Chapter 61: Chronos History (5)

“Jin-Sung, go and comfort Yoon-Chan. I'll go talk to the composer." Without saying anything more to me, Joo-Han left the recording studio.

‘Why didn't he say anything?’

As the door slammed shut, Joo-Han’s cold expression lingered in my mind. All of us in the room remained frozen, just staring at each other for a while.

“Man, that was really scary."

“I’ve never seen Joo-Han hyung so angry before. If this were real, Chronos would really disband."

“Let’s make sure nothing like this happens again."

“By the way, shouldn’t you go now, Hyun-Woo hyung?" Park Yoon-Chan had stopped crying by then and calmly pushed me from behind. “Remember? You need to go get the cake."

“Oh, right. Yo, you're pretty good at acting," I praised. Park Yoon-Chan just scratched his neck, seeming embarrassed and shy.

“Hurry up."

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

I left the studio and headed upstairs, where the staff were waiting. In the empty monitor room, Yoo-Joon was sitting and monitoring the situation.

Yoo-Joon saw me and stood up, bringing over another chair. “Director Lee, Hyun-Woo’s here."

Director Lee Won-Jae then turned around and greeted me with a broad smile. “Ah, Hyun-Woo! You guys were really good at acting out that fight."

“Thank... you. But I don’t think I can do it again. It was too scary." I trembled slightly as I shook my head. After I sat next to Yoo-Joon, he passed me one of the earphones he had been using.

I plugged it into my ear and looked at the monitor. On the screen, Joo-Han was talking to the composer in a room with only a few chairs and a table, and the atmosphere didn’t look good.

- Didn’t you see your member getting pissed earlier? How can a young kid who can’t even sing properly get annoyed like that? Are you expecting me to just tolerate it?

- I'm sorry. He is usually a very good singer. He must be in a bad condition today, and I'm sure he regrets it. I will tell him to apologize.

- Forget it. Just go. I can’t deal with this.

Joo-Han was desperately trying to defend Yoo-Joon, and the composer occasionally fidgeted with a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

- I’m sorry.

We grew quieter as we watched. Then I asked, "Can we stop this now?"

Honestly, it was too uncomfortable to watch. Our leader hadn't done anything wrong, and the way he unnecessarily bowed his head made me feel unpleasant.

I continued, “It's supposed to be a surprise birthday party, but it's making Joo-Han hyung upset." Hearing this, Yoo-Joon nodded in agreement and said, “Yeah, this is too much. Just get the cake ready now. Even with the hidden camera, it doesn't feel right." He then placed down his earphones.

“From Joo-Han hyung’s perspective, his heart must be dropping."

It was a typical production of Director Lee Won-Jae, renowned for his 'devilish editing’ style. The broadcast would surely be edited to be very entertaining. The more discomfort the participants experienced, the more engaging the variety show became—a distinctive feature of Director Lee's productions.

- If you are not giving us the song... there’s nothing we can do. But please listen to Yoo-Joon’s apology...

Joo-Han's expression was hardening in real-time. Unable to stand this anymore, I stood up. “I'll go get the cake."

Director Lee hesitated for a moment, appearing somewhat displeased. “Can’t bear to see your hyung suffering?"

“No..." We both shook our heads, and with evident reluctance, Director Lee conceded. “Yoo-Joon, Hyun-Woo, go in now with the cake." With no more willingness from us to continue, Director Lee had no other option. We took the cake handed to us by the staff and headed toward where Joo-Han was.

***

"Ah, they could have done a bit more!" Director Lee Won-Jae placed down the script with a thud and watched the Chronos members through the monitor.

“I told you already. Provocative concept doesn’t really work with Chronos,” Han Yi-Soo said with a chuckling smile.

“Isn’t this the first time your plan has failed, senior?” Han Yi-Soo was the only one who didn’t like this surprise birthday party. As the one responsible for filming Chronos for

Pick We Up

, he had long since recognized that the bond among the Chronos members ran deeper than what was apparent.

“The surprise has flopped," commented Writer Song Yi-Hee, prompting Director Lee to gaze wistfully at the monitor. Outside the room where Kang Joo-Han and composer Oh Dong-Hoon were, the Chronos members huddled together, discussing how to arrange the candles.

“Showing them having fun together is a great thing. Why look for artificial stimulation, senior? The kids were visibly upset when they saw Yoo-Joon getting scolded, even while knowing it was an act.”

- What should we do? I feel so bad for Joo-Han hyung.

- What happened? What’s going on inside?

Yoo-Joon, who had just left the recording studio, briefly filled in Park Yoon-Chan and Jin-Sung about the situation as he opened the cake box.

- This is getting too serious. Joo-Han hyung is still apologizing.

- I was so mad watching it.

- Hyung! Don’t put the candles in too deep!

Park Yoon-Chan's remark caused Yoo-Joon, who was inserting the candles, to pause abruptly.

- Is it okay to put the candles this close?

- Bending the candles is a trend nowadays.

- That trend is over, you know?

- Don’t play with fire in front of the candles. Remember when Yoo-Joon set his hair on fire while lighting them?

- The heck? Really?

- Ah! Suh Hyun-woo! Why would you say that?

- They are fighting again!

Indeed, it was entertaining to see them pretending to fight and make a fuss, but what was more natural and pleasant was seeing them just talk and play among themselves.

“I tried to get something out of them, but it just doesn’t work with Chronos."

“You failed in

Pick We Up

too," Han Yi-Soo teased, eliciting a wry smile and nod from Director Lee.

“Alright. Mr. Han, have you checked the footage from Chronos dorm?"

“No, not yet. I was planning to review today's shoot along with it. Why?"

“Check it. Let's have a meeting with the

Chronos History

team after today's shoot."

“Okay!"

This was their first attempt to gauge the effectiveness of Director Lee's distinctive editing style for the program, and it became evident that stirring up conflict within Chronos was no easy task.

“How long have the Chronos kids been training together, Mr. In-Hyun?"

“Joo-Han and Hyun-Woo have been training together for seven or eight years, and even Yoon-Chan, the latest addition, has been there for over two years."

“Wow, that’s a long time," commented Director Lee. Joh In-Hyun smiled awkwardly. Groups that had been together for just three or four years often developed a familial atmosphere. In comparison, Chronos members who had spent even longer together were exceptionally close.

“Let's change the direction of our plan." This program also posed a challenge for Director Lee. After securing high ratings with sensational content in previous programs, he now planned to try a calm and healing approach.

***

“What are you guys doing?” As we were lighting the candles on the cake, the door suddenly opened, and Joo-Han looked at us.

“Whoa!”

We panicked and tried to hide the cake, but it was too late. The light from the candles already gave us away.

Still not fully grasping the situation, Joo-Han glanced at the candlelight and frowned. “What the heck are you doing? Go back and wait. Did you two apologize to each other, Yoo-Joon...Hyun-Woo?”

“Ah, hyung..." We sheepishly held out the cake. “We were trying to... celebrate your birthday. We wanted to surprise you, haha." It was a disaster. The surprise, the broadcast, even the recording—everything was ruined. Joo-Han was still affected by the earlier incident and had a stern look on his face.

“Ha...happy birthday!" In the awkward silence, Park Yoon-Chan exclaimed loudly.

“What?"

“It was all a hidden camera prank for your birthday!"

“It's a bit early, but happy birthday, hyung!"

After that, as if to support us, the composer patted Joo-Han on the shoulder and stepped outside. “They even made me act for the show."

After watching the composer disappear down the hallway, Joo-Han looked at us for a long moment and cautiously asked, “So, this was all an act? The fighting, the composer getting angry, and everything?"

“Yes, we're sorry. We didn't mean for it to turn out like this, but..."

“Oh my..." Joo-Han let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor.

“Hyung?" We hurried to help him up, but Joo-Han pushed our hands away, glaring at us with a mixture of relief and frustration. “I thought it was the end for real! I was so scared!"

“Scared, hyung?"

“Sorry! We were wrong!"

He almost sobbed. “I thought Chronos would disband... Oh my..."

Joo-Han's face became ghastly pale, showing how worried he had been. We crowded around him, helping him to his feet. I straightened Joo-Han's clothes, while Jin-Sung and Yoo-Joon brushed off the dust.

“Let’s never do something like this again. It’s not for everyone."

“Right. Even if we do a surprise, let’s not do this kind of surprise."

“I hate seeing hyung lowering his head to someone."

“Hyung, we promise not to cause trouble and to listen to you. We are sorry."

No matter how much we explained, Joo-Han remained in a daze as if his soul had left his body. At this moment, the camera crew rushed in, filming Joo-Han’s face up close. He finally snapped out of it, and his face started reddening. “Ah, Director. Ah."

“Joo-Han looked cool, didn’t he? A true leader. Mm-hmm!” the composer commented from behind the camera. “Actually, Goh Yoo-Joon passed the recording on his first try. He’s good, you know? I’ve known that since the competition."

We took a break to eat the cake, chatted, and then resumed the recording. Yoo-Joon’s recording went smoothly this time, finishing in one take. Perhaps feeling guilty about his earlier harsh words, the composer lavishly praised Yoo-Joon.

The atmosphere was much more harmonious than expected. “Last one, Hyun-Woo. Go into the booth."

“Okay.” I entered the recording booth with the lyric sheet in hand. After putting on the headphones and setting the sheet on the stand, the composer’s voice came through the speakers.

- I personally love your voice. Looking forward to it.

I relaxed my throat and took a sip of water.

- Shall we start?

“Yes!"

I put on the headset. Soon, Yoo-Joon’s recorded voice played, and I started singing my part right after his ended.

- Good, good. Did I put too much pressure on you? Let’s try again. Relax a bit more.

“Okay.” The tension of recording on my own was different from when I was teaching trainees. I then realized my shoulders were tensely hunched up, so I took a deep breath. "Let's do it again."

- Okay, starting.

The song played again, and as I sang, the composer’s praises poured in.

- We will move to the next part. Sing this one with a bit more strength.

After the initial feedback, the recording progressed smoothly. Especially during the last part, when I added harmony to Park Yoon-Chan's high notes, the composer clapped exaggeratedly in praise.

- Wow! Perfect pitch, so stable. I love your voice, Hyun-Woo.

I proudly made a victory sign to the camera. I had spent long years as a trainer, so I was confident in my stable vocals.

After his enthusiastic praises, the composer was deep in conversation with the assistant director.

‘

Can I leave now?’

I wondered, setting down my headset and glancing outside. No one had told me to come out, even though my part was finished, so I stood by the microphone for a while and then slowly started walking toward the exit.

Just then, the composer quickly pressed the microphone button.

- Hyun-Woo, don’t come out yet. Stay there for a bit.

“Sorry?”

The composer turned off the mic, resumed his discussion with the assistant director, then looked back at me.

- Hyun-Woo, it’s a bit random, but would you like to add the chorus?