By Zephyria The closer the screen got to Tae-kyung, the more he flinched.
His breathing kept getting rough, so he covered his mouth with both hands. Already, the solo dance of the second verse was unfolding.
“Ah…!”
Against the backdrop of a sky that seemed to draw him in, Tae-kyung was dancing and singing to his heart’s content.
Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes, it didn’t feel real.
The dancers playfully slipped in, smiling at each other. They put Tae-kyung in the center and the choreography started again.
It was only when the harmonies that Tae-kyung had carefully built up layer by layer poured out through the video that he realized.
That he was crying.
“Ha, shit…!”
He wanted to sing this freely. He wanted to sing beautiful songs with emotion, not forced high notes that didn’t suit him.
Gun-woo Hyung and Tae-kyung, in their pursuit of charisma that they didn’t have, had been overdoing it and missing out on important things.
Only now could he admit that he had been trapped in the thought of wanting to beat Sung Se-han.
“Tae-kyung Hyung!”
Only when the conference room door burst open did Tae-kyung lift his head weakly.
“Hyung? What are you doing sitting on the floor?”
Jeong-min seemed surprised to see Tae-kyung sitting on the floor instead of on the chair. He quickly approached and looked around.
“Hyung, are you okay? Do you feel sick?”
“I don’t feel sick… I just feel a little drained, Maknae.”
He felt so empty, as if he had exhausted all his emotions, so he was sitting on the floor. When Tae-kyung leaned against the wall and smiled, Jeong-min finally looked relieved.
“Hyung! Tae-kyung Hyung…! You were so cool! You’re really the best, I almost cried, you know?”
I already cried. You brat.
“You looked so much better than in real life! I think Hyung looks better in the video! Don’t you think?”
“What? Haa, you little….”
Tae-kyung wanted to shake Jeong-min’s neck, but he didn’t have the energy to get up.
“Tae-kyung Hyung-nim!”
“Hyung!”
Soo-in and Ho-soo, who had followed Jeong-min, peeked out from behind. Seeing the three of them together made Tae-kyung feel warm and amused.
“Tae-kyung Hyung-nim, look! It hasn’t even been an hour since it was uploaded, and it already has over 20,000 views! There are a lot of comments too. Wow! Already seventy!”
What… what did you say?
Tae-kyung stared blankly at Soo-in, who was shaking his phone. Then he jumped up and rushed to the desk to open his laptop.
Until a moment ago, he felt like he didn’t care about the views or comments, but at the sound of over 20,000, his heart was pounding.
27,368. The views were constantly rising in real time. Tae-kyung watched the numbers move without blinking.
“Oh! Hyung!”
An excited Ho-soo held his phone in front of Tae-kyung.
“Perfect, Sung Se-han-nim left a comment!”
Without realizing it, Tae-kyung licked his lips. His lips must have been dry from the tension. He deftly scrolled down with his finger.
@SSe-han 5 minutes ago
As expected, Lee Tae-kyung
1:47
2:50
3:36
⌄ 8 replies
“Um… it’s Se-han.”
Tae-kyung really didn’t expect Sung Se-han to leave a comment. He felt embarrassed and happy at the same time… but he felt nauseous and it was hard.
His palms were sweating, and he didn’t know what expression to make because his younger brothers were watching.
“Tae-kyung Hyung is so lucky! I wonder if Se-han Hyung will leave a comment on my video too?”
“I’m so jealous that you’re close with Sung Se-han-nim! Tae-kyung Hyung-nim.”
The younger ones patted Tae-kyung’s shoulder and poured out their envy. He felt dizzy and covered his forehead with his palm.
“Hyung, hurry up and look at the comments! They’re all compliments. I think the fans have fallen for Hyung!”
“Tae-kyung Hyung, you’re so cool!”
The younger ones were excited and making a fuss, but Tae-kyung didn’t have the courage to check the comments yet.
As expected, Lee Tae-kyung.
That alone seemed to be enough.
That he was enough as himself, and that Sung Se-han said so, made everything seem okay.
But the problem wasn’t that simple.
“Aish! Seriously, what is all this about!”
Less than an hour after Sung Se-han left a comment, articles started pouring out.
<‘As Expected, Lee Tae-kyung’ Global Enter’s ‘Global Idol Group’. Can They Become Perfect Puzzle’s Rival?>
Do entertainment reporters just follow Sung Se-han around all day? Tae-kyung couldn’t understand why they were overreacting to a single, meaningless comment.
(Video)
(Photo)
Global Enter’s Rising Star ‘Tae-kyung’.
(Photo)
-Provided by Global Enter.
“Wow…! I was our company’s rising star?”
Tae-kyung could only laugh at the first time he had heard that. Since there were no profile pictures yet, it seemed that the company had provided video captures.
“I’m really out of my mind.”
Thanks to Sung Se-han leaving a comment, there were even articles. The video views were increasing at an alarming rate, and honestly, it felt unreal and his head felt empty.
Then his phone rang loudly. When he checked, it was Team leader Jang Ju-mi.
“Yes, Team leader.”
―Tae-kyung, did you even come to work today? Why is it so hard to see your face all day?
“Yes? I’m in the practice room right now? But actually… I’ve been hiding a bit. I’m sorry!”
―Hoo hoo hoo! I see. I understand how you want to be alone!
Hearing Team leader Jang Ju-mi laugh brightly made Tae-kyung feel a little relieved. In fact, he had been watching the General manager and Team leader’s expressions lately because they hadn’t been looking at him kindly.
―The video response is good, isn’t it? Don’t you feel like our group will do well? Let’s work hard.
“Yes! I’ll work hard!”
Tae-kyung jumped up from his chair and bowed.
After talking to Team leader Jang, he felt a little more clear-headed.
He hadn’t been able to focus on dance practice or vocal lessons for the past few days. He hadn’t even started yet, but he had to pull himself together.
If he wanted to have a busy evening schedule, he had to eat well. He had to take care of his younger brothers and go to the cafeteria first.
Before leaving the practice room, he opened the video and checked Sung Se-han’s comment one more time.
⌣Pinned by Global Ent
@SSe-han 5 hours ago
As expected, Lee Tae-kyung
1:47
2:50
3:36
⌄ 839 replies
“The video response is good. Congratulations!”
“Eat a lot, everyone.”
While Tae-kyung was eating dinner with the members in the cafeteria, the staff patted him on the shoulder and passed by.
“Thank you! I’ll work hard!”
“I’ll work hard!”
“Haha! Don’t get up, just eat.”
Tae-kyung sat back in his chair with a dazed feeling. In the past, even after debuting, he had never received this much attention and kindness from the people at the company.
Back then, the atmosphere in the company was gloomy….
“Let’s eat, Tae-kyung.”
Tae-kyung must have been spacing out for a while. At Gun-woo Hyung’s urging, he picked up his spoon again.
“But why doesn’t Sung Se-han-nim leave comments on Gun-woo Hyung’s videos? You were in the same debut group….”
At Ho-soo’s casual remark, Tae-kyung’s lips twitched.
Ah, right. Ho-soo tends to be a bit clueless.
“Se-han must have forgotten. He’s not very detail-oriented….”
“Se-han and I didn’t get along well.”
At Gun-woo Hyung’s words, there was a moment of silence. Gun-woo Hyung was pretending to be indifferent as he ate his soup.
“Since there were two composing members, our opinions were so different that we fought a lot. Tae-kyung must have had a hard time in the middle.”
Gun-woo Hyung seemed to want to talk about the past calmly, but his face was gradually turning red.
“Actually, I was very jealous of Se-han and kept him in check a lot….”
“Ah, Gun-woo Hyung.”
Gun-woo Hyung seemed to be determined to get rid of his past mistakes these days. It was good that he was becoming stronger as a leader, but he was saying a lot of things in front of the younger ones that he didn’t need to say.
“I was more jealous. Actually, people don’t know this, but it’s hard for the people who are close to a genius, you know?”
“Ah, that’s right, Tae-kyung Hyung. I used to be jealous of Se-han Hyung too.”
“That’s right. It’s understandable.”
When the younger ones brought up the topic of video views, Gun-woo Hyung started eating again.
Gun-woo Hyung was trying hard not to be conscious of Sung Se-han, but it wouldn’t be easy. It was the same for Tae-kyung.
If the Status Window hadn’t appeared, he probably wouldn’t have had the courage to go to Sung Se-han….
Clang! Clang!
“Huh? Tae-kyung Hyung!”
“Tae-kyung?”
Tae-kyung suddenly felt dazed. Everyone looked surprised because he had dropped his spoon on the floor.
“Tae-kyung, are you okay?”
“Hyung! Your face is pale! Did you get indigestion?”
“Yeah… I’m okay.”
The Status Window had appeared because Sung Se-han had died. That was it. Se-han had died in an accident….
“Gun-woo Hyung, pinch me once.”
When Tae-kyung suddenly held out his arm to Gun-woo Hyung, who was next to him, he looked flustered.
“Jeong-min? Can you pinch my arm? I’m wondering if I’m dreaming right now.”
He had to quickly confirm whether the current moment, with Sung Se-han alive and them preparing to debut, was the real reality.
“Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch…!”
Jeong-min pinched him so hard that Tae-kyung got up from his chair and jumped up and down to relieve the pain.
“Tae-kyung Hyung, are you doing this because you can’t believe the views and reactions right now? This isn’t a dream.”
“Aish! Yeah, thanks. You brat!”
Beep beep― Beep beep beep beep― Tae-kyung’s phone rang on the table.