Chapter 6

However, while the ideal is full of promise, the reality is much harsher. Forget about staking out YG—after work every day, Jin Youxi just wanted to lie down in her dorm and do nothing. From morning to night, where would she find the time to go out?

Is this the life after a girl group comeback?

—-

In her past life, she had heard that Twice’s schedule was intense, and she had laughed it off. Who would have thought that one day, she would become a member of Twice?

She used to watch the glamorous life of girl groups, but the reality was far different. It was exhausting. After just a few days of following along, Jin Youxi already felt worn out.

The constant need to maintain high energy was tiring, and performing Cheer Up every day, no matter how unskilled, forced her to become proficient quickly.

—-

On May 5, 2016, MCD held another comeback performance. Twice’s Cheer Up was nominated as a contender. Thanks to the power of “shy shy shy,” their popularity had skyrocketed recently!

Their sweet, energetic vibe had won over many fans. The nine members of Twice stood beside the host, and since there were a lot of people, Jin Youxi naturally stood at the edge.

She had seen performances like this before on the internet, where other girl groups easily took the top spot. Of course, the ones she had watched were always those big, legendary groups, winning without a doubt.

Veteran idols returning is no easy feat. Everyone should appreciate it, right? With limited materials, it could get repetitive!

Now, as a contender for the first place, Jin Youxi believed that Twice would definitely win the top spot!

Cheer Up was the song that brought them fame, wasn’t it? She didn’t know all the details of Twice’s rise to fame, but she knew this song was very popular.

—-

On stage, everyone, including the leader, was nervous. Jin Youxi wore a high ponytail and a pink, short sports-style dress.

If someone else wore this pink, it wouldn’t look as good as it did on Jin Youxi! After finishing the performance, the pink dress made her appear sweet and adorable, perfectly matching Twice’s energetic concept.

At that moment, Jin Youxi understood why she had debuted with Twice—her external appearance was a perfect fit for their energetic, sweet girl-next-door image!

But after her arrival, she noticed some differences in her personality compared to the original Jin Youxi. While everyone else seemed nervous, Jin Youxi stood there, calm and composed.

When the host announced, “This week’s first place is… Twice’s Cheer Up!”

Leader Park Jihyo and the others couldn’t help but shed tears. From their debut last year until now, this was the first time they had secured a first place on a music show!

When they debuted, there was some initial hype, but nothing big happened until now! They had finally received the first-place trophy they had been dreaming of!

The leader, crying, held the mic and gave an emotional speech.

Jin Youxi, seeing the others cry, sighed inwardly.

Only when you’ve experienced it for yourself can you understand how hard these young girls have worked.

With a smile, Jin Youxi reached out to hug Mina, who was standing next to her, comforting her with a gentle pat on the back.

She took a couple of steps forward and wrapped her arms around Doyeon. She comforted both of them, patting their shoulders.

She wasn’t at all surprised by the result; this was the outcome of all their hard work!

Jin Youxi was smiling happily. She was now a member of Twice, and this honor… could she bask in it too?

Hahaha.

After the leader spoke, the other two members said a few words, but Jin Youxi knew it wasn’t her turn to speak.

She didn’t want to speak anyway; she wouldn’t know what to say in a situation like this!

So, Jin Youxi just stood at the side, grinning at Mina and curiously peeking at the trophy in the leader’s hand.

Did they have to return the trophy after? She was curious.

Every time she saw a group win a trophy like this, she wondered if the production team reused them.

Jin Youxi looked at the trophy, feeling intrigued.

—-

After winning first place, it was time for the encore stage! Jin Youxi followed her teammates and bowed to the other idols who were slowly leaving the stage.

The trophy made its way to Jin Youxi’s hands, and she couldn’t stop looking at it. The name Twice was engraved on it!

Looks like it wouldn’t be taken back for reuse, haha.

After uncovering the mystery, Jin Youxi smiled.

The others didn’t know what she was thinking. They only saw Jin Youxi holding the trophy and smiling silly, so they all smiled gently too.

This was their first first-place trophy, and it was indeed something special. Jin Youxi’s reaction was completely understandable.

Fans who saw the footage noticed the same thing—Jin Youxi gazing at the trophy with reluctance.

Everyone noticed her reaction, and from then on, the trophy stayed with her. Jin Youxi thought someone would take it from her, but it stayed in her hands. This thing was pretty heavy…

After the encore stage, Jin Youxi and the other idols bowed, and suddenly someone hugged her!

Looking up, she realized it was Somi—Somi from IOI, who later joined YG.

Ah! IOI debuted!

Was she close with Somi? After Somi hugged her, she moved on to hug others, so their relationship seemed to be more of an acquaintance.

Wait, didn’t Somi still belong to JYP at this point?

How did she forget? Jin Youxi mentally slapped her own head.

She had been so focused on her daily routine at the JYP building and dorm that she hadn’t kept track of her old idols.

IOI and Wanna One were both extremely popular, and seeing Somi again felt like seeing an old friend.

But seeing them disband was so sad!

Somi was still with JYP, and meeting Twice wasn’t surprising. Somi had joined the competition after Twice’s failed debut.

Jin Youxi realized she needed to control her reactions in the future—no more surprises or awkward moments!

For the encore stage, the leader was still crying, and Jin Youxi knew the most stressed person over the past few months had been the leader.

Sigh.

Jin Youxi held the first-place trophy and walked over to comfort Jihyo, then handed the trophy to her.

The best way to comfort the leader was by giving her the first-place trophy!

(She would never admit it was because the trophy was a bit heavy…)

Rabbit-toothed Lin Nayan took the microphone and proudly sang the encore stage. Truly, it’s you, Lin Nayan!

Jin Youxi leisurely wandered around the stage, casually watching the members with more parts sing. She glanced at others occasionally doing the dance moves.

When it was her turn, she only sang two lines.

The lower-tier parts were quite nice—less lines, easy, hehe~

Jin Youxi felt it was pretty good and was very satisfied!

She even had the time to wave and grin at the fans below. She also saw a familiar male fan, the one who had called her name earlier, a slightly chubby guy.

The male fan saw her and happily shouted her name. He was even holding a banner with her name on it!

Jin Youxi thought her name was quite cute~

Seeing her own banner, Jin Youxi pointed at the letters on her shirt, which also had her name. Every member of Twice had their name written on their clothes.

This was to make it easier for the fans to recognize each member. At this point, they were in their prime and rapidly gaining fans. Even after debuting, they were still wearing shirts with their names on them… It’s clear that Twice had worked hard to get to this point.

But Jin Youxi was incredibly confident! Soon, they would be able to ditch the name tags! Everyone would remember their names!

Who believed in Twice’s success more than anyone else in the world? It wasn’t JYP, it was Jin Youxi!

She felt like her retirement fund was secured, and with a little more effort, it would be smooth sailing. Haha!

She was happy!

Now, Jin Youxi’s biggest motivation was: money!

Only when the group became popular would she get more money.

Thinking about it like that, she kind of enjoyed her position in the lower-tier parts. Getting the same pay as those with more popularity… that felt a little satisfying! Hahaha.

Sorry, unnie’s.

Jin Youxi noticed there were a lot of female fans for their group, and many male fans, some of whom looked a bit greasy.

God knows how strong she had to be to not show a look of disgust.

However… it wasn’t until her very first fan signing event that she realized how tough being a female idol truly was.

Making money wasn’t easy. Jin Youxi, you have to be strong!

After these days of watching beautiful male and female idols, she almost started to think the world was full of handsome guys and beautiful girls.