The stage fell silent for a few seconds after Damien spoke. The lights were focused on him, making his cold face even more obvious.
"Sofia..." He looked straight at her, not avoiding her. A true idol doesn't measure the love of fans by the number of letters. No one is obliged to prove their love for you with gifts or letters.
Sofia curled her lips:
"Who are you to interfere in my group's affairs?"
Damien remained calm:
"I'm the one standing here, because I don't want to see a group I respect being dragged down just because of the thoughtless words of one member."
In the VIP seats, Julian stood up, followed by Rayden, Elio and Lucas. Each person took turns walking onto the stage, standing behind Damien like a solid wall.
Rayden gently but firmly took the mic from Serena:
"We are not fans of BABYQUEEN... but we are colleagues. And colleagues don't let colleagues be publicly tarnished like that."
Lucas glanced at the audience, his voice firm:
"Skills, charisma, level... are all meaningless without attitude and respect."
Elio tilted his head, looking straight at Sofia:
"You're really good, Sofia. But if you're good and don't keep your word... people will remember you for your reputation, not your talent."
The audience echoed with long "oh"s. Some BABYQUEEN fans applauded in support, but most were still shocked.
Social media immediately exploded:
"Kick Sofia out of the lineup! Talented but with a trashy attitude, what's the point of keeping her?"
"Look, the most shameless girl group in Kpop. The worst survival show in history!"
"Is BABYQUEEN worthy of being the most talented new generation girl group? I'm starting to doubt it."
"Astrix female fans here, are you BABYQUEEN idols or mistresses stealing other people's husbands? You're not worthy of Astrix."
"Golden opportunity for the ships! Ship Damien and Layla, Rayden and Jennifer, Julian and Serena. Sofia? Sink them!"
Serena heard some of the booing and sneered:
"You hear, Sofia? This is what happens when you open your mouth without thinking."
Sofia bit her lip, her eyes darting around, but the support from her fans almost disappeared.
Damien took a deep breath, turned to the audience:
"We know, BABYQUEEN has been through a lot. But these girls, he glanced at Layla, Jennifer, Serena, Sara, Lilia, have worked tirelessly to stand here. They are not perfect, but they deserve respect."
Layla looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. She was about to say something, but Damien handed the mic back to her, his hand unconsciously touching hers, a moment captured by hundreds of fans.
The cheers echoed over the curses. But online, the battle continued, each line of comments swept in like a storm…
The stage was still heated after the unannounced "confrontation" between Damien and Sofia. The lights swept across each face, but the audience was like a sea of waves, cheers, whistles, and boos mixed into a suffocating mixture.
The MC glanced at the assistant, then smiled awkwardly, his voice dragging out to break the atmosphere:
"Wow, today is really… more explosive than I thought! Well… Astrix is on stage, why not take this opportunity to join BABYQUEEN in a special part of today's survival show?"
The stage lights immediately changed, the electronic board behind showed the words "Special Collaboration Round".
The audience exploded:
"OHHHHH!!!"
"Oh my god, Astrix and BABYQUEEN!!!!"
"But can we leave Sofia out??"
"That's right, no one wants to see her face!"
"Let Sofia stand aside, the rest of the girls will shine brighter!"
Some anti-fans seized the opportunity, shouting loudly in the crowd:
"BABYQUEEN is just a mobile vase!"
"New generation? New generation scandal is right!"
Sofia stood still, her eyes cold, but her hand tightly gripped the microphone. Jennifer leaned slightly towards Layla, whispering:
"Should we let her join?"
Layla still kept her standard idol smile, but her eyes slightly lowered:
"If Sofia is eliminated right now, the audience will think BABYQUEEN is a split. But if she joins... the anti-fans won't let her go."
Damien heard that, glanced over, then said softly but enough for the mic to catch:
"It's okay, Astrix will take on the role of protecting BABYQUEEN's image today."
Julian added from behind, his voice full of confidence:
"We won't let anyone step on the teammates of the person we respect."
The fans below heard this and immediately exploded with comments online:
"Oh my god, Julian said it!"
"Damien and Julian are protecting Layla and BABYQUEEN, I'm crying."
"Protect someone, don't protect Sofia."
The MC clapped his hands:
"Then let's decide! Astrix and BABYQUEEN will split into two mixed teams, each team randomly chooses members from both groups to perform together!"
Elio stood near Sara, winking:
"Looks like my luck is about to come."
Sara blushed slightly:
"Focus on the mission, Elio."
The couple's fans immediately commented crazily:
"Sara and Elio are like husband and wife!"
"Another love drama for PR."
The MC laughed happily, but the atmosphere was clearly divided, one side eagerly waiting for the combination, the other side was eager to "cut" Sofia.
Lucas leaned into Lilia's ear, whispering but still enough for the camera to capture their smiles:
"We will make the combination so beautiful that they will forget all those bad words."
Lilia smiled softly:
"I will make everyone unable to take their eyes off... except when they look at you."
Audience:
"KYAAAAAA!!!"
"Lucas and Lilia, oh my god!"
Damien took a step forward, holding the mic and looking straight at Sofia:
"You can hate me, hate Astrix, hate anyone… but you are standing on this stage as BABYQUEEN. Every word you say, every expression you show… not only represents yourself, but the whole group, your fans."
Sofia curled her lips slightly:
"I don't need you to teach me."
Damien remained calm:
"I'm not teaching you. I'm just reminding you that this stage doesn't belong to your ego. It belongs to the music… and the people who believe in us."
The audience was silent for a few seconds. Although there were still boos, many people began to feel that Sofia was embarrassed.
Julian turned to the MC:
"Let's start the special competition. We'll show everyone why these two groups are called the future of K-Pop."
The stage lights were on. Although fans and anti-fans were still fiercely "fighting" online, all eyes were on the moment BABYQUEEN and Astrix were about to perform together, a game where light and darkness coexisted.
The MC smiled brightly, raised the microphone:
"Oh my god... the atmosphere today is hotter than a solar storm! And you know what... because today we have another extremely hot male group appearing, the show will change the format!"
The whole audience exclaimed Oh!!!.
The MC glanced at Astrix and BABYQUEEN, winked:
"Special... extremely special... and one of a kind. Today, the two groups BABYQUEEN and ASTRIX will participate in a special survival show!"
"Oh my gosh, two groups on the same stage!!"
"That's great... no, Sofia... let's see."
"Just keep Sofia away from our center."
"Oh my gosh, our guys are there!"
"But... BABYQUEEN is standing so close... don't 'steal' our idol."
"Especially Layla, be careful!"
"Oh Damien is standing so close to Layla, he's going to die."
"Lucas looking at Lilia like that is not good."
Both groups looked at each other curiously. Jennifer tilted her head and asked softly:
"What's the special program?"
Serena shrugged:
"I don't know... but from the MC's voice, I can tell they're about to be challenged."
The MC raised the microphone, his voice filled with drama:
"And here are the rules! We will use the Interactive Brainwave System! In the next 10 seconds, all the fans in the audience will think of the best, most interesting question that you want to send to BABYQUEEN or Astrix."
"The system will randomly select 100 lucky fans from more than 100 thousand fans below the stage today, and they will be able to come up here to interact directly!"
"What?"
"Oh my god, this is the first time in Kpop history that there is such a game!"
"I have to be chosen!!!"
"I'll ask Damien: "Are you dating Layla?"
The groups sitting in the lower seats also applauded loudly, some young idols leaned back in their chairs:
"Oh, if this game had been around when we debuted, I would have been on trend."
"100 thousand people... chose 100... the odds are super low but let's try it!"
The MC shouted:
"Okay! 10 seconds starting from... now!."
The entire audience fell silent.
More than 100 thousand AI bracelets of fans simultaneously lit up, the light blending into a sea of brilliant colors, blue, purple, yellow, pink... like a miniature universe rotating slowly. From above, the audience looked like a giant flower shining in the sky of Seoul.
"Layla, have you ever regretted being an idol?"
"Damien… if you could choose again, would you debut with Astrix?"
"Jennifer, what does it feel like to be an AI on stage?"
"Serena, why did you cry at the last concert?"
"Lilia, are you… in love with anyone?"
"Lucas, what does the way you look at Lilia mean?"
"Sofia, do you think you deserve to be in BABYQUEEN?"
"Sara, which song makes you want to quit your job the most?"
Layla looked at the bright stage, her eyes slightly wide, whispering:
"So beautiful… like… a dream."
Damien glanced at her, smiling lightly:
"Hold on to that dream tightly, Layla. Today… you'll need it."
Jennifer tilted her head slightly, her AI eyes reflecting thousands of light spots:
"Brain waves... can be so beautiful?"
MC:
"Time's up!!! The system is processing... and... the list of 100 lucky fans is appearing on the giant screen!"
The LED screen lit up, the names of the 100 chosen people appeared one by one, the audience exploded with screams, some people covered their faces and cried with joy, some people jumped up as if they had just won the lottery.