Chapter 135
Farmer, follower, executive, fisherman…
The track record of Orca’s fans was quite colorful.
If it was a self-deprecating joke, that would be one thing, but the names that lacked any aesthetic appeal had the fans in an uproar.
– When are we getting our fandom name??
– Seed, is it really that hard to give us just one name???
– If you’re going to give us something like JawsKrakenSeaPearl, please hold a contest instead…
Even though it was the fans themselves who came up with these unique names, let’s set that aside for now.
The Orca members knew that the fans wanted a fandom name.
And they also knew, through thrilling experiences, that their company’s employees, starting with CEO Ban Ga-eul, were not particularly skilled at naming things.
In such matters, the only somewhat reliable person in the company was Director Joo Yul-eum. However, considering her perfectionist tendencies, if they just waited passively, it could take several more months to come up with a fandom name.
Having created a group greeting a few months ago, Kang Ji-woo, who had dreamed of calling the fans by a cool fandom name, wasn’t just sitting around twiddling his thumbs.
“Let’s come up with a good one first and propose it! The fans must be eagerly waiting!”
“It seems like you’re proposing this for your own desire, not for the fans.”
“Anyway, let’s start discussing some ideas.”
“Who wants to go first?”
“Me, me, me.”
“Okay. Ji-woo hyung, go ahead.”
“Our team name is Orca, so how about Sea?”
“Ah, I was going to say that.”
“It’s easy to pronounce for foreigners, and we can make it meaningful. Or we could translate it to Ocean.”
Since CEO Ban Ga-eul emphasized the ocean when naming the group, it was a name that everyone had thought of at least once, and the members’ reactions were generally positive.
“It’s not bad, but our group name already has that meaning. We’re a strong team like orcas in the rough sea of the entertainment industry.”
“That’s right.”
“Then wouldn’t the meaning of the word ‘sea’ overlap?”
“That’s true. The sea already has a different meaning.”
At times like this, On Raon thought it was helpful that Ban Yo-han had a tendency to scrutinize everything.
“It seems like it would be better to think of something else.”
“I also thought the sea-related name was the safest, but we might come up with something better, so let’s keep it on hold and think more.”
With the safest choice, ‘Sea’, set aside, a flood of random names came pouring in.
They must have drawn great courage from the astonishing comparison names like Kraken, Jaws, and SeaPearl.
“Mermaid! Imagine. Orcas and mermaids swimming together in the sea! So pretty!”
On Raon, recalling a sharp memory involving a mermaid he would rather forget, flinched alone, while Ban Yo-han objected again.
“Mermaid only refers to female mermaids. Are you saying male fans don’t count?”
“!”
“Ji-woo hyung, that was bad…”
“No, I didn’t mean to…!”
“Gyul hyung said beauty has no gender, but you think there’s a gender qualification to be a fan.”
“To think someone like you is our leader. It’s the end of the world.”
While Kang Ji-woo, who was the only one who believed it wasn’t intentional, hugged Seo Moon-gyeol and whined about how unfair it was, a new idea was proposed by Gyun Seong-ha.
“Since orcas are the strongest animals in the sea, how about we call the fans the strongest animals on land?”
“But we can’t call our fans African elephants…”
On Raon, who had quickly searched for ‘the strongest animal in the world’ on his phone, showed the screen to the members where ‘1st place: African Elephant’ was displayed.
“It’s not lions?”
Gyun Seong-ha looked shocked, believing the king of animals was the lion.
“You act like you don’t, but you like lions.”
“…I don’t?!”
Although it seemed strong, everyone agreed that fans wouldn’t want to be called African elephants.
“What about Aqua or Marine? Isn’t that pretty?”
“But broadly speaking, those are still related to the sea.”
“Wow. Combine Aqua and Marine to make Aquamarine…!”
“Ji-woo, stop pretending to be amazed at your own idea.”
“…You’re just mad because I made you practice more earlier.”
“Hmph.”
“Seriously…”
As On Raon and Gyun Seong-ha watched the two, who seemed to have energy to spare, bicker whenever they had the chance, they whispered to each other.
“But Ji-woo hyung was harsh to drag him to the vocal practice room during break time.”
“Yeah, that was really too much.”
They continued to exchange ideas for quite a while.
“How about Air? Even in the sea, you need oxygen, right? It could symbolize that we can breathe because of our fans!”
“It’s the best idea so far, but it feels a bit plain.”
“And if it’s just Air, it would be hard to search for.”
Difficulty in searching.
It was a very important point.
“It would be nice if there was something unique about it.”
At that moment, Seo Moon-gyeol, who had been silently jotting down the fandom name candidates, opened his mouth.
“!”
And upon hearing Seo Moon-gyeol’s words, the members’ eyes widened.
* * *
December 15th.
The music video for ‘Present’ was released on Seed’s official YouTube channel.
[Hong Seoram, Bae Seil, Jang Go, Tomorrow, Kwon Gyeoul, Yoo Siwon, ORCA(Orca) 2017 Seed Christmas Carol ‘Present’ MV]
The music video began with Seed artists, dressed in casual clothes, gathering around and carefully untying the ribbon on a large gift box that had arrived in front of the company.
The rough texture of the ribbon unwrapping produced a sound that tantalized the ears of those watching the music video with earphones.
As the giant gift box, large enough to fit several people, opened theatrically, the introduction of a famous foreign carol, Jingle Bells, played softly and gradually grew louder.
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way…
Inside the box were items needed to celebrate Christmas.
A Christmas tree standing tall in the center, colorful decorations to adorn it, ingredients and baking tools for making delicious cakes and cookies, flowers and plants, ornaments that match the Christmas spirit, and white and red handbells…
The song began with singer-songwriter Yoo Siwon’s clear voice.
As soon as I woke up
I looked out the window to see if it snowed,
But I won’t say I was waiting for it.
The Orca members struggled together to carry an enormous Christmas tree down the stairs to the basement.
Following them, Kwon Gyeoul, Hong Seoram, and Jang Go hurriedly walked while each holding a light poinsettia pot.
Bae Seil and Yoo Siwon, excitedly draped the unlit Christmas tree lights over themselves, and this was filmed cheerfully using stop-motion technique.
Preparing for you
My Christmas is all for you
In a kitchen somewhere, the Tomorrow members played around, smearing whipped cream on each other’s faces while making a Christmas cake.
Behind them, Kang Ji-woo, wearing an apron, appeared like a ghost, smiling as he placed his hands on the overly lively seniors’ shoulders.
Afterward, with hands on his hips, Kang Ji-woo humorously lectured the Tomorrow members with messy faces, indicating that playing with food was not allowed.
Oh, even if you see my excited heart,
Pretend you don’t know,
Because it’s a surprise gift.
Kwon Gyeoul, Jang Go, and Hong Seoram gathered around a desk to write Christmas cards.
Meanwhile, the Orca members noisily played rock-paper-scissors, forcing Ban Yo-han, who lost alone with a fist, to lie down.
A moment later, On Raon climbed on top of him to place a flat golden star at the top of the Christmas tree, which had been mostly decorated.
The members joyfully circled the Christmas tree as if performing a ritual.
Following that, scenes that unknowingly made viewers smile continued.
Like Christmas lights flickering in various patterns, the bouncy music accompanied the scenes.
There is a candle in my heart
That will never go out
As long as I have your warm breath
R&B singer Hong Seoram, with his long black hair tied loosely down to his shoulder blades, lit the candles on the Christmas cake.
Bae Seil carefully carried the cake he received from Hong Seoram down the hallway, while Seed staff members suddenly popped out from the sides.
Each time, glimpses of the beautifully decorated Seed office, where artists and staff had diligently worked, appeared briefly.
The trail of people following Bae Seil noticeably grew longer.
Finally, Bae Seil stood in front of a door.
As the door slowly opened from inside, the music, which had been joyfully building up, quieted down.
Instead, in an excitedly quiet space, the acapella of the five Orca members softly landed like white snow.
Then, Tomorrow added their voices delicately, like placing a cherry on top of a three-layer cake.
Finally, with the accompaniment returning, the refreshing climax shot up like opening a champagne bottle, handled by Bae Seil and Kwon Gyeoul.
Yes, today is Christmas
This is your Present
With the rich chorus making the atmosphere more festive than before, the door fully opened.
The spacious party room, where everything Seed staff had diligently prepared for a wonderful Christmas, was revealed.
Of course, this was not an actual room within the Seed office; it was edited to look like a door in Seed connected to a party room elsewhere.
Beside a beautifully lit Christmas tree, people poured non-alcoholic champagne into pretty glasses, cut and served cake on plates, read letters, rang handbells, sang, danced, and laughed freely like children receiving presents.
When the twinkling Christmas tree lights reflecting red, yellow, and white in On Raon’s clear eyes gradually zoomed in, everyone watching the music video was momentarily mesmerized.
Oh, if you see my heart for you
Now know,
It’s all my gift to you.
At the end, the music video concluded with everyone shouting in unison as if pre-arranged, “Merry Christmas!”
It was the moment a new Christmas anthem was born.