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He hadn’t noticed because he was spending each day frantically busy, but noticeable changes began appearing in Kim Bunhong’s body.
He realized it when trying to put on an outfit as usual. One of the stylists approached and measured him with a tape measure.
“…This outfit doesn’t fit either.”
It was fascinating how his arms and legs had stretched out so much that it was troublesome to this extent. In other words, his height had started growing little by little, but at a much faster pace than before regression.
He grew day by day, so Lucy, who was the tallest among the members, wanted to compare heights with Bunhong. At the same time, his weight also decreased, and he received compliments from here and there saying his baby fat had come off very prettily.
Such dramatic changes came that even dimples that hadn’t existed before faintly appeared.
Once, Bunhong had helped carry down luggage for female staff members, and it was a height that would have been difficult to reach for his pre-growth spurt self. The difference was so fascinating that he stared intently at the women below him for a while, but got scolded not to stare like that. It was funny but… heart-fluttering?
When he went down to the company cafe on the first floor to buy coffee while alone in the practice room in casual clothes, a stranger had asked for his number.
“…Excuse me?”
When Bunhong smiled awkwardly and explained the situation from beginning to end, the disappointed expression seemed genuinely regretful, making him feel sorry.
He had received quite a few compliments about being handsome since childhood, but not to this extent.
He suddenly remembered what Youngwoo had said to him at school. That his atmosphere had changed a lot and he had become more mature unlike before.
Looking in the mirror, even Bunhong himself felt unfamiliar to himself.
‘Have I really… become an adult?’
Like that, with the last music show, ‘Neverland’ activities ended smoothly.
* * *
To reveal this belatedly, ‘Neverland’ was originally both a debut song and released first for promotional purposes before the full album release. So excluding the B-side tracks, there were a total of two title tracks. Double titles alone were a groundbreaking move for rookies, but pre-releasing one title track that wasn’t even a B-side was an enormous gamble. All of this was an idea that Jeong Ido had proposed to the company.
What was released on ‘BLACK’s official SNS account immediately after activities ended was a concept film. A concept film is a short video that gives a glimpse of an upcoming album, like a prologue if it were a novel. Like last time, they gathered in the practice room to film the members’ reactions to the released video.
The music inserted in the concept film was a new age track that Jeong Ido had holed up in his studio and created himself in just a few hours. The intro started gently with the sound effect of winding a spring, and indeed the power of music was amazing – Bunhong found himself unconsciously entranced and drawn into the video.
You, Wendy, right?
Peter’s looking for you.
After the song was heard, the voice that came out simultaneously gave the feeling of a message saved in voicemail because the other party didn’t answer the phone. It was dialogue that Lucy had recorded separately.
Beep
—–
Play back again
[Voice Message from *******]
With crackling effects, the spring continued rewinding,
“That day, we each stood at our own crossroads.”
As beats gradually built up over the gentle music, Han Chayeon’s calm narration unfolded.
And then, the following scene transition. Scenes filmed in the story version music video of ‘Neverland’ were inserted throughout. Lucy endlessly sinking downward with his eyes closed in an aquarium, Bunhong roughly wiping tears with the sound of a car explosion, Ido standing precariously with both arms spread on a rooftop railing, Duho not moving on railroad tracks despite hearing an approaching train, Chayeon losing balance and slumping down in a shaking elevator that seemed broken.
Following that, phrases that slowly appeared and disappeared on screen:
[We wished for eternity (Forever)
Because that place absolutely doesn’t exist in reality (Never)
We all hope this dream won’t end as just a dream (However)]
And finally, with a signal that the call was connected, the video ended with all five of us looking toward one place.
Then Lucy let out a small exclamation and jumped up from his seat, bouncing around.
“Wow, it’s like a movie!”
When they had all visited the company last time, the composition of BLACK’s first album decided in a meeting with all BLACK members participating was as follows:
The pre-release and title track ‘Neverland’ begins with content longing for a love that no longer exists in reality. Then it continues with the second track about participating in gambling to get tickets to enter Neverland, the third track singing about the excitement of awakening to first love, and finally the fourth track singing about youth and second title track <Young One>.
Duho, who received the schedule with a dazed expression, let out a scream.
“Damn. Just the recording alone seems like it’ll kill us for a while…”
Not only Lucy, but even Han Chayeon, famous for not complaining, made a regretful sound saying:
“Looks like I won’t be able to go home for a while.”
Bunhong bit his lips tightly without saying anything particular.
He wasn’t afraid.
Overworking his body and mind was his specialty.
And anyway, he had nowhere to return to.
He just realized that this was truly the beginning from now on.
‘…Practice is always the way to survive.’
Coming out while drying his sweat-soaked hair with a towel, Bunhong chuckled seeing the phrase in the frame hung in the practice room.
Whenever he came to the practice room, he would gain comfort from looking at that sentence.
He thought beliefs that people develop while living were truly frightening. Kim Bunhong too had firm trust in his world. That was treatment for ‘those who work hard.’ However, that belief was bound to be miserably shattered after experiencing the talented people scattered all over this industry.
No matter how much he practiced, he couldn’t beat a natural dancer like Han Chayeon.
However, this was all he had. There’s a saying that even playing around, someone who has played knows how to play well. He didn’t know how to cut corners, nor did he learn. If he was bounced out, he had no choice but to clash with his bare body. He couldn’t become a coward.
That said, instead of just meaninglessly repeating practice like a fool as before, he started exercising in his spare time after finishing schedules. While there was a purpose of building stamina, Bunhong’s goal was only one. As always, being faithful to the basics. Taking care to perform every movement more accurately than anyone else. For that, building core muscles to straighten his body to some extent was essential, and this was a conclusion reached in consultation with a trainer.
He played music and checked his movements constantly while looking in the mirror. He also set up his phone on a stand and filmed himself dancing.
Like this, he practiced breaking down every movement as briefly and solidly as possible. So that later when these sketches were connected, they could be completed as one picture called dance.
Doing this, even the most complex dances became somewhat visible.
After finishing practice, he was exhausted and lay sprawled alone on the floor. Even then, he only looked up at the ceiling while constantly reviewing choreography in his head. Someone approached Bunhong who was doing this and spoke to him. It was Lucy.
“Bunhong hyung. It’s almost your turn now.”
“Huh? Got it.”
Bunhong, who had been sprawled out meaninglessly, reflexively got up at the sound of someone approaching.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
