Chapter 218: Fireworks

We were leaving the country soon.

A cheerful exclamation quietly echoed.

“Yesss. I got the single room…!”

Surprisingly, the one who claimed the single room after the pillow fight was Seo Ian.

If it had been a real test of strength, there’s no way he could have beaten Kang Siwoo, but apparently, being the leader made the two-person room more comfortable for him.

Thanks to that, he was able to yield the single room to Seo Ian.

The members were great, but a single room was a different level.

He planned to enjoy some much-needed solitude.

“I didn’t forget anything, right?”

Seo Ian muttered as he checked each item scattered across the floor.

This time, they’d be staying in America for quite a while, so it would be troublesome if he left anything behind.

“Hmm. Looks like I packed everything.”

He had just about finished the final check.

Seo Ian, who had been packing in a daze, lifted his head.

In the corner of the room was the suitcase Do Seohan had left behind.

The youngest, who didn’t have much time, had packed the night before.

“Ah. Is Seohan filming okay?”

Today was the scheduled shoot for <Met as Enemies>.

Of all things, it was an outdoor shoot.

And he had to head straight to the airport afterward, so it must be exhausting.

Tap tap.

Seo Ian’s finger slid across the screen.

Wondering when it would end, he sent a quick text.

-Are you almost done filming?

Then he put his phone into his pocket.

“He’ll see it when he has time.”

Just as he murmured that softly—

Ding—

His phone vibrated shortly after.

It was a reply from Do Seohan.

Seo Ian casually checked the message, and his eyes widened.

-Nope nope

-Hyung

It was a message that somehow felt urgent.

-Save me

-Save m

“Huh?”

What in the world was this?

Seo Ian blinked slowly.

Ding—

Ding—

Incomprehensible messages kept coming in.

-Hyung is trying to assassinate me

-I’ve already been hit….

Excuse me?

“What is going on…?”

It happened…

The inevitable future.

Was this the near-death experience Kim Woochan talked about?

One thing was certain: it was the most terrifying event out of everything that had happened recently.

He still felt half out of it.

“Haa… ha.”

He held his shaky legs and took deep breaths.

He clenched his fists so tightly that the blood felt like it couldn’t circulate.

“I seriously almost died just now!”

“No way.”

One person casually stepped off the rollercoaster after unfastening the safety bar.

We had clearly ridden the same rollercoaster, but unlike me, who had gone completely pale, he looked entirely unbothered.

Hyung scratched his head and stood behind me.

“The safety bar was pretty solid though.”

“I nearly died from a heart attack.”

“Seohan. Humans don’t die that easily.”

“…Seohan?”

“Sorry, hyung.”

Let’s not even talk.

I sighed while pressing on my throbbing temples.

Apparently, my hyung was just as dumbfounded. Do Seojun clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath.

“Honestly, it wasn’t even something like T-Express. That wasn’t a scary rollercoaster….”

“……”

“Sir.”

Do Seojun belatedly added honorifics and patted my shoulder.

“You couldn’t even ride the Aesop Train when you were little… You’re still the same even after growing up?”

“Me?”

“You don’t remember? You went with your friends and cried alone, begging to get off… mmph!”

More than fear, it was the shame that hit first.

I quickly covered Do Seojun’s mouth.

“What are you talking about.”

“You were practically—”

He stopped himself there.

Do Seojun gave a small smile and shrugged.

“I’ll protect you.”

“You already said everything!”

Unbelievable.

It made me even angrier knowing this probably wouldn’t be edited out.

Do Seojun shamelessly added,

“Hey, you were a kid. That happens.”

“Ha… and you thought it was a good idea to put me on a rollercoaster?”

That was worse.

When I grumbled with trembling lips, hyung gave a sheepish laugh and scratched his head.

“Honestly, a haunted house would’ve looked better on camera. But it’s hard to shoot in there, right?”

“And you seriously thought that through?”

“Sorry. Occupational hazard.”

This isn’t even your show, though.

Why is the cast worrying about filming and editing?

I was too dumbfounded to speak.

“If we could’ve rented out a separate space, the haunted house would’ve been best, but there’s the issue of internal spoilers. If we’re just going to insert fake scream sounds, then a ride’s the better option. You seemed like you’d never get on Gyro Drop, so I gave up on the other two.”

“There’s such unnecessary depth to that…”

“You always need a Plan B if you want to survive as a PD. Outdoor shoots come with too many variables.”

Ta-da—.

Hyung nonchalantly pointed in the opposite direction with his hand. Judging by the plaza clock, it was almost time for the fireworks to start.

The rollercoaster had been the worst, but at least I had dodged the haunted house and Gyro Drop.

Now, it was time to chase a bit of romance.

With his hand still on my shoulder, Hyung said,

“It’s time. Let’s go.”

It was finally time to tick off something from my wishlist.

The place we moved to was the central plaza.

The roses that had decorated the flower beds in vibrant colors during the day were now swallowed up by pitch-black darkness.

Perhaps the darkness had also swallowed up the sound of people’s voices, because those who arrived at the plaza stood in quiet little clusters, maintaining the silence.

Aside from the occasional voices of children, it was a peaceful garden.

The oddly mysterious atmosphere was enchanting.

“……”

I too kept silent and swallowed hard.

Do Seojun checked the time on his phone and asked,

“When does it start?”

“Eight. It’s almost—huh?”

Right at that moment—

Flash—.

The lights turned on over the stage. It happened just as I spoke.

“Wow…”

Along with the lighting, the sound of water began flowing from the speakers. Letting out a breath of awe, I turned toward the stage.

A bluish light rippled across the flowerbed like waves.

It was media art. They must have poured quite a bit of money into it—the scale was bigger than I expected.

The gentle ripples running across the flowerbeds soon became waves.

It was a sea on the flowerbeds, created entirely with lights.

While I stood there with my mouth agape, mesmerized by the shimmering display, the real performance began.

“Amazing.”

“Hey, the video’s playing!”

Children around us chattered in small voices and jumped in place.

I smiled gently and turned my head.

The video playing on the screen was a continuation of the parade story we had seen earlier.

A boy who dreamed of a land of fantasy, and a girl who scoffed at him saying such things didn’t exist.

At the end of their adventure, the two finally reached the utopia of their dreams.

The actors in the video exchanged lines.

‘See? I told you it really exists!’

‘No. You’re wrong. We’re not the only ones here.’

‘Huh?’

‘Someone’s invading from over there!’

Many people dream of an ideal world.

But in beautiful places, greed always finds a way to reach in.

Villains invaded the fantasy land the boy had dreamed of, and their utopia began to fall apart…

But as always, they defeated the villains and lived happily ever after—that kind of story.

“Wow.”

Just as that grand finale was ending, the long-awaited festival began.

“Hyung, look at that.”

Fssshhh—.

Rising with a sharp sound was a firework.

The small spark soared high above and then burst into light.

Bang—.

A fountain of light rained down from the sky.

Bang—pop pop—.

A chorus of exploding fireworks.

The lights flared in the sky, then scattered and faded.

Watching the blazing lights vanish into the dark, I smiled softly.

“Whoa.”

It was beautiful.

The fountain of light, and the red spark rising again beyond the horizon.

It was a sight so beautiful I wanted to capture every moment in my eyes.

Pa—papapang—.

As the celebratory fireworks boomed, I closed my eyes for a moment.

Hyung’s voice reached my ear.

“You always used to love fireworks, even before.”

“They’re just pretty, that’s all.”

“…Is that so.”

Darkness has a strange power.

Especially when faced with such a romantic sight, it made my mind go fuzzy, like I’d had a beer or something.

“It’ll be edited out.”

Hm?

I turned my head in confusion at hyung’s sudden remark.

“Just, because it’s a personal story.”

“What is?”

Do Seojun’s face, as he looked up at the rising fireworks, looked peaceful.

Then came a cautious murmur from his calm face.

“When I opposed it…”

—was all he said, but

I could easily guess what he meant.

Up until right before the Starf Final, the one who most strongly opposed me becoming an idol…

Honestly, when I said I wanted to become a trainee, the one who tried hardest to stop me wasn’t even Mom or Dad—it was hyung.

It was a story I had never heard in my past life.

We hadn’t bothered to bring up stories of failure.

Hyung let out a small laugh and began to speak.

“I’ve just seen too many failed cases.”

Ah.

“I saw guys who were devastated because they couldn’t debut. Guys who did debut and then crashed so hard they regretted everything. I saw kids groveling in front of producers, watching their words around writers, getting pushed around by rude CEOs… and that was when I hadn’t even been in the industry that long. Once you run away, there’s nothing left. You owe the company money, you haven’t learned a thing… and your body’s already broken down.”

There’s no such thing as a world full of only dreams.

Even a flower raised in a greenhouse will eventually be forced to face reality.

He knew that, but didn’t want to push me into it too soon.

“Stars shine because they burn so many things.”

Just like those fireworks.

Hyung hadn’t wanted me to become the fuel.

Having lived that life as the fuel myself, perhaps…

I was beginning to understand Hyung a little now.

Do Seojun, perhaps feeling embarrassed, added with a sheepish laugh,

“Anyway, things turned out well. That’s what matters.”

“…Yeah.”

I hadn’t realized how scared he’d been of something that hadn’t even happened yet—enough to oppose me for years.

Seeing me walk into this industry of my own will… I must have looked like a helpless kid by the water’s edge to him.

Suddenly, I realized something I had been avoiding.

“I see…”

In all those countless universes where I eventually met my death, what kind of expression did the ones left behind wear?

What thoughts had hyung held onto as he endured?

Crackle.

As I watched the fading fireworks, I thought,

Ah.

I need to live.

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