NOVEL WEB Chapter 287
Chapter 287. A Maze is a Maze (3)
‘That scene’ appeared when Kairos’s performance was smoothly heading towards its conclusion.
With a more dramatic arrangement than the original song, enhancing the narrative, Lee Doha, with a scar makeup on one eye, and Lee Yugeon, who intentionally smudged his lipstick by rubbing it with his hand, rapped back and forth as if they were about to fight. The next scene followed right after.
Greeting a piercingly blue morning
Memories like a dream, making me breathe again
After a brief break for the third verse buildup, where Eunchan and Taehyun’s voices took over, the part where Hajin and Siwoo’s high note harmonization, which had already garnered much attention in the original song, was approaching.
Just as in the original, Hajin and Siwoo slowly walked towards the front of the stage, facing each other.
Wait for me
I’m on my way to you right now
– The live performance is insane ㄷㄷ
– The mic is practically burstingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– This is itㅣㅣㅣㅣㅣㅣㅣㅣ
The two of them harmonized as smoothly as usual.
No, they *thought* it was as usual.
– Did Siwoo just achieve enlightenment…?
– He’s really on a roll now
– Are you guys planning to retire after this year or something? I’m getting anxious here
That was until they flawlessly delivered a triple high note ad-lib that wasn’t in the original song, immediately following the rush of the MR.
We’re running,
Running Over the Lonely Night
The climax was so intense that even from the front row at home, you could feel the vividness of the live performance. Amidst the high notes of Hajin and Siwoo, Taehyun’s refreshing voice burst out.
Originally, this was supposed to be another main vocalist Haru’s part, so the Destis were puzzled, but their question was quickly answered.
– Kairos’s vocal showcase is absolutely insane
As soon as Hajin and Siwoo’s ad-lib ended, Haru, who had the highest vocal range among the members, took over and delivered consecutive quadruple high notes.
– Seven high notes? Let’s just do it in our song.
– …Seven high notes?
– Didn’t you say you trust the members? Sparkling, you can do it, right?
– ……Yes? Me?
– No, no. Then who’s going to do Haru’s part? The third verse chorus is originally Haru’s.
– Don’t worry. You and Eunchan decided to do it.
– …Me?
– You said you trusted us. Was that a lie?
– If you tell us to trust you twice, we’ll just take over the stage for good….
– …….
– Hyung, when you sparkle your eyes like that during this part, it makes me anxious…?
It was indeed a masterpiece by Kang Hajin, who had meticulously squeezed every bit of the members’ talents to fuel the supercharged performance.
Although the members felt a bit disappointed that the leader didn’t trust them and ended up straining their vocal cords for a year-end performance, the result was phenomenal.
We’ll eventually
Make it through this night
The members lowered their heads diagonally, clasping their hands behind their backs, and blew a hand kiss as if wishing for luck as the song ended.
Having performed intense choreography while dressed in tightly fitted suits, the members’ faces were sweaty, and their hair was slightly damp and tousled, but even that seemed to add to the narrative of the stage, making it look like it was part of the performance.
“Every time I watch them, I can’t help but think…. Our little girls sure have a way of igniting people’s fighting spirit.”
Nam Daun, who was stretching in the spacious and large waiting room they had been assigned, spoke with a voice full of discomfort as he watched the breakthrough their juniors had just demonstrated.
Despite the grumbling expression as he leaned back, there was no real tension in his face, which was ironic.
“If they perform that well, what are we supposed to do next?”
“We do our own thing, what else?”
“The juniors just showed us what a maze really is, so we have to do even better, don’t we? Ah, this is such a burden.”
“You don’t look burdened at all, hyung.”
Seo Taeil, who had been listening to the conversation between Nam Daun and Kwon Sangrok, chuckled and put down the phone he was holding, muttering to himself.
“…Exactly. If they’re this desperate, they’ll tire out soon.”
Was it because they were newly debuted and full of passion, or was there another reason they couldn’t help but feel anxious?
“Is there a specific reason they can’t help but feel anxious?”
“…? …Tal. What did you just say?”
“Huh? Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Well, if a problem arises, they’ll come find us.
Recalling Hajin’s mentality, which seemed a bit stronger than before, Taeil quickly brushed off the thought. The juniors had brilliantly completed their mission, so now it was time for them to set an example as seniors.
* * *
It was over.
“Wow, I really thought I was going to die from the heat….”
As soon as they entered the waiting room, the members all took off their jackets and loosened their ties as if it had been prearranged. The sweat was pouring down like rain, making me feel like I was back in the military during summer guerrilla training…
‘Ugh, just thinking about it is terrifying.’
I quickly brushed the unpleasant memory out of my head and wiped my neck and arms with the cold towel the managers had prepared. I had already stripped down to just a black sleeveless shirt, having discarded the cumbersome suit.
“If I… wear a suit for a performance again… I’m not Kang, I’m Gyeon….”
“That’s a peculiar way of saying you’ll become a dog, hyung….”
Thanks to the managers who cleared out the luggage and laid mats on the waiting room floor, I, along with Joo Eunchan, who had flopped down beside me, mumbled in a voice that was almost asleep. I didn’t even have the strength to reply, so I just lazily nodded with my eyes half-closed.
‘Did we push too hard trying to beat Lanion…?’
Thinking about the upcoming year-end schedules and the performances lined up to match them suddenly gave me a headache.
I should have just gone with some really intense dance break and an expensive arrangement for a few of them….
Regret washed over me, but it was too late to undo it now.
“Guys, you did great, really great. You were amazing.”
Ji Suho smiled with satisfaction as he handed out protein bars and ice water. Bringing the ice water to my throat, which had been strained all day, and munching on the chocolate-flavored protein bar, I finally felt like I was getting some energy back.
While the members scattered around to cool off and catch their breath, Ji Suho continued with the announcements.
“Listen up while you rest. Our stage is over now, but there’s still that special stage for Taehyun and Yugeon, right? The one for the 19-year-olds. You’ll need to get ready for that, so once you catch your breath, go change your clothes. The rest of the members don’t have anything until the ending, so let’s eat the dinner bento we missed earlier.”
“What’s the dinner menu today…?”
“It’s your favorite chili assortment set and fish cake soup.”
“Awesome.”
As I clenched my fist with a small cheer of satisfaction at the dinner menu, Ji Suho laughed in disbelief and continued with the remaining announcement.
“Oh, and…. You know how all the performers go up and sing at the ending, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, apparently there’s some mic issue, so we’ll probably get fake mics. That means even if you sing hard, your voice won’t be broadcasted, so just lip-sync appropriately and save your throat. We’ve got a long way to go from here on out, got it?”
“Yes~”
Good news indeed.
As soon as Kwon Wook-hyung handed me my bento, I jumped up with all my might. No matter how exhausted I was, I still had to eat.
Snapping the wooden chopsticks apart, I poured chili sauce over the appetizing assorted fried food and asked Ji Suho.
“But what was the ending song again? I heard it before, but I can’t remember….”
“White Bird Band’s ‘Everything Will Be Fine’.”
As soon as I heard the title, the lyrics naturally flowed from my lips.
No wonder it sounded so familiar—it was a song my mom liked and often played.
“Oh, I can sing this so well…. My mom would love it if I sang it, but, ah….”
Too bad we got stuck with fake mics.
I quickly ate the chili sweet and sour pork, which was cold but still delicious, with a voice that didn’t sound disappointed at all.
* * *
Before our performance, time seemed to drag on endlessly, but once it was over, other people’s performances flew by in an instant. Now, performances by groups like Billie Ver, whom we weren’t even competing against, Wintertail, whom we got close to during Touch High, and other prominent male and female idols all passed by one after another.
Honestly, saying that all of them left a deep impression would be a lie, but the most memorable performance was undoubtedly by one team.
“Wow…….”
“Wow……….”
It was Utopia, the oldest group in this music festival, with 13 years under their belt and heading towards their 14th year in just a few weeks.
“
Are those hyungs really fish? I feel like they’ve got gills instead of lungs.”
Their stage presence, command, and live performance skills were so impressive that all I could do was marvel.
There was no need for us to compete with Lanion; just watching those hyungs’ performances would make people naturally think, ‘Ah, Lanion doesn’t even compare.’
“Okay, last one~”
“Ending, ending!”
“Man, I really want to go to a sauna. Seriously.”
“…Let’s go late tonight?”
“Go…?”
“Stop talking nonsense and hurry up, we’re falling behind.”
After Utopia’s performance, all that was left was for all the performers to go up on stage, sing the ending song, and our first year-end stage would truly be over.
There were a lot of people, but the number of staircases available was limited, so voices were coming from everywhere about losing track of members. I thought our team was doing well, sticking together, but when we got up there, we were missing one person.
“What the, where’s Joo Eunchan?”
“Weren’t you with him, hyung?”
“No? Wasn’t he with Doha?”
“I thought he was with Haru.”
“Oh, I saw Eunchan-hyung next to Siwoo-hyung earlier.”
“I didn’t see him. Didn’t Taehyun take care of him?”
“I was bringing him along, but lost track of him in the middle. He’ll find his way back on his own. Tall ones, stand on your toes so Eunchan can see you.”
From the teleprompter, it seemed the final New Year’s VCR was still playing.
Spinning the fake hand mic, which had no power, handed to me by the sound director before coming up, I glanced around the stage. Seeing that singers were still coming up from various directions, Joo Eunchan was likely somewhere in that chaotic crowd.
Well, we don’t have any parts, so as long as he gets here before the song ends, it’s fine.
“Alright, we’re going live soon. MCs, standby!”
“Singers, please focus!”
In large-scale stages like this, where many singers come up at once, it’s often not possible to provide all of them with in-ear packs.
So, the broadcasting station usually selects a few members who sing well and perform well live and provides them with mics and in-ears. It hurt my pride a little that our group wasn’t one of those chosen few.
“They should have given us a mic…. I’m confident I could’ve blown everyone away.”
“I asked around, and apparently, Utopia-sunbaenim didn’t get one either. It seems like our entire agency didn’t get any.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Look over there. Hansol-sunbaenim doesn’t have a mic, but Jinu-sunbaenim does. And Jinu-sunbaenim’s a rapper.”
At Seo Taehyun’s words, I glanced at the Utopia hyungs in the row ahead of us. As Taehyun said, it was indeed Yoon Jinu, who had nothing to do with singing, holding the mic and laughing with the other hyungs.
‘Miro must really not be on good terms with QBS.’
As I wondered what kind of grudge could lead to such blatant discrimination, I spotted Joo Eunchan, who looked like he was halfway to a mental breakdown after losing track of the hyungs, pushing his way through the crowd of singers to reach us.
“Alright, did our sixth member find his way back?”
“I just got a proper taste of what it means to be a human maze….”
As we chuckled at the sight of a dazed Joo Eunchan, the VCR ended, and the live broadcast resumed.
With the MCs delivering their closing remarks and a light New Year’s greeting, the backing track for the ending started playing. Even without an in-ear pack, I could get a feel for the song by listening to the basic monitor speakers on stage and the other singers’ voices.
“Oh, straighten your shoulders, send your dreams on the wind~”
As I hummed along to the lyrics that naturally came to mind without looking at the teleprompter, my excitement started to build. The lyrics were so hopeful, and the melody was so lively—it was exactly my style.
Having successfully completed today’s performance, I couldn’t hold back my excitement any longer. I grabbed the fake mic and started singing with exaggerated gestures.
“Don’t! Worry! Everything will be↗ fine↘!”
“Ugh, seriously, what’s wrong with him….”
Seo Taehyun, who was the most sensitive to second-hand embarrassment, already covered his face in horror, but I didn’t care.
“Still waiting! For the! Wonderful future, let’s look forward to it!”
Are you embarrassed?
Too bad.
I had absolutely no intention of holding back on this rare free karaoke session—my determination was as firm as the number of hairs on the QBS Variety Department’s head.
Which was close to zero.