Chapter 244. Why Are You Coming Out From There? (2)
Seo Taehyun blinked and slightly parted his lips as he watched his group’s leader suddenly bow deeply to the senior’s father.
‘I should have known when he told me to just trust him….’
A few days earlier, when Taehyun suggested that they should go over what to say and how to say it, perhaps even rehearse a bit, Hajin had replied like this:
-Don’t worry, don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. I’ve already thought it all through.
-But shouldn’t we at least decide how we’re going to proceed once we get there…? Are you really going to handle it all by yourself?
-Ah, come on. Don’t you trust your leader? Just trust Special MC Jini this one time. It’s better that I handle everything rather than making us all nervous with a poorly rehearsed script. Trust me just this once.
Taehyun should have insisted more strongly that they needed to prepare something. But the solid and reliable smile Hajin gave him as he patted his shoulder made him think, ‘Maybe he’s right…?’ And that was his mistake!
As Taehyun felt the urge to step in and fix things, he cautiously sidled up next to Hajin, who then stood up without resistance.
But then, Hajin suddenly grabbed Taehyun’s arm, pulled him in, and made him bow too…!
“No, what…!”
“You might be meeting him for the first time, but here’s a distant relative friend saying hello as well. I heard that you’re in the same lineage as my father….”
“A-Ah… Yes―! H-Hello…! I’m Seo Taehyun….”
“Oh, but since I’m Senior Seo Taeil’s adopted son, if you’re like a grandfather to me, doesn’t that make Taehyun a grandfather to me too? But, wait, wouldn’t that mess up the family tree…?”
Despite Hajin’s nonsensical comments, Taehyun instinctively bowed politely. A quick glance revealed that the other members had followed suit after Jung Siwoo made a subtle eye signal.
Then, on the big screen, Seo Taeil’s father appeared, his voice booming as he waved his hand enthusiastically and said, “Nice to meet you~!”
Laughter erupted from the audience as Taehyun, still flustered, awkwardly bowed repeatedly. It was undoubtedly the first time he had ever been this flustered on stage.
“Now that we’ve greeted the family elders, it’s time to introduce ourselves to each of our Aidea sisters.”
Hajin, the one responsible for throwing Taehyun into chaos with just a few words, naturally guided him back to the formation. Then, as if nothing had happened, he spoke again with a smooth, composed voice.
Hajin’s smooth delivery about the sisters elicited loud cheers from the audience. Compared to when Kairos first appeared, the attention they were getting now was definitely different.
“Hello, I’m Kang Hajin, the leader of the new rookie group Kairos, which debuted in September. We’ve worked hard to prepare a stage that will be a real bonus for all our sisters, so we’d appreciate it if you could enjoy it.”
With Hajin’s flawless introduction, the members took turns introducing themselves.
As Taehyun finished his introduction, he suddenly recalled something Hajin had emphasized when they were preparing for this bonus time.
-Remember this well.
-We’re here to be entertainers.
-There’s no ‘our stage,’ no showing off how good we are. We’re just here to perform a cute show.
-We give it our all.
Taehyun had always believed that idols are essentially in the business of bringing joy to people.
He thought it was most important to provide the catharsis that the public and the audience desired, but Hajin’s insistence on abandoning ‘our stage’ had been difficult for him to understand.
-We don’t need any pride or ego on this stage.
Could such a stage even be meaningful?
Although he was momentarily confused, the members had followed Hajin’s lead. This was partly because Hajin was so adamant and also because the sudden opportunity to perform on such a large stage was daunting.
But Taehyun still had lingering doubts. This was also because of the song they were about to perform next.
The moment when they first decided on the setlist replayed in Taehyun’s mind.
-Doha and I stayed up all night reviewing past Utopia concert setlists and DVDs to pick these songs. What do you all think?
-Are you serious?
-Yes, I’m serious. I’ve already told Yugeon to think about how to handle the choreography.
-Hyung, but still….
As Doha, who was last in line, finished his introduction, Taehyun’s brief recollection ended as well.
Hajin grabbed the microphone again.
“Now, we’re going to show you the stage we’ve prepared for this bonus time. Actually, I thought that many of our sisters here today might not know our songs that well. After all, we’re still rookies….”
“We’ll do our best―!”
As Hajin’s slightly bitter comment ended, the members shouted their fighting spirit in unison. This was the only skit they had planned in advance.
The audience responded with a mix of laughter and slight embarrassment. A few people shouted, ‘No, we know!’ but they were in the minority.
“Anyway, in this bonus time, not having a singalong would be like a red bean bun without red beans or ramen without noodles, wouldn’t it? So for our first stage, we’ve chosen a special song. As soon as you hear the intro, the lyrics will just pop out of your mouth.”
To shake off the earlier awkwardness, the sisters in the audience responded with cheers full of anticipation.
Hajin smiled again and prepared to announce the start of the performance. It was a symbolic line he had been told to deliver at the beginning of the bonus time.
“Then, today’s bonus time. Kairos, let’s begin.”
Taehyun took a short breath to calm his nerves.
-But… Is it really okay? Performing a Utopia senior song instead of ours…?
-I’m saying this after thinking about it for a long time. It’s a gamble, but I think it’s worth trying.
When Hajin spoke with such sincerity, it wasn’t easy for any of the members to voice objections. It wasn’t because they were afraid of Hajin, but because they knew how much time and effort Hajin had spent thinking about the ‘best’ option for the members.
‘Well, in the end… Isn’t it just about doing our best?’
Taehyun finally smiled.
Now, it was their turn to give their all to turn Hajin’s carefully prepared plan into a successful performance.
* * *
With a round of applause, the stage lights dimmed.
As they gathered into formation, Hajin lightly patted the members on the shoulder.
“Let’s do well. Let’s enjoy it.”
In the darkness, the members’ eyes briefly met.
Siwoo, with a slight grin, reached out his hand to the center, and Haru, realizing his intention, quickly placed her hand on top. The other members, each filled with their own mix of tension and excitement, added their hands as well.
Hajin, who placed his hand on top last, quietly counted, “Two, three,” and the members silently lowered their hands, solidifying their resolve. Then, they quickly took their positions.
♬♩—, ♬♩♫♩♪―,
As the unfamiliar intro played, bright lights filled the stage.
At the same time, Haru, who was at the front of the line, turned around and slowly lowered his arms in a circular motion. The members behind him spread out to the sides, repeating the same move.
The song had a lively tempo and a refreshing accompaniment, reminiscent of a winter carol.
The music was completely different from the songs Utopia had performed throughout the first half of the show, and it was also far from what one would associate with Utopia now, but Aidea reacted faster than anyone else.
“Aaaahhhh!”
The cheers were incomparable to when Kairos first appeared.
The members moved with a fresh charm, more like a playful dance than choreography, and before long, the audience’s light sticks were flashing as Aidea’s voices filled the air.
“Taehyun! Jinu! Daun! Hansol! Sangrok! Dea! To our paradise! Yoo! P! A! The best!”
The title .
This song, included in Utopia’s third mini-album, hadn’t received much attention when it was released. However, it gained recognition after being unexpectedly included in Utopia’s first concert setlist.
With its bright and lively rhythm, this refreshing and crisp song had always been far from Utopia’s musical style. The backstory was that it was created by Seo Taeil under pressure from Nam Daun, who insisted, ‘We should do something like this at least once when we were rookies!’
Let’s go on a picnic
With his clear and gentle voice, Dan Haru sang the first line, a moment that would generate millions of GIFs among Aidea, who cheered that their Daun had finally fulfilled his wish.
Though the intro sounded different from the usual voices, the familiar melody brought joy and excitement to Aidea, who gladly responded with cheers.
The breeze feels so nice
As Haru sang, the members paired up, linked arms, and spun around in circles.
The original choreography involved a gentle twirl, but Hajin and Eunchan, who were perhaps a bit too excited by the loud cheers, were practically jumping off the floor.
Next, Taehyun, wearing a white teddy bear hat
, and Yugeon, with his hair styled messily, stepped forward, lightly stepping in sync.
Should we bring a camera? (Snap!)
Tell me your wish list (Check!)
To a place where the waves crash and snow piles up (Let’s go!)
Exchanging lines with a lighthearted vibe, Aidea responded by shouting the fan chants that were ingrained in their minds.
The reason for this enthusiastic reaction wasn’t just because this song had been popular at Utopia’s concerts.
-‘Picnic’ is a song that Utopia stopped performing on their concert setlist after announcing their seventh-year contract renewal. They had so many other songs to perform. Honestly, the fact that they kept performing a song from their third mini-album until the release of their eighth mini-album was more impressive.
On the day the decision was made to perform a Utopia song instead of their own for the <Bonus Time>.
Hajin had shown the members several song candidates he had carefully selected after analyzing Utopia’s concert DVDs and setlists.
The criteria were threefold.
<It had to be a song that Utopia had performed on stage before.>
<It had to be a song popular among fans, so Aidea would recognize it immediately.>
<It had to be a song that Utopia hadn’t performed in the last three years.>
And the song that was unanimously chosen was this one.
It met all three conditions, it was a different genre from the one Utopia had just performed, and it was a song that allowed them to showcase their strength as rookies.
‘And most importantly….’
Hajin adjusted his in-ear monitor one more time as he stepped forward on the stage.
It was the moment when Jung Siwoo, who had just finished the chorus, turned around after hearing the deafening cheers when his face appeared on the big screen.
Hajin, with a confident smile, gestured towards the audience.
“You all know this song, right―!?”
With a skilled lead-in, Hajin ran to the very front of the stage and held out the microphone to the audience.
The voices of Aidea filled the large venue.
Oh, oh, oh, oh―,
Let’s go! You and me! Far away!
‘The best part is that everyone can sing along.’
When this <Bonus Time> ended, no one would be able to say that their performance was boring.
“Sisters, I can’t hear you! Louder!”
All over 10,000 people raised their voices even higher, following Hajin’s lead in a grand chorus.
And it felt even more exhilarating than Hajin had ever imagined.