Episode 166: Passion (2)
It was quite a long time ago.
Not long after our debut, during a drinking party among Starlight artists, this story had come up.
“Consolation performances… You and the hyungs probably haven’t experienced it, right? For girl groups, it’s basically a self-esteem charging station. Once you go, you realize ‘Ah, this is why I do this job.’”
He had been a little drunk at the time, so he didn’t remember exactly which Pleiades member had brought it up.
But he clearly remembered her flushed cheeks, red with excitement as if just imagining the stage gave her chills.
It must have been a stage that those madness-filled Pleiades members couldn’t help but love.
No, it would be the same for anyone who normally enjoyed the stage, not just those who went to extremes.
““Waaaaaaaa!!””
A low, heavy, yet enormous cheer shook the ground and poured toward the stage.
The impact, as if passion had become reality and was striking the body, was more than enough to send shivers through anyone listening.
‘So that’s why people said they’d pay to go.’
He had heard about it many times, but he hadn’t expected it to be this intense.
Polaris had been a group that attracted male fans as well, but it hadn’t been that way from the beginning.
By the time they had gained some recognition among men, their value had already risen far beyond what military consolation performances could afford.
Of course, even if they had gone without worrying about the fee, it was highly likely that even Polaris — the group that had swept the Hallyu wave across the world — wouldn’t have received this kind of cheer right after debut, as they would have been overshadowed by a brand-new rookie girl group. But anyway.
‘Even I’m like this.’
Even he, who prided himself on having experienced almost every kind of stage, found it hard to control his pounding heart. How much more so for the people actually standing on that stage?
It wasn’t just the Team Y kids.
The members of the other teams who had finished their stages before them in the order were the same.
The competitive spirit of wanting to defeat our team.
Or the inertia of defeat that clearly showed their broken hearts from lingering in the lower ranks.
All those subtle, complex gazes that had existed before stepping onto the stage had disappeared.
‘Now I understand why he asked us to prepare two songs.’
Even the order that had seemed a bit forced now made perfect sense.
The effort put into preparing twice the workload had been more than double, but the confidence they would gain on such a hard-prepared stage would be even greater.
The heightened morale would further elevate the perfection of the final finale stage that would decorate this program.
‘Ryu Je-hyuk… He really is a scary person.’
Ryu Je-hyuk’s straightforward method — not the ugly side of devilish editing, but a pure and honest frontal attack — had worked perfectly, setting a huge fire to the atmosphere of both the stage and the audience.
And yet he was still calmly giving instructions without getting excited like the others.
Seeing that, there was no way not to realize that he hadn’t simply gotten lucky; he had invited the Republic of Korea Armed Forces soldiers with exactly this result in mind.
Of course, from the perspective of those participating in the competition, it wasn’t something they could purely welcome.
“Hut.”
Nevertheless.
There was only one reason why, as an artist, he couldn’t hide the smile full of anticipation for the heat and spectacular finale before his eyes.
Because they too were positively affected by that electrifying cheer.
“Hurry up!”
““Deep in your heart! The feelings you hid!
Now show them to me!””
“Stand up!”
““Even if you try to ignore it and move on!
Your true heart is visible to me!””
A low and heavy group chant poured through the fully raised microphone, filling the entire space.
The owner of the microphone was So Young-i.
When it came to a personality that could never be left out in an atmosphere like this, the kid who would be second to none was already straying from the set movement path and running wild across the stage.
But there was no need to worry.
To an outsider it might look like an uncontrollable rampage, but to his eyes it was completely clear.
‘If So Young-I had really gone on a rampage, she would have already jumped off the stage.’
He had already seen several times the real sudden actions So Young-I would do when she got caught up in the atmosphere.
This level was nothing more than a small deviation after she had already calculated all the other members’ movement paths in her head and confirmed she could return to her original position right after her part ended.
She was the kind of kid who would proudly rank in the top 3 of the biggest headaches for idol security personnel in the future, but she still had a long way to go before reaching that point.
““Ah~!””
Just as expected.
So Young-I, who had beautifully led even the humming that decorated the end of her part with a unified voice, returned to her spot as if nothing had happened and yielded the center of the stage to Nari.
The footsteps were so natural that it looked like the stage had been choreographed with this movement from the beginning. Nari seemed momentarily flustered,
“Reveal that scenery in your heart.
The color you chose is the answer.
The warm rays of light that wrap around the morning
Are shining blue on us.”
But that only lasted a very brief moment.
Nari, without breaking her idol smile, calmly continued with her part.
Of course, there was no need to worry that Nari’s calm appearance might ruin the atmosphere So Young-I had powerfully raised.
““Reveal it!””
““It’s the answer!””
““The rays of light!””
““Are shining!””
A response that seemed almost pre-arranged poured toward Nari as well.
‘Of course it is pre-arranged.’
Since it was a song with an original version, it wasn’t strange.
The original song itself belonged to another girl group that wasn’t that old, so it wasn’t strange that the soldiers knew the response chants either.
It wasn’t just that they were pulling up remnants from memory — he was simply grateful that they were shouting along so loudly.
“‘Like’ — don’t hide that feeling.
It’s hard to be courageous.
It’s all right, cheer up.
My heart isn’t any different from yours.”
Following Nari, the one who appeared at the center of the stage was Chaekyung.
It was a noticeably lower tone than the parts she usually took, but it was more than enough to show the charm of her clear and clean voice.
‘So Young-I, Nari, and Chaekyung — there’s nothing to give feedback on for any of them. Should I just tell So Young-I to make eye contact with the members before she runs wild when she can’t hold it in?’
During the short interlude that followed.
He had been organizing feedback in his head when a voice came from behind him, pulling his gaze away from the stage.
“The kids aren’t shaking at all and they’re doing well.”
“…Yes. They’re doing well.”
The first interlude of ‘Morning in Blue’ wasn’t very long.
Considering that the second verse part would start soon, if it had been anyone else, he wouldn’t have even given them a glance.
But he couldn’t do that.
He couldn’t deny that the countless debates he had shared with the owner of that welcome voice had had no small influence on his music.
“I thought you disliked me.”
Starting a proper first conversation with Heo Yul-bok after returning to the past like this was a bit of petty spite.
It was spite toward the fact that the relationship they had built now existed only in his memory.
“That can’t be. I just clearly separated public and private matters. After all, we’re in a competition.”
Well, he had expected this kind of answer to some extent, which was why he could say it.
He swallowed the laughter that was about to leak out at how exactly as expected the reason for keeping distance until now was, and asked again.
“Then what about now? There’s still one stage left, right?”
“At this point, I have to admit it. The winner is Team Y anyway.”
Heo Yul-bok’s sly voice was so similar to the one in his memory that he had to bite the inside of his lip to forcibly hold back the laughter that was about to come out naturally.
Meanwhile, the first part of the second verse began. Kim Su-jin’s rap part was ending, and the continuing cheers were growing even stronger.
“That friend was from Starlight, right? Wow, she’s really good… Maybe I should have brought that friend after all.”
He frowned as he spoke, looking genuinely regretful, but
‘Well, those are empty words.’
He knew to some extent that it was just empty talk.
If he had really meant it, he wouldn’t have checked him like that during Nari’s turn.
“That friend is really good too. She’s Chinese, right? Was there any trouble communicating?”
“Yes. Roa speaks Korean well.”
But he quietly let him continue speaking.
He was a person with clear pride and ego, even if not at Bang Ho-kyung’s level.
If they had become a bit closer, it might be different, but he wasn’t the type to talk a lot to someone he wasn’t very familiar with.
For such a person to chatter like this?
It was proof that he had been holding back the desire to talk to him quite a lot.
‘Well, there’s no way this hardcore idol fan could dislike me.’
He knew why Heo Yul-bok had become a producer.
Since he had heard it directly from the man himself when he was heavily drunk, there was no need to question the credibility.
Even though Heo Yul-bok had liked him before his regression under the title of active idol, which no longer existed.
Even so, there was no way Heo Yul-bok would dislike the current him.
The charms that the three idol groups his hand had touched had each bloomed would be extremely fragrant to this hardcore idol fan.
‘Not to mention when it comes to Team Y.’
The proof was right in front of him.
Following Jin Ro-a’s part, which had induced group chanting along with So Young-I, and passing So Young-I and Nari’s chorus.
It was the climax of Team Y’s first stage.
“Ah~!”
As Chaekyung’s humming, which was practically a preview that she would pour out all the high notes she had been saving until now, rang through the microphone, Heo Yul-bok gently closed his eyes.
His chin slightly raised.
And the corners of his eyes faintly trembling.
Heo Yul-bok expressed the catharsis given by Chaekyung’s refreshing vocal with his whole body, without any sign of hiding it.
Of course, that only lasted a very brief moment.
“Aigoo. I’ve been out here too long. I’ll head back. Let’s both work hard for the remaining two weeks.”
With those words, Heo Yul-bok turned his back to the stage and walked away.
For some reason, he felt like he knew why his shoulders looked slightly drooped.
“Han Yujin, you sneaky bastard. You deliberately put the good kids in D-Class to divert attention. You’re a total con artist.”
If they had been a little closer, instead of promising to meet again later, he might have heard such a jab.
Of course, at the time the grades were assigned, both Chaekyung and So Young-I had clearly been at a level that could only enter D-Class, and Heo Yul-bok would also know well that the kids had raised their skills over the rounds. But regret was one of the few things that could temporarily paralyze a person’s reason.
That jab he would have definitely heard before his regression felt a little nostalgic.
“Sunbae-nim.”
So he called out to Heo Yul-bok.
“If it’s not rude, could I get your contact information?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. If you don’t dislike me, that is.”
Even without saying that, he wasn’t the type to pull away, but anyway, his number was now saved in his phone.
And then,
“Pfft.”
In the end, he couldn’t hold back the laughter that leaked out.
Because the feeling that the footsteps of the man turning and walking away again somehow looked lighter was not just his imagination.
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