Chapter 195
“…If this is about me messing with your family—”
“No. I mean exactly what I said. You can say you don’t like something. You can get yelled at for it, sure, I don’t know what might happen. But because you won’t, because you just keep everything to yourself and act on your own, that’s why you keep doing this weird s**t.”
A breeze passed by.
It was a little colder than when I’d first come up here.
“…You’re the one tearing yourself apart because you can’t do that, so why are you blaming everyone else?”
“…….”
Liu Wei has a family that would at least cover for him if he messes up.
You could see that much just from the fact that even after the engagement scandal, he was still talking about going back to China.
At the very least, his parents would be waiting for him there.
I couldn’t even guess what kind of conversations they’d have in the process….
“I’m back….”
I couldn’t even say sorry to my own family for my mistakes.
Even if I wanted to throw a tantrum, there was only cold silence waiting for me at home.
“Hey.”
But seeing someone who can’t even have a proper talk with the people on his side, while clearly knowing he messed up, and watching him all confused like this….
“Get a grip.”
Why should I even listen to him?
“Sure, I don’t know exactly what your family’s dynamic is like. Maybe they’re too strict, maybe you’re just too scared to open your mouth. …But either way, whether you’re crawling to them to beg them not to abandon you or lashing out because you’re starved for affection, that’s none of my business.”
“…….”
“And if you’re planning on getting up on that final stage, talk to the staff properly first. …Though with what you did to Hwa Sung, I don’t know if that’s even gonna be possible.”
“…Kim… Chun Yong.”
“Don’t give me that ‘I did it because I could’ crap again. If you really can….”
Not because of your parents, or because you’re desperate for their love.
“Do it because you decided it for yourself.”
Thud—
I turned and headed down the stairs, leaving Liu Wei frozen there.
I couldn’t say I hadn’t imagined him shoving me from behind, but….
“…….”
Looking at him standing there, stuck in place with that thoughtful expression, he didn’t seem like he had it in him.
“Haah, T-Trainee Kim Chun Yong?! Where’s Liu Wei?”
“Oh, he’s upstairs on the terrace, sulking alone.”
“Ahhhh! Th-thank you!”
The youngest writer who’d come running up with two assistant directors looked absolutely exhausted.
Seriously, Liu Wei has a real talent for getting on everyone’s nerves.
“He really needs to figure out what ‘you reap what you sow’ means….”
Waaaah—
On my way down, I heard the crowd outside the venue erupt in cheers.
Slipping through that was the faint sound of Targeting Star’s original song, ‘Aiming’.
The live broadcast preview was playing on the outdoor jumbotron that the staff had set up since dawn.
I took one last look at the upper floor where Liu Wei was, then out the window, and drew in a long breath.
Time wasn’t going to wait any longer.
If I wanted to keep hearing those cheers, if I wanted to beg for forgiveness from my family and the Arrows members….
I had to pull off what was waiting for me next, and do it right.
* * *
Originally, the Targeting Star live broadcast was supposed to be for an audience of 5,000.
“What the hell, why just 5,000 in a venue that can hold 20,000? Doesn’t it make sense to increase the capacity 10 times?”
“Post that on the message board. I already did, just don’t cuss or you’ll get reported.”
But maybe because of all the angry messages from netizens, they’d added another thousand seats, and the place was practically bursting at the seams.
<Now, the trainees have only their final performance left.>
<To hit their dream of debuting, they have to give it everything they’ve got.>
Waaaaaaaaaaah!
Even during the short typographic VCR teaser before the show, the crowd was screaming so loud it was deafening.
‘God, this is insane. Even I’m getting nervous about doing this live broadcast….’
Choi Gaon, standing at the MC’s podium in his sharpest outfit yet, swallowed hard as he took a steadying breath.
At first, he’d said it was just about helping a junior debut, that it was something you could go into lightly.
‘How is this at all something you can take lightly, manager?!’
Just a quick glance at the audience cuts that flashed across the screen was enough to prove Choi Gaon’s thoughts weren’t exaggerated.
[All That’s Left for Son Jae Ha Is Debut]
[My Star from Mars, JIMARS]
[Toward Debut, BANG! Walking into Tomorrow with Yu Chan♡]
More direct slogans than any before, and the expressions on the fans holding them up…
The same unwavering determination in those faces said it all.
They just wanted to see the trainee they supported debut.
Or.
Even if they weren’t in the debut range now, they wanted some small miracle to happen.
That kind of unconditional devotion made people strong.
And it didn’t change just because the person you fell for was someone you’d only seen through a screen.
It explained the hearts of those 6,000 people gathered here—
Or even of the 40,000 who’d flooded the application page.
Choi Gaon, standing here to MC this moment, had only made it this far because of that same kind of love.
‘…So I can’t take this lightly.’
He took a deep breath, then dropped his gaze to the lower level of the stage.
The staff moving even faster than usual for this live broadcast—an assistant director caught his eye and drew a big circle in the air as a cue…
– “Shoot towards the dream of debut!”
With that raised voice, the familiar dart motif and the typographic graphics filled the massive screen like a downpour.
<Targeting Star: Live Broadcast Final Stage>
For some, it was a first chance; for others, a second.
And so the curtain rose on this last stage performance. Maybe an ending, maybe a new beginning.
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