Chapter 136: Dance in the Night

“Hello, I’m today’s special MC for Dance in the Night, Lee Hwan!”

“Waaah!”

With the sound of roaring applause, a man in a neat suit walked up to the stage.

MC Lee Hwan gripped the microphone, a smile lingering on his lips.

A former MBS announcer, Lee Hwan spoke with clear and crisp diction.

“People who are truly passionate about the stage have gathered here today. On this Friday night, welcome to the festival of fiery dancers—Dance in the Night.”

“Kyaaaaah!”

The actual filming took place on a Wednesday night.

Even though only one dancer was among the cast, no one bothered to point out the contradiction.

“These are truly people who can fly with their dance. A total of five teams have taken up the challenge for today’s stage.”

Lee Hwan slowly looked around the studio, where audience members of all ages sat side by side.

From teens to those in their sixties, the final winner would be decided by the votes of the live audience panel present at the scene.

Before the voting instructions, the opening remarks still remained.

“Tonight’s stage theme is ‘1990s.’ Tonight, five teams will perform duet cover stages of 90s songs.”

Lee Hwan took a deep breath and continued his speech.

“While the five teams perform, simply press the blue button for the stage that captures your heart!”

The audience tested the remotes placed in front of them a few times with curious expressions. Lee Hwan raised the tension further with his booming voice.

“The final first place decided by the live audience votes! In celebration of the holiday, the winning team will receive 5 million won in prize money along with a generous set of premium Korean beef!”

“Waaah!”

This time, the cast standing backstage shouted in excitement.

The prize money felt somewhat ambiguous for a winning team, but it probably reflected the fact that the program was still only in its pilot stage.

Still, the latter part of the announcement was far more tempting.

Sung Jihoo leaned close and whispered into Seohan’s ear.

“A company barbecue party?”

“Of course.”

Seohan replied casually as he glanced toward the audience.

The hyungs were sitting in a spot that was quite easy to see.

With six of them huddled together, it would’ve been harder not to spot them.

As soon as their eyes met, the members shook their sketchbooks wildly.

[Do Seohan, let’s go for first place!!]

[That beef is mine!]

Seohan smiled brightly and waved back.

It was always seven of them filling the stage together. To fill such a big stage alone with only a senior he admired was a first.

The heart that had been pounding wildly just moments ago had calmed down a little.

Strangely enough, just seeing his members immediately eased the nerves.

“Hoo….”

With a faint smile tugging at his lips, Seohan looked straight ahead.

At that very moment, MC Lee Hwan gave his final opening line in a powerful voice.

“Then, let’s begin right now!”

Darkness fell across the stage.

Tiple’s debut fan, Lee Yuha, swallowed nervously as she looked down at the stage.

“……”

The fourth performance of the night was about to begin.

The earlier stages had featured the actress Choi Hana & a dancer, two members of Hyper, and then a relatively lesser-known female idol.

The first stage had been so well-crafted that its placement felt almost too early.

Although people hadn’t expected much from an actress-and-dancer combination, they had surprisingly built a clever stage.

Even if the vocals were lacking, the flashy performance itself had been fun to watch.

Next came the two members of Hyper. Among them, Jeong Wonjae was a name Lee Yuha had at least heard before, but overall the stage was fairly ordinary.

Unfortunately, performing right after Choi Hana made the impact feel weak.

As for the female idol’s stage… whether it was her skills or recognition, both left much to be desired.

“So far, Choi Hana is in first place?”

But two stages still remained.

The next performance up was the one Lee Yuha had been waiting for with half worry and half excitement—Sung Jihoo & Do Seohan’s team.

Since there were Dusty fans around, she couldn’t say it out loud, but truthfully, she didn’t like that pairing one bit.

Wasn’t this just using Sung Jihoo’s completed stage presence to prop up a rookie?

“Please don’t ruin it.”

There was no way a rookie with less than a year since debut could keep up with Sung Jihoo, who had ten years of stage experience.

After all, Sung Jihoo had been Tiple’s main dancer for years.

Even setting her personal feelings aside as a fan, Sung Jihoo on stage was nothing short of insane.

If only he could carry at least half of that skill.

With a prejudiced gaze, Lee Yuha fixed her eyes on the stage.

At that moment—

The lights finally came on, and two people dressed in navy hanbok walked forward step by step.

Their outfits were elegant yet clean, distinctly East Asian in style.

Wasn’t that an unfair advantage on Chuseok?

“Kyaaaah!”

“Waaah!”

The cheers rang out briefly before fading into silence.

Do Seohan stepped out from the left and took his place.

His face, gazing tenderly at the camera, appeared on the digital billboard.

At the same time, someone nearby let out an exclamation.

“Wow.”

Lee Yuha couldn’t help but admit it.

“He really is handsome.”

He definitely still had a boyish charm.

If Sung Jihoo had a more mature face with bold lines, Do Seohan’s was soft and youthful.

The difference between seeing him on screen and on stage was striking.

Somehow, he even felt familiar.

Having been with Tiple since their debut, Lee Yuha’s heart softened slightly.

“Is this what Jihoo looked like when he was younger?”

Back then, Sung Jihoo always swallowed nervously before going on stage, even though he always performed well.

And those bright, sparkling rookie eyes—Do Seohan had them too, just like Sung Jihoo once did.

With his long arms and legs, his dance lines would surely be beautiful.

Lee Yuha stroked her chin with a grin.

“Mhm.”

Maybe she could expect a little more.

7,000 years of waiting.

The unreachable ends of time.

Sung Jihoo stepped forward.

The moment the music began, his gaze changed 180 degrees.

Like a lone warrior cast upon a desolate plain, his sorrowful, solitary eyes touched the air.

The lyrics of ‘7 Thousands’ carried that story.

A warrior who loved a woman, and the endless wait that love brought.

In the end, it was a touching love story of meeting again after 7,000 years.

I’m waiting,

Telling myself it’s almost here,

Tell me where your time lies.

Sung Jihoo drew out a ribbon instead of a sword.

A red ribbon swirled in a curve, wrapping around his waist.

At the same time, the wistful atmosphere flipped, and a lively beat struck hard.

It was Cha Seongbin’s carefully prepared arrangement.

The original beat of ‘7 Thousands,’ familiar even to older audiences, flowed naturally.

For a fleeting moment, Sung Jihoo’s lips curled into a sly grin.

“Is he crazy?”

Was Sung Jihoo really insane?

Just from those wild eyes, it was clear.

Unless he was a genius born for the stage, there was no way someone could run wild like that on stage.

Do you remember the promise from long ago?

I still haven’t forgotten.

7 thousands, I am counting that time.

Your image lingers in my eyes.

The simple yet intense original choreography became even more difficult with the addition of props.

With the ribbon, the difficulty doubled.

The two crossed paths on stage, their crimson ribbons meeting in midair.

Seohan wrapped the ribbon smoothly around the back of his neck, smiling softly as he leapt out.

I’ll wait, even through long years.

We haven’t even started yet.

7 thousands, I am counting that time.

I’ll stay here for you forever.

If Sung Jihoo was the lonely warrior, Do Seohan was the pure and bright hwarang.

Even though the 90s choreography demanded heavy stamina, a radiant smile hung on his lips, lifting the mood just by watching.

Accept my heart.

Since I met you, I can’t stop.

The sparkling smile caught on the digital billboard.

Along with flawless dance lines.

“Was he a modern dance major?”

No, that wasn’t the case.

How could he handle the ribbon so skillfully?

Though the result of countless practice hours, to Lee Yuha, who didn’t know, only awe slipped out of her mouth.

Even as the spinning time stopped—

Still 7 thousands.

“What the, why is he so good?”

Leaving aside other thoughts about the stage—

It was simply, how should I say it—

A stage that made you feel good just by watching.

It was clear he was enjoying himself.

Even in front of senior Sung Jihoo, he wasn’t overshadowed, but shone brightly, unfolding the stage with pure rookie energy.

A newly launched boy idol under the same company.

It could’ve been considered “adopted love for the junior,” but beyond that, she genuinely liked it.

“He’s good….”

Ah, I think I’m becoming a fan.

Click—

As if possessed, Lee Yuha pressed the blue button.

“Chuseok Special Dance in the Night! The glorious winners are… Sung Jihoo and Do Seohan! Congratulations!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

Out of 300 live audience panelists, 257 pressed the button for our stage.

With an overwhelming score of 257 votes, we claimed first place.

Behind us, Choi Hana, who had performed first, took second place with 232 votes.

“Aaah! Seohan!”

The heated cheers were deafening.

The live audience had been composed of diverse age groups, so it wasn’t an atmosphere full of idol fans….

Still, Dusty fans were scattered throughout.

Though my hyungs couldn’t press the button, they gave their full support with fiery cheers.

From afar, I spotted Cha Seongbin pulling out a sketchbook.

Please stop, that’s embarrassing.

I turned my eyes away in a hurry, looking back at MC Lee Hwan.

“Today marks the first broadcast of Dance in the Night.”

Depending on the ratings, this could be its first or its last.

MC Lee Hwan threw out his line with a bright smile.

“Since you’ve become the very first winners, let’s hear how you feel!”

“Waaah!”

“Which one of you would like to go first….”

While I stood frozen, the microphone rolled my way.

Sung Jihoo spoke with an excited face.

“Seohan, your thoughts! Feel free to share…!”

My thoughts, huh….

‘I’ll live kindly….’

Suddenly, my PTSD from Starf days bubbled up, and I coughed awkwardly.

From a distance, my hyungs were staring at me with sparkling eyes.

Cha Seongbin silently lifted his sketchbook.

[Maknae’s speech in progress~]

They all had faces that looked ready to tease me for the slightest slip.

Scary…!

I couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

“Yes, first of all….”

I calmly gripped the microphone and began to speak.

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