“Happiness! We are Red Velvet!”

The school auditorium boomed with applauses.

Seulgi chuckled. “So, happy new year to all of you!” The crowd roared in greetings too. “Since this is a new year and signifies of new beginnings for all of us—new school year, new classes, new friends and acquaintances, new experiences, new discoveries and a lot of new things—we, as Red Velvet, also wants to bring out our very own version of new.”

Curious ooohhs and murmurs echoed as reaction to what the guitarist said. Some were already giggling, knowing and hinting of it.

Seulgi cleared and looked at Joohyun, Seungwan and Sooyoung, nodding. “So! Presenting to you, a brand new Red Velvet… with our new addition to the group! Our brand new member, on rhythm guitar role… our new maknae…"

“Yeri-yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!” The four of them called and from the backstage, Yerim with her guitar mushroomed, waving at the audience with a big smile on her face.

Surprised ooohhs now echoed inside the venue, combined with claps and whistles and cheers.

Yerim settled in between Sooyoung and Seulgi. Joohyun was beside Seulgi, Seungwan at the back windowing in between of them. “Hello guys! I’m Yeri, and I’m the newest member of Red Velvet. Please treat me well!” She bowed and the crowd clapped. She looked at her new bandmates and they all nodded so she continued. “As Seulgi-unnie said, we’d like to bring you a lot of new to signify the start of this school year. And the best way for a band like us to do that is to sing you brand new songs!”

The crowd cheered excitedly. Red Velvet had gained a lot of followers and popularity at their school so they’re a pretty well-known band already.

“With that said, how about hearing our school’s anthem in its new version—rock version, to start off???” Seulgi said excitedly as Yerim started strumming her guitar.

“One, two!” Seungwan said immediately after and Seulgi introed her lead plucking along with all her bandmates.

I look up at the serene blue sky
And realize a distant ideal

Seungwan started singing.

And on the hill where fragrant cherry blossoms bloom
Ah, encouraging friends gather on campus

Sooyoung followed. While Seulgi’s lead plucking started again, the audience cheered and wowed at the new way they’re singing, transitioning to each member. This is new, indeed, the school anthem sung in a rock version and their new style.

At the bosom of an extended, beautiful peak
Affectionate souls bring me up

Yerim continued the second verse, wild cheering from the freshmen corner boomed.

Carrying the dawning future on their shoulders and
Ah, diligent friends gather on campus

Joohyun now sung. The original visual fans screamed in delight.

Ooh lalala
Ooh lalala
Ooh lalala

They all harmonized at that, and it was perfect. Seulgi did her lead guitar plucking again, supported by all her bandmates’ sounds.

On the clear water's surface

Red Velvet sang the above line, still in that perfect harmonization.

Reflected a maiden's sincerity and high dreams

Seulgi did the solo vocals now on that bridge.

Not forgetting to disperse to school
Ah, promised friends gather on campus
Ah, promised friends gather on campus

Then they all sung together, with Seulgi leading the vocals and the guitars. The song outros, and the new Red Velvet were welcomed very warmly by applause, cheers and whistles by impressed audiences.

+++

“So, the first song was our school’s anthem in rock version. All of us helped in the re-arrangement of the melody and music. And fret not, this was approved by our new school president, Yongsun-sunbae.” Seulgi re-introduced again, the audience laughed at that. “And the second one was Singing!, composed and written by our Wendy. Let’s give her a round of applause.” The crowd went wild in clapping.

Seungwan stood up and bowed and waved.

Yerim chuckled in fondness, this is what she really liked about the band, their humor and talent.

“So, for our next new song, I’ll let our Joy-ah introduce this since this is her creation, after all. Our lovely Joy, go!” Seulgi said cheerfully.

Sooyoung scoffed and rolled her eyes and the whole crowd giggled. “Hello. I created this song in thought of what’s best to describe Red Velvet members. But with a twist,” She paused and smirked. “This one’s going to be spoken in Seulgi-unnie’s voice. She's quite the inspiration for this.” She looked way past Yerim and Seulgi, up to Joohyun, who was just nodding proudly. Yerim looked at her as if saying, told you so and she internally sighed in defeat. “So, here’s one of our new songs, Genius…?!!” She introduced and Yerim started strumming her rhythm, soon followed by Seulgi’s lead and then the rest. Seulgi’s lively voice started singing.

I tie my tie tight and now depart
While my heart is tied tight, too
A stage that's shown only to us
Let's go gathering our power

However many times I depart, it feels like the first time
Deciding one song is exciting and tense
But when we exchange looks, that easily
Changes mystery into happiness

We bask in the spotlight, light from around the world
We're just about gathered, almost radiating

Because we're not incomplete, our motto is fun
Because we're serious
That riff just now was cool, it felt pro
Oh no, I'm already in high spirits
Could it be that we're geniuses...?!
Nobody says so, but...we must be...!!

We don’t need any flashy accessories
Our sparkling sweat substitutes for jewels
We don't have makeup, either, just unpainted faces
But to that extent, we're honest

Our smiles in full bloom, people around the world
If we can make them smile, it's amazing, touching

Because we want to sing, the atmosphere is love and peace
Because our dreams are huge
This harmony is perfect, knack instead of pitch
Oh no, I'm already nervous
We don't sit down, our feet on the ground
Making good use of the fluffiness, soaring, happy

Yerim’s strumming solo, then Seulgi’s lead plucking next, Seungwan’s drumbeats and Joohyun’s bass hum followed. Sooyoung’s keyboard solo then bridged, the other instruments supported it perfectly. Seulgi again led with her electric guitar plucking, doing a duet with Yerim, as they phased into the song’s lyric bridge.

We encountered it, we found it
The supreme bliss of playing, a sense of unity
Before knowing it, we won't go back to being lucky

So we're going to go forward, tea time is our energy
Because we love everybody
Extending the loop, an awesome outro, tension doesn't have a ceiling
Then let's go, let's go more

Come on, because we're not incomplete, our motto is fun
Because we're serious
That riff just now was cool, it felt pro
Oh no, I'm already in high spirits
Could it be that we're geniuses...?!
Nobody says so, but...it's true...!!

While the crowd applauded, Seulgi and Yerim removed and put their electric guitars down on its stands and went backstage to be back with their acoustic guitars, making the crowd go wild at another surprise.

“Full of Number Ones!” Seulgi shouted merrily the song title and Seungwan proceeded with the drumbeats for their last song. Seulgi then sung her written song inspired by Joohyun and their date, in an acoustic melody and relaxed and chill manner.

Good morning, the sparkly morning sun is a golden spotlight on my whole body
Tehehe, my heart has a premonition of good things to come

How many centimeters is the soul? (I want to know)
What kind of shape is it? (circle, X, square???)
I dunno, but it’s the place (a warm place) I feel "love" (correct!)

So, let's go search for and meet our number one (let's go)
School - sound - song - tea - dessert
Even the hundredth number one is number one
A full heart, a full tummy (is happiness) to satisfaction, together... we grin

There's isn't just one number one

Good night, goodbye today, the starry sky is an indigo-colored blanket
Though there's a bit of a painful squeeze inside my heart

The scabs from yesterday (painful things)