Chapter 465: What Should We Do From Now On (29)

Han Jeok showed the revised choreography and exchanged feedback with the members before quickly leaving. From his arrival until his departure, his smile seemed strained. This suggested that he was under considerable stress due to a tight deadline and a challenging task.

After he left, we, the Chronos members, along with Allure and Sequence, resumed our practice. Although it wasn't the final version, Han Jeok had transferred the choreography that was adjusted for our number to the practice room's laptop, allowing us to rehearse somewhat according to the formation.

"Wow, practicing like this makes me feel like we’re back in our trainee days. Right, Tae-Il?" Da-Win commented, to which Tae-Il nodded at first, but then shook his head.

"No, it's not the same, hyung. We don’t have the same youthful joints or passion."

"What? Our age doesn’t matter! Come on."

Despite their relaxed demeanor, the Allure members soon had to leave the practice room for their scheduled commitments.

"Those hyungs are really something," I remarked.

Joo-Han immediately agreed. "They totally are."

Once again, their capabilities demonstrated that experience and maturity were indispensable. Even with a brief rehearsal time, they managed to memorize all the new choreography. Considering how many concerts and special performances they had done, they must have mastered the art of quickly perfecting choreographies.

"Hyung!"

Just then, a lively voice echoed from the door of the practice room as the sound of footsteps thumped closer. Turning around, I saw Jin-Sung running excitedly toward us. It looked like the newbies' practice was also going well.

"The Allure seniors have gone to their schedule, so I came here. We’re practicing ‘History,’ right?" Jin-Sung said.

Joo-Han cracked a smile and tapped him on the head. "Yeah. I was just about to call you over. Good timing."

Following the energetic Jin-Sung, Yoon-Chan and other Sequence members entered one by one. Joo-Han smiled at Aeon, Byeong-Kwan, and On-Sae, who reluctantly walked in with Yoon-Chan.

Joo-Han asked, "So, have you guys come up with some ideas about the lyrics?"

"Eh? Uh..."

"You don’t seem very confident given your answer."

It appeared they weren't quite sure about the lyrics they had prepared. Joo-Han immediately sat the newbies down and started discussing "History."

"Let's talk about the lyrics later and briefly touch on the performance for now. Even though this choreography involves fourteen people forming a circle, if you think about it, Chronos members are mainly the ones singing and dancing."

This song was Chronos’, so we were naturally the main performers. However, that shouldn't have been the case for this joint stage. As equal artists sharing the stage, we needed to ensure that Sequence got more parts than in the original song.

"So, it seems we will have to make some minor adjustments to the dance and parts ourselves. Even though there isn't anyone else assigned to modify it, we have Jin-Sung and On-Sae here to help."

"Sounds good."

"We can do it. I've already got the modified choreography mapped out in my head."

Confidently speaking, Jin-Sung and On-Sae received what seemed like heavy but trusting encouragement from Joo-Han.

"I’m planning to rearrange the song myself, and the lyrics will be slightly changed for us and the three who will sing this song for the first time. Things have changed since then." Joo-Han’s gaze returned to Byeong-Kwan, Aeon, and On-Sae. "Shall we hear the lyrics?"

"Yes, I will go first." On-Sae looked quite nervous. He glanced at Byeong-Kwan and Aeon before raising his hand. He then fearlessly read the lyrics he had thought up.

"Different paths from the past, I walk forward, facing my fears with the shadows following me. It's okay."

On-Sae had written lyrics reflecting the emotions of the past and present. Since he was in a different group when we first sang this song, the fans might resonate well with these lyrics. The changed paths likely meant switching to a new group after changing agency, and the following shadows might be the members.

Anyway, the lyrics seemed to blend well with the original song. Joo-Han simply said "Good," , without any particular feedback, and decided to go with it after a slight adjustment.

"Who's next? Let's start with Aeon."

"Ah, ah! Yes!" Aeon’s ears immediately turned red, and he fumbled with his phone before shyly reciting his lyrics in a small voice.

"The place I once only watched, I finally stand here. I will give it my all."

After reading his lyrics, Aeon glanced nervously at Joo-Han.

"Hmm." Joo-Han didn't seem too pleased. He appreciated genuine emotion and usually passed most of the lyrics written by members coolly, but some required significant revisions if he reacted like this. "Let's think about it again, Aeon. It’s a bit too simple and ordinary."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Something more desperate or passionate might be needed."

Aeon nodded and hastily tucked his phone away. It was decided that Aeon would rewrite his lyrics. And then, it was Byeong-Kwan’s turn.

"The place I reached after hundreds of trials. More desperate than anything. To avoid any more pain or loss, I will grit my teeth and run."

As a rapper of Sequence who often wrote his own rap lyrics, he managed to infuse emotion well into his words. Although the message was a bit stronger than the original lyrics, I thought it was good.

Joo-Han nodded but gave some feedback. "It’s alright, but too long. If you rap this, you will definitely have lyrics leftover. Did you write this without looking at the character count?"

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Sorry? Oh, umm. I did look, but I thought about how it would sound as a rap... I wanted to discuss it with you, Senior."

"Is that so? Let's try singing it like that and decide. Can't tell just by hearing it like you’re reciting a story. We need to see if it fits the overall mood of the song and if it suits being rapped like you say."

"Yes, I understand."

The brief discussion about the lyrics from the three members was temporarily concluded. Joo-Han noted down the lyrics they had written and continued speaking, "For now, we will revisit Aeon's and Byeong-Kwan's lyrics later, and we need to consider revising our lyrics as well. But let’s focus on these two parts for now."

Joo-Han pointed at me and Han Jun.

Han Jun and I looked at each other and then back at Joo-Han. "Hmm?"

"I've revised your parts." Joo-Han showed us the revised lyric sheet.

"Uh..." Han Jun uttered in surprise. The lyrics from "History" that had once been once Han Jun’s

"Regrets linger from promises unkept"

had been changed to

"At last, our vow we have kept together."

And my part, which had been

"We will reunite at our destined star"

was changed to

"Here we are, together, no matter how far."

"Hyun-Woo, do you remember when you changed this part to

"We will meet again here?"

in

Pick We Up?

"

...Did I?

"...It seems like I did that."

At that time, Han Jun was making nonsensical statements about quitting, so I changed the lyrics on the spot during the performance. This happened a few years ago, so I didn't remember well. However, it sounded like that was the case.

"That's right. Anyway, I tried to connect that feeling with the lyrics this time." Joo-Han looked at Han Jun, me, and Goh Yoo-Joon and grinned. "You guys, you've met again on stage, right?"

"Ah!"

"Oh, you scared me!" Goh Yoo-Joon suddenly shouted, shaking his head. "Ugh, so cringy!" He really didn’t like serious atmospheres.

Joo-Han laughed heartily. "After all, we've achieved our dream!" Joo-Han always knew how to play along with Goh Yoo-Joon. Anyway, Joo-Han also mentioned a few other lyrics that needed revisions. It seemed this "History" would undergo significant lyrical changes.

When the meeting wrapped up, Joo-Han made a somewhat devilish suggestion.

"With all these changes, now that Sequence has debuted, wouldn't it be something to consider re-releasing ‘History’ with the revised lyrics? Hahaha!"

Typical of him to always think about making more money even though he already earned quite a bit from royalties.

Finally, the real practice began. With not many days left for all three groups to practice together, and with each group needing to practice individually as well, modifications to the "History" choreography were made on the fly during today's session.

Luckily, having members like Jin-Sung, On-Sae, and myself, who had experience creating choreography, helped the practice wrap up smoothly. And just like that, time passed, and suddenly it was the day of our first rehearsal for the joint concert.

***

"Hyun-Woo, have you lost more weight?" Kun-Ho, my duet partner, asked me.

"No? No..."

"Or is the rehearsal schedule too tough?"

I immediately nodded. "...Yes."

Honestly, this joint concert rehearsal had been barely manageable.

Though it was called a joint concert, in the end, Allure, Chronos, and Sequence were primarily leading it. These three groups had to practically burn their souls in continuous practice because... it was a lot. It would have been nice if we could focus only on the concert preparations, but Allure and Sequence were busy with album activities, and we, the Chronos members, were preparing an album.

Managing group schedules while preparing for the joint concert meant time was tight and meeting times were scarce. Thus, leftover time—essentially our sleeping time—was often sacrificed for the sake of practice.

Even the usually relaxed Allure members grew quieter as days passed. But that all would end after today. With the joint stage just a day away, I was extremely thrilled.