All Chapters of Where We Are: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Hanseol had just returned to the practice room after recording for his Mixtapes. We had decided to take a little break from practice as he stretched and got ready to join us. The dystopian performance of 'Yeongweonhi Norae' was just less than 20 hours away and we still had a few things to fix up. Moreover, despite all the practice that I had put in, I was feeling a little unprepared. Earlier, it was good enough if I could just get through the performance to the very end but that was no longer the case. The right notes needed to be hit, the moves needed to be refined, powerful and sharp while remaining elegant. For a performance like this, the facial expressions mattered too.There was a lot going on and a lot to get done.I had my headphones on and my phone in one hand. The new version of 'Yeongweonhi Norae' was playing loudly enough to cut everything else out. I was still practicing my parts while the others waited for Hanseol to warm up. I had intended to stop after 2 entire run-thr

"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

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

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

"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