crazy, right?”
Seo Ian smiled brightly and let out a quiet gasp of amazement.
Manager Lee Jaeyoon, who happened to overhear, chimed in.
“Oh yeah, your OST is doing really well.”
“What even is happening right now.”
Even on the overall genre charts, the ranking was quite good.
Sure, it helped that the song Hyukwon gave them was excellent, but since it was their first OST release, it all felt surreal.
“The song is good.”
“Still, with how locked down the rankings are lately, I’m surprised we even managed to slip in.”
To think they’d hit number one.
Having just finished her makeup, Seo Haim returned with wide eyes and asked,
“What? What’s going on?”
“We ranked first.”
“Whaaat? No way—it’s real.”
Seo Haim kept gasping and snatched Ian’s phone.
As always, she reacted dramatically.
“With the way it’s rising in real-time, are we… reverse climbing the charts?”
Since it was a drama OST, it looked like they had struck the public's taste perfectly.
At this rate, breaking into the Top 10 didn’t seem impossible.
“Hyung, buy me food please~”
“…?”
“Whoever has money is hyung.”
“Haim.”
He immediately dropped the honorifics.
“Yah!”
Bonk—
In the end, Seo Haim smacked him on the back of the head, and he flinched.
Cha Seongbin, who had just come out after changing clothes, chuckled and joined in.
“What’s going on—are we doing yaja time now?”
“He said whoever has money is hyung.”
“You should’ve at least hesitated a little!”
“Yaja time… think we’ll have one during today’s showcase?”
“Wow, you sound really disappointed.”
If not now, when else could he rise up?
He swallowed his disappointment.
The showcase was just around the corner.
Manager Lee Jaeyoon, who had been running around, burst back through the door.
“You guys need to head out now.”
“Ah, yep.”
“Everyone, let’s get ready!”
They had finished rehearsal; only the actual performance remained.
Kang Siwoo took a short breath and gathered the members.
“Shall we do our chant before we go?”
“Yesss!”
At Kang Siwoo’s words, everyone formed a circle and stacked their hands together.
Before they knew it, comeback season had returned.
There were mountains to overcome.
But just like always, it would all flow perfectly.
Let’s pour out everything we prepared.
With determined eyes, they placed their hands together.
Kang Siwoo shouted in a powerful voice.
“Shine bright! Stardust, fighting!”
“Fighting! Fighting! Fighting!”
It was finally time to step onto the stage.