Chapter 468: What Should We Do From Now On (32)

"What! Why did you exclude me from such a big event?" Goh Yoo-Joon bellowed as he burst through the door. His voice echoed off the walls.

"Shh, shh!" The Sequence members frantically gestured for Goh Yoo-Joon to quiet down.

Complying with a dramatic pout, he slumped down beside me. He looked like a child sulking over a game he lost.

I playfully nudged Goh Yoo-Joon and prodded him with the camera. "Have you ever celebrated Han Jun's birthday before?"

"Um, well..." Goh Yoo-Joon scratched his head and feigned deep thought, then replied with a mischievous grin. "Was it in our first year of high school? That’s the last time we celebrated it, right?"

"Why are you asking

me

that?"

"You were part of that pact too, remember? Oh, stop acting like you know nothing, dude."

I couldn’t help but smile at Goh Yoo-Joon. Indeed, back in our first year of high school, Han Jun, Goh Yoo-Joon, and I had coolly decided that celebrating birthdays was too much of a hassle. Besides, none of us had the money for gifts, so we settled for simple birthday wishes, something that had become our unwritten rule.

We eventually started celebrating Goh Yoo-Joon's birthdays when we debuted as a team. Even though we didn’t make a big deal about each other’s birthday, the dates remained surprisingly unforgettable.

Goh Yoo-Joon hurriedly clarified to the camera in an earnest voice. "To the fans of Sequence, please don't misunderstand. Since our first year of high school, the three of us agreed not to fuss over each other’s birthdays."

As I watched his eager explanation unfold, I chuckled under my breath. The mood shifted as the waiting room suddenly stirred into chaos.

"Ah, it looks like Jun is coming. Folks, you are witnessing Sequence gear up for a member's birthday bash."

I captured the members lighting candles with frenetic energy. While it felt somewhat awkward being the idle observers, I knew Sequence’s fans would relish seeing the members bustling about in preparation.

Soon after, Han Jun entered the room, and the Sequence members burst into a heartfelt rendition of "Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~"

"What? What’s going on?" The bewilderment in his voice was palpable.

We joined in from the back, adding our voices to the chorus. My camera, along with several others, captured every bit of Han Jun's astonishment and the subsequent joy that lit up his face.

This was Han Jun’s first birthday since becoming a Sequence member. It was a moment that might never have occurred had our paths diverged differently. I felt an unexpected emotional tug.

"Happy birthday, Han Jun."

"Jun~ Happy birthday. Sorry, no presents though," Goh Yoo-Joon teased.

"Since when have we ever given presents to each other? Come on," Han Jun retorted in good humor.

As if orchestrating a scene from a film, I zoomed in on Han Jun’s teary eyes, then gestured for Goh Yoo-Joon to follow me out.

"Anyway, happy birthday. We’re heading out."

"Huh? Have some cake before you go! Seniors!"

"Ah, well, I've got to keep filming." I pointed to the camera as an excuse, and we quickly slipped out of the room.

"Stick around for cake, at least."

"Such adorable seniors," we heard the Sequence members comment to their own cameras as we left.

We would have enjoyed staying longer to chat, but our schedule was tight. We needed to complete a round of the rehearsal sites before the next session, and there were still stops to make.

"Did you manage to eat something?" Goh Yoo-Joon asked me.

"Not really, but I’m good. I met Senior Yeong-Yee earlier—"

"Really?"

"Yeah, and she mentioned she brought lunch boxes for everyone to share."

"Awesome. Senior Yeong-Yee’s lunches are always a treat. I said it before, and I’ll say it again."

We continued our light-hearted banter as we approached the next waiting room, which could be hit or miss. It might be empty, awaiting its next use, or we could stumble upon a rehearsal in progress.

"This next room... I wonder if anyone’s in there?" I said with uncertainty before knocking gently on the door. Fortunately, we were greeted by the familiar voices of the Allure members from inside.

"Yes!"

"Come on in!"

"Excuse us," I said as Goh Yoo-Joon and I peeked inside.

"Oh!"

"No way, look who it is!" The Allure members exclaimed as they rushed over and enthusiastically pulled us into the room.

"Come in, come in!"

"What brings you here?"

"What’s this about?" they asked after noticing the camera almost immediately.

"It’s just a camera documenting the rehearsal site."

"What? Is this the return of the cutie and the freshie?"

"...How do you guys even know about that?" Goh Yoo-Joon asked, surprised.

"We might not look like it, but we keep an eye on everything. You think we’d miss our juniors' broadcasts?" Da-Win and Sae-Yeon responded with knowing smiles.

"Ah, thanks, guys." I expressed my gratitude, albeit dryly.

I had always known that Allure kept tabs on our shows and performances, but I hadn’t expected them to follow even our variety show antics so closely.

"Anyway, what brings you here? To film us?"

"Yes, could we have a short interview with you?"

"Ah, feel free to make it a long one," Tae-Il casually remarked as he slid into the seat next to me.

Before I realized it, Goh Yoo-Joon and I found ourselves snugly encircled by the Allure members.

"What's this interview about?"

"We’re discussing YMM's first joint concert," I explained, feeling a mix of excitement and nerves.

"So?"

"Yeah, I’m really curious about how you feel performing alongside both your juniors and seniors."

"Hmm!" They all hummed in unison, a thoughtful expression crossing their faces.

Da-Win broke the silence. "It's quite rare for us to perform with our seniors, so we were a bit anxious, you know?"

"Yes."

"But to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel yet. We've only exchanged greetings with the seniors. We haven’t actually met on stage."

"But we’ve already had quite a few practice sessions with the juniors, right?" Sae-Yeon chimed in, to which Da-Win nodded.

"Absolutely. The experience of preparing concerts and performances with the juniors, like Chronos and Sequence, definitely feels unique."

"Interesting. In what way?"

Da-Win smiled warmly. His hands reached out to pat Goh Yoo-Joon and me on the back. "It kind of makes me nostalgic. Ah, it reminds us of the old days when we used to practice together."

"Exactly, especially since you two actually trained together with us. It's not just about revisiting our trainee days as it's also seeing how much our ‘kids’ have grown," he elaborated by referring affectionately to me and Joo-Han.

"It does make you reflect. They’ve grown up so much."

"Truly."

Anyone listening might think they were our parents by the way they spoke! I chuckled internally, shifting the discussion in a slightly different direction. "You’re collaborating with us, Chronos, to perform our songs."

Da-Win’s hand rested reassuringly on my shoulder. "That’s right. It’s a lot of fun. We haven't really adhered to any specific concept or universe with our songs, so we’ve always wanted to try something like that."

"It’s also special because we rarely get the chance to perform songs from our juniors, even though we often cover seniors’ tracks."

"Exactly."

"This is a wonderful opportunity, I think."

Sae-Yeon then interjected with a hint of regret. "There’s one thing I wish were different though."

I directed the camera toward him. "Oh? What's that?"

"I’m talking about Team Oldbie's stages for ‘Moon Sea’ and ‘Parade.’ Is it okay to mention this?"

I nodded, reassuring him that it was fine since this shooting wasn’t tied to tomorrow’s performance, but rather for a promotional DVD meant to be released later.

"I like ‘Moon Sea,’ but I thought ‘Goblin’ would have been an interesting choice."

"Goblin?"

"Yeah, because—" Sae-Yeon pointed at me. "Do you know? Hyun-Woo's last monthly evaluation song for trainees days was ‘Goblin.’"

"Ah, really?"

"We didn’t even know that."

I was surprised. "How did you come to know this?"

"Ah, of course I know. Anyway, ‘Moon Sea’ has been performed by Chronos already, but ‘Goblin’ hasn’t been covered on broadcast, right?"

"Yes, that's right... Oh, come to think of it, that’s true."

Now that he mentioned it, we hadn't showcased "Goblin," one of Allure's hallmark tracks, although we had frequently covered "Moon Sea" since our debut. We had deliberately avoided it in competitions because we feared we couldn't surpass the original. However, it would have been perfect for this collaborative stage.

"We can always collaborate on it next time," Da-Win reassured us soothingly.

Goh Yoo-Joon and I exchanged a look.

"Can you believe it?”

“We’ve never performed ‘Goblin.”

Ironically, it was one of the songs we danced best to. This oversight seemed almost absurd.

Goh Yoo-Joon glanced around at the Allure members then announced to the camera. "Everyone, stay tuned. A ‘Goblin’ cover video will be coming your way soon."

"Ooh! We’re looking forward to it!" the Allure members exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Please look forward to it," Goh Yoo-Joon said solemnly.

I couldn’t help but smile at the exchange and glanced at my watch.

Oh dear, look at the time. We really needed to wrap this up and get back to rehearsal. Maybe we could even fit in an interview with Kun-Ho and Su-Hwan to conclude the day.

I turned to the Allure members with one final question. "We really need to start wrapping up—"

"You’re leaving already?"

"Yes, I apologize. We don’t have much time left until our rehearsal."

"That's sad. Yes, please go ahead with the question." Da-Win gestured for me to continue.

"Just to wrap up, could you share a few words for the fans eagerly anticipating the concert?"

"Sure. Everyone, this is a fantastic opportunity for us to share the stage with these incredible artists."

"An all-star event, isn't it?"

"Something like that. Anyway, we've really put a lot of thought into which performances the fans would enjoy, so we hope you have fun. Thank you!"

"Wow!"

The Allure members waved at the camera, and Goh Yoo-Joon and I stood up, thanking them for the interview.

"Let’s grab some food later!"

"Sure!"

"We got this!"

"Yep!"

The interview ended on an energetic note. After finishing the interview with the Allure members, we hurried backstage to continue with our schedule.