“…Wow.”
Kang Ichae’s mouth opened slightly at the scene.
He had simulated numerous lines, but he hadn’t expected this kind of dialogue.
Naturally, the Noeuls witnessing it together went crazy in the comments.
[Cra
zy
Ba
st
ard]
[How can you say no there???? Seo Hoyun? Speaking in that atmosphere??]
“Look at the persuasive power of that line….”
After seeing Jeong Dajun with his lips tightly sealed (there was no further script either), Seo Hoyun let out a small sigh, then averted his gaze.
– “Got it.”
And then, whoosh, he turned and left.
No matter how much Jeong Dajun fluttered about, he was still in the palm of Seo Hoyun’s hand.
Jeong Dajun, the naïve maknae, only thought the reaction would be either anger or sarcasm.
He hadn’t expected this at all and trembled in shock.
The Noeuls were no different.
[Ichae, Hoyun is leaving]
[What do we do now??]
“It’s okay. It’s within my expectations.”
Kang Ichae touched his ear and responded calmly
It was Seong Jiwon’s turn to leave.
“Okay, Seong Jiwon, we’re switching to Plan D.”
Phase 3 had begun.
The “Let’s Make Up” strategy.
The pre-installed CCTV showed Seo Hoyun walking out of the hotel room and down the corridor, followed hurriedly by Seong Jiwon.
– “Hoyun!”
Seong Jiwon called out, and Seo Hoyun stopped in his tracks.
With a troubled expression, Seong Jiwon carefully approached Seo Hoyun’s side.
– “Wait, Hoyun.
– “Why?”
– “…I get that you’re angry, but you can’t just leave Dajun like that.”
Seong Jiwon gently chided Seo Hoyun, his eyebrows drooping.
The improvised lines for the altered “Plan D” were quite impressive since they hadn’t prepared any specific lines.
– “Let’s go back.
“Wow… Look at that ad-lib.”
[Is that an ad-libㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Kang Ichae marveled at the beautifully executed scene and gave a thumbs up.
– “Let’s go and talk slowly…”
– “Why should I?”
– “…Huh?”
However, Seo Hoyun crossed his arms and showed genuine annoyance.
Kang Ichae had to admire him.
“This side’s acting is amazing too.”
He was almost certain that Seo Hoyun would have doubts until this point, but seeing the annoyance fill his eyes, it almost seemed like he was truly angry.
[Ichae ㅠㅠㅠ;;;]
[Isn’t Hoyun really angryㅠㅠ]
[Let’s not be too harshㅠㅠ;;;]
Yet, Kang Ichae wasn’t shaken in the slightest.
“What are you talking about? That’s acting.”
[???]
“Hoyun-hyung doesn’t talk like that when he’s really hurt, everyone~.”
[……….. Wow]
His words implied that Seo Hoyun was just putting on a show because they were on camera.
Even the Noeuls, who had a rough idea of Seo Hoyun’s personality, were taken aback, covering their mouths in surprise, while Kang Ichae quickly thought ahead.
We have to make Hoyun-hyung confused.
Although Seong Jiwon had carried the situation quite well with his acting, he was no match for Seo Hoyun, who had finished a project with Min Jiheon.
– “…Hmm.”
Seong Jiwon knew this too, hence he just showed a troubled smile and maintained silence.
That’s when Kang Ichae decided to play his trump card.
“Jiwon-hyung, it’s time to bring in Seonghyeon-hyung!”
A countermeasure for a countermeasure.
The acting stat E- bomb was dropped.
Seong Jiwon, trying not to show his distress, briefly lowered his gaze before lifting it again and said,
– “…Wait, then I’ll go talk to Dajun.”
After Seong Jiwon exited, Seo Hoyun was seen leaning against the wall in the hallway, fiddling with the corners of his mouth.
Soon, an utterly bewildered Jeong Dajun was consoled by an emotionally invested and naïve Kim Seonghyeon who burst onto the scene.
– “Seo Hoyun.”
At that call, Seo Hoyun raised an eyebrow, and Kim Seonghyeon pressed his brows together with a troubled face.
– “You… Ah, I mean, I know Dajun was a bit harsh.”
– “…”
– “But the maknae is still young. He’s really hurt right now.”
Kim Seonghyeon’s natural acting slightly broke Seo Hoyun’s stoic expression.
– “…Hmm.”
“No way, this guy can’t be this good at acting?” was written all over his face.
Seeing this, Kang Ichae couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer.
“Puhaha!!”
[YoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋSo, Seo Hoyun was really actingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Look at the confusion on his face slowly startingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Oh, goosebumpsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThis group is freaking awesomeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“I told you!”
The Noeuls, realizing this, filled the comment section with laughter.
Still chuckling, Kang Ichae switched to full-on popcorn-watching mode.
-“Let’s go in… Let’s go in again.”
Oblivious to everything, Kim Seonghyeon seemed to choose his words carefully, attempting to resolve the situation.
-“Honestly… You wouldn’t usually care about this kind of talk, but because Jeong Dajun said it, you’re angry.”
– “…”
– “Because you care.”
“Ah, Seonghyeon-hyung, seriously….”
Unable to hold back, Kang Ichae continued to laugh at Kim Seonghyeon’s dead-serious demeanor.
While the hilariously engaging content progressed, Seo Hoyun looked down.
– “Kim Seonghyeon.”
His voice was drained of energy.
– “…?”
– “Caring is… Let’s say you’re right. But how long should this go on? He needs to start realizing. The hyungs can’t always look the other way.”
Kang Ichae’s eyebrows twitched slightly at the unsettling turn of events.
[Guys… can we V-Live this? Won’t Hoyun be super upset when he finds out later it was all a prank?]
[….. ;;;;;; Not sure]
Kim Seonghyeon was visibly shocked by this rare glimpse of vulnerability from Seo Hoyun.
However, with the experience of looking after his younger siblings, he softly asked,
– “What’s wrong?”
Seo Hoyun rubbed his eyes, looking troubled.
– “He didn’t listen to me.”
– “What?”
“…Hmm?”
Even Kang Ichae started getting confused at this point.
Was it all a misunderstanding?
Should they wrap this up now to prevent a broadcast accident?
As he hesitated, he saw Seo Hoyun sigh deeply through the screen.
– “Ah… Hey.”
– “…”
And then, looking straight into Kim Seonghyeon’s eyes, Seonghyeon swallowed nervously, and at that moment,
– “I—”
Seo Hoyun began.
– “—want to eat a whipped cream cake.”
“…What?”
Suddenly, everything stopped — Kang Ichae, the comments, and even SNS.
It was as if their brains couldn’t process what they had heard, their thoughts coming to a screeching halt.
Kim Seonghyeon looked equally baffled, tilting his head with a giant question mark written all over his face.
– “…Huh?”
– “Jeong Dajun, anyway, doesn’t listen….”
Regardless, Seo Hoyun just turned his head away, a bittersweet atmosphere hanging in the air.
– “I wish the cake had strawberries on top, Hoyunie talked about it so much, you know?”
“…Straw, Strawberries?”
Seo Hoyun was out of his mind.
“…Ahahaha, strawberries….”
Of course, such a hidden camera prank was bound not to work.
The comments were on fire again.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAhㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAh! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Seo Hoyun, do you really want to dieㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Seo Hoyun already knew everything.
Kang Ichae couldn’t help but laugh, his laughter spilling out as he lay face down on the table.
“Uh-huh-huh… Ah….”
– “What, what are you talking about?”
– “Strawberries and cream… or at least cranberries.”
“Ah, I lost…, I lost, damn!!”
Having shouted “damn” and then quickly covering his mouth upon realizing he was on V-Live, Kang Ichae then sagged back onto the table.
His pride was hurt, but upon realizing there was no turning back, he had no choice but to admit defeat to Seo Hoyun.
– “…What, what are you talking about?”
– “Huh? Should I tell you?”
Leaving Kim Seonghyeon, who still knew nothing and was babbling incoherently, Seo Hoyun went back to the room he shared with Seong Jiwon and Jeong Dajun.
Then, a few minutes later, just as Seo Hoyun re-emerged from that room, the hotel room door where Kang Ichae burst open.
“Ichae-yaaa~.”
It was the entrance of the birthday person.
“Tell Seonghyeon where Hoyunie’s strawberries went!!”
“…”
“Uh-huh-huh… over there, in the fridge….”
“Ahaha~, right?”
[I’m so pissed, I’m so pissed!!!!!!!]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋSeo Hoyun ahaha< really laughingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
After being caught by the hidden camera, Kang Ichae organized the situation and called all the members.
“…It was fake?”
“Ahaha, sorry, Seonghyeon.”
The leader, anxious about the team falling apart, spilled all the truth.
“Why did you talk like that, hyung? Do you know how shocked I was??”
“You said you hated me.”
“That, that’s…”
“Our maknae… drawing lines as soon as he becomes an adult?”
“…”
Jeong Dajun sulked for real, on the verge of tears.
But no one thought to console him.
Seo Hoyun just rolled his eyes, watching the drama unfold, scraping cake into his mouth.
“What a pity~. Mission failed!!”
Anyway, after some chit-chat, The Dawn members ended the V-Live.
While the others were tidying up, Kang Ichae cautiously approached Seo Hoyun.
“Hyung, but how did you know? Weren’t you a bit confused?”
That made sense, considering even Kim Seonghyeon, with acting skills that couldn’t be found even after a thorough search, was thrown into the mix to maximize realism.
Yet Seo Hoyun had figured it out.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find a flaw in their seemingly flawless plan.
Seo Hoyun answered calmly.
“Yep, I was a bit confused.”
“…But why?”
“Just took a wild guess.”
“Cranberry? What if it had been real, how would you handle the aftermath?”
“Ahh.”
Seeing Seo Hoyun’s curving lips, Kang Ichae’s eyebrows twitched.
If there was one thing Kang Ichae hadn’t considered—
“Even if it were real, I knew Kim Seonghyeon would let it slide, no matter what I said.”
“…”
—Seo Hoyun was that unchangeable bastard.
.
.
.
Good effort, really.
Destroying a whole cake and seeing Jeong Dajun grumbling and Kim Seonghyeon getting pissed off for being fooled, I sipped my lemonade.
This refreshing feeling, wasn’t this what a non-birthday celebration was all about?
“I sometimes get tired of you, hyung.”
“I feel the happiest when I hear such things….”
“Really annoying, really really….”
“Even this kind of talk is thrilling~.”
I poked the swollen cheek of our maknae and gently irritated his nerves while laughing merrily.
“I won’t talk to you anymore.”
“Suit yourself~.”
At two in the morning, the day became even more enjoyable when the birthday presents prepared by the members spectacularly failed.
And there was something else I was waiting for.
“…Huh?”
That’s when Seong Jiwon frowned slightly after looking at a message on his phone.
“…Ah, um.”
It was late.
Everyone’s attention turned to Seong Jiwon.
After taking another sip of lemonade and just as I was about to put the glass down, my phone vibrated.
[Seo Hoyun, sorry for the late message.]
It was from the management team.
[It would be better not to go on PopPop today.]
[And don’t look at the internet for now. We’ll speak again once things are sorted out.]
“Why?”
“…Well, that’s.”
At Jeong Dajun’s question, Seong Jiwon hesitated to reply.
I immediately accessed a portal site and searched my name.
And I smiled satisfactorily at the top article that appeared.
Here it was.
[Title: Is Seo Hoyun smoking?]
My self-given birthday present.
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