# Chapter 40
And so, Jeongmun and I ended up at an idol concert neither of us had any interest in attending.
“Kang Taeun! Choi Minseok! Go Younghun! Kim Jeongyoung! We are! Miroz!”
“Run! Fly! Show us! Labyrinth!”
“I love you Seong Taemin! Waaaah!”
The thunderous sound of fans cheering for their idols made my head spin. It was like a battle of wills fought through the volume of cheers. The sad part was that among these countless shouts, I couldn’t hear the name of the idol Jaeyeon liked.
“Jeongmun. Isn’t the camera heavy? Should I hold it for you?”
“I’m fine.”
Unlike me, who was holding the light stick Jaeyeon had prepared for us, Jeongmun was carrying a DSLR camera. He said it was one he sometimes used when tailing someone.
I didn’t know much about cameras, but judging by the lens that was as big as my fist, it seemed to be the kind professionals used. So there really are people who use things like that. For me, cameras were limited to the one on my free entry-level phone with zero installment payments.
As I was staring curiously at Jeongmun’s camera, all the lights that had been illuminating the stage suddenly went out. At the same time, the anticipatory screams of the fans grew even louder.
“Looks like it’s about to start.”
BOOM!
No sooner had I finished speaking than fireworks shot into the sky. Reflexively, I looked up. Colorful flames bloomed like flowers and disappeared in an instant.
“Beautiful…”
An exclamation escaped me without realizing it. This was the first time I’d seen proper fireworks up close. All the fireworks I’d seen in my life until now had been dying embers obscured by tall buildings. During events like this, I was always at the lowest place, making money.
The sound of the exploding fireworks reached all the way to my heart. It felt similar to the heartbeats I occasionally felt when I was with Heerim.
Thinking of Heerim while watching the fireworks illuminating the dark sky was almost unconscious. I couldn’t help but imagine Heerim’s face, beaming with a broad smile like a child while looking at the spectacular fireworks.
“It’s already over.”
I looked up bitterly at the sky where only wispy smoke remained.
“…Damn it.”
Just thinking about Heerim made my heart flutter. I felt something like indigestion, so I sighed and rubbed my face. I was the one who had drawn the line to maintain distance, but what was I doing?
Heerim, who had wedged his way into my insignificant daily life, suddenly revealed his traces in unexpected places. Each time this happened, I had to take a deep breath and recite to myself the reasons why I needed to maintain distance from Heerim.
First, Heerim hid too many things from me, and his attitude toward me was sometimes frivolous yet at other times too intense, making him seem inconsistent. If you like me, why did you accept the boundary I drew so readily? Shouldn’t you at least make excuses? No, did you ever actually want to get along with me in the first place?
“…”
With my agitated feelings, I tilted my head slightly and took another deep breath.
Suddenly, I realized that I was obsessing over my relationship with Heerim to an abnormal degree. Why am I so worked up about him? It felt like I was missing something fundamental.
I tried to apply Heerim’s situation to Ha Suan, whom I’d recently become close with. What if Ha Suan didn’t tell me anything about himself and acted in ways I couldn’t understand?
“…”
Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me at all. I wouldn’t feel particularly angry or hurt. So if I only felt this way about Heerim, it meant that I liked Heerim after all…
“Ah.”
A sigh escaped me. It was the moment I properly recognized the emotion I had been pretending not to notice. I felt as if my entire body was engulfed in a massive flame, and I covered my mouth with my palm.
“Jaeo?”
“…”
“Jaeo. Are you feeling unwell? Your face is red.”
“I-I suddenly have h-hiccups. Hic!”
“Should I go buy some water?”
“N-no. It’s n-nothing. Hic!”
Perhaps because my body was surprised by the unexpected emotional realization, uncontrollable hiccups erupted. I tried hard to hold my breath and fanned my heated face diligently, but the hiccups wouldn’t stop easily.
So what are you going to do now, Son Jaeo? Are you going to confess?
I held my breath for a long time and organized my chaotic thoughts. I didn’t feel like confessing to Heerim that I liked him too. Although Heerim said he liked me, as long as he kept everything hidden, my feelings were no different from unrequited love. I wanted to know a lot about Heerim, and Heerim refused that. In this situation, even if I shared the same feelings as him, there was no way our relationship would be maintained well. My feelings weren’t strong enough to break through Heerim’s exterior.
As the heat that had enveloped my body disappeared and my head cooled down, the hiccups also stopped. Although I had become aware of my feelings for Heerim, as long as Heerim continued to hide himself, our relationship couldn’t change.
After the fireworks ended, the first performance began. An idol I’d never seen before sang a song I’d never heard. The girls around me, who had been cheering enthusiastically just a moment ago, were now looking at their phones with indifferent expressions.
They say the more popular groups appear later in the concert, so it seemed the early stages were for unpopular or rookie groups. Sadly, the idol Jaeyeon liked was scheduled to perform right after this.
“Jeongmun. I think they’re coming up next.”
“Yes. I’ll get ready.”
Jeongmun adjusted the camera lens with practiced hands. I looked at the stage with a stern expression, trying to hide my troubled and bitter feelings. The unknown rookie idol who had just finished their song was now bowing at a 90-degree angle to the audience. The bright stage lights dimmed momentarily, and the protagonists of the next performance took the stage.
Which one did Jaeyeon say was her favorite? Was it the one with pink hair?
I was narrowing my eyes, trying to find the member Jaeyeon had specifically asked us to take pictures of.
“Huh. What’s that?”
A girl sitting next to me muttered, noticing something. Following this, murmurs started to spread here and there.
“What is it?”
“Is it a stage effect?”
Everyone was staring at the sky. Amid the commotion, I also lifted my head to look at the sky above the stage.
Something even blacker than the dark night sky was rippling above. It was slightly larger than the stage lights and looked like black sewage swirling down a drain. I instantly knew what it was.
“Gasp! J-Jeongmun! There’s a Rift in the sky!”
“…!”
When I urgently called out to Jeongmun, he belatedly noticed the Rift through his camera viewfinder and handed me the camera.
“I’ll contact Hanyoung noona right away.”
Jeongmun hurriedly took out his phone and dialed. Even though all he had to do was press the call button, he fumbled, showing how greatly startled he was by the sudden appearance of the Rift.
KUUUUNG—!
The Rift, which had already grown in size, made a loud noise. People who had been quietly watching the black spot in the sky with curiosity finally began to scream.
“It’s a Rift!”
“KYAAAAAAH!”
KUUUUUNG!
With the massive vibration that shook the sky and ground, the sports arena instantly turned into chaos. Even without the Rift, this moment could lead to a major accident.
“Everyone please calm down and stay in your seats! Ugh!”
I tried shouting at the frightened people, but no one listened to me. Instead, people pushed me aside and cursed as I blocked their path.
“Jeongmun! What about contacting the Director? Were you able to?”
“The Rift is interfering with the signal, so I can’t connect! But since it’s an exposed Rift, they’ve probably already detected it and are on their way here.”
“The Rift is getting bigger! Surely it’s not a Level 10, is it?”
I asked, wondering if this might be the Level 10 Rift that the NECC had announced previously. Fortunately, Jeongmun shook his head.
“It’s about Level 2, but judging by the rate it’s growing, it could reach Level 4. We need to deal with it quickly before that happens!”
My heart raced at Jeongmun’s urgent cry. First and foremost, we needed to calm the excited crowd rather than deal with the Rift, but that was too much for just the two of us to handle.
As I waited desperately for Heerim to arrive, suddenly an intense light poured down onto the audience seats, blinding our eyes.
“Argh! What’s that?!”
“Ahhh! It’s too bright!”
People who had been rushing toward the exits stopped in their tracks, squinting at the sudden light. I, too, could barely open my eyes as I struggled to look at the source of the light.
All the numerous stage lights were simultaneously illuminating the audience area at maximum brightness.
Has Heerim arrived?
I rubbed my watery eyes with the back of my hand and looked around. I half-expected to see Heerim nearby, smiling innocently and asking if I had been waiting for him.
“Heerim—?!”
I searched for Heerim, looking around. I had no doubt that Heerim had come to the scene. But what I heard wasn’t Heerim’s voice.
“Everyone, please remain in your seats and maintain order!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
