Chapter 455: What Should We Do From Now On (19)

"Wow! Ohhh..."

"Haha..." I awkwardly laughed as I made my way onto the stage. Bearview, who had been masterfully evoking emotions and drawing applause while singing, noticed me and immediately slid off his chair to kneel. It was so bizarre and unexpected that I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Great performance! Everyone, Bearview has graced us with his presence!"

I rushed over to help him up, puzzled by his repeated dramatic reactions despite our numerous prior meetings during rehearsals and briefings. I was aware that Bearview was a known Ring because other Rings had informed me about it through social media, but his level of enthusiasm still took me by surprise.

"Senior," he said, "I really..."

I swiftly interrupted Bearview. "Oh, please, not 'senior.' Call me Eden, Bearview." I gave him a look and urged him to snap out of it. However, it seemed to have no effect. Resorting to a bit of force, I plopped Bearview back onto the chair and carried on with the concert.

Laughter already filled the auditorium.

"Yes, take a moment to settle down. Senior, would you like some water?"

"No, thank you, senior. Oh, I brought my own."

Amid the amusing confusion of us calling each other senior, Bearview pulled out a water bottle and showed it off to the audience and me.

"Oh? This one is..." I chuckled again, feeling somewhat deflated. The water bottle Bearview brought was a limited edition item sold at the Rings founding ceremony. I then realized how big of a fan he really was.

I hesitated and wondered whether to acknowledge it or play it cool. Should I acknowledge it or not? After a brief contemplation, I commented, "That’s a really pretty... water bottle."

"Look, Senior, it even has the face of my favorite member on it." Bearview proudly displayed the water bottle with my face on it.

I got embarrassed and bit my lip before managing a smile. "Oh, wow. Thank you so much. I see now. Bearview, I've heard about your immense love for Chronos."

"Yes, that’s right." It wasn't until I pressed on with the fact that Bearview managed to calm down enough to respond properly. "I’m a huge fan."

"Just to step aside from my Eden persona for a moment, the Rings told me how thrilled you were when I covered your song on

Introduce My Singer

. I didn’t even realize it back then."

"You know about that? Oh, how embarrassing."

"Yes, they said you were moved to tears."

"Heh, yes..." Bearview seemed deeply touched by every word I spoke. "I’m so grateful. Did you know I made a ton of posts that day?"

"Oh, really?"

"I was so excited that I just kept posting."

"Everyone, even earlier today during rehearsal, Bearview was..."

Bearview eagerly nodded and intervened in a high-pitched voice, "Yes, that’s right. I cried. Seriously guys, you might think I’m overreacting, but this is how I genuinely respond when I see someone I adore. Truly."

Bearview continued speaking in a mix of excitement and disarray. He was quite talkative, yet he never lost his sense of humor amidst it all.

Caught up in the excitement, I laughed again as I watched Bearview passionately explain to the audience how moving it had been to meet me. Though I often engaged with seniors, interacting this way with a junior was new to me and took some getting used to.

Of course, I had close juniors like Sequence members, but they were somewhat of an exception. Also, I only met others sporadically at music shows or recordings.

"So, uh..."

"Ah, Se... No, sorry. Eden. I tend to talk a lot when I am excited, don't I? Sorry about that. People have told me I become very talkative. This is my first time as a concert guest and also my first encounter with you, so I’m just really thrilled-"

"Yes, I understand. Haha, sure."

"I really admire—"

"Bearview, please. Just take a moment to calm down." I managed to make Bearview relax at the same time I caught the eye of some Rings in the front row, who openly teased me by chuckling away. They knew too well how shy and awkward I was with words, which made the situation hilariously ironic for them.

Well, as long as the audience was entertained, what more could I ask for?

'Why am I suddenly so tired?'

Feeling an abrupt wave of exhaustion, I quickly moved the concert forward. The staff were frantically signaling for us to proceed to the next part because Bearview's excitement had considerably slowed down the pace.

"Well then, since Bearview had made the effort to come all this way, we can't just send him back without a proper send-off," I said.

Bearview clapped rapidly and brimmed with anticipation.

I continued. "I would like to perform a song I previously covered on

Introduce My Singer

, ‘Sentiments,’ together with its original artist, Bearview."

"I’m thrilled to perform with you."

"Haha, same here." I bowed in response to Bearview as we concluded the introduction. "And now, may this song bring comfort to your youth and struggles. Let’s start. ‘Sentiments.’"

The lights dimmed. Bearview, who had been exuberantly flaunting his insider vibes just moments before, immediately captured the required emotions and began to sing as the instrumental started playing. His nickname 'Emotional Genius' was no mere label.

♪ My weary steps have lost their curiosity

Once again heading straight home today

I can't see anything around me

Only the cool and bittersweet night sky

It was a voice that was crisp yet calm, carrying a weight that seemed to manifest the struggles of youth. It was a different style from the songs of Goh Yoo-Joon that I used to like, but I quite liked this voice and its emotions as well.

I listened to his song with my eyes closed, then picked up the microphone.

♪ Taking a deep breath, I look up at the sky

Turning my dizzy gaze away

Telling myself that everyone else is struggling too

It's an irresponsible self-encouragement

In contrast, my voice was often described as rich and flamboyant rather than calm. Therefore, I was quite concerned that singing alongside Bearview might disrupt the audience's immersion. When singing solo, it was one thing, but together with him, my voice could potentially overpower Bearview’s distinctive emotions.

From the start of our rehearsals, I really strived to sing in a restrained and pure manner, yet still convey the song's profound depth. Fortunately, Bearview managed to capture the necessary emotions much better during the performance than during rehearsals, allowing me to fully immerse myself and deliver my part effectively.

As Bearview and I harmonized and built the song together, the initially laughing audience began to quiet down and focus more intently on the music. Given the theme of the song, it was not surprising that some were moved to tears. Thankfully, it seemed my voice did not disrupt the unique sentiment of the track.

When the bright lights came back on after we finished the song, Bearview returned to his usual self. Seeing the audience’s moved expression, I quickly bowed and continued.

"Bearview, everyone, thank you so much."

The talk earlier had taken up a lot of time and made the interval until the next song quite tight.

"Yes! Thank you! Eden, I wish you all the best for the rest of the concert! I will be watching! Good luck! Bye! Everyone, have a great evening! Bye! Poof!" Bearview certainly was a character. He kept up his lively farewell until he was off the stage.

I stood silently for a while by watching where Bearview had disappeared, then let out a single word. "Wow."

The audience understood the emotion behind my exclamation and laughed.

"Goh Yoo-Joon from Chronos, who was our guest yesterday, has a lot of friends. He’s really a social butterfly, you know? But—" I gestured toward the back of the stage. The audience probably guessed what I was about to say. "I am not sure how well I handled our guest since I’m not great with words. Anyway, I've recently started listening a lot to Bearview's songs."

I knew the title 'Emotional Genius' was popular. While I was preparing to cover his songs, I realized that I really liked his timbre.

"Hmm... What can I say? His songs seem to perfectly soothe our generation's struggles. So much so that I think I'd definitely go to his concert if he held one because I've become a big fan of the artist whose song I had the privilege to perform today."

I moved forward to the stand and placed the microphone back.

"Bearview is also quite popular on

UTube.

I will be appearing on a famous segment of Bearview's

UTube

channel soon. Please look forward to that."

Bearview wasn't planning to leave right after today's performance. Like Oh Yoo-Wol, Bearview was a UTuber, an especially influential one online.

There was a plan to shoot some brief content in the dressing room after the concert wrapped up. I remembered Bearview's manager warning me with a weary look that Bearview can be quite overwhelming during these sessions.

With a brief promotional mention over, it was time to move on. "Let's proceed to the next song."

I took a deep breath. My heart was pounding more than ever. This next piece was an unreleased song, and today would mark its debut. It was a composition I had written with the help of Reina.

"This next song is my own composition, which I am unveiling for the first time to all of you today."

"Oooooh!"

The crowd responded with enthusiastic applause.

I took another deep breath and announced, "Here we go, ‘The Promise.’"