Kawaii princess's Arc

Chapter 28 of 54

The red light kept blinking. Through the frosted glass of the studio walls, she saw the snow-covered sign post outside. Two blank placards hung from it — her next two song slots, empty for all of Jadeice to see. Beside the post, a red flag snapped on an ice-crusted pole. Her rival's mark. Ready. Waiting. Her throat throbbed. She had no songs left. But she had the cabin speakers, and she had twelve fans who knew her stacked harmony by heart. She pressed the microphone close and called their names into the broadcast — one line each, a roll call set to her low note. Across the districts, the crowd outside the studio heard their own neighbors answered by name. She sang the call. The fans outside sang back through the studio's open vent, each voice rising into the speakers. The first blank placard filled with their answering chorus. For the second song, she invited every listener in Jadeice to hum her four notes with her. The whole broadcast hummed. The second placard filled. The red light went dark. She had survived the broadcast with no prepared songs, turning silence into a duet with the country itself. But outside, the rival's red flag still flew, untouched — and a scout was already writing down every name she had just sung on air.