Chapter 351
Chapter 351
"Waaaaah!!"
The music and cheers were so loud they made my ears ring.
Cha Yu-jin, who had been checking the outside, let out a whistle.
"Wow, there are so many people here!"
"Oh~ you're right. It’s really intense."
It wasn't like we hadn't seen large crowds before, but there was something truly spectacular about seeing a sea of people the same age, all dressed in the same colors, jumping and singing along in unison.
The thought that we’d be standing out there performing in less than thirty minutes made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
"It’s our turn after three more teams. Is that enough time to warm up?"
"Yes!"
"I'm so glad we arrived within the estimated time."
"Exactly. Phew, you worked hard, Manager-hyung~"
The manager let out a sigh of relief and started running around to talk to the staff. Meanwhile, we sat in the designated waiting area, loosening up our throats and bodies.
I didn't know a place like this existed.
Maybe it was because I had zero interest in festivals back when I was a student, but I never knew such a space was here. Well, even if I had known, I wouldn't have had any reason to come inside.
Regardless, all that matters is doing a good job on stage.
A university festival is technically just another event, but surprisingly, a lot of people look forward to them.
Is it because they’re used as a metric for public popularity?
Fancams from these events tend to go viral quite easily, too.
In fact, I was impressed by the lineup, which had remained strictly confidential until this morning.
Whoever organized this really went all out to prevent scalping.
Though I think the secret was blown the moment our van pulled up.
At the same time, there were valid posts saying that if they had this kind of money, they should lower tuition instead, but those weren't directed at us, so I didn't care. I don't even have a diploma anymore, so what does it matter to me?
Still, we had to make sure we were worth the money.
"Moon-dae hyung, do you require hydration before stretching?"
"I'm fine."
"Give it to me!"
"Cha Yu-jin, you're sitting closer to the water than I am!"
Same as always.
I left the two of them to warm up by bickering and continued my stretching.
Beside me, Seon A-hyun was diligently warming up his muscles, starting from the large ones down to the small ones.
It was a familiar sight.
He did it as naturally as breathing.
I suppose that’s expected, considering he’s been doing this since he was half his current height.
Hmm, maybe I should learn a thing or two.
"A-hyun."
"Y-Yes?"
"Could you show me that sequence once?"
"O-Of course...!"
Seon A-hyun’s face brightened instantly.
...To that extent?
For some reason, it reminded me of the days he taught me choreography during Aju-sa.
I ended up following his stretching secrets with half-forced enthusiasm because Seon A-hyun was being excessively thorough in his teaching.
This guy could have made a living as a teacher.
"Lastly... once more, for the whole body."
"Mm."
I finished the last movement cleanly.
This is actually pretty good. I should stick to this routine from now on. I should have asked sooner.
"Thanks. This is great."
"......"
However, Seon A-hyun didn't respond for a long time. Then, he suddenly spoke up.
"U-Um... M-Moon-dae."
"Yeah?"
"......N-No, it's nothing."
Seon A-hyun gave a faint smile.
"I... I just wanted to say, let's work hard together today, too."
"...Sure."
I didn't think that was what he was going to say.
I kept my mouth shut.
...Is it still awkward?
He probably has a lot on his mind regarding the fact that I'm actually older than him.
...Maybe I shouldn't have.
No, let's stop thinking about it.
I have to work, so I'll only think about work for now. I stopped my useless speculation and stood up.
"Let's get ready!"
*
A short while later.
The outdoor stage we ran onto was already sweltering with heat.
"Waaaaah!!"
Cheers erupted from throats already hoarse, and a dense crowd of people surged toward the stage. Behind them, a wave of people swayed.
It was almost primal in its intensity.
Was it always like this?
Hearing a large, collective community—not just fans—shouting with such passion had a different flavor to it.
Wait, there are fans here, too.
"Park Moon-dae!!"
I couldn't help but smirk when I spotted a few brave souls holding up lightsticks.
As soon as we got on stage, we performed last year's Grand Prize-winning song, "Promise," and the atmosphere was fantastic. This is why having a hit song makes events so much easier.
There's also the joy of hearing the crowd sing along.
One of our members even took out an in-ear monitor just to listen to them while performing.
The moment the final accompaniment of "Promise" ended, we stood tall amidst the piercing cheers.
Handheld microphones were passed to us.
"Take your star! Hello, we are TeSTAR!"
"Waaaaah!!"
After the greeting led by Ryu Cheong-woo, who was catching his breath, the talk segment flowed smoothly.
"We are so happy to meet the wonderful students of Yonhee University today..."
But then, Ryu Cheong-woo suddenly smirked at me.
What now?
He naturally brought the microphone to his lips.
"...??"
"How does it feel to be here?"
Wow... even this guy is teasing me now.
Suddenly put on the spot to share my thoughts on visiting my "alma mater," I suppressed a sigh and spoke.
"It's so passionate and wonderful. As expected, blue is definitely a much cooler color than red."
I gave a thumbs-up.
This is the golden rule.
Mention the school's representative color and say it's better than their rival school's.
Everyone knows that if we go to the neighboring school, we'll flip our stance and say red is better.
"Waaaaah! Aaaagh!"
The reaction was great.
Ryu Cheong-woo smiled and took the mic back.
"That's why we've prepared a song where blue beats red."
"Please focus on our movements and the dancers' movements and enjoy~ Here comes the next song!"
As Keun Se-jin waved and took his position, the intro to our current title track began to play.
I didn't miss the intro and started singing.
"That sound calling out anxiously—"
I moved my gaze more than usual. There were dozens of cameras visible right in front of me.
The lights of smartphones, that is.
"The leader who appeared first!"
"Aaaah!"
The reaction to the high notes was also good. I used large movements as I ran across the stage.
The momentum didn't fade through the next song, and the one after that.
Not for us, and not for the audience.
"Whew."
"Thank you!"
We were contracted for three songs. But since we had time, we did one more encore. It’s a good thing we have a lot of songs, so it’s no burden.
"One more?"
"Let's do it! Let's do it!"
The next encore song was "Black Hole," a movie OST.
It was easy to manage our stamina since we could just walk around while singing, and its high recognition meant the response was great.
It's a success.
I felt it instinctively.
We had properly scored points with this university festival event.
Maybe it's because things have been clicking into place lately, but for some reason, I didn't have any negative premonitions.
Even if I didn't push it, the excited guys next to me were shouting for the next song, regardless of whether we had a shoot tomorrow morning or not.
"Phew, should we do one more? Is there anything you want to hear??"
"Picnic! Picnic!!"
"Magical Boy!"
Requests for our popular digital hits poured out. We smirked as we listened to the shouts.
All the backing tracks are ready.
The plan was to tease them a bit and then decide based on the volume of the cheers.
But suddenly, Kim Rae-bin’s eyes began to sparkle.
"Um... may I say something?"
"Oh? Sure!"
"Since this is a university and the audience consists of people preparing to enter society, I thought it might be appropriate for us to sing our debut song!"
"Waaaaah!!"
Since when was this guy such a smooth talker?
"......I agree!"
Was Bae Se-jin always this proactive?
Everyone must be excited today. Anyway, given the atmosphere, there was only one answer.
"Shall we do that, then?"
"YES!!"
"Alright! 'Magical Boy,' music please."
At Ryu Cheong-woo’s energetic call, the staff below the stage exchanged signals.
Now, once the "Magical Boy" track starts playing...
— Ohhh~ Ohhhhh~
"......!"
"Uh."
At that moment, a thunderous chorus of male and female voices blasted through the speakers.
It was a slightly low-quality, exaggerated band sound with a melody taken from a famous classical piece.
It was definitely not the music box sound of the "Magical Boy" intro.
I knew immediately.
They played the wrong track.
They had accidentally played the cheer song audio meant for after we finished our ending.
"......Hmm."
In short, it was an accident.
It happens.
It’s the kind of accident that frequently occurs at events.
The problem was that about seven seconds had passed, and the sound still hadn't been cut.
Things must be chaotic down there.
The moment we froze in embarrassment, the encore atmosphere would be ruined.
Not with all these smartphones recording us.
Let's at least wave our hands.
Pretend to enjoy it.
I watched the other members quickly catch on and start smiling and moving to the rhythm, so I raised both hands to do the same.
Then, it occurred to me.
If we're going to do this, we might as well...
Why not just do this?
I stepped forward and picked up the handheld microphone I had set on the floor.
"...?"
And I opened my mouth in time with the chorus.
[The rising sun! The advancing portrait! Oooooh~ Our voices!]
The old-fashioned cheer song flowed out naturally.
"Ohhh!"
I haven't forgotten this.
They played this on the streets every time I went to the library during this season.
And the lyrics were taken from a poem.
Actually, it didn't matter if I got the lyrics wrong. As long as I could get a reaction.
[Voices! Voices! Voices!]
I spent time with the members, singing along to the chant without overdoing it.
And just as we passed the first verse's chorus, the music finally cut out.
"Waaaaah!!"
"Thank you."
That was a relief. I didn't know the second verse. Laughter and applause poured out. The funny thing was that the members were doing the same.
"That was a great encore cheer~"
"So cool!"
...Well, I think that was some decent quick thinking.
"That was epic!"
"That was an amazing ad-lib, hyung!"
On the way home, as we entered the dorm late at night, the members each added a word of praise. Honestly, I felt a bit guilty since I just relied on background knowledge.
Bae Se-jin muttered softly.
"He knew trot well, too..."
"......"
Even if he understands it that way... well, it is strange that there's nothing really wrong with that logic.
And the guy who knew the truth only poked my side once everyone had started scattering to their rooms.
"Moon-dae, Moon-dae!"
Stop it.
"Did you actively participate in those events and learn them? The cheer songs?"
As if.
"There's an orientation where they gather all the freshmen and teach only those."
"Really??"
"Yeah."
Sejin burst out laughing.
"Hey."
"S-Sorry! No, I just imagined it... ah, hmm."
And even Ryu Cheong-woo, who was standing quietly nearby, let out a sound.
"Ahem!"
That guy keeps messing with me while pretending he isn't.
Do whatever you want.
Anyway, I managed to fix the situation and score a win, so it's fine.
"Ah~ Thanks to Moon-dae, we're going to be on the trending videos again~"
Keun Se-jin even grabbed Seon A-hyun, who was heading toward a corner.
"A-hyun, did you hear? Moon-dae said he learned this separately."
"......"
But Seon A-hyun didn't look back.
"Um, A-hyun?"
"...Y-Yes, I h-heard..."
Seon A-hyun still didn't turn around, but he did answer.
However, his voice trailed off. And his shoulders were heaving as if he were gasping for air.
Wait...
Something felt wrong.
The moment I was about to speak to him.
Seon A-hyun stumbled.
"......!"
"A-hyun."
"......Ugh."
The sound of a suppressed breath, or a gasp.
...Hyperventilation?
And then, Seon A-hyun suddenly stumbled and ran.
"...!!"
Slam!
Into the hallway bathroom.
"Seon A-hyun!"
I reflexively followed and grabbed the doorknob.
Thud!
...It was locked.
Why?
I heard the others who had run over with me shouting.
"A-hyun? Seon A-hyun! Are you okay?"
Only the sound of retching echoed from inside.
"Moon-dae, move. Let's break it down."
"Watch out."
Cha Yu-jin, who had run from somewhere, slammed his body into the door with terrifying force.
Bang! Bang!
Ping...
With the sound of the doorknob popping out, the door flew open.
When the door opened, I saw Seon A-hyun’s back as he hunched over the sink.
In that short time, he had somehow soaked himself from the head down.
"Seon A-hyun, are you sick?"
"I-I will call an ambulance!"
"Wait, look at his condition..."
I walked into the bathroom and tried to lightly tap the shoulder of the guy standing at the sink.
His shoulders flinched violently.
"...!"
And then, a small voice was heard.
"I-I'm sorry... Moon-dae. I'm r-really sorry..."
"...!!"
Why...?
"......"
"Guys, wait a second..."
I vaguely heard Ryu Cheong-woo leading the others out behind me.
And I stood there as if I had been struck by lightning.
"...For what?"
I only said that one thing, but words poured out of him like a dam had burst.
"I s-should have! Told you right away... I c-couldn't say it, b-because being together like that was so good... I-I felt so relieved..."
"......"
"For y-your sake, if it was really for you, I should have said it, M-Moon-dae."
Seon A-hyun turned his head.
His face was deathly pale.
"Y-You need treatment. C-Counseling... Right now, y-you shouldn't be, be promoting... It's g-getting worse... No, I shouldn't s-say it like this... I have to, s-say it properly..."
"......"
"I-I'm sorry... I c-couldn't trust you... and I'm no h-help..."
Seon A-hyun’s face turned a sickly shade of blue, and he began to gasp for air again.
And I had seen that face before.
— H-Hello...
Daydream.
Seon A-hyun’s state when I, a complete stranger, had suddenly dragged him to LeTi.
Ah.
Almost reflexively, I pulled up his status window.
Past the grand stat items where A and S alternated... below that.
Special Items.
Trait: Perseverance (Inactive)
!Status Effect: Lack of Self-Esteem
Status Effect.
[Lack of Self-Esteem]
Despises oneself.
All stats decreased by two levels.
And then I realized.
I had... truly, royally screwed up.