“Please keep the line!!!”
“Please don’t push!!!”
The security guards in charge of the participants’ safety and their arrival-day guidance shouted loudly at the fans, but no one seemed to be listening.
It was fortunate that there was at least a gate. Without it, they looked ready to rush straight at the participants.
As a result, the gate’s metal bars shook, and her body was pushed backward.
‘This is why rookies are a problem.’
The arrival route for music shows, where most of the fans were veterans like her, was at least orderly. But perhaps because “Just Choose Your Idol 3” had drawn in so many new fans, the scene was a chaotic mess that left no room to catch one’s breath.
Fans continuously screamed the participants’ names at the top of their lungs.
The more popular the member, the louder the shouts became.
‘These won’t be worth much since there’s no scarcity, but it’s still better to take the pictures.’
Though her eardrums felt ready to burst, she endured it and kept clicking the shutter, focusing mainly on the popular members.
The participants entered one after another, repeatedly stopping to take pictures in front of the photo zone.
Then a new black van entered the arrival route and came to a stop.
The door opened wide, and three girls emerged together, looking as close as sisters.
—Seoyunaaaa!!!
—Naeun, I love youuuu!
—Dohee-aaaaaa!!!
Although they belonged to the same agency, all three were popular members with their own individual fandoms, and their voices rang out loudly enough to shake the entire neighborhood.
As a fan of Lee Dohee herself, she joined the crowd, screaming while repeatedly pressing the shutter.
“Dohee! Look over here!!!”
Dohee’s outfit consisted of a white T-shirt and three-quarter-length denim shorts.
It was an exceptionally simple, basic outfit, but her skin—which was even whiter than the short-sleeved shirt—made her look all the more pure and pristine.
The moderately tight denim shorts emphasized Dohee’s long legs and figure while still maintaining a tasteful, understated feel.
And finally, her long, straight black hair.
‘This is crazy… Our baby is a complete fairy…!’
“Dohee!!! Take this!!!”
A fan who had been waving Dohee’s slogan and shouting from beside her suddenly called out.
As if to prove that this was her first time being photographed on the arrival route, Dohee approached the gate without hesitation in response to the fan calling her name.
‘Huh…? She’s coming this way!’
Her camera grew even busier.
Seeing that, a security guard hurried over and scolded her.
“You can’t get so close to the gate!!”
Dohee flinched at the guard’s shout. Her eyes grew wide in an instant, clearly revealing just how startled she was.
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry…”
At the sight of her adorable reaction, the fansite master frantically pressed the shutter, clutching her pounding heart.
‘What do I do? She’s so cute…!’
Already at the gate, Dohee accepted the items handed to her by the fans and gave them a small bow. Then, as if being chased, she followed the security guard’s instructions to the photo zone, took her pictures, and hurried inside the gymnasium.
***
“You’ll enter one at a time!”
Following the staff’s instructions, the audience members who had handed over their phones passed through the metal detector one by one.
For a rookie who had never attended an idol concert, it could be a rather bewildering procedure. But for a veteran fansite master like her, it was nothing new.
It was a standard sight at large idol concerts, where they tried to prevent fans from bringing in cameras to take pictures.
Even so, there were ways for a fansite master to smuggle in a camera.
One method was to disassemble the camera into separate parts, wrap them tightly in tape, and attach them to discreet areas difficult to search, such as the thighs beneath a skirt.
Another was to hide small parts inside one’s bra and claim they were nipple piercings if the metal detector went off.
There was also hiding the camera in the venue ahead of time.
Or forming a team with other professional fansite masters and bringing in the separate parts one by one.
Today, too, she had successfully brought her camera into the venue using one of these methods.
She casually pulled a ballpoint pen from her bag.
Using it to cut through and tear away the tape wrapped around her body, she put the camera body and lens back into her bag.
If she were caught taking pictures during the competition, her memory card would be confiscated and she would be thrown out of the venue. Even so, there was a reason fansite masters took pictures every time.
At least one hundred thousand won.
That was the value of a single photograph of a popular participant competing in the event.
It was a famous anecdote that during Just Choose Your Idol Season 2, one fansite master who successfully smuggled a camera past the metal detectors earned over seven million won in a single day.
‘Still, I’m going to spend this money on Dohee again…!’
For once, she found herself seated on the first floor, where the chairs had been arranged, and calmly waited for the stage to begin.
Not long after she sat down, the large screen lit up.
What appeared on the screen were choreography videos for the four competition songs that would be judged in the third round.
Since they were all new songs, it was difficult to distinguish the participants’ skill levels by song alone.
The purpose was for the audience to reference the choreography performed by experienced dancers when evaluating the participants’ stages.
‘Works for me.’
A veteran of the idol scene, the fansite master watched with a focused gaze, checking every detail and dynamic section.
The more distinctive the part, the more unique the photographs she could get.
She watched especially closely when “Subtly,” which she assumed was Dohee’s song, came on.
Before long, however, she grew tired of the choreography video. Just as she was beginning to feel fatigued, the MC finally came up onstage.
“Choose your girl! Welcome, everyone, to the third-round competition of Just Choose Your Idol!”
The MC explained the stage and the voting process.
“…After all the performances have ended, you’ll receive a ballot on your way out. Please vote for the one team you thought performed the best, as well as the single trainee you thought performed the best!”
While the MC continued talking, the staff bustled about behind him, setting up the first stage.
The stage had a cute atmosphere reminiscent of soft, warm sunlight and fluffy clouds.
‘Huh? Is this the cute concept…? It is, right?’
As expected, the MC introduced the first stage.
“Yes! These trainees are the most lovable trainees, officially recognized by you Chusers! Please welcome the participants who will perform the adorable and lively theme song, ‘Subtly,’ onto the stage!”
‘Dohee is on the first stage…!’
Six trainees came up onstage.
Each wore a different warm-toned pastel dress.
Among them was Dohee, dressed in a pastel-yellow dress that brought a chick to mind.
White sneakers and a large white ribbon tied in her hair completed the look.
It was an outfit that brought out the fresh atmosphere of a spring day.
‘Wow… Seriously, who styled them?! They really worked hard…!’
She had privately compared Dohee’s look with her arrival outfit and thought that Dohee still had a ways to go when it came to fashion sense.
‘Well, being good at dressing too would be cheating! It’s fine! She can improve from here on out!’
Of course, if she didn’t have a stylist in the future either, Dohee would probably continue going out in comfortable clothes. But as her fan, she didn’t know that yet.
—Hello! We are…
While the trainees onstage introduced themselves and answered questions, she prepared her camera.
She wanted to start taking pictures immediately, but the venue was brightly lit and security personnel were moving around, so she couldn’t.
“We’ll now begin the performance!”
All the lights went out, and a lyrical, pure idol-style orchestral intro began.
Soft white lights flickered on, complementing the members’ tones.
‘Oh…! Dohee is the center this time!’
Dohee stood at the very center of the opening formation.
She had carefully watched the choreography video while waiting for the stage, so she knew the center of the intro belonged to the center position.
The light choreography was graceful and gentle, evoking the image of an elegant, fluid dance.
Combined with their outfits, it called to mind a spring day despite the midsummer heat.
She took out the black cloth disguised as a slogan and cleverly used it to cover her camera as she snapped away.
—Turn your eyes away, subtly
As you color with the wind
Falling into a dreamlike world
‘The song is pretty decent. Looks like the composer really put some effort into it… It might’ve made the charts if it were spring.’
The stage flowed smoothly, without any particularly awkward moments.
—My heart is going
Like a tiny insect
With a light, hurried step
A secret tremor, a small desire
Tightly encircles the space between us
If they had been covering an existing song, it might have felt somewhat dull. But since it was an original song by the participants, its fresh and novel flavor kept it from becoming boring. More than anything, the cute participants were a pleasure to watch in themselves.
Of course, she was looking only at Dohee.
—This gently swaying wind
Always moves my heart
And I’m swaying within it
Like a little tree
But just as the second verse was coming to an end, a strangely out-of-place scene caught her eye.
‘What? Did Gu Eunhee and Dohee switch positions?’
Kim Seoyun was supposed to spin cheerfully in place at the front while Gu Eunhee moved to the right, allowing Dohee to naturally step into the empty space.
But perhaps her movements had become tangled, because Gu Eunhee remained standing in place, unable to find her mark.
Without showing any sign of panic, Dohee quickly took several large steps toward the far right.
The change in formation was so natural that no one would have noticed it unless they were an idol veteran who had studied the choreography video as carefully as she had.
Afterward, Gu Eunhee hesitantly moved forward to find her position. In response, Dohee naturally made a wide turn and returned to her own place.
‘Did Dohee just cover for her mistake?’
Of course, it could have been intentional, so she wasn’t certain.
Even so, she continued rapidly pressing the shutter.
If Dohee really had covered for her…
A unique moment during a unique competition.
The value of every photograph she was taking was about to skyrocket.