translation by mourningmoor
“An invitation?”
A scoff escaped me naturally.
What kind of invitation is this now?
“Does he even have a house to invite us to?”
“He’s been staying at a hotel lately.”
“Lucky old man. Even on the brink of bankruptcy, he can still stay at a hotel.”
At the mention of being on the brink of bankruptcy, Timothy Gordon’s face stiffened sadly. He seemed to have something to say, his lips twitching, but in the end, he tightly sealed them.
“Do you want to ask if it’s my doing? The spontaneous combustion? Or the Master’s condition? Which one are you curious about? Or are you curious about both?”
Timothy Gordon nodded cautiously.
“Did Kang Ichan-ssi do both?”
“Yes. Both are my doing. Of course, the two are cause and effect.”
Timothy Gordon’s eyes trembled slightly. Seeing his reaction, it seemed Bartholomeus’s condition wasn’t good.
So, I decided to be a bit kinder and explain.
“That’s the true identity of the Master you serve.”
It’s something I learned while delving into the memories of the ring bearers.
The Master is great, the Master is eternal, the Master is an absolute being.
They believe that lending his absolute power and entrusting a part of their soul to him is the rule of the Circle.
But in reality, they’re not entrusting a part of their soul—they’re endlessly having their mana drained.
Only the core members of the Circle, like Natalie Grace or Timothy Gordon, knew that their role was to be mana transmitters.
But it seems even Timothy Gordon didn’t know this.
“Without the mana transmitters, Bartholomeus is nothing but a skeleton. He’ll probably have to endure 312 years of aging all at once.”
Timothy Gordon, who would be watching this up close, might be the one suffering the most. But what can I do? I can’t stop it.
“If you can stop it, then try.”
I won’t just sit back and do nothing either.
“I’ll find every last one of them and destroy those damn magic circles.”
With that, I turned to leave.
That’s when it happened.
“Please help me.”
Timothy Gordon bowed deeply and clung to me.
“Please save the children.”
* * *
That old man is completely insane.
It seems he’s taken Timothy Gordon’s twin children hostage.
He also forcibly inscribed magic circles on them and kept them close. Probably to use them as shields. That way, Timothy Gordon wouldn’t be able to move.
[Please accept the invitation. He says it’ll only be for a short while.]
[Where?]
[Paris. We’ll come to pick you up after the concert.]
There’s only one reason he’s so desperate to invite me.
There must be a magic circle there to open a portal.
“A portal in Paris…”
Even after the concert schedule began, my mind was consumed with thoughts of the portal.
Honestly, I could just ignore it. It’s obviously a trap, so not going would be wiser. But that cunning old man wouldn’t just let it slide. Especially since he’s holding hostages.
In the end, I’ll have to go.
But what if something goes wrong?
“I might not be able to do the Korean concert.”
What then?
That’s when it happened.
“Hyungnim.”
Roa opened the waiting room door and came in.
“They said to stand by, it’s about to start.”
“Okay.”
I got up from my seat and glanced at my reflection in the mirror.
I’ve lost a bit more weight recently, and my jawline has become strikingly sharp. The collar of the white sheer blouse with its ruffled details fluttered just below my sharp jawline, and the three undone buttons revealed my equally sharp collarbone, adding a touch of sexiness.
The black velvet jacket draped over the blouse subtly highlighted the lean muscles on my slim frame, giving off a cool vibe, while the ornate cheollik added a dignified weight to the overall look.
A chrome cross earring dangled from my left ear, and four piercings sparkled on my right ear. The accessories were perfect too.
The makeup was flawless as always, and the black hair with a faint blue tint looked great.
“This’ll do.”
This is the perfect image of an idol.
There’s only one thing left.
“Just give it my all as if it’s the last time.”
* * *
The São Paulo concert was also a success.
Not just the concert, but the news that LIT worked as one-day sales staff at the São Paulo goods pop-up store caused an even bigger uproar.
The streets around the pop-up store were paralyzed due to the enthusiasm of the South American Filaments.
The energy from the scene was shared in real-time on SNS and Universe, quenching the thirst of Filaments who were craving LIT.
Inyoung, who couldn’t afford to follow the South American concerts, also tried to soothe her thirst with the real-time videos and photos.
But instead of quenching her thirst, it only made her crave more.
“I told you I was going to São Paulo. Oppa should’ve helped me.”
Inyoung, who was determined to break her childhood savings account to go, was scolded by Inseong. He warned her that she might not be able to fangirl for the rest of her life.
She’s just a fan who uses her allowance to fangirl, so she should know her limits.
But well, she ended up missing the pop-up store too because she tried to be “moderate.”
“The members worked there for over an hour.”
Juhee, who went to South America with Irene to follow LIT, sent proof photos.
All five members were wearing black t-shirts with “LIT” written on them, guarding the pop-up store.
Ichan, as the leader, was at the cash register, while Siu and Roa handled the store guidance. Hanjoon and Jaewon worked together to pack the items.
According to Juhee, the kids were clumsy, and their clumsiness made them even cuter.
“They were so cute.”
Inyoung ended up bursting into tears in front of Inseong and her mom.
It was the tragic end of a loser who couldn’t overcome the wall called “dad.”
That’s when an SNS notification rang.
Inyoung quickly wiped her tears and opened Twittle.
LIT had posted a new tweet.
#SãoPaulo #CANIVAL_CONCERT #LIT_RIT #BRAZIL #POPUP #BestFans_Filaments #WeLoveYou_Filaments #YouAreJustLight
Hello, Filaments.
Today, we worked at the pop-up store, and it was a huge success. Hahaha.
It’s all thanks to you, Filaments. I hope you had fun.
(Photo) (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
The attached photos were adorable.
The first photo was a group shot of the five members wearing matching t-shirts in front of the pop-up store.
Jaewon was even wearing a rabbit ear headband, probably given by a fan.
The other three photos were sketches of the members working hard—store guidance, packing, and cashier duties.
Then another post came up.
#P.S. #ForgotToMention #JaewonDidThis
P.S. Oh, this pop-up event is a tribute to the Filaments who are running the campaign to pretend not to know us when they see us around the world. Thank you, Filaments. Feel free to pretend to know us inside the pop-up store.
After reading the post, Inyoung immediately went to her room and opened her laptop.
She wanted to check the scene in more detail.
And as Inyoung hoped, photos from the scene kept pouring in.
#RIT_InRealLife_Amazing T.T What should I do? What should I do about their real-life visuals? T.T Why? Do I look like someone who couldn’t see their real-life visuals in Korea and had to go to São Paulo to see them? Yes. T.T
This person posted six photos of Ichan along with a short message.
└Gasp. Why does he look even more beautiful in Brazil? Our shining Ichan-nim.
└Ichan-nim is light, so he shines wherever he is. T.T
└Wow. Seriously. What even are his visuals? If the photos are like this, what must the real thing be like? Just thinking about it gives me chills T.T
The pop-up was a hit. The staff said it was okay to film, so I did. Here’s the video. (Link) (Link)
Following the links, I could see what Juhee meant by “clumsy but even cuter.”
└Ugh T.T Our babies are so kind T.T They even carried things for people. It’s not just their faces that are pretty. Their hearts are so beautiful.
└Wow. I thought Siu was in charge of the store because he’s handsome, but apparently not. He was kicked out of packing because he was so bad at it ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Our Siu has a conscience, so he’s not good with his hands. If he were good at that too, he’d be too perfect and lack humanity.
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ True.
└Jaewon is surprisingly good with his hands. He’s amazing at packing.
└Hanjoon is a disaster too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s slightly better than Siu, so he got stuck there. He keeps getting scolded by Jaewon ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. It’s really funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Hanjoon is so cute when he’s being useless and getting outshone by the maknae.
└T.T Why is Ichan’s voice so deep? Isn’t it a crime to announce prices so charmingly? The South American noonas are melting.
After reading countless posts, Inyoung immediately went to the airline’s website. She couldn’t bear this burning thirst any longer.
“I couldn’t go to South America because it was too expensive, but I’m going to Europe. Wait for me, Eiffel Tower. Wait for me, London Eye. Wait for me, LIT!”
Inyoung decided to break into her savings from New Year’s money and booked a ticket to Paris.
* * *
Following the São Paulo concert, the Santiago, Chile concert was also a huge success.
After finishing the last concert and returning to the hotel, the members marveled at how our fans were spread all over the world and wondered why they loved us so much.
As they chattered in the elevator, Kim Chanyeong gave them the most accurate answer.
“You worked hard.”
It was an accurate assessment. These kids are sincere on stage, and I can attest to how hard they’ve worked for that sincere stage.
Looking back now, these kids would’ve succeeded even without me. They were all talented, all overflowing with charm. Add effort to that, and there’s no way they wouldn’t succeed.
Of course, I did help speed up the process a bit.
Let’s leave that as my contribution.
Watching the kids, who were physically exhausted but mentally energized, I spoke up.
“Now that we know there are this many people who love us on the other side of the world, let’s really work hard from now on. Okay?”
It was a proud thing to say.
But for some reason, the kids’ expressions didn’t look good.
Jaewon’s big eyes were filled with worry.
It looked like he might even start crying.
“Why… are you like this?”