Chapter 73:

Chapter 73:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 73

The gentle sound of an acoustic guitar filled the air, drawing the attention of the audience to one spot.

Under the spotlight.

A sharp-faced singer stood with a microphone in his hand.

He looked cold at first glance, but when he closed his eyes and smiled, his expression changed completely.

From icy to warm, like a spring breeze.

The audience watched the transformation with interest, and heard a soft humming in their ears.

It was an unusual introduction.

The couple who had been scolding their child, the old man who had been resting his hand on his cane and complaining, the Teen Spirit fans who had been chatting on the fan cafe, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at the same place.

The humming was somehow comforting.

Like a mother holding her child and singing a lullaby on a rainy day, the low and gentle humming came through the drizzling rain.

After about 30 seconds.

Seo Rihyuk finished his humming and opened his eyes with a soft smile.

Soon, the sound of waves inserted in the MR signaled the start of the song.

Splash-

The weather was not suitable for the image of ‘the starry night sea’ that the song originally had, but the warm prelude of piano and guitar created a sentimental atmosphere.

The blue light that had been slowly rotating began to surround Woojoo.

As I walk through the old memories

The rusty gate and the wagging tail

With the rain as the background, his voice spread to every corner of the audience.

The lyrics were easy to catch with his clear pronunciation.

The song was written by him for his grandmother who had taken care of him since he was young.

With the story and the melody of the night sea that reminded them of old songs, the audience responded well regardless of their age.

The blue and yellow lights scattered around created a dreamy mood, as the two vocals exchanged their singing.

Of course.

It was a secret that the festival lighting team was doing their best to create such a mood.

They just reacted to the good song.

A calm smile appeared on their faces, who had been amazed by the humming at first.

When the 2 minutes and 40 seconds were over.

The audience sent a round of applause.

***

When the audience was sending a gentle applause to the stage of Night Sea, Jung Hyojin, who was in charge of MC, let out a sigh of relief.

‘...It worked.’

The audience’s expressions had changed noticeably.

Just a while ago, they had been so fierce that her face had stung while conducting the prize event.

But now they looked like different people.

There were no more furrowed brows or pursed lips.

Only peaceful faces.

Was this the power of music?

She suppressed a smile that was about to come out, as if they had just watched a soothing public service advertisement.

“That was a wonderful stage, both of you.”

She squeezed in between Street Boys and Blink, who had received the attention of a rookie group 1 at best, and now they were in the spotlight.

Maybe it was because of that, but they both looked nervous.

She recalled the keywords she had heard from the New Black members.

Night Sea. Self-composed song. Grandma fan.

“It was a song called Night Sea, right?”

-Yes, that’s right.

“The chorus was really catchy and impressive. It felt like you were singing to someone. Do you have any behind-the-story that you can share with us here?”

Anyway, she had to fill up five minutes with her comments until the next substitute, Song Bohyung, came.

Since it had come to this.

She decided to use this time to introduce New Black.

-Ah, Night Sea is...

Fortunately, the member of New Black, who boasted a beautiful appearance, took the opportunity well.

-It’s a song that I composed while thinking of my grandmother.

“I only knew Fireworks as your self-composed song. Is this also a self-composed song?”

-Yes.

Curiosity appeared on the faces of the audience.

He smiled shyly, as if he was embarrassed by their interest.

He calmly explained his intention and experience of composing the song, and the audience’s eyes became more friendly towards him.

He was a nameless rookie just a moment ago, but now he was someone’s son or grandson in the eyes of the people around him.

-Actually, I didn’t write it all by myself. I got a lot of help from my friend here in writing the lyrics.

He skillfully shifted the focus to Rihyuk, and Jeong Hyojin smiled at him.

While the audience laughed lightly at Rihyuk’s embarrassed expression, she saw the signal from below.

It meant that the next stage was ready.

While the other members were waiting backstage, the MC checked the audience’s reaction.

It was time to wrap it up.

“Now we’re going to listen to one more song. I’m really looking forward to it. I was surprised when New Black said they were going to sing this song.”

She asked in a subtle voice, “Is this song also self-composed?”

The idol fans knew the title of the next song, but the general public tilted their heads.

Another self-composed song?

What song was it that they co-wrote?

Seeing the curious faces, the MC smiled.

‘This will definitely get a response.’

No one would not know this song.

***

This time, all five of them stood together.

The audience’s eyes were focused on the stage.

They were curious about the song because of the MC’s words that it was a song that everyone knew, and that it was self-composed.

‘What are they going to sing?’

At first, they had a few choices and thought about it, but considering the audience age group and the event atmosphere, it was the best choice for the final song.

After raising the mood a little with Night Sea and Something, they decided to use this song, which they have MR, to boost the mood and pass the baton to Song Bohyung.

Then the king of the event, the trot singer, would take care of it.

And more than anything, the reason they chose this song was because it was backed by the most practice.

Last December.

They practiced for 10 hours a day for a month and made the song stick to their bodies.

Of course, they would have a lot of sloppy parts because they rested for six months, but they planned to make up for that by inducing the audience’s response.

While laying the groundwork by saying it might be a bit clumsy, Woojoo had a conversation with the MC.

...Huh?

A murmuring sound came from somewhere.

It was a serious atmosphere that could be heard through the rain.

Woojoo glanced sideways.

And he was surprised.

What was that?

Woojoo didn’t know where the problem started.

He couldn’t see it from the angle.

But centered around a group of staff, the water was spreading as if it was backflowing.

It looked like it might spill over to the side of the stage.

The audience couldn’t see what was happening on the stage because of the angle, but Woojoo had a feeling it would be a mess once they found out.

What should he do?

His first thought was to reassure the audience that everything was fine, no matter what.

No.

It would be better if they didn’t know at all.

His brain was spinning.

The staff would soon fix the problem professionally, so they just had to distract the audience for a while.

Distract them as much as possible...

Suddenly, Woojoo noticed the space between the stage and the seats.

He wasn’t sure.

But it was the best idea he could think of at the moment.

As the upbeat intro played, Woojoo winked at the two who were quick-witted among the four of them.

Did they get what he meant?

They nodded right away.

If they acted, the others would follow.

Clap- clap clap-

As the people clapped along to the lively trot music, Woojoo stepped down from the stage and headed towards the seats.

The people in the front row widened their eyes.

Woojoo took a spot in the empty space between the stage and the seats, and soon his siblings came down after him.

They were a bit nervous, but they smiled at the audience.

As they clapped their hands above their heads and encouraged applause, their bodies moved on their own.

Was it because they practiced so much for a month, except for sleeping time?

It flowed more naturally from their bodies than when they checked it lightly before going on stage.

And then, the first verse started and their youngest stepped forward.

He sang the first verse of the trot song with a cute and lively expression.

Where are you, my love?

Are you here or there?

The audience reacted with amusement as a singer of their son’s or grandson’s age sang cheerfully.

Well done, our baby.

Woojoo thought he did enough.

He was preparing for his part when Jiho moved his steps while singing.

Uh, where was he going?

Woojoo’s heart sank as he saw him approaching the mayor and his wife.

He wasn’t going to do anything weird, was he?

Woojoo swallowed nervously, and as he got closer to them, he gestured with his hand as if pointing at someone while dancing.

Why are you avoiding me?

I didn’t do anything wrong

He sent a heart with his hand and a playful smile.

He sparkled his eyes and looked at the audience as if asking them to look at him nicely.

The people’s expressions softened noticeably.

It was a dramatic change, to say the least.

Especially the one who was pointed by his finger.

It was amazing.

The mayor, who had been gloomy all day, burst into a big laugh that surprised everyone around him.

***

At the same time.

The fan cafe of Teen Spirit, the free board of Soul.

-Are they still not at the venue??

-Why isn’t MOP announcing anything? F***

-What do we do;;

-The atmosphere must be really bad, sigh...

-Can anyone at the scene update us on the situation?

A comment soon followed.

-New Black, the rookie group, is filling in for them.

-Ah...

-You don’t have to say it, I can imagine...

-They must be embarrassed too s***

-Huh? No.

-?

-The atmosphere is good.

The comment section was flooded with question marks, and below that, a short comment was posted.

-The atmosphere is great. Really great.