Chapter 417 |
Side Story (34)
With the release of Prism’s new album, their busy schedule has kicked off once again.
Since this was a promotional period for that Prism, they were naturally plunged into a hectic daily routine where properly eating and sleeping became an afterthought. Still, handling packed schedules was nothing new for the members, so everyone seemed to adjust to the chaotic lifestyle in no time.
[PRISM Full Group Returns, manners maketh man Tops the Charts] [Legendary Idol Group PRISM Announces Upcoming World Tour] [PRISM’s manners maketh man Reaches #1 on YouTube Trending Music]
Starting yesterday, something about Jo Inchan had seemed off.
Maybe he had lost his appetite, because he barely touched his food. When someone worriedly asked why he couldn’t eat properly, he flinched and hurriedly stuffed rice into his mouth.
‘He’s also been breaking out in cold sweats in his sleep these past few days…….’
‘Is it because overseas food doesn’t suit him? Or maybe he still hasn’t adjusted to the time difference?’
Seo Yutae was clearly quite worried about Jo Inchan’s behavior, as he kept constantly checking up on him.
‘It’s not like this is our first or second time promoting abroad, and considering he was fine in the past, I don’t think that’s the issue…….’
However, every schedule they already had lined up was extremely important, and since Jo Inchan stubbornly insisted he was fine, they decided to keep monitoring the situation while having him take medicine for the time being.
Then, during an appearance on an American late-night talk show, a problem occurred.
[“Fans all over the world have been eagerly counting down the days for your comeback! Ah, it’s finally here! To be honest, my daughter is a huge fan of Prism. She kept whining, ‘What if Prism never makes a comeback?’ and calming her down was seriously exhausting. My goodness, why are K-pop groups taking longer and longer to make a comeback these days?”]
[“Naturally, as idol groups gain more seniority, the members start doing more solo work, which makes it harder to clear time for group schedules. That’s usually why group comebacks get pushed back. But I think we were a little different in that regard. I think it was possible because all of the members prioritize Prism above everything else.”]
[“As soon as this album dropped, your incredible performance video went massively viral on short-form platforms! The new title track became especially popular among younger audiences, particularly teenagers. Everyone seems obsessed with PRISM’s new song! Inchan, did you ever expect this kind of response?”]
Partway through the interview, the host directed a question at Jo Inchan, who had spoken the least throughout the filming.
But Jo Inchan blankly stared into space for a moment, seemingly not even realizing his name had been mentioned. As everyone in the studio turned their eyes toward him, the other Prism members subtly tapped the back of his hand at an angle hidden from the cameras.
“…Ah.”
Only after the physical contact did he seem to come back to his senses. Jo Inchan swallowed hard, then calmly answered the host’s question with a nonchalant expression.
[“Every singer fears falling behind trends. And honestly, that’s a very natural feeling. We can’t exist without the public’s love and attention, but nothing changes quite as fast as people’s tastes.”]
[“That’s so true. That’s one of the many hardships celebrities have to overcome.”]
[“When new rookies debut, a generational shift inevitably takes place. That structure has existed in this industry for a very long time. If there’s anything we can do, it’s to constantly pursue change and meet people’s expectations endlessly. I’m proud to say that our leader and the members have both the ability and passion to do that, and I believe we’ve proven it with this album.”]
The audience broke into long applause after his fluent response.
It was that uniquely American-program kind of reaction, where people cheered first whenever someone sounded confident or said something cool.
‘Thank god this is an overseas schedule. If this had happened in Korea, there would already be accusations about him being insincere or unprofessional.’
Judging by the positive atmosphere, everyone seemed to have already forgotten the earlier mistake. They probably assumed the conversation had briefly stalled because of a translation issue and simply brushed it off lightly.
Now that the crisis had passed, Seo Yutae let out a quiet sigh of relief, careful not to let it show.
[“As entertainers get older, there are fewer things that appeal to younger generations, right? When the age gap gets too wide, it becomes harder for kids to relate to them or even look up to them. But with this new song, it felt like you faced that reality head-on and actually turned it into a strength. After all, young people are bound to admire cool adults. Though, of course, the adults will love it just as much.”]
Up until now, Prism had always been a group that focused heavily on tracks with intense choreography and striking visuals. But for this comeback, which broke their long hiatus, they took a completely different yet uniquely fitting direction by choosing the concept of gentlemen.
The styling fully embodied the stereotypical gentleman image: pomaded hair, silver-framed glasses, and classic suits styled flawlessly from head to toe. The music video also frequently featured black-and-white scenes, making it feel just like an old classic film.
[“That kind of concept is definitely difficult for younger rookie idols to pull off. After all, you need to properly portray the charm of grown men. And if you ask me, our Prism members seem very well prepared physically, haha!]
[“Hahahaha!”]
[“Seriously, what exactly did you do to your bodies? Especially you, Yutae-ssi.”] [“Working out. There’s really no secret other than working out.”]
The choreography was inspired by the slick movements of a gentleman grooming himself, like spritzing perfume, buttoning a suit jacket, adjusting cuffs, and straightening a tie, and it ended up becoming a viral challenge trend among people in their teens and twenties.
The trend was to dress in the same classic style as Prism and perform the song’s signature choreography.
The song itself had a heavy, languid melody that naturally made people want to act stylish, and compared to Prism’s previous choreographies, the point dance was fairly easy. So every guy who thought he had the looks was hopping on the trend and posting their own challenge video.
— Seonghwa pleaseee ㅜ do the MMM challenge. I need to see Seonghwa in that styling ㅠㅠ You’re such a huge fan of Prism, so why aren’t you doing the challenge for us?
— Wow, did you guys see this MMM challenge? He’s insanely handsome
— Prism’s new song is seriously booming. Now I can legally demand classic styling from my fave
As challenges uploaded by exceptionally attractive influencers or celebrities began racking up huge view counts, the trend spread even faster.
— No but holy shit this is secondhand embarrassment
— Prism straight up poisoned the short-form trends. Every random dude is acting fatally sexy while uploading this challenge and it’s pissing me off. What even is this forced, fake-sexy gaslighting? Dear Prism-nims, most people in the world do NOT look like you guys. Please make it stop
— Did you steal your parents’ suit?
— Put your tongue back in your mouth. That’s not it
— At this point Prism is giving teenage boys around the world permanent dark history moments. Prism wouldn’t even be able to defend themselves if those kids group-sued them in the future
└ Prism: We didn’t make them do it (feeling wronged)
To be fair, Seo Yutae hadn’t exactly put this concept together with the sole purpose of sparking a dance challenge.
One day, while stressing over the comeback concept, Seo Yutae had slowly looked Choi Jeokhyeon up and down from head to toe before suddenly muttering, “…Not bad.”. Then he locked himself inside the studio for over ten days until he came out with this very song.
[“You all truly have a perfect grasp of exactly what the public expects from you. You’re idols who have maintained a career at the absolute peak of the industry, and you’re the very stars who built K-pop culture and brought it to the global stage. And now all of you have naturally grown into mature men as well. This album felt like the absolute perfect way to show that off.”] [“Thank you.”] [“But honestly, we never expected it to go this viral. Especially on a platform with such a young user base that’s basically the epicenter of modern trends. I mean, our leader is completely tech-illiterate when it comes to the internet, haha!”]
[“That’s right. At first, he had absolutely no clue that it was blowing up among teenagers. Later on, he was looking at the Hot Board charts and went, ‘Oh, this song is doing really well.’, so I asked him, ‘Hyung, don’t tell me you actually have no idea why it’s doing so well?’ and pulled up the social media posts to show him.”]
[“Haha, really, Yutae?”] [“…….”] [“Yutaae?”]
When the middle-aged MC mischievously raised his brows and stared at him, Seo Yutae seemingly realized he couldn’t deny it any longer. Putting both hands up in a gesture of surrender, he finally came clean.
[“…Yes, I don’t really use my phone much. I admit it. I only know how to use the most basic functions. Calls, texts, photos, notes … things like that.”] [“Stop lying, you don’t even answer your calls.”] [“Oh? It sounds like the members have built up quite a few complaints?”]
,
,
,
After finishing the schedule more smoothly than he had worried it would go, Seo Yutae immediately placed a hand on Jo Inchan’s forehead and asked. Jo Inchan’s complexion was still slightly pale.
“Are you okay? You couldn’t seem to focus at all during today’s schedule. Is your indigestion still not gone?”
At that, Jo Inchan flinched and stepped back before lowering his head apologetically.
“Sorry. I should’ve focused more…….”
“No, I’m not telling you to apologize. If you’re really not feeling well, we should cancel the rest of the schedule. Don’t push yourself until you collapse. Let’s just go straight to the hospital.”
“…No. Really, it’s not like that. I’m fine.”
Looking at Seo Yutae, who looked ready to drag him to the hospital right then and there, Jo Inchan squeezed his eyes shut and desperately refused.
“…….”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed. We’re too old now to survive schedules without sleeping just by relying on youth alone. Especially Yutae hyung, at his age, guhck!”
Sensing the atmosphere becoming tense, Nam Yihwon quickly jumped between them and tried to lighten the mood jokingly, only to be immediately overpowered by Seo Yutae grabbing him by the collar.
‘He doesn’t seem to have a fever.’
Seo Yutae fell into thought as he recalled the lukewarm temperature still lingering on his hand.
From what he remembered, Jo Inchan had already been acting strangely even before showing physical symptoms. He kept anxiously checking their schedules and paying attention to the other members’ movements.
Considering that, it seemed less like he got sick first and more like some other problem had occurred, and the resulting stress had worn down his body.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
If there really was a problem, it was better to solve it quickly.
But when he asked that, Jo Inchan hurriedly shook his head.
“I’m really okay. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve been like this anyway ……. I think my condition’s bad because I had nightmares and couldn’t sleep well. It should start getting better soon. Haha. I’ll go back to normal quickly, like always.”
Seo Yutae reluctantly nodded, but he still frowned between his brows as if something continued to bother him.
‘It’s true this happened fairly often, but still…….’
Even after Kang Hyukwoo died, Jo Inchan’s anxiety had never completely disappeared, so whenever his condition worsened, he occasionally showed strange behavior like this.
Still, Seo Yutae’s overly sharp instincts seemed to be telling him that something was different this time.
‘He keeps insisting it’s nothing. It’s not like I can force him to tell me the truth.’
Eventually, once Jo Inchan finally got out of Seo Yutae’s sight, he let out a long sigh and looked down at his phone.
“…….”
[Grandmother’s death anniversary]
The calendar app he had been staring at right before filming started was still open on the screen.
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Translator’s Corner:
I kinda forgot this arc happened…..
Gone for two weeks and WordPress deadass changed the whole editor T_T I guess we’re stuck with downgraded internet comment formatting from now on……
My country situation has been really bad lately.The government didn’t want to admit it but the electricity in my place keeps went down for hours …. It can’t be because there’s something that needed to be repaired because it only happened in rural area like my area??? The electricity in the city never down. It’s like they’re intentionally shutting down only the rural place with no big business that can formally complaint. It makes me …. I’m kinda very scared with the future of this Earth in general??? I really dislike dystopian genre … which is why I actually dont enjoy ORV or S Classes …. I hope I won’t live that long enough to see our Earth turned into a dystopia 3
I hope everyone here is safe, healthy, and happy!
Thank you Corellia for the Coffee!
I hope I’m free soon too T_T Like why is it my fault if there’s no one buying ??? In this economy ???? I dont even want to encourage people to buy because it’s too expensive and not worth the price in my opinion…..