NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 117
You can’t go back to the past that’s already gone.
Yoo Seol thought that she could never return to her pure past, now completely tainted.
But….
“Yeah… at least for this moment…, let’s forget everything.”
You can’t go back to the past, but can’t you forget the present?
Yoo Seol decided to forget her inferiority complex about Ha Ye-rin and realistic issues like her mother’s hospital bills…
And focus only on the stage.
So she stepped onto the stage…
♬♬-! ♩♩♩♩-!!
“KYAAAAAA-!!”
“Yoo Seol-!!!!!!”
Feeling the fans screaming for her with her whole body…
스륵, 촤악.
Yoo Seol hit the choreography with Ha Ye-rin.
It was strange.
Yoo Seol had only practiced with Ha Ye-rin for just one week…
How was it that they matched so well as if they had practiced together for years?
Up until now, the only ones Yoo Seol had synchronized this well with were…
‘The Tail Rose unnis.’
They were the only ones Yoo Seol had danced with tirelessly, day and night, while preparing for the debut team.
Was that why?
The more she matched with Ha Ye-rin, the more her past self came back to her.
The Tail Rose debut team.
Her self back in those days, full of dreams and hope.
“Damn.”
She had decided to forget the present and focus on the stage…, but in reality, she couldn’t forget her memories of the past.
However, that didn’t hinder her performance.
Rather…
The nostalgia of the past… that emotion enveloped her body and made her movements softer.
[Young boy story] was a song that Han Si-woo captured both his pure past and his decaying self within.
Similar to the past Han Si-woo, Yoo Seol immersed herself into the concept of the song like nobody else.
It was then, while Yoo Seol was lost in her memories…
우우웅-.
Yoo Seol saw an aura emanating from behind Ha Ye-rin right in front of her.
And that aura covered Yoo Seol’s body…
파앗.
As if time had stopped, it led her to another world.
A very young age.
To the world where a young Yoo Seol had just entered JJ and started her trainee life.
In that world, someone asks the young Yoo Seol.
“Seol-ah, why do you want to be an idol?”
Having already grown up and covered with the grime of the world, Yoo Seol would have answered that question like this.
Because I’m the breadwinner.
Because this is the only thing I can do.
Because I feel sorry for the time I wasted.
Because of my mother’s hospital bills.
Because of money.
…Yeah, because of money.
She would say she wanted to become an idol to earn a lot of money.
But the young Yoo Seol answered differently.
“Because I like to dance and sing in front of people.”
Such a pure, almost foolish answer, like a little kid.
But the person in front of young Yoo Seol didn’t laugh at her response.
Instead…
“Right, Seol-ah.”
As if it were the correct answer, he smiled and patted her head.
“Don’t forget your heart now, even in 10 years or 20 years. Then you will become a great idol one day.”
“A great… idol.”
“Then promise me? That you won’t forget your heart now.”
“Yes, Dad.”
At the innocent answer of young Yoo Seol, the grown-up Yoo Seol couldn’t lift her head and deeply bowed it.
“…I’m sorry, and I apologize.”
Before 20 years passed, let alone 10 years, she forgot.
Now… that pure girl from back then was gone.
She was only left with a worn-out, jagged rock covered in grime.
Yoo Seol grieved for the past she couldn’t return to and the promise she couldn’t keep.
Then it happened.
스윽.
A warm touch was felt on the grown-up Yoo Seol’s head at the same time…
“It’s okay.”
A voice she longed to hear.
“It’s okay, Seol-ah.”
“…Dad.”
The voice of her father, which she could no longer hear.
“It’s not your fault. …I’m sorry.”
“……”
The father she hadn’t seen in so long said the same thing as her mother.
Her dad passed away in a hit-and-run due to drunk driving the day Yoo Seol got into the Tail Rose debut team at 17.
He never got to see the stage she always longed to stand on.
“…Dad, Dad.”
Is this a dream or an illusion?
Even knowing that, Yoo Seol rubbed her cheek against her father’s hand after so long.
“Dad, it’s not because of Mom…. It’s because I wasn’t good enough… I’m sorry, I promised…”
“……”
“Ugh… I promised… I forgot. Why I wanted to be an idol.”
스륵.
At Yoo Seol’s sobbing, her dad lifted her head gently and, with a warm smile, said.
“It’s okay, Seol-ah. You remembered, even now.”
“……!”
“Because you remembered even now… it’s okay.”
“…Dad.”
스르르.
Her father’s figure in the illusion gradually faded like a mirage.
Yoo Seol reached out late, but it didn’t touch him as he crumbled away.
Her father spoke to Yoo Seol with a smile until the very last moment.
“So, it’s late, but show me, Seol-ah. To me and to that girl.”
스윽.
On the finger her father pointed at was the young Yoo Seol.
The pure Yoo Seol from the past.
“Tell me how hard you’ve worked all this time. And how wonderful an idol you’ve become.”
“A wonderful… idol.”
“It’s a good day, so don’t cry; smile.”
“Ah, Dad go….”
“I love you.”
스스스.
Finally, in the place where her father disappeared…
Yoo Seol trembled her hands.
Then she pulled herself together and embraced the young Yoo Seol in front of her.
“…I’m sorry, I’m late.”
“……”
“Since I’m late, I’ll definitely show you.”
Yoo Seol thought about showing her younger self.
Her own image dancing and singing in front of many people.
And the nine years of effort poured into this.
Yoo Seol intended to showcase all of this to her young self… and her father.
파앗.
And as she escaped the illusion and returned to reality…
씨익.
Yoo Seol was smiling, just like her dad said.
She wasn’t just smiling because of her dad’s words.
“I like to dance and sing in front of people.”
She was smiling out of happiness for achieving her dream.
You can’t go back to the past that’s already gone.
But….
You can reflect the happy past onto the present.
At this moment… on this stage, Yoo Seol had become her younger self.
The girl who loved dancing and singing in front of people.
[Trait Effect: Awakening – Temporarily boosts all stats significantly! The more difficult the situation, the more additional stats increase! The stronger the opponent, the more additional stats increase! You can temporarily reach the level of divine possession!]
Compared to my Sky Demon Martial Arts skills, this explanation was quite simple, but… the power of Awakening was truly tremendous.
On the surface, it might look like there’s no big difference.
But….
스륵, 스르르.
The atmosphere emanating from her body, her gaze, her focus, the details…
촤악.
They overwhelm me.
No? It’s not overwhelming.
Yoo Seol was in the process of making the stage her own without breaking the concept of harmony.
This was not overpowering but embracing.
As the stage progressed, I slowly seeped into Yoo Seol.
Like a luxury supporting role that further illuminated the protagonist, Yoo Seol…
Just like a part of the stage…
I felt myself getting swept into her embrace.
…Dizzy, comfortable.
Yoo Seol’s pace was so very relaxing.
While pulling out her limits on this stage, she also brought out my limits nestled in her arms.
The perfection of the stage was rising like that… and I could see the ecstasy filling the audience’s eyes.
But….
‘It can’t go on like this.’
I snapped back to reality.
No matter how high the perfection of the stage…
It couldn’t become a stage solely for Yoo Seol, not the duet stage with Ha Ye-rin.
To claim my position as a co-protagonist on this stage…, I had to boost my presence.
Of course, an ordinary person who is not even the main character can’t show their presence suddenly on stage.
But… I had one trump card left.
‘I hadn’t planned on using it this time… but it can’t be helped.’
타닷, 파앗.
The concept of [Young boy story] is harmony, but… Yoo Seol and I each have a moment for a solo dance break.
And when it was my turn for the dance break, I whispered inwardly.
천마월영보.
[Using the secondary skill of Sky Demon Martial Arts, Sky Demon Moon Shadow Step!]
When a protagonist awakens, the final boss also enters the last phase.
I planned to show everything I had to defeat the protagonist, Yoo Seol.
우웅-.
As soon as I activated Sky Demon Moon Shadow Step, I began to feel the changes wrapping around my body… from the tips of my fingers, in great detail.