Chapter 169: Rookie of the Year Award (1)

BEEEEEEP—

A siren blared across the silent stage.

At the same time, loud, pounding knocks filled the space.

Mayday Mayday Mayday

Seo Ian’s voice echoed faintly before fading away.

A desperate cry for help from someone.

A boy, stranded on an unknown planet with a spaceship, slowly lifted his head.

When Do Seohan stepped out of the fog, Dusty instinctively covered his mouth.

Maybe it was the mist barely veiling his head, but platinum-blond Do Seohan looked more ethereal than ever today.

‘What the heck, why does he look so handsome today….’

Thud, thud, thud.

The knocking on the door echoed across the stage again,

And Seohan stretched his arm into the air as he rose from the ground.

One by one, dancers gathered around Seohan.

Without hesitation, Seohan broke forward, forming a formation with over a dozen dancers.

“Wow…”

A smooth wave rolled into an intense krumping.

Storming the stage like he was tearing it apart, Seohan raised his delicate fingertips to the sky.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The boy, trapped on a planet without a soul, banged on the air as if trying to escape.

Mayday Mayday Mayday

Of course, beyond the door lay only the empty universe. No answer came.

Even as he sent a call for help that would never reach anyone, the boy didn’t lose hope.

The dancers swirled around Seohan like a vortex, then drifted away.

Now, the boy was completely alone.

His passionate movements, as if trying to break the stage, didn’t stop.

Mayday.

Maybe it was being sent somewhere—maybe even the boy himself didn’t know—but someday, it would reach somewhere.

‘I’m trapped.’

Still, he would struggle.

Because there’s no such thing as an end in this world.

“……”

The fog lifted, and the members slowly walked out from backstage.

Receiving the choreography from Do Seohan, Kang Siwoo glided smoothly across the stage.

It was like watching ice skating on a frozen rink—pure art.

At times intense,

At times gentle.

The two who drew beautiful lines of dance on the empty stage stepped back.

Immediately followed by a paired choreography from Ha Junseo and Cha Seongbin.

Cha Seongbin skillfully broke down the beat, blending his own choreography into his arrangement.

“That’s insane…”

Fans held their breath as they watched the stage.

They knew since the Starf days that the members were skilled, but had they always danced this well?

A stunning performance unfolding under the stage lights…

It felt just a bit different from anything Stardust had shown before.

The group choreography followed right after.

It was a performance crafted just for this award show, yet it was so perfectly synchronized it felt like something from their promotional season—it sent chills down your spine.

Mayday Mayday Mayday

Even at the final cry for help, no response came from beyond space.

One by one, the members collapsed, and darkness began to consume the stage.

BAM—

With the sound of a door closing, the dance break came to an end.

Mayday Mayday Mayday

Something’s wrong, please hold my hand

Feels like I’m stranded in a twisted timeline

I’m drifting in empty space

The real stage had begun.

[The boys went all out for the dance break, huh]

Seohan, great job—you’re amazing, seriously.

The other members were insane today too….

Seeing the outfits, my eyes spun—I thought they were alien planet princes.

tf is “alien planet prince” lmaoooooooooooooooooooooooo

└ Sorry, that was a lame compliment that didn’t land….

└ lmaoooooooooooooooooooooooooo

└ I don’t know about anything else, but their visuals today were heaven-sent.

└ Do Seohan, can’t you keep the platinum hair for the next album too?

I’m happy to be a Dusty. You guys are my pride.

└ 2222 Please do a solo concert ASAP. My bank account is ready, I’ll beg if I have to.

└ Drop another full album ㅠㅠㅠ I know you just came back, but I’m shameless like that ㅠㅠ

└ Talents like this not dropping an album every month is a major loss for Doubles….

└ I hate that they must be exhausted prepping for comebacks, but I want to see them more often… What is this confusing emotion?

Seongbin’s arrangement was insane

└ Seriously, the only thing I can say is he’s a genius ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s not even a ten-year idol. How’s a rookie this good at composing ㅠㅠ

└ I’ve never seen a talent like Cha Seongbin in the idol scene

└ What hits even harder is that Seongbin works insanely hard too…. I bet he stayed up all night for this award show.

└ Cha Seongbin went beast mode on this composition. A friend in producing told me—got the tea from them ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

When Do Seohan glided across the stage, I honestly thought the stage turned into an ice rink

└ lmaooooooo for real

└ I’m dying to know what’s on his feet to make his dancing that smooth

└ And yet in the parts that needed strength, he hit them hard—so cool

└ Do Seohan’s looking like a man now…. What do I do

└ Nooo Seohan please stay my forever baby hamster ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

.

.

.

.

“WAAAAAAAHHHH!”

“KYAAAAAAAA—!”

The entire venue shook from the explosive cheers.

I swallowed dryly and glanced around.

I could see the fan seats not far away.

When I gave a small wave, the cheers erupted again and hit my ears.

“AAAAAAAH!”

“Stardust! Let’s get that Rookie Award!”

We were waiting for the host to come up on stage.

The Seoul K-pop Awards [NEW ARTIST] category, in other words, the Rookie Award, was about to be announced.

I tried to pretend I wasn’t nervous, but of course, that wasn’t easy.

I warmed my cold hands and feet against the heat of my thighs.

“Phew…”

As I took a deep breath and turned my head, I saw Ha Junseo’s pale face.

I leaned in close and whispered in his ear.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“No…”

Honestly, I could tell just by looking at his face… I shouldn’t have asked. How did this hyung even manage to be the leader before when he’s mentally this fragile?

Watching us, Cha Seongbin cut in with a grin.

“What’s more nerve-wracking, now or the final ranking announcement on Starf?”

“Well, obviously…”

Suddenly, my nerves vanished.

“The Starf final ranking announcement.”

“Hyung, how can you even compare that?”

Jin Sehyun shook his head and commented dryly.

Yeah.

No matter how nervous you are, nothing’s more nerve-wracking than a debut announcement.

Of course, that didn’t mean the tension of the Rookie Award announcement had completely disappeared….

“But honestly, both are nerve-wracking.”

“Yeah, me too. I feel like I’m going to die right now…”

“Junseo-hyung, here’s an Americano.”

“I should’ve gotten an espresso instead…”

Ha Junseo regretted it as he quietly downed the remaining Americano.

“The six-shot Americano you drink is basically an espresso anyway, hyung…”

Jin Sehyun muttered with a pitiful look in his eyes.

I sat quietly, understanding how he felt.

With the grateful stares came an equally heavy burden.

Stardust was being named a strong candidate for the Rookie Award, but this year, rookies had performed especially well.

It wasn’t just Stardust’s album sales—there were too many strong competitors.

If you go in expecting to win and end up not getting it, it’d be heartbreaking.

So I came here trying to let go of expectations.

I nodded slightly and whispered in Kang Siwoo’s ear.

“I’m okay. I’ve let go of most of it.”

“You’re lying through your teeth…”

“Ah, why?”

Was it that obvious?

I cleared my throat and looked away.

Thankfully, we didn’t have any more time left for small talk.

“……”

The host for the Seoul K-pop Awards returned to the stage, script in hand.

There was a brief silence before the buzz behind us picked up again.

“Yes, next is the presentation for the NEW ARTIST category at the Seoul K-pop Awards.”

The host, dressed sharply in a black suit, swallowed nervously and looked directly into the camera.

Each time he appeared on the billboard, tense fans screamed.

“Ha…”

Of course, the pressure on me only doubled.

God, I feel like I’m going to die from nerves.

“NEW ARTIST… a prize prepared for rookies. I also received the NEW ARTIST award right here on this very stage. Looking back, it was the most nerve-wracking, anxious, and happiest time of my life.”

The host glanced at the script and continued slowly.

“Among all the awards you may receive later, this one might be the most brilliant—because it’s the very first award as a rookie. The NEW ARTIST nominees… will now be revealed.”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Each time a nominee appeared on the billboard, the cheers grew louder.

“Stardust! Stardust! Stardust!”

When our faces showed up on the screen, the screams were even louder than before.

I wanted to casually wave in response, but my body was so stiff I couldn’t manage it.

“Ah… I’m so nervous.”

Biting my innocent lower lip, I just stared blankly at the billboard.

“Yes, we’ve seen the nominees. So many impressive ones this year.”

The host’s voice echoed in my ears. At some point, the pressure weighing down on my shoulders made his voice start to blur.

“Among these incredible nominees… who will be receiving the NEW ARTIST award this year…! It’s time to find out.”

Haa….

“The NEW ARTIST category!”

I’m dying…

“The honorable recipient is…!”

Please.

Please.

“It’s Stardust! Congratulations!”

“WAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

POP—

It felt like a firework exploded right next to me.

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