Second Try Idol

Chapter 55: Mini Fan Meeting (1)

After successfully wrapping up Pick We Up, we skipped the team dinner and headed to a corner of the broadcasting station for a mini fan meeting.

"Just relax. Don’t be nervous because it’s just an event to say thanks to the fans. If you guys are awkward, the fans will feel awkward too. Got it?" explained the manager as he handed a megaphone to Joo-Han.

Joo-Han just let out a deep sigh as he looked at the manager. He replied, "I know, I know. Seems like you're more nervous than us, right?"

Hearing this, the manager got a bit flustered and admitted that he was indeed worried. "Yeah, I'm worried. I have only been taking care of Allure kids, so I am a bit concerned about you guys."

Lee Jin-Sung just smirked and snatched a toy megaphone from the manager's hand. "Come on, hyung, what could possibly go wrong? I've never heard of any issues during mini fan meetings."

"You're my biggest concern, man."

"What? If I weren't there, the meeting with the fans would be one hundred percent awkward."

Well, the manager couldn't argue with that. Kang Joo-Han, Park Yoon-Chan, and I were all pretty shy. Hence, during such events, the only reliable members they could count on were Goh Yoo-Joon and Lee Jin-Sung. The manager just said, "Just make sure Joo-Han leads well, and Jin-Sung... don't get too excited and blurt out something weird."

"Don't worry, we got this."

I turned around to see the fan meeting area. About thirty fans were sitting cozily on the floor, waiting for us to approach.

"Hyun-Woo!" Startled by the call, I made eye contact with a fan, and their cheers instantly erupted, calling out our names.

"Here, take this. Make sure you all follow Joo-Han's lead. Got it? Now go!"

As all members turned to face the fans, the manager quickly handed us the toy megaphones and nudged us forward. We then waved and walked toward the fans.

"I think hyung worries too much. Right, Hyun-Woo?" Goh Yoo-Joon pressed the toy megaphone to my mouth, and the red light on it indicated that it was working.

"Ah, ah, ah. Goh Yoo-Joon made a mistake today," I said.

After I spoke into the toy megaphone, Lee Jin-Sung excitedly joined in. "Yo! Yoo-Joon hyung, I saw you mess up the dance!"

"What? I thought no one noticed!" exclaimed Goh Yoo-Joon. To be fair, everyone knew about Goh Yoo-Joon's slight timing mistake during our entry scene in the “Chronos” performance.

Joo-Han passed us and said, "Goh Yoo-Joon, practice until 1 AM today."

"Ah, hyung! Can't we rest today? We have a team dinner."

I chuckled, "Eating meat will give you energy for practice."

"Ah, shoot, I was planning to hit the gym after dinner."

"It's okay, hyung. Dance practice is exercise too," said Jin-Sung.

Trying to change the topic, Goh Yoo-Joon hurriedly led us to the fans. Facing the fans up close, unlike on stage, we felt somewhat nervous.

"Yoon-Chan!"

"Hyun-Woo, great job!"

"Congrats, Chronos!"

Click! Click, click, click! Click!

"Congrats, number one!"

"Thank you!"

The close-up attention and cheers of many people, along with the sound of what seemed to be expensive cameras' shutters—everything was a bit overwhelming.

Unaccustomed to such a scene, Joo-Han cleared his throat awkwardly. "Let's say hi. One, two, three!"

"Hello! We are Chronos! Thank you for coming!"

"Wowww!"

Joo-Han raised his megaphone and greeted, "Hello! I'm Kang Joo-Han, the leader of Chronos... Haha."

"Aww, so cute!"

"It's okay, Joo-Han! Take your time!"

"He's so handsome!"

Joo-Han replied, "I'm a bit nervous since it's my first time."

Was it just me, or did the fans seem more used to fan meetings than we were? They looked at us like we were seven-year-old kindergartners, offering warm and encouraging glances.

Click! Click, click, click, click!

The sound of cameras continued, as the front row was filled with fans holding cameras.

"Thank you so much for coming today. We could only win thanks to all of you." In tune with the atmosphere, Goh Yoo-Joon grinned and waved his trophy around, rousing the fans’ cheers. Now, they cheered even louder than when we first appeared. Although I couldn’t make out every individual voice, the congratulatory messages were unmistakably clear.

“It’s like we all won together. We know you all worked so hard to help us win. Thank you.”

“Yes! We worked super hard for you guys! Love you!” A fan proudly acknowledged their efforts, and the rest of them laughed and nodded.

“Thanks for recognizing it!”

From the beginning, Chronos fans already initiated the creation of numerous UTube fan channels, actively advocated for votes on BlueBird[1], and tirelessly promoted the group. We all knew they had worked harder for us than anyone else.

I smiled slightly, still not entirely comfortable in the situation, and nodded at the fans when Joo-Han tapped my arm. “Hyun-Woo, you are up next.”

“Oh, okay.”

We had decided to take turns speaking to give each member a chance to talk, and it was now my turn. The megaphone was passed to me. "Uh... um, yeah."

I lifted the toy megaphone in my hand. It was so small, looking like it could fit in my palm. When I brought it to my mouth, the sound of camera shutters intensified, and the fans chuckled softly. “Why does Hyun-Woo have a toy?" one of the fans asked.

I shrugged awkwardly. “I know right? Manager hyung gave this to me." I pressed a button, hoping it had some sort of echo function.

- Ah, ah, ah. Goh Yoo-Joon made a mistake today.

- Yo! Yoo-Joon hyung, saw you mess up the dance!

- What? I thought no one noticed!

"Uh?"

- Ah, ah, ah. Goh Yoo-Joon made a mistake today.

- Yo! Yoo-Joon hyung, saw you mess up the dance!

- What? I thought no one noticed!

Our jokingly recorded conversation echoed in front of the fans, repeating over and over.

"Hey, hyung, what do we do? Oh my gosh."

- Ah, ah, ah. Goh Yoo-Joon made a mistake today.

- Yo! Yoo-Joon hyung, saw you mess up the dance!

- What? I thought no one noticed!

My face heated up in seconds, and Lee Jin-Sung burst into laughter along with the fans.

“Hey! Turn it off! Oh, it's embarrassing. Ah!"

“I don't know how to turn this off. Yoon-Chan!"

"Gosh, this is hilarious! Haha! Why did you even turn this on?"

I nearly lost my mind, but everyone else just enjoyed the situation, not helping me out.

Meanwhile, the camera shutters clicked faster than ever.

- Ah, ah, ah. Goh Yoo-Joon made a mistake today.

- Yo! Yoo-Joon hyung, saw you mess up the dance!

- What? I thought no one noticed!

"Hyung..." Finally, Park Yoon-Chan was unable to stand it any longer. He then took the toy and pressed the off button. “To be honest, I knew how to turn it off from the beginning, but I was just watching because it was too funny.”

"What are you guys doing?" Joo-Han shot us a pathetic look and handed me his real megaphone.

"Ey! Hyun-Woo! Now all the fans know I made a mistake." Goh Yoo-Joon kicked my butt and walked back to his place.

"Hyun-Woo, your face is red!"

"What was that earlier?" The fans teased.

"Just... on our way here, we were joking around... uh!" Lee Jin-Sung started to explain and then burst out laughing when he locked eyes with the embarrassed Goh Yoo-Joon. The atmosphere seemed irretrievable.

"Hyung, how do I turn this on?" I asked, learning how to use the megaphone from Joo-Han and turning it on. "Ah, got it. We were joking around earlier. Ah, my face is so hot."

"It was actually so cute! It was funny!"

"If you all enjoyed it, that's all that matters."

Due to this, the atmosphere lightened considerably. I smiled slightly and replied, "Anyway, we were wondering what to do here, so we asked for your opinions on the BlueBird account."

As I spoke, the road manager brought in a large board. “So, we thought we'd discuss things you are curious about or want to see in order."

***

After that, the fan meeting proceeded smoothly.

"Man, they look even better in real life."

"In a few years, they will bloom even more. My ten years of fan experience tell me so," whispered the fans in the front row among themselves.

"Allure and YMM seem to have a nice taste in visuals. Dang. I can’t wait to edit all these pictures.”

In response to a fan’s comment, a fan photographing Suh Hyun-Woo playfully nudged her friend’s side. “Hey, I wouldn’t even have started loving trainees if they were just good-looking without talents.” Her fingers on the camera shutter sped up.

She never expected to become so captivated by trainees who hadn't even made their official debut. Just three months prior, the thought of attending a rookie trainee's first fan meeting wouldn't have crossed her mind. Following a recent scandal involving an idol group she had once adored, she had made a vow to herself to quit being a fan.

Yet, the allure of Chronos's Suh Hyun-Woo proved too strong to resist, with his looks and talent perfectly aligning with her preferences. She hardly knew anything about his true character or personality, so she didn't want to dive too deep. But really, who could dictate where the heart wanted to go? Placing her trust in their looks, talent, passion, and the bonds of friendship, she decided to pick up her camera once more.

"The next question is about how "Red Riding Hood Cha-Cha" came about. So, "Red Riding Hood Cha-Cha" is..."

All eyes naturally turned to Suh Hyun-Woo.

"Yes, it was my idea." Suh Hyun-Woo cleared his throat and spoke up. Among Chronos fans, it was common knowledge that "Red Riding Hood Cha-Cha" was his creative idea. Woo Ji-Hyuk had once highlighted Suh Hyun-Woo's role as a sub-leader during the unit competition, so since then, fans had gotten a kick out of seeing captions like “Red Cha founder, 19 years old (a.k.a Magic Pendant Woo-ergh)” popping up whenever Suh Hyun-Woo appeared on the screen.

“In fact, there was a bit of resistance when I first came up with Cha-Cha. But surprisingly, Goh Yoo-Joon, who had been the most vocal against it, really threw himself into it."

"That's not entirely true!" Goh Yoo-Joon interjected with a smile. "If you guys watched the broadcast, you'd know the ones who enjoyed it the most were Joo-Han hyung and Suh Hyun-Woo, right?" Standing beside him, Kang Joo-Han nodded in agreement.

"To be honest, I had fun with it. Even the song I came up with for the unit competition was just a light-hearted creation for some laughs."

"Hey, wasn't it Hyun-Woo hyung and Yoon-Chan hyung who got the best audience reaction back then?" Someone chimed in, directing everyone's attention.

"Right, that’s true. But you know what? I'm curious about Yoon-Chan's real feelings. He seemed a bit down that day, didn't he?" The mood became playful as the members turned to Park Yoon-Chan. He looked slightly taken aback and tried to wave off the attention on him.

"Come on, tell us!"

"Yeah, spill it!"

"You looked gorgeous, Yoon-Chan!" the fans shouted, their excitement palpable.

With each cheer, Park Yoon-Chan's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.

"On that day, you were the only one wearing a short skirt. How did you really feel about it, Yoon-Chan? If we asked you to do it again, would you? One, two, three!" Goh Yoo-Joon egged him on, turning the atmosphere into a light and teasing one.

Hesitating for a moment, Park Yoon-Chan finally gave in and answered with a shy grin, "Yes, I would."

The fans erupted in cheers. "Wow!" "Really?" They couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

Park Yoon-Chan then added with a hint of shyness. “Well, the reaction was pretty good back then... If everyone were up for it, I'd definitely do it again... I wouldn't want to do it alone."

Just as the fans seemed ready to rally for a repeat performance... “Oh, right!” Lee Jin-Sung perked up with an eager look, grabbing the megaphone as if he had something important to add.

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