With the audience seats gone, the stage expanded like magic, almost doubling in size. We had practiced with this extra space in mind, but witnessing the set that was created solely for our performance still left us utterly awestruck. 0

“Jin-Sung would be soaring across this stage if his legs were fine.”0

“Right? He's been pouring his heart into vocal practice, yet he can't shake off that gloom. He's become so much quieter."0

“It's a tough break. From dancing in the skies to being tethered to vocals… He wouldn’t be satisfied with that. But I think it's the guilt toward us that’s weighing him down more than anything," I said. Well, his vocals and rap had significantly improved, a silver lining to his cloud of sadness.0

As Yoo-Joon and I dissected the situation, Joo-Han joined us and let out a deep sigh. Yoo-Joon then teased him with a sly smile, “What's up, Joo-Han?"0

“Hey, stop calling me only by my name. You should call me ‘hyung,’ dude. I'm in a serious mood here. I'm worried he'll carry that somber expression right into the performance."0

Jin-Sung, who would usually bounce back quickly, had been devoid of smiles for days now.0

“But what can we do?" I said, more to myself than anyone.0

“Being relegated to the stage's corner, singing alone... Of course,...0