Chapter 125: The Singer in the Memories (10)

The seaweed soup that the two prepared was surprisingly edible. As I savored it, a subtle hint of seaweed emerged. It was slightly off, but it was hard to criticize the taste when they had spent an hour and a half trying to cook something they were not skilled at, just to treat me.

However, Joo-Han, who just caught my eye, seemed to pick up on my thoughts and approached me with a playful look.

He asked, “Hey, does it taste good? I want to give it a try too."

“Ah.”

“I was watching them from behind, and it didn't seem like the process would yield something delicious."

"Ah, Hyung! It's the end result that matters! You really don't trust us." While Jin-Sung was indignantly protesting, Joo-Han scooped up some seaweed soup with a spoon without any concern.

A moment later...

“Hmm." Joo-Han silently gazed at me, his lips breaking into a meaningful smile.

I urgently said, “Why, why? No, I like it. It’s the first time the two youngest have made something for me..."

“Oh my! Jin-Sung!" Joo-Han shouted out loud, turning his attention to Jin-Sung.

“What?"

“Make me a fried egg, will you?"

“A fried egg? Why? Hyung, do you want some rice as well?"

Joo-Han smiled mischievously and shook his head. “This seaweed soup is just like, umm. Add an egg to the rice, a couple of spoonfuls of this soup, and you will get soy sauce egg rice[1]."

At Joo-Han’s words, Yoon-Chan's face turned ashen, and Jin-Sung quizzically tilted his head. “What do you mean?"

‘You... you! What a cold-hearted guy.

To the innocent Jin-Sung!’

I nudged Joo-Han's back to tell him to stop, but Joo-Han continued as he was undeterred.

“What I mean is, this is basically soy sauce."

“...That can't be. It was fine when I tasted it earlier?"

“Maybe it became saltier as it cooled down."

With a face filled with worry, Yoon-Chan firmly grabbed my spoon-holding hand and said, “Hyung, don't eat anymore. Too much salt is bad for you..."

“Huh? It's not that salty? ...Did you use regular soy sauce?"

“Oh, we only have regular soy sauce at home. Isn't all soy sauce the same?"

Using regular soy sauce for this was nonsense. In an instant, the chat room was bursting with laughter, as they watched Jin-Sung, Yoon-Chan, and me.

[I will never forget the ‘Youngest Soy Sauce Soup Incident’ LOL]

[Soy Sauce Egg Rice hahahaha, what a disaster lmao]

[Hyun-Woo sneakily put down his spoon HAHAHA]

[Our Hyun-Woo keeps getting surprises on his birthday... We are having fun, so hang in there... hehe]

“Hyung, I am sorry. I really tried to make it tasty, but ah, it's a pity."

“Hyung."

“No, I genuinely think it’s good. I am touched. Thank you."

I could finally stop eating the soy sauce soup thanks to Joo-Han, and the situation was winding down in a somewhat cheerful atmosphere. However, I forgot we had another villain in Chronos.

Drrrrrr-. Drrrrrr-.

Goh Yoo-Joon approached, dialing someone on his phone and turning on the speaker mode.

“What's up? Who are you calling?"

“Yoo-Joon hyung, who is it?"

“Could it be one of the Team D members? The duo Street Center or Ji-Hyuk hyung, perhaps?"

“Jin-Wook hyung?"

“No way."

I dismissed all the ridiculous line-ups and glanced at the phone screen, thinking,

‘Oh, this number looks really familiar.’

Just as I was thinking that...

- Hello?

A voice more familiar than the number itself rang out. Goh Yoo-Joon grinned and exclaimed loudly, “Mom!"

‘...Wait a minute.’

“...Hey!" As I yelled and reached for the phone, Goh Yoo-Joon burst out laughing and lifted his phone-holding hand high into the air.

“Why would you call my mom?"

“...Hyun-Woo's mother?"

“Hyun-Woo hyung's mother?"

“Is Yoo-Joon hyung calling Hyun-Woo hyung's mom right now?"

- Oh my! Is that Yoo-Joon~?

“How have you been, Mom?"

“Seriously, Goh Yoo-Joon!" Aside from me and Goh Yoo-Joon, the other members understood the situation and burst into laughter, just like in the chat room.

“Hyung, your joke is...! Why would you call Hyun-Woo hyung’s mom? hahaha.”

[LMAO How does Yoo-Joon know the phone number of Hyun-Woo’s mom?]

[Lol I guess that’s what happens when you are too close with your friend! HAHAHA!]

[Yoo-Joon said he ate a lot at Hyun-Woo’s in his trainee days, ahh]

- Have you been doing well, Son~[2]?

‘Why does mom always entertain Goh Yoo-Joon so easily?’

I intervened. “What's going on? Mom, I will call you back later. You can hang up now.”

- Hyun-Woo? Are you next to Hyun-Woo?

“Yes, I'm right beside him, Mom,” replied Yoo-Joon.

At that moment, Joo-Han grabbed the phone and said, “Hello, Mother! It's Joo-Han speaking! Do you remember me?”

- Of course! The leader! Thanks for always looking after our Hyun-Woo.

“Oh no, it's nothing. We called to celebrate Hyun-Woo's birthday. We are very grateful to you for bringing Hyun-Woo into this world.”

Wow, his tone was so focused on image management. As I stood there in disbelief, Joo-Han, followed by Yoon-Chan and Jin-Sung, got all worked up.

“We even made him seaweed soup! And the fans are sending lots of love and congratulations. Please don't worry too much.”

- Oh, I'm not worried at all. I feel like I should be the one cooking something delicious for you boys, but I don’t know when you all have some free time. I am sorry.

“Oh, please don't worry about that. I will hand you over to Hyun-Woo.”

“Hehe.”

The phone finally reached me after being passed around by all the members. I promptly turned off the speaker mode and said, “Yes, Mom. It's Hyun-Woo.”

- Hyun-Woo, you are well and healthy, right? I see you on TV, but it's been so long since I last saw you in person.

“I'm doing well, Mom. I will come visit as soon as I get some time off. Thank you for everything.”

- Thank you for being a fabulous son. I love you. Happy birthday.

“...Yes.” Suddenly, I found it hard to find the right words, falling silent for a moment. Then, I spoke again after gathering my thoughts. “I will call you back later.”

Back then, I always avoided visiting my parents' home, not wanting to see them fall apart at the sight of me. I barely kept in touch and just quietly acknowledged their messages on birthdays even though they asked me to at least pick up the phone. I often spent those days alone.

Now, I realized that my family no longer had to shed tears over me. This sparked a glimmer of hope within me, and I wondered if I could meet them again without feeling guilty. It felt as if a long-held burden in my heart was finally lifting.

After the call, our nearly two-hour-long Q-app session wrapped up. My day, filled with heartfelt congratulations from the members, fans, and family, came to an end.

***

Oh Young-Il @O_012 · 3 minutes ago

LOL, this is just so hilarious! The pranksters and their total meltdown, Hyun-Woo LOL!

#Sunny_October_Hyun-Woo_Happy_Birthday

(Hyun-Woo's Birthday Party Q-app with Hilarious Expressions.jpg)

Replies 0 RT 42 Likes 73

Hyun-Woo, Cry for Us @djimll_1029 · 5 minutes ago

LOL, from the soy sauce water to the phone call, not a single boring moment in this Q-app live. Thanks for sparing time to see us on your birthday. Sleep well and lots of love. Happy birthday, Hyun-Woo <3

#Sunny_October_Hyun-Woo_Happy_Birthday

#Everyday_Is_A_Parade_For_Hyun-Woo

Replies 0 RT 0 Likes 3

Once Again, Drop The Track @hw_12 · 15 minutes ago

Revisiting Hyun-Woo's chaotic, whirlwind birthday today

1. Surprise birthday celebration during the final stage’s encore(he truly didn't know) - Behind-the-scenes, please release the backstage footage!!!

2. Hyun-Woo and Yoo-Joon's unexpected encounter leading to the youngest members' seaweed soup saga.

3. Seaweed soup that turned out to be soy sauce soup—the bizarre dish that Hyun-Woo had to eat. Thanks to Joo-Han, he narrowly avoided eating the entire bowl.

4. The climax. Yoo-Joon calling Hyun-Woo's mom LOL, absolutely hilarious hahaha. How did he even get her number? Also, do they usually stay in touch? I was shocked to hear Hyun-Woo's mom casually saying "Oh, son~." Hyun-Woo's response seemed more focused on questioning the reason for the call rather than how Yoo-Joon got hold of the number.

Replies 2 RT 15 Likes 386

The birthday of Suh Hyun-Woo was a festive event for the fans of Chronos. Each viewing of their Q-app session revealed new and charming aspects about them, and the fans relived the countless highlights, keeping the party spirit alive for about a week.

Meanwhile, Suh Hyun-Woo and Goh Yoo-Joon were preparing for a performance with Yeong-Yee. They were outside the practice room, cautiously waiting for the conversation between Yeong-Yee and the manager to end.

***

“I can’t do live performances.”

“As I mentioned before, it’s hard to appear on music broadcasts these days without performing live, ma’am. For the company to fully support and promote your new album, we would need your cooperation in this matter.”

“I didn’t know I had to perform Tenten’s songs live. What? I’ve never sung Tenten’s songs live before. What am I supposed to do?”

“...I did mention that it would be a live performance. Considering the juniors are here, why not give it a try?”

‘What kind of situation is this?’

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Yoo-Joon and I had perfectly mastered the choreography for Tenten's hit songs before starting the practice with Yeong-Yee. Today was the day we were going to match up with Yeong-Yee for the first time on a Tenten song.

After singing and dancing to a few of Tenten's songs, Yeong-Yee declared that she wouldn’t do it. It seemed that she was very dissatisfied.

“It might be tough, but it seems like we could do it live,” Yoo-Joon muttered softly, making sure not to be heard.

“We are used to it, but Senior Yeong-Yee is older and has never done it before. There must be various reasons behind it.”

She was known to be a perfectionist and quite particular, and everyone who mentioned her on the broadcasts called Yeong-Yee a perfectionist. But having met her in person, I knew that it was a generously embellished description.

Yeong-Yee wasn't a perfectionist; instead, she was inclined toward avoiding tasks she deemed challenging. She only engaged in activities she excelled at and adamantly refused those she perceived as beyond her abilities. Dealing with such a personality trait was the most stressful aspect of my days as a trainer.

“Hmm, the broadcasts might get canceled, right?” Yoo-Joon’s words made me shake my head quickly.

“No, that can’t happen. That would put us in a difficult position too.”

Despite our primary goal being to support Yeong-Yee's album release, we also had to leverage this schedule for our own purposes. Given Yeong-Yee's status as a legendary singer whose influence persisted despite her long hiatus, where else could we encounter such a collaboration opportunity? I wanted to recreate those joyful stages of the past that brought smiles just by watching them.

This occasion provided a fitting platform to exhibit our diverse talents and simultaneously marked the commencement of my and Yoo-Joon’s individual activities.

“The manager will persuade her. They’ve been together for three years now, dealing with many such issues,” I said this while pondering.

It seemed Yeong-Yee was stubborn because she wasn’t confident in performing live while dancing. I wondered how we could persuade her. If she were a trainee, being a bit forceful could be the approach, but considering it was Senior Yeong-Yee...

That was when I suddenly remembered that I had seen her on TV back then.

1. Because the soup just tastes like diluted soy sauce lol ☜

2. It’s Hyun-Woo’s mom calling Yoo-Joon “son” ☜