Chapter 61
The girl doubted her eyes. Was this really Bong Tae-Yoon with no stage presence or charisma whatsoever? The altar crumbled, and five Siren members appeared above the stage. Everyone walked out slowly and Tae-Yoon stood at the center. The way he looked at the audience and walked clearly showed that they were preparing for something monumental.
Though they were just walking, it felt like part of the choreography, but what really captured the audience’s attention was the look in Tae-Yoon’s eyes. Perhaps, there was some great revolution or war going on. Whatever it was, it was evident that a critical event was happening in the world they were showing.
‘This is crazy! Just absolutely crazy!’ The girl screamed inside her mind. From the altar that opened in the beginning to the background, dancers dressed as humanoids and Tae-Yoon’s expression—everything blew her mind. She could easily draw up an image of a futuristic city in her mind as a heavy bass sound dropped and a smooth piano melody overlapped with it. Two sounds that sounded like they wouldn’t fit together began to strangely harmonize with one another. Over this shaky balance of contrasting sounds, Tae-Yoon’s voice lightly shot above.
—You approached me innocently
—The one who took everything and ran away
As soon as he sang, the girl screamed, unable to contain herself. She was aware that Tae-Yoon wasn’t bad at singing, but she didn’t know that his voice was this good.
—Moments that can’t be overturned
—Are blooming nonstop in the meantime
The audience was entranced by Tae-Yoon’s eyes and voice as they looked towards the stage. Then, suddenly, humanoids rushed towards Tae-Yoon. Tae-Yoon clashed against them and was pushed to the back of the stage. The movements in this part looked more like a dance than acting as he disappeared along with the dancers, and Yeon-Hoon passed between them and replaced him as the center.
—WHO IS THE TRAITOR?
—The only thing we can do is...
—HUNT DOWN THE TRAITOR.
—Follow the traces left behind
Yeon-Hoon and Do-Seung showed a duo dance. When Yeon-Hoon extended out his arm, Do-Seung grabbed it, and when he extended his feet, Do-Seung blocked that leg with his other leg. After this duo dance ended, Yeon-Hoon appeared to be caught by Do-Seung. Dong-Jun appeared in front of them and stood at the center.
—Secretly trespass deeper
—Into the farthest and most secretive place
—You bring me down in the end
Dong-Jun clenched his fist tightly as if he were clutching something in the air. Yet, when he unclenched his palms, he realized there was nothing in his grasp. Humanoids swarmed around Dong-Jun and dragged him away.
—We will TAKE OVER! HOOK!
—Match the beat of my footsteps!
Traitor’s signature lines burst out, and then Do-Seung stood in the center. Behind him, humanoids moved to match his movements and separated into neat lines.
—TAKE DOWN! HOOK!
—We will take you down in the end. LAST ONE!
While the humanoids were surrounding the Siren members, Do-Seung stood behind and controlled them. This was the moment that the ‘traitor’ that the song kept talking about was revealed–it was Do-Seung.
—YES, I’M THE TRAITOR
—I stand at the top
—YES, I’M THE KING
—I confidently proclaim to you all
Do-Seung’s rap ended, finishing the first part of the song. The members succumbed under the robots and with the rise of Do-Seung’s hands, the altar was stationed upright again. Do-Seung climbed on top of this altar, and the altar changed into a throne shape. The girl covered her mouth while seeing this. Siren came from a small company—not even a mid-sized one.
‘But how could their performance look so high-quality? Or did they achieve this quality with just a sheer crazy amount of practice?’ It was a level and scale of performance that couldn’t be seen from mid to small-sized companies.
‘This is just mad!’ All sorts of praise burst out of her mind without even trying.
***
Only One’s waiting room was quiet. They were at a loss for words seeing Siren’s stage on the monitor screen. Eventually, somebody exclaimed.
“What in the world?”
“That’s amazing!”
“They set up the altar again.”
“The level of their choreography is just...”
There were so many surprising moments just in the first part. This wasn’t a level of quality a group could achieve just by practicing hard for one or two days. It looked as if they had practiced for months for this day’s performance. And soon, the song continued to the second part.
—Inside the deep darkness
—I fly in search of light
Tae-Yoon, who disappeared after fighting the humanoids, appeared again.
—Even if I burn into ashes
—If I can just get a gleam of light
Yeon-Hoon, who had been captured by Do-Seung, moved to the center again. Afterward, humanoids surrounded Yeon-Hoon, and a bright-red spotlight scattered everywhere to signal the crisis of the situation.
Bang!
With a shooting noise, the melody stopped temporarily.
Shaaaa.
Yeon-Hoon, who stood at the center, fell backward. The numerous humanoids caught Yeon-Hoon and lifted him into the air. As his arms and legs swung in the air, Yeon-Hoon was raised to the top of the altar.
The melody started again, then–
—We will TAKE OVER! HOOK!
—Match the beat of my footsteps.
The backdrop of the second part started with a dance break. Tae-Yoon drew out the sword he was wearing on his waist, and the robots weakly collapsed to the ground with his sword. Then, Tae-Yoon, Woon, and Dong-Jun climbed up to the top of the altar. It appeared that this was the peak highlight of the performance as a battle represented in the form of a dance played out over the structure. Soon afterward, Tae-Yoon stuck his sword at the center of the altar.
—In the end, I’m the last one
Then, Tae-Yoon pushed Do-Seung down the altar. The altar fell along with Do-Seung, and all the members lost consciousness. The robots simultaneously seemed to have stopped working and fell to the floor. In the end, it was a tragic tale where no one survived.
Shaaa. All the lights went off. Rather than a simple show, it was as if they saw a theater or a musical.
“That was just...wow.”
“What in the world...?”
“How much did they practice for this...?”
“I got goosebumps when the altar was put together again.”
People continued talking heatedly even after the performance was over. In this show, there existed something beyond just good dancing and singing. Though the story could’ve easily been cringy, the level of quality of the choreography and direction of the show maximized the immersive experience.
“I think it’s so cool that they mismatched their hanbok outfit.”
“Yeah, because of that, it didn’t give them a common cyberpunk feeling and was more unique.”
The Only One members genuinely exclaimed in awe about Siren as fellow entertainers. Yet, there was one person not smiling among them. Not only was he in poor health, but Kang Hyun-Sung’s heart wasn’t big enough to wholeheartedly admire a competing group’s stellar performance.
He had expected his group to be in first place in this round after changing Siren’s “Walya” to “Moon Night.” He had practiced hard enough to pass out and drastically decreased his food intake so that his jaws were much more chiseled than two weeks ago. He had basically poured everything he had for this round.
Of course, he might have gone too far this time to the point it compromised his health, but he had shown the best he could after a visit to the hospital. Thus, he was shocked that a performance like this would appear at the end.
“Sirens must have worked really hard.”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyun-Sung couldn’t help but worry. He sighed and swiped back his hair. All the members looked at Kang Hyun-Sung warily. The Only One members were well aware that Kang Hyun-Sung had worked hard enough to pass out in this performance. And seeing him do that, they began to think differently about him. More than just an uncomfortable group leader, Kang Hyun-Sung was a leader whom they could truly admire.
“Still, I think we will place first place.”
“Yeah, I think it’s possible.”
“Let’s try to think positively. Positive!”
“We don’t lag behind them. Seriously.”
The Only One members cheered each other, not just to improve Kang Hyun-Sung’s mood but to improve their morale. This was a performance that they had worked very hard for, especially Kang Hyun-Sung. Thus, even if Siren’s performance was impressive, they were also confident in what they did. They now knew how much of a burden they had been placing only on Kang Hyun-Sung.
Kang Hyun-Sung scanned his members once and said, “Cameras are still going on. Mind your words.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I understand!”
“Yep!”
The Only One members jokingly responded to Kang Hyun-Sung and lightened up the mood. Yet, Kang Hyun-Sung still wanted first place. At the same time, a part of him thought there was something he could gain besides winning first place, and his heavy heart lightened a little.
***
The show was over. After the altar collapsed, we all fell below the structure. Since it was dangerous for us to fall on the bare ground, we had a mattress on the floor to fall on. I looked at the ceiling while lying on top of the mattress. The lights went off, and our surroundings were soaked in darkness.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“Whaaaaaa!”
The audience’s roar poured over us.
“Haa...” While listening to their cries, I reflected on what happened. Today's performance was created together as a group effort from the world storyline to the smallest details. We discussed the distribution of our lines, where the final battle would take place, and so on over and over again. And because the formation of the dance was complicated, there was a lot of room for errors to happen and ruin the show.
Thus, after the show was over, I thought I would feel greatly relieved and proud of myself for accomplishing something so difficult. Yet, the feeling I was feeling right now was different from that. My heart swelled and thumped. I felt more emotions than I expected.
As I stood in the center and ended the performance, I met eyes with one of the audience members. It was a fan who clasped her mouth as soon as I appeared. At that moment, something inside my heart stirred. When Do-Seung advised me to enjoy the performance, I didn’t know what he meant then. Yet, I realized it when I met that person’s eyes.
‘It was a bit fun,’ I thought.
A stage wasn’t simply a place where one worked and returned home. I thought I had simply wanted to become an idol because I wanted to play house with my members.
‘But that wasn’t it.’ In my childhood, there was something about the occupation of an idol that attracted me to it. The lights hadn't turned on yet, and my surroundings were still dark. Sweat trickled down my whole body. The floor mattress wasn’t that soft, but my body felt extremely light. The audience’s cheer still circulated around my ears, and my whole body seemed to vibrate with their voices.
“Yes~ It was really fun.”
“I have no regrets about today’s performance.”
“Everyone, you all did really, really well.”
Then, I heard my group members from the side. Their voices stirred up a strong emotion in my heart. I hadn’t experienced this feeling for so long, but I thought I knew what it was now.
“Ah...I’m happy.”
I was happy right now.
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