Chapter 27: The stage

When Ji-ho arrived at the packed stadium, she could hear the beautiful singing

Voice of FOX performing her rendition of sunflower. She was immediately rushed through the entrance by security who had been instructed to wait for her. Ji-ho didn't get the time to thank the lawyer for what he'd done for her.

"Miss Sun, this way."

FOX's performance was winding down when Ji-ho was shoved inside her dressing room where a make up artist had been waiting for her.

Ji-ho looked at the immensely stressed out young lady and decided that there was no time for make up or getting ready.

"Do I look dishevelled?" She asked the girl.

The make-up artist looked confused but shook her head. "N-no, but your pant is smudged with dirt."

She had been kneeling on the ground while doing CPR so this wasn't unexpected. Ji-ho looked around and saw that all the clothing available to her was far too fancy to wear if she wasn't going with stage make-up on.

"Screw it!" She said to herself. "I'm going like this."

"Miss Sun!" Her make-up artist sounded horrified. "At least let me touch up your makeup."

Ji-ho allowed the young lady to fuss over her lip colour and her brows. She had dewy smooth skin so there was no need for excessive coverage with concealer and foundation. When she looked in the mirror, she saw the beautiful blooming face of a teenage girl with flawless skin and blushing cheeks. Her cherry lips were stained with the colour of spring. She was simply dressed in a black top and denim pants but her image was fresh and clean.

A quick rapping of knuckles sounded on the door and Lee Tae-Hyun appeared.

"Young-mi, it's your turn. Are you ready?" He asked as he surveyed her look. The producer had his signature glasses on and a cool pink loose-fitting blazer that looked fabulous on him. Never had Ji-ho seen a man carry off pink as beautifully as he did.

"I guess," Ji-ho responded with a smile. It didn't matter that she looked too simple for the stage. This was primarily a singing competition and lucky for her, Ji-ho knew she could sing the hell out of Tae-Hyun's song. She wasn't going to let her performance get ruined by the evening's events.

The producer mirrored her smile. "Come then, it's time they realised the reason why I gifted you sunflower."

______

The judges had been waiting for Sun Young-mi to arrive, and they weren't feeling very charitable towards her for wasting time. None of them were aware of the reason why she was late so they began to feel negatively about her.

Perhaps the rumours were true, they thought. Jessica had grown arrogant from Lee Tae-Hyun's partiality towards her. Thus her demand that sunflower be hers.

"Five minutes late," the music critic said with a chuckle.

"Maybe she got stuck in a traffic jam," the pop star joked.

Hyeyoon smiled politely but even she wasn't impressed by Jessica's tardiness. As a professional performer, she held high regard for discipline and punctuality, two virtues that Jessica was lacking if she had the guts to be this late even during such an enormous event.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have an announcement to make," the host announced from the stage. There was an unfortunate incident involving one of our performers this evening. "While on her way to the stadium, Sun Young-mi was involved in an accident that nearly claimed a life."

A buzz of shocked voices ascended from the crowd. Some of the audience members had been paying attention to their phones and had known about it but the others who were enjoying the performances were finding out only now.

"Several clips of Sun Young-mi saving someone's life have gone viral. Explaining it won't do justice to the amazing feat that she pulled off so please watch this video taken by a bystander."

The reason Lee Tae-Hyun had this done was so Ji-ho could have some time for a vocal warm-up. FOX had reduced the difficulty of the song by tweaking the pitch and removing the parts that she couldn't risk performing live on stage since she wasn't good enough for it. She thought that no one could possibly perform the song in its actual form. Unfortunately for her, Ji-ho was going to show them the sunflower that Tae-Hyun had written in its glorious monstrous form.

"That's amazing!" The music critic, Choi Hyo-Jung, declared into his mic when the clip of Jessica got to the point where the injured man began to move. The camera was zoomed in and shaky but it paid off with clear details of what was happening.

"If this is the reason for Sun Young-mi being late then I've wronged her," Hyeyoon said in a soft voice.

"We all misunderstood," Lee Joon-Young said in response.

The previous negative feelings were replaced with deep respect for the teenager who stopped to save the man's life despite knowing that she might not reach in time for a concert that the success of her career was hanging on. Anyone else might have left after calling an ambulance for the dying man.

"And here she is!"

Just as the video ended, Ji-ho was pushed out to the stage. She was embarrassed by the attention that she was receiving for her small act of kindness. If it were up to her, the videos would have never seen the light of day. She smiled awkwardly at the audience as Hyeyoon stood up and led a round of applause which Ji-ho felt was completely unnecessary. Why did they have to make such a production out of this?

"Shn Young-mi! Our last performer and hero of the day!" The host announced enthusiastically, furthering Ji-ho's embarrassment.

The judges took their seats and smiled with encouragement at Ji-ho. FOX, the previous performer had landed a performance that they doubted Ji-ho could outperform. Nevertheless, she'd already won their hearts by coming out in casual clothing and an endearingly shy smile.

"Young-mi!" Someone from the audience screamed in a hoarse voice. "You're late!"

It led to a smatter of laughter from the other attendees and smiles from the judges. Ji-ho would have pumped her hand up in the air at how beautifully her situation had panned out but the music had begun to play.