I Spent a Night with a Top Star Actress Chapter 25 - Overlap.

My mouth was bone dry.

My throat felt like it was burning with thirst, so I gulped down cold water.

Am I nervous?

Yeah.

I think I’m nervous.

But where’d the guy from ten minutes ago go, the one telling himself not to be nervous and just enjoy the stage?

Was my nerve always this weak?

The pressure crashing over me felt like it was going to blow my head apart.

I wished someone would just knock me out with one hit to the head.

Just then, the executive producer beside me shouted.

“How’s the intro video?”

“Streaming without any issues.”

“If viewers spike hard the stream could crash, so keep an eye on it.”

Twenty’s music video played on the live monitoring screen.

The result of Director Choi Jeong-eun grinding herself to the bone over the last two months.

My eyes went to the monitor right next to it.

I could see the chat from viewers who’d come into the live stream to watch the debut showcase.

-oh what’s this

-mv’s not bad?

-intense, whew

-the girls are so prettyyy

-whoa who’s the one with black hair??

-the center’s visual vibe is killer?

-it’s been a while since a visual group like this

-song’s not bad lolllll~

-choreo’s pretty good too?

The reaction wasn’t bad.

No…..

More praise than I’d expected was pouring in.

I let out a heavy breath and checked the viewer count.

-[Current Viewers: 12,982]

The viewer count, which had started at zero, had already passed ten thousand.

It was climbing faster than I’d originally expected.

The corner of the executive producer’s mouth, the one in charge of this showcase, twitched.

“Reaction’s not bad, is it?”

I barely managed to part my lips and answer.

“Feels like viewers are climbing faster than I expected, yeah.”

“Would be great if we could keep this momentum going.”

Yeah.

We’d started off strong, but what came after was the real problem.

‘Unlike a live stream or a drama, an idol showcase loses viewers fast.’

That was unavoidable.

Unlike a drama or a live stream, a showcase has a hard time delivering the sensational kind of fun.

A showcase, by its very nature, is a stage for introducing rookie idols, so that part couldn’t be helped.

‘What keeps that drop-off in check is fan devotion.’

But Twenty wasn’t a girl group with a thick fanbase behind it.

They didn’t have a famous member who’d come out of an idol survival show, and they didn’t have a famous influencer as a member either.

There was no way a group like Twenty already had fans devoted enough for that.

‘Being honest, even the viewers filling the room right now are only here because of Baekhak’s eight-million-subscriber channel.’

If things just went by smoothly, the odds were high that viewers wouldn’t grow, they’d drop off instead.

So it was necessary to leave a strong impression right from the start.

‘That’s why I switched around the order on the performance schedule, to leave that impression.’

Would this intent of mine actually reach the viewers?

I turned my head and looked at the stage.

-Bang!

Stage fireworks and fog burst out, and Twenty appeared.

In that moment, an intense beat filled the concert hall.

A few viewers shouted, startled.

-the first stage is a title track??

The showcase’s first stage: the first title track, “Attention.”

As the intense beat swallowed the stage, the viewer chat started speeding up.

---

Once the main stage began, my lips went bone dry again.

My muscles, tight with tension, even started to ache faintly.

Because of that I couldn’t focus on the stage at all…..

but the way things were going didn’t seem bad.

“Ohh…?”

“Wow, they’re doing even better than at rehearsal?”

“Is it because they’re rookies? They’ve got so much energy.”

The executive producer.

The camera director, the sound director.

The showcase production team, watching the stage from the control room, burst into admiration.

The chat window was no different.

-whoa… the song’s good?

-thought they’d just be a visual group but the singing and dancing are great too lol

-song’s addictive….-is it even okay to listen to a song like this when I’ve got a mock exam coming up???

-Attention~Attention~

-the hook is killer lol

-the song is so goooood!

The chat window’s reaction was heating up.

So many comments were coming in it was hard to even keep up with my eyes.

From the heart emoticons catching my eye every so often, I could at least tell the reaction wasn’t bad.

-Attention, every eye is on me,

Attention, this moment I’m the lead.

The shining spotlight, when it lands on me,

Attention, I’m the star in your heart.

….Looking at how things were going, it seemed like my plan had worked out exactly right!

But I didn’t let go of my tension.

With my eyes, I watched Twenty’s stage and the viewers’ reactions.

With my hands, I searched up articles about Twenty.

-[Exclusive] The Entertainment Industry’s Ruler, Baekhak’s Girl Group “Twenty,” Reveals Title Track “Attention”…!

-Viewer Response Sizzling! Rookie Girl Group Twenty Has Both the Skill and the Visuals!

-Breaking! Rookie Girl Group Twenty Turns Worried Glances Into Admiration With “Attention”….

The promised wave of praise poured in.

But for some reason.

the praise looked like it carried real sincerity, at least to my eyes.

Sincerity that said this stage was genuinely good.

Just then, Nova’s fierce punchline rang out through the concert hall, bang!

-The shining spotlight, I’m taking it all, all eyes right here, shout my name louder!

“!”

The executive producer beside me muttered, startled.

“That bob-cut girl, her verse is no joke.”

“It just locks right into your ear…. her fundamentals are rock solid.”

“Even accounting for AR, she’s good.”

“You can’t fake something like that with AR, can you?”

At the production staff’s exclamations, my eyes went to the chat window.

-oh, what is this lol

-daaamn! that verse is killer

-the rhymes land perfectly?

We’d caught the momentum for real.

I could feel the viewers’ reactions shifting from question marks to exclamation points.

-the whole group’s quality is really solid?

-i think i’m already hooked lol

-haven’t stanned a girl group in a while but these girls are gooood

-the one who’s obviously the maknae is really pretty lol

-i like the brown-haired one’s voice, it’s cute

Maknae Seol Chae-i’s overwhelming presence, Rei’s charming voice.

Nova’s rap part, honed in the underground before her debut.

It was a shame Ga-eul hadn’t had her moment to shine yet, but it seemed like Twenty’s charm was getting through to the viewers just fine.

In that moment, I felt the string of tension in me snap loose.

-[Current Viewers: 17,122]

The viewer count, which had been climbing by the thousand, drew close to twenty thousand as the first stage wrapped up.

Just as my heart, which had been trembling with nerves, started trembling with excitement instead, Ga-eul shouted out with real force.

“…One, two, three. Two steps to the top! Hello, we’re Twenty!”

A faint smile rose to my lips.

‘Best start we could’ve asked for.’

If we could just keep this momentum going, this showcase would end in success.

---

Real name, Ga-eul. Stage name, Ga-eul too. She handed the handheld mic to Nova beside her and caught her breath.

‘What a whirlwind.’

Her first time standing on a live stage, it had been rougher and faster-paced than she’d expected.

Luckily there’d been no mistakes, but she hadn’t gotten to show off as much of her ability as she’d hoped.

There was still a chance left, but could she actually make the most of it?

Just then, MC Kim Chang-hoon, hosting today’s showcase, called out.

“Alright, since the viewer response and the mood are both so good, let’s go ahead with a Q&A gathering the questions our fans have probably been wondering about!”

MC Kim Chang-hoon asked Nova, standing beside him, a question.

“Nova-ssi, I hear you’re a rapper who came up from the underground. Is that right?”

Nova shrugged.

“Heh.”

“?”

“It’s a little weird to say this myself, but…. yeah. I was a rapper with some real pull in the underground.”

“Ohh? So you were an unknown rapper with real skill?”

“That’s right. My stage name in the underground was Purple Tiger….”

The Q&A got going, carried by Nova’s quick wit.

MC Kim Chang-hoon burst out laughing and pulled the mood higher.

Since the questions had been planned out in advance, both maknae Seol Chae-i and Japan-born Rei got through their turns smoothly.

Last, MC Kim Chang-hoon passed the mic to Park Ga-eul.

“Alright, last up, our leader Ga-eul-ssi? Twenty had a tough road to debut. Was there someone who worked especially hard to help you get to this stage?”

Park Ga-eul’s lips parted.

“First, Director Choi Jeong-eun and our choreography teacher’s help was really…..”

The answer she’d practiced before the showcase came out smoothly.

If she just answered like this, the Q&A would end without a hitch.

But for some reason.

Park Ga-eul, uneasy, furrowed her brow slightly.

‘The person who worked hardest to get me to this stage…..’

wasn’t any of the people she was naming right now.

‘It’s the chief.’

Management Team 5’s Chief, Kwon Chan.

He’d dropped out of the sky and built this stage.

‘No, was it just the stage?’

Park Ga-eul’s dream, actually, hadn’t been to become an idol.

It had been to become a producer who made songs.

But the wall standing between her and being a pro had been brutal.

In the end, she’d made her peace with reality and become an idol trainee.

It was a path she’d chosen out of compromise, but at some point she’d started thinking this path wasn’t bad either.

Even if the songs weren’t ones she’d made herself, she could still earn fans’ love by singing them herself.

But she couldn’t quite shake off her lingering attachment to being a producer.

So the song she’d made was “Youth Journey.”

She’d worked up the courage to show it to Director Kim Jang-hoon, Twenty’s executive producer, and gotten a positive reaction back.

‘Not bad?’

‘!’

‘I think it’ll need some revisions…. I’ll touch the song up a bit and put it on the album, Ga-eul.’

It felt like flying.

Even though it had to pass through Director Kim Jang-hoon’s hands, which meant she technically wasn’t the sole original writer anymore, Park Ga-eul was satisfied.

It was a strange shape for it to take, but she’d gotten to realize a dream she’d given up on.

But the happiness didn’t last long.

-[Exclusive] Famous Director ‘K’ Reportedly Had an Inappropriate Relationship With an Idol Trainee…

A sudden disaster had broken out.

That disaster hadn’t just taken her future. It had taken the dream of debuting she’d spent five years preparing for.

Was this what people meant by the sky caving in?

Park Ga-eul had wanted to give up on everything.

That was when Kwon Chan appeared.

[‘The debut’s confirmed, so don’t worry.’]

Management Team 5’s Chief, Kwon Chan.

Honestly, her first impression of him hadn’t been good.

Part of it was his sharp features, but more than that it was the way he spoke and carried himself, strangely distant.

But at some point, that distance disappeared.

[‘”Youth Journey.” The song’s good, isn’t it?’]

[‘!’]

[‘So I’m thinking about pushing it as a double title track.’]

Yeah.

It was probably from that moment on.

When Kwon Chan had reached out and pulled her abandoned dream back up.

Park Ga-eul had stopped feeling any distance from Kwon Chan.

[‘It’d be a waste if you got too nervous to show what you’ve got on stage.’]

[‘If you make a mistake, I’ll cover for you, so just go out there and enjoy the stage.’]

[‘Should we all do a “fighting” together?’]

The person who’d always stood at the front, no matter what came up.

Because that person had pulled Twenty forward, this stage and “Youth Journey” had both been able to make it out into the world.

In that moment, Park Ga-eul stepped off the path that had been set for her.

“…Last.”

Naming the person who’d worked harder than anyone to help her get to this stage.

“I want to say thank you to Chief Kwon Chan, who always stood at the front and led us here.”

MC Kim Chang-hoon clapped and wrapped things up.

“Let’s give a round of applause for that heartwarming close, and now, let’s move on to the final stage!”

Park Ga-eul’s gaze dropped.

The audience seats, packed with dozens of reporters.

There, a familiar man stood with his arms crossed, looking this way.

A faint smile leaked out of the corner of Park Ga-eul’s mouth.

“Before we get to the stage, could you give us a quick rundown of Twenty’s second title track, ‘Youth Journey’?”

Nova handed the mic she’d been holding over to Park Ga-eul.

Park Ga-eul’s mouth opened.

“‘Youth Journey’ is…..”

A song that never would’ve made it into the world if not for Kwon Chan.

“It’s a vocal song about turning a hard youth into a journey you can enjoy.”

So she was paying it back.

To that man watching this stage right now.

“I hope everyone who hears this song finds some strength.”

In that moment, Park Ga-eul wasn’t nervous anymore.

“Twenty’s youth starts right now!”

Because she had to put on the best show she could, for that man watching this stage.

---

After “Attention” set the mood early on, the showcase flowed forward like a sailboat catching a tailwind.

“The most annoying member to deal with? Seol Chae-i!”

“Excuse me. You’re the most annoying one to deal with, unnie.”

“See, this! Talking back to her unnie without missing a beat!”

Nova carried the Q&A, and the viewers’ eyes were captured and held by Seol Chae-i, the center visual.

Rei’s quirky charm freshened up the mood every so often, and Ga-eul kept things centered and steered the interview along.

-they grow on you lol

-why are they so cute lol

-they really seem like actual twenty-year-olds

-song’s good and they’ve all got such clear personalities too

-do they have a fan cafe??

-the group’s name was Twenty, right?

-calm, composed Ga-eul is really nice…

The viewers’ reactions kept racking up praise, and the showcase’s viewer count blew past twenty thousand and kept racing toward thirty.

I’d predicted a peak of twenty thousand viewers, and we’d already blown right past that.

In that moment, I let go of the last of my tension and decided to just enjoy the stage.

I left the control room and headed for the stage.

Ga-eul, taking the handheld mic, called out.

“Twenty’s youth! Starting right now!”

At Ga-eul’s shout, stage fireworks and fog lit up the concert hall!

Four girls in pure white dresses started singing along to a bouncy melody.

-It’s our youth, a journey all our own,

Hearts full of anticipation,

Days spilling over with sunshine,

Enjoy this moment, right now.

Watching with my arms crossed, I thought.

‘They’re good.’

I was feeling it again, but Twenty.

They really were built for the stage.

‘How are they doing even better at the showcase than at rehearsal?’

All the worrying I’d done up to now looked ridiculous.

Just then, Ga-eul’s highlight part rang out through the venue, loud and clear.

“Wow…..”

Yeah.

That’s Park Ga-eul for you!

I’d been wondering why Twenty’s ace had stayed so quiet up until now.

Just then, the corners of Ga-eul’s eyes curved into a pleasant crescent.

-Under this night full of shining stars,

You and I, we can be together.

We’re out on the sea of youth,

Let’s ride it together, like waves.

Was it just my imagination that our eyes met?

No, it wasn’t my imagination.

Ga-eul, right now, was looking at me.

I checked around me for a moment, then quietly stuck up a thumb.

A million-dollar smile spread across Ga-eul’s face.

-You and I, we can be together!

In that moment, I just knew.

“We pulled it off.”

That a showcase that had started with anxiety and tension had ended in success.

And it wasn’t only my gut feeling saying so.

-[Current Viewers: 40,562]

Final viewer count: forty thousand.

It had come in at double the number I’d originally expected.

-[All Kinds of Reviews!] Twenty’s Showcase Pulls the Best Stage, Performance, and Viewer Reaction!

Praise from the reporters who’d watched in person, and the fans’ reactions, were both explosive.

Two months of effort had come back around as a solid reward.

And.

-[UP] Rookie Girl Group Twenty Wraps Up a Successful Showcase-!

The debut-track group Twenty had become a rookie girl group.

---

The next day.

A rookie girl group’s delightful uprising had begun.

-Music Chart Rankings

-[1st: Super Star.] [Artist: Kind Boy]

…

-[8th: Attention] [Artist: Twenty]

-[10th: Youth Journey] [Artist: Twenty]

An unknown rookie girl group had put two songs on the charts, back to back.