Chapter 123: The Singer in the Memories (8)

“How have you...”

As the live broadcast wrapped up and the

Countdown

cameras stopped rolling, only the encore music lingered in the air. My fellow Chronos members approached me, proudly holding a birthday cake, and the fans joyously chanted as if they were already aware of the surprise.

“Happy Birthday!"

I was so surprised that I stumbled over a few more lines of the letter before halting abruptly.

“Happy Birthday, Hyun-Woo," congratulated Joo-Han.

“Uh... thank you," I stammered as I felt warmth radiating from Joo-Han's smile. Goh Yoo-Joon and Jin-Sung then appeared, waving hand-written birthday cards in their hands, revealing that they had organized a well-planned birthday event for me without my knowledge.

Unsure of the appropriate response, I simply smiled and asked, “What's all this?"

I then wandered over to where Jin-Sung was seated. Ah, were my cheeks soaring to the heavens with joy? I only hoped my expression didn't look too ridiculous.

“Blue Room Party” continued to serenade in the background. While I was momentarily enchanted by the cake, Goh Yoo-Joon and Yoon-Chan whisked away the letter, dutifully fulfilling our first-place commitment.

As the song concluded, we had a brief and precious moment to interact with the fans.

“Thank you so much," I said while holding the cake.

Instantly, the audience burst into a prepared birthday song. Ah, I had never celebrated my birthday with so many people, and I was at a loss for how to react. So, I just... danced. Holding the cake, I infused all my gratitude into my movements. Though it was just a modest shoulder shrug, my gestures seemed to delight not only our Rings but also Joo-Han.

“Shall Hyun-Woo do the honors?" asked Joo-Han, extending the microphone toward me.

“Ah, yes, thank you, Rings... Thank you so much." Suddenly, three microphones were in front of me. Goh Yoo-Joon, Lee Jin-Sung, and Park Yoon-Chan sneakily positioned their mics near my face.

After a brief pause, I resumed speaking. “Thank you. We never imagined we'd conclude our promotion on such a high note. All thanks to our Rings." Despite their playful acts, I remained focused, though Goh Yoo-Joon teasingly placed his microphone against my stomach.

Unfazed, I continued, “We will keep striving to do better. Please wait for our improved songs and performances!"

“Yes! Thank you, everyone!"

“Thank you. We will work hard." Rookie idols should never skimp on expressing gratitude. After greeting the fans and production crew, we made our way backstage, where the behind-the-scenes camera captured me holding the cake.

Then, my fellow members playfully smeared my face with some cream from the cake and congratulated me. “Happy Birthday, Hyun-Woo!"

“Happy Birthday, Suh Hyun-Woo, and congrats on the first place."

“Really happy for you, hyung."

“Congratulations, hyung!"

Being creamed on the face was a rite of passage during our trainee days, and I had wondered why they hadn't done it onstage. So, they had been waiting to do it backstage all along. "Thanks," I said awkwardly, with cream on my nose and cheeks, and my fellow members jovially teased me. Everything was captured by the camera.

Back in the dressing room, I wiped off my face and changed clothes. While waiting for the others to get ready, I snapped photos with the cake for

BlueBird

and picked up a chopstick. “Having my birthday aligned with our activities and receiving such celebration... It's truly wonderful."

“Have you had some seaweed soup[1] today?” asked a staff member as he pointed the behind-the-scenes camera at me.

“No, I actually forgot it’s my birthday today. Been so caught up with schedule lately."

“Happy Birthday, Suh Hyun-Woo." Goh Yoo-Joon came over and perched on the armrest of my chair.

“So that's why you were so quiet today. It was all for this, huh?"

“What are you talking about? I don’t usually talk much anyway."

“Haha. That’s not even funny." I then fed Goh Yoo-Joon a piece of cake with a chopstick.

“Oh wow, it's sweet. Yoon-Chan will love this."

“Me too!" Jin-Sung approached. Seeing him, I snapped open a new pair of chopsticks and served him some cake.

“I thought you were on a diet, Jin-Sung."

“That's right. I'm working on becoming skinnier... Ah."

“Cake's going to make you fat," Goh Yoo-Joon chuckled, playfully shoving Jin-Sung away. “Back off! What kind of dieter eats cake?"

“Ah! I’m not on a diet through food control, okay? I will work it off."

“The trainer said you need to manage your diet too." Joo-Han and Yoon-Chan quietly joined in, digging into the cake as if to spite Jin-Sung.

“That is a bit too harsh on the youngest,” I said.

Jin-Sung pouted and shot me a playful glare before announcing, "In celebration of Hyun-Woo hyung's birthday, I will do an impression of him."

“What? An impression of Suh Hyun-Woo? That's something new."

I chuckled, intrigued. "Let's see it, then.”

I had never seen anyone do an impression of me before, so this was quite a novelty. The other members watched Jin-Sung with curious amusement, knowing he was doing this just for a bite of the cake. He theatrically wrapped a scarf around his face, resembling E.T. wrapped in a blanket or a hoodie with its hood tightly drawn.

Just when I wondered what he was up to, in a mockingly exaggerated tone, Jin-Sung blurted out, “Yoon-Chan, is Cha Cha a joke for you?"

The room erupted in laughter. "That's hilarious!"

It was an old catchphrase of mine, often a source of teasing among family and members. As the members chuckled, I couldn't help but smile at the unexpected throwback. Feeling encouraged by the laughter, Jin-Sung amped up his performance.

“Whoa, whoaaaaaa. The, pendant, ooh, ah, oh, magic! Ah, dang, I missed it," he intoned, sending us all into fits of laughter.

“Ahahahahahaha! Magic... hahahaha, pendant. Hahahahah!”

“Hyun-Woo hyung sang it so easily, but it’s actually hard. The pitch is too high.”

Goh Yoo-Joon found it especially funny, so he rolled on the floor in laughter. Even the staff behind the camera struggled to keep it together.

“No, I didn't sound like that! Are you guys just making fun of me?" I protested, a hint of laughter lacing my voice.

Undeterred, Jin-Sung grinned and continued mimicking me.

He then begged, “Just one bite, please!"

Despite his playfulness, I couldn't help but give in. As I approached Jin-Sung with the cake, Joo-Han stopped me.

“Why?" I asked, puzzled.

“Jin-Sung, you're a boy of infinite potential," Joo-Han said with unexpected solemnity, causing Jin-Sung to look wronged.

“What's that supposed to mean now?"

“If you do an impression of Yoo-Joon too, you will get a bite," replied Joo-Han, bargaining with Jin-Sung.

“Ah! Ah! Hyung!" Jin-Sung protested, but his actions contradicted his words as he prepared to mimic Goh Yoo-Joon.

“An impression of me? There's nothing much to imitate, is there?" remarked Goh Yoo-Joon, though he looked forward to it. I also watched, barely able to hide my amusement, as Jin-Sung brought a chair for his act.

Jin-Sung messed up his hair, slicked back his fringe, and slumped into the chair with a cool demeanor.

“No way," I realized immediately what he was imitating as I recognized the slouched posture and cocky expression. The behind-the-scenes camera zoomed in on Jin-Sung, capturing his laid-back but cheeky posture.

He gazed languidly at the camera and uttered, “Haah...

sigh

."

“Really? Doing that in a hoodie?" Joo-Han remarked, and both Goh Yoo-Joon and I fell to the floor, rolling with laughter.

Encouraged by his recent recovery and the anticipation of being able to dance again soon, Jin-Sung seemed to be in high spirits.

“Hehe, hyung, I've got more! Next up, Joo-Han hyung. ...You guys! What a mess at home!

Slap

,

slap

!" Jin-Sung mimicked, causing another round of laughter.

“That's me?" Joo-Han asked while laughing.

Seeing our reactions, Jin-Sung energetically imitated all of us. Joo-Han's morning nagging during cleaning, Yoon-Chan's perpetually teary expression, and even our manager chuckling at his phone—everything was fair game for him. After a good laugh, I finally rewarded Jin-Sung with a piece of cake.

As everyone finished up, we made our way to the parking lot. Joo-Han, Yoon-Chan, and Jin-Sung left with the manager for the dormitory, while Goh Yoo-Joon and I, along with a new road manager and the behind-the-scenes camera crew, headed to the practice studio.

As soon as we got to the studio, we played the video on the laptop that the manager had sent us.

“Let's analyze this video. The choreography is surprisingly complex," I suggested as we settled down in the studio.

"The dance is from an older era and predominantly lip-synced. Hmm, it will be quite challenging," Goh Yoo-Joon noted.

Back in the day, Tenten was known for its intense dance routines. While the moves weren't particularly complex by modern standards, their acrobatic choreography would make live singing quite a challenge.

“Look, there's even a backflip," I pointed out.

It was the then-popular techno genre blended with rock dance. Moreover, Tenten's songs were choreographed with such intensity that they were never performed live. Only those with strong joints could perform such dynamic dance moves.

“I can do this part well." The part Goh Yoo-Joon referred to involved wildly swinging his hips.

“This part is for me," I pointed out. It was about wildly flipping my head back and forth in true techno fashion, one of the most precisely choreographed sections of the song.

“...Let's practice them first."

Although the choreography would change a bit when we practiced it with Senior Yeong-Yee due to her age, it still felt good to practice it properly as a gesture of respect. I comfortably demonstrated the dance steps I had previously memorized to Goh Yoo-Joon.

“Shake your upper body and head flamboyantly while bending your knees like this."

“Like this?" Goh Yoo-Joon imitated my move by shaking his upper body side to side and bending his knees.

I shook my head and demonstrated again. “You have to exaggerate it more than you think. Back then, all the moves were meant to be really bold."

“Ah, so Senior Yeong-Yee comes forward to sing at this part?"

“Yes, then we stand up, turn around, and jump while kicking in the air, right and left in succession. It's got to have some flair to it." I guided Goh Yoo-Joon's shoulders, helping him get the feel of the movement.

“

I was such a fool to give you everything?

" As Goh Yoo-Joon hummed the lyrics and tried the dance, he looked at himself in the mirror and exclaimed in amazement.

“It is a perfect 80s dance move! You watching all those Tenten videos really paid off, huh."

I smiled awkwardly and moved on to the next step. “But be careful with this one. The moves back then used a lot of footwork instead of hand gestures, so that means we have a lot of jumping around to do. Don't fall."

“Okay."

Just as we almost had the whole of Tenten's first song down, a cheerful notification sound went off. The road manager then checked his phone and looked at us cautiously. “Umm, guys.”

“Yes?"

“The other members at the dorm started a Q-app broadcast."

“They did?"

The road manager nodded and approached us. “Yes, you can continue practicing, but the broadcast title seems like something Hyun-Woo would like."

“Oh, what is it?" While sitting on the practice room floor and stretching his legs, Goh Yoo-Joon took the phone from the road manager. He then chuckled and showed it to me. “They are funny. Ah, I should have been there."

“Why?" I looked at the phone and smiled.

The Q-app live broadcast title was: [Cha Cha Center's Birthday Special! Let's Make Seaweed Soup Ourselves~]

1. In Korea, it’s a traditional custom to eat seaweed soup on one’s birthday as it symbolizes good health and a mother’s nourishment, as the soup is often eaten by mothers after giving birth. ☜