“Hannah Carter, what about you? Aren’t you always so POWERFUL on the dance floor? Why are you so deflated now?”

“I... I...”

Brian Bennett reached out and pointed at them one by one, his expression odd: “Rachel Cooper, what about you? Why are you the only one without a problem?”

The girls all looked at Rachel Cooper as well. They truly didn’t know what was wrong; suddenly, they felt extremely, extremely shy, completely unable to let go, nothing like their usual selves. Why was Rachel fine?

Rachel Cooper said calmly, “They’re shy.”

Brian Bennett said irritably, “MO ya? You’ve debuted for a year now, performed on who knows how many stages, faced tens of thousands of spectators, even survived the kind of ‘black ocean’ stage that ordinary people couldn’t endure. How can you be shy performing in private?”

Rachel Cooper smiled: “It’s precisely because it’s a private performance that we’re shy. We’re all professional IDOLs—on stage, even at our debut, at most we’re thirty percent shy and seventy percent nervous. But none of us ever imagined that one day, we’d dance in front of a man, just for him, being watched and appreciated by him alone. At most, that’s ten percent nervousness, and the remaining ninety percent is shyness.”

Brian Bennett was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood.

The girls were enlightened as well. Grace Howard asked in confusion, “But unnie, why aren’t you affected?”

Rachel Cooper looked steadily at Brian Bennett: “Because from the very first day I started learning to dance, I wanted to dance for this man.”

“...What!!!” Brian Bennett slipped and almost fell to the ground. The girls erupted in an uproar, the flames of gossip in their eyes burning so fiercely they could almost set the roof on fire!

Rachel Cooper walked up to him and said softly, “OPPA, have you really forgotten me completely?”

Brian Bennett stared blankly at her determined gaze, his expression momentarily dazed. Distant memories surged through his mind, the figure of a small, thin girl gradually becoming clear, the determination in her eyes overlapping again and again with the Rachel Cooper before him, finally merging into one.

When was that? Right, it seemed to be six years ago?

“OPPA, I really like you. Will you be my boyfriend?”

“You little brat, you’re only twelve. Do you even know what a boyfriend is?”

“I’m not little! All my classmates have boyfriends!”

“Go, go, go. Come back when you’re older.”

“I know, OPPA only likes celebrities, right? I saw you with Jun Ji-hyun sunbae, Kim Tae-hee sunbae, Song Hye-kyo sunbae... But they’re all older than OPPA, in a few years they’ll be old and not pretty anymore!”

“Go on, you’re not pretty now, let alone in a few years.”

“When I grow up, I’ll be pretty! OPPA likes celebrities, so I’ll become a celebrity too!”

“Alright, alright, we’ll talk when you become a celebrity.”

...

“Dad, I want to be a celebrity. Help me debut.”

“Rachel, Brian Bennett isn’t someone our Choi family can reach, and he’s a full seven years older than you... What your sister said is at least a bit more realistic, but you shouldn’t waste your efforts.”

“I don’t care, I just like OPPA!”

“...You really want to be a celebrity?”

“Yes! OPPA said to talk when I become a celebrity.”

“Aish! You... Forget it, it’s the path you chose, just don’t regret it later. Dad will arrange for you to train, and in a year or two, I’ll try to help you debut.”

“Dad, you’re the best! I want to debut in Japan!”

“Why?”

“Because I only know Japanese... When I come back from Japan, I’ll be an international star! Even better than Jun Ji-hyun or Kim Tae-hee! What’s so great about Korean goddesses!”

...

Brian Bennett rubbed his head helplessly. He knew that the ugly duckling back then was named Rachel Cooper, but there are countless people with the same name in Korea. He had never connected the Rachel Cooper from his past life’s memories of Girls’ Generation with that ugly duckling—their appearances were completely different! But reality had played a huge joke on him... It really was the same person...

“Rachel ah... Why did you get plastic surgery? How was I supposed to recognize you? There are so many people with the same name in Korea...”

Rachel Cooper said coldly, “I didn’t get plastic surgery. How could I look the same at eighteen as I did at twelve?”

Brian Bennett was almost in tears: “What did you know about love at twelve? Why are you so persistent?”

Rachel Cooper didn’t answer, just looked at him quietly.

Was that a simple first love? No. A twelve-year-old child truly doesn’t understand what love is.

But from the very first day she started training, that first love was destined to change. It became a dream paved with countless drops of sweat, became the last beacon in her heart when she was lost and desperate in Japan, became the only hope deep inside after returning home in resignation, became the light that always shone in her heart even in the black ocean.

That wasn’t love—it was faith.

Chapter 8: Fame in One Move, Known Throughout the World

The performance couldn’t go on; everyone’s mood was off. Brian Bennett looked into Rachel Cooper’s eyes, wanting to say something. He glanced around, but in the end, didn’t speak. Finally, he checked his watch and said, “It’s getting late, let’s call it a day. ...I’ll treat you all to dinner.”

Rachel Cooper said, “Don’t let me affect everyone’s business because of me.”