𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 38

Team Rabbit was on standby.

I adjusted my mic and my mask. It felt weird to cover my face like that when I was 'Cho Seungmin' and not 'J.'

"The song chosen by these participants is... <Loving the Wait>! Please welcome the Moon Rabbit Team!"

A traditional, monotonous voice echoed in the darkening stage.

"Once upon a time, a moon rabbit went on an outing to Earth."

Murmurs of confusion came from the crowd. I watched the animated screen from the side of the stage. Ink blots dropped down and painted a woman and rabbit.

"He fell in love with a human on Earth. As time went by, the human said to the moon rabbit, who was preparing to leave, "Don't cry. Next time, I'll be the one to go to the Moon.'"

"'So please wait for me.'"

"'Please...'"

We ran to our positions in the darkness. Sejin hyung came forward from the left with a neat somersault like a rabbit. Then, thick yellow lights soared from below the stage, as if we were surrounding the moon.

"'...Because my wait for you is long and always fun.'"

The sound of old wind instruments played the beginning to a Korean traditional song. Without any background accompaniment, it sounded mysterious.

A bright platinum light shone from above.

A drum started playing, and the light returned. The stage's screen also revealed a Milky Way as we began to dance. We moved slowly, letting our sleeves float in the wind, before the drums were replaced by a modern baseline. The pace quickened.

Moondae hyung began to sing again as we moved our masks to the side and showed our faces.

"On every road, I wait for you...My heart is fluttering."

Then Sejin hyung continued the verse with a smile.

"There's no time for anxiety to kick in because I already know..."

As he finished, he stepped back and revealed me as I walked to the center and did my sub vocals.

"That you will definitely appear here, that we'll definitely meet here. My heart is overflowing with conviction in every road like this."

I found the camera and gave a painful expression, grasping the cloth near my heart, as I turned and let Raebin take over. We all rotated around the moon.

Rather than the simple feelings of the original song, we strove for a historical drama set with overwhelming romantic feelings.

"It's such an obvious matter. I know you, and you'll soon know me."

We rotated back so Sejin hyung would take center.

"The answer is already decided. The inevitable fate will come to pass, so..."

Ahyun hyung was next. He reached for the silver lights, the mask placed to the side of his face.

"I like the wait. Because my wait is long and always fun~"

"When the wait is over," Moondae hyung sang, looking into the sky as he descanted high, "I know you, who I'll run into...My heart is already bright~"

All of a sudden, his vocals stopped, and the stage's screen turned into a dark navy blue. Only the string and wind instruments continued to play.

The dark navy blue on the screen turned into a trail that formed a huge circle. It looked like an ink painting of the Earth. We were now on the moon.

We slowly took off our durumagi and tossed them to the side as the song continued, exposing a thinner hanbok. And with Sejin hyung at the center, we did a short and intense group dance break.

Then as the percussion was lost and only Moondae hyung's humming remained, I took center with a sensual dance.

The melody and drums resounded as Raebin and I did another rap. Ahyeon hyung's vocals reverberated in the background and faded as the music slowed.

We all walked to the tree stump on the stage, and Sejin hyung sat down. He slid the rabbit mask back on.

"Wait for me..."

We all fell, leaning against each other while sitting on the katsura tree stump as the lights dimmed.

The encore after a second of silence was deafening.

We ran off the stage in the darkness before the MC went on to announce the next stage, but as soon as we were backstage, three team members began to cry.

I could still feel the adrenaline rushing through my heart. All I could do was laugh.

"Hey, I understand Moondae, but how can you not shed a single tear?" Sejin hyung asked jokingly, wiping away a small tear from his eye.

"The stage was fun," I answered with a grin. "I'm too happy to cry."

"I'm too happy to cry."

We were directed to the waiting room where we would watch others' performances on screen. Everyone enjoyed each one without worries. We all knew we did it best.

The last stage was Cha Eugene's team.

Eugene visited Team Moon Rabbit every few days to pick up chocobars from Moondae hyung and to speak to me in English. He was in low spirits every time.

He would talk a lot, and I would listen. He liked to talk about California and his mom. Usually, I wouldn't care about life stories of others. But listening to him made me come to my senses; he's not my brother.

He showed no signs of his homesick self on stage.

I shrugged my shoulders and continued to watch the stage.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

a/n: KWRJNGWORINGOWIRNH