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Christmas at DayBreak I
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Where We Are We Are Here to Stay
It was an unfamiliar studio. The anchor was a new face. We were onstage – the five of us. I was no stranger to such a situation. With this group of five, I have been on and off of many such bigger and smaller sets all through the past 3 years. I was already used to this. And yet, as I looked around discreetly, ensuring to make eye-contact with anyone and everyone who may be on the other side of the screen, time seemed to slow down for a bit – just enough to allow me to listen to my own breathing, in sync with my other 4 members – until I heard my name being called. "S.T.A.Y has come to mean a lot to your fans. I believe that they are called 'True'? Wow! It's such a meaningful name for your fandom. Jeongwoo-ssi, could you tell us exactly what S.T.A.Y means to True and what True means to you?" The cameras were now all focused on me. I smiled. "Of course. S.T.A.Y's purpose and goal are all in the name itself. 'Stay Together, Always Yours'." I glanced at the three memb
Where We Are To You
"Oh. Jeongwoo-ssi, you're back!" A member of the big data team smiled as I happened by her in the corridor. I had just returned from a studio where I had had an interview. The other members were probably all in the dance practice room already, having returned from a guest appearance on a show. We often split up like this when our schedules clashed. For the interview, they had specifically asked for me because I was the Vocal Team leader and a lyricist. The interviewers were more interested in our music than us as a whole. "I just got back." I smiled and bowed. "You're working hard as always. I just saw the rest of S.T.A.Y heading towards the practice room." "I'm heading there myself." So, they really had arrived already. "Oh. Carry on then. I'll see you around. Fighting!" She made fists at me in encouragement. "Ah. You too. Fighting!" I returned and continued walking with Manager Kim Youngil. "Thank you for coming with me, Manager-nim." "No need to thank me. This is my job, Jeon
Where We Are 04:00 am
"Ah! Did we miss the meeting?" Yeojun let out a yelp of defeat on running up to us with Mingyu just as the rest of us left the room after our meeting with the costumes' department. They were supposed to join us after their ad campaign but they had failed to make it back here in time. "Even though we ran all the way here from the car…" Mingyu rested his palms on his knees and panted, completely out of breath. "It's okay. Everything's been settled." I reassured them. "You won't have any issues with the decisions either." "Here." Jaehyeon tossed the bottle of water that he had with him towards Mingyu. "Ah!" Mingyu attempted to catch it but ended up dropping it. Thankfully, the lid stayed on and it did not spill. He looked around apologetically and embarrassed before picking it up. "My bad." Mingyu was known for being a little clumsy. It was Jaehyeon's fault for throwing it to him. "What happened though?" Hanseol enquired. "You were supposed to get back an hour ago." "There was a 1
Where We Are To That Kind of S.T.A.Y!
"S.T.A.Y, stand by!" The stage in-charge called out to us after talking to the MC. "2 minutes!" "Uwah, I'm nervous!" Yeojun rubbed his arms. "Hyung-ah, I'm nervous." He looked at me. I recoiled. "Uh. You- Um-" Jaehyeon placed a hand on my shoulder and chuckled. "Yeojun-ah, that's only going to make Jeongwoo more nervous." I wasn't… Well, I was but… "You two!" Mingyu came over and slapped both our shoulders. "Look at me!" At least he was all fired up. "This may be our biggest stage in a while and the audience may seem bigger than ever before but this isn't our first time. We have done this before. YOU have done this before. And you have gotten off the stage leaving behind emotions that True have carried with them forever. We may not be the main attraction today but we will be leaving the audience believing that we were. You hear me?" It was a little difficult to hear him over the music that was already playing but he was raising his voice all the more to make a point. And he w
Where We Are Someone Who Thinks Blue Hair Suits You
"Jeongwoo-ya." Hanseol knocked on the open door to Jaehyeon's and my room and stepped in, waving a few envelopes in one hand. "Fan mail. Manager-nim left these for you." "Oh. Thank you." I got up from my bed and went over to him to accept them. I was going through what True were saying on Twitter. It seemed as though they were pretty taken by our recent live. Some of them were even planning our future schedules as they would like it to be. It was fun to just read it all. Something else that had received a lot of attention after release was the Hidden Camera footage. Embarrassingly enough, they were all tripping over the way I treated Yeojun and Jaehyeon. They found it incredibly cute. They were also going on about how Jaehyeon had gotten jealous of the way that I was holding onto Yeojun and concluded that he had done what he had done just so that I would release Yeojun. Many others were just asking Jaehyeon to buy me chicken. Now, that, I could agree with. "Where's Hyung?" Han
Where We Are Our Future Prospects
We had begun practicing some of our older routines. With our rising popularity, we had been able to earn some lives on T.V and stages to ourselves. We needed more than one song to perform. It was when we began such practice that it really hit us how popular we were actually getting."My sister just sent this to me." Mingyu laughed and showed us his phone. On it was the photo of a bus with Hanseol's picture on the side. "Hanseol Hyung's got a bus.""That's… a very big picture… of just me." Hanseol narrowed his eyes at it. "Why is it only me?""You have fans. This is obviously sponsored by K-Soul fans." Jaehyeon said."They could have at least used a better picture…" He grumbled."Oh, come on. You look just fine here." Yeojun asserted.Hanseol grumbled inaudibly again and then stood straight. "Well, as long as it helps us.""He's secretly happy." Jaehyeon smirked."Yes, he is." I agreed."Shut it." Hanseol looked away.We were taking a small break in between practice. Manager Park had n
Where We Are YoonJae, Jeongwoo and Chicken
We had found a private corner table for ourselves. This restaurant regularly got trainees and Idols from DayBreak dropping by and so were used to our need for privacy and was good at ensuring it. It wasn't that noisy either. It was the perfect place to do a Live."Is it recording yet?" Jaehyeon asked and looked into the mobile I had placed precariously in front of us to film. He had his round-framed glasses on as well. He tended not to wear it much but the lighting in the place was a little weak and so, he had to use it."Not yet." I told him. "You good?""Yeah. I'm ready." He threw an arm over the back of my chair and sat back."Are we early?""It's been 10 minutes since we placed the order. They should be bringing us the food soon. We should start now if we have enough people online.""Okay, then. I'll start now." I began our live video and sat back. "There we go. We're on.""Oh. That's a good number." Jaehyeon smiled on seeing the number of people online. It had jumped to around 25
Where We Are "Don't Go"
"Jeongwoo? Choi Jeongwoo?" The man who had previously asked us to wait in the room came to find me. We were at a major media house. We had been asked to come in for a photoshoot for one of their popular entertainment magazines. We had already finished our group photoshoot and they had begun the individual shoot with our leader Mingyu while the rest of us were asked to wait in the adjacent room after getting our outfits and make-up fixed. They had said that they would call us in one by one."Yes. Coming." I turned to Jaehyeon and handed my phone over to him. "Hold on to this for me, won't you?""Sure. Go." He took it from me.I followed the man into the studio. Yeojun had just finished. As I entered, he was leaving. "Good work.""Hyung, best luck." He patted my shoulder.They were waiting for me.I gave them my best smile and bowed. "I am Choi Jeongwoo. I look forward to working with you!""As are we." The man wearing black-framed rectangular glasses with his jacket thrown over his sho
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Where We Are Christmas at DayBreak I
"Hello!" S.T.A.Y bowed repeatedly to everyone in the big now-decorated practice room that had been converted into a Christmas party hall for the sake of the joint event. The cameras had all been set up and the lighting crew was just getting the lights ready. Everyone was hustling about with last minute preparations. In the middle of the room, where a long table had been set with goodies near a tall and elaborately decorated Christmas tree, stood 04:00 am all clad in shades of red, green and white much like ourselves.While the rest of S.T.A.Y were just a tad bit more formal, I had gotten acquainted enough with them to throw a bright smile and hug whoever was closest. "Sunbaenim!""Ah. I still can't get used to your black hair." Youngjae Sunbae said and tapped his own head. "I miss your blue.""Tell him!" Changmin chimed in at the support. He was standing towards the end of the line of seven members but even though he wasn't in the 'closest' range, I couldn't not hug him."Everyone nee
Where We Are The Warmth of the Hand That was Held
The next few weeks seemed to fly by. Changmin and I had wanted to drop certain hints prior to the release of 'For Old Times' Sake'. After discussions with the team and Kim PD-nim, we decided to start with a few texts and then a few pictures that wouldn't reveal too much.10 days before release, DayBreak posted a statement: 'We have lived worth 10 lives.'The 9th day before release: 'What was it that they said? A stitch in time saves 9?'The 8th day: 'The winds from 8 years ago have never smelt as sweet before.'The 7th day: 'Just you and I in all these 7 billion.'The 6th day: '…6…'The 5th day, we took photos of our right hands, wearing gloves and put them together such that half my hand and half his hand together made up the 5 fingers of one hand.On the 4th day before release, we posted a picture of 4 dumplings.On the 3rd day before release, we posted three blank pictures- one black, one white and the last one a mix of both in an elaborate floral pattern.When there were just 2 da
Where We Are 04:00 am's Hostage
"That was nicely done!" The MV Director announced once we had confirmed the final shot. "Thank you, everyone, for your excellent work. That's brings the shooting of the MV to a successful close." He bowed and so did everyone else, congratulating each other. The Director then turned to us. "Changmin-ssi, Jeongwoo-ssi, it was flawless. It's just sad that your viewers won't get to see this in person. I was mesmerised through and through. Your chemistry is one of the best that I have ever had to work with."Beaming, I bowed, taking hold of Changmin's sleeve too as he bowed. "Thank you!"Manager Nam was waiting for us off to the side with a big smile on his face. Manager Park was with S.T.A.Y and 04:00 am was at the agency so Manager Nam had been able to accompany Changmin and I for the MV shooting. We had finished up according to schedule too.It had been a very productive day."I'm really excited to see the MV." I chirped when we had gotten to the green room and everyone else had left u
Where We Are "Let's meet again, Hyung"
"Jeongwoo-ssi." Song Taejoo-ssi- one of the best choreographers in the industry- stopped counting beats and frowned a little. "That's moving a little too fast.""It is?"He nodded. "It would be really impactful if you could shadow Changmin-ssi's every move with a half-beat lag. Close your eyes to show that you knew him well enough to know what he's doing but that you're still falling behind.""We'll try again." Half a beat lag. Got it."Can't he watch me instead?" Changmin asked. He was standing a little to the right, in front of me. We were planning to make the light fall on him at such an angle that I would be standing in his shadow. I was going to portray the inner self."Watch you?""I understand what you're trying to go for but I just had this thought- We are referring to how he watches but I don't notice and then how he forgets to look, right? What if… he watches and still goes half a beat slow and then we can probably add in a turn or a twirl or something at which point we're f
Where We Are The Music Awards
Everyone around me had jumped to their feet and begun cheering. My members were shouting in joy and hugging each other. All I could bring myself to do was rise to my feet in utter disbelief, jaw dropped. I wasn't entirely sure of how to react- or rather- whether I should be reacting at all.I had heard that correctly, had I not? I was reading the name flashing on the big screen properly, was I not?S.T.A.Y."Jeongwoo! Jeongwoo!" Hanseol caught me by my shoulders and turned me towards himself, his face lit up in a way that I had never seen before. "Ya!"Jaehyeon then caught my face in his palms and made me look at him. "It's us! It's really us!"It was us…The emotions crept up to my chest even before the smile could reach my lips. An eternity seemed to pass before reality sank in.S.T.A.Y had just won our first ever award since debut. And it wasn't just any award. We had won 'Best Song' at the Music Awards for 'To You'.We had actually won."Come on, let's go!" Jaehyeon turned me arou
Where We Are For Old Times' Sake
The lights come on and the stage is set. I leave you behind to go do my best. You know where to stay and wait on me- Somehow that's how we had turned out to be. - YC We learnt our trade and which voice to trust Through conversations we had had with just us. You and I- we were young, we believed. We immersed our futures in the songs that we weaved. -CJ But your footfalls then came from somewhere new And I hid that my voice was still searching for you. -YC We'll sit together again, for old times' sake, And watch the now we had sung of then. In those times you didn't notice these eyes on you And in those times when I had forgotten to look- Unadmitting, we had missed each other And we still knew why our hearts ached. So, take my hand now when I take yours, We are both heading to the same place. ________________________________________ The voices were loud and I had come a long way But to whom do I tell my stories at the end of the day? There seemed to have been some
Where We Are Treasure Chest Full of Our Time
S.T.A.Y had begun working on our next album and we were constantly going in and out of meetings for the same. We were still working on our concept and all the other details but we were making good headway. We still had some programs and shows to make our appearances on as well. Manager Park was doing his best to keep our schedules under control and to allow us the time that we needed. It was difficult though. Even when we did get time, we were so preoccupied that it was difficult to sleep or just rest that easily. We were gaining a lot of popularity and garnering attention. Releasing a good album at this point would validate us and verify our quality. We could not afford to not meet expectations because, at this stage, if we do not deliver, we could very easily just fade away.As were were, we really could not afford to fade away.I knocked on the half-open door to the recording studio and pushed it open all the way as I stepped in. "I'm sorry I'm late." I looked around till I found C
Where We Are Lights, Camera... Action!
"What exactly were you trying to do?" Jaehyeon rolled onto his back and began laughing.It was a funny scene to behold but I was laughing more out of embarrassment. "I don't know! How do these True even find these shots? I… I think I was trying to throw a few cool moves but Mingyu was judging me so hard that I gave up halfway and now it just looks like I'm flapping.""Flapping! That's right." Jaehyeon imitated my arm gestures like in the video."Okay. Hyung, stop." I caught his arm with the hand not holding the phone. "I won't watch the rest with you if you're just going to laugh at me.""Sorry. Let's watch." He lay on his side and propped his head up on his arm again. We were on my bed and I was also lying down. Hanseol had not yet gotten back after his work for the Mixtapes. He was probably on his way back. Yeojun was talking to his family on the phone and Mingyu was getting a post-dinner snack. He tended to do that on especially tiring days. Jaehyeon and I were also tired but we ha
Where We Are Hyung Sunbae
"Choi Jeongwoo-ssi." Changmin sat forward in his seat, resting his chin upon his palms, elbows on the table. His eyes were narrowed to look only at me and his lips were curled up into a smile. "I'm a huge fan.""What is this?" I laughed."Did you watch that performance of yours later?" He gave me a poker face. "If you have, you should know what I am talking about."Well, everyone was talking about the dystopian performance of 'Yeongweonhi Norae'. We had finally managed to perform it 2 days before Hanseol's Mixtapes were released. I had re-watched the performance later and I too had thought that it was the best performance we had ever given. Because of my unexpected trip to the hospital, we had gotten an extended period of pactice for the performance. We were able to further work on it and perfect it. The final outcome was a performance that neither S.T.A.Y nor True would ever forget. The expressions were on-point. The dance was sharp, clean and powerful. The setting was ominous. The v
