Chapter 463: What Should We Do From Now On (27)

After finalizing the song and concept, the next big challenge was choreography and staging. Even though we brought Goh Yoo-Joon into the Team Oldbie to even out the numbers, our team still didn’t have as many members as the Team Newbie. But even so, choreographing routines to fit our unique group size was no simple task.

Our team was loaded with members skilled in musical arrangement, but not a single one specialized in dancing. On the other hand, the Team Newbie was full with main dancers, but lacked members who could arrange music. It was not an ideal balance.

With no choreographer available until later, it fell on me to lead the dance practice. Standing with my back to the mirror, I surveyed the group. It felt strange standing here again in this familiar yet unfamiliar position.

"Suh Hyun-Woo, are you marveling at something? Is it because you’re surrounded by handsome folks?" Goh Yoo-Joon joked, framing his face with his hands.

I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head at his antics. "Quite a sight, man."

Both Allure and Sequence members laughed while looking at Goh Yoo-Joon. The setup felt both new and oddly nostalgic since this mix of teams were practicing together.

I pushed aside the rising tide of emotions and quickly got the dance practice underway. "Let's start with ‘Parade.’ Since the formation might change, let's just follow along in place for now."

The chorus of "Parade" was something everyone knew perfectly, thanks to a previous challenge. Sequence had been trained separately after our debut, and they even showed better retention than Joo-Han, who seemed to have forgotten half the moves.

The problem was with the members of Allure, especially Da-Win. He usually needed to invest plenty of time to memorize the choreography, so he couldn't produce quality performances immediately.

Moreover, even though "Moon Sea" was Allure's own song, they had completely forgotten it. Therefore, I had to teach them again to refresh their memories. Presumably, Sa-Yeon, Allure's main dancer, knew the choreography for "Moon Sea," but he unfortunately had joined Team Newbie.

"Is this the next move? Or not?"

"No, that move is for the second chorus. The first one goes like this..."

I paused, getting frustrated the more I watched the Allure members debate over the wrong steps. I then turned to the behind-the-scenes camera. "Seriously, what is this? I never imagined I would teach them their own choreography. Perfumes[1]... What do you think about this?"

Although I was used to teaching countless trainees choreography, it struck me as odd that the Allure members weren’t remembering their own.

Honestly, it baffled me how Joo-Han and the Allure members could forget the choreography. Yet there they were, shamelessly flirting with the camera despite showing an embarrassing side to their juniors.

"Perfumes, we just forgot some parts. It’s not that we absolutely do not remember a single move. You know?"

"Love you."

"Love you too! Mwah, mwah!"

It was utterly surreal.

I smirked at their antics and returned to the laptop. "Let's run through ‘Moon Sea’ once more."

"But wait, stop. Teacher!"

"Yes?"

Da-Win raised his hand to stop me with a mischievous grin. "I have a question about ‘Moon Sea.’ Who is gonna perform the intro to it?"

"Surely you, the seniors—"

"You know, Hyun-Woo's intro has become more famous than ours."

"Shouldn't we show that old intro again?" The Allure members suggested.

I shook my head. "You guys again..."

Here we go again. I couldn’t say anything too harsh in front of the camera, but this was ridiculous. Indeed, thanks to our Chronos and

Pick We Up,

"Moon Sea" had gained significant fame, especially my part where I was lying on the bed, which had become iconic and overshadowed Allure’s original.

But sharing the stage for a joint concert and performing it myself wouldn't sit well with the Perfumes. I shook my head at the Allure members. "Gosh, please no. You guys should start the intro on the bed. That would be better..."

Wait, that actually sounded quite fitting. While the version of "Moon Sea" that had gained fame had me starting on a bed and included arrangements from

Pick We Up,

Allure had always performed it in its original form. Perhaps there were fans who'd love to see Allure perform the arranged version? Surely there would be. It could be a special treat for the Perfumes.

"Actually, performing the arranged version by Allure sounds really good, no?"

My suggestion got a quiet gasp of approval from the Allure members.

"Shall we go with that?"

Goh Yoo-Joon listened quietly before finally chiming in. "Oh, but what about "Parade?"

If Allure was taking on a new version of "Moon Sea," what about "Parade," which had already seen several arrangements?

"Parade" was one of the most famous songs by Chronos, so it had already been rearranged in various versions. I wondered if it could be rearranged further.

Joo-Han smiled triumphantly. "We need to put some serious effort into rearranging ‘Parade.’ I have been saving a special concept for this day."

"What is it?"

"How about ‘Parade’ performed by Allure, Chronos, and Sequence, all dressed in fusion traditional hanbok? Wouldn't that be spectacular?"

"Is it going to be an oriental version of "Parade?"

Joo-Han's expression became more serious. "Exactly. It was originally a circus concept, but I think we could adapt it to have a sleek and thrilling Oriental twist."

"That sounds amazing." Excitement buzzed among all the Oldbie members, energized by the fresh concept.

However, I observed them with a concerned expression. "Hello, guys?"

"Huh?"

"Yes?"

The lively chatter of the oldbie members paused as they all turned to look at me. I appreciated their good spirits, but their laid-back attitude often led us off track.

"Are we not going to practice now?"

My reminder seemed to snap them back to reality, and they quickly returned to their positions.

Talking about versions and arrangements could easily wait until after our practice session was complete.

***

As the practice for both the oldbies and newbies groups wrapped up, our own rehearsals were still in full swing. After painstakingly syncing up the schedules of all three groups, and with Allure having completed their practice, it was up to Chronos and Sequence to regroup and prepare for another performance.

"Ah, seeing us all here, it does feel like we are a few people short," Il-Seong commented as his gaze swept over the group assembled as the Original Chronos along with Sequence’s Aeon, Byeong-Kwan, and On-Sae.

From the original nine Chronos trainees, only four remained with Sequence. The others had either abandoned their dreams of debuting or moved to other agencies. This meant a significant reshuffling of parts was inevitable. "History," the song we had crafted, was designed so each member’s part would narrate their personal story.

"We need to reassign the parts."

But there was another pressing issue.

"Um, guys?" Supervisor Kim was listening to the discourse between Chronos and Sequence, but joined in with a thoughtful look. "We also need to decide who will perform on stage for ‘History.’ Will it be just the Original Chronos, or will the entire Chronos and Sequence perform together?"

"Oh..."

This was no ordinary song, but "History," a track whose story was well known to the fans. That made this a more significant issue than expected. Should only the members who were together at that time participate to recreate the emotion? Or should we ensure a stage where all members of Sequence stand together, leaving no one out?

"Actually, we are okay not joining this stage!"

"Yeah, we'd really love to see an Original Chronos performance too."

"It might feel a bit odd, like we are intruding if we were there."

Byeong-Kwan, Aeon, and On-Sae each expressed that they were fine with whatever decision was made, but it didn’t sit right with us. How could we, as members of the same group who saw how dedicated our juniors were, exclude them and just perform amongst ourselves?

"No, I think it would be better if we all performed together," I insisted.

Joo-Han quickly supported this. "Exactly. Since the lyrics of each part were written for specific people, you guys can craft your own lines and join us on stage."

"...Really?"

The trio's initially somber expressions brightened significantly.

Joo-Han nodded affirmatively. "‘History’ from

Pick We Up

was sung at a time of great uncertainty and confusion regarding our dreams. It represented a promise of a hopeful future."

That hopeful future had materialized when Sequence made their debut. Now, with the upcoming joint concert, we were set to share the stage again and showcase our growth. So, this time...

"We get to write about the present we've achieved," Joo-Han continued.

The members of Sequence looked at each other. Their world included each other. While the Original Chronos was a thing of the past, both Chronos and Sequence existed in the present.

1. The name of Allure’s fans. ☜