Dominate Showbiz: Media Tycoon Discovered My Talent-Chapter 87: The Winner

Kaija blinked up at him, eyes wide as if surprised by his anger. "An appeal? But... why?"

"Of course it’s to reclaim justice! For you!" he shouted, grabbing both her shoulders. Had she gotten so sad her brain had gone numb? He began shaking her lightly but urgently, as though trying to snap her out of it.

"Woah, woah, superstar, please don’t try to kill my superstar!" Esko jumped at him, trying to pry one of Karl’s hands off Kaija’s shoulders.

From the other side, Dani, though just as angry as Karl, also felt the urge to intervene. "Easy, baby face, let her go! She’s fine with it, she’s fine!"

"Let go now, spoiled brat," Antony muttered lowly from behind Kaija, golden eyes gleaming like a lion guarding its territory. "Listen first before you keep yelling like an angry idiot."

Karl jerked both hands free from Dani’s and Esko’s grip, snapping, "How can you all stay this calm, huh? If I were you, I’d have burned this whole place to ashes!"

Kaija just kept staring up at him with those wide blue eyes, asking urgently as if that were the only thing that mattered to her now. "But... did you think I sang it well?"

It was Karl who’d given her his song after all, so his opinion mattered the most.

Seeing those calm, childlike eyes, all of Karl’s anger drained from his body. His gaze dropped along with his voice as he muttered, lips trembling, "Of course you did. What do you think? You made that song better than I ever imagined it could be."

A bright smile instantly spread across her face. "Then that’s enough for me," she murmured. "I’ve already won."

Karl fell silent, staring at her, completely stunned. He lifted a hand to the side of her face, murmuring softly, "I’m sorry I couldn’t just name you the winner on that stage. I voted for you, birdie! I did! I voted for you..." His voice shook toward the end, gaze lowered in regret as his fingers trembling against her cheek.

Kaija was once again surprised by the sudden emotional shift in him. He seemed now fragile, yet affectionate, like he had again turned into a sulking little child.

"Don’t be like that!" she said gently. "Actually, there’s something I want you to see. Esko, can you show him that again?"

Karl’s gaze lifted to hers again instantly. "Show me what?"

Esko quickly shoved his phone in front of Karl’s face. "Kaija just performed hours ago, but look at this! Videos of her performance are already everywhere, every platform! And look at the views! Can you believe this? She’s got millions of views within just two hours! It’s unbelievable!"

"Yeah, and now everyone’s talking about that performance on every forum in the country," Dani added, lifting her phone to show him. "Some news sites even wrote articles already. And guess what? No one’s talking about the winner of the night."

Karl’s sulking expression shifted to bewilderment as he took Esko’s phone. A few seconds of swiping later, his eyes went wide as he looked back at Kaija.

"I feel like I’ve won more than just the title and the grand prize tonight," Kaija said, as if confirming for him that what he saw was real.

Little did Karl know, she meant every single word.

Earlier, when she stepped down from the stage, Dani, Esko, and Antony were already waiting for her backstage.

Although Antony and Dani had scolded her thoroughly before, their faces had softened with unspoken sympathy now, their expressions drooping, much like Esko, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Guys, um... I’m very sorry for letting you down," Kaija said, her voice small.

All three stared at her. Though Antony seemed the most stunned by her words, Dani was the first to break. "What are you talking about? You’re the one who just lost, and we’re the ones worried about you! And you’re here apologizing for letting us down?"

Kaija blinked at Dani, mumbling, "But, eh... you worked so hard to walk me through the choreography, didn’t you?"

Then she turned to Antony. "And you made the tracks for me, Instructor. Not once, but twice. Both in a rush."

Then to Esko. "And you’ve been running around backstage all night instead of resting at home."

The three of them exchanged glances, as if they finally understood what she meant.

Then Antony stepped forward. "You didn’t let us down, dummy," he said softly. "But... don’t you feel... upset?"

"I did feel upset," she admitted, "for a second or so, when I heard Liisi’s name instead of mine. But when Liisi started jumping and the whole hall went quiet, my mind kind of... quieted too.

"Then I looked at the audience, and I saw them looking back at me. Honestly, until today, I never knew if I belonged on a stage that big or not, and even after performing tonight, I still didn’t. But at that moment, I knew for sure that I do...

"And because of that, I didn’t feel like I lost. Actually, the more I think about it, about all the support I’ve received from the three of you, and from Karl as well, the more I feel like I won a lot."

Antony’s lips quivered faintly upon hearing her words. Suddenly, he didn’t seem to know what to say.

Behind him, Dani and Esko had fallen quiet as well, but the silence now was no longer heavy with sadness.

It was a silence of shared understanding.

Seeing all three of them go quiet at her rambling, a small chuckle escaped Kaija. "I’ve won all three of you, didn’t I?" she asked playfully.

Before she knew it, Antony had already pulled her into his arms, to Dani’s and Esko’s absolute horror.

"You’ve won me," Antony murmured, his voice so low only she could hear.

A peaceful, content smile spread across her face as she returned the embrace.

By the time people started dispersing from the concert hall, it was already close to 1 AM.

Living just one floor away from Kaija, Karl had volunteered to walk her back to Building S, leaving Dani behind at Building C, and Antony at Building A, while Esko had already headed home since he lived off-campus.

"Did you know I had to sing for thirty minutes straight just because you fell asleep?" Karl grumbled as they walked side by side, a pout already forming on his face. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Dark lines ran down Kaija’s face. "Do I owe you two favors now?"

"Absolutely yes," Karl replied immediately, as if he’d only been waiting for that. "But I’ll collect them later, ’cause I’ll be back on tour soon."

Her brow rose. "Already? When?"

"Tomorrow," he scowled, already looking like he wanted to cancel the rest of the tour. "I only came back for the festival, like I told you. Now that it’s done, I’ve gotta get back at it again."

Then he suddenly leaned closer and whispered, "Why don’t you spend the night at my place, since it’s my last night here? I’ll be gone for another few weeks, maybe even months."

She jumped away from him at once, frowning. "Absolutely not, Karl. It’s late. I’m tired, you’re tired. We both need sleep, and you need to get ready for leaving tomorrow!"

Almost at once, the pouting returned to Karl’s face.

A quiet sigh slipped out of her.

As considerate as she sounded, her mind was actually on the problem named Juho sitting somewhere in her flat right now. All she could think about now was getting upstairs and checking whether he was still even there or not.