“We recently got together and played the Game of Truth. And let me tell you, it got intense," Goh Yoo-Joon shared while glancing my way.
I nodded in agreement and recalled the evening. “Yeah, Joo-Han hyung really went all out by setting the mood with candles and everything."
“I honestly thought I had wandered into an elementary school camp!"
“Hyun-Woo hyung is typically reserved, but he needed a bit of alcohol to open up. But after two shots, he was a goner." Jin-Sung laughed and pointed at me playfully. It was a reminder of just how poorly I handled my liquor, something I was aware of but had drastically underestimated.
The members buzzed with excitement as they recounted the night, each anecdote more animated than the last. “We were almost through when Suh Hyun-Woo just crashed. It was game over right there."
I was just relieved they skipped the part after I blacked out. As the tales wound down, Joo-Han decided to take some questions from the audience. “How about the person in the middle, with the white T-shirt?" he called out.
“Waaaaah!” The chosen fan stood up with a shout that rivaled our loudest concerts, making everyone, members and fans alike, burst into laughter.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. “My question is! Is there any chance Hyun-Woo might go back to platinum blonde? And are any other members considering going lighter?"
A collective "ah" echoed from all around as all eyes turned to me. I knew the Rings had mixed feelings about my hair color. They seemed to appreciate whatever style I chose, but I thought they appreciated my platinum blonde more than my current black hair color.
“To be honest, my scalp pays the price every time I bleach my hair, so I'm not the biggest fan of dyeing it," I admitted.
“That’s true. Every time Hyun-Woo hyung dyes his hair, he winces in pain.”
“But you guys seem to really dig it when I change up my hair color," I added while noting the nods and murmurs of agreement from the crowd.
At first, I swore off any extreme coloring after going back to black. But lately, I had been reconsidering. Lighter hair did look striking in fan cams, and I had noticed it caught the light rather well.
“I like my natural hair color, but I've been thinking about dyeing my hair again. Rings really loved platinum blonde, and it did look amazing in those fan cams," I confessed, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. It was the color that the Rings had shown the most positive response.
I finished what I had to say and let the other members take the floor. “So, what about you guys? Jin-Sung was very eager to dye his hair, right? He went with blue this time, and it was his first time changing hair color. How does it feel? Thinking of going for another round?"
Jin-Sung grimaced. “Ah, actually, I would, but I’d rather not go full platinum like you did. Maybe something closer to what Joo-Han hyung has. What’s that color, dark blue? I’m a bit worried about hair loss from dyeing the roots too often," he commented while twirling a strand of Joo-Han’s hair.
Joo-Han chuckled and teased him. “Jin-Sung, didn’t you say one round of blue was enough to kill your scalp?"
“Hey, stop it! I’m still in my energetic teen years. I can handle it."
Goh Yoo-Joon chimed in while fiddling with his own hair. “I’m all for keeping my hair black. I never knew the struggle until I bleached it. Maintenance is a nightmare."
Besides hair color, the conversation bounced around. There was talk about a recent spar between Goh Yoo-Joon and me, discussions on game shows, Yoon-Chan’s drama, and whether Jin-Sung would post his dance cover video.
And with that, the curtain closed on the “Phantom Spirit” activities. In the evening, we had a barbeque feast led by Jin-Sung. Since we drank a little, we listened to Joo-Han’s nagging on our way back to the dorm. The official three-month vacation for Chronos had begun.
***
Next evening at 5:58 PM, all the members gathered around a computer in the YMM conference room. Members, the managers, and the Chronos team staff continued their excited conversation around the single monitor.
“The final version is truly a masterpiece. Watching it made me wonder if he's really one of ours," Supervisor Kim said. He rarely gushed like this.
“Even kids from big agencies aren’t often this good on camera. Yoon-Chan really nails the facial expressions, huh?"
“Supervisor, Yoon-Chan just got into that drama, too. Talented actors can make expressions come alive even on camera."
“Did Hyun-Woo see him first hand at the site?" the supervisor asked.
I nodded. “Yes. I made some minor adjustments to his camera focus and gestures."
“Hyun-Woo hyung also taught me how to emphasize my vocals and look good on camera." Right, I did mention those. Yoon-Chan subtly shifted the praise toward me and gave me all the credit.
Jin-Sung immediately caught on and exclaimed, “Wow! How does Hyun-Woo hyung know all this stuff? Does it come to you naturally or do you practice daily in front of a mirror?"
“That's what I mean. Sometimes it feels like Hyun-Woo hyung has been in the industry for five years. He always gets compliments on how well he handles his stage presence."
I simply nodded in agreement. My experience from watching and providing feedback to the newly debuted artists at YU had been a big help after my own debut.
Each member of Chronos was not only talented, but clearly had something they wanted to express in front of the camera. That was why I had been reluctant to give premature feedback, but seeing Yoon-Chan so down about the criticism of his skills recently, I got annoyed and decided to really focus and provide him some solid feedback after a long time.
“It’s almost six o’clock," I said.
The chatter stopped abruptly, and everyone’s attention turned to the monitor.
“It must have been uploaded by now," Hye-Ri hummed and hit refresh. A new video appeared on the screen.
#YmmArtist #Yoon-Chan #Chronos
[Special Clip] Yoon-Chan - Forest (4K)
Yoon-Chan's live solo song video had been released.