Hard Mode Idol

“Ah, I’m nervous.”

Yoochan hyung clenched his fists and swallowed hard. His nervousness was evident, but his expression was bright. Is he going to perform next?

“Hyung, what are you going to do?”

“Vocal impersonation.”

“Aha.”

He looks confident, but I’ve never heard it, so I don’t know. If he’s good, it’s a bonus… If he’s not, well. The MC will save him.

“Haon.”

“Yes?”

“Let me hug you for a bit.”

It should be fine since we’re in the corner and my hair is already messy, right?

“Sure, sure.”

I willingly offered my back to Yoochan hyung for his sake. His arms came up over my shoulders and hugged me. Ah, it’s comfortable. As I was leaning on hyung, Jung Ilhan also slowly approached my side.

“Me too.”

“Here.”

With my back given to Yoochan hyung and my left arm to Jung Ilhan, I watched Kanghyun hyung properly dancing. This time, the song selection was devoid of playfulness, so he was really flying.

“Hyungs.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I think the debut showcase is fun.”

The two of them agreed with my words and smiled at me. Kanghyun hyung, who showed a cool performance captivating people like a dance genius, returned. Hyung, wiping away the flowing sweat, looked very proud and happy.

Yoochan hyung, who was next, completely failed at vocal impersonation. Under the MC’s guidance, people comforted Yoochan hyung, who was making a sad face. Fortunately, judging by his expression, it seems his tofu mentality didn’t shatter. Instead, as soon as he came back, I had to offer myself as a sacrifice again. It’s fine since my stamina has recovered too, so it’s good for both of us.

Jung Ilhan turned the stage upside down, but he kept looking at me, which was troublesome. No, you should appeal to the audience, why are you looking this way? Later, he even stood diagonally and rapped while looking at me. Thanks to that, I had to be dragged out for the interview too.

I acknowledge that you’re reliable, maknae. That’s what I was told.

And finally, it was time to showcase our title song. At the MC’s words that it was the last stage, sighs of disappointment erupted from various places.

It was surprising that even people who didn’t know us kept their spots, and it was even more surprising that the number of people kept increasing.

“Now, lastly, we’ll see DIAS’s ‘Dear Friend’ stage!”

I slowly scanned the densely gathered people and moved to the center of the stage. I felt a hand tap my shoulder and saw it was Kanghyun hyung. Tap tap. He lightly patted me and passed by.

Did I look nervous? I tidied up my shallow breaths and knelt on one knee. The members scattered in a semicircle around me. After confirming their positions, they turned their backs to me and bowed their heads.

As we got into the starting formation, the lights went out. A murmur mixed with excitement and anticipation was heard faintly from here and there. Just before the intro started, a spotlight poured down above my head.

The familiar intro began. With an excited expression, I quickly scanned my surroundings and made a playful smile. I tapped the backs of Seoho and Kanghyun hyung on my left and right, and the two of them took a few steps back, grabbing the arms of Yoochan hyung and Jung Ilhan next to them.

All the members looked at me, and I stepped towards the front of the stage as if running away. The members chased after me and caught me, and I was lifted up and returned to my original position.

We looked at each other, making eye contact, and burst into laughter at the same time. The short performance during the intro ended, and we scattered in all directions.

The bouncy melody changed to a rigid and heavy one. We stared straight ahead with stiff expressions.

Jung Ilhan’s low singing rap kicked off the start. While listening to Jung Ilhan’s voice reciting calmly, I was the first to move. I found Seoho, and Seoho also saw me. We bumped our hips together and enjoyed ourselves. Realizing that it’s fun when there are two of us, I went to find another friend.

In the meantime, the melody gradually became brighter and more cheerful, regaining the bouncy feeling of the introduction.

The five of us quickly became close and ran around the stage together. The excited audience in the front row sent us fervent cheers. The cheers grew even louder each time we took turns doing moves during the dance break.

My part was a wink, and I was glad everyone liked it a lot. It wasn’t a forced facial expression, but a smile naturally came out because the stage was enjoyable and happy.

The hotter the atmosphere became, it didn’t feel tiring, but rather, it seemed like my stamina was filling up. I performed the choreography with even bigger movements. It felt like I literally became one with the members.

“I’ll only share good things~”

As Yoochan hyung’s high note ended, I immediately took over.

“If you’re with me~”

I let out a refreshing sound. I think I did much better than when I recorded it!

“That would be great.”

Jung Ilhan, who came in biting the end of my part, stepped forward and drew attention. The spotlight shifted, and I joined the formation.

My eyes met Seoho’s. His flushed face was clearly showing that he was extremely happy. I smiled following Seoho, and Seoho smiled even more brightly.

As the title song stage ended, cheers and applause continued endlessly. I had to make a desperate effort not to let my breathing sound too explicit through the microphone.

Still, all the members had bright expressions. Even the stoic Kanghyun hyung showed a radiant smile. I could be sure that everyone felt a sense of fulfillment that couldn’t be felt at the press showcase.

The MC’s fussing continued, and in the meantime, we lined up again in a row. It was when we were about to greet everyone together for the last time.

Kwaaang!

A tremendous roar was heard. Startled people screamed. We were no different. I froze in shock, and,

“Aah!”

Seoho, who let out a loud scream, was rolling on the floor.

“Ugh, Kanghyun hyung…”

“Sorry. I did it unconsciously.”

“…What if you avoided it!”

Kanghyun hyung held out his hand awkwardly. Seoho grabbed hyung’s hand, stood up, rubbed his elbow, and groaned.

“Are you okay?”

We have to do music shows starting tomorrow, so I hope he’s not seriously hurt. I was worried because he was in so much pain, but the corners of Seoho’s lips were pouting.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course I’m worried.”

“Really? You’re worried?”

The pouting corners of his mouth on both sides pushed up. Then he spun his arms around, showing that he was fine.

“Do you know who I am? I’m tough!”

“Then that’s a relief.”

It was an act. He’s really an attention seeker. After confirming that Seoho was safe, I quickly rolled my eyes to find the source of the roar and found it without much difficulty. People were gathered near the collapsed sculpture, looking down.

It was the very sculpture where the woman with the cannon camera was on earlier. The plate that was leaning towards the railing was hideously shattered and gone. The roar seemed to be the sound of the plate part falling down. Fortunately, no one seemed to be hurt.

However, the scene was already in chaos, and everyone’s concentration was dispersed. At times like this, I couldn’t grasp how to respond. Then the MC spoke in a much higher tone.

“Wow… That was really startling. You were all very surprised, right? Our DIAS members must have been very surprised too, are you okay?”

“Yes, we’re fine!”

Yoochan hyung quickly pulled himself together and answered. Seoho looked like he was about to say something, so I quickly grabbed his arm. It seemed like continuing the conversation now would do no good. Seoho looked at me once and shut his mouth tight.

In the meantime, the MC proceeded with the closing remarks again, and we got off the stage after greeting.

As we returned to the van and sat down, I swallowed a sigh of relief. The sub mission was a kind of warning. If it weren’t for the mission, there was a high probability that I wouldn’t have actively moved. I would have brushed it off, thinking everyone said it was fine, so it must be fine.

If I hadn’t dissuaded her from coming down earlier, that woman would have surely fallen with the plate. The height was considerable, so if that had happened, she could have been seriously injured or even died in severe cases.

Then it would have been difficult to casually mention the idol debut showcase. It would be natural since a casualty occurred while trying to film our stage video.

The group’s name would also have had a high probability of being known in a different way than we wanted. Public opinion criticizing the idol fandom culture would have surfaced, and ‘showcase accident’ would have followed the related search terms for DIAS.

If the social atmosphere had turned negative, there was a possibility that our debut itself could have been canceled. Or we might have had to give up on this album. Either way, it would have been the worst. It wasn’t a simple failure.

I’m glad I stopped it.

No one was hurt. It was just one sculpture that collapsed. The aftermath due to lack of management became a problem unrelated to us. It’s true that it’s actually unrelated.

“Come to think of it, if it weren’t for Jin Haon, something big could have happened.”

Seoho spoke as if he had suddenly realized it while looking at me. The hyungs’ gazes all gathered on me.

“That’s right. I was originally going to talk about not providing excessive service to a specific fan, but… In this case, should I praise him?”

Yoochan hyung tilted his head while looking back. But it seems like he said everything he wanted to say. When I just laughed, Yoochan hyung laughed along with me.

“Since the result turned out like this this time, I might not say anything, but next time, you can’t do it. Okay?”

“Yes. I’ll be careful.”

In the end, he drives in the final wedge. I wouldn’t have thought of getting off the stage either if it weren’t for the mission.

“But… Should we go to the hospital?”

The members simultaneously looked at Jung Ilhan at the sudden remark.

“Why? Are you hurting somewhere?”

“I’m worried that Haon might have been very startled. What if he gets sick again in the early morning?”

While saying that, he places his hand on my forehead. I’m perfectly fine. Even my current stamina is not that bad. I could see the bottom slowly, but if I get some sleep on the way back, there won’t be any problem.

“Oh, right. I heard that even just being startled can make a weak person sick! Let’s take Jin Haon to the hospital. Yoochan hyung! Tell Jeongon hyung!”

Gosh…