Chapter 121: The Reason for Action (8)
121. The Reason for Action (8)
"Ah, Mother! Hello!"
Suho, who had been waiting for someone outside the broadcasting station, spotted a woman lingering nearby with shopping bags and hurried over to greet her.
"Ah, Team Leader. Hello."
The woman, who greeted Suho with a refreshing smile that reminded him of someone, was none other than Hajin's mother, Yeong-in.
The two had met before when Hajin officially signed with Miro Entertainment—Suho as the company's representative and Yeong-in as Hajin's legal guardian.
"We should've visited you at home... You must've had a hard time coming all the way here."
"No, no. It's nice to take a little trip to Seoul. Here, the school uniform."
"Ah, yes. Thank you so much, Mother."
Suho took the uniform from Yeong-in with an apologetic expression.
Originally, he had planned to send an employee to Hajin's house to pick it up. But since Yeong-in had already taken the uniform to a local laundromat, timing had become impossible.
In that situation, Yeong-in had volunteered to bring it to the broadcasting station herself.
Suho had come down personally—instead of sending the road manager—to express his gratitude and courtesy toward her.
"Instead of standing around here, why don't we grab a cup of coffee? My treat."
"Ah, you must be busy. It's fine. I was hoping to see Hajin's face at least once... but he must be swamped, right? Is he doing well?"
At Yeong-in's cautious question, Suho immediately understood why she had driven all the way to Sangam despite the distance. He knew well the heart of a parent who would endure any hardship just for a chance to see their child, even from afar.
'A lot of the other trainees' parents are the same way.'
Suho checked the time on his smartwatch, mentally ran through the schedule, and then asked Yeong-in:
"The kids have a recording at two. If you have time, would you like to watch for a bit before you go?"
"Oh... Is that really okay?"
"Of course."
Ever since the Infinite Regression incident, Suho had been wondering, 'What could lift Hajin's spirits?'
From what he'd seen, Hajin often called his mother, and they seemed close. He thought that even a brief visit from family and some words of encouragement might help.
"I'll treat you to coffee here at the café. Wait here, and I'll contact you when it's time."
With a warm smile, Suho guided Yeong-in inside.
He hoped this surprise visit would be a small boost for Hajin.
The rehearsal started right on time without delay.
"Miro Maze Team, please wait here for a moment—"
"No! Not there! Focus, please!"
Unlike during Miro Maze filming, the staff's voices were sharper now.
But despite their cold demeanor, Hajin and Tae-hyun—both accustomed to such environments—just shrugged it off. 'This guy must've missed lunch because of work.'
Yu-geon, ever the capitalist slave, muttered to himself about how much part-time workers earned in places like this before getting a light smack on the back from Seo Tae-hyun. Dan Ha-ru, with his steel-clad heart, was just grinning ear to ear, thrilled to be performing on stage.
"Why are you so excited, Dan Ha-ru?"
"Ah, I was thinking of asking the team leader to buy us dinner later! The hairstylist noona told me there's a really good tonkatsu place nearby!"
"Donjahwegwan?"
"Huh? How'd you know?"
Dan Ha-ru's already large eyes widened even further in surprise.
Hajin couldn't exactly say, 'I ate there in my past life when a senior treated me after a mixing session,' so he quickly made up an excuse.
"...I overheard someone talking about it. But that place will probably be closed by the time we finish recording."
"No way... That's impossible..."
Dan Ha-ru's face crumpled as if the world had ended.
'He looks like a puppy who couldn't go for a walk because of a typhoon...'
Hajin patted Ha-ru's head reassuringly. Today's performance required Ha-ru to be in top condition—if his mood crashed, it'd be a problem.
"Just ask him to buy us something even better. If we do well today, I'll take you to that restaurant next time."
"Wow, really? Promise?"
"Yeah. You know how important your role is today, right? Center."
"Yes!"
True to his resilient nature, Dan Ha-ru quickly perked up and dashed off to brag to Tae-hyun, who was stretching nearby.
'Dan Ha-ru's fine... The real problem is those two nervous wrecks.'
Hajin's gaze shifted to the remaining two.
Jae-young and Jayden, who had bounced around the general trainee classes before being assigned to the Feather tier, had never even been to a place like this as backup dancers for seniors.
'They're completely frozen.'
Despite being given calming herbal medicine by the manager since morning, it clearly hadn't worked.
Hajin exhaled softly, adjusted his in-ear monitors, and stared pointedly at the stiff-as-boards Jayden and Jae-young.
'How do I loosen them up?'
Of course, he didn't realize that Jayden and Jae-young had been growing even more tense under his gaze.
"H-Hyung... Hajin-hyung keeps staring at us..."
"He's telling us with his eyes to do well..."
"H-Huh?! He's coming! He's coming over!"
Jayden and Jae-young, who had been trembling in the corner, flinched when Hajin started walking toward them.
Thanks to To You, they had grown much closer to Hajin—he was playful and cheerful now.
But the two still had Miro Maze's "Crazy Leader" moment burned deep into their bones.
"Hey, Jayden duo. C'mere."
"Y-Yes, sir."
"Yes, sir."
For some reason, Jae-young and Jayden stood at attention like soldiers and rushed to Hajin. Since both were about a head shorter, Hajin tilted slightly, resting his arms on their shoulders as he leaned in.
Cutting through the noisy background, his smooth, deep voice reached their ears in a reassuring tone.
"Listen. The stage is smaller than you think. Would it work if we moved as big as we did in Miro Maze?"
"...N-No, it wouldn't!"
"Right. Good, you know. And most of the staff here are people we're meeting for the first time. If you have something to say, go through me first so you don't accidentally offend anyone. Got it?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
Expecting Hajin to scold them for being nervous, they were surprised when he instead calmly explained how broadcast recordings worked.
How monitoring worked during music shows,
Why pre-recording was necessary and how they'd do it,
What was different from Miro Maze, and what was the same.
As if understanding their fear of the unfamiliar, Hajin occasionally checked their expressions to make sure they were following along.
"You're nervous because you don't know. That's normal. Everyone here knows it's your first time, so if you're gonna be scared, own it. If you're openly nervous, they'll just think it's cute."
What does 'own your fear' even mean?
But by the time Hajin finished explaining, the two's frozen vision had begun to widen.
'Now that I think about it, that camera director looks familiar from Miro Maze.'
'Our competition stage was definitely bigger!'
'Are the cameras different from Miro Maze? Which ones are better?'
The place had shifted from 'scary and unfamiliar' to 'unfamiliar but understandable.'
Slowly, curiosity began to replace their fear. Watching them alternate between excitement and recognition, Hajin smiled.
He gave their shoulders a light pat of encouragement before gathering the rest of the team.
It was almost time to go on stage.
"Guys, this is just a rehearsal, okay? Focus on camera cues, movement lines, and sound checks. If there's a problem, tell me immediately."
"Yes!"
"Miro Maze Team, you're up next!"
"Alright, they're calling us. Let's go."
Right on cue, the signal came to move to the stage. As Hajin herded the group up, he thought:
We need something to break this icy atmosphere.
'Maybe because it's a sudden recording, the staff all seem a little annoyed.'
"Hello! We're Miro Maze's Sad Ending Team! Please take care of us!"
Even with their energetic greeting, the response was lukewarm at best. There was no malice in the coldness—just indifference. To them, this was just another job in a long day.
To the staff, this was just another fleeting stage by rookies who might disappear tomorrow.
That was exactly why Hajin felt they needed to shatter that mood.
'What's the best way to grab their attention?'
He thought back to his past life, when he'd been running around music shows.
Back when he, too, had been one of those exhausted staff members counting down to quitting time.
What kind of performers had made him snap awake despite his fatigue?
"Alright, Sad Ending Team. Let's do mic checks. Starting with Tae-hyun."
While he pondered, sound checks began.
The trainees took turns singing a short verse or speaking to test their in-ears.
Then, finally, it was Hajin's turn.
He gripped the handheld mic tightly—chosen to hide the cuts on his palm instead of a headset.
At the end of all those special days,
At the end of all the time that's slipped away...
"......?"
"...What the."
Hajin's raw, high-note a cappella live—the same one that had moved even the original singer, Saryn—echoed powerfully through the studio.
He wasn't just singing the chorus—he belted out the third verse, a full key higher, with effortless ease.
Whether the stunned staff were staring or not, Hajin casually pulled the mic away, adjusted the volume, and flashed a bright smile at the sound director behind the console.
"You can turn it down a bit! My voice is too loud."
—Yeah, yeah... Wow, that live was insane.
"Thank you for the compliment! We'll do our best!"
The sound director's offhand remark came through the talkback mic.
Hajin immediately responded with a sharp 90-degree bow. The other trainees, caught off guard, followed with awkward 120-degree bows.
'Singers live and die by their vocals.'
The crazy people still clinging to this unbalanced, brutal industry? They were all the same.
Sure, they whined about being stuck because they had no other options, but the ones who could leave had already fled.
'They're all here because they love it. Whether it's music or broadcasting.'
No industry was as obsessed with skill as this one.
Rookie or veteran, if you had it, people treated you well.
Sure enough, unlike before, cheers and applause erupted from the staff.
"Whoo! Fighting!"
"You're doing great!"
The icy atmosphere melted in an instant.
"Alright, Miro Maze's Sad Ending Team. To You. First rehearsal, let's go~"
Hajin grinned as he straightened up.
This was still just the rehearsal.