Thank you Jess for the kofi!!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
Rise felt like she wanted to smash through the glass wall and run out right this instant.
‘To think this petty thing is standing in my way.’
Paying no mind to her image or the gazes of those around her, she pressed herself as close to the window as possible and looked down at the stage.
Long DJ booths were set up on both sides of the massive T-shaped stage.
At the far end of the left side stood Ferris, who had just finished her set.
And at the far end of the right side….
‘Godchis!’
Min Hyunseung, whom she had wanted to see so badly—no, no.
Godchis was standing there.
And as a DJ, standing right in front of the DJ booth.
‘What a waste….’
In her heart, she wanted to be right below the stage in the standing area, enjoying it with everyone else.
She wanted to jump into the crowd right now and shake her head and hands.
But if she did, the spotlight would obviously shift to her.
She didn’t want to ruin his stage. Therefore, she had to be content with watching from this suffocating space.
‘Sigh….’
Rise was actually a long-time fan of Godchis.
It was a feeling that began the day she saw the documentary released following the death of Daniel, whom she had respected.
A man who truly loved music.
A true musician.
A man possessing true masculinity.
Falling for Godchis happened in an instant, and she couldn’t escape.
How could she?
From the boldness of holding a press conference to issue warnings for the sake of his people, to becoming the CEO of Unice Music Group—he didn’t stop there but plunged into another music market as a DJ.
She had never seen such a proactive and cool man.
The reason she hadn’t married even as she approached her mid-thirties might just be to meet this man.
That’s what Rise thought.
And a golden opportunity to meet that man had arisen.
The Super Bowl Halftime Show.
It went without saying that when the Super Bowl lineup was first being selected, the coordinator had reached out to Rise first.
However, Rise had declined because it overlapped with her U.S. tour.
But upon hearing the news that Min Hyunseung would be appearing, she requested the coordinator to let her watch, under the condition that she would perform on the stage next year.
The Super Bowl officials were bewildered, but they had absolutely no reason to refuse the offer.
And so, Rise was finally able to behold Godchis.
Even though he came out wearing the flame-mark helmet that could be called Godchis’s signature, what did that matter?
‘He’s so cool….’
Rise watched Godchis, who had begun his DJing, while covering her mouth.
No matter how much she claimed not to care about others’ gazes, it could still be considered unbecoming for a woman in her late thirties to scream at the sight of a young man.
While she was cheering for Godchis, swallowing her screams as much as possible.
—I’ll be killing it tonight!
The voice she had only heard in recordings was now being heard live.
—I’ll be killing it tonight!
A very familiar silhouette stepped up onto the stage.
That was….
It was Jamal, the one who sang the tribute song for <G.H.S>, also known as Godchis. Since Rise was a fervent fan of Godchis, there was no way she wouldn’t recognize Jamal.
—I’ll be killing it tonight!
And was that all?
Familiar faces climbed onto the stage and began to dance, sweeping across the stage to pump up the crowd.
Some people might just think of them as backup dancers, but Rise knew better.
They were the singers Godchis had given songs to.
Being a fan of Godchis, these were faces she had naturally come to know.
Weren’t they the very people who spread the challenge for <CRZH>, the title track of Godchis’s solo album, across Asia?
“This is crazy, just crazy.”
Seeing so many people she felt a high level of internal intimacy with, Rise muttered as if possessed.
“Who are they? Are they backup dancers?”
At that moment, Eiser, who had walked up behind her, asked with a frown.
He probably wasn’t asking her directly. He was likely talking to himself.
But Rise’s mouth itched because she wanted to answer him.
She had barely held back from saying something to Eiser, who had been looking down at the stage with a displeased face for a while now, but seeing him mutter so openly as if he were annoyed, she felt an even more uncontrollable urge.
However….
She decided to endure it, as nothing good would come from arguing with a Governor.
Right.
Because right now, she was busy trying to take in Godchis one more time.
Whoosh!
Rise shifted her gaze back to Godchis.
Though she claimed not to know much about DJing, that didn’t matter at all. Her heart raced when she heard the songs.
Her feet moved on their own, making her want to run out right now.
Which meant…
Wasn’t that proof that Godchis was doing well right now?
Since that’s what music is supposed to be.
Something that makes a person excited, sad, or sorrowful.
If it fundamentally touches emotions, then it’s successful.
Surely she wasn’t the only one thinking this. From the crowd in the standing area to the audience filling the seats.
Weren’t they all laughing, jumping, and enjoying themselves together?
More than anything, even those sitting in the venue, who were pretending to be indifferent, were tapping their feet to the rhythm. Even Governor Eiser, who had been acting disgruntled the whole time.
With this, Godchis’s DJ debut could be called a success.
‘I knew it would be like this.’
Rise fell even deeper for Godchis, who was even good at DJing, and before she knew it, she was imagining them getting married. If the two of them married, it would surely dominate the main news headlines.
‘Maybe just two kids….’
While she was continuing her ridiculous imagination.
—Just wanna be by your side.
The song transitioned naturally, and a sultry voice flowed through the thinning beat.
—Just wanna be by your side.
The voice went beyond mere breathing; it was dreamlike as if it had swallowed a misty dew, and it tickled the ears.
Even the stern figures who were just taking up space in the venue reacted to that voice.
“Oh!”
The owner of the voice had not yet appeared on stage, but Rise knew instantly.
How could she not know?
Since she was her rival and the only person Godchis had ever had a dating rumor with.
Right.
The one revealing her silhouette through the smoke under the purple lights was Sarah Stewart.
‘Ugh.’
Rise bit her lower lip hard. She acknowledged Sarah Stewart as a fellow singer.
But she could never acknowledge her as Godchis’ woman.
That’s right.
The two had never officially confirmed anything.
And above all, the two didn’t suit each other at all.
Because the two of them had similarly sharp features, they felt more like siblings than lovers. Of course, this was Rise’s subjective opinion.
—Just wanna be by your side.
Instead of running around the stage, Sarah Stewart showed off her sultry voice while sticking close to Godchis’s side.
That, that, that girl…!
Rise pounded on the window with her fist as if she were about to jump onto the stage at any moment.
“Is something the matter?”
Eiser approached Rise and asked.
“That, that, fox-like girl, how dare she touch my man—!”
She couldn’t see anything else right now.
It was because she had just spotted Sarah Stewart lightly brushing past Godchis’s shoulder for a very brief moment.
Hyunseung’s DJ debut stage was a massive success.
Though there wasn’t a set standard for success.
The moment Hyunseung took the stage.
It recorded the highest viewership ratings in the history of Halftime Shows.
Not only that, Michelle was so busy she didn’t have time to rest because model offers were pouring in from all sorts of advertising agencies, and recruitment emails were flooding in from festivals all over the world wanting him to perform as a DJ.
Above all, the main news articles were filled every day with talk of Hyunseung’s DJ debut stage.
“I knew you’d pull it off!”
Kim Woohyun shouted, patting Hyunseung on the shoulder as if he were proud. However, Hyunseung’s expression wasn’t very bright.
Could it be that he was dissatisfied with the performance? True, Hyunseung had stood on stages like fan meetings.
But this must have been his first time standing on such a large-scale stage.
He must have been nervous, and he might have been full of regret because he couldn’t show his full potential.
But looking at it objectively, Hyunseung’s performance was excellent. It wasn’t just because he was his ‘kid’ and he was biased. Most importantly, that’s how the world was evaluating it.
Tap, tap.
Kim Woohyun lightly patted his back to comfort him and asked.
“No, I mean, you did great on stage, so why the face?”
“Did you not see the articles?”
“Articles? If it’s articles about you, I’m looking at them right now.”
He then replied to the question by waving his phone.
Indeed, on the screen, a headline saying [Min Hyunseung, performs at Halftime Show as a DJ… Explosive reaction] was displayed.
“The content of the articles is favorable, and the comment reactions are good too?”
Kim Woohyun monitored every article that was uploaded. However, he couldn’t find a single line of negative content.
Could it be…,
Was there some criticism in an article he hadn’t seen yet?
Just as Kim Woohyun, with a worried face, was about to ask what happened again.
“Look, everyone is calling me Min Hyunseung.”
Hyunseung glanced at the article on the screen and muttered as if in despair. Kim Woohyun couldn’t understand that look or those words.
Well, you are Min Hyunseung, what else would you be?
He wanted to ask back, but because Hyunseung looked so dejected, he swallowed it down.
Soon.
Hyunseung dropped his head as if he were truly upset.
“I have a cool stage name like Fire Marksman.”
He added in a voice full of regret.
“I even put my stage name in giant letters on the electronic display….”
At that sight, Kim Woohyun wiped his face and exhaled a long-held breath.
I got fooled by this guy again.
“You still haven’t given up on that?”
Kim Woohyun asked tentatively, as if he had half-given up.
“Yes, I should post it on my Insta account and correct it.”
“If you want to do it, you should. But do you really have to?”
He knew Hyunseung wouldn’t listen to him, but couldn’t he try to dissuade him just once?
Because it was a stage name that could remain as a dark chapter in Hyunseung’s life story in the distant future.
“Is Fire Marksman not good?”
Then Hyunseung asked back with an innocent face.
‘Should I tell him? Should I not?’
While Kim Woohyun was continuing his immense internal conflict for a moment.
“No, no.”
With a feigned smile, he gave a thumbs up, saying it seemed fine. And then he thought.
Don’t blame me later for not stopping you.
“Huh?”
At that moment, Hyunseung, who was operating his phone, let out an exclamation as if surprised.
“What is it?”
Kim Woohyun asked, looking at Hyunseung with concern.
“I…I got tagged.”
Kim Woohyun, who misheard Hyunseung’s answer, jumped out of his seat and asked, “A terror attack?”
“Tagged, tagged.”
Then, Hyunseung let out a light sigh and elaborated.
“I said I got tagged on Instagram.”
Kim Woohyun awkwardly scratched the back of his head with an “Ah,” and asked back in a disinterested tone, “By who?”
For a guy who got tagged every day, he sure was surprised to be tagged again.
However, he name that came out of Hyunseung’s mouth next was enough to make Kim Woohyun bolt upright.
“By Rise.”
“What…?”
“Rise, I said Rise.”
“Wh-who?”
“The pop star, Rise.”
Kim Woohyun was so surprised his heart felt like it would leap out of his mouth.
“Can you not hear very well?”
Hyunseung was simply worried about Kim Woohyun’s hearing.
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