Chapter 222: Rings Inauguration Ceremony (4)

I cast a spell

Red Sun, Red Sun

This is our happy ending

Red Sun, Red Sun

There’s no tragedy in sight

?

I stood still when the music started playing as I tried to recall the dance moves.

‘

What was the choreography again?’

However, nothing came to my mind since this part originally had no choreography. It was meant to be a scene where Jin-Sung accidentally dropped and shook a pocket watch.

As Jin-Sung and I stumbled because we forgot the steps, Jeong Gyu-Chan assumed we erred and started teasing us playfully. “It's only been two months and you've forgotten already?"

Jin-Sung quickly seized the microphone and said, “Actually, there's no choreography for this part!"

Whether Jin-Sung was right or not, the other members and the audience enjoyed our baffled looks and laughed heartily. Later on, I remembered that there was a pair dance for Jin-Sung and me in this section.

Next up was Allure's new hit followed by High Tension's debut track. Despite the random selection spanning from a famous international pop song to a slow ballad, or even Chronos's song at double speed, we managed to cover them quite well, except for "Red Sun." The cheers were so overwhelming that they made us dance a bit. As the atmosphere brought us closer and our awkwardness peaked, we stopped and grabbed the microphone.

“I've said this before, but Rings, this isn't something to do among family."

“Ah, it looked nice though," Jeong Gyu-Chan remarked.

I waved it off and commented, “Imagine doing this with your own sibling, everyone.

Ugh

."

Whether my embarrassed feelings showed on my face or not, the audience, Jeong Gyu-Chan, and the other members laughed heartily. We then smoothly transitioned to the next song.

“Alright, that was an awesome move! Are you enjoying your time here, Rings?”

“Yes!"

“Then, let's slowly move on to the next stage, shall we? Oh, but before that!" As Jeong Gyu-Chan was preparing to introduce the next stage, he suddenly stopped us.

After flashing a knowing smirk, he masterfully roused the eager crowd before him. “It feels like we are missing a little something, doesn't it, Rings?"

The Rings were clueless yet intrigued, so they played along, their anticipation palpable. Seeing their reaction, Jeong Gyu-Chan seized the moment and theatrically pointed a cue card in my direction. He said, “Indeed, today's opening definitely lacked something. An essential piece of the ‘Red Riding Hood Cha Cha’ is missing."

‘An essential piece? What could he possibly—ah...’

As realization dawned on me, I chuckled and reached for the mic with a mix of dread and resignation. “The magic..."

“Exactly!" Jeong Gyu-Chan exclaimed, and his voice brimmed with mock astonishment. “The Magic Pendant! How could we possibly skip it? Rings have been waiting for it nonstop!"

Hearing this, Joo-Han smiled broadly and agreed, “I omitted it because I couldn’t find a part to include it in the song arrangement, but I guess I have done something terrible. Well... Hyun-Woo, why don't you give it a try since it's a special occasion?"

Joo-Han then pushed my back.

“Uh-oh..."

No joke... At this moment, every single person in the venue was looking at me. Despite already being accustomed to receiving attention on stage, I still felt embarrassed by their stares.

“Hurry up and show us! We need to get ready for our next performance, alright?" Goh Yoo-Joon chuckled. Just then, I saw how Lee Cheol-Min was staring at me, and I felt my face heat up. Right, it was not my first or second time doing something like this. I had done “the magic pendant” multiple times because the Rings liked it so much! Hence, I reminded myself that it was just a business for me.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up the microphone and said, “I will do it."

“Yes! One, two, three!"

“Wow, ma... magic pendant,

waaaaaah

!" When I called for the magic pendant, everyone at the venue clapped their hands. I wished they would just laugh as clapping made it even more embarrassing and awkward.

"Yikes!" I tried to escape backstage to hide my face, but the mischievous Goh Yoo-Joon caught me and prevented me from hiding.

“Hyun-Woo, you can't hide. See... the Rings love it. Oh, it was so good."

“Thank... you. Haha..."

“Now, we can move on to the next stage without any regrets. What's next, Jin-Sung?"

"Yes, we haven't had the chance to showcase solo stages for each of us until now."

“Right?"

“So, we prepared it. Each of us has personally planned our own stage. We've practiced really hard and hope the Rings will enjoy it!"

Jeong Gyu-Chan said, “Jin-Sung speaks so passionately, and that makes me look forward to it! Now, Chronos, please get ready for your performance."

We went backstage to prepare, and the waiting room became noisy again. The commotion was particularly intense around Jin-Sung and Yoon-Chan as they were first and second in line.

After quickly changing clothes and getting their hair done, they left the waiting room almost bouncing. On the other hand, the rest of us took a break. We leisurely drank coffee and slowly prepared for our turns since we had much more time to get ready.

“Look up," instructed my stylist.

I followed her instructions and looked up, but my eyes quickly dried out due to the colored contact lenses I was wearing. The black velvet shirt and leather pants, along with makeup much heavier than usual, reminded me of a vampire concept from the past year-end performance.

The stylist marveled repeatedly at the concept photos from the last meeting. “How did you come up with such an idea, Hyun-Woo? Who recommended it to you?"

“I got an idea when I was browsing on the internet."

“Isn't it the complete opposite image of you? I thought you were a timid and quiet person. Well, you might not be able to try such concepts at any other time. Give me your hand."

When I handed over my hand, she skillfully applied black nail polish on my nails.

“Wow, look at Suh Hyun-Woo all dolled up."

When Goh Yoo-Joon commented, the stylist who was dressing me up proudly said, “He looks so pretty. This kind of makeup suits him well because of his fine features."

The concept I envisioned for my solo stage was visual rock, referring to the Japanese rock genre that emphasized visuals, and it was quite popular fifteen years ago. Of course, it wasn't a pure visual rock look, as I only followed the vibe with heavily wrapped accessories and slightly heavier makeup than usual.

According to the stylist, it was akin to doing the precise makeup of a girl group for an award ceremony. The song was also just a band-like rendition of an existing song, performed together with the participating band of "Joy." In short, it was a pseudo-visual rock with visual enjoyment.

It was a very unfamiliar genre and stage, but after seeing the first rehearsal, Joo-Han was extremely satisfied and included it in the setlist.

“Are Yoo-Joon and Hyun-Woo ready? Yoon-Chan has started his stage."

“Oh! Just a moment. ...Beautiful. You look like a doll today, Hyun-Woo."

“Stop it, noona. It's embarrassing."

My stylist added a teardrop on my face and finished up. Joo-Han chuckled as he saw two of us, who were preparing to leave. “Both of you look amazing today. My kids are so handsome."

Goh Yoo-Joon countered, “But why do you look like that, hyung?"

“...

Pfft

."

“What?"

Trying hard to suppress my laughter, I looked back at Joo-Han with a serious face, along with Goh Yoo-Joon. When the other members and I put our hearts into dressing up, Joo-Han wore a glittering jacket with a sensitive and fussy expression.

“Are you looking down on trot[1] music?"

Goh Yoo-Joon wore a complicated face and shook his head. “No, you look really cool, hyung. Let's go, Suh Hyun-Woo."

“Okay. See you later, hyung."

“Yeah, good luck."

I moved backstage and watched Yoon-Chan on stage while putting on my in-ear monitors. Jin-Sung showcased a dance performance of a difficulty never before seen in the group, while Yoon-Chan covered “Checkmate” by Reina.

“Checkmate” was one of Reina's hit songs, renowned for its unique falsetto and mystical melody, perfectly suited to Yoon-Chan's voice.

“He sings really well. Definitely got more powerful," Goh Yoo-Joon said. Indeed, his voice used to be just thin and pretty, but it had gained more strength and stability. Now, he could even sing the high notes in full voice, not just falsetto.

Yoon-Chan hadn't shown much interest in singing before the group's disbandment prior to my regression. It was astonishing to see how much he had grown over time.

“Hyun-Woo."

“Yes."

At the staff's cue, I turned away from the stage and joined the band members who were coming up to perform with me.

“Thank you all for practicing so hard until today."

“Nah, you did a great job, too."

“You guys are the best band ever! Let's make the best stage!"

“Yeah!"

“One, two, three!"

“Let's do our best!!!" Right on cue, Yoon-Chan's performance ended. Hearing the cheers, I made my way to the center in the darkness— my spot. While admiring the rose-adorned stand microphone, I positioned it well with a couple of taps.

“The band will go in first.”

I heard the staff's voice through my in-ear microphone, and the band started playing.

***

“Kyaaaaak!”

“Aaaaah! Who? Who is it? What do we do, what do we do! Hyun-Woo...."

The figure on stage rode the rhythm, head bowed down while clutching the stand microphone. Though his face wasn't visible, his silhouette and hair color were enough for the Rings to recognize him as Suh Hyun-Woo. The band went wild with their performance, as if the cheerful, bright, and slightly calmer original melody of "Joy" didn't quite suit them.

Suh Hyun-Woo was dressed entirely in black, with black nail polish and various jewelry adorning his attire, giving off a deliberate and stylish appearance.

“Suh Hyun-Wooooo! This is crazy! Show your face!!!" Kim Go-Ri's heart beat faster. “I haven't even seen his face, but I'm this excited already! I'm going to die from a heart attack, gosh."

Then, she realized that Park Go-Ri, Hwang Go-Ri, and the other Rings were feeling the same. No matter who their favorite member was, they all held a place for Suh Hyun-Woo in their hearts as they were a Ring.

As the stage lit up and revealed Suh Hyun-Woo, the Rings exploded along with the rhythm of the band. And then, Suh Hyun-Woo lifted his head.

“

Gasp

!" Kim Go-Ri stopped breathing at that exclamation.

'What's with him? Why is he so pretty?'

“....Aaaaaah!!! He must be crazy... Let's create a country for Suh Hyun-Woo!!! Make him lead the nation with that beauty!!!"

“Ahahaha, that’s crazy! Kim Go-Ri, have you lost your mind?!" Park Go-Ri laughed and teased Kim Go-Ri, but Kim Go-Ri didn't care about her tease. Her favorite was just too pretty. With moderately thick smoky makeup, red lips, and even a beauty mark, could he be more perfect? It was unbelievable that Suh Hyun-Woo himself had come up with this look.

Then the band, which was showing off their skills, stopped playing, slowly crafting another melody.

“What's this song? I've heard it somewhere." Park Go-Ri had calmed down after seeing Kim Go-Ri's excitement. This song seemed like a rearrangement by the band, but it sounded very familiar. It must have been a heartbreaking ballad.

‘What is it? What is it?’

Park Go-Ri was thinking hard during the long intro.

Then, when Suh Hyun-Woo started singing, she started shouting. It was "Goodbye Snow"—a solo song from Kun-Ho's idol days.

In the previous

Graduating

’s episode

,

it was mentioned that Suh Hyun-Woo had received vocal lessons from Kun Ho before his comeback. This seemed to have formed a respected teacher-student relationship. Anyway, it was heartwarming and wonderful to see some form of interaction with the senior, and how Suh Hyun-Woo cherished it.

The lyrics were a bit melodramatic as it was an old song. However, it was also famous for being a delicate song that was very difficult to sing, with high notes rising in every verse and consuming a lot of emotion.

Yet, Suh Hyun-Woo was expressing it so well with the band's arrangement. Was it the atmosphere, the expression, or the lighting? Despite not shedding a single tear, his face somehow looked as though he was crying. And then that famous part started.

Farewell, my joy,

My sorrow that whitened the world,

Could walking on a snowy mountain be lonelier than this?

My love is so fragile, scattered away like mist

?

The pure white cold falls and piles up,

I look at the sky with my reddened eyes

Covering my heavily falling eyelids,

I walk with my head lowered in meaningless beauty?

The quiet buildup of the electric guitar and Suh Hyun-Woo's low and calm voice calmed the excited Rings. They then started focusing on the lyrics.

The endlessly falling snow is only white,

Just sad without you in it?

Now the distance with you is too far,

Even your voice doesn't reach,

I want to see you right now?

“Damn... My boy is a singing genius..."

Farewell.... my joy,

My sorrow that whitened the world,

My love is so fragile, scattered away like mist...

?

The high notes were present everywhere in this part. Even Kun-Ho, the main vocalist of his idol group, used to say he always felt nervous singing this part. However, Suh Hyun-Woo perfectly delivered it with emotions.

“I knew he was good at it, but he really sings fucking well."

Hyun-Woo’s vocal skills improved out of the blue after the previous year's end-stage performance and his training with Kun-Ho. After delivering several live renditions of "Joy," replete with spontaneous high notes, his vocal skills had markedly advanced.

‘I did it...’

Of course, Suh Hyun-Woo himself was trembling as he was afraid of going off-pitch, so he earnestly hit the high notes. However, such inner feelings only needed to stay hidden from the fans.

1. A genre of Korean popular music known for its repetitive rhythm and simple, catchy melodies. Originating in the early 20th century, it holds sentimental value for many Koreans and has experienced a resurgence in popularity across multiple generations. ☜