READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 32
Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 32
The last stage started with the same intro as Something.
The audience was puzzled.
They were going to do the duet song they saw in the first stage as their farewell stage too?
Some frowned.
‘They’re milking it too much.’
No matter how much it topped the charts and was popular, it was too much to repeat the same song for the stage.
Everyone thought that.
Until the intro changed at the 5-second mark.
‘I thought it was good during the rehearsal, but it’s still good to hear it again.’
Ha Seungju, who was standing on the side, smiled.
It was a different intro from the original one.
There was a cheerful piano melody on top of the acoustic guitar intro.
And drums too.
Unlike the calm and refreshing original song, it was lively and upbeat.
Hearing the changed melody, Ha Seungju smiled.
‘Gyuhwan must have tweaked it a bit.’
He could feel the touch of a professional.
Even if Seon Woojoo could compose, he wouldn’t have had time to arrange it after the appearance was confirmed.
He could smell his favorite junior composer in the small details.
‘Anyway, it’s good.’
It was wonderful that the song made by the son of his respected pianist senior was combined with the arrangement of his favorite junior composer.
It was a strange mix of flavors.
Ha Seungju closed his eyes and smiled all over his face.
He didn’t even notice that the production team’s camera was pointing at him.
“Pfft!”
One of the staff in the control room burst into laughter.
It was because Ha Seungju was smiling like a flower bud on the TV screen.
He had a cute expression somehow.
“Ha MC-nim is doing it again, right? The girlish expression he makes when he hears good music.”
“There will be another meme when the broadcast comes out.”
“I’m sure someone will capture it.”
The staff chuckled.
“This New Black episode is getting a lot of attention. Ha MC-nim’s expression and all. The story of the genius pianist, and Jang Sowon’s underground life.”
“That’s right.”
The PD nodded in agreement.
“But the most important thing is now.”
It was as he said.
Ha Seungju’s Music Cafe was a music show after all.
They invited singers and talked about music, but the essence was to show a good stage.
Jang Sowon and New Black’s talk was great.
But it wasn’t a stage.
The first stage, Something, was perfect, but the problem was that the song was too familiar to the public.
It had dominated the music charts for over a month, and by now it had accumulated enough fatigue.
That was why they needed something new.
Something fresh.
Seon Woojoo’s jazz performance was like an appetizer for that freshness.
The main dish was from now on.
‘I hope they do it as they did in the rehearsal.’
The PD thought that when the song started.
In the original song, Jang Sowon started the part by approaching Seo Rihyuk.
The part where the vocals were expected.
But breaking everyone’s expectations, the first member to grab the mic was none other than New Black’s rapper, Kim Junghyun.
He walked out confidently and sat on the chair that was set up.
My clock waiting for you
Is at 2:30 pm
When will I see your face
Can you see me being nervous
It was a rap that sounded like a song.
His powerful voice and the gentle melody seduced the audience.
Their attention rose instantly as the rap came in unexpectedly.
The next in line was Jang Sowon.
Her clear voice echoed in the hall.
How long will you make me wait, what kind of face will you make
I leaned against the bus window and imagined
Where did this thrill come from?
Maybe it’s between us
Now people were starting to picture it in their minds.
A man sitting at the bus stop.
A woman going to him on the bus.
As they naturally imagined that, their mind drifted to Seon Woojoo.
Is this what love is?
Waiting is not really my thing
You’re like a spring breeze
Won’t you wait a little longer?
A third person appeared.
The audience enjoyed Seon Woojoo’s song, but also started to spread their wings of imagination in their heads.
‘Is it a love triangle?’
Some people remembered Jang Sowon’s talk.
“Actually, Something was originally a song with parts for each of the New Black friends.”
“Really? Why did they drop out?”
“Well, I’m the female vocalist, but there were five male vocalists, so the atmosphere was a bit weird.”
“The atmosphere?”
“Yes, I looked like a fisherman girl.”
As she said, the addition of a new person made the song have a completely different vibe from the original.
The audience was curious when the main vocalist appeared.
A more cheerful atmosphere than the original version.
In that song, Seo Rihyuk’s rich voice filled the hall.
If you ask me what’s between us
I’d say-
I think of us as sweet candy
Slowly melting between us
I’ll cross that wall and hold your hand
I’ll hold your hand that seems to slip away
Now I’ll whisper to you
If the original version was fresh, this one was sweet and cheerful.
New Black’s expressions proved it.
Unlike the serious first stage, they were all singing in a happy mood.
The audience smiled.
At first, New Black wanted to prepare a moist song that suited the late-night mood.
Until Seon Woojoo opposed.
“It’s a stage where the star-like sunbaes have gone. Even if we’re among the idols who sing well, it’s hard to impress there.”
He argued that it would be better to have a fun stage than to sing a difficult song to impress.
So they prepared a lively version of Something.
It was a special stage that they prepared to entertain the audience with a song that modified the original.
“They’re good.”
The PD in the control room smiled.
“They have a sense of humor when they talk, and they know how to make a fun stage, not a clumsy ballad song. I’ll remember that. There, in New Black, what was the name of the leader? I forgot.”
“It’s Seon Woojoo.”
“Yeah. That guy.”
He thought he’d call him once when he was in charge of another music program, and the PD said, “It’s coming soon. The highlight part.”
“Yeah.”
They focused on the dozens of monitors, including the camera that illuminated the stage, expecting the audience’s reaction.
At the beginning of the second verse, the one who held the microphone was Kim Bijoo.
He had a voice that was distinctly different from the other members, almost like a whisper.
I miss your face
I’ll pick some spring flowers and get ready
Our sweet relationship
So you can feel the excitement
As he said that, Kim Bijoo smiled and took out a flower.
He looked splendid.
As the five members finished their songs one by one, the people realized that the image they had of New Black was wrong.
New Black was a team where each member had their own vocal color.
If they hadn’t said they were idols, they would have believed they were just a vocal quartet.
The audience admired their singing skills, but soon tilted their heads as they listened to the lyrics.
‘What’s going on?’
Kim Junghyun, waiting for someone.
Jang Sowon, taking a bus to meet a man.
Seon Woojoo, approaching someone.
And Kim Bijoo, also waiting for someone.
‘Is this a love square?’
Like Puck, the fairy from Shakespeare’s play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Seo Rihyuk and Wang Jiho were like narrators who sang about the love of the men and women.
The other four.
Their relationships seemed to be tangled and intertwined.
And as the highlight of the song began, the four on the stage moved around Seo Rihyuk and Wang Jiho in the center.
I’ll whisper to you now
As I hold your hand that I can’t quite grasp
Jang Sowon walked towards him as if she had just gotten off the bus.
As expected, it was Kim Junghyun.
He greeted her warmly as if he were waiting at the bus stop, and they harmonized their microphones.
‘Then what about the other two?’
If Jang Sowon chose Kim Junghyun, then what about the other two?
As they thought that, Seon Woojoo went to Kim Bijoo.
Kim Bijoo smiled and handed him a bouquet of flowers, and Seon Woojoo accepted it.
A small laugh escaped.
Seon Woojoo and Kim Bijoo sang in harmony towards each other, and the audience laughed along without realizing it.
Some of them remembered a music video.
A man who longed for an impossible love as he watched a woman get married. But in the end, it turned out that the man was not longing for the woman, but for the man who married her.
It was that kind of twist.
And Seo Rihyuk and Wang Jiho scattered and moved like cupids who congratulated each couple.
When the song finally ended, the audience thanked the six who had entertained them.
It was applause that filled the hall.
***
A singer knew.
Whether they did well or not in their performance.
They didn’t need to hear the applause to know naturally.
A good performance was different.
Just like a good game where everything went perfectly from the start, a good performance flowed smoothly from the beginning.
It was like that when they sang trot for their year-end evaluation.
But knowing that they did a good performance and seeing the audience’s reaction with applause and cheers were two different things.
That was why Seon Woojoo was smiling as he received the applause.
Jang Sowon.
Kim Bijoo. Kim Junghyun. Rihyuk. Wang Jiho.
The members who performed with Seon Woojoo and Jang Sowon Sunbae exchanged smiles and politely greeted the audience with their microphones.
“Thank you!”
Seon Woojoo laughed involuntarily at the applause that echoed in the hall.
But what he liked the most was the expressions of the people.
The expressions of his parents in his childhood memories floated over the faces of the audience.
That was the reason why he wanted to become an idol.
***
In the car on the way back to the dorm.
It was quiet.
Everyone was buried in their car seats, probably tired.
They had a pre-recording for a music show since morning, and then they had to wait and do a live broadcast.
But Seon Woojoo was proud.
Seon Woojoo felt like he had lived a very hard day.
“You guys did a great job.”
Seon Woojoo smiled brightly.
“We finally finished our activities.”
“Phew, I can’t believe it’s over…”
“Are you relieved?”
“More than relieved, I’m sad. We were on cloud nine for a month.”
They agreed with the youngest’s words.
“But don’t you think we ended it well?”
“When people clapped for us, it was really amazing. It felt like ten times bigger than the year-end evaluation.”
“Ten times? It felt like a hundred times to me.”
“How did we do, Director?”
At Kim Bijoo’s question, Seokhwan Hyung, who was quiet in the passenger seat, smiled faintly.
“The reaction was good. You guys sang so well that there’s no more criticism on the internet.”
“Wow.”
“You did great, guys.”
They cheered and clapped their hands at the expert’s affirmation.
It was what they wanted.
Showing their singing skills was their goal.
“Minki Hyung, how was it for you?”
“She was pretty.”
“Minki, can we send you to Hwai?”
“Ah, Director. I’m sorry. I’m distracted by holding the steering wheel.”
They burst into laughter thanks to their clumsy road manager.
Kim Bijoo asked Seon Woojoo as if to confirm, “Hyung, do you think we’ll get a good response on the broadcast?”
“The live reaction was good too.”
“It was. I think there was a woman who cheered when I gave you a flower at the end.”
“I was worried about that reaction, but I’m really glad.”
“It’s a relief.”
Seon Woojoo nodded and smiled at Rihyuk.
He called the member who was quietly looking out the window.
“Junghyun, are you okay?”
“I’m good.”
“Thank you the most today. You know without me saying it, right?”
He was the one who told Seon Woojoo not to worry about them in the waiting room, and to make a choice for himself.
Seon Woojoo was grateful to him.
Kim Junghyun smiled silently.
It was a melancholic atmosphere for some reason.
Past 10 p.m.
In the dark car where only the street lights poured, they felt a different feeling than usual.
Should he say it was empty?
As Wang Jiho said, the dream-like time was over.
The music broadcast activities were over, and the celebrity-like activities like photo shoots would be gone soon.
They hadn’t debuted yet.
When they went back to the dorm, they would be trainees again.
A long tunnel.
They ran through the dark tunnel and slipped into a side road, where they smelled the flowers in a beautiful garden and sang joyfully.
But the sweet time came to an end.
They had to go back to the tunnel and run towards the light.
But even if they passed through that tunnel, would they be able to meet that sweet time again?
They would all be worried like Seon Woojoo, even if they didn’t say it.
‘Don’t worry.’
…I wanted to say that, but I’m not a god of the entertainment industry, and I can’t guarantee unconditional success.
So he said something else.
“You’ve worked hard, guys.”
They all looked at Yeouido, which was getting farther away beyond the car window.
“Until we come back, let’s work hard.”
They all nodded and smiled.
March 2014.
With the recording of Ha Seungju’s Music Cafe, New Black ended their activities for the project song Something.