Chapter 353: Concert (17)

The solo dance for "Chronos" started in an atmosphere of composed serenity. The dimmed visibility of the audience under the lights, or perhaps my newfound comfort on such grand stages, allowed my heart to settle as the opening notes played. Each movement was performed with meticulous care and culminated in a moment of stillness when the music abruptly paused.

? I go back in time again and again

Joo-Han began to sing the first verse. The spotlight that had once shone on me dimmed, signaling his part. After he finished, the stage burst into life with fireworks and flawlessly transitioned into a high-energy dance break. What started as murmurs from the crowd swelled into roaring cheers.

The songs followed in the order of "Chronos," "Parade," and the first album track "Atypical." "Chronos" began with a powerful intro, "Parade" was sung on a large boat decorated with flowers as it circled the audience, and "Atypical" featured Jin-Sung and Goh Yoo-Joon's pair dance along with a chorus where each member led dancers with different concepts.

Fortunately, the performance was flawless, just as rehearsed. The members picked up their microphones amid the roaring cheers from the heated venue.

"Phew!"

"Wow~"

"Huff... huff...

The energy out here is incredible," we exclaimed while catching our breath and sharing a light-hearted moment of fatigue.

Yoon-Chan looked particularly spent.

"You look exhausted. Are you alright, Yoon-Chan?"

"We really pushed hard from the start, haha. We will have some water and introduce ourselves properly!" Goh Yoo-Joon joked by lightening the mood as we collectively fetched water from the stage edge.

I almost felt like collapsing after just three songs. While the last song "Atypical" had its complexities with the dance routine, the prior songs were those that truly tested our endurance. They were known for their technical difficulty, and the relentless pyrotechnics added a layer of physical challenge. It was like dancing through fire or an oven's heat.

The Rings laughed as we clumsily guzzled our water. It was a moment of shared joy amidst the exhaustion.

"Alright, everyone. Hurry back after you hydrate yourself," Joo-Han called out after catching his breath, then he regrouped us for the next part.

"Let’s greet the Rings properly. Ready? One, two, three!"

"Hello, we are Chronos!"

I initiated a discussion about our usual greeting, which had become too predictable. "We always greet the same way, right?"

"Yes."

"The Rings often ask if Chronos has a unique greeting like other groups."

"That’s true," Joo-Han agreed. "I get asked at every fan meeting whether we can develop our special greeting. Something like ‘The~ Street~’ that Street Center has."

Other members nodded in agreement. This prompted a brainstorm among us for a unique salutation to introduce at concerts.

"Why not brainstorm a new greeting right before the next performance?" I suggested.

"Oh, that’s a great idea! Then, let’s do that on the spot. Who wants to start?"

The eyes inevitably turned to Jin-Sung, the unofficial idea bank of our group.

"Why? Why are you guys looking at me?"

"Should we start with your idea first?"

"Ah~ No, not me~" he protested playfully and stepped back. Although he had thought about what to say before the concert, it seemed he was still shy about doing it for the first time. Of course, the real intention was to never let Jin-Sung start. It was all in good fun to tease him.

While the members and staff were teasing Jin-Sung, Goh Yoo-Joon raised his hand. "Well, it seems our members are too shy. I will go first."

"Oh, let’s go, Yoo-Joon! You start. Go ahead." When Joo-Han signaled to the center of the stage, Goh Yoo-Joon confidently stepped forward and picked up the microphone.

"Hello! We are Chronos and Park Yoon-Chan!"

"...What?" Yoon-Chan, who was waiting for his turn, looked at Goh Yoo-Joon with a bewildered expression.

"I've never seen Yoon-Chan make that face before."

"Huh?"

By the way, Yoon-Chan was the busiest and most successful member due to promotions for an upcoming TV show. His personal recognition was also increasing, so once the drama started airing, his public profile would rise the most. That was why Goh Yoo-Joon made such a greeting.

After getting a verbal beating from the members, Goh Yoo-Joon stepped back.

"Who is next...? Fine, I’ll do it." Next, Joo-Han stepped up. "Hello. We are cutie pie Chronos~"

Yoon-Chan said earnestly but somewhat cringingly, "Meet you on the hour. This is Chronos."

Jin-Sung came up with "We are the versatile visual group Chronos~"

In truth, there was never a need to use any of these greetings seriously, so we all brought something light and fun for the occasion. Eventually, Goh Yoo-Joon’s greeting was chosen.

"Shall we move on to the next part now?"

I glanced backstage and chuckled. "The staff are waving from backstage, hurrying us to come down."

"See you in a bit, everyone!"

As we went backstage, a new VCR started playing on stage. Right after stepping down, numerous staff approached to touch up our makeup and change our outfits. Our sweaty hair was quickly dried with hair dryers, and we ran under the main stage to the lift without a moment to catch our breath.

The next stages were "Blue Room Party" and "Joy."

"Can I have some water, please?" I looked up at the lift while drinking water. Light streamed through the open ceiling from the VCR.

"The prelude will start after the VCR ends, and you will go up."

"Okay."

This VCR featured short interviews with the members. Each member individually recorded their part, and we were responding to the question "What was your past like?" at the moment. The first to answer was Joo-Han.

- My past was, um. It was fun but also unsettling. I was a trainee for eight years, after all. I didn’t really have a normal school life, and the number of trainees kept decreasing with no debut in sight.

Joo-Han had also been a trainee for as long as I had. He must have gone through the same anxiety and worries that I had endured.

- The company staff and other trainees thought I was adapting well and had no trouble with me lasting eight years. But... Ah, I'm not one to say I'm struggling. I try to hide as much as I can.

[Right. You have always been more the type to comfort others who are struggling.]

- Yeah. But the longer the trainee period went on, the more I feared it would all end in nothing. So I studied hard because I thought if I didn’t debut, I’d still need to make a living.

Joo-Han was laughing. As always, his light tone belied the sincerity of his words, but everyone grasped how tough his life had been throughout his trainee years.

The next interview was with Goh Yoo-Joon.

- Haha! I had a lot of fun! I even got into dancing later on. Especially since my school friends would go 'Wow!' whenever I mentioned I was a trainee.

It was a very cheerful interview.

Next was me.

- I thought I wouldn’t debut. I almost gave up toward the end. My skills seemed to decline, but the talented ones, like Goh Yoo-Joon and Jin-Sung, kept coming in. And Yoon-Chan was too pretty.

I was being overtaken from behind and there was no one ahead. The ones who seemed certain to debut with us had all quit or moved to other companies. At one point, I lost all motivation and couldn’t even think about trying something new. Realizing too late that this shouldn’t happen, it was already too late.

- But what would I do if I didn’t debut? I’d spent my whole life training for it, dropping out of school and everything. So, I kept telling myself to try hard one last time. Just once more. And now, here I am.

When I made that comment, I must have felt a genuine surge of happiness. My voice was unmistakably lively and upbeat.

The interviews continued with Yoon-Chan and Jin-Sung. Jin-Sung shared how being consistently at the top was always fun for him. Yoon-Chan, on the other hand, recalled feeling out of place initially but acknowledged that the support from the other members was pivotal in helping him persevere.

"Hyun-Woo! Catch this!" the stylist called out, tossing me a pair of colorful sunglasses just as the VCR was wrapping up.

"The lift is going up!"

I slipped on the sunglasses right as the intro to "Blue Room Party" began, and the lift ascended.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

***

"Ugh... Where am I supposed to go again?" Joo-Han muttered while fumbling around, still trying to catch his breath.

Meanwhile, Jin-Sung had sprained his ankle after energetically darting around the stage, and was on a quest for some relief.

"Can someone pass me the pain relief spray, please?"

After the "Flamma" performance, I kept nasal prongs in my nose with a portable oxygen tank beside me. Between the intense choreography and navigating the extended stage paths under the blistering stage lights, the area behind the scenes had turned into a sort of battleground.

"Hyun-Woo! Have you changed yet? Hook yourself up to the dryer and take a breather!"

Even as I paused to catch my breath, aided by the oxygen tank, assistants swarmed around me and dabbed at my sweaty face with tissues. They hastily touched up my makeup as the noisy hair dryer revved to life.

"You guys can't let fatigue mess with your performance," the choreographer clapped sharply to grab everyone's attention. "We've only hit the midway point. Shake off the tiredness, and let's keep the energy up!"

Everyone responded with renewed vigor to the claps.

"Hyun-Woo, Yoo-Joon! Time to move out!"

"Got it!" I stood up after helping Yoo-Joon to his feet. His neck was visibly flushed from the heat, and he clung to his oxygen mask like a lifeline.

"Let's go."

"Okay..." he responded weakly. The usually spirited Goh Yoo-Joon had quieted down as the exhaustion clearly took its toll. Regardless, we needed to push forward.

Next up was our unit stage, a performance that both Goh Yoo-Joon and I had been meticulously preparing for.