– “… Seo Hoyun.”
“I told you. I would have done the same by doing that kind of scheme.”
– “I don’t get it. It’s better to cut it off when there’s public sympathy. If we keep dragging this on, the tables will turn in no time. You’ll end up being unfairly slandered again.”
“PD.”
– “Yes?”
“As you know, this development isn’t bad for PD either.
If she kept fueling the confrontation, the ratings would gradually accelerate.
– “What are you hoping for?”
I laughed. It was a phrase I’d heard so much over the past few months.
From Lim Hyeonsu to Joo Woosung, and even now from Kim Heeyeon.
“A stable job that’ll allow me to have a decent life.”
– “…Are you teasing me?”
“I’m serious.”
– “Sigh… Fine.”
Kim Heeyeon sighed as if the earth was collapsing and said to me.
– “I’m going to expose something on today’s broadcast. Don’t regret not quitting now.”
“I won’t.”
– “Aren’t you curious?”
“No.”
– “You’re really strange, Seo Hoyun. Don’t you need a title like ‘crazy schemer’ of Daepaseong Entertainment?”
“I think I already have a nickname like that.”
– “What a pity.”
I chuckled. It was time to hang up, but I hesitated. There was just one thing I wanted to say.
I needed courage, but there was no dialogue window this time.
I sighed quietly enough for her not to hear, closed my eyes, and spat out that one word.
“Fighting!”
– “…Huh?”
“…”
– “…Uh, yeah. Thank you.”
With that, there was a brief silence before Kim Heeyeon cut the call.
Damn…
I regretted saying the last word, but it was already spilled water.
I checked the time on my phone.
It was time to go.
***
“Hello, I’m Yu Jia, the host of Shining Star.”
“Wow!”
“Yu Jia! Yu Jia!”
The loud cheer could be heard from the waiting room, despite being slightly delayed on the live monitoring TV.
“Everyone, you’ve participated a lot today. The sum of the scores obtained from the 1st to the 3rd round will determine who will advance to the Final Star. Before we begin the first round, let me announce your voting scores.”
As Yu Jia twirled around, a huge number appeared on the stage screen.
Audience evaluation 9,000 points.
An overwhelming number. Jeong Dajun swallowed hard.
“It’s 9,000 points. In addition, the ranking of the 1st round will be determined by adding the 1,000 points from the judges’ evaluation. Now you know how important your role is today, right?”
“Today!”
“Maz!”
“Go, The Dawn!”
“Haha, yes. I can already hear the cheers. The group that wins the first round will be granted a special privilege. Please look forward to it.”
Yu Jia winked her eyes.
A special privilege. I had a bad feeling just hearing the words.
When Maz’s main vocalist sang the highlight during their third performance, Seong Jiwon marveled.
“Wow, he sings well.”
“He’s really good. I got goosebumps.”
Seeing Maz’s vocalist reminded me of our conversation regarding Seong Jiwon, which made my face stiffen involuntarily.
Maz’s vocalist was good, but Seong Jiwon was no pushover either. He could have been more popular if only his luck wasn’t so bad.
I felt irritated.
“Ah, Hoyun! Don’t frown your eyes now.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“How is it? I put red makeup under your eyes and sprinkled glitter. Doesn’t it look more alien? It perfectly matches the concept….”
Honestly, I couldn’t hear the rest. The only “liter” I knew was a unit of measurement for liquids.[1]
I just nodded and expressed my gratitude.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Oh, look how polite this kid is.”
The makeup artist laughed lightly.
“Good luck today.”
I bowed after receiving their encouragement, and Seong Jiwon grabbed my arm and led me. He smiled faintly.
“Looks like our fans are over there.”
“Yeah, quite a few of them came.”
No wonder since we even got hit by eggs and set the place on fire.
I thought it was an obvious outcome, but the feeling was different.
As we walked through the long corridor with the other members, Seong Jiwon whispered to me.
“Hoyun.”
“What?”
“Are you… not scared or anything?”
What nonsense was he talking about?
I looked at him with a ridiculous look, but Seong Jiwon was serious.
“Well, I just thought you might have developed a trauma after the guerilla concert last time… I thought you might be scared.”
“Do I look like that right now?”
“…No, not at all.”
Seong Jiwon answered decisively. Then he glanced at me again.
“Then, are you nervous? You were last time.”
“A little.”
I was more annoyed than nervous right now.
Somehow Seong Jiwon found my answer amusing and chuckled with his eyes squinted.
We were the fourth to perform. Naturally, the last stage was Today.
Maz, who had just finished their performance, came out wiping their sweat. A staff member contacted them through a walkie-talkie.
“Yeah, The Dawn has arrived.”
“Good job.”
Kim Seonghyeon, walking next to us, greeted the Maz members first. Maz smiled broadly and bowed 90 degrees to us. They must have been conscious of the camera, despite being our sunbae.
“The Dawn, fighting!”
“Fighting!”
“Yes, thank you.”
The Maz vocalist alternated his gaze between Seong Jiwon and me, seemingly curious about whether we’d spoken already.
As Seong Jiwon caught the vocalist’s gaze, Kang Ichae suddenly interrupted.
“Sunbae, that was amazing!”
“Uh? Yeah?”
“Especially during the rap part, we were all impressed.”
“Haha, thank you.”
I didn’t know if Kang Ichae knew that, but he cut off the conversation at the right time.
“We’ll go up now. See you later, sunbae.”
“Uh-huh.”
The vocalist nodded awkwardly.
We bowed and followed the staff’s guidance onto the stage.
Yu Jia smiled at us and looked at the audience.
“We’re The Dawn!”
“Ahhhh!”
“The Dawn, fighting!”
The cheers were deafening as we greeted them. It was more intimidating than the last guerilla concert.
I barely straightened my back and looked forward.
What?
Almost half of them were holding blue slogans. It was our official color that was nearly frozen after our first album. At a glance, it looks like there were more of them than Today’s yellow.
There was no way. Our fandom was much smaller than Today’s.
“Hoyun, fighting!”
I heard the audience shouting. That’s when I realized.
Our fans worked hard. They must have given out slogans and promoted us to the general audience who got in through the lottery.
…Thank you.
I bowed my head once more and turned around to grab the mic. Today must be seething as they watch the stage.
Our members all seemed to have the same thought. Their eyes were filled with determination.
That’s when I caught Kim Seonghyeon’s eye, who was peeking at our side.
‘Hey.’
‘What?’
‘Keep an eye on the camera.’
As I smirked, Kim Seonghyeon let out a bitter laugh as if he couldn’t believe it. Then, as the intro flowed out, he quickly hardened his expression.
It was time to let out everything we had prepared.
***
Doom, doom, doom.
A cheerful song flowed out. The fans all made puzzled faces.
What? It’s not “Second Chance”?
Didn’t they say it was a representative hit song today? What song is it?
However, The Dawn’s fans, especially those who were fans before the five-member restructuring, covered their mouths.
Could it be… could it be this…?
Glow!
The song had a high-teen concept but was too calm and was thus quickly buried in the charts. Fans would get immersed just by listening to the intro, their faces filled with nostalgia. This song couldn’t even reach 300,000 views on its music video.
Yet, here it was again, playing in Shining Star.
Kang Ichae and Kim Seonghyeon walked out, grumbling.
“They say you’re still lost in a daze,
That’s right, that’s what they say.”
Hey guys! This is a high-teen musical concept in our school uniforms?
One of the original fans tilted their head. Their agency was working hard!
“You should know it, soon.”
Kim Seonghyeon slowly stood up, picked up a basketball, spun it around, and then threw it into a makeshift hoop with a grin. The ball swooshed into the hoop in one go, accompanied by the screeching sound of the net.
“Hey, what are you looking at.”
Kang Ichae snatched the ball from below and dribbled it before passing it to Jeong Dajun.
Dajun caught the ball. He was confused and looked around. And then the song started.
“No, I won’t, I said I won’t, I’ll find my way, I will.”
Jeong Dajun threw the ball aside and ran off, doing his best to ignore Kang Ichae, who was laughing at him from the side. This was, by the way, a part of their act.
“You know we can’t be but you keep talking.”
Blocking Dajun’s path, Seo Hoyun and Kang Ichae swaggered around. Dajun dodged them swiftly, and just as Ichae bent down, seemingly to tie his shoelaces, he jumped over him to the beat.
He then pulled a book from a nearby cabinet and made a sad face.
“Feels like my heart will leap out from my mouth.”
Seong Jiwon naturally took Dajun’s book and leaned against the cabinet, messing with his hair.
Seo Hoyun sat down beside them, looking sulky, and chimed in.
“I keep spitting words so absurd (huh?),
I say the sky looks pretty today (but it’s raining?),
Ah, I should just keep quiet, what can I say.”
The camera moved away from Jiwon and focused on Kim Seonghyeon, who was spinning a basketball on his finger. He took a deep breath.
“No, I won’t, I said I won’t, I’ll find my way, I must be mad.”
Kang Ichae suddenly appeared behind Seonghyeon, playfully stealing the basketball and tapping his cheek.
“All my friends tell me so,
They say I’m different, but I keep, keep getting drawn to you.”
Guys! This refreshing concept is a huge hit!
The song was even more exciting as a musical arrangement than the original. The fans were already satisfied to the point of collapse, but the song wasn’t over yet.
Screeeeech!
Suddenly, the stage darkened, and a moonlit night arrived.
The group gathered in the center for a group dance, their bodies hunched and twitching like wolves. The music stopped abruptly, and all the members crouched down as if waiting for something.
Then, a wolf’s howl echoed throughout the venue.
The fans were taken aback.
“Was this part in the original song?”
Kang Ichae sprang up in front of Kim Seonghyeon, who was scratching the floor with his fingernails.
“Again, moonlight comes
I’m not who I used to be
Head spinning, instincts come alive.”
It was a newly added rap section in the original song “Glow.”
“Shit…”
“Is he a werewolf?”
The fans seemed like they were about to faint. Of course, it wasn’t just the fans – everyone had their mouths wide open, taken aback by the unexpected development.
So, this is why they told us to brace ourselves.
It can’t happen since they’re not the same species!
“At the distant edge of this full moon, I find you, I do
You see, I can’t stop thinking about you, even in this light.”
As Kang Ichae’s part ended, Seo Hoyun appeared on the table. The table was lifted up by the members below. The bright white light illuminated Seo Hoyun strongly, making him seem almost inhuman.
“At dawn, alone with thoughts of you.”
Seo Hoyun slowly touched his lips.
As if all these emotions turned into regret, as if they kept on wavering.
“Can we be together? or not?
Can we stay together? or not?”
“Hoyun! Let’s live together!”
A fan couldn’t help but scream. Seo Hoyun’s lips slightly lifted, perhaps because he heard the scream, and the fan seemed ready to faint.
Seo Hoyun slid down from the table and brushed his hair back.
“But it’s over now, isn’t it?
My mind’s consumed with thoughts of you,
Please, hold my hand.”
He then slid to the side.
In an instant, the stage brightened, and the atmosphere changed back to a high teen vibe with the sound of a wolf’s howl.
Jeong Dajun appeared, brushing his lips at the end.
“(No, she’s not one of us)
Even your whims are charming (You gotta listen to me)
I know, I’m gonna regret this,
With a single text, I leap up and head toward your place.”
Seong Jiwon added a chorus at the end. It was much higher than the earlier Maz song and cleaner.
“I want to risk it all for you.”
The fans couldn’t control their emotions, clenching their fists while looking at Seong Jiwon and Seo Hoyun, who were harmonizing while making eye contact.
“Can we be together? or not?
Can we stay together? or not?”
Jeong Dajun appeared stuttering, like in the intro, and slowly kicked a basketball.
“I’m not sane, I know,
But I still want to ask.”
As he slowly opened the cabinet and stiffened, he mumbled while holding the letter inside.
“Can you really be with me?”
Trending high teen, delightful plot twists, and stimulating narratives.
It was indeed a shocking first-round competition stage.
[1] As in English, the words glitter and liter sound similar in Korean. Glitter is “글리터” while liter is “리터.” Note the Hangul “글” (geul).
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