"Hurry up and shower."
"W-What are you doing?!"
I yelled, surprised at Park Jitae's sudden touch. I bit my lips and stared at him, unable to hide my bewilderment.
"Go shower. Oh Rion's done, and you must be feeling gross, too."
Park Jitae didn't seem to mind my shock as he replied nonchalantly. Looking at him talk to me as if nothing happened, the palpitations of my heart gradually subsided.
"I was waiting to go in when everybody comes out."
"By the time you take off your clothes and go in, Seo Yoon-hyung and Ryu Sunho would probably be done. They're the fastest at showering out of all of us."
Park Jitae unrolled the towel that he was using to dry his hair with and placed it on my head. He reached out and carefully dried the sweat off my hair.
"If you're gonna wait before going in, at least wipe your sweat. You're gonna catch a cold when your body starts to cool down."
Park Jitae said, his voice bearing worry and tenderness.
"What are you two doing here, hyung?"
Oh Rion asked as he opened and walked out of the door to the showers, tilting his head as he eyed us. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was doubtful.
"You went in with me to shower, and you're only coming out now?"
Park Jitae seemed to affectionately rebuke him on purpose in order to seem as if nothing was the matter and to keep a straight face.
"Yes, and I see that you haven't gone down to the dance studio after leaving first."
"It kinda bothered me that he was out here by himself. You can head over first."
Park Jitae glanced at me as he replied to Oh Rion, and lightly brushed Oh Rion's shoulder as he leaned on the door. Then, he gently pushed Oh Rion, using barely any force.
"I'll stay with you two, then."
Oh Rion shook his head in negation, claiming his spot as he stiffened his legs despite Park Jitae's push.
"Chief is waiting. You should go first."
Park Jitae's brows creased as he scowled. He seemed to be applying more force in the hand that he was using to push Oh Rion. Looking at Oh Rion keep his post despite Park Jitae's efforts, I felt somewhat anxious and had a premonition that something tiresome was about to happen.
"I'll stay with Suan-hyung. You can go first, hyung."
I don't need either of you to stay.
I frowned at their conversation that resembled a meaningless quarrel.
Unable to just stay back and watch Park Jitae and Oh Rion, I said,
"Both of you can go back to the dance studio."
You're annoying me.
"Hyunggg, go in and shower!"
"Suan, you're going to be cold. Go and take your shower!"
Just as Park Jitae's and Oh Rion's attention was about to get annoying, Seo Yoon-hyung and Ryu Sunho stepped out of the showers. I was relieved when the two quickly reached out to talk to me. I suddenly felt fond of them as they rescued me from this sticky situation. No, in that moment, Ryu Sunho and Seo Yoon-hyung almost seemed like angels who had descended from heaven.
"I'm gonna go shower. You can have your towel back."
I half-threw the towel at Park Jitae and quickly walked into the shower room.
I felt exhausted. Each day that passed felt tiring. The contrast between reality and this dream that I wouldn't wake up from even after days gradually ate into me.
Will I be able to bear this until I wake up?
Quite a lot of people were present in the scene of the music video recording.
"""""Hello, we're the members of iridescent."""""
Greetings spilled out from our surroundings: nice to meet you; let's all do our best today. Among the bustling people, an older middle-aged man approached us and let out a chuckle.
"I'm Choi Daeho, and I'm in charge of recording the music video today. I heard that this will be your first debut. It's good to hear such an energetic greeting."
The director smiled warmly as he gazed at us. As the members stared back, they bowed their torso and greeted him once more.
"Nice to meet you, director. My name is Seo Yoon, the leader of iridescent. We'll do our best so as to not stand in the way of everyone else. We'll be in your care today."
Seo Yoon-hyung was the first to offer his words of greeting to the director. He was calm and sensible, his manner of speech as gentle as always.
"Director! I'm Sunho, and I'm in charge of iridescent's choreography. Thanks for todayyy. You gotta make us look cool in the video!"
Ryu Sunho stretched out the ends of his words and said in his usual cheery voice. The director showed a generous smile, as if he were looking at his own son.
"My name is Jitae. I'm the main rapper of iridescent. We'll be in your care today."
Unlike his usual surly self, Park Jitae politely bowed his torso and greeted the director.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Oh Rion. We'll be in your care."
Oh Rion, as blunt as he is, left a greeting that was straight to the point. I watched him for a moment before turning to the director to speak.
"Nice to meet you, director. I'm Lee Suan, the supporting vocal of iridescent. It's alright if I don't get much screen time, so please let our other members shine for as long as possible. We'll be in your care."
With all my heart, I relayed the objective and direction of my desire along with the greeting.
I hope I don't get caught on screen a lot.
I'll only be overshadowed when the other members shine.
"Haha, I like that I can see iridescent take care of each other unlike other newbies these days. I'll make today's recording my best one to date, so you can count on me."
"""""Thank you very much!"""""
"You guys! Hurry over and get ready!"
Chief shouted from afar.
"Go quick and come back when you're prepared."
"""""Yes!"""""
We bowed to the director once again and ran towards the chief, who was still yelling at us to sprint over.
"Jitae and Rion, we're going get some colour in your hair, so go sit in the hair studio. Yoon, Suan, and Sunho, you'll have your makeups done first. Sit over there."
"""""Yes."""""
The makeup studio was quite spacious with three chairs placed in front of a large vanity. Three unfamiliar women were organising the cosmetic products. We walked towards the chairs and greeted them.
"""Hello, we're members of iridescent. We'll be in your care today."""
We were fairly in sync, considering that we had hastily come up with our greeting in the car on the way to the filming location. They replied, I look forward to working with you, and spared their breaths as they sat us down and quickly applied makeup on our faces.
They seemed to be in a rush, as three more people entered the room and simultaneously worked on our hair and makeup. Having to sit still for a long time with my eyes closed, sleep started to nibble on my conscience.
"Suan, they just said that we're done."
I opened my eyes to face Seo Yoon-hyung, who was talking to me while shaking my shoulder. His bangs that uniformly covered his forehead was put up, and his hair was split lopsidedly.
Perhaps due to his pitch-black hair and makeup, he had turned to take a cold and indifferent look unlike his usual self.
Whoa, it looks good on him. Did Ryu Sunho change like that, too?
I turned my head to the side and saw that his puppy-like eyes that drooped at either ends were altered to seem like those of a cat, and his reddish-black hair was now wavy.
I stared into the mirror and at myself. I had kept my light brown hair, my bangs down like normal. I seemed a little lazy.
I don't think I changed that much. Is there anything different from before?
"Hyung, what about Oh Rion and Park Jitae?"
"I wonder… I think they'd be almost done by now. Do you want to visit them?"
"Yeah. I'm curious as to how they would've changed."
"Pfft, alright. Let's go see how they've transformed."
Ryu Sunho seemed to be asleep, considering the fact that he hadn't even flinched as we talked. Seo Yoon-hyung and I were about to leave the room by ourselves, and we would have been gone if it weren't for the fashion coordinators who stopped us.
"You guys have to change into your costumes! Where are you going?"
"Come over here and get changed."
"Yoon, you'll be wearing a black uniform and silver chains as an eye-attractor."
"Suan, go change into pyjamas!"
Why do I have to wear pyjamas? I didn't think there were anything in the lyrics that suggested pyjamas. I pouted, picked up the clothes, and walked over to the portable changing room.
When I returned to the room after changing into pyjamas, Ryu Sunho was talking to himself with a small camcorder in his hands.
"Oh, it's Suan-hyung!"
"Yeah. What's that?"
"Chief said that she'll upload a behind-the-scenes video on NoTube when our music video is released!"
Ah, he was recording a self-video.
I nodded and silently accepted Ryu Sunho's reply.
"Suan-hyung, say hi!"
He suddenly turned the camera towards my face and urged me on.
"Hello. I'm Lee Suan, the supporting vocal of iridescent."
I had no choice but to speak to the camera with a faint smile hanging from my lips.
"Yay, that's our Suan-hyung! Ah, I see Yoon-hyung. Yoon-hyung over there is our leader. Hyung! Look here and say hello!"
"Hello, I'm the oldest of iridescent, Seo Yoon. I see that our baby member has been playing around without even changing into his costume."
"Huh? Hyung, I'm filming the behind-the-scenes video!"
"Right, right. So go change and come back. You can give me the camera."
"Aww, can't I film just for a little longer?"
"No, you may not. Mr. Baby may go change into his costume."
"Nnh… I'll go change quickly, guys. Meanwhile, the two of them will be hard at work filming everything. See you later!"
After the final goodbye at the camera, Seo Yoon-hyung took the camera from Ryu Sunho and sent him away to change.
"Suan, let's go see how Jitae and Rion are doing."
"Can I take the video?"
Wouldn't my face be off the screen if I hold the camera?
"This? Of course you may. But you have to tell me right away if you want to do something else! Suan, you can be a little more selfish. Don't just give everything up for others, okay?"
"Yes, I will. How do I control this?"
I asked Seo Yoon-hyung, turning and observing the camera in my hands.
"Um, I think this is the pause button. I assume that it'll turn off when you hold it. I think that's all you need to be aware about."
Hmm, self-videos are kind of tricky.
After briefly taking a look at the camera, Seo Yoon-hyung warmly explained how to operate the camera.
"I see… Then here, Mr. Seo Yoon, how do you feel now that we'll be filming our music video today?"
"I feel like I must work hard. I'm a little bit worried, since this will be my first time acting."
"You'll do great, Mr. Seo Yoon. I see Mr. Jitae and Mr. Oh Rion over there. The one with the grey hair is Mr. Jitae, our main rapper, and the one with the grapefruit-coloured hair is Mr. Oh Rion, our lead vocal."
"Hm? Oh, you're right. They've all changed, too."
Talking to Seo Yoon-hyung as if we're interviewing on camera, we approached Park Jitae and Oh Rion who were already ready.
"Mr. Jitae, Mr. Oh Rion. Are you all ready for the recording?"
"Huh? Hey, what's up with the whole Mr. thing? I'm getting goosebumps here."