Chapter 119:

Chapter 119:

Chapter 119

Will things get better next year?

“Let’s go!”

After the annual cheer time with the trainees, the members dispersed to do their final check before going on stage. Ian saw Lim No-eul, who was wearing a black hood and mask, in his sight.

“No-eul, are you ready to go on stage?”

“Yes!”

Lim No-eul, who had developed stage fright after falling hard on stage, had made a dramatic comeback in the process of surviving the debut group. He was more afraid of not making it to the debut group than of going on stage.

‘I guess you can do anything well if your debut is on the line.’

The members walked around the stage to get a rough sense of the width. It felt different from watching the set from outside.

“It looks amazing up close, doesn’t it?”

“Be careful with the decorations. If you go too far back, you’ll hit your head.”

“There’s a jewel missing here.”

Kim Joo-young casually put a crystal ornament that had fallen off the stage set in his pocket.

“It’s a shame there are no fans...”

“It’s no fun without cheering.”

The empty standing seats looked especially empty. They were all feeling down about doing their first stage in a long time without fans.

“We’re going to start recording!”Vissit novelbin(.)com for new novels

“Okay!”

The members quickly took their positions, staring blankly at the empty space.

***

All the lights went off except for the indirect lights, and an intro song composed by Lee Joo-hyuk for this stage played.

Backup dancers in black clothes came out with flags and marched in sync.

-So nervous

-The stage smells like money

-How can they be so good alreadyᅲᅲᅲThe stage is crazyᅲᅲ

The fans who were watching the live broadcast posted their real-time reactions on SNS, impressed by the grandiose stage and intro.

The members wore leather shirts with colorful cloaks, and silver chain ornaments on their wrists and tassels on their waistbands sparkled as they moved.

“This universe is under my feet

The world is complete because I’m here”

Jo Tae-woong decorated the first verse of the song. He held the microphone confidently, after receiving intensive training from Ian, Lee Joo-hyuk, and the vocal trainer.

-Crazy voiceᄃᄃ

-Tae-woong is amazingᅲᅲᅲᅲᅲ

-Jo Tae-woong’s singing has improved a lot, right?

Then Kim Joo-young and Kim Hyun’s pair dance and song part, and Park Seo-dam sang, but there was still one person missing.

-Where’s Park Jin-hyuk?

-What? Why isn’t he here? There’s no chair either.

-Did he hurt his leg and couldn’t come?

Even when Ian sang the chorus, Park Jin-hyuk was nowhere to be seen.

Then, suddenly, the mood of the song changed. Boom, boom, the sound of drums heightened the tension and the backup dancers moved busily.

With the drum sound as a cue, Park Jin-hyuk appeared on a palanquin, swinging a long crystal ornament roughly.

-Crazy Jin-hyukᅲᅲᅲᅲSo coolᅲᅲᅲᅮᅲᅲ

-The concept is insaneᅲᅲᅲᅲᅲᅮᅲᅲ

He had a cast on his left leg that was wearing shorts, but he had decorated it with crystals and graffiti art, making it look like a fashion statement.

-Who knew he would show up like this

-So badassᅲᅲᅲᅲ

Park Jin-hyuk held the microphone and did a powerful rap, and the backup dancers put down the palanquin he was riding in the center of the stage. The dancers hit the handles that held the palanquin down, separating them from the palanquin.

“Get out of my world

Push you out of my world”

Park Jin-hyuk crossed his legs and looked at the camera casually. He finished his part and kicked the floor with his uninjured right leg to spin his chair. He leaned back comfortably on his chair and spun it until a backup dancer grabbed it for him.

“Wow, this is like my own living room.”

He was clearly more excited because it was his first broadcast stage in a long time. The manager, Park Dong-soo, who was watching from the front, shook his head.

Moving Park Jin-hyuk’s chair to its designated position was mostly done by backup dancers, and the members performed their parts near him.

-Who said Park Jin-hyuk would be put away?

-The stage is lit upᅮᅲᅮᅲ

“Of course, we’ll do it when we pay.”

“Thank you!”

The owner beamed and returned to the kitchen.

Taking photos and giving autographs seemed simple enough, but some people exploited them.

“It’s good timing; we were about to order more.”

Some would forge signatures without actual visits and promote their places as ‘Visited by Celebrity X!’ Those people would imitate genuine signatures from places like this restaurant.

Lee Juhyuk distributed some meat to the managers and piled up more meat on his own grill. Park Seodam frowned and said.

“Hyung, you put too much meat.”

“Did I?”

Lee Juhyuk smiled awkwardly.

The fans loved the cooking show of Awi, which featured the rookies’ rampage and the trio of experts’ suffering. It was also recommended as a must-watch video for new fans.

***

Awi’s songs were released on the music sites, and they announced the start of their music show activities on Nnet Music Broadcast.

-Today’s bizarre music chart.jpg

-Wow, there’s nothing to listen to on the chart with all these idol songs

-We seriously need a chart reform

-I’ve been listening to only the songs I like without looking at the chart since last year

Awi’s songs were gaining popularity among the public, and with the fans’ streaming support, they easily topped the music chart again.

‘We really made a line.’

Ian scrolled down slowly from the top of the TOP100 chart. Awi’s album art was lined up in a row. This comeback was a full album, so they had many songs, and even some old songs that were released before were on the fans’ streaming list, making the line longer.

-Now that Mydia is in the army, is it these guys now? I’m sick of it

-Why are they streaming other albums?

-What do you care if the fans listen to them? Just filter them out

-This was triggered by Watermelon Chart, what can we do? Complain to Watermelon Chart~~

This was a common phenomenon when they became popular and entered the big idol league. Ian felt strange doing things that he couldn’t even dream of when he was a flop. He captured the lined-up music chart.

‘Should I be glad that we made a line before the reform?’

Anyway, in the future, there will be a chart reform. And with foreign music sites coming into Korea, this bizarre phenomenon will be somewhat alleviated.

“You guys are energetic since dawn.”

“What?”

“No, I mean, we made a line with our songs.”

“Oh, I saw that too. We’re awesome.”

Jo Taewoong squeezed toothpaste on his toothbrush next to Ian. Ian stared at him for a long time.

“Why are you using this bathroom? Use your room’s bathroom.”

“Hyeonie hyung is not coming out.”

“Then I agree.”

Kim Hyeon took a long time to wash up. Jo Taewoong, who overslept, failed to secure the bathroom.

They stood shoulder to shoulder and brushed their teeth blankly.

“Are you going into a drama?”

“Yeah, I have a meeting on Saturday.”

The music shows were conducted without an audience, but the drama and movie shootings were getting more lively. Jo Taewoong was cast in a webtoon-based drama according to the schedule.

“Are you still reading scripts?”

“Yeah.”

The agency didn’t force them to accept any casting offers. They left it to Ian’s decision, so he could choose his works comfortably. He was carefully looking for scripts.

“I almost cried blood when I did the deliveryman cameo because of my image.”

“But that’s good for imprinting your character.”

“That’s true.”

It might sound greedy, but he didn’t want his filmography to be messy by going into any drama like before.

“...Are you having a hard time?”

Jo Taewoong’s face reflected in the mirror looked terrible. He was busy with the comeback and studying his drama character, so he couldn’t sleep well for days.

“It’s tiring because it’s based on an original work...”

The more popular the original work was, the higher the expectations of the original fans were. Jo Taewoong’s casting news stirred up mixed opinions among the internet communities.

“Ah... What do they say? Cut off your internet.”

“You cut off yours.”

Jo Taewoong kicked Ian’s calf with his foot.