Chapter 269: Nagoya’s Mudflats (1)
Drip.
A single droplet fell onto the quiet lake.
The sound of water breaking the silence created ripples across the calm surface.
Splash.
Kang Siwoo threw himself into the emerald lake.
Along with the scene of him swimming gracefully, the screen shifted to Jin Sehyun’s face.
Jin Sehyun smiled softly and tilted his head.
Japanese lyrics flowed from his lips.
I’ll hold up a blank sheet of paper
And draw a single line
Though there’s nothing between us yet
Beginnings don’t have to be grand
The background was a forest overflowing with deep greenery.
Taking a bite from a bright red apple, Jin Sehyun smiled and turned his gaze.
Warm sunlight filtered through the tall trees.
The seven boys brightly waved toward the Shadowy Figure standing in the distance.
Seo Ian collapsed onto a tree stump and received the next part.
His clean and clear vocal tone echoed softly.
Maybe because of the lush green scenery, his voice sounded even more refreshing.
I’ll paint your color
Across this pure white canvas
The boy’s world was still as blank as an untouched sheet of paper.
That was why everything remained clumsy, but he still wanted to write your name onto the very first page of that empty canvas.
Only then could the barren white page finally become filled with beautiful colors.
At last, the boy gathered his courage.
He revealed his pure heart to the world.
It connected to Stardust’s previous Universe Lore, but this time the setting was the boy’s very first life.
Honestly, it’s nothing amazing
There’s still so much left to show
We are Stardust!
Immediately afterward came the choreography of all seven members together.
The camera smoothly captured their rotating movements within a single frame.
My world revolves only for you
red to yellow
green to blue
Will you paint me in different colors?
This was their first album where every verse had been recorded entirely in Japanese.
Though they were technically still rookie idols only in their third year, they prepared this album with the mindset of debuting all over again.
That overflowing passion was vividly embedded throughout the song.
Under the warm sunlight, the faces of the seven members shone brightly.
Seohan grinned and wrapped an arm around Kang Siwoo’s shoulders.
At the same time, a loud voice rang toward the sky.
My world revolves only for you
We are Stardust!
---
[Stardust’s Japanese debut song turned out refreshingly good]
Doubles really does know how to pick songs.
They finally gave Dustys the refreshing concept they’d been begging forㅠ
* The MV matched that kind of vibe perfectly. I wish they’d release a Korean version tooㅠㅠ
└ Kang Siwoo appearing while swimming literally stopped my breathing….
└ Seriously, Kang Siwoo is insaneㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ Do things like that after coming back to Korea, not in another country;;
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Agreed. Why are only you guys getting to see this
* What’s with Jin Sehyun biting into that apple? He’s literally human Capri-Sun
└└└ More like Blue Lemonade
└ Just looking at Jin Sehyun’s face feels like my eyesight improved
└ I accidentally achieved enlightenment….
* The whole world’s going to discover Seo Ian’s vocal tone nowㅠㅠ Damn it, that can’t happen
└ Why??
└ He’s way too lovable…. I feel like someone overseas is going to kidnap himㅠㅠ My baby’s only fist-sized
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ You’re literally a fanㅋㅋㅋㅋ calling him fist-sizedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ But isn’t Ian not actually Stardust’s weakest member? He looks like soft tofu incarnate, but still
└ Yep yep, our soft tofu is sturdy
└ Alongside Kang Siwoo, he’s serious about working out too
└ Isn’t Do Hamster the weakest in Stardust?
└ Nah, Seohan wins every argument with words
A hotel in Japan where they were temporarily staying for promotions.
The moment they arrived at the dorm, Jin Sehyun threw his exhausted body onto the bed.
There wasn’t really much to do after returning from schedules.
Out of habit, Jin Sehyun pulled out his phone and browsed through online communities.
From the very first page, posts related to Stardust’s Japanese debut filled the screen.
Korean fans seemed pleased with how refreshingly the debut song turned out.
Overall, the reactions weren’t bad.
Of course, that couldn’t really be considered objective feedback.
The fans who had stayed with them since debut naturally tended to view everything positively.
What mattered more was obviously the local response.
‘The reactions need to be good.’
The other members seemed extremely excited for these Japanese promotions.
Especially Seohan, who had aggressively pushed for the dome tour, had been anxiously pacing around right up until the debut.
Jin Sehyun took a deep breath before opening Jjajjak.
Tap tap tap.
He searched Stardust in English and scanned the top reactions.
“Mmm….”
Jin Sehyun searched “Stardust” in English on Jjajjak.
Since his Japanese skills only covered basic conversation, he had to rely on auto-translation software.
すぇっ@dvwlk333
Stardust!!! The music video is so cute www Junseo’s acting is really good!
ぱだう＠addbky8
I like Seohan. The way he fidgets around in the background is seriously like a hamster.
BAB @vwok104
I watched Stardust’s debut stage today… Congratulations on your debut, Stardust!
Even after continuing to scroll, the reactions remained overwhelmingly positive.
“Junseo hyung’s really popular.”
“Hm? Me?”
Jin Sehyun patted Ha Junseo’s shoulder as he spoke.
“Feels like hyung has a ton of fans.”
“Well, Junseo’s handsome to begin with~.”
Cha Seongbin’s teasing comment wasn’t exactly wrong.
Maybe because he perfectly fit the classic shoujo manga protagonist look, he seemed to appeal even more strongly in Japan.
There also appeared to be many Japanese fans who adored the maknae, Seohan.
* I want to lock Seohan inside a hamster wheel www
“…Did the translation mess up?”
Still, compliments felt good to hear.
Though translating every single post one by one was draining his energy a bit.
“Alright, enough.”
With a face suddenly overcome by exhaustion, Jin Sehyun locked his phone.
That much searching was enough.
What mattered now was achieving the best possible results during the remaining two weeks of promotions.
Right then, leader Kang Siwoo spoke up.
“What time’s everyone sleeping tonight?”
“Haim kept begging us to go convenience store exploring…. We’ll probably sleep after 1 at minimum?”
“Did some ghost who died from not eating convenience store snacks possess Haim…?”
“Yes!!!”
“My stamina’s dead, so I’m just gonna sleep early.”
“Oh dear…. Hyung, you can’t already be that frail….”
While the eldest line prepared to collapse early with exhausted eyes, the maknae line’s night was only just beginning.
As Jin Sehyun grumbled in response to Seo Haim insisting they hurry and put on outerwear, Kang Siwoo interrupted again.
“Tomorrow’s schedule is brutal, so don’t stay up too late.”
“Ah. It was an outdoor shoot, right?”
Though he didn’t know the full details, it seemed the agency had struggled to secure Japanese variety show appearances.
Apparently the lingering resentment from the subtle conflicts during T-ple’s era remained, and the other side had been giving them some mild hazing.
Naturally, guest appearances on studio talk shows would’ve been preferable.
But in an unfamiliar foreign country, they weren’t exactly in a position to be picky.
Rookies should act like rookies and give it their all.
But then—
“I heard we’re filming in mudflats.”
“…We were?”
“I only heard about it today too.”
That was a little startling.
---
Seventeen years as a producer.
Producer Ryuhei of NHD Broadcasting had built deep roots in this industry.
After consecutively succeeding with famous Japanese variety programs, his influence steadily grew, and he had many producer acquaintances.
That was how he ended up connected with T-ple too.
‘You know T-ple? They’re apparently famous Korean idols.’
Producer Ryuhei disliked K-pop culture.
Recently, K-pop audition programs had entered Japan and become even more popular, but he simply disliked watching young kids flailing their arms and legs while singing in foreign languages.
‘Seems that company made a lot of demands. Ryuhei, you were seriously annoyed, right?’
‘I think those people don’t really understand their own place.’
Adding the gossip from close producer acquaintances only made the group he already held prejudices against seem even more unpleasant.
Despite never actually meeting T-ple personally, Ryuhei still stuck his nose into the matter unnecessarily.
In other words, it had been Ryuhei who immediately contacted producer acquaintances and blocked T-ple from appearing on major variety shows.
Once things escalated like this, even that supposedly famous Korean entertainment company became aggressive in response.
A clash between a massive broadcasting station and a powerful entertainment agency.
What could’ve become a vicious dispute was ultimately settled when Doubles lowered their tail.
Afterward, T-ple shifted focus toward the North American market and proved themselves as successful K-pop idols by repeatedly charting on Billboard.
And after some time passed—
Producer Ryuhei received an appearance proposal for Stardust on the program he was producing, <Action! Variety Real Trap>.
“Coincidentally… Doubles.”
Naturally they wanted to appear on the hottest variety program in its time slot.
Even if it was technically a real travel variety show, the filming conditions usually weren’t excessively harsh, and everything finished within a single day of shooting.
Still, things like that ultimately depended on the producer’s discretion.
“Kind of makes me want to mess with them.”
“Mmm. Our program guests?”
One of NHD’s writers tilted her head curiously.
Instead of answering, Producer Ryuhei pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
“Yeah.”
If he hadn’t recognized the company name behind the appearance request, he would’ve ignored it.
But if it was a name he remembered, then the story changed.
“Misaki writer wouldn’t know. You have no idea how much trouble that company caused back then.”
“I vaguely remember. Ryuhei was really angry.”
“They were unbelievably arrogant with all the things they demanded.”
Of course, he couldn’t openly sabotage them.
That would practically be declaring round two of the fight.
As long as he lightly messed with them within reasonable limits, that would be enough…