Chapter 129
“Hold on a second. Let’s clarify one thing, Seong-ha.”
When Gyun Seong-ha made a sudden change of heart, Han Ji-hee, who had unknowingly bit her lip, spoke with a suppressed smile.
“Yes.”
“The reason you chose the rabbit zodiac sign just now—is it because you really believe the answer is the rabbit, or is it because you wanted to hear Yohan call you ‘hyung’?”
“Both.”
Once again, Gyun Seong-ha answered without much hesitation.
“If Yohan-hyung is that confident, it’s probably correct, and even if it’s wrong, hearing him call me ‘hyung’…”
Either way, it wasn’t a loss for him.
The other members’ thoughts were similar to Gyun Seong-ha’s.
If they were wrong, the rare opportunity to release a title track would slip away, but considering Ban Yohan’s confidence, it was safe to assume there was no chance of the answer being wrong.
Even Kang Ji-woo, who was often overshadowed by the dazzling top scorer in the College Scholastic Ability Test, supported the rabbit zodiac from the start.
The members collectively decided on the rabbit zodiac sign.
“Rabbit zodiac…”
Following Han Ji-hee’s deliberate pause, a ding-dong-dang sound effect played.
“Correct!”
‘What? I’m not a dragon zodiac?’
Having firmly believed he was born under the dragon zodiac, On Raon, who had once joked with Go Soo-jong about both being the same zodiac, opened his eyes wide, feeling frustrated with his foolish members.
‘Was I the fool?’
Han Ji-hee explained.
“The standard for zodiac signs isn’t January 1st of each year, but ‘Ipchun’ among the 24 solar terms. Ipchun is usually on February 4th or 5th every year.”
Since On Raon’s birthday was January 30th, his zodiac sign had not yet shifted to the dragon, meaning he was still under the rabbit sign.
Han Ji-hee added that sometimes the zodiac is calculated by the lunar calendar as well.
Either way, On Raon was a rabbit zodiac.
“Wow, I never knew.”
“It’s actually not common knowledge that those born in 2000 are dragon zodiac. Many people don’t know this.”
Slightly sad and dejected, Seo Moon-gyeol and Gyun Seong-ha, who had both been sulking despite the team’s correct answer, straightened their shoulders, as if saying, “Right?”
“But we should definitely call them hyungs. Ji-woo and Yohan not only got the answer right but also avoided the trap.”
On Raon grumbled inwardly about how setting a trap in a quiz seemed like the show’s way of not wanting to play their song at all.
“Then, as promised, we’ll listen to ‘Liberation’ by Orca, and we’ll return with more fun stories in part two. Please stay tuned.”
And as the song and commercials played during the break between parts one and two, Seo Moon-gyeol quickly left the booth, with the staff’s permission, to go to the restroom.
But accidents always happen at unexpected times.
“?”
Something was off.
On Raon, who hadn’t taken off his headset, was the first to notice the anomaly.
Then, the other members and Han Ji-hee sensed something wrong and looked around in confusion.
Due to someone’s mistake, the track being played was the instrumental without any recorded vocals or chorus.
Fans watching the live broadcast through the radio also noticed and started sending chats quickly.
– ???
– Is this a broadcast accident?
– The song sounds weird ㅠㅠㅠ
– Oh no, guys ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
The introduction, where Seo Moon-gyeol’s voice should have been, was passing without impact.
Gesturing toward the control room, On Raon tapped the microphone in front of him.
“Please turn on the mic.”
“Are you going to sing?”
At Han Ji-hee’s question, On Raon nodded, saying, “Yes.”
They already had a segment planned to sing ‘Liberation’ live later, so it wasn’t an impossible task.
“What about Gyeol’s part?”
Known for his quick reflexes during unexpected situations, On Raon calmly replied.
“I can’t do it as well as Gyeol-hyung, but I can make it bearable.”
Shortly after, the members’ microphones, which were supposed to be off during the commercial break, were turned back on.
The production team judged this to be better than just playing the instrumental track.
Kang Ji-woo, focusing on the instrumental, began singing his part smoothly.
Then the members continued their live performance.
On Raon’s rap, despite being different from Seo Moon-gyeol’s style, was well-received later, as it avoided direct comparison to the original version.
On Raon, who had been trained in rap by Sid, had diligently practiced the entire song, which paid off.
As time passed, even Han Ji-hee and the staff, who had been tense due to the emergency, relaxed and enjoyed the performance.
The mix of chorus and ad-libs blended naturally, like AR, and new listeners tuning in thought it was a planned live performance, praising their singing skills.
Seo Moon-gyeol, who hurried back from the restroom with Kwak Sang-hyun, managed to sing his part.
After the chaotic song ended, commercials began to play.
* * *
[Idols caught off guard by a MR mishap during a radio show]
– Wow, the live is stable.
– Who’s the dance member here? They sing so well even while dancing, unlike other groups who can’t sing properly.
– It wasn’t just MR, it was almost an instrumental trackㅋㅋㅋㅋ They were all surprised, but they sang so well live, their quick response is impressive.
– Even without Seo Moon-gyeol, On Raon covered the rap part so seamlesslyㅋㅋㅋㅋ Their preparation shows.
– They even did ad-libs live, it was thrilling and awesomeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– I thought their skills were mediocre because some members’ voices wavered during dance performances, but this was good.
┗ It’s natural for voices to waver a bit while dancingㅋㅋㅋ They’ll improve as they keep performing live.
┗ Even as a non-fan, that’s already very impressive.
– Orca’s Ji-woo-Gyeol-Raon line is so clean that the other members, who perform well, are underrated. They’re all good.
* * *
After the impromptu live performance, the broadcast continued smoothly.
The unexpected accident hit us hard, causing Gyun Seong-ha, who had been on edge throughout the first part, to finally relax completely.
“Who gets scolded the most at the dorm? It’s probably Raon…”
We answered questions sent via text messages.
“It’s now time for Hanseol Pharmaceuticals. Winter.”
Han Ji-hee made the sponsored comment by changing a part of Liberation’s killing part to the sponsor’s name.
“Let’s listen to Orca’s Fantasy Garden.”
This time, we were well-prepared and performed a live stage of a track from the album, making the broadcast rich and fulfilling.
As the time neared midnight, the broadcast was about to end.
By then, we could check the chat on the monitor as comfortably as a game chat window.
Most comments were about how handsome we were, how good our voices were, or just how they liked us, but…
Among them, I noticed an odd comment.
The sender seemed to be a foreigner, as the chat was in English.
– I know who you are. I’ll be watching you from now on, Hae-jae.
…What is this?
It wasn’t long before other chats pushed it up, so I couldn’t see it for long.
But I instinctively knew that it was directed at me because of the “Hae-jae” at the end.
It couldn’t be just a random chat seeking attention… the sentences fit my situation perfectly.
Is there someone in this world who knows that I’ve possessed this body?
I couldn’t tell if the sender was friendly or hostile from that message alone.
And they said they would be watching me from now on.
A cold shiver ran down my spine as if a snake was crawling up my back.
However, I couldn’t ruin the broadcast we had managed well for the past two hours just because of this, so I pulled myself together and focused for the remaining time.
“Thank you for staying with us until late. Please continue to support our Orca. As we end the show, we’ll listen to ‘Liberation’ by Orca properly this time. Thank you.”
Finally, the broadcast ended.
– Ji-hee, thank you for leading us so well~
– Guys, great job, it was fun~~
– Raon’s pronunciation is so good that I didn’t know he was a foreign member.
– Beloved Late Night… Late Night PD… Please invite Jjangrka, who is good at both live performances and broadcasting, again ㅠㅠㅠ
“Everyone worked so hard today, really.”
We took a group photo with Han Ji-hee for the ‘Han Ji-hee’s Leisurely Night’ SNS and bowed to the production team, who had become much friendlier compared to before the broadcast, then got into the car.
Kwak Sang-hyun, who had found Seo Moon-gyeol looking like he was about to faint and brought him back, also sighed with relief.
“Great job today. You handled the unexpected situation well, and both the PD and the writers were very grateful. We’ll probably get to come again for our next comeback.”
In fact, I couldn’t count how many times Han Ji-hee and the staff told us to come back next time. It didn’t seem like empty words.
“Tomorrow, or rather today, we’ll be back on music shows, and there’s a fan signing event, so take good care of your condition.”
“How many first-week sales did we get?”
Despite my mind being a mess from the strange chat, Ban Yohan’s question about our album sales in the first week caught my attention.
‘Performance matters.’
A moment later, Kwak Sang-hyun, who looked as if he knew but pretended not to, answered.
* * *
– Orca first-week sales 67k!
– I saw the rookie debut album first-week sales chart, and they are right after Upon, higher than TET.
– All-time debut album first-week sales rankings: 1. Upon 2. Orca 3. TET
┗ Upon’s 510k is incomparable unless a Breaker debuts. It’s amazing they surpassed TET, the best among Pick Heart’s derivative groups.
– Ranking is an obsession ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Not a fan, but I think Orca will rise. I’m good at predicting these things.
– They’re benefiting from Pick Heart’s fame. We need to see at least until their next album.
– With three members from Pick Heart and Kang Ji-woo, isn’t this less than expected?
– Considering it’s a single version mini-album with three songs, selling this much is a huge success.
┗ What does ‘single version’ mean?
┗ It means there’s only one version of the album. Usually, multiple versions sell better.
– Did Orca have any fan signing events during the first week?
┗ There were two scheduled events.
┗ If they had one or two more, they could’ve surpassed 70k.
– Their YouTube doesn’t show a massive international fanbase, is this a normal figure?
┗ It’s not strange. If On Raon hadn’t been manipulated, he would’ve debuted in the upper mid-tier of Breaker, and Ban Yohan and Seo Moon-gyeol would have ranked high too.
┗ They also gained many fans through reality shows and performances, so it’s understandable. The offline power is noticeable.
– How high is Orca’s fan sign cut-off?
┗ I bought 3N but probably won’t get in ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
┗ Even 4N makes me nervous ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ