Chapter 59: Just from the Voice
5:30 a.m.
I walked lazily down the hallway of the KBC public hall.
It was because I had rushed straight to the broadcasting station without a wink of sleep.
Manager-hyung ca up to and said,
“Wow, doing a public broadcast recording right after a performance the day before? Legendary. You okay?”
“It’s not the day before. It’s today.”
“If you can talk back, you must be fine.”
“I’m still… young, right?”
He glared at like he was going to eat alive, but kept kneading my shoulders.
For the record, my manager was Yoon Seonghan.
The owner of Club Sierra, the manager at KIM Entertainnt—
And now even volunteering to be my U-Tal-A manager.
Does he have ten bodies or sothing?
Sotis I wondered if Seonghan-hyung knew so kind of cloning technique.
How was he everywhere I went?
“You could’ve taken a day off from the performance.”
“How could I? The audience lines up for hours every day to see us. I can’t. They’d be disappointed.”
I ant it.
The Club Sierra performances were still the most important to .
Thanks to that, I had loosened up my hands well.
And being able to carry the club’s mood and emotion straight into this was actually a good thing.
“You and your stubbornness…”
“By the way, hyung, you’ve been demoted to manager.”
“If not , then who else?”
“Huh?”
The fact that our mbers were Cheongseong was a secret only we could know.
It seed CEO Kim Minsoo had assigned the most tight-lipped person, Seonghan-hyung, to us.
“So, where are we going?”
“To the waiting room.”
The KBC public hall hallways were like a maze.
I tried to quicken my pace, but Seonghan-hyung tapped my shoulder and signaled to the mbers.
“Ah…”
I quietly watched the mbers chatting as they strolled down the corridor.
Their faces were hidden behind masks, but I could tell.
They were definitely wearing expressions full of emotion.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
“I think I’m the sa.”
“So this is what they an when they say the body rembers?”
Was this what they called experience points?
No one had told them, but they were naturally heading toward the waiting room. Was this for real?
We were walking in sync, slowly, when soone approached and greeted Seonghan-hyung politely.
“Manager Yoon, what brings you here?”
“Oh? Long ti no see.”
“You’re personally acting as a manager? Wow… Just how amazing is this band for Manager Yoon himself to be here? Whoa. I’m really looking forward to it. The industry’s been paying attention too.”
Hmm. That last part didn’t need to be said.
It felt a bit awkward.
The Signum manager kept talking on and on about sothing or other.
Then suddenly, his gaze shifted to us.
“Oh? Hello. I’ve heard so much about you. Really looking forward to your performance.”
I stepped up to greet him on behalf of the group.
“Hello. I’m DJ Seo Rabbit from ‘The Kids Who Escaped Us.’”
“Wow, your voice is amazing. You could sing too, you know? Guys, we should greet them properly.”
Behind him stood a line of young n, gathered awkwardly.
I knew right away.
These must be Signum.
Their eyes looked awkward. Nervous, maybe.
If I weren’t wearing my mask, would I look like that too?
They hesitated for a mont—
Then, exchanging glances with one another, they stepped forward.
Perfectly in sync.
They moved like a single unit.
The once-loose air tightened instantly.
The advantage of animal masks wasn’t just that they were cute.
Thanks to them, I could move my gaze wherever I wanted.
I scanned my rivals to my heart’s content.
Honestly… they were handso.
They weren’t called a monster rookie idol for nothing.
So this was what the big companies were like?
Sophisticated stage makeup, ticulously styled outfits, and a posture aligned right down to their toes.
“Two, three, Let’s Rock! Hello, we’re Signum.”
Ooooh!
Witnessing an idol’s group chant in person—
That’s a rare sight you couldn’t see even if you paid for it, right?
The chant itself was ordinary.
But when five people moved like machines while greeting, it gave off that “pro” feeling.
But here’s the thing.
We didn’t have anything like a chant.
The Signum manager asked us,
“You don’t have a chant?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, is it because you’re a traditional band? Well, yeah, that’s usually an idol thing.”
Seonghan-hyung bit his lip and furrowed his brow.
What? He wasn’t wrong—we were a traditional band.
CEO Kim Minsoo and Seonghan-hyung had both been furious about being matched with Signum on purpose, but…
I don’t know.
I actually thought it was a good thing.
Thanks to that, the Music Stage even made a “New Band Special” segnt for us.
If things went well, Signum and U-Tal-A could create a synergy.
Seonghan-hyung broke the awkward silence.
“Well, a chant’s… haha, nice. I’ll look forward to it. Well then, take care…”
He was about to wrap it up in a hurry when the Signum manager looked us over and cut him off.
His tone was a little different from earlier.
“Seriously? Still, if you’re a band with a DJ, shouldn’t you be a bit trendier? You could prepare one now.”
No thanks.
We weren’t idols—why would we have that?
I glanced at Seonghan-hyung.
It wasn’t his usual gentle expression.
Even Signum’s chant wasn’t anything special.
We had our own kind of pre- and post-performance lines.
The vocal’s shout in sync with the count-in.
Still…
The atmosphere felt a little awkward.
Moon Jungbae leaned toward my ear and whispered,
“Hey, should we make one too? How about, ‘Escape! Huge Success!’”
“Huh?”
“Man, why’s he pestering us over sothing like that?”
“Hmm.”
Was it really that big a deal?
Couldn’t you just make sothing up and stick it on?
Why make people uncomfortable over it?
Blackhole’s signature sound, “Hold the beat!”—
It might sound like it ca from a random hum, but I had put real thought into it.
A few words ca to mind.
I strung them together and made it fit.
If you want to know, I’ll show you—it’s only proper!
I stepped forward without hesitation.
“Flip all the boundaries! Are you ready to escape?”
I shouted boldly.
Even struck a playful pose.
Saw the Signum guys doing it earlier, so why not?
The corners of the Signum manager’s mouth twitched uncertainly.
“Oh?”
Anyway—
Anything sounds cooler in English.
I quickly added,
I wanted to make sure this was clear:
“This isn’t really an idol-style chant. Think of it as more of a signature line. But since you were curious, this is the first ti I’m showing it. Please take good care of us.”
The Signum manager looked away and gave an awkward cough.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
Seonghan-hyung winked his right eye at .
We wrapped things up and walked casually down the hallway.
Inside my mask, the corners of my lips turned upward.
In the end, they were the ones who reacted first.
Different styles of greetings brushed past each other in the dawn-lit hallway.
And just like that, we got ready for our first broadcast recording.
“Hyung, is that band for real? What was that just now?”
No sooner had they entered the waiting room—
The youngest mber of Signum asked.
Their leader, Han Jaeho, answered nonchalantly,
“What was what?”
“The masks. I thought it was just a concept, but isn’t there sothing behind it? Like so insanely famous person suddenly appearing?”
“Yeah right, as if.”
That’s what he said, but…
He couldn’t shake a strange feeling.
A silence settled over the waiting room.
That band—sothing about them was off.
They knew their manager had used the chant as an excuse to subtly provoke them.
They’d expected them to fluster and copy, or awkwardly refuse.
“Hey, hyung. What did that English an earlier?”
The drumr, Hwang Seunghyuk, chuckled and cut in,
“As if our leader, who can’t even catch Korean properly, would understand English.”
“That’s true.”
“Flip all the boundaries…”
“Damn, that pronunciation’s insane. What does it an?”
“Hmm… Turn over all the boundaries? Break them?”
“That’s pretty cool.”
Normally, this is where you’d tell them to cut the crap.
But Han Jaeho just stared into the mirror.
U-Tal-A.
Even with masks on, they had this weird confidence.
Especially that DJ.
I’d underestimated him because of the rabbit mask.
Even just from the voice, he didn’t sound ordinary.
“The rabbit DJ seems like the leader.”
“Yeah, I thought so too.”
“Don’t you think it’s kind of strange?”
“What is?”
“He’s different from us. How should I put it… He didn’t seem nervous at all.”
The drumr cut in again.
“Like he was performing at so place in Hongdae or sothing?”
“Huh?”
“I heard him saying sothing about a performance in the hallway earlier.”
“You must’ve misheard.”
Signum’s only “real musician,” the drumr, crossed his arms and thought.
Normally, it’s standard to lock yourself in the practice room starting a week before your first broadcast.
Not only was it strange that they’d done a performance, but the last line of their chant kept bugging him.
‘Are you ready to escape?’
Sure, their band na was “The Kids Who Escaped Us,” so that made sense.
The problem was that the way they did it was in the style of a traditional band’s “call and response” — the kind used to interact with the audience during a performance.
Why was that?
It reminded him of the famous lines legendary rock bands used to exchange with their crowds.
Signum’s only rock geek instinctively sensed it—
They were a band you could never take lightly.
“This feels a bit off.”
“What do you an?”
“What if we talk about them as rivals and then get completely wrecked…?”
A deep shadow of concern fell over his handso face.
In an instant, the waiting room went quiet.
Then, breaking through the silence, the manager cut in.
“Don’t get shaken.”
His firm voice pressed down on the atmosphere.
The mbers straightened their backs reflexively.
The manager crossed his arms, let out a sigh, and looked at them with cold eyes.
“Why are you so hung up on it? Didn’t you hear what the company told you?”
“……”
“If you let the mood sway you this early, you’re the only ones who lose out. They’re not even rivals, okay? This is just a passing stage. You get what I an?”
“……”
“Not answering ?”
“…Yes.”
Soone quietly clenched and unclenched his hand.
It was Hwang Seunghyuk.
Can we even pull off our live?
He swallowed the words rising to his throat.
Even though they had the title of a band idol—
They’d never actually done a proper live performance.
It was the sa for all rookies.
They were only about twenty years old.
Almost no team can do a perfect live performance on their debut stage.
For stability, they either use pre-recorded tracks or at least have backing tracks playing.
But Manny Entertainnt insisted on doing it live.
He looked slowly over at the mbers.
He was nervous—that was the honest truth.
Sensing it, the manager asked,
“Hwang Seunghyuk, what’s with your face?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Nervous?”
“…Uh, hyung.”
Hwang Seunghyuk carefully opened his mouth.
There wasn’t much ti left until rehearsal.
This was the last chance.
“Wouldn’t it be better to use MR for the guitar and keyboard?”
“…What?”
“Or maybe just for this stage, we could go with hand-sync…”
“Are you out of your mind?”
The manager’s hand went to his waist.
“Didn’t you practice? Why are you suddenly saying this? Do you know how much the live setup cost…? No, forget it. What, you’re not confident?”
“I just have a bad feeling.”
“Of course you’re nervous. Of course you’re worried. That’s normal.”
“We’re not at 100% condition.”
“They’re not at 100% either. I thought you had sothing real to say. You’re seriously scared over just one line? You’re still kids.”
Hwang Seunghyuk clenched his fist again.
Then he quietly drew in a breath.
Right. It was already too late.
Now, no matter what, they had to pull it off.
He silently looked around at the mbers.
After briefly exchanging glances, he spoke in a firm voice.
“…Let’s run through it one more ti.”
Hwang Seunghyuk picked up his drumsticks.
Maybe he was too nervous.
“Huh?”
The stick he habitually spun slipped from his hand, fell to the ground, and rolled weakly across the floor.
anwhile—
“Why isn’t Minsoo here?”
“Why are you looking for Minsoo?”
“He’s the CEO, right? On a day like this, shouldn’t he show up with at least a three-tier lunchbox?”
“Just drink your coffee.”
The U-Tal-A waiting room was ridiculously relaxed.
There was even a mber nodding off.
Taeyoon shook Bang Gicheol awake.
“Teacher! Wake up! How can you be sleeping right now?”
“What ti is it? When are we starting? You’ll understand when you’re older…”
Moon Jungbae rubbed his forehead.
Why were they so laid-back!
“Hey, hey. Are we not sticking to the concept? Did you forget we’re supposed to be a rookie band?”
“Oh, right.”
“Why are you sitting there like so neighborhood uncle?”
At that mont, the waiting room door swung open.
“‘The Kids Who Escaped Us,’ you’re up next.”
Inside the rabbit mask, Taeyoon’s eyes widened.
Thump-thump-thump—
His heart pounded wildly.
Now it hit him for real.
Ah… it’s really starting.
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