Chapter 57
As he entered holding slogans, thinking of their hearts that must have been filled with anticipation for Juha, his fingertips trembled slightly.
Could this really be what they called ‘fan devotion’ that he’d only heard about?
Watching other trainees receive full support from fans, Juha had secretly thought it was still far off for him. Since he still considered his charm and skills lacking, he thought fans only attached themselves to people more amazing than him.
But the scene unfolding before his eyes told him something different. That Lee Juha was also someone receiving the devoted love of fans.
During his 6 years as a trainee, Juha had lived a life like an ascetic undergoing daily hardships.
Some days he wondered all the way home whether this was the right path. Other days he’d get scolded badly and cry under his blanket, sad and questioning if this path was right.
Even while spending such difficult days, the word that kept Juha together throughout that long time was ‘still.’
Still, I want to do this. Still, it’s okay. Still, I have dreams.
Still. Still… Using countless ‘stills’ as a ladder, Juha had climbed up to here. Like a reckless hunter going after stars that couldn’t even be touched.
However, the moment he saw the signs cheering for the name ‘Lee Juha’ on stage, Juha even felt like he had suffered for 6 years for this day. He felt like he could melt away right here without any regrets.
The stages Juha had stood on until now and today’s stage were completely different places. Unlike the ‘evaluation stages’ where he had to endure harsh gazes meant to assess him while forcing fake smiles, here there were people desperately waiting and watching only him.
Seeing those who would be elated or dejected by his every glance, gesture, and breath, Juha’s heart swelled as if it might burst.
To make these people happy—people who had come through fierce competition to see his stage—Juha felt a determination surge up that he would show the best stage even if he had to sacrifice himself.
‘Since there are people who love me, I can act as pretty as I want.’
Juha smiled brightly and returned to his position.
As the members took their places, the cheers from the audience died down and the lights went out. To prevent his breathing from leaking into the microphone, Juha tensed his lips. Looking down at the floor where the lights reflected, the familiar intro arranged as a piano arpeggio began to flow hauntingly.
Metabolic’s ‘Butterfly Dream’—a song Juha could never forget even in death, filled with sadness and despair.
While it might be just passing music to someone else, for Juha this song was a collection of memories where effort and wounds, all emotions were condensed. Memories that were all the more sorrowful because despite having no lack of desperation or effort, they weren’t given to him—these memories crashed over him like a tsunami.
* * *
As the intro of Butterfly Dream began, Na Junho and Jo Munseok, who had been standing on either side, did aerial flips and gathered at center. Though they were quite tall, their movements were as light as feathers.
“Wow…”
The audience exclaimed in admiration at the flashy entrance and focused on the stage.
Deputy Manager Park Hyeji, holding the largest slogan that read “Fall for Lee Juha,” was one of them. She and the residents of “Fall for Juha” had defeated those supposedly vicious Yoo Youngin and Choi Taeri fans to secure the front center seats.
Jo Munseok and Na Junho wore white, long vest-style oriental tops tied at the waist with sashes so they wouldn’t flutter. Outside the vests covering their torsos, both men’s solid arm muscles were visible.
While it was widely known that both were former national youth taekwondo representatives, on stage they displayed masculine sexiness rather than the typical roughness of athletes.
[It’s an old dream, but no one believed the story
The dream where I became a butterfly and flew over a flower garden]
After Jo Munseok and Na Junho disappeared to the back with flashy turns in mid-air, Seo Eunwon and Jang Chaemyeong appeared holding hands.
[I thought, maybe I was originally a butterfly
A hungry butterfly wandering in search of a pretty flower called you]
They wore white clothes of similar concept and material to the previous Na Junho and Jo Munseok, but Seo Eunwon and Jang Chaemyeong had blatantly tied white ribbons as large as their faces around their necks. With their free hands, they flapped their wings together, creating a butterfly shape.
Still fluttering their eyes innocently like unripe children and flapping about, they were so cute it was almost laugh-inducing.
‘Oh my, was Jang Chaemyeong always this cute?’
Jang Chaemyeong’s transformation was certainly surprising. Seo Eunwon had such a unique character that he had many noona and aunt fans, but Jang Chaemyeong had previously had no external presence whatsoever. But dressed up exactly like Seo Eunwon, wearing the same smile and doing the same movements, he somehow caught the eye too.
Come to think of it, the stage was truly a mysterious space. Even ordinary-looking people seemed to have a halo when they stood on stage.
And then our lord appeared.
[But I want the time I loved you to be reality
I’m not a man dreaming of butterflies, but someone who loves a woman called you]
“Holy…”
The moment Lee Juha appeared, Park Hyeji covered her mouth.
Our baby came out wearing pure white clothes with two chestnut-sized pure white flowers attached to both sides of his ears. Not only that, but he even had sparkling glitter sprinkled under his eyes.
Moreover, while it was a hanbok-concept outfit, the sleeve ends and collar had adorable… adorable lace attached.
‘Such an excessive concept…’
Lee Juha sang while making a flower cup with his hand under his chin and prettily blinked his eyes. With such blatant emphasis, you couldn’t help but focus on our lord’s face.
When he dressed up with intention, our lord truly had a splendidly beautiful appearance that was a feast for the eyes. Every time our lord blinked, the glitter under his eyes sparkled brilliantly like countless jewels.
‘I’m going crazy.’
Park Hyeji unconsciously clasped her hands holding the slogan in a prayer position.
Our lord’s pretty expression looked like confidence that said ‘you’re naturally going to fall for me.’
How could he use that face like that? This is what they call paradise or heaven.
“Our lord is so beautiful…”
“His face is insane…”
“Just how far did he push his beauty…”
The Juha residents around Park Hyeji, captivated by that beauty, were even tearing up.
And the last member of this group, the problematic Yoo Youngin.
“Holy…”
The word “Holy…” spilled from Park Hyeji’s mouth again.
Yoo Youngin’s outfit was especially see-through, with a deeply cut neckline that revealed his entire neck line.
Slightly lowering his eyes and singing with a somewhat weary look was both pitiful and decadent. Shadows falling on his round, rabbit-like pretty face was also worth watching.
‘Still, he can’t match our lord.’
As the founder of “Fall for Juha,” Park Hyeji was well aware of the Yoo Youngin fans’ misdeeds. She had no intention of being swayed by or supporting Yoo Youngin, but she watched him for the sake of stage balance.
Fortunately, after Yoo Youngin’s past was exposed, he had pulled himself together mentally and focused on the stage. If he had team-killed and harmed our lord, she would have become the vanguard of evil comments, ready to charge in like a tank.
The strong warriors Jo Munseok and Na Junho, the cute twins Eunwon and Chaemyeong with ribbons bigger than their faces, our lace flower prince lord, and even Yoo Youngin who maintained dignity with see-through—
With handsome guys showing off their beauty and making her smile, Park Hyeji couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
‘All the characters are alive!’
While Park Hyeji wasn’t a veteran of the idol scene, once she fell for something, she fell deep enough to be capable of drafting national exams. She naturally loved analyzing and had accurate judgment, and though this stage with our lord hadn’t even reached halfway, she had a good feeling about it.
She came to see our lord, but watching each character come alive, Park Hyeji’s excitement was rising.
Modern idol stages often have emotional lines and stories like a musical. Of course, Park Hyeji liked those stages too. The first competition stage with our lord and Choi Taeri was similar to that.
But Park Hyeji secretly wanted to see a stage filled with just pretty idol-like charm and aegyo. In that sense, Team 1’s stage perfectly met her expectations.
[It’s fine to be in a dream, if I’m with you
It’s fine if this place is a dream, if I’m with you]
Jo Munseok and Na Junho took the same poses and alternated coming forward. Strong movements that were halfway between martial arts and dance. Jo Munseok was a bit closer to martial arts, while Na Junho’s dance was more rhythmical.
[I will become a butterfly and fly with you
You are my flower, I’ll fly high with you
Flying high, flying high, take my hand
Flying high, flying high, because you and I are together]
The chorus center was alternately handled by Yoo Youngin and our lord.
As Yoo Youngin disappeared with an enchanting, drowsy gaze, our lord ended with the lyrics “because we’re together” and lightly blew a hand kiss. The delicate lace at the end of his outfit sleeves fluttered along. Was it just imagination that our lord looked like a facial genius transcending East and West, ancient and modern?
“Ugh!”
Park Hyeji received our lord’s hand kiss with her whole body and trembled.
That little charmer. Why hadn’t she known that our lord was such a little charmer? Park Hyeji lamented.
While streaming, she had thought the lyrics of Butterfly Dream were really terrible, but watching the stage, she had no time to think about the lyrics. Idol songs rarely have properly written lyrics anyway, but at the time Park Hyeji had looked at these lyrics—seemingly cobbled together by taking only good parts from various places—and thought it was fortunate this wasn’t actually our lord’s song.
Despite such adverse conditions, the six members of Team 1 had perfectly used this crappy song as a tool to show off their individual beauty. It was beyond praiseworthy to the point of being grateful. Moreover, perhaps because they changed the main beat to electronic style, none of the original song’s tackiness could be found.
After the chorus ended, the interlude began. As the oriental-scale arpeggio created a dreamy atmosphere, a faint crescent moon rose in the stage backdrop.
First in the interlude sequence came Seo Eunwon and Jang Chaemyeong. The two faced each other and performed mirror choreography, as if fighting with their reflections in a lake under moonlight. Seeing such precise choreography that really looked like looking in a mirror, you could guess their practice amount.
Unlike the cute first verse, the two tormented each other with fierce movements as if denying their reflections in the mirror. Just like the song lyrics, they seemed confused about whether the butterfly was them or they were the butterfly.
As the two disappeared, Jo Munseok and Na Junho, representing their shadows, took positions at center stage. The two held folded fans and sword-fought. The sharp sound of fans clashing could be heard even from the audience.
Me fighting with my shadow.
Though Seo Eunwon and Jang Chaemyeong were small and young, it seemed to symbolize that their shadows at least were fiercely struggling.
Their movements were so intense that their weapons looked like swords rather than fans. Sweat dripped from their muscular arms briefly revealed between the lighting.
‘Wow, Na Junho is freaking amazing.’
Park Hyeji admired every time Na Junho’s arm muscles flexed.
Of course, our lord was her one pick, but when voting, Park Hyeji always marked Na Junho and Seo Eunwon as well. She generously voted for Seo Eunwon since he was positioned closest to our lord, and Na Junho was somehow a contestant who gave her good vibes. Just watching him felt reassuring, and most importantly, his way of looking after Juha in the last episode didn’t seem fake, which she liked.
Strictly speaking, the person who assisted our lord best from the side was Choi Taeri, but he was someone who would secure the top ranks on his own without Park Hyeji’s help.
Parting the two who had finished their battle, Yoo Youngin fully equipped with decadent beauty and Lee Juha boasting an aura of 100 fluorescent lights just by appearing came forward. The two who appeared demurely as if to stop the fight smiled fox-like smiles as they approached their respective partners.
Lee Juha’s partner was Na Junho.
Lee Juha, with camellia flowers in his hair, stood facing him and wrapped his arms around Na Junho’s waist while smiling brightly. Na Junho smoothly wrapped his arms around Juha’s waist in return, as if enchanted by a nine-tailed fox. Na Junho looked over Juha’s face with a meaningful expression as if to say ‘I’ll fall for you since you’re seducing me this much.’
Our lord, without any expression of ‘got you,’ calmly took Na Junho and disappeared to the back of the stage with a composed face. Matching their movements, Yoo Youngin and Jo Munseok also headed backstage.
‘Legendary.’
Park Hyeji felt like she might stop breathing. This was almost like the scene of Yeonsangun, who had been engaged in sword fights, melting away at Jang Noksu’s single smile. She had thought of Choi Taeri when it came to Lee Juha, but Na Junho was no less impressive.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
