Chapter 146 The First Step to Becoming a Superstar
The temples on Seoraksan Mountain are even quieter and more ancient because they are located on a snowy mountain. The snow, which is almost above the ankles, has been swept out to form a straight aisle. In the white sky, there are only brown buildings standing in the snow.
The unopened temple has no curling smoke of incense and no lingering Buddhist chants; it just stands there between heaven and earth.
Even people like Ye-eun and Kwon Ji-yong who don't believe in gods or Buddhas couldn't help but remain silent as they felt the sacredness and sense of desolation in this temple.
The two sat on the corridor outside the temple. Ye-eun propped up her chin and looked at the snowflakes that began to fall again and sighed, "It's so quiet."
Quan Zhilong also looked into the distance in silence. He is a person who draws nourishment from all kinds of creations, and has his own unique insights into any scenery and any story. In this quiet environment, a melody began to emerge in his mind.
But he was soon interrupted by the noise behind him.
He glanced at the people behind him and asked hesitantly, "What did Han Xing Nuna say to you just now?"
Ye-eun tilted her head, her eyes curved, and held a finger in front of her mouth: "Secret!"
Quan Zhilong was stunned for a moment, then he smiled, put his hands back and looked at the clouds in the sky, which were as white as snow, "I know."
Her saying that meant it was Nuna's privacy, so he naturally wouldn't ask any more questions.
"Are you nervous?" Ye-eun glanced at Kwon Ji-yong. His hair had been dyed back to black, making it even more conspicuous against the endless white.
Quan Zhilong raised an eyebrow, knowing that Ye Eun was asking about his solo concert, and answered casually: "I'm not nervous."
He was not nervous at all at this moment, because everything was going perfectly, the lighting, the music selection, the guests...
Thinking of the guests, Quan Zhilong suddenly smiled and said, "Are you sure you don't want to be a guest?"
Yi Eun looked at him and nodded seriously: "I really don't want to go."
Quan Zhilong looked at her, his eyes curved, and he raised his hands to gently hug Yien. In the snow, he couldn't help but kissed Yien, "I know, then Yien, you can be the audience."
As this is G-Dragon’s first concert, Ye-eun thought that she should try her best to make all the fans happy. She curved her eyes and stretched out her hand towards Quan Zhilong, "Remember to give me the ticket, I'm afraid I won't be able to get it."
Quan Zhilong laughed and held her hand back, "I know."
On the second day of the two-day holiday, they took Jiahu and Julie to the beach for a leisurely stroll. When they returned to Seoul, they even exclaimed loudly that life in a small city can really calm one's mind.
Quan Zhilong, who said he was not nervous at the time, suddenly started biting his fingers nervously after walking the route.
Yien sighed and held his hand, then lowered her head and applied transparent nail polish on his hand. After applying two, she suddenly laughed again: "Oh, do you remember the first time you helped me paint my nails? I was about to cry at that time, but you were still laughing..."
Quan Zhilong was stunned for a moment, "Ah? When?"
He looked at his hands and racked his brains, thinking, "When have I ever been so worthy of a beating?"
Yien glanced at him, curled the corners of her mouth, and just looked at him without saying anything.
Quan Zhilong touched his nose guiltily...ah, he really didn't remember this happening.
"I'll settle with you after your concert." Ye-eun put her hands on her hips and looked at Quan Zhilong. "Now, sleep well and do your best at the concert tomorrow!"
G—Dragon Shine a Light concert.
Ye-eun wore a hat and a mask, and did not go backstage. She carefully carried out her role as an audience member and picked and chose at the small fan stalls before the concert.
"How much is this?" She held a crown light in her left hand and a banner in her right hand that read "G-Dragon is VIP".
The stall owners were mostly fans too. They glanced at the banner in her hand and said, "5,000."
Ye-eun said, “Oh,” put down the banner in her hand, and picked up another smaller one, “What about this one?”
"..." The girl took one look at this VIP dressed in designer clothes and felt speechless. Sister, you are wearing such expensive clothes, why are you so hesitant about buying a banner? She sighed and looked at the small banner held by the VIP wearing a silver ripple ring. "This one is 3,000, but it's much smaller. It's big enough for GD Oppa to see it clearly."
Ye-eun lowered her head and paid 3,000 won from her wallet, saying in a low voice, "It doesn't matter whether you see it or not."
She just wanted to experience the process and mood of fans watching a concert. Why would it be necessary to buy a 5K won banner for people she sees every day?
After paying, she went to the entrance ticket gate and lined up. The girl selling peripherals looked at the 3,000 won note and couldn't help but complain to the girl next to her: "I thought rich people were willing to spend money, just like our Oppa."
“…Sure enough, there are people like Lee Ye-eun.” The girl at the same stall pursed her lips.
Ye-eun, carrying a small bag, holding a crown light and a banner, quietly waited among the fans for ticket checking to enter.
The excited voices of fans could be heard all around, and there was no fan who was not looking forward to Kwon Ji-Dragon's first solo concert.
Yien's eyes curved, and she couldn't help but shake the crown lamp in her hand before entering the venue.
When it was her turn, she handed the ID and ticket to the staff. The staff's pupils trembled, and he looked up at her. Adhering to his professionalism, he tried to calmly return it to her: "Okay, go in."
Ye-eun put the ID back into her pocket. This time, the ticket she got was for the standing room closest to the stage. By the time she lined up to enter, many fans were already standing in the pit.
Men and women were crowded together, the lights in the venue were still on, everyone's face was excited, and Ye-eun couldn't stop laughing.
The girl standing next to her took a look at Ye-eun's outfit, then looked away casually and talked to her friend next to her.
Soon, fans came in one after another, the lights dimmed, and everyone shouted excitedly. The excitement was so great that Ye-eun couldn't help but cheer along.
She waved the crown lamp in her hand slightly and watched the big screen show Quan Zhilong with his head down and buttoning his cuffs, then raised his hand to scan the various accessories, and finally picked up the red rose ring and put it on his hand.
The VCR with the sound of Kwon Ji-yong's breathing while walking mixed with the sound of his intense heartbeat. Before he even appeared on the stage, the fans were already screaming just by watching the opening VCR, "Ahhhhh Jiyong!"
When the music of "Heartbreaker" sounded, everyone's cheers were like a tidal wave.
Ye-eun looked up and saw him standing in the middle of a huge apple with his hands raised high. When he raised the microphone and sang the first line of the lyrics, the apple moved to both sides and G-Dragon finally appeared.
The girls around her were so excited that they were incoherent, shouting "GD" and then "kwon Jiyong" a few seconds later. Ye-eun also raised the crown light and waved it vigorously.
Just a white shirt, white pants and a simple silver-gray vest made Kwon Ji-yong look extremely dazzling on the stage.
When Ye-eun saw him casually waving his hands and all the fans waving the crown lights in unison, she couldn't help but stop her movements, as if there was something she could learn...
She couldn't help but start thinking in her mind. She usually went on stage with her fellow members. If she was alone on the stage, how would she mobilize the fans' emotions and how would she control a concert that would last nearly two hours.
However, the next moment she shook her head frantically. No, don’t think about it now. Just enjoy it first!
The music switched to "This Love" and Kwon Ji-yong raised his hands and waved them up and down to the beat. His confident and domineering look made Ye-eun and all the fans unable to help but start waving the crown lights to his rhythm.
When he bumped into the dancers and flew out like a spring, Ye-eun couldn't help but scream, "Kwon Ji-yong!"
Only people who practice dancing know how difficult it is to perform the feeling of being suspended in the air after being knocked away. She couldn't help but squint her eyes, her heart filled with pride.
However, when she heard the fans' uniform cheers when he sang "This Love", Ye-eun pursed her lips in embarrassment, ah... she didn't know how to cheer.
The girl next to me was singing the words of support loudly. Looking at the girl next to me who was frozen, I sighed in my heart. It seems that she is not a die-hard fan. She doesn't even know how to cheer.
For a moment, she proudly cheered with other fans, and the crown light in her hand was about to leave an afterimage.
Ye-eun could only wave the crown light along with everyone else. Thinking of Blackjack who would also cheer at a fixed position for each song, she couldn't help but sigh that the fans were working too hard. They had to remember the cheers for every song, and she didn't know how much time and energy it took to do it.
She couldn't help but smile. They must be so happy to receive so much love.
"Hello!" After singing and dancing for two consecutive songs, Quan Zhilong pulled his collar, held up the microphone, looked up and greeted everyone.
"Hello!" The whole audience greeted him.
Quan Zhilong curved his eyes and looked at the sea of crowns that lit up for him alone for the first time, his heart filled with nervousness, excitement, and satisfaction. He shouted to the left again, listening attentively to the fans' response. The loud "hello" made him raise the microphone again and say, "Say hello!"
After a few responses, he turned around and took off his jacket, raised his eyebrows and said proudly and confidently amid the screams of fans: "DJ, beat that sh*t!"
Ye-eun couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. Well, although our GD smokes, drinks, and swears, he is really a good boy!
She couldn't help laughing as she watched him put on the yellow jacket on the dancer's hand. When she saw Dara Ernie coming out from behind the stage, she held up the crown light and screamed, "Ah Dara!!!"
The girls around her looked at her strangely again. Who is she a fan of? However, she couldn't help but scream out when she heard Dara's sweet voice, "Ahhhh!"
Kwon Ji-yong was on the stage, raising his hands and spinning around with Dara in a playful manner. Their cute dance like a child made Ye-eun's eyes crinkle.
Even when Kwon Ji-yong raised his fist and gently hit Dara's shoulder, then raised his hands to rub his eyes coquettishly, even though she knew it was all a stage design, she still sighed in her heart, "Oh my god, our Ji-yong is so cute."
For a moment, she almost doubted whether she loved Kwon Ji-yong too much and that was why she felt, "Why is this guy so cute?"
Kwon Ji-yong hugged Dara's arm and disappeared from the lift. Ye-eun heard the girl next to her silently complaining, "Dara is the authentic one!"
"Isn't Gbom cute?" When Kwon Ji-yong disappeared from the stage, another girl couldn't help but sigh, "Oh, our GD looks good with everyone."
Yeen couldn't help but shrink her shoulders. Ah, there were so many words that she had never heard of before but understood in one second.
She touched her nose through the mask and watched Quan Zhilong, who reappeared on the stage, walk to the center circle stage, put his hands behind his back, bent over and carefully looked at each fan. She complained in her heart: "What kind of old man's posture is this? Ye Eun, you couldn't do this in your previous concerts!"
As soon as she finished complaining in her heart, she met the eyes of Quan Zhilong who was under the spotlight. He was bending over with his hands behind his back, his eyes narrowed, and he looked at everyone one by one as if nothing had happened. The girls around him met his gaze, screamed excitedly and waved the crown lights in their hands.
After walking around the central stage, Quan Zhilong stood still and bowed to all the fans. "Let me formally introduce myself. I am the new singer G-Dragon."
“Ahhh!” Everyone screamed and looked at the “new singer”. He continued, “My mission today is to make everyone have fun to the point of going crazy. Are you ready?”
"Yes!" Yien waved the crown lamp with a curved eye.
Quan Zhilong unconsciously glanced over here, and when he looked back ahead, the corners of his mouth rose again: "For the next song, I have to go over there."
He raised his hand and pointed at the bathtub on the side stage, "Hey, there's a bathtub over there."
Kwon Ji-yong's puzzled tone drew everyone's attention. Even Ye-eun, who knew the function of this device, stood on tiptoe to look.
The bathtub was so small that only a child could lie down in it. Kwon Ji-yong walked up the stairs into the bathtub, stepped right in the center of the bathtub, lifted one foot and put it on the front of the bathtub, and made a Superman pose while shouting "Music".
"..." Ye-eun couldn't help but hold her forehead when she heard everyone screaming in unison. Just rely on everyone's pampering, G-Dragon.
He stepped onto the bathtub to the side stage. There was a red clothes hanger next to the bathtub. He took off his yellow coat and put on the white suit jacket on the hanger.
His forehead was slightly sweaty, but he smiled happily, "I have participated in many songs since ten years ago. At that time, I was just a trainee. Now it's time to review the songs I sang during my trainee period with everyone."
He said proudly, "Gpod show up!"
A "mobile phone" with his album cover as wallpaper appeared on the big screen. "Shine a light!"
He shouted, "What do you want to hear?!"
The screen of the "mobile phone" instantly turned into a menu. Quan Zhilong raised his hand, and the mouse on it moved as he raised his hand.
Seeing her father's new technology being put into use, Yien's eyes narrowed.
Quan Zhilong clicked on the menu and waved his hands left and right. The record images on the screen changed as he collected them. The speed change from left to right also completely matched the waving frequency of Quan Zhilong's hands. "SE7EN? Perry's Storm? What else?"
He stopped what he was doing, and the record on the screen also stopped moving. Quan Zhilong turned around curiously and asked, "What do you want to listen to?"
"Storm!!!"
"My age is thirteen!"
"Disco!"
The song request format, which had never been performed in a concert before, shocked the fans. They screamed excitedly and chanted out the songs he had sung during his trainee period as if they were his own children.
Quan Zhilong listened attentively for a while, then raised the corner of his mouth, turned his head to look at the screen again, raised his hand and swiped in the air again, "Which one should I choose? Korean hip-hop—Flex, my age is thirteen years old!"
He turned around and bowed to everyone. Behind him was a VCR of himself singing at the age of thirteen, and on the stage was the twenty-three-year-old Quan Zhilong.
"I am thirteen years old, which is too young for this world."
"Rap and flow, I have fun with it, it's just my playground."
"I am twenty-three (you are thirteen)."
It was like G-Dragon ten years ago was giving a feat to the now 23-year-old Kwon Ji-yong. That childish voice and Kwon Ji-yong’s current voice blended together miraculously.
It seems that after ten years, the immature Kwon Ji-Yong on the big screen has finally transformed into the G-Dragon on the stage with graceful movements and confidence in every move.
Yien's heartbeat began to beat faster and faster. At that moment, she even felt that in this venue filled with the cheers of thousands of people, her own heartbeat stood out and appeared in her ears.
This feeling... She couldn't help but blink, as if it was the same feeling she had when she first saw Kwon Ji-yong at YG Family's concert.
She lowered her head and covered her heart, and couldn't help blinking. She liked him so much... She liked Quan Zhilong both in life and on the stage.
For a moment she was suddenly a little dazed... Could it be that she was moved at that time?
Quan Zhilong on the stage clicked on "Storm" again. After singing the song with his childhood self, he smiled and said, "Isn't it cute?"
The scene from five years ago suddenly overlapped with the present. Her eyes curved and she cheered amidst her intense heartbeat, "Yeah! So cute!"
The fans around him smiled proudly, even new fans can’t resist our GD’s stage charm!
Quan Zhilong on the stage also curled his lips, "I think it's cute too. So who's next? Lexy? YMGA? Huisheng?"
He mentioned the names of the YG hip-hop seniors who helped him release songs when he was a kid one by one, and Ye-eun could recall every related scene in his mind. Finally, he curved his eyes and said, "YG Family's second album, handsome gentleman!"
"Raise your hands!" Quan Zhilong shouted excitedly, "Roar!"
This guy actually started shaking his butt towards the fans following the lyrics of the song "wiggle his butt". Looking at Kwon Ji-yong who was obviously getting excited on the stage, Ye-eun's eyes were full of smiles.
"As for me, when I see my childhood self, I really want to ravage him..." He finished this sentence with a smile. When he heard everyone's exaggerated laughter, he suddenly remembered that this was a concert and smiled guiltily, "Yeah, I was just kidding."
Everyone laughed again, and Kwon Ji-yong shyly raised his hand again, "This time, G-Dragon, do you know this song?"
“Yes!” the fans shouted. “Yes!”
“Here I am!” Kwon Ji-yong, wearing a white suit, raised his hand and waved twice, with a domineering expression, “It’s troublesome if you don’t know my name, say what!”
Just like five years ago, Ye-eun's eyes were curved, but at that time she had nothing in her hands, but now she held a crown light and a banner; at that time, Zhilong was only a supporting role on the stage, but standing next to him he was the undisputed protagonist.
She shouted, "Pull the chicken over!"
The music of "Young Man" sounded, and Kwon Ji-yong, wearing a white suit, stood in the center of the dancers wearing black suits.
"Young man, use your handsome voice to shout to the world, Shine A light!"
"The countless questions, the countless sweat and cold tears I have shed in the past ten years are about to begin again!"
As Kwon Ji-yong's falsetto changed, the music also changed accordingly, and the music of "Young Man" smoothly turned into MJ's "Dangerous". Kwon Ji-yong put on a white hat and did the moonwalk as a tribute. Then, as the stage lights went out, his voice of questioning was heard.
"What's your name?" asked the 23-year-old Quan Zhilong.
"My name is Kwon Ji-yong, I'm eight years old, and I want to be someone who can rap well." A childish and cute voice sounded in the darkness.
A younger Kwon Ji-yong appeared on the big screen, and the way he rapped in a baby voice made Ye-eun feel as if she had returned to her childhood.
However, when she saw Quan Zhilong dancing on the stage imitating his childhood self, she came back to her senses, her eyes full of pride, and thought to herself.
"Not only have you become a great rapper, but... you're slowly starting to become a well-deserved superstar in this country." Ye-eun held up the crown lamp and waved it vigorously.
Hello, eight-year-old Kwon Ji-yong and thirteen-year-old Kwon Ji-yong. Twenty-year-old Ye-eun and twenty-three-year-old Kwon Ji-yong have not let down their efforts over the past decade.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
