All The "Sorry"'s I Never Said (4)

Chapter 64

Joon-woo was dressed in a loose but not revealing long sleeve white button up. His black pants were wrapped around his thighs and as they ran down his legs they slowly got looser. And when he looked into the mirror in front of him, he found himself with temporarily dyed blond hair. 

Reggie, entering the backstage area, spotted Joon-woo and his eyes lit up. Joon-woo allowed the make-up artist to put some blush on his upper cheek. Reggie wore an outfit similar, though his hair was the same dyed blond it had always been.

"Wow– Joon-woo– Your make-up looks so good…" Reggie complimented. 

Joon-woo held back a small smile, "It's not finished yet, you know…" He replied. 

The make-up artist watched the small interaction with narrowed eyes. Suddenly, she placed her hands on Joon-woo's shoulders and turned him and by proxy her to face the mirror. 

"A face like yours doesn't need that much make-up." The make-up artist hummed the compliment. "You too, Reggie, it looks like you only have some blush and toner on…"

She smiled when both of the boys blushed, Reggie quite more so. They muttered low 'Thank you, Noona''s

"Well– You're all done anyway." She spoke, dismissing the two to converse on their own. And as she walked away, she muttered, "Oh to be young…"

Both Joon-woo and Reggie dead panned as they watched the make-up artist move on to do another's make-up. Reggie turned to Joon-woo with a small nervous smile, "[You ready?]"

Joon-woo slowly shook his head. Really, he wasn't nervous. He had gotten used to live stages, granted he really wasn't a fan, he knew what he was doing. He just had to do what he knew and what he had been practicing for days. He had to and would do it for his team. Afterall, three of the six final line up was on his team. He could never make them look bad, could he?

"[Yes.]" Joon-woo replied, "[And you?]" He was a bit surprised by the English they were speaking in, but it was always nice to speak your native language in nerve wracking situations, and that was the case for Reggie. 

Reggie awkwardly scratched at his cheek, he leaned in and whispered, "[I'm really nervous, Joon-woo, I think I'm just scared to mess up…]"

It felt bittersweet, being able to witness and encourage Reggie on his first live stage. Joon-woo wondered, would Reggie remember him when he got fully used to live shows in the near future?

Just as Reggie went to lean back, Joon-woo placed a hand on Reggie's shoulder, keeping him from standing fully up. "[You'll do great and you'll prove you deserve to debut.]" Joon-woo encouraged. 

Reggie nodded at the accented English, "[You too, then. You'll do great and debut too.]"

"Yes, let's debut." Joon-woo replied.

–+–

Kim So-yeon had everything she needed. A Team One banner for Joon-woo and Team Three banner for Mi Yong. She wasn't allowed to bring her camera and couldn't even record with her phone, but that was okay, because it made her feel even more special for getting these tickets. 

She wore a long white skirt with a cropped puffer jacket over a cutesy plain colored and tucker tee. The mask over her face fogged at her glasses, so when she took her seat dead center in the middle, the stage seemed a bit blurry. She quickly cleaned them off, a large expansive stage opening in front of her. 

The iconic Producer10 logo was shown on a large backdrop, the seats were loud with chatter and fangirls and even a few fanboys. They too, had their own team banners and Team One fans seemed to dominate the fans. Joon-woo and Reggie's friendship had gone quite viral, though the fame Joon-woo had gathered from the string of events made him one of the fan favorites. 

Kim So-yeon recalled seeing the busking videos and how Joon-woo interacted with the small street crowd he would gather and recalled blushing out of her mind. Really, she thought Joon-woo to be the prettiest man she'd ever seen behind Mi Yong. 

Baek Du-Ho and Ryeo Hyun were also factors of why Team One was so popular. Thanks to the clear up of Ryeo Hyun''s scandal, many people took pity on him and he had gotten more media appreciation. Baek Du-Ho entered the show with a fanbase. He was a hidden trainee, after all. His rap skills had almost made Kim So-yeon swoon, and had clearly made many swoons. 

Kim So-yeon wondered, seeing the expectations and popularity of Team One, if they would do well. After all this was their first live show, they had no Mi Yong to guide them. She clenched her fists and wished them the best. 

She did so, as the lights began to dim… 

Misa, the globally known J-Pop dance idol walked on the suddenly lit stage. She was in a gown unlike Kim So-yeon had ever seen. It was blue and shone under the stage lights blaring at Misa. The room practically shut up at her gorgeous appearance.

Misa grabbed the microphone and looked at the crowd, "Thank you all for coming in today to support the contestants of the third season of Producer10. The challenge for these prepared performances was to create a performance out of another team's idea…"

Kim So-yeon cooed. She wondered what difficulties would come out of such a challenge. 

"After these performances, voting will open. You will have two votes each. The 15 contestants with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated." The crowd was hushed, shut up by Misa's words. 

Really, wasn't this so cruel? Kim So-yeon thought. With only 200 seats available, that meant that the opinions of 200 would ultimately decide for the opinions of thousands of fans who couldn't get tickets. 

"15 journeys, 15 dreams, will come to an end. So make sure to vote wisely… Every vote counts…" Misa spoked, her voice low. 

Kim So-yeon tensed, but she wasn't worried. Mi Yong and Joon-woo were the most popular contestants, calling her a front-runner, she didn't care. They would debut 100%. Their fans won by landslide in fan votes. If you looked up Producer10, the only contestant articles of praise were of them. They were on top and Kim So-yeon knew they would never fall.

"Without further ado, let's begin…" Misa placed a finger over her mouth, and slowly walked off the stage. 

In anticipation, the crowd eagerly watched as Team One, a team of Joon-woo, Reggie, Ryeo Hyun, Baek Du-Ho, and Song Chunghee, took the stage. Only their shadows could be made out due to the lack of lighting, but by their heights, Kim So-yeon could tell. 

She watched as a shadow of about 5'5' and bordering 5'6' took… center? Her eyes widened excitedly. Was Joon-woo the center?

Suddenly, the dark stage lit up, a forest green glow was cast over the Producer10 backdrop. Dressed in white button ups that were loose on their thin bodies and in black pants of contrast, they stood in a formation that placed Joon-woo in the center. Not to mention– did they dye their hair blond?

The crowd loudly cheered at the sight of Team One's formation and looks. Team One signs were waved rigorously in the air. Kim So-yeon grew heart eyes at Joon-woo's blond hair. It fit him well. She almost took out her phone to snap a photo, but quickly stopped herself. 

Then the music began to play. 

Kim So-yeon gasped. She recognized the melody. She recalled it at NURTURE's 'LIMBO'. Then it hit her– wasn't that a girl group song? 

The group stood in a vaguely geese-like formation, Joon-woo standing at the very top of the group. 

"Limbo, limbo, lim-bo, limbo, limbo, lim—

Limbo, limbo, lim-bo, limbo, limbo, lim—"

Song Chunghee's voice was heard from speakers. It sounded a bit nervous, but skillful vocalization was still clear.

Then, the formation shifted into a line– Reggie standing at the very front this time. 

"The way you look at me as if you fall in love tonight–"

Reggie's voice, most noticed, had gone from weak to less so. Kim So-yeon hummed in admiration. Joon-woo's sweet voice covered the short adlibs behind Reggie. His voice was as sweet as Kim So-yeo remembered, hearing it live made shivers form along her arms. 

"You won't get whatever you want easily 

[But I'll definitely show you, oh, babe

Otherwise, you'll get hurt, maybe 

Brace yourself, follow me, play with me]"

Joon-woo and Reggie sorted through leading those parts. Sometimes Reggie sang the ad libs and sometimes Joon-woo. 

Suddenly, the groups split into two lines of two. Joon-woo was highlighted in the middle. 

"In the moonlight

Ready or not, decide, go or stop it

We'll spend the night awake, let's do the limbo"

At this point Joon-woo took over the vocals. His voice was clear and concise in the microphone, despite the fact that he was dancing. Kim So-yeon thought it comparable to debuted and experienced idols.

When the chorus hit, the usual girl group choreography moves were suddenly shifted into a faster and heavier movement. They added their own dance to it? Kim So-yeon thought that no team would be able to compare.

"Limbo, limbo, lim-bo, limbo, limbo, lim—

Come over, come over, baby, let's do the limbo

Limbo, limbo, lim-bo, limbo, limbo, lim—

[We'll spend the night awake, let's do the limbo]"

Ryeo Hyun with his second-to-Joon-woo voice shone through with Baek Du-Ho's rare vocals assisting with the English. They sang with slightly shaky breaths thanks to the intense movements. Still, it was impressive, and watching Joon-woo take the lead with his previously poor dance made Kim So-yeon really quite happy. 

A repetition of similar verses later and Kim So-yeon was really really impressed. She expected them to sound a lot more nervous than they did. The only slip ups a K-Pop expert like her noticed was Song Chunghee and Joon-woo shorting a few movements. But even then they were in vocal heavy points. 

The lines were fairly distributed, though Joon-woo got a few more lines thanks to his main vocal position. Any shortcomings were covered up by placing the better versed members in front. For example, to avoid highlighting Joon-woo or Baek Du-Ho's dance struggles in the more intense parts, Ryeo Hyun and Reggie were in front. And in vocal heavy parts, Joon-woo's mic was turned up higher than Reggie's.

"Tonight is a special night

Come over, pretend you can't resist it (L-I-M-B-O, oh, oh)

A heart-pounding tension

The moment I let you go, let's do the limbo"

Joon-woo sang the last verse, followed by Ryeo Hyun's supporting vocals. The music took a second to send after their vocals and dance, but when it did, the crowd was silenced. Were these guys really rookies? 

After a beat of silence and the group's heavy breathing, claps erupted. 

"Reggie oppaaaaaa!"

"Hyunnie step on me!!!!!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The crowd cried and yelped, and Kim So-yeon saw a smile form on the faces of the team, Joon-woo and Ryeo Hyun expectedly excluded. They ran off the stage, then, embracing each other by wrapping their arms around each other's shoulders. 

The sight warmed Kim So-yeon's heart, reminding her that her favorites were really just young men and some, kids at the end of the day. Really, she would be a fan forever.