Entertainment Life With A Camera

Chapter 194

A common patriotic coin.

AWY, breaks through 1.22 million copies in the first week… sets a new personal record

AWY, sells 1.22 million copies in the first week… ranks first in the first week sales of the year ‘unprecedented’

-AWY is amazing, they are unprecedented

-Look at the ranking of the first week sales, so cool

-But what’s the benefit of selling a lot in the first week?

Just trying to get some buzz?

└They have to be number one on the music charts

└And AWY also sells well in the distributionㅇㅇ

***

The members of AWY did not watch ‘Rural Life’ together as it aired.

They had music shows, video fan signs, and face-to-face fan signs, which coincided with the event season and they had to travel to other regions.

Their album sales were still breaking their own records, and they were enjoying the top popularity, so they had to work hard on the event stages.

“Wow, this is really hard.”

“Good job, guys.”

“Is anyone not tired?”

AWY, who had finished the fan sign and event in Busan, dragged their heavy bodies into the van. They had no time to rest for a few months and they were overwhelmed by the work.

“Good job, guys.”

The new manager, Lim Jin-woo, took the wheel. Ian was the last one to enter the van and closed the door.

“Where did you go?”

“I went to the convenience store with the security guard.”

Ian showed the black plastic bag he was holding to the members. The members made strange noises and reached out their hands to the bag in Ian’s hand.

“What did you buy?”

“You didn’t buy any disgusting drinks, did you?”

“No, I didn’t, Jin-woo hyung! Drink this.”

Ian rummaged through the bag and handed a vitamin drink to Lim Jin-woo. It was not only the singers who were tired, but also the managers and staff. Ian had already given drinks to the security guards and staff, and the last one was Lim Jin-woo, who would drive a long distance.

‘The kid has a good sense.’ Lim Jin-woo smiled and looked back at the members before leaving.

“Thank you. You guys know that we have to watch the show tomorrow even if we don’t have a pre-recording, right? Get some sleep, even if it’s just for a while.”

“Yes.”

They had some time to spare because they had already recorded the pre-recording for the music show that they would appear on tomorrow.

The members took the plastic bag that Ian casually threw and drank the drinks that Ian bought.

“It’s past 12 o’clock. We missed ‘Rural Life’.”

“Ah, crap… Today was important.”

“Let’s watch it later when we have time.”

The van started to head to Seoul, and the members spent the next day in the van.

They could have watched the clip videos that were uploaded on the portal site right away if they wanted to see the show, but they were too exhausted to even look at their phones.

Park Seo-dam and Kim Joo-young had already fallen asleep as soon as they sat in the van.

“What are we going to do about ‘Caden Hurt Show’?”

Ian, who was staring blankly out the window and blinking his eyes tiredly, lifted his head and looked at Lee Joo-hyuk.

“I know, right. We don’t have time to modify the choreography…”

AWY was scheduled to appear on ‘Caden Hurt Show’, but the stage was planned to be pre-recorded, and the talk was to be done in real-time phone call format according to the broadcast time.

The producing of the group was also handed over to Lee Joo-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk, and now they had some say in the stage composition.

It was a stage that would be introduced on an American broadcast, so they had been discussing whether to do a special choreography or remix the song, and they had been thinking hard about the direction of the stage.

“Didn’t the stylist say she would make hanbok?”

Park Jin-hyuk said. Ian frowned slightly.

“But didn’t we wear hanbok too much? I think people will think, ‘Oh, the Korean kids came wearing hanbok again.’”

MIDEA was the first to perform a stage with hanbok and palace as the background, and then other Korean idol groups started to mix Koreanthings into their stages when they appeared on overseas media.

The most common thing was to wear hanbok on the stage or in the music video, as if it was a custom.

[It’s a common patriotic coin. I’m sick of it.]

Jin said indifferently.

‘Patriotism is not a bad thing…’

It should be avoided if it’s excessive, but pride in one’s country is not a bad thing. Besides, there was nothing as buzzworthy as ‘patriotism’ both domestically and internationally. From the perspective of foreigners, it would be new and cool to see something traditional.

And from the perspective of the same Koreans, they would think that those kids came to promote our country with our things, and they would especially get the attention of the middle-aged and older generations.

But.

‘Hanbok? Palace? Don’t people who know them already know them?’

Since MIDEA, the global interest in K-pop has increased, and more than ten Korean idols have appeared on overseas media.

He didn’t like the idea of AWY following the same trend as the others who showed similar things.

‘People want something new…’

Lee Joo-hyuk voiced Ian’s thoughts.

“It might look a bit… stale.”

Of course, it would be a lot of buzz in Korea, but surprisingly, Korean culture was well-known overseas through K-pop.

‘Rather than being a typical Korean idol, I want to make a name for ourselves as a group…’

What Ian wanted was something else that was new and would make people curious enough to search for AWY after seeing their stage.

“Jin-woo hyung, is our ‘Caden Hurt Show’ stage an outdoor stage?”

“Uh, they said they’re talking to the Seoul City…”

“Do you know where the candidates are?”

Lim Jin-woo tapped the steering wheel with his index finger and recited the places that were candidates.

“Uh… City Hall Plaza, Gwanghwamun Plaza, Sebit Island, Changdeokgung Palace…”

Ian raised one eyebrow at one of the sections.

‘To do something familiar, or to take a risk…’

***

-AWY, what schedule do you have?

I saw AWY in front of the Independence Gate on the bus going home

└?

└ㄴㅇㅈㄱㅆ

-I brought the proof as you asked me to

Is this really AWY?

└ㅎㄹ

└이왜진

The AWY members in the photo were wearing outfits that did not match the weather that was still hot. Long coats, ties, vests and pants, and even berets that were commonly called bread hats.

The background behind them made the outfits look special.

The outdoor stage that AWY would show on ‘Caden Hurt Show’ was right in front of the Independence Gate.

-What schedule do they have?

It doesn’t show up on the official schedule, so I wonder what they’re doing

└Maybe it’s related to the Liberation Day that’s coming soon?

└Hey, delete your comment, it’s forbidden to consume their private schedule

└Anyway, we have another spoiler? ㄷㄱㄷㄱ

└I’m in Gwanghwamun right now, can I see them if I take a taxi?

The fandom atmosphere was avoiding the airport work sightings, but there were so many fans that it was not all followed.

-I’m nearby, I’m going to the Independence Gate by taxi

Now I’m not a bad fan anymoreㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Are you crazy? You’re doing fan behavior openly

└(This comment has been deleted.)

As the sightings of AWY at the Independence Gate spread through SNS, the quick fans were already heading to where AWY was.

“Damn, it’s already on SNS… Fans will flock, so let’s finish the recording quickly and go.”

Park Dong-soo was talking to the Seoul City official who came to watch the scene. He had a dark tan from his honeymoon with Seo Su-ryeon.

“Guys! Are you ready?”

“Just a moment!”

Ian whined as he put on leather gloves. He took the mic that Kim Myung-jin handed him and stood in front of the camera. Fortunately, the sound equipment was already set up before AWY came.

“We’re starting the recording!”

The members found their positions and looked nervous as they fiddled with their mics. The light came on the camera, and the AR of their comeback song ‘Blue hour’ started.

“Independence Gate, nice. It has symbolism. And it’s similar to the Arc de Triomphe, so it will arouse curiosity.”

“I’m reminded of when they were on ‘With the Legend’ by looking at their outfits.”

“You watched that too?”

“Of course, Teacher Kim Hee-sang was on it.”

The manager, Park Dong-soo and Kim Myung-jin watched the stage with their arms crossed and whispered.

The concept of the independence fighters that Ian suggested and proceeded with was the second time since the March 1st Movement stage with Kim Hee-sang.

The only difference was that the stage with Kim Hee-sang was a domestic program, and now it was a more global stage on an American talk show.

“Ah, that was good.”

The kids were much more skilled than then. Park Dong-soo, who was reminiscing about ‘With the Legend’, heard Kim Myung-jin’s worried voice in his ear.

“But this stage, it will cause some trouble in the neighboring country, right?”

Park Dong-soo swallowed his breath and frowned slightly. What’s wrong with showing the historical facts as they are?

“Well, those right-wingers over there will make a fuss.”

“I’m surprised that the CEO agreed. The CEO likes things without controversy.”

It was better to have no controversy at all, but he could already see the controversy brewing.

There were cases where they made a name for themselves through controversy, but the CEO, Lee Byung-hun, preferred stability.

“He looked like he had a lot on his mind.”

“What, did he watch ‘Rural Life’?”

Awy finished their first stage, wiped their sweat, fixed their hair and makeup, and went straight to the camera for the second stage.

People started to gather around. More security guards than usual were busy keeping the people who were taking pictures with their cameras away.

“I didn’t expect him to have such thoughts, even with this level of popularity.”

I thought that having the popularity and career of Awy’s level would make everything happy. He had a lot of fans, money in his bank account, and the best career since his debut.

“They’re all talented…”

From Kim Myung-jin’s perspective, he thought that none of the seven members on stage right now were lacking.

Park Dong-soo also understood Kim Myung-jin’s feelings. But people are not all the same, are they?

“It depends on the person’s personality. Ju-young is very sensitive, too.”

People who seem to live well in the eyes of others may have different problems.

“Besides, it’s annoying to have someone who’s better than me among my same-age friends.”

“I know, I had that experience in my school days, too.”

“Really?”

And the person he was comparing himself to was Choi Ian. He couldn’t even guess how much he was thinking.

Park Dong-soo looked up at the sky.

“The weather is nice, so the stage will look good, too.”

“Yeah.”

As the sun set, the highlight section of the song came and the street lights turned on.

“Wow.”

Anyway, performing in front of the Independence Gate wouldn’t have much impact on the Japanese side.

Rather, people’s interest in why they did this stage would increase, not decrease.

“Don’t worry about the neighboring country. People who are going to come to the tour won’t stop coming because of this stage. They have a lot of fans there, too.”

The second stage was over before they knew it. The members who monitored the stage bowed their waists at the director’s OK sign.

“Good job!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

It was almost a reflex.

As the members approached the manager, the fans who were gathered around screamed.

“Kyaaa!”

“Guys!”

As the security guards moved busily to block the fans, Kim Myungjin opened the door of the van and put the members in the car.

“Let’s get out of here before the complaints come in. Change your clothes at the hotel.”

“Yes. We don’t have any schedule after this, right?”

“No.”

Ian’s eyes sparkled. He finally had time to watch ‘Rural Life’, which he hadn’t seen for a while.