Chapter 245. Why Are You Coming Out From There? (3)
“Those kids are doing well~”
Nam Daun, who was stretching with a trainer after changing into the second act’s opening outfit backstage, commented as he watched the monitor. On stage, Kairos’s second performance was already halfway through.
“But it’s really surprising. I didn’t think they would actually sing our song. …Agh! Roka! Daunie is dying!”
“We have to stretch properly to avoid injuries. You’ve been getting cramps frequently.”
Kwon Sangrok, the youngest member of Utopia, mercilessly pushed Nam Daun’s upper body forward as he was doing a leg stretch, half-heartedly listening to Daun’s whining. Then, he glanced at the monitor.
Kairos had selected another Utopia song for their second performance. They decided not to let the energy drop. Sangrok briefly paused his movements at the chorus of “Emergency,” a song they hadn’t heard in a while.
“…Roka? Roka. Roka, are you there? Roka, your adorable third hyung is dying, Roka! Roka…!”
“…Ah, sorry.”
Sangrok, who had been lost in thought while holding Daun’s folded body, released his grip.
At that moment, Taeil, who had just finished changing and was lightly spraying his shoulders and waist with pain relief spray, smirked and spoke to Sangrok.
“What’s our Roki Roki thinking about~?”
“…I told you not to call me that, hyung.”
“What’s our Sangroki Roki thinking about~?”
“…”
Sangrok kept his mouth shut, deciding that it was best to quickly give Taeil the answer he wanted in situations like this.
“I was just thinking that it probably wasn’t an easy decision for them.”
Taeil easily picked up on the many implications behind Sangrok’s brief words.
Sangrok had been against Kairos being guest performers from the start. It seemed he had projected the pressure and anxiety he felt as a rookie onto them.
At the same time, as someone who hated falling behind more than anyone else, Sangrok must have been worried that Kairos might get hurt by standing on a big stage prematurely.
Taeil shrugged his shoulders and made a peace sign with his fingers.
“Well…maybe. But considering that I wrote almost all of their songs, there’s really no big difference, is there?”
“Wow. So annoying. Right, Sola? …Huh? Where’s Hansol?”
When Daun looked for the fourth member, Hansol, Yoon Jinu, the second member who was doing push-ups to pump up his muscles after taking off his shirt, stood up and answered instead.
“Hansol’s not here. He said he was interested in the juniors’ performance and went closer to the stage to watch.”
“Oh no. I wonder if he’s going to start locking himself up in the practice room again because the kids are doing so well.”
“He already asked me if he sings better or if the main vocalist friend sings better.”
“…”
“I just told him that I think his voice is the strongest in the world.”
At Yoon Jinu’s nonchalant words, Nam Daun sighed in relief. Taeil, who was still amused by the familiar conversation he had witnessed for years, chuckled while opening a bottle of water.
“Since Hansol has been properly motivated, the second act will probably turn into Cheong Hansol’s ad-lib solo show. That’s great.”
“Hyung, you didn’t invite those kids just to provoke Hansol, did you? That would be a bit scary.”
“Kairos did so well that Hansol got motivated. All I did was invite them as guests.”
At Taeil’s words, Daun shook his head.
Taeil drank his water and recalled the time when Hajin had come to him to discuss the structure of the “Bonus Time” stage.
-…You’re really going to perform our song? Are you sure about this? I hate to say this myself, but having your stage at our concert will be a pretty big promotional boost. There will be lots of fancams.
Even when Taeil expressed concern about the unexpected song choice, Hajin had nodded with a carefree face that showed no worries.
-We’re not saying we won’t perform our own songs at all, so it’s fine. The fact that a rookie group like ours can perform at our seniors’ concert is viral enough.
-Our fans would enjoy it if you perform our song…but it’s not all good, right? The Aidea members are more familiar with the stages and songs we perform. Are you sure about this? You’re going to be compared to us during our prime.
Those words, which were almost a provocation, were 100% sincere from Taeil’s perspective.
Both the song Hajin brought and “Emergency” were songs that Utopia had performed repeatedly during their youthful prime.
Taeil was confident. He was confident that they wouldn’t lose their songs to their young juniors.
However, Hajin’s response was somewhat unexpected.
-…What? You’re still in your prime, aren’t you?
-…
-And, well…you know our members best, don’t you?
-…
-They’ll do well. In our own way.
The look in Hajin’s eyes wasn’t filled with arrogance, hubris, or pride.
Taeil understood better than anyone else what Hajin meant with those words.
It was pride.
Pride in himself, his team, and their stage.
It was a feeling Taeil had never let go of since his debut with Utopia.
“…Seriously. What does he mean we’re not alike?”
He’s a spitting image of me. That guy really can’t see himself sometimes.
Taeil chuckled softly as he recalled Hajin. He briefly thought about one day meeting the person who had crushed Kang Hajin’s self-esteem and crushing their face.
On stage, Hajin was running around the main stage, delivering a wild rap alongside Doha for the final verse of the third song. The next song that followed would be the last.
It was about time to prepare for the second act’s opening.
“Alright. Let’s gather, everyone. We need to get ready for the second act.”
As Taeil stood up, the other members naturally followed suit, preparing to head out with him. Hansol, who had gone closer to the stage, returned just in time. With a gesture from Taeil, the dancers and staff gathered around the members.
“It looks like the juniors have properly hyped up the atmosphere, so let’s give it our all in the second and third acts. Thank you all for finishing the first act without any issues. This is the last concert, so let’s perform without any regrets and do our best. Got it?”
“Yes!”
A strange feeling stirred in Taeil’s heart.
It was a feeling he had vaguely forgotten while leading the team stably for 13 years.
“…If, after today’s concert, the Aidea members talk more about the Kairos guys than us, we’ll add 5 hours to our daily practice. Got it? We must win, no matter what.”
I don’t want to lose.
Not with this team, these members, and this song.
In Taeil’s voice, which was filled with an intensity that hadn’t been seen in a long time, the members felt a pleasant tension.
‘Never imagined I’d feel competitive against a group that’s only been out for three months after being in this industry for 13 years.’
Just as the song ended, with enthusiastic applause and cheers erupting from the concert hall, Taeil shouted loudly.
“Alright, let’s go. Wanna be?”
“Let it be!”
At Taeil’s lead, everyone shouted Utopia’s chant together.
It was a solid and energizing chant they had heard for 13 years.
* * *
Having finished their intense hip-hop track, the Kairos members returned to the main stage formation, drenched in sweat.
During the final of “Miro Maze,” they had performed several songs in succession, but performing live in front of so many people, feeling the heat up close, was an entirely different experience.
While the members caught their breath, drinking water or taking off their varsity jackets, Hajin, who was in charge of today’s lead talk, finally picked up the microphone.
“Alright. Now… whew, we, unfortunately, have to… haigo… present our last performance.”
“Aaah~”
“Thank you. Thank you for not telling us to hurry up and leave so the second act can start….”
At Hajin’s playful words, the Aidea fans responded with louder expressions of regret. Just being able to communicate like this was already a huge achievement, Hajin thought as he prepared to continue with the next line.
Just then, Siwoo, who had been quietly watching Hajin, grabbed the microphone.
“But, Hajin.”
“…Eh?”
“I have a question.”
Hajin was slightly flustered by Siwoo’s sudden interjection, but he quickly understood the situation after seeing the message from the staff on the prompter.
There was a minor issue with the lift equipment being used for the second act’s opening, so they were asking him to stall naturally until it was fixed.
Understanding the situation, Hajin cleared his throat.
“Yes. What is it, Siwoo hyung?”
“You’ve been calling the Aidea fans ‘sisters-in-law’ this whole time.”
“Oh, right, right. They’re our big sisters-in-law.”
Hajin’s remark about the sisters-in-law elicited another round of enthusiastic cheers from the Aidea fans.
Siwoo asked curiously, his voice full of innocent curiosity.
“But if you’re Taeil sunbae-nim’s son, wouldn’t calling them sisters-in-law make the family tree really complicated?”
“…Eh?”
“Right.
If you call them sisters-in-law, that’s a big problem.”
As Hajin became flustered by the sudden genealogy talk, Yugeon, who had been listening quietly, chimed in, agreeing with Siwoo’s observation. Laughter and whispers rippled through the audience. Yugeon pointed at Taehyun, who was standing in the center, and added another comment.
“He can’t call them sisters-in-law either. Technically, he’s supposed to be Taeil sunbae-nim’s uncle.”
“Th-then what should Taehyun hyung call the Aidea sunbae-nims…?”
“If Taehyun hyung is Taeil sunbae-nim’s uncle and the Aidea sunbae-nims are married to Utopia sunbae-nims….”
With the juniors feeding into the conversation, and the relentless genealogy breakdown, the Aidea members burst out laughing uncontrollably.
Doha, who had been quietly listening at the end, casually added a comment.
“…Daughter-in-law?”
With that absurd statement, the concert hall erupted in laughter and cheers. Taehyun, whose face turned bright red, was left malfunctioning, suddenly having acquired daughters-in-law among his senior fan club.
“No! No way! That’s ridiculous…! It doesn’t make any sense…!”
“Then what’s Kang Hajin?”
“If Hajin is Taeil sunbae-nim’s son, then he’s…well…”
As Siwoo trailed off, Hajin realized something.
Then, with a deeply shocked expression, he carefully addressed the audience.
“…Uh, mother…?”
The Aidea fans, who had just acquired a fully grown son and a much younger uncle overnight, burst into hysterical laughter. Desperate to end the chaotic genealogy joke, Taehyun urgently grabbed the microphone.
“But―! But you always call me grandpa! If you think about it, I’m technically your grandpa!”
“Oh, right? In our group, I’m the grandpa, too?”
“So this genealogy is invalid! Let’s just keep it as official senior and junior!”
“Taehyun is so nice. He could’ve just told you to stop overthinking it, but he went ahead and sorted it out with the world’s logic.”
“True. World-building is important, after all.”
“Seriously, hyungs are the least helpful!”
As Taehyun tried to clean up the situation, Siwoo and Doha mumbled from the corner, making him huff in frustration. Haru, watching Taehyun, smiled warmly. The camera caught Haru’s smiling face on the screen, and soft sighs echoed throughout the audience.
<Lift fixed~ Now, please start the stage talk!>
Seeing the new message on the prompter, Hajin quickly shifted back to a serious expression and faced the audience.
Even though they weren’t here to see them, and this wasn’t their concert venue―
At this moment, everyone was watching Kairos.
“That’s enough joking around. Well, there are other seniors in Utopia besides Taeil sunbae-nim, right? If you think of them as their sisters-in-law, it makes more sense, doesn’t it? Let’s go with that. After all, ‘sisters-in-law’ sounds better than ‘aunts’.”
With a sly remark, Hajin casually slid down his varsity jacket to hang over his shoulders. It was a habit of his when his clothes felt heavy or when it was too hot.
“Now we’ll show you our final performance, and then we’ll take our leave. We’ve performed two of Utopia sunbae-nims’ songs so far. Did you enjoy them~?”
“Yes―!!”
“But we’re still a debuting group, so it’s only proper to introduce you to the kind of music we make, right? So, for our last song, we’ve prepared one of our own.”
Despite the mention of a Kairos song, the enthusiasm and excitement from the audience didn’t wane.
Feeling proud of their reaction, Hajin continued his speech.
“Thank you so much for welcoming us today. I hope you enjoy the rest of the concert happily and with fun, and now we’ll take our leave. Until now―!”
“We were Kairos! Thank you!”
With the members’ energetic farewell, applause erupted, and the stage was once again enveloped in darkness.
Now, it was time to show ‘our’ performance.