Chapter 187
Today was the long-awaited concert ticketing day.
Blue Duck and Prism Homma gathered at a famous PC room known for its prime spots, trembling with anticipation.
“Please… Just give me one spot…”
“If possible, please let it be standing…”
“Just one prime spot, please…”
The two fervently prayed.
“Are you aiming for the first concert or the last one?”
The first and the last concerts.
At first glance, the two concerts seemed identical, but they were distinctly different.
Even with the same setlist, the atmosphere varied depending on the date, and the expressions and emotional states of the members differed too.
‘No two concerts under the sky are the same.’
This was a truth widely accepted among the fans.
The best scenario was to get tickets for both days, but…
That wasn’t an easy task.
The standard strategy was to choose one and focus on it.
“I’m aiming for the first concert.”
“I’m going for the last one.”
Blue Duck chose the first concert, while Prism Homma opted for the last one.
“Honestly, the emotional impact of the last concert… It’s indescribable.”
“For me, it’s about the energy of the first concert. Plus, this is Steel Blue’s first concert ever. I can’t miss it.”
The two argued but eventually agreed to go their separate ways.
“But the competition is going to be fierce.”
“Exactly. They didn’t even do a paid fan club presale, so anyone can try. Steel Blue always lacks foresight.”
“I heard a lot of ticket scalpers are involved too.”
“Sigh… Honestly, I’m prepared for ‘This Seat is Already Taken’.”
‘This Seat is Already Taken.’
The most dreaded notification during ticketing…
“Let’s just get one ticket each.”
“Oh, there’s one minute left.”
“Trembling…”
They gripped their mice tightly and checked their screens once more.
Popup blocker disabled? Yes.
Shipping address pre-entered? Yes.
Date of birth copied and ready? Yes.
Logged in? Yes.
“Everything’s checked.”
“Let’s go for it.”
The moment the server clock hit 00 seconds.
With careful but swift hands.
They pressed F5.
And then—
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!”
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…”
They looked at each other.
“First concert standing!!!!”
“Last concert standing!!! …Failed.”
“Gasp…!”
The two fans, half-successful in their ticketing attempt!
Blue Duck luckily secured standing tickets for the first concert.
But Prism Homma…
[Dear customer, we’re sorry! Please wait a moment!]
Could only stare at the server down message.
However.
“Ahhhh!!!! My mercenary friend succeeded!!!!!!!”
“Gasp! For the last concert?!”
“Yes!!!!”
Thanks to Prism Homma’s foresight in recruiting seven mercenaries.
They managed to secure one ticket.
Thus, the two fans successfully got their concert tickets!
[Steel Blue’s first concert sold out… Proving ticket power]
[Steel Blue concert ‘Bluest’ site crashes due to overload]
[10,000 attendees for Steel Blue’s concert… ‘Rising Rookie’]
Amidst the hectic concert preparations.
Good news came.
The news that our concert was sold out.
“Shouldn’t we put candles on a cake and celebrate?!”
“Let’s also buy crowns and magic wands to commemorate it.”
“What’s with the crown? We’re not kids.”
“I think at 19, we are legally kids.”
“…”
Naturally, the members were incredibly happy.
I was happy too.
“Let’s go buy a cake. I’ll go with Juha unnie. What kind of cake do you want?”
Everyone was exhausted from preparing for the concert.
Even a small event like this might give us some strength.
“Chocolate!”
“What are you talking about? The cake should obviously be a fresh cream strawberry cake, right?”
“Let’s go with cheesecake.”
“Haha. Does no one like sweet potato cake?”
We had been very busy.
Our music show promotions had ended long ago.
But our fan signing events had continued for almost two months, and we even had a fan meeting.
On top of that, we were juggling all kinds of variety shows while preparing for the concert…
Even without saying it, I could feel the members’ fatigue.
“I’ll just buy four cakes.”
“Cheong, what kind of cake do you like?”
“…I like ice cream cake.”
“…”
How is it that out of five people, not a single taste overlaps?
I sighed and sent a message to Baek Juha.
Manager Baek Juha
The members want to eat cake.
Could you come with me to a nearby bakery?
I got a quick reply.
Manager Baek Juha
OK, I’m in the underground parking lot.
Come out now.
It’s getting chilly, so wear your coat.
It was already the end of October.
Feeling the cold on my nose made me realize there was only a month left until the concert.
It was really cold.
I saw our car parked in the underground lot and got into the passenger seat.
“Are you here?”
“Yes.”
“Why cake all of a sudden?”
“The members want to celebrate the concert being sold out.”
“Ah, that’s worth celebrating. But is cake enough? Shouldn’t you be grilling some premium beef?”
…Is that so?
Maybe I was being too humble.
“Let’s all go out on our day off then.”
“Yeah, yeah. Since you all only hang out together, it should be easy to schedule.”
“…”
Steel Blue… Outed as the loners of the entertainment industry…
“It’s nice to see you looking brighter these days, Cheong.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. For a while, you were completely down. You couldn’t even straighten your shoulders.”
“Was I?”
I mumbled evasively.
If I admitted it, they’d ask why I was so down.
Even though I tried to hide it, it must have shown.
I can’t hide anything from Baek Juha’s eyes.
“But it’s good to see you seem better now.”
“I’ve been getting my energy back.”
I’ve somewhat gotten things sorted out.
I’ve made up my mind to some extent.
Now, all that’s left is to put everything into the concert.
“About the concert tickets assigned to me.”
“Oh, yes. Who did you give them to?”
Managers were allocated one or two concert tickets each.
Other road managers mostly gave the tickets to their friends.
I wondered who Baek Juha gave them to.
“I sent them to my mom.”
“…Your mother this season?”
“Yeah.”
What should I say to this?
“So… is she coming?”
“No? She won’t come. My mom doesn’t like crowded places.”
“Then why did you send them…?”
“To show her how capable her daughter is. She’s probably feeling a bit envious right about now.”
Ah, I see.
Come to think of it, Baek Juha didn’t have the best relationship with her mother.
The fact that she didn’t take up a job at All Season but struck out on her own…
“But I’ll be there.”
“Of course, you’ll be watching from the backstage!”
“Isn’t that the ultimate VVIP seat? Haha.”
So unserious.
“For many reasons… this will be a good concert.”
I silently nodded.
It would be a good concert.
One that everyone could be satisfied with.
“I can’t believe… I’m going to the concert hall…”
Blue Duck, Hong Fan, and Deputy Kim.
The three of them headed to the concert hall with excited hearts.
“What concert goods are you going to buy today?”
“Why… is that even a question…? I’m buying everything.”
“Wow. A true Everblue…!”
The three of them had already thought about what they wanted to buy.
Deputy Kim was buying everything.
Blue Duck wanted a light stick, slogan, photo cards, and a collect book.
Hong Fan added badges and a T-shirt to what Blue Duck was buying.
Though their bank accounts were emptying, their hearts were fuller than anyone’s.
“I wonder how legendary the kids will be today… I feel like crying already.”
“My thoughts exactly!”
After buying all the goods they wanted.
They entered the concert hall.
Since Deputy Kim had a different standing section, she had to enter through a different entrance from Hong Fan and Blue Duck.
After everyone found their spots and the waiting time ended.
An announcement played.
The concert was about to begin.
“Oh my gosh, it looks like it’s starting!”
As murmurs filled the hall.
The lights went out.
With a cheer that pierced through the heavy darkness.
A VCR started playing on the screen.
An anonymous hand appeared, opening the Steel Blue & Everblue exchange diary.
On the page dated November 27, it wrote [Today is Steel Blue’s first concert!♥] and closed the diary.
Then.
The exchange diary bounced up and began to travel through the backgrounds of the music videos Steel Blue had filmed so far.
Finally,
It arrived at the concert hall.
The diary settled on the stage and opened.
As Steel Blue picked it up—
Shall we fly through a time machine?
I’ll jump into a wormhole if I have to
Like crossing a line
I’ll leap through time
The song began.
‘!’
Blue Duck and Hong Fan looked at each other.
‘The first song is <Beyond All Time>…!
Looking up.
The members, dressed in jeans and white T-shirts, were flying through the air.
Upon closer inspection, wires were attached to their backs.
“The kids are on wires…!”
“Those crazy kids are running around too well…?”
Over the time
Over the rainbow
Beyond all the times
I will fly to you
When I turned my head, following Yoon Cheong’s voice,
Yoon Cheong, with the microphone close to her lips, was singing near the second floor.
That scene looked as if,
It really seemed like she could leap over any place.
The two of them couldn’t help but smile.
The concert had begun.
Spoiler for the first concert setlist
Beyond all the times (Mini 2nd album)
20 Degrees Celsius Sunny (Debut album)
Rainbow (Debut album)
Let’s Leave (Musical)
Blue (Debut album)
Summer Solstice (Mini 2nd album)
You’re My Word (Single 1st album)
Summer Triangle (Mini 2nd album)
Slope (Top Idol)
Night Sea (Debut album)
Fingertips (Musical)
Everywhere Everytime (Mini 2nd album)
Eternal Summer (Mini 2nd album)
Telescope (Debut album)
Shotgun MIC (Top Idol)
Biker Highway (Musical)
Falling Flowers (Yoon Cheong Solo)
Guardian (Seo Baek-young, Yeon Juhong Unit)
Soul Mate (Ryu Bo-ra, Kim Geum Unit)
Paper Doll (Single 1st album)
Bubble Planet (Debut album)
Blue Wave (Musical)
Prismatic (Musical)
Beyond All Worlds (Mini 2nd album)
Name: Yoon Cheong
Height: 168 cm
Shoe size: 235 mm
Vision: L: 0.5 R: 0.6
Position: Main Vocal
Family relations: None
Education: Graduated from Baekdan Elementary School, dropped out of Baekdan Middle School. GED
Birthday: July 4th
Blood type: A
Hobby: ?
Motto: ?