Chapter 13 – Live Questioning: Question 7
LIVE BROADCAST – "Behind the Gold: AUREUS Unfiltered" – Episode 1 (Continued)
Current Viewership: 27.2 million
The air hums with the kind of silence that only follows the weight of a soul-baring confession. Lights shimmer gold across the studio, casting halos on the seven idols seated beneath them—gilded shadows made flesh.
Host Jeon Mira lifts the next card slowly, her voice softer now, the atmosphere reverent.
Host Jeon Mira (gently):
"Question seven.
'If you could relive one moment—just once—what would it be?'"
The live chat crackles with anticipation.
LIVE CHAT – TRANSLATED IN REAL TIME
@spilledchampagne: OH we're getting PERSONAL now
@aureusinthemoon: bet this one breaks me
@jhaeobsessed: is it finally about her again…?
Minjae stares into the lights as if searching for a lost sky.
Minjae (smiling faintly):
"The night we got our first win. I remember thinking—this is it. And then I looked beside me and saw everyone crying. I'd want to feel that again."
Rin (calmly):
"My last conversation with my grandfather. I'd listen more. Ask more. Stay longer."
Hyunwoo:
"Just before our debut stage. That feeling in my chest... like I was about to step into the future. I'd bottle it if I could."
Sori (without hesitation):
"Watching the ocean alone in Jeju after our first tour. No phones. No staff. Just waves. It felt like I belonged to something larger than myself."
Jisung (softly):
"My childhood music room. The one place I never felt like I had to be good. I could just be."
Taeyang:
"The exact second my mom called me a star. I want to hear her say it again. Not because of the fame—but because she believed in me before anyone else."
Then silence.
The camera turns.
It lingers.
On Jaeheon.
His expression is still. Blank. But his eyes—his eyes are far away, like they've left the studio behind.
And then, softly, he speaks.
Jaeheon (voice low, reverent):
"The first time I saw her…
In that ballroom—
Where the chandeliers were cut from stardust and the floors whispered in gold."
A hush falls over the entire room.
Jaeheon (continues, slow and spellbound):
"The world's wealth gathered beneath a ceiling of diamonds, but none of it mattered. Not when she walked in.
I remember the sound—of silence—
As if the entire world held its breath to make room for her."
He blinks slowly, as if seeing it again behind his eyes.
Jaeheon (with aching precision):
"Her dress was deep sapphire silk, embroidered with constellations in silver thread.
The hem moved like smoke over marble.
Her earrings—
Moonstone droplets, cold against golden skin.
A single diamond necklace, resting just above her collarbone.
And her lips—
Soft. Curved. Shaped like a question I never had the courage to answer."
His voice catches, just briefly. He doesn't stop.
Jaeheon:
"Her eyes…
Blue. But not just blue.
They were the color of frozen lakes before dawn.
The kind of gaze that knew everything, and spared you nothing."
A pause. His throat moves with a swallow.
Jaeheon (barely above a whisper):
"And her hair—
Blonde, but not yellow.
It shimmered like molten gold, like light itself had decided to follow her instead of the sun."
The audience is frozen. Even Jeon Mira forgets to breathe.
Jaeheon:
"I remember everything.
The exact angle of her gaze.
The way she tilted her head as if unimpressed with the universe.
The scent of gardenias in the air.
The warmth of the room…
How it disappeared the moment she turned away."
His voice drops even lower, as if confessing a prayer.
Jaeheon:
"If I could relive anything…
It wouldn't be the debut.
Or our win.
Or even the day I first stepped on stage.
It would be that moment—
The first time I saw her.
Because that was the moment I stopped being free."
LIVE CHAT EXPLODES
@holyobsession: STOP I'M SOBBING
@woundedsymphony: he didn't fall for her—he FELL THROUGH THE FLOOR
@whispersandgold: "the moment I stopped being free" IS HE OKAY
Jeon Mira (after a long silence, voice cracking slightly):
"Jaeheon… do you still—?"
Jaeheon (flatly, but not unkind):
"I told you.
She's not from this world.
And some things aren't meant for the cameras."
He looks up then, eyes piercing through the lens.
Jaeheon:
"Let them forget me.
As long as she remembers."
[BACKSTAGE – PRODUCER ROOM]
"Twenty-nine million. We just broke the national record. That wasn't an answer. That was a love letter disguised as a memory."
[MEDIA BUZZ – ARTICLE DROP]
Headline: "'As Long As She Remembers' – Jaeheon of AUREUS Recites Heartbreaking Memory of Mysterious Woman"
Excerpt:
The most elusive idol in Korea delivered yet another poetic, intimate monologue live. Fans are demanding to know: who is the woman behind the legend?
[FAN POV – @gildedsighs]
"This isn't just love. This is the kind of obsession that breaks timelines. He never moved on. He never wanted to."
[IN-STUDIO – HOST WRAPS UP QUESTION 7]
Jeon Mira (gently):
"I… I don't think we'll ever hear another answer like that again."
She turns to the rest of the group.
"And with that, question seven leaves us breathless."
She fans herself, but her smile is soft now. Honest.
Jeon Mira:
"Three questions left. And I think we've all realized… this isn't just a show anymore. This is history in the making."