Chapter 60

Gowon, we’re starting the countdown. Three, two, one...!A hint. Please give me just one hint.Ah, I suppose there’s no choice. Then we’ll give you a music-video hint.They must have expected the question to be difficult from the start, because the hint had already been prepared. Three people appeared on the screen.

Gowon’s eyes widened when his gaze locked onto one of them.

...Hanje? Hanje released a song like this?It was a coed group consisting of Baek Hanje, one woman, and one man who were not members of Young Ace. Looking closer, the other members were Cindy from Edelweiss and Kim Hahyeon, a young trot singer under Division Two.

Gowon stared at them in confusion, as though he were looking at K-Dom from a parallel universe. In the end, he failed to give the answer.

Ah, what a shame. The correct answer is <Steak>, a track from the 201X K-Dom Summer Album.It was a special-album track created by combining Baek Hanje with two other K-Dom artists.

The hip-hop song about chewing up haters like steak had been released under the unit name “K-Dom Schools.” Because of that, it did not appear in searches for Young Ace or Hanzel.

It was a song Gowon had never heard before in his life, so he could not follow the choreography after watching it only once.

His eyes shook as his movements faltered. His flustered appearance was markedly different from the confidence with which he had danced all day.

The baby can’t eat steak, that’s why

Bring it back as beef baby foodㅡㅡ

Of course, since the venue was filled entirely with fans, everyone found even that adorable. But Gowon shouted with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

Please give me another chance.What?Give me one minute, and I’ll learn the choreography.Ooooooh-!!!

The fans cheered, but Gowon had already fixed his eyes on the screen, desperately committing every movement in the video to memory. Just when he had seemed to loosen up a little, he returned to the same fierce determination he had shown during <Unlimited(∞)>.

The production team did not miss the content Gowon was creating and put a timer on the screen. For the final five seconds, everyone counted down together.

“Five, four, three, two, one!”

I’m ready.The moment the countdown ended, Gowon confidently returned to the center of the stage.

-You’re barely one bite, Steak

Medium, well done, or rare—I’ll cook you my way

Then he performed a flawless cover of <Steak>. Perhaps because he had stumbled once, Gowon danced with even more forceful movements.

When he finished the challenge, the cheering was louder than it had been for any other song.

When the artist you loved displayed his genius without reservation, no fan could contain their pride and satisfaction.

But wrong is still wrong, so there has to be a penalty, doesn’t there? Don’t boo. I know better than anyone that you’ve all been waiting for the penalty.Ah shit, we got caught, sorry Gowon, that’s just how it is,,

The penalty will be something our One and Only members want to see from Gowon! We’ll choose one item from a list gathered in advance.The host held out a drawing box that had been hidden behind them. When Gowon pulled his hand out, he was holding not one slip of paper, but an entire fistful.

No, you’re only supposed to draw one!If it’s something One and Only wants, I’d like to do it even if it isn’t a penalty...How can he be so admirable?

How could words like that come out of the mouth of a twenty-year-old baby?

The fan clutched her heart. She was far from the only one thinking it.

“Fuck, you’re so goddamn pretty. I’m not leaving this fandom until my deathbed. I’m not...”

The delicate-looking fan beside her, who had greeted her so sweetly, crushed the head of her Gowon doll between both hands as she voiced her unfiltered feelings. The completely different tone from when they had exchanged snacks startled her, but both of them were apparently the type to swear affectionately.

At the host’s insistence, Gowon eventually opened and revealed only one slip.

<Cheat-Day Eating Livestream>

It had already been proven to the fans that Gowon ate heartily and well.

No one knew who had submitted the wish, but judging by how perfectly it served the public good, they were clearly a saint.

Understood. Once promotions end, I’ll make sure to do a cheat-day livestream.Look at him secretly stuffing the other slips into his pocket ㅠㅠ

And the man onstage was clearly an angel.

That concludes the game segment, which proved there is no idol more perfect than this. My time as host ends here. Gowon, congratulations on your comeback, and thank you, One and Only! I’m Kim Minseo!The host stepped down from the stage, leaving Gowon alone at the center. Of the scheduled sixty-minute showcase, about forty-five minutes had already passed.

Um.The tension that had seemed to ease during the game returned to Gowon’s face.

Now, at last, it’s time to introduce the new song.Rough cheers and applause erupted.

The title track is called <DEEP>. It originally had the Korean subtitle “To the Sea,” but during the final album-production process, only the title remained. Still, the meaning of “To the Sea” remains inside the song and its lyrics.Throughout the performance, Gowon had looked up and down at the teleprompter whenever his explanations grew long, like the rookie he was four months after debut.

But now, the words flowed calmly from him without his gaze ever leaving the audience, as though he had practiced them countless times.

The lyrics and music were written by the senior artist I respect most. During the process, I was also given the opportunity to fill in several lines. I wrote down what I wanted to say, clumsy as it was, and showed it to him. He refined it into something incredible. That made <DEEP> a song that could not be more perfect for me. While preparing the performance, I practiced hard with the determination to release this song into the world in its most perfect form.Gowon rose from his seat.

Then, I’ll show you <DEEP>.After a brief blackout, light returned to the stage.

Gowon removed the black jacket he had been wearing.

A white dress shirt was revealed beneath it. The suit had concealed loose, flowing sleeves.

Bright hair that looked silver beneath the lights, a soft dress shirt that traced the lines of his body, black trousers, and shoes that seemed to blend into them as a single color.

His modern image instantly traveled backward through time, transforming into the elegant appearance of an old Western era.

The song began with his pale hands posed as though strangling his own throat.

-Don’t give me breath

Just take my hands

His low register carried a melody that sounded faintly sorrowful. Then the hand he extended forward grasped at empty air. Gowon began to step.

Before the marks carved in white disappearI’ll find you no matter what

Blue waves passed across the screen. Every motion fell precisely into place within choreography that flowed as though he were swimming.

The beat was not as fast as the previous songs, but the floor choreography was considerably difficult. After lowering himself onto the floor, he raised his body again without bracing himself with a single hand, relying only on the core strength of his upper and lower body.

Without showing the slightest strain, he immediately moved into perfectly synchronized choreography with the dancers.

As the dreamlike melody and lyrics continued, a chill swept over the venue despite the summer heat.

Gowon, you danced in leather jackets and pitch-black techwear during winter. You hit people hard with hip-hop, and now you’re serving this delicate, sickly-beauty image... I’m so grateful!

The fan imagined all the ridiculous things she would post on social media once the showcase ended. Of course, she could not access it now, with one hand waving her fan light and the other filming the performance.

Even without that, she could not tear her eyes from the stage.

As though bewitched, her gaze swam after Gowon’s movements.

Then, just as she thought the song was entering its climax, the lighting turned blue and poured down onto the protagonist onstage.

Beyond distant consciousnessGowon gave a pale, faint smile.

-Into your world

Deep, Deep, Deep, Deep Down

As he performed the signature choreography, Gowon looked as though he were joyfully falling into a bottomless abyss.

At last, after the lyrics and dance repeated twice, Gowon touched his in-ear monitor and closed his eyes.

-Even if this way of loving

Takes away my breath

I’m not afraid, I sink in ecstasy-

At the cry that burst from him, a sudden realization struck the fan so hard that she forgot to wave her fan light.

Wait. Could this be...?

The dreamlike lyrics, the subtitle “To the Sea,” and Gowon’s outfit.

And once she added the music video playing on the screen, showing Gowon sinking into deep water, the concept became clear.

The person onstage was—

the prince from the world’s most famous tragic fairy tale, <The Little Mermaid>.

The lyrics and choreography were words addressed to the Little Mermaid, who intended to sacrifice herself for the prince she loved.

-Into your world

Deep, Deep, Deep, Deep Down

Don’t sacrifice yourself anymore. I’ll go to your world. I’ll abandon everything I have.

Just as you did, I won’t be afraid as long as I have you.

That message was carried through Baek Hanje’s distinctively addictive chorus melody.

This is it. This is the dark, refreshing atmosphere I wanted...!

At last, the song raced toward its peak as sharp strings intertwined and intensified the mood.

-A painful trick played by fate

The words you whispered without a sound

Gowon stopped at the center of the stage.

Clenching his fist as though tearing at his chest, he stared forward in anguish.

-“I’m sorry.”

That must mean you love me

The high note he poured out continued long after the backing track faded.

A thrill ran through the fan’s entire body. She stared at the stage, unable to close her open mouth, and then lamented.

Oh no, our boy fell in love with a nonhuman being...!

A doomed love that could never come true!

Yet the way he threw himself toward the place where the other person waited, without the slightest hesitation, resembled the strange determination he had shown at debut.

At the end of the increasingly violent movements, his expression turned devastated, as though he had lost whatever he had been holding to the current.

By the time the final chorus arrived, the fan could only breathe with care.

-Into your world, Deep, Deep, Deep...

Unable to finish the chorus, Gowon dropped to his knees on the floor.

The performance ended. But for a moment, not a single word came from the audience.

It felt as though every fine hair on her body had risen. She barely escaped the lingering spell of the stage that had seemed as though it would never end only when the collapsed Gowon safely raised his head.

His face, drenched in sweat, appeared on the enormous screen. The sweat gathering and running around his eyes created another illusion.

Thank you.Touching his in-ear monitor, Gowon rose and bowed.

Aaaaaaah!

At that moment, every member of One and Only screamed together with one heart.

!6/14 Showcase! CuteSexyDarkBlackHeDoesItAll @go1wayyyy

The fact that I majored in doomed romance in college

│

The fact that Gowon studied abroad in doomed romance

Civilian One Fan A @asdfgjkll

Otaku dies here (~2X. 06. 14)