ONCE the [Crown the March] groups finished their performance, a staff mber ca over to call the teams performing [Over the Edge] to the backstage. Haneul and his teammates stood up, along with the four contestants from the opposing team, and they all filed out of the waiting area together.
From where they stood backstage, Haneul could hear Lily telling the audience to cast their votes. His heart pounded hard against his ribs, the nerves hitting him harder than he’d expected. During the vocal mission, he’d barely felt nervous at all. That made sense, he supposed. Singing ca more naturally to him, and he’d had Taeyang and Robin by his side then too.
Speaking of Taeyang, his team was just coming off the stage and into the backstage area. Haru spotted Haneul first and waved at him eagerly, like an excited kid. Haneul chuckled and waved back. Then his eyes landed on Taeyang, walking just behind Haru. Taeyang’s gray gaze t his almost imdiately.
Unlike earlier when he first stepped on stage, Taeyang’s costu was now completely out of place. His jacket hung open, the collar crooked, and the decorative chain on his waist was twisted. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, and his neatly styled hair had fallen into a ssy tangle across his forehead. Despite that, even like this, he looked so handso.
Taeyang mouthed the word "fighting" to him. Haneul smiled back and mouthed "you did great" in return. Then Taeyang’s team walked out of the backstage area, likely heading to another room where they would find out their votes.
Surprisingly, after that brief exchange, Haneul’s nervousness seed to disappear. The simple act of Taeyang mouthing "fighting" to him had grounded him in a way he hadn’t expected. The tight knot in his chest loosened, and his breathing felt easier.
Eunwoo clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. "Alright, this is it. We’ve been working hard for more than a week. Now, all we have to do is go out there and perform like we’ve been practicing. Stay focus, trust your hard work, and have fun. We’ve got this."
After Eunwoo’s quick pep talk, Haneul felt completely at ease. Suho also seed to relax, his shoulders dropping from where they’d been tensed up. Jeon Hyunsik, on the other hand, showed no reaction aside from his usual practiced smile.
Finally, a staff mber at the side told them it was ti to go on stage. Their team would enter from the left, while the other team would co from the right. The mont Haneul stepped onto the stage, the roar of the audience hit him. He’d heard them cheering loudly from the waiting area, but this was different. The noise was much louder up close. If he hadn’t already cald himself down, the sudden wave of sound might have made him nervous all over again.
Lily gave her usual introduction, then invited the teams to introduce themselves. The first team went first, of course. When it was Haneul’s team’s turn, Eunwoo was the first to speak from where he stood.
"I’m Baek Eunwoo," he said, bringing one hand up to touch the side of his neck, fingers pressing lightly where a bite mark might go. He tilted his head just enough to show the line of his jaw. "Careful. I bite."
Then he turned to the rest of his team with an encouraging smile, like he was telling them they could go ahead with the introduction they’d practiced.
Suho tilted his head and pulled the collar of his shirt down slightly with one finger, like he was showing off a bite mark. "I’m Lim Suho," he said, grinning. "Don’t worry, I don’t bite too hard."
Jeon Hyunsik followed next. He let his gaze sweep slowly across the audience before bringing a finger to his lips, dragging it down just a little. "Jeon Hyunsik," he said, his voice low. "Hope you’re ready to sweat."
Then it was Haneul’s turn. He stepped forward, held the cara’s gaze for a beat longer than necessary, and let a small, slow smile spread across his face. "Kang Haneul," he said softly. "You won’t be able to look away."
Then all four of them spoke together, their voices blending as one as they held their hands to their necks. "And we’re Nightfall."
The audience’s reaction shifted noticeably after Nightfall’s introduction. There were more screams than before, and several people in the front rows clutched their hands to their chests, faces flushed.
Among the audience were Song Jia and Shim Sooah. Both of them scread and held up their picket fans. Jia especially was going all out, waving hers with both hands and shouting louder than she had ever before.
She stared at Kang Haneul on stage and felt her heart beat faster and faster, like a teenager seeing their crush for the first ti. He was wearing a black silk shirt with long, slightly loose sleeves and a black collar around his neck, the fabric open just enough to show his collarbone. His pants were tight and black, a sharp contrast to the flow of the shirt above. His makeup was dark and smoky, which made his light brown eyes look almost amber under the stage lights, and the small teardrop mole at the corner of his left eye stood out more than usual. His hair was swept back from his face, giving him a clean, sharp look that was hard to turn away from.
She couldn’t explain how soone could look so sexy and so pure at the sa ti. Maybe it was sothing about the way he carried himself, the mix of intensity and softness that didn’t seem to belong together but sohow did. Whatever it was, it worked.
Jia lifted her picket fan high above her head and yelled, "Go Haneul!"
Haneul seed to hear her voice because he suddenly turned toward her direction and smiled. The people standing near her scread, as if that smile was ant for them. But as a fan, Jia liked to think it was for her. She lifted her picket fan even higher and scread louder.
Then the performance from the [Over the Edge] teams finally began.
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