Chapter 85:
Chapter 85
“When I took off my in-ear monitor earlier, the fans’ screams were no joke.”
“As long as you’re happy… it’s fine.”
Ian and Jo Tae-woong groaned as they remembered the dance move that involved thrusting their hips.
They did well on stage without any mistakes, but they couldn’t help feeling a harsh reality check when they went down.
“Guys, you did great. You were awesome.”
“Really? We didn’t look stupid?”
“It’s okay. You did well.”
Park Dong-soo patted Park Seo-dam’s back, which was red up to his neck.
Park Dong-soo tried to hold back his laughter. He knew they would get used to this kind of thing after a few times.
“Calm down, we have to go back on stage.”
They changed into loose-fitting shirts and cotton pants that were different from the fancy uniform-style outfits they wore before.
As they wiped their sweat and checked the set list, they saw that there were only three songs left until the encore.
Ian looked puzzled.
‘How is it over already?’
He didn’t feel tired at all thanks to the fans’ cheers. He even pulled off the acrobatic dance moves with ease.
After the intermission VCR ended, the members took their places in front of the stand microphones.
The next song was a calm ballad track called ‘I’ll Wait for You’.
‘…What?’
Ian scanned the audience.
Until a moment ago, the fans were holding individual slogans made by fan clubs or official goods slogans. But now they were all holding the same slogan.
Ian took off one of his in-ear monitors and read the slogan.
At that moment, there was a bang on stage and paper confetti flew.
Always by your side
We love you forever
‘Wow…’
The slogan that Lee Da-sol received at the entrance before the show was actually a fan event slogan.
The fans had set up a secret community where only verified fans could join, because they knew that the Awi members were good at web surfing and didn’t want to spoil them.
In that secret community, the fans discussed things related to the concert event.
Once the fans’ event proposal was approved by the agency, the fans decided on the design and phrase candidates for the slogan and voted for them.
The agency printed the final version and distributed it to the staff who helped guide the fans at the venue.
[This is what you do when you have an idol concert.]
‘But still…’
The concert hall filled with confetti, the fans’ chorus, the light of the light sticks. And the sight of all the fans holding the same slogan looked like a picture.
‘…I dreamed of this.’
It was a moment that he couldn’t even dream of as Diamond Kim Yong-min.
This wasn’t the end.
He would probably experience this a lot more in the future. He felt a surge of emotion as he thought about it.
“What is this slogan?”
“Did you all prepare this together?”
As soon as the song ended, Lee Joo-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk widened their eyes and approached the standing area.
“Wow…”
The fans in front of Ian offered him their slogans, but he politely declined. He did it for the sake of the fans who wanted to keep their slogans.
“Wow, really… I’m so touched.”
“Thank you everyone!”
Kim Joo-young’s eyes were already moist. Lee Joo-hyuk read the script that appeared on the prompter.
“Unfortunately, we only have one more stage left.”
There was a sigh of regret from the fans. The members made an X with their eyebrows and expressed their sadness.
“We want to stay with our Awi-doms until the last train.”
Somebody shouted ‘Then don’t go!’ from the standing area.
The members laughed.
“We want to, but… we can’t make our staff work overtime, right?”
“It’s a pity… but we can’t help it. Well, this is our last song!”
“Shall we have some fun then?!”
The fans screamed. The music started and the members danced lightly and sang their last song.
“Goodbye everyone!”
“Thank you!”
When the song ended, the members went backstage.
As the concert hall went dark, the fans chanted for an encore.
“Ah, I’m sad.”
“We have tomorrow.”
Ian muttered blankly, and Jo Tae-woong answered.
“But today is today.”
“That’s true.”
It was a more meaningful day because it was the first show of their first concert. Jo Tae-woong tapped Ian’s back.
“It’s time to go back up.”
The group Awi returned to the stage after listening to the fans’ cheers for about a minute.
They did not dance together for the encore stage.
The Awi members sang and scattered to the extended stages.
“Ian! Ian, over here!”
Ian approached the fans in the standing area and held their hands.
He smiled and posed for the fans who took pictures with their phones.
“I’m so jealous… Will he come this way?”
“I think so? The staff are gathering in front of the stairs now.”
Idasol and Jang Minhee, who were watching the scene with envious eyes from the second floor, stomped their feet.
“Wow!”
“He’s really coming, sis!”
Ian walked up the stairs that connected to the extended stage. The fans on the second floor held up their phones. Ian waved and greeted them.
“Ian!”
“Thank you for coming!”
He glanced at the cameras that were taking pictures of him. He wanted to hold every hand that the fans reached out, but he didn’t have time.
Ian quickly went down the stairs and headed to the opposite extended stage. Along the way, he picked up the slogans and dolls that the fans threw.
On the other side, Ian finished his fan service and headed to the center of the stage.
The members held hands and bowed to the fans.
***
The concert ended without any accidents, and in the hallway of the waiting room, there were already family and friends who were invited by the Awi members.
“Mom!”
Park Jinhyuk ran to her.
The family members were taking pictures with Kim Heesang, a national singer, first, and they seemed to welcome him more than the members.
“Did I bother you, sir?”
“No!”
While Park Jinhyuk was chatting with his mom, Ian approached Kim Heesang.
“Sir, thank you for coming.”
“No, I had fun too.”
Kim Heesang patted the members’ shoulders and looked at them with a strange expression.
“Well… I enjoyed your dance too.”
“…Ah!”
The members’ faces turned red and Kim Heesang laughed. The members bowed after taking a group photo with Kim Heesang.
“I have to go now. Come visit my studio sometime.”
“Goodbye, sir!”
Now it was time for the family members.
They took turns taking pictures with the members’ families.
Ian had no family or friends in Korea, so he mostly took pictures for them or stood blankly against the wall.
“Um… Can we take a picture together?”
Park Seohyun, Park Jinhyuk’s sister who was circling around him looking for a chance to take a picture with him, shyly handed him her phone.
“Sis, don’t you want to take a selfie with me?”
“I don’t like you.”
Ian quickly took Park Seohyun’s phone and took a picture.
Park Seohyun’s face turned red as she got close to Ian and Park Jinhyuk made a gagging gesture.
“Bro, these are our siblings.”
“Hello.”
Ian also happily took pictures with Park Seodam’s siblings and lifted his head when he heard someone murmuring at the end of the hallway.
[The back girls are here.]
As they got closer, Park Dongsoo sighed.
“Guys, good luck.”
“Yes.”
Park Dongsoo escorted the members’ family and friends, and the members had to take pictures with people they didn’t know.
These people came in through concert staff or agency staff, and they were people who used their connections to meet celebrities personally.
The fans sometimes called these people ‘back girls’.
[He’s S Entertainment’s variety director. His daughter must be your fan.]
[Oh, there’s B Corporation’s granddaughter too.]
There were also people who were hard to refuse, so most of the agencies let these people in.
“Hello.”
And the first priority for taking pictures with them was Ian, who took pictures with them as if he was at a high-touch event, repeating taking pictures and moving on to another person.
Of course, there were not only back girls but also back boys.
A young man came up to Ian and asked for a handshake. Jin smirked when he saw his face.
[Don’t hang out with them.]
‘Why?’
He could tell why without Jin explaining it. The man who greeted Ian for his performance went straight to the point.
“Ian, do you do virtual currency?”
“What?”
“You should invest your money early and wisely. Now that you’re going to be a monthly idol, you’ll earn a lot of money. We have developed a virtual currency that…”
Who is this weirdo? Ian frowned slightly.
[He’s famous. He tries to make connections with celebrities or corporate heirs by hanging out with them. Most of them are nouveau riche who made some money with virtual currency. They can’t forget the taste and want to make more deals.]
‘What a bunch of strange people.’
[When you become popular, these scammers will follow you. Watch out for your members. Oh? Do you think he’s the only one? His family is more dangerous. You know what debt investing is, right?]
The man kept on talking about the investment value of a virtual currency that Ian had never heard of, whether it was HepaCoin or HepaFilter.
Ian had no time to listen to such nonsense. Just as he was about to politely refuse, a woman cut in between them.
“Can I take a selfie with you?”
“Of course.”
Ian quickly took the woman’s phone.
The man looked disappointed and turned to the other members. Someone should stop him.
Fortunately, the man who went to Juhyuk came back empty-handed.
[She’s the youngest daughter of T Group.]
Jin, who was taking a picture with the woman next to Ian, said.
He wasn’t even a corporate chairman, but how did he know their children’s faces so well?
‘Did you work as a political reporter or something?’
[These are the people who run around in this circle. They’re obvious.]
Ian looked around after taking a picture with the woman.
There were still many people who wanted to take a picture with him.
‘Ah…’
Ian was filled with gratitude and joy for the fans who came to the concert until a while ago.
And now, he felt bitter seeing the people who could easily meet celebrities through someone’s connections.
How many of them were his true fans?
They probably didn’t even join the fan club.
‘Give me back my emotions…’
Ian was able to leave the place only after he accepted all the photo requests.
***
“Unni, are you coming tomorrow?”
“Isn’t it sold out for the concert?”
“Wow, me too! See you tomorrow, unni.”
“Okay, keep in touch.”
Dasol waited for Eunha at the subway station after saying goodbye to Minhee.
“You came out fast?”
A few minutes later, Eunha tapped Dasol’s shoulder.
“Ugh, someone fainted in my standing area. It was crazy.”
“Really?”
“When they came out for the encore, the standing people rushed to the stage. I got pushed and I think I breathed wrong.”
“Wow, really? That’s dangerous.”
“You’re standing tomorrow, right? Don’t stay in front if you can. You can see their faces well even if you’re in the back.”
Dasol nodded at Eunha’s advice.
‘I’m so happy…’
On the subway home, Dasol was still immersed in the aftermath of the concert. She went on SNS and saved every preview photo of the concert by her fellow fans.
‘I love seeing them… but it feels a bit… empty.’
On the other hand, Eunha was hit hard by the post-concert blues. The concert was better than she expected. The stage was perfect, and she could see her bias’s face relatively close.
But she couldn’t help feeling awkward when she realized that she was just one of the many fans who filled the venue.
‘They were really far from me…’
Eunha couldn’t get out of that feeling even when she entered her house.
The face of her bias that she could see relatively close was actually a very distant existence.
She couldn’t erase that gap.
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