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Chapter 73: Chronos History (17)

Why? We hadn\'t even debuted yet, and their rival company UNET was supporting us.

‘Isn\'t it too early for other broadcasters to scout us despite our rapidly growing popularity?’

When everyone was dumbstruck, only Joo-Han smiled contentedly. “Other broadcasters recognize the value of Chronos too."

“Huh?"

He bewildered even Mr. Seong, showcasing his remarkable wit. Mr. Seong hesitated briefly, then shook his head. “It\'s not that. It\'s just that after inviting High Tension, they thought of us as a bonus..."

“...Bonus?"

At this moment, Joo-Han found himself speechless, and Mr. Seong continued, “CEO Shim shares a brotherly relationship with their director. Hence, when they invited High Tension for content planning, they included us in their conversation as well."

“But why does everyone look so serious? Isn\'t this good?"

“It is good, just a bit worrying."

“Why?" Lee Jin-Sung asked, which made Supervisor Kim and Mr. Seong sigh.

I vaguely understood the situation. Despite our participation in entertainment shows and acting classes, our company concentrated more on enhancing our stage skills. As a result, we were more comfortable within our circle and didn’t have much connection.

The senior group Allure, with years of entertainment experience, gradually started to shine in variety shows, but they too had a rough start. As they didn’t have much connection, they initially had to face extensive editing, and their well-thought-out comments often left the veteran MCs at a loss.

“If even Allure went through that, imagine how bad it will be for you guys?"

“How were these kids during the unit shoot?"

“It was a flop except for Yoo-Joon and Jin-Sung. Jin-Sung only did well because he teamed up with his friends. The rest barely made it with their looks, not their humor or contents."

The most camera-shy members in YMM were all in Chronos. Kang Joo-Han, Park Yoon-Chan, and I were not talkative at all. The challenge intensified when we found ourselves in the company of High Tension, and we would have to fight for screen time among regular celebrities. It was likely that we would be edited out.

If we failed to deliver in our first appearance, it could potentially lead to no more casting opportunities from show production teams.

Mr. Seong sighed deeply and explained, "Listen carefully. It\'s not confirmed yet, but you\'ll probably appear after your debut. Not all of you though, just two."

“Then Yoo-Joon Hyung and Jin-Sung should go." After Park Yoon-Chan suggested this, Mr. Seong and Supervisor Kim simultaneously shook their heads.

"Leader Joo-Han must go, and we have to decide the other. Honestly, I don\'t expect Joo-Han to make much of an impact there."

Joo-Han nodded in agreement and said, “I\'ll try my best, though."

This time, it wasn\'t about being articulate or not. Joo-Han was simply bad at games, and the show Flying Man revolved around various games where participants eliminated each other to survive. Naturally, those who lasted longer got more screen time, while those eliminated early were barely featured.

Those well-versed in games undoubtedly held an advantage, and guests would face merciless elimination. If Joo-Han, who wasn\'t particularly skilled in games, got eliminated early, his presence would fade away entirely. This was the source of concern for Supervisor Kim and Mr. Seong.

“Isn\'t Hyun-Woo good at games?"

“Mr. Seong! I\'m good at games too!" Goh Yoo-Joon asserted, but Lee Jin-Sung vehemently disagreed. Jin-Sung attacked, “Compared to Hyun-Woo hyung, you\'re nothing."

“Hey, you! What kind of respect is that to your elder!? I am going to tell manager hyung that you called me nothing!”

The bickering between Goh Yoo-Joon and Lee Jin-Sung was quietly quelled by Mr. Seong. “Both of you, quiet down. We are in the middle of a meeting. Supervisor Kim, Yoo-Joon might be amiable, but that doesn’t mean he is good at broadcasts.”

“Truth is, Chronos isn’t exactly familiar with shows yet. Even in the reality shows, it’s Lee Won-Jae who somehow keeps it going.”

Supervisor Kim pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s do this. If we can’t excel in the show, we should at least secure screen time. We will send the member who’s best at games. Whoever lasts the longest in the reality survival game will join.”

Supervisor Kim seemed quite pleased with his own idea, sporting a satisfied smile on his face.

Goh Yoo-Joon frowned in displeasure. “You\'re making us compete against each other again!"

“Who said anything about competing amongst yourselves? We can invite guests. It could be Chronos versus the guests."

“...Supervisor, that\'s a good idea," I cautiously agreed, gauging the reactions of the other members.

“Why are you fussing again, Yoo-Joon? If it’s for the chance to appear, you should be eager to do your best," Joo-Han suggested. After all, the survival format of Flying Man was similar. If someone couldn\'t stand out with humor in that show, they needed to survive until the end to get any screen time.

While it was not appealing on a personal level, Supervisor Kim, with his commercial savvy, had come up with a good solution. “So, the member who performs best in this shoot will join Joo-Han on Flying Man."

“It’ll probably favor Hyun-Woo hyung," commented Lee Jin-Sung.

Goh Yoo-Joon shrugged. “If someone good at games goes, they’ll secure more screen time for Chronos. I’ll give it my best."

“Is that settled then?" Supervisor Kim stood up, holding his notebook. He then took out his phone from his pocket and added, “I need to go treat the main director of Flying Man to a meal. Make sure to practice hard, everyone. Alright, the meeting is dismissed."

“Okay!”

After the meeting, we returned to the practice room and practiced until dawn. We were planning to practice all morning as usual, but we ended up resting early due to Allure\'s unexpected insistence on practicing at dawn. It was a pity we still didn\'t have our own practice room.

***

High Tension made their debut, and according to Ji-Hyuk, their preparation started during Pick We Up. They strategically timed their debut to align with the lingering popularity of the show.

Meanwhile, our debut date was finalized: August 17th. Along with the release of our music video, we had our debut showcase scheduled.

“Did you check the script?"

“I almost memorized it," I replied to Goh Yoo-Joon\'s question and looked out the window. The broadcasting station remained in view amidst the swiftly passing landscape.

“Have you read the script out loud? I bet you\'ll cry doing that."

“Yeah, I know. I’m reading it with my eyes closed right now."

“...How can you read with your eyes closed?" Goh Yoo-Joon seemed out of his mind too, but it was understandable. It marked our first official appearance in a while, and it wasn\'t even as a full group—just the two of us.

“Why did I ride so many amusement rides?"

“Hey, man, be grateful!" the manager said with a hearty laugh, while Goh Yoo-Joon mumbled. We were on our way to be hosts for UNET’s music show. It was just for a day, but the thought of hosting a live show was nerve-wracking. There was already an existing MC, but still...

‘Ah, I\'m so nervous.\'

I tried to focus again and looked at the script.

- Yoo-Joon: (Offering a bouquet) Hyun-Woo, please accept my feelings!

- Hyun-Woo: Yoo-Joon, are you confessing again? (Pushing away the bouquet) No, we\'re members of the same group. For Chronos\'s sake, it can\'t happen.

- Yoo-Joon: At least take the bouquet, Hyun-Woo! (Passes the bouquet, Hyun-Woo looks shocked) I can’t give up on you, Hyun-Woo!

- Hyun-Woo: Yoo-Joon... (Touched expression)

- Yoo-Joon: No matter how many times... no matter how many times you refuse, I’ll keep confessing...! The next song is ‘Third Confession’.

- Hyun-Woo, Yoo-Joon: By Endoros!

“Ugh, this is cringe. Why am I doing this with you?" asked Yoo-Joon.

“I feel the same." I knew music broadcast hosting scripts were cheesy, but I didn\'t expect to exchange such dialogues with Goh Yoo-Joon. We received the script from the manager yesterday, but it was so cringe-inducing that we couldn’t even bring ourselves to practice it together. We were caught in a cycle of frustration and resignation, trying to maintain our image.

Manager hyung playfully teased us, “You have come this far. You guys are no longer trainees. Remember, you\'re professionals now, so work even harder.”

“...”

Hearing this, I put down the script and glared at the manager. However, out of the blue, Yoo-Joon said, “Come on, let’s rehearse.... Hyun-Woo, please accept my feelings.”

“...” I looked at Goh Yoo-Joon with a disillusioned look and then picked up the script again.

“Eh-hem. Yoo-Joon, are you confessing again?”

“...Are you doing that on purpose?”

“What do you mean?”

Goh Yoo-Joon stared at me and then turned to the manager. “Manager, we\'ve got a big problem. Suh Hyun-Woo\'s acting is awful."

“What can we do?" The manager spoke as if it was someone else\'s issue. “Well, it’s just another embarrassing moment for Hyun-Woo. We\'re here. Let’s get out."

The car had arrived at the broadcasting station. Even though we were only hosting the event, the fans greeted us with waving hands and warm words.

“Hyun-Woo! Yoo-Joon!"

“You guys got this! We\'re watching!"

“Good luck! Do your best!"

Seeing the fans waving various gifts and the slogan from the last round of Pick We Up, my nervousness eased a bit.

“Thank you. We\'ll do our best."

“Are you waiting outside? It\'s hot," Goh Yoo-Joon asked the fans, who then shook their heads with touched expressions.

“Some are watching the live show at a coffee shop, while others already got the spots in the audience seats!”

“Oh, I see. Thank you for coming to support us. We will do our best!” Goh Yoo-Joon’s smile triggered another burst of cheers among fans, and I found myself hiding behind our manager, feeling a bit embarrassed by Yoo-Joon’s exuberance.

"Let\'s go now." The manager gestured toward the building, eliciting sighs of disappointment from the fans.

I spoke up cheerfully and confidently. “Thank you, Rings!"

In an instant, the crowd erupted in excited screams.

“Wow!"

“Kiyaaaaak!”

I hadn\'t expected such an enthusiastic response, so I exclaimed, “We\'ll give it our all!" With my hands full of gifts, I raised my tightly clenched fist in the air and followed the manager.

“Manager, can I spoil our debut song on stage?"

“What are you planning to do? Show me a preview first." As I chatted with the manager and walked toward the entrance of the broadcasting station, something caught our attention.

“Hey, what\'s that guy doing?" Goh Yoo-Joon pointed to a man lurking behind a pillar in the cafeteria. The man held what looked like a film camera and was scanning every passing celebrity. When our eyes met, he startled and quickly disappeared into the cafeteria.

“...What\'s that about?" I was about to dismiss it as just another person from the broadcasting station, but the man\'s suspicious behavior made me pause. Inside the cafeteria, he didn\'t order anything but just sat down, blatantly surveying the people walking by.

“Just ignore him. He might be here for the music broadcast or something. It\'s best not to meddle with suspicious people."

We were pulled past the man by our manager, but I couldn\'t shake off the feeling of discomfort.