Despite his dire efforts to showcase his skills, “he’s so handsome”, “look at his ikemen face”, “he’s so beautiful” were the type of compliments that Ginsei always received. He had come to hate his gorgeous face. No matter how much effort he put into his work—those sleepless nights he spent polishing his acting and dancing skills— all people saw was his attractive face. What most men would give to have a face like his, but for Ginsei, his face was a curse.

This “curse” of his was taking a toll on his mental strength. The insecurities he was running from were catching up to him little-by-little. What made it even worse was Kei, his idol, joining Starless. Ginsei never once thought he would meet Kei in person, let alone perform with him in the same team. Kei had a powerful stage presence, the type of aura that could leave anyone in awe, and Ginsei had to match up to him. No matter how hard he tried, he always thought he fell short. His insecurities were getting stronger—much stronger. Unbeknownst to Ginsei, a member of Starless had caught a hint of his faltering confidence.

After Team K’s performance was over, Ginsei made his way to the locker room, mentally criticizing himself for not performing properly.

“Hey Ginsei. Good job performing tonight. It was your best performance.”

Ginsei was surprised by those words as he turned to see one of his coworkers beaming at him. Ginsei couldn’t believe that he was being complimented for his performance, especially by a member of Starless. As Team K’s second scoured his mind for an appropriate reaction to the compliment, he saw a flower being held in his direction. It took Ginsei a few moments to register that the grayish-blue bloom was his support flower generally given to him by his fans.

“This flower is for your performance. Keep up the good work.”

The ikemen stared at the flower in his hand and could only manage to utter a quiet thanks. This gift is for my performance? Not for my looks.

“Hey, Ginsei. Don’t overthink too much about all this. You’re a talented guy, and even if your fans don’t say it, they like your performance. They know you put in a lot of hard work to please them. Keep your head up and be confident.”

Ginsei watched as the cast member headed into the locker room to change for his upcoming shift. For the first time, he felt stronger than his insecurities, like he had managed to outrun them. Maybe…just maybe I can overcome this.

“Thank you, Yakou.”