NOVEL NEXT Chapter 283
The [M-Wave Music Awards] went by without a hitch.
Interviews with the actors who attended.
The stage for the middle-aged rookies finally getting some spotlight.
Rising rookies from a major company took the stage.
And the meaningful stage of the veterans.
Not much progress was made.
At least our faces flashed briefly as nominees for the Rookie Award.
[Congratulations! Ailee!]
Of course, the Best Female Rookie Award went to Ailee.
“Hey, Kimchi, give a round of applause.”
“I’m clapping. Do you think I don’t know you?”
I continued to smile.
It wasn’t because I was conscious of the camera.
Ailee had great results too.
Even though I knew I felt a bit uneasy about not coming in first in this life, I decided not to let it bother me anymore.
After all, I could receive the grand prize at the Watermelon Awards.
With that, the long first part ended and we moved into the second part.
I met all the members of Seven who had prepared a special stage together.
“Congratulations. What’s wrong, Kim Ye-eun unni, are you crying?”
“Do-hee, I did cry…!”
“Okay, come here, I’ll give you a hug.”
“…Really!? What’s this? Do-hee has changed!”
“Has… has she become kinder!? Then I… I want a hug too!”
I congratulated Hana unni, Sara unni, and Kim Ye-eun unni for their Rookie Award.
We performed on stage with the (former) members, feeling nostalgic.
Three of Seven’s many hit songs in a medley.
It felt like memories were overflowing.
Especially the enthusiastic cheers were wonderful.
After another series of stages passed.
The fame of the presenter changed.
[The next award is for the song that received the most love this year, capturing the hearts of K-pop fans worldwide.]
It was the first grand prize category.
[Song of the Year!]
The camera focused on the nominees for the grand prize.
We wouldn’t win anyway.
The camera briefly flashed on us again.
“We’re nominees!”
Of course, we were nominees.
[…Ailee! Congratulations!]
Confetti burst forth.
Cheers erupted.
The music played loudly.
Familiar faces appeared on the electronic board.
Faces that shifted from disbelief to joy, with tears swelling in their eyes.
It was the same scene from the year before when I had been beside them.
[I’m truly humbled by this award… I’m happy and honored.]
Hana Unni was just like this when she won her first major award, and this time too, she took care of everyone, from the fans to the staff, to her lonely father, one by one.
[And all our friends are doing their best in their respective places. I believe we couldn’t have stood here without our friends. I’m always grateful…]
Then she mentioned even us, the members.
That probably wouldn’t be a benefit at all for the newly formed group.
That’s why I listened to Hana Unni’s heartfelt remarks even more intently.
“Unni, why are you crying? Just because you got a mention?”
“What are you talking about? I’m not crying…”
Seo-yoon Unni shed a few tears like a fool, completely forgetting about missing the award.
[…Thank you once again.]
Still, my members truly deserved to win the grand prize. Even if it’s (former).
Once again, the stage passed several times.
As the second half was nearing the end.
The award presenter changed once more.
[This year, many artists across various genres have added color to our daily lives with their outstanding music.]
A magnificent introduction began again.
[Among them, the award is presented to the artist who has made particularly notable achievements that have enriched emotions and memories beyond mere musical success.]
Artist of the Year.
It felt like this was the award we were meant to receive at this very moment.
─Thump thump!
And, of course, it was not ours.
[Ailee, congratulations!]
Ailee’s double win.
[When I first started dreaming…]
But this time, Ye-eun Unni burst into tears and, like a fool, mentioned us in her speech.
[People who’ve always been with me… I hope we can always be together.]
“Are you a crybaby?”
“What do you care? Shut up…”
Seeing Kim Seo-yoon, the ENFP, empathizing and crying alongside made me feel a bit better.
“It’s okay, we came here to celebrate anyway.”
Seo-yoon Unni, looking all cute and a bit prideful about crying in front of her youngest, was quite a source of energy for me as well.
*
“Wow! This is ridiculous! They’re ditching Debonaire?!”
Bae Ha-young was screaming everywhere in the nearby accommodation she had booked after the awards ceremony, spitting saliva all over.
“I mean, sure, Ailee did really well, and Inners also succeeded as a follow-up boy group to Seven. But if this was the case, at least give Debonaire a decent award in front of them!”
“I’m not saying anything. Of course, it’s obvious that NND is the world record holder! And usually, the album awards go to boy groups, so Inners might get those, but Artist of the Year? They definitely should’ve won that!”
“Seriously, all they did was give them a call!”
“Even Do-hee is an idol that even the elders know these days!”
“But to think they didn’t get a single award at the MWMA.”
“Well, actually, they did get one.”
“Like for [Favorite Dance Performance Female Group] or something.”
“But come on, at least they could have given the Rookie Award to two teams regardless of gender. No matter how bad the relations are, isn’t this a bit too obvious?”
I felt a surge of anger at the unfairness.
Of course, I wasn’t denying Ailee’s achievements.
“I mean, yeah, the accumulated points might be a bit lacking, but peak performance was so much better than Ailee’s—how does that even make sense?!”
That’s why I thought both would happily share the Grand Prize at this year’s awards.
Moreover, even though Debonaire was a rookie, they were placed in the latter half of section 3 of the cue sheet.
“They’re going to decide who gets the awards and arrange the cue sheet, yet they placed us in the last half and didn’t give us a single award—how blatant.”
“It’s like they’re telling us to eat it.”
“Seriously, did Wi-dong really put a knife in the MWAVE president’s belly or something?”
Even while fuming, Bae Ha-young stopped being angry.
Do-hee, who was waiting in the seat Bae Ha-young was filming, didn’t frown even once and was smiling brightly as she looked at the stage.
“Ha, our girl seems to be handling everything with such grace… what are we even doing here?”
“Exactly…”
Even though all the awards they aimed for were out of reach,
Do-hee stood on stage with poise, looking beautiful.
She performed the medley of [Debonaire], [Sweet Demon]
, and [New Vibes]—ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the annual charts—so perfectly that it felt almost holy.“That’s definitely something to admire…”
“Do-hee is… really professional.”
I wonder why that is.
It felt like our own hearts were burning black with envy.
Anyway, with the delivery food and drinks in hand, the two of them poured out their venting about MWAVE, LE Entertainment, and CEO Kim Wi-dong.
“I knew something was off since the moment they seemed antagonistic with MWAVE,” started one lament.
“Still, they should at least treat them properly for the WMA and Golden Disc…” came a consolation.
“In the end, Do-hee will win everything anyway…” wrapped it up with a conclusion.
And right the next day.
As they groggily woke up for checkout, they were forcibly presented with a hot topic due to the heated feed.
“Hey, hey, check this out.”
“What… what’s up…”
The friend shoved the screen right in front of their face as soon as they woke up.
─[News/Announcement] WMA Cue Sheet
[News] WMA Cue Sheet
Just two days later, the stage lineup for the second main ceremony of the Watermelon Awards was posted in photos.
Around this time, it was a routine event for part-time staff to secretly snap and upload it, so it wasn’t particularly surprising, and Bae Ha-young calmly browsed the list.
“The kids are performing in the latter half of the first part.”
Usually, the Grand Prize candidates are pushed to the back… but rookies sometimes perform earlier.
“They’re definitely gonna win the Grand Prize, right? If they don’t get it this time, that would be absolutely ridiculous.”
“Well, that’s true, but first, look at this. Check out the second part, the latter half of the second part.”
“The latter half of the second part?”
“Yeah, hurry.”
Hearing her friend’s urging, Bae Ha-young slowly lowered her gaze again.
It had only been a short while since she woke up; her vision was still a bit hazy.
After passing through the nominees’ VCR sequence, Best OST, Best Collaboration Award, and recipients’ remarks…
It was time for a few solo artists to take the stage.
“What the heck is this?”
Her eyes landed on Do-hee’s name.
[Lee Do-hee]
With a bold indication of a new song and the track title.
[New Song/I’ll DO(到喜)]
“Could this be a solo track…?”
“…Looks like it.”
Feeling bewildered, they briefly locked eyes before quickly connecting to the community.
And clicked.
Randomly at the top.
Articles about Do-hee that had rapidly flooded the [Daily Popular Posts] list.
[Crazy Do-hee’s solo track release, I’m so hyped hahaha]
[Just debuted, but a solo song, that’s a surprise]
[Here we go again, Do-hee favoritism, hahaha, that’s why they can’t win the Grand Prize]
[Is that the Kanji for Do-hee? It’s Do for ‘arrive’ and Hee for ‘joy’?]
[Do-hee’s Kanji name really suits her, doesn’t it?]
[Do-hee’s Instagram handle is Just_Do_hee, lol]
And those posts were proving it.
No matter what anyone said, Do-hee was currently the hottest idol in the K-pop community.
The WMMA quickly faded within a day, and people’s attention swiftly shifted to the WMA.
*
“Hey Kim Seo-yoon.”
“Oh, you’re using informal speech again. Do you want to die?”
“Should we go pick it up? The Grand Prize trophy.”
“You really need to calm down. I’ve put up with you for long enough.”
“Ah, agh! Why are you like this! It’s just a joke! Na-eun, this person is being violent!!”