49. Daylight (5)

Overwhelmed by self-loathing, I was drowning in shame when Ria comforted me with a generous tone.

"I used to mess up the lyrics a lot during events too."

"But you actually made mistakes several times, didn't you?"

"Seo Tae-il, be quiet. This is going into the raw footage. Don't go looking for the PD. If this gets aired unedited, I'll really cry."

Watching the two naturally steer the conversation to the next editing point, I realized professional idols truly were professionals. At any rate, I was relieved when the focus that had been on me subtly shifted away.

"Your singing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was amazing. Wow, you're so good."

"Not at all, the song itself is so beautiful... I'm embarrassed but honored to sing it before my seniors."

"Eh? Hajin wasn't like this before. What's this, image management?"

"...Did I hear wrong?"

Ah, damn. Did my military service affect my speech patterns too? Tch tch.

I was trying to wrap things up warmly with a cute trainee's fan moment when Seo Tae-il suddenly threw me off. Wondering why he brought up image management out of nowhere, I gave him a blank stare only for him to practically bite me with his chin resting on his hand.

"You weren't like this when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we met during the mid-check?"

"Ah."

What nonsense was this? Then I realized he was referring to how I'd brushed off his joke last time.

'If I don't handle this right, it'll get completely edited out.'

Variety shows often discard even golden moments if the ending isn't clean. Especially since this was an unplanned side conversation not in the original shooting script. I couldn't let it end awkwardly and get cut.

I immediately swept my bangs back with a resigned expression, putting on my most emotional face to look at Ria and Seo Tae-il. Goddammit.

"You must regret missing out on such talent."

"Pfft-ha! What is this!"

"What's with Hajin's sudden concept change?"

Good reactions.

I felt proud watching the mentors laugh hysterically, but a tinge of embarrassment and shame pulled at the back of my head, making me drop the act and fix my bangs again. I shot Seo Tae-il a sidelong glance that said 'Happy now, you bastard?' only to find him already pounding the table with laughter.

"Ah, this is too funny."

"Alright, now that we've had our laugh. Let's move on to the next topic."

"Yes, um. Shall we? Next question?"

It seemed they worried things might drag on too long, as the prompt quickly signaled to proceed. While everyone was still recovering from laughter, the vocal trainer checked the prompter and took the mic.

"Team B had to suddenly redistribute parts since one member fell ill... Did Hajin decide to take all those parts himself?"

"Ah, yes."

"Honestly, that's not a choice someone without extreme confidence would make."

Here it comes. I'd expected this question and had even discussed it with the writers beforehand, so I wasn't particularly flustered. After a brief pause, I glanced at my silent Team B members beside me and answered.

"Actually, my teammates showed me great consideration."

"Consideration?"

The unexpected answer made the mentors look at us curiously. I shot a discreet 'read the room' glare at the Team B kids who were staring at me with more shock than the mentors, while equipping my corporate smile. You bastards, what's with those expressions?

"I... haven't been with the company long, and suddenly receiving such praise while being made leader was honestly overwhelming."

"Aah~."

"So during the initial part distribution, the guys really looked out for me. They gave up impactful parts so I could take fewer sections... But then Jae-young suddenly got sick."

I paused here to catch my breath. Knowing Park Jae-young hadn't fallen ill "for no reason" made my stomach churn slightly. A faint sense of guilt toward Jae-young seemed to tap at some corner of my heart.

"...So since the others were already handling much harder parts and movement lines, after discussing with them, I decided to work harder and cover Jae-young's share too."

'Complete bullshit, of course. The real reason can't even be revealed in unaired footage.'

I couldn't exactly say 'these bastards dumped it all on me.' I framed it as Team B's tear-jerking teamwork overcoming crisis, while shooting another glare at the guys still staring at me like 'How does this hyung lie so smoothly without even licking his lips?'

'Read the damn room, you little shits.'

Fortunately, they seemed to vaguely understand as some nodded quietly, lowering the corners of their mouths.

"Adjusting choreography from nine to eight members must have been tough. But you handled it calmly, which is good. Hmm... I'm looking forward to this performance."

"Alright, Team B. Please prepare to take the stage."

The stage call signal came as the lights slowly changed. The guys who'd been silently watching my one-man show scrambled to adjust their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠positions. Before the lights completely dimmed, I spoke to those who still seemed stiff.

"Hey."

"......"

"Let's do well."

The lights went out. Finally, it was time to reveal our first daylight.

Unlike Team A's clean blue-and-white concept, Team B's outfits were a mismatched harmony of black and red. Muted freshness with black-and-red? Quite a profound approach. Probably meant to contrast with the opposing team, I thought as Ria twirled her pen.

'Still, they could've coordinated better.'

I felt disappointed by the lack of unity, as if the two teams weren't sharing the same stage.

Then the iconic intro began.

Whhhiii—

'Huh?'

A whistling sound layered like humming over the refreshing guitar riff. The orchestra starting with timpani. And the pair choreography of the Feather class—now an even number with one member missing—moving in perfect unison like a waltz.

'A ballroom dance?'

Moreover, the seemingly uncoordinated outfits turned out to be intentional, as each pair wore differently colored clothes. Soon, Hajin came to center stage from his position, smoothly beginning the song while dancing with his partner.

Hello, it's me.

Unlike Seong-woo's Team A version that cheerfully greeted someone, Hajin's nuance was subtle. Ria didn't miss that subtle expression, her interest firmly caught as she watched Hajin.

For so very long

We've been looking at different places

"Eh?"

"Haha, these kids are fun again."

In an even-numbered formation, someone must sacrifice for balanced center positioning—someone must stand directly behind the center member, usually becoming nearly invisible behind them.

But Team B's stage was different.

"He's doing all the choreography completely opposite right now, isn't he?"

"Yes, yes. Wow, that must be incredibly confusing."

As Kang Hajin performed every move in reverse at center, an optical illusion occurred where he seemed to match pairs with the trainee behind him and others around him. Hajin substituted gestures where it might look wrong and committed fully where synchronization was visible.

Performing entirely mirrored choreography wasn't easy, but for Hajin, it wasn't that difficult either. He'd always had to face them while dragging them through practice by the scruff of their necks.

The moonlight filling the sky

The pouring starry night

When all these journeys end

We'll finally face our highlight

"Team A's skills are undoubtedly sharp."

"But Team B isn't as bad as I expected either."

"I love the audacity of those perfectly timed angles—it's so rookie-like."

Unlike Team A that overwhelmed minor disharmonies with individual skills, Team B's strength was their unified performance as one perfectly synchronized entity. Only now did Ria understand the meaning behind those seemingly disjointed outfits.

"The song interpretation is interesting too. They keep moving as if searching for each other."

The 'you' and 'me' in the lyrics felt vividly present on stage. This interpretation exploded during the chorus when Gong Seok and Hajin faced each other at center stage to dance.

Another sun rises, shining upon you and me

Let's hold hands so we won't lose our way

I'll go with you so night won't come

Never fallin' down (down down)

At the end of this maze-like world

Never going back (back back)

Only our story will remain

They cleverly adjusted positions for each part to ensure clean camera shots. Though Hajin had explicitly designed this pairing concept after becoming an even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠number, to Ria it seemed planned from the start.

"Is this the revised formation?"

"The movement lines seem changed now, but they had this concept since mid-check. I told you they're fun."

When a surprised Ria asked Tae-il beside her, he just chuckled and clicked his tongue. As they entered the dance break, Hajin still showed no signs of tiring.

"Trainee Kang Hajin's breath control is better than mine."

"I heard he trained at another company for years. Probably did children's musicals when young. Choir too."

"Ah, youth is wasted on the young."

Of course, that remarkable breath control didn't come from children's musicals or choir. It was forged by Private Kang running himself ragged on training grounds and Producer Kang climbing stairs endlessly in his past life—not that these two would ever know.

As the song approached the third verse, Tae-il noticed Gong Seok moving aside for ad-libs instead of Hajin and checked the lyrics sheet in surprise.

Hello, it's me

My joy that will shine brilliantly

So another sun won't set without lighting you

So another wingbeat will reach to protect you

My daylight to brighten your night>

"...Got greedy, didn't he?"

Even after the dance break, Hajin's solid vocals powerfully delivered the third chorus without reaching his limit. As he sang his best while performing center choreography, Hajin slightly raised his head and winked at Doha, who was watching him with surprise.

'Thanks for the hint, bastard.'

Today, Kang Hajin was truly determined to do it all himself.