Chapter 88
The midsummer heat had faded, and the weather had grown slightly cooler. Fans could be seen heading into the concert venue with light steps.
The Gocheok Dome, boasting its massive grandeur.
Inside, it was already packed with over 20,000 fans of Weus.
The blue lights of the lightsticks embroidered the venue.
And every single fan seated there was waiting for the concert to begin with eyes full of anticipation, without exception.
-Phew... About 5 minutes until the concert starts. The atmosphere at the venue is incredibly hot.
└So hot it feels like it's going to burn up. I'm already fully prepared to burn...
-I'm going tomorrow, can someone on the 3rd floor right now take a picture of the stage and upload it? I want to see the view...!
-Did anyone manage to buy all the merch? I really wanted to get the t-shirt but it sold out right in front of me...ㅠ
-To miss their first concert ㅎ... To have to just wait for a livestream at home... Tears are just endlessly falling...ㅠㅠ
The Weus fan community had been endlessly flooded with concert-related posts since that morning.
Now, right before the performance was about to begin, the community was a coexistence of explosive anticipation from the fans on-site and sorrow from those who couldn't get tickets.
And now.
[Hello everyone, this is Wish! The performance will begin shortly...]
Kyaaaah-
The announcement echoed through the concert hall. And the owner of that voice was a figure all too familiar to the fans.
-Ahjin is so cute...ㅠ
-Oh, it's really starting!
-We're finally going to witness Weus in the flesh!!!
-Everyone, see you after the concert!
The moment Kang Ahjin's recorded voice reverberated through the concert hall, the interior instantly heated up with fervor.
As the murmuring voices grew louder and louder, about to engulf the entire venue, the lights inside the concert hall finally began to slowly dim.
Then, the noise inside the venue started to gradually decrease.
And before long, the large screen on the stage lit up.
Waaaaaaaah-
The cheers erupted even before the video began.
Those cheers grew even louder as the seven Weus members appeared on the large screen.
And on the screen, looking completely different from the heated atmosphere of the concert hall, the seven members were seen sitting at a desk in comfortable attire.
Soon, Sunwoo Rin, who was sitting right in the center, opened his mouth.
[What do you all think a concert is?]
[Umm... that's difficult.]
[Breathing and harmony with the fans!]
[Isn't a concert a festival for the singer and the fans?]
[Generally speaking, when you say concert, it usually refers to something conducted in real-time for an audience...]
With Sunwoo Rin's question, the members could be seen answering in their own unique styles.
Every time a member answered on the screen, laughter and cheers erupted from the audience seats.
And.
[Alright, alright! That's enough!]
Sunwoo Rin, who suddenly wrapped up the situation, looked at the screen and spoke again.
[Weus's concert...]
At that moment, the large screen went dark, and the interior of the concert hall was suddenly plunged into complete darkness.
Even the audience fell silent, swept up by the tension hanging in the air.
Then, a single light slowly shone down onto the main stage.
Vrrrrr-
Through the faint lighting, the figures of 7 people rising up to the stage on a lift could be seen.
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-
As if all the previous cheers had been merely a joke, a whole different dimension of screaming shook the venue.
Even in the moment when the Weus members, having all ascended to the stage, walked slowly toward the center, the fans' explosive cheers continued endlessly.
And finally, when the Weus members reached the center of the stage.
"It begins now."
With Sunwoo Rin's words, all the stage lights flooded down at once.
And soon, the sound of music followed.
The first song was a track from their 2nd mini album.
Along with the dazzling lighting, the intro of the song was played with an explosive band sound.
And the first verse.
-light me up
Your smile that lights up this night
The moment the first verse of this song, starting with Sunwoo Rin's introduction, began.
The large screen was filled with Sunwoo Rin's image.
Insane.
The same word, impossible to tell from whose mouth it came, could be heard from all corners of the concert venue.
***
Starting with the first song, they sang three songs in a row, finally announcing the true beginning of the concert.
With every song that ended, cheers rang out loud enough to shake the entire venue.
'It's really amazing...'
Before going on stage, I had repeatedly told myself in my mind to keep it together countless times.
But witnessing over 20,000 people spread out right before my eyes, it was inevitable that my body would freeze up for a moment.
And feeling the cheers directly on my skin, it felt like shivers were running up from the tips of my toes to the back of my head.
Fortunately, perhaps all that grueling practice wasn't for nothing, the seven of us finished the stage without any mistakes.
'Everyone seems to be in a similar state as me.'
The subtle trembling in the members' eyes from the fans' overwhelming momentum was clearly visible to me, who was standing close by.
Anyway, it was a relief to feel that everyone was keeping their grip together.
Like that, we finished the third stage and gathered in a line at the center of the stage.
"Two, three!"
"Forever together! Hello, we are Weus!"
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-
Along with the greeting, screams that sounded like they would tear throats erupted once more.
'Are their throats going to be okay?'
I started to get a little worried about the fans' vocal cords, but proceeding with the concert came first.
"Well then, shall we greet our fans one by one?"
"How about we get a little closer to our fans before that?"
"Good idea!"
"I want to see them up close!"
Like that, we all walked out together to the extended stage in the middle of the standing section.
A position even closer to the audience.
I could see the members taking their spots and waving their hands enthusiastically.
"Well then, let's start the greetings with Ahjin."
"Hello Wish! I am Kang Ahjin, in charge of cuteness and adorableness in Weus!"
Kyaaah-
When Kang Ahjin greeted while puffing out his cheeks, explosive reactions burst out from all directions.
"No, is it okay to come out this strong from the start?"
"What about the people behind us!"
"That's too much!"
Despite the members' torrent of complaints, Kang Ahjin continued speaking, completely unfazed.
"Now, hurry up and start the next person's greeting."
"Wow... Ahjin has become shameless..."
"He doesn't feel embarrassed at all anymore, does he?"
Starting with the noticeably more shameless Kang Ahjin, the members' short greetings continued.
When the six members finished their greetings, Shim Sung-ha, who had just finished his, called my name.
However.
"Now, lastly, Rin hyung..."
Waaaaaah-
"No, I haven't even greeted yet, what's with this cheering?"
"Wow, I'm getting a little jealous..."
The explosive cheers that erupted the moment I appeared on camera.
With such loud cheers pouring out even before the greetings had started, the members, who had been playfully talking to the fans, soon exclaimed in admiration as they looked at my face on the screen.
"Wow... but Rin hyung is really amazing today."
"Why is he so handsome today of all days?"
"That's seriously a little unfair, isn't it?"
"It feels like there's a halo shining from behind him or something."
"Lighting director! Aren't you shining more light on Rin hyung right now? This is discrimination!"
After listening to all the members' admiration-filled complaints, I finally got a chance to speak.
"Hello. I am Weus's visual leader, Sunwoo Rin."
"Wow, shameless!"
"More than being shameless, it's more frustrating that we can't even argue against it...!"
To be honest, even I felt a slight pang of conscience saying it with my own mouth.
But it was a title I needed to get used to from now on.
'Who am I? An Appearance S-rank powerhouse.'
When else would I show off my second S-rank stat following the stamina I finally achieved, if not now.
And it wasn't just the appearance stat that had increased.
The trait obtained from raising my appearance to S-rank.
-Brilliant Halo
An aura that cannot be hidden radiates from you.
Too simple a description for a trait obtained from achieving an S-rank stat.
'Still, the effect seems definite.'
Seeing the members' reactions now, I could roughly understand what this trait meant.
Like that, the fans, having been fully fired up by my visual leader declaration, could be seen.
Now it was about time to slowly move on to the next segment.
"Well then, we have to show you the next stage. You're curious about what kind of stage it is, right?"
Yeees!!!-
"The first unit stage that you've all been so curious about. We will reveal that stage now!"
After saying that, we quickly went back down under the stage.
And the VCR played on the large screen.
On the screen, the scene where we all decided on the units together passed by quickly.
Then, Shim Sung-ha, Kang Ahjin, and Baek Si-hyun made their appearance.
[Everyone, what kind of stage do you think would be good for this unit stage?]
[Umm.]
[Well...]
While the VCR video was playing on the stage, the three who prepared for this unit stage were changing into their outfits and preparing under the stage.
"You guys go do well."
"Fighting!"
While the three, who looked a bit nervous, were waiting, the start of the unit stage was drawing closer.
[We're the youngest in the group, right. So how about we put together a stage with a reversal...]
[A reversal?]
[For example, sexy?]
The stage grew darker, and the sound of music could be heard.
Wooooo-
With an unusual entrance sound, the three stood on the stage.
And behind the three, dancers wearing masks and dressed in matching black outfits could be seen.
-Only our Paradise
With a whispering voice, the group dance started with Baek Si-hyun at the center, along with the dancers.
'What's the reaction?'
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah-
The cheers that erupted the moment the choreography began.
"It's a success."
"Right?"
While briefly watching the youngest team's stage, I conversed with Park Han-hwi.
"I didn't expect them to go that intense right from the start."
As Park Han-hwi said, the three's stage was quite intense for a first unit stage.
In line with the sexy concept, the choreography Baek Si-hyun was dancing conveyed an elegant yet captivatingly strange feeling.
And Kang Ahjin and Shim Sung-ha were also pulling off the stage so seriously that their usual playful vibe was nowhere to be found.
-It's thrilling, this warmth I feel from you
"But isn't this a bit too sexy for the youngest ones to do?"
"Kids these days know everything they need to know."
Um, Park Han-hwi had a point, but... still.
'No sexy for you guys from next time.'
Once the concert was over, I'd definitely have to give them a firm warning.
***
After the first unit stage ended, while preparing for the next stage, a VCR video was playing on the stage.
[Han-hwi: My favorite among the younger members? I like all of them. Huh? Don't lie? I'm serious...!]
The video titled
[Jeong-woo: Me, a condescending senior? No... that can't be?]
Since I also hadn't seen the other members' interviews except for my own, I was a bit curious about what they had said.
[Jeong-woo: Actually, the condescending senior isn't me, it's Rin hyung. Honestly, compared to Rin hyung, I...]
"Oh... so that's what he said..."
No wonder everyone avoided my eyes after the interview ended.
"Hyung, hyung! We're ready to go up now...!"
Looking at Woo Jeong-woo, who was suddenly pretending to be urgent, I smiled softly.
"Let's talk after this is over, Jeong-woo."
"Ugh."
"Haha..."
Why were the other members also getting nervous when I only said that to Woo Jeong-woo?
Anyway, that wasn't the important thing.
"Alright, let's go up now!"
"Fighting until the end!"
"Let's go!"
The concert was now in full swing.