* * *

IP 85.152 could only stare blankly at the stage for a moment.

Sweat soaked into the slogan clutched in their hands. It couldn't be helped. Sweat was trickling through every line of their palms.

‘Is she insane?’

The fan meeting had begun with Han Yeoreum performing the OST from <Youth Disqualified!> live.

That part was predictable. She had never performed it live for the fans who couldn't attend the original event, so everyone had expected her to do it at least once.

In that sense, it was familiar.

There was just one thing IP 85.152 had never anticipated.

The styling.

Since <Dongdaemun Romance> had only recently ended, Han Yeoreum still had her brown straight hair.

But what she was wearing now was a school uniform.

Not a modern school uniform like in <ParCheHi>.

It was a textbook school uniform that immediately evoked the 1990s.

A neat navy blazer.

A crisp gray uniform vest.

A gray skirt reaching past the knees.

White socks and black loafers.

And a bright red electric guitar that completely clashed with the outfit.

‘This styling simultaneously recalls the time she walked the mint carpet with Joo Junseo at the Ruel Style Awards during her debut era while strongly invoking 1990s nostalgia, offering genuine nostalgia to the 30–40 generation and a vintage aesthetic never experienced by Generation Z. It explains exactly why she appeals across all generations. At the same time, by excluding vivid colors and emphasizing low-saturation gray and navy tones, it explosively showcases neatness while creating a chilling atmosphere reminiscent of a ghost story film. And then it uses the red electric guitar as a focal point, making the performance impossible to ignore at a glance.’

The ambition of Han Yeoreum was visible.

Not merely embracing people who appreciated culture, education, and aesthetics.

She was embracing everyone in this venue.

The person who came up with this styling deserved to be recruited by the National Museum.

The outfit and stage composition alone deserved an award.

Unlike the opening video, the pitch-black background screen suited it perfectly.

After finishing the OST from <Youth Disqualified!>, Han Yeoreum immediately performed another song.

“Aaaahhh!!!”

It was the OST from <Unfair Trade>.

The fast-paced beat, blending the passion of a detective pursuing a criminal with the cold precision of the National Forensic Service, suited Han Yeoreum so perfectly that IP 85.152 momentarily lost consciousness.

“Uh...”

Even though they had witnessed it with their own eyes, they were furious that they couldn't remember every nanosecond of it.

Purely as a lover of culture and the arts, IP 85.152 bit their lip.

* * *

Team Leader Seong watched Han Yeoreum, whose tension had completely melted away the moment the fan meeting began.

After finishing her performance, the way she greeted the fans was overflowing with affection.

Then came the keyword talk segment.

As if she had been waiting for it, Han Yeoreum poured out her interpretations.

“In Pyeonghwa's case from <Dongdaemun Romance>, because her name literally means peace, I wanted her voice to sound truly peaceful. Like ASMR? So I tried to keep the pitch of my voice fairly consistent... Did it sound good?”

“Yeeees!!!”

“For <Faster Than the Law>, she always had to sound slightly excited. I think I used a lot of exclamations. Wow, amazing, what is this, what is this, are you crazy? Things like that.”

Dressed in the neat school uniform, Han Yeoreum looked like a model student.

She answered the MC's questions naturally while effortlessly drawing responses from the fans.

‘And she's talking about things she's never mentioned in interviews before.’

Actors went through countless promotions whenever they entered a project.

Among them, magazine interviews were practically mandatory.

Fans read them religiously because they revealed an actor's thoughts in the greatest detail.

Yet Han Yeoreum was discussing interpretations she had never revealed in any magazine interview.

Allowing everyone to revisit those works once again.

‘Now everyone is going to rewatch them when they get home.’

Team Leader Seong remembered the <ParCheHi> audition.

Han Yeoreum's talent had already been shining sharply back then, but she couldn't help admiring it all over again.

A character's walking style.

Speech tempo.

Habits.

Even preferences.

Han Yeoreum interpreted all of it alone and wove it into the performance.

“Then next comes what may become our absolute, absolute favorite time—”

“AAAAAH!”

“—or maybe not!”

“AAAAAHHHHH!!!”

Every time the MC encouraged audience participation, Han Yeoreum's fans diligently screamed.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the fan meeting started, yet everyone was still smiling brightly.

“It's time to reveal unreleased photos!”

The moment the MC spoke, unseen photos began appearing one after another.

“AAAAAAHHHH!!!”

As soon as photos from <ParCheHi> appeared, screams erupted from every direction.

“She's a baby... she's literally a baby...”

“Ahhh, so cute...”

Everyone stretched out the ends of their words.

It was the unique speech pattern that emerged when admiration, emotional suffering, and every thought in one's head mixed together.

When photos from <The Great Garland> appeared, the screams nearly blew the roof off.

“I thought this one came out kind of unattractive, so I wasn't sure whether to release it...”

“WHERE?!”

Someone shouted in genuine outrage.

The fan meeting venue fell silent for a moment before exploding with laughter.

“You definitely got that reaction, right?”

“Yep. We can probably upload it tonight.”

Even in the middle of everything, Team Leader Seong professionally identified the clips most likely to go viral.

More and more members of the general public were clicking thumbnails automatically whenever Han Yeoreum's face appeared.

It was time to invest even more effort into social media management.

The icon of an era.

An actor who had surpassed A-list status and was becoming a generational replacement.

As far as JC ENM was concerned, Han Yeoreum reaching that point wasn't far away.

* * *

Waiting beneath the stage, Shim Juhwan watched the fan meeting with fascination.

“Now then, shall we look at the sticky notes our Summer Day members wrote? I'll pick just five!”

At the MC's words, a prepared board was brought before Han Yeoreum.

After thinking hard, she peeled off a heart-shaped sticky note.

“What's the best thing you've done this year? Ah, that's way too easy...”

Deliberately dragging out her words while smiling at the fans with her eyes, she looked like someone who had spent ten years mentally rehearsing fan meetings.

“I think you all probably know the answer...”

“Aaaahhh...”

“But should I say it anyway?”

“Yeeees...!”

Han Yeoreum seemed to possess the talent of a cult leader.

The audience smiled as though enchanted.

“Of course it's this solo fan meeting! I honestly didn't think all of you would really come today.”

The sticky notes that followed were also perfectly optimized for fan service.

It was almost as if she had speed-read every note on the board and was selectively choosing only the fan-service moments she wanted.

“Please do cat ears once? Cat ears...? What exactly are cat ears? How do you do them~? Like this?”

As Han Yeoreum followed the MC's instructions and made cat ears with her hands, she became so adorable that Shim Juhwan muttered:

“Ah, Myeong Jeha...”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Exempt. Exempt, that's what I said. Han Yeoreum should be exempt from taxes.”

“Ah. Because she's cute.”

When nearby staff questioned him, years in the entertainment industry allowed him to react instantly.

For the record, the sentence actually running through Shim Juhwan's mind was:

‘Myeong Jeha gets to see this every day.’

‘What does Hollywood know about stopping love?’

The moment he thought about Myeong Jeha, who wasn't even attending as a fan meeting guest, his heart felt crushed.

The fact that he wouldn't get to witness the two of them together backstage was unbearably tragic.

“Something I'd like as an alarm tone? Something I'd say to wake Summer Day up? Hmm...”

Han Yeoreum removed a star-shaped sticky note and took a deep breath.

A subtle tension spread through the audience.

Even Shim Juhwan could feel the collective determination of the fans that if anyone shouted a personal request instead of an alarm phrase, they wouldn't be forgiven.

“You have to wake up~”

The short line ended.

Shim Juhwan immediately muttered again.

“Ah, Myeong Jeha...”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Exempt. Exempt. Han Yeoreum should be exempt from military service.”

“She was already exempt.”

For the record, the sentence actually running through Shim Juhwan's mind this time was:

‘Myeong Jeha gets to hear that every day.’

Shim Juhwan was suddenly confident he could sing both the <The Great Garland> OST and <How> with more emotional appeal than ever before.

* * *

“Ha... I'm dying...”

Aetami thoroughly enjoyed the incredibly packed first half of the fan meeting.

Because she planned to edit and upload clips to Intube later, she couldn't scream.

The inside of her lips was covered in bite marks from holding herself back.

Even Shim Juhwan's performance at the end of Part One nearly destroyed her.

The moment he sang <Huijae>, the ending scene from Episode 4 flashed through her mind and tears streamed down her face.

The music video played on the screen behind him, causing some audience members to genuinely cry.

When <How> started playing and the kissing scene between Han Yeoreum and Myeong Jeha appeared, she had to use every ounce of willpower not to scream.

“That was seriously hard... But I held back.”

Thinking about splitting today's fan meeting footage into clips and spreading Han Yeoreum's legendary cuteness across Intube, Yousta, and Tr*tter filled Aetami with excitement.

At the same time, she felt a strange kinship with a familiar fan sitting diagonally nearby.

The same fan who had been responding so loudly all day, as if wearing a microphone, was now sprawled across their seat like a collapsed corpse.

‘Still, I managed not to scream during Part One. Surely I can do even better during Part Two.’

But moments later, she failed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

The audience exploded when Han Yeoreum suddenly appeared on the second floor.

Just like at the beginning, she was singing.

Even while walking, her breathing remained perfectly stable.

Han Yeoreum had used her ultimate move.

This time she wore a short, adorable wedding dress.

A tiny tiara and veil rested atop her head.

Monday, I'll hold your hand.

Tuesday, please smile at me.

Wednesday, hearing "I love you" never gets old.

Because Han Yeoreum was singing <Love Week>, the OST from <Dongdaemun Romance>, Shim Juhwan's earlier performance was instantly forgotten.

“Mmmgh...”

Pained noises escaped wherever Han Yeoreum passed.

Every time she brushed someone's outstretched hand, cameras immediately followed her movement.

I want to paint my whole life with you.

Thursday, let's dance together in the rain.

Friday, don't be afraid, be brave.

Saturday, the words "I love you" sound just like your name.

A fan wearing both a cap and mask trembled violently as if electrocuted.

Seeing that, Han Yeoreum smiled at them.

‘Why am I not on the second floor?!’

Aetami stared with tears of blood in her heart.

Never in her life had she wanted second-floor seats this badly.

Then it happened.

Han Yeoreum's gaze met hers.

I want to paint my whole life with you.

Sunday, I'll promise you eternity.

While singing those lyrics.

Aetami remembered another day.

The final group screening of the last episode of <Strange Tales>.

Han Yeoreum's youthful face standing before the photo wall felt as vivid as yesterday.

The rising actress she had desperately pushed upward with her first leading role had now become the victor of the Holy Grail War.

All those years flashed before her eyes.

Han Yeoreum truly seemed destined to reach award ceremonies so distant that Aetami couldn't even imagine following her there.

And for some reason, she was certain Han Yeoreum would do exactly that.

The voice singing before everyone seemed to promise she would shine forever.

And Aetami believed it.

* * *

‘Whew... This should stop them from stealing my fans, right?’

I used the wedding-dress ultimate move because I was worried everyone's hearts might waver even a little after seeing Gaeul and Dami in Part Two.

Judging by the reaction, it worked perfectly.

There were video messages from Senior Yun Hyeonjo and Senior Han Yohan.

Even a video message from Myeong Jeha.

If °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° I wasn't careful, fans might defect, so I had to stay on guard.

‘Everything is going according to plan.’

Throughout the fan meeting, I felt reassured by the eyes looking at me with nothing but love.

After the guest talk segment came the idol dance medley.

At that point, the atmosphere felt so intense that it seemed like everyone might pull marriage registration forms from their pockets at any moment.

“So... this is the last segment...”

The final event was making wishes beside a cake.

Though honestly, that was a lie.

‘There's still the encore and the hi-bye session.’

Who was I?

Han Yeoreum, who had waited for this day more than anyone.

I wasn't letting them go so easily.

Standing before the enormous cake, I clasped my hands together.

“Every time I start a new project, I always think the same thing...”

My voice softened.

“I want to become an actor people won't forget, even after a very long time passes. That's my wish.”

Actually, I wish you'd all love me forever.

“I want to remain in people's hearts through good stories.”

Honestly, I wish everyone would stay here forever and never leave.

“I'll continue working hard.”

But those thoughts stayed inside.

That's what being a professional meant.

After blowing out the candles, I took a group photo with the audience.

‘As expected of me.’

I had finished my first solo fan meeting in perfect condition without crying.

The stage lights went dark.

I took a moment to catch my breath while waiting for Summer Day to start chanting for an encore.

Then—

“...Huh?” 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

A familiar intro began playing.

It was the same song I had sung earlier.

I want to paint my whole life with you.

Voices rose together as one.

It felt like they were speaking directly to me.

Friday, don't be afraid, be brave.

As if telling me this was what love looked like.

I walked back onto the stage.

Warm, brilliant lights illuminated me.

Everyone was singing while holding the same slogan.

Looking straight at me.

[We will love you passionately.]

Slowly, I turned my head and took in the audience.

The words on the slogans blurred together.

The bright lights made everything hazy.

My mind went blank, as though I had suffered heatstroke in the middle of a scorching summer day.

An indescribable emotion spread through my heart like a shimmering mirage.

Even though filming wasn't taking place, I felt immersed in a role.

Hong Suryeon's advice suddenly resurfaced.

No matter what happened, it felt impossible for a better moment than this to ever come.

A moment that would never return.

A moment so overwhelming that it made me want to melt everything I was and offer it all.

A massive wave.

Far too large to handle.

A moment so overwhelming I couldn't even compose myself properly.

The tremendous wave before me seemed to lift me up and push me forward.

Like the ocean.

The sensation of rising, falling, and being carried onward wrapped around my entire body.

It felt as though everyone was telling me the same thing.

We're here.

Right here.

So you—

Keep moving forward.

Higher still.

Go on.

Keep going.