Chapter 459: What Should We Do From Now On (23)

I just smiled quietly to myself. Wow, just glancing at that old photo made my heart sting with a sharp pang of nostalgia and embarrassment. This was such a cringeworthy and torturous time in my life, so I never wanted to revisit it.

However, I knew the Rings might still be curious about it. The photo clearly showed me full of youthful defiance, obviously struggling with issues. One could tell just from the look on my face.

"Ha..." I sighed deeply and chuckled awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood. "Haha!"

"Oh, seeing you struggle to talk about it, it must be a photo with quite the story behind it," Bearview teased.

"No, I wouldn’t really say it’s a story, but I was..." I tried explaining, but struggled to find the right words. I had been foolish, arrogant, and frankly quite obnoxious back then. It was a period that defied any graceful description.

During that time, it felt like even a decade of training would never lead to my debut. Sometimes effort alone wasn’t enough to break through. I feared those ten years could vanish into thin air.

Despite my hard work, my skills seemed stagnant while the number of trainees more talented than me just kept growing. Around that time, I began neglecting practice as my rankings dropped, filled with nothing but pride and frustration. Looking back, I had been undeniably arrogant.

But at that time, I was deep in contemplation and seriously wondered if I lacked talent. I even considered quitting YMM and searching for opportunities at another agency. There were countless reasons and complex feelings I was juggling, which I couldn’t fully express at the moment. Therefore, I simply summed it up as being in a slump.

It was a painful era. I used to feel like nothing I did made any difference.

"A slump?" Bearview echoed, trying to understand.

"Yes, and that’s something considering trainees face monthly evaluations." I tried to explain the relentless pressure we were under.

"Right, of course."

"I had been top of the ranks from my middle school years for several years."

"Wow, as expected." Bearview cheered by giving me a thumbs-up. "You were born as a genius then!"

"Not a genius, but yes, I was always up there. But after that period, I was barely hanging on to fifth or sixth place. Being a trainee became increasingly challenging as the years dragged on."

"I can see why. After ten years of training, anyone would feel the strain." Bearview sympathized by nodding sadly.

"I even contemplated quitting because I was plagued by doubts about whether the agency was ever going to debut me. This ruined all my motivation."

"An unmotivated Hyun-Woo? I can't even imagine that."

"Really? But that was exactly how I felt."

That was during my time with Elated, when Yoon-Chan and I were often sidelined in practice. After ten years of training, it was nothing short of humiliating.

Bearview glanced at the monitor which displayed a photo from those times, and tilted his head. "But this photo seems relatively recent? A bit more contemporary, right?"

"Yes, right before

Pick We Up.

It was around when the debut lineup was being finalized."

Bearview gasped. "Gosh! A slump right at that crucial moment? That must have been incredibly tough!"

I nodded vigorously. Returning to the present after revisiting the past allowed me to be more thankful about my current situation, but the past version of myself was quite a pathetic figure.

"Our company had separate auditions for the debut group. At that time, I was barely holding onto the fifth or sixth rank, and I thought I would drop even further in the next month. Just then, they announced that they would be selecting five members for the Chronos debut through auditions."

"Wow!" Bearview was deeply engaged in my story. He shivered as if he could feel the tension of my situation back then. "It must have been a really intense situation. My heart would have been racing if I were you. You were barely in fifth or sixth place, and they were only picking five? Wow..."

I nodded vigorously, becoming immersed in my own story due to Bearview's reactions.

Speaking of that time, I had to consider the relaxed atmosphere of this

UTube

channel by filtering out words and making it entertaining. "I thought I was going crazy."

Seeing me speak candidly, Bearview laughed boisterously. "Hahaha, of course! Crazy, right! How could you not go crazy? You were so close to not making it!"

"I thought I wouldn't make it."

It was a bit blurry remembering what happened because it was so long ago. But I was so stressed I hardly ate, and when I did eat, I was always half-listening to music with earbuds on instead of focusing solely on eating.

Despite this, I always ended up choosing the same songs for evaluations, which was such a foolish thing to do.

"There were no compliments or positive feedback from the teachers during the monthly evaluations during that time period, just constant criticism. That made me think I definitely wouldn't make it into the debut group, especially after training for ten years."

"Uh oh... Hyun-Woo, you’re known for your passion. How tough this must have been for you. But then, you effortlessly made it into the debut group?"

I smiled broadly and nodded. "This time, I made it easily, unlike before."

I needed a bit of embellishment when talking about it.

"I had to think about it seriously. If I didn't make it into the debut group now, how much longer would I have to wait? How many more years would I have to train? Could I really handle that? If not, would I have to move to another company?"

This was a real concern I had before the auditions that formed Elated.

"Wouldn't that have been tough? You had your pride."

"Exactly. I had my pride! After all, I am an impressive guy!"

Bearview agreed with me and added, "You had been training for ten years by then, and the seniors from Allure had just debuted. Among the trainees, you had been there the longest, and you often ranked first or second. So, you must have acted all high and mighty."

"Exactly. It would have been embarrassing to leave without debuting after all that. That's when I finally snapped out of it and realized this couldn't go on," I said.

Indeed. After about six or seven years of hard times in the other timeline, and having returned to the past, I finally got my act together.

"So, I worked hard and made it into the debut group."

"How fortunate that is. Folks, even someone as perfect as Hyun-Woo here has gone through such intense struggles and pain. But thanks to that, we get to see him as part of Chronos now. So, what's next?"

As the conversation followed a chronological order, I assumed the next topic might be

Pick We Up

or "Red Riding Hood Cha Cha." Just as I was bracing myself for another embarrassing photo from those times, an unexpected picture appeared.

"...Huh?"

It was a photo I hadn’t expected, likely taken by Goh Yoo-Joon. It showed me from behind, gaming on the company's computer.

"Hyun-Woo, you like games, right? What's with that look?" Bearview tilted his head in confusion, trying to continue the discussion.

I shook my head. "No, I just thought the picture would be related to ‘Red Riding Hood Cha Cha’ or a photo from our time in

Pick We Up."

Bearview laughed cheerfully. "Ah, if it were a regular broadcast, we’d start with

Pick We Up

since it’s next in chronological order. But this is my personal channel." He adjusted his cap emblazoned with the words Bear Ring. "This show is all about what I am curious about. Besides, haven’t you already talked about ‘Red Riding Hood Cha Cha’ and

Pick We Up

on other shows?"

"Ah."

I instantly understood. This clip was exclusively for Bearview, meant to indulge his fandom. Therefore, he wouldn’t ask about content that didn’t interest him, even if it were typically included in the progress of other shows. Instead, he would ask questions that no one else might find interesting.

That was why the comments on videos from his channel often praised his 'unconventional interviews' for their entertainment value.

"Anyway, I heard you really enjoy gaming." Bearview resumed his questioning, and what followed was an interview filled with unprecedented questions about games, how I managed my expressions on stage, favorite dishes, how I spend my off days, and whether I could share any photos or videos from my phone.

Bearview was particularly interested in the photos and videos on my phone which, in fact, featured more contributions from Goh Yoo-Joon and Lee Jin-Sung than from me.

When I mentioned this, Bearview suddenly stood up because he was thrilled by the idea of the members appearing in each other’s galleries. He showed an exuberant reaction.

As the interview progressed, energized by Bearview's high-level reactions, I began to feel my energy waning. Finally, the last question was raised.

"So, unfortunately, we are down to the last question."

"Oh, such a shame."

"Really? You seem tired," Bearview joked.

I firmly shook my head. Although I was a bit tired, witnessing such an entertaining performance was rare. "It was a lot, but this has been so much fun that I think I can keep going. It's really a pity," I confessed.

"Hey, what's there to regret! You can always come back another time! How about a full Chronos appearance next time?"

Bearview’s suggestion was met with enthusiasm from the production team. "Are we seeing an immediate booking attempt?" someone commented.

I smiled broadly and nodded eagerly. "Of course! Please invite us. We will come around when our new album is released."

"Great! If Chronos makes an appearance, even if this show turns into a promotional broadcast for the Chronos album, we will gladly provide a grand welcome."

"Hahaha!" We all laughed again. Despite Bearview's serious tone, he was still dressed in Chronos merchandise. During the show, he even added sunglasses that said 'Chronos, Welcome!’

How could you not laugh at that?

"Anyway, back to the question. This is the last one for today."

"Alright."

"So, Hyun-Woo. What does each Chronos member mean to you?"

"Each Chronos member?"

"Just a moment please. Could you mention them one by one? Actually, let me show you something." Bearview pointed to the monitor.

"Gosh... When did I write that?"

On the screen was a survey we had filled out back around the time the Ring inauguration ceremony was held. At the end of the survey, there were comments about each member.

"You may not remember this since it has been a while since you wrote on this survey, but look over here. Here at the end, there are comments about each member. I think it would be interesting to revisit these questions and see if your feelings about the members have deepened since then."

"Oh, I see." Bearview grinned as he began asking his series of final questions. "Alright, what does Kang Joo-Han mean to you?"