"Yu-ha, why do you want to become an idol?"
At the sudden question, the child's eyes widened as he looked up at Baek I-hyeon. Baek I-hyeon lowered his gaze to the picture Yu-ha was drawing.
On the white sketchbook paper was a round stage, and on it stood a future Won Yu-ha—wearing a flashy costume, a headset mic, and singing under the lights.
"Hmm…"
Won Yu-ha, who had been coloring the multicolored lights shining down on his grown-up self with crayons, fell into thought with a murmur. For someone who went around every day singing about wanting to be an idol, it seemed he had never actually thought deeply about it.
Even so, Yu-ha did not keep Baek I-hyeon waiting long.
"Because it's a job where you're loved?"
As if it were obvious, the child answered immediately.
"But it's not like you only get love. Just watch the news—there are always stories about celebrities, and not the good kind."
"Mm, there are people like that too…"
The child resumed coloring the sketchbook as he continued, matter-of-fact.
"But I'm confident."
"Confident?"
"Confident I won't disappoint them."
Baek I-hyeon stared at him quietly. A smile had already bloomed on Yu-ha's face as he colored in the many people beneath the bright stage.
"Yeah. Being loved… that's the hardest thing, right?"
"..."
"That's why it's precious, the people who love me. So I think it's only natural not to disappoint them. And as long as you don't forget that, it's not that hard…"
Receiving love and giving it back—never forgetting how precious it is.
As Yu-ha finished speaking, he colored each member of the audience a different shade and completed the drawing.
The finished picture had no dark corners at all; it was vibrant everywhere. Everyone was watching the Yu-ha on stage, and Yu-ha was looking back at the crowd below.
Just as he wanted: being loved, and returning that love.
A "future" Baek I-hyeon had never once imagined.
The completed drawing was hung in the orphanage hallway. And so, every time Baek I-hyeon passed beneath it, he couldn't help but think:
"Is that so."
Is receiving love something precious?
This unexpected realization became the first clear vision of the future—of possibility—that young Baek I-hyeon, who had never considered his own future, ever witnessed.
Something he could picture.
Something he could reach for.
Something that looked the best to the Baek I-hyeon of that time.
"Yu-ha."
Maybe it was because he'd watched that possibility for so long.
"I'm going to become an idol too."
One day, Baek I-hyeon just blurted it out.
It was impulsive, but only after saying it did he realize he truly wanted that future for himself.
"Let's definitely meet on stage someday."
Because nothing looked brighter to him than that dream.
So Baek I-hyeon declared it—almost like a vow—and at the same time, felt something shift inside him.
It was the first moment in his life he ever felt certainty.
That day, Baek I-hyeon instinctively understood:
He would achieve the dream he desired.
More precisely—
he would be able to claim the future he wanted…
"Just trust me—everything will turn out fine."
And from then on, he would continue walking down a "good path."
***
A gymnasium in Seoul, where the final performance was about to take place. Tension filled the venue crowded with idol-makers as they waited amidst the fully constructed stage set.
The long-long journey of Design Your Idol had finally reached its finale.
The idol-makers who had managed to win tickets against fierce competition were holding slogan banners with their favorite trainees' names written on them.
"Still not here…"
Among them, a solo fan holding a slogan that read "Won Yu-ha" was busily scanning the surroundings.
"Even after filming all the opening shots, why is this taking so long…?"
Skimming the faces gathered around the set, the individual fan leaned exhaustedly against the fence, muttering complaints under her breath. The filming was starting much later than she expected.
Just moments ago, the idol-makers had shot the opening video alongside Dear Doll's main MC—the video that would air at the start of the broadcast.
After a few tries and rehearsals, the opening was finally done, and the MC had gone backstage with a "please wait just a bit longer," leaving the idol-makers' patience stretched thinner than ever.
"Ugh, this is taking forever. When are the kids coming out?"
"Hey, but do you think Aster is actually going to show up here today?"
"They might. But even if they do, we should keep our mouths shut… if we have any conscience."
Hearing the whispered snark from beside her, the individual fan tensed her neck to keep herself from instinctively turning her head. Gripping her Won Yu-ha slogan tighter—so its name was even more visible—she thought:
"Everyone's really on edge."
For some reason, she felt like an uninvited guest barging into someone else's celebration.
And honestly, that wasn't far off from the truth.
"But… it's not like I'm somewhere I'm not allowed to be."
Still, the individual fan held her head high. Even if no one welcomed her, she had waited just as long for the final episode of Dear Doll as anyone here.
Of course, she had never once watched Design Your Idol, nor had she ever shown interest in Won Yu-ha—the very trainee whose name she was holding in her hands.
But there was one reason she had fought through the brutal competition, queued up before dawn, and entered the venue.
"I am not going home today without seeing Baek I-hyeon's face at least once."
Rumors had flooded K-pop communities as soon as the live audience application opened:
that Orchid's Baek I-hyeon would appear on the final episode of Dear Doll.
– I heard BIH is coming to the Dear Doll final lol he's apparently going to cheer on YH
└ Huh… maybe he's coming since that kid has no family…
└ Judging from the interview, I guess they really are close;;
└ Wait then aren't all the Aster fans gonna apply for audience seats??
– I'm pissed there'll be no seats left for me again, but at least my boy won't have an empty family section today…
└ lol you too?
└ haha same here~
– If BIH comes, the competition for live tickets is gonna get even worse??? I can't even get my own seat ㅠ
└ Idc if BIH showing up is true or just a rumor, I'm just annoyed cuz I can already see Aster fans swarming in lol hell has opened
└ Of course Aster fans won't miss this chance, they're desperate lmaooo
└ That's too much.
└ ;; If they had any conscience, they wouldn't even apply for audience seats.
└ Aster? Conscience? ^^… You really trust Aster fans after being in K-pop this long?
└ LMAO just be glad they don't show up waving Baek I-hyeon slogans.
***
– Honestly, this doesn't feel right. Aster fans will swarm the venue just to catch a glimpse of BIH, push out actual idol-makers, take seats, and then scream in totally unrelated places lol. And all the cheering will probably be biased toward W○H anyway. This is so inconsiderate… BIH seriously doesn't know when to step back.
└ Mind your words, please. Don't use this as an excuse to hate—Aster fans are viewers too.
└ lmao who exactly needs to mind their words here? If you're coming just to catch a glimpse of "your fave" who's not even part of Dear Doll, instead of genuinely cheering for the trainees, then yes—you shouldn't be here~~ This is a place to pray for these kids' futures. Don't drag in outside fans who don't care about them.
***
The idol-makers' reactions were harsh.
It wasn't just that the audience tickets had become harder to get—the real issue was that an unrelated fandom was barging in and muddying the waters of Dear Doll's finale.
Of course, the individual fan didn't exactly disagree with them. Even if Baek I-hyeon had once appeared as a special MC at a debut showcase for another group, the fact remained: he was already a first-tier idol, unrelated to the program. A crowd of his fandom filling the seats didn't look great.
But for the individual fan—who had followed Baek I-hyeon for six years, ever since his debut survival show Hit The Road: Next Kingdom—it had been impossible not to apply for the live audience as soon as applications opened.
It had already been half a year since Orchid's last group activity.
Baek I-hyeon had been focused on acting recently, which meant Aster—the Orchid fandom—had barely gotten to see his face.
She couldn't miss this chance.
On top of that, rumors had begun circulating that Baek I-hyeon might be transferring agencies due to Orchid's expiring contract.
Whether he would continue as an idol or focus entirely on acting afterward was unknown. Because of that, Aster fans felt they had to see Baek I-hyeon's real-life appearance at least one more time.
"As long as I cheer hard and vote properly, it's fine… right…?"
The individual fan fiddled with her phone. Maybe her intentions weren't pure—but as long as she cast her votes for Won Yu-ha, she'd be doing her part.
"I-hyeon once said his dream was to stand on stage with that kid… He's been through so much. I hope today goes well for him."
With that thought, she mentally reviewed what she knew about Won Yu-ha.
His recent controversies had revealed a past even more unfortunate than Baek I-hyeon's.
Because of that, the individual fan couldn't help but recall Baek I-hyeon in his debut era.
The young Baek I-hyeon—beautiful, talented, desperate to be loved.
The promise he made back then—to never disappoint.
And he had kept that promise to this very day.
Seeing Won Yu-ha, who had the same touching backstory and promising potential, the individual fan felt a sense of obligation. Just as Baek I-hyeon had overcome hardships, Won Yu-ha seemed deserving of the same chance.
This sentiment was shared by most Aster fans—so to her, Won Yu-ha the trainee mattered far less than Won Yu-ha the tragic orphaned dongsaeng from Baek I-hyeon's past.
Just that much.
No more.
So no matter what his real-life appearance was like today… no matter how good or bad his performance turned out… it didn't matter.
She would vote for Won Yu-ha anyway.
But—
"Waaaahhhh!!"
"Hyunjin-ah!"
"Chanhee ya!"
"Do Ji-hyuk!!"
"Yu-ha!!"
After an agonizing wait, the twenty trainees who had survived to the finals finally walked onto the stage.
As the individual fan casually scanned the faces of the boys wearing the symbolic blue-blazer school uniforms of Dear Doll, she suddenly froze.
"…Huh?"
She only knew one trainee's face. The only one she had ever bothered to look up—Won Yu-ha.
But the trainee she saw looked… different from what she expected.
As she stared at him, dazed—
"Starting now!"
The opening number of the live broadcast was Dear Doll's theme song, "Look" (봐).
As the trainees took formation, the lights went down on the PD's standby cue.
—♩♪♬
Familiar music followed. The lights rose.
— Finally reached the startline
I Promise, it'll be forever
My heart that will stay eternal like now
I'll put it on this stage…
Colored spotlights scattered over the faces lifting their heads.
— I'll shine for
You you you
I'll be your
Star ar ar
— Look at me,
Look at the shining me!
And beneath those lights—
the sight of Won Yu-ha literally shining—
the individual fan found herself screaming before she even realized it.
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