Daniel slowly raised his heavy eyelids.
‘Where am I?’
His throat was so dry that no voice came out.
When he slowly turned his head, he saw Lions sitting there with both hands clasped tightly together in prayer.
‘Ah, so I collapsed.’
Only then did Daniel realize he had been brought to the hospital.
And at the same time…
This was how he came to realize that death was drawing closer and closer.
Preparing for this concert had been more exciting and fun than anything else, so he had forgotten for a while…
That he would be able to keep doing concerts like this in the future…
He had fooled himself.
Only after going into shock from the pain did he realize it once more.
That this really was his final concert…
‘W-wait a second.’
All at once, Daniel remembered that he had collapsed right before the concert rehearsal.
“Huhk!”
He jerked his upper body upright as if a spring had launched him up.
“Daniel!”
“Uh…”
The dizziness washed over him so hard that he fell back again, but none of that mattered.
“Lions, what time is it right now?”
Daniel asked as if he might jump out of the hospital that very second.
“You need to rest first….”
Lions was just about to stop him.
“5:12.”
Hyunseung cut him off and answered.
“You’re not late yet.”
At those words, Daniel brushed Lions’s hand aside and pushed himself up.
“That’s a relief.”
But Hyunseung’s hand forced him back down again.
“I think it’d be better to cancel the concert.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Even if you go like this, you won’t be able to put on a proper stage anyway. Then people will be disappointed.”
“I’ll handle that myse…!”
“Since I’m the one who’ll take the loss, how about you just rest and take it easy?”
Hyunseung asked Daniel with an unreadable expression.
Daniel was bewildered. It was such an un-Hyunseung-like suggestion.
He had expected him to say they should get up and go right now.
But Hyunseung’s face was even calmer than usual, so he had no idea what he was thinking.
“Rest?”
But Daniel didn’t care about that in the least.
Because the answer… the choice he had to make was already decided.
“I’ll rest plenty when I’m dead, so I want to play while I still can.”
As soon as those words left him, a strange smile spread across Hyunseung’s lips.
“Fine. Then do that.”
His face looked as though he had expected Daniel to say exactly that.
Lions looked like his face was aging by the second from worry, but Daniel didn’t care about that either.
Because Lions was the kind of friend, and the kind of CEO, who would understand and respect a choice like this.
“Where are my clothes?”
Daniel asked as he swung himself down from the bed in one motion.
But.
“Even if you’re going to go….”
Hyunseung stopped him again.
“Finish the IV first.”
“There’s no time for that.”
“It’s fine, so finish it first.”
Daniel was getting so frustrated with this situation he felt like he might lose his mind.
Even if they left right this second, they were already in danger of not even making it there on time, let alone having any room to spare, and here Hyunseung was telling him to leisurely finish an IV drip first….
“You can always make up time.”
What on earth was wrong with him today?
“How exactly are we supposed to make up ti…!”
Daniel was just about to demand an answer in frustration.
“Shh, you need to keep it down in a hospital.”
Hyunseung held his index finger to his lips and continued as if soothing him.
“So just trust me.”
“Trust you?”
“Yeah, but there’s a condition.”
Then, to Daniel, who asked what it was, he added in a surprisingly serious tone.
“Promise me you’ll put on a historic stage.”
At that, Daniel drew in a sharp breath and parted his lips.
He didn’t know why, but….
Just looking into Hyunseung’s eyes made it feel as though a heavy stone had dropped onto his heart.
No.
Why are that bastard’s eyes suddenly shining like that? Anyone would think he was my fan.
‘It doesn’t suit him…’
Silence fell over the room for a moment.
“Of course.”
After a while, Daniel answered with a grin, trying to look as brave and dependable as possible….
As was only natural, Edward had failed to get tickets.
But fortunately, through an acquaintance, he had managed to get one with great difficulty.
On the day of Daniel’s concert, “and again,” the area around the globular venue was always packed tight even when there wasn’t a concert.
There was traffic congestion, of course.
And since it was always swarming with people, Edward had set out early in the morning.
But something unexpected happened. Out of nowhere, an ambulance came rushing in with its siren blaring, loaded someone in, and drove away.
What happened?
As he looked around to assess the situation, he heard the women nearby whispering.
“I think the one they took away was Daniel. There’s already an article out.”
“Really? Then what happens to today’s concert?”
“If he was taken away in an ambulance, doesn’t that mean it’ll probably be canceled?”
At that, Edward hurriedly turned on his phone and opened the latest entertainment news section.
[ Daniel faints during concert rehearsal! Taken to the hospital… ]
[ Daniel’s final concert to be canceled? No response from officials… ]
Edward lowered his phone like a man who had lost all hope.
It had taken him a very long time to come here.
Yes.
He had set out again in search of the dream he had tried so hard to bury deep inside him.
Just to witness the final moment of the person who had given him that dream.
And now this is all there is?
Slide, slide.
Edward kept refreshing the page, wondering if some new article might appear.
Because it was hard to accept the fact that he wouldn’t get to see the stage Daniel had prepared to the point of collapsing.
Maybe it was a false report.
Yes, maybe even this was part of the performance.
Unable to let go of that lingering hope, he couldn’t bring himself to leave and just kept clutching his phone.
And it wasn’t just Edward.
Not one of the people who had come early and were waiting could bring themselves to leave easily.
There still hadn’t been any official article or announcement saying the concert was canceled.
Of course.
If the one taken away was Daniel, then it would be impossible for him to go on stage.
Still….
Just as Edward was biting his nails and staring at his phone.
“Huh?”
Staff members who looked like ushers began guiding people inside.
“What? Is the concert going ahead as planned?”
“Was the thing about Daniel being taken away wrong after all?”
People grabbed at the staff and asked, but like parrots, they only kept repeating that everyone should enter slowly.
If it got canceled after all this…
People would be crushed and disappointed all over again.
“Please enter slowly.”
But all Edward could do was follow their instructions and slowly walk into the venue.
No matter what.
Because he wanted to see Daniel’s stage.
Before long.
Edward blended in with the crowd and entered the venue.
Then he stood as close to the stage as he could and looked around.
“Doesn’t it feel kind of chaotic?”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“They are really going through with it, right?”
The people standing nearby muttered again, but Edward could understand their anxiety.
And for good reason.
Every member of the staff was running around with urgent faces, and someone who looked like the sound director was even shouting with his face red.
They did hand out light-up wristbands that were presumably part of the merchandise, but…
No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t feel like a concert was actually about to begin.
He glanced at the time on his phone.
There was only about an hour left until the concert began.
‘Can they really pull this off?’
Even in this situation, which felt like total chaos with no explanation or guidance whatsoever, the enormous venue filled up with people in an instant.
Granted.
Grumbling mixed with complaints was breaking out here and there.
But even that was just people whining because they wanted to see the concert so badly.
Time passed in confusion like that….
Thud.
Suddenly, the entire venue went dark.
“They’re not canceling it, are they?”
“No way.”
“Isn’t it too dark?”
Just as the anxious murmur of the crowd began to grow louder.
Flash!
A red light burst from the wristbands they were wearing.
The whole venue heated up as though a red wave had swept over it.
“I-is it starting?”
The audience raised their hands in excitement and stared toward the stage.
Before long, flames also began to blaze across the giant screen installed at the back of the stage.
Those flames spread across the entire screen in an instant, like a panorama.
As though they were looking into a sea of fire.
They weren’t real flames, but it felt as if the whole venue might actually catch fire at any second.
And then, the sound of deliberate footsteps rang out.
Tok, tok.
Someone cut through the sea of flames and came out, but because everything was still shrouded in darkness, only the silhouette could be seen.
“I don’t think that’s Daniel…”
“Is it a guest performer?”
“Zoom in with the camera so we can see.”
Edward narrowed his eyes and studied the figure too.
He could tell, because he had seen Daniel so many times, both in real life and on screen.
It wasn’t Daniel.
Flash!
Once again, faint light spread through the venue, and the silhouette that had been hidden by the darkness revealed itself.
“Huh? Th-that person….”
“Who is it?”
“I know that helmet!”
At a glance, the sturdy man looked dressed like he might hop on a motorcycle and race off at any second.
A rider jacket and leather pants.
And.
A helmet pulled down over his head.
‘What?’
Some people seemed to recognize who “he” was and burst into cheers.
Others just tilted their heads, wondering who the hell that was supposed to be.
Then a huge voice rang out from somewhere.
“HS!”
At that cry, the crowd burst into cheers too.
HS…
Edward knew who that was. No, he had no choice but to know.
Because that was the man who had produced Daniel’s album this time.
Tok, tok.
The man presumed to be HS suddenly turned around and took off his helmet.
Aaaaaah!
The crowd screamed as if they had never been anxious at all.
But it wasn’t long before those cheers stopped in shock.
“Oh, my God…”
When the helmetless man turned back to face the front of the stage again, people clapped their hands over their mouths.
And for good reason.
Because he wasn’t HS at all, but Vincent Mah, the man called the Emperor of Pop.
Even if HS was being called a rising star composer on the Billboard chart, Vincent’s name recognition was still overwhelmingly greater.
Aaaaaaaah!
The deafening roar of cheers spread upward like an echo through the ceiling.
♫ ♬ ♬
Before long, as though pressing the crowd’s cheers down, the accompaniment began.
“Are you ready to have fun tonight?”
Vincent asked into the microphone. At that very moment, some people collapsed back into their seats like they were fainting.
That made sense.
Vincent was a singer whose popularity rivaled Daniel in his prime, and there was even a saying that scalped tickets for his concerts sold out instantly too.
So seeing him take the stage unexpectedly, it wasn’t strange that people might be so overwhelmed they nearly fainted.
♫ ♬ ♬
The song Vincent sang was “more than just music.” It had already been making headlines every day before release because Vincent and the New York Philharmonic had joined forces.
Although the actual New York Philharmonic was not there to accompany this performance, Vincent put on a stage that made you not feel their absence at all, as if the title Emperor of Pop had not been given to him for nothing.
And because of that, people were now jumping up and down and screaming as though they had completely forgotten Daniel even existed.
“See you!”
When Vincent finally finished four whole songs and gave his farewell, the stage fell dark again.
Only then did the audience seem to shake off all their anxiety, swelling with anticipation that now Daniel would appear.
Flash!
This time, the wristbands lit up with a pure white glow.
And across the pitch-black giant screen, feathers swirled and scattered.
♫ ♬ ♬
At the same time, eerie accompaniment began to play.
Sshhk, sshhk.
For a moment, Edward felt goosebumps rise and rubbed his arms.
Why?
Because the owner of the accompaniment he was hearing now was…
“Come deep into the darkness”
Sarah Stewart, the woman everyone said was the hottest thing going these days.
“You can come in more.”
What kind of concert is this…?
“Don’t be scared.”
Edward could only feel utterly bewildered by a lineup that rivaled the Super Bowl halftime show.
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