LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 254
Chapter 254
When I rehearsed with Gyeon Ha-ram in the MC booth, I felt that the proceedings went more smoothly compared to when Lee Se-jun was around.
Both Ha-ram and I usually came prepared, having memorized a good portion of the script in advance.
On the other hand, Lee Se-jun often relied on the prompter that displayed the script during the live broadcast, which sometimes caused the flow of his remarks to be noticeably interrupted.
However, now that such unnatural pauses were almost nonexistent, it felt much more comfortable.
“Okay. Good job.”
“Thank you!”
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt things were going well. Even the main PD, who had been a bit more sensitive than usual due to Lee Se-jun’s drunk driving incident, praised our smooth performance.
The overall atmosphere among the staff indicated they were worried we might feel discouraged by Se-jun’s sudden departure.
Fortunately, his absence turned out to be more beneficial than detrimental, and neither Ha-ram nor I were the type to be demoralized or feel pressured by such situations, so it wasn’t a big issue.
The rehearsal for the comeback interview with Ok Do-yoon also went smoothly, at least for the most part.
Well, except for Gyeon Seong-ha, who struggled to manage his expressions, probably because he recalled his own nonsensical comments whenever he saw Ha-ram and me.
He better not be like that during the live broadcast.
I decided to talk to him about it later.
“Yes, Ok Do-yoon is done.”
“Thank you!”
As I was leaving the MC studio, Kang Ji-woo, who had changed into the ‘Again’ outfit in my absence, cheerfully commented.
“Seeing our youngest working hard is really impressive and nice.”
“I’ll be watching from our waiting room. Do well with the rest.”
But I knew these guys weren’t the type to miss an opportunity to cause trouble for each other.
I was genuinely worried they might backstab each other during the live broadcast.
Anyway, after successfully completing the MC rehearsal, we proceeded with the pre-recording.
“Hello, we are Ok Do-yoon. Please take good care of us!”
Since I had to co-host with Ha-ram during the live broadcast, both the title track “Again” and the coupling track had to be pre-recorded without a live performance.
I wondered how the schedule was arranged.
We recorded the coupling track early in the morning before the sun was up, while the “Again” stage was recorded about an hour before the live broadcast started.
The time gap between the two recordings was excessively long.
It was somewhat manageable for the members and me, as we had a spacious waiting room in the broadcasting station.
However, seeing the fans in the studio looking much more tired and worn out than they did in the morning made me feel guilty.
“Everyone, you must be very tired.”
“No, it’s okay,” they said, trying to be positive, but a booming voice interrupted from the crowd.
“Your faces are our fatigue recovery tonic!!”
It was a concise and impactful way of saying, “Although we’re tired, just seeing your faces makes all our fatigue disappear.”
Laughter echoed in agreement from various parts of the studio.
Although the fans’ manager gestured for individual remarks to be minimized, the atmosphere remained light-hearted and pleasant.
“We lost some weight while preparing for our comeback.”
“Awww…”
The fans let out sympathetic sounds at Ban Yo-han’s comment.
Especially since I often received the most concern regarding my health, I quickly added.
“You don’t need to worry too much. Even if others might not eat well, I ate really well.”
“That’s right. Even if Ji-woo hyung starved, he made sure I ate.”
“I once saw Ji-woo hyung eating the tiny scraps stuck to the spoon while cooking, and it was really touching…”
As this was our second comeback, the fans (Aeris) had become more familiar, and there was no shortage of conversation during the breaks between recordings.
And just like at the last showcase and the first pre-recording today, seeing our cheering sticks was simply breathtaking.
As I admired the glittering sticks, I recalled the extraordinary dream I had before our debut, where I played with a giant whale in the desert.
“Aeris! How do you like the cheering sticks? Do you like them?”
“Yes!”
“They’re beautiful!”
I must have asked how they liked the cheering sticks and if they thought they were pretty at least three times at the showcase.
But some Aeris might not have been able to attend the showcase, right?
“Who designed this?”
“On Raon!”
“Raon!”
The conversation naturally drifted towards the name of the cheering stick.
“The name of the cheering stick?”
I had only thought of it as the Ok Do-yoon cheering stick and hadn’t considered a specific name…
Generally, the name for a cheering stick is derived from the word ‘봉’ (stick), creating names like something-something-bong.
“Since Raon designed it, let’s call it Raon-bong.”
“Ji-woo hyung, Raon asked me to tell you not to just put people’s names on things regardless of their intent.”
“Ugh.”
“……”
“But the Aeris liked it, the Aeris!”
“Alright……”
“Then how about Aquarium-bong, since it’s decorated like an aquarium?”
“Aquarium-bong is too long. Fish Market-bong.”
Considering the Aeris, who usually laughed at everything, were responding coldly, it seemed ‘Fish Market-bong’ was definitely a name to avoid, rivaling Ban Ga-eul’s naming skills.
I wondered why no one mentioned the obvious and decent name, Whale-bong.
“Hey, who said Fish Market-bong?”
“Confess now.”
The Aeris pointed their cheering sticks at Ban Yo-han.
Receiving everyone’s gaze, Ban Yo-han whined.
“Ah, Aeris, that was supposed to be a secret among us. You betrayed me.”
“……Yo-han hyung, Raon asked me to tell you to stop being weird around the Aeris.”
“Being weird? It’s just cuteness. And that was obviously a joke.”
“……Raon also said to stop pretending it was a joke when you were serious.”
“But Seong-ha, why have you been relaying Raon’s messages since earlier?”
“……”
“We had a bet on a basketball game for a wish, and I lost. I scored over 200 points, but he didn’t even make it to the bonus stage.”
“I made it to the second round!”
“But you still lost to me.”
Gyeon Seong-ha tried to cover my mouth, embarrassed in front of the Aeris, and I, who had been swiftly dodging, was eventually caught due to my lack of stamina and dragged away.
It was the fate of someone who only focused on agility stats.
* * *
Saturday afternoon.
After the commercials ended, the live broadcast of Music Pang Pang, which the Aeris had been eagerly waiting for, finally started.
After the Music Pang Pang logo and the lively background music passed, On Raon and Gyeon Ha-ram appeared on the screen.
[What comes with Saturday?]
[Pang Pang!]
[Fun too~]
[Pang Pang!]
[Live broadcast of MBS Music Pang Pang!]
[Hello. I’m Ha-ram, the MC of Music Pang Pang.]
[And I’m Raon.]
Viewers watching the live broadcast, whether they were fans or not, couldn’t help but exclaim when they saw On Raon in a perfectly fitting white baseball uniform with thin black stripes and Gyeon Ha-ram in a loose navy basketball uniform.
‘Thank you, Music Pang Pang, sincerely.’
‘Wow… the Music Pang Pang coordinators are a hundred times better than my idol’s.’
‘Even without my delusional lens, they look great.’
[It feels like the Winter Olympics just ended at the beginning of this year, but the 2018 Busan Asian Games are already approaching. Raon, do you like sports?]
[Sports? Yes, I do~]
[Wow, really? What’s your favorite sport?]
On Raon touched his chin, tilted his head, and then laughed cheerfully.
[Breathing exercises?]
[Raon…….]
[I’m kidding~]
As the two of them laughed and continued, real-time posts about Music Pang Pang flooded the community.
– On Raon and Gyeon Ha-ram make great MCs together.
– It feels cleaner than when there were three MCs.
– Today’s Music Pang Pang highlights:
1. Raon as MC
2. Again comeback stage
3. Coupling track Tomorrow stage
4. Encounter between the sibling duo
– [Music Pang Pang] Two teenage celebrities I wish would date publicly on Saturdays only
– On Raon will act eventually, right?
I mean, if he doesn’t, it doesn’t make sense.
Even if he says he’s not interested, his agency should make him do it for the sake of cultural heritage video records.
His face is undeniable, his pronunciation doesn’t sound foreign at all, and if you watch his music videos, his acting is at least decent, so he should definitely act. I hope he and Gyeon Ha-ram get paired together.
┗ Oh no, I bet everything I have that I’m not a delusional fan.
Even now, they’re drawing a business line, but honestly, their visuals alone make me excited.
If this is how it is now, how exciting would it be if they really acted together?
┗ Me tooㅠ If Ha-ram plays the older character and Raon the younger, I’ll be completely hooked.
The Aeris who didn’t welcome such comments were fuming as they read the posts.
But to avoid drawing attention, they held back their frustration in public and vented their complaints in private groups.
– It’s nice that the music show MCs take care of our comeback, but this is annoyingㅠㅠㅠ
– It’s definitely beneficial, so we can’t tell them not to do it.
– Delusional fans, please keep your thoughts to yourselvesㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– I had a feeling this would happen when they announced they’d be the only MCs^^…
– I endure because they’re beautiful.
Meanwhile, time passed, and it was Ok Do-yoon’s turn for their comeback interview.