Second Try Idol

“Jin-Sung, stop laughing during the meeting. Don't laugh, please, just sit down."

“I didn't do anything wrong!"

Goh Yoo-Joon imitated Jin-Sung by slamming his hand on the desk as he stood. “Who even decided to use this as a topic?"

“Goh Yoo-Joon, sit down!" Joo-Han countered loudly as he swung his baton with even more intensity. At this point, the baton seemed more like a wizard's staff than a conductor's. He might cast spells with it at any moment.

“Why do I have to sit?"

“Raise your hand and shout 'objection,' then you can talk!"

“Does that matter? I am already standing. Just let me talk!"

“This session has some strict rules that must be followed."

At Joo-Han's stern command, Goh Yoo-Joon chuckled before quietly sitting down. He straightened his desk and even dusted off Yoon-Chan's shoulder before raising his hand. “Your Honor, I have something to say."

“I don't think this is my fault. I shouldn't be responsible…" Goh Yoo-Joon pointed at me. “Isn't this Suh Hyun-Woo’s responsibility, though?"

Joo-Han then stood up and banged the table dramatically. “How is this Suh Hyun-Woo's fault? Overruled!"

Goh Yoo-Joon turned to the camera, gesturing dramatically. “Look, Rings! The judge is clearly biased!"

“I am not biased. I am just conducting a fair trial."

I watched the heated exchange between the two, slowly standing up and moving toward Joo-Han. I then dramatically threw myself into Joo-Han's arms and made a petulant face at Goh Yoo-Joon.

“See? It’s not my fault, our big hyung said so!"

Joo-Han closed his eyes and smiled as he patted my head.

The meeting descended into complete disarray. The atmosphere heated up until we finally strayed too far from the original topic. After a while, the production team intervened to mediate the situation.

- Let's all take a sip of water and return to the topic at hand.

Everyone settled back into their places, sipping water as instructed by the production team. The atmosphere became somewhat relaxed.

“Let’s calm down and listen to Goh Yoo-Joon’s point of view again. Goh Yoo-Joon?"

“Yes, Your Honor."

“Why do you think this issue is Suh Hyun-Woo’s responsibility?"

“Well, if you watch that video carefully, it was Suh Hyun-Woo who came up with the idea. I didn’t volunteer for it!"

“Ah, right. It was Hyun-Woo hyung who prompted it," Jin-Sung agreed in a casual tone. I patted his shoulder. Jin-Sung took a sharp breath, then changed his tone. “What are you talking about! When did Hyun-Woo hyung ever prompt that? Your Honor, Goh Yoo-Joon hyung is lying right now!"

“Let's keep it calm, everyone." Joo-Han pointed his baton at me. “It’s partly Suh Hyun-Woo's responsibility—"

“Not partly, entirely!"

“'Partly,' as he said."

“Ah! Are you serious right now?"

“Let's hear what Suh Hyun-Woo has to say."

I glanced at Goh Yoo-Joon, who seemed quite amused despite the shouting. After gathering my thoughts, I said, “First of all, I did not instruct Goh Yoo-Joon to do that. I simply asked him to act as if he was on a video call with the Rings."

“So, the 'honey' incident is not your fault?"

“No, it’s not my fault. 'Honey' was a term Goh Yoo-Joon came up with on his own, wasn’t it?"

Yoon-Chan, who had been watching quietly, raised his hand. “I have something to say, judge."

“Yes, go ahead, Yoon-Chan."

“I think this issue can’t be resolved by pinning it entirely on one person. Shouldn’t the responsibility be shared fifty-fifty between Hyun-Woo hyung and Yoo-Joon hyung?"

Joo-Han clapped his hands in admiration. “That’s a good point. So shall we assign responsibility to both?"

“But is this really something to be held accountable for? I just affectionately used a nickname for the Rings. Do you know how many views that video gained?"

Joo-Han pointed at me after Goh Yoo-Joon’s remark. “Wasn't Suh Hyun-Woo the mastermind behind that video?"

This discussion seemed to be heading nowhere. Eventually, the production team had to step in again.

- It looks like this won't end anytime soon, guys.

“So what should we do? Should Yoo-Joon and Hyun-Woo wrestle?"

Joo-Han's absurd suggestion made the director laugh dismissively.

- Heh, no. Let's decide by voting yes or no on whether Yoo-Joon should take responsibility.

"Alright. Those who think Goh Yoo-Joon should take responsibility for this situation, make a big circle above your head, and those who think he shouldn't, make an X. One, two, three!"

The members simultaneously made a circle or an X sign. As expected, all the members except Goh Yoo-Joon made a circle.

Goh Yoo-Joon looked resentfully at Yoon-Chan more than anyone else. “Yoon-Chan, I trusted you! It really hurts, brother! Hah!"

“Haha." Yoon-Chan gave a soulless laugh and avoided Goh Yoo-Joon's gaze.

Once the result of the lengthy discussion was determined, the director said:

- So, it has been decided that Goh Yoo-Joon should take responsibility for this issue.

“In what way should I be responsible?" Yoo-Joon asked. The director pointed to a panel next to Joo-Han.

- Could you turn the page on that panel?

“Ah, there was another one."

Joo-Han peeled off the sticker from the second panel.

[Punishment: Act Responsible!]

- Goh Yoo-Joon was deemed the culprit of the 'honey' incident and sentenced to Act Responsible.

- Until the end of the “Phantom Spirit” promotion schedule, he must produce video calls acting out scenarios for all members, including himself.

- If he fails, the duration of his punishment will be extended to the next activities, and he will have to shoot additional footage alone.

‘What is this...?’ All the members sighed. Goh Yoo-Joon burst out laughing heartily.

- Yoo-Joon will be responsible for shooting everyone's 'honey' videos.

Goh Yoo-Joon saluted energetically in front of the camera. “Yes! Rings, I pledge allegiance! I will do a good job and upload the videos as soon as possible!"

The members collapsed in laughter.

After that, we debated topics like 'Is Suh Hyun-Woo considering Park Yoon-Chan as a comfort doll?', 'Is Park Yoon-Chan secretly the power behind Chronos?', 'There is a theory that Chronos is boring, is it true?' and finished the shooting.

We returned from the shoot and fell asleep right away since we were too exhausted to even practice the choreography. Why we felt so tired after merely sitting down and discussing was a mystery.[1]

***

A bit more time passed. Even though our comeback was right around the corner, there was no practice today. Instead, there was tension among the members wandering the dorm.

Jin-Sung was usually boisterous, but he sat down quietly and obediently on the couch. Goh Yoo-Joon, who would usually make a joke as soon as he passed by, just sat beside me.

“..."

“Ah."

“..."

It was strange how quiet everyone could act when sharing the same space, but I had no intention to be the first to break the silence. All I could hear was my heart pounding. I also felt my lips drying out as if I wasn’t overwhelmed enough because of the MV premiere.

Joo-Han silently checked the time. “…Three minutes left."

“…Ha."

No matter how many deep breaths I took, it wasn’t enough. In three minutes, our “Phantom Spirit” music video would be released. It was exciting, nerve-wracking, and we were all awaiting it. I stared blankly at the laptop screen for one, two, three minutes.

“Hyung! It's time!" Jin-Sung shouted, and Joo-Han refreshed the page a couple of times. Finally, the music video appeared.

[Chronos “Phantom Spirit(幻想靈)” Official MV]

Months of work would now be unveiled to the world. Joo-Han clicked on the video, and the music video began with the YMM logo.

Although we had seen it repeatedly, watching it uploaded on the official channel felt different. We watched the video from start to finish without saying a word, then refreshed the page nervously. The video had been uploaded for a while now.

How many views would it get initially? The company had expected about a hundred thousand to two hundred thousand views in the first hour due to Again After Rainfall and various live clips gaining significant international traffic.

Everyone was tense as they waited for the slightly stuttering screen to reveal the initial views. The number that appeared showed three hundred forty thousand views. The video was thirteenth on the trending list.

We refreshed again, and it was now at three hundred sixty thousand views. In less than an hour? For Chronos, which had only been popular domestically, these were unprecedented and unimaginable numbers.

Was this a result of the live clip uploads from Again After Rainfall? Or had the overseas concert cam videos become a major topic among K-POP fans? Was it simply a surge in interest? How could this be?

“…How did we get so many views?" Goh Yoo-Joon asked, but no one could answer. The results defied all of our expectations.

1. lol probably from yelling at each other haha. ☜

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