Entertainment Life With A Camera

How are we going to do our busking?

“How is it?”

“It’s just like you. It’s obvious.”

“Ugh…”

Ian let out a deflated sound and flopped down on the practice room floor. Jo Tae-woong also sat down next to Ian and said.

“Honestly, even if they notice our voices, they won’t be sure that it’s us, right?”

“Still, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

The members of AWY were spending time in the practice room for their masked busking of ‘Our time’.

“What about doing it like this here?”

“But we’re wearing masks, right? Is this move possible?”

“What if we only wear masks and no clothes?”

Kim Ju-young and Kim Hyun were standing in front of the mirror and creating choreography, while Lee Joo-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk were sitting on chairs and writing rap lyrics on paper.

Masked busking was a performance where the AWY members wore masks so that the passing people wouldn’t notice that they were AWY. They planned to perform at each of their busking spots from their trainee days and then do a joint busking of seven people at night.

Kim Joo-young and Kim Hyun would mainly do dance performances, Lee Joo-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk would do rap, and Ian, Jo Tae-woong and Park Seo-dam would mainly do singing performances. But each of them had distinct vocal tones and styles, so they needed some voice modulation.

“Hyung, how about me?”

“Let me hear it.”

Ian and Jo Tae-woong closed their eyes and listened to Park Seo-dam’s singing. Park Seo-dam abandoned his unique low-tone style and changed her voice tone.

“That’s Park Seo-dam…”

“Yeah.”

“Is it that obvious?”

He didn’t give it away in the intro, but as he continued singing, his own style came out, which was inevitable.

If someone had listened to AWY’s songs, they would be able to notice and say ‘Hmm? Maybe?’ It was a song that people who knew AWY could catch on.

“Ah, this is hard.”

“Can’t we use a voice modulator or something?”

“That would ruin the taste of the song.”

They couldn’t concentrate and started to do other things when things didn’t go their way. In the end, they lay down side by side in the corner of the practice room and stared blankly at the ceiling.

“What did you guys decide to compose?”

Park Seo-dam lifted his head and looked back and forth at Jo Tae-woong and Ian who were lying next to him.

“We? We decided to pick out the songs we like and listen to them to decide on the concept. Kim Ju-young did everything he wanted to do while whining.”

“He’s such a scaredy-cat.”

Ian chuckled and said, and at the right timing, Kim Ju-young, who was practicing his dance moves, fixed his gaze on Ian.

“What about you, Ian hyung?”

“We decided to work together during the dorm stay. Hyun hyung also knows a bit, he’s done it a few times.”

“Wow, that’s a cheat key…”

Park Seo-dam looked at Ian with envious eyes and then stared blankly at the ceiling again.

“What about you and Jin-hyuk hyung?”

At Ian’s question, Park Seo-dam smiled slyly.

“We’re totally hip-hop.”

“Oh, wow.”

“I’m going to try rapping too.”

“You?”

Jo Tae-woong and Ian lifted their heads and looked at Park Seo-dam at the same time.

“Why?”

“No, it’s just surprising. Did Jin-hyuk hyung force you to rap?”

At Jo Tae-woong’s question, Park Seo-dam shook his head.

“Jin-hyuk hyung has improved a lot in singing, you know. I haven’t tried rapping, but I don’t hate it either.”

“That’s true.”

“I don’t want to be picky about genres anymore. I might be good at something unexpected.”

Park Seo-dam was also taking vocal training, guitar lessons, foreign language classes, and participating in writing lyrics, but he felt somewhat inadequate compared to his talented hyungs.

“I have to work hard.”

To not fall behind. Park Seo-dam’s expression was full of determination.

Then, Kim Ju-young, who had been looking at them with suspicious eyes, suddenly shouted.

“Hyung! They’re leaking our survival!”

“Who? Who said something about leaking?”

“What are you doing, spying?”

The other members who took the bait started a strange skit, looking at the trio lying down.

“Gentlemen, get up right now. This is not the time to rest.”

“Nah.”

Jo Tae-woong answered weakly.

“Look at them lying down while we’re working hard. How ridiculous?”

“Hyun, why are you lying down then?”

“I want to rest too.”

“How ridiculous?”

Kim Hyun and Park Jin-hyuk watched each other bicker with tired eyes, and Lee Joo-hyuk, who had been watching them, said to Ian.

“Are you done with practice? We have to figure out what to do for our group busking too.”

“Oh, right.”

“I don’t care.”

Lee Joo-hyuk, who lost his motivation at Ian’s answer, lay down next to him, and soon all seven members were lying side by side on the floor.

“So how are we going to do our busking?”

“Let’s just do it our way. Think of the songs you want to sing, why are you doing voice modulation and stuff. The people who know will know anyway.”

“But then it won’t be as touching.”

The members groaned at Lee Joo-hyuk’s words.

[Just do it, okay? Why bother so much for a one-time busking?]

‘Even if it’s a one-time thing, we have to do it well.’

Not only Ian, but the other members also showed their enthusiasm. They remembered the busking they did as trainees and felt like they were going back to their roots.

“What should we do?”

“People will really flock if they hear that we’re busking…”

It was natural that people would flock because they were popular, and that would diminish the meaning of going back to their roots. They wanted to see people flocking to their skills, not their popularity.

Besides, there were sasaengs around their dorm and company. If it was leaked through them, it would be even worse. A few days ago, Kim Myung-jin found a tracker attached to AWY’s van.

“What about this?”

Ian sprang up and the members’ eyes were drawn to him.

“Let’s ask manager hyung to make a fake schedule. Then maybe less people will come?”

“Let me take a picture.”

The manager, Park Ji-hwan, pressed the shooting button.

“How is it, hyung?”

“It came out well. Should I use this as a base?”

“Yes. Please send me the picture.”

Ian received the picture from Park Ji-hwan and immediately logged into the official cafe and posted a message.

[Ian] Hello, AWY-dom

Where do you think this is?

└Wow

└Oppa, what are you doing today? You’re so cool♥

└The leader oppa also posted a picture earlier, is it a group schedule?

└UghㅜㅜㅜㅜI want to see you soon

Ian smiled softly. He liked the intense expressions and groaning posts on the internet community, but the official fan cafe required honorifics for the members, so it was polite and soft. Ian liked this atmosphere too.

“Let’s go soon.”

“Okay, did the other teams leave?”

“Yeah, the rap team went to Hongdae and the dance team to Hyehwa. We’re going to Gangnam. The same place where we did busking before our debut.”

“That sounds fun.”

The vocal team of busking, Jo Tae-woong, Park Seo-dam, and Ian, got into the car and looked out the window with excitement. The weather was really nice. It was not too hot or too cold.

“Ian hyung, your strategy seems to have worked.”

“Really? What happened?”

Park Seo-dam showed him a post on a community site.

-What are they doing today?

I hope it’s an advertisement

└I want a photoshoot

└Isn’t it a variety show?

└Isn’t it filming for Our Time?

└Anyway, it means they dropped another hint ㄷㄱㄷㄱ

“They guessed right about the variety show, but they didn’t expect the busking.”

“They won’t complain that we faked the schedule, right?”

“Our fans?”

Jo Tae-woong chuckled. The fans would love whatever they did. As long as it wasn’t a crime or a romance.

“Guys, we’re here.”

“Oh, there? It’s all ready.”

The car that picked them up stopped in front of exit 11 of Gangnam Station. The production staff of ‘Our Time’ had already set up the equipment for the busking.

“There’s a mic on the speaker. We’re filming now, so just go and perform.”

“Okay.”

Ian took the mask that Park Ji-hwan handed him. The paper animal masks had the chin part cut out so that they wouldn’t interfere with singing, but they looked a bit ridiculous because of that.

“I’m the cat. Who wants the bear?”

“Me!”

Jo Tae-woong took the bear mask and the remaining rabbit mask went to Park Seo-dam, who put it on his head.

“Let’s go.”

Ian opened the door. A few people were already waiting in front of the busking spot that had been set up beforehand.

“Should I play the song? Who wants to go first?”

Ian, Jo Tae-woong, and Park Seo-dam grabbed the mics and took out their phones that were connected to the speaker via Bluetooth. They played the AR that they had recorded in advance.

“I’ll go first!”

“Okay, then Seo-dam first.”

Ian and Jo Tae-woong sat in front of Park Seo-dam and became the audience.

Park Seo-dam’s choice of song was Kim Hee-sang’s ‘You in the Memories’. It was a lyrical acoustic ballad that matched Park Seo-dam’s charming low voice.

“It’s starting.”

“The rabbit mask is cute.”

Park Seo-dam held the mic and got into the mood. Then he sang the first verse. Some of the people who were passing by joined the audience as they heard his song.

‘The teacher would like it if he heard it.’

Ian smiled. He sang a song that suited his color, and it made him look more talented.

“Who’s next?”

“Uh, me.”

Jo Tae-woong high-fived Park Seo-dam and switched places with him. Jo Tae-woong chose a song by a famous domestic band. He moved closer to the audience as he followed the rhythm.

“How was my song?”

“It was good. Let’s play it for the teacher too.”

Park Seo-dam smiled brightly at Ian’s answer.

“Everyone, clap your hands!”

With an upbeat song and audience interaction, the crowd cheered loudly. Some of them held up their phones and recorded the scene.

“What are they doing here? Why are there so many people?”

“Should we take a look?”

There were so many people gathered around the busking spot that they were blocking the way.

It was Ian’s turn next. He switched places with Jo Tae-woong and looked at the people in front of him, licking his dry lips. He had been on countless stages, but he still felt nervous.

A gentle piano accompaniment flowed through the speaker, and Ian sang the first verse.

“I got goosebumps.”

“But doesn’t his voice sound familiar?”

Some of the audience members swallowed their breaths.

“Wow, what song is this?”

“It’s so good.”

Ian prepared a pop song. He arranged a song by Hailey Poles, which had a high note explosion at the end, and drew a great response from the audience.

“He sings really well.”

“Can’t you tell he’s handsome from his chin up?”

“But… his body is also amazing, right?”

“I wish he would take off his mask.”

Some of them guessed his good looks from his mouth and chin alone, and whispered.

“I’ll play the last song for you.”

Ian’s song ended, and the last one was AWY’s song, ‘Weekend vibes’, which the fans called a hidden gem from their latest album.

“I love this song.”

“Huh? But their voices… aren’t they the same?”

“Huh? They are?”

The other people around them also couldn’t hide their curiosity. Come to think of it, they had felt a sense of familiarity from the songs they sang before…

“Could it be…”

As the song was nearing the end, some security guards who had been nearby stood in front of the audience who were watching the busking.

“What’s going on?”

“Wow, was it a filming or something?”

“Who are they?”

The people who looked like AWY-dom already covered their mouths with their hands and stomped their feet.

“That’s it for now…”

The song ended, and the three people who bowed in front of the buzzing crowd lifted their upper bodies and took off the paper masks on their faces.

“It was AWY!”

“Gasp…”

Someone swallowed their breath as they confirmed their faces, and after a moment of silence, the crowd screamed.

“Kyaaaaaak!”