Chapter 61: Isn't it a burden?

Hand sync.

At that one word, all sound came to a halt.

“……What do you mean.”

That was all I could say.

What did that even mean?

Even if it wasn’t comfort, couldn’t he at least offer some encouragement?

Tell me a bit more.

I wanted to say it.

But there wasn’t even a moment to say it.

“Is it okay to drag this out for so long? The PD seems scary.”

Taeyoon pushed the bathroom door open.

As if to cheer me on, he raised his right hand and waved.

The Signum members just blinked at each other.

“W-Wait a moment!”

The leader, Han Jaeho, mustered up his courage.

Taeyoon stopped, turned only his head to look back.

“Yes?”

Han Jaeho moved his lips a few times before finally making a sound.

“Uh…….”

With a trembling voice, all he could manage to say was—

“Hyung…… doesn’t that kind of thing bother you? Isn’t live performance a burden?”

A trembling voice.

It was a question thrown out, hoping to cling to something, anything.

“Oh, that’s all?”

Taeyoon grinned.

Then he answered.

Even more simply, with less hesitation than before.

“If I didn’t have confidence, I wouldn’t have even started in the first place.”

Hand sync.

Just as the word says.

Pretending to play instruments, while actually playing pre-recorded audio.

If it reminds you of lip sync, you’re right.

It’s a similar concept.

And so…….

“What does he mean?”

“He’s not mocking us, right?”

“I never understand a word that hyung says.”

It wasn’t surprising that the Signum members were huddled together trying to interpret what Taeyoon meant.

For a band, hand sync was a humiliation.

Because live performance was the very essence of a band’s identity.

That’s why even the company insisted on a live performance.

There hadn’t been any issues.

Even when they heard staff whispering, they figured it was just rumors.

– You can tell just by the setup.

– I’m excited for both teams though?

– UTAR’s no joke, they say.

– Even the director came down to see UTAR?

– ……Didn’t come to see Signum?

Their rivals: The Kids Who Escaped From Us.

To say they weren’t bothered would be a lie.

The staff’s whispers.

The pressure from the manager.

The public’s excessive attention.

They’d gritted their teeth and endured all that.

But one thing—

“They want us to hand sync?”

“Perfectly, at that?”

“……Does that make sense?”

After hearing Taeyoon’s words, their thoughts became too tangled to ignore.

Anxiety turned into certainty.

If only they hadn’t run into him in the hallway.

No—shouldn’t have gone into the bathroom in the first place.

Taeyoon looked more confident than anyone.

As if this wasn’t his first time.

As if he had been waiting for this day all along.

“He looked like he’d nail it.”

“Did you see his hands? Not even comparable to mine……”

“I’m so nervous.”

Even pro musicians couldn’t help but feel nervous in a situation like this.

And they were only twenty, rookie rookies standing on their debut stage.

Trembling like rain-soaked puppies might’ve been the most natural thing in the world.

“Signum, you’re up in five minutes.”

The staff’s voice came from outside.

Five minutes left.

Han Jaeho stepped up as the leader to pull things together.

“I think we should go with hand sync.”

Drummer Hwang Seunghyuk nodded and added,

“What if we go with backtrack for everything else, and only do the drums live?”

Backtrack.

Playing pre-recorded sound as if it were a live performance.

It could replace only a portion, not the entire set.

A common method for ensuring stable live performance.

Drums, which couldn’t be hand synced, would be performed live; the rest would be stabilized with backtrack.

That was the most realistic solution for now.

“But you know.”

The youngest spoke cautiously, watching their reactions.

“Honestly, they’re our rivals. What if they’re doing this to mess us up? Then they’d stand out more.”

Another member joined in.

“Yeah. From that hyung’s perspective, it benefits him if we mess up.”

“Right. Who is he to tell us to hand sync?”

“Would the company even want that?”

Then Han Jaeho firmly cut them off.

“No, I think differently.”

“What then?”

“Perfectly……. That’s not something to take lightly, you know.”

“Huh?”

Han Jaeho spoke in a soothing tone.

“What are we most confident in?”

“Performance?”

They were confident in that part.

It was the area the company emphasized the most.

As if they were completely immersed in music.

As if it was the most exciting thing in the world.

As if they were showcasing what music truly was.

They practiced it thousands and thousands of times.

Chasing the camera, putting on charismatic expressions.

But was that easy?

Trying to act cool and play instruments.

When they actually faced the camera, neither worked—it was truly a catch-22.

“Rabbit-hyung probably meant it like that too.”

“Really?”

“Remember what he said earlier, with a smile?”

Said with a smile?

Everyone recalled those words.

– If I didn’t have confidence, I wouldn’t have even started in the first place.

“…….”

Come to think of it, that was true.

Signum didn’t have confidence in performing while playing instruments.

They insisted on performing live just because of the ‘band idol’ title.

“That hyung already figured out we’re not ‘band’ idols, but a band of ‘idols’. I think it’s better to just focus on what we’re confident in—performance. Everyone agrees, right?”

Only then did everyone nod.

Rather than performing poorly and ending up like a school talent show, it was better to be called guys who just stroke their instruments if it meant they looked cool and flashy.

Still, vocals and drums were going to be live, right?

“But hyung, what about Manager-hyung…….”

“Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him. I’m sure the company has something planned too.”

The leader, looking resolute, flung the bathroom door open.

The remaining four followed behind him like baby chicks following their mother bird.

In front of the waiting room.

As soon as the members saw me, they brightened up and shouted.

“You’re back!”

“Where were you? We’ve been looking all over.”

“Bathroom.”

“Our Seo Rabbit must’ve been nervous. I thought you ran away.”

“I washed my face! Washed up!”

For Music Stage rehearsals, you watch the monitor in the waiting room and move according to the broadcast order.

I thought he’d be sitting in the waiting room.

Why did he come out to the hallway?

“Why are you out here?”

“Oh, rehearsal’s a bit delayed. Seems the team before us is changing something. I got fidgety just sitting around, geez.”

“What are they changing?”

“You don’t know?”

Moon Jungbae shrugged and asked me back.

“You didn’t hear anything?”

“There were only the previous team’s members in the bathroom.”

“Oh, those kids? Tsk. Whose kids are they—they’re good-looking. Though not as much as our Taeyoon.”

Even in this situation, Bang Gicheol-sunbaenim was fuming.

He complained they were putting more effort into the other team’s stage setup.

“Where’s the break time during rehearsal?”

“Well, true.”

“They should hurry up already.”

It was certainly unusual to change something this major during rehearsal.

We returned to the waiting room.

The staff shown on the monitor looked incredibly busy.

They were constantly talking back and forth, and that manager over there was bowing repeatedly.

It looked like they were having an important discussion.

“Seeing them change the setup…… maybe they’re going with hand sync?”

Hmm. So they were really going with hand sync?

Then this situation made sense.

“……?”

Things felt oddly quiet, so I glanced around.

Our members were staring silently at me.

“Taeyoon, you’re not thinking like that.”

“Like what?”

“Even if they’re our rivals, don’t go wishing for them to fail.”

That wasn’t it.

“Didn’t think you were the scary type.”

“No wonder your eyes were blazing just now.”

“Hey! Hold on, hold on.”

Our members were like this.

I couldn’t say anything.

So I slowly explained what happened in the bathroom.

How the chick-like kids huddled together whispering, and how I gave them some advice.

Then Moon Jungbae-sunbaenim asked,

“Why did you answer like that?”

I mean, why?

Now that he asked, I couldn’t really come up with a good explanation.

It just felt more right.

Being a band didn’t mean you had to show off some flashy live performance, did it?

A full live set—once you mess up the timing, it’s nearly impossible to get it back on track.

Either you speed up way too much or fall far behind.

I experienced it several times myself during our first performances at Sierra.

Live isn’t something to take lightly.

From the looks of it, they were already super nervous.

That’d ruin everything.

So I merely suggested hand sync.

I mean, if they say they can’t do it, what else can I do?

This isn’t something you can force through.

You can only show something when your heart is at ease.

That’s how I am.

Music? Of course it’s important.

But what they’re ultimately showing is a broadcast.

I thought it was better to focus on showing a confident side.

The vocals would obviously be live.

Wouldn’t it be better for the fans too, if the handsome kids smiled brightly and enjoyed the stage?

Look at us!

We’re enjoying the stage like this!

Live? Who knows, let’s just enjoy it together!

Our song is so exciting!

Something like that?

I heard it was composed by Music Ward. Then the song must be good too.

Trembling while holding instruments? Just imagining it is off-putting.

Who’d want to watch TV feeling nervous?

“……You were serious?”

“Yes.”

“More importantly, are you okay?”

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

“Your clothes are fine, so I guess he didn’t grab you by the collar.”

What are they imagining.

“They seemed seriously worried though.”

“Hmm……. Wonder what they’ll do.”

“I think they’ll go with only drums and vocals live.”

“Yeah? That’s the safest choice.”

Even if the broadcast set them up as rivals—

I secretly cheered for Signum.

How should I put it?

They felt like my peers.

Debuting on the same day—this wasn’t just any kind of connection.

And besides, seeing them call me ‘hyung’ and follow me like that made me want to help them.

Not because I’m weak to dongsaengs. Ahem.

“It won’t be easy to decide.”

Even the always-playful Bang Gicheol-sunbaenim stepped in seriously.

I straightened up and asked.

“Have you had a similar experience too, sunbaenim?”

“Sure. I used backtrack just once.”

“You did?”

“Am I not human? It was when there was a huge issue with payments—I wasn’t in my right mind. Schedules were packed, my head hurt. It was before the internet, thank god. If it had been now, I would've been ripped apart for doing hand sync.”

“Do you regret it?”

I was curious.

Cheongseong, the legendary band.

Even there, the member who played the central role as bassist—how would he respond?

I expected him to say he regretted it.

But his answer was unexpected.

“No. Even if I went back, I’d do the same.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just doing raw live doesn’t make a stage perfect. What a band should do is deliver harmonious music. Besides, you know, right?”

“Know what?”

“That bass is the most important.”

“Of course. If the bass wobbles, no matter how well the other instruments play, it all falls apart. Absolutely. Absolutely.”

Huh? Why are you all looking at me like that.

Don’t give me that look that says, ‘What a joke…’

“Anyway. You gave good advice. They looked super nervous—hope they do well. We’re…… peers, right? Ha ha.”

Staring at the monitor like that.

We quietly sent our support to Signum.

With sincerity.

30 minutes later.

PD Chun Hanyeong rubbed his chin and muttered.

“That’s a good look.”

“……PD-nim, who says that nowadays.”

“I’m serious. It’s a great visual. Man, where’d they find such good-looking kids.”

“Find them? They came on their own. These days, kids are dying to become idols.”

Even though the rehearsal had been delayed significantly by their sudden live withdrawal declaration—

PD Chun Hanyeong’s expression had brightened.

“It’s nice to see. Really.”

If the rough live stage was a 70 out of 100, this stage could easily get a 90.

It changed from ‘handsome kids struggling to perform’ to ‘handsome kids enjoying music.’

Isn’t that enough?

Sound Director Lee Haengseok chimed in too.

“Sounds good. The vocal sings well. Great track too. It’s Music Ward’s song, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Still keeping his eyes fixed on the stage, he spoke slowly.

“Yeah. Manny Entertainment gave up their stubbornness well. You gotta be stubborn about the right things. That’s why the atmosphere got better.”

“It contrasts well with UTAR too.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

At the mention of UTAR, a flush of color returned to the Sound Director’s face.

“This suits the ‘band rivalry’ theme better. Flashy performance from a handsome band! Followed by a perfect performance from a traditional band with their faces hidden! Looks versus skill—right?”

“You haven’t even heard them, how can you be sure?”

“I dunno. Just a feeling? Look. See how natural it is?”

Signum’s rehearsal ended.

And just then, UTAR members carefully stepped onto the stage.

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