Chapter 445: What Should We Do From Now On (9)

"Hyun-Woo!!!"

"Hyun-Woo, catch this!"

"Give it your all in the rehearsal! We are all excited!"

As I stepped out of the car, a sea of eager Rings welcomed me with open arms.

"Thanks, everyone. I will do my best!"

Gifts piled into my arms before I even realized it, and I waved gratefully to the crowd as I made my way to the venue.

"Have you eaten?" I tossed the question out there, but was swept up in the rush by Tae-Seong to the site that I missed any possible replies.

"I haven’t eaten yet!"

"Make sure you eat plenty, Hyun-Woo!"

Their voices were loud and clear from a distance, earning a wave from me in acknowledgment. Even though it was early for a rehearsal, there was already a crowd of Eden’s fans, or perhaps Chronos’ Rings had gathered in anticipation.

I was dazed from the early start and munching on throat candies during the commute, but the cheers from familiar faces suddenly filled me with a surge of energy.

Upon entering the building, a camera stealthily began to follow me.

"Uh, is this for the behind-the-scenes?" I asked.

The cameraman confirmed with a vertical nod of the camera. Noting that the filming was operated by our staff, it seemed they were capturing footage for the Chronos

UTube

channel's behind-the-scenes series.

"Good morning to all of you, Rings!" I greeted, pushing through my initial reluctance. When I was with the group, I’d just chime in here and there, but handling a behind-the-scenes camera solo added a layer of pressure for me to provide interesting content.

"We are heading to Eden's concert rehearsal now," I narrated succinctly and prompted the cameraman to quip playfully.

- Uh, are you Eden by any chance?

His tone threw me off because he sounded just like Goh Yoo-Joon for a second. I got flustered and waved off my confusion.

"No, that’s not me. Eden is probably at the rehearsal, right? I’m just a guest. Eden is a friend of mine, haha."

Though everyone knew by now that I was Eden, there was no longer a need to differentiate between us. However, staff, members, and the public still relished in the ongoing charade.

"I am on my way to Eden’s concert rehearsal as a guest."

This casual mention would probably be spiced up by the staff with witty subtitles to keep up the act.

Upon arriving at the dressing room, we quickly dropped off our gear and headed straight to the rehearsal space. The place was bustling. Reina had just arrived, and she was deep in discussion with the director with her belongings still in hand.

"Hey! Has Eden arrived?"

"Good morning, Senior. Hello, Director," I greeted warmly.

"Ah, there you are!"

"I’m looking forward to today."

The director briefly acknowledged me with a glance at the camera before hurrying off elsewhere. "I get camera shy," he muttered on his way.

Reina was unfazed and casually dismissed the director before waving cheerfully at the camera. "Hello, everyone!"

I gestured toward her with both palms up. "Everyone, meet the producer of Eden and a respected Senior of mine, Reina."

"Reina here!"

I wondered if my introduction was a tad overdone, but Reina smoothly waved it off and beckoned with a smile. She then asked, "How are you feeling today?"

"Great, actually."

"That’s a relief. Are you nervous without the other members?"

I nodded slightly, feeling reality settle in. "A little bit. It’s daunting to think I will be on this vast stage on my own."

Though smaller than the grand Chronos concerts or the massive year-end stages, it was still intimidating. The thought of singing, dancing, talking, and leading the show solo was enough to stir my nerves. Even with all of Chronos next to me, concerts were always nerve-wracking.

Reina patted my shoulder as if she understood exactly how I felt. "Don't worry. You will do great, just like when you practiced."

"I will certainly try my best."

"You will do fine. Keep your chin up! Straighten your back!"

It was only when Reina gave me a robust pat on the back that I realized I had been slouching. Straightening up, I felt her infectious confidence taking over me as she gave a hearty laugh and clenched her fists.

"You got this!"

She headed off in the direction the director had vanished, likely to catch up with him. I was left alone and took a moment to survey the vast stage.

‘It really is huge.’

Though it paled in comparison to the wide stages of Chronos' concerts or the festive year-end events, this venue was several times larger than what I had envisioned for my first solo concert. Doubts about my performance on stage lingered, but I was resolved to give it everything I had.

"Let's get the rehearsal started."

"Thank you in advance!"

With a loud greeting, I took my place and held my microphone. From this moment, I was no longer Suh Hyun-Woo. I was Eden. I repeatedly said this in my head and summoned every ounce of the unique emotions that only Eden could embody.

***

"Great job, everyone. Just a moment—"

The director called for a brief tuning break. As the moody lighting abruptly brightened, I momentarily stepped back into being Suh Hyun-Woo.

"Ah, thank you, everyone."

After addressing the crew via the microphone, I idly spun the chair I had been sitting on. As if on cue, the behind-the-scenes camera approached. The cameraman was eager to capture more candid moments.

"It's definitely quieter by myself, that's for sure," I remarked in a casual tone.

Reina was always by my side when I was Eden, but she disappeared some time ago and I hadn't seen her for quite a while. This wasn't my room where I could just lounge around, and there was not much I could do here without the members around. All I could do was stand still or sit in a chair like I was now, lost in thought.

I felt the absence of the members more than I expected.

"I wonder what the members are up to right now?"

My question was met with a shrug from the cameraman.

"I should have invited them to hang out. Even if they came, it’s not like there’d be much for them to do."

The song promotion schedules were over, and aside from working on new tracks, the members didn’t have much else filling their schedules lately. I should have brought Jin-Sung or Yoon-Chan, who’d been whining about wanting to come hang out.

The cameraman changed the subject. Perhaps he was tired of my rambling.

- How was the rehearsal?

"The rehearsal? Hmm, I think it went well. How did it sound to you?"

Turning the question back to him, the cameraman hesitated before nodding.

- It was really good.

I thought so too. Months of intense training had definitely paid off. I had managed to capture the required emotions perfectly by maintaining my pitch and tone without any drift. The performance was just right. It was not too over the top, and not too subdued either. It was just my voice in a way that wouldn’t divide the audience’s opinions at the concert.

This was one of the rare times I felt genuinely satisfied with myself. This was all thanks to Reina.

‘Now, I just need to focus on the talk session and the guest performances.'

The invited guests would be arriving sequentially in a bit, but the talk session was the real issue. Specifically, the scenes where I would interact directly with Eden as Hyun-Woo were my biggest concern.

I had memorized the lines, but the setup was so contrived that my awkward acting was painfully obvious.

‘Well, both the Rings who admire Eden and the general public know I am not the best actor.'

However, it was still embarrassing. The more I acted, the weirder the atmosphere around me became, and I was acutely aware of it. Worrying about it now was a bit late, though.

"Hey, Suh Hyun-Woo."

A teasingly pleasant yet slightly annoying voice called out from below the stage. Looking down, I saw Goh Yoo-Joon, Jin-Sung, and Yoon-Chan waving at me.

"What the..."

"We came to hang out with you in your free time!"

Did they somehow read my mind? Why were they here? I immediately stood up from the chair and waved back, laughing. "Why are you here?"

"We came to see you! Thought we’d cheer you on," Yoon-Chan said.

I had invited all the members to the concert, so I would have been grateful if they had just shown up at the start. It was really nice to see them at this time. I hadn’t expected Goh Yoo-Joon, who was supposed to be busy with his work, to come along with Yoon-Chan and Jin-Sung.

"Thanks for coming."

The members came closer, each giving me a hug before asking me if I had eaten.

"Not yet," I replied.

"Hyung, what? How can you not eat?"

"We left some snacks in your waiting room. Make sure to have some later."

"Really? Thanks." I patted Yoon-Chan on the back and then introduced the members to the camera. "Goh Yoo-Joon and the younger ones came to make sure I wasn’t too nervous."

"Man, you still sing so well. Wow." Goh Yoo-Joon raised his thumbs in admiration. It was embarrassingly flattering.

I grinned and said, "Thanks for even thinking of coming to the rehearsal."

"Sure, but I have something to complain about." Goh Yoo-Joon put on a mock pout while feigning annoyance playfully.

"Ah, you sound serious."

"Why didn’t you invite us as guests?"

"Seriously!" Jin-Sung quickly agreed. He stared at me intently.

"Chronos is here for you, and we would have rushed over if you invited us! Eden, why did you invite other artists as guests but not us?"

"Oh, well..."

Yeah, I knew you guys would feel left out. I had just followed the advice of Reina, who preferred not to overly associate Chronos with Eden’s solo concert to maintain a distinct identity for Eden. I couldn’t explain all that in front of the camera.

Seeing my awkward smile, Goh Yoo-Joon seized the moment to tease me. "That’s why they say it’s useless to raise someone, folks! I fed you, changed your clothes every day, even washed you!"

"What are you talking about? Hahaha."

He appealed to the camera. "We wanted to be guests too!"

"Look, about that—"

"I’m

so

sad." Goh Yoo-Joon really knew how to play up a scene.

"Hmm..."

Actually, hadn’t Reina mentioned it might be interesting to have one Chronos member make a special appearance rather than the whole group?

"Hmm."

"Look at this. Suh Hyun-Woo is at a loss for words."

"Yoo-Joon hyung, you’re enjoying this way too much."

Even though the artists for up to the third concerts had been decided, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to replace one of the talk sessions with Goh Yoo-Joon for a surprise appearance.

"Just hold on, let me think this through."

"Alright."

I quieted Goh Yoo-Joon and seriously considered the idea. After all, he had been on the list of potential invitees. I hadn’t proposed it just to avoid disrupting his music production, but a duet with him had been in the planning stages from the beginning.

...Maybe I should discuss this with Reina and the other staff.