Chapter 49: The Techniques of an Idol Who Never Fails

After receiving a call from Jung Hae Won, before heading to Yang Ihyeong's studio, Park Jung Un asked the members who had collapsed on the practice room floor due to excessively intense practice:

"Is it really okay to pick up Hae Won? Should I tell them to rest a bit more?"

Among the exhausted members, Hwang Saebi, who was the most drained, replied:

"No, if you leave Jung Hae Won there, he'll have to practice on his own and get angry if you don't wake him up."

"Does Hae Won get angry? I haven't seen it."

At Park Jung Un's manager's words, all the members looked in his direction. With twelve eyes of six idols, drenched in sweat, suddenly focused on him, it became incredibly awkward.

Shin Ji Un spoke up:

"That senior's temper... he hides it because he's a staff member."

"Right. He hides it. His attitude is different when recording with members versus when recording with other people."

Min Ji Ho chimed in, and Han Hyo Seok added:

"Yeah, he's much stricter with the members. During the recent recording... "

"Me too! I've never been as grateful for the fines we got as I was then. If there were no fines, that senior would have definitely scolded me."

"Isn't Hae Won nice...?"

"He is nice, but being nice and being strict are different things."

It was quite surprising for the management staff to hear Shin Ji Un, who was the most intense among the intense members, say this.

Anyway, the person who had just shown signs of hyperventilation a moment ago was now ready to return to practice, and the company was in an uproar. However, neither the members of First Light nor Yang Ihyeong tried to stop Jung Hae Won from immediately returning to practice. Instead, they were more worried about him getting angry if they didn't bring him back quickly. It seemed that everyone shared a clear image of Jung Hae Won from their time on "National Selection A."

A little later, when they arrived at the studio, Jung Hae Won was standing by the stairs, waiting.

"Hey, senior."

"I arranged for a counselor to come this morning."

At this, Jung Hae Won said with a hint of annoyance:

"Really? We shouldn't involve the entertainment company. They keep contacting me at night."

"I try not to. The company was in chaos just now. You don't know how surprised everyone was, right?"

"Well, that's... I stopped checking comments and reactions, but today I suddenly got curious about the comments on the highlight medley. I participated a lot, you know."

That might be true, but given his usual ability to weasel out of things, it was hard to tell if he was really checking the highlight medley comments.

Jung Hae Won, who had just been lying on the floor in the hallway, now looked completely fine and urged everyone to get in the car quickly.

* * *

Feeling the urgency to catch up with practice, I was in a hurry.

I practically ran to the practice room as soon as I got out of the car, but the members were lying down.

"Why are you already resting?"

I asked, bewildered, and Hwang Saebi replied:

"Resting? We've been practicing. Can't you tell from how Min Ji Ho is lying there?"

At this, Min Ji Ho, who usually had the most stamina during dance practice, got up from his lying position.

"No, I'm up!"

Min Ji Ho's passionate declaration was met with groans from the others.

"Ah, Min Ji Ho, lie back down..."

"Please, just rest a bit!"

The choreography looked simple but was incredibly difficult. Moreover, the coupling song "Get Set Ready" was designed to unleash all their energy in the first week of the comeback, so most of the choreography involved jumping as if they were floating in the air.

They planned to film the choreography video that morning, but the choreography was so demanding that even though they were all in their prime, it was impossible to maintain their expressions while dancing. I looked at the members, who were sitting with drained expressions.

Trying to lift the mood after a short rest, I said to Hwang Saebi:

"Hwang Saebi, teach me the drums."

"You? You can play the drums."

"Not very well."

Hwang Saebi, who had dedicated his middle school years to the band club, could play all the instruments used in the band to some extent. Han Hyo Seok, getting up, said:

"Me too."

"Senior, me too!"

As the members all got up and moved to the drum room, the choreographers looked at us strangely.

"They are young, after all."

"We're young too, they're just younger..."

Leaving the choreographers behind, we all entered the practice room. Hwang Saebi sat at the drums, while Shin Ji Un and Min Ji Ho picked up guitars. I handed microphones to Park Sun Jae and Han Hyo Seok, and An Ju Won said to me:

"Hae Won, I can only play the keyboard."

"I also learned the bass."

"You're really... a genius?"

Ignoring An Ju Won's unnecessary comments, I started with the chords and composed a simple song. No matter what, the members were most energetic when making music. At that moment, Min Ji Ho said:

"Let's turn on the live broadcast!"

"Hey, it's 3 AM."

"Still, let's do it! I want to show this to the Hae Sun. We'll just turn it on for a bit."

Considering it was 3 AM, the other members and staff were hesitant, but they agreed to turn it on for just a moment. The staff adjusted the camera positions for the live broadcast, and Min Ji Ho turned it on. He went in front of the camera and said:

"Can you see us? Are you coming in?"

Checking his phone, Shin Ji Un said:

"They're coming in."

Then An Ju Won said:

"Come to think of it, this is our first time, right? Turning on the live broadcast without a schedule."

"Really?"

Park Sun Jae thought about it and nodded in agreement.

Min Ji Ho said:

"Hae Sun, we were taking a break while preparing for the comeback. It was so much fun that we decided to show it to you."

So that's why he turned it on...

We finally understood. Min Ji Ho, who couldn't speak coherently to us, could speak relatively coherently to the fans. It made me wonder what he would have done if he weren't an idol.

Min Ji Ho turned around and asked:

"What should we play for the Hae Sun? Since it's early morning, something that can help them go back to sleep..."

Shin Ji Un, who had picked up Min Ji Ho's out-of-tune guitar, said:

"Let's do 'Clear Day.'"

"Perfect."

Hwang Saebi agreed, and Shin Ji Un handed me the guitar.

"Senior, can you tune this? I can't find the tuner."

"Sure."

While I tuned the guitar, Hwang Saebi quickly taught the chords of "Clear Day" to the members. I then handed the tuned guitar back to Min Ji Ho.

We started an impromptu band version of "Clear Day." Park Sun Jae's refreshing voice and Han Hyo Seok's gentle voice blended with the instrumental performance, creating a more moving version of "Clear Day" than the original.

The members, focused on playing and singing, didn't check the comments, but they were all smiling and enjoying the moment.

I was in the best state I had been in front of the camera. The overwhelming emotion made it unnecessary to force myself to relax. The emotion overshadowed the tension.

"Done!"

Min Ji Ho said, running to turn off the live broadcast and adding:

"Sorry for waking you up, Hae Sun. Good night."

The members all waved and said good night, and the 15-minute live broadcast ended. After the performance, the energized members returned to the practice room to film the choreography video.

* * *

[It's so tiring to wake up in the middle of the night and go back to sleep, but I'm so happy...]

[Our boys were taking a break while preparing for the comeback and decided to show us their music...?]

[And the song they played was a fan song...]

[I'm crying, my eyes are puffy...]

[They did a live broadcast at 3 AM????? While I was sleeping?????]

[No way, lol, Hae Sun is intense, lol]

Luckily, the replay was uploaded in the morning.

The 15-minute live broadcast was quickly edited and subtitled by the fans and uploaded to YouTube. This video not only became a topic among First Light fans but also caught the attention of others.

[Doing a fan song live broadcast at 3 AM]

[Who does a live broadcast at 3 AM? It's First Light]

[3 AM live broadcast, lol, this is not the image I had of National Selection A, lol]

[It's usually the members who try to stop each other, right?]

[They're really intense, it's been a while since I felt this moved]

[The boys' eyes were sparkling the whole 15 minutes]

[They really love music and their fans...]

[It's amazing that Jung Hae Won can tune without a tuner]

[This is so cool]

[He's faster than me with a tuner, lol, he's a talent]

[He proved his perfect pitch in the live broadcast, lol]

[If you listen to First Light's highlight medley, you'll