NOVEL WEB Chapter 282
Chapter 282. If Someone Asks About the Freshness and Cuteness of Korea’s Boy Group (1)
**Approximately 30 minutes before Kairos’ red carpet entrance for the music festival.**
Inside the van in the underground parking lot where Kairos was waiting.
“Yugeon-ah.”
“…? Why?”
Yugeon, who was rubbing his hands nervously, turned his head at Hajin’s call. He liked performing on stage, but the thought of awkwardly smiling for numerous cameras with a forced, handsome grin still felt uncomfortable.
Hajin, sitting beside him with his legs crossed, his arm resting on the window frame, lightly stroked his sharp jawline with his hand (a pose he often referred to as “striking a cool pose”) and spoke in a serious tone.
“I think this way.”
“…?”
“What is a man?”
“…”
“A suit.”
With that cheesy line, Hajin pointed to his outfit with his long, elegant fingers. From the luxurious custom suit that the stylists had painstakingly prepared for his first red carpet appearance since debut, to the expensive shoes that sparkled at his fingertips.
Hajin, wearing a smug expression, raised an eyebrow and gestured at Yugeon with his chin.
“Honestly, don’t you think the suit fits me perfectly?”
“…It just makes you look stupid.”
“…I’ve been thinking since that Dan Haru debacle the other day, is this your kind of humor?”
“It’s because I’ve been studying rhymes recently thanks to Doha-hyung.”
Hajin, momentarily at a loss for words due to Yugeon’s joke, quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.
“No, anyway. That’s not the point.”
“…What are you trying to do now with this lead-up?”
“I’ve been thinking, and it doesn’t seem right to just walk the red carpet in this killer suit without making a statement.”
When Yugeon looked at Hajin with a puzzled expression, wondering what he was getting at, Hajin, who had been quietly observing him, reached out and casually unbuttoned the tightly fastened buttons on Yugeon’s jacket, starting from the top.
“What are you doing?”
“Aren’t you worried you might feel awkward when you step onto the photo line later?”
“…”
“You’re going to be the first one to step onto the big stage, right? But if you look nervous on a day like today? Then Kairos’ first red carpet moment will be remembered as a timid, scared rookie group.”
“…Who’s nervous…”
Yugeon averted his gaze, pretending not to be bothered, and awkwardly cleared his throat, though Hajin already knew better and chuckled. After checking Yugeon’s outfit one last time, he leaned back against the window frame, resting his chin on his hand.
“Normally, this hyung would understand if you looked a bit nervous in the photos, but today’s a year-end stage with countless famous idols active in Korea, so there’s no room for that.”
“…”
“So, when you step onto the stage today, just do as I say.”
“…How?”
When Yugeon asked, Hajin gripped Yugeon’s shoulder with the hand that wasn’t propping up his chin.
“Put on the most arrogant expression you can muster.”
“What?”
“Walk in with a serious face, thinking you’re the most annoying person in the world.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I’m not finished. As you walk in with that expression, fasten the buttons of this jacket that I just unbuttoned.”
“Why…?”
“There’s a certain feel to it, trust me. Life is all about performance. We survive through performance.”
Despite Yugeon’s confused expression, Hajin remained serious.
“Do you know what our group’s concept is today?”
“No.”
“It’s like an Italian mafia doing a toy tea party. And to make this successful, what’s the first thing we need to do?”
“…You’re saying things I really don’t want to know.”
“You need to show the Italian mafia first.”
*You’re the first button.*
As if he were delivering some grand secret mission, Hajin solemnly and firmly gripped Yugeon’s shoulder.
“If I don’t get the number one trending spot today, I won’t be able to sleep.”
“…Sure, like that’s going to happen.”
Yugeon sighed deeply and fiddled with the buttons on his jacket that Hajin had unfastened.
This hyung’s reliability never lasted more than three minutes.
* * *
– They’re going to do it.
– Ping me when the boys show up.
– Does anyone know how long this is going to go today…ㅠ
– No queue sheet leaks yet, right? Super excited for the senior idols’ cover stage.
This year, the QBS music festival was being broadcasted simultaneously on TV and iTube. As people watched the red carpet entries, they started commenting on the outfits and concepts of their favorite idols.
Coincidentally, the first to enter was Stormheader, who had recently gotten on the bad side of several fandoms due to frequent clashes.
– The babies are cute.
– Who’s the person on the far right with the ribbon bowtieㅠㅜㅠ
└ That’s the youngest, Hyian! Cute, right?
– They all look super nervousㅋㅋㅋㅋ
While it was hard to know what was being said behind the scenes, Stormheader hadn’t done anything wrong outwardly, so the public reaction was generally calm.
However, the members of Stormheader couldn’t hide their overly tense and stiff expressions, likely aware of the criticism they’d been facing recently over a leaked cover song.
The host tried to lighten the mood with a few jokes, but it didn’t help much.
After that, a few more idol groups who had worked hard throughout the year made their appearances. Three girl groups went by in succession, and then it was Lanion’s turn.
– Wowㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ
– Their visuals are insane.
– This is what it means to be in a country like this.
– Rene’s garden of flowers is out of this world.
Lanion, with their sharp features and smooth, classic looks, made their entrance with gentle smiles and hand waves, fitting their image as Rene’s textbook idols. Their fresh and boyish charm, matched with their leader’s coordinated poses and greetings, left a warm impression on the viewers.
“Ah, could you give us a small hint about which senior’s cover performance you’ve prepared for today?”
At the MC’s question, Minseok took the microphone.
“Um… I think our outfits today might be a hint. We’re going to show you a very different, fresh, and daring performance compared to what we’ve shown you before.”
Lanion, who had emphasized their slogan of “A boy’s first love” on stage, was now dressed in uniforms, a stark contrast to their usual attire.
With details like various scratches and a jumpsuit worn by one member, it was already clear that they were covering Utopia’s “Coup d’Etat,” which had already been leaked as a spoiler. As soon as the audience heard that answer, they immediately realized that the leaked song spoiler was true.
– Wow, so Lanion’s doing “Coup d’Etat”?
– Rene x Miro collab is insaneㅋㅋㅋ
– If that’s the case, couldn’t they have done a song swap? I’m curious about Kairos doing Spear tooㅠ!!
– I was skeptical at first, but now I think Lanion doing Utopia might actually be coolㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ 22 An upper-class coup orchestrated by the wealthy… Not bad, maybe?
└ 333 ㅋㅋㅋ Actually, it suits them more than expected!?
– Guys, quiet down. Does this mean Kairos is doing “More More”? Damn…
As the excitement grew, a few more teams entered, and finally, Kairos was called.
Kairos had always garnered attention for their impeccable hair and makeup, and today was no exception. Not only the Destis, but also fans of other groups were eagerly anticipating their look.
“Yes, Kairos! Please come out.”
As the members of Kairos began to appear one by one from behind the photo zone, those who had been shocked by the possibility of “Kairos More More” could only think one thing.
– Please, change the song, I beg you.
The first to appear was Yugeon, who, with a slightly tense expression, raised his chin and calmly fastened the buttons of his jacket with his large hands.
The atmosphere shifted just by the presence of Yugeon, who was known for his sharp, bad-boy looks, as he stepped out in a perfectly fitting suit. Following him, Hajin appeared, hair slicked back, adjusting the watch on his wrist as he made his entrance.
– Miro is… Miro…
– I’m sorry, guys. For a moment… just a moment, I dared to think you might pull off cute and pure as rookies. I’m sorry, it was my mistake.
– I thought I’d be okay with Haru and Taehyun, but after seeing Lanion, I realize… yeah… you guys are Miro.
As Yugeon and Hajin, the members considered the scariest-looking (to put it simply), made their entrance, Haru and Taehyun followed, lightening the mood. Though they were usually in charge of the refreshing and cute looks in Kairos, today they too were dressed in formal suit setups, giving off a more mature vibe.
But the visual attack from Kairos didn’t stop there.
– Holy s… Jung Siwoo oppa is reigning with his face again.
As the eldest member of the group, Jung Siwoo usually avoided styles that were too sharply set or overly adult-like. Today, however, he followed in full makeup and
a fully styled suit, setting the tone.
Before fans could even get flustered by Jung Siwoo’s mature demeanor, Eun-chan, who was already being anticipated as a promising twenty-year-old idol, and Lee Doha, who finally donned a three-piece suit that fit his towering frame, stepped onto the stage.
– This is like… that day when the boy next door, who always wore hoodies, showed up fully styled…
– Wow… Han Sewon, how did you manage this…?
– Looking at them like this, Kairos’ visuals are truly something else.
– And they’re doing “More More”? With those faces?? Making me swoon like this???
– Who is this Lee Doha in a three-piece suit? Thank you, TLQKF!!!!!!!1
The fans were losing their minds in the comment sections, unable to handle the suit explosion from Miro’s youngest group. Unbothered by the chaos they had caused, the members continued their photo time and moved on to the interview.
“Kairos, you’ve come out looking incredibly handsome today. We heard you’re going to show a special and different side of yourselves in this cover performance. Could you tell us a bit about what you’ve prepared?”
The MC’s blatant question was likely a deliberate move by the broadcasting station.
Since the secret was already out, they seemed intent on maximizing the hype by officially revealing it on the day of the event.
Having been briefed in advance, Hajin wasn’t flustered at all and smoothly picked up the microphone to respond.
“In this cover stage, we’re going to showcase a lot of sides of ourselves that we usually can’t or don’t get to show. We, Kairos, have prepared senior Chung Wol-seonyeo’s ‘More More.’”
With Hajin personally confirming today’s shocking song spoiler, camera flashes went off in rapid succession.
The MC, in a playful tone, asked again.
“Considering the charismatic image Kairos usually has, this is quite a bold choice. Could you share a bit about what led you to choose this song?”
“Ah… well, it wasn’t really a big deal.”
Hajin pretended to ponder his words for a moment.
As everyone eagerly awaited his answer, Hajin smiled and spoke into the microphone once more.
“I just thought, after all, isn’t cuteness the best for a man? And that’s why we chose this song.”
It was an answer filled with the extremes of capitalism.