Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

‘Well, in any case, that’s a relief…….’

Just as I muttered to myself, the lights inside the station flickered.

“Hm?”

The crowd kept walking as if it were nothing, but the police officers and I immediately looked up.

“Does the concert hall share the same power line as the station?”

At the officer’s words, I thought it might be possible. The arena’s excessive electricity use might have caused a short circuit in the station’s wiring, leading to the fire……

Wait.

That would mean the vending machine might not have been the only place where a short circuit happened. If even a vending machine with low power usage had sparked, then places consuming far more electricity could already be compromised. For example, the power substation……

“There’s still a burning smell. Maybe the substation plug got scorched because of the vending machine.”

A station employee muttered while heading somewhere. Following his gaze, I saw a door with a sign that read, Authorized Personnel Only. It had to be the substation. The moment I realized it, the officer’s earlier words flashed through my mind, sending a chill crawling down my spine.

‘Since the bin was rotating, air kept flowing in and fed the fire, making it flare up and explode for a moment. If it had been one of the old manual-lid bins, the blast would have been far bigger.’

And before that thought even ended, I sprinted toward the employee about to reach the substation door. The door must not be opened. The instant it opened, a massive amount of oxygen would rush in, and then there would be an enormous explosion. I had to stop him. Yes—this small blast should not have been able to grow into a huge fire in the first place.

What must happen will always happen.

“Do not open that door!”

I shouted as I ran toward the employee. But with so many people streaming down the station stairs, it seemed my voice did not reach him. The staff member’s hand closed on the substation door handle.

“Anyway—today was amazing! Right?”

“Yeah! I’m going to be a YEARZ fan for life!”

At that moment, the two middle school girls from before happened to pass by, their faces bright with joy as they chattered about YEARZ.

“No……!”

On instinct, I threw myself toward them. Turning my back to the substation door, I wrapped my arms tightly around their heads.

“Kyaa—!”

The girls shrieked when a strange man suddenly rushed at them and hugged them. They struggled to pull away, but I only held them tighter.

“……Please.”

But even after a few long seconds like that, no explosion came from behind.

“What the hell! Some creep, you—”

“This pervert……! You—?!”

The girls cursed and tried to shake me off, but then their eyes widened as they recognized me.

“Ji, Ji Myeong-hyeon……!”

“Cheon, Cheonmyeong……!”

Before they could finish their startled cries, another scream rang out.

Had the fire broken out? Or had someone else recognized me? The girls and I turned our heads at the same time toward the sound.

And then……

“Isn’t that Baek Jae-heon?! Holy crap!”

Through the crowd, somehow managing to break through, stood Baek Jae-heon. He was still in his dazzling stage costume, drenched in sweat, panting heavily.

He grabbed the substation door the employee was about to open and forced it shut. The startled employee quickly let go. The crowd erupted in cheers and screams, raising their phones high into the air.

Flashes burst, and people shouted, “Film it! Film it!”

I froze, staring into Baek Jae-heon’s eyes.

Amid the chaos of the station—noise, flashes, and cries—it felt as if only the two of us were isolated in silence. Between us was a tension and a foreboding that I could not put into words.