Chapter 208. Kairos (7)
I’m in big trouble.
“Um. Um… Uh…”
Lee Doha had broken down.
The problem was that none of us had any intention of fixing him.
“Oh? I’m curious too!”
“If it’s ‘DEON’… Just looking at the spelling, ‘DEMON’ is the first thing that comes to mind.”
The youngest members, armed with innocent curiosity,
“Really? What does it mean, Doha?”
“Doha hyung, the mic. Hold the mic properly.”
Jung Siwoo, who seemed to be enjoying Lee Doha’s malfunction, continued to press for an answer, and Seo Taehyun, who was worried about mic feedback, carefully adjusted the mic…
“……Oh.”
Lee Doha’s pupils shook violently when he noticed even Lee Yugeon, who had an expression that screamed, ‘A rap name? Damn, that’s cool.’ And when his gaze finally landed on me, I seized the moment and asked the long-awaited question to Lee Doha, who was sitting at the far right, holding the mic.
“Doha.”
“……”
“What does ‘DEON’ mean?”
“……?”
“Could you explain it to the Destinies?”
My tone, which was clearly intended to tease Lee Doha, made Jung Siwoo and Seo Taehyun burst into laughter, finally unable to hold it in any longer.
Realizing he couldn’t avoid it any longer, Lee Doha swallowed hard and took hold of the mic.
His determination was so resolute that he resembled a revolutionary from the 18th century who had decided to face death by mounting the guillotine.
“DEON… is a rap name I created in middle school.”
Oh dear.
The timing itself was already suspicious.
“If you write the ‘Do’ in my name Doha in English, it’s ‘D’ and ‘O’. I used that to create… Doha is On the Beat… and then… shortened it to D-On… which eventually became DEON… sigh…”
“I’ve never seen Doha hyung struggle so much to talk.”
Joo Eunchan, who was sitting next to Lee Doha, looked amazed, as if he was witnessing a rare spectacle.
At that moment, Lee Yugeon, sitting on Doha’s other side, tried to help out by grabbing the mic and chiming in.
“What’s the big deal, hyung? I thought it was DEON, with the ‘M’ from ‘Music’ removed from ‘Demon’.”
“……”
“……?”
“……………”
“…Is, is that right?”
“Oh dear, oh dear….”
“Oh, Kang Hajin. Please.”
Watching the stiffened Lee Doha, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh, causing Seo Taehyun, who was sitting next to me, to practically slide off his chair, almost in tears. Jung Siwoo and Nam Daun, unable to handle Lee Doha’s public embarrassment, turned away and covered their faces with cue cards, laughing silently.
“No, hyung. I didn’t mean to tease you…. I swear I didn’t know!”
“But shouldn’t you keep the ‘M’ in Demon? ‘Music’ is important….”
“Oh, Demon! So that’s where DEON comes from! It has multiple meanings. I like it!”
“Please, just stop, guys….”
Lee Yugeon was flustered, but Joo Eunchan and Dan Haru’s pure curiosity crushed Lee Doha a second time. I felt sorry for Lee Doha, whose dark middle school history of identifying himself as a demon was now being broadcast to the entire world.
“Doha.”
“……What, now.”
“Cheer up, DEON.”
“……”
“Don’t be embarrassed. DEON is a really cool name.”
[System Alert: Really, a demon…?]
Calling someone who goes to church a demon is rude, DEON.
Ignoring Thirteen’s comment, I lowered the mic with a satisfied expression.
Ah.
It felt so refreshing to tease him.
[System Alert: The system is curious how you’ll face him later at the dorm, DEON….]
Hmm.
…I guess I’ll be sleeping in the living room for a while!
* * *
With Nam Daun regaining his composure, the Kairos showcase got back on track. Despite his earlier disorientation, Lee Doha managed to mention that I had helped with their new song.
Additionally, Jung Siwoo revealed that he had written the lyrics for the track “Wings,” and both Lee Yugeon and Joo Eunchan contributed to the choreography of the title track, solidifying Kairos as a self-produced group within Miro’s lineage.
The final part of the long showcase, as expected, was our debut song.
To be honest, after singing the first line, “Open your eyes,” I couldn’t remember much.
Wait for me
I’m coming to you now
By the time I came to my senses, we were already nearing the end of the song.
As we approached the final highlight, I steadied my breath, which was catching in my throat.
As we moved as if to run toward each other, I planted my feet firmly on the spot, locking eyes with Dan Haru, who stood opposite me.
We Running,
Running Over the Lonely Night
At the timing of Jung Siwoo’s thrilling chorus, Dan Haru and I harmonized on the high-pitched ad-lib. It was the part Seo Taeil had created, asking, “You can do it, right?” and it had taken all my dormant skills to record it.
We will cross over,
We will overcome this night
With Seo Taehyun’s wistful voice, our first debut stage ended in an instant.
As we waited for about three seconds for the ending, the signal to make our final greetings, the ending BGM, began to play.
“Thank you!”
“Thanks for coming!”
“See you on music shows~”
“Destiny, love you♡”
Everyone bid farewell in their own way. I too waved energetically toward the audience, filled with a sense of longing.
“Get home safe.”
…Time felt like it passed too quickly.
To experience this feeling again, I thought I might even turn back time a few times—a dangerous thought.
* * *
No, I take it back.
“Hajin hyung. If you sleep now, your eyes will swell.”
“Just kill me….”
Forget about turning back time, that’s canceled.
Right after our debut showcase, we became insanely busy. I knew from my time working part-time on making film shoots that idols lived a grueling life, but this was excessive.
Honestly, it was busy even when I was working as a PD….
But at least back then, I was sitting in an office during the editing period! Even if I couldn’t get up…
[System Alert: ……?]
[System Alert: Isn’t it the same since you couldn’t sleep and had to work?]
Shut up, you technological marvel! (Or not)
Desperately in need of sleep, I clung to Dan Haru’s shoulder as he gently shook me awake.
“Haruya….”
“Yes?”
“……”
If you turn back time after I’ve worked this hard, I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you for real….
No, before I kill you, I might die of frustration first….
[System Alert: The system is curious why you’re not wishing to go back to before you were busy, which would make more sense.]
[System Alert: ◈▵◈ ?]
‘You want me to undo all the work I did without sleep and go back to the starting point? That’s like going back to the village in a shortcut just before the final level of a pot game!’
But I couldn’t say such harsh words to this innocent pre-awakening baby bunny warrior who was looking at me with clueless eyes.
So, I shoved my true feelings down my throat and asked another question.
“…What’s for breakfast?”
“Oh. Tuna kimbap and rabokki! Wook hyung also ordered meat dumplings for us.”
The good thing about Miro was that they provided meals well.
It was almost as if most of our revenue went into food expenses, considering how well they fed us.
…Of course, even in this food paradise, there was one pure idol who rigorously managed himself.
“Taehyun hyung. Are you eating salad again today?”
“Ah, yeah. Eating anything in the morning makes me feel bloated.”
As if. He’ll eat salad for lunch and dinner too.
Seo Taehyun, who consistently managed his already lean body, was both impressive and pitiable. But since he never seemed to show any signs of distress, it felt wrong to say anything.
Seo Taehyun would rather die than show his fans a swollen face. Telling such a person that he seemed pitiful would only undermine his professional pride.
Besides, he had good reason to manage himself so strictly.
“Taehyun, come out for a moment. There’s a short phone interview for the radio.”
“Ah, yes.”
“After the call, let’s take another sponsored photo in the hallway.”
…He was the member who had an overwhelming number of individual schedules right after debut.
“And you got the script for the music show, right? You’ll do fine, but make sure to prepare well.”
“Yes, I’ll work hard.”
Nodding at the manager’s words, Seo Taehyun pointed to the music show script he’d been reading. Watching him step out of the practice room with the manager, I clicked my tongue.
“Wow, that guy is hardcore. Look at all the highlights on that music show script. When did he read all that?”
Seo Taehyun had taken on the role of the new MC for **A-Countdown** upon debut. According to Ji Suho, the fact that we could do pre-recording in such a great set and environment at
**A-Countdown** was partly due to the perks of having a rookie MC.
And that pre-recording was tomorrow morning.
It was our first music show stage and the first time meeting fans after the showcase.
“Taehyun stayed up all night reading that script. I helped him with his lines.”
“Then, did you not sleep last night, hyung?”
“No. I just helped him a bit and then fell asleep. Taehyun seemed to have stayed up almost all night.”
“Isn’t he overdoing it a bit…?”
Jung Siwoo’s testimony, as Taehyun’s roommate, triggered the overload detection radar in my head.
Even Lee Yugeon, who had been dozing off with his arms crossed, showed some interest, cracking an eye open at this unsettling revelation. But it was Jung Siwoo who broke the awkward tension.
“It’s not like he’s forcing himself. He’s just so excited that he can’t sleep. Taehyun said it was his dream to be a music show MC.”
“Really? …Well, I’m sure hyung knows best.”
“What do you think I am in your head, Hajin?”
Who knows. A god?
[System Alert: But doesn’t he go to church…?]
‘It’s just a figure of speech.’
At least it was clear that Seo Taehyun wasn’t the type to push himself so hard that he’d collapse, nor was he the type to just ignore it and sleep.
See?
Even Lee Yugeon, who seemed just as concerned, went back to sleep with his arms crossed after Jung Siwoo said it was okay.
“But seriously, it’s unfair. Hey, Sparkling. Why do you wake me up but not Yugeon?”
“Yugeon hyung doesn’t get puffy even if he sleeps.”
“And me?”
“You become a steamed bun with just a little sleep, so you told me to wake you up before important shoots!”
“Who said that?”
“You did!”
“Me…?”
“Yes. You were really serious about it yesterday, in the car.”
Was I?
I had nothing to say about being my own human alarm, so I just shut my mouth.
I was so sleepy I could die, and not being able to sleep made me feel like I was in hell. I just laid there, resting my head on Dan Haru’s legs and staring at the ceiling patterns, when Ji Suho suddenly entered the practice room.
“Hey guys, hello.”
“Hello~”
“We’ve got a recording for the self-made content later, right? Let’s move together after Taehyun finishes one thing. I came by because there’s an announcement before you guys move.”
Startled by Ji Suho’s sudden appearance, I quickly sat up, but he gestured that it was okay. Still, I couldn’t just lie down and listen to the Director, so I leaned on Joo Eunchan, who was next to me.
Ji Suho, who had been taking notes on a tablet PC, looked up and adjusted his glasses.
“You know Taehyun is starting as the new MC of **A-Countdown** tomorrow, right? But since it’s your debut stage as well, **A-Countdown** contacted us and suggested that it would be nice if one of the members could be a special MC with him.”
“Oh~”
“Usually, this would be discussed a week in advance, but the PD suddenly thought it would be nice yesterday? Well, it’s a good opportunity for us.”
That PD had a tendency to make spontaneous suggestions, like when they proposed that we accept Utopia’s award on their behalf. But considering they were always thinking of new ideas and caring for the cast, it seemed like a good thing.
“Anyway, one of you has to do it. Who wants to? The PD said anyone would be fine, but they did mention it would be nice if it was someone who had good chemistry with Taehyun and could be confident and cute, which suits the vibe of a music show MC.”
As Ji Suho spoke, I quickly went over the candidates in my head.
For visuals, Jung Siwoo seemed like a good fit, and for chemistry that fans loved, Joo Eunchan came to mind.
Dan Haru had the cute music show MC vibe, but for playful banter, Lee Yugeon wouldn’t be bad either. Lee Doha might be an unexpected but interesting choice…
[System Alert: …Chosen Regressor.]
[System Alert: Would you please pause your thoughts and look around?]
“……? What, what’s up?”
…Why are you all looking at me?
Caught off guard by the unexpected attention, I hiccuped.