As Seo Hoyun berated Min Jiheon during the rehearsal for the congratulatory performance, while simultaneously pushing himself to the limit for other year-end stages, December 25th sneaked up on them.
Christmas!
Ironically, the days when it actually snowed on Christmas were so rare they were almost forgotten, yet the streets were filled with carols singing about “white snow falling.”
[Ah, I’m not really looking forward to Christmas
└Please don’t talk about putting up Christmas decorations in your profile pic if you’re like this
└└Got caught]
[Why do Christmas carols make me feel so excited?]
[Christmas special 🙂 Been listening to carols non-stop since early November, but then nothing happens on the actual day]
[It’s okay as long as I feel the tickles of excitement till then ㅎ]
And that day was a bit more special for Black Call’s fandom.
Because WH, Black Call’s agency, released a Christmas special album by the group.
“White Christmas, you smiling happily in front of me, the carol echoing far away,
I want to remember all of this for a lifetime.”
Black Call was primarily known for dance pop and intense choreography, but they showcased their talent with a variety of harmonies in this special Christmas album.
Consequently, the response was very positive.
After all, how could it not be good when Black Call released a Christmas album?
[Legend, absolutely legend………..]
[Hadn’t even thought they would release something suddenly ㅠㅠㅠ Top-tier, these guys really did it again, make a fortune guys!!]
[For Black Call, failure is not an option….]
True to Christmas, the album included photos of all Black Call members in front of a Christmas tree, holding various props.
[Is the price of Joo Woosung’s photo card skyrocketing?]
Among them, Joo Woosung’s photo card, where he was wearing a red knit and lifting a sparkling Christmas light with a cheeky smile, was legendary.
Its value soared through the roof.
[Save me]
[This photo card does exist, right? It’s not a mirage? But why don’t I have it?]
[Ah, I’d be grateful if he dyed his hair forever, but black hair is legendary. But seriously, dyed hair for life]
Joo Woosung, when he set his mind to it, was a runaway train in popularity.
The agency seemed ready to rake in a hefty profit, considering the inclusion of unit cards in the album package.
Each one showing two members and appearing as if they were taken with a real Polaroid camera.
[Ah, I’m breaking my savings for this]
[Even if I wanted to solve this with money, there’s no stockㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIs this real???]
During this busy time for Joo Woosung, what was Seo Hoyun doing, you ask?
Having finished practice, he went to the company office to do a V-Live with the members.
Now he was just slumped in a chair while looking at the text messages from Joo Woosung.
– That Bastard: Do you like it ㅎ
– That Bastard: Christmas gift~
This guy…
Considering that The Dawn couldn’t even come close to Black Call yet, his personal outreach clearly seemed intended to irritate me.
– Me: Just enlist already
– That Bastard: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– That Bastard: Not happening any time soon~
“This bastard has definitely forgotten.”
“Forgotten what?”
Being blackmailed…
I resolved to mock Joo Woosung grandly when he enlists, but Kang Ichae, who was fiddling around beside me, tilted his head in confusion.
“But why has Black Call been so active lately?”
Not my circus.
With a feeling of emptiness, I laid down on the desk, only rolling my eyes to watch the music show that the other members were focused on.
The layers of harmony piled up, lyrics fitting the season with just the right amount of wistfulness, a stage decorated splendidly, fashionable styling, and insane skills encompassing it all.
They flaunted their big agency background and devoured the surprise special album.
I’m so jealous, damn it.
But this time, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to Daepaseong Entertainment.
After spending the last year churning out competition songs, releasing three titles, running around on variety shows, dramas, and end-of-year stages like mad, it felt too hardcore to nag about not thinking of releasing a Christmas album now.
Honestly, had there been just a bit more time, I would’ve certainly persuaded the CEO to allocate the funds.
“Let’s do it next year, next year….”
“Hyung?! Why?”
Only then, Jeong Dajun, who had been munching on a now-cold hotdog bought from a convenience store, asked.
His face was finally showing some life after the CSAT exam.
I couldn’t bring myself to call Black Call sons of bitches in front of him and Kim Seonghyeon, so I decided to change the subject.
“…Is it good?”
“Yeah!”
Well, at least you seemed happy about it…
“Ah! We haven’t decorated the Christmas tree yet!!”
Jeong Dajun, perfectly matching the white knit he wore, suddenly stood up and went to the Christmas tree.
While Kim Seonghyeon and Kang Ichae got busy decorating the tree, Seong Jiwon sat down at the electronic piano, and I turned on the camera.
[????]
“Hello.”
[?????????]
[What’s going on]
[What are you guys doing]
The Noeuls, appearing puzzled in their comments, soon swarmed in, and they all started shedding tears like a storm.
[A Christmas live?!!?]
[Is the band back???? Ah, it’s really just Jiwon playing the piano but stillㅠㅠㅠ]
[The white knit and headband are so so so cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
I awkwardly fiddled with the headband that looked like a bow before giving up.
The members laughed as they put on some hastily acquired reindeer antlers, Christmas decorations, and Santa hats. They then returned to their designated spots.
After a brief chat, everyone except Seong Jiwon followed my lead in picking up the tangled wired mics.
“Since it feels incomplete just leaving it at this, we’d like to sing a song for you.”
Although I couldn’t make out the chat’s content from afar, I could see it was moving very fast.
Yes.
Since we couldn’t invest capital like Black Call to release a high-quality Christmas album in a short period, we decided to make up for it with a live performance instead.
The beginning of all this was last Christmas Eve, when Jeong Dajun was marveling at Black Call’s Christmas carols, and I, standing beside him, was seriously pissed off.
It all started with a single comment made by Seong Jiwon as he approached us.
“Should we go live on Christmas?”
“Of course, we should.”
“No, I mean…”
Seong Jiwon smiled awkwardly.
“How about we do a special Christmas carol live?”
“You’re a genius!”
I immediately agreed, full of admiration.
Seeing how well things were going in this regard, it was clear that Seong Jiwon, coming from a major agency as a trainee, had something special.
So, we chose a few carols that both domestic and international fans would like, and despite not having much time, we even practiced doing some harmonies.
Since our piano guy, Seong Jiwon, knew how to play a few carols, and Kang Ichae agreed to cover the rest, we could proceed with the live without any trouble.
Ding!
As Jiwon pressed the chords, he slightly bowed his head towards the mic fixed on the piano.
“I’ve been feeling excited for days, normally I wouldn’t care
But this year might be different.”
His long, white fingers moved across the keys.
I placed my hand on Seong Jiwon’s shoulder next to me and brought my mouth close to the mic.
“Even if it doesn’t snow this year, it’s okay if I don’t receive a single gift
I’m just decorating the Christmas tree waiting for you.
The next part was taken by Jeong Dajun and Kim Seonghyeon who were fiddling with a headband.
Trying not to miss the beat, their rushing in caused a snicker among the members.
“Please, Santa. I have been good this year
I’m putting down all my pride and begging.
Babe, I will be one and only for you
And that’s because I really like you.”
As we were listening to the members’ voices and waiting for the next turn, Kang Ichae, nodding his head to the rhythm of the carol, started poking me and began the rap part.
“Under the mistletoe, I linger, hoping you’ll appear
In case the lights go out, you might come near
I laugh, pretending it’s alright, in this fluttering heart’s light
Is it just me? Do you feel it too?
This could be my perfect Christmas with you.”
And then all of our voices blended together.
The harmony we had briefly but intensely practiced yesterday showed its true value.
Jeong Dajun was excited and slightly shook the sleigh bells he had prepared, enhancing the atmosphere.
“(Ah You, You, You Christmas Present, Carol, Cake)
I want to hold your hand.”
Seong Jiwon looked over with a faint smile. Feeling oddly nervous, I simply smiled back and sang my last main part.
“(Yes You, You, You Christmas Light, Laughter, Warmth)
I want to be with you”
Then, Seong Jiwon closed his eyes and cleanly hit the high notes. His clear and pure voice became one with the song.
“Even if it doesn’t snow this year, it’s okay if I don’t receive a single gift
I’m just decorating the Christmas tree waiting for you.
After finishing the first carol, we sang a few more songs and even shared the cake prepared by the company.
While eating the Bûche de Noël cake sprinkled with white sugar powder like snow, I thought, ‘What’s going on?’
Seong Jiwon seemed to be lingering around me more than usual.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋDajun, don’t try to eat the cake you droppedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└There goes Kim Seonghyeon barely stopping him with the 3-second rule!!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Kang Ichae, this dude must be feeling good, suddenly playing the piano for us, ha…
└Look at this guy, wearing a Christmas headband and playing a romantic piano piece…… Feels like a fantasy, but it’s real…]
“Want some?”
“Ah, yes.”
Despite being strict about self-management, Seong Jiwon blinked nonchalantly, trying not to make it obvious.
…Ah, maybe?
I had a guess.
Wow.
If that was the case, it was good timing.
The fans’ reactions were positive, and everyone seemed satisfied.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋHoyun looks happy today, huh??]
[ㅠWhat, so cute]
Finally, the time had come to put an end to this long wait.
“It’s Christmas~.”
As I mentioned that it might be time to wrap things up and started getting up, the members caught on like ghosts and moved into their closing remarks.
“Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Merry Christmas~!”
Everyone laughed out loud and waved their hands.
As I was about to turn off the camera, more messages kept coming in.
[Merry Christmas!]
[Have a great Christmas 。˚*★˚* ˚ *★★ 。˚ 。★★★ 。˚ Happy Xmas]
[You have to spend it happily!!]
“Is that a Christmas tree?”
I grinned at the sight of all these sweet words piling up like snow.
“Spend it happily.”
.
.
.
“All I want for Christmas~~.”
“Is~ Youuu~.”
Even a good while after the V-Live had ended, Kang Ichae had no intention of stopping the carol singing.
Instead, Jeong Dajun and he were having a blast imitating the classic Christmas movie, Love Actually.
“The youngest will play the drums!!”
“The rapper will pick you based on matching the song lyrics!”
“Kya, exciting!!”
There seemed to be no intention of ending with just the first verse, as they even asked who would play the role of the British Prime Minister Hugh Grant who gets caught kissing behind the curtains.
I was busy decorating the cake with strawberries and diligently popping them into my mouth with a fork. Of course, I pretended not to hear anything.
“Oops!!”
Just then, Jeong Dajun, who had been pretending to play the drums behind me, suddenly jumped up.
“Emergency! It’s snowing outside!!”
“What?! Really?!”
“Is it a white Christmas?”
What would change when it snows?
As a former office worker who thought snow only looked pretty when it was falling and soon turned into white trash, thus making driving difficult, I nonchalantly licked the ganache off the fork.
But not only the maknae, even Seong Jiwon and Kim Seonghyeon got up, hastily grabbing their tops and scarves.
“…Where are you guys going?”
“…Ahaha, outside?”
“Me too.”
…Was snow that great?
Among them, Jeong Dajun was the first to rush out.
“The last one to arrive buys ice cream!”
“Ice cream in winter, deal!”
“Jeong Dajun, hey! Wear your scarf!”
“Yess!!”
“Don’t just say ‘yes’ and go!!”
Kim Seonghyeon called out, but Jeong Dajun ran off anyway.
It was going to be just cold, so would they finally come to their senses after freezing their butts off…
… was something I thought with a typical grumpy old man’s mindset, but then decided to change my attitude.
“Alright, let’s think like an idol for once.”
I stood up, looking at Kang Ichae and Seong Jiwon hurrying out after Jeong Dajun, but hesitated because of the cold.
Kim Seonghyeon nudged my shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
“…Sigh.”
“We should have a snowball fight.”
“We’re not 3, we’re 23.”
And I was 33.
“Anyway.”
Even Kim Seonghyeon, feeling a bit awkward, turned his gaze away but still eagerly grabbed his scarf and followed out.
He seemed pretty excited too…
To take a photo for our fancafé, and also to hear Seong Jiwon’s story.
Eventually, I headed out with my hands in my coat pockets, and my breath turned white in the chilly night air.
“Hyung, snowball fight, go go!”
“Scrape together whatever you can!”
“Eek, my hands are so cold!!”
Did I ever get excited about snow in my early twenties?
No, I think I was cursing it as I cleared some snow in the military.
Honestly, I could hardly remember.
There was hardly any snow accumulated on the ground, and the few parked cars along the road were barely covered with a thin layer of white snow.
Eventually, judging a snowball fight to be impractical, I watched the youngest members and Kim Seonghyeon, who were squatting next to them, trying to scrape together enough snow to make even a small snowman.
It was both funny and absurd.
“Nice…”
“Ahaha.”
Seong Jiwon, who seemed to have something to say, kept his gaze fixed on the sky sprinkling snow.
I waited quietly.
“…Hoyun.”
While watching the other members with my hands deeply buried in my coat pockets, I turned my head at the call, trying my best to look as kindly as possible.
“Yes, what is it?”
Go on, tell me.
I was ready.
“There is.”
Just when I thought my patience the size of a bean was about to pay off, Seong Jiwon looked at me and asked in a calm voice.
“Have you talked with Yoon Heeun-sunbae?”
