You Rock My World

Thank you

Today was the day.

The members stood backstage, getting their mics and amps hooked up, shaking out their nervous jitters.

Hongjoong walked around making sure all the members remembered the set list, instructing each of them to put their music in order. Seonghwa had to hold back his excitement, knowing Hongjoong himself didn't even know the true set list.

Finally, everyone was set, so Hongjoong called everyone to circle up.

"No matter what happens today, I want you all to know that I'm so proud of you. We went from two 4 member trainee bands to Ateez. You're all here because you're incredible at what you do and we wouldn't be Ateez without you."

Seonghwa felt himself getting teary-eyed and quickly wiped away any signs of it.

"This is the first time anyone will ever see Ateez's performance. And we'll show them the best stage presence they've ever seen. Okay? Make them remember the name."

Everyone smiled, nodding in unison. Hongjoong turned to Seonghwa, giving him the floor.

"You've all worked so hard these past few weeks. With everything that's been going on...I just want to say thank you for being here and working hard. We know it hasn't been easy. We know we haven't always been there for you guys. Well—mostly me," Seonghwa said with an embarrassed smile and Hongjoong elbowed him.

"We were both pretty bad," Hongjoong added and Seonghwa was forced to accept it for the moment.

"Anyways, I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of the incredible young men you've become. So thank you for stepping up when we couldn't. We're going to kill it on this stage, alright??"

Everyone nodded and cheered.

"Fuck, I'm gonna cry," Hongjoong laughed but his eyes started to water and his lip trembled as he turned away. Seonghwa pulled him to his side in a hug and everyone else started to tear up, too.

"Hey, we can't start crying before we even get on stage!" Seonghwa laughed, knowing full well his eyes were brimming with tears.

They all laughed and tried to wipe what they could, getting ready to go. Everyone placed their foot in the center.

"Everyone ready?" Hongjoong smiled before turning to Seonghwa.

"Together this time."

Seonghwa's heart skipped a beat. Hongjoong always led the chant. He smiled and nodded.

"Three! Two! One!"

"Eight makes one team!" they all called in unison.

With that, the curtain rose and they moved to their places, strapping on their guitars and setting up.

Once everyone was set, they all looked to Hongjoong and he started the count-off.

Something about the eight members finally performing as one group filled the music hall giving life to the massive space. The whole auditorium lit up in response, even though the only ones watching were sitting in the back row. They flew through their sets with flying colors, each song more energized than the last.

After what felt like only a few minutes, they had reached the end. Or at least, what Hongjoong had thought was the end.

He stepped up to his mic with a smile and started to speak.

"Thank you so much for you time, that's—"

"Not quite the end of our set."

Hongjoong turned towards Seonghwa in bewilderment, trying to keep his smile painted on his face. Seonghwa just smiled, feeling his cheeks heating up as he turned to the rest of the members.