Chapter 185: Distortion (1)

[Is that the teaser that just dropped?]

What’s with the train running scene? If it’s Chapter 1, that means more chapters are coming, right?

Ah, damn, Ha Junseo’s acting is insane. I thought I was watching a movie;;

With a scale like this, it feels like a full album. My heart’s already racing for the 2nd full album.

The Chapter 1 teaser video dropped without any prior notice.

A teaser with cinematic quality that reminded people of a movie scene drew an explosive response.

Even at a glance, it looked like they poured a good amount of money into it.

“Has Doubles gone crazy or what?”

Dusty’s Han Yooyoung couldn’t calm her excitement.

It wasn’t even for a debut album, yet the teaser was a whole 3 minutes long.

If Ha Junseo was the focus in the first video, the chances were high that all seven members would appear.

That’d be 21 minutes total?

Wasn’t this basically at the level of a short film?

No, I mean, for Doubles to give us something like this—it was impossible not to be suspicious.

-Do I… really get to receive this? I do… right? Anyway, thanks Doubles ㅋㅋㅋ

└Inner thought: Why the hell are these guys suddenly giving us this?

└Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m grateful, but it’s Doubles, so I’m suspicious.

└Why is Doubles working?

└The first agency ever where fans are suspicious because they’re working

└Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I’m just suspicious.

Exactly.

For Doubles to work hard—if the sun rose from the west tomorrow, that wouldn’t be surprising.

Dusty’s Han Yooyoung once again engraved her deep-rooted distrust of Doubles as she logged into the fan community.

It was just a single teaser, but fans were already speculating about the next album’s concept.

Among them were interpretations of the Chapter 1 teaser, which Han Yooyoung had replayed dozens of times.

[If I didn’t mishear, then this theory makes sense, right?]

In the teaser, Ha Junseo was being chased.

At the end, he found it.

Isn’t that Do Seohan’s voice?

-Oh my god, it is

-Ah… that is Do Seohan’s voice… What is this?

└Wow, this is creepy. Are they saying Do Seohan is the mastermind?

└No way, our Hamjji would never do that

└If Seohan found something, it’d be sunflower seeds, obviously

└Ah what the hell is this image ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└(Seed) Found it!!

└If Do Seohan found something… it’s because it was worth finding

-Older members being chased by the youngest…. I might faint already. Doubles, drop the 2nd full album now!!!!

└My wallet’s right here… please take it quickly

└No choice, I have to work hard now so I can buy the album

└I came from the future, and Universe Dust destroyed K-pop with their 2nd full album

└K-pop better watch out. Stardust is coming….

The comments were full of excitement and anticipation. Just like that, the comeback season was in full swing.

After the first teaser was released, Doubles began dropping one teaser per day, just as fans had predicted.

Starting with Ha Junseo’s Chapter 1, then Chapter 2, Chapter 3…

With each teaser added, the overall concept of the 2nd album started to take shape.

And there were always fans who analyzed every detail.

[Summary of the teasers released so far]

Ha Junseo: Gets chased by someone on a train and finds an elevator. He tries to close the elevator door quickly, but gets caught by a ‘voice (Do Seohan)’.

Cha Seongbin: While Ha Junseo is stuck in a thriller, Seongbin is leisurely sipping a cocktail on a beach and collapses a sandcastle. There, he finds three mysterious tickets! What are these…?

Seo Ian: Trapped in a luxurious hotel room. Nervous Sundubu Ian. The moment he pushes the door open to escape—there’s an elevator right there!!

Kang Siwoo: Laughing and playing with a retriever when he senses something off. As soon as he sees a shadow pass by, he bolts. Sudden chase scene.

Jin Sehyun: Holding the same type of ticket Cha Seongbin found. Running through a narrow hallway, trying to escape, but eventually gets caught by a shadow.

Seo Haim: Browsing a toy store and finds a ticket placed on a miniature train. She carefully hides it in her pocket and starts running. Happily boards the elevator.

We’ll only know for sure after the last teaser drops, but here’s my current theory:

The ticket = invitation to board the elevator.

Riding the elevator seems to enable dimension travel? Time travel? In Chapter 1, what Ha Junseo entered seemed to be the desired year for time travel, yeah.

Anyway, I think it’s a conflict between Do Seohan, who chases the members to get the tickets, and Kang Siwoo, who chases the shadow instead.

The scale is insane, and my heart is already pounding.

If I got something wrong, feel free to correct me smoothly~!

-If this is right, then Doubles is obsessed with building a universe.

-Wow, this seems spot on. They’re diving deep into the time travel hints they dropped before.

└Honestly, feels like watching a movie, for real ㅇㅇ

-Do Hamjji chasing the older members… and a Siberian Husky chasing Do Hamjji… this is already amazing

└The husky will tear the hamster apart…

-There’s a long-standing tradition of Doubles idols going legendary with their 2nd full albums.

And the final puzzle piece that would make fans certain of their theory.

Chapter 7.

The day Do Seohan’s teaser dropped had arrived.

.

.

.

.

Rattle. Thud.

The sharp-edged die rolled weakly across the desk before coming to a stop.

Painted in gold, the die sparkled brilliantly each time the light hit it.

Seohan carefully picked up the die, then rolled it again.

His gaze landed on a map—specifically, a map of South Korea.

“…….”

He had to track down traces that would be somewhere on this map.

He’d be even happier if the target held a ‘ticket’.

Do Seohan smirked as he draped a jacket over his shoulders.

With all his preparations complete, his steps carried no hesitation.

Eyes gazing into empty air.

A cold voice finally parted his lips.

“Time to go hunting.”

With those final words, the screen faded to black, and the Doubles logo appeared.

[2nd Full album ‘Isolation’]

[Release 2018. 3. 5 (KST)]

“Wow, the response is amazing, huh?”

They had been worried since this was their first time filming a teaser on such a large scale ahead of a comeback, but the reactions exceeded expectations.

The teaser videos climbed one after another into YouTube’s trending list, proving Stardust’s popularity.

No wonder the planning team staff had been all smiles lately.

At this rate, maybe they could surpass the previous album’s first-week sales and hit a new career high.

That seemed to be the general sentiment.

The second-floor meeting room at Doubles Entertainment.

Kang Siwoo bowed his head with a faint smile.

“It’s all thanks to how well the teaser turned out. Thank you.”

“Well, when the company invests, they expect that level of output. It means you’re doing well.”

Manager Song Jinha responded with satisfaction as he checked the comeback schedule.

“Looks like everyone’s going to be busy from now on, huh?”

The comeback was initially set for early March. They would return first with a pre-release track, then again in early April with the title track.

Right after that was a concert, and several company-wide events had already been somewhat finalized.

It was only February now. Judging by the packed schedule, this year looked to be another hectic one.

My thoughts were the same as always: we should be thankful for being busy.

Jin Sehyun replied to Manager Song Jinha’s words with a booming voice.

“Our recording is done! We’re filming the MV next week, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Gasp, then are we filming self-content next week too?”

“This is gonna be rough~.”

They had just finished recording the pre-release track. Everyone was in a frenzy preparing for the March comeback.

My gaze shifted toward the familiar faces sitting across the meeting room table.

So that’s why the A&R team staff were here today….

“Oh, you guys got the title track. Wanna hear it?”

Manager Song Jinha returned with unexpected news.

“Huh, the title track is here?”

“No way…. We have to listen.”

Originally, the title track for the 2nd full album should have been finalized around the time the pre-release was recorded, but the title had remained unconfirmed until now.

According to the A&R team, none of the album’s shortlisted songs had the right impact to serve as a title track.

In the end, they had waited for the song camp in Europe—and finally, it seemed a candidate had been selected.

A&R team leader Kim Seyoung spoke in an excited voice.

“Yes, this song is really good. It instantly sticks in your ear.”

The A&R team wasn’t the type to give lip service when a terrible sample arrived.

Everyone had similar ears when it came to music.

Since I trusted Kim Seyoung’s ears to some extent, the hyungs looked hopeful too.

Seo Haim leaned close and whispered in a slightly thrilled voice.

“I’m nervous. I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

Of course, I already knew what song would be coming out of those speakers.

It was the title track of Stardust’s 2nd full album.

“I’ll play it now.”

The A&R team staff smiled and played the saved track from their phone.

It was a guide recording version, with lyrics not yet finalized.

Even though it was raw and unpolished, a hit song always gave off a feeling the moment you heard it.

Jin Sehyun’s eyes opened wide.

“Whoa, this is good.”

A melody that hooked you instantly.

The A&R team hadn’t made empty claims.

Ah, the song’s good.

With an addictive beat and a touch of mass appeal. It had more weight than the refreshing pre-release track, but didn’t lean too heavily into deep bass either.

A song easy to hum along with.

Before anyone noticed, Seo Haim was nodding to the rhythm, moving her body slightly.

Even Kang Siwoo, who had been sitting still, smiled and nodded his head.

“I like it too.”

“Seems good to me.”

“Wow! So this is the title track!”

It was good.

It was definitely good.

But I couldn’t just sit there smiling in that moment.

The title track of Stardust’s 2nd full album.

This wasn’t the song I remembered….

“…Hold on a second.”

It was a song I had never heard before.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep