When everyone decides on their dreams, they smile.
Running is fun… writing is fun.
They become an athlete and a writer.
O Ah-ra also dreamt of being an idol because dancing and singing in front of people is enjoyable.
But…
As they get closer to their dreams, the smile fades from their faces.
Because it’s tough.
No matter how much they love it… or how good they are at it.
Going forward silently at the same time every day…
is a hard thing.
It’s a painful thing.
Naturally, they can’t enjoy every moment.
Just a moment ago, O Ah-ra…
was only driven by the ambition to present a more polished stage than Ha Ye-rin, but the stage itself wasn’t actually enjoyable.
But Ha Ye-rin…
the one who usually seems so cold and blunt…
was smiling innocently like a child while performing, standing in front of the fans, and coming down from the stage.
“She really enjoyed the stage… unlike me.”
In that moment, O Ah-ra recalled what Sua, the producer of Python, had once said to all the Python members.
“The stage isn’t just for you all; it’s for everyone in the concert hall. Team members, backup dancers, staff, and fans must all come together for a true stage to be completed.”
Just a moment ago, Ha Ye-rin must have enjoyed the stage connected with her fans.
So… the cheers of the fans were probably directed at Ha Ye-rin rather than the absent-minded O Ah-ra, who was anxiously going back and forth in her mind.
As O Ah-ra realized why she couldn’t surpass Ha Ye-rin, a bittersweet feeling made her lose her words.
And Ha Ye-rin, worried about O Ah-ra, said…
“Ye-rin! What are you doing? We need to hurry and prepare for our main stage!”
“Oh.”
Called by Yoo Seol, she moved her feet.
“Ah-ra unnie, it was fun today. I’ll quickly go change my outfit.”
“…Okay.”
O Ah-ra paused for a moment as she watched Ha Ye-rin’s departing figure.
What does the Status Window define as the best idol?
It might refer to someone perfect in every way like Yoo Seol…
or it could point to someone like Ha Ye-rin, who is genuinely happy on every stage… someone born to be on stage.
“I am neither.”
O Ah-ra soon felt that she belonged to neither of those categories.
“Ah-ra, we need to hurry and get changed. Come on.”
“…Uh, okay.”
Am I ultimately someone who can’t become anything?
For some reason, that thought wouldn’t go away…
Even with Kanna’s urging, O Ah-ra couldn’t easily move her heavy footsteps.
In response to the question of why I didn’t use the Status Window, I told O Ah-ra the truth.
Because it wasn’t fun.
Sky Demon Martial Arts first skill, Sky Demon Enchantment, and second skill, Sky Demon Moon Shadow Step.
Both are the great powers that brought me this far, and I am grateful for their existence.
But like I said before, using these becomes half the fun.
To be precise, it also diminishes the sense of accomplishment.
First, the first skill, Sky Demon Enchantment.
When I use it, the eyes of the fans watching me somehow start to empty.
Of course, they cheer like crazy, but sometimes I feel sorry like I’m controlling them.
And then the second skill, Sky Demon Moon Shadow Step.
Using this boosts my dance stats dramatically, allowing my body to move freely.
It kind of feels like automatically hunting in a game.
So the pleasure is less compared to when I perform on stage personally.
Above all, I realized during the preparations for this activity that the Status Window isn’t omnipotent.
Moreover, I understood that the synergy with my members and controlling my own capabilities are far more important.
Of course, if this stage really required me to give it my all… a stage that holds the life and death of Rookies,
I would probably use the Status Window and unleash all my skills.
But since it was a special stage…
wanting to purely enjoy the performance, I didn’t use the skills and actually had a lot of fun.
With that satisfied feeling, I walked into Yoo Seol and the Rookies’ waiting room.
And…
“Oh! Unnies!”
“Welcome back, guys.”
“…Quickly change your clothes, hurry!”
“I watched the stage! It was totally awesome!”
…As soon as I entered, seeing the members welcoming Yoo Seol and me, I felt an inexplicable strong aftertaste.
It was true that the special stage with O Ah-ra and Kanna was enjoyable.
But…
“Still, Rookies is the best.”
There seemed to be nothing more enjoyable than being with my Rookies members.
“I’m back!”
With that, I changed my clothes quickly for the main performance, feeling like I was home after a long time.
After completing everything until the main stage of Rookies and Python… all that remained was the awards ceremony.
First and foremost, what our Rookies wanted the most was the Rookie Award.
Honestly, I didn’t consider for a second the possibility that we wouldn’t win the Rookie Award.
Maybe in another broadcasting station’s awards ceremony, it would be different, but… this is NANA, after all.
Even though we did push Shin PD aside, Rookies is a group launched by Nnet, a subsidiary of NAS Entertainment,
so this place is practically our home ground.
Thanks to that, our Rookies received considerable consideration in the order of performances and the number of assigned staff.
Moreover, there weren’t any rookie groups that left a greater impact than us… so everyone, including Rookies and other idol groups, believed that the Rookie Award belonged to us.
However…
“The recipient of the Rookie Award is…! Congratulations! Python!”
“……!”
An upset occurred.
Of course, Python also achieved sufficiently worthy results to win the Rookie Award, but… they felt somewhat behind Rookies.
After all, this place was almost our base camp, and yet Python unexpectedly won the Rookie Award.
“Please send the representative of Python to deliver an acceptance speech!”
Kanna, the leader of Python who came out as the representative, still looked bewildered, as if she didn’t expect them to win the Rookie Award.
“…Thank you! This award seems too much for our Python, but we are receiving it…”
Kanna managed to give an excellent speech under tough circumstances, but many disappointed Rookies fans felt the atmosphere wasn’t good.
“We didn’t receive this…”
“…It could happen.”
“We set our expectations too high. It’s not like we had a guaranteed spot for the award.”
The mood within Rookies wasn’t very good either, but we comforted each other and moved past it.
As Yoo Seol said, it’s not like we guaranteed the Rookie Award.
The only relief was that even though we missed the Rookie Award, we still won quite a few other awards.
“The Music Video of the Year goes to Rookies’ [Secret Girl]!”
“Wow—!”
We reclaimed our pride by winning the Rising Star Award and the Music Video Award, along with several other minor awards.
Of course, even adding them all together, it still felt inferior to winning the Rookie Award, so there was no choice but to feel regret.
Still, our Rookies tried to act as if everything was okay, pretending to be happy about the other awards while holding their position until the end of the ceremony.
And… now, only the Grand Prize for the NANA Awards was left.
Growing tired from the long filming, I had my head tilted for a moment when…
“Hmm…?”
I spotted Director Jeong backstage, letting out a deep sigh.
Since Director Jeong is also with NAS, it wasn’t strange for him to be here.
What was concerning, however, was his expression.
He looked like he was in a bit of a tired mood…
“Director Jeong…!”
“……!”
Surprised to meet my gaze, he waved his hand…
‘Congratulations.’
“…Huh?”
He mouthed something I couldn’t understand.
Congratulations?
Was he congratulating us for winning other awards?
While I was confused, the moment came.
“Now, we will announce the highly anticipated Grand Prize for this NANA Awards!”
The host, who had been dragging on for some time, finally appeared to announce the winner, raising the mic high.
‘Who will win the Grand Prize?’
This year, there wasn’t any group with overwhelming results, so I was curious who would be the winner.
Black Night from YW, with Shin Si-woo, seemed likely, but they had been laying low.
‘Anyone could win this year and it wouldn’t be strange… wait a moment…’
That’s when an ominous premonition hit me.
To be frank, it was hard to call Rookies a rookie group anymore, given how well we performed.
This is an event conducted by NAS Entertainment.
And Director Jeong had just shown a somewhat awkward expression earlier.
Also, when he met my gaze, the words he mouthed.
Congratulations.
“…No way. It can’t be…”
I shook my head, trying to deny my bizarre speculation.
But then…
“This year’s Grand Prize winner for the NANA Awards is Rookies! Congratulations!”
“……!”
…The absurd had become reality.
“……Huh?”
“……Eh?”
As we participated in the awards ceremony thinking about the Rookie Award, we were frozen by the unexpected Grand Prize.
Na Han-na made a scene, dropping her hand while yawning at the news of the Grand Prize.
“Rookies, please come on stage! And the representative, please deliver your acceptance speech!”
Well, this could cause some discussions.
With blank faces, we stepped onto the stage at the host’s request.
Especially worrying was me.
“Ye-rin, let’s hurry up.”
“Unnie…! What should we do…! If they suddenly ask for an acceptance speech for the Grand Prize, what should I say…?!”
Our Rookies had barely been debuted for less than a year, and now they were receiving the Grand Prize,
and this is an awards ceremony conducted by NAS Entertainment.
Of course, even though our performance was outstanding this year…
It would inevitably lead to discussions about favoritism.
As I panicked, Yoo Seol gave me a cryptic smile.
“Ye-rin, you worry too much.”
“…Huh?”
“We didn’t lobby or anything, and our performance was indeed good this year. Honestly, with our level of performance, we fully deserved the Grand Prize.”
We had ranked first in every album and digital single release, and we had also achieved several music show wins.
Additionally, we set many records, such as being number one on the Top 100 site within 24 hours.
Yeah… Thinking so, perhaps we did deserve to win the Grand Prize.
Still, since my expression didn’t lighten easily, Yoo Seol eventually continued with a slightly bittersweet expression.
“Ye-rin, don’t overthink it. After all, our Rookies…”
And at her words, I jolted.
“…There are only about three months left.”
“…Ah.”
“Just say whatever you want to say clearly.”
Sure enough, this would likely be Rookies’ last NANA Awards.
Thinking about it made me feel pride in winning the Grand Prize, but also a regret due to it possibly being the last one.
“Yes…! I understand…!”
With that, I clenched my fist and confidently stepped onto the stage.
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