Chapter 96: Singer

“They’ll respond if I act like I know them?”

It was a slightly bewildering question.

“…”

I thought it over for a moment, but no matter how I looked at it.

Responding to someone acting familiar in person was pushing it too far.

If it were just a greeting online, maybe.

But accepting that kind of approach in real life felt like too much.

It wasn’t like I’d ever revealed my face, either.

So even if someone wanted to say hi, it wasn’t realistic for me to respond.

They probably didn’t even know what I looked like in the first place.

So, I carefully replied to the comment.

L: If I walk up and act like I know them, will they respond?

N: Umm… I don’t think so… I haven’t revealed my face or anything, so I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t try to approach me in person.

I tried to keep my response friendly, but when it comes to real-life stuff, it’s better to be clear and firm.

If I answered vaguely, it could lead to awkward or even bad situations later on.

Shortly after I posted the reply.

B: Ah…

N: Okay.

They responded, clearly disappointed.

They must have been looking forward to it.

But still, what’s not possible is just… not possible.

N: Sorry 😢😢 Maybe someday I’ll be able to! Just not quite there yet…

I wasn’t sure whether my stream or presence would grow much bigger.

But if it ever did, I was somewhat open to the idea of revealing my face.

With that thought, I moved on and started checking the latest posts on the fan café.

My goal was to grow this café until it got at least 20 posts an hour.

That’s when browsing really starts to feel rewarding.

Slide.

As I was scrolling through.

Some interesting posts started popping up.

[Author: Pepe]

[Title: I just got to the concert venue—how do I get in?]

[Content: (photo) (photo) So this is what the area looks like, but does anyone know where the actual entrance is? I thought it’d be super obvious once I got here, but now I’m just kinda panicking;;]

‘Oh, they came too.’

They were a regular in my streams.

A viewer I’d describe as likeable.

They were the same person I’d given permission to run a fan channel last time.

‘Didn’t expect them to come to the concert.’

I figured they wouldn’t have been able to get a ticket.

It was surprising—in a good way.

As I thought that, I scrolled down and checked the comments.

L: Why’d you even go to the concert?

Pepe: ?? Am I not allowed to go?

N: Should’ve stayed home editing lol

N: Lol why’s you going to a concert instead of editing?

Pepe: I guess focusing on editing would be the right move ;;

L: This roast session is hilarious lmaooo

N: Honestly, Pepe deserves it

N: Seriously, don’t mess around at stuff like this—go edit the stream

The comments weren’t quite what I expected.

I thought people would be asking what the area around the concert venue was like, but instead, they were telling him not to go and to stay home editing.

‘Is he that good at editing?’

Amused, I decided not to comment directly and sent him a message instead.

[Yott → Pepe: If you can tell me your seat,]

[Yott → Pepe: I’ll try to send something over to you.]

[Yott → Pepe: Just reply if you see this lol]

I wouldn’t do this for just any viewer, but Pepe had contributed enough to deserve that kind of gesture.

My stream’s explosive growth had a lot to do with Pepe’s help, after all.

Not long after I sent the messages, a reply came in from Pepe.

[Pepe → Yott: Ah]

[Pepe → Yott: lolol]

[Pepe → Yott: I’m just gonna quietly enjoy the concert and head out]

“…Got rejected, huh.”

I honestly thought they’d accept.

I’d been planning to send over some really good coffee or something nice, so it felt a little disappointing.

[Yott → Pepe: Ah, got it.]

[Yott → Pepe: Hope you enjoy the concert!]

After replying, I went back to browsing through the rest of the posts on the fan café.

Click—!

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Seolhwa walked into the waiting room.

“One more rehearsal—just one last time.”

“Ah, give me a sec.”

I quickly cleaned up the stuff scattered around, took a sip of water, and headed back to the stage.

The band members were lying down on stage.

They were clearly exhausted from the nonstop rehearsals.

“Alright, everyone, I know you’re tired, but let’s run through it just once more before we rest.”

There were about three to four hours left until the concert began.

The people already gathering near the venue weren’t lining up for seats, but rather to buy merch (MD) that was only being sold at the concert.

“Ugh… okay, let’s do it. That last rehearsal was seriously intense.”

“Ughh…”

After helping the band members up from the floor, we officially started another round of rehearsal.

Doom!

Seolhwa sang in sync with the guitar, and additional sounds were layered in.

When my part came up in the middle, I joined in and sang, too.

Time passed—how much, I wasn’t exactly sure.

“Phew… I think that’s good enough!”

Seolhwa nodded, clearly satisfied.

The band members, seemingly pleased too, started checking their equipment again and began getting ready to head offstage.

‘I’m getting kind of nervous.’

I’d never felt this kind of tension before.

If it only affected me, I wouldn’t care as much, but if I made a mistake, it could cause problems for everyone else too.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath and quietly returned to the waiting room.

There was still plenty of time left before the show began.

Some more time passed.

And before I knew it, there were only about 30 minutes left until the concert started.

All the audience members had taken their seats.

The stage was already fully prepped.

All we had to do now was enter at the right time.

“Ah, this is gonna be fun.”

Contrary to what I expected, Seolhwa wasn’t nervous at all.

She glanced around calmly, excitement written all over her face.

It seemed her excitement about performing outweighed any fear.

That’s probably why I asked without thinking.

“…Aren’t you nervous?”

Even I was nervous and I wasn’t the main act.

There was no way Seolhwa wasn’t, right?

But when I asked.

“Why would I be nervous? I’m doing this to have fun.”

She answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Then she added,

“Oppa, you shouldn’t be nervous either. You need to sing with confidence. That way, the audience can enjoy it too.”

“Got it.”

And just like that, we chatted a bit and slowly eased out the tension.

Then.

“Ah, time to head in.”

It was finally time for the show to begin.

*

Yoon Harin was never particularly interested in music.

So, she’d never really been emotionally immersed in it, either.

“There are a lot of people here.”

But she did enjoy hanging out in crowded places.

Like the Heart Memorial event from the other day, for example.

She sat down, snapped some photos of the venue, and uploaded them to the fan café.

[Author: HurryAndLeave]

[Title: I’m at the concert—anyone else here?]

[Content: (photo) (photo) This is my first time at a concert. When do these usually start?
I’m kind of bored since chatting outside feels awkward.]

And then the comments started rolling in:

L: The concert’s probably starting in about 30 minutes ;;

L: Bruh, why is someone who doesn’t even listen to Rage’s music taking up a ticket spot

L: Seriously

N: If I went, I’d be losing my mind having fun. Why did she manage to get a ticket…

L: Write up a review after it ends lol

It seemed like a lot of people were salty and envious that she got a ticket.

And honestly, who could blame them?

Right after she’d completed her ticket reservation.

A message popped up saying there were over 20,000 people in the queue.

‘Guess I just got lucky.’

She was thinking that when.

Doom.

The lights shining on the audience turned off.

So did the ones aimed at the standing area.

—Wow!!

Buzzing murmurs started spreading throughout the crowd.

From the look of it, the show was about to begin.

“This is really exciting. Wonder what they’ll do.”

“Right? It’s Rage’s first concert, so I’m kind of hyped.”

The couple next to her, clearly experienced concert-goers, chatted in excited tones.

As Harin listened to them chatter.

FWASH—!

The stage lights suddenly came on, revealing a familiar face.

And a moment later.

Dding—

A beautiful guitar melody rang out, immediately grabbing her attention.

*

The sound of the guitar echoed throughout the concert hall, and Seolhwa appeared on stage, gripping the mic.

At the same time, her voice filled the entire space.

WAAAAAA—!!!

A massive cheer erupted from the crowd.

It was far louder than anyone had expected.

Loud enough to make your ears ring.

‘Wow, this reaction is insane.’

She hadn’t imagined the response would be this explosive.

Thinking how impressive it was, Harin kept her eyes on the stage.

And then.

I could feel it.

My turn was slowly approaching.

Hoo…

Really.

I took a short, steadying breath,

Waiting for the right timing.

DOOM DOOM.

As the heavy bass kicked in, I stepped onto the stage.

This was the first time I was standing here as a “singer.”

Though I wasn’t sure if I could really call myself that yet.