Chapter 216: |
Why is mom there?
-King Joo-hyuk
-Leaderㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Both Joo-hyuk and Tae-woo are geniuses for making and recognizing this songㅇㅇ
-I wish Joo-hyuk would produce my idol’s songㅋㅋ My idol always gets discriminatedㅋ
(Isn’t this talent too obsessive? He cares about every little detail.)
(You’re right.)
Taewoo praised Juhyuk with his words, but his face didn’t look very bright.
(I think this song is the best for an idol group, but… I’m worried that Joo-hyuk is too meticulous and doesn’t care about others’ opinions. He’s doing well now, after all.)
-They’re really close, how niceㅎㅎ
-Look at Joo-hyuk’s faceㅠㅠHe looks like he’s going to cryㅠㅠㅠ
-Taewoo is so considerate~ AWY fighting^^
-Taewoo and AWY’s friends are all handsome and pretty~~
Taewoo’s fans also joined the live chat and posted their reactions.
‘They’re all popular now.’
Ian chuckled as he thought about how they would change as they grew older.
The guest judges finished their comments, and only the final voting result for the title song was left.
“Thank you for your thoughtful feedback!”
“How do you feel about our members? Are you satisfied with the comments? Or do you have any complaints?”
Kim Ju-young took the microphone from Ian and asked with an excited voice.
“Hyuna sunbaenim, you weren’t joking about the collaboration offer, right? I really want to work with our members!”
“Okay. Next… Joo-hyuk’s team, who got the most votes from the judges, how do you feel?”
Ian handed the microphone to Joo-hyuk. Joo-hyuk hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“I’m happy to hear good things, especially from Tae-woo hyung.”
The fans in the audience cheered as if to encourage him.
“Great. Now we don’t have much time left, right? Let’s see what the final title song will be!”
“Please show us the voting results!”
The members turned around. The LED screen showed the voting graph. The ranking was revealed from the bottom to the top.
The last one was the sampling song ‘In Your Eyes’ that Kim Ju-young and Jo Tae-woong gave up on.
“Ah, as expected.”
Park Jin-hyuk sighed. The song above his was ‘7’, the one he made according to his own taste. It was too long and complicated with genre changes, so it didn’t get many votes.
When the next rank came out, Ian opened his mouth.
“Ah…”
“Was it too ballad-like?”
The next 4th place was ‘It’s Okay’, the song composed by Ian and Kim Hyun and written by Park Jin-hyuk. The song ‘Night Night’ that focused on Park Seo-dam was 3rd place.
“The remaining songs are… ‘Crash’ and ‘Chat’!”
Kim Ju-young and Jo Tae-woong looked at each other in disbelief. Joo-hyuk looked at the screen with a calm face.
“1st place is…! Yes! ‘Chat’!”
There was no surprise. As expected, the song ‘Chat’ that Joo-hyuk produced won the 1st place.
When all the ranks were announced, the detailed voting numbers appeared next to the song titles.
“Ju-young hyung and Tae-woong hyung, how do you feel?”
“They were too strong. But I’m happy to get many votes.”
“Yeah. We got 2nd place, so we have no regrets.”
Park Seo-dam stood next to Juhyuk.
“What about you, Joo-hyuk hyung?”
“It’s not all my work, I think I couldn’t finish the song without Hyun and Ian.”
“You did most of it. Anyway, I’m happy to win the 1st place.”
Ian and Park Seo-dam smiled and looked at the front camera. The live broadcast was over and it was time to go home.
“Yes, congratulations once again. We will show you our ‘Chat’ stage one more time and then say goodbye.”
The fans screamed in disappointment.
Ian, who was about to say his closing remarks, chuckled when he saw the sudden message on the prompter.
‘I knew this would happen.’
He made eye contact with Lee Jong-soo, the PD who was scratching the back of his head.
“Before we finish, we have some breaking news… The title track of this album is not only ‘Chat’, but also ‘Crash’ and ‘Night night’! A total of three songs! They will be released as triple titles!”
The fans cheered and the members behind him whispered to each other.
“Wow, Ian’s prophecy was right.”
“This is scary.”
The AR sound of ‘Chat’ played on the stage. AWY finished their short performance and said their final greetings to the camera.
“Until now…”
“Who we are? We are AWY! Bye!”
The light on the camera went off, and the members waved to the fans and bowed to the staff.
“…I’m really jealous of your talent.”
“What are you talking about?”
While the fans were reluctant to leave their seats, Ian, who was walking down the stage with Lee Joo-hyuk, stopped.
“Ju-young. You know that ‘Crash’ and our song had almost no difference in votes, right?”
“…Really?”
Ian leaned on Lee Joo-hyuk’s shoulder.
“Hyung, effort is also talent. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
Lee Joo-hyuk smiled faintly.
“I have to work hard not to be caught up.”
***
‘Our time’ AWY, the honest story of their music
‘Our time’ recorded the highest ratings in the same time slot… the power of fans that moves the media
‘Our time’ ended successfully. AWY released a mini album with the songs they worked on in ‘Our time’, but they had to prepare for the stage in a hurry, so they practically lived in the company’s practice room.
“We have to do it like this here.”
Kim Hyun showed them an example and the members followed. In the corner, a loud ringtone rang from a pile of luggage.
“What? Who’s calling?”
“It’s mine. I’ll take the call for a moment.”
Ian, who was bending his upper body, quickly got up and rummaged through the pile.
“Ah! Another call!”
“This is why insiders are… tsk.”
“Did Ian really get a girlfriend?”
The members grumbled, but Ian ignored them and answered the video call.
“Yes, mom.”
“Oh, parents are okay.”
The members who were hovering behind Ian fell to the floor like deflated balloons. They were all exhausted from the practice that started early in the morning and didn’t have any break time.
(Son! Where are we?)
“Where are you? You’re in front of the company…”
Ian pressed his face to the phone screen. The background was not good. He widened his eyes when he saw the company’s sign in the corner.
“We’re… in front of the company…?”
“Wow, what? Ian’s parents came?”
The members who overheard got up and stuck behind Ian.
(Hello, kids!)
“Wow! Hello!”
“Mom! You look even prettier!”
The members greeted Ian’s parents more loudly than Ian himself. Ian tried to resist being pushed back by the members who kept nudging him from behind.
He thought only his parents would be there, but suddenly the screen shook and another person appeared.
(I’m here too, kids!)
“Wow, mom!”
Jo Tae-woong snatched Ian’s phone from his hand and pressed his nose to the screen.
“Why are you there, mom?”
(You know how busy everyone is with Chuseok coming up.)
(Come on! Let’s have some delicious food!)
Upon closer inspection, he saw not only Ian and Jo Tae-woong’s parents, but also the parents of the other members. Even Park Seo-dam’s grandmother and siblings were there.
“But we still have some practice left…”
(Don’t worry. We’ve already talked everything out!)
“What did you talk about?”
Just then, Kim Myung-jin, who opened the practice room door, shouted loudly.
“Kids, let’s go to the dorm early after dinner. Your guardians are here, so today is special.”
The members cheered loudly and left the practice room.
***
“Is there a place where we can all go?”
“Your parents have prepared everything for you.”
Kim Myung-jin laughed.
Ian looked at the mothers who looked like sisters and smiled bitterly.
“When did you become so close?”
“They seem to have a group chat.”
“Really?”
It turned out that the parents who exchanged numbers at AWY’s debut showcase were in regular contact with each other.
When they heard that Ian’s parents were coming to Korea, they suggested, ‘Let’s have a meal together!’ and Jo Tae-woong’s mother, Lee Hye-eun, who was quick to act, immediately contacted the agency and made time for them.
“How’s work? Are you okay?”
“You’re seeing your parents for the first time in a long time and you’re talking about work? We took plenty of vacation.”
“Then you’ll be staying for a while?”
Ian’s parents smiled warmly at his brightening face.
They moved to a barbecue restaurant that was not far from the agency. Ian confirmed that there was no one else except the staff.
“It’s dinner time, but there’s no one here.”
“Oh, mom rented the whole place for a day.”
She sure is generous.
The dinner table, which included the managers and Park Dong-soo and Seo Su-ryeon, soon turned into a large-scale dinner party with the hair and makeup director, the agency staff, and the fan managers.
“Okay, smile!”
After filling their stomachs to some extent, the members had to go around the tables and take pictures.
“Is grandma healthy?”
“Of course, she said she misses you guys so much on the phone.”
“I want to visit her soon, but I’ll be busier from now on, so I don’t have time.”
Ian sat down for a moment and chatted with Jo Tae-woong’s parents.
“Ian, thank you.”
“Huh?”
“For going all the way to that faraway place to see Tae-woong. He said it was thanks to you that he brought the kids along.”
Ian scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Thanks to you, our son was able to recover quickly. Thank you.”
“…It’s nothing. We had fun too.”
Lee Hye-eun and Jo Ho-cheol smiled warmly at Ian, who was embarrassed.
At the next table, Lee Joo-hyuk and his parents, and Ian’s parents were having a lively conversation.
“Joo-hyuk is very calm and nice for his age. I guess that’s why he became the leader.”
Ian’s mother, Na Hyun-joo, said, and Lee Joo-hyuk’s father laughed and said.
“Of course, our Joo-hyuk is so good. He’s been obedient and never caused trouble since he was young.”
“He’s so mature and has a clear career path… I’m ashamed that I didn’t do anything for him. Joo-hyuk, eat more.”
Joo-hyuk smiled and chewed the meat his mother grilled for him. Suddenly, he felt suffocated and couldn’t taste anything from the meat.
“Well… being good is not always a good thing in this world…”
“Huh?”
“Oh, being good is good.”
Only Joo-hyuk, who was next to him, heard Choi Seong-mun’s, Ian’s father, muttering. Joo-hyuk looked at him in surprise.
Na Hyun-joo glanced at Choi Seong-mun as if she couldn’t stop him, then quickly smiled brightly.
“But these days, you have to be selfish to survive. You have to eat everything you can and not let anyone take it from you. Right, Joo-hyuk?”
“Uh… I don’t know. Ian is also good, isn’t he?”
Choi Seong-mun and Na Hyun-joo made a strange expression.
“Ian? Don’t be fooled by his handsome face. He pretends to be innocent, but he takes all the benefits for himself? Who does he take after? You?”
“Both of us. Cheers?”
They clinked their glasses.