GIJS

Chapter 81 Teaser War

After the end of the national audition [Idol Training Simulation] Season 2.

The once captive Gunja finally realized the joy of eating.

It all started with chocolate. Thanks to Han Hyun-jae, he discovered the exquisite snack chocolate from Cheonhwa Ilmi. Although he only found out after the audition ended, there was an incredible variety of chocolates in the world.

Slightly darker and more bitter ones, soft and milk-flavored ones, those wrapped in nuts, those containing crispy snacks...

Crunch, crunch-.

No matter what type of chocolate it was, it was delicious. Even on busy days, he never forgot to fill his pockets with chocolate.

"Mmm, so sweet."

"Seonbi, if you keep this up, you'll gain weight."

"I know. I'll restrain myself properly."

Though he said so, it wasn't easy. Moreover, things worsened after he started cooking. Gunja's exceptional cooking skills were part of the problem.

"Let me check the seasoning... Oh wow—!?"

He had often ended up devouring the food when just planning to taste the seasoning.

"Haha, there were so many delicious things in the world!"

One day, living without a moment of boredom, Gunja suddenly checked his belly in the shower and almost shouted.

Where had the eight-pack abs from the third round of the competition gone?

W-where did this soft, cute baby belly come from?

Before he could address the situation, a meeting with 'Quasar' was scheduled. Without a chance to explain, he had to reveal his baby belly. The members' expressions upon seeing it were quite complicated.

"Argh, I told you to eat less chocolate!"

"Well, sneezing does temporarily make it come back..."

Making excuses with a faltering voice, Gunja tried to demonstrate by lightly coughing. As his abdominal pressure increased momentarily, his abs briefly reappeared before disappearing again.

"Yeah, it does retain some form."

"Right?"

"Yeah, right. Are you going to sneeze all through the performance?"

"...Well..."

Under Taewoong's scolding, Gunja hung his head.

Of course, it wasn't that he had to expose himself just because of the sexy concept. However, Gunja's well-toned body had also been a weapon.

The new song's 'playful and sexy Seonbi' concept had encountered a major obstacle in the form of his soft belly.

"...What to do about this..."

"If you practice the dance hard, it might get better."

"That's too risky, isn't it?"

"True..."

The members who were having this conversation all looked at Gunja simultaneously.

"Gunja, do you think you can do it?"

"Can you get that soft belly back into shape?"

Looking at the 'Return to Hell Teacher A-Rong' status message, Gunja, with a sad face, replied.

"Hmm... I was actually planning to do just that..."

The steps to meet the demon teacher A-Rong were heavy. The 'gym,' which was like a place of torture, was crawling with masochists today as well.

"Ugh—."

"Ah, I'm dying!"

"Even if you die, you must keep your triceps! One more! Push—!"

"Uaaaaah—."

The teacher A-Rong, who Gunja met after a long time, still looked solid and robust. He patted Gunja's soft belly and muttered sentences that resembled a psychopathic murder prediction.

"Hehe, cute, huh? I'll burn it all off soon~"

Though Gunja's bones shivered, there was no other choice. This must be the end for those who have lost self-control. Gunja took his position on the torture device with a gloomy expression.

"Please kill me..."

"Oh, shall we?"

* * *

Two weeks later.

The new song's lyrics were completed, and the choreography for 'Quasar' was also finalized.

The music video production team 'Visualize' had quickly secured locations and drawn up a storyboard.

Now, all that was left was to check Gunja's physical condition.

"Alright, the Seonbi abs have returned."

"Wow-."

Unlike before, Gunja confidently lifted his clothes. Where there had been a white and cute belly, there were now eight firm abs.

"Wow, hyung! Where did that cute fat belly go? It's all gone!"

"I guess it must have been tough, huh?"

"I thought I was going to die."

Recalling the hellish training of the past two weeks made him nauseous. But the results were undeniable. Most of the body fat, especially around the abdomen, had vanished, revealing the abs once again. Moreover, as a reward for completing the special mission, he received an additional reward.

[Special Mission 'Retrieve the Two Seonbi Abs' completed.] [Reward granted.] [Reward: Metabolism that annoys others] [You will have a metabolism that doesn't gain weight easily.]
For the two weeks of hardship, this was a pretty good reward.

In any case, the new choreography created by 'Quasar' was well-received by the 7IN members.

Of course, there were some slightly embarrassing moves included, but since it was approved by the higher-ups, Gunja had no right to refuse.

The music video shoot started at a large set in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and continued to a quaint Hanok village.

Director Kwon Yu-hyeon of 'Visualize,' with some concern, began the shoot.

The locations were great, the storyboard was well-prepared, the choreography was sexy, and even the song was perfect.

Everything was good, but he was slightly worried about the minor exposure.

He had heard that a member named Yu Gunja had a strong sense of Seonbi. Such people often have an aversion to excessive exposure.

In a music video, if a member's expression is not good, it's impossible to get a good shot.

Even shots that might be overlooked in a drama are unacceptable in a music video. Every shot must be as meticulously crafted as an art film.

If Gunja was making a sulky face like 'I don't like exposure...,' it would result in a poor outcome.

To complete the shoot according to the set storyboard, it was essential to manage this Seonbi well.

Determined, Director Kwon Yu-hyeon sat in front of the monitor on the set. However, as soon as the exposure scenes were over, Gunja ran up to him.

"Ah..."

Seeing Gunja running towards him, Director Kwon Yu-hyeon immediately had a hunch. He was clearly trying to make some sort of appeal.

Having worked with many idols before, Kwon Yu-hyeon knew that idols are extremely sensitive about their appearance in music videos.

It's only natural. If done right, music videos can garner millions or even billions of views. It's only natural to want to look good in a video that will be preserved for a lifetime.

However, making demands that deviate from the storyboard is a bit troublesome.

For example, if a member were to ask, "My right side looks better, so could we mirror the set horizontally?" or "If we shoot full-body, it looks short, can we do a tight shot instead?"

Yu Gunja was probably trying to address the issue of exposure. While it might be necessary to have some degree of exposure for this particular shot to get the right feel, convincing them might be challenging...

"Director."

"Yes?"

"Is my body looking good?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Are my abs visible?"

"Uh, it's not really a shot that shows that much..."

"Is that so? Then how about we make it a bit more revealing?"

"Eh?"

"Like this? Or like this?"

As Yu Gunja tried various ways to reveal more of his clothing, Director Kwon Yu-hyeon realized his concerns were unfounded.

"...You're more lenient about exposure than I expected."

"Ha ha, I had 'senbi' (scholar) written on me, not 'seong sam' (three)."

"?"

Director Kwon Yu-hyeon tilted his head in confusion, but Yu Gunja looked pleased.

"Then let's go with this revealing approach."

"Ah, that's even better."

"Great! Director, fighting!"

"Yes, fighting."

Although his soft, baby-like belly was embarrassing, there was no reason for Yu Gunja to be shy about his well-defined abs.

Thus, the shooting for the title tracks' music videos and teaser videos went smoothly.

Since music videos take longer to edit and finalize, the teaser video, which was completed relatively quickly, was delivered first.

Team leader Seo Eun-woo, manager Lee Yong-jung, and the 7IN managing team members, along with the 7IN members, gathered in the meeting room to watch the teaser video.

Members in modernly reformed, see-through black hanbok, performing a group dance.

"Ha ha, look at Woon-gi's serious expression."

"What? I received a lot of compliments."

"Oh, is that so?"

As the close-up shots of the serious members passed, there were also bursts of laughter. However, the video was undeniably well-made.

The editing skills were impressive, creating suspense by cutting off at the most crucial moments to pique fans' curiosity.

And the teaser ended with a brief glimpse of the key "clothing ribbon dance" scene.

As soon as the video ended, the meeting room filled with cheers and applause. Even Seo Eun-woo, who had seen the rough cut, was excited about how well the teaser turned out.

"We'll upload it in three days."

"Wow."

"Team leader, when will the Favorite teaser be up?"

"It will probably be released on the same day as ours."

Since their comeback timing was similar, the teaser video release dates were also the same. However, Curly Music didn't seem to be playing fair again.

The day after Yu Gunja and the members saw the teaser video, the Favorite teaser, which was scheduled for release two days later, was published early.

Given that Favorite had a strong international fanbase, the teaser video quickly gained views on YouTube.

Manager Lee Yong-jung scratched his head, unable to understand Curly Music's irregular tactics.

"Team leader, why are they doing this?"

"Probably to increase their view count."

"Teaser views?"

"YouTube views tend to spike explosively in the first three days after uploading. By releasing their video two days earlier than us, they calculated that their views would be higher."

"What's the point? They're just getting early views."

"Yes, it's a foolish move."

"Do they really want to win so badly?"

Despite Curly Music's unconventional tactics, Team Leader Seo Eun-woo remained calm and unconcerned.

"Well, we don't know if they can surpass our views with that strategy."

On the second day after the Favorite teaser video upload, its views had soared to 1.6 million.

Considering that teaser videos are primarily consumed by fanbases rather than the general public, 1.6 million views in two days was quite impressive.

And that evening at 6 PM, 7IN's first teaser video for the new song [Origin] was finally released to the public.

As soon as the video was published, the views of the 7IN teaser video began to rise at a terrifying pace.