Chapter 183: Joy (20)

Despite the unchanging reality,

I gaze at the dawning day and murmur,

Once more, just once more

?

I hummed softly without any MR. It was my own song, yet the lyrics didn't come to me easily, perhaps because it had been so long since I last sang it.

Kim Jin-Wook watched me intently before commenting, “Your vocal technique has changed."

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“Oh."

His expressionless face and monotone voice made it impossible to discern whether he meant it as a compliment or a critique. Therefore, I just frowned and glared at him in response.

Then, he glared back, even more fiercely, and retorted, “What's with the attitude even after a compliment? What an asshole."

“Ah, a compliment. Thank you for that," I replied. If it was meant to be a compliment, a smile wouldn't have hurt. “Senior Kun-Ho taught me a vocal technique that makes hitting high notes easier. But try to tone down the swearing, will you?"

Where had our manager gone off to? Why were Kim Jin-Wook and I always left alone in the practice room? I replayed the practice video while sipping my coffee. There was no need for a shoot since the dance routine was flawless, but I was curious to hear how my deliberately altered vocal technique sounded.

I said, “Hmm, it really does sound more comfortable. Senior Kun-Ho is truly remarkable."

“Ha...” Kim Jin-Wook sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair with a bored expression.

“You are sighing while your senior is monitoring you, hyung?"

“What, are you an old man now?"

“It's just weird. I am going to make a special appearance on your show, definitely doing you a favor. You insisted you would never perform live with me, so I had to make our youngest member rap during the live performance. Then, suddenly, you change your opinion and beg to perform live with me?"

“Shut up, Suh Hyun-Woo."

“Fine.” I realized I might have been picking a fight for no reason, so I stayed quiet and focused on the monitor. The new vocal technique did sound more comfortable, but there were parts where the original style seemed to fit better. It looked like I'd have to mix the two styles naturally during practice.

I took another sip of my coffee and stood up. “Let's practice."

As I headed to the center of the practice room with my microphone, I noticed the absence of footsteps following me. Turning around, I saw Kim Jin-Wook still seated while watching me. When I tilted my head to ask why, he finally said, “I appreciate you joining me on stage."

“..."

“..."

“Is that it?"

“What more do you want?"

I shrugged, looking at Kim Jin-Wook incredulously. “If you are thankful, maybe sign an album for our youngest later. Jin-Sung really admires you."

Jin-Sung had been a fan since Kim Jin-Wook's debut, and his playlist was filled with all of Kim Jin-Wook's songs. Moreover, he listened to it whenever he could and even planned to attend

Halo’s Music Bus

. Hmm, perhaps he might end up naming Kim Jin-Wook as his most respected figure someday.

Kim Jin-Wook chuckled in disbelief and nodded. “Let's have one last perfect practice and call it a day."

“Sure."

The managers, who had been absent for a while, finally showed up for the last practice.

“...New song... featuring... possible..."

“...Schedule... consultation... effort... coordination..."

“...Variety show... rumors... friends... scheduling..."

Throughout the practice, the managers were discussing something, but their words were mostly drowned out by the sound of the live music.

*

Our last promotion of “Blue Room Party," followed by the year-end performances, the detailed comeback preparations, and the variety show recordings took quite a while. As a result, the comeback that was initially scheduled for mid-January was pushed to the end of the month due to tight schedules. Despite the rush, we meticulously prepared for the release of “?: Joy,” and the music video was finally complete.

We visited the company for a fan club light stick meeting and gathered in a small conference room to shoot our reaction to the music video.

“Let's start the recording! Cue!" With those words from the staff, the camera light turned on.

“We've been told that our new song’s music video is finally finished."

“Yay!!!"

“Finally!!!"

“The production team put a lot of effort into this, so I wonder how it turned out."

At Joo-Han's words, Goh Yoo-Joon nodded in agreement. “To be honest, we filmed in different sequences, so we don't really know the exact storyline."

“I'm really curious about how the others' parts turned out. I'm excited."

Joo-Han smiled and placed his hand on the laptop. “Shall we take a look then?" As he pressed the spacebar, a black screen with the white YMM logo appeared. The logo slowly faded, giving way to white text on the black background.

“Hide and Seek”

“Not Friends”

“Aaagh! What's going on here?" Jin-Sung's voice spiked with panic, spurred by the cryptic message on the screen. He scrambled to take refuge behind me.

“Yikes!" I exclaimed, nearly sent flying by Jin-Sung's sudden movement, but I managed to steady myself just in time.

As the ominous text faded away, the dark screen transitioned to a vibrant watercolor depiction of a school scene, signaling the start of our music video.

“Wow, were there always this many students around?"

“They are all trainees.”

“I had no clue our company housed so many trainees.”

The scene shifted to a bustling schoolyard filled with students arriving for the day. The majority were familiar faces—the trainees we had seen during the last shoot. Then, the camera panned to Yoon-Chan, who was standing confidently at the school gates. He took in the view of the school before stepping forward with a wide grin as the melody started to play.

The heavy mood we braced for from the enigmatic message instantly lifted as the music started, transforming the vibe of the music video to one of bright, youthful energy. The once foreboding atmosphere was replaced with scenes straight out of a high school drama, brimming with the vivacity of youth.

Inside a first-year classroom, I burst through the door with a radiant smile, my backpack bouncing as I ran down the corridor and into the room. My classmates greeted me warmly, and I wove through them to plop down behind Yoon-Chan, setting my bag down with ease.

A scene unfolded with Yoon-Chan and me engaging in lively conversation. Both of us shedded our usual personas for something entirely different, almost out of character.

Then came the first verse, shifting to a rooftop scene filled with choreography we had painstakingly filmed. Unlike the purely narrative-driven “Parade," this video interspersed dance routines and lip-syncing and showcased the acrobatic moves we considered our “killing parts.” They were also the moments where the dance's intensity surged.

“Remember the rooftop shoot at the school? It was freezing that day," I reminisced.

“Absolutely. Despite the video's spring setting, our breath was visible. We kept having to reshoot because we were shivering.”

Shooting the dance scenes on the rooftop and schoolyard was challenging because of the cold. We half-joked about falling ill the next day, but against all odds, all five of us were completely fine.

The music video continued with an upbeat tempo, showcasing scenes like Yoon-Chan leaving the classroom, Jin-Sung taking his place, and all of us gathering for a club meeting. Jin-Sung was always meant to appear from an observer’s perspective at first. He would watch the members from a distance and only join in after our eyes met.

At this moment, fearing when a scary scene might appear, Jin-Sung just hid behind me. However, he sneakily returned to his spot after the high school drama-like first verse ended abruptly.

“Aaaah!" Jin-Sung sensed something ominous and ducked behind me once more, causing me to lurch forward.

“Take it easy, Jin-Sung. Think of your muscles and physique, please." My attempt to calm Jin-Sung was futile as his focus remained locked on the screen. He clearly didn’t hear me.

The music's sudden stop and the ensuing silence in the video led to a pitch-black screen, which then displayed a chilling new message.

“After graduation”

“I will find you”

“Ignore him”

The message vanished, and the video revealed a school scene now cast in shadows. An empty classroom showed Joo-Han and Goh Yoo-Joon engaged in a grave conversation atop a desk.

“Let's pretend we don't know in front of the others."

“I understand. That's the plan."

“After all, everything ends with graduation."

Their words hinted at a shared secret. Joo-Han nodded in agreement at Goh Yoo-Joon's words, and the video cut to clips of us filming each other in our school uniforms with an eerie sound effect, evoking a sense of bygone days.

The scene shifted to a dimly lit school corridor at night.

Thump, thump, thump.

Someone’s feet filled the screen, walking toward somewhere before coming to an abrupt stop. The camera then slowly panned upward, revealing Lee Jin-Sung with his eyes closed.

“Ah!"

“Whoa, you scared me!"

“Jin-Sung!"

“So scary!"

“Hey, it's your face!"

“How should we react when you say your face is scary?"

The real Jin-Sung, still hiding behind me, closed his eyes. On the other hand, Jin-Sung on the screen opened his eyes with a whistle from the track “Joy” and looked straight into the camera.

The screen then showed the moon beyond a school window, followed by someone's back as they seemed to be running from something in a hurry. With the second verse starting, a heightened melody with more instruments played. The camera quickly followed someone, showing their terrified faces. It was me, and I was running down the hallway with a pale complexion.