Chapter 374: Choose (17)

Goh Yoo-Joon had an impressive tattoo of a long rose and vine extending from his hand to his shoulder. Jin-Sung had tattoos on his jawline, below his neck, and on his side. He completed his look with glasses that had a chain, gray lenses, and red-dyed hair. Given their already towering figures, this appearance made them look even more intimidating.

Goh Yoo-Joon broke into a grin. "Suh Hyun-Woo, why are you staring at me like that? You look pretty scary yourself right now."

Jin-Sung nodded vigorously in agreement. "Yeah, with your lips painted bright red, you look like you just ate a rat. Did you see how you looked at us just now?" He scrunched his face and stared at me, trying to mimic my expression.

I scoffed at him and turned to the stylist. "Hey, noona! Jin-Sung says I look like I just ate a rat!"

"Oh no, here he goes again, tattling." Goh Yoo-Joon quickly covered my mouth and spoke to the behind-the-scenes camera with a mock-aggrieved look. "Dear Rings, he always does this. He's constantly tattling, especially to Joo-Han hyung."

"He knows he’s Joo-Han's favorite," Jin-Sung chimed in and nodded along.

"Goh Yoo-Joon, Lee Jin-Sung, you two are such a perfect pair. You know what, I need to go. See you later, Rings!" I waved at the camera and headed toward the set where Yoon-Chan was having his solo shoot.

"Yoon-Chan really is like a chameleon." Joo-Han smiled warmly with another behind-the-scenes camera beside him.

Despite the concept of "Red Rouge" being starkly different from Yoon-Chan's usual bright and innocent image, he pulled it off perfectly. He'd mentioned learning a lot from his recent TV show filming. As soon as the camera started rolling, he transformed completely by embodying the concept seamlessly.

"But Hyun-Woo, did you know this? There’s not a single line of dialogue in our music video," Joo-Han glanced slyly at the camera.

"What?"

"I heard it's because our acting skills are terrible," he continued, chuckling.

"Oh! I heard that too!" Goh Yoo-Joon joined us and draped his arm over my shoulder with a mischievous tone. "The boss said one embarrassing series was enough." He pointed toward Su-Hwan, who was talking with the staff in the distance.

I shook my head. "No way. Our boss wouldn't say that. Goh Yoo-Joon, stop making things up."

Usually, I was the target of such jokes. I brushed Goh Yoo-Joon’s hand off and waved at the camera again. "Bye, everyone~ See you soon."

"Look at Suh Hyun-Woo running away because he thinks we’re teasing him again."

Joo-Han caught Goh Yoo-Joon who was about to follow me, and directed him toward the camera. "Yoo-Joon, since you’re here, why don't you explain today's concept to the Rings?"

Jin-Sung was called away by the stylists, and I wandered around aimlessly until it was my turn for the solo shoot. The members were divided into different set themes – a black set and a red-lit set, matching the concept.

I sat on a chair covered in black cloth in the black set. This shoot only involved lip-syncing and dance parts, so I wasn’t nervous since I didn't have to do anything I wasn't comfortable with.

"Hyun-Woo, don't look so sassy."

"What?"

The director waved the storyboard in the air and signaled me to change my expression. "Get into the mood."

I adjusted my expression to fit the song's mood as best as I could. Watching Yoon-Chan earlier had helped me get a sense of it.

"Good expression. Let’s start. Music." At the director’s signal, "Red Rouge" began playing. "Make eye contact with the camera."

Despite its jazz influences, the song had a noir vibe and made it easier for me to give a natural and intense look to the camera. The lighting against the black background made my face appear pale, which suited the mood.

♪ Don’t say that

It only earns you ridicule

Looking down at me

Stop the shameful conversations

"Maybe a gaze that’s a bit more intense would be better."

I intensified my gaze as directed. The new album's concept revolved around a story of revolutionaries and the government. Although the "Red Rouge" music video focused more on choreography than the storyline, the lyrics were packed with the new world view and required us to look fierce during the lip-sync parts.

Fortunately, my naturally sharp eyes made it easier to convey the necessary intensity. Unlike Jin-Sung or Yoon-Chan, who often needed additional takes due to their inherently gentle appearances despite their good acting skills, Yoo-Joon and I usually got it right on the first try.

♪ Hey, Frog, stop acting like you know it all

Put down that shabby crown and scepter

Look at me once more

While lip-syncing the lyrics, long red flags crossed and fluttered dramatically in the background. As I had been instructed beforehand, I turned to look at the passing flags, then pointed at them before shifting my gaze back to the camera. I nailed my final part, then walked off the set without a second thought.

"Cut! That was great. Hyun-Woo, you did really well. Your naturally aloof look really works here," the director called out, laughing heartily.

Was that a compliment? Regardless, seeing the director's satisfied smile, I hid my doubts and bowed politely. "Thank you."

"Alright, next up is Joo-Han for his final shot, and then we move on to the dance sequences!"

Joo-Han's shoot began. Watching his lip-sync performance reminded me again how different the lyrics of "Red Rouge" were from "Ario 愛," which sounded like a soundtrack for a historical TV show. The lyrics of "Red Rouge" were aggressive and powerful, quite the contrast.

I heard that Goh Yoo-Joon and Jin-Sung wrote the lyrics with intense feedback from Joo-Han, which explained the aggressive tone. It was evident that Joo-Han's suggestions heavily influenced the lyrics.

This concept of revolutionaries was strongly pushed by Su-Hwan and Joo-Han. At first, I wondered why they chose this particular theme, but the lyrics made it clear. It was like a direct message to our haters. With Goh Yoo-Joon and Chronos having received harsh criticism due to Goh Yoo-Joon’s father, both Su-Hwan and Joo-Han were clearly fired up.

Even though releasing a single song wouldn't make all the haters disappear, this could draw attention back to the issue and let the fans know how angry we were about the whole situation. Since this was our first album release since Goh Yoo-Joon’s father's incident, it served as a warning to refrain from posting hate comments.

Joo-Han seemed particularly enraged by the incident, which might be why the lyrics of his parts were more aggressive and sarcastic than the others'.

"Cut! That was beautiful, Joo-Han. You've been practicing hard, huh?" the director praised his acting.

"Thank you. It's easier to perform well when I am immersed in the lyrics," Joo-Han replied and beamed as he stepped down from the set. It was hard to believe this was the same person who looked like he wanted to chew someone out just a moment ago during his lip-sync.

With the lip-sync shoot wrapped up, we adjusted our outfits and makeup and headed to the choreography filming location.

***

"What on earth...?" Joo-Han, a Seoul native, slipped into his dialect in surprise.

The shooting location was a school field. While "Ario 愛" was set to be shot in a fantasy-historical style, "Red Rouge" was supposed to focus on the choreography. I thought they were just using a small school field, but I was wrong.

Su-Hwan had secured a significant budget for this, and it showed. Instead of spending heavily on the location, they invested a lot in graphics. The school field was surrounded by tall chroma key screens. When the editing was done, the dance set would look like something entirely different and match the song's atmosphere.

"I feel like I’m on the set of an overseas fantasy movie."

There were so many dancers. Also, a large crew preparing for the shoot and the extensive chroma key setup was impressive. This was something new for all of us, and we watched the scene with the same amazement as when we first watched "Pick We Up."

"Let's start shooting!"

As we shared our impressions in front of the behind-the-scenes camera, the preparation was completed. We and the dancers took our positions on the stage set up in the middle of the chroma key area, and the director's instructions marked the beginning of the shoot.

♪ Day one, blinded by a giant shadow

I thought your words were everything

With a single gesture, Right

With a single nod, Left

Goh Yoo-Joon, the main vocalist for "Red Rouge," began the first verse. The members and dancers split into formations by scattering to the sides. Our outfits were coordinated, but the dancers were divided into two teams, Rose and Black, with slight variations in their costumes. The choreography involved moving in divided formations throughout the song, culminating in a confrontation-like movement toward the end.

After Goh Yoo-Joon finished his verse, Jin-Sung started rapping from the opposite side and led the dancers forward. Unlike our previous songs that gradually built up to the climax, "Red Rouge" maintained a strong and intense vibe from the start with vigorous choreography and powerful music.