Double title tracks had clear advantages and disadvantages.

First off, there were two high-quality music videos. Unlike in the past when they would only perform the first verse of a b-side during comeback week, this time fans got to see two full-version performances until the very end of promotions.

There was only one disadvantage. Streaming was hellishly difficult.

Every time the mass-streaming team begged people not to divide their streaming power, Won Chaehee gritted her teeth. How were they not supposed to split streams when there were two songs? There was only one of her, only one idol group—so why did fans have to wage such brutal battles?

At least Spark had come back during a period with no real competition. Since the chances of winning weren’t hopeless, Sparkler [N O V E L I G H T] fans—including Won Chaehee—kept streaming no matter how much their phones begged for mercy. Thanks to this, Spark was able to earn the honor of taking first place despite releasing double title tracks.

Every time Spark won, Kim Iwol would smile and wave at the fans, and the sight made Won Chaehee forget every hardship she’d gone through.

The feeling at that moment was closer to “I am proud of you” and “you’ve done so well.” At least, it wasn’t the intense, lightning-strike-like feeling she got during “MISSION” or the year-end festivals.

And now, before Won Chaehee, the tightly bundled-up, austere beauty, Kim Iwol, strode forward. In a tight-fitting all-black top and bottom, a thigh holster that looked even thicker due to the heavy material layered over the thin fabric, and boots sprayed with reddish-brown paint to give off a distressed vintage look.

Won Chaehee didn’t believe skin exposure directly correlated with sexiness. There was this kind of sexy and that kind of sexy, and Won Chaehee was the type who thought, “who cares, as long as it’s good.”

And with that, lightning struck Won Chaehee’s head once again. Thoughts like, “I wasn’t wrong,” and “As expected, some things are more beautiful the more they’re covered up,” swirled in her head. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

As if that weren’t enough, what made Won Chaehee want to lie down and give up was...

“You must have been really bored waiting, right? Fortunately, they said we have some extra time for our recording, so we were able to come out sooner.”

...the fact that despite speaking so gently, Kim Iwol had come out wearing makeup that was not just rosy, but a deep reddish hue.

Due to his remarkably pale skin, Kim Iwol’s stage makeup usually focused on toning down or just adding a touch of color. To make the already heavy stage makeup look natural without appearing washed out, that was probably the only way.

Maybe that was why this kind of deliberately intense makeup was something she’d only ever seen in MVs, where they could control color grading. Even then, he’d ended up looking like the Snow Queen—a literal ice being.

She knew that the publicly circulating interpretation of “End” was a future that had turned into a desert after failing to respond to the climate crisis. There was even a rumor that the reason all the members’ hair colors were in the black-to-orange range was because their hair had been damaged by UV rays.

And in this situation, Kim Iwol had come out with a flushed makeup look that gave off a feeling of heat. It wasn’t the kind of makeup where you just dab blush in circles on your cheeks, but a stage makeup look where a wide area from the cheekbones under the eyes to the bridge of the nose was layered in red.

Suddenly, the surroundings felt sweltering. If she could, she wanted to run to a convenience store, buy an ice cup, and down the ice in one shot.

“Hey, what kind of hyungs go out by themselves, leaving their dongsaeng behind?”

Lee Cheonghyeon walked out, grumbling. There was a two-finger-long scar on his cheek. Her heart sank, but seeing as he wasn’t trying to cover it, she relaxed, thinking that the wound was also part of his makeup.

“What’s with the scar?”

A compliment disguised as a question came from the fan section. It meant that the scar makeup was awesome. Lee Cheonghyeon cupped his face with his hands, squatted down at the front of the stage, and said.

“They say hydrangeas bloom even more beautifully the next year if you trim the flowers on purpose. So, I did a little pruning myself to plan for the future. I’ll be unbelievably beautiful for the next comeback, you’ll see.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Who else would say something like that besides Iwol hyung?”

It seemed they had made the bold decision to put a scratch on Lee Cheonghyeon’s face for the final broadcast.

As expected, Kim Iwol’s aesthetic sense never deviated from Sparklers’ taste. Won Chaehee gave a round of applause in her heart.

The visual blessings didn’t stop. Jeong Seongbin, wrapped in bandages around his neck and arms under a tight black short-sleeved shirt, had a provocative charm entirely different from his usual honor-student image.

The wound makeup near the corner of his mouth also contributed to giving a different impression. When someone who wasn’t usually like that showed a rebellious side, they tended to draw more attention.

Kang Giyeon, who had piercing-shaped accessories on his ear and eyebrow, looked more rebellious than usual.

The eyebrow slit was perfect. No one would believe he was nineteen looking like this.

Park Juu appeared with a black mask of the same color as his hair, hooked only on his ears and pulled down to his chin. It was the first time Won Chaehee realized that there were men who looked good with a long, dangling orange belt.

Whoever decided to dress him in a muscle-fit inner shirt, cropped short-sleeve jacket, ripped jeans, and combat boots—if there were a Stylist of the Year award, it should absolutely go to them.

Ah, our boys look so intimidatingly good. I bet you guys would be the best at getting refunds among all the idols. You’re the best.

Won Chaehee felt a surge of emotion. The never-tiring “End” started to play.

If a song that a person who had listened to it thousands of times didn’t get tired of couldn’t get first place, then what song possibly could? Some people were making the usual comments—“Isn’t this just winning because no one else was competing?”, the same thing they said every time someone won first place—but Won Chaehee believed Spark’s string of wins was completely deserved.

A song that the picky fans, who demanded a lot because they loved their idol so much, never once thought “this song is a bit meh” while streaming; a song so good that even Assistant Manager Yeo, who wasn’t used to idol songs, said she liked it; a song so addictive that once it was played in a shopping mall, it started being heard everywhere.

This was what people call a “public pick.”

After all the recordings were finished, Won Chaehee returned home, washed up, and recharged her lack of sleep. Then, she woke up in time for the music show broadcast, and while watching TV, she ate the sandwich, bottled drink, and fruit jelly cup she had received from the return gift—which she had eaten all day at the venue but still had more than half left over—for dinner. She familiarly waited for the turn of the first-place candidate, Spark, whose appearance was now in the latter part of the show.

After voting via text message and waiting, Spark, whom she had just seen in person, appeared on the screen. Close-ups showed off their faces beautifully; group shots highlighted their aesthetic perfection.

“Thank god the camera director is experienced.”

If a shaky cam had appeared with today’s legendary styling, Won Chaehee would have wanted to die from the unfairness of it all. Really.

When Won Chaehee opened her last fruit jelly, confetti burst on the TV, and the camera turned to Spark.

Even though they had won first place several times during this promotion, the sight of the people she cheered for holding the trophy made her heart well up.

After the long promotion period ended, UA gave Spark a vacation. A vacation that even included travel expenses.

“How about Gapyeong? I heard a lot of people go there!”

“Gapyeong is tough without a car.”

Seeing Lee Cheonghyeon’s face fall at my words, the managers offered to drive us if we were going over the weekend.

The concept of making others work on a weekend didn’t exist in my dictionary, but since they said they would also get a place nearby to unwind after dropping us off, we gratefully accepted their kindness.

We booked a place recommended by Park Juu’s older sister.

“Cleanliness: excellent, quiet because it’s a private villa, relatively cheap as it’s in a remote part of Gapyeong, has a private pool, welcome drink is banana milk... that’s what she said.”

“Your sister likes banana milk, huh.”

Jeong Seongbin handled the payment, while Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon took care of arranging the place.

And what did I do?

I did nothing. These guys didn’t give me a single task.

They must have thought I would feel uncomfortable, but...

“Can’t we at least prepare some content? I’m confident I can do a good job.”

“We’re not bringing a camera that day. Just rest, hyung.”

They were right. I couldn’t stand the discomfort. Despite having such good content material, Jeong Seongbin declared he would only bring a Polaroid camera.

What meaning is there in some disposable photos? In the idol world, only data files hold any value.

I protested nonstop while lying on the sofa, saying, “An idol shouldn’t be like this. Not capturing a group activity in high-definition video is a dereliction of duty.” Surprisingly, no one paid attention.

Ignoring my protest, the vacation preparations proceeded swiftly without me. All I could do was pack clothes for a one-night, two-day trip into the small bag Jeong Seongbin lent me.

On a certain weekend in June, a bit early for peak season, but perfect for having fun.

We drove for about an hour and a half and arrived at a quiet pension. There was even a private pool similar to the one used as the backdrop for Lee Cheonghyeon’s past sports drink commercial.

As I was moving the luggage from the trunk, someone zipped past me.

“Awesome, it’s a duplex!”

Lee Cheonghyeon, who had already run up the stairs, shouted with an excited face.

“Don’t run. If you fall, you’ll scratch the De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond.”

“What kind of diamond is that?”

“The biggest blue diamond in the world. It received a Fancy Vivid Blue rating.”

“Even though my birthstone is an alexandrite cat’s eye?”

“We can just say the base is a blue diamond, and your eyes are cat’s eyes.”

Lee Cheonghyeon burst out laughing. Using his excited laugh as my work song, I carried a few more boxes, and we were done organizing.

As promised, the managers left for their nearby accommodation as soon as we finished moving the luggage. They said it was a 5-minute drive away; they must have been quite concerned about us. Looking at their luggage, it didn’t seem like they had bought any alcohol either.

“What do we do now? Play in the water? Board games?”

“Noona said it’s best to play a lot during the day when the water is warm, and do the indoor activities at night...”

“Your sister must be a real genius.”

Lee Cheonghyeon said in admiration.

Tell me about it. I don’t know why older sisters all over the country are so knowledgeable in such strange areas.