My Everything

Miyuki stood in darkness, awaiting her cue to step onto the stage. Her heart pounded in her chest and refused to calm down. It wasn’t that she was nervous about performing in front of so many people; she had done so many times before. What made her heart beat so fast was the question of how people would receive her, and more importantly what Jin would think of the performance she had prepared just for him.

“What a performance by Ai Ozawa! It was hard not to dance during that song. How did you all feel about it?” The roaring of the crowd answered the mascot’s question. “Way to go, Ozawa!”

Light poured into the dark for just a moment as Ai pushed through the curtain separating the stage from the space behind it.

“Good job,” Miyuki whispered to her.

Ai muttered a thanks and handed her a microphone while she continued moving past her.

“Are you all ready for the next performance?!” The virtual idol’s voice echoed through the building. Another deafening roar from the audience sounded in response. “That’s what I like to hear! The next idol we get to hear from is one that has gained popularity faster than most. Her most recent song before the Idol Awards, Phoenix, topped the charts! Please welcome to the stage, Miyuki Haruno!”

Readying herself with a deep breath, she pushed the curtain to the side and stepped onto the bright stage. Cheers rumbled through the audience, and although it was thunderous, it did not match the applause she had received during her last concert. Tens of thousands of people were seated before her, most of whom carried lights in their hands and were waving them in the air.

Above the stage was a massive screen that was used to display the Idol Awards’ mascot between performances and give the audience a close up of the singer during

Miyuki halted in the center of the stage and closed her eyes. ‘Just do your best,’ she told herself. ‘The only opinion that matters here is Jin’s.’  The upbeat tune of Miyuki’s new song blasted through the speakers all around the stage. She stayed still in wait for the moment where she would begin her performance. ‘Listen to my song, Jin. This will be the song… that finally reached you.’

Her eyes snapped open on cue, and her body moved fluidly to the beat of the music. She had practiced the choreography over and over again the past few days to the point where her body almost moved on its own in response to the beat.

The words came natural to her. She didn’t have to recall the lyrics or even review them beforehand. Every word in the song was an expression of her feelings for Jin, and the things she wanted to tell him. As such, the most difficult part of the song was not practicing it but formulating the lyrics. Nothing seemed right until the title revealed itself to her–My Everything.

Miyuki danced around the stage, singing with as much passion as she ever had before. Many in the crowd were captivated by her performance, led to either lean in and focus their all on her, or cheer their lungs out.

It relieved her that many of her fans were still loyal, especially after the scandal Luna had announced. Some may have walked away, but a good number remained her faithful supporters. The spotlights over the stage dimmed towards the end of the song. Other than the center light, the spotlights stopped shedding their light. Miyuki slowed to a halt under the remaining light and faced the audience.

She raised her arm to the sky and slowly lowered it toward the audience as she sang the final lyrics slower than the rest of the song. “No matter where, no matter when. If I’m with you, my beating heart knows that you’re my everything.”

As her voice trailed off, the last remaining spotlight faded, leaving the stage in total darkness. A pause, and then the stadium shook with applause. Miyuki lit up with joy and bowed to the fans. The spotlights overhead gradually returned to their standard brightness. While stepping back to make her exit, she waved to the audience.

On the screen above the stage, the 2D pink-haired idol popped in to give her comments. “Fantastic performance from Miyuki Haruno! There’s a reason she has the fastest growing fanbase, and we just witnessed it!”

Miyuki returned to the darkness backstage and paused. Luna was coming the other direction to meet her on the way to the stage.

“That was okay,” Luna said. “It’s too bad you were scheduled right before me. They’ll forget all about you when my performance begins,” she smirked.

“Good luck out there.” Miyuki handed her the microphone and started for the room where Komi was waiting for her.

“I don’t need luck,” Luna scoffed.

A tiny squeak sounded from the doorknob Miyuki twisted when opening the door. She spotted Komi sitting on a wooden chair toward the front of the room and approached her.

Komi looked up and bounced off the chair to meet Miyuki. “Great song! You killed it out there.”

“Thank you! I’m glad people still like me after what Luna said on the news,” she said.

“It’s impossible not to like you,” Komi smiled.

Music filled the air again as the last performance of the Idol Awards began. Almost drowned out by the noise was the buzz of Miyuki’s phone from the bag she had set on the desk earlier. “Excuse me a second,” Miyuki brushed past Komi to check her phone, hoping the message was from Jin. Unfortunately, it was only Nanami.

Girl, that was amazing!!! I’m so proud of you!!!

Following the text was a line of crying emojis that almost made Miyuki chuckle.

I’m happy you were able to make it today, she texted back.

The door opened again, and the woman that had sent each idol to wait backstage entered the room. “It’s almost voting time. All of you, please follow me to the stage.”

Miyuki shared a nervous glance with Komi and followed the woman out of the room with the other two idols. Their guide stepped to the side of the curtain and motioned for the idols to continue. Spotlights followed each of the four idols to their positions once they were onstage. All five were lined up across the stage, facing the audience.

“Let’s give a round of applause to these five idols!” The virtual idol suggested, causing an eruption of noise in the stadium. She continued only when the noise died down. “Wow, this was a wonderful Idol Awards. Everyone was a blast to listen to! But each person can only vote once, so make sure to think carefully about who your favorite is.”

The mascot vanished from the screen, replaced by a massive QR code. “Everyone, please scan this code and place your vote for one of these five talented girls.”

As instructed, the multitude pulled out their devices to scan the code. Miyuki’s eyes met with one of the three judges that sat at a table just below the stage. All three of the judges wore unreadable expressions that guarded the secret of who they would vote for.

Each passing minute deepened the growing anxiety within Miyuki. In just a few minutes, she would know who won this year’s Idol Awards.