Chapter 99
Chapter 99
The hallway leading back to the waiting room after the press showcase ended.
Amid the chaos, I repeated deep breaths to maintain my composure.
I'd only just finished one measly press showcase, after all.
Just cleared the first gate. The real beginning was the debut showcase stage that would unfold before the fans waiting for us in just a moment.......
[The <Achieve Your Debut> objective has been completed!]
"......."
A System window filled my vision without warning.
'So the debut trigger was the digital release after all.'
If it was going to congratulate me, couldn't it have picked a slightly more dramatic moment? Getting an anticlimactic congratulations like this in the middle of a hallway wasn't exactly what I wanted.
......No, the fact that I'm even calling this a congratulations means I must be pretty damn happy about debuting.
Whatever my complaints, the System faithfully displayed a new message.
[You have arrived at a new crossroads.]
[Group name: HAZERD]
[Members: Kim Sanho, Kim Yuri (Leader), Baek Gyeonwoo, Seo Cha-gyeom, Jeong Sowol, Han Neuti]
[Would you like to lock in this configuration? (Yes/No)]
How unusually kind of it to even provide options.
But... could it at least explain what exactly happens if I lock it in, and what happens if I don't?
'Hm.'
I held my breath for a moment and stared at the screen.
'Lock it in.'
Did this mean that once I chose yes, I'd have to stick with these members for the rest of my life, no matter what happened?
What if someone caused an irreversible, major scandal?
Would I not even be able to dream of withdrawal or expulsion then, just forced to drag it along to the bitter end?
I unconsciously turned my head, silently scanning the backs of the members walking ahead of me at a distance.
'A member who'd cause a scandal serious enough for withdrawal.......'
No. If I knew that, I'd be a fortune teller.
The future was unknowable.
Anyone could change, and unexpected incidents could happen to anyone, at any time. That could even be me.
There was no need to pour precious energy into a problem with no answer no matter how much I agonized over it. Uncertainty would exist no matter which choice I made.
In the end, my path forward was essentially set in stone anyway.
I let out a short inward sigh and willingly chose to advance.
[Selection complete.]
[Saving all data up to this point.]
'Ah, right......!'
Thud!
Dammit, I'd noticed that saving always drained my strength, but I forgot again.
Thank god it was an empty hallway. I almost got mistaken for someone who faints from too much tension.......
I dusted off my knees, stood up, and checked the System.
[Objective: Rise to the top with the team 'HAZERD'.]
[Progress: Main (Warning 0 times)]
'Main.'
It definitely carried a different weight, starting from the name itself, compared to Tutorial or Prologue. This must mean the real story was beginning now.
......I got that much. But now what was I supposed to do?
As if answering my question, a new window appeared.
[To celebrate the opening of the Main Chapter, the <Ranking> System has been unlocked.]
Ranking.......
Right, a debut was essentially the start of full-scale competition. Competition that couldn't even compare to survival shows where the future was pitch-black.
Maybe because I'd braced myself for it, the new content didn't surprise me much.
[Current 'HAZERD' ranking: (―)]
[Rankings are displayed only up to 100th place.]
The (―) mark next to it seemed to mean either it hadn't been tallied yet, or we were outside the Top 100.
'So, what the hell is the ranking criteria?'
If only I could see a ranking that included other teams, I could roughly guess.
Just in case, I diligently summoned keywords in my head.
'Other people ranking. Other group ranking. View all rankings. Ugh, dammit. Not working.'
The showcase was right around the corner — was this the time to be playing a word guessing game with the System?
I pulled myself together, crossed the hallway, and headed for the waiting room.
Inside the waiting room, the members were each drinking water or getting makeup touch-ups, waiting for the showcase start time of 8 o'clock.
I too plopped down onto a chair and closed my eyes.
And a short while later.
"Hyung!!!"
Jeong Sowol's voice rang through the waiting room.
That guy who'd been too busy staring in the mirror to even speak to me until just now, why was he.......
"We entered the Top 100!"
What?
"F-for real?"
"Whoa....... All thanks to Chaegyeom hyung......."
"Wow, all thanks to Seo Cha-gyeom, seriously......."
"Why is it all thanks to him."
I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the music streaming site.
'......It's real.'
No matter how much the credibility of music charts had fallen compared to the past, idols capable of cracking the Top 100 were still few and far between.
Maybe it was because January was an unusually quiet month.
"Ahem."
I stopped my analytical thoughts.
Wasn't it a precious result created purely by the fans who supported us? Let's just be grateful and happy for this in and of itself.
Just as I was gazing endlessly at the chart, something suddenly occurred to me.
'Ranking.'
[Current 'HAZERD' ranking: (―)]
'......No change.'
Thanks to that, I at least knew for sure that it wasn't determined solely by digital chart ranking.
Soon, the time to move to the stage approached. We did a final check of our mics and styling, waiting below the stage.
I was blankly staring at the glimpse of the stage screen when I heard a voice beside me.
"Chaegyeom-ssi."
I turned my head, and a finger poked my cheek.
"......."
"......I mean, it's to help you relax~"
At my reaction, Kim Yuri cried out as if hurt.
I side-eyed his hand still poking my cheek and spoke.
"You relax first, hyung. Why are your hands so cold?"
"Huhk."
Flustered by my words, Kim Yuri began rubbing his two hands together.
And a moment later.
Another awkward silence settled in after a long while.
......I'd thought we'd made a lot of progress practicing like old times over these past few months, but I guess our relationship hadn't been fully mended.
'What the hell's the problem?'
Did we need to enlist in the military together or something?
Right around when I was thinking that, Kim Yuri opened his mouth first.
"I thought I wouldn't be able to debut with you."
"......."
"But it's happening. In the end."
His tone sounded like it brought back old memories.
I'd been listening quietly, and I asked something I'd been curious about for a while.
"But hyung, why did you leave Mary?"
"Well, I left because you weren't there."
"Is that a valid reason?"
Kim Yuri looked up at the ceiling briefly, then chuckled and said,
"I don't do boring stuff."
Hmm.......
"That statement, I can trust."
"If you say it like that, I'm gonna look like someone who does nothing but lie all the time, you know?"
Watching Kim Yuri grumble, I chuckled too.
Han Neuti, who had been watching us from a little distance, noticed the conversation had ended and strode over.
"Hey, Leader, we gotta do that thing at the end. That thing."
"What thing?"
"What was it? Ah, fighting."
"Did you forget the word 'fighting'......."
The rest of the members, who had been stretching or doing mind control nearby, quickly gathered around as well.
And without anyone needing to say it first, six hands came together as one.
"Alright, then."
Kim Yuri cleared his throat with an ahem and pressed down firmly on top of our hands.
"One, two, three!"
Six voices filled the space like one.
"Fighting!"
After the short but solid shout, we briefly looked into each other's eyes and nodded wordlessly.
Honestly... I thought this kind of thing would be cringey.
It wasn't. Only a tingling exhilaration welled up. You could call it a feeling literally charged with fighting spirit.
'Yeah, you gotta have at least this level of emotion.'
Satisfied, I turned my body around.
And finally took a step onto the dark stage, devoid of even a single point of light.
* * *
'MAZE'.
Our debut song, meticulously designed by thoroughly analyzing the members' strengths to instantly imprint the name HAZERD.
In this twisted world
Feels like I'm thrown in alone
Feeling like a ghost,
Where is my place to be
I was the one to open the first salvo.
Beneath a precarious, anxious voice, as if navigating a strange maze, the beat gradually heightened.
After ratcheting the tension up to its peak, the pre-chorus to catch a breath.
Knowing there is no way out
I choose to run
was handled by Kim Sanho.
His serene yet clear voice provided a moment to breathe while laying the stepping stone toward the highlight to come.
And then.
I keep running
Even if exhausted, can't stop this
Even if only invisible walls lie a step ahead
Jeong Sowol was made responsible for the first part of the chorus that finally exploded the built-up energy.
A section where the intense melody hooked the ears instantly, focusing more on vocals than dance. It was the optimal part that lightened the burden on Jeong Sowol, who was slightly lacking in dance, while simultaneously showcasing his vocals for sure.
Of course, if this ambiguous performance intensity continued, it would quickly get boring.
I plunge into the maze
Dash forward fearlessly, no turning back
My role was to break that flow and make it surge again.
Inheriting the energy Jeong Sowol had built, taking it one step higher, then descending while leaving lingering feelings.
go on, now hit me with it all
give me your worst
There, Baek Gyeonwoo was waiting.
A rap part that refreshed the atmosphere while refusing to release the tension, delivered low and solid.
He wrapped up verse 1 while building anticipation for verse 2.
Upon a heart as tangled as a shorted circuit
A fleeting illusion of finding the answer
system error, the closer I get, the farther it seems
this is a maze through a haze
And the intro of verse 2 was Kim Yuri.
In this section, just as crucial as the first intro, his rhythmic rap gathered the focus once more.
What I realized while wandering
Is that only questions with no right answers fill this place
Following Kim Yuri's rap, Han Neuti's more direct rap led verse 2. Naturally, the solo dance fans would have anticipated from Han Neuti was included in this part.
After that, the bridge part that appeared after verse 2 passed.......
The moment I crossed the boundary
On trembling tiptoes
was handled by Kim Sanho and Baek Gyeonwoo.
Like the calm before the storm, their contrasting voices laid the bridge toward the final chorus.
And the chorus of verse 3.
This time, I took the lead vocals, swapping the order with Jeong Sowol.
I naturally didn't forget to raise the key higher than before to show this was the climax of the song.
After the rap by Kim Yuri that adorned the finale, a lengthy outro awaited — long, as far as songs these days went.
And during that time, the six people on stage executed an intricately tangled web of movement lines without a moment to breathe.
A section that squeezed out every last drop of stamina, frantically switching positions, forming shapes, and scattering again repeatedly.
While cutting across between members like that, moments came when our eyes unintentionally met.
Fleeting intersections I'd never once consciously noticed in the practice room mirror, too busy just checking formations.
On stage, it was different.
Under the flashing lights, sweat-drenched faces, gazes brushing past each other even while gasping for breath.
Within those gazes, there was something beyond just being stage partners.
Almost... a sense of unity, as if we had become one.
And something like trust.
Right before the final beat dropped, I pushed through the members and advanced to the center of the stage.
Boom, boom. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would break my ribs.
A wave of light sticks twinkling like stars. Faces upon faces of people filling every space between them. Cheers erupting loud enough to make my ears ring.
All of it became a massive energy and surged toward me.
'......My 'first' stage.'
The true starting point of a long and arduous journey toward the goal of the top.
I smiled.
Strangely, I felt a sense of fear as well.