LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 63
Chapter 63
“Encore! Encore!”
It was the first time that an encore sign had appeared in all the contests held so far.
After finishing our performance with all our might, we stood there, our legs trembling, unsure of what to do, feeling the resonance created by the voices of hundreds of people.
Just as I was about to stand up straight, having received a signal that it was okay, I heard Kyle sobbing next to me.
“Are you crying?”
“Why are you crying? Don’t cry.”
“Why are you crying after doing so well, sniff.”
“Huh, sob… because we did so well… I’m happy.”
“Now you’re making me cry too, wahhhhh.”
I wanted to tell him that we really did well, to cry if he wanted to, to say something, anything, but my voice just wouldn’t come out.
Kyle, who was consoling himself, began to cry, and like him, my throat was hot with tears, but it was more because my throat lacked strength rather than being choked up with tears.
“……!”
Even when I tried to speak, all that came out was the sound of air passing through my throat.
There was no strength left in my body, so there was no way I had any other energy left.
[You have overexerted yourself in a short time, resulting in ‘Status Ailment: Exhaustion.’ If you continue to push yourself, your fatigue will automatically reach its limit, so please be careful.]
Sure enough, I suddenly lost all strength in my body, and one knee buckled.
The hand I reflexively reached out to grab the person next to me also lost strength and slid down.
Eventually, I collapsed on stage, surprising the kids who had been crying and the team members who were comforting them, who then rushed over to me.
“What happened? Are you hurt?!”
“Are you okay?”
Kyle, whose face was a mess from tears, looked at me with concern, and I couldn’t help but laugh despite the situation.
Although no sound came out, I nodded to indicate that I was okay, and my team members seemed to understand my answer.
The audience, who had given us an unexpectedly enthusiastic response, made sympathetic sounds of “Ahhh…” or “Ohhh…” whenever we moved around the stage in confusion.
“Look at all that sweat.”
“Here, drink some water. Slowly.”
Internally cursing my paper-thin stamina, I quietly accepted the bottled water that Lee Chang-yeon had personally brought from the staff, and let it trickle into my mouth bit by bit.
In hindsight, the water I drank at that moment seemed to be the best I had ever tasted.
“It seems like trainee On Raon used up all his energy on stage, and he doesn’t even have the strength to stand now.”
While Lee Chang-yeon made a comment and organized the situation, I was barely able to stand with the support of my team members.
Needing support just because I performed one stage.
It was embarrassing.
I hated myself for being like this, but I hoped everyone understood that it was all because I was busy cultivating my precious charm.
“Are you okay? Oh my, look at all that sweat… anyone would think you got caught in the rain. Are you really okay? Can you talk? Raon, if you’re really struggling, you have every right to lie down for a bit today.”
The audience chuckled at Lee Chang-yeon’s kind yet playful words, as he calmly handled the situation like a seasoned seven-year idol.
“…I’m okay.”
I hesitated for a moment, but my team members noticed and chuckled quietly.
At least, I could speak now.
Though the exhaustion was still present, it didn’t seem like a severe status ailment like the nosebleed that drained my HP just by breathing, so I figured I’d recover soon.
“Then let’s hear from the mentors first.”
Han Ji-hee, who was seated in the mentor’s seat, picked up the microphone first.
It seemed the mentors who had taught us during the boot camp were giving their comments first.
“It felt like I was at a concert. The kids had so much energy.”
With Han Ji-hee’s elegant tone, a few of us, including myself, bowed our heads in thanks. Kyle and Day, who had just calmed down, began to tear up again, and the audience cheered, creating a chaotic scene.
But it was still great.
“Raon, did you originally do rap? Actually, I like Raon’s singing voice, but his rap voice is also very different and good. If Gyeol held the center as the mainstay, Raon seemed to explode that energy everywhere.”
“And when you were showing off at the start. You just looked like an idol. It was clear you were giving it your all, and it was beautiful today. I think you’re one of the trainees who consistently show new sides and keep improving.”
Except for Muk Hye-sung, who I suspected was playing the strict character, the mentors usually gave more positive comments after the stage unless it was a serious failure.
This time, however, the praise was so overwhelming that I couldn’t help but think, ‘Wow, we really did well.’
“It was nice that it felt like you were determined to really have fun. Especially Gyeol, he looked ready to debut right now.”
Joo-an seemed to be repaying Seo Moon-gyeol for the strange comments he made during the last lesson with very favorable remarks.
‘It’ll get edited out anyway.’
Nonetheless, the fans of Seo Moon-gyeol who came here would remember every word and post it online, so it wasn’t a bad thing.
The mentors’ comments ended with Muk Hye-sung saying that the song choice and energy were good.
“Then before we vote, we’ll give you some time to appeal to the representative one last time.”
Seo Moon-gyeol, who was on the far left, began his personal appeal first.
Nagase Ritsu received a good response with his pre-prepared Korean comments.
Especially Kyle, who had the lowest ranking among us, said he performed as if it was his last stage in Korea, and it was an honor to be with the best team members, which made us tear up.
Day thanked his parents, fans, and team members, and Jing Xiao expressed his particular gratitude to Seo Moon-gyeol for teaching him dance well, and then it was my turn, standing at the very end.
“First of all… thank you for coming to watch our stage until this late hour. We were worried among ourselves earlier that the representatives might be too tired to respond, but we’re grateful you enjoyed it with us.”
I quickly continued, driven by a sense of duty to send these people home as soon as possible.
“Gyeol hyung really took care of us and choreographed the dance well, and taught us a lot about rapping. Ritsu must have had a hard time with practice, but he followed along well without complaining…”
I swiftly and calmly listed the good qualities of my team members I had thought of in advance.
Since the heartwarming moments we showed during practice would surely be cut during editing, I thought I’d mention them like this.
At least one person in the audience might mention it in their review.
“Thinking that this is the last time we’ll perform this stage as this team makes me sad, so I’ve been rambling. Thank you again for coming to watch today. It’s late, so please go home safely and rest well tomorrow!”
I was praising myself for ending my personal comment well when Lee Chang-yeon, exaggeratedly pretending to be flustered, spoke up.
“No. You can’t end it like this. You said you’d tell us why you were so excited earlier. From what I saw, that reason seems to have had a significant impact on today’s stage’s energy.”
“Oh, right.”
I had been so excited that I forgot.
“What do you mean ‘Oh, right’? I’ve been waiting, so curious about the reason. I bet half of the representatives here are still wondering, while the other half might have forgotten because the performance was so exciting. Representatives, am I right?”
At Lee Chang-yeon’s leading question, the audience responded affirmatively in unison.
With everyone expecting it, it made me even more reluctant to speak.
“It’s really not a big deal…”
“You’ve teased us enough. Just reveal it clearly now.”
It really wasn’t anything significant, making it even more awkward. But since I wasn’t clever enough to invent a plausible reason, I decided to end the moment quickly and speak honestly.
“We prepared really, really hard, just like the other teams. I think I got very excited because I wanted to show it off quickly and impressively. It’s like being a soda just about to burst!”
Even though I had carefully explained, people were looking at me strangely.
They must be thinking, ‘What kind of person is this?’
“…I told you it wasn’t a big deal. Don’t look at me like that.”
“Why not? It’s because you’re so cute.”
Jena, who was seated, kindly smiled and spoke to ease my embarrassment. Despite her sophisticated appearance like a Hollywood star, her words made her seem like a slightly eccentric middle-aged woman.
[Many here agree with Jena’s words. Charm +5]
While I was always grateful for any charm points, I still couldn’t fully understand what the public meant by ‘cute.’
Soon after, the audience voting was completed, and our team left the stage.
“It’s over…”
Amidst the unreserved praise and encouragement we exchanged for finishing the stage without any mistakes, a quest completion window appeared before my eyes.
[Daily Quest Completed!]
[Quest Confirmed Reward is Being Given.]
I had given it my all, to the point where I could barely stand, so there was no room for any regret.
If this effort wasn’t recognized as a success, I would have overturned the system and everything.
“Don’t we have to record a focus cam today too?”
“Yeah. We’ll hear the overall voting results soon and then film the focus cam.”
…But will we be able to return to the dorm before sunrise?