Chapter 300 University Festival Season
"Rehearsals?" Jaeyong asked. "Why weren't we informed about this beforehand?"
The boys were still in the conference room, celebrating the success of their teaser, when Chul came in and asked them about a schedule they were clueless about.
Chul pursed his lips. "Didn't I tell you the week before?"
"No," Jaeyong deadpanned.
"Oh," Chul said, scratching the back off his neck. Ever since June caught him sucking his toes, Chul had been out of it.
Before he knew it, he became wary of interacting with them, which resulted in their lack of awareness of their new schedule.
"Well, then I guess I'll inform you right now. Your first music show performance will still be on Friday. So, to fill in that gap, the company booked a gig for you the day after your music video is aired. As you all know, it's festival season for universities this month, and you've been invited to perform at Y University for the Abracadabra Festival. I'm sure you've heard about it."
"Of course, we have," Akira exclaimed. "That festival is iconic. The line-ups every year are crazy. Did you guys know? CHAOS was already crazy popular, but they became even more popular after performing in that festival."
"Well, you're going to perform there," Chul said.
"What the hell?" Ren exclaimed. "You could have given us more time to prepare for it!"
"You still have some time to prepare for it," Chul nonchalantly said. "But you need to join the rehearsals tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Akira asked, almost falling out of his chair.
"Yes," Chul confirmed. "Just perform what you've been practicing."
"A little heads-up would be nice," Jisung muttered.
"This is my heads-up," Chul sighed, getting impatient. "Since you're a rookie group, you were arranged to rehearse first. Make sure to prepare yourselves by 2 AM."
"What?" Akira loudly exclaimed. "It's already midnight!"
"Oh yeah," Chul said. "Go back to your dorms then. I'll come pick you up exactly at 2 AM."
Sehun leaned against his seat and sighed. "I don't know what to feel."
"Who else are going to perform?" June asked, speaking for the first time.
Chul glanced at him then quickly looked away.
"Well, there's LUNIX, BOYMYSTIC, INZI, RO5Y, OCTA....some irrelevent others. Oh, that guy who sang Gangnam Spice is also coming. There'll be ten artists in total, and you'll be performing in the middle."
***
Chul fulfilled his promise and fetched the boys at exactly 2 AM.
All of them were still grumpy as they entered the car. Even June, the known early bird of the group, felt like a 2 AM rehearsal was just inhumane.
It was already past midnight when they got to their dorms yesterday, so most of them were running on an hour's worth of sleep, while some of them didn't get any sleep at all.
June was one of those members, so he closed his eyes and leaned against the car window to get some rest before they arrived at the university.
However, the car ride was shorter than he had anticipated, and before he even knew it, they had already arrived in the large campus.
The skies were eerily dark and the wind was colder than usual. The vicinity was silent, except for the sound of mic checks and moving of equipment.
As the group walked to the open field, they found that only a few crew members were there.
It seemed like they, too, were unprepared for the event during this time.
Just then, a bubbly man approached them.
"EVE! I've been meaning to meet you," Mr. Park, the main organizer of the Abracadabra Festival and plenty of other university festivals, greeted them with a wide smile.
"I'm glad you came here at this time during your busy schedule," he said, patting Zeth's back. "The other groups had schedules last night, so we scheduled you for the earliest rehearsal. We have to finish before the gates open so that the students wouldn't be spoiled of your performances. They're only going to announce the line-up tomorrow!"
"It's alright. Is everything set?" Chul asked.
"Uh," Mr. Park scratched the back of his neck. "The stage effects haven't been set up yet. It's not anything special—just an LED screen that matches the group's aesthetic. The effects yout team had requested will be implemented on the day of the live show itself to save resources."
Chul sighed but eventually nodded. "Shall we head to the stage, then?"
"Go ahead," Mr. Park said. "The microphones are ready for the boys. Please do stay until the end of the rehearsals so we can practice the ending stage with the other teams. Is that alright?"
"Does that mean we're going to be here all morning?" Ren asked.
"We have a lounge inside. The names of the groups are just right outside the doors. Feel free to use it to your liking," Mr. Park said.
Ren nodded, still a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be able to fully rest afterward.
"Let's start then," Chul said, clapping and pushing the boys to the stage.
The boys were still pretty clueless on what to do, especially since everything looked unprepared.
However, Jaeyong quickly took the lead and arranged the members into their formation.
"June," he said. "The 'X' mark right here is the center of the stage, so make sure you stay at center at all times to avoid a sloppy performance."
"Got it," June said, taking his position at the center.
"You guys ready?" the guy operating the music said over the mic.
Jaeyong gave out an okay sign before assuming his position.
Then, the song played.
The people inside the stadium were undoubtedly tired, especially with the early schedule. Most of them were already dozing off in their seats. However, when the music played, it seemed like the entire stadium was splashed with refreshing water.
The sound itself was unexpected for a boy group debuting in November.
"I don't normally like boy group songs since they sound too intense, but I like this one," a staff member said.
"Sounds a bit normal, though," the other chimed.
"Yeah, and it seems like EVE hasn't warmed up yet. Their voices are still husky," they pointed out.
Indeed, EVE wasn't in their best condition due to their lack of sleep mixed with their nervousness and the inadequacy of the overall preparations.
June, too, couldn't help but strain during the chorus since his voice was not projecting as loudly as he liked.
Nonetheless, they still sounded good. However, it couldn't be denied that they were significantly better during their time on Rising Stars.
"The song's good, but I'm not sure about the performance."
"They're good for a rookie group, though. I'm surprised they're fully singing live. Most of the rookies we have will sing with a loud backtrack. Even BOYMYSTIC has a backtrack in their chorus."
"Still, I think having a backtrack will benefit them."
EVE continued with their performance despite the circumstances.
June focused his gaze to the front, feeling a bit disappointed with his performance. However, he was determined to finish it with earnest.
However, he couldn't miss the movement coming from the other side of the field. There was a commotion, with Mr. Park hurriedly running to greet the new guests.
June subtly squinted his eyes to get a better look of the newcomers.
Then, from a distance, he locked gazes with a guy with ice cold eyes that matched his icy white hair.
That's when it hit June.
The center of OCTA was staring straight into his eyes.
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