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Chapter 140: End-of-Year Stage (10)

“The seniors from Allure are making Hyun-Woo hyung call them \'hyung!’" answered Jin-Sung. Oh, gosh. Jin-Sung\'s dramatic flair quickly drew all eyes to me.

“Hyun-Woo, have you agreed to call them \'hyung?’"

“Uh? No, no, not really..." I instinctively shook my head in denial at Yoo Jeon-Hwa\'s question, only to be nudged playfully by Sae-Yeon.

“What are you saying? He usually calls us \'hyung\' just fine."

“Why doesn\'t he call us \'hyung\' then?"

“Uh?"

Sae-Yeon\'s playful question set off a ripple of amusement among the first part\'s members.

“We\'ve been together for a week, and he\'s still so formal. If I were him, I would\'ve broken the ice long ago."

“Hyun-Woo is notoriously shy," Both Dong-Woo and Da-Win commented. I was caught between phone cameras, possibly hidden broadcast cameras, and the imposing seniors. Therefore, I could only shoot them an awkward smile.

“I\'ve been practicing with Allure\'s seniors since I was young, so..."

“Ah, right. But let\'s not forget our original goal. Hyun-Woo, call me \'hyung!’"

“Ah, but..." Under the influence of alcohol, everyone was having a field day, putting me on the spot. The seniors looked on with interest, clearly enjoying the playful moment. I was in a bit of a bind—to play along or not? Well, it seemed better to just go with it.

I muttered quietly, “Hyung..."

“What? What was that? Couldn\'t quite catch it."

“Hyun-Woo, say it louder!"

“Stop it, stop~ Hyun-Woo is going to cry." The other hyungs were delighted, and Jin-Sung chuckled.

I grimaced again and spoke up. “Hyung."

“Which \'hyung?’"

“Oh, seriously."

Even Da-Win joined the teasing. Despite my awkward expression, Da-Win just grinned.

“...Da-Win Hyung."

“Hyung! Wow! Hyung!"

As soon as I said it, the seniors gathering around our table erupted into cheers and applause. I could feel my face getting hotter by the second. Sigh, they were all experts at teasing.

“Why are you embarrassed? You usually call us that just fine."

“I just can\'t when you set the stage like this... well."

“Maybe they are teasing you because you are shy."

“Alright, let\'s get this last one for Sae-Yeon, then we can stop filming. Hyun-Woo, come on!"

...Ah, I couldn\'t handle this level of embarrassment. “I... I can\'t do it!" I then pushed away Sae-Yeon and Da-Win\'s hands and fled to the bathroom.

“Where\'s Hyun-Woo going?"

“Is he running away?"

“Did we go too far? Should we go after him?"

“Stop teasing our junior! You are doing exactly what we used to do to the youngest in our team!"

“Hahaha, he is just too adorable."

Their laughter followed me. Indeed, they were true veterans of the entertainment world. Even their playful nature was top-notch.

***

When I returned to the table a little later, the lively energy had simmered down to a relaxed, chatty atmosphere.

Da-Win slid into the seat next to me. “Hyun-Woo, I talked with your manager. We are going to upload Sae-Yeon’s video to our Bluebird channel."

“Ah, okay. I figured as much. Since the broadcasting station is already promoting our joint performance, there\'s no worry about spoilers, and Sae-Yeon hyung already mentioned that it was for the fans."

“The fans will love it."

“Just don\'t tease me too much, Hyung."

Da-Win handed me Sae-Yeon\'s phone with a playful smile. It was rare to see this kind of smile from him.

***

“Everyone did great! See you on stage!"

“Hyun-Woo, Jin-Sung, we are counting on you!"

“Yes!"

During my brief escape to the bathroom, Jin-Sung had also switched to calling the seniors “hyungs.” Given Jin-Sung\'s sociable nature and his knack for winning affection, it wasn’t that surprising.

We wrapped up the dinner and immediately headed to our practice room. There was only one day left until the performance, so we had to ensure our stage was flawless, without any room for errors.

“Yoon-Chan, you need to move faster to get back to your spot!"

“Got it!”

“One, two, three! Dancers, clear the stage!"

Any mistake was met with swift correction whether it was members or dancers. We all poured every ounce of our energy into this final stretch of practice.

“Two, three! Dancers, step back!" Considering we were practicing for a live show on a grand stage, we had switched to a larger place, and this was particularly tough on Yoon-Chan. He was almost in tears near the end as he pushed through the exhausting choreography.

“Alright, that\'s a wrap, great work!"

“Ugh..."

At long last, the practice was over, and we all dropped to the floor, utterly spent. The cool and hard surface of the practice room provided a small relaxation, almost reviving us. Everyone had put in a solid effort, but Jin-Sung and I, who had been through an earlier practice session, were particularly drained. We lay there faster than the others.

“I am about to... fall asleep...”

Speak of the devil... I actually dozed off in that exhausted state. Without any time to gather my thoughts, a whole day had flown by, and it was already the day of the performance.

***

I was not sure whether it was deep sleep or sheer exhaustion, but when I woke up, I felt like I had just emerged from a deep, refreshing dive. It could have been an instinctual deep rest for survival, and thankfully, it allowed me to dive wholeheartedly into the performance.

We arrived at Jamsil[1] Indoor Stadium in the early, dark hours of the morning. The place buzzed with activity, and the staff-prepared lunches barely came into my view. With the live broadcast and the scale of the stage, we all focused on repeating our rehearsals, as we wanted to finish them as quickly and flawlessly as possible.

“Is this the first time KEW is doing something this big?"

“Seems like it. Usually, it\'s within the broadcasting station. But last year\'s SES Music Festival was such a hit, so this makes sense." The stylists chatted while adorning our costumes with jewels.

Last year\'s massive investment in SES had set the bar high, and this year\'s year-end stages were no less grand, which meant that we newcomers were under immense pressure.

“Chronos, please move to the backstage area for your performance."

“Right away!" I hastily tied the name tag around my shoulder and stood up. Cameras from both Chronos\'s behind-the-scenes crew and KEW\'s team followed us closely.

- You must be feeling quite nervous for your first rehearsal.

Trying to maintain composure, I managed to shoot a smile at the KEW’s cameraman.

“Yes, I\'m quite nervous. We\'ve practiced hard, but the thought of making a mistake is daunting... I\'m not sure. Haha."

- But you are known for being strong under pressure.

“Me? Not at all. But I\'m trying to appear confident. I will do my best!"

The KEW cameraman wrapped up my interview and moved on to Yoon-Chan, and then our Chronos behind-the-scene crew approached. Fortunately, our camera team recognized our nervousness and spared us any intrusive questions.

“Chronos has arrived!” As we made our way backstage, we saw a whirlwind of activity, far more intense than a regular music broadcast.

“Hello! Thank you in advance, everyone!"

The stage crew was too busy to return our greetings properly.

“Get microphones on Chronos!"

“Got it!"

“Where is Woo-Jin? Who has the walkie-talkie? We need to let everyone know Chronos is here!"

“Here, I will do it!" The backstage bustle made us feel almost apologetic for just standing there.

On stage, unreleased footage from our music video was playing, mixed with Producer Do\'s B-side tracks. It appeared that they were rehearsing the timing for the playback.

In the midst of this, another KEW camera approached us, accompanied by a large figure wearing a musical note costume.

- Hello, Hyun-Woo.

“Hi, hello!" I greeted them with enthusiasm. Unlike the previous cameras, this one was clearly for something special.

- We have some questions from Chronos\'s fans. Would you mind chatting with Musicie?

“Oh wow! ...Haha! Musicie! Yes, of course!"

Though I wasn’t surprised by the sudden interview thanks to the manager\'s briefing, the presenter\'s elaborate costume still took me aback. How did they find such a perfect costume? It was a huge musical note with tiny arms and legs.

Musicie\'s movements were a bit over-the-top, typical of the KEW Awards mascot. I curiously poked and prodded at the costume, fascinated. “What brings Musicie here today?"

- We\'ve gathered multiple questions from Chronos\'s fans for the KEW Awards. Hyun-Woo, can you answer Musicie\'s questions within five seconds?

“Oh, yes! I can\'t wait."

- Ready for your question?

Both the cameraman and I thoroughly entertained Musicie as we approached the stage. Instead of speaking, Musicie energetically jumped around as a response and showed me a sketchbook with questions.

[Cats or dogs?]

“Dogs! I have three at home. But I like cats too."

[What did you eat this morning?]

“I had the packed lunch earlier."

[Who is the senior you respect the most?]

“Allure\'s Da-Win Senior!"

[Which celebrity friend do you see the most often(excluding Chronos members)?]

“Goh Yoo-Joon from Chronos! Oh, excluding Chronos? Maybe Woo Ji-Hyuk from High Tension? Not a friend, but the one I meet the most is Kim Jin-Wook."

[What was the happiest moment after your debut?]

“Uh... right now!"

[Share one TMI.]

“TMI? Recently, my flexibility has improved. I can almost do a full split now, about ninety-eight degrees."

[Which performance are you most looking forward to at the KEW Awards?]

“Personally, I\'m looking forward to Senior Reina\'s performance, Allure\'s, and of course, our own performance. Oh, I\'m really excited for the joint stages!"

Being last year\'s grand prize winner, Reina had probably prepared an incredible stage. Also, I didn’t want to watch Allure just because they were our seniors from the same agency; they actually created legendary stages in every end-of-the-year ceremony.

[The end]

- Thank you for your answers, Hyun-Woo! Good luck with the rehearsal!

“Thank you! I will make sure to finish the rehearsal well." I waved my hands enthusiastically as the camera and Musicie moved away.

“Chronos, it\'s time for your stage." The staff gathered us and guided us to the stage.

We then lined up as instructed and bowed in greeting. “We are Chronos! Glad to see you all!"

“Yes, let\'s start the rehearsal."

The director\'s tired or perhaps slightly irked voice echoed through the speakers, signaling the official start of our first year-end stage rehearsal.

1. ?? is located in Seoul, South Korea. It’s a major commercial and entertainment district, famous for landmarks like the Lotte World, a famous amusement park. ☜