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"Don't Go"
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Where We Are One Step Closer
"Ah. I feel like I was whipped around in a tornado and dropped to the ground just now." Jaehyeon let out an exhausted breath as he plopped onto his bed in the hotel room that we were sharing.I was already lying on my bed, arms outstretched, staring hard at the ceiling. Physically, I could feel the fatigue but mentally, I was wide awake. "Hyung, did you see how full the venue was?" Like recalling images from a dream, I could still see it- the dancing lights, the sea full of faces before us shouting for us, the unfamiliar stage, the noise, the adrenaline rush.Our first international live…"I saw it." He looked at me seriously. "We were sold-out, Jeongwoo."Our first international live and we were already sold-out. "'To You' is 17 on the Top 100 list. 'Yeongweonhi Norae' is 24th. 'Kkeum Eh Seo' and 'Where We Are' have also made it onto the list." I stated the facts we had been informed of immediately after day one of our concert. "Is this what a good break feels like? Ah. I can't feel
Where We Are Reasons to be Happy
"Hyung!" Yeojun clung to my arm. "I feel so blessed!""Blessed?" I chuckled. We had just gotten into our agency's black van after coming out of the airport."Yes, blessed." He nodded. "We can't expect our families to be at the airport to welcome us but we had so many True show up today!""I had considered the possibility when we were on the plane but to have actually been received like that…" I agreed. "A blessing, huh?""You could have lowered your hoodie, Jeongwoo. They were screaming for it. It wouldn't have hurt." Hanseol said."I… could have but…""Jeongwoo was too overwhelmed by it all to even react." Jaehyeon laughed. "Am I right?"Did being roommates allow him the ability to peek into my head? "Not really…" I looked away. "The hair's just too bright so early in the morning.""Was I the only one who saw that short-haired girl in a home-made 'To You' outfit with similar blue hair holding up a board with 'Jeongwoo Oppa' on it?" Mingyu enquired."I noticed that too." She was the f
Where We Are The Convenience Store Incident
It was rare to find myself alone at the dorm. Given that we were five of us and that we weren't the kind who had much going on individually, someone or the other was always around when I was.I checked the time in between playing the soccer game on my phone. It was about 07:24 pm.I was starting to get hungry.Yeojun and Mingyu were the only other ones who had been home initially. Jaehyeon and Hanseol had gone for a guest appearance on a game show. From what I knew, they would be late in returning. Mingyu had gone to meet his sister who had suddenly called and said that she was in the area and Yeojun had run down to the convenience store after losing at Rock-Paper-Scissor against me to buy something instant to cook for dinner since neither of us was really in the mood for cooking anything extensive. Manager Park had gone with Jaehyeon and Hanseol and so it was Manager Kim who had dropped us home by around 06:40 pm.I sighed and got comfortable on the couch in the living area again. I
Where We Are Dealing With Trouble
Surely enough, the video of the incident at the convenience store turned up on the internet the next morning. What was infuriating was how it had been cut and edited to show only the parts where Yeojun was being a little aggressive, like when he shoved the man. Moreover, the guy's face had been conveniently censored out. By the time DayBreak could do anything about it, it had done the rounds on Twitter and other SNS platforms. It was really difficult for DayBreak to contain it and they couldn't quite pin the account from which it was first shared.'S.T.A.Y Jun's real personality?''Kim Yeojun- not so sweet anymore.''Yeojun vs. Jun.''The Evil Maknae.'"This is too much!" Jaehyeon huffed as he dropped heavily into the nearby chair. We were in one of the meeting rooms in DayBreak's building. "That video is hardly anything to go by!""No one knows what happened." I frowned and leaned against the big table in the middle of the room. "We should just release a statement clarifying what had
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
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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
