Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

The regular album showcase had ended, but the cheers heard on stage still echoed in my ears and mind. When the members walked into the waiting room, their faces were all lit up with smiles, and as if the smiles were contagious, the corners of my mouth lifted too. It had been a long time. Meeting the fans on stage like this. I found myself wishing this moment would never end.

The relief of having done well, the pride of being back on stage with the members, the words of support and warm gazes from the fans. When all of that came at once, the months of grueling practice felt effortless.

Most of the members were hungry and immediately started eating snacks. Amid that, Joo I-rip, being the leader, called out, “Good job!” while greeting the staff. I quickly joined and bowed my head alongside him.

While we were frantically exchanging greetings,

“Ji Myeong-hyeon—.”

Suddenly, a hand grabbed mine and pulled me along. The familiar voice and touch didn’t surprise me; I simply looked up at Baek Jae-heon holding my hand.

“Uh?”

Then, Baek Jae-heon pulled out a leather box that clearly held jewelry, and my pupils widened. What? Giving something like this so openly? There are a few cameras filming the behind-the-scenes right now.

I tried to pull my wrist back a little, but Baek Jae-heon ignored it and led my hand further, opening the box and starting to put something on my wrist.

Click. The sound of metal touching.

“…What is this?”

Even though my eyes told me, I asked anyway.

When I lifted my wrist to look, it was the bracelet I had seen in a store on a street in Japan, the imitation bracelet that all the members had ignored.

Of course, what Baek Jae-heon put on my wrist wasn’t an imitation. It was dazzling and sparkling in a way that couldn’t compare to what I had seen before, and my eyes widened in awe.

But… the problem was that there were a lot of cameras. And a lot of people. And all of this was being filmed. Why put it on my wrist so openly? It would have been fine to just give it at the dorm. It was nice, but I was too flustered to speak.

“Look at Ji Myeong-hyeon all flustered.”

At that moment, Joo I-rip behind me spoke with a teasing laugh. When I looked at him, the other members were smirking too. I immediately caught on.

“Did everyone buy one?”

“Seriously, what a ghost.”

“Anyway, the guy notices things so fast.”

When I asked if everyone had one, the members raised their wrists one by one. When did they start wearing these? A smile I couldn’t hide spread across my face. The members also grinned at me.

“You didn’t tell me and matched them?”

Then Go Hee-min smiled slyly and said casually,

“You said you wanted to match them. So this is just a surprise for you.”

He acted like a drama’s male lead, which was slightly annoying, but I could forgive it now.

“Because of you, Ji Myeong-hyeon almost ruined his expression.”

Noticing my expression, Kwon Ji-hak teased Go Hee-min without missing a beat. But when Go Hee-min’s face hardened, Kwon Ji-hak instantly shut his mouth. Normally, I would have been tired of their fights, but today it was funny. It was simply enjoyable.

“Thanks.”

And I meant it.

“Really, really thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank us. Baek Jae-heon bought yours all by himself.”

“Yeah. We each got ours. Thank Baek Jae-heon.”

The members seemed to think I was thanking them for pooling money to get my bracelet. That wasn’t it. It wasn’t about the price or the hassle of wearing it—it was about everyone joining in because I had said I wanted to match them. That was what I was thankful for.

“But Baek Jae-heon snuck in a personal touch too.”

“Personal touch?”

“He said he’d get yours but changed each pendant slightly.”

“Pendant?”

Looking closely, the bracelets seemed identical, but there were small differences. The members’ bracelets had alternating green and red pendants, but mine had one white link. When I turned to look at Baek Jae-heon, his link was black.