Second Try Idol

“Sorry?” Joo-Han asked. His expression and tone made it clear that he had no idea what Stew Rion was talking about. He appeared to be genuinely puzzled. “Are you talking about my collaboration with Callia? Why?”

Stew Rion tilted his head, and his look implied that he couldn’t believe Joo-Han didn’t know what he was referring to. But it couldn’t be helped. The relationship that Rings perceived between the two and what Joo-Han and Callia had actually experienced were very different.

Moreover, Joo-Han wasn’t the type to frequently check social media, so he probably had no idea which aspects of their collaboration were getting attention.

The truth was that Joo-Han and Callia had a mutual respect for each other’s tastes and music. Joo-Han’s calm demeanor around the international star and Callia’s acknowledgment of his musical talent were things the Rings greatly appreciated.

The process of them becoming friends, often involving candid moments where they acknowledged each other's faults and strengths, was popular enough that the broadcasting company even compiled and uploaded special highlight videos.

On top of that, the song they released together did quite well in the U.S. If the promotion had been handled better, it could have gained more recognition. This part was a bit regretful.

“Joo-Han, it seems you are not aware of this. The scenes of you and Callia working on music together had such great chemistry,” Stew Rion explained.

“Oh, really? I had no idea.” Joo-Han replied, looking genuinely surprised.

“You had no idea at all?”

Stew Rion’s face lit up with excitement. “Oh! Are you close?”

Joo-Han smiled warmly. “She is someone I can learn a lot from in the musical aspect. I’ve learned a lot from her.”

The other members’ expressions turned a bit ambiguous. We were probably all thinking the same thing—Joo-Han was surely cursing in his head. Despite answering Stew Rion so politely, seeing Joo-Han and Callia interact on the phone would give anyone a different impression.

In my view, their relationship wasn’t so much of a friendship. It was a professional one where they respected each other’s music, despite their clashing personalities. It was kind of like my relationship with Kim Jin-Wook.

We briefly talked about a few episodes from the Again After Rainfall filming and moved on.

“Alright, it’s finally time to talk about my favorite song. Ta-da!” Stew Rion announced and revealed the next photo.

This time it was a photo from the waiting room. It was another of Su-Hwan’s photos, which showed Goh Yoo-Joon playfully styling Yoon-Chan’s hair into a silly shape before a performance. Looking at the photo, we always found time to have fun despite how tired we seemed during the activities.

“This is from the recording of the first music broadcast for Chronos’ first full album, ‘Phantom Spirit.’”

“Looking at the photos, it seems Goh Yoo-Joon was always the one causing trouble,” I mumbled.

Goh Yoo-Joon then put his hand on my shoulder and shook his head. “Usually, you’re right there with me.”

“Both of you are the same, seriously,” Joo-Han chimed in.

“Haha! Once again, it’s obvious that Joo-Han has to keep these two in check! What does ‘Phantom Spirit’ mean to Chronos?”

Joo-Han answered sincerely, “It’s our most successful song, and it also received an unusual amount of attention overseas.”

I nodded in agreement and added, “Since it was the album we released after Again After Rainfall, it received a lot of love domestically and exceeded our expectations internationally.”

“It brought us a lot of joy and was a chance for us to see our potential once again. This album marked the beginning of our new goal for an overseas tour,” Joo-Han explained.

“Wow, an overseas tour?” Stew Rion repeated, deep in thought. “Given the current status of Chronos, an overseas tour seems very feasible. Am I wrong?”

“Right now… haha, I’m not sure,” Joo-Han replied with a troubled smile. Realistically, Chronos could fill medium-sized venues overseas for concerts.

If our agency had been YU instead of YMM, we might have already done an overseas tour like High Tension. But with YMM being a small company with limited resources, it was difficult to be certain about an overseas tour, just as Joo-Han mentioned.

YMM was a small agency that tended to avoid risks unless they were sure of success. Therefore, even if it happened, it might be after quite a while, similar to Allure’s situation.

“I think ‘Phantom Spirit’ marked the point where Chronos was recognized as a popular group. Our mentions increased overseas, and we consistently charted internationally,” I said.

“That’s right. We can definitely tell that more people recognize us from overseas.”

“Wooh, that’s nice. Now, let’s move on quickly.” Stew Rion peeled off the largest sticker on the panel. It revealed several photos from our break period after "Phantom Spirit," showing us at the lodge.

“After ‘Phantom Spirit,’ Chronos took a break. This was your first official break, right?”

“Yes, after ‘Parade,’ ‘Joy,’ and ‘Phantom Spirit,’ we had completed our first storyline and ran non-stop. The members were exhausted, so we took a longer break as a reward,” Joo-Han explained.

“During that time, you visited a lodge, right?” Stew Rion pointed to the photos.

“Yes, we have so many photos from that trip. These are some unpublished photos given to me by the CEO. Many more are on BlueBird.”

“Yeah, haha. We posted a lot. Almost to the point of being a nuisance,” Joo-Han admitted and laughed.

Yoon-Chan added, “It was our first vacation, and the gap until the next album was long. So, we thought about what we could do for our Rings during the break and decided to post photos daily.”

“Just like Yoon-Chan said, there were almost daily updates. Especially during the lodge trip, it felt like you were uploading too many photos!” Stew Rion laughed.

“Not just photos, we also did a Q-App live session, right?” Goh Yoo-Joon looked at me for confirmation.

“That’s right, we did. Wasn’t it during the courage test?” I recalled.

“Oh, really? Wow~ You guys are always thinking about the Rings, huh? You should properly rest during your breaks!” Stew Rion said in his signature playful tone. Though we all silently agreed, we knew that we hadn’t been able to rest properly due to concert preparations toward the end of that break, and Goh Yoo-Joon’s father’s incident had hit us hard.

“But we still had a lot of fun, relaxed, and practiced. Interacting with the Rings was also very enjoyable.”

“That break was very beneficial for preparing the concert and the comeback album. It gave us the energy we needed,” Joo-Han said.

“I’m really glad to hear that. We, the Rings, always appreciate your amazing songs and performances, but we don’t like seeing you overwork yourselves. Please take care during this comeback as well,” Stew Rion advised with genuine concern as we moved on to the next topic, which was our concert stories.

Stew Rion proudly showed off a collection of limited-edition Chronos concert goods he had purchased himself and asked us about some concert anecdotes. It was supposed to be a short interview before the stage, but as we delved into stories from pre-debut to the present, it turned into a lengthy session. By the time we finished, almost two hours had passed.

Although the entire day had been reserved for the interview, we were already feeling a bit tired. Finally, we reached the last segment of the interview. Instead of a panel, Stew Rion held up our new album ‘Red Rouge.’

“You’ve worked so hard on this interview, everyone! It’s finally here! Chronos’ new album “Red Rouge!” Stew Rion showed the album to the camera before handing it to us. “First, could you all sign this for me, please?”

“Sorry?”

“Huh...?”

“Did you personally buy this, Stew Rion?” we asked, surprised. We had already prepared signed CDs to give to him, assuming the album he was holding was a promotional copy provided by our staff.

“Of course! It might seem like I’m showing off, but I only invite artists whom I personally support enough to buy their albums,” Stew Rion explained proudly.

“Wow, thank you so much!” We each took turns signing the album.

As we signed, Stew Rion asked, “Which song from the new album is your personal favorite? Let’s start with Joo-Han once you’re done signing.”

“For me, it’s definitely the title track ‘Red Rouge,’” Joo-Han said without hesitation.

“Oh, is there any particular reason?”

Goh Yoo-Joon and Jin-Sung exchanged knowing glances and chuckled. Goh Yoo-Joon said, “Well, because he composed it!”

Joo-Han nodded without a hint of denial. “That’s right. I composed it, and I even think it’s a great song. Don’t you agree?”

Stew Rion was slightly taken aback by the direct question, but quickly nodded. “Of course! It’s fantastic! I love all the tracks on the album, though. Let’s hear from Yoo-Joon then.”

“Well...” Goh Yoo-Joon hesitated briefly before answering seriously. “I also like the title track ‘Red Rouge.’”

I let out a small laugh. “Is it because you wrote the lyrics?”

“Not just because of that, but the lyrics are super good, aren’t they~?” Goh Yoo-Joon defended himself.

“...Isn’t that the same thing Hyun-Woo said?” Stew Rion laughed heartily and pointed at me.

“Hyun-Woo, what about you?”

He seemed to already guess my answer, which made me want to be contrary. However, I answered honestly. “I like ‘Ario 愛’...”

“Of course.” Stew Rion chuckled and moved on to Yoon-Chan. “And what about you, Yoon-Chan?”

Yoon-Chan looked around at us before smiling and saying, “I like ‘FUNCH’ because I wrote the rap part.”

“Not you too, Yoon-Chan! Hmmm, then it’s Jin-Sung’s turn.” Stew Rion turned to Jin-Sung with a grin.

Jin-Sung smiled back. “Did you know I wrote the rap part for ‘Red Rouge?’ That’s my favorite.”

Stew Rion laughed so hard it was contagious. “I love how in sync Chronos is! Before we send you off to put on an amazing performance, can you give us a quick introduction to ‘Red Rouge’ please?”

The interview had gone on for over two hours, and there was still an unopened panel behind Stew Rion. It seemed related to “Red Rouge,” but we hadn’t had time to cover it. But I could guess its contents was likely about the recent rehearsal incident.

I tore my gaze from the panel and began speaking. “Sure. Our new album’s title track ‘Red Rouge’ is a song about breaking free from everything that oppresses us. We put a lot of effort into the song and choreography, so we hope you enjoy it!”

Yoon-Chan continued. “The B-side track ‘Ario 愛’ is an Eastern-style song that we’ve never tried before. It has a beautiful melody and touching lyrics that we think many will love. Thank you.”

Stew Rion concluded the interview with his trademark enthusiasm. “Excellent! We will hear more behind-the-scenes stories after the performance! Let’s wrap up the interview here. Now, Chronos’ ‘Red Rouge’ and ‘Ario 愛’ stage, begin!”

The interview wrapped up with Stew Rion's energetic conclusion, and we hurried to the location where the stage was set up. Back then, we had no idea that this performance would create an incredible opportunity for Chronos.

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