"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."
"Yes. What are you doing, hyung?"
I asked Oh Rion and Park Jitae, using a gentle voice that I don't normally use. Park Jitae answered, caught off-guard, unable to hide his dumbfounded expression. Oh Rion, on the other hand, was as indifferent as usual.
"Suan is filming the behind-the-scenes right now. I heard that it will be uploaded onto NoTube when the music video is released."
"Ah, hello. I'm Jitae."
"Hello, I'm Oh Rion."
Having understood the situation after Seo Yoon-hyung's short explanation, Park Jitae and Oh Rion finally faced the camera and said their greetings.
"Jitae is our main rapper. Rion is the youngest member along with Sunho. Both of them are quite handsome, aren't they?"
"Yes. It looks almost unrealistic when the three of you stand beside each other."
Well, it's true that they're good-looking.
I nodded at Seo Yoon-hyung's question and left a remark of agreement.
"Hey, that's so cringy."
"Thank you."
"Pfft. You're handsome too, Suan."
Seo Yoon-hyung chuckled and answered as he watched Park Jitae rub his own arms as if to stop his skin from crawling. Oh Rion seemed flustered by my reply; even as he thanked me, his ears were flushed red.
"Yes, unrealistic replies to top it all off. All of your costumes are quite dark today. What's the theme?"
"Do I need to say it? I'm not good at this kind of thing."
"Seo Yoon-hyung, you can do it for us."
After hearing Park Jitae's unconfident answer, I turned to Seo Yoon-hyung without hesitation.
"Since our shybies won't do it, I'll explain. We will be acting as devils in our debut song, 'Demonische'! That's why everyone's wearing black clothes. I have a uniform on, and these chains symbolise restraint. Mr. Jitae here just has a black shirt on, but I see a blue rose embroidered on his chest. Mr. Oh Rion, is that a black hooded cape?"
It was quite like Seo Yoon-hyung to explain the costumes that will be worn in the music video and stir up the curiosity by summarising the song's overall mood and setting. His tone was still warm, but his explanations were snappy and easy to understand.
"Yes. Underneath the came, I'm also wearing a black cape. I also have a silver dagger brooch pinned to my collar."
"I see. I think it would be fun to try and analyse what it means while watching the music video!"
"Why are you the only one wearing pyjamas?"
"Hmm? I wonder as well. Why pyjamas?"
I returned Park Jitae's question as I tilted my head. Weren't I also going to be acting as a devil? What's happening? Maybe I should've actually read the theme script properly…
"Mr. Jitae, I heard that Suan will be the protagonist of our music video. Oh, our youngest child seems to have been captured by Chief over there."
What? That's kind of news to me.
My body flinched in surprise when I heard the words that came out of Seo Yoon-hyung's mouth. I was hearing this for the first time, and I had no idea what he was talking about.
What the heck is this? Are they trying to fuck me over twice?
"Hyungs, Rion! You gotta come over here to film!"
Ryu Sunho shouted from afar. The members turned to the camera that I was holding and opened their mouths to quickly say goodbye.
"Our youngest kid is crying out for us. I think it's time for us to go and record. Please give love to our debut song, 'Demonische'!"
"Bye-bye."
"See you next time. Lee Suan, let's go!"
"Mmh. Please show your support to iridescent. This was Lee Suan speaking."
I pressed the pause button on the camera that I was holding and ran towards where the director, Chief, and Ryu Sunho were standing.
It was finally the last take for our music video. The last take took place in the filming set, which began in a studio with a single bed in the middle of a dark room.
"First, we'll film the part where Mr. Suan lies down on the bed and falls asleep. Fall back as if you're collapsing, and look at the camera as you lie down and close your eyes."
I nodded and carefully listened to the director's instructions.
"Yes."
"Let's get right into it."
Cue! When I received the signal, I collapsed onto the bed and looked at the camera as I closed my eyes.
"Cut. Let's try that again. Try to look exhausted when you're looking at the camera."
Dissatisfied with the initial take, the director added an instruction.
"Yes."
Look exhausted? Hahh… I want to retire…
All I needed to do was to recall the past and deny my present situation.
"Cut! That expression was amazing. You're very good, Mr. Suan! Now we'll film the part where you wake up. You'll have your mask on as you wake up, and there will be invisible devils next to your bed."
It was as if he was reinforcing the fact that I was indeed dreaming. Who in the world could call this amazing, when I was thinking something that was definitely untimely as I filmed that scene?
"Yes. Is this mask the one?"
"Put it on, and we'll go from the part where you lie down again and wake up."
I put the mask on and lay on the bed. I opened my eyes and stared at the camera as I sat up. A silver chain and a pocket watch was scattered next to the bed. In my pyjama pockets was a blue rose, and in my hand was a small silver dagger. I blankly stared at them for a good moment.
"Cut, that's good! Now, the devils of iridescent will stand around the bed and playfully smile at Mr. Suan. Devils, are you ready?"
The director turned to face the members as he instructed a cut.
""""Yes.""""
The members answered in a loud voice and swiftly surrounded me.
"You can tease, or you can just sit and stare at him. Let's do this."
I sat on the bed with my mask on. Just then, Ryu Sunho hugged my neck from behind, and Seo Yoon-hyung sat right beside me and stroked my hair. On my other side, Oh Rion smiled ever-so-slightly while grabbing my wrist, and Park Jitae was lying down with his head on my lap, staring at me as he reached out to take my mask off.
"Cut. Did you guys learn to act somewhere? It doesn't feel like you're all doing this for the first time. It seems like I can look forward to the finished music video."
The director complimented us and smiled generously. The members each opened their mouth to respond to his kindness.
"Thank you."
"Really? We'll look cool, right?"
"Great work today, Director. Thank you."
"Thank you for working with us."
Only after I saw the members bowing their torso to thank the director did I finally remember to thank him myself. I carefully added,
"Thank you, Director. See… um… I seem to have a lot of screen time. Please, please let the other members take the spotlight."
Please…
"Don't worry about the music video! Good work, all."
"""""Good work."""""
"I hope that you don't forget what you felt the first time, and continue to do your best the next time I see you."
"""""Yes, thank you."""""
Good work; you did well; I hope it goes well for you. Many words of blessing poured out, and we responded to each one of them with thank yous and good works. We left the film set and got onto the van.
I dragged my exhausted body and sat in the very back corner of the van. I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes. I felt a slight vibration of the seat as somebody sat next to me. When I squinted my eye open, I saw three heads in front of me: black, grapefruit, red.
I don't see a grey head… I guess it's Park Jitae sitting next to me, then.
"Good work, all of you. We're going to be heading straight to your residence, so you can sleep for a bit until we get there. We've already moved your belongings, so you can choose your rooms, unpack your stuff, and sleep when you get there."
""""Yes.""""
That's right. Let's sleep.
Listening to the members' voices as they replied to Chief, I leaned my face against the seatbelt and closed my eyes once again.
"Good work today."
"Yes, yes. We'll be leaving now, so sleep a little."
"Gah, I'm exhausted. Good work, everyone."
"Good work to you, too. You all did great today."
"Good work."
"Are you guys having trouble falling asleep? He's sleeping. Let's be quiet."
"Huh? Is Suan-hyung sleeping?"
"Yes."
"Yeah, everyone must be tired. Let's all speak a little softer."
"I said I'm sleeping. You should sleep, too."
"Jitae-hyung must be happy. I wanted to sit next to Suan-hyung too… Next time, I wanna sit next to Suan-hyung!"
"Sure. If you can, that is."
"Then I guess I'll be sitting next to Suan, hmm?"
"Yoon-hyung, why are you pitching in?!"
"Hmm…"
"Hmph. Suan-hyung seems to have changed a lot these days. He used to be so cold, that I couldn't even talk to him. These days, I wonder if it was just because he's awkward at expressing himself. I want to be closer to Suan-hyung."
"That's true. I've spent 4 years with Suan as a practising candidate, and I was always a little uncomfortable because he never spoke. So I feel really bad… He must've watched us for a long time, to the point where he was able to talk about our strengths right away. He seems to find it quite difficult to express himself. Maybe it's because I finally came to a realisation, but he seems cuter these days. See, our two youngest kids are basically two beanpoles, so you guys seem less cute."
"You might not know this, hyung, but I heard from Producer-hyung that when Suan-hyung was confirmed to be in our debut group at the end of last year, he insisted that he write the contract first in case the president turned over our debut."
"He's the one who has to take the blow, yet he just lets it go and says that everything's fine. It bothers me. He's like an idiot."
I'm not asleep yet. If I said that, I knew I would attract attention. They're misunderstanding quite a bit…
"Ah, Yoon-hyung! I totally agree! Suan-hyung is so cute. Even during the choreography, he fits right in my arms. His face feels like mochi, and I kinda want to try nibbling on it just once!"
"Oh, I don't think Suan would like that if he hears it."
"Eh, do you think so, after all?"
"He'd hate it for sure."
"That's true. He's short and thin, so he kind of looks like a girl."
Excuse me, guys. I'm not asleep, y'know?
—cough!
They should realise that I'm awake if I do this.
"Did Lee Suan catch a cold? Isn't it because he was filming in the rain just now? Oi, are you cold or sick?"
"Suan, are you okay? You don't seem to have a fever… He might catch a cold when he goes back to the residence and wakes up tomorrow. Chief, let's stop by the pharmacy near our residence and buy a cold medicine."
"I already left an emergency medicine stash in your residence. Give him one of those when you get back and let him sleep."
"Are you okay, hyung?"
"Hyunggg, are you sick? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
I opened my eyes and shook my head.
"I'm fine. I'm not sick. I just let out a dry cough because something irritated my throat."
"Don't be sick anywhere. You already look so fragile as you are, and it bothers me."
Everyone turned around to face me and fretted, asking me if I was sick and telling me to take some medicine.
"I'm really alright. I won't catch a cold. I'm just feeling tired today."
"Hyung, please tell us right away if you feel sick."
"Yes, Suan. Don't hold it in and tell us, okay?"
"Hyuuuung, don't be sick. I'm worried… When we arrive, I'll give you a piggyback ride to our residence!"
"Chief, how much longer would it take?"
"20 minutes, maybe?"
"Yes. Hey, lean on me and get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there."
I told you, I'm not sick. They really won't trust what people say. Do what you want. Can't I even let out a cough without feeling uncomfortable?