Chapter 106
—I knew you would do well, Ahyoung. It was time for that, so now fly as much as you want.
‘It’s Jihyun unnie.’
She could tell instinctively. The content of the comment, the tone—it was Jihyun’s.
The second person who had told her, right in front of her, that she liked her, that she was her ultimate bias.
Jihyun gazed at that comment for a long time, as if handling a precious treasure, and smiled faintly.
More than all the other comments here, this one was more precious. Because everything had come to be because of it.
“Fifteen minutes are up.”
It felt like she hadn’t even read all five hundred yet because she was so overwhelmed, but already.
Ahyoung hurriedly dragged the screen, reading until the very last comment before finally standing up.
She was still in a daze. Even when she ran into Eunseo in the waiting line as she stepped outside, she couldn’t properly answer her question about how it went.
Even after returning to the dorm, the comments that had cheered her on kept coming to mind, making her let out small, breathy laughs.
There were comments saying they liked her dancing, that she sang well, that they liked her tone.
The fact that she had given someone those kinds of feelings made her so proud.
Time flew by before she even realized it, until Seunghye and Rin—who had gone to check their own comments—came running up and threw themselves into her arms.
“Unnie!”
“Unnie!”
The two of them rushed at Ahyoung like a matched set and hugged her. Behind them, Eunseo quietly stepped forward and joined the embrace as well.
Holding each other by the shoulders like this, it almost felt like they had already become one group.
“How was it for you?”
“It was no joke, unnie!”
“Rin had over a thousand comments!”
Over a thousand. Ahyoung marveled anew, yet as if it were only natural, she stroked Rin’s head.
Anyone who had ever fangirled would inevitably pick Rin as their ultimate bias—or at the very least their second bias.
Her small and cute build, combined with her bright and spirited personality, made anyone—regardless of gender or age—smile fondly.
Then what about Seunghye? Jihyun’s gaze naturally turned toward her.
As if slightly envious, the look that had been on Rin quickly shifted to Jihyun.
“I had around 200? Maybe 150? But you know, some of them were really detailed.”
Chattering on about their content—that was so like Seunghye.
She didn’t specifically mention Ahyoung’s comments, but knowing Seunghye’s personality, she had probably looked at Rin’s and Ahyoung’s as well.
Then she would also know there was quite a gap between her numbers and theirs. At her young age, she might have subtly shown a bit of disappointment.
But she truly seemed unfazed.
It wasn’t that she was hiding it—she genuinely didn’t mind.
Because Seunghye was that kind of bright child.
‘Honestly, that’s why I picked you for our team.’
If the rest of the team’s image was cuteness, Seunghye was the one whose cheerful cuteness and personality fit best.
Ever since she had firmly spoken up to Minji before, even Sehee—whom the other participants were wary of—got along well with her.
Of course, that relationship leaned more toward Seunghye’s one-sided affection.
Still, the fact that Sehee didn’t sharply reject her or draw a clear line showed just how sociable and positive Seunghye was.
And Ahyoung, living together on the same team, wanted to learn that from her. That bright energy—one of the most important virtues of an idol.
And while she was at it, there was also something she wanted to ask about Sehee.
To do that, she needed Seunghye on the team. And if not now, she didn’t know when she would ever again have the authority to choose members.
So she would definitely ask later. First, they had to put out the urgent fire.
“Then we can work even harder now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s practice again……. Oh. But there’s something I want to ask you, Seunghye.”
“Yes, unnie?”
“You told me before, didn’t you? What it feels like to gain fans.”
Ahyoung gently wrapped her hand around Seunghye’s and lightly placed it against her chest.
“What does it feel like now?”
“Now? Now…….”
Now. Now. After repeating the word several times, Seunghye cautiously began.
“How should I put it? Even if you work hard on an audition program, it’s hard to really know how much you’ve grown, right?”
“Yeah.”
That was true.
Even if you receive a high score on an audition program, it’s just a score from the judges.
Even if you put on a stage performance, only a handful of people evaluate it. In some ways, it’s no different from the monthly evaluations trainees always went through.
“But when I read the posts cheering me on today, it felt like the effort I’ve put in all this time actually reached someone. And that made me think I’ve grown that much. It was amazing.”
Those comments felt as if they were waiting for her.
Because of that, she found a little more strength. If she saw the fans who had waited for her at the final stage venue, what kind of emotion would that bring?
And when she debuted and met them again, what would she feel then?
“They say the audience completes the stage. I think I finally understand what that means.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m just really relieved that the effort I’ve made so far hasn’t been denied.”
It looked as though her eyes were glistening slightly.
How could Ahyoung not understand that overwhelming feeling? She slowly patted Seunghye’s back.
Yes. That’s what it means to gain fans. People who help anchor your identity. People who give meaning to what you do.
Because of them, you feel responsibility. And beyond simply cherishing and liking each other, you’re bound by a deeper, tighter connection.
Seunghye, Rin, and Eunseo—they were probably feeling that, at least faintly.
“Alright, then shall we practice again?”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The three answered like chirping chicks, their voices full of energy.
Every time she came to the filming set, she felt it—the time passed so quickly.
Already, a whole day had flown by, and it was time for the mid-evaluation of the dance ability performance.
‘The gifts I prepared…….’
Today was the right time to give them. During the main competition, the kids would be too busy.
Jihyun carefully placed each gift she had left in the waiting room into paper bags and set them near the entrance.
Even calling them gifts was a stretch—the contents were just one or two small items and a letter. And there were only five people to prepare for, so it wasn’t much of a fuss.
Still—
‘Ahyoung’s letter is noticeably longer.’
Ugh. Jihyun paused while putting letters into the other participants’ bags and stared intently at Ahyoung’s.
Unlike the single-page letters she had written with proper formality and etiquette for the others, the one for Ahyoung was over three pages.
It was so thick you could see the bulk of it from outside the envelope.
Pretending not to notice, Jihyun slipped the letter back into the paper bag and recalled what had happened on set while she wasn’t there.
One thing worried her—the fact that there had been a time before the mid-evaluation when they were allowed to check comments.
‘Out of anxious concern, I checked everything in case there were any malicious comments.’
Of course, the broadcasting company managed things well, but just in case—she went over it several times to see if any malicious comments had slipped through.
As a result, she couldn’t find anything like that. If anything, there was so much praise that she worried Ahyoung might get too carried away.
“Shall we see it right away?”
To shake off this worry, she wanted to see what they had prepared.
At Jihyun’s words, Ahyoung nodded and immediately took her position.
The beginning was quite interesting. It felt more like the opening of a play than an idol performance.
With the relatively taller Seunghye leading choreography that looked like she was pulling in the people around her, the members gathered with adorable expressions, and the performance began.
