Chapter 430: again meeting world
When Jiang Shu arrived at the MBC New Year's Eve concert venue, it was just the right time for the leaders of his company's various groups to perform their collaborative stage.
Standing at the very back of the audience, Jiang Shu quietly watched the big screen.
From his position, seeing the actual people on stage was undoubtedly a dream, so watching the big screen was enough.
“This is the last time I’ll watch a stage in this capacity; it’s quite a subtle feeling,” Jiang Shu murmured to himself.
Looking at the girls on stage, each one personally sent there by him, his emotions at this moment were exceptionally complex.
Time had taken many things; in Jiang Shu’s eyes, the figures of everyone on stage gradually overlapped with how they looked when he first met them.
One stage after another appeared. In the past, Jiang Shu was very unwilling to watch these stages, always thinking that he had plenty of time and could watch such stages anytime, so he didn’t pay much attention to the performances.
But changes in the world are always so sudden. You always think there’s plenty of time, but change just arrives so abruptly, coming when it’s least expected.
After today, Jiang Shu would no longer see the performances of these girls in front of him; in the true sense, each performance he saw now was one less he would ever see.
He sighed softly.
Time quickly approached 11:50 PM.
When another group’s performance ended, the host took the stage to deliver the final remarks of this New Year’s Eve concert.
Backstage.
Bae Joo-hyun stood at the passage connecting to the stage, feeling a bit restless. She glanced at the empty space beside Li Duohui, then looked at the artists filling the space around her.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Bae Joo-hyun turned and quickly walked away.
“Hey, Ouni!” This action left the Red Velvet members bewildered, but they had no time to ponder as, at this moment, the last performance of the night began.
“I love you, this is the feeling~~~”
As soon as Ahn Yujin’s voice rang out, the audience below erupted in deafening cheers and fan chants.
To maintain mystery, MBC had not revealed the final performance song, but instead left the words “Mystery Guest” at the end of the program list, effectively building anticipation.
However, all that anticipation now transformed into the most intense surprise with Ahn Yujin’s voice.
A beam of light emerged from the dark stage, illuminating Ahn Yujin’s figure and bringing her into everyone’s view.
Immediately after, Kim Chae-won’s voice rang out, and her figure appeared as another light illuminated the stage.
And then, Kwon Eunbi, Sakura, Cao Rouli…
The stage lights all came on, and the twelve members of IZ*ONE stood prominently on the stage.
At this moment, the cheers from the audience below erupted with enough force to overturn the broadcast hall. Even in the various online live streams, the name “IZ*ONE” scrolled across the screen in countless bullet comments.
Disbanded for a year and a half, reunited once more, IZ*ONE was still at the pinnacle of the K-pop world.
As the twelve members took their positions on stage according to their debut formation, the prelude music of “again meeting world” began to play through the broadcast hall’s speakers.
The entire audience spontaneously stood up, following the rhythm on stage with the most enthusiastic applause and singing along.
“Kwon Eunbi! Sakura! Jiang Huiyuan! Choi Yena! Li Caiyan! Kim Chae-won! Yabuki Nako! Kim Minju! Hitomi Honda! Cao Rouli! Ahn Yujin! Zhang Yuanying! IZ*ONE!”
The fan chants echoed through the sky. Whether they were IZ*ONE fans or not, all the fans at this moment stood up, waving their light sticks. The various light sticks transformed into a colorful ocean, giving the warmest welcome to this IZ*ONE reunion.
Jiang Shu looked at this scene on stage and suddenly smiled.
That day, when he saw the bonds of dreams in his dream, he understood everything.
As he continuously guided these girls back to this stage, the bonds of dreams slowly formed in the process.
The moment the dream was born, his mission was completed, and he could return to his own world.
That very night, the dream completely formed, and the bonds turned from virtual to real, becoming a power that enveloped this world.
The words “idol” and “dream” intertwined at this moment; the path of the DM family had come to an end here.
After today, he would return, back to his world.
Bae Joo-hyun, at some unknown moment, quietly appeared beside Jiang Shu.
“Chairman, are you leaving?”
Bae Joo-hyun had observed all of Jiang Shu’s actions during this period, which seemed like he was settling his affairs. At first, it was just a guess, but as midnight approached, this feeling grew stronger.
Bae Joo-hyun even felt Jiang Shu’s presence here without seeing him, so she came over.
If it was true, then she would see Jiang Shu off one last time.
“Why are you here?” Jiang Shu looked at Bae Joo-hyun, who had appeared here, in surprise, then turned his head to look at the stage.
When the song entered its second section, all the artists participating in this New Year’s Eve concert had already come onto the stage, singing this possibly final original version of “again meeting world” together with the reunited IZ*ONE.
A quick shot on the big screen showed that the other members of Red Velvet were all there, except for Bae Joo-hyun.
“Chairman, are you really leaving?” Bae Joo-hyun repeated her question.
Looking at Bae Joo-hyun, who had already realized, Jiang Shu’s eyes revealed complex emotions.
There was happiness, and relief, but more than anything, regret.
“Bae Joo-hyun, if we have a chance to meet again in the future, will we still be like this?”
Bae Joo-hyun fell silent for a moment. Although Jiang Shu didn’t answer her question, he had, in fact, already given an answer.
Bae Joo-hyun stepped forward and embraced Jiang Shu with both hands.
This was the first time she had made such an unconventional gesture.
All this time, Bae Joo-hyun had hidden her feelings for Jiang Shu in their daily interactions. After several unsuccessful hints, Bae Joo-hyun simply stayed quietly by Jiang Shu’s side, no longer trying to gain anything, just peacefully accompanying him.
She thought that staying together like this was also good.
But now she regretted it.
Why couldn’t she have just said those words?
If those words had been spoken, perhaps the situation now would be different?
After a long silence, Bae Joo-hyun looked up into Jiang Shu’s eyes.
“Yes, we will.”
“No matter how much time passes, as long as I see Chairman’s eyes, we will still recognize each other!”
Listening to Bae Joo-hyun’s resolute voice, Jiang Shu smiled.
“Take good care of Xiao Liu and Xiao Yuan.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Shu turned his head to look at the stage, which was nearing its end, and fell silent for a moment.
“I should go.”
Bae Joo-hyun’s eyes were slightly red. She turned her head to look at Jiang Shu, but he didn’t look back.
“Chairman, take care of yourself.”
Jiang Shu chuckled softly, waved in Bae Joo-hyun’s direction, and turned to disappear into the darkness of the passage.
