Chapter 88: Trophy

Pang—

Startled by the sound of fireworks, I looked up with a jolt.

“Jeez.”

At first, I wondered if this was a dream.

Because I just couldn’t believe it.

With a blank face, I slowly pinched my cheek.

“Ah. That hurts.”

So it was real.

I stood there dazed, then suddenly let out a laugh.

“Seohan-ahhh! They said we’re first place!!!”

Seo Haim leapt up and threw her arms around my shoulder. Caught off guard, I stumbled backward.

Even so, I couldn’t stop the stupid grin creeping across my face.

“Really, really?”

“First place! Yuyeong! Spacewalk! I’m telling you, it’s true!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

The fans’ cheers were so loud my ears felt like they were going to burst. Had I ever heard such a roaring cheer before?

The cold air brushing the tip of my nose and the light sticks swaying in the air made the whole scene feel almost too beautiful to be real.

As I watched the banners bobbing up and down, I bit down on my lower lip to suppress the laugh bubbling out.

And over there….

“Hngh… hff…”

“Junseo-hyung, are you crying?”

Cha Seongbin was giggling while looking at Junseo-hyung, who had already started sniffling.

That hyung has the mental strength of an Ocean Sunfish, but it’s always amazing how sturdy he is in moments like this.

“Ha Junseo’s crying~.”

“Huuuk… hic… hic…”

While everyone else was still dazed, the leader, who was the first to collect himself, picked up the mic.

At the MC’s gesture asking for a speech, Kang Siwoo nodded.

“Ah, yes.”

Kang Siwoo calmly began to speak, looking straight at the camera.

His low voice flowed out gently.

“This is our first time winning first place on a music broadcast as Stardust.”

A dream-like record achieved merely ten days after debut.

‘When we debut, won’t we win first place on a music show?’

‘Sing the encore stage?’

‘Wow, just imagining it is insane.’

Those words we repeated dozens of times during practice had now become reality.

Kang Siwoo continued with a joyful smile. His response was textbook, almost like he had rehearsed it.

“First, thank you to Doubles’ CEO Baek Namil. To our managers and stylists who always work so hard beside us, thank you….”

You’d never guess he was shaking during the showcase—the words flowed effortlessly.

Was that hyung always this good at speaking?

“Above all, to the Starf supporters who made it possible for us to stand here…!”

“Waaaaaah!”

“We’re so happy to now be able to go forward together under the name Dusty.”

While watching only the leader of Stardust, Ha Junseo, I found myself smiling again upon hearing Kang Siwoo’s first place speech.

Thinking back to our Starf days, he’s gotten pretty slick.

“Dusty, I love you.”

Kang Siwoo made a heart over his head, then stepped back.

The roar of cheers echoed through the studio.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Stardust, I love you!”

“Kang Siwoo! Siwoo-ya!!!”

Smiling joyfully, I turned my gaze away.

Next, the mic naturally went to the oldest, Ha Junseo-hyung….

“To our Dusty members… sniff… thank you so… huff… much….”

But this one wasn’t in a condition to deliver a coherent speech.

How on earth did that hyung become the leader of Stardust?

Come to think of it, he might’ve been crying constantly during our early debut days, though I wasn’t too sure.

I looked at Ha Junseo, holding back a laugh.

“Junseo-hyung…?”

“Sehyun, you want to speak?”

The mic was about to be passed to Jin Sehyun, but then Ha Junseo and I locked eyes by chance.

“Or maybe Seohan?”

At least I was confident I wouldn’t sob like that hyung.

Just as I was about to receive the mic with a look that said, “I’ll do it,”

“…!”

My gaze landed on a banner.

“…….”

[Seohan-ah, I’ll make you number one]

A banner in the front row waved toward me.

That single line, as if directly speaking to me, pierced my eyes.

[Congratulations to Seohan’s first place that will always shine!]

The moment I saw that, without even realizing it—

Plop—

A tear fell.

“Seohan, do you want to say something?”

Ah, I couldn’t.

I’d tried so hard to hold it in, but just that one phrase poked at my heart.

“Uh… uh…”

Because I knew exactly how we got that trophy in the hyungs’ hands right now.

We picked a great song.

We practiced so hard.

Even though it was our debut album, into which I poured all my time and effort…

It was the fans who made us number one.

Because I knew that, that line dug straight into my heart.

[Seohan-ah, I’ll make you number one]

‘Thank you for making it happen.’

I couldn’t even say the words, and tears streamed down.

Wow.

I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, so what is this?

Tears came out in disbelief, and I laughed through them.

Lowering my head, I quickly blurted out.

“Hyung, you do it….”

“Okay, got it.”

I handed the mic over to Jin Sehyun.

Jin Sehyun grinned brightly as he clutched the trophy in his hand.

“To our Dusty who gave us this trophy, thank you so much and I love you. We’ll become an even harder-working Stardust from now on! Thank you!”

“Waaaaaah!”

“Congrats, Jin Sehyun!”

With the MCs giving their closing remarks, the idols who stood on stage with us began to trickle off backstage.

As we bowed to the senior artists offering their congratulations, the MR of Yuyeong (Spacewalk) began to play.

“Congratulations.”

“Fighting, Stardust!”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Time for the live encore.

I was hurriedly wiping my tears, but of all moments, the first verse was mine.

“Ha… ha.”

Still not composed, the encore stage began.

I clutched the mic and opened my mouth.

This is my universe

I swim through the universe—

Across a distance of over 500 light years

The only things that can reach are only light and me

The sob I barely suppressed helped me get through the first verse all right, but…

Again, my eyes welled up with tears.

[Congratulations on your debut, Seohan]

[I love you, Do Hamjji]

Round and round, I’d made my way here.

I felt reassured that the path I’d chosen wasn’t the wrong one.

“Congrats, Do Seohan-aaaack!”

“Don’t cry, Seohan!”

I was just so happy, I couldn’t stop the tears.

“Fold the universe in hal… hng….”

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

“I’ll catch up with the time that’s passed….”

Ah.

Damn it.

I seriously have no self-control.

[Encore stage was insane]

Live skills honed during the Starf days.

How does a rookie just 10 days into debut tear apart a live encore stage like that?

Ah, Seo Ian sings so well ㅠㅠ Universe Dust’s god-tier main vocal Seo Ian

You’re my whole world and my country, I’m so proud just watching you

[Universe Dust’s first place speech, flood of tears]

Kang Siwoo was composed like a leader, and Seo Haim seemed like she cried but calmed down by the encore.

But Junseo and Seohan lolololololol

They were practically sobbing while singing?

Ian bawled like crazy during the final, but was surprisingly composed during the first place announcement.

└He was composed, but you could totally see the corners of his mouth lifting ㅠㅠ Cute soft bunny ㅠㅠ

└Real steel mentality probably goes to Cha Seongbin

└???

└I guess… maybe?

-Fold the universe in hal… hng!

└I’ll catch up with the time that’s pa… huff…ssed…!!

└Hey lolololololol this is too much

└Don’t tease Do Hamjji lololololol

└Dusty members bullying Byo-Seohan as a group, it’s real ㅠㅠ

└He was trembling but got through the first verse, then his tears burst and gave fans plenty of ammo, our Seohan,,,

└It’s okay, Heung-Junseo cried all day

└Heung-Junseo lololololol omg lololololol

└That nickname from the Starf days finally resurfaces

└He even looks like a “heung,” didn’t expect him to act like one too

└For real, he was like “hheeeeng” while crying lolololol

└He’s the oldest but why’s he so cute ㅠㅠ Oh right, he is the oldest but still a baby ㅠㅠㅠ

└Junseo’s still a baby too ㅠㅠㅠ

-The legendary eldest-youngest duo

└Oh right, the eldest and the maknae lolololol those two are Stardust’s official crybabies

└Being labeled the official crybabies lolol that’s too much ㅠㅠ

└Don’t know about Ha Junseo, but Do Seohan definitely took a hit to his pride

└Seohan: Why am I being lumped with Junseo-hyung?

└Lolololololol totally sounds like him

└It’s fine, you’re cute

└Cute is enough 2222

└Shut it, Do-Ulbo

└Do-Ulbo lolololol you’re seriously the worst

└Calling him Do-Ulbo ㅠㅠ that’s too cruel but so funny lolololol sorry, Seohan

└Dusty members lolol they don’t even try to shield him

└This is the cold world of K-pop

So that’s how it happened.

From that day on, we ended up with the nicknames Do-Ulbo and Heung-Junseo.

.

.

.

.

It’s humiliating.

“This is seriously humiliating….”

“What is?”

“Why am I being treated the same as Junseo-hyung?”

Do-Ulbo and Heung-Junseo, seriously.

I found out because Jin Sehyun showed me.

That Dusty were calling us that.

I almost shot up from bed when I saw it.

I raised the seatback and sat up.

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Sorry, Seohan. You cried more.”

Ha Junseo scoffed as he rebutted.

Chewing on a poor, innocent Haribo gummy, he waved his hand dismissively.

I was the one dumbfounded into a hollow laugh.

“Hyung, what are you talking about? Don’t say such ridiculous things.”

I was just slightly, ever so slightly, moved by the banner and almost shed a tear.

It was definitely not what fans are calling ‘sobbing.’

That’s all fabrication and incitement.

Which is why we now have someone here with a distorted memory.

“You cried more, I’m telling you.”

“You were bawling, I just teared up… a bit?”

“You’ve got no conscience. Who raised you like this?”

“Probably Junseo-hyung with a 90 percent share?”

Seo Haim chattered as she jumped into the argument.

What even was this, everyone getting so serious in a cramped van.

Seo Haim started rattling off words in an extremely fired-up voice.

“I—I saw that situation up close.”

“You were crying while watching too, Seo Haim!”

“A-anyway, just listen to me!”

One person claims they didn’t cry, another says you cried too, and someone else says they were just laughing.

What is this mess?

In the end, the one to step up and settle the chaos was the maknae-hyung duo, Jin Sehyun.

“All right, all right, I’ll settle this!”

“……”

“You both sobbed!”

Not very helpful.

“Ah….”

“Ugh.”

Ha Junseo shook his head with his arms crossed.

“Let’s just say both of you cried your eyes out.”

“I don’t want to admit it, but let’s call it a compromise.”

In the end, we concluded that we’d film our own content watching a sad movie soon under the concept of Do-Ulbo and Heung-Junseo.

Most likely, while Ha Junseo was crying, I’d be peacefully sitting there munching popcorn.

Unbelievable, really.

I let it go, deciding to just wait and see when the time came, without arguing further.

Seo Ian, who watched the quickly wrapped-up debate, smiled contentedly and gave a thumbs-up.

“So heartwarming.”

But things weren’t going to stay heartwarming for long.

Our manager, Lee Jaeyoon, who had been quietly listening to our nonsense for a while now, turned his head.

“We’re here.”

Screeeech—

The large van came to a stop in the parking lot with the sound of tires.

In front of the SBC Broadcasting Station, where we had arrived to shoot Weekly Pocket Idol.

Seo Haim looked out the window, unfastened her seatbelt, and stood up.

That’s right.

It was the day of filming for [Weekly Pocket Idol VS Rookie Battle].

“So the day’s finally come.”

“I’ve really been training hard for this.”

The eyes of the members, already full of stored-up emotions, were practically burning with determination.

Jin Sehyun, clenching his fist tightly, spoke in a low voice.

“We’re going to tear The Core apart.”

“Let’s smash it lightly~.”

With that, we stepped out of the van, full of fighting spirit.

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