For this comeback the usual duration of promotions was extended due to all the activities we have been full filing: singing overseas or attending offline fan meetings; without mentioning the fact that we've been performing five songs instead of just one or two. Consequently, after two months we are finally in our last week at music shows.
Moreover, today I'm particularly excited and happy since Jungwon and me are back at last as MCs in Music Bank. After lots of scheduled activities with our respective groups the familiar feeling of the microphone in one hand, the speech cards in the other and the matching outfits has finally made its way to me.
Yesterday while we were having a meeting with the representatives of the show we were told that for the past weeks in which we stopped appearing together, the viewers were constantly asking all sort of questions in the comments section about when we were going to return.
When I heard it I felt a warmth in my heart as the thought of having people loving what we do started to sink in. Jungwon even reached for my left foot and kicked it slightly while we exchanged knowing looks as if we were saying: "We did that!" and because the meeting took place around a table no one noticed our secret interaction.
"Ever-evolving K-pop! The hearth of the Korean wave!" Jungwon starts with our MC intro.
"With the world watching..." I continue to say while smiling brightly and moving relentlessly in my place.
"It's Music Bank live!" We say together as we do the iconic Music Bank greeting with our speech cards.
"Hello. I'm the cutest hamster MC Kim JooWON!" I introduce myself.
"I'm the cutest kitten MC Yang JungWON!" He introduces himself as well, then he turns to look at me with curiosity. "Joowon-ssi you must have good news or something because you seem quite happy today."
"Huh? Of course I do! Today we are finally back together here at Music bank!" I say while moving the hand that is not holding the mic in the air to express my excitement a bit more.
"You are right! How long has it been? A month?"
"To be honest I don't remember exactly BUT how about in order to celebrate our comeback we say our special MC greeting as a special gift for the viewers!" I suggest pointing to the camera.
"Sounds like a good idea! We know how much everyone loves it. Hello we are..."
"JooWON!" I free my left hand from the speech cards a do a peace sign.
"JungWON!" He does it as well with his right hand.
"Biwon won!" We place our hands beside mine to form the W.
"Wow, it feels good to do it again after so long!"
"It does. Now let's present today's line up." I suggest continuing with the program.
Some time later, we are finally interviewing the last idols, who happened to be my beloved members since today I'm here not only as MC but also as a performer.
"Jungwon-ssi, I know I previously said that I was happy to be back but I can't help but to feel sad at the same time." I say as an introduction to the interview cam.
"But why is it?" Jungwon asks me, looking concerned.
"Because todays is also my last day of promotions here at Music Bank." I explain.
"I think you'll feel much better if you meet the people we are next to interview! Joowon's cheerleading team!"
"New jeans, welcome!" We say together as we step aside.
"Go Joowon, go Joowon!" My members start to cheer for me with a lot of enthusiasm making me chuckle shyly.
"Let's us say hi! 2, 3!" Dani starts the greeting. "Hello we are New jeans." We all say.
"It's been so long since we've seen each other." I turn to look at them while reaching for Minji's hand.
"Yes, that's right." Dani replies with worry in her voice and the rest agree with a nod.
"Have you been fine during the last hour we've been apart?" I ask staring at each of my members.
"Of course, we had all eyes on you. You are so good at this!" Minji unnie says, smiling fondly at me.
"Please introduce what stage you will perform." Jungwon says giving me a quick glance before turning his attention to my members.
"Yes. Today we are going to perform ASAP. The vocals are as if we are talking to a friend in chill vibes as it is the last song of our album. It makes us look forward to the future of New jeans." Minji unnie explains.
"Then Danielle, can you please point out the point choreography of this song." I ask my Aussie member.
"The point choreography takes place when the tick tock tick tock sound comes out. Should we show you?" Dani says while smiling brightly.
"Yes." We all agree.
"Music cue!" Dani shouts. Then the part of the songs she was talking about played in the background while we danced.
"That was good! I heard is the last week of this comeback. Please send out an official goodbye to your fans." Jungwon tells us, referring to what I mentioned him earlier.
"It happens to be 400 days since our debut today!" Hyein informs looking jolly at the camera.
"That's right!" Hanni unnie agrees.
"So I think we won't ever forget today. We have so many things we want to thank our fans for and we think we've gotten a lot closer to them, so we are very happy!" Hyein continued.
"Bunnies! We love you!" We all say with enthusiasm in our voices.
"Lastly, Haerin-ssi, will you introduce the next stage?" Jungwon asks glancing at Haerin.
"Yes. Shall we check out the sweet performance of DKB? Let's... check... music cue! I'm sorry." Haerin apologizes right after saying the wrong word. After this I made sure to meet her eyes and I give her an encouraging smile to let her know not to worry.
Once the recording ended we immediately exit the building and got in the car that we'll take us home. I wasn't sure of using the word "home" before but now I guess that after spending every night there with the people I love has earned the title.
Haerin was quite embarrassed about her previous mistake so I tried my best to comfort her. Considering that she is not very opened when it comes to public situations it was understandable how she was feeling. Even at the airports she sometimes holds on to my arm or Dani's while we walk through it.
Now she is more calmed and is resting her head on my shoulder while watching videos in her phone. I know I've said it before, but I really find her interesting. She is a quiet person and you can hardly tell what's on her mind but once you get to know her and if she feels comfortable with you, you'll come to the realization that she is such a sweet and fun girl.
"Girls, remember to rest because tomorrow early in the morning I'll be here to pick you up to record the song for the League of Legends." Nicole informs us once we had arrived at our dorm.
"All right!" We all say before Minji unnie who was the last to get out of the car closes the door behind her.
I'm not exactly a fan of video games so I had no clue what League of Legends was before we were told that we had been selected to sing "GODS" which is the name of the official anthem of the League of Legends 2023 World Championship.
I even sent a text message to Jake asking if he knew anything about it, he explained me a little about the game and also told me that among them, the most fan of the game is Heeseung sunbaenim.
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We'll be making our last promotion appearance at the music show Inkigayo, meaning that we'll be seeing Jihu unnie too, since she is MC of the show. Additionally, we are also nominated for this week's win with "Super shy" so there are certainly a lot of things to look forward to in today's performance.
"Hi!" We hear someone say at the entrance of our dressing room.
"Unnie!" I say approaching her after noticing who it is. Once I'm close enough, I hug her. Then my members do the same. I like that after the Ditto MV we are all good friends now.
"How are you feeling? Are the nerves getting less every Sunday or not?" Minji unnie asks once we all finished greeting Jihu unnie.
"I guess so but I don't know it's just that... this is so new for me." She says referring to her outfit of today.
"You look very pretty, unnie and I want you to know that you are doing a great job!" I say giving her a bright smile.
"Take it as a compliment considering that it came from your sunbae." Hannie unnie jokes winking at me.
"Thank you, sunbaenim!" Jihu unnie says while slipping her arm through mine. We all just laughed at this. "I better get going now. See you all in a bit!"
I remember that when she was selected to be MC she called me right away to tell me the good news and to ask for advice. I felt important keeping in mind that someone older than me and as awesome as her wanted my help. Considering her job as an actress, it was no surprise that memorizing the script was such an easy task for her.
Good luck on your last day of promotions! Jungwon texted me early this morning but I still gave it one last read before leaving our dressing room. I guess I just wanted to feel his encouragement once again.
Now that Jake knows, it is considerably different. I like it but I'm not sure about the part in which he arranges dates for us. Yesterday as I was finishing with the recording of a song, I received an interesting message from Jungwon. Jake wants to know if you would like to go out with us tomorrow night to celebrate the end of your promotions?
"Jake wants to know..." I knew exactly what this is about before even finishing reading the text. The last time we meet up, Jake suggested to invite Jungwon on a date myself because according to him and I quote: "I love Jungwon but let me tell you this. He is quite shy when it comes to these things, he is not the flirt type of boy at all and therefore if you really want to go out with him, YOU must be the one asking."
I had told him that it was not necessary but he insisted on the mattered and now I guess he finally made the first move. Okay. I replied, and as I was about to make an specific petition saying "anything but cinema" Jungwon texted first. Let's meet at the movie theater.
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We won! We were so happy to end promotions like this, marking our 8th win with "Super shy". As we were doing the encore I recalled that when we were learning the choreography our arms ached so bad that even washing our hair was hard. I'm glad that in the end our effort paid off by receiving a lot of support. Now I'll just have to get ready for my night out with the boys.
Every once in a while when I go out with Jake I tell the girls that I'll be meeting family members just to not draw attention. I love my group mates and of course I trust them very much but I like to keep things for myself too, so my relationships with Jake and Jungwon are definitely my secret garden and I'd like to keep it that way.