Chapter 418: Backstage
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 418: Backstage
The concert ended in a resounding success. Right up until the moment the curtain fell, I remained in a total daze. I honestly think I’ve put on the most pathetic display of myself since our debut. A fan event like that… it really, truly leaves a person speechless.
I don’t even remember how we finished the performance. By the time I stepped off the stage, all the kids were crying. Choi Je-ho and I were busy attending to two younger members each, sticking tissues to their faces. Even as congratulations for our first concert poured in from all sides, those punks wept like spring water gushing from a mountain spring.
How did they think to pass out those slogans? When did they prepare them? How did they manage to pull off such a massive event without us noticing?
The moment I let my guard down, my mind was flooded with the image of the audience filled with lights and that sea of slogans. I should have taken a photo. I hope the video team captured it well…
“Hey.”
Someone tapped me on the back. Choi Je-ho handed me a towel.
“Thanks.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just a bit overwhelmed.”
Burying my face in the towel, which was still piping hot with steam, helped me calm down. Still, giving us that much of an emotional punch during the ending was a bit much. I almost cried.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
“Seong-bin, you look worse off than me.”
Our leader’s eyes were swollen like a goldfish’s. It looked like all the effort he’d put into looking his best for these two days was about to go down the drain.
“Did you scrub your eyes with an exfoliating mitt? Why are they so swollen?”
“I think I rubbed them too hard…”
“How are you going to do tomorrow’s concert like this? I might have to call Seong-jun.”
“I’ll just keep my face shoved in the freezer…”
Apparently, he couldn't bear the thought of handing the concert over to Jeong Seong-jun; Seong-bin sniffled and hurriedly went looking for an ice pack. His sense of responsibility was truly remarkable.
Even after we managed to soothe them, it didn't last long. Once the families arrived at the waiting room, the boys' eyes welled up all over again. I’d often thought we had many sensitive members, but I hadn't realized it was to this extent.
However, there was one guest who made even these tender-hearted Spark members fix their expressions instantly.
“Lee Gang-myeong?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s younger brother had come along with their father. As the two men with icy impressions entered, the waiting room fell silent.
“Su-hun said he had work at the lab. But he wanted to come himself.”
“I heard. I just didn't expect Lee Gang-myeong to come instead.”
It was Choi Je-ho’s mother who broke the awkward silence. Having heard that Lee Cheong-hyeon’s father was coming, she had been waiting just to greet him.
“I heard the news. Thank you for all your help in finding a lawyer for the boys.”
“It was nothing.”
Thanks to that, the student Lee Gang-myeong was left standing alone, separated from his father. Lee Cheong-hyeon looked down at his brother in silence.
“…”
“…”
While not as extreme as my sister and me, they were brothers who didn't share many similarities. Choi Je-ho rested an arm on Lee Cheong-hyeon’s slumping shoulder.
“Your brother?”
“Yeah. This is Choi Je-ho Hyung. He’s twenty-two.”
Lee Gang-myeong, whom even Lee Cheong-hyeon had to look up at, shifted his gaze even higher. Choi Je-ho scanned the visitor with a disinterested expression. Lee Gang-myeong flinched.
‘He’s got the kind of face that says he’ll cause a scene if you mess with him.’
The sleeveless shirt Je-ho wore was made of too little fabric to hide muscles pumped up from over three hours of dancing and singing. His damp hair made his already sharp gaze look even more ferocious.
And finally, for someone like Choi Je-ho, who made his likes and dislikes very clear…
“How old?”
“Seventeen…”
…he never hides the fact that he finds someone incredibly annoying when they’re standing right in front of him. Lee Gang-myeong’s voice trailed off.
“Ah.”
“…”
“You’re young.”
It roughly translated to: ‘So you’re just a little punk who’s been talking shit to his own brother.’
Lee Gang-myeong’s expression stiffened. Being Lee Cheong-hyeon’s brother, he seemed to have good intuition.
Lee Cheong-hyeon took his thoroughly intimidated brother and went to find their father.
“Were you taking Cheong-hyeon’s side?”
“I heard you have to nip it in the bud as soon as the sprouts turn yellow.”
“Who taught you such scary words?”
“My sister.”
Choi Je-ho spoke with the solemnity of a laborer who had just finished tilling a field. Older sisters are never wrong. Their way of speaking is just a bit blunt.
“It would’ve been better for him to get a lecture from me.”
“Is there an option worse than you?”
At my question, Choi Je-ho pointed over his shoulder. Park Ju-woo was glaring with fire in his eyes.
Come to think of it, he was with me when we first heard about Lee Cheong-hyeon running away from home. Since he’d rushed all the way from Daejeon to Seoul to comfort a crying Cheong-hyeon, there was no way he’d look kindly upon Lee Gang-myeong.
“Ju-woo, relax your eyes. You’re going to get wrinkles between your brows.”
“If it’s for revenge, I can handle one wrinkle…”
“What kind of revenge are you even planning…”
Fortunately, Park Ju-woo soon returned to his usual gentle self. It was because Lee Cheong-hyeon didn't seem particularly upset by his family’s visit.
“I’ll let it slide this once…”
It was the first time the veins popping out on the back of Park Ju-woo’s fist looked so terrifying. I once again drilled the importance of peaceful conversation into him.
Lee Cheong-hyeon returned alone a short while later. He said he’d just seen his family off. He spoke as he cracked open a new bottle of water.
“Lee Gang-myeong left without saying a single word.”
“Really?”
“I was planning to pay him back tenfold if he said even one thing, but he kept his mouth shut and left. I think he was scared of Je-ho Hyung.”
“His face is pretty scary.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon burst into laughter at my comment. Emptying half the bottle in one go, he wiped the moisture from his lips.
“There aren't many people who can keep their heads held high after being scolded by both Lee Su-hun and Choi Je-ho.”
It seemed the eldest brother had also started reining in the youngest. I gazed at him quietly. Lee Cheong-hyeon smiled with a look of relief.
“Once I become an adult, I’ll be free in many ways. Right?”
Of course. Because by then, the only thing that will be able to boss Lee Cheong-hyeon around will be his deadlines.
I patted Lee Cheong-hyeon on the back as a gesture of encouragement. He seemed genuinely happy at the simple gesture.
*
If the first day was moving because it was the first, the next day was emotional because it was the last. If there had been a third day, I would have been just as moved then. How many days in a lifetime leave such a massive mark on one's soul?
The MVP of the second day was undoubtedly Kang Gi-yeon. He wasn't just running around; he was practically flying. Once he shook off the fear of trying something new, Kang Gi-yeon was unrivaled.
He delivered every word of the comments he’d memorized the night before without missing a single syllable. During the closing remarks, he even mentioned the slogan event. I saw several of the guys desperately trying to hold back their tears.
After coming off stage, they were showered with praise. They even shared hugs with the managers. You’d think they’d be exhausted, but perhaps because of the endorphins, they even went to the after-party.
The members, who hadn't had a proper meal in months, fell asleep as if they’d been knocked unconscious the moment the car started moving. Choi Je-ho and I each took charge of two younger members, ushering them into the dorm.
Everyone was in bed, and all the lights in the dorm were turned off.
But I couldn't sleep. I still had one task left.
+
[SYSTEM] Achievement of Party B’s KPI ‘Hold a Concert’ has been confirmed.
▷ Reward: Extra Data
+
The KPI completion notification popped up. For once, it was approved quickly.
And then, the next KPI appeared.
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Winning the Grand Prize’ has been designated as Party B’s KPI.
+
Debuting, reaching number one on music shows, gathering fans, and holding a concert—those were matters of individual capability. But a Grand Prize is different. No one can predict how the judging criteria might change or which singer will sweep the charts in a given year.
Variables beyond my control, a rapidly rising synchronization rate, and a shortened contract period.
Add to that a reward labeled ‘Extra’ unlike previous data… and it wasn't hard to find the answer.
‘This is the final KPI.’
I could conclude that all the data the System deemed essential had been provided.
My ears throbbed as if my heart had moved into my head. I slowly steadied my breathing.
Unless one possesses extraordinary fame, a name alone doesn't guarantee a Grand Prize. Some idols are particularly lucky with awards, while others are not.
The Spark of the past was famous, but they hadn't caused a national syndrome. They weren't particularly lucky with awards, either.
Spark had never won a Grand Prize before they disbanded.
‘I have to make them win their first Grand Prize with me.’
Making Spark achieve their previous accomplishments hadn't been easy. But it was enough to settle my guilt in a way. I rationalized that they were kids who would have reached number one even without me, and I had simply moved up the timeline.
But standing before a step that Spark had never once climbed, it was hard to think so selfishly.
They should receive that among themselves. It’s not just anything; it’s a Grand Prize.
Regardless of how I feel, I should respect the path they’ve walked.
Nevertheless, as long as it was set as Party B’s KPI, I couldn't use any tricks to let only the five of them receive the award. My heart felt heavy.
With a complicated mind, I opened the Memory Data. A darkness blacker than the one filling the room obscured my vision.
I see an intersection that was ordinary until that day.
People and cars move in lines according to the signals.
The commute I walked every morning without a second thought.
The crosswalk where I knew the order of the green lights but never cared where the CCTVs were mounted.
It’s familiar.
The landscape, once faint as if shrouded in mist, becomes clear.
The writing on the banners, even the store names written in the corners of signs, are vivid.
How could I have forgotten this place?
Just thinking about it makes my eyes sting.
My sister’s figure, weaving through the crowd to cross the street, is so lifelike.
Just standing here feels like I’m about to crumble.
It feels as if that long-missed face will approach if I just wait quietly.
The traffic light turned red.
People brushed past me dozens of times.
The sun set and night fell, then morning broke again.
Snow fell, then new leaves sprouted on the trees. After the pouring rain stopped, the autumn leaves fell.
In the place where the old shopping center vanished, a residential-commercial apartment complex rose.
While everything changes, I am the only one still standing there.
Unable to leave. Until the longing becomes dull.
Time flows, but I cannot let my sister go.
Endlessly, on and on.
Even now.