Chapter 112: Bring Him In
15th place in real-time.
From the moment I checked the ranking before going on stage, I couldn’t calm down.
At the last debut showcase, I had checked the ranking after the performance, but this time, I couldn’t resist and ended up opening Pandora’s box.
And now, I was about to go on stage.
I squeezed my eyes shut in the waiting room, regretting it.
“Ah, I shouldn’t have looked.”
“We all agreed to just shut our eyes and not look.”
“You really never listen….”
Jin Sehyun grumbled and let out a sigh.
“Who said to check it again?”
“Seo Ian did….”
“Seongbin-hyung was the first to bring it up…!”
These weak-willed people.
Of all times, the two most nervous ones had checked the ranking and were now trembling like leaves.
Cha Seongbin was clutching a four-leaf clover tightly in his hand, muttering to himself.
“Now, if I go up, my mentality’s going to crash. If I go down, it’ll crash even more. If I stay the same, it’ll still crash!”
This won’t do.
“Someone calm Seongbin-hyung down.”
“Should we try flipping him upside down first?”
“I get the other parts, but why does going up in the rankings wreck your mentality?”
“Because all the attention focuses on you.”
How did this guy even become a celebrity?
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
With a face about to cry, Cha Seongbin murmured in a small voice.
“There’s a world that only ocean sunfish know….”
“Thanks to you, I’m not as nervous anymore.”
“Sacrifice me, so you all can be at peace~.”
Cha Seongbin clutched his head and slammed himself against the wall.
Kang Siwoo dragged him up.
“Hyung, come on, get up.”
“Uuuugh.”
Pre-order sales had been much better than the last album.
The real-time ranking was also on the rise.
With the showcase ahead, everything was set. All that was left was to give the best performance.
Kang Siwoo raised his hand into the air.
“Let’s go tear up the stage.”
Cha Seongbin nodded while holding his now-tattered four-leaf clover.
A magic spell that works in times like this.
One by one, the members placed their hands over his and swallowed hard.
“Shine bright!”
“Stardust, fighting!”
“Fighting! Fighting! Fighting!”
Let’s go.
The showcase hall was filled with waves of aqua blue light sticks.
Compared to the debut showcase, there were even more seats, and every single one was filled with Dusties.
‘Our boys’ growth is insane.’
Dusty Hye-won clasped her trembling hands together and took a deep breath.
Her first showcase in her life. She never imagined she’d get to be here, but before she knew it, she was waving a light stick at the venue.
Now that she was here, she was determined to take in today’s stage with her own two eyes.
She couldn’t miss even a single moment.
Making that vow, she tightened her grip on her light stick.
The boys were the ones performing, but why was she the one more nervous?
Hye-won swallowed her dry throat and looked up.
And at that moment.
On the pitch-black stage, the lights suddenly flashed on.
3,
2,
“…!”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
With a pounding beat like a heartbeat, someone walked forward under the lights.
Kang Siwoo, in a leather jacket, hands in his pockets, grinned widely.
And then—
A fierce intro hit their ears.
Kang Siwoo turned his body and clutched his chest.
every beats of heart
There’s no limit, I’ll reach even farther
With that one line of lyrics,
Seohan pushed off the floor in a leap.
The members formed a frame with their positions, and Jin Sehyun broke through it, bursting forward.
Feel the beating of my heart
I can reach you
Because I’m the one who can find you no matter how far away you are
A truly razor-sharp group dance.
Even their footsteps seemed to merge into one sound, and Hye-won forgot to even lift her light stick.
‘How… how do they match the beat so perfectly?’
Cha Seongbin slapped the back of Kang Siwoo’s hand and stepped forward.
This guy who always looked tense and nervous behind the scenes was now owning the stage without hesitation.
We’re a comet in the night
Brighter than the moonlight
I’ve repeated it thousands of times, we will shine
I’m wandering, your time
Hoping to reach you every second
They had walked through countless time zones, yet the boys could not find the answer.
They could only follow that bright, shining comet in the universe.
Only repeat those thousands of affirmations again and again.
I’m searching for your time zone,
Even if just for one second, let our moments overlap.
Main vocalist Jin Sehyun’s crisp high note blended with Seo Haim’s gentle harmony.
Take my hand
It’s time to end this journey
The two looked at each other, clapped lightly, then drifted apart.
With the intense melody driving toward the highlight again, Seohan slid his hand down his neck and smoothly bent his body.
I’m wandering, your time
Hoping to reach you every seconds
The moment Do Seohan’s face appeared on the digital billboard, Hye-won let out a snort.
‘Is he seriously out of his mind?’
He had been crazy even back in the Starf days, but now he’d returned with improved dance skills and a bigger head.
A power that looked like it could destroy the stage.
Moves that seemed to strike the ground made it feel like you’d get sucked right in.
And even then, his dance lines, with their clear control of strength and softness, were exactly Hye-won’s type.
This was why she had picked him as her second favorite.
“…I think he’s gonna become my bias.”
Before she knew it, she was enjoying the stage, getting swept up in the members’ wild energy.
Wo-oh-oh-oh-oh
we’re a comet
Seo Ian beamed brightly and belted out the high note in full voice.
No fan could have known just how nervous he had been backstage.
We’re a comet in the night
Brighter than the moonlight
I’ve repeated it thousands of times, we will shine
I’m wandering
I’ll find your time
Seven members moving as one, swimming through the air like they were spacewalking.
It overlapped with scenes from the first album, giving a new lingering impression.
‘They weren’t lying when they said the song turned out well…’
From choreography to outfits.
Crazy intense, and insanely good.
Hye-won shook her light stick like mad and screamed with joy.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Universe Dust, go devour K-pop.
After that, she couldn’t quite remember what happened.
“That was insane…”
Ah.
By the time the music ended, she was completely spaced out.
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“Stardust! Stardust! Stardust!”
“Siwoo, I love youuuuu!”
The atmosphere was wild.
Seohan, looking a little giddy, glanced around the audience and waved his hand.
‘There are so many people.’
The wide venue, surrounded by swaying blue light sticks, looked like waves crashing.
It felt different from the emotion of seeing banners.
His heart kept swelling.
Panting from the especially intense choreography, he took a seat.
“Alright, everyone, take your seats!”
MC Dodo, who had gotten connected to them during Weekly Pocket Idol and was now hosting this showcase, expertly had the members sit down.
She turned her head with a smile.
“Alright, Stardust, could you give us a quick self-introduction?”
“Yes. Haah… ha…”
Kang Siwoo caught his breath and took the mic.
“I’m Stardust’s leader, Kang Siwoo.”
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“Siwoo, you’re so freaking handsome!!”
“Th-thank you.”
As the leader who had soared through the intro part in this title track, Kang Siwoo had already grabbed attention.
The gray hair that had made waves when the teaser dropped looked even more legendary in person.
-For real, how does a husky talk like a human?
-Wow, that face is insane
-No doubt, Kang Siwoo dominates the intense concepts
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
Kang Siwoo smirked at the heated cheers and passed the mic to Ha Junseo.
“I’m Ha Junseo. To the Dusties who came all the way here for our showcase today—I love you.”
“Waaaaah!”
Next was Seo Haim, who had been buzzing with excitement earlier.
“I’m Sweet Haim, always eyeing the maknae position!”
“And why are you aiming for it?”
“Seohan’s taller than me now. He’s 182 cm.”
“Oh, so you’re saying I look cuter?”
“Don’t you think mini size has its own charm?”
—Though truthfully, even Seo Haim was considered tall in the team.
At that moment, the too-grown-up Seohan snatched the mic from his hyung.
“I’m Stardust’s official hamster, Do Seohan.”
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
Rustle.
Seohan set the mic down, raised his hands to the camera.
In order to protect his maknae spot, he even made hamster ears with his hands, making the Dusties in the venue scream and cover their mouths.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Protect Do Seohan at all costs!”
“Damn, you really have no fear of the world.”
Dusties watching the showcase live online also went crazy.
-Official hamster lol is this official now?
-Do-Hamjji takes pride in being a hamster
-Ah, insane, he really knows his fans
-Every time you’re about to forget about him, Do Seohan does aegyo once—he really melts the Dusties…
Jin Sehyun looked shocked, his mouth wide open.
“You’re… you’re really that serious about being the maknae?”
“Huh? I’m just giving off my natural vibe…”
“Natural? Your ears look like they’re about to burst right now.”
Seohan turned his head with a bright red face, coughing awkwardly.
Pulling off shameless aegyo was still a bit much for him.
‘My age… twenty-six…’
His brain was experiencing cognitive dissonance.
The MC burst out laughing, clapping as she moved things along.
“Yes, thank you for those professional introductions~.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“You really live life to the fullest. Alright, next?”
After finishing the introductions for the remaining members one by one, MC Dodo began to speak.
“Leader-nim, could you introduce the title track?”
Just three months ago.
Leader Kang Siwoo had introduced the title track with a rap fitting of the main rapper.
“Ah, of course.”
Now, trained through music broadcasts, he could hold the mic with composure.
With a smile on his lips, Kang Siwoo explained the concept of the title track.
“Stardust’s 2nd album Starline’s title track contains the journey of searching for you in a mismatched time zone. It’s a fast-tempo EDM song with powerful and intense choreography….”
“Huff… huff.”
“As you can see, everyone’s not in the best condition.”
-Seo Ian, did you just run a marathon???
-Soft Sundubu turned into Spicy Sundubu with that red face
-Ah, why are the babies panting so cutelyㅠㅠㅠ
As the main dancer with an especially intense set of moves, Seohan’s hand holding the mic trembled.
“Our respected choreographer, Choi Myunghwan…”
“Ah, so he was in charge.”
“I’d like to go see him sometime soon.”
“This is in a business sense, right?”
Seohan gritted his teeth and bowed his head.
“Haah… of course it is.”
-Not threatening at all lolol
-Ah, Hamjji trembling like crazy lolol
-But honestly, Do Seohan has a reason to go see Choi Myunghwan… what’s with that tie-in-mouth choreo lolol
The real reason was different.
“Our included track’s choreography was made by Myunghwan-ssem…”
“Ahh, so you’ve got something built up.”
“Every time I have to hold the tie in my mouth, I get a bit of an existential crisis…”
“I personally love it.”
Seohan raised his thumb as he spoke.
‘How am I supposed to survive music broadcasts like this.’
It sometimes felt like dying, but it was doable.
“Best choreography.”
“As expected~ the very definition of professional.”
MC Dodo exclaimed in admiration while holding the script in her hands.
Reading the disillusionment on Seohan’s face, the Dusties shouted loudly, saying it was fine.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
“It’s fine, you were cute!!”
“This isn’t a cute concept…”
Seohan protested, but his voice was buried under the cheers.
Each time the members’ faces were shown close-up on the digital billboard, the heat in the venue rose even more.
While the Dusties waved their light sticks in passionate support, MC Dodo naturally moved to the next segment.
“Now, we’ll move to a corner the fans have been curious about. Stardust leader Kang Siwoo-nim?”
“Yes!”
“Do you perhaps have any TMI about the members today?”
“Ah, I have one.”
There had been many things leading up to this comeback, but just one week ago, a top-secret update had been added.
“There’s some shocking news from the maknae line.”
“Oh, what is it!”
Kang Siwoo looked at Jin Sehyun and passed him the mic.
“This is huge news.”
Jin Sehyun smiled at the Dusties as he set the stage.
It was actually the first time revealing this in front of fans.
Holding the mic, Jin Sehyun spoke.
“Our maknae line finally dropped honorifics.”
That one sentence filled the chat with hook emojis.
-????
-Mam-Seohan??
-Our Seohan’s the type to still say ‘Have you eaten your meal?’ even in half-formal speech
-Daebak
-Finally dropped honorifics
They had used honorifics since the Starf days.
Fans who had never seen Do Seohan speak informally to anyone screamed in joy and lifted their heads.
“Really?”
“Wow, you dropped them?”
In truth, with only a one-year age gap, constantly hearing honorifics felt awkward.
Only after debut did they finally settle their forms of address—and the idea had first been suggested by Seo Haim.
“We’re only one year apart.”
“Seohan’s a December baby, so he’s a bit younger, but still, just one year apart.”
“Ah, so it felt awkward to keep using honorifics~.”
“Yes, so we decided to drop them!”
Jin Sehyun smiled and asked Seohan,
“Right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
This fresh news—
MC Dodo spoke excitedly.
“Oh, then let’s show the fans what it looks like when you drop honorifics.”
“This is seriously the first public reveal.”
“We’ve been speaking informally with each other since last week.”
The first reveal in front of fans.
Seohan nodded and took the mic.
He fixed his gaze on Jin Sehyun.
“……”
In the quiet, Seohan’s lips slowly parted.
“Ya.”
Wait.
Was this okay?
MC Dodo reached out her arm with a flustered expression.
“Y-you’re not in Yaja Time right now~.”
-No hesitation lololol
-Do Seohan’s been waiting for this day lolol
-They set the stage and he immediately fires back, Hamjji-style lolol
-Just how far are you dropping them?
He dropped them all the way.
“Ya, Sehyun-ah.”
“…?”
Whoosh—
Sensing danger, Seohan bolted away.
Jin Sehyun set down his mic and shot up from his seat.
“Bring him back here.”