When Alara completed her song, she lovingly placed it inside her Pop-up Memory Book. She crafted the paper so that when the page opened, the words she had written would rise up, catching the light like starlight.
Just then, she remembered the news she had seen two days ago—a massive LUMENIX concert was happening in Seoul.
Alara let out a soft sigh. "If only... if only I could go too," she whispered. Her heart yearned to be a part of that crowd, to see those Midnight Blue lights with her own eyes, and to hear Su-ho's voice live.
Suddenly, her gaze shifted to the corner of her cupboard where the golden chalk was hidden.
At first, she was terrified. Her mature mind began to warn her: What if you get caught? What if you lose your way? But her feelings for Su-ho were far deeper than any fear. To Alara, he wasn't just a star; he was her hope.
"I can do anything for Su-ho," she said to herself, a strange courage shining in her eyes.
She took the box out of the cupboard, removed the golden chalk, and stood before the mirror. She looked at her ordinary house clothes. She had always preferred simplicity and stayed away from makeup, but for the concert—for Lee Su-ho—she didn't want to look so ordinary.
"I can't go to the concert like this," she thought, looking at her natural beauty in the mirror. "Should I buy something first? Something that makes me look like an 'Aurora' among those thousands of fans?"
She gripped the chalk tightly. She now understood that this chalk didn't just open paths; it was the key to her dreams. For the first time, she was ready to erase the lines of her middle-class life.