Chapter 245
Of course, it would be impossible to hide their identities forever. In particular, Jiah’s identity might have already been revealed. If any reporter were seriously digging into it, he or she could easily find out her identity.
Yu Zuung was no exception.
These days there were lots of gossip about her in the office because she suddenly disappeared, leaving words that she wanted to take a break for a while.
But nobody got wind of it yet.
But somebody would soon get wind of what was going on because her disappearance coincided with the masked dancers’ debut in the world.
Besides, Yu Zuung’s mask was the smallest of the three dancers’. She didn’t put on any thick makeup because she was a natural beauty. Any staff with Ani & Funny with sharp eyes might be able to identify her among the dancers.
Maybe there was someone who already found her out.
But it would be difficult to have the secret revealed because of Hyunwoo’s earnest request that they should not reveal it under any circumstances.
For this you should keep the mysticism of the dancers secret for a long time. So, let me make a request one more time. Even if you know their identities, just keep quiet. Don’t even say it to your colleague. If anybody is caught revealing it, he or she will be fired immediately. I am saying this on my honor. So, don’t take it lightly.> Any & Funny staff were extremely tense when they heard Hyunwoo’s threat. That was not a simple bluffing. If that happened, Hyunwoo would keep his promise. They also knew that he was a man of action once he promised to do something. Thanks to Hyunwoo’s sharp reminder, Jiah remained silent again. The waiting room was quiet. Of course, other people except for the dancers freely talked to each other. A little later the rehearsal of Jinhon and Angela began. Customarily they were supposed to come to the stadium early in the morning and wait for the rehearsal all day long, but they received special treatment, befitting their status as world stars. After that, they moved to the broadcasting company for a special performance. They were supposed to appear on an entertainment program on TV and radio. Hyunwoo stayed in Seoul to watch their performance tomorrow. As he didn’t need to check out Suji’s feelings anymore, he freely stayed up late, mingling with Jinyoung, Mansu, and Jaeyol over drinks. And the next day the idol singers including Jinhon and Angela started performances. The performance was this year’s biggest one in which all the famous idol singers and girl groups participated. Among them Jinhon and Angela’s performance was the highlight. The order of their performance topped the repertoire, and their stage was the most splendid. Though other singers sang two or three songs on the stage, Jinhon and Angela sang their two hits and a couple of encores. Naturally, the crowds cheered for them most enthusiastically. And they were on the stage with the three masked dancers. Stopping dancing to the tune of ‘Temptation,’ they did a dance fitting the songs of Jinhon and Angela as well as Kenny’s dance from Garbage World. Their dancing was the hot topic, to say the least. Not only the reporters but also the crowds and TV viewers paid lots of attention to the masked dancers. “Who are they?” “Why are they wearing masks? Wow, they look so cool.” “Look at that dancer! Awesome.” “Yeah, you’re right. Her dancing is like an art.” “Who the hell is she? She must be damn pretty.” The reporters were also on alert. As if they wanted to compete to break the news first, they filed tons of stories about the dancers. “Who the hell are the masked dancers? How come they suddenly appeared on the stage like that?” Some of the reporters approached more professionally. They asked for comments from pop music critics. “Do you know who they are?” “If you judge their dancing skills, how can you grade them?” The critics’ replies were almost the same. “We have no idea who they are, but their dancing is excellent. In particular, the main dancer’s dancing is awesome. Just terrific.” “If you guys find out who they are, please let me know. I’m just amazed to know there are such wonderful dancers in our country. Maybe they are from America.” The reporters carried interviews with the music critics on them, which made the crowds more curious. There was a barrage of requests from TV viewers calling for the unveiling of the dancers. Then somebody discovered the music video on YouTube in which the masked dancers appeared. He began to boast of his discovery everywhere. “I’ve found out who they are. They are the main dancers of the music video Temptation.” “Temptation? Oh, it’s the production of Ani & Funny. If that’s the case, they must be the rising stars that Ani & Funny is cultivating in addition to Jinhon and Angela.” “That makes sense. I was so surprised by their terrific dancing. And I really love the song Temptation. It’s my kind of song.” Such a rumor spread like a wildfire. It was thanks to the fame of Ani & Funny as well as the smash hits of Duckling Fly and other works. If a new production by Ani & Funny was released, many people believed a big hit would be guaranteed. Hyunwoo was even embarrassed by the rave reviews of the critics and overwhelming reaction of the people. He expected Jinhon and Angela’s performance would bring about big promotional effects, but little did he expect that their reaction was so enthusiastic like this. Jinhon and Angela were terribly busy digesting their schedules in Korea. Each broadcasting company competed to have them appear on their programs. Thanks to Jinhon and Angela the masked dancers were also busy. Many of the entertainment programs or talk shows on TV dealing with Jinhon and Angela had nothing to do with the masked dancers, but whenever they performed, the dancers also appeared on their stage. One month passed quickly like that. Hyunwoo threw a party for them outside. He roasted meat over hot coals in person for them. Suddenly, Jinhon abruptly held his guitar and called Hyunwoo, “Uncle, I composed a song when I was in America. A musical motif came into my mind suddenly, so I made it instantly. Can you hear it? Jinyoung, you, too?” “What is the song about?” “Well, I made it imagining Angela missing her parents. The title is ‘I’m Not Lonely’.” It looked like a sad song. Obviously, it didn’t fit a merry atmosphere of the party at the moment. But the party was for Jinhon and Angela, and they apparently wanted Hyunwoo and Jinyoung to hear it. “Okay, then. Sing it.” Jinhon held his guitar and played it, singing with Angela. As Hyunwoo expected, it was a sad song with sad melodies. Jinhon and Angela poured their sadness into it. Hyunwoo and Jinyoung felt heartbroken to hear the song, their noses ached and their tears welled up before they knew. Hyunwoo bit his lips, but their singing was reaching a climax, which made his mind ache all the more. Jinyoung and other people at the party were already shedding tears. The atmosphere became sober now. Nobody dared to open their mouth, overwhelmed by the sadness of the song. But Jinhon and Angela were far from sad. They already escaped from the sad sentiment and made a bright expression. “How about it? I think I need to put some finishing touches on it, but I have no idea. Can you rearrange it, Jinyoung?” But Jinyoung shook his head and said, “Just perfect. There is nothing I can rearrange in your song, Jinhon.” And then he looked at Jinhon curiously and said all of a sudden, “What a talent! You’re really a genius, man. I think I have made hundreds of songs all my life, but none of them is better than your songs. I just can’t raise my face as I’m so ashamed.” Jinhon scratched his head and said, “Oh, man, don’t say that. You know how much I respect you.” “I’m not kidding. I love Duckling Fly and I’m Not Lonely. Awesome! I can never compose songs like that, no matter how hard I tried.” The next day Jinhon and Angela headed for Incheon International Airport to fly back to America. Angela looked comfortable. She seemed much more comfortable living there rather than in Korea where she had lots of inconveniences due to a language barrier. But Jinhon had hard times in America because he could not speak English. Though he stuck it out well up to now, he burst into tears at last when he was leaving for the airport. Hyunwoo patted him on the back. “A couple of months at the most in America. So, stick it out well until then.” Of course, his stay might be longer, depending on his next album. “Sorry, I should not shed tears like this.” “Yeah, look at Angela. She is strong. You’re older than she is. So, don’t show your ugly sides, man.” Angela came close to him and wiped his tears. She looked like his sister. Boarding a plane bound for America, they smiled at the reporters who came to the airport to cover them. After they left, Yu Zuung, Soyun, and Jiah felt empty suddenly. So far, they were on tight schedules thanks to Duckling Fly, so it seemed they could slack off. But that was their mistake. As soon as Jinhon and Angela left, they became busier. As they could not appear on stages with Duckling Fly, broadcasting companies began to air the music Temptation on their music programs. And now they appeared with their own song rather than Duckling Flying. They woke to find themselves famous. Though nobody could recognize their faces, they were just puzzled because they as the masked dancers were the hot topic in town. In particular, Soyun felt so. She moved to Seoul some time ago and lived there. As she had so many things on her schedule, Hyunwoo arranged a studio room for her. Yu Zuung and Jiah were no exception. Hyunwoo found them studios separately, so they could not know each other. After arriving back home after she was done for the day, Soyun could not calm down her excitement. She couldn’t go to sleep as she was thrilled. Can I really make my dream come true?