Chapter 73:
Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 73
The gentle sound of an acoustic guitar filled the air, drawing the attention of the audience to one spot.
Under the spotlight.
A sharp-faced singer stood with a microphone in his hand.
He looked cold at first glance, but when he closed his eyes and smiled, his expression changed completely.
From icy to warm, like a spring breeze.
The audience watched the transformation with interest, and heard a soft humming in their ears.
It was an unusual introduction.
The couple who had been scolding their child, the old man who had been resting his hand on his cane and complaining, the Teen Spirit fans who had been chatting on the fan cafe, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at the same place.
The humming was somehow comforting.
Like a mother holding her child and singing a lullaby on a rainy day, the low and gentle humming came through the drizzling rain.
After about 30 seconds.
Seo Rihyuk finished his humming and opened his eyes with a soft smile.
Soon, the sound of waves inserted in the MR signaled the start of the song.
Splash-
The weather was not suitable for the image of ‘the starry night sea’ that the song originally had, but the warm prelude of piano and guitar created a sentimental atmosphere.
The blue light that had been slowly rotating began to surround Woojoo.
As I walk through the old memories
The rusty gate and the wagging tail
With the rain as the background, his voice spread to every corner of the audience.
The lyrics were easy to catch with his clear pronunciation.
The song was written by him for his grandmother who had taken care of him since he was young.
With the story and the melody of the night sea that reminded them of old songs, the audience responded well regardless of their age.
The blue and yellow lights scattered around created a dreamy mood, as the two vocals exchanged their singing.
Of course.
It was a secret that the festival lighting team was doing their best to create such a mood.
They just reacted to the good song.
A calm smile appeared on their faces, who had been amazed by the humming at first.
When the 2 minutes and 40 seconds were over.
The audience sent a round of applause.
***
When the audience was sending a gentle applause to the stage of Night Sea, Jung Hyojin, who was in charge of MC, let out a sigh of relief.
‘…It worked.’
The audience’s expressions had changed noticeably.
Just a while ago, they had been so fierce that her face had stung while conducting the prize event.
But now they looked like different people.
There were no more furrowed brows or pursed lips.
Only peaceful faces.
Was this the power of music?
She suppressed a smile that was about to come out, as if they had just watched a soothing public service advertisement.
“That was a wonderful stage, both of you.”
She squeezed in between Street Boys and Blink, who had received the attention of a rookie group 1 at best, and now they were in the spotlight.
Maybe it was because of that, but they both looked nervous.
She recalled the keywords she had heard from the New Black members.
Night Sea. Self-composed song. Grandma fan.
“It was a song called Night Sea, right?”
-Yes, that’s right.
“The chorus was really catchy and impressive. It felt like you were singing to someone. Do you have any behind-the-story that you can share with us here?”
Anyway, she had to fill up five minutes with her comments until the next substitute, Song Bohyung, came.
Since it had come to this.
She decided to use this time to introduce New Black.
-Ah, Night Sea is…
Fortunately, the member of New Black, who boasted a beautiful appearance, took the opportunity well.
-It’s a song that I composed while thinking of my grandmother.
“I only knew Fireworks as your self-composed song. Is this also a self-composed song?”
-Yes.
Curiosity appeared on the faces of the audience.
He smiled shyly, as if he was embarrassed by their interest.
He calmly explained his intention and experience of composing the song, and the audience’s eyes became more friendly towards him.
He was a nameless rookie just a moment ago, but now he was someone’s son or grandson in the eyes of the people around him.
-Actually, I didn’t write it all by myself. I got a lot of help from my friend here in writing the lyrics.
He skillfully shifted the focus to Rihyuk, and Jeong Hyojin smiled at him.
While the audience laughed lightly at Rihyuk’s embarrassed expression, she saw the signal from below.
It meant that the next stage was ready.
While the other members were waiting backstage, the MC checked the audience’s reaction.
It was time to wrap it up.
“Now we’re going to listen to one more song. I’m really looking forward to it. I was surprised when New Black said they were going to sing this song.”
She asked in a subtle voice, “Is this song also self-composed?”
The idol fans knew the title of the next song, but the general public tilted their heads.
Another self-composed song?
What song was it that they co-wrote?
Seeing the curious faces, the MC smiled.
‘This will definitely get a response.’
No one would not know this song.
***
This time, all five of them stood together.
The audience’s eyes were focused on the stage.
They were curious about the song because of the MC’s words that it was a song that everyone knew, and that it was self-composed.
‘What are they going to sing?’
The ones in front of them were rookie singers.
They had just debuted with a title song called Fireworks.
But something was strange.
They had only debuted a month ago, but they had three self-composed songs, and one of them was known by everyone.
Some impatient people went to the internet portal and typed in ‘New Black’.
Then, a familiar intro came in.
‘What…?’
They didn’t know the title.
But it was a song they had heard before.
The song that they heard on the street, in front of the phone store, on the radio in the city bus, on a famous variety show.
It was Something.
A song about a couple who had a crush on each other.
Then they realized that the singers who sang it as a duet were the ones in front of them.
‘They were them.’
They opened their eyes wide in surprise, but only for a moment. As the medium tempo intro flowed, they clapped along to the rhythm.
As Koreans always did when they heard an exciting song, the atmosphere became more lively.
The first one to open his lips was Bijoo.
You don’t know my heart, I don’t know your heart
But you know it too
Some of the audience widened their eyes in surprise.
He was a familiar face.
He was the member who danced the best among the idols who came out today, so he naturally remained in their memory.
That was why it was strange.
‘He was the dancer, right…’
He was not inferior to Rihyuk and Woojoo, who sang earlier, in terms of singing skills.
No.
In some ways, his beautiful voice was more attractive.
They thought he wouldn’t be good at singing, but they were surprised.
When Jiho took over the part.
He sang well.
Even the member who looked like he only relied on his face could sing well, and the audience’s eyes changed as they looked at New Black.
They thought they were a dance group because of the song Fireworks, but they looked like a vocal group now.
They were good enough to make them wonder why they became idols when they heard their songs.
And.
Some of the audience felt a sense of incongruity from the fact that the member who wrote this song was standing there.
‘How many things can he do?’
He was comfortable enough to dance and take care of the members who were about to fall, he didn’t lose to the main vocal when they sang together.
And on top of that, composing.
If they told their friends that there was such a group, they wouldn’t believe it.
-I saw an idol at the festival this time. They were called New Black, and they came out as a filler. But none of them couldn’t sing. Even the one who was the main dancer was singing really well. They could all go solo, yeah, seriously.
And then.
-And the leader is a composer, and he made the title song himself. And he also made Something with Jang Sowon?
It was true, but it felt like a promotion. Around the time they thought that, the tall member grabbed the mic between the first and second verses.
And then the rap started.
His pleasant voice tickled their ears rhythmically.
“…”
They added one more thing to the story they had earlier: ‘He raps well too.’
Meanwhile.
Even if it wasn’t that much of an appreciation, most of the audience felt the same.
‘Prejudice is really big.’
New Black’s skills were no different from before.
It was just that the song Fireworks was idol music, so they just passed it off as ‘they’re idols’.
They did well, but to the average person, idols were beings who danced on stage.
But when they took off those colored glasses and looked at them, they all had amazing skills.
And professional spirit too.
Even though their new outfits were getting wet in the rain, and they had to perform suddenly, the New Black members were enjoying the stage with bright smiles.
It made the viewers feel good.
As the stage of Something continued, the name ‘New Black’ gradually imprinted in the audience’s minds.
One thing was certain.
They would be the most memorable among the teams that performed today.
***
The song ended and a fairly hot applause came back.
The heat was transmitted even through the cold rain.
How long had it been?
It had been a long time since they sang Something at the venue, but it had also been a long time since they received such applause.
Woojoo felt proud as he looked at the audience with a different feeling.
The audience who clapped with smiles, the people who searched their phones and seemed to find Something amazing, the staff who talked to the event staff with a relieved face.
And even the fans of Teen Spirit who gave a mixed applause.
The nerves that were tense with tension relaxed.
The rest looked at Woojoo as if they were asking if they did well, and he nodded with a smile.
‘You did well, guys.’
Nearby, Seokhwan Hyung also gave them a thumbs-up.
Then he heard what Minki Hyung said and drew an OK with his finger.
It meant they were ready to finish.
-Now we have one last song left.
“Yes, I’m really sorry.”
-This time, I heard you’re singing a song by another singer. Can I hear the title?
“It’s a song by Teacher No Jaehyun called ‘Stay with Me’.”
The reaction from the audience was good, as it was a famous classic.
Especially the elders’ faces brightened.
‘Stay with Me’ was a trot song they sang at the end of the year evaluation.
At first, they had a few choices and thought about it, but considering the audience age group and the event atmosphere, it was the best choice for the final song.
After raising the mood a little with Night Sea and Something, they decided to use this song, which they have MR, to boost the mood and pass the baton to Song Bohyung.
Then the king of the event, the trot singer, would take care of it.
And more than anything, the reason they chose this song was because it was backed by the most practice.
Last December.
They practiced for 10 hours a day for a month and made the song stick to their bodies.
Of course, they would have a lot of sloppy parts because they rested for six months, but they planned to make up for that by inducing the audience’s response.
While laying the groundwork by saying it might be a bit clumsy, Woojoo had a conversation with the MC.
…Huh?
A murmuring sound came from somewhere.
It was a serious atmosphere that could be heard through the rain.
Woojoo glanced sideways.
And he was surprised.
What was that?
Woojoo didn’t know where the problem started.
He couldn’t see it from the angle.
But centered around a group of staff, the water was spreading as if it was backflowing.
It looked like it might spill over to the side of the stage.
The audience couldn’t see what was happening on the stage because of the angle, but Woojoo had a feeling it would be a mess once they found out.
What should he do?
His first thought was to reassure the audience that everything was fine, no matter what.
No.
It would be better if they didn’t know at all.
His brain was spinning.
The staff would soon fix the problem professionally, so they just had to distract the audience for a while.
Distract them as much as possible…
Suddenly, Woojoo noticed the space between the stage and the seats.
He wasn’t sure.
But it was the best idea he could think of at the moment.
As the upbeat intro played, Woojoo winked at the two who were quick-witted among the four of them.
Did they get what he meant?
They nodded right away.
If they acted, the others would follow.
Clap- clap clap-
As the people clapped along to the lively trot music, Woojoo stepped down from the stage and headed towards the seats.
The people in the front row widened their eyes.
Woojoo took a spot in the empty space between the stage and the seats, and soon his siblings came down after him.
They were a bit nervous, but they smiled at the audience.
As they clapped their hands above their heads and encouraged applause, their bodies moved on their own.
Was it because they practiced so much for a month, except for sleeping time?
It flowed more naturally from their bodies than when they checked it lightly before going on stage.
And then, the first verse started and their youngest stepped forward.
He sang the first verse of the trot song with a cute and lively expression.
Where are you, my love?
Are you here or there?
The audience reacted with amusement as a singer of their son’s or grandson’s age sang cheerfully.
Well done, our baby.
Woojoo thought he did enough.
He was preparing for his part when Jiho moved his steps while singing.
Uh, where was he going?
Woojoo’s heart sank as he saw him approaching the mayor and his wife.
He wasn’t going to do anything weird, was he?
Woojoo swallowed nervously, and as he got closer to them, he gestured with his hand as if pointing at someone while dancing.
Why are you avoiding me?
I didn’t do anything wrong
He sent a heart with his hand and a playful smile.
He sparkled his eyes and looked at the audience as if asking them to look at him nicely.
The people’s expressions softened noticeably.
It was a dramatic change, to say the least.
Especially the one who was pointed by his finger.
It was amazing.
The mayor, who had been gloomy all day, burst into a big laugh that surprised everyone around him.
***
At the same time.
The fan cafe of Teen Spirit, the free board of Soul.
-Are they still not at the venue??
-Why isn’t MOP announcing anything? F***
-What do we do;;
-The atmosphere must be really bad, sigh…
-Can anyone at the scene update us on the situation?
A comment soon followed.
-New Black, the rookie group, is filling in for them.
-Ah…
-You don’t have to say it, I can imagine…
-They must be embarrassed too s***
-Huh? No.
-?
-The atmosphere is good.
The comment section was flooded with question marks, and below that, a short comment was posted.
-The atmosphere is great. Really great.
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