Chapter 121. The Reason for Action (8)
“Ah, Mother! Hello!”
Suho, who had been waiting for someone outside the broadcasting station, noticed a woman lingering nearby with a shopping bag in hand. He quickly ran over to greet her.
“Oh, Team Leader. Hello.”
The woman, who greeted Suho with a refreshing smile that reminded him of someone, was none other than Hajin’s mom, Young-in.
The two had met previously when Hajin formally signed a contract with Miro. At that time, they had met as Hajin’s legal guardian and the company representative.
“We should have visited you at home… Thank you for going through the trouble of coming all the way here.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m glad to have an excuse to visit Seoul. Here, it’s Hajin’s uniform.”
“Oh, thank you so much, Mother.”
Suho accepted the uniform from Young-in with a deeply apologetic expression.
Originally, he had planned to send a staff member directly to Hajin’s house. But Young-in had unexpectedly taken Hajin’s uniform to the local dry cleaner, making it difficult to coordinate the timing.
In response, Young-in had graciously offered to bring it to the station herself.
Suho had come down personally to receive the uniform instead of the road manager to show his appreciation and respect for Young-in’s kind gesture.
“Rather than standing here, how about we have a cup of coffee? I’ll treat you.”
“Oh, you must be busy. It’s alright. I was hoping to see Hajin’s face, but I guess he’s busy too, right? Is our Hajin doing well?”
From Young-in’s cautious question, Suho could instantly understand why she had driven all the way to Sangam. She had come all this way, hoping to catch even a glimpse of her child. Suho knew this parental feeling all too well.
“Many parents of other trainees often do the same.”
Suho glanced at his smartwatch, mentally calculating the schedule before asking Young-in,
“The kids are recording at two o’clock later. If you’re available, would you like to watch the recording for a bit?”
“Oh… Is that really okay?”
“Of course.”
After the ‘Infinite Regression’ incident, Suho had been contemplating ways to lift Hajin’s spirits.
From what he had observed, Hajin seemed to be on good terms with his mother and frequently talked to her on the phone. He thought it would be encouraging for Hajin to see a family member and receive some support, even if it was brief.
“I’ll treat you to a coffee at the cafe here. Please wait, and I’ll contact you when it’s time.”
Suho guided Young-in with a friendly smile.
He hoped this surprise visit would give Hajin a little boost.
* * *
The rehearsal began on time without any delays.
“Miro Maze team, please wait here for a moment~”
“No! Not there! Focus, please!”
Unlike during the Miro Maze shoot, slightly sharper voices could be heard.
Despite the staff’s cold attitude, Hajin and Taehyun, who were familiar with the scene, just thought, ‘They must be too busy to have had lunch.’
Yugeon, a slave to capitalism, muttered to himself, wondering how much he would earn if he worked part-time here, only to get smacked on the back by Seo Taehyun. The iron-hearted Dan Haru seemed to be simply excited about being on stage, grinning from ear to ear.
“Dan Haru, why are you so happy?”
“Oh, I was thinking about what to ask the Team Leader to buy me for dinner. I heard from the hair stylist earlier that there’s a great tonkatsu place nearby!”
“Donjak Hall?”
“Huh? How did you know that, hyung?”
Dan Haru’s already large eyes grew even bigger in surprise.
Hajin couldn’t exactly say that he had eaten there in a past life when a senior took him out after coming here for mixing, so he looked for an appropriate excuse.
“…I overheard the conversation earlier. But I think they’ll be on break by the time our recording ends.”
“What? No way…”
Dan Haru’s face fell, looking as if his world had crumbled.
‘He looks like a puppy that couldn’t go for a walk because of a typhoon…’
Hajin patted Haru’s head gently to console him. Given the nature of today’s stage, it would be quite troublesome if Haru’s mood were to sour.
“You can ask for something even better. If you do well on stage today, I’ll take you to that restaurant next time.”
“Wow, really? You promise, hyung?”
“Yeah. You know how important your role is today, right? You’re the center.”
“Yes!”
As expected of a resilient young kid, Dan Haru quickly perked up and dashed over to Taehyun, who was warming up nearby, eager to boast.
‘Dan Haru seems fine… The problem is those two timid ones.’
Hajin’s gaze shifted to the remaining two.
They were Jaeyoung and Jaiden, who, having been stuck in the regular class before being assigned to the Feather class, had never had a chance to visit such a place as backup dancers for their seniors.
‘They’re completely frozen.’
They had even taken calming pills at Hajin’s request to the manager that morning, but they didn’t seem to be having any effect.
With a small sigh, Hajin put in his in-ear monitors, staring intently at Jaiden and Jaeyoung, who were stiff as boards.
‘How do I loosen them up?’
Of course, Hajin hadn’t realized that his intense gaze was only making Jaiden and Jaeyoung even more nervous.
“H-hyung, Hajin hyung keeps looking at us…”
“He’s telling us with his eyes to do well…”
“Oh no. He’s coming over!”
Jaeyoung and Jaiden, who had been huddled together in a corner, froze as Hajin began walking toward them.
Although they had grown much closer to Hajin after ‘To You’ and found him to be a playful and cheerful hyung…
For the two of them, the memory of Hajin’s “crazy captain” moments from B-team days was still deeply ingrained.
“Hey, double J. Come here.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
Today, both Jaeyoung and Jaiden were unusually on edge as they hurried over to Hajin. Both were about a head shorter than him, so Hajin slightly tilted his head as he draped his arms over their shoulders.
Amidst the noisy sounds of the scene, Hajin’s exceptionally charming baritone voice reached their ears in a calm tone.
“Take a good look. The stage is smaller than you think. If you move like you did during the Miro Maze recording, will it work or not?”
“…It won’t work!”
“Exactly. You understand. And here, most of the production crew are people you’re meeting for the first time. If you call them by the wrong title, it could upset them, so if you need to say something, try to go through me. Got it?”
“Y-yes.”
Instead of the harsh scolding they had anticipated, Hajin gently began explaining the ins and outs of the broadcast scene to Jaeyoung and Jaiden.
He told them how monitoring worked during music shows, why pre-recording was necessary, and how they would approach it, what was different from Miro Maze, and what was similar.
He was well aware that the two were tense and afraid because the place was unfamiliar to them, so he checked their expressions occasionally, making sure they fully understood.
“You’re just nervous because you don’t know. It’s natural to be more anxious and scared when you’re unfamiliar. Everyone here knows it’s your first time, so if you’re going to be nervous, don’t be shy about it. If you’re openly nervous, they’ll probably find it endearing.”
Though they wondered what on earth he meant by “don’t be shy about being nervous,” after listening to Hajin’s explanations, the view that had been tightly shut off from their nervousness began to gradually open up for Jaeyoung and Jaiden.
‘Come to think of it, I think that camera director was there during Miro Maze too.’
‘Our contest venue was definitely bigger and wider!’
‘Are the cameras here different from the ones used for Miro Maze? Which ones are better?’
The scene shifted from being merely an “unfamiliar and scary place” to an “unfamiliar but known place.”
As a result, curiosity and interest began to take root in the two boys’ eyes. Watching them light up with recognition and wonder, Hajin smiled.
He tapped them on the shoulders as encouragement and began calling the other members over.
It was almost time to go on stage.
“Guys, this isn’t the actual recording yet, it’s just a rehearsal. You know, right? For now, focus on things like camera positioning, spacing, and sound issues. If there’s a problem, tell me right away.”
“Yes!”
“Miro Maze team, please come up on stage!”
“Alright, they’re calling us. Let’s go.”
Just then, they received the signal to go on stage. As he led the boys onto the stage, Hajin thought,
This cold atmosphere needs to be broken.
‘Maybe it’s because the recording was scheduled suddenly, but the production team seems a bit annoyed.’
“Hello! We are the Miro Maze Sad Ending team! We look forward to working with you!”
The overall mood seemed to be one of indifference, as if the staff just wanted to get through the trainees’ stage quickly so they could take a break. Even when the Sad Ending team greeted them enthusiastically, the response was chilly.
There was likely no particular malice in that chilliness. While this stage was
precious to them, it was just another routine task for the staff, a fleeting moment in the industry that few cared about or paid attention to…
Precisely because of this, Hajin felt the need to break this atmosphere.
‘What’s the best way to make a strong first impression…’
Hajin tried to recall the times when he had wandered from music show to music show.
Back then, what kind of performers had been able to catch his eye, even in his sleep-deprived state?
“Alright, Sad Ending team. Let’s do a mic check. Taehyun, you first.”
As he pondered, the sound check began.
The trainees took turns singing a short verse or speaking into the mic to check the in-ear monitor feedback.
Finally, it was Hajin’s turn.
Hajin tightly gripped the handheld microphone he had chosen to hide the wound on his palm.
At the end of all those extraordinary days, we,
At the end of all the time that has already passed, we,
“……?”
“…W-what is that?”
Hajin’s live acapella high note, which had once moved even the original singer Sarin, rang out loud and clear throughout the studio.
Hajin, with a calm expression, effortlessly belted out the third verse’s chorus, which was a key higher than the original.
While everyone looked at him in shock, Hajin adjusted the mic’s distance from his mouth to control the volume and then called out to the sound engineer behind the console with a friendly smile.
“Could you lower the volume a bit? My voice tends to be loud.”
-Yes, yes… Wow, that’s some powerful live singing.
“Thank you for the compliment! I’ll do my best!”
Through the talkback microphone, Hajin heard the sound engineer’s casual comment. Hajin promptly responded with a deep 90-degree bow. The other trainees, still a bit bewildered, quickly followed suit with an even deeper 120-degree bow.
‘If a singer sings well, that’s all that matters.’
These crazy folks who stick around in this exhausting 3D industry? It’s obvious.
Even if they complain about their lives now, the ones who really couldn’t handle it had already quit and fled.
‘Everyone here is holding on because they love it. Whether it’s music or broadcasting.’
There’s no place more sensitive to “skill” than this industry.
Whether a newcomer or a veteran, if you’ve got it, they’ll treat you well.
Sure enough, cheers and applause erupted from the staff, shouting, “Wow! Awesome!” and “You’re great!” in stark contrast to their earlier chilly demeanor.
The ice-cold atmosphere melted in an instant.
“Alright then, Miro Maze Sad Ending team. We’ll start the first rehearsal for ‘To You.'”
Hajin grinned as he stood tall.
This was only the rehearsal.