Episode 100: Magical Days (1)
Finally, the day had arrived.
The day we reaped the fruits of the seeds we had sown all winter long.
“Live On Stage, the long-awaited 1st place for the first week of April is…!”
The MC deliberately paused for effect as a comparison template filled the screen.
Soon, the album jacket for <Scarlet> appeared on the left side of the template,
“Pfft.”
And on the opposite side was Hylliy—smiling on the surface, but with clear tension written all over her eyes.
‘Look at how nervous she is.’
Well, that’s understandable.
I, who had taken a music show win just five days after debut, couldn’t fully understand the feelings of Hylliy, who had never once touched that title.
But,
‘In the end, 1st place is going to Hylliy anyway.’
Pleiades’ <Scarlet> had steadily dropped in ranking and had already been overtaken by <Blue Poem>, which was released yesterday. Meanwhile, <Mysty> showed no sign of coming down from 1st place at all.
On top of that, since Pleiades had ended promotions, the points from appearing on other broadcasts had been completely cut off.
Even so, with no other worthy competitors strong enough to challenge <Mysty>—to the point that <Scarlet> was still the opposing candidate—the outcome was already decided.
Just as expected.
“Hylliy, <Mysty>! Congratulations!”
“Congratulations, Hylliy everyone!”
With the sound of confetti popping, the split template disappeared, and now the screen showed only the girls who had finally reached the long-awaited title.
‘Yeah. How could anyone hold back?’
[Hylliy’s First Music Show Win: Music On Net – On Stage]
Probably right now, articles with that exact headline were flooding in.
Would those broadcasting station people really pass up the chance to immortalize their own program name like this? Really?
Since the air date is fixed, <Music Square>, <Song for You>, and <Live Music Center>—those three programs had no choice but to hand over the “first” title to <On Stage>.
Ironically, that very fact meant the remaining three music shows would have no choice but to gift Hylliy the 1st-place title as well.
‘In the end, they don’t have any real beef with MyWay.’
The hidden card at joker level called AZ?
There wasn’t even any need to consider pulling that one out.
When people think of music-related programs, music shows come to mind first—but they’re not the only ones.
Starting from <Midnight Café> where I had appeared, to things like <Legacy Season> where veteran singers compete with classic songs.
In those kinds of programs, the welcome mat is usually rolled out for musicians who dig deep into a single genre rather than idols.
‘Yo-han hyung, and now Juan hyung has joined too.’
Even setting those two aside, the place that embraces the most musicians across various genres—not just idols—is undeniably here: MyWay.
Even if Hylliy hadn’t caught up to Pleiades in internal metrics, for the sake of overall variety bureau cooperation, they’d have to pay Hylliy some attention anyway.
Especially now that <On Stage> had already fired the starting gun.
Right now, Hylliy was holding number one on the charts for a full month, and with Pleiades having paused activities, the timing was perfect to set the stage like this.
Of course, I didn’t think Hylliy would fail to catch up—but even if by some slim chance she hadn’t, this is how it would’ve gone.
‘She really is ruthless.’
In that sense, Lee Hee-kyung’s judgment was razor-sharp to the point of cruelty.
If it had been an ordinary person—or at the very least someone on Ailee Jang’s level—they would probably have gone all-in with full force instead of pulling out so abruptly.
When groups are of similar weight class, Lee Hee-kyung would definitely have done exactly that.
But when even a 50-50 matchup would likely end in Hylliy’s victory on points, and she judged that Hylliy could completely reverse the situation—she pulled out immediately.
The predicted result arrived, but Pleiades didn’t take that big of a hit.
‘They probably had internal discipline pretty tight.’
Without Pleiades, Hylliy was able to take 1st.
From the current perspective, it might feel like mental victory, but compared to the fanbase leakage that would’ve happened if they had clashed head-on and lost, this level of damage was negligible.
“Hello everyone! You’ve waited so long! We finally got 1st place!”
While I was lost in those thoughts, Hylliy’s acceptance speech continued.
The one holding the mic wasn’t the leader Levi, nor the oldest members Son Joo-hee and Kitano Sora, nor the main vocalist and center of this <Mysty> promotion, Choi Eun-woo.
It was the youngest, Luri.
“Sorry it took so long. But because you guys were always cheering us on from behind, I think we were able to come this far! We’ll work even harder from now on, so please don’t leave us—stay with us until the very end, okay?”
From the looks of it, all the other members except Luri were already bursting into tears and couldn’t speak.
In truth, Luri was tearing up too, but she was still the most composed of the bunch—so the MCs must have barely managed to pass the mic to her.
Judging by how her makeup was holding up, the stylists had clearly anticipated this kind of situation and gone all-in with waterproof products.
“And to our MyWay family members… CEO Seo Yoon-je…”
As is typical in acceptance speeches, a long list of names poured from Luri’s lips.
The moments when I feel the greatest sense of reward from producing other singers are exactly times like this—during acceptance speeches.
She was trying not to make it obvious, but hearing her call my name and shout “thank you” with such sincerity—who could possibly dislike that?
However,
“Thank you so much! It’s all because of everyone!”
Luri finished her speech without mentioning my name.
‘Well… these things happen.’
It had been two full years and five months—nearly thirty months.
How many people had been with Hylliy during all that time?
In the grand scheme, someone who’d only been around for about a month could naturally get pushed down the priority list.
I’m not so petty that I can’t understand something like that.
“Tch.”
There were still three music shows left anyway.
Surely in at least one of them, they’d mention me, right?
With that thought, I leaned back against the sofa.
‘Just try singing properly while crying.’
Of course, understanding it was one thing—feeling a little hurt was still a fact.
If they turned their first music show 1st-place encore stage into a dark history, I was already planning to repay them with brutal training. I was watching with that mindset when,
“Alright then, Hylliy everyone—prepare for the encore stage…”
“Ah, wait a moment!”
“Luri really forgot someone super important!”
Levi and Choi Eun-woo—who had been too busy crying to think straight—cut off the MC’s closing remark and rushed in.
Fortunately, there was still a bit of time left, so the mic ended up in Levi’s hand.
“The person who gave us the incredible gift called <Mysty>—Producer Han Yujin-nim!”
“We’ll never forget everything you taught us during the work, and we’ll keep working hard from now on!”
“Please give us more great songs next time too! And everyone—please listen to <Blue Poem> a lot!”
Levi and Choi Eun-woo, and then Kitano Sora squeezing in between them to wrap up the shout-out to me.
“Alright, now Hylliy everyone—prepare for the real encore stage.”
“We’ll see you next week. Turn on your music! Live On Stage!”
With On Stage’s signature closing line, the staff roll began,
“The frozen time
Tik Tok, move.”
The encore stage that followed was… well, let’s just say it wasn’t even close to “good” by any stretch.
“Well, at least no one went off-key. It’s not quite dark-history level.”
I guess I can let it slide this time.
I’m generous like that.
***
That evening.
“I’m the one who’s actually hurt here, you know?”
These days, with my late returns home, I’d taken over dinner prep—so naturally, Zia had become the designated dish-washer in return. She was now venting her small frustration.
“No, seriously—how could they forget you of all people?”
The clinking of dishes as our hands met sounded more aggressive than usual. This wasn’t just empty whining; it was closer to genuine upset.
If they hadn’t remembered me at all—even belatedly—and hadn’t said my name, she looked like she might’ve stormed upstairs right then and there, fatigue be damned.
“You’re the reason they got their first 1st place since debut. Shouldn’t you have been the very first person they mentioned?”
From an artist’s perspective, mentioning the fandom “Hello” first was the correct thing to do.
No matter what anyone says, without fans, we’re just musicians pouring our lives into something with no return.
If my name had come before the fandom, I might’ve given them a special lecture.
Do I really need to teach you how to give an acceptance speech too?
‘Zia probably doesn’t know yet.’
Once Zia starts acting properly and gains fans who genuinely like her, she’ll understand.
‘…Or maybe not?’
If one day Zia stands on that kind of stage and lists the names she’s grateful for—and my name isn’t at the very top—would I feel hurt?
Honestly, I’m not sure.
I guess I’ll find out when the time comes.
Anyway, even so.
Saying it straight out like that would be the same as pouring oil on the fire that’s already burning in Zia.
On the other hand, if I just agree enthusiastically, the hurt would fade away, but I’d also end up looking petty.
“Eek! You startled me!”
So what I did instead was quietly approach Zia from behind and gently wrap my arms around her waist.
“Hehe.”
As always, she let out that same wind-escaping squeak that was practically her trademark scream. I just smiled and held on.
“You think that’s funny? Aren’t you even a little upset, Yujin?”
Zia’s expression quickly hardened as she asked.
“Well… it’d be a lie to say I wasn’t upset at all.”
First, acknowledgment.
But before Zia could add anything, I quickly continued.
“But I don’t really care. Whether Hylliy ranks me first or not.”
“Huh?”
“Not just Hylliy—same goes for the Orion kids. I mean, they live their own lives. I’m not the one who has to live it for them. As long as one person puts me first, that’s enough.”
“Wait, wait—Yujin-ah. I get it, I get it, so just let go of my waist first.”
Zia’s mood flipped in an instant.
The Zia who had been passionately condemning Hylliy’s mindset was gone. Now she was just desperately trying to escape the arms wrapped around her waist.
She only twitched her hips without using her hands—probably because she was still wearing those foam-covered rubber gloves.
‘Learning ability really is terrifying.’
Just a short while ago, she wouldn’t have even sensed what I was about to say in a setup like this.
Maybe I showed her too much.
‘Hmm. Getting used to this kind of thing isn’t bad either.’
Whether she panics after hearing what I’m about to say, or panics before—either way, the flustered expression I get to see is just cute in my eyes. So it didn’t really matter.
In any case, Zia hurriedly plunged her hands under the running water to rinse off the foam, but no matter how fast she moved, actions can’t outrun words.
“If you’re the only one who puts me first, what does anyone else matter?”
“Haa… Here we go again…”
In the end, at the cheesy line that slipped from my lips, Zia let her hands drop, tilted her head slightly upward, and let out a long sigh.
I wonder if Zia realizes just how much that gesture stokes my playful side.
“So… do you hate it?”
I asked while deliberately sniffing once for effect.
“Who said I hate it…?”
An embarrassed voice came back almost immediately.
‘Hold it together, Han Yujin.’
If I laugh here, everything goes to waste.
While I desperately held back my laughter,
“No… it’s just… I was worried you’d be disappointed…”
Zia deliberately made a show of picking up the dish she’d set down earlier.
“Hm? I told you I’m fine.”
Even if Zia was upset, she couldn’t possibly miss that I genuinely meant it when I said I was okay.
But when I answered with that question, Zia shook her head slowly.
And then,
“You… haven’t done the math, have you?”
She turned a completely unexpected question back on me.
“Huh?”
As that dumbfounded sound escaped me,
‘Ah.’
It finally clicked.
There aren’t many calculations couples need to do.
And now I understood why Zia had gotten so unusually sensitive over something like this.
“Even if you’re like this… today’s that day for me anyway, so we can’t do anything…”
That part didn’t really matter to me.
My image… how did it end up like this…?