NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 164
♪♬♬-!!
Pure dreamy vibes.
When Han Si-woo first said those words, it didn’t quite register.
But the moment I heard the intro, I could feel “pure dreamy” resonate through my whole being.
This ticklish feeling in my chest is pure, and the current part that makes me feel like I’m dreaming is the dreamy aspect.
With a mysterious atmosphere unfolding in the melody, there…
-Are you curious about me?
That teasing guide vocal that tickles the other person… huh?
After hearing the guide vocal in Secret Girl, I jumped and asked Han Si-woo,
“Did Producer Han Si-woo record this guide vocal himself?”
“Ah… yes, that’s right. I rushed the work and didn’t have time to find a female vocal for the guide recording.”
Han Si-woo’s voice is husky, which isn’t suited for such a sweet feminine song.
But…
‘Still, it’s easy to listen to.’
Even with Han Si-woo’s recording, Secret Girl was quite pleasant to listen to.
It wasn’t too flashy, cozy, and enticing enough to pull in fans.
The concept wasn’t excessive, so it could generate even better synergy based on the members’ capabilities.
Especially Lee Hye-jeong and Yoo Seol, who have high vocal stats, looked extremely satisfied.
Even if Han Si-woo sang it, those two with vocal skills definitely could showcase their strengths in this song.
From my perspective, it’s a bit disappointing that it’s not a sexy or dance-centric song…
‘Well, there’s no need for us to compete anymore.’
In terms of team dynamics, this Secret Girl song was very suitable as our rookies’ first song.
It seems I’m not the only one who thought that; when the song ended, the members’ expressions were all good.
“How did everyone like it? Is there anything you want more of?”
When Han Si-woo asked, everyone, including me, responded with beaming smiles.
“No, not lacking at all. It’s so good.”
“It feels like a dream that this is our debut song.”
Especially the longer-practicing members, including Yoo Seol, had euphoric expressions as if they couldn’t believe it was real.
It felt like the hard paths we’ve walked have finally opened into a flower road ahead.
And it was then that Lee Hye-jeong asked Han Si-woo about the future schedules.
“More than that, Producer Han Si-woo, when will our debut song be revealed and released?”
“Ah, you’re asking when the digital music will be released? Let me see…”
Han Si-woo pretended to check his phone for a moment before smiling and saying,
“The title track music video teaser will be released on the 14th, the showcase on the 18th, and we have until the 20th for the music release.”
“…….”
At those words, we could only freeze in shock.
“……What?”
This wasn’t just preparing a stage for Na Ah Ah; it was on a whole different level.
Even if we simply listed what we needed to do…
Song familiarization, recording, dance practice, stage formation knowledge, music video shooting… the list was endless.
And we had to finish all of that in three weeks?
‘…Did I mishear?’
But sadly, it seemed I wasn’t the only one who heard it that way, as other members’ faces began to freeze too.
Seeing our expressions, Han Si-woo and Director Jeong got up with smiles.
“What are you all doing? Not getting up?”
“Let’s hurry and go record.”
“…….”
In that moment, I realized.
What lay ahead wasn’t a flower road but rather…
A thorny path!
Two weeks later.
“Whoa, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon! Where are you off to during duty hours?”
“Hey, you little brat, I’m getting discharged tomorrow. What duty?”
“Ah, heh. Gotcha. So can I stop honoring you now?”
“Today, the Rookies’ new song teaser drops; if you hit that ‘like’ button, you can stop honoring me.”
“Ah, I’ll definitely hit ‘like.’ So, Chang-seon hyung, I’ll see you at the discharge ceremony.”
Saying “see you at the ceremony” meant I was going to throw a mountain of treats at him during the ceremony.
Still, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon had a face full of smiles.
Not just because tomorrow was his discharge day.
But because today was…
“Hehehe, heehee…”
The day the Rookies’ new song teaser was released!
Even though it was just a teaser, not the actual music video or song release, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon was excited just thinking about finally seeing Ha Ye-rin again three weeks after Na Ah Ah ended.
How distressed had Rookies fans been after the Ha Ye-rin tampering incident since Na Ah Ah ended?
But now it was time to ease that distress.
Without having received his phone yet, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon went into the military parlor to watch the Rookies teaser.
Right now, it was 3 PM.
It was still duty time, but nobody could stop a dying sergeant’s fan heart on discharge eve.
“Is it up? Wow… damn, the thumbnail is Ye-rin… so pretty…”
[Rookies ‘Secret Girl’ Official Teaser (First Reveal)]
[Views: 516,235 – 1 hour ago]
Even though it was just a teaser and only an hour had passed, the video views had already surpassed 500,000.
Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon, mesmerized by Ha Ye-rin in a school uniform in the thumbnail, eagerly pressed play.
Click.
[……. ]
The video started, and the first thing that appeared was someone’s back in a school uniform.
Long flowing black hair shining brightly.
Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon instinctively knew it was Ha Ye-rin.
Rustle-
As the scene changed, the backs of other members appeared in sequence.
The Rookies members walked into a building…
[Shuffle.]
Where male and female students in uniforms were chattering noisily. It was school.
‘School? Is the concept student-themed then?’
Not knowing what else to do, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon continued to watch.
The Rookies members were just walking somewhere, their backs to the camera.
And the destination of their walk was a classroom.
Creek.
When the members entered, the noise from the students suddenly died down, as if they were holding their breath.
At that moment, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon finally understood the situation.
‘Transfer student.’
The Rookies members were transfer students in this unknown school.
And as if to affirm his guess,
Swipe, swish.
Like any transfer student rule, the Rookies members began to write their names on the board one by one.
Yoo Seol
Lee Hye-jeong
Seo Yoo-jin
Na Han-na
Park Yoo-jung.
And then….
Swipe-
Ha Ye-rin.
As Ha Ye-rin’s name was being written on the board,
The members, who had only been shown from the back, finally turned around and spoke.
[Hello, my name is….]
The sound of the members announcing their names overlapped…
[Yoo Seol.]
[Lee Hye-jeong.]
[Seo Yoo-jin.]
[Na Han-na.]
[Park Yoo-jung.]
[It’s Ha Ye-rin; nice to meet you.]
The last to introduce herself, Ha Ye-rin, extended her hand with a playful smile.
And….
[Are you curious about me?]
[Then….]
She waved her hand as if to tempt Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon.
[Follow me.]
Boom.
Simultaneously, the screen went black with a blackout effect, and the video ended.
[Secret Girl coming soon.]
“Aaah…!”
After the teaser ended, Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon felt a thrill of excitement surge through him, mixed with a deep sense of regret.
To fill that regret, he started to replay scenes of Ha Ye-rin in the teaser endlessly.
[Follow me.]
“Hah…, huh…”
[Follow me.]
“Of course…, of course…”
If Ha Ye-rin had invited him to join her religion, he would’ve donated all his assets while getting baptized right there.
As Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon lamented the reality that the new song hadn’t been released yet…
He watched the Rookies teaser video like a man possessed.
For three whole days until the evening roll call was over and he had his discharge ceremony.
“Chang-seon~ let’s go home.”
“Hey, where are you?”
“Right after the roll call, he dashed to the military parlor to watch the Rookies teaser.”
“This crazy Ha Ye-rin fan is in trouble.”
The seniors who had been struggling to take care of Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon gathered their weapons—rocks, batons, flags, K2 rifles—and headed to the parlor.
Then…, they arrested Yoo Chang-seon, who was comfortably watching the Rookies teaser.
“Hey, you little brat!”
“Congratulations on your discharge, you little punk!”
“Wait, guys, hang on!”
Thump, thump, bang, bang-!!
“Ahh! Ouch! You bastards! Why did you bring guns! Ouch!”
“With the butt of the gun, you little brat!”
“Thanks for your hard work, brat.”
No special discharge ceremony was needed.
This place was the discharge ceremony venue, with a storm of treats being thrown around.
Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon’s juniors relieved all their pent-up frustrations by beating him up.
“Ugh, I’ve hit ‘like’ constantly on Ha Ye-rin’s fancams because of this brat! Voting for Na Ah Ah every day!”
“I actually liked Yoo Seol, you brat!”
Bang, bang, bang-!!
It was akin to a mob beating.
But amidst all that….
“…Hehehe.”
“This… brat! He’s smiling while getting hit, looking at Ha Ye-rin!”
Sergeant Yoo Chang-seon, not tearing his gaze away from Ha Ye-rin on the computer, yelled out.
“Yeah, you bastards! You rot in the military! I’m going to meet Ye-rin in person!”
“This brat…!”
“Ahh…!! Oww!! But you guys! When the Rookies’ new song comes out, make sure to listen to it at least once! That’s my last request as your senior! Aaaah-!!”
As screams grew louder, the night deepened.
And just as his scream rose, the views of the Secret Girl teaser and the anticipation of Rookies fans soared day by day.
However….
There began to appear an obstacle that would put the brakes on Rookies’ soaring journey….
Boom.
[Python – ‘Poison Heart’ Official Teaser (First Reveal)]
It started to reveal itself.