The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Only One’s performance officially began. While coming out as the group’s center, Kang Hyun-Sung thought that a concert hall with 5,000 people was much bigger than he expected. During his time in Yours, he had performed at a much larger concert hall, but it didn’t feel very big to him then. However, this concert hall with only 5,000 people—no, probably only 3,000 people due to the broadcasting equipment—felt gigantic to him.

His body began to stiffen from nerves, and he started the choreography after relaxing his muscles and forcibly pushing his nerves back. The bass sound, which was like splashing water droplets, reverberated, and the Only One members stood in a circle around Kang Hyun-Sung and moved as if the hands of the clock were rotating. The moment when Kang Hyun-Sung lifted his hand above his head and swung it down in a straight line—

–I hope there’s no sad ending

–At the end of this bridge between us

–So that there are no hurt feelings

–In our hearts through this journey

The members, who had been turning in circles, bowed deeply, and Kang Hyun-Sung stood alone in the center. While seeing his members on the stage, Kang Hyun-Sung thought once more about why this stage had felt so big. Kang Hyun-Sung withdrew from the center, and Park Young-Ho took his place and stepped in front of the stage.

–I’ve been preparing this moment for a long time

–For you who have been running endlessly

Kang Hyun-Sung looked at Park Young-Ho in the center.

–Inside our clasped hands

–We hold our dreams that we’ve been holding onto

–Words are not enough

–To express the feelings hidden behind my eyes

Then he looked at Kim Ju-Hyun’s performance, Kim Si-Woon’s performance, and finally, Lee Chul-Woon’s performance. Only then did he realize why the stage felt so big.

–YOU MAKE ME BLOOM

–thanks to you

Although Kang Hyun-Sung wanted to be an idol, he had no strong identity as a group member. From his perspective, he thought being an idol was a job where you had to compete with others until the very moment he retired, and he thought he should induce competition even among his group members.

–I BLOOM FOR YOU

–for you

However, it was only now did he feel like he could understand what the bond of a group was like. Thus, that was why the stage felt so big. It was not a stage where only he had to do well, but he sincerely wished that all of his members with him would also do well. Although Kang Hyun-Sung was shaking internally, unlike his usual self, he was doing better on stage than ever before.

–ALWAYS HERE –WAITING FOR YOU

Kang Hyun-Sung’s eyes moved towards the audience. This song was made with gratitude in mind. There were a lot of big and small incidents, but he was able to lead these members thanks to one driving force—the fans. And this song was created for his fans.

–No matter what happens

–I’ll always be by your side

–YOU MAKE ME BLOOM

–I’m the last flower that you bloomed

Like this, Only One’s first original song, <FLOWER>, finished the first verse of the chorus.

***

One of Only One’s fans stared blankly at Kang Hyun-Sung on stage. The song passed the first chorus and continued onto the second verse. Generally speaking, she was just one of the many Only One fans here. However, if one dug a little deeper into her history, she was a bit more special than the usual fans here.

–These feelings that I’ve held for a long time

–And preciously cared for

–these feelings that bloomed between us sometimes

–FEEL SO BLUE

–So that I’ll fall endlessly

She was one of the earliest fans who supported Kang Hyun-Sung and put his picture on her profile page, even at a time when no one was interested in him. Although being a fan of Kang Hyun-Sung was still not easy, being a fan of Kang Hyun-Sung at that time needed a tremendous amount of mental training and fortitude.

Since he was not the producer’s favorite, he was evil-edited on the show and was often criticized on Bluebird. Whenever that happened, she went around explaining, engaging in online fights, and actively trying to create a fandom for him.

On the other hand, it was fun to keep trying as Kang Hyun-Sung’s fandom grew with each broadcast. No matter how much the producers tried to alienate him by evil editing, Kang Hyun-Sung’s dancing was too noticeable, and people who fell in love with him grew one by one. Furthermore, his cool exterior was enough to tie fans steadfastly to his fandom.

However, if anyone asked her if fangirling Kang Hyun-Sung was always enjoyable, she would say no. As hate often came with fame and Kang Hyun-Sung rose from a lower rank in Select Your Idol, malicious comments hating on him increased to a ridiculous amount. After successfully debuting, the Only One fan thought Kang Hyun-Sung would finally be able to walk on a nice, smooth road, but because of various incidents, he had to go through another hell once again.

However, even this was weak in comparison to what would come later as after Yours disbanded, Kang Hyun-Sung went back to TH Entertainment and participated in a program where they gathered doomed or flopped idols. It was to the extent that even her friends called her Buddha for supporting him. However, she couldn’t call herself Buddha because rather than staying calm and in peace, she suffered every time one of these incidents broke out.

However, the reason why she still couldn’t let go of Kang Hyun-Sung even then was because—

—In that dizzying night

—When I saw you

—come right up to me

—My heart LIGHT IT UP

—LIKE RED

The only person who made her heart beat like this every time they were on stage was Kang Hyun-Sung.

—YOU MAKE ME BLOOM

—Thanks to you

—I BLOOM FOR YOU

—For you

The Only One fan blankly looked at Kang Hyun-Sung. Standing at the center of the song’s chorus, Kang Hyun-Sung seemed to shine brighter than anyone else.

—ALWAYS HERE

—WAITING FOR YOU

Furthermore, the lyrics of the songs that the members were currently singing seemed to be written for fans.

‘These lyrics—it has got to be a song for fans…’ It didn’t matter whether or not Only One actually wrote the lyrics themselves; it was more important that they used the song for the final performance. This was a performance prepared for the fans who’ve been by their side for a long time. While watching the stage, her heart ripped into millions of pieces and stabbed her in the chest.

–No matter what happens

–I’ll always be by your side

–YOU MAKE ME BLOOM

––I’m the last flower that you bloomed

Only One’s fans tried hard not to move her eyes from the stage. However, contrary to her efforts, her head kept dropping. She covered her mouth and tried to suppress her sobs. She didn’t know whether these feelings would last a thousand or a hundred years. Perhaps, it might disappear the very next morning. However, at this very moment, she could say confidently from the bottom of her heart that she felt very glad to be Kang Hyun-Sung’s fan.

***

Only One’s performance ended. The members and I were sitting in the waiting room and silently watched the monitor screen.

I had been curious about what kind of performance Only One brought, but after watching their performance, I thought, ‘…I shouldn’t have watched it.’

I wondered why I even watched their performance. I had expected them to do well in the final performance, and the Only One’s final performance that I saw before I regressed had also been great. However, it certainly had not been up to the performance they showed just now; I could swear upon it. Before my regression, my thoughts about their performance were that they did well as they always did, but now…

‘…They’ve all grown exponentially.’ They’ve all done better than what I expected, and theperformance they showed just now was a grand performance Only One showed at the peak of their career. Rather than just being good at dancing or expressions, it was a performance that highlighted their unity and strength as a team.

‘But above all, he used a cheat key.’ Kang Hyun-Sung used a cheat that only he could use in this show.

‘He sold off his own story…’ Kang Hyun-Sung must also know very well how hard it was for his fans as he’d only walked a path that was emotionally and mentally draining for them. However, by using that to his advantage and performing a song like this for the final performance—

‘Hmm…’

Only One’s fans would obviously be invested, but even people who were not Only One fans would be moved by his story and become emotionally invested as well.

As an example…

“Ahhh…Awwk…”

“Just cry, Yeon-Hoon.”

“Aww…No, I’m not going to cry…”

“You’re just basically crying at that rate.”

Yeon-Hoon’s crying faucet burst once again. Yeon-Hoon often got too invested in people’s stories, but it was not to the extent that he would normally bawl after seeing another group’s performance. Since we had to perform soon, we were all in a nervous and tense state. However, the story behind Only One’s performance was so immersive that it was enough to even crumble our nerves for a bit. While Yeon-Hoon wiped his tears with his sleeves—

“…Wow, they did really great.”

“…Amazing.”

“It was sad.”

“Only One…did a performance only they could do.”

The members also said a comment each. Regardless of whether Yeon-Hoon cried or not, we couldn’t just be impressed about it.

“We also have to do well.”

“Hmm.”

“Ah, it really isn’t easy.”

On the other hand, it would be stranger if we laughed and joked around after our competitor brought their best performance by far.

“We can win, right…? Over that performance…?” Do-Seung asked in a careful tone.

No one could confidently reply to the question. Thus, I answered for the members, “Yes. We can win.” Honestly, I also wasn’t confident that our performance would be better than Only One’s performance.

However, I needed to reassure my members. “Don’t worry. We would do better.”

Just like how my members comforted and encouraged me in the past performances, I needed to give confidence to them. “Just keep in mind that we’ll be the ones to bring the trophy home.”

“…Really?”

“We’ll win?”

“Hahaha!”

The members seemed to relax a bit at my buff. Yeah, I thought I did enough. The members would do the rest.

“Yeah, we can do it. Let’s not get scared already.”

“Pweh…yeah…we’re the best…!”

“Yeon-Hoon, at least say that after you wipe your tears!”

“…We’re the best!” The members encouraged each other and pushed away their anxiety a bit.

“Let’s focus on the next performance for now.”

“Yeah.”

“Bleshu is next, right?”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

We all straightened our posture and stared at the monitor screen again.

***

After Only One’s performance ended, Only One members stood in a line and gave a short review of what they felt while shooting The Showcase 2. And sure enough, Only One fans from all sides were tearing up at their remarks.

‘…This is dangerous.’ A Siren fan, who happened to be surrounded by Only One fans from all sides, thought that things were not looking too bright. It wasn’t because she saw Only One fans crying, but because even she, who never had an interest in Only One, thought the performance they showed just now was nothing short of amazing. She had no choice but to endure the sounds of people crying everywhere whenever the Only One members expressed their feelings on stage.

At the same time, she prayed, ‘Please let Siren do better.’

Although she sounded a bit like a psychopath, she wished that Only One fans, who were crying right now, would be shedding tears for a different reason.

‘Please…let Siren win. God or anyone, please…’ While sitting in the auditorium where the tide had turned towards Only One, the Siren fan desperately prayed for Siren to win.