Do Wook agreed with what Park Tae Hyung said.
M2M’s performance had gotten much better than before. Even in the past, their performance definitely wasn’t bad. However, it had a subtly inharmonious vibe. That wasn’t the case now.
Despite probably only having a month at most to get in sync, the dysfunction that was felt in their previous performances was nowhere to be found.
‘Choi Eun Ho is perfectly melted into the team.’
Do Wook thought as he watched M2M moving perfectly accurately. That was the difference from Seo Kang Jun.
Seo Kang Jun ignored the other members and acted on his own.
The group may have had Seo Kang Jun as its focus and he may have had Director Seo Joong Won’s backing, which allowed M2M to have a lot of support, but it didn’t mean that the other members weren’t upset. They simply were holding their tongue.
They looked okay on the outside, but those feelings were festering inside. It was inevitable that when Seo Kang Jun caused trouble, not one of the members stood up for him or said that they wouldn’t kick him out for the team’s sake.
They didn’t care what happened to Seo Kang Jun, who always belittled them and wasn’t even passionate about the work. Some of the members even thought that he got what was coming to him.
The M2M members were just concerned and anxious about being ruined because of Seo Kang Jun.
‘There was a problem in their teamwork, which probably made it hard to perfect their performance…’
However, it seemed like Choi Eun Ho, who was newly added, was different. The group going through a crisis after Seo Kang Jun had left might have been a wake-up call for the other M2M members.
‘He was good at singing, and he’s good at dancing too. He definitely is a talented person that they could immediately put in the center to replace Seo kang Jun.’
Do Wook, who had been quietly watching the performance, recalled who Choi Eun Ho was.
‘It was Choi Eun Ho, the leader of the group Quality Boys.’
It was the group Ara Entertainment released after M2M. At that time, Director Seo Joon Won had already completely taken control over Ara Entertainment thanks to M2M and Seo Kang Jun’s popularity.
Therefore, the next group, ‘Quality Boys’, was a group planned by someone other than Director Seo Joong Won. All of them had outstanding talent, but unfortunately, they were not loved by the public because of the group’s too experimental style.
Director Seo Joong Won’s support was still focused on M2M then, and it wasn’t a group he personally raised, so ‘Quality Boys’ was not able to enjoy the full power of Ara Entertainment.
‘I had thought that, considering their skills, they didn’t get the success they deserved…A lot of people were saying that it was the most unfortunate for Choi Eun Ho in particular, who was the center at that time too. For Choi Eun Ho, it was definitely a good thing that he got to change teams like this and debut.’
Do Wook knew that Director Seo Joong Won would absolutely invest in M2M.
Watching M2M sing their new song ‘Real’, Do Wook clenched his fist then let it go.
‘They may become a bigger threat to KK than Sa Bang Shin Hwa before long.’
However, that would be a friendly competition. The person Do Wook wanted ‘revenge’ on wasn’t M2M, but Director Seo Joong Won.
After M2M gave a garish opening performance for the second part, big name singers took the stage one after another. The atmosphere at the award show was growing more and more excited.
While the award ceremony progressed, Park Tae Hyung won the Duet award with Hyeon Ji and Do Wook won the Male Solo Artist award. KK received the Popularity award and the Dance Performance award.
They won the Popularity award, which consisted solely of internet voting, by an overwhelming margin of votes.
KK fans had voted with fire in their eyes. As they accepted the Popularity award, the KK members bowed deeply towards the fan seats that people were cheering them on from.
All that was left was the Male Group award and the grand prize.
It was today’s highlight.
After ‘Little Star’ won the Female Group award, they went onto the stage.
“That’s unfortunate, I want to watch too.”
“I’m a fan of theirs!”
Along with flashy lighting, Little Star’s hit songs remix performance began. Little Star was walking on to the stage like it was a runway, showing off their flower-like beauty like a rich bouquet of flowers.
Ahn Hyung Seo and Kim Won looked back, lamenting.
Regrettably, the KK members weren’t able to watch the Little Star performance. Once Little Star’s performance was over, KK’s performance was right after.
“I’m nervous.”
The KK members quickly got up from the waiting area and headed toward the back of the stage. Park Tae Hyung followed behind Do Wook, trembling.
The KK members, who were gathered behind the stage, joined hands below. It was a chant they always yelled before performing. It was also a chant to relieve anxiety and pump them up.
“Let’s go, KK!”
“Let’s gooo!”
The chant the KK members yelled was loud.
***
Do Wook kicked off KK’s performance.
Do Wook came to the center of the stage doing a tap dance step that went with the solo song ‘Daring’’s arranged interlude. The light shone towards Do Wook who made his way through the thick fog.
Click―!
Along with the sound of the lights coming on, the concert hall was filled with a huge roar.
When blond-haired Do Wook, who had had his eyes closed, opened his eyes wide, the giant TVs installed in the concert hall were filled with a close-up of Do Wook.
The interlude for ‘Darling’ ended and the atmosphere changed as the sound of a piano started to play.
Do Wook shined his blue eyes as he started the song.
“Don’t go, don’t go, please―”
Immediately, Do Wook sang the chorus, which is the highlight of the song, at the top of his lungs. It was an explosive voice.
The audience, who had been watching with bated breath, had goosebumps all over their bodies from the sad chorus that suddenly erupted. It truly was a surprise attack.
Do Wook purposely placed the most impactful part in the front for this arrangement. He later continued on to sing the chorus.
“How could you leave me behind like this―”
“How could you―”
When Do Wook sang, the numerous people who were gathered in the large concert hall sang along with one voice. The voice of the fans humming rang out through the large concert hall and gave Do Wook chills.
Do Wook felt the audience singing along with him in his whole body as he continued singing.
“I’m the only one standing here, lonely with just the beautiful memories――”
It was a beautiful voice.
When Do Wook sang the entire first verse of his solo song ‘Please Don’t Go’ and the interlude started to play, the other stage lights naturally came on and shone on Ahn Hyung Seo and Suk Ji Hoon as they began to walk to Do Wook’s side.
The fans cheered again when the two of them appeared.
And the interlude of ‘Please Don’t Go’ that continued on the piano led into other songs.
On-screen was a video of the singers who had sung gem-like masterpieces doing performances. The special performance KK had prepared was dedicated to sunbaes who had left great songs in the music industry.
The prelude that was playing was ‘The Story of Snow and You’ sung by the band ‘Birthflower’.
‘The Story of Snow and You’ was from so long ago that KK’s young fans didn’t know it, but the song was so good that they most likely had heard the chorus somewhere at least once.
The original song ‘The Story of Snow and You’ used guitar and bass as its main instrument, but KK arranged it as a piano piece so it could continue from ‘Please Don’t Go’.
The tempo was faster than before.
“The snow misses you―”
“It’s leaving a greeting.”
“It’s leaving a greeting.”
Suk Ji Hoon and Do Wook harmonized, led by Ahn Hyung Seo. Their harmony gently wrapped around the concert hall.
“Hurr…what song is this?”
“Don’t know, I don’t know. It’s so good. Do Wook is an angel today, isn’t he? He is going to fly to the sky?”
“Hyung Seo is so cute too. I’m happy right now.”
“Seriously. Me too. This is what it feels like to be happy while watching a performance.”
“The captions are on that video. It says it’s ‘The Story of…Snow and You’”
“Birthflower? Isn’t Birthflower a super famous group?”
“I think it’s the group that my mom said she likes…”
Fans were talking with a look of bewilderment.
The harmony of ‘The Snow and Your Story’ continued and the lights illuminated one part of the stage that had been dark.
“Kyaaa!”
The fan who noticed the area screamed. There was Park Tae Hyung, lying on his stomach in a head-to-toe black, body-hugging shirt and pants.
Park Tae Hyung moved his body smoothly as if he were dancing. Park Tae Hyung was soon acting with his body before he knew it. The meaning of the lyrics seemed to be conveyed just by watching the dance, and the emotion of missing someone could be felt.
Once, twice, three times…five times.
Park Tae Young jumped high on the stage after doing a total of five turns.
“Wow!”
The fans couldn’t close their mouths once their jaws dropped.
“Tae…Tae Hyung is going to dance?”
“I mean, I thought he was only good at street dancing.”
“It’s very…”
“Cool and beautiful. Isn’t it?”
It was just as the conversation said. His delicate body movements were both cool and beautiful.
The song changed as Park Tae Hyung, who had jumped, landed and the rappers’ rap played. Jung Yoon Ki, said the first lines with his low voice, followed by Kim Won.
Jung Yoon Ki and Kim Won continued their respective rapping while wearing sunglasses.
It was Cho Won Pil’s ‘I Hope That Will Happen Someday’.
Jung Yoon Ki and Kim Won changed the lyrics of ‘I Hope That Will Happen Someday’ to a rap that the younger generation could relate to better.
Kim Won livened up the atmosphere with a quick English rap. The other members waved their hands and moved their bodies to the rhythm, causing the audience to cheer even more.
At the end of Jung Yoon Ki and Kim Won’s rap, Ahn Hyung Seo took out his microphone headset from his ear and grabbed the hand microphone.
“Oh woahoahoah―I hope―that will happennn―!”
Along with the long note, the short yet long special performance ended.
The audience almost lost their minds over Ahn Hyung Seo raising the pitch and belting out the high notes. The image of Ahn Hyung Seo standing in the center of the stage creating those sounds from his small frame was the very image of a small giant.
Some fans were even applauding before they realized it. The applause, that had been quiet, was getting louder and louder while the lights were getting darker and darker.
The members, who had poured out their passion for a moment, caught their breath as they looked at the camera.
“Ahn Hyung Seo is incredible.”
“I totally got goosebumps.”
“Man, seriously. How is their performance this good?!”
“I heard it’s all live.”
“Amazing. This is so crazy. Seriously. It’d be nice if our guys’ performance is that good too…”
Not just KK fans but also fans who came to cheer on other singers praised KK, as they brushed away the goosebumps on their forearms.
It was a performance that made even Sa Bang Shin Hwa’s fans, who were going out of their way to laugh at KK’s performance, have a change of heart.
“Psh, they’re good I suppose.”
Any one with eyes and ears had no choice but to acknowledge it. KK’s performance right now was top notch, enough to keep up with the original singers who sang the masterpieces.
Then, the atmosphere of the performance changed again, and the prelude to KK’s mega-hit song ‘Blue Sky’ began. The audience cheered for KK once again in the brightened atmosphere.
The band Birthflower and Cho Won Pil were truly long-time seniors to KK. The reason that they, who had already made a mark in the music industry a long time ago, allowed KK to do a special performance even though they didn’t know them and KK was a much younger junior was thanks to ‘Blue Sky’,
Seeing how ‘Blue Sky’, the testament of their skills, was newly and sensationally interpreted made it possible for them to understand KK’s music color and to have faith in them.
The reason Do Wook came to plan a special performance was because ‘Blue Sky’, which was a hit song by KK this year, was a remake of a sunbae’s song.
Clapping with their hands above their heads, the audience matched their applause to the KK members’ clapping. The venue shook with each applause.
The concert hall, which had already been pumped up from the previous performances, got fired up along with the sound of applause and cheering. Confetti exploded and flew onto the stage.
“This is totally…”
Manager Oh Baek Ho, who was watching the performance from the audience, shook his head. Assistant Manager Do Ra Hee, who came to the award ceremony with him, felt the same way as Manager Oh Baek Ho. The response was amazing.
“This is practically like the ending of the ceremony, this vibe.”
Manager Oh Baek Ho nodded at what Assistant Manager Do Ra Hee said. He was even worried whether Sa Bang Shin Hwa would indeed be able to overcome this atmosphere and put on a proper ending performance.
—
Next chapter: The award show comes to a close and the winners for all the awards are revealed.