“…….”
“…….”
The other members, seeing the crowd of fans, looked frozen and dazed.
What jolted us back to reality was the sound of my phone vibrating.
Woong.
“…Someone’s calling.”
“…Oh, it’s me.”
I realized late that I was the owner of the vibration.
And the one calling me was none other than….
[Director Jeong]
…Director Jeong.
‘Why is Director Jeong calling out of the blue…?’
I tilted my head and answered the call.
And….
[Hello, Ye-rin!]
“…Yes, yes! Director Jeong.”
[What’s going on? Where’s everyone?!!]
“…Huh?”
As soon as I picked up, I heard Director Jeong’s urgent voice.
Seeing Director Jeong, who was usually so calm, this frantic was quite shocking.
‘Is there something wrong with the concert?’
Flustered, I urgently asked back,
“All the members are outside with me! Is something wrong?”
[Hoo…, it’s hard to explain. Everyone needs to return to the waiting room. Quickly!]
Teuk.
As soon as the call ended, I gestured to the members.
“Everyone, let’s go back!”
“Yes…?”
“Why, Ye-rin? Is something going on?”
As I spoke in a state of panic, the members looked puzzled, but I didn’t know the exact situation either.
All we could do was hurry back as Director Jeong said.
“I, I don’t know…! B-but we have to hurry back…!”
“…Is there something wrong with the concert?”
“Let’s hurry and find out.”
So, we sprinted back to the waiting room.
People around us looked surprised at our sudden rush, but we didn’t care.
Right now, all that filled my mind… was unease.
So many people gathered for our Rookies’ first and last concert….
What if something went wrong and we couldn’t show a perfect stage to the fans?
But contrary to that unease, when we arrived at the waiting room, we were greeted with…
“We’re here!!!”
Perung-
“Congratulations on Rookies’ first concert-!”
“……?”
Bright lights, the sound of fireworks, a cake held by Director Jeong, and the smiling NAS staff surrounded us.
“Eh…?”
“Director Jeong, what’s all this…?”
We asked Director Jeong in sheer bewilderment, who was in the center with a grin.
Director Jeong smiled softly and said,
“This is Rookies’ first and last concert, right? So, I prepared an event.”
“Oh….”
“I was going to surprise you when you were in the waiting room, but you all weren’t there. So it turned into a surprise by accident.”
Director Jeong said that while presenting the cake to us.
On the huge rectangular strawberry cake…
[first and last rookies]
was written our Rookies’ concert name.
‘Ah….’
Seeing that, I felt the same surge of emotion I felt earlier.
Brotherhood Planning?
They’re the benefactors who saved my life.
Rookies fans?
Those who love us unconditionally…, I’m just so grateful for them.
And NAS Entertainment staff.
In fact, my connection with them was hastily formed.
A project group suddenly formed through a variety show, and the big corporate wage slaves.
It could have been an incompatible combination…, and we could have just been treated as mere professionals, but….
The NAS staff always did their best and treated us sincerely.
From Director Jeong overseeing Rookies to the nearby manager, the coordinating sisters, and other staff.
It was us who stood before fans under the name Rookies, but….
Because those who supported us from behind allowed Rookies to shine.
Knowing that so well….
And the thought of parting with such employees made me very sad….
“Huheung…, thank you…, huu….”
We burst into tears again.
This time, it was Seo Yoo-jin who cried first.
Seo Yoo-jin had pride and loyalty toward her original agency, SAV, but….
Right now, she seemed to be more saddened by parting with NAS Entertainment, hugging her closest coordinating sisters and sobbing.
“Thank you so much for taking care of us all this time….”
“Yoo-jin, don’t cry.”
“We have to do our makeup later; if you cry now, the makeup won’t stick.”
As we patted Yoo-jin’s back, Director Jeong wore a bittersweet smile.
“That’s right. It’s good to share the sorrow of parting, but it’s not the time yet.”
He then looked at all the Rookies members and continued,
“We have concerts today and tomorrow. Let’s continue our talk during the afterparty, and show our fans only good performances until tomorrow.”
“Yes…!”
…Right, we hadn’t even rehearsed yet, let alone the concert.
As Director Jeong said, it was still early to be reminiscing.
Thus, Yoo-jin stopped crying, and we put on determined expressions, causing Director Jeong to smile and pull something from his pocket.
It was a match.
Chiiick.
Director Jeong lit the candles on the cake and shouted, pointing at us.
“Still, we have to blow out the birthday candles, don’t we? The Rookies members will blow them out for the endless success of this concert.”
“Waah!”
There were six candles, one for each member.
We took one candle each….
Hoo.
And blew out the candles.
“Waaah!”
“Let’s keep fighting till the end!”
“Rookies, fighting!”
“Thank you so much for all your hard work!”
We embraced each other, feeling the lingering moments, before….
“Okay, now let’s go rehearse.”
“Yes…!”
We moved outside to give the fans a perfect concert.
“…I feel like I’m going crazy.”
Even Yoo Chang-seon, who had gotten used to the long waits following Rookies, found this 8-hour wait extremely tough.
Hoo….
Tired of mobile games, Yoo Chang-seon stretched and looked around.
…Once again, he was surrounded by only female fans.
“So this time, I bought data for Hannah…”
“Whoa, didn’t you pay too much?”
They seemed to have come with someone, chatting away with the people next to them.
That looked quite fun.
He didn’t particularly want to befriend anyone, but being alone felt boring.
But then…
Thud.
“…Huh?”
As something bumped against his foot, Yoo Chang-seon looked down to find a keyring made of Ha Ye-rin’s cartoon character.
It seemed like something bought from the goods shop at the concert entrance and belonged to the person next to him.
“Excuse me.”
“…Yes?”
“I think you dropped this.”
“Oh….”
Yoo Chang-seon called over the girl next to him and handed it back to her.
The girl, looking to be around Yoo Chang-seon’s age, stopped her chat with her friend and immediately bowed her head.
“Thank you.”
“Oh no, it’s nothing.”
If it were a usual situation, the conversation would have ended there.
But perhaps due to the long wait, feeling bored…
“You must be a Ye-rin fan.”
“Yeah? Ah, yes.”
“I am too.”
“Really?”
Yoo Chang-seon continued the conversation with the girl beside him.
“When did you become a fan?”
“I’ve been a fan since I was in the military. I fell in love when I saw Na Ah Ah’s first stage.”
“Oh…! The Na Ah Ah rank evaluation!
“Exactly, hehe.”
“The one after that, <24 hours is not enough>, was a legendary stage!”
“I still can’t forget that stage; I often look it up on YouTube. The immersion was just….”
With the common topic of Ha Ye-rin, the two chatted animatedly.
“Oh, so before being a Ye-rin fan, you were just a Muggle.”
“…Muggle?”
“That’s what we call it among ourselves…”
Besides talking about Ha Ye-rin, they also shared idol fan culture that Yoo Chang-seon was unaware of as well as their personal stories.
“Oh, so you took a leave just to fan Ye-rin.”
“In a way, yes.”
“I’ve noticed since earlier that you’re truly a Ye-rin superfan. That’s why I’m so glad… my friend is a Yoo Seol fan.”
“Oh, I see.”
Meeting a Ha Ye-rin fan and discussing things about Ha Ye-rin was enjoyable for Yoo Chang-seon as well.
He was momentarily mesmerized by the girl’s smile when he suddenly asked,
“…Why do you like Ye-rin?”
“Me? Ah….”
At Yoo Chang-seon’s somewhat serious question, the girl hesitated for a moment before answering.
“…Actually, I used to be quite timid. But watching Ye-rin’s performances slowly changed me.”
“…….”
“The Ye-rin on stage is genuinely stunning to anyone’s eyes. I admire such Ye-rin. I guess that’s why it feels good.”
The girl, once shy, couldn’t help but smile brightly just talking about Ye-rin.
And….
“……!”
Thump.
Yoo Chang-seon’s heart began to race at that sight.
He hadn’t realized before, but seeing her smile like that….
‘…She’s pretty.’
Thump, thump.
Since they met like this, could they maybe develop into something more?
If he could date a girlfriend with shared interests…, it would be absolutely perfect.
‘After those dark military days, could light finally shine upon my life?’
First, Yoo Chang-seon took out his phone from his pocket to ask for the girl’s contact.
Feeling her sudden beauty made it hard for him to speak, and time seemed to slow down.
“Um….”
But then it happened.
Pa-ah!
“……!”
Just as he reached out to the girl, the lights in the concert hall turned off….
Fwaaa-.
“Waah!”
“Gyaaa!”
The members in [Secret Girl] outfits finally appeared on the giant screen.
“Wow….”
Ha Ye-rin, with colors drained, looking almost white-haired, was truly breathtaking.
As Yoo Chang-seon admired her, he then glanced beside him….
“Ye-rin-!!!!!”
“……”
A three-legged squid was waving a light stick.
‘Whoa, I’m wide awake now.’
Clearly, having taken such a long break from dating has lowered his defenses considerably.
Yoo Chang-seon resolutely decided to focus on the concert at this moment instead of any stray thoughts….
“Waaah!”
He waved his light stick and cheered.
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