The camera pointing at them and everyone’s eyes unanimously on them made the KK members dumbfounded. The images of the members looking around with their jaws slightly dropped were captured on the screen.
Oh Bin, who was sitting next to them in the waiting area along with the other M2M members, yelled to Do Wook to go up to the stage already. Do Wook finally came back to his senses after hearing Oh Bin.
Jung Yoon Ki, the leader, was the first to come back to his senses and got up from his seat with a dazed expression. Once Jung Yoon Ki got up and started walking towards the stage, the other members followed behind him.
Do Wook also followed suit and walked with the members from behind.
As they made their way, other singers applauded and celebrated KK’s grand prize win.
Heo Geon got up and shook KK’s hand. He was a fellow grand prize candidate, but Heo Geon really didn’t have much expectation.
When he saw KK’s performance earlier, Heo Geon was genuinely in awe.
All he was good at was standing there and singing, but KK’s performance was truly jaw-dropping.
Dancing, singing, performing etiquette. Everything was perfect. The performance made you see why people were saying in unison that KK’s performance was the best.
Therefore, Heo Geon was just happy to be nominated with them and that a singer he could fully acknowledge won the grand prize.
The veteran hip-hop singers of Rusty Duo, who were competing in the same category as KK’s hip hop unit OKAY, also got up and lightly hugged Jung Yoon Ki and Kim Won, who were leading the KK members to the stage.
Rusty Duo and Jung Yoon Ki, who had distinguished himself since the ‘student rapper’ days, had known each other for a long time. They treasured OKAY, who was working as hard as they were to popularize hip hop, very much.
Even Little Star, who was part of Ara Entertainment, was smiling broadly. Little Star honestly had nothing to be happy about, but they also had nothing to be sad about. One thing they knew though was that the vibe at the company would not be good.
Still, the award ceremony venue had cameras everywhere. They, who had debuted a long time ago, were pros among pros.
However, the Sa Bang Shin Hwa members were the only ones who could not smile brightly. Thankfully they weren’t showing an angry expression.
They just forced themselves to put on a small smile and clapped mechanically a few times.
They didn’t have a strong desire to win the grand prize, but now that they actually didn’t win the grand prize that they always won, they felt as if it were stolen from them.
They themselves were who insisted on disbanding, but it hit them that it was really the end.
They couldn’t blame anyone. It was a hole that they got themselves into.
Sa Bang Shin Hwa fans were in as deep of a pit as the Sa Bang Shin Hwa members. This couldn’t be happening. It was true that KK’s popularity had gone up, but in their opinion there was no group anywhere that could surpass Sa Bang Shin Hwa yet.
‘This is a conspiracy. They stole the grand prize!’
The sadness of the fans who firmly believed Sa Bang Shin Hwa would win the grand prize quickly turned to rage.
Honestly, even to the fans, Sa Bang Shin Hwa winning the grand prize was always a given. For them, the current situation was nothing short of a natural disaster.
The arrow of anger was naturally directed to KK. It seemed like Sa Bang Shin Hwa’s collapse was all KK’s fault.
However, the concert hall was full of cheers chanting KK.
“KK―!!!”
“Do Wook!”
“Jung Yoon Kiiiiii!!!”
“Congratulations!!!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa―!”
The cheering was ear-piercing. The fans were as happy as if they themselves had won the grand prize. Some of them hugged each other and cried as they shouted out loud for joy.
They weren’t a member of KK, but the fans had supported the KK members with all they had.
They had fought online with various competing groups, and if a malicious comment about the members was posted, they filed a complaint.
When a song was released, they stayed up all night to watch the stream, and they voted with all their heart and soul.
Therefore the fans inevitably felt like they were the 7th member.
“Waaahhh, omg. Our boys won the grand prize.”
“Soooooob.”
Most of the crying fans had been fans of KK since they first won the Rookie of the Year award.
Because they knew the performances KK had done until now and the sweat they had shed on stage, the fans started crying before they realized it.
They’ve had one victory after another from their debut until now so it seemed like they had ridden an elevator to the top, but KK was from an agency that didn’t even have an escalator.
They had climbed their way up themselves with just their music.
“Wow, I can’t believe it. The grand prize.”
“I know. I really thought for sure that we wouldn’t get it.”
“Isn’t this the first time that a mid-sized agency won the grand prize?”
“This is, like, the first time since Seo Tae Jun won it 10 years ago…”
The fans talked amongst themselves as they watched the KK members go on stage.
Apart from everything else, the fans were happy just watching their favorite members be happy.
On the stage, Kim Ah Young greeted KK, who was coming up to the stage, with a trophy.
Kim Ah Young awarded the trophy to Jung Yoon Ki with a delicate smile.
When Jung Yoon Ki accepted the trophy, Suk Ji Hoon, Ahn Hyung Seo, and Kim Won latched onto Jung Yoon Ki’s side to look at the trophy.
Jung Yoon Ki handed over the trophy to Suk Ji Hoon, the youngest, and stood in front of the microphone. This time, Ahn Hyung Seo and Kim Won headed to Suk Ji Hoon’s side.
The members couldn’t believe it even as they took turns touching the trophy.
Jung Yoon Ki, who was standing in front of the microphone, couldn’t speak well because his eyes were getting hotter from restrained tears and he was starting to choke up.
“Uh….”
When Jung Yoon Ki started his acceptance speech, the audience was buzzing again. There were even fans who were yelling congratulatory messages at the top of their lungs.
After swallowing once, Jung Yoon Ki expressed his feelings with difficulty.
“I said everything I wanted during the acceptance speech earlier so I don’t have anything more to say, but…I really had no idea we’d receive a big award like this…”
“I love you!!!”
While Jung Yoon Ki paused, a loud voice came from the audience.
Jung Yoon Ki, who had been holding back his tears, laughed when he heard that.
The members, who had been busy trying to touch the trophy, had at some point stood calmly behind Jung Yoon Ki and were listening to his acceptance speech.
The members looked at the light of the cheering stick that was waving at them. They weren’t crying because they couldn’t believe it, but now it was starting to feel real.
When he was handed the trophy and he held it in his hands, Ahn Hyung Seo’s eyes got watery.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you. Thank you so much to everyone who made it possible to get to where we are today, and we’ll climb even higher from here!”
“Wowwwwww!!!”
“Aaahhhhhh―!”
It was short, but Jung Yoon Ki’s speech of ‘we’ll climb even higher from here’ was enough to excite the fans.
The fans also knew the pleasure of seeing their favorite singer rise to greater heights, and were feeling it now.
Along with the cheers from the fans, Jung Yoon Ki stepped back and handed the microphone to Kim Won, who was next to him.
Jung Yoon Ki had already said his prepared acceptance speech, including naming people from the company, when he received the Dance Performance Award.
He determined that rather than him, who always gave the acceptance speech as the representative every time they received an award, giving another member a chance to say an acceptance speech was the right thing to do.
Now was the perfect opportunity for all the members to give an acceptance speech.
Kim Won, who was handed the microphone, was pumped up and said his acceptance speech in English.
“Oh, my gosh. Key Ring! I can’t believe I am here. Key Ring, all my fans, you guys deserve this. Thank you, Thank you······. Thank you to my team, the best team in the universe to me. And thank you to my family. Love you all!!!”
After saying thank you several times, Kim Won opened his arms and waved his hands wide.
Among the fans, there were a considerable number of people from other countries who were not good at Korean. The foreign fans understood how Kim Won felt and cheered.
After Kim Won was Ahn Hyung Seo.
“Ah…”
As soon as he got in front of the microphone, Ahn Hyung Seo started to bawl.
“Sniff sniff. I really…sniff. I wanted to be manly and not cry but…because if I cry our leader will definitely tease me saying I’m not a man…”
However, the eyes of Jung Yoon Ki, who was standing behind him, had already turned bloodshot too.
There was a ‘motherly smile’ coming from the fans. Ahn Hyung Seo was typically famous for being a good speaker but he was crying, unable to speak properly and giving his acceptance speech like a child.
“Grand prize…I’m so happy. I love you! It’s all thanks to you guys, the fans. Mom! Dad! I won the grand prize!! To my older brother who’s gone to the army, good luck protecting the nation and stay healthy!!!”
Laughter exploded from the singer section, which had been watching the innocent and funny acceptance speech.
Suk Ji Hoon was handed the microphone.
“Thank you for the big award. Honestly, I’ve been on TV since I was young, but…I never thought I’d be able to make it this far. My face has gotten a little recognition, but I don’t know how to do anything well…”
The calm vibe from Suk Ji Hoon, the youngest, made the fans emotional this time. They were filled with empathy for Suk Ji Hoon, who had struggled for a long time.
“I couldn’t have made it here without the members. I finally feel like I got validation that all my efforts weren’t wasted, so I’m happy. To our fans, thank you so much for loving us.”
The sincerity in his words could be felt. Ahn Hyung Seo, who was behind him wiping his tears with his sleeves, became even more teary and hugged Suk Ji Hoon when he came back.
Even back during their time as trainees together, Ahn Hyung Seo felt bad that Suk Ji Hoon had struggled from an early age.
“Umm…th, thank…you. I…I originally almost didn’t make it into KK…”
The fans were buzzing over what Park Tae Hyung, who was handed the microphone, said.
This was the first time they had heard that Park Tae Hyung almost wasn’t going to be a KK member. Park Tae Hyung couldn’t hold back his tears and lowered his head.
Seeing him hang his head, the fans yelled his name.
“Park Tae Hyung!”
“Park Tae Hyung!!! Don’t cry!!!”
Do Wook, who was standing next to him, patted Park Tae Hyung’s shoulder.
Park Tae Hyung barely managed to lift his head again and continued to express his feelings.
“I’m not sure if it’s ok for me to be standing here, but…I’ll try…to become…a more worthy person.”
Lastly, it was Do Wook’s turn.
This was the peak that Do Wook had dreamt of. Seo Kang Jun had fallen, and he was standing on top.
Although there was a big mountain called Director Seo Joong Won left, the revenge and the dream he wanted to achieve from the moment he opened his eyes as Kang Do Wook had become a reality.
He shed no tears.
Do Wook stared straight ahead with his blue eyes. When the screen showed Do Wook straight-on, people were breathless for a moment.
His face, his vibe. Do Wook always had an aura that overwhelmed everyone.
“To the fans who made it possible to win this award, thank you so much. This award truly belongs to all of you.”
His low voice rang throughout the award ceremony venue.
Even the people who were surfing through the channel tuned into TBN at that moment as if lured in by something.
“There were truly so many things that had happened on the journey to getting here. There were even some things that happened to me that I can’t explain with words. This was my dream, my life, my everything. But now that I am actually here…”
Do Wook chose his words carefully.
“I…have a new dream.”
Do Wook looked around the vast award ceremony venue.
“A dream?”
“What’s his dream…?”
“Who knows. Do Wook’s face looks so radiant.”
“I want to help him realize that dream.”
The fans who were at the venue listened to Do Wook’s acceptance speech attentively with a blank expression.
And at that time, the community online was turned upside down in real time.
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Next chapter: Excitement from the award ceremony soon fades as KK is faced with an issue