A graphic of falling snow was displayed on the screen of the dark stage, which was devoid of any lighting.

As a pure white pin light fell on the center of the stage, Baek Haewon held her breath at the close-up of the face.

When the sun sets

The festival begins 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The silver-haired Jeong Seongbin, with a white lace ribbon tied around his neck, filled the screen.

When the surroundings are colored

When it gets dark

Lighting up in the sky

A brilliant cluster of stars

Every time the members stepped and spread out, a faint orange light came on the stage. A thin layer of artificial smoke covered the stage.

So white pants could look pretty when worn. When a person was dyed white from head to toe, they could look this noble. The shirt that suited a man in his 20s the best was a frilly shirt.

Watching Kim Iwol walk on the smoke on the snowy stage, Baek Haewon fell into a deep and hazy thought.

≫ Kim Iwol’s legs are already eight feet long, but with high-waisted pants on, they’re reaching for the sky

└ Please update the “Where exactly do these legs end?” meme

Contrary to her sentimental thoughts, her fingers were extremely worldly and intuitive. However, Baek Haewon, who had lived like this for over a decade, didn’t mind.

“Your existence is a comprehensive gift set.”

From the hyungs who sing the song the maknae made without a single note out of tune, the sincerity of changing the choreography they had made themselves once again, to the visual beauty of the silver accessories peeking out from under the snow-white outfits.

There wasn’t a single thing that wasn’t satisfying. The image of rascals who had come out of a pink paint can was gone, and only the birch trees of a Finnish snowfield stood there.

When the fireworks explode

Between the stars

Flames burst

All the lights installed on the stage floor turned on, and when even the screen shone in five colors, the Finnish snowfield sparkled as if it had turned into a festival ground.

Shining brightly

Park Juu’s golden hair fluttered in the winter wind.

Amidst the intense, rough music and dazzling group dances, Spark’s song stood out. A feeling as splendid as a ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) festival, yet as distant as a night scene. The two contradictory elements were appropriately mixed on the stage.

And Choi Jeho’s solo dance encompassed all of this.

His slicked-back hair, his thick, straight eyebrows, and his sharp nose that cast a shadow every time he lifted his chin were beautiful, but.

His gaze, which made even a trivial movement seem atmospheric, showed why Choi Jeho had to be the center of this group.

Ah, and that included his fantastic muscles...

Until now, the performance award had been given to teams that showcased a jaw-dropping stage with backup dancers and a large number of idols in perfect sync.

But if performance, as the word itself suggested, encompassed all artistic acts...

When everything disappears

The world that bound us

Freezes over

And only we

Can dance this night

...then couldn’t a stage where six members spun together in a waltz pair dance, smiling radiantly, before kneeling one by one in line also be a contender for that award?

Synchronized choreography wasn’t the only kind of dance. You didn’t have to do acrobatics to kill the stage. There were many ways to tell a story through movement.

“So the dance the members were learning from Jeho and Giyeon was the waltz, huh.”

The fanmeeting was the spoiler all along. A little heads-up would’ve been nice. She almost had a heart attack. Baek Haewon let out a silent sob, watching the members clasp each other’s hands.

Lee Cheonghyeon’s rap smoothly rode the melody. His voice, whispering yet clear, was delivered through the microphone.

It was Baek Haewon’s favorite part.

On these stairs

I’m trying to tell you

Right, Lee Cheonghyeon’s resolution...

Look at this, it’s beautiful

...the part where Kim Iwol made it a reality.

A live broadcast from long ago came to Baek Haewon’s mind. It was the day Lee Cheonghyeon and Jeong Seongbin had turned on a live together.

“I guess you could say Iwol hyung was the reason I started composing. When it comes to music, I’m very grateful to hyung.”

“Have you ever told hyung that?”

“Not yet. But I want to before the year is over. Because thanks to hyung, I was able to let the Sparklers hear the songs I made all year long.”

And not long after that, Kim Iwol appeared in a live with Kang Giyeon.

“Cheonghyeon and Seongbin’s live? I didn’t watch it. Because Cheonghyeon told me not to.”

“But hyung, you monitor everything.”

“I figured there must be a reason he told me not to, so I didn’t. Since Seongbin was there, he wouldn’t have said anything foolish.”

And then a few days later, in the self-produced content...

“This part is mine?”

“Yes, Seongbin hyung distributed it himself.”

“The lyrics are similar to ‘Flowering,’ was that intentional?”

“Yes. It’s not because I ran out of ideas, so don’t worry!”

At Kim Iwol’s words—promising to show a once-in-a-lifetime magic—Lee Cheonghyeon experienced a world like magic, and upon returning, expressed his gratitude before the most beautiful scenery.

The image of the hyung telling his dongsaeng “See, isn’t it beautiful,” overlapped with the previous stage of repaying the teacher’s grace, making Baek Haewon’s feelings even more strange.

Stars begin to fall

It must be a miracle

On top of Kang Giyeon’s part, Park Juu’s high notes, which were not in the original song, were layered. It was a voice as solid and sharp as an awl, as if it would crack the frozen winter sky.

The lingering sound of the ad-lib remained in Baek Haewon’s ears like an afterimage of powdery snow.

The bells ring

Kim Iwol smiled brightly. His blue eyes curved like a crescent moon in the daytime sky.

The members flocked around Kim Iwol. The sight of them hugging each other’s shoulders, as if saying they had worked hard all year, was like a family, and her heart grew warm as if a bonfire had been lit inside.

As soon as the stage ended, we received blankets from the managers and moved to the audience seats. We greeted the idols who had come before us and sat in a line in the back corner. Thanks to us, the last row was immediately full.

“Anyone cold?”

Perhaps because the stage had just ended, everyone’s face was red. After handing the blanket to Park Juu, who was at risk of catching a cold, the next stage began.

Reacting enthusiastically to others’ stages was the right attitude for a working professional. Just like how you clapped along with a tambourine when a coworker was forced to sing at a company dinner, we had a duty to watch our colleagues’ stages with full attention and admiration.

After watching the stages from the back row for a long time...

“Hey, the year-end is really amazing.”

“Lee Cheonghyeon, sit down a bit. I can’t see.”

“No, Mr. Giyeon, did you just see the sunbaenims do a somersault?!”

...Spark ended up being the idols who actually enjoyed the show like real audience members.

Would this be okay? Just a moment ago, we were strolling through a mysterious and beautiful fairy tale land, and now returning to the real world, we were becoming sincere fans shouting, “Sunbaenims, you’re so cool!”

“Let’s do a somersault next year too. Ah, that’s too much of an idea infringement. Right?”

“Instead, how about doing a double somersault next year? Choi Jeho.”

“Me?”

Choi Jeho asked back. I didn’t bother to confirm.

In the heated atmosphere, we fanned ourselves with our hands despite it being the middle of winter. The passion, the crowds, the noise—everyone cheering for their favorites made the place feel stuffy and loud.

While the VCR for the live broadcast was being shown, the atmosphere in the venue gradually calmed down. All that was happening on-site was staff moving around the stage, prepping for the next act.

As I was watching the pre-recorded VCR on the big screen, a powerful shout was heard from somewhere in the audience.

“Choi Jeho, cover up!!”

...Excuse me?

Choi Jeho... cover up?

His mouth is closed, though?

The gazes of everyone who knew Choi Jeho turned towards him. The guy was just sitting still with a blank expression.

At that moment, I instinctively grabbed at the wide-open chest of his shirt with one hand.

“What are you doing?”

“They’re telling you to cover up...!”

Whether it was because Choi Jeho looked cold or because his exposure was borderline, if this sound had been caught on broadcast, it would have been a disaster. It was just a relief that it wasn’t being broadcasted live on site.

I checked the cameras, breaking out in a cold sweat. A few lenses were pointing this way.

Sure enough, not long after, the giant screen showed a close-up of me clutching Choi Jeho’s shirtfront. Laughter erupted from the audience.

“Damn it.”

In the midst of this, I could cruelly feel the hem of his shirt slipping out of my grasp. My grip strength was above average for a man, so the problem must be either Choi Jeho’s pecs or the design of the shirt, which was particularly revealing at the chest. Tight corset pants on the bottom, but why was the top like this?

Looking down at the veins popping on my hand, Choi Jeho said.

“Should I button it up?”

“Are there buttons?”

“...Nope.”

Then don’t even say it. My blood pressure kept rising.

Meanwhile, my hands were slippery. It was thanks to our stylist, who had slathered him with some rare, imported body highlighter that only top global stars supposedly use. In an instant, my hand was now shining just as much as his chest.

“Hyung, the blanket...!”

Park Juu hurriedly handed his blanket to Choi Jeho. He was full of determination not to see his hyung get kicked out of the year-end stage for violating decency standards.

“Thanks.”

I let go of my hand while he was putting on the blanket, and my goodness. I could see why they had told him to cover up. It was not a chest to be seen at the family dinner table.

A headache came on, but I swallowed it down. Then I tied his blanket tightly with the decorative chain I had been wearing around my waist.

At this point, I couldn’t tell what was harder: year-end tax settlements or year-end shows. I’d helped a drunk department head put on his jacket before, but this was my first time policing someone else’s wardrobe malfunction.

As I was sweating bullets, the end of the first part was approaching. I felt like I was going to collapse from exhaustion. If Jeong Seongbin hadn’t passed me a bottle of water from under his chair, my mouth would have been so dry that a cactus could have grown in it.

While I was moistening my throat, two sunbaenims in fancy outfits appeared on stage, arm in arm, for a special award ceremony.

Normally, award ceremonies dumped all the prizes at the end. But since there were so many categories, and it got boring just watching award after award, they’d split things up between the end of Part 1 and Part 2 this year.

“Is it the Rookie Award and the New Star Award that are coming up now?”

“That’s right.”

“What’s the difference between a rookie and a new star...?”

Park Juu asked a question that hit the nail on the head. It was a good thing we were talking with a friendly smile, pretending to have a pleasant chat, otherwise we would have been rumored as a spunky idol group that openly criticized the broadcasting system at their first awards ceremony. All that strict training finally paid off.

“The Rookie Award is given to a rookie group that debuted this year and had good results, and the New Star Award is given to one rising idol who was very active that year.”

Jeong Seongbin answered. He must’ve gone through the setlist thoroughly, since he’d memorized even details like that.

“Either way, let’s just get ready to congratulate whoever wins.”

“Yes.”

At my words, the guys, except for Choi Jeho, got into position to clap. Choi Jeho... seemed to be planning to send a moderate congratulatory applause. The angle of his palms was different from ours.

“This year, countless idols made their debut and set the music scene on fire, didn’t they?”

“That’s right. Especially since the Rookie Award is a once-in-a-lifetime honor, it must feel extra meaningful.”

Fluent hosting comments flowed.

Whoever received it, I should congratulate them sincerely. Because once you graduate high school and step into society, it’s rare to win awards anymore.

Thinking that, I was leaning forward to get a better view of the stage, when–

“The winner of the 20XX Music Festival Rookie of the Year Award is, Spark!”

I heard a familiar name. All of Spark’s eyes widened, and we froze like statues.