Chapter 25
I gasped sharply, pounding my thighs furiously with my fists.
‘Sister made eye contact with me. She really did! She definitely looked right at me!’
With eyes brimming with excitement, just as I was about to shout something more toward them, the lead actress sister’s clear voice rang out through the venue.
At those words, her fellow team members’ gazes all turned to her in unison. They gaped as if they had misheard, displaying shocked reactions.
Since the language they used was different, I naturally couldn’t understand her words right away, and I stamped my feet inwardly in frustration.
‘……What? What’s going on? What on earth did she say!’
I was dying to know what sister had said. As I pondered whether I should somehow learn the Pakian language right now, the interpreter beside me blinked with a deeply flustered expression.
“Uh, well……. Ah, I’m sorry. Kixian-nim is usually so quiet outside of the main performance that this is a first for me, and I got a bit thrown off.”
The interpreter’s words meant that it was by no means common for her to speak during stage greetings.
Without realizing it, I covered my mouth, my eyes sparkling.
‘……What? Does that mean I just got her attention?’
No, and how can her name be Kixian! It’s too perfect……!
I felt ecstatically happy, as if I could float away, to be part of such a glorious moment.
Clearing his throat once, the interpreter opened his mouth again to convey her words.
“……She says she’d like to invite the lady who was passionately shouting toward the stage up here.”
The lady who was passionately shouting toward the stage…… Could it be.
At those words, the gazes of countless people around me turned my way.
“M-Me?”
Unable to believe it, I gaped with my mouth wide open, pointing to myself to confirm, and the sister on stage nodded with a smile.
The emcee let out an “Ah” as if he understood.
“Are you referring to that audience member from earlier? She left quite a strong impression on me too. Excellent. In that case, we can’t pass up the chance for a conversation. Please come up on stage. Come on up!”
A spotlight suddenly beamed down on me. The emcee spread his hands wide toward me and called out.
‘Come up on stage?’
My eyes shook violently in panic for a brief moment, but I quickly made my decision.
‘Right, as long as I don’t get recognized……!’
When else would an opportunity like this come along!
I swiftly gathered my things and climbed onto the stage. I didn’t forget to wrap the hood tightly to conceal my face.
I couldn’t miss the chance to see the sisters up close.
As soon as I stepped onto the stage, the emcee immediately asked me.
“Well, hello! Please introduce yourself—who you are and where you’re from.”
Trying to hide my face as much as possible, I pulled the hood’s brim down low and answered.
“Uh, well, I’m Yu…… living nearby.”
“Yu?”
I had almost unconsciously said ‘Judith,’ but in a flash of wit, I pivoted.
“Yu, Yudi.”
“Ah, I see. Miss Yudi! Nice to meet you. No, I heard Miss Yudi shouting at the actors earlier. Proposing marriage and all—wasn’t that just in jest?”
Ah, no. Not serious? What are you talking about……!
My shouts of marriage proposals were always sincere. Of course, the sheer number was absolutely high, but I swear, not once had it ever been insincere……!
Trembling my eyes as if I’d been insulted, I suddenly shouted loudly.
“No! Of course not. It was completely serious!”
I had gotten excited without realizing it.
I’d deliberately kept my head down and answered passively until now, but it all became pointless.
As I hesitated in confusion, unable to say anything, laughter suddenly erupted from the audience. The emcee also burst into hearty laughter, clutching his belly.
“Uahaha! Wow, what an extraordinary audience member we have here today. Ah, I thought you were something special, but you’ve far exceeded my expectations. Thanks to you, this is truly enjoyable.”
Judging by the atmosphere in the audience, whatever it was, it seemed to have gone over well.
“But you said it was serious, so why are you turning your back to Actress Kixian? And standing so far away at that. This doesn’t add up.”
The emcee tossed a playful question my way. Indeed, as he said, I couldn’t even look at sister properly. I stammered as I spoke.
“……I-It’s embarrassing. She’s so radiant, I can’t meet her eyes.”
With that, I now covered my face entirely with my palms. My heart pounded fiercely.
Kixian up close was far more lethal to the heart. Staring too long might shorten my lifespan. I needed a little time to adjust.
Seeing this, the emcee burst into laughter.
“But Miss Yudi, to say she’s radiant while you’re wrapped up so tightly—can you even see anything? Since you’re on stage anyway, shouldn’t you get a good look at the actor? The robe looks so uncomfortable. No, everyone—the reason I’m saying this is because I caught a glimpse of her face earlier, and she’s an incredible beauty.”
At his words, I felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding. The atmosphere was flowing in a strangely subtle way……
“Could you pull back the robe and show your face just once? Miss Yudi?”
In the end, the situation I’d dreaded had arrived.
“Ah, that might not be possible……”
“Come on, don’t be like that. Aren’t the audience members curious about what Miss Yudi looks like too?”
When the emcee asked the crowd, a loud “Yes!!” erupted immediately.
I blinked in confusion.
‘Uh, uh. This isn’t good.’
I could feel the many eyes directed at me. An unspoken pressure, as if I absolutely had to remove the robe, weighed down on me.
“With so many people wanting it, can’t you make an exception? Miss Yudi?”
“Uh, well……”
“Just show a little. Okay?”
“Ah-!”
It was the moment a hand suddenly approached to forcibly remove my robe.
The emcee’s hand, heading toward me, jerked to a stop in mid-air. Someone had grabbed it and blocked him.
Lifting my head, I gasped without realizing at the figure I met. Kixian, who had approached at some point, wore a stern expression devoid of any smile as she coldly directed words at the emcee.
Her voice, completely different from when she sang, made me cover my mouth and stare at her with wide, sparkling eyes.
‘To see sister this close……! What do I do! No, I’m not fully mentally prepared yet……!’
Meanwhile, as I freaked out inwardly like that, everyone else except me had frozen in place.
Aside from her fellow team members, no one could understand the words, but everyone could instinctively sense it.
That the words flowing from her mouth were by no means kind ones.
After all, Kixian’s team members and the interpreter were gaping at us with mouths wide open.
In the atmosphere that had suddenly turned icy, the emcee belatedly snapped back to his senses, stepping back a pace from me and straightening his hand.
“Haha……. Uh, I got carried away with the excitement and was rude. Miss Yudi, I’m sorry.”
“Ah, it’s oka……”
As I belatedly tried to tell him it was fine, my view was suddenly blocked.
“Uh……?”
It was Kixian standing in front of me. As she drew closer, a fragrant lilac scent wafted over intensely.
‘No, if even sister’s scent is this good, what am I supposed to do……’
It was at that moment when I was on the verge of falling even deeper for her.
