Second Try Idol

The audience focused intently on Goh Yoo-Joon's voice, which was universally appealing. He captivated the listeners with his charisma and maintained that energy right until the end. It was only after the director, who was filming me, gave some feedback during an interview that I realized how focused all the members had been on this performance.

“Wow, I'm in such good form today. I sang really well, didn't I? Right?"

“Yeah.” I vigorously nodded and gave a thumbs-up. “You sang really well. Did you see the audience’s reaction?"

“No, I was too nervous to look."

“Both the audience and we were so engrossed that we couldn't utter a single word. We just watched you perform. Good job, man. Truly well done."

Goh Yoo-Joon had been tooting his own horn so far, but he bashfully disappeared into the dressing room as he started to feel a bit embarrassed.

Next up was the duet stage of Yoon-Chan and Reina. Initially, there were doubts about how well their voices would blend, given that Reina's delicate voice was no less unique than Yoon-Chan's.

However, those worries vanished the moment we saw their rehearsal. Yoon-Chan had excitedly shared how much he had learned from practicing with Reina the day before. It seemed he had swiftly applied what he had learned because he showcased vocal techniques and styles we usually didn't get to hear from him. The vocal timbres of Reina and Yoon-Chan were remarkably similar, and refining their vocal techniques only made their duet even more harmonious.

Today, every member was truly showing off their best performances on stage.

“Yes." I took a deep breath as if shaking off the nerves and put in my in-ears. I felt prepared despite having chosen a challenging song for my first performance in an American venue. I had sung well during practice and rehearsals and, fortunately, I was in good condition today.

Reina and Yoon-Chan engaged in a brief exchange in fluent English, thanking the audience before introducing me and the song I would perform next. As the two descended from the opposite side of the stage, I ascended at the staff's cue.

I was greeted with welcoming cheers as I took the stage, with my fans clearly identifiable among them as they loudly called out my name.

“Hi." I offered a shy smile in response to the warm welcome and heard affirmative replies to my greeting. “The song I'm going to sing is called ‘To.’"

It was a somewhat obscure song, known to those who cherished it as a proposal piece wishing for marriage with a long-time lover, and was defined by its immense sweetness. It was not a song that demanded high notes or complex techniques, but it required a calm voice to narrate a tender love story. This made emotion management much more challenging.

The song elicited a response from those familiar with it. As I sat on the provided chair, I listened to the intro and tuned my emotions for the performance.

♪ I think the frequent quarrels were meaningful

It's about our relationship

It was a process to get to know each other

I aimed to keep my delivery as calm as possible. I tried to sing as if tenderly whispering promises of a shared future to a partner who had supported me for a long time. Expressing gentleness, affection, and calmness through my voice was difficult, but the sound coming through my in-ears was satisfactorily smooth.

♪ Trembling mind and ring hidden in your pocket

Asking you

Will you be with me forever?

When I finally relaxed enough to look at the audience, a couple embracing each other in a back hug caught my eye. They were completely immersed in the song. They were swaying and seemed like whispering sweet words into each other's ears.

I smiled pleasantly and made eye contact with them as I continued to sing. There was something special prepared to match the song, but unfortunately, I couldn't execute it and ended up shouting "Darling, marry me" during the brief high note. Then, I concluded my performance successfully.

Next was Jin-Sung's turn. Although my English wasn't the best, Jin-Sung was even less proficient. Therefore, just as Joo-Han, Reina, and Yoon-Chan had done, I took it upon myself to introduce Jin-Sung before descending from the stage.

“Gosh, it was really hot under those lights, but still fun," I murmured to the camera as I left the stage. Goh Yoo-Joon and Joo-Han approached me, giggling and rummaging through my pockets.

“Hey, stop it. Don't touch me, both of you."

Despite my attempts to dodge their hands, the ring case hidden in my inner pocket ended up in Goh Yoo-Joon's grasp. Joo-Han and Goh Yoo-Joon seemed intent on teasing me.

“Why didn't you use this? Were you embarrassed?"

“Come on. If you decided to do it, you should have gone through with it. I was looking forward to it."

“I'm disappointed, Hyun-Woo," Goh Yoo-Joon said, pointing at Joo-Han. “He even had the camera ready."

“That's exactly why I didn't do it."

Those rascals. It was just one of the small acts prepared to add a bit of sweetness to the performance without being too plain. I had planned to add a small gesture, like taking out a ring as if I was proposing to the audience at the end.

But the members laughed so hard during my rehearsal that my face turned red. Everyone, including Su-Hwan, teased me so much that I couldn't bring myself to do it during the actual performance. I didn't want to ruin the mood while a couple was enjoying my song and getting into the vibe by pulling out a ring and putting on a show.

“Ah, forget it! Give me the ring. I need to return it to noona." I had even borrowed a ring from my stylist, who had recently gotten married, all for nothing. Despite not wanting to, my face heated up from the members' teasing.

As the amusing situation continued, the director of Again After Rainfall seemed to sense it and started filming us. Realizing what was happening, Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon got even more excited, teased me and talked about the ring to the camera.

“Ah, stop it! Give it back. It's not mine. It's the stylist’s. She will be mad."

“Noona won't get mad at me. She likes me too much," Joo-Han confidently said. He urged me to reenact the ring show I had done during rehearsal for the camera. “If you do it for the camera, I will give it back."

I glared at Joo-Han with a smirk and finally knelt down in front of the camera under the pressure of time. “Darling, will you marry me?”

Then, I opened the ring case and presented it to the camera. Even though my face wasn't visible, I could tell it was flushed. I quickly got up and ran off to the dressing room.

“Why would they do this to their band member..." I murmured as I ran, hearing Joo-Han and Yoo-Joon's laughter behind me.

***

After Jin-Sung's performance, there was a brief intermission. While Reina and Callia Lawrence's stage was underway, we changed outfits and waited for our next performance.

“As you all know from the rehearsal, the stage is narrower compared to the places we've performed on the streets. Even though it's low, a bad fall can cause serious injury, so please be very careful."

“Okay!"

“And as I mentioned earlier, please pay close attention to the signal for the continuous fireworks. They are hot, so you need to step back a bit. If Hyun-Woo and Jin-Sung are too close to them, we won't set them off, so don't worry about that."

“Thank you!"

“If there's anything that makes you uncomfortable during the performance or if there are any changes from the rehearsal, please let us know."

The last part involved consecutive Chronos dance songs, meaning we would be on stage for a long time. Thus, the staff's tension was at its peak.

I raised my hand to the staff member who was checking on us.

“Yes, Hyun-Woo."

“The lights are really hot. Is there any way to adjust them? They are usually farther away, but it's getting quite hot because they are closer now."

“Oh, right. It's really hot, seriously," Jin-Sung strongly agreed.

Joo-Han chimed in. “Oh, really? I didn't notice it. Probably because I performed early."

Being in a small venue, the lights were older and not as sophisticated as those used in music broadcasts. Their low height made the heat they emitted feel all the more intense. Yoon-Chan was somewhat insensitive to temperature, and Goh Yoo-Joon and Joo-Han seemed unaffected by the heat as they performed earlier than us.

However, Jin-Sung and I felt as though we were under the scorching summer sun. Already sensitive to lighting, I occasionally worried about the equipment overheating and malfunctioning. No one had noticed during rehearsal because there had been breaks to let the lights cool down.

Upon hearing Jin-Sung’s and my concerns, the staff member looked momentarily flustered. She communicated via walkie-talkie and nodded. “Alright, we will cool it down a bit after Callia's performance ends. But we can't wait long, so the heat won't decrease much."

“Okay."

“I've informed the stage management about the lights and told them to be careful with the fireworks. Also—"

Reina, having just finished her performance, approached us and frowned while touching her scalp. She was sweaty even though she had been singing while seated, just like me.

“Ah! It's too hot! It wasn't this bad during rehearsal. This is serious. We might need to cool down for a bit. I thought my scalp was going to burn."

The staff got surprised and quickly brought over a towel. She communicated once again over the walkie-talkie.

“We will take a short break."

About fifteen minutes passed, and we resumed the performance while the stage was still not fully cooled down.[1]

1. I get this weird vibe going on, like something's about to go down with Chronos. Can't shake off the feeling that there's trouble brewing ahead for them. This reminds me a bit of when KPOP idols run into mishaps because the stage setup wasn't double-checked. There was this time when Wendy from Red Velvet, a famous KPOP girl group, had a fall during rehearsal and ended up with a broken pelvis and arm. It doesn’t happen all the time, but this shows how some companies can be pretty lax about their stars' safety and just treat them as commodities. ☜

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