Meanwhile, the day the teaser was released at the Rookies’ dorm.
Ding-ding!
“Uuuh….”
“Uuuuugh….”
After finishing a killer schedule from dawn till night, we collapsed right at the entrance without even going to our rooms.
“I’m so tired….”
“Uuugh….”
“…Guys, we can’t just do this here. Let’s hurry up and wash up and get to bed.”
“Cool….”
“Hannah is already asleep, you know?”
I lay down among the members and tried to remember the grueling days of the past two weeks.
Recording, dance practice, music video shooting, and so on….
The Rookies managed to handle what would normally take over a month in just two weeks.
“I can’t even remember the last time I slept over four hours….”
Thanks to that, we were completely wrecked.
Today, we practiced late into the night, tweaking the choreography details one last time.
So, I couldn’t bear the exhaustion and closed my eyes on Na Han-na’s chest…
“Ah! Don’t we need to watch the teaser that was released today?!”
“……!”
I was startled awake by Seo Yoo-jin’s words.
“Oh…!”
“Right, the, the teaser….”
I was not the only one reacting to Seo Yoo-jin’s words.
The members, who had looked like zombies, suddenly opened their eyes wide and focused.
As everyone began pulling out their phones, I hesitated and said to the members, “But… didn’t the company tell us not to watch it if possible?”
“……!”
The reason we hadn’t watched the [Secret Girl] teaser uploaded about 11 hours ago wasn’t merely because we had been busy.
In fact, we had planned to watch the [Secret Girl] teaser as it went live at noon, but…
“Ego searching is strictly prohibited. It is recommended not to view unofficial teasers, music videos, fancams, etc.”
The company had forbidden us from watching, so we couldn’t go against their orders without consequence.
“Ah….”
“They did say not to watch it.”
However, the Rookies’ dorm was completely off-limits to outsiders, so whatever we did here would go unnoticed by the company.
On top of that…
“But… aren’t you curious? Our teaser turned out beautifully; I wonder how the fans received it?”
“…….”
The desire and impulse toward fan interest were captivating for us, who were on the verge of debut.
I felt the same way.
“I wonder what the fans are saying about the teaser….”
Having been addicted to ego searching since the Na Ah Ah days, I was already feeling the withdrawal symptoms, my heart racing.
I was pretty sure that if I couldn’t satisfy this bursting curiosity, I’d sneak a peek at the teaser later tonight.
Perhaps sensing this vibe among us, our de facto leader, Yoo Seol, sighed and said, “Huh… how about we all watch it together instead of separately?”
“…Together?”
“Yeah. If we watch it together, even if the fans’ reactions aren’t good, it won’t hurt so much. If the reactions are good, then we’ll be even happier.”
Sure enough, there’s a saying that happiness doubles when shared, and sorrow is halved.
“I’m in!”
“Then I’m in too!”
As I agreed first, the other members chimed in enthusiastically, and ultimately we decided to gather in the living room to watch the teaser reactions together.
“Okay, shall we play it?”
“Yes…!”
So, the six of us Rookies squished together on the couch in front of a small phone belonging to Yoo Seol to enjoy the Rookies’ teaser.
Of course, since we had seen the completed teaser faster than anyone else, we were more interested in the view count and comment reactions than the video itself.
And the much-anticipated view count was…
[Rookies ‘Secret Girl’ Official Teaser (First Release)]
[View Count: 2,156,845 views – 11 hours ago]
“Whoa, wow—!!”
…It was a hit, literally.
Before even hitting 12 hours, reaching 2 million views…
Considering they were a girl group and that Rookies were still a domestic-only group, it was undeniably a staggering view count.
“Let’s see the comments! Hurry!”
“…Okay.”
Excited, we urged each other to look at the comments.
Yoo Seol, holding the phone, could hardly hide her bubbling excitement as she slightly trembled while navigating to the comment section.
And the reactions in the comment section were….
– Wow, our girls are so pretty 😭
– Yer-in, if I don’t say this now, I won’t be able to say it later. Marry me!
– This is insane.
– It’s already a banger.
– Waiting to stream~ Let’s aim for No. 1 from our first week, Rookies!
– Love you guys, for real 😭😭
Overall, it was positive.
“Wow….”
“I’m really so grateful…”
“It feels like I just woke up.”
Is there anything that makes one want to dance as much as compliments do?
Thanks to this, we, who had been operating on three hours of sleep for the past two weeks and had eyes like fish, regained some sparkle in our eyes.
We began to forget the grueling schedule that would start the next day and started pouring over the comments.
Of course, among them were….
– Aww, all of Rookies are so pretty 😭 If only there wasn’t that one person who doesn’t fit in, it would have been even better 😭 lol
└ Who are they talking about?
└ I think I know? lol Could it be ㅇㅎㅈ?
“…….”
“…….”
There were certainly some comments that made us frown…
– Aww, all of Rookies are so pretty 😭 If only there wasn’t that one person who doesn’t fit in, it would have been even better 😭 lol
└ Who are they talking about?
└ I think I know? lol Could it be ㅇㅎㅈ?
└ Get lost, you life losers lol
└ 😭 How miserable must life be to say that to girls in their early twenties.
└ Quit eating up the screen~ Those comments are from social parasites~
Most of those comments were drowned out by other Rookies fans, and the overall atmosphere in the comment section was filled with anticipation for [Secret Girl].
After about a 15-minute short session of ego searching…
“Hah….”
“Phew….”
Fortunately, this ego search was quite effective, giving our members a big boost.
Leaning back on the sofa with a sense of relief, Seo Yoo-jin leaned over to me and said, “Unnie, we’re going to work super hard this time.”
It seemed Seo Yoo-jin was even more inspired by the fans’ support.
So, the members, including myself, chuckled and nodded, “Sure.”
Just then…
“…Hmm?”
Park Yoo-jung, who hadn’t returned the phone to Yoo Seol and was still watching something, called us over.
“Unnie, come here!”
“What?”
“Is there a problem?”
I moved closer to Park Yoo-jung, who was leaning on the sofa, to see the screen she was looking at.
And….
“…Huh.”
[Python – ‘Poison Heart’ Official Teaser (First Release)]
[View Count: 437,512 views – 11 hours ago]
I jumped when I saw a teaser released at the exact same time as our [Secret Girl].
And the protagonist of that teaser was…
The rookie girl group from YW, which NAS Entertainment had been cautious about.
“So, it’s called Python…”
“I looked it up online, and it means ‘Python snake’.”
“Python…? That’s a pretty intense name.”
The members swallowed in unison as they mulled over the name Python.
In the meantime, I said to Park Yoo-jung, who was holding the phone, “Yoo-jung, play that for us.”
“Ah…, okay.”
After checking the expressions of the other unnies for a moment, Park Yoo-jung played the teaser.
Our [Secret Girl] teaser was about 30 seconds long, while this [Poison Heart] teaser was only about 10 seconds, making it very short.
And in that brief 10 seconds…
[♪♬♬♩-!]
[Poison Heart]
[Shh.]
[06.15 20:00]
“…Huh? Is that it?”
A short intro, the title, and the release date.
And…
“Wait, they didn’t even show their faces?”
They only revealed the silhouettes of the four members.
This left me startled.
Of course, teasers don’t disclose a lot of information, to be fair.
We Rookies only showed a bit of our concept while mostly keeping information about the song under wraps.
But isn’t this a bit much?
Not only did they hold back on information about the song, but they completely hid the members’ looks as well.
“Thinking back, in the YW trainees’ dance video released earlier, they also thoroughly concealed their appearances.”
So, the first time the public would see their faces would be at their showcase, meaning…
Why do they want to hide themselves from the public this much?
The answer came from Yoo Seol, who was watching the teaser beside me.
“…Confidence.”
“Confidence?”
“Yeah, it’s confidence that even without drawing any attention, we can succeed. That’s so typical of YW, isn’t it?”
“……”
I mulled over Yoo Seol’s words for a moment.
It’s true that YW had immense pride in the talent of their artists.
The fact that the YW artists have faced rumors about personal lives but never a skill controversy proves this.
However, no matter what…
Isn’t this arrogance rather than confidence?
Just as NAS was wary of Python, YW would surely be aware of us Rookies, and given that our debut timing overlapped, it was clear that a competitive narrative would form in the public eye.
And the Rookies had already built an advantage by garnering nationwide attention!
It was clear that the pressure was on them, yet they claimed to be uninhibited…
And because of that…
[View Count: 2,156,845 views – 11 hours ago]
[View Count: 437,512 views – 11 hours ago]
The view counts clearly indicated it was a resounding victory for the Rookies.
– Huh?
– Is that it?
– Kinda underwhelming, lol.
– At least show your faces 😭
The comments were filled with confusion and disbelief.
Maybe it was the view counts and reactions that suggested the Rookies had won?
‘Looks like they didn’t do as well as expected… They must be forgetting about me.’
Having been subtly influenced by their debut at YW, I felt my mind ease a bit.
The other members seemed to feel the same way, shooting skeptical glances at Python’s teaser view count.
And this situation was capped off with…
“Alright, let’s not worry about others and just focus on our own work. We have a tough schedule tomorrow morning, so let’s get some sleep.”
The words of our de facto leader, Yoo Seol, sealed the deal.
At last, we returned to our rooms, laid our exhausted bodies down, and rested.
Then, as the demanding schedule resumed the next day, the name Python faded from my mind little by little.
After several days of managing our tough schedules post-teaser release…
“Alright, we’re now starting the Rookies’ debut showcase!”
“Waah—!!”
We Rookies revealed ourselves to the public again a month after Na Ah Ah ended.
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