At first, Ha-eun’s debut album had quite a flashy entrance.
The final episode of The Sunshine, aired the day before the album's release, had achieved a momentary viewership rating of 27%, wrapping up successfully.
- ?? What’s this Pinocchio music video?
- New Pinocchio track, finally.
Discussions about the last episode of The Sunshine were still circulating on various social media platforms and forums.
Thanks to this, Ha-eun's debut album naturally drew attention without much promotion.
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- Her voice is amazing.
- Why is the queen of Korean hip-hop not dying down?
- The music video looks beautifully shot.
- Wow, double featuring, what is this?
Double, a famous artist, was not only the lyricist and composer for the tracks but also featured in them.
Moreover, Ha-eun’s pure, slightly different yet still soft and innocent image, which didn't stray far from her image as Kim Jung-hyun, caught the attention of many.
Her fresh, youthful vibe—something Ha-eun hadn’t revealed much before—captivated people's eyes.
Especially the title track One Day in Spring, which was gentle yet emotionally powerful in its highlights, received the most attention.
As a result, her debut album made it into the top 20 of music charts in its first week.
The album's high quality and the buzz generated from Ha-eun's role as the female lead in The Sunshine certainly contributed to this success.
Fan-made videos compiling Kim Jung-hyun’s most memorable scenes with the song One Day in Spring surpassed 300,000 views in just one day.
Ha-eun, as Kim Jung-hyun, singing the song with its calm atmosphere blended perfectly with the nostalgic feeling from The Sunshine.
“Can I leave my fragile life with you, even if just for a moment?”
- This is by far the best fan movie from The Sunshine..
- Could you make a version with Park Joo-ho too??
- Ha-eun's emotional vibe fits perfectly.
Strictly speaking, One Day in Spring wasn’t created with The Sunshine in mind.
However, for those who had watched Kim Jung-hyun’s life unfold until its bitter end, Ha-eun's song felt like Kim Jung-hyun's song.
As a result, Ha-eun’s new tracks, including One Day in Spring, recorded results that far exceeded Ha-eun's expectations.
Her growing name value naturally soared as a result.
The release of her debut album also had an impact on her schedule.
Revlon’s cosmetic CF shooting was moved up due to the synergy created by The Sunshine and Ha-eun's first album. It would surely benefit Revlon as well.
Since last year, Sears, which had been using Ha-eun as their model, saw a significant increase in sales.
Thanks to this, Ha-eun received a call from Park Hwan-su, the head of Sears' advertising team, asking her to continue her endorsement this year as well.
‘It seems like my image is definitely solidified...’
Honestly, it did feel a bit overwhelming.
The purpose of releasing the album had certainly been achieved, but it had become more noisy than Ha-eun had anticipated.
Especially from Ha-eun's acquaintances.
Among them, the reactions from the Illusionary Realm members were the loudest.
[Park Mi-so (Mile)] - We’re doomed!!!!!!
[Lee Ye-na (Yuna)] - This is weird, someone said I have no team spirit...
[Kim Eun-hye (Ria)] - (Screenshot of the music chart)
[Kim Eun-hye (Ria)] - Pinocchio’s doing great
[Jeong Maria (Cream)] - Why is the ranking so high? ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Chats from the members jokingly saying Illusion would be overshadowed by Ha-eun's new songs.
Of course, none of it was serious; it was just light teasing.
After all, Ha-eun's Diah, too, was participating in the Illusion performance.
It was impossible to compare the famous singer Pinocchio with Illusionary Realm from the start.
Though the quality of the songs might not have fallen too far behind, the fanbases of their songs were worlds apart.
[Jeong Maria (Cream)] - Whoa
[Jeong Maria (Cream)] - I came to the cafe and Ha-eun’s song came on
[Kim Eun-hye (Ria)] - Thanks to Ha-eun, we all became like Hong Gil-dong
[Kim Eun-hye (Ria)] - Can’t even call the youngest "the youngest" anymore haha
[Lee Ye-na (Yuna)] - Diah, you have to be happy there..!
[Lee Ha-eun (Diah)] - Why am I suddenly dead?
While Ha-eun was watching the lively group chat in Illusionary Realm, full of chatter about her debut album...
- Creak.
“I’m here.”
She entered the studio with Ju Jung-yoon.
She had been asked to come to the studio for matters related to her album.
And almost simultaneously...
- Boom!
Fireworks exploded on both sides of Ha-eun.
Startled, she blinked, and from beside her, she heard congratulatory words from Lee Jun and Lee Gun-yeol.
“Your album, Ha-eun, sold 10,000 copies in just one week.”
“I told you, you’d succeed~!”
Bright smiles.
The 10-year-long music lessons with Double paid off and they were even more excited than Ha-eun.
Afterwards, they were faced with the congratulatory cake specially ordered by Double.
“Let’s shoot a thank-you video, want to sit on the sofa so the cake is visible?”
“Ah, sure.”
And so, Ha-eun’s first album thank-you video was shot in Double's studio.
After Ha-eun’s line, “Please take good care of me from now on,” the filming wrapped up and various poses were taken for Ha-eun’s official Instagram.
Afterward, they shared sweet cake and chatted.
However, unexpectedly, there was something Ha-eun hadn’t thought of that Double and Ju Jung-yoon mentioned.
“Me... A fan meeting?”
“Yeah. I saw you doing well hosting your birthday stream, so I thought you might be good at this. What do you think?”
Thus began the discussion of Ha-eun’s first solo fan meeting, which was currently being planned at Luna Entertainment.
They added that such an event would be good for both Ha-eun and her fans.
“It won’t be easy to prepare, but people say they’re happy after it’s done.”
Ha-eun thought it sounded like a good idea.
Having a fan meeting and directly communicating with her fans would certainly strengthen their bond.
‘I’ll probably have to sing, right?’
This was why Ha-eun gave a positive response to Double and Ju Jung-yoon about the fan meeting.
She’d have to think about what to do for the fans who came, but it seemed like a good opportunity.
Once Ha-eun’s fan meeting was nearly confirmed, Lee Jun suggested they watch the One Day in Spring music video in the studio.
And so, they watched Ha-eun in her school uniform strolling down the street.
The scenes of her singing alone in a studio filled with balloons also followed.
However, watching herself sing, especially with close friends like Double and Ju Jung-yoon...
‘...Ugh...’
It was a little embarrassing.
Ha-eun couldn’t explain why, but she couldn’t look directly at herself.
***
"Hah, hah..."
"Sori unnie, can I have some water?"
The moment was right after the final rehearsal for Illusion.
The members, excluding Ha-eun, started catching their breath as they sat down in the studio.
The following conversation was about the nervousness or anticipation they felt for the upcoming live performance.
"Ha-eun, aren't you sitting down?"
"Ah, no. I just have something to think about."
As various discussions about the 1st-anniversary live performance took place among the members,
the live pre-broadcast finally began.
"The broadcast is live~!"
Thanks to the promotion from both Illusionary Realm and LUX-affiliated streamers,
the viewer count began rising rapidly by the second.
First, 10,000.
Then, 20,000.
And 30,000.
"Ugh... I’m not even going to look at how many people there are..."
"I’m more nervous than during the Illusionary Realm interview! It’s not just me, right??"
The members, starting to feel more nervous than during the Illusionary Realm end-of-year broadcast, began to panic.
Unlike the casual chatting during the end-of-year broadcast, the fact that they were about to perform live was the biggest factor.
Despite that, time passed, and the countdown for the live pre-broadcast started.
"Hmm... Everyone, let’s do our best."
As Ha-eun, as always, spoke calmly, the room suddenly quieted.
Even Ha-eun, the youngest among them, was calm, which made the older members feel a bit embarrassed for their nervousness.
A moment later, the countdown entered the final ten seconds.
As expected, the chat on the official Illusionary Realm channel was flooded with numbers.
- 10
- 10!!
- 9
- 99999
- 888
And then, as the viewer count finally surpassed 40,000, all the chats switched to 0,
and the broadcast screen transitioned into the view of a massive concert hall.
"─────♪"
With the prelude of Illusion playing softly,
Illusionary Realm's first live performance began.