Chapter 90
Wirse's first solo concert that took place over the two days of the weekend.
The concert was completely over, but fans still feeling the aftermath were lingering around the concert venue.
"The concert was seriously amazing..."
"They burned everything..."
People trudging along listlessly with lightsticks still in their hands.
Among those people, Kim So-young was also forcing her reluctant feet to move.
'I should... go back...?'
The feelings of regret that always come after a concert ends.
That regretful feeling was always the same, but this time, rather than regret...
'The aftermath is still...'
The expressions of the Wirse members when they sang the last song were still vividly before her eyes.
It wasn't just because they were her idols; the Wirse members seemed like people born to be idols.
Today's final concert was so good that it made her seriously contemplate that.
'Are there any photos uploaded?'
The sight of the members surrounded by fluttering flower petals, waving at the fans until the moment they exited.
She wanted to see that sight again, even if just in photos.
'Ooh! They uploaded it right away.'
A photo uploaded on Wirse's official SNS account.
It was taken from an angle behind the stage where both the members and the audience seats could be seen at a glance.
The lights of the lightsticks looking like stars in the night sky, and the members hugging each other among the fluttering flower petals.
It was a photo that made the lingering emotions of the concert feel deep once again.
And a short greeting posted along with the photo.
-Always thankful and love you. Together forever!
'Ugh!'
It was a short phrase written by who knows who, but as soon as she saw the content, her chest ached again.
Thinking she absolutely couldn't handle this feeling alone, Kim So-young hastily connected to Wirse's fan community.
Naturally, posts about the concert were flooding in real-time in the community.
-A post went up on SNS!
-ㅠㅠ Guys, I love you too! Let's be together forever...!
-Everyone worked so hard. Today was seriously the best.
-Please tell me there's a concert tomorrow too ㅠㅠ Just one more day ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Fans' reactions full of regret and lingering emotions.
Kim So-young was browsing the posts for a while when she saw a title and immediately clicked on the post.
[Members crying at the final concert.jpg]
A photo that seemed to be uploaded in real-time without proper editing. But it was enough to feel the atmosphere of the venue at that time.
Kim So-young slowly scrolled down, admiring the photos of the members one by one.
The first photo that appeared was Kang A-jin with red ears from crying.
Following yesterday, he was once again the first member to show tears.
Kim So-young secretly smiled as she recalled Kang A-jin confidently declaring at the start of the concert that he absolutely wouldn't cry today.
And the next photo that appeared.
'Yujin and Jung-woo don't seem like it, but they actually cry quite well.'
Wirse's two main vocalists, Yujin Kim and Woo Jung-woo.
They didn't seem like it from the outside, but they were the dark horses of the crybaby faction, closely following Kang A-jin who was known for crying a lot within Wirse.
And Park Han-hwi waving with a warm smile throughout the concert, and Shim Seong-ha and Baek Si-hyun barely holding back tears could also be seen.
And finally.
'Huh? Did Rin cry?'
She couldn't see it on the screen so she didn't know.
Looking at the photo, the small droplets gathered around Seonwoo Rin's eyes were clearly visible.
Kim So-young hastily scrolled down to check the comment section.
-Ah, everyone is so cute!
-Guys, I cried my eyes out too ㅠㅠㅠ
-Thank you for the photos...!
-Whoa... Rin cried too ㅠㅠ
└I didn't know when I was taking the photo, but I saw it when I looked later ㅠ
-Rin's tears... let's all pretend we didn't see them! But saving under a different name ㅎ...
└Right... the leader's tears are a secret! I'm saving under a different name too...
-While all the members were crying, our Han-hwi was the only one calm ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
'First, let me save it too...'
Kim So-young quickly left a comment and saved Seonwoo Rin's photo to her phone before exiting the post.
She managed to pick up a legendary photo from the very first post she found.
After admiring the gallery for a while, Kim So-young started looking at other posts.
'As expected, the unit stages are popular.'
What heated up the Wirse fan community the most yesterday and today was talk about the unit stages.
-Every single unit stage this time was a legend.
-Sexy charm from the maknae line... almost stopped breathing while watching...
-Yujin and Jung-woo's singing ability is seriously beyond idol... got goosebumps listening.
-Other stages were all good too, but the impact of the last stage is something elseㄷㄷ
└When they first appeared, it felt like it wasn't real.
└I thought I was dreaming too...
-I can't be the only one who saw Rin's insane visuals... please let everyone in the world know!
└The concept and visuals were a perfect match... it was a truly perfect stage in every way.
Especially, the talk about Seonwoo Rin's visuals had been causing explosive reactions not only in the fan community but on all K-pop related sites since yesterday.
[Seonwoo Rin who tore up the unit stages at this concert]
-Whoa... this is Seonwoo Rin?
-No, I couldn't get tickets this time so I didn't go, but the visuals were seriously crazy...
-It's like a manga character appeared in reality... but was Seonwoo Rin's image always like this?
└Right, the vibe is subtly different from before. But the visuals are seriously insane... ㄷㄷ
-I'm the person who saw it in person at the venue, the photo can't capture it all.
No matter where in the community, it was all talk about Seonwoo Rin.
Most were positive reactions, but not all reactions were good.
-His face changed from before?
-Sure, it did...
-Comparing with past photos, his facial features completely changed.
-Right, unless it's plastic surgery, a person can't change this much in an instant.
The plastic surgery rumors that inevitably popped up.
But such opinions were immediately followed by swift suppression by Wirse fans.
-Facial features changed? Look here, except for makeup, nothing changed, what's the basis for that?
-They haven't rested since mini 2nd album promotions started, what plastic surgery?
└They haven't properly rested since debut... ㅋㅋ
-Thank you for complimenting that our Rin is handsome! ㅎㅎ
-Rin is unrealistically handsome though!
-Please keep looking only at what you want to see!
Unlike the early days of debut, Wirse fans were now suppressing troublemakers with tremendous firepower in an instant.
'At this level, there's no need to worry.'
Kim So-young looked at the reactions about Seonwoo Rin for a while, then turned off her phone screen and walked on.
She felt a bit unjust when she saw the plastic surgery rumors, but on the contrary, thinking that Seonwoo Rin was getting that much attention, she thought it was unavoidable.
'Anyway, it'll be hard to see them for a while now.'
Since the concert was over, it was time to return to daily life.
'But where would they be now... the dorm? Or having a company dinner...?'
But she couldn't help having Wirse constantly on her mind.
***
What would fans say if they saw this sight?
"Uwaaaah."
"Oh my, I'm dying..."
"I need to sleep early to prepare for tomorrow's concert... ah, the concert ended today, right? Right..."
"We are now free... Freedom..."
I shook my head as I watched the six people who, as soon as we arrived at the dorm, crawled to the living room and instantly sprawled out on the sofa.
"Sigh..."
When will I be able to clean up all these human sacks and go to sleep?
While I was looking at the members and thinking.
"Rin hyung's gaze looks strange!"
"Hyung, come over here quickly!"
"Don't tell me you're thinking we're annoying?"
'They're quick to notice as always...'
I could see the members looking at me with piercing stares.
I had no choice but to join where the members were lying down.
"Now, today is an absolute party!"
"That's right, we can't spend this night like this."
Woo Jung-woo and Shim Seong-ha who were in sync once again.
But if you're having a party, what's the point of lying there talking weakly...?
Looking at the two members who only had their mouths alive and breathing, I said:
"Party or whatever... let's just rest for a bit first."
"Yes, sir."
Actually, I didn't show it, but my current condition was no joke either.
Rather than feeling physically exhausted...
'It feels like my energy is strangely drained.'
20,000 people.
If you talk about it in numbers, it doesn't feel real.
But if you experience that enormous number right before your eyes.
And if you stand and perform in front of that enormous number of audience members, everyone would feel it.
Just how crazy this is.
'I never thought I'd experience something like this, even just a year ago.'
The strange tension from the performance still seemed to flow through my entire body.
From the first stage to the last stage.
And the fans' reactions and that tremendous cheering.
Everything was still vividly felt.
'It's a bit strange, but...'
I felt like I was falling deeper into the charm of this job called idol.
If the status window hadn't guided me to the path of an idol... would I have never felt this emotion my whole life?
"But Rin hyung."
"Yeah?"
Right when I was falling deeper into my thoughts. Yujin Kim suddenly called me with a serious voice.
"Since the concert is over, I wanted to ask..."
Why is he suddenly talking to me so seriously?
Was there some problem during the concert?
While I was wondering at Yujin Kim's vaguely trailing off words.
"Since yesterday, hyung's atmosphere has been strangely unfamiliar, should I say... is something going on?"
"What do you mean by that?"
When I asked back at Yujin Kim's sudden question about whether something was going on.
The other members immediately agreed with Yujin Kim's words and spoke up.
"That's right, Rin hyung has felt really unfamiliar since yesterday."
"Should I say it's like a celebrity..."
"An aura that makes it hard to approach is emanating from his body...!"
Perhaps feeling similar things, the members started speaking excitedly one after another.
Listening to the members' words like that, I could guess what the cause was.
'Did it feel that way to others?'
The 'Brilliant Halo' trait gained when I hit S-rank in appearance.
The description was so abstract that I didn't pay much attention to it, but for the members who were closest to me, it must have been clearly felt that something had changed.
"Well, I don't really know..."
But it wasn't a problem I could do anything about, and wouldn't they get used to it if we spent time together?
"Hmm... Very suspicious..."
When I tried to brush it off with a vague answer, Shim Seong-ha glared at me with suspicion and said.
"Your atmosphere suddenly changed... could it be...!"
"Could it be?"
"Dating?!"
"???"
As soon as the word dating popped out of Shim Seong-ha's mouth, it was as if a nuclear bomb had dropped in the quiet dorm, and everyone started going crazy.
"Kuaaaah!"
"Absolutely not!"
"Dating... I absolutely, cannot accept this...!"
"W-wait!"
I tried to stop them quickly, but the members' rampage continued for a while.
"Rin hyung, dating is no different from a sin for an idol! This is deception! It's a shameful act that must never be done! I absolutely cannot tolerate... mmph! mmph!"
"Stop!"
I said while covering Woo Jung-woo's mouth as he continued speaking close to a scream.
Looking at the members who were still caught up in excitement, I said:
"Dating, what... have any of you ever seen me talk privately with a woman?"
The dorm's atmosphere instantly became solemn.
"N-no."
"Hahaha, it was obviously a joke.,,!"
"Hey, who brought up such a ridiculous story? More importantly, party! Let's have a party!"
'You're the one who brought it up...'
I glared at Shim Seong-ha who was calling for a party again, but Shim Seong-ha, ignoring my glare, got up directly this time and made the other members stand up.
"Woohoo, party!"
"Was there beer in the fridge?"
"If not, we should go buy some."
The members who completed their attitude shift in an instant.
"Come, come! If there's anything Rin hyung wants to eat, tell us quickly. The manager hyung said we can eat as much as we want today."
It was a bit hard to keep up with the members' unpredictable stream of consciousness.
'They're exactly the same as when we debuted.'
If Wirse's situation has changed but this relationship with the members seems like it won't change, would that be jumping to conclusions too far ahead?
Still.
"Yeah, today we should have fun..."
For now, I'm enjoying myself.
Then isn't that enough?