Chapter 313 : Gogh Girl (1)
Chapter 313: Gogh Girl (1)
[Stardust Announces Comeback with 3rd Full Album Figure out, “Our Goal Is Billboard Hot 100”]
Stardust officially announced their spectacular comeback.
After charting on Billboard with their previous collaborative single and achieving an impressive No. 17 ranking, Stardust's current goal is to break into the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10.
Expectations are high to see what these rookies, who have been rising at an incredible pace as K-pop's newest stars, will showcase through this album.
Immediately after the article announcing Stardust's comeback was released, Dusty Han Yooyoung hummed to herself as she logged into her favorite community.
An eye-catching post title immediately greeted her.
[I'm waiting like crazy for Universe Dust's comeback]
I became a fan right after the mini album promotions ended, so I'd already gone through every bit of content that was uploaded and had been licking up the leftovers like a yogurt lid ㅠㅠㅠ
My babies are finally making a comeback!!
Yes, unnie's bank account is completely ready!!!
Take all my money, boys!!!
Doubles: We'll gladly accept it. ^^
└Get lost.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That's hilarious.
└Why is Doubles even here;;;;
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
There's still almost three months left ㅠㅠ How am I supposed to wait ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Once they start dropping teasers little by little, it'll be August before you know it. Please.
└Since it's a full album this time, they'll probably release a repackaged album too, right? If so, I can wait forever.
└Even though Universe Dust already has a pretty fast comeback cycle, waiting is still so painful ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[I think the members spoiled the album during the livestream]
During the last livestream, Kang Siwoo said he'd been doing jump rope lately and showed us.
Then Cha Seongbin started fiddling with the jump rope and tied Kang Siwoo up with it ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The way Sehyun and Haim kept trying not to laugh totally looked like a spoiler.
They kept pretending to tie people up in the background, so could it be something like Tied to you?
Wait, that was a spoiler????
└Jin Sehyun's eyes were literally screaming, "Ah, that's a spoiler."
└If it's Tied to you, are we getting an insanely intense sexy concept???? ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
└Holy crap, I'm already so excited. My heart's racing.
If this turns out to be true, I'm coming back here on a pilgrimage.
└Making my pilgrimage in advance. Please give us Kang Siwoo's sexy concept one more time ㅠㅠㅠ
└Manifesting another Kang Siwoo Tied to you.
└22222222
One thing's for sure—it definitely looks like they're going with an intense performance concept. They probably planned it that way to attract more overseas fans.
└The hardcore Refreshing Concept supporters are crying.
└It's finally time to see Soft Do Hamjji's abs.
└?????
└Protect the baby.
└Protect Do Hamster at all costs.
While countless theories about the album concept spread everywhere,
the music video was finally released two months later.
Gray clouds covered the dark sky.
All that remained of what had once been a city were shattered buildings and stray cats wandering in search of the few scraps of food waste left behind.
A traveler who had crash-landed onto the timeline of a ruined Earth walked along the desolate road.
This place was a real hell.
A hopeless world where neither hope nor a future could be found.
Kang Siwoo silently took in the cold reality before him.
After drifting through dozens of timelines,
his worn-out body had finally grown exhausted.
He had witnessed a dazzling past.
For a brief moment,
he had even dreamed of a future together with you.
But the ending of that beautiful story had always been tragic.
Being left completely alone on an Earth where no one remained was miserable.
Like the crumbling fragments of those collapsed buildings,
he too was falling apart.
And yet,
perhaps because a fragile lingering attachment still remained,
he simply couldn't give up.
Kang Siwoo let out a faint sigh and stopped walking.
This empty place, where not even a trace remained,
had once been where the train station he shared with you had stood.
The abandoned heaps of scrap metal scattered everywhere made it obvious.
With a sad smile, Kang Siwoo murmured softly.
“…It was nice.”
Because he missed those days so desperately,
he had continued turning back time.
But now,
he found himself wondering.
Was there any point in returning to the past anymore?
Repeating the same predetermined ending.
Losing you dozens of times.
He was emotionally exhausted now.
And Kang Siwoo realized instinctively.
There were no tickets left to send him back into the past.
At last,
the time had come to end his long-held attachment.
Looking at the ruined train station, Kang Siwoo spoke.
“I'll let you go.”
I'll leave behind all my lingering attachment and let you go.
I won't keep you trapped inside this endlessly repeating time anymore.
It was at the very moment he made that vow.
“……!”
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps echoed from somewhere in the distance.
There shouldn't be any humans left alive in this universe.
Kang Siwoo turned around with wary eyes.
The thick smoke obscured his vision,
hiding someone's silhouette.
Frowning,
Kang Siwoo stared at the place where the figure had disappeared.
Then.
At last,
someone emerged from the fog.
A familiar face he remembered perfectly.
“So this is where you were?”
Cha Seongbin smiled with the corner of his lips curling upward.
.
.
.
[Here's my analysis of Universe Dust's 3rd Full Album teaser]
Three concept trailers have been released so far.
They're honestly almost movie quality, so I'm seriously emotional ㅠㅠ
Since Doubles clearly went all out making these, it's only right that we go all out analyzing them too.
I've watched the MV dozens of times and wrote down everything I think might be a clue!
I could totally be wrong, so just take this as a reference!!
First teaser.
Ha Junseo is happily playing with a teddy bear when a mysterious shadow appears and his expression freezes.
The room goes dark, then the lights come back on, and all that's left is the torn-up stuffed animal.
So everything Junseo was seeing was an illusion.
The shadow appears to have come to retrieve the ticket that was mentioned back during Thicket.
For reference, the ticket is the paper ticket needed for time travel!! (See Stardust's universe lore.)
Second teaser.
For some reason, the members are openly fighting.
While they're arguing, Do Seohan tears up the ticket.
Seo Ian gets fired up after seeing it. (Soft Sundubu's rage ㅋㅋㅋㅋ)
Judging by the teaser, it seems some members are still attached to time travel, while others have grown tired of endlessly repeating it and have given up.
Moving on to the third teaser.
Kang Siwoo is walking across the ruined Earth.
Judging from his expression, it looks like every last bit of lingering attachment has disappeared. (He literally says, "I'll let you go." ㅠㅠ)
Then Seongbin suddenly appears.
Kang Siwoo's expression completely falls apart!
That's when I found a clue.
His clothes have Betrayers written on them.
It means "traitors."
So it looks like the members obsessed with time travel have started stealing the tickets from the members who still possess them.
I'm guessing the full story will be explained in the actual music video.
The title Figure out is probably about uncovering the identities of those traitors.
I'm waiting like crazy for Universe Dust's comeback ㅠㅠ
Holy... I was too busy admiring Cha Seongbin's face to even notice the writing.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Honestly, same.
└I went back to rewatch the teaser after reading this, and I still only saw Cha Seongbin's face;;
└Yep. Seongbin with black hair is the absolute best.... Every day feels new.... He's just too perfect....
└Kang Siwoo's physique is a national treasure.
Every time I read posts like this, all I can do is admire them.
└2222222
└I'll leave the analysis to the people who actually understand the universe lore ㅠㅠ I'll just consume whatever they bring me ㅠㅠ
└Now that the teaser's out, the intense concept is basically confirmed. I'm already looking forward to the performance.
└Please let it be August already ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Please ㅠㅠ My bank account is ready.
At the same time.
Far removed from the ruined Earth,
the members were relaxing on the comfortable sofa in their dorm.
The rather lengthy concept trailer had practically been created by working the members to the bone while they were busy filming the music video,
so it was a relief that the response had been so positive.
The one who had struggled the most while filming the second teaser had been Seo Ian...
"You need to get properly angry!"
"Throw the prop!!"
"Don't throw it in an arc—throw it straight ahead! You're not passing it to someone!"
This hyung really didn't know how to get properly angry.
In the end,
the clip was successfully completed after five reshoots.
Seo Ian smiled brightly in satisfaction.
“I think I turned out pretty well.”
“As long as you're satisfied, hyung.”
“Should I have gotten even angrier?”
“Mmm....”
We watched the concept trailer again.
“Oh.”
On set,
it had definitely felt like nothing more than a screaming Sundubu with a bright red face,
but after they layered an epic BGM over it,
it somehow gave off an incredibly solemn atmosphere.
“It turned out well.”
“Right!!”
How did I get angry again?
I let it play for a few more seconds to monitor it.
The screen showed me tearing the ticket into tiny pieces.
Considering what the atmosphere on set had actually been like,
this was definitely the power of editing.
“At this part, Haim-hyung was throwing my ticket around beside me....”
“That's right.”
“Everyone was probably running around having fun behind the scenes during this shot too.”
I should tell everyone the behind-the-scenes story during a livestream later.
Just as I was thinking that while continuing to watch the concept trailer—
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Whoosh—
Jin Sehyun suddenly shot upright at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
A short scream immediately erupted from beside him.
“Eek?”
Even I was startled from where I was sitting,
and Seo Haim beside him looked absolutely shocked.
“You scared me.”
Seo Haim patted his chest with a startled expression.
“Why did you suddenly...”
“Our pre-orders!!
They say we're million sellers!”
“Huh??”
“What?”
That was definitely shocking news.
Jin Sehyun excitedly shoved an article in front of everyone.
“Look!
The article's already out!”
[Stardust's 3rd Full Album Surpasses Double Million Pre-orders, Establishing Themselves as the Next Generation's Album Powerhouse]
It had even comfortably surpassed the Double Million-seller mark.
“It's real?”
2.3 million pre-orders.
There was no guarantee every copy would count toward first-week sales,
but it was still an incredible record.
No wonder Jin Sehyun was grinning from ear to ear.
“This is insane.”
Cha Seongbin added with a bright smile.
“Is it just me?
I've already got a good feeling about this.”
“Of course!
Who do you think wrote the song!”
“Let's give this 3rd Full Album everything we've got!”
“Let's go!!!”
As the dorm filled with fighting spirit,
good news wasn't the only thing waiting for them.
That evening,
a completely unexpected post appeared on the same community.
[Gogh Girl?? Is this person really Cha Seongbin's younger sister?]