Sarang's popularity in Korea and around the world was touching the sky. Especially in Korea, there hardly was a person, old or young who didn't know who Sarang was. Around 40% of her fans were in their late teens and twenties, a large number of them being college students.
Which is why Sarang was the first choice for organizers while selecting the headlining act for college music festivals. Sarang had been busy last year due to her tour and didn't accept the invitation sadly. However this time when Yonsei reached out to her to be the headliner Sarang immediately agreed.
Yonsei University, one of the top three universities of Korea, had a decades old tradition of holding a music festival every year. Though most of the universities held their own festivals, but Yonsei's Akaraka music festival is arguably the most famous one.
Akaraka is nothing short of a full blown private kpop concert. The tickets are just ₩17,000 at max and you get to see lots of famous kpop artists perform while enjoying with your college mates.
Sarang herself had attended the festival three years in a row as she too was a student at Yonsei and had enjoyed having fun with her friends and fellow college mates while singing along with all the songs.
Sarang had graduated the college this year with flying colors making her an alumni of the prestigious university.
This year however, things took an unexpected change when Sarang received a call from Yonsei's student council asking her if she could headline the event. Sarang had been hesitant at first since she'd never headlined such a big event but eventually she had agreed.
And that is how Sarang found herself standing backstage as the host introduced Sarang without giving away her name as people don't know who is performing until they go out on stage.
"Nervous?" Sarang looked up to see her friend looking at her with a raised brow.
"No, not really. Were you?" Sarang asked instead.
"Who me? Huh as if." Sarang chuckled as her friend dramatically flipped her hair.
"Don't lie, you used the toilet thrice in a span of 30 minutes cause of your nerves before we arrived here." Yeri exposed Joy making Joy sputter in disbelief.
"Yah I did not do that. And I wasn't nervous at all." Joy protested.
"Yes you did." Seulgi said matter of factly.
"And you definitely were nervous." Wendy chipped in while Irene and Yeri hummed their agreement.
Sarang smirked at her friend before pulling her into a hug. "Don't worry I'm not nervous at all and I surely won't be visiting the toilet seat thrice in a span of 30 minutes."
Joy groaned as she turned to look at Yeri, pointing an accusing finger at her, "Now she won't let me live this down."
They all just laughed good naturedly at Joy, comforting her that it happens to the best of us. Red Velvet along with Heize, Zico, AKMU, 10cm and ITZY were the idols set to perform at the show. All of them were done with their performances and Sarang was the only one left now.
"Sunbaenim, it's your cue." Jaehoon, a guy from English Literature department who was the head of student council and overlooking the entire event informed her, giving her an encouraging smile as she stood on stand by.
The crowd erupted in a deafening cheer when they heard the first chord of Just Do It (그냥 해), one of the tracks from her debut album. Sarang made her way onto the main stage and was met with a sea of blue, as everyone was wearing a Yonsei university shirt. The crowd was bigger than she had expected and for a moment Sarang's eyes slightly widened in surprise before she composed herself.
The crowd was jumping around singing word for word as Sarang performed her songs. After Just Do it, Sarang went on to perform Drunken Haze, My mistake, First Love, 20 something, Checkmate and Sacrifices back to back. The crowd was cheering and singing along through it all.
Midway through the performance Sarang made her way to the front of the stage and towards the side too where the audience were standing. As soon as she drew closer, they all frantically started waving their arms at her, extending their hands in hope of a handshake.
Some had even brought her gifts which was quite surprising considering they didn't know she'd be here. She accepted the teddy and the bouquet smiling at the fan who gave it to her, making the fan almost pass out.
"Hello everyone, I'm Sarang." Sarang introduced herself as she smiled and waved at the audience who all went absolutely feral and cheered so loudly Sarang wondered whether their throats would be fine tomorrow. From the sound of it, she feared most of them would have trouble speaking for atleast two days if not more.
"Just until last year I too was part of the blue ocean just like you guys and now that I got the chance to headline, it's such an honor, truly. Performing at Akaraka is something I've always looked forward to and I'm thankful that my wish got fulfilled."
"I hope you all are enjoying yourself-" More cheers from the crowd erupted, making Sarang laugh at them fondly.
"As your sunbae and as an artist, I wish you all the very best and hope that my performances can help alleviate your stress and give you lots of energy. With that let's go-" Sarang finished her speech as she started singing colors.
The crowd sang back everything enthusiastically. Since Sarang was the closing act, it was already pretty dark and the flashlights from the crowd made it look as if Sarang was staring at the night sky with thousands of stars twinkling.
Sarang had thought that the crowd had been pretty loud so far and there was no way it could be topped, but she was proven wrong when Sarang started singing New Life Begins and the crowd screamed so hard that Sarang couldn't even hear herself or the music through her in-ears. It was so loud that Sarang wondered if people living on the other side of city could hear the audience.
It felt so surreal as the people in crowd all placed their hands on each other's shoulder and sang New Life Begins, word for word. This crowd was different than the ones she was normally accustomed to. This wasn't her typical fanmeeting Or concert where it was full of her fans. No, this was a crowd full of non fans. And they were singing each and every line of her song.
Sarang felt an euphoric feeling rushing through her as the song hit the climax, people in the crowd waving their phone's flashlights and the banners they were holding.
This was one of the reasons she chose to become an idol. And she was forever grateful for it cause this was a dream every idol has dreamt at least once. And for her it wasn't just a dream anymore; she was living it.
As Sarang finished her performance she bowed and when she stood up she was met with thundering applause and people chanting her name at the top of their lungs.
"CHOI SARANG! CHOI SARANG! CHOI SARANG! SARANGHANEUN CHOI SARANG!"
Sarang stood there for a moment, transfixed by it all and took everything in, basking in this euphoric feeling, letting it full her veins and touch her soul.
She bowed once more before thanking the crowd and exiting the stage, the fan chants still roaring even after she left the stage.
Since she was done with her performance Sarang decided to enjoy the rest of the night. The performances by idols is just part one of the festival. The actual fun in her and every Yonsei student's opinion began at the afterparty. It is a showcase of the Yonsei spirit. Led by the iconic Yonsei’s cheering squad, the people in the venue all got together to sing the cheering songs that Yonsei would chant in tournaments. Regardless of which department you are from, the students all go hand in hand while singing the school cheering songs, showing the university’s unity.
It was the perfect way to end such an eventful night. Sarang sang along with the Yonsei chant, it was something every student of Yonsei knew by heart as it was one of the first things they were during their freshmen orientation. She had worn a Yonsei scarf one of the students had given her and was having the best time of her life as the Cheering squad performed the iconic Yonsei cheering routine. Tonight she was just a regular college graduate enjoying the night with her friends and college mates as she sang along to song that unites the entire university.
That night as Sarang went to sleep, though she was exhausted and too tired to even move, she sighed happily remembering the amazing night.
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A/N:- If you guys haven't watched Akaraka festival, I recommend you to watch it, you can find clips on YouTube. It's such a fun event. Some of you might've seen the drama Cheer Up, the cheering routine they do is originally of Akaraka.
I wanted Sarang to have as many opportunities and attend as many event as she can since she's a top idol. I hope you guys liked this chapter.
Thank you everyone for your support, it means the world to me 🥺❣️
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