The stage glittered beneath dazzling lights, and the crowd roared below, headbanging in unison to the aggressive guitar riffs and pounding drums.
All of it only pushed my voice higher, fiercer. Even as sweat drenched me, strands of hair clinging messily to my forehead.
Because this was the world I had chosen.
The world where I could scream my heart raw, pouring out everything caged inside me.
Even if it meant being despised by my own family, I had no regrets.
When the song ended, I gasped for breath and looked down at the audience filling the cramped venue, euphoria coursing through every beat of my heart.
"Are you ready to burn with me in the next song?" I leaned close to the mic and shouted.
The crowd's reply thundered back at me.
Clutching my electric guitar, I was about to strike the first chord of the next song when a voice suddenly cut into my in-ear monitors, urgent and breathless.
"EunByul, get down here now. Something's happened."
Startled, I turned toward the wings. One of the staff stood there, waving frantically for me to come over.
"Sorry, I'll be right back."
I spoke quickly into the mic before rushing offstage. The staff member immediately seized my wrist and shoved a phone into my hand.
"Your brother's been in an accident. He's at Tonari Hospital."
The words struck like a bolt of thunder right beside my ear. EunWoo? Hadn't he told me he was traveling in Busan?
Blinking hard, half believing, half denying, I unlocked my phone. Dozens of missed calls from him filled the screen. At the end of the endless notifications was a message, an address and room number at Tonari Hospital.
My heart plunged into a frozen lake, the icy shock spreading through my veins.
I looked back at the stage I had left unfinished. Seeing my torn expression, the staff placed a firm hand on my shoulder and urged.
"This is serious. Go to your brother. We'll take care of things here."
Biting my lip, I tightened my grip on the phone. "Then… please apologize to the audience for me."
With that, I bolted, leaving everything behind without a second thought. Nothing mattered anymore except the storm of fear pounding inside me.
In this glittering city of Seoul, EunWoo was my only family. We had left our hometown, defying everyone's protests, chasing our dreams into this bustling city that never slept.
Though his idol schedule rarely allowed us to meet, he was still my twin. We shared the same blood, the same breath, perhaps even half a soul.
If something happened to him, how could I find the courage to remain in this world alone?
I pulled into the hospital parking lot, heart hammering against my ribs as I sprinted inside. Each step pounded with dread, the terror of not knowing what awaited me.
The sharp sting of disinfectant, the chill in the air, pressed in on me, tightening the panic in my chest.
Room 674. Intensive care. Sixth floor.
The moment the elevator doors slid open, I lunged forward. The click of my heels echoed endlessly down the corridor, mingling with the hurried steps of nurses and doctors.
"EunWoo!"
I flung the door open, my voice bursting into the room before my eyes could even focus.
There he was—lying on a hospital bed, his left leg wrapped in bandages and strapped in a brace.
Yet contrary to the nightmare I had envisioned, he wasn't writhing in pain. He was comfortably nibbling on fruit his manager, Park, was peeling for him.
"EunByul!" His face lit up the moment he saw me.
Panting, I hurried to his side, my eyes scanning him from head to toe. Aside from the leg, he bore no serious injuries. So it wasn't a car accident. Nothing life-threatening.
I bowed politely to Manager Park. He returned a smile, though strained at the edges, leaving me faintly uneasy.
But first, my infuriating twin. He had scared me half to death, forced me to abandon a performance for this.
"What on earth happened?" I dragged a chair closer to his bed, demanding.
EunWoo darted his eyes about, hesitant where to begin.
"You're telling me you fell down the stairs?" When I finally pried the story out of him, I glared, barely keeping my anger in check.
The whole way here, I had pictured him crushed in some terrible accident, and now he threw me this ridiculous excuse?
I had abandoned my stage for a brother foolish enough to tumble down the stairs?
"I was careless…" His voice shrank as he ducked his head, peeking up at me with the pitiful look of a wounded puppy.
It only made things worse. Seeing my own face mirrored back at me in that pathetic expression, I had to resist the urge to punch him.
"I'm not one of your fans. Wipe that look off." A shaky sigh tore out of me as I pinched the bridge of my nose, throbbing with frustration.
"You dragged me here just because you tripped?"
EunWoo set down his fruit and raised his eyes, suddenly serious.
"Actually… I have a favor to ask."
A bad feeling prickled through me.
"What? If you're asking me for something, the sky must be falling." I narrowed my eyes.
He only bared his teeth in a cheeky grin. "Don't say that, noona. I know you love me."
That ominous feeling only grew stronger. We were twins, tied by something close to telepathy. Whenever he leaned on sentiment like this, it was always because he wanted something I'd never agree to.
"Looks like you're fine after all." I pushed to my feet, cutting him off before he could reel me in. "I'm leaving."
"Wait, Miss EunByul!"
To my surprise, Manager Park cut in, interrupting us. My steps froze as I turned, frowning at him.
"The thing is…" His gaze flickered between me and EunWoo, unable to hide his astonishment at how alike we were.
"I suspected it when EunWoo suggested it, but it's not just the face. The voice, the build… everything."
Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?
A girl who stood at one meter eighty, with a frame and voice more suited to a boy—that was no compliment.
"I told you it was possible." EunWoo said confidently, ignoring my stiff expression as he turned back to his manager.
"Possible? What's possible?" My voice sharpened again, bristling at being discussed like some experiment.
EunWoo suddenly reached for my hand, eyes pleading.
"Noona, can you take my place in Nova-X's comeback promotions?"
Every ounce of worry and fear I had carried with me until now exploded into raw disbelief at that outrageous request.
***