Universe moved into their new house a week later.

1^st Floor

2^nd Floor

Pairings for rooms were naturally divided, as nobody really minded who they were sharing rooms with. Jaesun was adamant on rooming with his sister Soori, though, and although Soori was more than happy to agree, she and Soo Ri were sad to leave each other. But as Kyuhyun pointed out, “For god’s sake, you live in the same house. What is there to miss?”, and sighing, he dragged Soo Ri into another room with him. Sky and Eun Suk fought over Balam, and ended up in the same room. It was agreed that the leaders should room together as well, so that they could discuss whatever they had to whenever they could. JiHyun also dragged Gongchan with him, proclaiming he couldn’t sleep without his “y baby”. Shim Jang, who had dragged her couch from the old apartment, was so tired from pushing it everything that she just shoved it in Jaesun and Soori’s room and refused to budge. So, happily, Jaesun, Soori, and Shim Jang ended up in a room together.

Everything settled down quickly, in their respective places, because they had to.

They were leaving for their first International Tour in four days, and their schedules were absolutely crammed.

Chan Hee and Soo Ri left for a CF, while Shim Jang and Sky headed towards the National Break Dance Competition.  Soori and Shim Jang had another photoshoot, and Kyuhyun a fashion show. Gongchan was practicing diligently for his musical, JiHyun was at drama filming, and Jaesun was going to go prep for an MC. They had to get everything done before they left so that when they came back they could automatically jump right back into the Korean market.

That evening they filmed a short video with all of Universe.  

All: Annyeonhaseyo! Bow*

Shin: We are-

Chrome: CHROME!

Chan Hee: And-

Epik Love: EPIK LOVE!

Shin: And as one, we are-

All: UNIVERSE!

Shin:  I am Shin, the Ex-flower Boy Leader of Chrome and a rapper of Universe.

Chan Hee: I am Chan Hee, the Leader of Epik Love! and a rapper of Universe.

Sky: I am Sky, the Mysterious Sky of Chrome, and a dancer of Universe.

Jin: I am Jin, the Rebel of Epik Love!, and a triple threat of Universe.
L1GHT: I am L1GHT, the Charismatic Prankster of Chrome, and a vocalist of Universe.

AN: I am AN, the Mysterious Angel of Epik Love!, and half the face of Universe.

Jason: I am Jason, the Charmander of Chrome, and a triple threat of Universe.

Laiqa: I am Laiqa, the Morning Sky of Epik Love!, and a vocalist of Universe.

King: I am King, the Energizing Maknae of Chrome, and the other half of the face of Universe.

Shim Jang: I am Shim Jang, the Pearl of Epik Love!, and a dancer of Universe.

Jason: It’s been seven and a half months since we debuted and Universe is coming back with their comeback! And yes, we have not one, but four different mini albums coming out in two days.

Shim Jang: All of them feature different concepts, but the four different albums all involve much more improved music and we are very excited to perform them for you on our upcoming international tour “Universal Love”. We will perform in Japan, England, France, USA, China, and of course, South Korea.

Chan Hee [in Chinese]: Our Chinese Album, Red Ivy, features a very edgy feel, with slightly rocker undertones. Even the softer and more delicate songs have a very rhythmic, smooth, slow, and almost jazzy feeling to it. Everything oozes with passion, which is why we called it red, but it’s still very smooth and delicate, so it’s also  like ivy.

L1GHT [in Chinese]: It’s a type of genre Universe is new to, and although we had difficulty with grasping it along with grasping a new language, we worked our hardest on it and we hope sincerely you enjoy our final product.

Shin [in Japanese]: In contrast, our Japanese Album, features far lighter, fast-paced and pop-style music. It’s not bubbly, but it is energetic and very light. It makes you want to get up onto your feet.

Jin [in Japanese]: We really enjoyed immersing ourselves into this music because it gave us a lot of energy. We hope it does the same for you, so please check out and support our album, JumpStart/ Wings Untouched.

Laiqa [in English]: Our American Album features catchy, up-tempo, and electronic beats with lots of strong bass. There’s a lot of pride and confidence in these songs, and our concept was about being fearless with our style and our colors.

AN [ in English]: It’s a fun album, but with a lot of hard-hitting undertones, and I think the choreography for these songs are the best things ever invented…So, we hope you like our first American Album, MuziK Kollaboration / 2K!

King [in Korean] : The Korean album, Jewels of the Soul, is probably the album we were most hands-on in. Because we are all fluent in Korean, so it’s easiest for us to truly explore and control the musical features of the Korean album. The concept of this Korean album was raw honesty and passion. We never want to forgot the emotions behind music, so we tried to bring the music closest to those emotions we feel… So, the Korean album really features the extremes of both spectrums of music.

Sky [in Korean]: We delve into electric and techno beats like we’ve never featured before with both very exotic and different and also some extremely classical and old-school melody lines. But we also have the most moody and heart-wrenching ballads that we personally wrote and gave life to. This album was really the desire to bring all aspects of ourselves to our fans and to music lovers in general, and we hope you support it!

L1GHT: Please be sure to catch us on our upcoming projects as well! AN and I are very lucky to have become the faces of Chanel, and Leader Chan Hee is featured in the new Samsung CFs with label mates Exo’s Chanyeol and Baekhyun.

AN: And with excitement, I would like to announce that our Jason will be the MusicBank MC with SHINee’s Jonghyun and f(x)’s Krystal. Leader Shin is in the upcoming drama ‘Under the Rose Tree’ starring with Song Joong Ki, Shin Se Kyung, and Ha Ji Won.

Chan Hee: Our maknae King will be playing Lee Han Kyul in the musical “Two-Faced Beauty”. Also, oth Shim Jang and Sky are competing in the National Breakdance Competitions, and Jin and Laiqa have been named Honorary Spokespeople for the Children Without Voices Foundation.”

Shin: Thank you so much for listening to this! Thank you very much for your support and your love for Universe. We really cannot tell you how much we appreciate you, our fans. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please go check out our new albums and other activities hopefully, we’ll see you at our concerts!  We will always work hard to live up to the wonderful gifts that were given to us: our fans, our families, our staff, our Presidents, and our sunbaenims, who we think of every day.

All bow*

All: We are UNIVERSE, FIGHTING!~

JiHyun’s POV

We waved good-bye to our precious new dorm, and Sky woefully kissed Balam farewell before giving him to his parents, who had also come by to check out the new dorm and to wish us good luck. Kyuhyun’s parents had also stopped by and the four of them cooked dinner for us. It was so nice to eat such wonderful food, since all four of them were master chefs.

They were extremely gracious and supportive of us, lauding with both compliments and advice. The only awkward part was when I had to explain to them that it wasn’t because they had feelings for each other that Sky and Eun Suk were in one room, or that Kyuhyun and Soo Ri were sharing another.

It was impossible to explain how member relationships worked, so I’d just stuttered through it and smoothed it over as best as I could.

Nevertheless, they were not impressed with my management skills.

But we wouldn’t see them at least two weeks and it was with a very happy heart that I bowed them farewell.

At the airport, we met up with Infinite, who we were collaborating with us on our Japanese concert.

Despite the crowd of waiting Infinite and Universe fans, everything went by smoothly. We all took a few pictures and gave a few signatures to nearby fans and then we hurried into the flight terminal.

We were waiting for our flight, and I was just casually talking to Sunggyu, when suddenly something caught my eye. Crap. I’ve seen that before.

“Excuse me”, I said to Sunggyu and then quietly headed over to Soo Ri, who was talking to Soori and Shim Jang.

“Soo Ri”, I said quietly, standing up, “Follow me.”

Startled, she looked up at me and bit her lower lip, but followed me silently.

I led her to a quiet corner of the airport, a few feet away from everyone else.

I turned to her and told her quietly, “Soo Ri… am I right when I say that I’ve seen that sweater before?”

Soo Ri quickly looked down, and then her face paled.

“Yes”, she whispered, looking stricken.

“Take if off”, I told her immediately, and we traded sweaters on the spot.

“And where did I see that sweater?”, I asked her after we had traded sweaters.

I wanted her to say it aloud herself. I’ve been suspicious it was her ever since that photograph came out… She was always calling Jinwoon.

Soo Ri looked now and admitted softly, “It was the sweater you saw when that scandal with Jinwoon came out on the Internet…”

I asked the obvious follow-up question, “And was it you?”

Soo Ri nodded, not looking up.

“Okay”, I said simply, emotionlessly, and started to walk away.

I’m going to have to figure out how we react if it comes up...

Suddenly, Soo Ri reached out and grabbed my arm, “I’m sorry! I didn’t tell you because I thought it was all over… and I wore the jacket because I’m rooming with Kyuhyun and because… because…”

Her voice trailed off, but the remorse clearly showed in her eyes.

Soo Ri, I’m not mad at you at all. I wasn’t upset with her, and her mistake was an easy one to make. But as a leader, I have to be strict with her…As unfair as this whole “celebrities-can’t-date” thing is… she was careless today.

“I get it, Soo Ri”, I said, my voice cold and distant, “I’m not angry with you about that… but I am disappointed about how you carelessly wore this sweater to the airport today in front of many fans…”

She bowed her head and mumbled, “Sorry. I won’t do it again.”

I nodded, and gently patted her shoulder before walking back to everyone else.

“Hey”, I muttered to Soori out of the corner of my mouth as I passed her, “I was a little harsh on Soo Ri, so can you make sure she’s okay? I’m sorry I’m asking this of you.”

But Soori smiled brightly at me and replied, “Of course. Just leave it to me.”
I smiled at her. I love this girl like my own little sister. She’s always so bright and warm.

“Thanks”, I said, before sitting down next to Sky.

At first, I thought he was just listening to music, completely absorbed in his own world, but then I realized his eyes were focused somewhere else.

I followed his intense gaze… and saw Myungsoo and Eun Suk clearly enjoying each other’s company. Underneath Myungsoo’s jacket, they were holding each other’s hands…

I had to hold back a sigh.

I guess Sky’s parents weren’t completely wrong about rooming because of “feelings”.

Our boarding passes were called up and we all grabbed our luggage to go.

As we were entering the plane, I smoothly cut between Myungsoo and Eun Suk.

I saw Sky throw a relieved glance towards me, but I pretended like I never noticed.

I ushered Eun Suk into a seat next to Chan Hee and proceeded to shove Myungsoo into a seat with Sungyeol.

Myungsoo might’ve thrown me a dirty look but I didn’t care, and I promptly proceeded to seat myself with Gongchan, my baby.

“Did you change your clothes?” I heard Jaesun ask Soo Ri curiously as they sat together. Soo Ri just mumbled something incoherent and settled back to fall asleep.

I felt a slight pang of guilt, but sure enough, Soori came along and suggested the three of them sit together at a center seat with three seats. Sunggyu, WooHyun, and Hoya were willing to switch.

Soo Ri seemed to feel a little better as they settled in and Soori jabbered away at how gorgeous Soo Ri’s new Chanel look was.

I made sure Shim Jang and Kyuhyun were comfortably sitting as well, a few rows back from us, before I turned to Gongchan. We began an unbelievably intense game of thumb wars, betting a box of Pocky I’d brought with me.

The airplane ride was smooth and we were in Japan in no time.

Upon arriving, we were all instructed to wear sunglasses since there were apparently a ton of cameras and fans waiting.

“You may wish to interact with your fans, but please try your best to just walk forward. If you stop, the entire airport will become crowded.”

Infinite simply nodded, having heard this before, but the members of Universe exchanged surprised looks.

But I knew what was about to happen. I’ve done this numerous times as a solo artist.

We were about to get clobbered.

We put on our sunglasses and started to exit the plane.

It was pandemonium.

Absolute. Chaos.

Screaming, chanting, signs, flashing everywhere.

The Infinite members pressed through first and we started to follow along.

Someone threw a Charmander stuffed animal at Jaesun.

He grabbed it and waved a hand in the general direction of where it had come from.

I saw glittering Universe posters and signs in Japanese as we walked by. I kept my head down and tried to press forward, though I felt really bad when I had to ignore a young boy asking for my sign. I tried to wave my hand towards him, but it was just too frantic.

It was about midway through our walk to the vans waiting for us when we could no longer go forward because the fans following Infinite and the fans waiting for us had set up a kind of barrier.

Fans took this chance to try to give us their presents or to touch us somehow.

It was extremely uncomfortable to watch as the security guards attempted to stop them; it was borderline violence.

“Just keep calm”, I tried to tell the other members, but only Kyuhyun and Gongchan, who were nearest to me, heard me. Kyuhyun nodded and Gongchan pulled his hood up.

Suddenly, there was as shriek. I turned to see a fan jumping onto Eun Suk.

It was a teenage boy who’d hugged her suddenly.

The security guard quickly pushed him off and Sky reached out and pulled Eun Suk closer to him, trying to protect her.

Finally, the line started moving and we were shortly in our vans.

I was in a van with Kyuhyun, Gongchan, Chan Hee, and Shim Jang.

“Holy Jesus”, Chan Hee said, as the van started to move.

Fans were still pounding on the side of the van.

Shim Jang and I looked at each other, and I could tell she was just in shock.

I waved my hand in front of her face and laughed slightly, trying to break the tension.

“Well, my fear was that no one was going to be waiting for us”, I said light-heatedly, “but I guess we had something totally different to worry about.”

Shim Jang nodded, her eyes still glazed over.

“You know what, though?”, I said honestly, “For me, this time was far less scarier.”

“What do you mean?”, Kyuhyun asked.

“When I promoted as a solo artist… it felt far scarier. I’m glad you guys were there with me.”

I patted Shim Jang’s head before I leaned back and pulled out my box of Pocky.

“Anyone hungry?”

Shim Jang finally smiled.

Kyuhyun’s POV

When we reached the hotel, we entered through the back to avoid the fans there.

I was in Room 329 with Jaesun and Gongchan.

I automatically flopped onto the bed and groaned, exhausted.

“We haven’t even started yet and I’m tired”, Gongchan said, snuggling up next to me.

“Tomorrow’s going to be amazing, though”, Jaesun said, grinning, “Have you seen the outfits?”

He joined us on the bed and showed us the concert schedule and outfits his stylist noona had sent him.

Schedule

Infinite Individual Intros

Infinite’s “Be Mine” Rock Remix

Universe’s “Koe Wo Kisate” [Parts]

[Outfits are White Suits for Girls and Black Suits for Boys W/Diamonds Covering the Shoulders and Colored Crystals Running Down the Shoulders.

The Color Changes From Person to Person.

Shin: Grey

Sky: Sky Blue

King: Deep Purple

Jason: Orange-Red

L1GHT: Golden Yellow

Chan Hee: Deep Red

Jin: Dark Blue

Shim Jang: Dark Green

AN: Clear

Laiqa: Pink]

Infinite’s “Paradise”

Infinite’s “Nothing’s Over”

Infinite’s “The Chaser”

Infinite’s “Wings”

Universe’s Individual Intros

[Everybody is wearing simple black V-necks with black jeans and black suspenders except for the item given to you. Hairstyle does not mean hair color.

Shin: Shoes Gloves Hairstyle

Sky: Shoes Gloves Hairstyle

King: Glasses Gloves Hairstyle

Jason: Shoes Gloves Hairstyle

L1GHT: Glasses Gloves Hairstyle

Chan Hee: Shoes Makeup Hairstyle

Jin: Pants Makeup Hairstyle

Shim Jang: Pants Makeup Hairstyle

AN: Makeup Shoes Hairstyle

Laiqa: Shoes Makeup Hairstyle

Universe’s “Purple Line” [Same Outfits]

Universe’s “Survivor” [Same Outfits]

Universe’s “Why Did I Fall In Love With You”

Infinite’s “White Confession” Collaboration Between 1VS & Infinite

Infinite’s “Amazing” Collaboration Between 1VS & Infinite

Universe’s “Heaven” Collaboration Between 1VS & Infinite

FINALE: Universe’s “Tonight” Collaboration Between 1VS & Infinite

Despite how tired I felt, when I saw the schedules and the outfits, I started feeling more and more excited for tomorrow’s stage.

“Okay, I’ve got an idea”, Gongchan said, suddenly sitting up.

“I don’t want to hear it”, I groaned, sure it was something like a dare.

Gongchan completely ignored me and said, “All three of us text members of Infinite. The person who receives the slowest response has to sneak out and get some snacks.”

“Call!”, Jaesun agreed excitedly.

I moaned, but pulled out my phone.

“I’m texting Myungsoo hyung”, Gongchan said.

“I’ve got Sunggyu hyung”, Jaesun called.

“Okay, I’ll text Hoya hyung”, I said.

“What should we say to them?”, Jaesun questioned.

“Ask them who they like best in Epik Love”, Gongchan said, smirking.

“That’s mean”, Jaesun said.

I just wanted this game over with.

I typed it in, and pressed send before dropping my phone on the bed.

“Wait, wait, wait, we’re supposed to go at the same time!” Gongchan protested, quickly typing.

As expected, my response came first.

I smiled, but didn’t bother to look at the answer, not really caring.

I was exempt from this “dare”.

Jaesun waited, nervous.

His phone lit up first, and he quickly read the answer aloud, “What the heck? I’m not going to tell you. You’re closer with them than with us.”

Gongchan’s text came about five seconds later.

He flipped it open, and smirked at the answer.

“What’d he say?” Jaesun asked, curiously.

“Myungsoo hyung says, ‘Why did you even ask? You already know it’s Eun Suk.’”, Gongchan read aloud.

“All right”, Gongchan said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes…”

“Aww”, Jaesun said, “Now that I think about it, I kind-of want to see Japan too…”

“Just come with me”, Gongchan suggested.

Jaesun thought about it, then leaped up and pulled his hoodie on as well.

Oh, hell no, I’m not letting the two youngest go out there by themselves. They’re going to get lost.

I sat up and glared at them.

“What? You want to come too?”, Gongchan asked, beaming at me.

I sighed and then heavily got up and pulled on my jacket and a cap low on my face.

“Oh, look who’s dressing like he’s a celebrity”, Jaesun said, laughing at me.

I scowled.

My phone rang again.

I pulled it out and checked it. Apparently, I had four messages.

“Oho, look who’s popular”, Gongchan poked at me, also laughing.

I ignored them.

The first was from Soo Ri, saying my sweater was with Shin.

The second message was from Shin, asking if we were all settled in and okay.

The third message was from Hoya, saying that visually he liked Chan Hee, but Soori’s singing was also seriously appealing to him.

The fourth message, just now, was from Krystal, wishing me good luck for tomorrow’s stage.

 I replied to all the messages as we left the hotel and went out to the streets of Tokyo, Japan.

It was pretty amazing to just be surrounded by such a different atmosphere. I’d rarely ever left Korea. My family was barely of average income. I mean, we ran a café. Things had been improving ever since I’d debuted with Universe, but I’d been so busy with Universe that I’d still never gone on a vacation with them.

I looked around me in amazement,  awe-struck by… just… everything.

It was around 8:00 pm and there were a ton of people on the streets.

I quickly identified the address of the hotel before allowing myself, Jaesun, and Gongchan, to be swept with the crowd of people down the streets.

When we came across a small supermarket-type store, I grabbed Jaesun and Gongchan and pulled them in.

We were quite puzzled at what to buy… Jaesun tried to make sense of what the Korean equivalent would be before Gongchan just shoved them all into the cart. I made sure we bought hot chocolate, the only thing that would wake Jaesun up tomorrow morning.

At the cash registrar, we barely had enough Japanese currency to pay for it.

“Remind me to switch money whenever we’re in a different country”, I told Jaesun.

Suddenly, the girl who worked the cash registrar pointed at me.

I looked up at her startled.

“You’re L1GHT?!”, she asked me excitedly in Japanese.

Several customers overheard and turned towards us.

“It’s King!”

“Jason!”

“No”, Gongchan tried to deny it, but he accidently spoke in Korean instead of Japanese.

The customers started to walk towards us.

“Oh ”, I muttered. I threw the appropriate amount of cash onto the counter, grabbed our bags, bowed hastily to them, and then told the other two, “Run!”

We dashed onto the street, and that’s the when the younger female customers started screaming loudly, chasing after us.

Jaesun nearly tripped when one of the customers grabbed his hand, so our strong maknae, Gongchan, just picked Jaesun up like a sack of flour and we raced back to hotel.

We didn’t stop rushing until we were in our hotel room, and then we collapsed onto the beds, gasping for breath.

For some reason, maybe because I was just so exhausted, I started to laugh hysterically.

Gongchan and Jaesun exchanged looks, clearly confirming with each other that I was at wit’s end.

Jaesun came over and pulled off my socks before gently massaging my arm.

Gongchan had a box of Japanese crackers open already.

Shim Jang’s POV

Even though I should’ve been tired from the flight, I woke up early the next morning, nervous.

I looked over at the other bed, where Soo Ri was sleeping peacefully, her blankets tangled around her legs.

I gently pulled her blankets up over her and then headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

Once I was done, I grabbed a sweater, my phone, and my iPod and headed towards the gym room.

I started stretching and began dancing to “Purple Line” when my phone suddenly rang. Slightly irritated that my practice was being disturbed, I answered the phone with a slightly grouchy, “Hello?”

“Bad time?”, Hyunseung asked on the other line.

Immediately, my mood brightened and I felt ashamed of myself for answering the phone so impolitely.  

“Oh, no, not at all! Hyunseung sunbae! It’s been too long.”

“Yeah, it has. What are you up to?”

“Just practicing before our Japan Concert”, I replied, and I suddenly felt the nerves rush back to me.

Hyunseung, who knew me the best after my members, must’ve heard the tremor in my voice because he replied gently, “You’ll be fine. Don’t over-practice. Just feel it. Remember what we talked about?”

I thought back all the way to trainee years and reviewed Hyunseung’s lecture in my head.

“Yeah”, I responded, “I remember.”

There was a short pause and then Hyunseung said in a stern voice, “Remember, normal people have to always dream and keep their head and heart in the clouds, but keep their feet firmly on the floor. But as performers, we are living the dream. You need to keep those feet in the air and dance, but your head and heart have to stay on the ground so they can support you. Don’t ever forget that.”

I felt a weird sense of fear as he said that. “Hyunseung oppa, why is it that everyone keeps telling us not to get distracted? Is something wrong with Universe?”

“No, it’s not that… It’s just… You guys have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Faster than anyone, even DBSK. And you know what happened to DBSK… It’s just… I don’t want you guys to get so high up there that you have to be slapped down to get your senses back… Your popularity is a blessing and a curse… Expect rumors about you soon…”

“But there’s nothing for Universe to have rumors about”, I protested. Yesterday, I’d been on the phone with Taeyang oppa and Minzy, and both of them had warned me about the same thing.

“Antifans and the media aren’t after the truth, they’re after gossip”, Hyunseung replied.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but something in my mind was telling me that Hyunseung was just trying to prepare me because he cared about me.

And a small part of my mind also realized he was right.

“Okay”, I said obediently, “I’ll make sure I’m strong and I’ll make sure I remember where I’m from and who I am.”

“Good”, Hyunseung said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I really want Universe to do well, so just be fearless in your performance and cautious about everything else, okay? That’s what it means to be an idol”, he reminded me.

“Ne”, I answered.

“I miss you all. Good Luck today and don’t be afraid! You are all amazing performers”, he said cheerfully.

“Thanks, sunbae. I’ll tell the others you said hi, then.”

“Please do”, he said, and then after one last, “Fighting!”, he hung up.

Strangely, I feel better and worse at the same time, I thought.

I started to dance again but I remembered Hyunseung’s advice. Don’t over-practice.

I just stopped midway.

I’m going to be fine, I thought to myself, and all my worries left me.

I picked up my things and returned to my room, where Soo Ri was just starting to wake up.

Although I’m not really one for skin ship, I hugged her tightly when I saw her.

She looked at me, startled, but I just smiled at her and said, “Let’s do well today!”
 

We were all dressed and about to go on stage.

It was our turn to sing now. Beside me, Eun Suk was taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

I reached out and held her hand, trying to tell her in that moment that she was ready.

She looked up at me and when I nodded at her, she smiled back and nodded.

The moment my feet touched the outside stage, I felt the wall of energy being thrown at us.

Signs with our faces, our names, and hearts and stars were everywhere and people were screaming our names and other things I couldn’t quite catch.

We got into formation.

L1GHT AN Sky Chan Hee Shin Shim Jang Jason King Jin Laiqa

The music began to play and I just closed my eyes and let the music flow through me.

Sky started us off beautifully, and I felt all of Universe, as one, just release all of the anticipations and stress in one big breath.

L1GHT followed, with his flawless voice.

Slowly, the screaming audience began to quiet now…

And then, just, silence.

As Laiqa burst into the chorus, the crowd was now absolutely silent, trying to absorb our voices.

And just… awe-struck.

They just wanted to hear as much of our voices as they could.

I smiled.

This is how it should be. Screaming is right for certain songs, but this song should be appreciated in silence.

And it made me happy that the audience got that and was very quietly and respectfully receiving the energy we were giving them through our song.

This kind of respect made us fearless, and we were able to sing with our full voices.

This live really is better than the recording itself.

My rap came out effortlessly, and I just felt the flow that Chan Hee had handed to me.

When we finished, there was a beat of dead silence.

And then the screaming and clapping and cheering broke out again.

I smiled, and we held hands and bowed to the audience before heading back inside.

Once inside, nobody said a word to each other. We all knew we had captured something special and we wanted to save every breath to make each rap, dance, and song better.

We carefully dressed into our clothes and simply sat there as the coordinators applied makeup and styled our hair.

And then we were back out there in no time.

I took one deep breath as our individual introductions started.

All the stage lights went out.

Someone screamed in the audience.

Then two pairs of glasses, shoes, and gloves started moving in the very left part of the stage.

Music began and these two pairs of glow-in-the-dark objects started dancing. Halfway through their dance, the stage lights directly above them , only illuminating them.

It was Chan Hee and AN, dancing.

Then, their lights shut down, and a new pair of glowing belts, shoes, and gloves appeared.

Similarly, halfway through the dance the lights shone down on only them, and the crowd could see that it was Jason and Laiqa dancing.

The next two were Shin and I together. Both of us were doing popping like we’d never done before. It was difficult, but the both of us were quite satisfied with it when it had finished.

Then, it was Sky and L1GHT b-boying together. They even flashed their abs, causing a wild frenzy.

Finally, the last stage Jin and King, who clearly enjoyed dancing. The shouting was unbelievably loud as King made his y faces at the crowd. I heard Shin laugh next to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZJPJhFR26I

(Two for each dance.)

Universe maintained its intense focus throughout the whole show, not softening it one bit even when Infinite came out to join us.

We blew through the collaborations and even though Infinite’s style was quite distinct from ours, we still managed to make our parts our own.

Finally, it was the last song of the night, Tonight, and we completely gave it our all. The crowd had shown their respect through their silence for us, but now it was time for us to make them scream and dance.

There was no reservation in the performance.

I danced so passionately, I would’ve broken my neck if I’d ever fallen.

L1GHT was singing with all his might, and sweat was pouring down his face.

Jason and King were really working those hips, making the crowd start to jump.

Jin’s rocker side was starting to come out and Chan Hee’s charisma was starting to shine through.

AN was so gorgeous that she just glowed as she was and Laiqa’s voice still managed to harmonize perfectly with Sky, who was singing right now.  

Both Sky and Laiqa were singing like never before, Laiqa was holding back since she was harmony and to make it easier for her, Sky was singing his fullest into the microphone.

Finally, it just burst. On the chorus, we started to just dance with the crowd, exaggerating the choreography to get the crowd to join with us.

I saw Dongwoo flash me a weird look as if to tell me to “calm down”, but I didn’t care.

Shin was shouting at everyone to let it loose and the crowd was screaming so loudly.

But it was nice, because their screaming just made it easier for us to fearlessly sing and dance.

There was fire in all the members’ eyes and I swear that even when the song finished and the stage lights turned off for a second, our eyes must’ve glowed afterwards.

Breathing hard, I got into formation again, between Sungyeol oppa and Sky oppa, and we grasped each other’s hands and waited for the lights to come on again.

And when they did, we took a huge bow together.

And then Infinite thanked the fans before leaving together.

And then it was our turn.

We all looked at Shin and Chan Hee, our leaders, to make the speeches.

Shin held his microphone up to his mouth and then he laughed a little before saying in Japanese, “Wow, that was one hell of a concert, huh?”

The crowd roared.

“Thank you so much”, Chan Hee said, bowing again.

“In order to create experiences like this again, we will work hard to present ourselves to you again”, Shin said.

“Yes, we’ll see you all again!”, Chan Hee promised, and we left the stage with the crowd roaring its approval at us.

As soon as we were backstage, we all let go of our stage presences.

Kyuhyun fell into Sky’s arms and closed his eyes as they grasped each other in close hugs despite the sweat.

JiHyun was just shaking his head, and Chan Hee was standing in the middle of the room, a smile on her face.

Jaesun had collapsed in a makeup chair and his eyes were also closed.

Soo Ri was crying a little bit just because of the overwhelming emotions we’d just felt and now had to let go of, and Soori was hugging her around her waist, and she also seemed close to tears.  

Gongchan, whose hair was slightly messed up, was just lying down on the floor, breathing heavily.

Eun Suk was sitting against the wall, her head in her arms and her face hidden from sight. She also looked like she was breathing hard.

I was just smiling, so proud of us. I feel like we reached a new level today. I mean, despite all the odds… despite all the fears that no one wanted to admit… Look at what we just did. Just look at what we accomplished.

Jaesun opened his eyes slowly, and when they met mine, he smiled as well.

JiHyun came over to me and clasped my shoulder before addressing all of us, “That was amazing. It really was. But remember, it’s just the start. So pick yourselves up, store this wonderful experience away somewhere in your hearts, and let’s get back to the hotel.”

Chan Hee nodded and reached out to pull Jaesun up, and then walked over to Eun Suk and gently helped her up before also helping Gongchan to get up.

Kyuhyun patted Sky’s back on last time and then they let go of each other as well.

Soo Ri wiped her eyes carefully and Soori let go of her and led the way back to the van.

Later that night, we ordered ramen from a nearby store.

Sky, Gongchan, Kyuhyun, Hoya, Myungsoo, and Eun Suk were in one room.

Chan Hee, JiHyun, Sunggyu, Sungjong, and WooHyun were in another room.

Soori, Soo Ri, Dongwoo, Sungyeol, Jaesun, and I were in another room.

We were all doing the same thing, though- watching recaps of ourselves and taking notes of our mistakes.

When we came to the finale, Dongwoo paused the video and laughed before saying, “Look at you, Shim Jang, you’re screaming into your mic, man.”

I looked at the screen and sure enough, he was right.

I just shrugged it off and said, “Yeah, I was a bit carried away.”

“You guys are impressive on stage… but scary”, Sungyeol said, slurping his ramen, “Very intense.”

“That’s how we do it”, Jaesun said, and he was neither bragging nor unsatisfied.

He was just stating a fact.

That’s how we do it.

a/n: there's quite a few links here, don't miss them! and i hope you guys are okay with the pairings and everything. thanks for the feedback on the albums. thank you for everyone who loved them. (: and of course, thanks to the critques as well, since they gave me ideas for the speeches in this chapter.

well, i think universe has found its style. <3 and i think you can all see why universe stands out. if this was real life, i honestly think they would dominate. i mean, a co-ed group that composes and choreographs its own music where the girls can dance fiercer than most boys and where the boys can sing more soulfully than the best female vocalists? (:

it's also interesting for me to think about how performers have to let their emotions out in front of thousands of fans and then just have to reel it all back in after performances. it must be exciting and difficult at the same time, which is kindof what i was getting at here. (:

Okay and for Soori's author Kyuna9:
"How do you get inspiration to write?"
Um... I guess just because I can never be as good as I want to be at dancing, singing, or being a leader or being beautiful or having anything special, I fantasize a lot about what it would be like, and it's like... in writing, you can be. It can happen. So maybe that's where the inspiration comes from? And of course, in writing, you can write about things in disguise... so things you would be too embarassed to talk about or seem irrelevant to the you in real life, well, you can put them all in writing and no one will judge you. <3

"What is your hobby?"
Oh goodness. I have too many, haha. Hmm... I do love singing and dancing. Acting, but I haven't done it in a while. Reading philosophy and doing mock trial (speech & debate) is a hobby of mine. I like snowboarding, volleyball, and golfing. Backing, just sitting next to a window on a rainy day? Writing fanfics! Sleeping with tons of pillows and my huge fluffy bear. Shopping and eating out with my mom, and when I'm super bored I do enjoy tumblr. XD Haha, I sound really lame no matter how you think about it. (:

Thanks for the questions, Kyuna9. I'm happy you had anything to ask me at all! (: And I did enjoy thinking about your questions.

Okay, so if we could meet for real... first of all we would go to a nice cafe and eat a bunch of pastries. and talk about life in geenral :D then, we could go to one of those places where you can paint your own dish or whatever... and then we could go to karaoke. (: and have a hell of a good time. and finally, we'd go home, change into really comfortable clothing and eat ramen and ice cream as we spazz over kpop idols or just goodlooking people in general. and then we could write the next chapter of 1VS together. <3

and okay, infinitemask, when you guys come back to Korea, you guys will appear on weekly idol! i'll have to watch them first and figure out how it goes, but i will be more than happy to write about it. (: