A Lucky Day
July 19th. A day of good fortune. The moment I woke up, I drew back the curtains and checked outside. Through the clear-weather doll (Teru Teru Bozu) hanging in the window, bright sunlight poured down.
"Today, we'll have clear skies all day long."
I turned on the TV, and a pretty weathercaster was announcing the forecast. It would be sunny the entire day. Unlike my worries, it wasn't raining on the day of the performance. For the first time, I was glad the weather report had been wrong.
I headed to the shower with light steps.
Shhhhh—
Warm water from the showerhead enveloped my whole body. I lathered up my hands and carefully washed my hair, which reached down to my waist. A tune naturally escaped my lips.
"Hmm♪"
Performance day, perfect weather, top condition. I finished showering in high spirits and stepped out into the living room. I opened the fridge door in the kitchen, and it was packed with fresh ingredients I'd bought just yesterday. There's one day when I can eat my fill without worrying about my weight: the day of an important performance.
Yes, like today.
I piled bacon from the fridge onto a hot frying pan and cracked an egg into the remaining space.
"Huh?"
I'd cracked just one egg, but two yolks came out. Double yolks.
Clear weather, peak condition, double yolks—good omens kept coming one after another before this major performance.
"Man, what a lucky day."
I brought my hearty breakfast to the table. As I took a big bite of bread slathered with jam, my phone alarm rang. It was a message from Hara sunbae of the dance club.
Hara sunbae
We'd taken first in the group category, so there was no need to compete in the solo division. That's all it was. But...
"Why is she mad?"
I had no idea, so I decided to ignore it for now. The performance right in front of me was more important. Just as I was finishing my meal, another message came from Hara sunbae.
Hara sunbae
She seemed even angrier than before. What was "readignoring," anyway? I searched online and found out: when you read a message but don't reply. So the sender knows when you've seen it?
I mostly used regular messages, so I'd been clueless until now.
"Getting readignored..."
I'd feel bad too. It's like outright ignoring them. Then, one person popped into my mind: Lee Si-woo. After filming wrapped, he'd been texting every two or three days to check in. At first, I replied nicely, but with my packed schedule, I eventually stopped responding. I had twelve unread replies sitting there for two weeks.
Had that hurt his feelings?
"Hmm."
Not sure, so I posted a question on the community.
——
The comments were full of mockery. I frowned involuntarily. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
"...Si-woo should be fine, right?"
I looked up Lee Si-woo's latest interview video online.
—That's all from Si-woo.
He looked a bit thinner. Dark circles under his eyes too.
"Nah, it can't be because of me."
I shook off the random thoughts and focused on the performance.
Seoul Arena. Capacity: 66,000.
I rode to the venue. Plenty of time before showtime, but the area outside was already buzzing with fans waiting to enter. The line at the entrance stretched endlessly. No way to guess the crowd size. One thing was clear: bigger than any stage I'd ever performed on. My heart swelled even more.
"Please exit here."
Surrounded by dozens of staff, I entered discreetly. My presence here was top secret, so we headed straight to the waiting room without drawing eyes.
"Siyeon, hi."
Yu-na sunbae, already there, greeted me warmly. She was getting makeup done amid a crowd of artists. I sat in the chair next to her. Soon, artists swarmed me too, working on my face.
Pre-show makeup. My least favorite part. All you do is sit still, but after two hours, it's torture. Neck stiff, shoulders knotted, butt numb. No matter how much time passes, I never get used to it. Why does makeup take so damn long? Though the final result is always satisfying.
"...Wow."
A nearby staffer let out a soft gasp of admiration. In the mirror, I looked strikingly different from usual. Makeup varied each time, but today's was exceptionally flawless.
...Definitely a lucky day.
As I admired myself, Yu-na sunbae hugged me from behind.
"Our Siyeon looks extra pretty today. Not that she isn't always."
"You look pretty too, sunbae."
"Really?"
She asked coyly, but her face brimmed with confidence. She knew better than anyone how beautiful she was.
"Yu-na-ssi, time to prepare for entry."
At the scheduled time, staff came to escort us. We moved to the backstage behind the stage.
♪~
Song echoes filled the stage area, while idols fresh off their sets rested backstage.
"Isn't that Ruti over there?"
"Yeah, for real."
"Ruti's the special guest?"
"Aren't her and Yu-na rivals? They're doing a unit performance together?"
Everyone whispered about us. Yu-na & Ruti. Even idols were reacting like this. Regular fans probably couldn't even dream of it. I was already excited to see the audience's reaction when I made my surprise appearance.
Current time: 7 PM. 15 minutes until our turn. The idol group right before us finished and returned backstage. We were next.
But something caught my eye.
"Where's your mic, Ruti?"
I strode up to the male idols who'd just come off stage.
"Excuse me."
"Yes? Oh... Ruti-ssi?"
Unlike the excited male idol, my face was deadly serious.
"Hold on."
"Yes...?"
I narrowed my eyes and stared him down. He froze like the world had stopped. Hard to see in the dim light, but something sparkled above his head—a water droplet.
My hand trembled as I asked him.
"I-is it... raining right now?"
I desperately hoped not, but he slowly nodded.
"Ah..."
The rain that hadn't fallen all day started pouring right at our performance time. No wonder everything felt so lucky since morning. What a real lucky day.
"Please wait for now."
Due to the bad weather, the show was paused. We waited hoping it'd stop, but the rain only intensified, mocking our hopes. It hammered the tent roof deafeningly, and stage lights blurred in the downpour. No sign of letting up.
"...Ha."
The organizer beside me sighed deeply as we watched.
"We have no choice but to cancel the main acts."
"What about the audience?"
They'd spent money and time to come. No compensation would make me feel guilty.
But he was skeptical.
"By policy, no refunds for shows over 90% complete. And your and Yu-na's performance was an unscheduled event anyway."
"...What kind of rule is that?"
I wanted to call him out myself, but it wasn't my place. I peeked at the seats from backstage. Despite the torrent, everyone stayed put. Not one left. It tugged at my heart. They were waiting so faithfully—I couldn't just walk away without a word.
Sensing my resolve, sunbae nodded beside me.
"Ah! Screw it!"
I couldn't hold back and blurted to the organizer.
"We'll go on with the performance."
He stared like I'd lost my mind.
"But in this weather..."
"That's why we're doing it."
"...You serious?"
"Yes."
No hesitation in my eyes. Turn crisis into opportunity. A perfect concept stage came to mind. Sweltering summer, pouring rain, outdoor venue—all equipment waterproofed. Conditions met.
"Ever heard of the Drenched Show?"
To reiterate: this wasn't a crisis. It was an opportunity.