The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

The Siren fan was staring nervously at the stage. Although Luminin was talking about their feelings on stage, none of their words were actually registering in her mind.

‘Please, please guys…’ It was because Siren’s performance was just around the corner.

‘Please let Siren win. Please, please, I beg you!’ Frankly, she had been confident of their victory until the performances began. Although Only One had been doing well, she believed the tide had turned back to Siren, and to support her belief, Siren had won last week’s broadcast. However, after watching Only One’s final stage, her confidence completely disappeared. She felt a strong sense of crisis that Siren might lose if they made a single mistake.

Sigh. ‘Please…’ Was it because she was too desperate? Even though Siren was the one performing, she felt more nervous than them. When she measured her heart rate with the smartwatch, it was—

—158bpm

‘Oh my gosh.’ One would think she was running a marathon. She held her hands tightly. It was unclear whether Siren would be able to make their debut if they returned to WD Entertainment. She didn’t want them to disappear into the void like this when she finally found a group to support after wandering aimlessly for so long.

—It was a stage where I could clearly feel Luminin’s heartfelt feelings toward their fans.

—I felt very moved while listening to it.

—Then, we will be moving on to the team that will wrap up today’s final performance.

—We will now begin a performance from a group who always blesses our eyes and ears with their amazing performance—Siren!

The two hosts exchanged comments and introduced Siren.

‘It’s starting! They’re coming out!’ The Siren fan clenched her fist harder. Then—

Tap.

The stage went dark for a while, and her whole surroundings became enveloped by darkness. She could only hear the sound of her heart pounding—

Tap.

The light turned again.

‘Ah.’ Siren fan strangely relaxed all of a sudden. Siren was on top of the stage. They were her idols, who she’d always watched on screen and listened to only through songs. Her heart swelled that her idols were finally in front of her and actualized into reality. At the same time, the lingering anxiety in the corner of her heart disappeared like snow melting.

There was no need for her to worry. Currently, Siren was dressed in white costumes as if they were coming out of a mythology, and just their presence gave off an extraordinary vibe; their appearance seemed to reassure her that today’s stage would be amazing and her worst fears won't turn into reality.

Perhaps, her nerves were forcibly pumping optimistic thoughts into her nervous system from worrying too much, but regardless of what the reason was, she just wanted to believe that Siren would perform well today.

Scccreech.

Then the sound of the machine and scratching sounds rang out. It was a unique sound effect. Currently, Siren was lying on stage, and a picture taken with a camera crane appeared on the electronic display. Since the picture was taken from the top, the choreography formation was much better seen from the electronic display than in the audience seat.

‘What are they doing?’ They were lying in a circle with their heads on each other’s legs. In the middle, Woo Yeon-Hoon lay alone in a crouching position.

Screech.

The scratching sound grew worse, and Woo Yeon-Hoon slowly lifted his head; his movements looked like a baby bird lifting his head. When Woo Yeon-Hoon’s face was shown close-up in the electronic display—

Gasp!

“Wow, crazy.”

“Kyaah!”

Regardless of whether they were Siren fans or not, screams burst from everywhere. The white outfit and glittering gems under his eyes perfectly matched Woo Yeon-Hoo’s face. When she felt that his face was glowing, Woo Yeon-Hoon stared straight ahead with an emotionless expression.

—HELLO, WORLD

He said in a hushed voice. At that moment, sounds that were just scratching noises began to rearrange into a melody. The Siren members began to get up one by one. The camera also moved out of the close-up shot and captured all the members in one frame.

“Wow.”

“Insane.”

People exclaimed in the following scene. Even before the performance had fully started, the Siren fan thought, ‘This is it! They did it!’

Just by seeing their completely white outfits, fancy makeup, and the visuals of the members who pulled off these difficult concepts, she instinctively knew that this performance would be a hit.

***

—HELLO, WORLD

A sound that now felt all too familiar echoed across the stage. We began performing moves one by one that we’d been practicing like a machine for the past two weeks. While this was a performance that contained our universe story, it was a performance that, more importantly, contained a message for our fans. The reason for this was that if we just did a performance containing our universe without warning or explanation, it wouldn’t be suitable for the final.

The message in the lyrics for this song was simple—we were asking them to join us since this was our new beginning. In a way, it was a message that many idols put in their songs, as being an idol was a profession that could not continue unless there were fans. Thus, we had written this song intending to invite our fans to the beginning of our universe.

Yeon-Hoon moved to the back of the stage and came out to the center. I had been nervous on every stage so far. While I had somehow managed to overcome my nerves to perform, there had never been an easy performance for me. However, I was different today. I was confident, and I felt like I could do well on today's stage. I took a step forward and looked at the audience. I had trembled even in front of a much smaller stage, but—

—HELLO, WORLD

—A new world blooms before our eyes

—Everything I’ve dreamed of manifests into reality

—It’s a great blessing that this world

—Just for the two of us has entered our lives

There was nothing for me to be afraid of, and I probably wasn’t the only one feeling this way. The faces of the members standing on the stage were also brighter than ever before. Even though they had been trembling in nervousness before going up, once they got onto the stage, they returned to their original selves. I stepped down from the center, and Dong-Jun came forward.

—I don’t know what this happiness is

—I don’t know if this kind of feeling suits me

—Our clasped hands still feel awkward to me but—

—I’ll match my footsteps with yours one step at a time

Dong-Jun’s clear and stable voice resonated in the concert hall. Then the center changed again, and in the free chorus part, Do-Seung stepped forward.

—Day and nights are disappearing

—Even I don’t know

—What this world is

—We will draw it together, but

He rapped a few verses to lighten up the mood before the highlight part, and then Woon came out to the center and uttered the first verse of the chorus.

—HELLO, WORLD

—It’s a new world

—So that I won’t let go of your hands

—I’ll hold on to them tighter

—Towards the world, we would reach

Unlike the basic choreography we did, Woon performed his solo choreography; his movements were light and attractive, and his lines stood out. At the end of his choreography, Yeon-Hoon came out again for the second verse. Was his face captured on screen? As soon as he appeared, the audience screamed again.

—DON’T LET GO

—Hold my hand tighter

—OPEN YOUR EYES

—To the world that will unfold before us

—HELLO, WORLD

—Say a shy greeting to our world

It was now time for the song’s highlight to follow.

—HELLO, WORLD

—It’s a new world

—HELLO, WORLD

—Beyond what I’ve been dreaming of

—HELLO, WORLD

—I say a greeting

—HELLO, WORLD

—To our world.

We reached our hands to the audience as if we were shaking hands. Then we pulled back our hands as if we were pulling them to us—this was the highlight choreography for this song. However, even though I reached out my hand in the air, it felt like someone was actually holding my hand.

‘…What the?’ While I swallowed back the thought that I’ve gone completely bonkers, I continued the stage while looking at the audience. The fact that our fans were sitting in front of us and watching us reassured me somehow.

‘…It’s nice.’

***

Siren’s fan was screaming as she watched the stage. Frankly, she thought this mission itself would be disadvantageous to Siren. Since other groups haven’t done original songs so far, the fact that they were doing an original song felt fresh by itself. However, since Siren had only performed original songs so far, Siren’s originality was already exposed and felt more familiar to the audience.

Therefore, it was inevitable that they would be evaluated harsher than other group, and their stage would be considered below expectations unless their final performance was noticeably better than their previous stages. But—

‘It’s crazy…Who are they really?’ They brought a song, outfit, and choreography that far exceeded her expectations. This performance emphasized “connection” as a whole. Everyone was lying with their heads on each other’s legs in the first dance formation, and in the highlight section, some movements resembled hands holding and pulling. The song’s lyrics were also about inviting fans to their new world.

Anyhow she looked at it, this song was related to Siren’s universe and a song for fans. Her heart raced at the thought that the upcoming album would unravel the universe shown in the final performance. Furthermore, she was truly impressed that they also made it a fan song. She wondered if they were really doomed idols and a pre-debut group from a super small agency. Although unimaginable events happened in the world sometimes—

‘Seriously, this is a miracle…’ It felt like a miracle that five such astounding talents gathered together in a minuscule agency. She looked at the stage with her hands pressed against her chest. The song was going through the bridge before moving on to the third verse. The mood of the song, which had been bright and dreamy so far, reversed and turned somewhat depressing.

—Even if the world collapses today

—Even if someone finds us

Woo Yeon-Hoon came out to the center and increased the pitch by raising the high note. She had watched a lot of live videos and knew that he was a good singer, but hearing it live was on another level.

‘That’s just insane.’ It was shocking that the sound was so clear and bright.

—Please don’t let go of my hand

—I’ll definitely find you again

After the bridge part ended, the melody seemed muted a bit, and then those bright and dreamy sounds from before burst out at once, and the chorus began to repeat.

—HELLO, WORLD

—It’s a new world

—HELLO, WORLD

—Beyond what I’ve been dreaming of

—HELLO, WORLD

—I say a greeting

—HELLO, WORLD

—To our world.

The Siren members were perfectly in sync as they marked the highlight of the last third verse. Just in time—

Pop!

With a pop sound, flower petals scattered all over the air. The pink flower petals fluttered all over the sky with the bright, heart-wrenching chorus playing repeatedly in the background; and this scene was more than enough to mark the end of their story.

‘…Wow.’ The Siren fan stared blankly at the fluttering flower petals and Siren on stage.

—To you who I finally met

—HELLO, WORLD

—I’ll reach out my hand

Soon, the song continued to the last outro. Siren finished the ending with the motion of reaching out their hands. Seeing their hands, she felt a strong impulse to grab their hand. The Siren fan pressed her chest, and her emotions felt on the verge of bursting. Even though she had rarely cried once she became an adult, and others might criticize her for being overly emotional, she strangely felt tears come down her face.

“Ah…seriously…” She hurriedly lowered her head and wiped away her tears. She didn’t know what others thought of Siren’s performance, but at least for her—

‘…It was really the best.’ It was better than any performance.