The Stage That Waited

Chapter 11: The Stage That Waited

The lights were hotter than she remembered.

Xinyi stood in the wings, her in-ear monitor snug against her jaw, mic taped gently against her cheek. The hum of the crowd leaked through the curtains in waves–cheering, chanting, pulsing. The pre-recorded intro played overhead. Her group members stood beside her, trembling in unison.

“Ready?” one of the girls asked, eyes wide with adrenaline.

Xinyi nodded.

But inside, her heart was a storm.

Not from fear.

From arrival.

This was the stage that had waited for her. All those years of hiding, of whispering her truth into a camera lens, of biting back the ache of wanting more–had led to this.

And now it was here.

The curtain rose.

The music hit.

Xinyi stepped forward.

Not as a shadow. Not as an act. But as someone who had clawed her way through layers of doubt to finally, finally live.

Her voice rang through the arena–pure, steady, uniquely hers. The choreography surged beneath her feet, muscle memory and instinct converging. She didn’t think. She didn’t overcorrect. She was.

The crowd screamed her name.

Not Yichen.

Not Jiwon.

“Xinyi! Xinyi!”

Tears blurred her vision for half a second, but she danced through it. She always had.

By the time the final note dropped and the stage lights dimmed, she was breathless.

Soaked in sweat.

And utterly, devastatingly real.

Backstage, the makeup artist rushed in with tissues. Her group members pulled her into a group hug, bouncing on their heels, laughing and crying.

Someone handed her a towel.

She looked up.

It was Minjae.

He said nothing.

Just pressed it into her hands.

She clutched it like an anchor. Like a promise.

Later that night, alone in the dorm, she sat in front of the mirror again. No livestream. No camera. Just her and her reflection.

She smiled.

And for once, the girl smiling back didn’t feel like a dream.

She was real.

She was here.

She was home.

And her name was Xinyi.