The Maknae Has to Be an Idol-Chapter 99

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Siren’s fan felt her heart thump frantically with Bong Tae-Yoon’s appearance. It was completely unexpected that he would appear in a school uniform to perform “Never Mind.” She didn’t expect him to do something cute and refreshing at all.

But regardless of her thumping heart, she was also worried. ‘Will he be able to do a good job?’

The Tae-Yoon she knew wasn’t the type of member who showcased his capabilities and charm on stage. He seemed more skilled in being the idea-maker behind the stage and was a good fit to be Siren’s producer in the future.

‘But a center...?’ Though she was a fan—no, perhaps, more because she was a fan, she began to worry about Tae-Yoon. Eventually, the melody began to come out, but it was before the first verse. She stared intently at Tae-Yoon. It didn’t matter whether he did a good job or not since she was happy just watching him like this. Thus, she decided to cast her worries away and just try to enjoy the show.

‘...Huh?’ At that moment, she thought his eyes met hers. It wasn’t her misunderstanding. His eyes surely met hers, and he smiled at her. Then, he moved his shoulders up and down according to the beat.

‘...!’ This was beyond what she expected. ‘...So cute!’

He was smiling cutely and innocently.

‘Really cute!’ With what just happened, she felt her worries completely disappear.

***

This had never happened to me before. It was true that I still couldn’t shake off my feeling of wariness that my group’s probability of winning was still stuck at 87%. Though I tried to hypnotize myself that I could do well, I knew there was a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to. But as I got up the stage, inhaled deeply, and met the audience’s eyes as the lights turned on, my worries gradually disappeared.

‘...It will be all right.’ It was sort of a trick I learned from the second-round performance, but I tended to calm down when meeting another person’s eyes. Yet, perhaps, it was because I had heard so much about love since morning; something felt different this time.

‘...Hm? Is she my fan?’ I saw my audience’s eyes much more clearly than before. Then, when I met one of the audience’s eyes, I thought she was my fan for no clear basis at all. Thus, I stared at that person more intently. The more I looked into her eyes, my nervousness disappeared. My self-doubt, which constantly asked, ‘Can I do this?’ changed to ‘I can do this. Why wouldn’t I be able to?’ A change stirred inside my heart, and I checked the percentages again.

[Probability of Winning First Place: 90%]

‘...!’ The percentage that had been going up continuously finally reached 90%. That gave me the edge to boost my confidence, and I was certain that I would do well in today’s performance.

—In this current moment~

—Maybe I was waiting for you~

—Hoping to meet you one day,

—The meeting between you and me!

After saying the first verse, I began the choreography that I had been practicing to death for the past two weeks.

—In the exploding SPOTLIGHT

—You are my SHINING STAR

—We finally meet

—This is our FIRST SHOT!

My body felt completely light, and my expression looked more natural without me even forcing it. I felt it then. The audience’s response that I was feeling right now was clearly different from before. Perhaps, I was imagining it, but it really felt different.

—Don’t—Don’t—Don’t—Don’t—

—Don’t hesitate any longer

—Now Now Now Now

I continued the performance more brightly and excitedly. Without even actively trying to, I perfectly followed the performance’s concept and did my best.

And I thought, ‘This is fun...!’

***

Tae-Yoon’s fan watched the stage in amazement, unable to close her mouth. She wondered if this was the Bong Tae-Yoon she knew. She didn’t know until then that her bias was capable of making such expressions and dancing like this.

‘There’s a reason why he became the center!’ She had wondered why Tae-Yoon was placed as the center position, but she was now certain that it was all for a good reason. Initially, she had thought the only reason for his position was that he was the youngest member of the show and fitted a school uniform the most.

‘But he really looks so refreshing.’ She felt light-hearted now. She didn’t know who had planned this performance or who had given this concept to Tae-Yoon, but she thanked the person a hundred times in her mind. ‘Thank you. Oh, thank you so much...!’

Though other teammates now took the center position, her eyes only stayed focused on Bong Tae-Yoon. And even when she saw Kang Hyun-Sung dance in the center or heard Young-Ho raise the pitch of his voice or Si-Woon hit all the highest notes, her eyes were only fixated on Tae-Yoon.

‘Tae-Yoon!’ she thought. Then, in the final chorus loop, Tae-Yoon came out to the center again.

—NEVER MIND~ That blue sky

—I’ll run to hold them all!

—Swoosh! I’ll hold the

—rising cloud in my arms and—

“Kyaaaaah!”

“Ahhh!”

Gasp!

Tae-Yoon perfectly executed the choreography of the song’s highlight area, the chorus. In the chorus, all nine members’ voices mixed vibrantly and rang across the studio. The song’s refreshing nature and in-sync choreography drew out loud cheers from the audience.

—NEVER MIND~ I will run towards you

—While staying awake these long nights

—I will give you all the moments

—I used while waiting for you

It was a performance that seemed to have filled the sweetness and heartache of a first lover to the brim. The school uniform shirt that flowed every time they moved—the naturally moving hairstyle—and, above all, the bright and refreshing smiles they had on their faces stayed completely loyal to the concept. The song passed over the first verse and second verse and moved towards the outro. Tae-Yoon’s fan thought there was nothing more she could hope for and was more than satisfied with the performance when the chorus started.

—NEVER MIND~

—NEVER MIND That blue sky~

The chorus began to repeat like an EDM song that was building up for the highlight. As the melodies overlapped, it made its listeners feel more tense. And because of the members who stopped moving and were standing still above the stage at the last dance move, the tenseness increased further. Siren members began to think the performance was coming to an end when the lines repeated.

—I’ll run to hold them all!

The chorus repeated.

—NEVER MIND! I will run to you

—And give you all these feelings

Then, once more.

—NEVER MIND!

Then, for the third time.

—NEVER MIND!

And the fourth time.

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Then, finally, for the fifth time, a firework exploded and flower petals began to fall. On top of the stage where flower petals flew, members began to dance freely and move across the stage. It was as if they were in a festival, and the audiences’ hearts with heart-warming feelings. Tae-Yoon made eye contact with his fan, who was approaching the stage, and continued his dance. Tae-Yoon’s fan felt out of breath when she saw Tae-Yoon move closer to the audience.

‘He’s so cool!’ A handsome guy was dancing his hardest and was doing such a good job of it at the same time. She wanted to remember this image clearly in her head. But Tae-Yoon moved to the center of the stage again and the chorus melody continued.

—I won’t forget you.

—All the firsts we tried

—Even if time passed

—I will always be by your side

This was the final part.

—NEVER MIND~

—NEVER MIND~

—NEVER MIND...

The chorus gradually quietened and the stage seemed to have gone mute when Tae-Yoon at the center raised his head and spoke in a low voice, a line that wasn’t in the original song.

—You are my everything.

Thud—

Simultaneously, the stage became still, and the audience burst into screams.

“That was crazy!”

“Ahhh!”

“Amazing!”

“Tae-Yoon!”

“Kyaaaah!”

***

Kang Hyun-Sung’s team’s performance ended. The main producer, Park Soo-Chul, and the second writer in line, Kim Min-Young looked at the stage in a daze.

“Ahhh!”

“Amazing!”

“Tae-Yoon!”

“Kyaaaah!”

The studio was ringing with the screams coming from the audience. It was normal for audiences to scream after a performance, but something felt different about this cheer. It felt so real, as if it really came from the bottom of their hearts, and the entire studio seemed to ring.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon. Was he always this cute...?” Park Soo-Chul asked.

“...No,” Kim Min-Young replied firmly. The producers, of course, knew that Tae-Yoon wasn’t a cute character. Though he was the youngest of Siren, in terms of personality and face, the maknae role fitted Yeon-Hoon or Dong-Jun much more.

“Wow, he is kind of amazing.”

“The audience’s response is really great.”

“Isn't it a bit hot here?”

“Hm?” Park Soo-Chul felt that the studio’s temperature seemed to have gone up slightly. The audience’s temperature must have gone up as the show progressed, but it was much hotter than the time Luminin performed.

‘It really is much hotter.’ This also meant that the audience reacted harder than before.

“Ha. It’s my first time feeling how well a group is doing by the temperature.”

“I know right?”

It was more painful to get hit by an unexpected punch than a punch one was expecting. This performance was like that. Though people had labeled Tae-Yoon as having no idol charm and stage presence, he had shown the opposite of that today.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon is good at performing.” Whether he intended it or not, Tae-Yoon had overturned their opinions of him.

“Thank you for your performance, Kang Hyun-Sung’s team. The last chorus part made me feel like I was part of a festival and was very memorable. What did you think, Ms. Nahyun?”

“I also enjoyed the show just like I was part of the audience. It feels as if the end part keeps circling my ears.”

The hosts started their commentaries. Park Soo-Chul thought he had already gotten all the scenes he needed from this round when the host announced, “Okay, now let’s give time to each of the members to appeal to the audience! Please tell us how you felt about your performance and why the audience should vote for you!”

Tae-Yoon raised the mike first, “First of all, I was able to enjoy this performance because it was a concept I had never tried before.” This was nothing special. He showed just the right amount of out-of-breath, cool appearance so it was impressive, but it was still nothing special. Park Soo-Chul originally expected nothing much of this appeal time anyway. It was just a time for fans to see more of their biases and interact with them.

“And in my hope that I will receive a high score...” But then, Tae-Yoon made an unexpected blow as he said, “...Please choose me, nuna[1].”

“...?”

“...!”

“I want to get first place, please.” For the first time ever, Tae-Yoon was leveraging his young age.

“Ahhh!”

“Tae-Yooon!”

“Ahhhhh!”

The effect of it was truly astounding. What followed wasn’t even a cheer or scream but a roar as it shook up the entire studio.

1. What a younger boy or man calls an older woman ?