novelraw Chapter 303: 1st Anniversary (4)
Chapter 303: 1st Anniversary (4)
『You’re my Manito?』
『Yeah.』
『What did you do?』
Sorry, but I can’t recall a single moment of happiness that came from you.
Watching my dumbfounded face, Choi Jeho replied matter-of-factly.
『Getting you something you like for your birthday.』
『If you weren’t my Manito, you weren’t going to buy it for me?』
From a third-person view, my expression must’ve been ridiculous. The kind of face that screamed I should practice looking at him with more kindness.
『I also gave a lot of ideas.』
『That was just you filling your quota.』『You said my hit rate was good this time.』
No. Forget practice.
『I didn’t even argue with you.』
『Right, you gave me happiness.』
The members laughed, looking at my resigned self. If we ever do Manito again, I sincerely hope I get matched with someone else next time.
* * *
After the Manito reveal came the song cover videos. Each member had chosen a song they wanted to sing, filmed against the backdrop of the recording studio.
I half expected Lee Cheonghyeon to pick some rebellious, rough track railing against society, but contrary to my expectations, he came with a lyrical rap titled My Dear Friend.
Too much like an infinite universe to be seen as a dark future
I have no choice but to leap, until I’m flung out
To a world where no one holds me back
Sincerity could be felt in the lyrics he had rewritten. To the point that even if you didn’t know the circumstances, you would know that Lee Cheonghyeon was not joking.
With no pull to hold me down, I won’t even fall to the ground
I just swim, through the dark, endless sea, floating in the Milky Way
Words I don’t use. Decline, fall, crash… I’ll leave them under my feet
My dear Earthling, you who do not wish for my decline, yet pray for me to be wounded
Leaving you behind, I depart
‘He’s really gone all out.’
We’ll meet when the night sky rises
I remember Park Joowoo sitting there in a daze as Lee Cheonghyeon recorded the last verse. Even when asked if it came out well, he couldn’t answer right away. Maybe because he’d heard more of Lee Cheonghyeon’s and my story than anyone else, Park Joowoo wrapped him in a firm hug once the session ended.
Jeong Seongbin sang his entrance exam song, and Park Joowoo sang ‘46610’, which I had played on the bass during my birthday live. It was nice to see them making choices that were in demand on their own now.
There were also some who made unexpected song choices. Choi Jeho chose his mother’s favorite song, and Kang Kiyeon chose the audition song he had sung when he joined UA. Both family and insecurity were things they’d avoided talking about before — yet here they were.
I sang Sitting by the Window as a part of my ‘find my original passion’ project. I was just planning to sing, but the dedicated team insisted I bring my bass, so I had to change the accompaniment to a band style and sing while playing the bass. I worried people hoping for an acoustic guitar vibe might be disappointed.
I paused the self-produced content and checked to see if all the members’ cover videos had been uploaded separately to the Metube channel. And after reviewing everything, from the playback time, thumbnail, to the title, to make sure there was nothing strange, I returned to the self-produced content.
Compared to my trainee days, my singing had definitely improved. I could also see that the tension in my shoulders had eased. At least I didn’t look like I’d be sticking a spoon in a soju bottle and singing.
It was a song I had sung while recalling the moment my project’s progress had become zero.
But this time…
I’m scared of being forgotten and erased
I am left here all alone
…a song filled with a different emotion.
They are disappearing, leaving me behind. Everything
The wind is ceasing
I mulled over the part, ‘I’m scared of being forgotten and erased.’ I could picture it: the others disappearing, leaving me behind, even the wind slipping away.
What would it feel like to watch the five of them from beyond the window? How would it feel for them to disappear, leaving me behind?
I couldn’t say for sure since I hadn’t experienced it, but it definitely wouldn’t be a refreshing feeling.
* * *
The video didn’t end even after the cover songs were released. Maybe because the video was over an hour long.
If I had known, I would have released the video earlier. But then our grand plan of holding 1st-anniversary events at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. to commemorate February 19 would’ve been ruined.
Sparkler fans, blame me for being short on ideas. I’ll never dare to try for a planning role again. I wanted to let you all go to bed early, but I failed completely.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, the Sparks on the screen chattered on. They really had a lot to say. Proud and noisy.
『What kind of activities will Spark take on now that you’ve entered your second year?』
At Lee Cheonghyeon’s skit-like question, Jeong Seongbin thought deeply.
『Does anyone have a concept you’d like to try this time?』
『How about sports? Everyone seemed to like ISD.』
『Sport sounds good.』
At Kang Kiyeon’s words, Choi Jeho nodded his head. For the record, all the opinions that came out at this time were collected and passed on to the dedicated team after the filming. Since I even drafted a proposal while the ideas were fresh, we should get a reply soon.
『I also like things that feel cinematic. It’s cool, right?』
『Would it still be okay if the movie was horror or thriller?』
At Jeong Seongbin’s question, Lee Cheonghyeon’s face turned pale. It seemed he disliked horror movies. I noted this separately on the ‘precautions’ page.
Even after that, Spark talked for a long time about what kind of concepts they wanted to try and what kind of stages they wanted to create. If we really wanted to do everything mentioned, two comebacks a year wouldn’t even come close to being enough.
‘We can group similar-tone ideas for music shows and put experimental stuff into concerts. Couldn’t we push the large-scale ones as full album projects…?’
My note-taking speed increased. The empty space in my journal planner was running out. My mind, spinning nonstop, suddenly came to a halt.
『Thank you for being with Spark on our 1st anniversary!』
With a polite group greeting, the screen went dark, and then the words ‘Bonus Video’ appeared, and through a splitting effect, Spark’s full body was revealed.
It was ‘Under Bar” full version—the sexy concept fans had been asking for, though it was still far from being Spark’s official new concept. The comments section was already on fire.
≫ Thank you for such rich content fitting for the 1st anniversary, and that ending was beyond heart-warming—it was hot! Perfect hand-warmer for winter
≫ Spark’s Under Bar full version is official
≫ They’re really a group that gives the fans everything they ask for. I’m looking forward to the 2nd anniversary too
≫ It feels like just yesterday that Iwol said they couldn’t do a sexy concept until the kids got their ID cards, but now they’ve all grown up like bean sprouts… Grandma-kler is in tears…
≫ I’ve come to the point that my heart would race just by looking at their silhouettes
Using black silhouettes for the intro paid off. The visual aesthetic was very satisfying. Though it seemed the strategy to put the fans to bed early had failed.
Even though I’d checked dozens of times on site, I tried to scrub the playback bar forward to see if there were any mistakes.
“Hyung.”
Jeong Seongbin had woken up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at me.
“Aren’t you going to sleep…?”
“I will.”
“……”
Jeong Seongbin didn’t lie down right away. Instead, he just watched me without a word.
This silence meant only one thing. I plugged the charger into my phone, placed it next to my pillow, and then lay down neatly and pulled the blanket over me. Jeong Seongbin lay down with a satisfied expression.
* * *
The 1st-anniversary fan meeting was grander than usual. Not only were there many displays at the venue and a lot of content we had prepared, but since it was a special day, the fans’ events were also diverse.
“Happy birthday, Spark!”
When the fans suddenly raised their slogans and shouted birthday wishes, I was so startled. I almost fainted when I saw Manager Chanyoung coming with a cake on a cart.
We took a picture with the giant 3-tiered cake and had a cutting ceremony. We also did the ‘smearing cream on each other’s faces’ performance, which somehow the fans liked very much.
Perhaps because they felt it was a waste of cake, everyone just dabbed a little on the top tier with their fingers and applied it to the person next to them, just enough to look pretty like paint.
The hottest reaction on site, without question, was when we all danced a sexy group choreography. At that moment, I thought both our group name and fandom name had been chosen really well.
The Post-it Q&A made its comeback, alive and well. Maybe because we’d grown closer with fans, there were quite a few sincere questions.
“There’s a question asking if we’ve ever fought while living in the dorm. Have we…?”
Jeong Seongbin looked up at the ceiling. He seemed to be retracing his memories.
“Cheonghyeon and Kiyeon fought a while ago… over whether to buy cabinets of different colors or the same color.”
“Joowoo hyung, that wasn’t a fight, we were just exchanging opinions a little harshly.”
Lee Cheonghyeon corrected Park Joowoo’s words. Of course, no one on site believed him.
“They’re asking you to tell the story of the eldest hyungs playing basketball at dawn.”
Kang Kiyeon said, taking a Post-it from the bottom.
“Is there really much of a story to tell about that?”
Choi Jeho tilted his head. I was just as puzzled. But fans were the type to be curious about why we went out to play basketball that day, how often we went, if we had separate sneakers, what we wore, who won, and what we talked about while playing basketball.
“We go out sometimes when we haven’t exercised enough or when we’ve had a vocal-focused practice and haven’t used our bodies much. We also go out when the weather is nice. We don’t go out these days because the ground is slippery.”
“I only found out a while ago that the hyungs go out to play basketball.”
“That’s because we sneak out when you’re asleep, Seongbin.”
Jeong Seongbin glared at me with a smile. It sounded like our basketball games were coming to an end today.
“We went out often after ‘ISD’ ended. At that time, I was sharing a room with Kim Iwol, so we would say, ‘Let’s play a round of basketball’.”
“But in truth, we never played just one round. Now that we’re in different rooms, when the cooldown is over, Jeho sends me a message.”
At my words, the fans burst into a big smile. The room blossomed with laughter thanks to Choi Jeho’s words. I was overwhelmed again.
Just as I was savoring the pride to my heart’s content, Lee Cheonghyeon, who had been staring at the board as if to pierce it, took a Post-it and asked.
“Can I ask a spicy question here?”
“What is it?”
Lee Cheonghyeon readjusted his grip on the microphone.
“The member whose image has changed the most in the past year!”