Second Try Idol

Chapter 408: Red Rouge (27)

It was our first out-of-town event in a while. During the long journey, the members all fell asleep, exhausted from the busy schedule.

By the time we left the filming location, the sun was already setting, and it was completely dark when we arrived. Tae-Seong glanced at the members through the rearview mirror and turned off the radio to let them rest more comfortably.

I was also quite tired, but I couldn’t fall asleep for some reason. When my exhaustion peaked, we were almost at our destination. Also, Joo-Han’s loud snoring wasn’t helping.

'By the way...'

Things had really changed. Since meeting the creator god that day, the vague feeling that had stuck with me had become a certainty today. No matter how many years passed or how much seniority Chronos gained, we were still quite young. Most of the trainees we met today were around my age, yet looking into their eyes or feeling their gazes didn’t make me nervous or scared at all.

Initially, I didn’t even realize I had overcome my fear, but it hit me after the shoot ended. Despite the countless eyes on me today, I felt no tension, just a bit of pressure.

Maybe it was because these trainees were friendly, or maybe I had developed a tolerance to being watched through our activities. Or perhaps it really was because of the creator god.

‘If only the synchronization issue could be resolved.’

I wished the creator god would either solve the issue quickly or let me confront it head-on instead of dragging it out and making me anxious. Lost in thought, I suddenly snapped back to reality when the surroundings became noisy. The car had arrived at our destination, and Tae-Seong was parking.

“We’re here. Hyun-Woo, wake up the members.”

“Oh, right.” I woke up the members and got out of the car with Tae-Seong.

The place was quite deserted, but we could see bright lights and hear cheerful voices in the distance. We were at a university festival, an event we hadn’t attended in a long time.

“...Are we here already? That was fast,” Goh Yoo-Joon said groggily as he got out of the car and stretched.

“What are you talking about? You slept for three hours.”

“Yeah, right. Is my face swollen?”

“You look the same,” I said. “Just open your eyes properly.”

Goh Yoo-Joon opened his eyes wide and yawned. He helped Tae-Seong carry Jin-Sung.

“Geez, he needs to lose more weight.”

“Does he even have fat to lose? If he’s on a diet, he will lose muscle.”

“He is freaking heavy.”

We hurried to the waiting room, and since we arrived just in time, we only had a quick touch-up on our hair and makeup before going on stage.

***

“Are you having fun, everyone?”

“Hello!”

The crowd’s cheers were loud, especially since the idol group Signage had just finished their set. They were known for their amazing live performances.The atmosphere at this university was already great, so we were welcomed warmly as we stepped on stage.

“Let’s introduce ourselves. One, two, three!”

“Hello, we are Chronos!”

“Woo!!!”

“Chronos!!!”

It was great to feel such a welcoming and energetic atmosphere.

“I’m really surprised by the warm welcome. Thank you for inviting us back to Yeju University’s festival,” Joo-Han said.

I continued, “We performed at Yeju University’s festival last year too, and I remember everyone being just as passionate as now.”

When I gave the audience a thumbs-up, they raised their hands and cheered loudly.

“You are all amazing. We are going to perform many songs for you tonight, so we hope you enjoy it,” Yoon-Chan said into the microphone. “Let’s quickly move on to the first song.”

Without introducing the song, we got into formation. The cheers were so loud, they almost hurt my ears, and the enthusiastic voices called out for Chronos. The opening song was "Blue Room Party," a crowd favorite and a perfect song to hype up the atmosphere. The audience erupted with excitement as soon as the intro played.

Feeling the love from the crowd was exhilarating. The members focused on key choreography moves while engaging with the audience, making sure to create a fun atmosphere. Whenever someone pointed their phone camera at us, we posed with V-signs and made eye contact, ensuring everyone had a great time.

But something happened.

Zzzzt-!

The old speakers started crackling.

“Ah!”

The audience near the speakers groaned in frustration and glanced at our staff before refocusing on the performance. Being closest to the speakers, I heard the crackling loud and clear.

However, it seemed the other members and the audience further away didn’t notice. I exchanged a sheepish smile with the audience members who heard the noise and continued dancing.

This university was known for inviting many celebrities during their festivals, but they didn’t seem to prioritize stage equipment checks. Most events felt like this, though. We always seemed to encounter issues during our performances, so it was something we were used to.

As long as the music didn’t stop in the middle of the performance, we would be fine.

Fortunately, the rest of the performance went smoothly. After "Blue Room Party" ended, we had a short talk session. The members shared their desire to enjoy university festivals and their dreams of experiencing college life. Then we moved on to the next song, "Ario 愛."

Performing at university festivals was always pleasant because the students were incredibly supportive. "Ario 愛" was our new song, and we had not performed it much on TV. Therefore, most of the audience wouldn’t know the fan chants. Still, the students of Yeju University had memorized them.

It felt like they had turned the festival into an event to enjoy our performance. When we looked at them in surprise, they chanted louder.

“Waaah!!”

Jin-Sung shouted excitedly, and we couldn’t hide our smiles as we continued performing. "Ario 愛" was a very emotional love song, but the joy in the atmosphere made it impossible to focus on the sad emotions. We just had fun dancing and singing.

Goh Yoo-Joon even encouraged the audience to join in during the performance, which was a bit embarrassing but also heartwarming.

“Phew, that was a surprise.”

I tried to catch my breath, only to find Joo-Han suddenly close to me.

“What’s going on?” I asked, startled.

Joo-Han glanced behind us and then whispered as he moved back to his spot. “The screen is shaking. Be careful. Let’s perform a bit closer to the front.”

“Got it.”

Joo-Han discreetly passed the same message to all the members while we continued the performance. I took a quick glance behind and saw the large screen wobbling every time we moved around the stage.

'Maybe they didn’t tighten the screws properly.'

It wasn’t shaking too badly, and unless you were right next to it, you wouldn’t even notice. We decided to perform a bit closer to the front, keeping the issue under control. Despite the shaky stage, the performance went well, and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

“Ario 愛” ended, and the audience cheered loudly.

“Are you all having fun?!” I shouted.

“Yes!!!” the crowd roared back.

“That was our new song ‘Ario 愛,’ from our album ‘Red Rouge.’”

“And you all memorized the fan chants already? This is unbelievable!”

“Yes!!!”

“We were so surprised! Thank you so much!” I continued.

“This song is usually performed with a more serious tone, but we couldn’t help but smile because you all made it so enjoyable. Yeju University is the best!!!”

“Yeju University! Yeju University!” Goh Yoo-Joon chanted, and the students joined in enthusiastically.

After a few more rounds of chanting, Joo-Han smoothly transitioned to the next song. “Our next song is the title track from our new album. It’s a very powerful song that we usually perform with a lot of dancers. But today, we have fewer dancers with us.”

Despite not being able to have all the dancers on stage, we decided to make do with a smaller number.

“It might seem a bit less powerful, but if you cheer loudly like you’ve been doing, it will be amazing.”

“Woooo!!!”

“So, let’s all give it our best and have fun!” Joo-Han announced.

The dancers joined us on stage. Even with fewer dancers, the stage felt full. The lights changed to a deep red, and “Red Rouge” started playing, quickly changing the mood.

As the dancers and members moved energetically, the creaking of the stage became more noticeable. The large screen and red lights began to shake along with our movements. The creaking noise grew louder, and Jin-Sung seemed slightly uneasy as he glanced at the lights more frequently and performed more cautiously.

At that moment, seeing Jin-Sung’s worried expression triggered a sense of foreboding. It was strange. The creator god Isaac had mentioned that synchronization had already started. Why did I suddenly think of him?

Suddenly, I was snapped back to reality by the increasing noise from the stage. The shaking became more pronounced, and it wasn’t just the screen shaking, but also the floor beneath us.

‘This isn’t good.’

I tried to maintain my focus.