Second Try Idol

The festival schedule was very tight, and many international artists were set to perform on stage besides us. We weren't considered main stage-level artists and were slotted for a special performance. Thus, our rehearsal time was extremely short.

It was indeed very brief. Unlike the end-of-year stage, where we could spend half a day rehearsing, here we had to finish our one and only rehearsal and come down as if being chased. Whether we made mistakes or not was no one’s concern.

I wasn’t sure how this would be portrayed on the broadcast, but one thing was for sure. As we were descending, a famous pop singer covered in tattoos scoffed and sneered at us.

The incident with Callia canceling our schedule just ended up being a miserable moment for us. However, having that singer, whom we had seen hundreds of times on UTube, music sites, and the Billboard charts, treating us like nobodies and laughing at us was beyond miserable. It was definitely humiliating.

“Don’t mind him,” I said. “We have nothing to do with that guy anyway."

Jin-Sung’s face was flushed with anger, and he was fiercely whining in my direction. “I know… But still! Ugh! It was him who started it!"

I tousled his hair with a sympathetic look. “You’re an adult, are you not?"

“Hyung… I'm really pissed, though."

It was understandable to be angry, especially since that jerk and his dancer openly mocked us as we passed by. If Jin-Sung, who barely understood English, could feel humiliated and angry, that said a lot.

It was too much to bear, so much that the director couldn't stand it. He shouted “Fuck it!" and lowered the camera. Callia went off to confront that singer with aggression, temporarily halting the shooting.

Joo-Han lost his composure because of the stress which he had been suppressing since our first day in the US. “Haha, hahaha! Oh my, haha, this is ridiculous, pfft, I'm going crazy!"

Seeing Joo-Han react this way, it made me think that the filming being paused was a blessing.

For the first time ever, I decided to act like a proper sub-leader. I took care of Joo-Han, who was not thinking straight, and Jin-Sung, who kept repeating "But, it was him who started it!" and handed them over to the stylists. I then gathered Goh Yoo-Joon and Yoon-Chan to start monitoring the rehearsal.

“Look, look. The gap between you two is too wide. Everyone is scattered all over the place from the center. Keep checking the formation using the monitors in front of the stage and adjust as needed."

“Okay, but about the in-ears. Are all of our MRs properly aligned? It feels like I'm the only one out of sync."

“Mine was fine. How about you, Suh Hyun-Woo?"

“Mine was okay too. But given the state of our rehearsal, even if the in-ears aren't properly synced, they might not check for us. Let's ask Su-Hwan hyung to talk to them, and if they still don't match during the performance, there's nothing we can do. Yoon-Chan, you will have to adjust according to the other members."

“Okay, I will try."

After hearing Yoon-Chan's response, I pondered for a moment and then spoke again. “Yoon-Chan, let's swap them. I will sync with the members. It will probably make you feel a bit more at ease, right?"

Yoon-Chan usually struggled with timing during choreography, so he could make a mistake on stage if the MR timing was also off.

“Since I'm only performing ‘Parade,’ use mine. Let's go with that."

Yoon-Chan hesitated for a bit since he was unsure of what to do, but he eventually nodded. “I am sorry, hyung."

It seemed he decided it was much better to feel sorry toward me than to make a mistake on stage.

I finished monitoring with the members and spoke to Su-Hwan about the MR. Then, I went to check on Joo-Han and Jin-Sung's condition. Jin-Sung had finally calmed down thanks to the stylists soothing him and was monitoring by himself, while Joo-Han was still angry but seemed to have somewhat regained his composure.

“Ha…"

Good things were usually followed by bad ones, but filming in the U.S. was particularly eventful. I could already imagine the rest of the members watching the broadcast of this program and crying over how tough it had been for them.

When Callia returned, the director immediately resumed the shooting. The atmosphere had finally become peaceful. We even had a four-hour gap until our performance after our rehearsal had ended.

Even though we had rushed through the rehearsal, the main stage artists were given ample time to rehearse, so what could the unknown band Chronos do in the meantime? Eat, play, monitor, and practice while waiting.

But honestly, it wasn't much different from waiting during music broadcasts in Korea, so this level of waiting wasn't particularly surprising.

I followed Su-Hwan to a coffee shop and finally got some time to myself.

“...Time to make a call." I sat in a corner sipping coffee and picked up my phone.

[Mom]

Why was making this call so difficult? It was all because of that damn nightmare, or rather, the real past revisited through the nightmare. I lacked the courage to hear the worry in her voice.

I hovered my finger over the call button on the screen for a long while and eventually pressed it while biting my lip. It wasn't like I had to delve into deep conversations on camera, so just saying sorry and that I was okay was all that was needed.

After a long ring, the call connected.

- Hi, Hyun-Woo.

As soon as I heard Mom's voice, a surge of tension made me momentarily speechless before I finally managed to respond.

“Hi, Mom."

- …Are you okay?

“Ah, I'm totally, really, totally fine…"

- Why are you stammering as if you’re lying? You weren't answering, so I asked Yoo-Joon if you were okay.

“I’m sorry. I… I should have called sooner, but I was busy. Or just… I was just... Sorry. I'm okay."

- Still, you should have called me. You know I was worried. There were a bunch of articles circulating the internet, but I had zero calls from you.

“Sorry. I'm fine, though. Right after being discharged from the hospital, I went right back to practicing. That’s why I couldn't call. I was too concerned about the stage."

- Alright, as long as you are okay, everything is fine. Your dad was worried too, and so was your sister. Come have dinner with us when you are back in Korea. Bring Yoo-Joon, too. I miss you.

“Okay…"

- Thanks for calling even though you’re busy.

“I'm sorry. I love you."

- I love you too.

The call ended. I put down the phone and inadvertently bit my protruding lip. The tension I didn't want to prolong melted away as soon as the call ended. This situation was profoundly saddening. Why did I have to hesitate and feel so nervous even when talking to the person I loved the most?

As I stared at the ground while being lost in thought, I heard someone rapidly approaching me. Soon, someone flopped down beside me on the couch and leaned against my back.

“Hey, Hyun-Woo, get ready."

“For what?"

Goh Yoo-Joon covered both of my ears with his palms.

“What the—"

Don't mess with me. I reflexively frowned and was about to push Goh Yoo-Joon's hands away…

Boom-!

My ears were muffled, but I could faintly hear something exploding.

Boom! Bang!

It was the sound of fireworks going off one after another. My ears were covered, so I wasn't startled. However, the noise would have startled me greatly if I had heard it unprepared.

As I looked up at the sky, Goh Yoo-Joon removed his hands that were covering my ears. He wiped his hands on my clothes in disgust.

“What if I got grease on my hands from touching you?"

Ridiculous.

“Joo-Han hyung sent me,” Goh Yoo-Joon added. “The staff here gave a heads-up that they were going to test the fireworks, and he thought you'd be startled again, so he told me to hurry over."

“…I'm fine with fireworks. It was just the heat yesterday that messed me up."

“Ah, yes, yes. I’m just taking care of my fellow member, okay? Well, see ya."

I watched Goh Yoo-Joon leave with an incredulous look and took another sip of my coffee. Although I was slightly annoyed, I was very grateful for what he did. I could tell the members were subtly taking care of me in various ways since yesterday, and I was pretty sure I would have been startled just now.

After I finished my coffee, I got up and gathered the members. There were two hours left. I wanted to ensure a flawless performance for this last show.

After one more round of feedback and monitoring with the members, we practiced non-stop for the remaining time, enough not to tire us out. We aimed to make sure our performance showed our undeniable talent even to those who mocked and ignored us. And then, the festival began.

***

After waiting for a long time, even after the festival began, it was finally our turn to perform.

“You guys are amazing!” Callia said with a fierce look in her eyes. “You’re really cool! Don't let a scumbag’s insults sway you. Show them your best performance!"

Watching her glaring at that singer and engaging in a staring contest, I thought a diss battle[1]might unfold in Hollywood after we returned to Korea.

We responded loudly to Callia's encouragement and we chanted our own slogan among ourselves after receiving further encouragement from Reina.

“Let’s—"

“Let's do our best!"

Soon, Chronos was introduced with a video without any comments from the host. The audience at the heated venue was not aware who we were, but they were ready to welcome us with great enthusiasm.

The first stage was “Chronos.”

“You got this, guys! I'm sorry that I can’t join you. I will keep cheering for you from here!”

“Yeah!"

“Okay!"

The tension was palpable among the members. I felt guilty for not being able to join them on stage, so I absentmindedly massaged Jin-Sung's arm next to me. Finally, the stage went dark after the introduction clip ended.

1. A diss battle is a confrontation where individuals or groups exchange insults, often in the form of rap or spoken word, aiming to outdo each other in wit and creativity. Even Korean rappers often have this during the competition show or in actual life through their songs/raps. ☜

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