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Dealing With Trouble
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Where We Are The Least That I Can Do
Thailand got confirmed.2 weeks after the scary run-in that Yeojun had had, things had died down quite a bit. Comments were still doing their rounds online but I had also consciously stopped following up on what everyone was saying on Twitter and other such platforms. I read what I needed to and then backed away.However, there was one thing that popped up in between that made even me pause and falter in my resolve to stay unaffected.'S.T.A.Y's popularity seems to have more to do with 04:00 am than S.T.A.Y themselves.'That was more of a personal attack for me though, given my history with 04:00 am and its members- or rather, member. Ever since debut, we were seen as 04:00 am's Hoobaes. We were always their little brothers, especially after they became so popular.Even though the extent to which our friendship goes has not quite been made public, people knew that we were closer than other groups within DayBreak itself. That made them pitch us together often.To say that S.T.A.Y becam
Where We Are 'Your Turn'
"15 minutes." Mingyu said, turning his attention to the food before him. We were in the recording studio on the first floor of DayBreak Entertainment's building. We had all gathered there for lunch since the room was empty.That was when I had gotten the text message."I'll buy you ice cream. 20 minutes." I smiled as sweetly as I could have."Manager-nim wants us to be ready to leave in 15 minutes." He shook his head. "You'll get 15 minutes.""That's hardly much." I thought about it for a moment. "You had said that your headphones were not working? I'll buy you a new pair.""This is bribe. Hyung, you're bribing me. Won't work." He shook his head yet again. "15 minutes.""17 minutes.""What sort of number is that even?" He gave me a weird look."It'll take you 3 minutes to actually go there and come back." Yeojun calculated. "Mingyu Hyung, just let him have his 20 minutes.""Yeah. I mean, what kind of a leader are you if you can't even buy me five more minutes?" I clicked my tongue at
Where We Are Blue Ink
I could never get used to Thai.Given that there were a lot of Thai True, in the little time that we had, I had tried to pick up at least a little bit of the Thai language but I had failed miserably. I couldn't get past the first few words. Hanseol, on the other hand, turned out to have a hidden talent for learning foreign languages. He could make at least basic conversation. The others were doing slightly better than I was.Thankfully for us, the male anchor of the show that we had been invited to go on could speak Korean decently well, mixed in with some English. "You've been doing a lot of promotional work off-late. Thailand has just loved having you here too! How has your experience been so far?"We were all seated at a long table in an outdoor setting. It was pretty warm out and we were all dressed rather lightly. We had finished most of our live performances in Thailand. There was only one more left and that was on a show 2 days later. Our trip had been extended to 20 days to ac
Where We Are Being the Hyung
"Oh, Hyung." I looked up from tying my shoelaces when I noticed Jaehyeon approaching me. We were at a beach. For work. We had finished filming just about half an hour ago. It was already past 08:30 pm. Since we were done with our schedule for the day, we had been allowed some time to ourselves. 'Have fun. You won't get a chance like this again for quite some time,' our Manager had said. Everyone had wanted to play in the shallow waters or take a walk but I was really feeling tired and so, I just took to sitting on the sand near the spot we had filmed at. Other staff members and Manager Park were nearby. It actually felt good to just be sitting quietly for a bit."Why are you alone? I thought that Manager-nim was with you." Jaehyeon came to sit next to me."I'm fine. This feels good." I motioned towards where Manager Park was standing and laughing with the other staff members. "He was with me for a while. What about you? Done with your walk?""Mm. I missed my Jeongwoo." He bumped his s
Where We Are "Let's Remind Them"
"Ugh. I would not have recognised you had I not already known that hoodie of yours." I grimaced on walking up to the young man who was waiting at DayBreak Entertainment's main entrance. "And where did you get that cap? It's got a hole in it.""It's a style statement. Shut up, you." Changmin laughed and gave me a big hug. "Welcome back home!""I've been home for a week already though." I gave in and laughed softly, patting his back. We had not quite been able to meet since I returned from Thailand. We were forced to schedule this drinks' date on the phone too. I could understand why he would say that to me now. "It's good to be back."I had missed you too. Yes.We let go of each other and I asked, "Won't it be weird if the both of us wear caps and masks on? And that too at a bar.""I'll take it off once we get there. You have to keep your beanie on though. Your hair will attract attention. My hair's black so I'll fit right in." He was wearing an open green hoodie over a grey V-neck T-s
Where We Are "You're Making Me Weak"
"We'll share a cab." Changmin said when we left the pub, all covered up with our masks and caps again. "Your dorm comes before mine anyway. It'll be easier."I agreed, then smiled to myself. "If we were normal people who went drinking- as in, not Idols with schedules like ours and not living in dorms- you could have come and stayed over at my place since it's closer.""You want me to?" He asked as he stepped towards the road to hail a cab. I couldn't help but smile while watching him."It's nice to have Hyung taking care of everything."He chuckled, managed to flag down a cab and looked at me as the driver brought it to a slow stop. "Do you want me to, Jeongwoo? Stay over, I mean.""It's not like you can, even if I want you to." I said bitterly and got into the cab when he opened the door. He got in after me and shut the door. After giving the driver directions, I turned to him again. "You have places to be tomorrow morning just as do I, Hyung.""It would have been really nice if we w
Where We Are Getting Busy
I had to meet the people in the costumes' department regarding a change that was being made to my outfit for the upcoming live stage. Once my work there had been done, I set off on my way back to the practice room where the others were already practicing."Choi Jeongwoo." An actor signed with our agency, Moon Jisung, stopped me in the hallway. He was with his Manager and they seemed on their way out. "I heard your cover- the one you and YoonJae released 2 days ago. I have to say, that song 'I Loved You Before' has been one of my favourites ever since Say6 released it. I was so moved not only by the fact that you chose that song, but also by your version of it."I beamed and bowed. "Thank you so much, Moon-ssi. I have always loved that song too. I'm glad you liked our version of it.""Come on. Say6 themselves gave you a shoutout. Everyone's loving it." He clapped my shoulder. "I just wanted to appreciate you too."Jaehyeon and I had been plenty happy with our cover but we had never exp
Where We Are Choi Jeongwoo's Era
"This is hard." I pursed my lips and ran a hand through my hair. We were all in one of the meeting rooms, trying to pick a song."There are too many to choose from." Yeojun leaned over the table, arms outstretched before him, still seated. "We have 5 days left to prepare too.""5 days are enough for us." Mingyu said, clicking his click-pen against the paper in front of him as he contemplated everything. "As long as we decide on a song tonight.""Does it HAVE to be a cover?" Yeojun asked."They want a cover and 'To You'. Besides, we have been performing just our tracks for a while. We also need the content.""Mm." Jaehyeon hummed thoughtfully. "Do you want to go back a few years or stick to the recent releases?""The show usually gets all sorts of covers." Hanseol said. "The era doesn't really matter but… newer songs might help us in the sense that there may be more people who will know them.""Good point." Jaehyeon nodded."Then… something after 2012?" Mingyu asked."Yeah. 5 years see
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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
