New Morning | A Kpop Idol Life Story

8. Popping Weekly (2)

~ February 25th, Friday ~

Your P.O.V.

- Hey (First Name), the camera wants to see you!

I looked up from my phone only to see a camera right in front of me. Happy Hyejin laughed behind the cameraman when she saw my confused face. She plopped down on the sofa next to me, making sure her every action would be caught on camera.

- They're filming behind the scenes material for WeTube, unnie whispered in my ear before starting to poke my cheeks and nose.

- Who's a good maknae? Who's a cute maknae? she cooed, enjoying my squirming.

- Stop it! I'm not acting cute!

I got used to the presence of the cameraman after a few minutes and continued what I had been doing a while ago, now talking with Hyejin.

- It seems we peaked at number one and then dropped three ranks down during the night. We are hyped but other songs are streamed more, I showed the chart to her.

Hyejin peered at the screen, probably getting upset to see how quickly our debut song had dropped because of 'better artists'. Because she was still conscious of the camera and didn't want to cause any suspicions she quickly changed the topic to the song itself.

- You sing a lot in this song, right? Especially the choruses.

Getting the hint I nodded.

- My favorite part is the high note I share with Yeongja unnie. At first it was so difficult and the producer shouted at me a lot but in the end it sounds pretty good.

Hyejin, being one of the 4D personalities, always found something funny in every situation. This time she just had to imitate the high line.

- I wanna have some fun, she sang in an off-pitch voice that cracked at the long, high note. I had hard time keeping the laughs to myself.

- No, do it like this, I said, singing the line like it was supposed to be done.

Hyejin tried again, not quite nailing it this time either. I laughed at her hilarious expressions and from the corner of my eye I could see the cameraman crack a small smile too.

The crowd behind the stage was hectic. Group after group and solo after solo the artists went through the mile-long schedule the show had for the evening. We were the third to last so we had time to wait for our turn to step in the spotlight. But the wait made it almost unbearable. This was for real, no rehearsals, no mic checks, no mirrors to perfect the hand movements. Even Jiwoo and Hyejin looked nervous, forgetting the smiles we were supposed to be wearing. I couldn't stay put and nervously paced a straight line in the limited space, scared I wouldn't be able to stand anymore.

- We have made it this far after all, Yeongja said when she noticed I was having bees rather than butterflies in my stomach.

- And if you fail you just have to fail big, she added with a mischievous grin.

I sighed at her, trying to look unfazed by her evil tongue, but smiled a little in return.

The group before us finished the song and the lights dimmed down. We had only 35 seconds to be in position, ready to sing for our lives. I rushed up the stairs, not even remembering my shaking legs anymore. The formation was ready in roughly 20 seconds, leaving 15 to catch the final breath. I looked at Haneul, who was two metres away from me, and I could see her smile, almost as if saying 'let's get it' right before facing the patiently waiting audience.

The three minutes before going back down went just like those 15 seconds. It might sound a cliche but I didn't even think what I was doing then the music started playing. All I could remember from the performance afterwards was the fans shouting a loud chant and the overwhelming feeling of music going through my body as if I had been possessed by an adrenaline demon. Thanks to the vigorous practicing there were no major mistakes and Mr. Park didn't look completely disappointed when he met us in the dressing room later at night.