Chapter 52
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Keyword Music Rose Special (5)
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The stage lights came on.
The figures of the Manwol's Boys members standing on stage gradually came into view one by one.
Behind them, a colorful stage set resembling a circus tent caught the eye.
Soon, jazz-style music began to flow, mixed with crackling noise sounds.
- Na na na na na
In the eerie atmosphere, the members walked forward onto the stage one by one.
In the center, Baek Si-woo, dressed in a checkered suit and wearing a magician's hat, politely greeted the audience.
Then, he tossed his hat toward the crowd and shouted.
- Ladies and gentlemen,
the freak show will begin now!
With an intense drum beat pounding in the ears, the song kicked off.
- Let's start
Our circus, you and me
On the unfolding stage
Precarious tightrope walk
Rowdy secret party
The members holding mics bobbed their heads back and forth to the beat.
Their movements continued like puppets dangling from strings.
- Creak creak
Freak show of dolls
Climbing onto the stage
It's just like a fake show
Jeong Eun-ho, dancing with puppet-like motions, suddenly buckled his legs and collapsed.
Behind him, Song Yu-bin traced a tear down his face with his index finger.
- Red petals flow beneath the eyes
Iron bars hidden in rose vines
Under Song Yu-bin's clown makeup, teardrop-shaped paint was visible beneath his eyes.
- Breath getting stifled
The members, wearing anxious expressions, clutched their heads with both hands and shook.
- Make it so I can't stop
Red lights illuminated the stage.
Eun Hae-sol, playing the acrobat, lifted one leg high, spun around gracefully, then lay back as if draped over a wire in mid-air.
Holding the mic, he sang.
- You try to control me as you please
Lift me up high then let me crash
Strangle my neck at your whim
Eun Hae-sol abruptly sat up, extended his arm forward, and moved to the back formation.
Then Baek Si-woo's rap part took over as he stepped forward.
Baek Si-woo raised his arms in a smooth curve.
- Anonymous masked ball
Hiding behind the mask
Stabbing a knife into the cursed doll
You're so pathetic.
"Whoa."
A clean, refreshing rap from Baek Si-woo drew an involuntary exclamation from me.
His remaining rap continued right after.
- Every time you open your mouth, excuse and lie.
If you thought that'd work, sorry
Busy making excuses, stupid guy
The protagonist of this circus is me
I've never invited you.
As the rap ended, smiling Baek Si-woo waved and stepped back.
'That rap wasn't in the original song...'
The lyrics felt oddly meaningful, so I pondered them before looking up.
'What do they mean?'
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the lights went out, plunging everything into darkness.
'What?'
In the pitch-black hall filled only with silence, a piercing electric guitar riff suddenly blared.
Then the lights came back on.
Jeong Eun-ho stood on the circular platform, bent at the waist, with backup dancers in black outfits below him.
'What are they going for with that?'
Tilting my head in confusion, the stage screen lit up.
On the screen, someone's hand was spread open facing downward.
Screeech—
With a creepy sound, the fingers began to move, and as they did, Jeong Eun-ho slowly straightened his body.
As the fingers lifted upward, one of Jeong Eun-ho's arms jerked up like a broken joint.
'No way, puppet show?'
Just like strings attached to his body, Jeong Eun-ho moved like a marionette following the fingers' motions.
Whoosh—
And so Jeong Eun-ho's dance break solo began.
Each time he extended his arms, the flowing sleeves fluttered.
As the beat sped up, the fingers on the screen moved faster too. In sync, Jeong Eun-ho's dance grew more intense.
I stared blankly at Jeong Eun-ho powerfully twisting his limbs in the dance.
It was almost divine.
"Whoaaa...."
His insane dance skills left my mouth agape without realizing.
'He dances really well? Is that member the main dancer?'
Then, faintly layered behind the beat, some sound caught my ear.
Tap tap—
'It bugs me in a weird way.'
The unidentified sound effect started growing louder.
Tap tap tap—
On the stage screen, fingers rapidly tapping in mid-air appeared.
'No way...'
Depicting haters typing on keyboards? And expressing the pain of someone suffering from those hate comments through dance?
'Whoa...'
Below the stage, the black-clad figures began clapping and laughing as if watching something amusing.
Then, Jeong Eun-ho's writhing dance came to a halt. His body crumpled forward like a sheet of paper.
As Jeong Eun-ho fell, the fingers furiously typing on the screen stopped.
The black figures below scattered in an instant.
In the ensuing silence, a single beam of light shone on Jeong Eun-ho's body.
As everyone held their breath watching the stage, the screen switched.
'That's...'
A withered rose lay crumpled on the floor inside the screen.
It reminded me of Jeong Eun-ho lying motionless on stage.
Then Jeong Eun-ho slowly rose. He looked wondrously at his palm before dashing toward the audience.
Red lights began flashing brilliantly.
"Woooaaah!"
Cheers erupted as the members returned to the stage.
'Incredible.
Centered, Cha Jae-hyun's high note part followed.
- In trapped time
I'm gone now
Cut it off, sever it
As the part ended, the members' bodies moved freely, as if strings connected to them had snapped.
No longer the heavy, eerie dances from the start, but light, exhilarating moves continued.
- Newly unfolding
My own circus alone
In a false world
Reveal my true self
As the song ended, Cha Jae-hyun in the center spread his arms wide to the sides.
Pop—
Petals scattered across the stage.
Standing before the members with relieved expressions, the audience gave a standing ovation.
I stood up and clapped too.
* * *
"Huff, huff."
The members came down from the stage, catching their breath as they slumped down.
Beside me, pale-faced Song Yu-bin was rubbing his ankle.
"Yu-bin, is your ankle okay?"
"Yeah. I took a lot of painkillers before going up, so it's bearable."
Dancing on that ankle. Song Yu-bin has some mental strength.
'I just saw him as the cute maknae...'
Right. What about Eun Hae-sol?
As I looked around for Eun Hae-sol's condition,
My eyes met his as he squatted below the stage.
"You okay? Not too tired?"
"Yeah."
After resting like that for a few minutes, the members stood up.
Their faces and hair were drenched in sweat, a total mess, but they looked relieved.
I felt the same.
'Glad it ended without any issues.'
Then Song Yu-bin, meeting my eyes, hesitantly spoke.
"Hyung."
"Yeah?"
"About the dance break earlier."
Timidly, Song Yu-bin gave a thumbs up.
"From below the stage, it looked like you danced really well."
"Really?"
I glanced at the other members in disbelief, and they all nodded in agreement with Song Yu-bin.
"You nailed it, Eun-ho."
"You were flying across that stage."
"Really?"
I didn't even remember how I did the dance break section.
I used the dance buff ticket, but it felt no different from my usual dancing, so I wondered if something went wrong.
I was anxious about how it looked to the audience and how the cameras captured it...
'Phew.'
Hearing from the members that I pulled off the dance break well finally eased my mind.
"Let's head back to the studio now."
Clack—
As soon as we returned to the studio, cheers from the MCs and guests rang out.
"Woooah."
"Manwol's Boys are back!"
"Great stage. Totally awesome."
Amid the praise, we shyly gave thanks and sat down.
As we settled in, the MC shouted loudly.
"Alright! One more round of applause for the Manwol's Boys who just nailed their stage!"
Clap clap clap clap—
I wanted to die of embarrassment.
But it felt good.
"That was insane! The stage didn't feel like rookies at all."
"Who came up with the stage idea?"
I hesitantly raised my hand.
"Oh, Jeong Eun-ho did the planning? This is an anti-hater stage, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"As a fellow celebrity, I'm really grateful for a stage like this."
The guests chimed in one by one.
"Yeah, it really resonated with me. When Jeong Eun-ho collapsed, I almost cried."
"You actually cried?"
"Well, not quite..."
"Hahaha."
Then my eyes met Hwang Tae-seok's across from me. His eyes looking at me gleamed coldly.
'What? Why's he staring like that?'
Keeping my gaze on the MCs, I smirked as if I didn't care.
'No idea what set him off. The guy who couldn't even pull his weight on stage.'
Time passed, and soon it was time to announce the winner.
A staffer handed the MC a cue card with the winner's name.
Seeing that, tension gripped my body involuntarily.
'Don't get your hopes up.'
The MC, holding the cue card, looked at the camera and said.
"Alright. For the Keyword Music Rose Special, who will be our winner?"
The MC glanced at the cue card and smiled subtly.
"The winner of this Keyword Music Rose Special is...!"
In the tense studio, I clenched my fists and looked up.
"The winner is...!"
"......"
"Manwol's Boys'... Jeong Eun-ho!"
I let out a short breath.
For a moment, I almost stood up thinking our group was called.
"Who do you think the winner is?"
Composing myself, I said.
"Probably the Black Dice sunbaenims who showed that amazing stage today."
After the formal response, I glanced toward Black Dice.
Among the members giving grateful eye smiles,
Hwang Tae-seok shrugged with a 'of course' expression.
'What's his deal. Total eyesore.'
Then the MC shouted loudly.
"Alright, we'll announce it right now! The winner of this Keyword Music Rose Special is...!"