NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 221
The new year began, and we gathered in Han Si-woo’s Practice Room after a short break.
It was to prepare for the last activities of Rookies.
“I’ve finished producing the final activity song for Rookies.”
“Ah….”
I thought I had my emotions in check, but with Han Si-woo’s words about it being the last activity song, we quickly felt melancholic.
Still, we couldn’t show our sadness outright, so we tried to engage in the conversation cheerfully.
“I’m really looking forward to it…! I can’t wait to hear what kind of song you’ve written this time.”
“What genre is it? What’s the song title?”
In response to our continuous questions, Han Si-woo smiled and replied.
“This activity is like the first time with an album release, and the title of this album is [Graduation].”
“…!”
[Graduation].
Translated directly, it means ‘graduation’.
“And the title track of Rookies‘ second album [Graduation] is… [Eternal Rookies].”
“[Eternal Rookies]….”
Both the album name and the title track left a lingering feeling.
“It’s best if you hear it yourself. I’ll play it right now.”
Han Si-woo, seeing the Rookies members making strange faces, activated his laptop.
And….
♪♪♬-!
Soon, the intro of [Eternal Rookies] flowed out.
The new year dawned.
As the new year begins, everyone sets their goals for the year.
And Yoo Chang-seon’s goal for this year is….
[1. Go to Rookies concert]
…that.
“Chang-seon! Now that it’s the new year, don’t just sit at home on the computer all the time!”
“Ah, alright…!”
“You decided to go back to school this semester! You need to adjust well to get a job and date!”
“I got it, okay!”
Yoo Chang-seon mumbled a vague response to his mother’s words.
School, job, dating.
All of these are important.
But those things can be done anytime….
However, Rookies will not be seen anymore after the last three months.
“Ugh…, dammit. I really wish we wouldn’t disband.”
It’s really disappointing that Rookies is a project group.
So, as much as we felt regret, Yoo Chang-seon planned to do everything for Rookies during these last three months.
‘First, I’ll check the fan signing schedule and go to everything I can…, when the new song comes out, I’ll stream it….’
Above all, the most important thing was to go to the Rookies concert, just as his new year’s goal mentioned.
So far, there had not been a single Rookies concert….
But now that the songs had piled up, they would surely have at least one concert before disbanding.
Many Rookies fans would gather, but Yoo Chang-seon was determined to get a concert ticket no matter what.
‘If push comes to shove, I’ll just break my savings.’
At that moment when Yoo Chang-seon was having extreme thoughts….
Drrrk.
“Hmm…?”
[Rookies ‘Eternal Rookies’ Teaser (First Reveal)]
“What? It’s up sooner than I thought?”
Seeing the teaser for Rookies‘ new song on the refreshed YouTube screen, Yoo Chang-seon hit play with a grin, like finding 50,000 won in an unused pair of pants.
He expected to wait at least another week, but the early release made him excited.
Click.
[…….]
“Eh?”
As he pressed play, the first thing that appeared was a black empty screen.
Just as he was about to tilt his head in confusion….
[My Idol Academia! It starts now!]
[Show me your dream!]
“……!”
When a scene appeared, the next scene transitioned slowly like a panorama.
Yoo Chang-seon immediately understood what it was.
It was the first scene of Na Ah Ah, who made Rookies what they are today, moving forward slowly through time.
“Ah…, I’ve liked Ye-rin since back then.”
Yoo Chang-seon enjoyed the teaser, feeling nostalgic.
From Ha Ye-rin appearing first and singing GD-mon’s song, to the first team stage, and the duo stage of Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol, he remembered everything, all the way to the Final.
[The glorious winner is…! Congratulations! The participant of Brotherhood Planning’s Ha Ye-rin!]
The debut members were confirmed, and Ha Ye-rin became the ultimate winner.
The first showcase happened, and the first album was released.
They released two digital singles.
And received several awards, including the grand prize, at the year-end awards ceremony.
“…….”
Yoo Chang-seon held his breath as he appreciated the chronicle of Rookies.
And at the very last moment….
[Eternal Rookies]
[The last eternal moment of Rookies Coming soon]
♪♪♬-!
With the last phrase and a short intro flowing, the video ended.
“…….”
Yoo Chang-seon stared at the black screen reflecting his face for a long time.
And….
Drip.
“…Huh?”
He noticed a tear flowing down his chin.
“…Why are there tears?”
It was just the last activity of my favorite idol…. No one was dying or anything…. I mean come on….
So, Yoo Chang-seon wiped the inexplicable tears with his sleeve, making a vow once again.
This would be the last activity of Rookies…. Let’s spend it without any regrets.
I’m tired.
My ironclad stamina usually meant I didn’t complain about tiredness, but this time, I was truly exhausted.
‘What with preparing for a new song from the start of the new year….’
What made it most difficult for me, or rather our Rookies, was preparing for the concert.
A concert isn’t just jumping around on stage and coming down.
It involved all the title tracks, digital singles that Rookies had released so far, and the slightly neglected b-sides.
On top of that, each member had solo cover stages.
And that’s not all; there was even a reenactment of the stage that had the best reviews during the Na Ah Ah days.
Trying to juggle the new song preparation and the concert prep left us with hardly a moment to rest.
However, there was no way we could skip this current schedule since….
What we were heading to was indeed the last showcase of Rookies.
The showcase venue was in the Na Ah Ah set located in Gyeonggi-do, just like our first showcase.
I kept my senses awake among the members who were in a deep sleep, gazing out at the scenery outside.
The road to the Na Ah Ah set had once been so familiar….
Now, it felt a bit foreign.
‘That means a lot of time has passed.’
As the new year came, ‘Ha Ye-rin’ became an adult, and unlike when I was first born, I had gone through a lot of changes.
Feeling the fleeting nature of time, the car rushed diligently towards the showcase venue.
Our Rookies showcase order was always the same.
First, we showed the new song stage, then had a time with the fans, followed by a Q&A with reporters, then it ended.
This time was no different.
We waited in the dark backstage, preparing for a surprise appearance with mischievous smiles.
“Hehe, everyone will be surprised again, right?”
We loved to use the surprise lighting effect that had us burst onto the dark stage during showcases.
It might be a cliché method, but every time we used it, fans would be surprised and delighted, so we enjoyed that.
We expected the same reaction from the fans this time.
But….
♪♪♬-!
As the intro flowed and the lights turned on on the stage.
“Eh?”
“…Hmm?”
It was us who were surprised instead.
Because what we saw as the lights came on in the set was a huge banner filling the audience area that said….
[Rookies FOREVER]
[We love Rookies!]
“…….”
The intro flowed for a bit before we should have gone into the opening…
I had to stop in my tracks due to the unexpected sight.
Thud.
Since being born into Ha Ye-rin’s body, I hadn’t been very good at expressing emotions, be it laughter or crying….
But ever since becoming an idol, it seemed my emotional expressions had finally become diverse.
Tears threatened to rise from the depths of my heart, and ultimately….
‘Oh….’
I missed a movement.
Normally, if one person messes up on stage, it can throw off the entire performance.
We’d worked so hard to synchronize our movements to avoid that.
But now, having messed up right at the beginning, I was flustered as I looked to the other members.
And….
“…….”
“……”
The other members seemed to share the same sentiment, frozen like malfunctioning robots.
Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yoo-jung, Na Han-na, Seo Yoo-jin.
Even Yoo Seol, who always held Rookies together, was gazing into the audience, not thinking about the performance.
‘…I understand.’
I understood the members’ hearts.
I had also messed up due to being overwhelmed in that moment.
But to truly repay the fans’ feelings….
The performance had to continue.
Whisper, tap tap.
“……!”
I quickly gestured with my hands and pointed at the members to snap them back to reality.
And stepping in for Seo Yoo-jin, who’d zoned out and forgotten her part….
-Time to graduation
-It’s time for us to part ways
I smoothly brought her part into the flow, salvaging what could have been a restart of the performance.
“Ah….”
As the small gap I created allowed the other members to gain focus, they finally began to synchronize with me.
‘Thank goodness.’
Throughout all our time in Rookies, I had never once taken on the leader role, but it seemed I finally did my part this time.
As I smiled, the other members looked at my face and smiled back.
So we brushed off our heavy hearts for a while… and happily started our last showcase stage.