“Oh, now we’re smiling~”
In the first part of the awards ceremony, rookie idols are putting together a special stage.
Lira, who arrived a bit late among the Coral Blue members, sat down in the waiting area and spoke to me.
“It’s been a really long time. Has it only been half a year?”
She spoke in a voice only I could hear.
Even if she spoke loudly, the music would drown it out anyway.
“Yes, senior. It seems like it has been that long.”
‘It doesn’t feel like it to me, though.’
We had chatted so much through messaging that I got confused about time.
What are we even talking about so much?
‘She’s not even part of the A&R team.’
But Lira seemed unfazed, calmly continuing her conversation at her own pace.
“Our team has been mostly active overseas, so we haven’t had a chance to meet. We’ve been touring all over the world, from America to Asia, South America, and Europe.”
She said this with a hint of pride.
So it was better to respond appropriately.
“Yes, you must have been busy with the world tour.”
Our conversations always went like this.
“Seven must have been busy with the Asia tour too.”
Lira took the lead while I responded.
“Yes, yes, only the Coral Blue seniors would have it easy.”
And if my response wasn’t satisfactory, Lira would add a little more.
“Still, we’ve finished attending Fashion Week as ambassadors, so now we have some free time… Let’s grab a meal together next time we can.”
This was her teasing me about being a luxury ambassador.
“Yes, yes.”
It seemed Lira enjoyed my reactions like this.
With a chuckle, she turned her head back toward the stage.
What she said next didn’t seem to fit her.
“I’m still jealous of Seven.”
“Why’s that?”
She sounded somewhat self-deprecating.
“We’ve never won a grand prize. NND has swept everything, you know? We should have aimed for it while NND was on a break like now.”
Well, if NND had been active all year, our chances of winning would have been slim.
“We’re still nominees, though.”
“But you guys just topped the annual chart recently. Congratulations.”
What an unexpected compliment.
“Oh… thank you.”
Lira nodded and smiled.
“But you know, we won the Top Social Artist award at the Billboard Awards last week?”
Of course, I did.
Her pride was showing as she tried to sound humble.
“Yes, yes, congratulations.”
“I’m just joking. I’m envious of you guys for winning the grand prize.”
She always jokes about everything, doesn’t she?
Just as our conversation seemed to be coming to an end, she opened her mouth again after several performances and a few honorary awards were announced.
I opened my mouth.
“But senior.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you feel a bit disappointed? Even if we win the grand prize, we’ll disband in a few months.”
“Uh, yeah, a bit.”
It’s not quite sunk in yet, but of course I’m disappointed.
After all, these are the beloved members I’ve struggled with for over a year.
“I like them.”
Lira chuckled.
“That’s such a cute answer. That’s not what I meant, though. With our performance being this good, don’t you think it’s a shame to disband?”
That is a bit disappointing, isn’t it?
Even the third quarter settlement was enormous.
And when the fourth quarter settlement comes with my royalties…
Whoa, Mom, swipe my card!
“I’ll be a bit honest.”
Lira picked up the water bottle in front of her.
“Honestly, our group has gained enough recognition, but we can’t even dream of being as good as NND. NND is the kind of group that even gets invited to the Grammys where fan hearts don’t count. They’re overwhelming in Korea… no, in K-pop.”
Then she popped the cap and gulped it down.
She seemed irritated.
“But after listening to the new song, I felt that if Seven continues like this, and if Do-hee’s ability grows, we might someday surpass NND.”
“Oh, yes… heh.”
And then Lira pulled my cheek.
“Your expression.”
“Huh?”
“Your expression. I don’t like something about it.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t think something weird.”
“Uh.”
Only then did Lira release my cheek and continue speaking.
‘But why does everyone keep pulling my cheeks?’
“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not just Do-hee, but the members of Seven are also quite sensational.”
Wasn’t she just complimenting me…?
But I am still the prettiest, right?
“…Expression.”
“Huh?”
“Forget it, what am I even discussing with a middle schooler?”
“Huh…?”
“I’ll just tell you something fun. Do you know Jin Hye-in, who’s sitting in the first row?”
I do.
She’s the actress famous for her breakout role in a recent blockbuster drama and is known for being first-love material.
Isn’t she in her late 20s?
“I know her, but let’s go back to the earlier topic—”
“Jin Hye-in is a personality disaster.”
“Oh…?”
“She’s infamous among the staff for her power trip.”
“But didn’t you…”
“The funny thing is, Jin Hye-in even tries to pick fights with me.”
“Ohh…”
“We shot an ad together, and she purposely delayed my schedule. It’s a kind of power struggle. Isn’t it amusing?”
I nodded.
The dog nodded.
Surely, gossip is fun…
But is that really the extent of that Jin Hye-in person?
Still, Lira is considered a celebrity among celebrities.
“Oh, her boyfriend is a third-generation chaebol. It’s basically sponsorship, but she seems to think she wants a real connection.”
“Oh…”
So sponsorship really still exists…
“Honestly, there are quite a few celebrities like that. Especially actors. They have a strong class consciousness, and since people admire them so much, they start believing they’re special. But I…”
Lira swallowed her words.
Cheers and applause echoed through the concert hall.
“The special stage is over now. I need to look at the camera.”
No, that was exactly the amusing part…
*
The MWMA awards ceremony, which spans two days, was set to announce two awards on the first day.
First, the Record of the Year award, determined 100% by expert judging.
And another one is the Song of the Year award in the digital music category, which we were aiming for.
Naturally, before the announcement of the two awards, numerous performances and special awards, rookie awards, and best awards were presented.
We also shared our remarks with fans after winning the Special Award for Best Performance by a Female Group, but my mind was still focused solely on the grand prize.
‘Since our turn is close to last…’
Generally, when a stage is scheduled later, it means being closer to the top prize, indicating a higher chance of winning.
About an hour later, we finally headed backstage to prepare for our performance.
“Wow… you look really pretty…”
The stylist sister, who was putting the microphone on me, was staring at me intently.
“Thank you.”
The stylist sister, who murmured softly, seemed to think she made a mistake and hurriedly closed her mouth.
It wasn’t a mistake, and I didn’t mind at all, so I smiled gently, conveying that it was okay, and walked toward the stage equipment, heading for the lift.
If it had been any other day, I would have talked a bit longer to ease the awkwardness, but since the stage order was approaching, I too was a bit on edge.
As I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, my hand was grabbed.
“Do-hee!”
As I opened my eyes, Sara Unni was smiling and holding my hand.
“Yes?”
“Hana Unni is going to shout the chant again…”
Turning around, I saw the members had already gathered in a circle.
“Okay, hands up!”
“Wait, are we doing the chant again?”
“Come on, another cheer?”
“Earlier it was before the awards ceremony, and now it’s before the stage.”
“No…”
I grumbled a bit and stood next to the members who were gathered in a circle.
One by one, the members’ hands stacked up in the air.
Of course, there weren’t any touching remarks this time.
No cheer either.
Instead, it was just a simple line from Hana Unni.
“Let’s work hard.”
Suddenly, memories of the reckless days when I first stepped on stage flashed back.
Back then, I felt electrified standing before 500 people, and my heart raced imagining 1,000, or even 3,000 audience members.
And now, here I was, standing in front of tens of thousands as an award nominee.
Of course, the feeling of nervousness was the same back then as it is now.
Hana Unni chuckled.
“Seo-yoon’s hands are shaking so much!”
‘Seo-yoon Unni is my ideal type, though.’
Seo-yoon Unni, embarrassed, dropped her hands down.
“The lift will be going up soon!”
Along with that came the staff’s urging.
“Hey guys, form up, form up!”
We quickly moved to find our spots.
Finally, under the darkened stage, the lift awaited us.
We stood in position, waiting for the lift to ascend.
The cheers from the fans filled the air, drowning out the members’ breaths, but I could still picture where everyone was standing in my mind.
After practicing this formation hundreds of times.
And I took Seo-yoon Unni’s shaking hand.
Her hand was shaking uncontrollably.
As I silently held it, her trembling began to settle down.
My own trembling hand also found stability.
—Woosh
Instead, now I felt the lift begin to shake.
And the light slowly seeping in.
After exchanging a brief smile with Seo-yoon Unni, I finally let go of her hand.
—Waaaaah!!
As the lift went up, the cheers rose in proportion.
I closed my eyes one last time and blanked my expression.
The first performance was set to start with the expressionless ‘Fantasia.’
In truth, ‘Fantasia’ should convey a mix of sadness and joy rather than just an impassive face.
But I chose a blank expression due to a lack of acting prowess to express it.
However, today felt like a day where such expressions would come naturally.
It was a peculiar feeling.
Of course, it wasn’t the time to get sentimental yet.
We still had 120 days to share together.
But if I were to indulge just a little…
Every day we’ve spent together has been filled with joy.
And I felt today would be the happiest of all.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
