“Seriously?”
The corners of Manager Kim’s mouth began to twitch upward after he had asked for the umpteenth time as if he couldn’t believe it.
Eventually, his grin stretched from ear to ear.
Becoming annoyed with having to answer, Seunghyun simply gave a curt nod.
Manager Kim let out a thunderous “Wahaha!” that shook the meeting room, throwing his hands up in a victory pose and jumping for joy.
When Seunghyun stared at him with a dry, hollow expression, Manager Kim seemed to realize his blunder and hurriedly tried to put on a concerned face.
Seunghyun understood where he was coming from, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit disgruntled by the reaction.
In contrast, the silent worry emanating from Director Yoon—who had been listening from the back—felt much more sincere.
As Director Yoon straightened up from leaning against the desk with his arms crossed, the gazes of Seunghyun and the rest of the Halo members shifted toward him.
“One month.”
Director Yoon held up a single finger, lost in thought.
“Guys, there’s only one month left. In that time, we have to plan the stage, practice, record, rehearse, and produce costumes. We need to charter a private jet and hire medical staff to be on standby at all times. But above all…”
Director Yoon’s eyes locked onto Seunghyun.
“Seunghyun needs to be ready. Do you understand what that means?”
Seunghyun’s mouth went dry.
The reality of what he had committed to was finally starting to sink in.
Last night, Chiyoon was the first to realize that the impulsive “I’ll do it” wasn’t just about this one performance.
‘It’s your damn Halo, isn’t it?’
At those words from Chiyoon, Seunghyun had scrambled to catch the fading conversation.
It was a decision made half on impulse.
Impulse can sometimes ruin everything, but it can also save everything.
A day might come when he regrets this decision.
But at least for now, that day wasn’t today.
‘I’ll do it.’
Perhaps because Chiyoon hadn’t managed to close the door properly, the sound must have leaked out.
Yijeong burst into the room, looking uncharacteristically flustered.
Behind Yijeong, who stood frozen with an incredulous expression, the rest of the members were visible through the wide-open door.
It seemed they had all been waiting for the conversation between Chiyoon and Seunghyun to end.
Seeing them waiting for an answer, Seunghyun said it again.
‘I’m doing it.’
‘……Yes?’
‘Halo. I’m staying.’
As soon as he finished speaking, Chiyoon, seemingly unable to contain his exploding emotions, marched out to the balcony.
He stayed out there in the cold, huffing out white mist while doing about a hundred push-ups before coming back in.
Next was Yijeong.
Overwhelmed, he lowered his head and began to sob, his shoulders shaking.
Moisture seeped through the gaps in his fingers covering his face.
Seeing the usually stoic Yijeong crying so sorrowfully made Seunghyun panic, unsure of how to handle the situation.
Yooju remained frozen with a shocked expression until Chiyoon returned from the balcony.
Seunghyun had hoped he would crack a joke or lighten the mood as usual, but he seemed to have lost the presence of mind to do so.
It was a stark contrast to Eunwoo, whom Seunghyun expected to be the most emotional, yet who simply smiled with an air of stoic acceptance.
After the commotion, Seunghyun couldn’t fall asleep until late.
It was the day he decided to leave the past behind and move forward.
It felt as though he needed to perform some kind of ritual to mark the occasion.
With a solemn heart, he took the fan gifts that filled his room one by one and packed them neatly into boxes.
He planned to clear everything out and eventually fill the space with new things.
It felt a bit shameless to snatch up everything Joo Seunghyun had built, but he felt there was no reason to hesitate anymore.
Above all…
‘I want to live. Please save me.’
When he recalled that weak face begging for life, he wanted to fulfill whatever it was the man had desired.
He probably wanted to live as an idol.
To do that, the master of this body had to be himself.
While he wanted to leave traces of the original owner where possible, he couldn’t help but think:
‘I’m not the type of saint who can live someone else’s life diligently for them.’
He decided to discard the overly soft speech and the carefully crafted, almost artificial attitude.
That was the best Seunghyun could do—to maintain his own identity.
‘I’m living for you, what more do you want?’
Seunghyun grumbled internally to ignore the stinging in his heart.
After pulling an all-nighter like that, he was dragged to the company by Yooju in a shameful, half-conscious state.
“…….”
He was so incredibly sleepy.
He tried his best to keep his eyes open, but there was no way to stop his eyelids from drooping.
Watching the people chatter in front of him made fatigue wash over him in waves.
It felt as if the heat filling the meeting room was seeping into his brain, bringing an uncontrollable drowsiness.
Damn it.
He hadn’t really felt it until now because he hadn’t had to use it, but his physical stamina was currently worse than a squirrel in the dead of winter.
Despite his efforts to endure, his eyes kept closing.
Finally, Seunghyun’s head snapped down.
Fortunately, Yooju instinctively slid his hand underneath so Seunghyun’s forehead didn’t hit the table, but the sudden movement caused everyone to jump out of their seats.
“Hyung!”
“Oh, Seunghyun-ah!”
Startled, everyone called out to him loudly, but they immediately silenced themselves once they realized he had fallen asleep.
Yooju adjusted Seunghyun to lean against him.
The frown on Seunghyun’s face quickly smoothed into a peaceful expression.
Yooju gently stroked Seunghyun’s cheek as if to soothe him.
“I think Hyung was really tired.”
“To this extent?”
“Yes.”
Yooju nodded at Manager Kim’s question.
“Still, he’s much better than when he was in the hospital,” Eunwoo added quietly on his behalf.
“Did he stay up all night?”
“No. He should have gone to sleep right after we finished talking last night…?”
“With Seunghyun’s stamina that low, can he even make it to the U.S.?”
Director Yoon furrowed his brow in worry.
“The kid looks like he’s struggling just to breathe.”
If Seunghyun had been awake, he would have argued that it wasn’t that bad, regardless of his low stamina.
But since he was already fast asleep in Yooju’s arms, the misunderstanding only deepened.
-[Exclusive!] Times Square New Year’s Eve Performance Lineup Revealed… Halo to Headline, a First for K-pop (352)
-The lineup for the 20X4 New Year’s Eve performance at New York’s Times Square has been announced. ABS Network’s ‘New Year’s Eve ALIVE!’ is the largest New Year’s Eve live show in the U.S., watched by over 30 million Americans annually.
-Halo has been invited to the live show for the first time in six years, following Jay in 20X2 and G.I.G. in 20X8.
-Furthermore, they have been invited as the first-ever K-pop artist headliners, performing in the final slot right before the New Year’s countdown.
-Following a three-month hiatus, public attention is focused on whether Halo will return to the stage as a full group.
-Is Joo Seunghyun really coming out? I heard he’s sick. Is an outdoor performance in that cold weather even possible after going all the way to the U.S.?
-Halo’s form is insane; a comeback stage at Times Square???? And the final stage of the year??? This is a massive win for the country.
-Omg ㅠㅠㅠ I don’t care if they aren’t a full group, I just hope the kids don’t overdo it ㅜㅜㅜㅜ Anyway, a stage!! It’s been so long, I’m so happy.
‘I’ll do it.’
I knew how much of a big decision it was for Seunghyun to say those words.
‘I’m doing it.’
Of course, I was happy about it, but…
“Haa… haa…”
I didn’t want him to push himself this far.
Yijeong looked down awkwardly at Seunghyun, who was lying in the corner of the practice room, breathing heavily.
The 13 minutes allotted to Halo was enough time to perform three songs in a row.
Compared to a three-hour concert, it might seem short, but for the current Seunghyun, completing the stage was nearly impossible.
Meetings regarding the performance had continued for two days straight.
Because they decided to head to the U.S. early to give Seunghyun plenty of time for rest and adjustment, the one-month window felt incredibly tight.
It took a whole day just to select and arrange the songs from their hits.
A stage designed to be simple from the start would be qualitatively different from a high-intensity performance that was only slightly modified.
Despite intense choreography, live vocals that surpassed the studio recordings were Halo’s greatest strength.
Out of a desire to show their best, the stage production grew more demanding as the meetings progressed.
‘Don’t worry about me; focus on raising the overall quality first, then we’ll think about it.’
Seunghyun had left that one sentence behind like a final will and testament, and he hadn’t even participated properly in half the meetings because he was dozing off.
Simply staying up for one night had made two consecutive days of outings exhausting.
He felt like he might die before he even stepped on the plane to America.
Since then, whenever Seunghyun saw a spot where he could lie down, he did.
“Hyung, the floor is cold. Let’s get up.”
“I’m fine.”
Still, the all-nighter had been worth it.
It was as if Joo Seunghyun’s soul had finally passed on; the sense of alienation from a body that didn’t feel like his own was gradually disappearing.
The words he used became subtly rougher, more like the original Seunghyun.
While the soft voice still felt a bit ticklish, Seunghyun was satisfied with this much.
Worried about the motionless Seunghyun, Eunwoo eventually approached and crouched down beside him.
“Still… do you want to go to the sofa?”
“Forget it. I’ll just stay here.”
Ugh, I didn’t even have the strength to walk to the sofa.
Normally, he would have practiced choreography for hours without a break, but with his current stamina, that was out of the question.
Fortunately, there weren’t many new dances to learn.
It was as if the body remembered; the dance moves came out naturally when he heard the music.
However, turning those movements into a flawless group dance within a new formation was a different story.
Eventually, practice proceeded with the other members and dancers finalizing the formations while Seunghyun, who studied the choreography separately, would step in at the end to check the final synchronization.
Knowing the dance didn’t mean his body moved the way he wanted.
His body, which still couldn’t even open a water bottle cap properly, frequently stumbled and lost balance, causing him to fall.
If the members hadn’t been watching closely to catch him, he surely would have sprained something by now.
Eunwoo helped lift his limp body so he could lean against the wall.
The mirrored walls of the practice room were just as cold as the floor.
Yijeong approached and handed Eunwoo a blanket.
“You’ll catch a cold if your body cools down.”
While Eunwoo meticulously wrapped the blanket around Seunghyun, Yijeong opened a bottle of water and placed it in Seunghyun’s hand.
He managed to bring the water to his lips, but a few trickles ran down his chin before he could swallow.
His mouth was so dry from heavy breathing that even swallowing water was difficult.
Yijeong asked with concern.
He reached out and began to massage Seunghyun’s legs, which were shaking as if an earthquake were hitting them.
“Do you really have to do the whole stage?”
Seunghyun wiped the moisture from his chin with the back of his hand.
If even Yijeong, who never questioned the older members’ decisions, was asking, it was clear he was being unreasonably stubborn.
But unless he was going to quit entirely, he couldn’t do it halfway.
He’d push through with pure grit for now, and if it didn’t work, he’d figure it out then.
Besides, since he had taken over someone else’s life, it would be disrespectful not to at least have that much determination.
