Chapter 22
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Music Show Stage Safely! (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Everyone got to their feet. The moment they opened the door and stepped out, a cold wind slapped them hard in the face.
The members walked toward the building with their heads bowed low. The wind whipped their hair into a frenzy.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
“The weather’s no joke today.”
They held a photo session in front of the broadcasting station. Lined up in a row, the members flashed bright smiles at the cameras.
“Two, three. We’ll be your shining moon. Hello, we are Manwol’s Boys.”
“Look to the right, please!”
Only after a few camera shutter clicks did the photo session wrap up.
“Thank you.”
After bowing to the reporters, the members headed inside the building.
Thud, thud—
They followed the manager to the elevators. He pressed the button, and the elevator slowly descended.
The doors opened. As soon as they stepped in, the manager hit the button for the fifth floor.
‘The waiting room’s on the fifth floor, right.’
“Heading up.”
The elevator rose slowly and came to a stop with an announcement.
“Fifth floor.”
The doors slid open, revealing the music show waiting room hallway bit by bit.
‘This is the Music Bus waiting room.’
That’s when it finally hit me.
Today, we were finally standing on that long-awaited music show stage.
Walking down the hallway, I spotted familiar faces of idols I’d only seen on TV.
“Hello! We’re Manwol’s Boys.”
We greeted every senior idol we passed with loud hellos. Some greeted back, others just kept walking.
“It’d be nice if they greeted back.”
Song Yu-bin muttered glumly.
Cha Jae-hyun silently pressed a finger to his lips. A signal to stay quiet and avoid trouble.
That’s when the manager stopped.
“Here we are.”
There it was—the music show waiting room we’d only heard about. A cramped space with just a few chairs behind a partition.
Other rookie groups seemed to be waiting in similar setups.
The members started to sit, but the manager spoke up.
“You’ve got dry rehearsal at 7 sharp.”
Music shows ran in this order: dry rehearsal, camera rehearsal, then pre-recording.
I checked the time: 6:28.
‘About thirty minutes from now.’
Lost in thought, Baek Si-woo spoke up.
“Get some rest while you can.”
I turned my head and saw the members dozing off in their chairs. I replied after watching them for a bit.
“I’m good.”
“Not tired?”
“Nope.”
Baek Si-woo gave me a weird look before closing his eyes.
I scanned the waiting room, thinking.
‘I can’t sleep when anything could happen at any moment. To clear the quest, I can’t let my guard down for even a second.’
About ten minutes later, a staff member’s voice rang out.
“Hey! Everyone up!”
As the members stirred one by one, a staffer approached us and pulled something from their bag.
“Attach these to your clothes.”
Name tags.
For dry rehearsal, you wore casual clothes with name tags. On a packed music show schedule, they were essential for filming all the idols.
We pinned the tags on and waited for the staffer’s signal to head down.
Dry rehearsal was just checking positions without cameras, so no need to stress too much.
But my heart felt heavy.
And the reason was...
[Music Show Stage Safely!]
This damn quest.
‘Nothing’s gonna happen during rehearsal, right?’
Unauthorized absence. The quest name alone felt hopeless.
What if someone ditched while I wasn’t looking?
True to its shitty nature, it didn’t even say who.
In that case, there was only one strategy: keep a sharp eye on the members and make sure none of them slipped away.
One body, four people to watch.
I glanced around at them, thinking.
‘None of them seem like they’d ditch.’
Cha Jae-hyun was the last person you’d associate with ditching, and Baek Si-woo was still full of energy despite the fatigue.
Song Yu-bin could barely keep his eyes open, looking like moving was a chore.
So, Eun Hae-sol? Hyperventilating again and bailing...?
No point in speculating. I knew better than anyone it was pointless.
A frustrated sigh escaped me.
“Ha...”
I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.
‘Failing this means we’re really screwed.’
This quest was high-risk.
Miss even one rehearsal or pre-recording, and we’d be blacklisted from the station—no more music shows.
No music shows for a non-top-tier group meant doom. Hardly any new fans.
‘I have to clear this quest somehow...’
Then the staffer’s voice cut through.
“Time to move!”
Everyone dragged themselves up. As the members headed out, I hesitated, then spoke.
“Hey.”
They all turned to look at me.
No choice now. Even if they thought I was nuts, I’d go straight for it.
“Anyone feeling like skipping out right now?”
Silence fell.
They all exchanged baffled looks, like ‘What the hell?’
Cha Jae-hyun asked with a serious face.
“Eun-ho. Still half-asleep?”
Guess it was too much.
I flashed a grin.
“Hyung, why take a joke so seriously? You all looked sleepy, so I was just trying to wake you up with some humor.”
Baek Si-woo shivered dramatically, hugging his arms.
“Jeong Eun-ho! What kind of creepy joke is that? Who skips their first music show? That’s insane!”
Fair point.
Even being late as rookies on your debut music show got you flak—vanishing midway? Straight-up crazy.
And that crazy thing might happen today. That was the problem.
“Heading down!”
The staffer outside scowled and shouted.
We hurried off.
* * *
“Standby, cue!”
Dry rehearsal began.
Just matching positions, so everyone went through the motions without full power on the dance.
The PD across from us watched closely, then murmured something to the person next to them.
Song ended, and the PD nodded.
“Good! Nice work.”
Dry rehearsal wrapped without issues. I’d been on edge, fearing some ditch during it, but nothing happened. Relief.
‘Hope it stays that way.’
Heading off stage, Cha Jae-hyun asked us.
“How was it? First music show rehearsal.”
“Overwhelming, I guess?”
We’d all looked beat just minutes ago, but now there was some life in us.
Cha Jae-hyun stretched his arms and patted our backs.
“Yeah. Let’s nail camera rehearsal later too. Fighting through pre-recording.”
Out in the waiting room hallway, idols approached from the opposite direction.
As they drew closer, their faces came into focus.
‘Those guys.’
Black Dice. Our label’s senior group.
“Hello! We’re Manwol’s Boys!”
We bowed deeply. Everyone except one.
Eun Hae-sol stood there, dazed.
“Greet them!”
I urgently pressed down on Eun Hae-sol’s waist. He finally gave a quick nod.
“Hello, juniors?”
The guy smiled leisurely at us. Black Dice’s leader, Ye Hyun-ha.
At twenty-five, Ye Hyun-ha had a soft, pretty-boy vibe.
“Dry rehearsal done?”
His gentle voice oozed warmth.
“Yes!”
We answered energetically.
Then, a guy sauntered out from behind Ye Hyun-ha.
“These kids are all stiff and formal.”
Rough-looking at a glance. Narrow, slitted eyes, fierce gaze. And tattoos peeking over his pocketed arms, screaming tough.
‘That’s Hwang Tae-seok.’
Black Dice’s star member. Top-tier with variety shows, dramas, CFs packed.
I’d heard company folks joke he was our label’s cash cow, but first time meeting.
Hwang Tae-seok smirked.
“Hmm. Cute. Wanna buy you guys drinks later?”
Ye Hyun-ha laughed awkwardly.
“What drinks? I know there are minors here.”
“Right here. This one.”
Baek Si-woo slung an arm around Song Yu-bin’s shoulder, and Hwang Tae-seok’s head snapped over.
“Hel—”
Song Yu-bin started shyly, but...
“Song Yu-bin? Oh, the one who bombed their debut stage hard?”
Hwang Tae-seok’s sudden words chilled the air.
“Yeah! Him!”
He pointed at Song Yu-bin, cackling anyway.
Ye Hyun-ha smiled embarrassedly and jabbed Hwang Tae-seok’s arm.
“Cut it out.”
“Why?”
Oblivious or rude, Hwang Tae-seok kept going.
“The chairman too. Who does live streams these days? What an embarrassment.”
“Haha, yeah.”
Song Yu-bin forced an awkward laugh.
‘Fucking hell.’
I’d barely propped up his confidence, and this asshole crushes it?
I barely kept my face from twisting, forcing a smile.
Atmosphere tanked, but Hwang Tae-seok wouldn’t shut up.
“Rookies have it rough. Gotta take the hate when it comes. Next time, thicken your skins and beg for max AR since we’re a bit lacking!”
Cha Jae-hyun’s face hardened slightly. Still smiling, but his eyes screamed restraint.
An inexplicable rage boiled in me too.
Guys like him usually fell into two types: hopelessly clueless, or faking it on purpose.
‘Don’t care which—just get lost already.’
Ye Hyun-ha yanked Hwang Tae-seok’s nape hard.
“I said stop.”
“Why? Better than bombing live. Honest advice!”
Another Black Dice member watching spoke up.
“Hey. Don’t say ‘bombed’ in front of kids. What is this, bibimbap?”
Black Dice’s Seo I-jin. Face full of smiles, trying to lighten the mood.
“Tae-seok just blurts stuff out. Don’t take it to heart.”
That’s when it happened. All the Black Dice members’ heads turned sideways at once.
‘What?’
I looked—and saw Eun Hae-sol’s back as he walked off somewhere.
Baek Si-woo blinked in confusion.
“Where’s he going all of a sudden?”
Ah, we’re screwed.
“Sorry. One sec.”
I chased after him, yelling.
“Eun Hae-sol!”