ALL NOVEL Chapter 269
Chapter 269. TThe Snowball of Luck (2)
The reason for choosing school uniforms as the first stage outfits for
‘They seem to like it.’
Sunset University @SS_university
Until the day Kang Hajin serves up a million collection of school uniforms…
(MV school uniform costume capture)
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(Saegim High School self-produced content school uniform costume capture)
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Hong Dangmu @ghdekdan
I wish a law could be made in Korea that mandates all idols debuting must wear school uniforms during their rookie days.
You all won’t wear them later anyway because you’ll think it’s embarrassing as you age…
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Anyway, since the music video explicitly featured a student concept and today was the college entrance exam day, it had some significance. Lee Yugeon and Seo Taehyun even came on stage wearing the exact uniforms they wore when they took the exam.
Since
Ah, ah―,
This is not a carol (really)
Really not a carol (seriously)
Although it wasn’t a pre-recording but a live broadcast, so there were fewer fans in the audience than usual, the cheering synchronized with the fan chant was distinctly audible. The members seemed to be in high spirits, perhaps due to the fans shouting at the top of their lungs, and they were putting all their energy into the relatively easy choreography.
Especially Seo Taehyun, who was practically flying around.
‘Is he excited because we’re a candidate for first place, because he’s finished his exams, or because he dumped Cha Minseok…?’
Come to think of it, he has plenty of reasons to be excited, doesn’t he?
I was busy thinking that I should be understanding if Seo Taehyun suddenly donned a traditional outfit and started spinning a sangmo while playing a janggu, when my eyes met with Seo Taehyun’s, who had been flying around just a moment ago.
“……?”
He looked at me as if to say, ‘Hyung, what are you doing?’ and when I looked around, I noticed that all the other members were standing on the opposite side of the stage, except for me. Lee Yugeon, who had just noticed me while changing positions, gave me a panicked look and signaled with his eyes to come over quickly.
‘Ah, damn.’
I realized I had messed up the formation!
Without even having time to manage my expression, I quickly ran back to my original position. Even in the midst of this, my hands faithfully performed the choreography ingrained in my bones.
‘Please, let this be a wide shot, please, please….’
We didn’t even record a pre-shoot, so there’s no way to edit it.
If this huge mistake gets immortalized in the video, how can I continue being an idol without dying of embarrassment?
No matter what condition my mental state was in, the song continued smoothly, reaching its final part.
The members gathered in the center, facing the camera with bright smiles, and of course, I was in the center.
The members, who had been smiling even before, seemed doubly happy about my mistake, to the point where their expressions were so contorted that it looked like they were doing a ‘try not to laugh’ challenge. Only Joo Eunchan and Jung Siwoo, who hadn’t seen the situation because they were busy with their parts, looked confused.
Our Day is Everyday Christmas!
With the last line, we waved our hands energetically toward the fans who had been cheering for us in the audience. While I was grateful for their enthusiastic support, I felt deeply embarrassed to have made such a huge mistake after striking all sorts of cool poses in front of them.
Instinctively, I covered my face with my hands, chastising myself, wondering, ‘Why on earth did I lose focus on stage?’ when Seo Taehyun, sitting next to me, nudged me in the side and spoke through ventriloquism.
“Hyung, y-you’re the ending fairy today….”
Ah, damn it.
Not only did I make a mistake with the formation during a live comeback stage, but now I’ve also publicly displayed my moment of existential crisis in one go.
‘Haru, if you’re going to regress, please do it now….’
The chosen regressor really has a terrible sense of timing……
* * *
“Did Hajin just mess up?”
“It looks like it. His expression was too real!”
“Huh? Really? Wasn’t that acting? I thought it was part of the choreography.”
“Ah, maybe? But his reaction seemed too genuine for that?”
Even among the Destis in the audience, Hajin’s mistake was a hot topic.
Hajin was typically flawless on stage, and the image of him confidently leading the show in a suit earlier was still strongly imprinted in everyone’s minds, making the mistake seem even more significant.
However, for Yoon Jae-hee, who was seeing ‘Idol Kang Hajin’ on stage with her own eyes for the first time since the Utopia concert, even that mistake was enjoyable. On top of that, Hajin’s styling today reminded her of the time he auditioned for Rene, which made the experience even more nostalgic.
“Oh, the kids are a candidate for first place today. Did you vote?”
“I got so frustrated running ads that I just spent money. I’m planning to go home after watching my babies cry as they take first place.”
Yoon Jae-hee nodded with a determined look. As soon as she heard that
Although there was no physical album, the digital scores were overwhelmingly good, so if the fans did well this week, it seemed possible to take first place on all music shows.
“I really hope they take all the wins this week. Next week, it looks like Lanion might also be a contender….”
“Wow, their album sales are really good. They’ve already announced fansigns and lucky draws.”
“…Haha. That’s Rene for you.”
Yoon Jae-hee, who had recently worked at Rene, lowered her gaze with an awkward smile.
A little later, the performances for the day finally came to an end, and all the performers and MCs gathered on stage for the ending. Hajin had already changed back into his suit from earlier, but he hadn’t managed to change his shoes and was still wearing his Converse sneakers.
Just that one pair of shoes gave the illusion that the high schooler from earlier on stage had grown up over time. It was a feeling similar to what she felt when she first saw the
“Now, who will be the winner of the third week of November?”
Today’s first place contenders were Kairos and a girl group that had recently made a comeback.
The rival group was known to have a strong fanbase for a girl group, so it was impossible to let down their guard until the very end.
On stage, the members of Kairos, standing in a line like dominos next to Hajin, who was hosting as the MC, were holding hands tightly. Hajin, holding the cue card and microphone, glanced at them and gave a small smile.
“Let’s see the final results!”
The final scoreboard appeared on the monitor.
Although the score for physical albums was 0 due to the digital single, the digital score showed Kairos had a decisive lead. As the scores for each category were revealed one by one, Yoon Jae-hee quickly calculated the numbers in her head.
“And the winner, after adding the live broadcast voting score…”
‘Please, please…. Please let it be the live broadcast vote….’
Until the live broadcast vote was included, the scores seemed roughly even, and the Destis in the audience, including Yoon Jae-hee, were nervously clasping their hands together.
Hajin, perhaps also feeling a bit nervous, was tapping the cue card repeatedly with his fingers.
Soon, the monitor displayed the winning artist.
“…Kairos! Congratulations!”
Kairos’s first-ever number one since their debut.
Yoon Jae-hee’s heart raced as if her own dream had come true, realizing she had witnessed that moment.
* * *
‘We did it.’
We really did it.
We became number one.
Even though I’ve won awards in various competitions before, for some reason, this didn’t feel real.
‘Wait, have I ever been first place before?’
I’d received plenty of special awards and encouragement prizes, but I couldn’t really remember ever winning first place.
The closest would be a relay race at a school sports day, but even then, they just stamped a ‘Great Job’ seal on your hand and that was it.
“Congratulations on your first number one since debut. Let’s hear from our MC and leader Hajin first.”
The trophy naturally made its way to me. The members, who had been trembling like they were praying while holding hands, were now looking around in disbelief, unsure of what to do now that we had actually won first place.
What do people usually say when they win first place?
I scanned the members while mentally listing the people I needed to mention, and then I noticed Seo Taehyun, standing at the far end, finally couldn’t hold back his tears. Joo Eunchan, who was trying to console him, was also on the verge of crying.
“Uh…. So….”
It was the ending segment, so I couldn’t drag this out too long.
I decided to thank the Destis first and then mention the company people, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out. My throat was parched, and I saw that even Jung Siwoo, who was standing beside me, had turned red-eyed and was about to start crying.
‘Is even that hyung going to cry?’
This isn’t even some year-end grand award.
They debuted with even more attention and interest during a survival show, and they’re crying this much just because we got first place on a music show?
At this rate, the joyous day was going to turn into a somber occasion, so I decided to pull myself together and looked straight ahead.
“…Um, first of all, our Destis!”
As soon as I mentioned the fans who were the biggest reason we were standing here, cheers erupted from the audience.
I looked at the nameless fans waving our light sticks from the stage. Since we hadn’t officially recruited the first generation of fans yet, and therefore no official goods had been released, the fans were all holding the basic light sticks provided by the company for the music shows.
They must have felt envious when they saw other fans waving their colorful, beautiful light sticks, but Destis were cheering loudly, waving those plain white sticks proudly, congratulating us.
The moment I took in the sight of that wave of light, I found myself choking up once again.
“Ah, this is crazy. Really….”
It was a sight I thought I’d never see in my life.
I’d always assumed I’d live out my days behind the scenes, in the darkest places, wearing the darkest clothes, playing a supporting role in making the people who shined, shine brighter. I thought that would be a meaningful life, too.
I didn’t regret or feel ashamed of that past life.
However, just, just.
Among all those choices and outcomes, I realized that this moment was what I had always wanted the most.
Even as tears streamed down my face and I struggled to hold back the sobs rising in my throat, I spoke sincerely to the Destis.
“We did it. We’re number one.”
How could I possibly explain that this was all thanks to the miracle they created?
Our first number one was, in the end, filled with tears.