Chapter 155: End-of-Year Stage (25)

As the live broadcast of the

SES New Year Party

was in full swing, we found ourselves in a bind with barely twenty seconds to go before our big entrance. Sure, we had all dressed up according to our assigned missions, which was all well and good. However, the real question still hung in the air.

‘How do we make our entrance memorable?’

It was a big deal for us. The staff had told us to just walk out there, but that was before Da-Win made his grand entrance by riding Sae-Yeon like a noble steed. His stunt had set a precedent, and suddenly, the following artists felt compelled to appear with their own unique entrances.

Even High Tension, the newbies like us, had managed to turn heads with their mission-inspired getup that was nothing short of hilarious.

And us? Well, our only claim to comedy was Tree Joo-Han. There he was, with his face poking out from the top of a tree costume made of non-woven fabric, looking as detached from the world as one could be.

“Hurry up, what's the game plan?" Goh Yoo-Joon urged, shaking us from our reluctance.

In a serious voice, Jin-Sung suggested, “How about forward rolls? We could roll our way to the stage."

“

Ugh

.” Tree Joo-Han gave him a look of utter disdain and sighed deeply.

“With Suh Hyun-Woo's back, your recent injury, and Yoon-Chan's muscle pains, do you think forward rolls are a good idea? What are we, acrobats?"

We all fell silent for a moment until Jin-Sung muttered, “Maybe we should just lay low..."

“Exactly," said Goh Yoo-Joon. "No rolls. Next idea?"

With the clock ticking down, Goh Yoo-Joon turned to me in desperation, shaking my arms. “We've got ten seconds! What is it going to be?"

I drew a blank at first, but I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind as I felt the weight of his stare. “What about pretending we are pulling a sleigh? It's festive, right?"

“Pretend to pull a sleigh?" he echoed, skepticism clear in his voice.

“Yeah, why not? We've got Rudolph, Santa, and even a tree in our midst." I pointed out, referring to our costumes. Rudolph's nose and headband were on Jin-Sung and me, Santa's hat was on Goh Yoo-Joon, Yoon-Chan had a makeshift beard, and, of course, we had Tree Joo-Han.

“Santa can ride Rudolph, that's it!"

Goh Yoo-Joon clicked his tongue and replied, “Suh Hyun-Woo, try to sound a bit more excited instead of spitting out random stuff."

Just then, a staff member announced, “Chronos, you are up." That was our cue. The interruption brought our brainstorming session to an abrupt halt, leaving Goh Yoo-Joon scrambling to organize us into formation. With little time to spare, he decided on the fly to go with my half-baked sleigh idea.

“Let's just do what Suh Hyun-Woo suggested," he decided, grabbing the initiative.

“A sleigh, huh? Are we really doing it?" Tree Joo-Han asked, sounding less than convinced.

Goh Yoo-Joon nodded. “Just walk in front with that same expression, hyung. Then, we will be fine.”

Goh Yoo-Joon quickly redistributed the props, taking my Rudolph accessories for himself and handing me his Santa hat.

“Change of plans. Jin-Sung, carry Yoon-Chan," said Yoo-Joon.

It was a chaotic moment, with Goh Yoo-Joon—now dubbed Rudolph—orchestrating our entrance with the frantic energy that only he could bring. Then, he carried me. It seemed that my back injury had caused this last-minute change.

So there we were, Tree Joo-Han leading the pack, followed by a pair of makeshift Rudolphs carrying Santas. “Here goes Chro…

pffft

, Chronos!" The staff member chuckled, amused by our ragtag ensemble as he drew back the blackout curtains.

As the final notes of the carol “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” faded on stage, the opening chords of “Jingle Bells” filled the air, signaling the start of our entrance.

Dashing through the snow

In a one-horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we go

Laughing all the way

♪

- And now, make way for this year's sensation, Chronos!

As the hosts and the seniors joyously belted out carols, we took our cue and stepped into the limelight. Amidst a sea of Santa Clauses on Rudolphs and twinkling trees, the audience swung between surprised gasps, murmurs of admiration, and bursts of laughter.

Even with this festive vibe, our tree didn’t laugh. Although his costume was a tree, he looked more like Kaonashi[1] Yet, he stood out most strikingly.

At that moment, Yoon-Chan and I felt a sudden surge of expectation, feeling like we were responsible for a huge task.

‘We must bring laughter.’

In fact, we needed to elevate the energy even further! Fading away after such a grand entrance would be embarrassing if we didn't act.

We exchanged determined glances while being carried by dancing Rudolphs, understanding that it was our time to shine.

I dramatically took off my Santa hat and started spinning it, as if weaving a spell of joy.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

♪

We spun in time with the music, acting like two Santas immersed in the song “Jingle Bells” until the Christmas sun rose. We twirled our hats in celebration like the festival-goers.

Then, Yoon-Chan spun his beard in a whirl, as if he didn’t want to be outdone by me.

- Oh! Look at our Chronos Santas, ahahahaha. They are getting tipsy on the adorable “Jingle Bells” tune, shaking their beards and hats.

- The Rudolphs seem a bit overwhelmed, don’t they?

- On the other hand, we have our Mr. Tree. I heard he became a tree as a result of losing in rock-paper-scissors.

- Yes, indeed, a cute appearance befitting the youngest at the

SES New Year Party!

The three commentators shared their thoughts on us. Their praise relaxed us, and we finally heard the cheers from the audience. While each person in the audience focused on cheering for their favorite artist, the Rings sent us enthusiastic support that was just as passionate from the corner of the audience seats.

‘Why the corner?’

It would have been nice to let them have a better spot. We noticed Rings straining to see us or looking at the big screen, perhaps because we were not clearly visible. We felt sorry for them, and they probably felt the same about us, as we were at the very back, obscured by the seniors as soon as we appeared.

Unlike High Tension and Street Center who were spotlighted, we had to be in the dimly lit part of the stage. Even the seating arrangement seemed to underscore the plight of idols from smaller agencies.

“But guys." Tree Joo-Han called out as the excitement of our entrance was about to cool down. We continued our dance and looked at him, who pointed toward where the Rings were.

“I can see the Rings from here very well.”

“Oh, yeah!" Jin-Sung responded in admiration.

Fortunately, our spot allowed us to clearly see the Rings, though not to the broadcast cameras. Our fans did not give up and spotted us well.

“Hello!” I mouthed a greeting to the Rings. Thus started a silent conversation between the Rings and Chronos, unseen by the cameras.

Look out the window, look out the window

See the snowflakes fall

♪

As the final song of the carol medley started, Tree Joo-Han with his glittering lights spun around, and we sat near him, waving our hands to mimic the sparkling.

Children's singing

Sleigh bell's ringing

As they're glad along

♪

Once again, I got on Goh Yoo-Joon's back and spun my hat. Hoping to bring back smiles to the Rings, who might have been disheartened by our corner placement, we did our best.

Fortunately, the Rings waved their handmade light sticks with smiles. As the song ended, the enthusiastic hosts started to proceed with the show. Yoon-Chan and I got down with the help of our fellow members and listened attentively to the hosts.

- Next up are the stars of the upcoming performance! Let's bring forward the artists who will become adults next year for a brief interview.

- Shall we? Our artists are spending their last moments of teenage years right now. Please come forward.

The names of the artists turning nineteen soon were called out, including mine and Goh Yoo-Joon's.

“Both of you, go ahead. Relax your nervous faces," advised Tree Joo-Han as he nudged Goh Yoo-Joon and me forward. As we moved through the group of seniors, microphones were passed to us.

- We have so many artists turning nineteen next year. Please share your feelings, wishes, and resolutions about becoming an adult!

Seeing Goh Yoo-Joon nudge the singer next to him and smile, I knew he had made a new friend during the musical rehearsals. On the other hand, as I hadn't participated in the rehearsals and only joined for the final song, I didn't know the others well.

So, I simply adjusted my microphone and recalled the speech I had practiced earlier. Traditionally, sharing feelings about turning nineteen was done at the year-end UNET Awards with the New Year's Eve bell. However, we were doing it here too for the upcoming performance.

Thus, I had to keep my comments brief and not overlap with what I would say at the UNET Awards.

- Next up is Yoo-Joon. What is your resolve for becoming an adult? A word, please.

“Yes!" Goh Yoo-Joon took the microphone. “With just a week left until I become an adult, I will strive to be a more mature person. Thank you so much to the Rings for your constant support!"

- Thank you. Next, Hyun-Woo! Any particular plans after becoming an adult?

I smiled broadly and nodded before taking the microphone. “Yes, I do! First, I'd like to get a credit card. I would love to treat our hardworking Chronos team members and staff, along with our always caring Allure seniors, to a nice meal!”

- Wow, that is very kind and commendable of you. We hope you guys can make it happen. Thank you for the interview! Now, with the Christmas atmosphere in full swing at this

SES New Year Party,

along with an impressive lineup…

As the hosts continued with the preparations for the next stages, the nineteen-year-old team that had just finished their interviews quietly exited the stage. Then, we immediately stepped backstage with the staff.

Once the opening by the hosts concluded, the first performers in their well-prepared outfits were the group Blue Paper. Following them, it was All the Time's turn, and then it was our special stage.

A characteristic of the SES year-end stage was the relatively few performers and almost no joint stages, which allowed for longer individual performances. This meant there was ample time until our special stage.

“Hyun-Woo, over here! Yoo-Joon, you are there!"

As soon as we entered the room, we changed clothes and touched up our makeup and hair before quickly heading to the rehearsal space. While we made our way, a member from another group briskly passed by me, exchanging an awkward glance before continuing ahead.

Through my in-ear monitors, I could hear Bluepaper's live performance on stage.

“This way." Following our manager's lead, Yoo-Joon and I took out our in-ears and entered the opened rehearsal room.

“Hello! We're Chronos!"

“Hi there." The idols who had arrived earlier greeted us, panting just like us. Soon after, the other teams arrived, and our final rehearsal resumed with the MR of the song played on a phone.

As Yoo-Joon and my song started playing, we stopped in our tracks, trying to calm our ragged breathing. Singing "Christmas is Ours" in this cramped space, under everyone's gaze, was embarrassingly different from the rehearsal on stage.

However, we couldn’t afford to feel shy now. Yoo-Joon swallowed hard and started to sing with gestures.

“......

Pfff

." Laughter erupted here and there as the people around couldn’t handle Yoo-Joon's exaggerated actions. Both Yoo-Joon's ears and my face turned red, but we went all out without holding back.

The preparation for the performance went very smoothly.

1. No-Face, or "Kaonashi," is a mysterious, mask-wearing spirit from the animated film "Spirited Away," known for its expressionless facade and ability to absorb personalities and voices from those it consumes. ☜