Chapter 371

“This has been Pantheion.”

After finishing the song, Seo Yutae gave a deep bow, and the Pantheion members, preoccupied with watching the fans’ reactions, only belatedly followed his lead. Their unprepared bows—hesitant at first and falling one after another like dominoes—didn’t look particularly graceful, but they couldn’t be blamed for it.

That’s because Seo Yutae’s bow at this moment was not part of the plan. The song itself had indeed just ended. However, the ‘ final moment of the concert ‘ was actually still a little way off, when each member would say goodbye to their fans and descend on the lift to sentimental background music. Saying a proper farewell like “Thank you for everything until now” felt way too early.

“The fans, I think they were really anxious that we would just leave without properly saying goodbye. We heard a huge ‘ Aaaaaa ‘ as we were going down from the stage, right? But we’ll be back up again soon anyway.”

“That’s obvious. If you say goodbye that wistfully, anyone would think they’d never see you again.”

“Me too … I knew there would be time to say goodbye later, but I was confused, wondering if this was really the final farewell, so I kept agonizing over whether I should say something…….”

However, since they couldn’t appear flustered in front of the fans, the members followed Seo Yutae’s bow, even while tilting their heads in bewilderment.

“Hyuuuung, did you forget? We’re supposed to say our goodbyes at the end. What are you going to do if you use up all your touching lines already? You’re a hundred percent not going to have anything to say later, hyung.'”

As soon as they came down from the stage to change their outfits, Do Yuda, thinking he’d finally caught an opening, cheekily pressed his cheek against Seo Yutae’s shoulder and teasingly pointed out what had happened earlier. Of course, Do Yuda himself wasn’t really in a position to judge anyone; he’d been crying his eyes out during the previous performance as if it were his very last moment with Muses, leaving his eyes puffy and swollen into the shape of a ‘ 3 ‘.

“…It’s just, I felt uneasy for some reason.”

Seo Yutae hadn’t forgotten that there was a designated time for the final farewell. He was simply and helplessly overtaken by his instincts, which kept whispering that he had to say his goodbyes now, that if he didn’t, he might not have another chance.

‘In the end, I didn’t see Seo Yuseong or Choi Jeokhyeon in the audience even once today. There’s no way those two didn’t come to my final concert, and there’s even less chance they were off somewhere holding hands and hanging out together.’

Seo Yutae couldn’t help but feel unsettled that those two weren’t here. With a lingering unease, he glanced at his bag, which had been handed to him earlier by a staff member at his request, and then caught sight of the Prism members in his peripheral vision. A faint smile crossed his face.

They were lingering near the backstage area, watching Seo Yutae with anxious expressions. Judging by their improved complexions compared to just before he went on stage, it seemed they felt at least a little relieved after seeing him perform normally.

“…….”

‘I’ve gone and made those guys worry again.’

Once the concert is over, and if time and circumstances allow, I’ll give the Prism members a tight hug before we part. I’ll also properly apologize for making them worry, and for the fact that we won’t be able to be together from now on . While Seo Yutae made this vow in his mind, a staff member carrying clothes rushed toward the members.

“Members, please change your outfits!”

It was so they could go back on stage looking clean and presentable.

Once the Pantheion members stepped off the stage to get ready, leaving it empty again, the concert hall’s screens began to show clips of their most memorable moments to build up emotion; moments like when their debut was confirmed, when they won first place for the first time on a music show, and when they went on a noisy MT together.

“Whoa, this is insanely nostalgic. I’m wearing this again.”

The outfits prepared for the final farewell were Survive IDOL’s official school uniforms.

The members would be facing the end in the very same attire they had worn when Pantheion first began.

“There’s no makeup staff here! Please come quickly!”

Most of the members had three staff assigned to them. One to dry their wet hair with a towel and hair dryer, one to fix their makeup that had been ruined by sweat, and another to help them change into their outfits.

Meanwhile Do Yuda, who was drenched in sweat and needed extra care, had no less than four staff clustered around him.

“Since it’s the last time, please make me the most handsome guy in the world. I have to be more handsome than Seungbeom-hyung.”

“…….”

“Makeup ssaem , why aren’t you answering me? These days, every time I ask you to do something, you pretend you didn’t hear. Don’t think I don’t know!”

“…….”

“ Ssaem? Ssaem ! Please answer me. You promised to make me more handsome than Seungbeom-hyung! Ssaeeeemm !”

After bickering meaninglessly with the makeup artist for a while, Do Yuda seemed to get bored. He poked Nicholas, who was standing next to him, and started up a conversation.

“Nicky-hyung, make sure you act surprised, okay? The Muses prepared this with so much effort. Imagine how disappointed they’d be if you said you already knew.”

It was about the surprise event the Muses had prepared for Pantheion. During the final farewell, the instrumental of a rearranged ballad version of their song would play, and the Muses were planning to sing along together. The reason the members were deliberately taking their time changing outfits and touching up their looks was to give the fans enough time to get ready.

“…I really didn’t know, but you made such a fuss that I ended up finding out against my will.”

“Heung, but I really want to brag about it, so what else could I do?”

Though, thanks to Do Yuda, the so-called surprise event had already become an open secret.

“Why are you bragging to me? We’re going to be on that stage together.”

“That’s because … we’re best friends … because we’re VFs, right?”

“Don’t talk nonsense … and it’s not VF, it’s BF.”

“V for Victory.”

By now, Nicholas had gotten fairly used to it, so at first he chatted quite a bit with Do Yuda. But when, toward the end, even Zen jumped in with his nonsense, Nicholas seemed to reach his limit and shut his eyes tight in frustration. Woo Kangwon, worried that Lee Hwayoung might explode any second, watched the situation anxiously with cold sweat running down his back. Still, the two fools were far too absorbed in chattering away with each other to even glance at Nicholas.

“You two, stop bothering Lee Hwayoung.”

In the end, the chaotic situation only settled down once the leader, who had finished getting ready faster than anyone else thanks to his years of experience, finally stepped in.

“Haa…….”

Seo Yutae shook his head, and then, when he suddenly noticed the man who had appeared beside him, he gasped in shock as if he might faint.

“How, are you here?”

Choi Jeokhyeon was standing right before his eyes.

It wasn’t even worth asking how he had managed to get into a place that not even Prism had been able to enter. Then again, that guy was the CEO of the agency that had signed a good number of Pantheion’s members, and seemed to have some kind of connection with the CEO of Fox Entertainment, which handled Pantheion’s activities. Maybe it wasn’t all that difficult for him, after all.

“Did you have a good time? You looked a little unwell in the middle. Are you okay?”

‘As I thought, he was watching from somewhere.’

Seo Yutae set aside his surprise, gave a nod that served as both greeting and reply, then leaned in to whisper his business into the man’s ear first.

“Keep your schedule clear after the concert.”

“Why?”

“I’ve got something to give you.”

“Something to give me?”

“Yeah, a present.”

Seo Yutae thought of the gift box he had tucked away in the corner of the waiting room, then scratched his cheek with his index finger a little awkwardly as he spoke. At that, Choi Jeokhyeon smiled, his long lashes lowering over his eyes. Tilting his head slightly, he held Seo Yutae’s gaze with a lingering intensity.

“…That’s strange. You’re actually thinking of giving me a gift? You usually find that kind of thing super annoying.”

“No, the way you put it makes me sound like trash.”

“Haha, I’m just stating the facts.”

Seeing that Choi Jeokhyeon wasn’t really denying his ‘ trash-lik e’ comment, Seo Yutae thought, ‘ So you’re saying I really am trash, huh ?’, and replied in a slightly grumpy tone.

“…Fine. I figured it’s about time I stopped living like that, so I thought I’d try giving a little back. You never just let anything slide, do you?”

“Are you sure? Don’t you usually have an after-party with the other members once the concert is over?”

“You know I’m not really a fan of company dinners.”

“I also know that even if you don’t like them, you usually still show up.”

“……”

‘No, why is there nothing this guy doesn’t know?’

He was so dumbfounded by Choi Jeokhyeon’s answer that he was left speechless, his mouth hanging open. Just then, the time to go on stage was approaching, and the area around them had become a bustling mess. Choi Jeokhyeon looked down at the busy staff and spoke with remarkable calmness.

“Why? You’re just going to hand me a gift and then leave? 1 Do you think that would make me happy?”

“…What?”

Seeing him so calmly reveal a truth he had hoped would remain forever unnoticed, Seo Yutae couldn’t hide his fluster for a moment. He thought to himself, ‘ I must look like an idiot ‘, as he asked back. Then, noticing Seo Yutae’s change in expression without missing a single second, Choi Jeokhyeon muttered, “…So it’s true.”, and lowered his gaze.

And then, he followed up with another difficult question.

“I heard that if I weren’t around, you wouldn’t be able to go to a world where Han Seungbeom exists. Is that true?”

At that moment, Seo Yutae instinctively realized that his earlier unease had been spot-on and clenched his fists.

‘How on earth did he find out? Choi Jeokhyeon shouldn’t even have any idea what kind of situation Han Seungbeom is in right now!’

The information given to Choi Jeokhyeon was very limited. How could an ordinary person, someone who didn’t even properly know what a status window looked like, manage to guess all the way up to that point? As Seo Yutae kept turning the question over in his mind, Seo Yuseong’s face suddenly came to mind.

‘Damn it.’

It was Seo Yuseong. For Seo Yutae to enter the world where Han Seungbeom is, Choi Jeokhyeon’s presence—capable of causing a glitch in the system—was absolutely essential. Seo Yuseong must have figured that out with his uncanny intuition and, to prevent Seo Yutae from making a sacrifice, given Choi Jeokhyeon a hint. Piecing together the rough outline of the situation, Seo Yutae gnashed his teeth and clenched his fist.

Choi Jeokhyeon said nothing and simply watched Seo Yutae, as if he were etching his face into his eyes, into his memory. Feeling a surge of intense dread, Seo Yutae took a step toward Choi Jeokhyeon, but he stepped back one pace, a faint smile on his lips, and spoke in a low voice.

“So, in the end, if I’m not here, you won’t be able to save Han Seungbeom, and will have to stay in this world forever.”

“…Choi Jeokhyeon.”

“Thank goodness. At least I can stop you, even if it’s only this way.”

“Choi Jeokhyeon, wait, listen to me for a second ……. You couldn’t possibly be doing this on purpose right now!”

The lack of a reply, no matter how many times Seo Yutae called his name, was unsettling. From Choi Jeokhyeon’s very demeanor, it was clear that he would never be swayed, no matter what Seo Yutae said.

Choi Jeokhyeon, staring into Seo Yutae’s trembling eyes, took one step forward and whispered, “You give up. I’ll do whatever it takes, as long as I can keep you in this world.”

“…From now on, I’ll never appear in front of you again.”

“…….”

“So, make sure you take care of yourself. Okay?”

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Translator’s Corner:

And the “leave” part is leaving for good. leave (never coming back) ↩︎

The translator doesn’t have anything to say about the genre anymore.

No, they said the highest form of love is letting them go … what is this … me when …. Back when I first read this part (I followed this story when it was still ongoing), I literally felt like I got hit in the head by the author BECAUSE WHAT IS THIS AUTHOR-NIM T_T THE CONCEPT OF CHOI JEOKHYEON WILLINGLY LEFT SEO YUTAE FIRST JUST TO SAVE HIM … The kr readers really don’t give him that Ridi gong title for nothing.

I already pointed out before how Choi Jeokhyeon’s first gift to Yutae was shoes, and Yutae’s first gift to him is the same 🙂 In Korea, giving shoes as a gift is traditionally seen as bad luck. A lot of people believe in this superstition that giving shoes will cause the recipient to ‘ run away ‘ or leave the giver, since shoes symbolize leaving or walking away. I think new generation doesn’t really believe in superstition anymore, though. I first heard about this on elementary school while watching the kdrama Boys Over Flowers. That’s why I said it’s crazy ajdhjvchf Choi Jeokhyeon’s first gift was told like … 300 chapters before? But see how it worked in both case ….

Thank you Anonymous for supporting the wishlist!

oh, it’s kinda cute how you stopped at chapter 100 to send coffee first T_T …. there’s already 271 chapters remaining … what if you suddenly feel like you got scammed by the story later asdfghjkl

lately there’s a few new readers (well, at least from people who showed traces and not silent reading) who showed up in the early chapters (like chapter 1-30), and it makes me feel nervous somehow asdfghjkl I’m mentally preparing myself to read bad reviews these days …. (this story isn’t even mine but I feel so overprotective over it. i’m seo yutae no. 16 defender)

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