'We figured we'd just open a cafe if it flopped'—now this rookie group can't shake brand deals

When RESCENE debuted in March 2024, the five-member group carried real pressure. Leader Won-i has talked about that weight—the stakes felt genuinely unknown. Members even joked between themselves: 'What if we actually fail?' and 'Okay, let's pool our money and start a cafe then.'

That's how uncertain the beginning felt. Just another new group trying to find ground in an oversaturated landscape.

The pivot point came from an unlikely angle. Won-i's YouTube channel started gaining traction, and once it did, something strange happened: their 2021 B-side 'Love Attack' suddenly started charting. Three years dormant, suddenly moving up the feeds.

The song hit Melon's Top 100 at number one, then landed RESCENE their first music-show win. Won-i later reflected on those early days while walking past old dorms, remembering the desperation: 'I was running so hard back then, thinking RESCENE might disappear.'

After that, the calls came nonstop. Brands couldn't dial fast enough.

Domino's Pizza signed them first and made noise immediately. The ad dropped, and within four days hit 17 million views. It's crossed 20 million now. Member-specific shorts each broke 2 million—Won-i's dialect-heavy version alone hit 2.5 million.

Then came Dandy Soda's zero-calorie 'Narang Soda.' One month after RESCENE became the face: sales jumped 48% year-on-year. Halli's Coffee was even more notable—28 years since founding, 1998 to 2026, and RESCENE became the first-ever brand ambassadors for a campaign.

Elite Student Uniforms kept them for year two. Grain On's Casaverde health line signed on. CU convenience stores started making RESCENE content drops. Mobile game EA FC Mobile put them in an ad. T-Order (table-ordering service) ran a collab. Hair care brand A-Phy brought them onboard too.

Individual members got their own momentum. Minaim and Jena showed up in HanSkin skincare spots. Won-i did a photo shoot with Wake Willey. But the kicker: Won-i landed a solo deal as brand ambassador for BioDance, piloting their 'My First Collagen' campaign.

Two years into career, this rookie group is everywhere. Convenience stores to beauty to gaming. The span is wild—not the usual rookie pattern.

What feels most surreal is the whiplash. 'We might fail, let's plan our backup cafe' in March 2024. By September 2026, they're booking third-party brands faster than they can shoot.

It's the kind of turnaround that makes you believe the momentum stuff actually works. They kept dropping content, stacked wins, and the algorithm finally noticed. Now the industry can't ignore them.