novelraw Chapter 321: 2nd Batter
Chapter 321: 2nd Batter
A man in a helmet that looked like it belonged on a spacesuit stopped between collapsed buildings and a brown-hued street. He then opened a tattered bag and took out a paper that had been folded many times.
As he unfolded the ragged paper, the words ‘National Expressway Map’ could be seen in the corner.
The man’s hand, wearing a thick glove, wiped the glass of his helmet, revealing Choi Jeho’s eyes. A low-toned voice settled on the floor like old dust.
『The sun is setting』
Choi Jeho glanced back and forth between the paper and a sign in front of him. Behind the half-bent sign, nothing was visible.
Just as he was looking around with an annoyed expression, an orange light turned on in a device attached to his hip. Choi Jeho turned around to see a sandstorm rolling in from the distance. The wind whipped at the hem of his clothes. It was like a scene from a movie.
『Wherever I go, all that remains
Are empty cities
Eternal silence
And traces of people』Kang Kiyeon’s voice, adding to the parched feeling, blended with the scene.
A hand reached out from the smoke and grabbed the elbow of Choi Jeho, who was hastily clutching the map. All that was visible was a motorcycle glove.
Without knowing who was leading him, Choi Jeho relied on the silhouette and the strong grip to plunge into the smoke with them.
『If only for a day
I could be swept up in a crowd
And blend in』
After a solo shot of Choi Jeho perched in a narrow space filled with junk, the screen returned to the smoke, showing Choi Jeho arriving in an underground bunker as a massive steel door closed behind him.
Kang Kiyeon, who had taken off his gas mask, removed his gloves and brushed his hair with his bare hands. Then, using an air compressor near the entrance, he meticulously blew the dust off his and Choi Jeho’s bodies.
The narrow space grew wider the further they went inside. Finally, when they opened an inner door, a small, rectangular hideout was revealed.
The gazes of Park Joowoo, in a tattered long-sleeved shirt, who was organizing food supplies, and Jeong Seongbin, in worn-out overalls, who was checking materials, turned toward the unfamiliar outsider.
Lee Cheonghyeon, who had just woken up from under a pile of cloth, and Kim Iwol, who was reading a thick book while wearing cracked glasses, reacted in much the same way.
Whenever the gauge lit up red, the six boys would eat the preserved food stored in the bunker — or, with the map Choi Jeho had brought and his explanations, they would dream about whether somewhere out there a better place might still exist.
『If I could not be alone
If all the stars
Were my friends』
Lying among his sleeping members, Park Joowoo opened his eyes alone. Reflected in his deep, unreadable eyes was a star chart drawn on the bunker’s ceiling.
The camera quickly zoomed in on one of the countless stars. It transitioned to a shot of Kim Iwol trapped in a small space, giving the illusion that he was inside the star.
Kim Iwol, sitting on a wooden ladder in a space surrounded by tall books, looked intelligent and noble.
It was clear that for the individual cuts, they had tried to maintain a similar color palette to the drama scenes while highlighting each member’s unique characteristics as much as possible.
From within the narrow stacks that seemed to be filled with the smell of old books, Kim Iwol looked up at the sky. His following part represented his inner thoughts.
『Until the very last end
A new place
In search of hope』
On the day the detector showed a green light for the first time since Choi Jeho’s arrival at the bunker, the members put on their well-worn protective suits and ran outside.
They ran into a forest. As far away from human settlements as possible, to a place untouched by the city’s civilization.
Beyond the forest was a wide-open sea.
『I leave on an endless journey』
In front of the night sea, the members took off their protective gear one by one. With clumsy hands, Choi Jeho carefully unzipped his work jumpsuit, which had been zipped up to his neck.
Choi Jeho took off his helmet. The sound of the waves, previously unheard, rushed in with the music.
It felt as if the waves were being captured in Choi Jeho’s eyes. His matured expressiveness, more so than when he had appeared in his agency senior’s music video, pulled Won Chaehee further in.
Lee Cheonghyeon, after checking if there was any gas left in a lighter he’d found on the beach, lit a small sparkler.
Park Joowoo held the crackling sparkler and went to the water’s edge, watching the flame reflect on the surface.
Jeong Seongbin sat next to him, twirling his wrist and watching the sparks leave trails in the air.
Choi Jeho sat down next to Kim Iwol, who was lying with his head on a log and his eyes closed, enjoying the sea breeze. He then watched his friends playing, tossing a deflated ball back and forth.
When Lee Cheonghyeon waved and called out to them, Kim Iwol rose to his feet. But Choi Jeho didn’t move. So Kang Kiyeon reached out his hand to him.
In this harsh environment, happy days became increasingly rare.
The food dwindled, and the detector glowed only red, making day and night meaningless.
And one day, a certain news story came on the radio, which only worked occasionally when its corner was tapped.
The members gazed wistfully at the dates they’d carved into the wall, or silently stroked the trinkets they’d collected, finishing their quiet goodbyes.
Just before falling asleep, lying side by side in the cramped bunker, Choi Jeho asked the person next to him, Kang Kiyeon, a question. His voice was drowned out by the music.
Kang Kiyeon simply answered with a smile.
The next day, when the detector glowed green for the first time in a long while.
Just like that early summer night, the members cast off their protective gear and ran along the beach as the sun was just beginning to set.
They dipped their feet into the sea they had never entered and shouted at the top of their lungs. Sand flew in all directions every time they kicked off the ground.
A calm melody, contrasting with their bright faces, played with Jeong Seongbin’s voice.
『But if
The end really comes』
Rain began to fall on everyone as they played. A downpour on a clear day.
The raindrops falling on the murky, jade-colored surface of the water glittered like crystals in the sunlight.
The sea was carved out like a giant jewel. The boundaries between the sky, the rain, and the waves blurred together.
『I will remain here
In the desert
And watch the setting sun』
A drenched Kang Kiyeon shook the rainwater from his hair. He then took Choi Jeho’s damp hand and pulled.
In the distance, the other members were gesturing toward the two of them.
『The sea of sand
Where the sunset glows』
On the walkie-talkie of the jumpsuit Choi Jeho had taken off, a green light flickered faintly. It was the last light seen before the screen went dark.
『On A High Note』
Thus, one story came to an end. Beautifully.
* **
Spark’s first-ever post-apocalyptic music video was revolutionary in many ways.
≫ The last remaining bit of humanity in a world destroyed by humankind?
How can you not cry watching this?
└ We said we wanted cyberpunk, not life gauges punctured with pain, sir
└ So it was a full album, huh? You guys really went for the jugular. But hey, you ground your teeth so hard, there won’t be any left.
≫ How could they show us a music video like this and name it >>Let’s End on a High Note<<
Unforgivable. I’m going to sue
└ It’s good but it’s sad… I’m happy but I’m crying… what even is my heart?
└ Was the dirt-smudged baseball background in the highlight medley all for this?
└ Oh, please don’t
└ ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠplease noㅠㅠㅠ
≫ Alright~ Cut~~ Good work everyone~
Let’s all go grab a meal~~
Mr. Kiyeon, your emotional range was amazing~
Don’t forget to grab your coffees
And make sure you haven’t left any belongings behind~~~
└ OP, are you crying?
└└ ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ lol ㅠㅠㅠ ah, I feel you. I’m in the same sobbing-meme state right now.
≫ Say they’re not dead
Say that after enduring together, they happily greeted a day of world peace
└ There’s room to interpret it as a happy ending, right?… The walkie-talkie light didn’t turn red… there was a rainbow…
└ From ancient times, the rainbow has symbolized longevity. There’s no basis for this, but let’s just go with that
└ Sparklers, starting today, we’re launching a campaign to recycle diligently. We cannot give our boys a future of a destroyed Earth
≫ There are more people who think it’s a sad ending than I thought.
I thought it was a solid happy ending
The cause of the destruction was pollution from fine dust, but there was rain all over the world
└ That’s right, I thought it was a happy ending too ㅠㅠ
≫ Is it for real that the items in this music video were (not that they ever weren’t) planned by Iwol?
In OAHN, Jeho brings Kiyeon in
That was inspired by the fact that Kiyeon said he came to UA because of Jeho
└ Now I finally understand the saying ‘educated perverts are the scariest’ from watching Iwol
└ In End, Kiyeon bringing Jeho to the bunker is just the narrative reversed, right? Just checking in case there’s a behind-the-scenes story I don’t know
└ Reversing the narrative is also right, but yeah. During their trainee days, Kiyeon always wanted to practice with Jeho if there was a group practice. Both stories aren’t ones that were left as self-produced content or videos, but they were important to the formation of Spark, so they recorded them in a different way.
└ Then the muted question in End must be ‘Why did you bring me here?’ since it’s the same narrative with just the characters swapped
└└ This has to be it
≫ [Summary Post] Role breakdown in Spark’s ‘End’ MV
Some of this is compiled from other sources, so it might not be 100% accurate, but I tried to pick the most plausible ones + the ones with a lot of likes!
There are too many clues and Easter eggs… I’ll make a separate post for those!
Iwol: Researcher (Researches survival methods, designs the bunker, manages equipment) The reason he kept lowering his glasses or squinting when reading was a setting that they weren’t his own glasses and the prescription was wrong
Jeho: Survivor (The last human from a populated area, geography expert) The reason the kids gather to listen to Jeho is because he’s an outsider who can tell them stories about the world outside the forest bunker and the nearby sand desert
Seongbin: Manager (The leader of the bunker) Literally the person who manages everything in the bunker. Seongbin also has the authority to open the bunker door when the members go out
Joowoo: Food Manager (Especially related to plants) Spends most of his time preserving food, such as selecting what the members bring back or making dried food inside the bunker
+ It’s said he was purposely given this role because Joowoo himself is a plant enthusiast…!
Cheonghyeon: Scout (In charge of procuring food, checking the surrounding environment) The members take turns going out, but Cheonghyeon is often shown moving at night. This was also taken from his habit of often working late at night
Kiyeon: Scout (Main role is the same as Cheonghyeon’s) Mainly active during the day, and the scout who travels the farthest (if you look at the activity range drawn on the bunker wall, Kiyeon’s is the widest). When he choreographs, and in general, the members often say that Kiyeon has a wide perspective and tends to see the big picture, and it seems that was reflected here
I tried my best to gather all this based on member interviews + live comments!! Everyone please listen to End and On A High Note a lot ㅎㅎ
└ Additionally, the role reversal moments in OAHN:
Iwol: All-night researcher → Lazy bum
Jeho: Outsider → Seasoned 3rd-year captain
Seongbin: Generous leader who accepts outsiders → Prickly vice-captain
Joowoo: Quiet plant research enthusiast → Super sociable senior
└ Cheonghyeon: Loyal friend who works at night for his colleagues → Ill-tempered delinquent
Kiyeon: Explorer with a wide perspective → Pitcher who only sees the mitt
Had to separate the maknaes due to character limit ㅠㅠㅠ
└ Addendum) The bunker seen from above → shaped like a home plate.
The digital music scores, album sales, and buzz were all incomparable to last year. Thanks to the synergy created by the two music videos being separate yet intertwined, it wasn’t hard to find analysis videos and overseas reaction videos.
‘I was worried there wouldn’t be much to see even though it’s a full album.’
I could finally relax. Looking beside me, it seemed Lee Cheonghyeon felt the same way, as he was melting into the sofa with his head hanging off it at an awkward angle.
That kid had insisted on releasing a revised version of ‘Winter Night’, which he had clung to until the very end in the last album. In a way, it was a dedicated remix for the album buyers.
The music video, into which we had poured our entire budget, the aesthetically pleasing album design, the visual beauty that shone even through the dust, and the music that was nothing short of perfect. On top of all that, there wasn’t even the common issue of shipping delays. Everything was perfect.
“Everything is turning out better than I could have imagined.”
“Right? It’s such a relief.”
Said Lee Cheonghyeon as he melted like cheese, patting his chest.
“It is at times like these that one must not let their guard down.”
“Hyung, why don’t you go get some rest? You need to turn off your brain every once in a while.”
Lee Cheonghyeon chided.
But life is a series of crises. If you let your guard down, you never know when or where something might happen.
I tucked a cushion into the spot under his waist and reviewed the issues I had written down in my journal planner. And I muttered to myself.
Work, brain. You’ve rested enough until now!
…or so I said.
≫ @spArk_official
Spark’s multi-talented eldest member, Iwol’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ is back after a year! 🎉
If you’ve had any questions for Iwol, now’s your chance!
Please leave your questions in the comments by September 3rd (Tue) at 00:00 KST ✏
(Example: Q. What is Iwol’s favorite number?)
We look forward to Sparklers’ fiery participation 🔥
#스파크 #spArk #이월 #Yiwol #큐앤에이 #qna