chapter 55
“What is all this……?”
Fan LUMIS rubbed her eyes as she looked at the comment section of the recently uploaded RE:VIVAL 5th round performance, the full version of LUMIS’s ‘Starlight’.
- Is this really the LUMIS that Jinhoon oppa is supporting?
└ You’ve come to the right place!
└ LUMIS X Jinhoon is love! - Cheering for Roomies~~~~
└ It’s LUMIS!!! We support Teacher Jinhoon!!!
This wasn’t the 4th round performance video where they tackled trot, nor was it <The Age of Trot>, yet the comments were surprisingly warm and hearty.
Comment reactions: Pass!
With a happy heart, she played the video. Highlights and edited compilations were fun, but nothing beat the original full version.
Squeak-
With a sound effect, Baek Doha revealed himself.
“!”
Goosebumps rose all over her body. It was a masterpiece, even upon rewatching. Usually, the visual genius Sian was in charge of one-shot scenes, but seeing Baek Doha like this had its own unique charm.
‘A straw hat! I bet the crops Doha grows are as handsome as their owner!’
She, who was discussing style over substance, continued to focus on the video.
“They’re insane, insane! What do I do!”
She let out screams every second. Every moment was a series of masterpieces. The cinematography, the production, the stage, the choreography, the sound! Not to mention the singing!
“They’re definitely getting 1st place this time!”
Fan LUMIS clenched her fist tightly. If they didn’t get 1st place for this stage, she would go straight to AMP Music. She’d stage a one-person protest right there!
She immediately went to the AMP Music website.
Click-clack-!
Identity verification, click, vote complete!
She took a screenshot and posted it in the group chat where the fellow fans were gathered.
[Fan LUMIS] Vote complete! Everyone voted, right? (Laughing emoji)
[Fan 1] Of course! I even dug up the boys’ personal info
[Fan 1] My parents haven’t yet…… But no worries. Hands are faster than eyes (Thief emoji)
[Fan 2] LOL same here
[Fan 3] The boys are so kind LOL
[Fan 1] Kind??? That’s what the boys are for, to be used at times like this!
[Fan 3] (Bear laughing and patting its stomach emoji)
[Fan 4] Honestly, I’m so happy the kids look happy these days…… But why do I feel so uneasy? ㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 5] Why????
[Fan 4] Well…… until just recently, if you searched LUMIS, you’d get light bulbs and frying pans… Suddenly our kids are trending, so it feels good but also strange…
[Fan 6] I feel unexpectedly emotionalㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
“Wow, everyone feels the same as me…….”
Fan LUMIS patted her suddenly warm eyelids and focused on the screen.
[Fan 2] Did you see this? (Link)
[Fan 3] What is it???
[Fan 7] Wow!!! Isn’t that a Deuktuber??
[Fan 4] OMG!!! The day a Deuktuber analyzes our kids has come ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
“Deuktuber……?”
Her heart started beating fast. She quickly opened the YouTube app.
‘Deuktuber’
A channel with 300,000 subscribers, specializing in digging into the hidden narratives and symbolism in K-POP performances. It was one of the favorite channels for those who loved K-POP narratives, where every upload reliably hit at least 500,000 views. It was also a channel that was regrettable for not having more subscribers given its quality.
“W-what!?”
As soon as she accessed the channel and saw the main page, her eyes widened. Two of the recently uploaded Shorts were about the RE:VIVAL 5th round performance, specifically interpreting LUMIS’s stage.
[LUMIS!? They were the light itself! 5th Round Interpretation #2] 240K views, 2 hours ago
[They call these failed idols? LUMIS 5th Round Interpretation #1] 480K views, 8 hours ago
“480K!?”
With trembling hands, she clicked on Part 1. The ‘Starlight’ stage video from the 5th round started playing with subtitles.
(Withered tree = Clep or LUMIS)
(It represents the reality of a small agency, their situation of being called ‘failed idols’, through a single tree.)
(I’m a LUMIS fan too! This is just a simple interpretation, please don’t misunderstand ㅠㅠㅠ)
The scene followed where Baek Doha knelt and carefully blew a breath towards the ashes.
(He blows wind, i.e., ‘hope’, into the tree.)
(Small sparks rise from the ashes and float into the sky. Doesn’t it look familiar?)
Ziiing-
The screen quickly rewound. It was the 4th round ‘Spark’ stage. Before the genre switch to trot, the video that had appeared on the screen played.
(Remember the video that appeared in the middle of the 4th round ‘Spark’? The sparks in the video start from embers in a bonfire.)
The screen paused, and five red circles were drawn.
(If you count the number of sparks flying up to the sky…… exactly five!)
(The same as the number of LUMIS members. Coincidence?)
Ziiing-
The video fast-forwarded to the ending of the 5th round, playing the scene that appeared on the screen. Thousands of sparks adorned the night sky in slow motion.
(Looking closely, among the countless sparks, five are particularly large and bright.)
(These are the very five sparks that flew up in the 4th round.)
(And the numerous sparks swirling around them represent the fans!)
Soon, the video showed the process of the five sparks rising into the cosmos, becoming stars and forming a constellation.
(And so, the five sparks that originated from the bonfire eventually become stars!)
(But wait a moment!)
(Actually, the start of this narrative wasn’t the 4th round, ‘Spark’!)
Ziiing-
The video rewound again. This time, the 3rd round ‘Burn it up’ played in slow motion. Small flame props placed around the stage were marked with red circles, and the props were zoomed in on.
(Looking closely, they are flames created by burning small trees.)
(In other words, the bonfire from the 4th round actually started from the 3rd round.)
(The fact that LUMIS’s 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds are all one connected narrative!)
The playback speed returned to normal, and the 3rd, 4th, and 5th round stages passed by in quick succession.
(3rd Round: Burning the bonfire (will, despair) – ‘Burn it up’)
(4th Round: Meeting countless sparks (fans) – ‘Spark’)
(5th Round: Receiving fans’ love and becoming stars – ‘Starlight’)
(It was a narrative containing their journey from failed idols to stars!)
(You think this is over-interpretation?)
(If you look at the 5th round lyrics, I think everyone will be convinced!)
(I’ll cover the more detailed contents in Part 2!)
“Oh my god.”
Goosebumps ran all over Fan LUMIS’s body.
‘To think our kids prepared a stage with such deep meaning……’
When she saw this Deuktuber interpreting other K-POP stages or music videos, she thought it was amazing, but seeing them interpret her own group made her realize anew how amazing her own kids were too.
Click-!
Unable to hide her excitement, she immediately pressed Part 2. The video started with the 5th round stage footage, from where Baek Doha sings the introduction.
(“Days walking in darkness, faded fragments of dreams”)
(The lyrics are the same as the original song, but the meaning is slightly different.)
(Bloom Ver. (Original) meaning = Trainee, early debut anxiety)
(LUMIS Ver. meaning = The anonymous time of not receiving attention even after debut)
(‘Starlight’, known for Bloom’s growth narrative, shares a similar sentiment with ‘LUMIS’, who had a long period of anonymity even after debut, which seems to have made their emotional delivery better.)
The video moved on to the pre-chorus section. It was the scene where the members, except for Ryu Sian, were lying down.
(“Stand up / Wake up”)
(Lyrics that weren’t in the original song.)
(Looking at the choreography, the members help each other up, right?)
(It represents relying on and comforting each other, not giving in to despair, and the will to stand up again.)
The video of Verse 2, starting with Kang Ian’s rap, played.
(This part wasn’t in the original song.)
(“The unfamiliar face in the mirror” = Although they are idols, it’s a face that causes doubt)
(“Loneliness under the spotlight” = A glamorous stage, yet empty of attention)
(“Even in that moment when the cheers faded” = The reality of being on stage but not receiving attention…….)
(It reminds me of that video from last year’s local festival where fans of other groups shouted at them to not stall and get off the stageㅠㅠㅠ)
The scene of Baek Doha rapping played.
(“The one voice that called my name, that was you” = LUBY!!!!)
(Rubies, everyone! Shout all you want! excited sounds!)
The bridge section, the video of Kang Ian’s solo rap, played.
(This part wasn’t in the original song.)
(“The spark I thought had died out / Flew up and became a star” = Directly referencing the 4th round ‘Spark’, right?)
(Star = Remember the 5th round ending video? It directly states that the narrative connects from the 4th to the 5th round!)
The 5th round ending played, showing the video of the five stars on the screen connected by golden lines.
(I had a hunch just looking at the positions of the five stars, and it gave me chills!!)
(The constellation Cassiopeia has a special story.)
(According to the myth, she was punished for boasting of her beauty by being tied to a chair and hung upside down.)
(Beauty = LUMIS – visual genius group)
(Upside down = Starting from the bottom)
(Punishment = The ridicule of being ‘failed idols’)
(Constellation = Ultimately became eternal stars)
(It could also mean that Cassiopeia (LUMIS) eternally circles around the North Star (fans)!)
“That we too may become someone’s star… That someday we may become a path for someone in the darkness…”
And finally, Cha Eun-gyeol’s narration flowed.
(Back when Yuna-byeol ssi talked about the lyric-writing process for ‘Starlight’ on a live stream, she said something like this.)
(‘Because we are light to someone’)
(Cha Eun-gyeol’s narration: “That we too may become someone’s star, that someday we may become a path for someone in the darkness”)
(They slightly twisted those words!)
(A narration filled with the earnest desire to become a shining existence for someone, also related to the North Star and the Cassiopeia constellation!)
(Frankly, to encounter such a narrative in RE:VIVAL, which I hadn’t expected much from, was truly surprising!)
(LUMIS, you are already our Cassiopeia!)
The video ended with a dark background and the final subtitle.
“…….”
Fan LUMIS felt like she could burst into tears at any moment.
‘No, how is it that a YouTuber does a better job than the company?!’
Shouldn’t Clep recruit this person right now!?
She picked up her phone as if to call Clep immediately, but the group chat buzzing incessantly with excited messages helped her regain her senses.
[Fan 1] OMG! Seriously OMG! Our kids were this amazing!! What is Clep doing!!!!
[Fan 3] Ian-ah, your noona has no regrets, even if she dies now ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 4] Isn’t Jinwoo a real genius?! He picked an amazing song ㅠㅠㅠ
Fan LUMIS gripped her phone tightly and tried to compose herself. The five kids, called ‘failed idols’ and existing outside the public’s gaze, were now slowly, very slowly, revealing their true worth to the world.
Starting from extinguished embers in the ashes,
They became small sparks and flew up into the sky,
And as shown in the 5th round ‘Starlight’, they were about to become stars and shine their light.
Tap-!
With trembling fingers, she firmly pressed the ‘Like’ button below the video. She didn’t forget to ‘Save’ it either. Someday, to commemorate the day LUMIS wins 1st place, the day they become stars, she didn’t want to ever forget this feeling, right now.
But she didn’t know.
About the huge bomb that was about to explode.
