Chapter 43
Chapter 43
People say
quit the nonsense, get real
Everyone's like that when they're young
You'll soon find it, that pill called reality
The audience members who heard Choi Jun-bin's intro started murmuring.
Within the community, Choi Jun-bin's vocals had never escaped the evaluation of being 'just decent.' It was a compliment, yet it secretly contained the implication that his limits were clear.
But this time was different.
The GIF account, startled by a voice unlike anything heard before, was about to let out an exclamation when they suddenly realized something.
'......Didn't he get a bit similar to Chaegyeom?'
Not in skill, but in that unique something that exists in every vocalist.
The placement of the sound, the timing of crescendos and decrescendos. Even to untrained ears, Seo Cha-gyeom's shadow could be felt in many aspects.
'Has the disease of loving your ultimate bias so much that everything starts looking like a derivative of them already set in?!'
While the GIF account was engaging in self-reflection, the rap part began.
The GIF account, who had been trying their best to focus, eventually fixed their eyes on the LED screen displaying the lyrics due to pronunciation that was utterly unintelligible.
Originally, the lyrics of the original song were about a determination to definitely make a beautiful woman, whom other men couldn't even make eye contact with, his own.
However, the lyrics confirmed on the LED had been changed to a determination to definitely achieve a dream that others ridiculed as a fantasy.
'Wow, they really put this together well!'
To create this much organic connection with the keyword of a dream just from the single lyric 'I'm Strong' in the chorus.
Whoever's idea it was, the ingenuity was absolutely breathtaking.
In the bridge section of the original song, which had often been criticized as dull, they mixed in a highlight from a movie OST.
The two songs, exquisitely blended, felt both familiar and new, creating an immense synergy. It was already at the point where the end of the song felt regrettable.
Even if I burn up in flames
Even if the water rises, okay
From ten, I take one step further
Fly to the moon!
Just as the first verse bridge ended with the vocal and rap duet, the electric guitar reappeared and began playing the main melody of .
The guitar, which had been playing while continuously heightening the anticipation, was abruptly muted the moment it reached its highest point.
In succession, all sound was cut off, and the concert hall fell silent.
"......."
"......."
Everyone held their breath and watched the silent stage.
A tension like a roller coaster just before its descent flowed, and in that moment when it felt like their pounding hearts were about to leap out of their mouths.
A dazzlingly bright light poured onto the stage.
Seo Cha-gyeom grabbed the mic.
I got the power
Igniting the cooled-down engine
No more running away, time is over
The GIF account froze for a moment, then let out a moan of admiration like someone in pain.
"Huhh."
Their whole body tingled as if hit by a powerful spike.
I got the power.
A lyric that seemed aimed at becoming a simple meme rather than something cool.
'He can pull this off with this much style?'
The unparalleled volume, which made one suspect he had monopolized a high-performance mic all to himself, was a bonus.
Making a highlight actually a highlight was also skill.
Only after hearing the highlight, which could be called the symbol of the song, was everyone in their seats certain.
Fear is but a moment
Raise the flag there
I'm strong
and I'm a dreamer
That this stage was a legendary one that would be talked about for years to come, even if the program went down in spectacular flames!
Before the excitement could even subside, Kim Han-ul's rap opened the second verse.
As if I've lost my orbit
On an unknown road again
terrified adventurer
Two frozen feet
A worthless compass
Thanks to the already highly elevated atmosphere, Kim Han-ul's rap, which hadn't received much attention before, also drew a good response.
The combination of Kim Han-ul's leader image, emphasized on the broadcast, with the serious lyrics was quite decent.
Keep dreaming
REACH higher
Pull up...
That was when the smoothly running roller coaster started to creak.
that... like a creep...
"What?"
"Looks like he forgot the lyrics."
Voices of concern that he seemed nervous and annoyed voices started spreading simultaneously.
The atmosphere, which had been rising in high spirits, couldn't overcome the growing murmurs and sharply plummeted.
In that moment, the GIF account's eyes, who had been intoxicated by their ultimate bias's skill display regardless of whether others were taking a nosedive on stage, widened.
Seo Cha-gyeom, who had been standing next to Kim Han-ul, had grabbed the mic.
After ten challenges have burned up
My existence, finally faced
In between singing rap and R&B, a much lower voice than usual.
The GIF account gaped in admiration once more at Seo Cha-gyeom's never-before-heard tone, since he had mainly been in charge of high notes until now.
Seo Cha-gyeom, who flashed a slight smile at Kim Han-ul, continued to sing as if reciting the lyrics.
Kim Han-ul, who had been fumbling to follow the part by watching the shape of Seo Cha-gyeom's mouth, barely managed to get back on beat and resumed his rap.
"Did he just help him?"
"With the lyrics?"
It's rap, where you get caught off guard all the time even if you forget lyrics you wrote yourself, so why is he flawlessly reciting someone else's rap lyrics?
Everyone swallowed this long comment internally. Because they had to appreciate the performance.
In the midst of the confusion, Seo Cha-gyeom thought.
'No, if I wrote them for you, you should at least memorize them yourself.'
* * *
—Write the lyrics for me.
—Excuse me?
After the rehearsal ended, Kim Han-ul, who had called me out into the hallway, said.
—The concept. Since you made me change it to what you said, you have to take responsibility.
Kim Han-ul, who had presented the newly written lyrics during rehearsal, was ruthlessly bombarded by rap mentor Licks Hour. With criticisms that they sounded like pretentious posturing a delinquent would scribble on social media.
The previous rap, which had been like a love letter, had only strayed from the topic; it hadn't been that bad, though.
'He must have written it beforehand.'
Seeing the mess the lyrics were in now, there was a high probability that even those weren't written by him but were done by his company.
I stared at Kim Han-ul, who was clutching my sleeve and on the verge of tears like someone truly wronged, and said.
—Alright, fine.
The rehearsal took place the day right before the main performance.
It was already too tight on time to expect an epiphany or correction, and if Kim Han-ul, with his eyes bloodshot from working on the stage, suddenly poured a 'just you wait, you bastards who ignored me' on top of it, that would be a disaster in its own way.
—Just memorize them, hyung.
But it still ended up like this anyway.
I grabbed the mic.
Inside the fantasy I've drawn
Even if I die, locked in silence, I
The doubling part that comes in when Kim Han-ul's rap wraps up.
It originally didn't have this teeth-gritting, forced feeling, but as I tried to suppress my anger, the accent became stronger.
If it were Mary, I'd have already been torn apart. For not being able to control my emotions.
'Damn it.'
Kim Han-ul's part barely passed, and Lee Jae-young's rap began.
An 'a' never before seen anywhere
What can you do 'ay'
It stabs like a dagger into my heart
It would have been understandable if the focus had been broken by the mistake in the previous part, but Lee Jae-young clearly showed his sense of responsibility as the main rapper.
The restless atmosphere settled down with Lee Jae-young's powerful rap, and the stage returned to its place.
Covering for a teammate's mistake is also a skill. If I had been more experienced, I could have handled it before the audience's immersion was broken in the first place.
With those tiresome words or whatever
Try holding me back
To me, it's all just one-sixth anyway
So I'll leap up even lighter!
But, let's put self-reproach aside for now.
Because my part wasn't over yet.
The hook, handled by Choi Jun-bin, passed, and the accompaniment mixing the mashed-up OST's aria over the synths of Strong Boy, rearranged with a rock feel, came through the in-ear.
I took a breath and grabbed the mic.
Even if everyone tries to shake me
Even if everything is a lie
This D Bridge was won by vote.
The meaning of entrusting this part to me, which sometimes has a bigger presence than the hook itself, was clear.
So let's execute it perfectly, no matter what.
Even if there's not a single star there
My eyes met Lee Jae-young's on the opposite side.
'We didn't even make eye contact during rehearsal.'
The reason was probably the same as why I looked at him.
It was laughable to feel trust in Lee Jae-young's gaze, completely immersed in the stage without any other stray thoughts, but this was one of the reasons I liked performing.
The fact that whoever your opponent was, the moment you stood on the same stage, you became a team no matter what.
Lee Jae-young opened his mouth.
Even if it's an absurd delusion, so what
I will go further
I will surely make it
The kick and snare hit hard, and Lee Jae-young's rap surged forward as if sprinting a race.
Right before the finish line, we all grabbed our mics in unison.
Fly
—me
to the
—moon!
After the part where the vocal line and rap line shouted in alternation, an outro composed of a band sound flowed.
If I wanted to stand out more, I could have added an ad-lib here.
But I let it be.
Because ending with a lingering aftertaste like this was the right move here.
"―!! ――!"
When the song ended, a muffled sound came through the in-ear.
I raised the hand holding the mic and took out the in-ear.
"Whoa!!"
"One more time!!"
The scattered shouts finally merged into a single sound.
"Encore―!"
Listening to the pouring requests for an encore, I let out a short sigh.
It was because a forgotten memory had resurfaced.
—But why the way to write lyrics? You guys don't put much weight on composition classes.
—I wanted to go to Team B too.
—Why? To debut with me?
—Well....... That's true too.
I felt sorry for the hyung who shrieked and made a fuss at my answer, but fundamentally, it was for a different reason.
The reason I had wanted to debut with Yuri hyung was because I wanted to stand on the same stage as him, and the reason the stage with him was so good.......
The more intimate communion with teammates, the communication with the audience, and this tension that the success or failure of the stage was decided solely by my hands.
—Because I thought it would be more fun.
That was sincere.
The stage was enjoyable.
So much that I couldn't understand why my past self had tried to give up.
* * *
"San-ho, you said you were going to be an idol, right?"
"Yes, heh."
"Are you gonna be alright?"
"Hehehe......."
Kim Sanho was hugging a sandbag and catching his breath like a family member reunited after ten years.
Every time he answered with difficulty, a pitiful creaking sound echoed from the line connected to the sandbag.
The gym owner, with hands like pot lids, delicately folded a tissue and wiped his sweat, clicking his tongue.
"I need to make a proper person out of you before the gym closes down."
"Thank youuuu......."
"If you're thankful, stop resting and go drink some water quickly."
Two hours of suffering through hellish training again like that.
Kim Sanho, returning to the company office with trembling legs, stopped his steps abruptly about 5 meters in front of the main gate of Sorasum.
'Who is it this time?'
Since the broadcast started, he had encountered quite a few people who seemed to be sasaengs.
But maybe it was thanks to the empty, barren road, or perhaps they were just less vicious sasaengs. Most of them just loitered around before leaving without incident.
There hadn't been anyone standing so brazenly in front of the main gate like that since Seo Cha-gyeom's former co-worker the other time.
Kim Sanho, who had stopped and was pondering, finally found his answer.
'A serious sasaeng.......'
At that moment, his eyes met the man's.
"......!"
The startled man started rolling his eyes frantically.
Kim Sanho, following Seo Cha-gyeom's advice to 'just treat him like he's not there and walk past,' tried to confidently move his steps, pretending not to see.
But a problem arose.
His legs, overworked to double the usual extent, happened to encounter a pebble on the roadside.
Just as Kim Sanho's face was plummeting toward the ground at light speed.
Grab!
"......Didn't touch, right? Your knee?"
"......."
"Oh dear, if I'd been just a bit less agile, it could've been a disaster. Hahaha."
The hand firmly gripping his shoulder stood Kim Sanho upright.
The man with a provincial accent awkwardly smiled after his joke, then coughed dryly and cast his eyes down. It was because Kim Sanho, not forgetting Seo Cha-gyeom's advice, was staring at him intently with his mouth firmly shut.
"Wow, you're staring real hard. Trying to draw a composite sketch or something......."
"......."
"......I'm really not a suspicious person, really......."
"......Really?"
The man nodded his head furiously like an electric motor.
At that moment, Kim Sanho was thinking of Seo Cha-gyeom, who had been desperately searching for any decent trainees nearby.