Because Your Heart Is Like a Star - 1
Live: Watching the ABCD Summer Live Together with RD!!!
-Live viewers: 61,078
Aki, Berry, Clara, Doda
On screen, ABCD’s live performance was in full swing.
Under a sky that gleamed like glass, the camera followed the four members as they each sang their lines, moving with far more natural grace than it had at the showcase.
The stage, which had begun on an ordinary platform, gradually transformed into a fantastical space where auroras shimmered over glass.
Under lights in four distinct colors, their white stage outfits stood out.
The lively beat burst forward with a guitar riff.
Berry hopped into the air. Her pink hair flew up over her stage outfit, and she sang while swaying her waist lightly. The rest of the members had their backs turned.
[GO! Open the door to tomorrow!]
[Even in a broken rhythm, I believe in myself]
Berry spun around.
Clara appeared behind her. Her scarlet hair and decorations flashed as she moved. She looked relatively understated, but her husky, comforting voice rang out.
[Even under blurred lights, I can see you]
[It’s not wrong]
[We keep going]
She pointed to the side with her hand.
There stood Doda. This was a more flirtatious gesture and voice than she usually showed. She lifted one leg and bounced in place. Blue blended with white.
[Try!]
[Hold even the time when I hesitated]
[On a stage that begins again]
Before long, Berry, Clara, and Doda had gathered into a triangle. Yellow bloomed in the center. At the same time, all the surrounding lights turned yellow as well.
Then, with a sharp flash, Aki closed her eyes and poured all her strength into the song. This was the hardest part of the track, a high note passage that climbed several steps upward.
[Even if the beat breaks, the heart still rings!]
[Because our own error will become light—!]
And then the endlessly rising high notes.
Once more, the chorus swept in.
The members kicked through the air and flung their arms wide with refreshing force.
[GO—!]
In time with the movement, the skirts of their white stage uniforms fanned out like petals.
The motion was steadier than at the showcase. Nobody was panting for breath in the middle, and nobody nearly tripped when their legs tangled.
They had grown.
That much was undeniable.
The viewers went wild for the crisp, refreshing choreography.
-Oh lol this time they nailed the timing
-For real, they’re an idol group with growth?
-Berry is the cutest thing in the world
-Clara unnie, heeey….
-Whoa, Aki-chan’s high notes lol
-Ugh, Doda-chan is making me see her as a woman
-Wow lol
-Berry’s voice cracked a little lololol
-They’re seriously good lol
...
...
...
RD watched in quiet absorption.
“....”
“....”
“....”
“....”
Each of them had a small illustration pinned beneath the broadcast screen. Whenever someone spoke, the corresponding illustration bounced in place. The one that bounced the most was Yulhwa, who usually played around with Berry.
[GO! Open the door to tomorrow!]
“Berry unnie, you’re so cute~”
This time, purple hair bobbed up and down.
Haerin said, “Wow, they’re really good singers.”
“!”
Black hair bobbed beside her. And then, one by one, with Haerin, they took turns making slightly deranged little remarks.
“Wow, they’re good dancers.”
“Wow, they’re cute.”
“Wow, they’re pretty.”
“Wow, they’re cool.”
“Wow.”
“Waaooo…”
“Zoong.”
“Zoaaoong…”
“Jawajawa…”
“Waowajowa…”
-Waowajowa lol
-No, these airheads lol
-lol
-Speech-hearing rehabilitation lol
-Chirp chirp tweet tweet
-The Sun and Moon Sisters again lol
“Natur…”
“Nature…”
“Focu…”
“Focus…”
-No lololol
-What are they even saying lol
-For real lol
-Ugh, I can’t focus here either
-Did you really expect the Sun and Moon to focus?
-Nobody’s pointing out that this is a Bigman literary quote lol
In the meantime, the song was drawing to a close.
The members, now separated into their own positions, stepped onto glowing platforms. They were yellow, pink, scarlet, and blue, each color representing one of them.
Once they stood on those platforms, the entire screen filled with shimmering auroras.
In a riot of colors, the brilliant light wrapped around the members.
It was like walking into a rainbow—
And then the silence returned.
Back on the ordinary stage where it had all begun, the four members stood side by side, smiling.
Even while breathing thinly and unevenly.
They held their final pose with quiet smiles.
As though everyone in the room were shouting with them.
The screen was packed with fireworks and fan-light emojis.
The chat, overflowing with praise, surged like a tide.
-Wow lololol
-There was something kind of eerie about that lololol
-Clap clap clap
-Berry is the cutest thing in the world
-Brrrly is cute
-Dodadadadada
-Hell yeah lolol
-Oh lololol
...
...
...
The RD members let out the breath they’d been holding.
Then the four illustrations bounced as if applauding. Purple, black, brown, and white shimmered beneath the screen.
Flash
Flash
“Owaaaah! So good!”
“Berry unnie! So cuteee~”
“Wootyatyatya! You really practiced a lot!”
“You’re so good!”
“Haerin unnie, shouldn’t we be doing something too?”
“Sniff, sniff. Haerin doesn’t know. Anything we do just ends in total failure….”
“Still, we should be doing that too, right? Something like, bam! and a group pose….”
Flash—!
Enjoy this moment.
Everyone forgot their pain.
Inside the small ark, they smiled.
The more they enjoyed it, the more people’s hearts gathered.
Thank you.
*
While the RD members laughed and chattered, the ABCD members on screen shouted, “Thank you!” and ran toward the front. Then, as each of them read the official broadcast chat, they stoked the atmosphere even higher.
Aki smiled brightly.
“‘You’re really good! You practiced a lot!’ Thank shooou!”
Doda laughed heartily.
“‘Doda’s chest is small but she dances well’...? Ban that guy.”
Berry, especially, read only the lines she wanted to see. She placed her fingers on both cheeks and swayed her shoulders side to side.
“Berry is the cutest thing in the world~?”
The chat window instantly filled with pink emojis. It was a terrifying torrent, like a tsunami surging forward.
-Brrrly is cute
-Berry is the cutest thing in the world!!!
-Brrrly is cute
-Berry!!! Please marry me!!!
-No lol the Boomerangs are all having a group seizure lol
-Berry!! Berry!!
-Berry Punch—!
...
...
...
Berry was genuinely delighted and started hopping up and down. Then, on the stage where the other members had quietly disappeared, she gathered her arms as if collecting energy and cried out.
“Huuuu...! I can feel everyone’s love...! Berry is, Berry is...!”
From somewhere, a faint sound effect drifted in, whispering, “Cute!”
Cute!
Cute!
Cute!
And then she lifted her arms.
Flash—
Pink radiance blazed.
A pink melody rang out.
Baam-bam! Ba-ba-ba-bam! Bam-ba-bam—☆
“!”
Berry’s face zoomed in close. Her fine eyebrows drew together, and her expression turned serious. Light flickered in her pink eyes. She shouted at the top of her voice.
[Berryling! Miracle Cutie Lovely Magic—☆]
The ordinary stage lit up once again.
Ba-bam!
This time, the pink was so bright it hurt to look at.
Berry’s body gleamed in a pink flash too.
Whoosh—!
The whole screen was drenched in pink light.
Jja-rarang—☆
And then....
When the screen came back, Berry was standing against a beautiful beach backdrop. She was wearing a pink swimsuit. Beneath a frilly bikini top, a skirt fluttered in the wind.
It was a new costume.
The other members’ outfits had been difficult.
But Berry’s had been just barely possible.
She had covered the awkward parts a little with the skirt... and now she was revealing it.
Berry called out with confidence.
“Summer Special Miracle Berryling, appearing—☆”
*
Inside a small performance hall in Busan, a mass of pink-crazed fans was losing its mind. They held two pink cheering sticks in both hands and twisted their bodies as they danced otagi.
These were Berry’s fans, the Boomerangs.
“Woooo! Berry! Woooo!”
On screen, Berry sang in a swimsuit. Every time she moved, the frills and skirt swayed with her.
[oh! Darling, darling—! Come to me!]
Following the swinging hands of the Boomerangs, the pink flashes from their cheering sticks fluttered and danced too.
Flash
Flash
“Woooow! Berry! Woooow!”
Berry winked and said,
[Who’s the cutest thing in the world?]
The Boomerangs roared.
“Berry—!”
“Berry!”
“Berry!”
Focused on now.
Living in the now.
Hoping the now would keep going.
If that was happiness....
Then they were happy.
Thank you..
*
At a cultural center in Songpa, Seoul, Park Hongshin, who had been watching the performance in a blue shirt, jumped in surprise. Doda, sitting in front of a game cabinet on the screen, had called out his raffle number.
[1179! 1179, let’s go play one round.]
“!”
Park Hongshin checked the raffle app on his phone. He wanted to make sure he hadn’t seen it wrong. But the screen clearly showed the number 1179.
As expected, I’m lucky...!
The performance was fun enough already.
And now he was going to play a game with Doda too.
He sprang to his feet.
“That’s me!”
The people around him looked over.
All of them wore surprised expressions.
“!”
“!”
“!”
In dozens of live-viewing venues.
Among the thousands gathered there.
Here, the man in the blue T-shirt, Dodari, had won.
The perfect coincidence drew cheers.
“Waaaah—!”
“It’s really Dodari?”
“I think I’ve seen that guy at an internet cafe before....”
Leaving the applause and cheers behind, Park Hongshin grinned and walked over to the laptop set up in front of the cultural center. The staff preparing nearby also gave him a thumbs-up and congratulated him.
“Congratulations!”
Park Hongshin gave an embarrassed smile at the shower of applause. Then, while the game was being connected, he glanced around. The Ace fandom guy he’d shared snacks with earlier was clapping too.
With a blank expression.
Only his hands moving quickly.
Clapclapclapclap—
Park Hongshin snorted.
....
He’s kind of a funny guy.
For some reason, he found it funny.
So he quietly raised a thumb toward him.
Flash—!
Something flashed again.
But it was hard to make out. The fans’ cheering sticks, the phone flashes, and the lights all blended together in a blur. And more than anything, he had no choice but to turn when he heard Doda’s voice from the front.
[Huh? Oh? Where? Ah~ Songpa! Dodari, huh? Really? Oh.]
Doda gave him a thumbs-up through the screen.
Snap!
[Good job. I’ll especially show the lucky Dodari my skills.]
“!”
Park Hongshin threw a thumbs-up back at Doda.
She had apparently heard about it by radio too, because she raised a thumb back just as quickly. Something about that response made his blood sing. It felt like he’d become one with the space.
Amid the cheers of the crowd
and the countless flashes of light,
he took the game controller the staff brought over.
Then he started a classic fighting game that appeared on the screen.
I don’t even know this game.
[Kyaa-ooh! Triple kick!]
“Whoa?!”
Fire burst from Doda’s character and glittered brilliantly.
Flash
Flash
Every memory was shining.
No one said it aloud.
But everyone knew who had given them this memory.
Thank you.
Flash—!
*
More than an hour had passed before I knew it.
The final order of the night was Clara and Aki’s performance. Clara was playing the piano, and Aki sat beside her, ready to sing.
I smiled faintly.
“....”
On top of the piano sat a golden trophy. It was the awkwardly drawn “1 billion” trophy from the day someone had once given me a stilted word of thanks. It had been realized here in ridiculous 3D.
Aki reached out and gently touched the trophy once.
Then she said,
[...Thank you.]
Right back at you.
Our beginning had been money, after all.
Though everything was about to vanish in the structure....
Gratitude still remained in the heart.
The numbers disappeared,
and the structure was cold.
People were still trapped in darkness.
The world did not welcome them.
And yet what remained was warm.
They sang of happiness even inside a shabby ark.
Numbers are finite,
but the heart exists without limit.
I believed that again.
“....”
Clara’s fingers moved,
pressing down on the black and white keys of the piano.
A melody so familiar,
so deeply missed....
People recognized it from the opening alone.
-Isn’t that “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?”
-Oh....
-Feels like they arranged it a bit.
“....”
I watched silently.
Watching them laugh
watching them sing
watching everyone enjoy the moment
all the countless cheering emojis in the chat
everything was sparkling.
Like stars in the night sky.
Flash
Flash
“....”
And then I looked at my phone.
On the broadcast chat channel, messages were flooding in.
-BGM
-BigMan!
-Aki-chan fighting!
-Sigh... so this is the last one already
-I’m lonely
-Clara plays the piano really well lol
-Thank you, Bigman!
-That trophy is killing me lololol
-BGM
-We should worship, right?
-I had fun today~!
-lol seriously lol
-BigMan!
-BGM
...
...
...
I could feel their hearts.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Really, thank you!
“....”
Don’t mention it.
I’m the one who should be thanking you.
“....”
I put my phone away. Then I switched it off vibration and set it fully to silent. I wanted to focus on her alone.
But I hesitated for a moment.
Flash—!
The bracelet
shone.
“...?”
Softly.
Like starlight.
The moment I tried to look closer, Aki began to sing.
[Twinkle, twinkle, little star]
A thin, trembling voice.
A quiet, resonant voice.
Memories rose up inside the song.
[How I wonder what you are!]
-What’s your name?
[Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky!]
-Lee A-yeong. I’m an idol trainee.
“....”
The girl shining like a star
had finally begun to shine in the night sky.
[When the sunlight goes out]
[And there’s no light at all]
[You shine a little light]
-Why does the store manager make money?
-Because there’s something I want to see.
-What?
-Someone fulfilling a dream.
-Your dream?
-No.
-Th-then whose...?
“....”
[Your small light]
[Leads the traveler on]
[What kind of being are you]
[Twinkle, twinkle, little star]
And then the performance ended.
The members came out and bowed.
[Thank you all so much for coming to the concert!]
[Thank you very much!]
[Please keep saying Berry is cute from now on!]
[Thank you, truly, truly...!]
The once-dark hall lit up.
People stood and applauded.
Clap clap clap clap—!
I applauded too.
“Thank you.”
A promise.
For keeping it.
“....”
I stood up and looked at the bracelet.
Maybe because it was bright, the light from earlier was hard to see clearly.
“....”
I left the cultural center behind.
Leaving all the light behind me, I walked through the dark city.
I walked slowly for hours.
Without purpose.
Without end....
“....”
Before long, one light after another went out,
and I was left alone in the darkness.
On a whim, I took out my phone and checked it.
There were a huge number of messages.
All from one person.
“....”
She kept sending these after the live ended...
And with a furious rabbit emoji at the end, she finished by saying she’d contact me again later.
“....”
I sent a reply.
Thank you.
It was the best.
At that moment, the numbers on the clock at the top of the phone changed.
Tick—
[07/31 00:00:01]
[07/31 00:00:02]
[07/31 00:00:03]
...
...
...
“....”
Damn.
So the time had come.
How should I spend the remaining day?
Should I just regress with this feeling still in my chest?
“....”
Yeah.
Let’s do that.
With this feeling intact.
Let’s welcome the next round cleanly.
“Good, bye....”
I was about to head for the place I had already chosen in advance.
“....”
But I couldn’t go.
“....”
Suddenly, I looked up at the sky.
In the dark expanse, faint stars shimmered.
The night sky, usually hidden by Seoul’s skyline, was easier to see in the darkness. Those stars sent their light toward one another across the distance, even in the dark.
Desperate.
Beautiful.
Like the people laughing just a little while ago.
Even if they were far apart,
they were looking at one another and smiling.
Seeing that made my steps feel heavy for some reason.
“....”
...Might not be a very good day to jump off a cliff.
My mind changed.
Just.
Let’s take a walk.
Yeah.
Let’s do that.
“Goodbye canceled.”
With twenty-four hours left in the loop, I started walking at an unhurried pace.
---