Second Try Idol

Goh Yoo-Joon effortlessly charmed the audience as he introduced himself and his next song in smooth, simple English. The song he picked was “As Always,” which came highly recommended by Joo-Han. He believed it suited Goh Yoo-Joon's vocal prowess perfectly.

As Goh Yoo-Joon weaved his harmonies, I was ready to complement “As Always” with my own harmonies and add depth to the duet.

As the rugged strums of the guitar filled the air, the stage was set ablaze. Goh Yoo-Joon's voice rode on the sharp and unrestrained melodies and started to craft the song's story.

You and I have very different personalities

But we can't break up

Because it's natural for me to be by your side♪

I simply closed my eyes and surrendered to the music. Goh Yoo-Joon's low, velvety tones transformed the song and introduced falsettos that painted a new color to the song entirely. It was clear that he was a natural performer, blessed with both a captivating voice and an innate musical sensibility. I calmly savored Goh Yoo-Joon's gradually building song as I picked up the microphone.

Anyway, we have to go through this ordeal

As always

As always♪

The unexpected harmonies I added from the background elicited soft gasps of surprise from the audience. They were unprepared for the layered depth of our performance.

After I matched the harmony, one audience member stared at me intently. I could feel their gaze, so I turned my head to look at that person as soon as the harmony ended. Then, they appeared surprised for a moment before smiling and giving me a thumbs up. I just slightly nodded in response and prepared for the next harmony.

The performance, led by Goh Yoo-Joon's serene delivery, wrapped up with grace and resonated with everyone. After all, the audience was fond of the tune and enchanted by Goh Yoo-Joon's rendition. They were thoroughly mesmerized, and their applause was a testament to the success of our performance.

With a brotherly pat on Goh Yoo-Joon's back, Joo-Han offered his praises. “Thank you. He's the member with the best voice among us."

Joo-Han spoke fluently with great composure. After that, he smoothly transitioned to introducing Yoon-Chan, who opted for Reina’s song instead of a conventional pop song.

His choice “Lessa” was imbued with an enchanting Orientalism[1]

“It's a very… interesting melody, so I hope you enjoy it,” said Yoon-Chan. He gracefully lifted the microphone to sing, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. Then, a band member behind him unveiled a gleaming new violin.

As the bow caressed the strings, the violin weaved a melody that conjured an aura reminiscent of the East despite its Western heritage. It was expressing versatility in its emotional range. After that, Yoon-Chan’s soft yet piercing voice melded with the music and captivated every soul in the surroundings.

The once noisy audience fell silent and focused their attention on Yoon-Chan. It was the song that received rave reviews from Reina during yesterday’s practice session. After Yoon-Chan got a torrent of high praise from the original singer, his confidence soared.

He sang the song with his unique and beautiful voice, without trembling. While the audience wasn’t familiar with the song, it still elicited a good reaction from the audience here. Anyway, Yoon-Chan's rendition of "Lessa" would likely shine brighter than anyone else's performance when broadcasted.

Next up was Joo-Han, belting out a tune that had just claimed the top spot on the Billboard charts. Initially, it had been hovering near the bottom, but today, it skyrocketed to number one, perfectly timed for his performance. Earlier, Joo-Han had been over the moon, declaring, “Didn't I tell you this song would rise up the charts like crazy? Looks like I need to lay down a mat for myself and become a shaman."

Just like that, the audience immensely enjoyed themselves by dancing and singing along to the song. The sweet and heart-fluttering song ended with everyone—including the audience, the members, and the band—enjoying the rhythm and the atmosphere.

Next was Jin-Sung’s turn. He had prepared a special performance for this event. Of course, it was a performance that would seem unique to the audience, with him having a duet with Reina.

Reina, known primarily as a beloved national singer and award-winning artist, made a surprising appearance as a manager this time around. However, the production team understood the disappointment fans might feel without hearing her sing, so they scheduled her to perform a duet or solo song in one show. Jin-Sung, the least confident in singing among the members, was chosen to sing with her. Reina herself had personally picked him, suggesting that singing together might even help boost his confidence.

However, Reina also had a firm taste in music like a steadfast pine tree. Jin-Sung felt more pressured than ever, knowing he had to perform a difficult song perfectly alongside Reina. Yet, his worry was only momentary.

I want to see you and the stars

I will give you my shoulder and look at the sky

How beautiful it must be♪

Reina was a genius at distributing parts. Thanks to her, Jin-Sung could manage well without overstraining himself. Jin-Sung was doing a great job with this difficult song. In fact, it made sense considering he had been called by Reina right after finishing the dance performance yesterday and had received special training... It even seemed like the song suited him very well.

Then came my turn, the last in the solo song relay. As soon as Joo-Han introduced me to the audience, I started.

I know I can't see you after this night

We can dance sweetly and look into each other's eyes

But we don't even know each other's names♪

I felt a slight pressure due to the great performances from my fellow members. Fortunately, my song seemed to appeal quite well to the audience.

After finishing the duet with Jin-Sung, Reina moved to where the audience was and started to watch my performance. She had a serious expression, none of her usual hearty smiles, and seemed to be deep in thought. For a moment, I wondered if I was doing something wrong, but it didn't seem like I was making any mistakes.

The song calmly built emotion in tune with the melody and soon reached its highlight with a high note. I had been under tremendous pressure from Joo-Han yesterday as this was the first and last high note of this performance.

I relaxed my body and raised the pitch with strength. As I maintained the high note steadily, cheers erupted from the audience. After Reina saw me finishing cleanly, she smiled meaningfully and continued to watch my performance until the end before disappearing behind the camera.

“Here comes our last performance,” Joo-Han said, and it elicited sounds of disappointment from the audience.

Throughout the performance, a large number of people gathered to watch our show. It was so gratifying to think that we provided a stage worth watching even though they didn't know who we were.

After that, the final stage commenced. Joo-Han stepped forward, revealing the true identity of the group and explaining the concept of the next song.

“We are actually dance singers. I want to showcase our song with dance," he announced, eliciting enthusiastic responses from the audience.

The rest of us promptly rose to our feet, assuming our positions on stage.

“The name of the song is ‘Parade’.” Soon, the intro to "Parade" started to play.

***

Meanwhile, Reina remained behind the scenes and observed the performance alongside Callia Lawrence, who had made a special trip solely to see Reina. Callia was accompanied by her manager and bodyguards, all dressed inconspicuously to blend into the crowd. However, despite their low-profile attire, they were heavily armed, ready to fend off any paparazzi attempting to snap unauthorized photos.

“Are they the ones you mentioned?" Callia asked and pointed at Chronos with her chin.

Reina nodded in confirmation. “Yes."

Callia let out a deep sigh and shook her head dismissively. She stated quite bluntly, “They are just dancers."

This starkly contrasted with the eager persona Callia had projected on Stagram, where she excitedly anticipated meeting Chronos following their street stage performance the day before. Unbeknownst to Callia's followers, it was her manager who curated her social media presence, not Callia herself.

“You missed their singing part," Reina pointed out as she felt a headache. Chronos's choice of songs and their vocal prowess were impeccable. Considering Callia Lawrence and Reina had almost identical tastes in music, Reina thought for sure that Callia would enjoy it.

The issue, however, was the timing of Callia's arrival. Yesterday's street performance was just a dance, and unfortunately, Callia missed all the songs that had been earnestly performed up until now due to her tardiness. Hence, she could only see the "Parade" lip-sync performance.

Due to technical issues with the stage equipment, live singing to dance tracks was impossible. That was the only reason why the members of Chronos were lip-syncing.

Nevertheless, this unfortunate timing made Chronos appear to Callia as just dancers, merely mouthing the words without singing. This perception turned them into faux singers, leaving the worst possible first impression.

1. refers to how Westerners often depict Eastern cultures in a way that's exaggerated or distorted, focusing on stereotypes and exotic elements. So, in the sentence, it means the song "레사" is full of these kinds of portrayals of Eastern culture. ☜

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