Chapter 451: What Should We Do From Now On (15)

"Thank you!"

Goh Yoo-Joon's surprise performance came to a vibrant end. He left the stage with the same energy with which he had entered by taking selfies and waving goodbye to the roaring crowd.

I found myself staring after him as he disappeared backstage, then turned to point where he had exited and addressed the audience with a playful smirk. "He is kind of loud, right?"

Goh Yoo-Joon was still peeking from backstage. His laughter reached me despite the distance.

"He’s my best friend, but he sure is a noisy guy," I said with a chuckle as I settled back into my chair. "Even so, he is a nice guy. We've been close since we were fifteen. It has been seven years since we met, and he hasn't changed one bit. He’s always kind and full of advice to share. Anyway..." I stood up while slotting the microphone back onto its stand, ready to shift gears. "Shall we move on to the next song?"

The audience responded with a resounding "Yes!!!"

"Great. The next piece is an unreleased song. It was supposed to be part of our first album, but—" I let my voice trail off as the lights dimmed and prepared the crowd for the somber, intense songs that defined my repertoire. It was a starkntrast to the light-hearted duet with Goh Yoo-Joon, which had unintentionally shifted thencert's mood due to his exuberant exit.

***

After interspersing some chit-chat, I moved through the unreleased tracks and songs from the snd album. Soon, thencert was nearing its climax. I took a deep breath, stepped back from the microphone, and looked out over the crowd. I was overwhelmed by the moment.

"Wow, this is..."

I was struck by a profound sense of amplishment, different from any I had felt during Chronosncerts. A few years ago, Iuldn't have imagined receiving such applause and adoration. Yet here I was, bathing in the loving gazes ofuntless fans.

Wanting to share this wave of emotion, I I decided to forgo any pretense or role-playing for this final part and said, "I was a trainee for ten years. Honestly, I never thought this day wouldme for me."

It was true. Throughout that decade, I saw multiple idol groups form and dissolve, and many fellow trainees gave up. I often thought I'd be the next one to quit. Clinging to even a sliver of hope was hard when it seemed there was nothing else for me beyond music.

After that injury made training impossible in my previous timeline, I felt as though I'd lost everything. Ofurse, I had now oveme the pain from it.

"Practice was grueling, and hope was scarce. But looking back, I am so glad I held on."

Now, the fear of scrutiny was gone. The stares that once unnerved me I now understood as filled with nothing but affection. I was glad I was able to realize this.

"Thank you, to all the fans who cherish me, and to everyone who has told me that they find happiness through my songs. I truly appreciate it."

There were so many things I wanted to be thankful for, but I had to save those for later and resume singing already due to the limited time.

"This final song was crafted by Producer Reina not for Eden, but specifically for me, Suh Hyun-Woo. It’s a very hopeful track, so please enjoy it."

A few snds later, the song resonated through the venue. A bright and hopeful prelude, though uncharacteristic of Eden, suited me, Hyun-Woo the idol, perfectly.

I removed the microphone from the stand and wandered around the stage as I sang. I made sure to take in every detail of this scene, knowing I wanted to remember it for a long time.

Thencert closed with a thrilling finale, fireworks bursting andnfetti flying. This marked the incredibly beautiful end of the show.

***

The Chronos members approached me when I returned backstage. "You really extended that ere."

"Yeah, you looked like you were having the time of your life, hyung."

As soon as I stepped off the stage, my group members started teasing me. Okay, fine, I totally deserved it. I'd been buzzing around like Jin-Sung during our Chronosncerts. There was a certain magic to being on stage, feeling all that love envelop you. It was a thrill only performers really got.

Therefore, I'd been so amped up. I ran around for the ere as if it was the main show. But then, a pang of regret hit me.

"Hey, did I look too over-the-top out there? Almost cringeworthy?" I asked, a bit anxious.

Goh Yoo-Joon laughed in his goofy way and nodded. "Heh, yeah."

Thinking back, I really went over the top during the ere. So much so that the thought of watching those fancams made me cringe now.

"Ugh..." I imagined how my antics must have looked through the fans' cameras. I hung my head in embarrassment.

Goh Yoo-Joon playfully came over and patted my shoulder, trying to offer somemfort. "It's okay. The fans will find it cute."

"True, the audience really loved it."

"And it was funny."

"Ah, seriously, hyung!" Goh Yoo-Joon kept up the teasing until he finally got a smack from Jin-Sung.

"Wow, never thought I’d see the day Jin-Sung would strike back!"

I chuckled as I watched the members bicker. "Anyways, thanks forming. I really appreciate it."

"Around what time is the dinner wrapping up?"

"The seniors said to not even think about getting back home early tonight. It looks like we will be out past midnight. Wanna join?"

Normally, the guys would have agreed, but today they all shook their heads. "Unfortunately, that’s not possible tonight. Joo-Han hyung told us tome back early."

"Joo-Han hyung is really fired up right now."

"Haha... take care," I chuckled awkwardly.

No oneuld afford to upset Joo-Han right now. We had to follow whatever he demanded of us. Lately, he had been in antinuously irritable state. He was already swamped with our next album, but on top of that, he had taken on the task of producing a Christmas song for the YMMllective as the year-end approached.

Although he planned tollaborate with Da-Win from Allure, trying to manage this alongside Chronos' album had been particularly stressful. Thinking about his usual way of working on albums, it was understandable.

Even when handling one project, he locked himself away, almost as if he was a lone wolf. Therefore, managing two tasks at the same time was another story. The added responsibility with Da-Win doubled the pressure.

"Well, you guys head back. I'll catch up later," I said.

"Alright."

"Don’t be too late, hyung."

"I will post today's stage photos on

BlueBird,

just so you know."

"Sure."

After the members headed to the dorm, I joined Tae-Seong on our way to the dinner hosted by Reina. Though thencert schedule was winding down, Reina had insisted on treating me to a feast of meat.

Upon arriving at the venue, Reina and Kun-Ho were already there. I paused at the entrance for a moment.

'Is it really okay for them to be seen together so openly?'

I gasped, remembering some crucial information, and approached them. I had been so caught up with thencert preparations that I forgot the two had recentlynfirmed their relationship.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Hey Hyun-Woo,me on over here. Have a seat!" Reina called out to me using my real name for the first time since thencert had ended. I greeted Kun-Ho and sat opposite of Reina.

"Hyun-Woo, great job at thencert," Kun-Ho told me.

"Oh, you were there too?"

"Ofurse! I had to see my student's first soloncert."

Kun-Ho had bme much closer to me than during the

Graduating

days because he often visited Reina at the practice studio duringncert rehearsals. Since then, he had been calling me his student.

"But why did the other guys leave early?" Reina glanced behind me, wondering where the Chronos members had gone.

Apologetically, I said, "Joo-Han hyung told them tome back early. He said they have things to discuss about the work."

"Ah," Reina said, her face showingncern. She knew all too well how sensitive Joo-Hanuld be during these intense work phases as she had seen him during pastllaborations with Calia.

"He's been really busy lately, hasn't he? With your album and the Christmas song?"

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

Reina pointed at Kun-Ho, who raised a hand. "He's singing in that song too."

"Oh!"

"Looks like youmpletely forgot he's at the same agency as you, haha." Reina laughed, playfully teasing Kun-Ho. Then it hit me. Though not under the same label, Kun-Ho was indeed with us at YMM, so ofurse he'd be involved in the Christmas song.

Despite Reina's teasing, Kun-Ho just smiled and said, "We are from the same agency and we even filmed a show together, Hyun-Woo! Don’t you remember? I'm also going to be at thencert."

"...Concert?" I was puzzled. What did he mean? He was definitely not talking about Eden’sncert.

Since I lookednfused, Kun-Ho widened his eyes and tilted his head. "Do you not know about it, Hyun-Woo?"

"About what?"

"Oh... Chronos must have not been informed yet." He abruptly turned to Tae-Seong, who was talking with Reina’s manager in the distance. "Tae-Seong! Does Chronos not know about thencert yet?"

"They do, but I haven’t told them about the exact date yet."

"Oh, so you do know! Our jointncert."

Ah-hah! That reminded me of the jointncert discussion I vaguely heard about a long time ago. It was said that there would be a YMM All-Starncert early next year.

"How about you and Yoo-Joon perform a song together with me on stage as a penalty for forgetting?" Kun-Ho teased with a mischievous smile.

"...That would be an absolute honor." I grabbed the chance granted by his light-hearted offer. Like with

Graduating,

a performance with a respected senior was always weme.