Chapter 303: 1st Anniversary (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 303: 1st Anniversary (4)
『You’re saying you were my Manitto?』
『Yeah.』
『What did you even do?』
I’m sorry, but I don’t recall a single moment of happiness caused by you.
As I looked at him in disbelief, Choi Je-ho spoke with a deadpan expression.
『I bought you something you liked for your birthday.』
『Would you not have bought it if you weren't my Manitto?』
Seeing myself from a third-person perspective, my expression was truly a sight to behold. It looked like the face of someone who desperately needed to practice looking at that guy with more kindness.
『I also came up with a lot of ideas.』
『That was just you filling your quota.』
『You said my batting average was good this time.』
Never mind. What practice?
『I didn't even argue with you.』
『Fine, you gave me happiness.』
The members laughed as they watched me resign myself to the situation. If we ever do a Manitto exchange again, I hope I get matched with a different member.
After the Manitto reveal, the song cover videos played. Set in a recording studio, each member had chosen and performed a song they liked.
I had wondered if Lee Cheong-hyeon would pick a rebellious track protesting against a harsh society, but contrary to my expectations, he brought a lyrical rap titled 『My Dear Friend』.
『It feels more like an infinite universe than a dark future』
『So I have no choice but to keep leaping until I’m flung away』
『Into a world where no one can hold me back』
I could feel the sincerity in the lyrics he had rewritten. Even without knowing his circumstances, anyone could tell that Lee Cheong-hyeon wasn't just playing around.
『Since there’s no gravity to pull me, I won’t fall to the ground』
『I’ll just swim through the black, endless sea, drifting through the Milky Way』
『Words I no longer use. Decline, descent, downfall... I’ll leave them beneath my feet』
『My dear Earthling, you who pray for my wounds while not wishing for my ruin』
『I leave you behind and depart』
'He really went all out.'
『Meet me when the night sky rises』
I remembered Park Ju-woo listening blankly while Lee Cheong-hyeon recorded the final verse. Even when asked if it sounded good, he hadn't been able to answer for a while.
Perhaps because he had heard the stories of Lee Cheong-hyeon and me from the closest vantage point, Park Ju-woo gave Lee Cheong-hyeon a tight hug once the recording was finished.
Jeong Seong-bin sang his college entrance exam song, and Park Ju-woo sang 『46610』, the song I had played bass for during my birthday live. It was good to see them making choices that clearly catered to the fans' demands.
Some made unexpected choices as well. Choi Je-ho chose his mother’s favorite song, and Kang Gi-yeon picked the audition song he sang when he first joined UA. This was despite the fact that family stories and the period of intense anxiety were topics both of them usually wanted to avoid.
As for me, I sang 『Sitting by the Window』 as part of my "Back to Basics" project. I had intended to just sing, but the Dedicated Team insisted I bring my bass, so I had to rearrange the accompaniment into a band style and sing while playing. I worried that those expecting an acoustic guitar vibe might be disappointed.
I paused the self-produced content and checked the MeTube channel to see if all the members' cover videos had been uploaded separately. After reviewing the playtimes, thumbnails, and titles for any issues, I returned to the video.
Compared to my trainee days, my singing had definitely improved. I could see that the tension in my shoulders was gone. At the very least, it didn't look like I was about to stick a spoon in a soju bottle and start belting out tunes.
It was a song I had sung while recalling the moment the project's progress hit zero.
But this time...
『I’m afraid of being forgotten and erased』
『So I remain here all alone.』
...The song was filled with a different emotion.
『Everything is fading away, leaving me behind.』
『The wind is dying down.』
I dwelled on the line "I’m afraid of being forgotten and erased." I could visualize the scene of even the wind leaving me behind as I stood alone.
What would it feel like to watch the five of them from beyond the window? To feel them disappearing and leaving me behind?
I couldn't say for sure since I hadn't experienced it, but I knew it certainly wouldn't feel refreshing.
The video didn't end even after the cover songs were revealed. Perhaps it was because the video was over an hour long.
If I had known it would be this long, I would have released it earlier. But then, my grand plan to celebrate February 19th by holding anniversary events at 2:00 and 19:00 would have gone awry.
Sparklers, please blame me for my lack of ideas. I will never covet a planning position again. I wanted to let you all get to sleep early, but I failed completely.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, the Spark on the screen kept chatting away. Everyone had so much to say. They were both admirable and noisy.
『What kind of activities does Spark plan to show in our second year?』
Jeong Seong-bin pondered deeply at Lee Cheong-hyeon’s skit-like question.
『Does everyone have a concept they want to try this time?』
『How about sports? Everyone seemed to love "Adan-un."』
『Exercise is good.』
Choi Je-ho nodded at Kang Gi-yeon’s words. For the record, I gathered all the opinions mentioned here and handed them over to the Dedicated Team after the recording. Since I was at it, I even sent over a draft proposal for the items I thought of, so a response should be coming soon.
『I like things with a cinematic feel. It looks cool.』
『Is it okay even if the movie is a horror-thriller?』
At Jeong Seong-bin’s question, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s face turned pale. It seemed he hated horror movies. I made a separate note of this on the "Precautions" page.
For a long while after that, Spark talked about what concepts they wanted to try and what kind of stages they wanted to create. If we were to realize everything they mentioned, two comebacks a year wouldn't even come close to being enough.
'I can group similar themes together for music shows, and put the experimental stuff in the concert. Maybe the large-scale ones can be pushed as items for a full-length album...'
My note-taking speed increased. The margins of my diary were running out. My mind, which had been spinning non-stop, suddenly came to a halt.
『Thank you to everyone who spent Spark’s 1st anniversary with us!』
After a polite group bow, the screen went dark. Then, the words "Bonus Video" appeared, and Spark’s full figures were revealed through a top-and-bottom split effect.
While the road to a new concept for Spark was still far off, it was the full version of 『Under Bar』—the sexy concept the fans had been begging for. The comment section was already heating up.
≫ Thank you for such rich content worthy of a 1st anniversary. And the ending isn't just heartwarming, it's hot. It’s perfect to use as a hand warmer in winter.
≫ I can't believe the full version of Spark's Under Bar is official.
≫ This group really gives the fans everything they ask for. At this rate, I’m already looking forward to the 2nd anniversary.
≫ It feels like just yesterday I-wol said they couldn't do a sexy concept until the kids got their IDs, but now they’ve all grown like bean sprouts... this member of the Grandma Crew is tearing up...
≫ I’ve become someone whose heart races just seeing their silhouettes.
It was worth capturing the intro in black silhouettes. I really liked the aesthetic of the video. Though it seemed my strategy to get the fans to sleep early had failed.
I had checked it dozens of times on-site, but I was about to rewind the play bar to see if there were any mistakes when—
"Hyung."
Jeong Seong-bin had stood up. He looked at me while rubbing his eyes.
"Aren't you going to sleep...?"
"I should."
"..."
Jeong Seong-bin didn't lie back down immediately. Instead, he just watched me silently.
This silence meant only one thing. I plugged my phone into the charger, set it down by my pillow, and lay down properly, pulling up the blanket. Jeong Seong-bin lay back down with a satisfied expression.
The 1st-anniversary fan meeting was grander than usual. Part of it was the venue's displays and the sheer amount of content we had prepared, but the fans also prepared various events for the special day.
"Happy Birthday, Spark!"
I can't tell you how startled I was when the fans suddenly waved their slogans and shouted happy birthday. I almost had a heart attack when I saw Manager Chan-yeong wheeling in a cart with a cake.
We took photos with the massive three-tier cake and had a cutting ceremony. We even did the "smearing cream on each other's faces" performance, though I still don't quite get why the fans love it so much.
Perhaps because they didn't want to waste the cake, everyone just dabbed a bit from the very top and applied it to the person next to them, just enough to look pretty like paint.
The reaction on-site was, without a doubt, the hottest when we performed the group's sexy dance. I thought to myself that the past Spark had done a pretty good job picking both the group name and the fandom name.
The Post-it Q&A returned, as persistent as ever. Perhaps because we had grown closer to the fans, there were quite a few sincere questions.
"There's a question asking if we've ever fought while living in the dorm. Have we...?"
Jeong Seong-bin looked up at the ceiling. He seemed to be searching his memory.
"Cheong-hyeon and Gi-yeon fought not too long ago... over whether to buy cabinets in different colors or the same color."
"Ju-woo hyung, that wasn't a fight, it was just a slightly rough exchange of opinions."
Lee Cheong-hyeon corrected Park Ju-woo’s words. Of course, no one at the venue believed him.
"They're asking for the story about the oldest members playing basketball at dawn."
Kang Gi-yeon said, peeling off a Post-it from the bottom.
"Is there even a story to tell?"
Choi Je-ho tilted his head. I felt the same way. But fans are the type to be curious about everything—why we went out to play basketball that day, how often we go, if we have separate sneakers, what we wore, who won, and even what we talked about while playing.
"We go out occasionally when we feel we haven't exercised enough or on days when we mostly did vocal practice and didn't move our bodies much. We go when the weather is nice, too. Though we haven't been lately because the ground is slippery."
"I only found out the hyungs were going out to play basketball recently."
"That's because we sneak out while you're asleep, Seong-bin."
Jeong Seong-bin smiled and glared at me. I could practically hear the sound of our basketball outings coming to an end today.
"We went out often after 'Adan-un.' Back then, I was sharing a room with Kim I-wol, so we'd just say, 'Let's go play a round.'"
"To be fair, we never played just one round. Now that we're in different rooms, I get a message from Je-ho whenever his cooldown is up."
The fans burst into laughter at my words. A scene where Choi Je-ho’s conversation brought out blossoms of laughter... I felt a surge of emotion again.
Just as I was soaking in the pride, Lee Cheong-hyeon, who had been staring intently at the board, peeled off a Post-it and asked.
"Can I throw out a spicy question here?"
"What is it?"
Lee Cheong-hyeon adjusted his grip on the microphone.
"The member whose image has changed the most over the past year!"