On the day of the third competition, at a café near the broadcast station.
There, early in the morning, three Noeuls huddled together, shivering with hot lattes in hand.
“O-O-Omg, it’s the competition today.”
“Sigh…”
They were friends who, like wandering K-pop fans, had roamed around without settling until they bonded over their love for The Dawn.
There were a few others, but only these three had won tickets to the third round.
They were either trembling with nervous energy or repeatedly rubbing their faces with their hands.
“I’m so so so nervous… More than when I get my final grades…”
Then, another person, having returned from the counter with coffee, cheerfully suggested,
“Hey, it’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s take a ceremonial shot.”
“Are you going to upload it on YouTube?”
“How did you know? Am I going to buy a building with the profit from views of our Dawnies?”
Claiming Kang Ichae as her ultimate favorite bias, she was shameless.
From her bag, she took out a magic wand that could hold three photocard slots.
“Do you carry that around??”
“Why not? It’d be great if they made one that could hold five. One for each kid.”
“Crazy…”
Carrying it around might be a bit embarrassing for someone past their twenties, but it was perfect for YouTube content.
Watching this, one of the Noeuls chuckled and pulled something out of her bag.
“Heh…”
“Holy!!!!!!”
“Damn!!”
“Hey! This!!”
Three pairs of eyes quickly gathered.
The “Second Chance” photo card of Seo Hoyun.
Taken while waiting at the dark MV shoot, Seo Hoyun’s photo card, staring emotionlessly at the camera with his chin propped on his hand, was a rare item almost as valuable as plot of land in Gangnam.
“How did you buy this??”
“Sold my house for it.”
The owner of the photocard, whose daily life was filled with exaggeration and fanciful talk, flipped her hair back.
“Today’s cross unit? Seoho Yoon will handle it.”
Then, she slammed the table.
“If this handsome bastard doesn’t win! There’s no future in K-pop!!”
“Fuck…, this guy’s serious.”
“Over-investment legend… But I agree.”
They all nodded as if enchanted.
The Noeuls, their fighting spirit fortified by Seo Hoyon’s face, stood up abruptly.
.
.
.
“The shooting will start soon!”
“The audience has all entered.”
In the third cross-unit competition, while the staff were busily running around giving instructions, the atmosphere among the contestants was quite subdued.
The audience mood doesn’t seem bad today.
Though I greeted everyone with a smile, my gaze was fixed on Jeong Dajun.
He looks so down.
The always cheerful and never-ending laughter had dimmed, like cabbage salted for kimchi.
This probably stemmed from the harsh criticism directed toward our maknae.
“…Hmm.”
I touched the corner of my mouth.
I had intentionally left Jeong Dajun alone until now.
It didn’t seem like anything I did would cheer him up, and it might even hinder his growth.
Besides…
“He should do well on his own…”
“…”
Seeing Kang Ichae clicking his tongue quietly beside me, understanding what I was thinking just by looking at my eyes, made me lose any urge to help Jeong Dajun.
This guy, who never flinched no matter my indifference and wouldn’t budge until he dragged me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with just a simple cold and gastritis… harbored his resentment for a long time.
“The third competition, the cross unit, begins now!”
Even as Ha Seoyeon appeared on the TV in the waiting room, the members just quietly sipped water and kept to themselves.
“Vocal unit Team A’s Seo Hoyun, please come out first!”
The rehearsal was perfect, and my stats were up.
Just as I was about to stand up and leave…
“…Hyung!”
Jeong Dajun quickly blocked my way.
“Uh, um.”
“…”
“Good luck.”
It seemed he had chosen to support me after appearing a bit distant since the unit selection.
Just looking at him, all innocent and slow-witted, he hesitated and seemed about to say more but then moved to leave.
“Jeong Dajun.”
“…Yes?”
While calling him and tapping his shoulder, I lifted my index finger.
I then poked at Jeong Dajun’s cheek.
I laughed at the sight.
“I’ll be back.”
“……What, what…”
“Seo Hoyun, do well.”
“You too.”
Leaving the confused Jeong Dajun behind, I headed out of the waiting room.
Following the staff’s direction, I moved backstage.
Then, the VCR began to play.
It featured many of my mistakes.
Whether I went off-key, cut off a lyric, or cracked at the end.
It also showed Team A comforting me.
“It will go up soon!”
“Yes!”
TEW’s main vocal, who was leisurely drinking water and warming up, quickly stuck by my side.
“Seo Hoyun, let’s not be nervous and do well!!”
Finally, as I checked my outfit and only giving him a side glance, Jeong Wonha gave a slight smile.
Some of it was affection for me, a certain degree was calculated gestures, and the rest was a look filled with confidence about the outcomes that lay ahead.
The problem is that it’s all too obvious…
Yeah, where would you find genuine kindness in the jungle-like entertainment industry?
If there hadn’t been any benefit for him, TEW’s main vocal wouldn’t have even spoken to me.
Well, maybe, at this point, this could be considered a sufficiently kind gesture in the cutthroat entertainment industry.
“Working with Seo Hoyun seems to have been a really good decision. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but after talking to you, I realized you’re quite a nice person.”
It was easy to find out who had rattled Jeong Dajun’s mental state.
It became clear just by looking at our maknae, who still couldn’t control his expressions well, when we played videos of each group’s performances for analysis.
After that, it was just a matter of confirming it.
You should’ve hidden it better if you were going to do it.
But then again, he would have been caught anyway.
Jeong Wonha shook Jeong Dajun because famous people like Joo Woosung, Lim Hyeonsu, and Min Jiheon were hanging around.
To him, those seemingly insignificant guys buzzing around big shots must have been irritating.
Thus, he targeted the easiest prey, our maknae.
Knowing the reasons behind Jeong Wonha’s actions made becoming friends with him a piece of cake.
Casually name-dropping Joo Woosung and Min Jiheon and hinting at the possibility of connecting him with them made me a “nice person” in the eyes of TEW in no time.
“Ah~, I wish I had been the maknae of The Dawn.”
“…”
I continued to nonchalantly check my outfit.
Seeing no reaction from me, Jeong Wonha looked a bit flustered.
“…Why aren’t you saying anything?”
After finally straightening out the wrinkles in the jacket…
“Jeong Wonha.”
I called out to Jeong Wonha.
“Next! Vocal unit Team A team is up!”
As Ha Seoyeon’s voice flowed from the stage, I couldn’t help but smile.
“Are you dating someone?”
Amidst the roaring cheers directed at us, Jeong Wonha looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
“…What?”
“While I was waiting in the van on the way into the broadcasting station, I overheard fans whispering. They seemed pretty furious.”
“…”
I might not have known how he acted in front of the fans, but I had caught on to the fact that he was dating.
He looked utterly cornered, his eyes shaking uncontrollably, to which I taunted him.
“Looks like your popularity’s going to be cut in half.”
I added one last comment.
“Are you sure you’re okay to go up on stage right now?”
Leaving TEW’s main vocal frozen like a broken machine, I climbed the stairs to the stage.
♬♭?♪
As the interlude played, spotlights targeted five members, and as they appeared from the darkness, screams filled the air.
“Kyaaaah!”
The audience swayed slowly from side to side to the gentle melody of the ballad.
The opening was led by Try’s main vocal.
“Once you asked me,
If I was okay, I must have looked uneasy.”
His voice perfectly matched the song, significantly uplifting the atmosphere.
Following him was the main vocal from High Five.
“I tried to say I’m fine, I’m okay, but the words got stuck in my throat,
I couldn’t let them out.”
True to being the main vocal of a major agency, his voice was clear and appealing with precise sound processing.
I pushed my in-ears deeper and, with a smile, lifted the mic to the audience.
“Maybe I was scared of the empty nights that were approaching.”
“…!”
I felt the audience stir.
“The path was so dark, I couldn’t see ahead, it wasn’t easy to move forward.”
Given that the VCR earlier had shown me missing beats and notes, making me seem like the weak link in the team, my vocals now surprisingly sounded much better.
Yet, what I was truly waiting for was a different event.
“Because I’m different from my younger self.”
It was Jeong Wonha’s part next.
“The more I knew, the more scared I got, breathlessly so,
But then I raised my head and saw you”
Jeong Wonha’s voice wavered unstably.
“…so tender.”
And he eventually hit a wrong note.
“Eyaa.”
I quickly bowed my head to manage my expression.
“Kkuljaem.”[1]
Jeong Wonha, realizing his mistake, tried to regain his composure, but with the mishap, concerns about his love life and ranking caused him to mess up the beat as well.
“Your careful way of speaking made my breath shake with worry,
So I…”
The member from Bercy, because of the order, had to forcibly cover for the thoroughly scolded Jeong Wonha.
But caught in the pace, he entered a bit too quickly.
“Sing here in front of you.”
It went smoothly.
“Being with you,
Makes me okay…”
Next was supposed to be a duet between me and Jeong Wonha, but that guy couldn’t even look me in the eye.
Still, he seemed to try to finish the song somehow, but it was almost silent.
Thanks to that, this part turned into my solo.
“Please watch over me, I’ll always say I’m fine because I’m with you, I’m okay.”
The highlight where all five of us sang together was approaching.
“Our memories, our recollections, our days.”
Looking at the audience, everyone was enchanted, moving their slogans and lightsticks left and right.
Except for the fans of TEW, who looked displeased.
“I’m happy because I’m with you, because you’re here I can believe in myself.”
As we entered the latter part, everyone gradually regained their composure and smoothly sailed through the lyrics.
“I will sing for you—!
At the climax, High Five’s main vocal closed his eyes and sang the final verse.
“Because I’m with you, I’m okay, because you’re here I can believe in myself,
I will always sing.”
The other members matched each other’s gaze, blending their voices in harmony.
Slowly lowering the mic, a thunderous cheer erupted moments later.
I smiled faintly.
***
“Congratulations! The winners of the vocal unit are none other than Team B’s ‘Our Time Together’!”
“Wowwww!”
“Also, the individual first place from Team A ‘Sing for You,’ goes to Seo Hoyun of The Dawn. Congratulations! With this, the fifth place of Team B, TEW’s Joo Hyungjin, will have his scores added to Seo Hoyun’s.”
There was a bit of a disappointment.
One miscalculation was my assumption that Seong Jiwon from Team B would naturally secure first place, but it turned out Kang Yeonhu had the highest individual score.
The difference in fandom size and recognition seemed to have played a significant role.
Although Team A lost, since I secured the first place, and with the scores of Team B’s last place added, the gap between Kang Yeonhu’s score and mine wasn’t significant.
Moreover, when comparing the combined scores of Seong Jiwon and mine to that of Kang Yeonhu and High Five’s main vocal, The Dawn was slightly ahead.
In the end, we were the victors of the vocal unit.
Ah~, feels good.
Having achieved the desired outcome, I felt relieved and took care of Seong Jiwon on our way back to the waiting room.
“Good work everyone!”
Flashing a bright smile, I was greeting the other group members when Bercy’s sub vocal called out to Seong Jiwon.
They seemed to have gotten close while teaming up in Team B.
I nodded respectfully to the staff members from a distance while waiting for Seong Jiwon.
“Amazing! Seo Hoyun, how you managed to keep your composure and continue the performance in that situation! And you’re getting better and better~!”
“Ahaha, thank you.”
Just as Jiwon seemed about to wrap up the conversation, someone grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.
“Wait a minute!”
It was Jeong Wonha, the main vocal of TEW, his face red and veins bulging with anger.
Despite a mishap, he had managed to avoid last place, finishing fourth, but he wasn’t someone content with such a ranking.
“I just checked with the manager. No such rumor has been spread.”
Of course.
It was a bluff.
I had only guessed he might have rosacea or was in a relationship because he was always on his phone, blushing and chatting away.
He had hidden it quite well.
I thought he would spill the beans once we got closer, but being seasoned in the entertainment industry, he kept his lips sealed.
Kim Jaeyeon did cross my mind, but time was short, and Jeong Wonha wasn’t worth the effort.
“Why the fuck did you make up such a story and screw me over?!”
When a few staff members turned their attention toward us, Jeong Wonha’s voice dropped to a whisper.
Luckily, the commotion was loud enough that Seong Jiwon didn’t seem to notice anything unusual.
“My mental state is fucked up because of that, and because of it, I messed up and ended up in fourth place—”
“Excuse me.”
I looked at Jeong Wonha, who was whispering angrily, with a nonchalant expression.
“Is that my fault?”
“…!”
One of the few things I was exceptionally good at was dodging blame.
This skill had been quite useful whenever I had to explain myself to the broadcasting station’s director.
“Well, I guess you’d want to shift the blame. You messed up a significant portion of the performance because of your mistake, right?”
“…What did you say?”
“Don’t delude yourself.”
His face turned red and then pale.
I tidied up my annoying earpiece and said slowly,
“Wonha made the mistake and hurt the team.”
“…”
“Don’t pass the buck.”
The guy, trembling with barely contained tears, hurried off.
He had come to confront me in anger but soon realized causing more of a scene here wouldn’t do any good.
I usually wouldn’t resort to such petty tactics, but this time, I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.
I watched his retreating figure with indifference and turned to leave.
Doesn’t feel so great when you’re the target, huh?
Ding!
[Hey, didn’t you say everyone makes mistakes?]
Exactly.
Everyone could make mistakes.
But whether I overlooked them or not was my decision to make.
I laughed.
“Seo Hoyun.”
A strong sense of alarm blared in my head, and I tried to send Seong Jiwon away first, but Kang Yeonhu spoke up faster.
“Is this why you pretended to be close to him? To get revenge because of Jeong Dajun and take first place?”
Shit!
“Thanks to Seo Hoyun, he’s completely out of it right now. How could you shake his mental state like that just before the performance? He’s going to have serious trauma.”
Ah, shit!
Don’t talk about that when Seong Jiwon is right next to you!
I made an effort not to look at Seong Jiwon, who was beside me.
“What are you talking about?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t remember.”
“…Is this a hearing or something?”
At my shamelessness, Kang Yeonhu rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it, and then sighed.
“Well… good job. You too, Seong Jiwon.”
After dropping that bomb, he hurriedly left.
“…Seong Jiwon.”
I was pondering how to mend the situation, but Seong Jiwon seemed remarkably calm.
“Why did you call?”
As I fumbled for words, Seong Jiwon slightly turned his head and our eyes met.
“Is there something? Do you need help?”
“…No?”
“But why are you being so cautious… Ah!”
Rolling his eyes in thought and then quickly piecing things together, Seong Jiwon clapped his hands.
“That vocal thing?”
“…??”
…What was he talking about?
“You knew?”
“…Wasn’t it obvious?”
Seong Jiwon was surprised, and he pushed my frozen self forward and started walking.
“Weren’t we all acting knowing this? Ah, Dajun might not know.”
“…!”
You knew all this time and never said a word?
Even the other members?
Catching a glimpse of my shocked expression, Seong Jiwon burst into laughter.
“Hoyun, do we still need to talk like this? It’s been over a year since we got back together.”
“…Yeah.”
“You really act well. It’s a pity you don’t want to do it anymore.”
Was this sarcasm?
But knowing Seong Jiwon wasn’t that kind of person, I mumbled as if to excuse myself.
“You don’t like this kind of thing, do you?”
“Huh?”
“…Scheming.”
As Seong Jiwon bowed to a passing staff member, he whispered,
“Yeah, I hate it a lot.”
Then he turned back to me.
“But, because it’s you.”
With those words, Seong Jiwon flashed a smile and went back to our waiting room.
I quietly watched the direction in which Seong Jiwon disappeared.
[…How can he say such a thing without even blinking?]
“That’s what I’m saying. I really find kids these days terrifying.”
[Yes. Don’t ever lie to Seong Jiwon again… It seems like it won’t work anymore…]
“Yeah…”
Seong Jiwon was not someone to be underestimated.
“…Sigh.”
Anyway, my part was over.
I took care of TEW’s main vocal who messed with Jeong Dajun, and by boosting my stats to A+, I also secured the victory for the vocal unit.
I rubbed my neck, thinking,
Jeong Dajun, I’ve taken a small revenge for you.
Now, it was up to Jeong Dajun to stand up for himself.
[1] 꿀잼 (“kkuljaem”) literally translates to “honey fun” and is used to describe something that is extremely enjoyable or entertaining.
