Chapter 13
“Wow, he’s handsome.”
“Which agency did he say he was from?”
A song without any gimmicks, but with a standard quality.
Unlike Wang Ji-ho, who had a fresh charm until a moment ago, this one had a sense of skill and ease.
I’m right here
Come to me, come to me
Why don’t you come to me
Please say something to me
If the first part was meant to capture the attention, the second part was meant to convey the emotion.
Moreover, it was a perfect part for Seon Woojoo, who had not yet fully developed his skills, as it had few high notes.
The song builds up with the accumulating emotion
I can’t wait any longer
But you don’t seem to come
At the moment that reached the highlight, Seon Woojoo quickly moved to the side.
The main vocal finally appeared.
Seo Ri-hyuk grabbed the microphone and stood in the center of the stage.
My love, where are you
I’ve been wandering this world looking for you
Let’s hold hands at least
A skill that was different from the others who sang before.
Everyone who heard the song was amazed.
The vocal was well balanced between the sorrow and the trendiness.
And while the main vocal was singing, the other members supported him like dancers in the back.
They were five, but the stage was full of their performance.
Meanwhile, Jang So-won exclaimed.
“Wow, who did the arrangement?”
“Why?”
“Don’t you hear it, oppa? The tone of the song is changing.”
Yoon Chan-hyuk, who was listening carefully, also widened his eyes.
It was a song that started with a trot sound, but when he came to his senses, the tone had changed.
The atmosphere gradually changed to a pop feel.
Was that why?
Even though the main vocal was singing the chorus of the trot, the distinctive trot-like feeling was noticeably reduced.
It was a slow change, so it felt natural.
As if to symbolize that change, when the first verse ended, the rest of the members all left the back stage and the rapper appeared.
A heavy rap delivered by a low voice.
You who were with me when I was struggling
I was always sorry
I couldn’t buy you anything
My sorry heart
I wanted to show you a proud look
Even if it’s not a big gift
My appearance on stage
I hope you keep it in your heart
Thanks to the accurate pronunciation, Kim Jung-hyun’s rap was delivered quickly.
Words for the parents.
All the parents in this place smiled warmly.
Gratitude for those who are with us.
It was the topic chosen by the five trainees of Lemon Entertainment.
The gratitude for the parents and siblings who came to see the stage was the topic they wanted to express.
This song that you like
prepare for you
So, Let me tell you something
The only word we want to say
A moment of pause.
Kim Jung-hyun finished his rap with a cool smile.
Thank you and I love you
The song started again.
It was a different song from the trot in the first verse, but people were so immersed in the song that they didn’t notice it.
“Huh? That’s my song!”
Jang So-won opened her eyes wide.
Her first single With You was playing in a dance version.
As soon as the rap ended, the five members entered the stage and started dancing.
The center of attention was undoubtedly Kim Bi-ju.
His boyish appearance contrasted with his high-level choreography.
The audience gasped at the impact of the gap.
Thanks and thank you
Fold your gratitude
Into a letter
And open your heart to me
Unlike the first verse, the second verse appealed to the 20s and 30s.
The upbeat rhythm and the cheerful accompaniment created a lively atmosphere.
The second verse flowed smoothly from the first one.
Then, after the chorus, the bridge part leading to the third verse.
The calm accompaniment started to build up.
Their movements matched like waves, down to their fingertips.
Even those who didn’t know much about dance could tell how much effort they had put into this one move.
It was a precise choreography.
And then.
Finally, when the accompaniment was about to explode.
Seon Woojoo, who had been dancing on the edge, moved slowly against the current.
But faster and faster.
His legs accelerated and flexibly dropped to the floor.
He slid gracefully like a dolphin cutting through the water.
He slid down and stood up in the center with an elegant gesture.
Silent exclamations erupted everywhere.
***
I felt relieved when the most nerve-wracking move was over.
I did it.
I felt more relaxed.
I had successfully pulled off the part that I was afraid of messing up.
It felt like a ten-year-old indigestion had cleared.
The others felt the same.
They said they trusted me, but they must have been worried that I would make a mistake.
The mood of Team New Black changed.
They seemed to loosen up.
Their expressions and dance lines became softer.
It was fun.
There are stages like that during a performance.
When you do better than you prepared.
When you go beyond 100 percent and reach 120 percent.
When you feel sorry that the song is over.
It wasn’t just me who felt that way.
I could tell that everyone felt the same.
Without words.
They looked like they wanted to unleash everything they had for the remaining time.
And while that was happening, something changed in my heart.
There had been a wall between me and the members, knowingly or unknowingly, for almost a month of practice. But through this stage, I felt that wall finally crumble.
No.
To be precise, it felt like everyone’s wall was collapsing.
A common ground of loving music and dance.
We felt like we became one as we performed the last part.
Thanks and thank you
Fold your gratitude
Into a letter
Open your heart for me
Lee Hyuk, or rather Ri-hyuk, sang the chorus while I danced my best.
As if it was the last time.
As if I would never be on stage again after this.
We matched every move, even the slightest gesture, and finally we reached the end of the stage.
We stood on the stage, panting.
“…”
There was silence for about two seconds, and then applause erupted.
It wasn’t a thunderous applause.
Honestly, this wasn’t the stage of the century, was it?
But it was a good stage.
If I had to choose the most brilliant stage in this year-end evaluation, I would pick us without hesitation.
But it didn’t matter how the reaction was now.
We had another gain.
We poured out everything we had practiced on the stage and smiled at each other.
I just felt good.
I don’t know how to explain it.
Liberation?
Or joy?
A feeling of fullness that I couldn’t describe with anything.
A feeling that I could do anything and wanted to do everything together.
I spotted my grandmother in the middle of the audience and gave her a bright smile.
Grandma.
I’m here.
***
“You did well! You did well.”
Kim Deok-soon, who was clapping, even teared up, and Yoon Seok-hwan, who was watching, smiled and said.
“How do you feel, grandma? Your grandson, he sings well, right?”
“Hmm.”
She came to her senses when she saw her grandson coming down from the stage and coughed.
“Well, he’s not bad. He could go to the national singing contest.”
“Didn’t you just love him?”
“Oh, of course I did! How can I not love him if he’s like you, sir?”
“Yes, I’m happy too.”
Yoon Seok-hwan, the manager, said.
“I didn’t know he could do this well.”
He was worried that he might make mistakes like he did in the last mid-term evaluation, but he did so well that it was beyond his worries.
‘You worked hard. Kids.’
He sincerely applauded.
***
Street Boys looked like they had their spirits drained by our stage.
They were half-mental from the start.
-Hell…
-Hello! We are Street Boys!
Their greeting was not in sync.
They must have practiced a lot, because they didn’t make any mistakes, but the stage was bland.
Maybe they were conscious of our stage, which was aimed at the masses.
Hip-hop and rock mixed performance was important for confidence, but it had a lack of confidence.
In the end, the first place of the 2013 year-end evaluation naturally went to New Black of Lemon Entertainment.
***
“Director! We’re number one!”
-You did well, kids.
When they showed me the cheap trophy, Director Jo Kyu-hwan, who was on a video call, smiled as if he was proud.
The youngest shouted with an excited face.
“Buy us meat! Meat!”
-I’ll talk to the president. He’ll buy you some today.
He said with a smile.
-Anyway, congratulations and you really worked hard today. Kids.
The president who came soon after seemed to be in a good mood, and he kept laughing and announcing a dinner.
There was also a time for family reunion.
“Grandma!”
As soon as I saw her, I ran over and hugged her tightly.
“Let go! You little rascal!”
“Just let me do this for a bit. I really missed your smell, Grandma.”
“Ugh.”
Grandma grumbled, but soon patted my back gently.
I grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with sparkling eyes.
“How was it? I did well, right?”
“Well. Yeah, yeah… You did.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
“Ah! I said you did well!”
Oh, my goodness.
We were having a conversation with our families, but our members were still gathered in one place.
I didn’t know why.
Maybe we just wanted to be together right now.
We felt happy and smiled whenever we looked at each other.
“You guys did a great job. Really.”
“So did you, hyung.”
Bi-ju said with a smile.
“Wow, I was so worried when you said you were going to do trot, but it was really…”
“It was a masterstroke.”
“Yeah, it was a masterstroke.”
“You did a great job, hyung.”
“No, you guys did more.”
The five of us were having a contest to see who could say the most flattering words.
That’s when an unexpected third party joined the conversation.
“Hello.”
We all froze when we saw the person who cut through us.
A beauty with a coat over her shoulder.
She had slightly slanted eyes, but a charming smile on her lips. She was the singer, Jang So-won, and she was looking at us.
“Oh, hello! Senior!”
“Hello.”
She had a seasoned air about her.
She was the original singer of the song we performed.
It was like Jesus suddenly appeared at the weekend church camp. We had no choice but to freeze.
“I watched your performance. It was fun and well-organized.”
“Thank you!”
I bowed 90 degrees and greeted her.
The others quickly followed suit and bowed in unison.
“Ouch, my ears. Just relax.”
“No, no.”
“I just came to say hello and thank you as the original singer. It’s only polite to do so.”
Jang So-won smiled and scanned us.
She had the eyes of a predator looking for prey."
“By the way, who did the arrangement? It doesn’t look like the company did it for you. It seems like you did it yourselves.”
I raised my hand.
“I did it.”
“Really? You did it?”
“Yes.”
“Good for you.”
Jang So-won looked around us and asked.
“I want to give you my contact number. Who is the leader among you?”
“Leader? We haven’t…”
Before I could finish saying that we hadn’t decided yet, I blinked.
The other four members were gesturing to me with their eyes.
Jang So-won nodded as if she understood.
“So you’re the leader? I thought so.”
She wrote her number on a post-it and handed it to me.
“Here. This is my number.”
“Why are you giving this to us?”
“I’m preparing a single with a collaboration song. I was looking for a singer to sing with me.”
“With us?”
We looked at each other.
Was Jang So-won offering us a collaboration?
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to the company too.”
“Okay, okay.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Jang So-won made a phone gesture with her hand and smiled at us before turning away.
We bowed our heads awkwardly as we watched her back.
“Wow.”
When she was gone, everyone gathered around me.
The members looked at Jang So-won’s number as if it was a precious ring.
And the people around us were watching us.
“Hey, Seon Woojoo!”
Someone ran over and grabbed my shoulder.
Seok-hwan hyung looked at me with a flushed face and glanced at Jang So-won who was disappearing in the distance.
“You just, I mean, did you get a collaboration offer from another singer?”
“Uh? Uh.”
“You lucky bastard!”
Seok-hwan hyung was happy as if he had gotten free publicity and suddenly hugged me.
“Hey, get off me!”
The people around us laughed at my annoyed reaction.
It was a pleasant laughter.