78: Chapter 79 Comeback Show Day

The KBS interview car drove away.

Qian Xu stood at the entrance of Yunmengze Life Plaza.

He looked at the time on his phone.

Three in the afternoon.

The Comeback Show.

Seven o'clock tonight.

He took a deep breath.

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from Jeon Bo-ram.

"Mr. Qian, we're at the Livehouse!"

"Rehearsing for the last time!"

"When are you coming over?"

Qian Xu replied.

"Right away."

Hongdae, STAGE 28.

Qian Xu pushed open the door.

He froze.

On the stage, six people stood in a row, wearing matching white performance outfits.

Park So-yeon stood in the center, holding a microphone.

Jeon Bo-ram stood to her left, winking at him.

Ham Eun-jung stood to her right, her expression serious.

Park Hyomin sat in a wheelchair, also holding a microphone.

Lee Qri and Park Ji-yeon stood in the back row.

Six people. All lined up neatly.

"Mr. Qian!" Ham Eun-jung spoke up.

"This is the last rehearsal."

"Do you want to listen?"

"Yes."

Qian Xu walked to the front of the stage and sat in the first row.

"Begin."

The intro began.

The Chinese version of "a little happiness".

The voices of the six people echoed in the Livehouse.

Park So-yeon's voice was very steady. The high notes were clear and bright.

Jeon Bo-ram's voice was soft, as if she were acting cute.

Ham Eun-jung's voice was powerful, carrying the determination of a mature woman.

Park Hyomin sang while sitting down, her voice still full of strength.

Lee Qri and Park Ji-yeon's harmonies blended perfectly.

Qian Xu closed his eyes and listened.

The six voices were like they were telling a story.

A story about waiting.

A story about rebirth.

The song ended.

Qian Xu opened his eyes, stood up, and applauded.

"Good."

He walked onto the stage.

All six of them looked at him.

"Tonight, you will make everyone remember T-ARA."

The six of them had red-rimmed eyes.

Jeon Bo-ram was the first to rush over and hug him.

"Mr. Qian! Thank you!"

Qian Xu was stunned for a moment, then smiled. He gently patted her back.

"Don't cry. Your makeup will run."

Jeon Bo-ram let him go and wiped away her tears.

"Yeah! I won't cry!"

6:30 PM.

Outside Hongdae, STAGE 28, a long line had already formed.

Three hundred tickets, all sold out.

The line stretched from the entrance all the way to the street corner.

There were young male fans, as well as female fans in their thirties.

Some people held up support signs that read: "T-ARA FOREVER", "Welcome Back".

Qian Xu stood at the second-floor window, watching the crowd below, and smiled.

His phone vibrated. It was a message from Kim Min-jun.

"Mr. Qian, the online livestream is also ready."

"The Naver livestream room is open."

"Currently, there are 50,000 people online."

Qian Xu replied, "Good. Start on time at seven."

7:00 PM sharp.

STAGE 28.

The lights dimmed. The whole venue went quiet.

In the center of the stage, the big screen lit up. A line of text appeared: "T-ARA", "WE ARE BACK".

The whole venue erupted in screams.

The lights came back on. The six of them stood on the stage, wearing white performance outfits.

Park So-yeon stood in the center, Jeon Bo-ram stood to her left, and Ham Eun-jung stood to her right.

Park Hyomin sat in a wheelchair. Lee Qri and Park Ji-yeon stood in the back row.

Six people. All lined up neatly.

"Hello everyone," Ham Eun-jung began, her voice trembling slightly.

"We are T-ARA."

The venue erupted in screams again. Some people cried. Some people shouted the members' names.

"Boram Unnie!"

"Eunjung Unnie!"

"So-yeon Unnie!"

"Hyomin Unnie!"

"Qri Unnie!"

"Ji-yeon!"

The intro began.

The first song, the Korean version of "restart". This was a new song, performed in public for the first time.

The six voices echoed in the Livehouse.

Park So-yeon's voice was very steady. The high notes were clear and bright.

Jeon Bo-ram's voice was soft, with a hint of acting cute.

Ham Eun-jung's voice was powerful, full of the determination of a mature woman.

Park Hyomin sang while sitting down, her voice still full of strength.

Lee Qri and Park Ji-yeon's harmonies blended perfectly.

The three hundred people in the audience were all quiet, listening.

Some raised their phones to record videos. Some hummed along. Some cried.

The song ended.

The venue erupted in enthusiastic applause.

"Thank you!" Ham Eun-jung bowed.

"Next, is a special song. The Chinese version of 'a little happiness'. Dedicated to everyone who has waited for us."

The audience erupted in screams again.

The intro began. A familiar melody, but the lyrics were in Chinese.

Park So-yeon began, "I hear raindrops falling on the green grass." Her pronunciation was standard. Her voice was gentle, as if telling a story.

Jeon Bo-ram continued, "I hear the bell ringing after class in the distance." Her voice was soft, as if acting cute.

Ham Eun-jung continued, "But I didn't hear your voice." Her voice was powerful, carrying determination.

Park Hyomin sang while sitting down, "Earnestly calling my name." Her voice was full of strength.

Lee Qri and Park Ji-yeon's harmonies blended perfectly.

The three hundred people in the audience were all quiet, listening. Some hummed along. Some cried. Some held up their phones to record videos.

The song ended.

The venue erupted in enthusiastic applause.

"Thank you!" The six of them bowed. Park So-yeon's eyes were red.

"This song is dedicated to everyone who has waited for us. And also to one person."

She looked into the audience, toward Qian Xu in the first row.

"Thank you. For giving us a second chance."

The venue erupted in applause again. Qian Xu sat in the audience and smiled.

His phone vibrated. It was a message from Kim Min-jun.

"Mr. Qian, the online livestream. The number of online viewers has broken 500,000!"

Qian Xu looked at the message, stunned. 500,000?

He opened the Naver livestream room. The screen displayed: [Online viewers: 502,000] [Likes: 1.2 million] [Comments: 87,000].

He smiled, put away his phone, and watched the six people on stage.

They were singing the final song, the Korean version of "Little Apple". This was their Chinese single, in a Korean version.

The whole venue went wild. Some danced along. Some sang along. Some cried. Some laughed.

9:00 PM.

The Comeback Show ended.

The six of them stood on stage and bowed.

"Thank you everyone! We are T-ARA!"

The venue erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Some shouted: "T-ARA FOREVER!", "Welcome back!", "We will support you forever!"

The six of them had red-rimmed eyes. Jeon Bo-ram was the first to cry. Ham Eun-jung hugged her. Park So-yeon also cried. Park Hyomin sat in her wheelchair, tears streaming down. Lee Qri and Park Ji-yeon also cried. The six of them hugged each other and cried.

Qian Xu stood off-stage, watching them, and smiled.

His phone vibrated. It was a system notification. He opened it.

[T-ARA Comeback Show completed] [Live audience: 300 people] [Online livestream viewers: 502,000] [Cultural export value: +1 million] [Cumulative cultural export value: 2.778 million] [South Korea's favorability toward China: 28.5%]

He smiled, put away his phone, and walked onto the stage.

The six of them were still crying. Seeing him come up, they all looked up.

"Mr. Qian..." Jeon Bo-ram wiped her tears. "We succeeded..."

"Yes," Qian Xu smiled. "You succeeded. T-ARA. Is back."

The six of them all smiled. Ham Eun-jung walked over and hugged him. "Thank you, Mr. Qian."

Qian Xu was stunned for a moment, then smiled. He gently patted her back. "It's what I should do."

Park So-yeon also walked over and looked at him. "Mr. Qian. Tonight. Is the happiest night. Of our lives."

Qian Xu smiled. "There will be many more happy nights in the future."

The six of them all laughed. Jeon Bo-ram wiped her tears. "Mr. Qian! Let's celebrate tonight! I'll treat you to Korean BBQ!"

"Okay," Qian Xu smiled. "Tonight. My treat." The six of them cheered.

10:00 PM.

A Korean BBQ restaurant in Hongdae.

The seven of them sat around a table. The table was filled with pork belly, soju, and beer.

"Cheers!" Ham Eun-jung raised her glass. "To T-ARA! To the successful comeback! Cheers!"

The seven of them clinked glasses and downed their drinks.

Jeon Bo-ram picked up a piece of pork belly and placed it on the grill.

"Mr. Qian. Did 500,000 people really watch the livestream tonight?"

"Yes," Qian Xu nodded. "502,000 people. We should have hit the Naver hot search list too."

Jeon Bo-ram's eyes lit up. "Really? Does that mean we're famous?"

"Yes," Qian Xu smiled. "You are famous. T-ARA. Is back."

The six of them all smiled. Park So-yeon raised her glass. "Mr. Qian. This drink is to you. Thank you for giving us a second chance."

Qian Xu looked at her. "No need to thank me. You deserve it."

Park So-yeon's eyes turned red. "Yeah." She drank the glass of alcohol.

11:00 PM.

Outside the BBQ restaurant.

The six of them stood by the roadside. Jeon Bo-ram had drunk a bit too much. Her face was flushed, and she leaned on Ham Eun-jung.

"Mr. Qian..." she looked at Qian Xu. "Tomorrow... is there still rehearsal tomorrow?"

"No more," Qian Xu smiled. "Take a day off tomorrow. We'll rehearse again the day after."

Jeon Bo-ram smiled. "Okay... Then tomorrow... I'll sleep until I wake up naturally..."

Ham Eun-jung supported her. "Mr. Qian, we'll head back first. She's had too much to drink."

"Okay," Qian Xu nodded. "Be careful on the way." Ham Eun-jung nodded and supported Jeon Bo-ram as they left.

Park So-yeon walked over and looked at him. "Mr. Qian. Good night."

"Good night." Qian Xu smiled. "Rest well tomorrow."

"Yeah." Park So-yeon nodded and turned to leave.

Park Hyomin sat in her wheelchair, with Lee Qri pushing her. "Mr. Qian, we're leaving too."

"Okay," Qian Xu nodded. "Hyomin, take good care of your foot."

"Yeah." Park Hyomin smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Qian."

Park Ji-yeon walked at the back. She turned around and waved at him. "Mr. Qian! Good night!"

"Good night." Qian Xu smiled.

The six of them had all left. Qian Xu stood at the entrance of the BBQ restaurant, watching their retreating figures, and smiled.

His phone vibrated. It was a system notification. He opened it.

[T-ARA Comeback Show ignites the entire internet] [Naver Hot Search: #T-ARA Comeback #Chinese Capital #a little happiness] [South Korea's favorability toward China: 28.5% → 28.7%]

He smiled, put away his phone, and looked at the night sky of Seoul. Brightly lit.

He smiled. This was just the beginning.