On the surface, Seong Jiwon seemed remarkably calm.
Even when attending fan signing events or participating in activities, he managed to smile brightly as if nothing was bothering him, and he conversed with the other members quite well.
However,…
“Mr. Seong Jiwon, could you take a look at this for a moment….”
“Yes?”
“…Woah!”
The staff member stepped back in surprise.
“What, what’s wrong? Jiwon, is something the matter?”
“…Hm?”
“Your face, I mean, that… never mind.”
Unable to comprehend the staff’s behavior, Seong Jiwon tilted his head with a smile still on his face, prompting the staff to laugh awkwardly with a “Ha. Ha. Ha” before sneaking away.
Seong Jiwon’s condition was peculiar. No, it would be more accurate to say it wasn’t good.
He was full of vitality while working, but once it was over, dark clouds seemed to loom over his head.
And that wasn’t all.
“…What did you say?”
“No, it’s not that….”
“Ah, should I return the card key? Just a sec, my phone battery is low… Ah, did Ichae take it?”
He was often absent-minded, saying the strangest things.
He was probably trying to hold onto his sanity, but from a distance, it was clear as day that his “mentals” were shot.
What the hell am I supposed to do when the main vocal is like this?
The thing is, I only knew how to drive people nuts, not how to fix them. I watched him with my arms crossed when Kim Seonghyeon joined me.
“You could at least try to relax your face, you know?”
“What?”
Instead of responding, Kim Seonghyeon poked my side and gestured with his eyes. Following his gaze, I saw staff members glancing our way.
Only then did I realize that I was in such a bad state that I couldn’t even manage my expression, and I quickly pulled my hat down hard.
“It’s suffocating, man.”
“…”
“Something happen?”
Kim Seonghyeon purposefully turned his head away from Seong Jiwon. I looked down and gave a vague reply.
“Does it look like it?”
Hearing my answer, Kim Seonghyeon’s eyes turned towards me.
“If it looks like it, it must be.”
“…I find you really scary when you’re like this.”
Apparently, his acting stats were E- for a reason because his discomfort was vividly apparent on his face.
I laughed.
“Pfft, what are you talking about?”
On the contrary, I had faith in my blossoming acting skills.
Thanks, Min Jiheon.
I never thought I’d be grateful to Min Jiheon, but I said with a trace of a smile,
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“…”
Not sure if he was truly fooled, but Kim Seonghyeon pursed his lips into a straight line and nodded before moving away to greet other staff members.
I too let out a deep sigh and reviewed the events of yesterday in my head, while automatically nodding off.
Then,
“Hyung~.”
When Kang Ichae called out, I turned only to feel a poke on my right cheek.
“…”
“Pfft! You fell for it too, hyung.”
My mouth hung open at the childish trick, and Kang Ichae glanced back at Jeong Dajun, who stood with a shocked expression.
“Jeong Dajun, did hyung win? You’re buying ice cream tonight~!”
“Huh!! Hoyun-hyung, you’re usually so sharp, how could you be so gullible?!”
“Our bunny is more innocent than you think~.”
They had bet whether I’d fall for it or not.
Good grief, it was so ridiculous.
“Hey.”
“Huh? What, what?”
“Why are you being so clueless?”
Seeing my scowling face, Kang Ichae widened his eyes, and then with a slithering smile,
“Poke, poke!”
He poked both my cheeks.
Twice.
“…”
“Puhaha! Did you fall for it again~?”
“…Kang Ichae.”
“Squeak~.”
I quickly snagged Kang Ichae’s neck and stretched out my hand in front of him.
“If you’re going to use me as bait, you owe me a share.”
“There’s no BbamO.”
“Didn’t you say you wanted that?”
“So, you’re saying you don’t want it?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t.”
As I had this dumb conversation with Kang Ichae, the staff members watching us couldn’t help but let out laughs as they passed by.
Sensing the atmosphere had become significantly softer, I let go of Kang Ichae and instead pulled a candy from my pocket, popping it into my mouth.
Kang Ichae, you scary bastard….
This was his way of showing concern in his own unique way.
And as a bonus, he was sending a signal to not sour the team’s mood and to make peace to some extent.
But I felt a bit wronged.
I was the one who got exorcised yesterday, dammit.
Honestly, yesterday was pretty much a one-sided affair for me. If it had been someone else, it wouldn’t have been dragged out this long or left such a bad aftertaste.
…But I didn’t want to do that with Seong Jiwon.
Alright, Hoyun, calm down.
Was there really any need to start rumors of discord?
I collected my thoughts, rolling the candy around in my mouth, and then let out another sigh before striding towards Seong Jiwon.
“Seong Jiwon.”
“Huh, what?”
After greeting a props staff member, I called out to a dazed Seong Jiwon from behind. Startled, he quickly turned his head. I grabbed one of Seong Jiwon’s hands and with the other, I poured a handful of candies from my pocket over it.
“Here.”
“…Huh?”
“Is your blood sugar low? Why so spaced out?”
Seong Jiwon blinked as he accepted them. I pushed down the front of my cap and looked away.
“What, you want me to unwrap them for you?”
“…No?”
“Then eat up.”
I stood there without leaving, and Seong Jiwon obediently peeled the wrappers and popped the candies into his mouth. His cheek puffed out, making him look as young as his actual age.
…What the hell am I doing with a kid 10 years younger?
I waited for Seong Jiwon’s response.
After all, Seong Jiwon said he wasn’t going to contact them again. He also said he would eventually talk to me, so there was no need to rush. Just wait quietly and eat.
“…It’s tasty.”
“Yeah?”
Seeing a faint smile on Seong Jiwon’s lips, I turned and walked towards the van, sensing Seong Jiwon trailing behind me.
“…Hoyun, are you heading straight to the company?”
“What do you care?”
“…”
He immediately clammed up, looking downcast. Watching his troubled expression made me burst into laughter.
Such an idiot.
“Seong Jiwon.”
“…Yes?”
“Come here.”
If something happened to Seong Jiwon, I would take care of it then.
It wouldn’t be too late. I’d make sure it was not.
And…
“We have to practice for the end-of-year stage.”
After all, it was time to focus on our main job more than anything else.
I saw Seong Jiwon nod cautiously and took the opportunity to throw in a joke with a hint of sincerity.
“Jiwon, if you’re really sorry, cut the practice time by two hours.”
“…That’s not possible.”
“One hour.”
“That’s a bit…”
“Are you really sorry?”
This endearingly diligent practice bug.
***
[Title: Guys, It’s Confirmed We’re Performing at the Year-End Stage]
(Lineup list.jpg)
Oh my… my heart’s pounding….
I vowed never to fall for any guy again, but I guess I failed at K-pop addiction therapy, shit
└Wow, they’re really popular
└The effects of “The Dawn” are more significant than I thought
└└ “The Dawn” is a syndrome. Thanks to that, Yu Jia and Min Jiheon’s popularity is no joke. They’re way beyond just TV ratings ㅋㅋ
└└Did you see Yu Jia’s online fan meeting earnings? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Crazy]
[Title: Huh ㅋㅋ Is the lineup order supposed to be that high? The Dawn isn’t really on that level, Shining Star is legit, back then it was really a hot topic
The next title they released was also a hit, one after the other, and the response was good too…
Apart from Seo Hoyun from Shining Star and Kim Seonghyeon, their public recognition is still somewhat lacking, right…?
And these guys aren’t rookies either, so it’s awkward to give them awardsㅋㅋ Do they really need to be squeezed into this lineup?
└No, that’s right. There are a lot of fans who like The Dawn these days.
└└Huh… Really? Is it that much?
└└Yep, they’re sweeping up the domestic charts, and honestly, their concept this time is killer, especially those who are into K-pop are crazy for Kang Ichae and Jeong Dajun’s line (and Seong Jiwon is just an angel…)
└Just passing by, but why is Kang Ichae so popular??
└└Charisma oozing + shamelessness + mental toughness… Do I really need to explain? Just look at their face
└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ아 sorry
└└They do look flashy, right,
└Aren’t The Dawn’s songs frequently featured on TikTok these days too?]
[Title: I admit there’s been no real “bang” yet, but they’re pretending to worry while trashing us, it’s only been a year since their debut
Of course, the period before Second Chance is not counted (Are you watching, you assholes from Daepaseong Entertainment?)
└Huh? Are there still people who don’t know about the empty house burglars…ㅋㅋ
└└Haters gonna hate… Pretending to be cool, pretending to know everything about K-pop, pretending to be someone important
└└Can a housebreaking idol surpass Kill the Light with their burning passionㅋㅋㅋThe kids are doing well, so they’re attracting a lot of haters, ugh
└Since Hoyun joined, The Dawn has been active for just 10 monthsㅎㅎ Although the other members may have relatively low public recognition, don’t stir up trouble with these posts and don’t show off your emptiness, you fucker]
“…Wow.”
The internet was… always fascinating no matter how many times I visited it.
Watching the fans of The Dawn defend and get angry on our behalf, I was amazed at how passionately they could engage in someone else’s affairs.
After witnessing the fiery responses, I turned off my phone screen.
“It’s brutal….”
“What is?”
“Nothing.”
Kim Seonghyeon, who had been slurping on his ice cream, shrugged his shoulders. I had been browsing the internet to see if there were any posts about Seong Jiwon’s sasaeng fans, but instead of that, I found controversy brewing elsewhere.
Hmm, it’s about time for some trouble to start stirring up.
In truth, it was a good sign. The more competition there was, the more it meant we were getting noticed.
While it’s true I’ve been diligently cleaning up behind the scenes, our public recognition had risen faster than expected, leading to an influx of external attention and more chaos.
Oddly enough, our fan’s mental fortitude was always solid, but with internal and external complexities, it seemed like we needed something impactful at this time.
In other words,…
We need a hit.
Our next comeback was, at the earliest, early next year or maybe even mid-year. Since we had released three titles this year, the company’s internal opinion was to take it easy next year and focus on improving quality… which I agreed with it.
If this situation continued, however, it would be too late. Thus, our next biggest opportunity would be, of course—
The year-end stage?
It was a hard-earned opportunity that we couldn’t afford to miss.
After organizing my thoughts, I put my phone in my pocket and was about to stand up when Jeong Dajun, dressed in a school uniform, came in through the entrance.
“What are you doing, hyung?”
“What about you?”
“Ah~ Ah, wait a moment.”
He came in holding shopping bags full in both hands, and he was munching on something he’d picked up, slurring his words.
“What are you eating now?”
“Do you want some, hyung?”
“I’m good.”
I sometimes wondered where all those endless snacks were coming from and whether I should inspect what Jeong Dajun was eating.
I almost went as far as to think about… puppies, but that seemed too much, so I quickly backstepped.
“…Why do I feel offended??”
“It’s all in your head.”
Jeong Dajun’s perceptiveness had quickened recently.
After I cut him off sharply and pretended to ignore his last comment, he grumbled a bit before swallowing what he had in his mouth and then put down the shopping bags.
“I got a birthday present!!”
