Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: This Life is Space Star 32
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The final stage began with the same intro as Something.
The audience looked puzzled.
They were doing the duet song, which they'd seen as the opening act, as their farewell performance too?
Some frowned.
'They're milking it like old broth.'
No matter how much it had topped the charts and been a hit, reusing the same song for another stage felt like overkill.
Everyone thought so.
Until the five-second mark, right before the intro changed.
'It was good even in rehearsal, and it still sounds great.'
Ha Seung-ju, who had retreated to the side, smiled.
It was a different intro from the original.
The acoustic guitar of the original was overlaid with a lively piano melody.
And drums too.
Unlike the calm and refreshing original, this version had a bright and upbeat vibe.
As he listened to the altered melody, Ha Seung-ju smiled faintly.
'Kyuhwan tweaked it a bit.'
He could definitely feel the touch of a professional.
Even if Seon Wooju knew how to compose, there wouldn't have been time for arrangements after the appearance was confirmed.
He could smell his close junior composer's handiwork in the fine details.
'Anyway, it's good. Real good.'
It was wonderful how a song made by the son of a pianist he respected was enhanced by an arrangement from a junior composer he liked.
Like a mysteriously blended flavor.
Ha Seung-ju closed his eyes and smiled broadly.
He didn't even notice the production crew's camera turning toward him.
"Puhat!"
One of the staff in the sub-control room burst out laughing.
On the screen being broadcast on TV, Ha Seung-ju was smiling with his hands in a flower pose.
Somehow adorably cute.
"Ha MC's doing it again? That girlish expression he gets when he hears good music."
"Another meme screenshot by the time it airs."
"Definitely gonna get captured."
The staff giggled.
"This New Black episode is gold in so many ways. Ha MC's face, the story about the genius pianist, Jang Sowon's underground days."
"Right."
The PD nodded in agreement.
"But the most important part is now."
Exactly.
Ha Seung-ju's Music Cafe was, at its core, a music show.
It invited singers to talk about music, but the essence was delivering great stages.
Jang Sowon and New Black's talk was excellent.
But it wasn't the stage.
The first stage, Something, had been perfect, but the problem was how familiar it was to the public.
Having dominated the charts for over a month, fatigue had definitely set in.
That's why they needed something new.
Something fresh.
Seon Wooju's jazz performance had been like an appetizer for that novelty.
The main course was now.
'Hope they pull it off like in rehearsal.'
As the PD thought that, the song began.
In the original, Jang Sowon approached Seo Ri-hyuk to start her part.
The section where vocals were expected.
But breaking everyone's expectations, the first member to grab the mic was New Black's rapper, Kim Jung-hyun.
He strode out confidently and sat in the prepared chair.
The clock waiting for you
Says 2:30 p.m.
When will I see you?
Do you see me fidgeting?
It was rap that sounded like singing.
His powerful voice and gentle melody seduced the audience.
The sudden rap breaking expectations spiked their focus instantly.
Next up was Jang Sowon.
Her clear voice rang through the public hall.
How long will you make me wait, what face will you make?
Leaning on the bus window, I imagined.
Where does this thrill come from?
Probably between us.
Now people started picturing it in their heads.
A man waiting at the bus stop.
A woman on the bus heading to him.
As those images naturally formed, the mic passed to Seon Wooju.
Is this what love is?
Waiting doesn't seem right.
You, like a spring breeze.
Won't you wait a little for me?
A third person entered.
The audience enjoyed Seon Wooju's singing while their imaginations ran wild.
'A love triangle?'
Some recalled Jang Sowon's talk.
"Actually, Something originally had parts for each of New Black's friends."
"Really? Why were they cut?"
"Well, I'm a female vocalist, and with five male vocals, the vibe felt off."
"The vibe?"
"Yeah, like I was managing a fish tank."
Just as she said, adding a new person created a completely different atmosphere from the original.
As the audience grew curious, the main vocalist appeared.
The mood was more upbeat than the original.
In that song, Seo Ri-hyuk's rich tone rang through the public hall.
If you ask what we are,
I'd say—
We're like sweet candy between us.
Our melting connection.
I'll cross that wall and hold your hand.
Grabbing that hand that's almost but not quite mine.
Now I'll whisper to you.
If the original was refreshing, this was sweet and fun.
New Black's expressions proved it.
Unlike the serious first stage, they were all enjoying it.
Smiles spread across the audience's faces.
At first, New Black had planned a moist, late-night moody song fitting the vibe.
Until Seon Wooju objected.
'These stages have been graced by godlike seniors. Even if we're good singers among idols, it's hard to move them there.'
Better a fun stage than forcing emotion with a tough ballad, he argued.
So they prepared this lively version of Between.
An upgraded take on the original, specially crafted to entertain the audience.
"They're doing great."
The PD in the sub-control room smiled.
"They've got the sense to dip in and out during talk, and they turned it into a fun stage instead of a clumsy ballad. Gotta remember them. That New Black leader... what was his name? Slipped my mind."
"Uju."
"Yeah, that kid."
If he took another music show later, he'd have to invite them, the PD thought.
"Highlight part coming up."
"Yeah."
Anticipating the audience's reaction, they focused on the stage cameras and dozens of monitors.
In the start of the second verse, Kim Bi-ju took the mic.
His voice, close to a falsetto and distinct from the others, began the song.
I miss your face.
I'll pick spring flowers and prepare.
Our sweet between.
So you can feel the excitement.
Saying that, Kim Bi-ju smiled and pulled out a flower.
It was a handsome sight.
As each of the five members finished their parts, people realized their preconceptions about New Black were wrong.
New Black was a team where every member had distinct vocal colors.
If they hadn't said they were idols, you'd believe they were just a four-vocalist group.
As the audience admired their singing, they pondered the lyrics and tilted their heads.
'What’s going on?'
Kim Jung-hyun waiting for someone.
Jang Sowon on a bus to a man.
Seon Wooju approaching someone.
And Kim Bi-ju waiting for someone too.
'A square relationship?'
Like Puck the fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Seo Ri-hyuk and Wang Ji-ho played narrators singing about the lovers.
The remaining four entangled in their midst.
As the final highlight began, the four on stage started moving around Seo Ri-hyuk and Wang Ji-ho in the center.
Grabbing that hand that's almost but not quite mine.
Now I'll whisper to you.
Jang Sowon approached in quick steps, like getting off a bus.
As expected, Kim Jung-hyun.
Standing like at a bus stop, he welcomed her warmly, and they harmonized mics together.
'Then the other two?'
If she chose Kim Jung-hyun, what about the rest?
As that thought crossed minds, Seon Wooju approached Kim Bi-ju.
Kim Bi-ju smiled and handed over the bouquet, which Seon Wooju accepted.
A small laugh escaped.
Seon Wooju and Kim Bi-ju harmonized facing each other, and the audience couldn't help but smile.
Some recalled a music video twist: a man longing for a marrying woman, only to reveal he loved the groom, not her.
Seo Ri-hyuk and Wang Ji-ho scattered like Cupids blessing the pairs.
When the song finally ended, the audience applauded the six who had entertained them.
Thunderous applause echoed through the hall.
* * *
Singers know.
Whether their performance went well or not. They can tell naturally, even without the applause.
A good show feels different.
Everything clicks from the start, flowing perfectly—like a smooth run where it all fits.
It was like that when we sang trot at the year-end evaluation.
But knowing you nailed it and confirming it with direct applause and cheers from the audience are worlds apart.
That's why I was smiling now, receiving the applause.
Jang Sowon.
Bi-ju. Jung-hyun. Ri-hyuk. Ji-ho.
We exchanged smiles with our stage mates and So-won sunbae, then bowed politely to the audience with mics in hand.
"Thank you!"
The roaring applause made me grin.
But what felt best was the people's faces.
The expressions my parents wore in my memories when they looked at me as a child floated over the audience.
That was exactly why I wanted to be an idol.
* * *
In the car back to the dorm.
It was quiet.
Everyone buried in their seats, exhausted.
Morning prerecording for music show, waiting all day, then live—draining.
Still, satisfying.
Like we'd lived the day to the fullest.
"You all did great."
I flashed a big smile.
"Activities finally over."
"Hoo, it's done..."
"Relieved?"
"More bittersweet than relieved. We floated on clouds for a month."
We agreed with the maknae.
"But we wrapped it up well, right?"
"The applause gave me chills. Ten times bigger than year-end eval."
"Ten? Felt like a hundred."
"How were we, Manager?"
At Bi-ju's question, Seok-hwan hyung smiled from the passenger seat.
"Reactions were great. No more online nitpicking about your vocals."
"Ooh."
"You kids really nailed it."
The industry pro's endorsement had us high-fiving and cheering.
It was the result we wanted.
Showing our singing skills was the goal.
"Min-gi hyung, what'd you think?"
"She was pretty."
"Min-gi, want me to hook you up with Hwayi?"
"Ah, Manager. Sorry. Kinda zoned out driving."
Our clumsy road manager sparked laughter.
Bi-ju checked with me too.
"Hyung, broadcast reactions should be good too, right?"
"Live crowd loved it."
"Yeah. There was that woman cheering when I gave you the flowers."
"I was worried about the reaction to that. So glad it worked."
"Total relief."
I nodded and smiled at Ri-hyuk.
I called to the member quietly staring out the window.
"Jung-hyun, you good?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks most today. You know without me saying."
In the waiting room, he'd said no need to look after them, choose for me. Grateful.
Jung-hyun smiled silently.
Somehow melancholic.
Past 10 p.m.
In the dark car lit only by streetlights, we felt different from usual.
Empty, maybe.
As Ji-ho said, the dreamlike time ended.
Music show activities done, no more celebrity stuff like photoshoots soon.
Still rookies, not fully debuted.
Back to dorm meant back to trainee life.
A long tunnel.
We raced through the dark, veered into a side path to a beautiful garden, smelled flowers, sang joy.
But the sweet time ended.
Back to the tunnel, racing toward light.
Even if we pass through, will we taste that sweetness again?
No words needed; we all shared the worry.
'Don't worry.'
I wanted to say it, but I'm no entertainment god guaranteeing success.
So I said something else.
"You all worked hard these past weeks, kids."
We all gazed at Yeouido fading in the rear window.
"Until we return, let's grind."
Everyone nodded and smiled.
March 2014.
With Ha Seung-ju's Music Cafe recording as the finale, New Black ended activities for the project single Something.