“Aaaaahhhhhh!”
“Wow. This wind is no joke.”
The members, who had arrived at the simple waiting room made of tents, quivered at the sound of the wind blowing outside. It was the same wind everywhere, but the power of the wind blowing directly from the sea was different.
The height of the waves crashing into the blue sea right in front of them was quite high too.
Regardless of how the wind was, the concert announcement had already gone out and it was almost time for the concert.
The members were startled by the wind’s momentum, which seemed to penetrate through the thin fabric once in a while, but still moved busily as they changed into their stage outfits.
Including the time to speak, it was an hour-long concert with 5 songs, so they had not one but two stage outfits.
Not just the stage outfits, but the performance had to match too. Today’s concert, unlike that first concert, included other songs too.
Do Wook came out of the busy tent.
Outside, the stage installation and check was in full swing. They seemed to be done setting up the sound equipment, and the staff was using tape and string to fix small lights onto the stage. It seemed as chaotic as the situation inside.
He saw Manager Oh Baek Ho talking with Assistant Manager Kwon Woo Chan and the stage director. The expressions on the three of their faces were full of worry.
Manager Oh Baek Ho, who noticed Do Wook, called out to him.
“Do Wook. Where are you going?”
“To the restroom real quick…I was told by the staff that I have to turn back and use the public restroom in the back.”
Manager Oh Baek Ho nodded his head to Do Wook’s response.
They were setting up the stage at a different area than they usually have concerts at, so it was inevitably a rough situation. One good thing was that there were no people yet.
Time left until the concert: 2 hours.
For now there were just elderly people who came to spectate after seeing the stage getting set up and the promotional banners, wondering what was going on.
It was to the point that the staff who were stationed to help with crowd control felt awkward standing around.
“Ugh…Are we able to proceed with the concert?”
Manager Oh Baek Ho responded to Do Wook’s question in a “don’t worry about it too much” way.
“Uh? Well. The locals said they think the wind might actually subside when it becomes night in a bit.”
“Ah, is that so? That’s a relief.”
“Yeah. It’s a relief that, other than being windy, the weather is nice. The directing team said they came prepared, so you just just focus on the performance.”
“Ok,”
Do Wook replied, feeling a little relieved.
“Anyways, I know there’s nobody around, but why are you going alone? You never know, so go with Chul Min.”
“No, it’s ok….”
“Hey! Chul Min!”
Before Do Wook could stop him, Manager Oh Baek Ho called out to Gu Chul Min. Manager Oh Baek Ho’s voice as he called Gu Chul Min over practically boomed through Saryando.
It may be the edge of the Korean Peninsula, but it was still near the concert venue. Nothing was going to happen, but on the off chance that a small problem were to happen to Do Wook while he was walking around alone, it would blow up, especially in this day and age, and there would be scrutiny over not managing their agency celebrities well.
Gu Chul Min, who was chatting with coordinators at the entrance of the simple waiting room, moved quickly at the beckoning of Manager Oh Baek Ho.
“Tell the others to go before the crowd starts gathering too. Unless they want to go to the bathroom with everyone watching.”
“Haha, ok,”
Do Wook responded to what Manager Oh Baek Ho said, smiling awkwardly.
“I hope the wind will die down soon…”
“Don’t you think it’s a little better than it was earlier?”
Gu Chul Min replied when Do Wook said that, hoping that nobody would be put through a hard time.
“Umm…hey! Excuse me!”
They were on a narrow street a little away from the stage. In front of the shabby public restroom, an elderly woman was standing there, stooped over, and calling out to Do Wook and Gu Chul Min. It was dark because the sun had set, but they could clearly see her completely white hair and deep wrinkles.
“Yes?”
Gu Chul Min asked a little cautiously. It was only at the level of general vigilance one has when interacting with a stranger.
“Is this…where that KK or khaki or whatever will be?”
“Huh? What?”
“Yes. That’s right, ma’am.”
Do Wook kindly replied in Gu Chul Min’s place, who didn’t understand what was said because he was only paying half attention.
“But you have to go further in that direction.”
Do Wook directed her towards the stage. The elderly woman nodded her head and complained under her breath as she patted her knees. “Whewwwww…I came because my granddaughter was making such a fuss that I have to come see them, so I came but…she even wants me to take a picture…I don’t know how to take a picture. What shall I do?”
In her right hand, the elderly woman was holding an old flip phone that was hard to find nowadays. She probably wouldn’t be able to take a picture from the audience seats with it.
Gu Chul Min, who was listening to her complaints, tried to send her on her way and said goodbye by somewhat nodding his head.
“Is your granddaughter not able to make it?”
Do Wook asked.
“Huh? She goes to a school in Seoul. She’s an elementary student already, but instead of studying she’s asking me to get a picture of KK. Whewwww, my legs. I’m over 80 years old…”
It was a simple question but the elderly woman rambled on and on.
You could get the gist of it from what she said. It seemed like her young elementary-school-aged granddaughter was a fan of KK. It was clear that she had nagged her grandmother in Tongyoung to attend once she had heard that the concert was in Tongyoung. She herself wasn’t able to go, so she desperately at least wanted someone she knew to go.
If there was one thing the young granddaughter had overlooked, it was that it was better to watch the live broadcast on the computer than to have pictures taken by an elderly person’s cellphone.
At that moment, the cell phone the elderly woman was holding started to ring loudly.
As if thinking “thank goodness”, Gu Chul Min signaled “let’s go now”, but Do Wook didn’t feel at ease.
They had come all the way down to Tongyoung with the hope that everyone who had passed through the streets, regardless of age or gender, would enjoy the concert, but they didn’t want an elderly woman, who would be resting at home, to push herself to make it to the venue and suffer.
“I’m at that place.”
-Really? You really went? Grandma?
“That’s right. You told me to go, Jung Eun.”
The granddaughter’s surprised voice could be heard coming out of the flip phone that was at max volume. As Do Wook expected, it was a very young voice sounding like she was in lower elementary.
“Ma’am.”
Do Wook called out to the elderly woman. The elderly woman, who was on the phone, looked at Do Wook with a surprised expression as if asking, “What’s the matter?”
If he let things be, the elderly woman would end up watching the KK concert. However, her efforts in coming to the concert for her granddaughter would not be rewarded because she’d only have a picture that you couldn’t even see the faces to show for her efforts. The granddaughter would be very disappointed too.
The granddaughter’s disappointment would soon become the disappointment of her grandmother, who came to the concert out of her love for her granddaughter.
His small action could make that into joy instead of disappointment.
“This handsome student here wants to talk to you for a second.”
-Huh? Who?
The elderly lady handed the flip phone to Do Wook with a slightly dazed expression.
“Hello, Ms. Jung Eun.”
-Ah, yes! Hello! But who is this?”
With a small smile, Do Wook responded to the bright sounding voice.
“I’m KK’s Kang Do Wook.”
-What?!….Hurrr, really? Are you truly Do Wook oppa?
“Yes. I met your grandmother in front of the concert venue here. Miss Jung Eun. Did you ask your grandmother to take a picture of our concert?
-Yes! Yes, Oppa, I’m a Key Ring! I’m registered at the fan cafe too!
“Haha. Thank you. But your grandmother’s cellphone is really old, so I don’t think it can take pictures.
-Ah…really?
The young student, who had immediately gotten excited, sounded disheartened and saddened just as quickly.
“Yes. Can I take a picture with my cellphone camera instead?
-What?!!!
“In return, it’s on the condition that your grandmother goes back home? She said her leg hurts too…”
-Huur. Yes! Yes! Of course! Really! I really like you!
Hearing the cheerful voice made Do Wook smile more.
When he handed the cellphone back to the elderly woman, you could hear the granddaughter’s ecstatic voice saying loudly to her grandmother, “Thank you, I love you”. After also telling her to hurry back home, the call ended.
“Did she swallow a train whistle or something?”
The elderly woman muttered, saying she didn’t understand what was going on. Still, hearing her granddaughter’s happy voice and her saying I love you made her feel proud, and she had a smile on her face.
Do Wook was also feeling a deep sense of pride.
“Yeah, even if it’s not some grand action…I’m so happy that, as a star, I can bring a small joy to someone’s life like this….”
Do Wook thought as he took several selfies with the elderly woman’s flip phone after she had hung up.
The unsightly streetlights in front of the public restroom served as the lighting. However, they didn’t need great lighting. Do Wook’s face in the picture was slightly glowing.
***
“Let’s go, KK!”
The members, who had come onto the stage after yelling the chant again, rubbed their eyes.
“Crazy.”
“Wow…”
They couldn’t help but drop their jaws.
They were even more surprised because they had already seen what the area was like when the announcement was just posted. The area around the stage, which was so peaceful and completely deserted, was filled with over 2,000 fans.
2,000 spectators in a span of 3 hours on an island with bad accessibility. It was surprising no matter how you looked at it.
The people in charge of the concert, who had set up the auditorium expecting maybe 1,000 people at most, were surprised by the crowd that gathered right before the concert and quickly installed more seats.
“Kyaaa!”
“KK!”
Looking at KK, who had come on stage, the fans cheered without holding back.
People who lived in Tongyoung as well as those who lived in Guhjae Island, Busan, even Yeosu. There were many people who booked transportation and rushed over as soon as they heard the news.
Tickets to public transport from Guhjae and Busan to Tongyoung past 6 pm were already sold out.
On the fan community, fans with private vehicles even stepped up and brought local fans. They came in groups, so this huge amount of fans had gathered before they knew it.
The number of people at the venue was one thing, but the number of people watching the live broadcast was even more unbelievable.
It was because, on top of many fans being unable to come to the venue due to its situation, the first concert had become famous through word of mouth.
Although meApp had already expanded their servers, 800,000 simultaneous users was unbelievable.
Considering the different time zones throughout the world, it was an even more outstanding record.
Watching the number of users keep rising on their cellphone, the people below the stage, including Manager Oh Baek Ho, Gu Chul Min, Assistant Manager Kwon Woo Chan, and everyone else involved shook their heads.
It felt like there was nothing that could stop KK as they were now.
Unlike the first performance, the first song for today’s concert was ‘Blue Sky.’ They had chosen the song after taking into consideration that it would be a relatively older generation.
When KK began to sing ‘Blue Sky’, the audience sang along to ‘Blue Sky’ in unison.
The sound of the waves were getting mixed in with the live performance like static, but it was similar to other outdoor performances. Furthermore, as the wave sounds were occasionally added, it actually added a certain charm.
Even middle-aged people in hiking clothes and elderly people wearing colorful flower pattern clothing were enjoying it, moving their shoulders to the music.
“It’s kind of chaotic, but it’s worth watching!”
A person in their 30s or 40s, whose face was red from day drinking since lunch, yelled. He was a resident of the neighborhood near the venue. The nearby residents nodded their heads as they cackled.
It was a quiet place that didn’t have events besides ‘National Singing Contest’ that was held here once 5 years ago. All the residents came out and were enjoying the hustle and bustle.
It was the image that the KK members wanted.
Furthermore, below the stage, the elderly woman Do Wook had sent home earlier had come and was clapping, although clumsily, and laughing.
They had decided to watch the concert since they were here anyway.
After looking at the elderly people in the audience, Do Wook’s voice got even louder.
Continuing on, the second song was ‘Connection’.
The performance was going smoothly and got to the prelude, when the wind started to blow hard.
***
Also, at that moment, the key figures had been called to the TBN broadcast station’s President’s Office one after another.
—
Next chapter: TBS officials meet to discuss what KK’s new strategy could mean for the broadcast station