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After a brief commotion, all preparations were steadily coming to an end, and now only going up on stage remained. The coordinator who was making final adjustments to Bunhong’s makeup, whose face had hardened stiffly, asked playfully.
“Are you nervous?”
At that question, Bunhong silently smiled. Since he was the opening for the follow-up song stage they would be recording today, everyone had been looking after him more than usual.
As he mentally rehearsed what he would do on stage, an inexplicable emotion churned inside him.
‘Am I nervous?’
That’s when it happened. Bunhong’s phone, left in the waiting room, suddenly started ringing.
It was a call from Hangeul.
“…Hello.”
He realized that as they had been contacting each other more frequently, having conversations with Hangeul had become quite natural. Though it might be different if they came face to face, of course.
-What are you doing? I was bored so I called.
With OORA’s activities ending briefly, it seemed he had more free time. Judging by his leisurely tone, Bunhong’s guess seemed correct.
“I’m… waiting because I have a schedule.”
-Ah. You’re making a comeback this time, right? I heard the news.
They chatted about various trivial things. Spending time like this seemed to ease his nervous feelings.
Before ending the call, when Hangeul encouraged him to do well, Bunhong answered with a laugh.
“I’m confident I’ll do well.”
Words have power, and the moment he spoke them aloud, he felt certain he really could do it. Just Hangeul’s gentle voice seemed to reach him with warmth.
And when he hung up and turned around, Bunhong gripped his phone tightly, closed his eyes, and steeled his resolve.
He had come today aiming for just one moment. And if that moment came, he was firmly determined never to let it slip away.
* * *
BLACK’s schedule for today was recording a studio performance of “Joker,” one of the tracks from this album.
Originally they had planned to just simply follow the choreography, but for a studio recording, the scale had grown quite large, and they were already exhausted just from rehearsals.
When everyone on set – singers and staff alike – was worn out, the main stage recording began.
‘Joker was.’
Before Neverland’s activities ended, it was a concept that Ido had proposed at a meeting where all BLACK members participated to decide which direction they should head.
‘I’ve decided to distribute parts as fairly as possible. Since our recognition is still weak, I want to divide things clearly so we can showcase the charm of all five BLACK members.’
For Ido, fairness didn’t mean dividing parts equally. It meant giving them according to ability.
They had no choice but to compete fiercely for each part, as if auditioning.
‘Hey, this is like a monthly evaluation, isn’t it? Am I imagining things? Please go easy on us…’
Since all the members were basically competitive by nature, to the point where Duho would say such things, honestly this was the most difficult part of all the preparation process, Bunhong recalled.
The opening part of this song that Bunhong had obtained this way. There was a specific reason he had aimed for this part. It had originally been his part before the regression, and he had felt great regret about it. This time, he was confident he could do it justice.
In the dead quiet of the set, Bunhong was standing alone with his eyes closed when the director’s signal came, and he slowly walked to the spot they had marked during camera rehearsal.
Click. Click.
With each step, only the sound of dress shoes echoed through the silence, filling the space.
Though it was hard to see clearly with the lights off, when he arrived at the lavishly decorated table that had been prepared, the backup dancers who had been waiting approached and knelt at Bunhong’s knees. As the white cloth brushed softly over his eyes, only then did he begin to feel nervous. Quietly, he could feel sweat gathering beneath his palms.
And with the cloth covering his eyes like a blindfold, Bunhong was forcibly dragged to sit in the center seat of the table. Though small holes had been made, his vision wasn’t completely clear due to the cloth. However, he could feel the bright light seeping through even his blocked vision, so it wasn’t particularly frightening.
This series of movements flowed smoothly, and the instrumental intro began.
“It’s started, today this game
Under the cold moonlight, I recite beautiful vows that won’t be kept”
Since the song itself unfolded under a fast beat, Bunhong spat out the lyrics as if chewing them to hit the precise rhythm.
Then, as he threw off the cloth covering his eyes, the camera immediately approached and close-upped Bunhong’s face.
Through the white fan-holding backup dancers surrounding him, Chayeon appeared covering his face with a red fan. As if playing a game, everyone held their own card.
“If you bet your one and only heart
You’ll get what you want today”
Before Chayeon’s solo dance ended as he danced and sang while leaning on the table, Bunhong, who had been hiding behind, quickly ran to Lucy to prepare for the next movement.
As the backup dancers threw away the fans that had been covering their faces,
“Deceiving each other
This is a game where the person who falls in love loses
To see the truth, you must wander through lies
Hide your expression and quickly scan through the hand each person holds”
The pair dance between Lucy and Bunhong immediately followed. As soon as Bunhong stepped back, group choreography began with the remaining BLACK members and backup dancers centered around Lucy.
Here, the most important thing was not to stand out. He put all his effort into maintaining precise angles and not missing the timing. His back was covered with cold sweat.
After that, it was Duho’s turn, emerging through the split gap.
“What more are you thinking about? It’s already too late timing to give up
Before today ends, you can’t escape”
As he recited low rap while looking left, the remaining four members filled the gaps like shadows, drawing them out.
“The already decided ending
Just one J-O-K-E-R
Whatever you choose, I’m already yours”
As the beat gradually built up and the song developed, leading to the chorus, the final central choreography unfolded, and after a brief interlude, the second verse began.
At that moment, Bunhong instinctively clenched his fist. His nails dug painfully into his palm. Since the first verse centered on Duho’s rap and the second verse on Ido’s rap, from now on there would be many overlapping choreography sections with Ido.
This was also where the choreography teacher had continuously pointed out issues with Bunhong. Every time he bumped shoulders with him, every time their hands brushed, it was so unbearably chilling that he couldn’t properly continue the choreography.
‘Can I do it now…?’
The weak feelings he had hidden deep in his heart suddenly surged up.
‘What if I make another mistake.’
Since this wasn’t a live broadcast or such an urgent situation, any mistaken choreography could be redone as many times as needed. They could just reshoot.
But what if he couldn’t do it continuously, not just once or twice?
What if he could never escape from you?
At the painful memory that suddenly pierced through his mind, Bunhong smiled slightly.
‘Let’s make a bet.’
JOKER. The inexplicable déjà vu he always felt when looking at these lyrics had always tormented him.
The truth he had wanted to turn away from when he loved Ido. Everyone had told Bunhong that. That he wasn’t a good person.
When he first got to know Ido, most reactions were similar when he asked about him.
‘Even though he’s just an idol, what real music is he going to make or whatever.’
He had thought it was pitiful. Like a pearl buried in dirt, he thought everyone failed to recognize his true worth.
He shouldn’t be here. He’s not skilled enough to be treated this way… he had believed.
‘Ido? Oh, that fool who wants to do art?’
What kind of person was Ido? Back then, when he was always in love and wanted to know about him, someone had answered Bunhong’s question like that.
It was one of the crew members that Ido had belonged to before debuting as an idol, and just hearing the name made him frown as if sick of it.
‘That’s a bit harsh.’
When Bunhong bristled and rushed at the insults about Ido, the person stared at him strangely as if he was odd, then seemed to realize something and smirked. That one sneer made his face burn hot as if all his feelings had been seen through.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
