msmithbooks Chapter 44 Strange Staff
Chapter 44 Strange Staff
Just as Li Yuan was about to slip away, the door opened.
He was startled and met the eyes of the person who opened the door.
The person who opened the door was also startled when they saw him, their eyes widening as if they had seen a ghost.
Li Yuan calmed down and realized that it wasn't Song Yuqi who opened the door, but another member he had never met before—MINNIE.
MINNIE also looked at the startled "staff" in front of her with a strange expression.
"Hello, what's up?" MINNIE thought he was there to tell her something.
Li Yuan caught a glimpse of Song Yuqi walking towards them from inside the door, muttering something under her breath.
He simply said, "No, I was just passing by," and then hurriedly turned around and walked quickly to the other end of the corridor.
MINNIE stared blankly at the departing figure, tilting her head slightly.
What's wrong with this person? They look like they've seen a ghost.
Just as she was about to walk forward, someone suddenly patted her on the shoulder.
"Oh my god, you scared me to death!" MINNIE shuddered, turned around, and saw that it was Song Yuqi.
"Weren't you going to the bathroom? Why are you standing there in a daze?" Song Yuqi tilted her head and looked at her.
"I saw a strange staff member," MINNIE said casually, her gaze drifting towards the other end of the corridor.
Following MINNIE's gaze, Song Yuqi only saw a figure turning around the corner.
"So what if it's strange?" Song Yuqi looked away, took MINNIE's hand, and said, "It's your turn to do your makeup soon. You haven't done your hair yet, hurry up."
"But that figure looks familiar from behind," she muttered.
"Who?" MINNIE didn't hear clearly.
"It's nothing, let's go." Song Yuqi shook her head, shaking the thought out of her mind.
It couldn't be him. That person should be sleeping at this hour, how could he possibly be on TV?
It must be because I've been too tired lately; everyone looks like him to me.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan had already arrived at the stage.
There were already quite a few fans in the audience, mostly young girls, gathered in twos and threes, holding various colored support banners and glow sticks.
It was already 3 a.m., but the fans in the audience were still very excited.
They kept discussing their idols' songs or achievements, and when they talked about what awards or accomplishments they had won, they looked very proud.
He found a seat in a corner and sat down.
This position is neither too close nor too far from the stage, and the view is slightly off-center, but the advantage is that it is not easy to be noticed.
Soon, LOONA took the stage.
Standing in the center, Tian Jizhen's hair was styled into soft waves that cascaded over her shoulders, giving her an innocent charm that was somewhere between a young girl and an adult.
Their stage performance was better than Li Yuan had imagined; it's quite remarkable for newcomers to achieve this level.
When the song ended, Li Yuan joined the fans in applauding.
Tian Jizhen's eyes seemed to be searching for something in the audience, but Li Yuan was sitting in a corner where the light was dim, so she couldn't find it.
After the performance, Li Yuan got up and went to the LOONA dressing room.
The door was ajar, and the sounds of chattering and laughter could be heard from inside.
He raised his hand and knocked on the door, then poked half his body inside.
Tian Jizhen was sitting in front of the dressing table removing her earpiece when she saw Li Yuan, and the fatigue on her face was instantly replaced by a smile.
"Oppa! You really came!" She jumped up from the chair, ran to the door, and looked up at him.
"You keep your word." Li Yuan leaned against the doorframe, not going in. "The stage was great. The positioning was very neat, and the expressions were spot on. Keep it up."
"Thank you, Oppa!" Jeon Ji-jin's eyes curved into two crescent moons, and the corners of her mouth turned up high.
After chatting for a few minutes, Li Yuan glanced at the time on his phone and said, "Alright, I won't disturb your rest any longer."
"Okay." Jeon Ji-jin nodded. "Oppa, get some rest."
Li Yuan waved his hand, turned and left. Tian Jizhen stood at the door, watching his figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
"Your boyfriend?" A voice suddenly came from behind.
Jeon Ji-jin turned around and saw that it was Kim Hyun-jin.
She was standing behind Tian Jizhen, arms crossed, a mischievous smile on her lips, glancing twice in the direction Li Yuan had left.
"No, just... a friend." Tian Jizhen's face flushed red.
"Oh~ friend." Kim Hyun-jin emphasized the word "friend." "Then why are you so nervous? Your face is all red."
"I'm not nervous!"
"Where are you from? You look Chinese? Or Korean?" Kim Hyun-jin continued to ask.
"Ugh, I'm not talking to you anymore!"
Jeon Ji-jin was so shy that she stomped her foot, turned around, and ran back to the lounge. Kim Hyun-jin laughed so hard she almost fell over behind her.
When Lee Won returned to the recording studio, PRODUCE 48's special stage performance had not yet started.
He sat back down in the corner, shrinking into the chair to try and avoid drawing attention.
He watched several stages without incident, and until the last stage ended, he was not seen by Ahn Yoo-jin and the others.
He was about to get up and leave when someone suddenly bumped into him from the side.
The impact wasn't too severe, but the earphones in Li Yuan's pocket flew out, tracing an arc in the air before rolling away to who knows where.
"Sorry, sorry!" The fan said without turning around, continuing to push forward without stopping.
Li Yuan sighed, squatted down, and started looking for his earphones.
The headphones were black, and the floor was dark gray. Finding something the size of a fingernail in such dim lighting was like finding a needle in a haystack.
A staff member approached him, intending to remind him to move on to the next group, as the fans for this show should leave.
Before she could even finish her sentence, she saw his name tag and swallowed her words.
He recognized the level of the pass; it wasn't for ordinary staff, but rather the kind of special pass that only a select few could obtain, allowing free access to most areas of the television station.
The staff members were tactful enough not to disturb him, silently walking past him and going on with their own business.
Just when Li Yuan was about to give up, he found the earphones under the third row of seats.
"Phew." He put the earphones back in his pocket and stood up.
In the short few minutes that he squatted down, a new batch of fans poured into the audience.
As PRODUCE 48's fans left, fans of the next group of artists entered, and the crowd surged forward like a tide, pushing Li Yuan several rows forward.
Before he could even get his footing, someone pushed him from behind, and he was squeezed into the third row.
He tried to back away, but there were people blocking his way.
Li Yuan had no choice but to stand still and wait for the crowd to slow down before thinking of a solution.
Just then, the stage lights came on again, and he heard the name of the next group to appear – (G)i-dle.