“Hey, hey!! Let me use your phone!”
“Again? No way.”
“Come on, blood is thicker than water. Be useful for once.”
I chased my brother all the way to his room, nagging him along the way. Just looking at his face irritated me, but there was nothing I wouldn’t do for The Dawn.
Back during Shining Star, I even distributed flyers and candy in front of the academy, begging people to vote and all that stuff…!
Of course, I got caught and was punished to some extent, but it ultimately wasn’t a bad thing.
“Fine, I get it. I’ll buy you chicken.”
“Take it.”
That bastard…
Muttering curses, I grabbed the phone. Last time, I had to bribe him with bread just to send a message. Looking at the sent messages made my blood boil again, but I calmed myself down for the upcoming appearance of The Dawn. I had to receive them with a reverent heart.
“They’re coming on!!”
I began watching the music show alone in the living room, my heart pounding.
It wasn’t one of the three major terrestrial broadcasters, but it was their last music show performance. Meaning, today was the last chance for “Kill the Lights” to win first place.
Moreover, only artists performing on the day could be nominated, which was somewhat better.
This song composed by Kang Ichae had killer beats. Just watching the intro with each member’s face was moving in itself.
[Please, please, please, The Dawn fans, just vote this once, but it’s only Noeuls who are voting ㅅㄱ]
[There’s a global fan vote starting this time, not sure how it’ll affect thingsㄷㄷ]
[It’s surreal that Black Call is not on music shows this week after coming back just 2 weeks ago…? Do your job….]
“Ah, seriously.”
I was upset after seeing a post about Black Call, even though I had set those types of alerts on mute on Twitter.
Black Call has already won first place many times…!
On the contrary, The Dawn hasn’t won first place yet, despite releasing such a godly song. The hair, makeup, and styling formed a perfect trinity, and the title track was insane. How could they not win first place just because they overlapped with a famous group? I admit Black Call’s song this time was good, but The Dawn’s track was no less.
This time! They brought such! An amazing song that concluded the Apocalypse Trilogy!
They couldn’t claim first place because they were caught up in the arbitrary actions of an insensitive major label??
“So annoying, really… Black Call, be a bit considerate.”
It was a complaint close to a tantrum filled with 90% envy, and though I knew arguing about it was pointless, I couldn’t help feeling grumpy.
My dog, sitting beside me, just rolled its eyes and glanced at me. I vigorously patted its head and took a deep breath before turning back to the TV.
A faint light, like the dawn’s, enveloped Seong Jiwon on stage.
“Kill the Lights Kill the Lights Kill the Lights…”
“Kim Seonghyeon! Seong Jiwon! Seo Hoyun! Kang Ichae! Jeong Dajun! Eternal dawn, The Dawn!”
“Why the hell are you like this?!”
As I shouted the cheer in sync with the music, a disgusted voice came from the other side. I didn’t care at all. If he wants chicken, he should just keep quiet.
[Jeong Dajun’s platinum hair, ah, you were just born with platinum hair]
[Seong Jiwon’s face is so heavenly I didn’t even notice the fancy accessoriesㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Seo Hoyun, why do you get better with time……. never mind, I won’t say it, I might get caught]
But then, as the song really started, I accidentally dropped my phone.
“I still recall, you amidst the dim light.”
When everyone pointed at you,
You just laughed, remember?”
“Wow, what the hell….”
I could hear their breaths.
“Is this live?”
Usually, even a small AR is laid down for songs with intense dance. Then, the high notes are either lip-synced or sung fully, but idols need to breathe, right?
[Are they crazy????]
[This stimulates the peripheral nerves of a K-pop granny]
[Please vote please vote]
But these people, they were live even while running around on stage. Involuntarily, their heavy breaths were transmitted through the mic.
“Ooh, Yes, We can definitely kill this light,
Overturn everything, change the game.”
“What, what’s this…?”
[ㄷㄷㄷ What’s up with this week’s stage?]
[Why does it feel better than last week?? I thought it was better than Ocean Train, but how can it be better than last week’s?
└The choreography is sharpㄷㄷ Perfect jumps and landings]
[They’re going to break their bodies;;;]
It seemed it wasn’t just The Dawn’s fans who felt this way, as sporadic praises from other fans started to appear on social media.
“You can’t leave this scheme.
As dawn starts to break, I’ll dive deep,
Unhesitatingly walking towards the finish line.”
This was composed by Kang Ichae…
A fan who became one because of Kang Ichae watched mesmerized, feeling proud, as he waved his hand as if conducting an orchestra.
“Kill the Lights!”
Simultaneously, the stage lights went out with a bang, and a spotlight shone on Kim Seonghyeon in the darkness. Kim Seonghyeon bit his lip slightly, looking down.
“Kim Seonghyeon, that crazy guy….”
The only criticism Kim Seonghyeon had received was about his facial expressions.
But his trembling hands while setting up the explosives in the music video… and that expression just now, unwittingly squeezed the fan’s heart.
The lights brightened a bit more, revealing Seo Hoyun appearing behind Seong Jiwon.
“To you, it might have happened several times, but for me, it’s just once.”
“Uwaaah!”
As Seo Hoyun’s face got a close-up, a flood of emotions overwhelmed me.
The faces of the idols, the lighting—the stage were perfect. I could already envision the burning comments on YouTube when the video would be uploaded.
Idols are all about the face…
“Hold my hand, now you know, the dawn is coming…”
Moved, I clutched my heart as Kang Ichae smiled and reached out his hand to Jeong Dajun.
“And now, it turns to…
The Dawn!”
It was a choreography change. Jeong Dajun grabbed his hand, jumped up, and then, with a husky voice, performed live.
“I can’t lose this game,
Let’s burn till the very end.”
Below that, the vocal line came in. Seo Hoyun leaned forward and screamed out a high note, a progression not seen in the previous performance.
“The moment light seeps in, it’s the start.”
“……!!”
I tried to capture everything with my eyes and ears, speechless. Below the high notes, Kim Seonghyeon filled the sound with his low voice.
“We can’t lose this game
I have already bet everything.”
Feeling melancholic, realizing this was the end, my nose tingled. It was their last performance on the show, and yet we couldn’t give them even one first place…
If the me from a few years ago saw this, I’d have laughed at the over-investment, but my heart genuinely ached.
They perform so well, damn it…
But then, Kang Ichae slowly walked to the front of the stage. I forgot all about the wistful feelings, my soul practically leaving my body.
“Ah, you are at its end,
Let’s go all the way till the end—.”
“Ichae-yaaa!!”
Tears finally trickled down.
As all members moved to their ending positions, the camera close-upped on Seo Hoyun’s profile, looking off into the distance. Seo Hoyun took a deep breath, then slightly moved his lips.
“Kill the Lights.”
Then, the logo of The Dawn appeared, and the faces of the panting members flashed one after another.
The stage for Yeonhwa followed right after.
But the fan had already collapsed on the floor, nearly sobbing.
[They really are genius idols… They know how fans are feeling, and changed the stage for this last performance…]
[I will love you to death]
She wasn’t the only one crying.
After the last performance, The Dawn and Yeolhwa were announced as the nominees for first place. Black Call, not performing that day, was not eligible.
Yeonhwa was popular, too…
Their name recognition was way higher than The Dawn’s before Shining Star.
I tried to comfort myself, saying I would accept any result and that it was the height of fan maturity, but my irritation didn’t subside easily.
Streaming, album sales, video views, live text voting, global voting… the scores were dizzyingly tallied. My eyes, initially watching without much expectation, widened, and my mouth dropped open.
– “The Dawn’s Global Vote – 1402 points!”
What’s up with the global vote?
“Eugh?”
Moreover, the text voting had increased a lot more than last time. I was still trying to comprehend when the fanfare snapped me back to reality.
– Congratulations, The Dawn!”
“Uaaaah! Uaaah!!!!! The Dawn won first place!”
I screamed and wailed as the surprised faces of The Dawn members flashed on the screen. Seo Hoyun, laughing, pushed Kim Seonghyeon forward, who, still in shock, accepted the trophy and nervously but carefully gave his speech.
– “T-thank you. I never imagined receiving this… It’s even more meaningful as it’s our last show.”
“Our 2-meter tall water dumpling… always so tearful….”
– “Thank you always, Noeuls.”
With those words, the beat started playing. Kim Seonghyeon didn’t show tears until the end, but his trembling voice overflowed with emotion.
– “Thank you!”
– “Thank you, Noeuls~.”
Apparently, they hadn’t expected to win first place, as they hadn’t prepared any promises, so they just freely danced and moved around during the live.
The members took care to sing live, preventing any accusations of using AR or MR.
I’m happy, but how… how did we win first place?
After the show, I hurriedly checked SNS, finding not just gushing posts but also analyses.
[Wow, this is crazy, The Dawn was already popular overseasㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I love it, now who can call The Dawn underrated, they’re on the riseㅋㅋ
└ㅇㅎ is beaten, incredible;; The Dawn’s popularity really increased
└└Yeah, now we can stop hearing about their ’empty house’ victoriesㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m so happy!!!!!]
[I just heard from a localㅋㅋ Seems like their Shining Star and Please Take the Camera getting released on Netflix in Japan made a big differenceㅇㅇ Apparently, Kill the Lights (illegal) merchandise is all over the Korean town there]
“Huh, so that’s how it is~.”
Although I was happy about the first place, I couldn’t quite understand how it happened, but after reading through the threaded posts carefully, I nodded in understanding.
Until the last promotion, The Dawn had a similar level of recognition as Yeonhwa, so I thought it would be tough, but the Twitter post analyzed that The Dawn had captured not only domestic but also international fans with its rich content and distinct worldview.
The music show had significantly increased the weight of the global vote, considering the worldwide popularity of K-pop, and the airing of Shining Star on Netflix Japan also seemed to have contributed to the voting.
Additionally, many people abroad have been getting into K-pop through YouTube recently, and perhaps the “Kill the Lights” music video, praised for being movie-like, gained a bit of traction among international YouTubers doing reaction videos.
[Daepaseong is doing their job these days
└No misconceptions please
└└ㅋㅋㅋ Just high on success and blabbering nonsense ㅈㅅㅈㅅ]
[I mean, it was really a good decision. Who suggested extending the promotions… ㅠㅜ]
?
?
?
Meanwhile, Seo Hoyun, who had suggested extending the promotions, was currently getting drained by the youngest members in the van.
“Rapping is all about wordplay, you know?”
“Try it then~.”
“The boss of the soy sauce factory is Manager Kang, and Manager Gong runs the bean paste factory! Wahaha!!”[1]
“Wow, I want to try too!!”
The tired office worker, like a dog wagging its tail, was running out of energy dealing with the energetic youngest members.
***
“So, obviously, you have to put soy sauce in soy sauce egg rice, why would you put gochujang in it? The name is Soy! Sauce! Egg rice!”
“Why not put gochujang?”
“Our youngest, next thing you’re going to mix in ketchup, huh? Thanks for confirming your weird food preferences.”
“But I’ve tried that before.”
“Seriously?”
How did we go from tongue twisters to soy sauce egg rice talk…?
The kids were over-energized from winning first place, their adrenaline running high. I wanted to quietly gather my thoughts, so I curled up as much as I could and closed my eyes, but our team’s baby bird, the “eye bird” Jeong Dajun, shook my shoulder.
“Hoyun-hyung! Are you a gochujang person or a soy sauce person?”
“Whichever.”
“That’s so mean!”
Pushing away the whining Jeong Dajun, I picked up my phone. The first message was from Kim Heeyeong, filled with clapping emoticons congratulating us. Joo Woosung, Seo Hojin, and even… Lim Hyeonsu sent messages.
…Lim Hyeonsu is a bit unexpected.
I sent a polite thank you message, feeling strangely about it. Then, I received a message from Min Jiheon.
– Min Jiheon: Congrats
I really dislike this…
I ignored it without hesitation. I suddenly remembered Min Jiheon, who almost cried after being hit by me last time yet still pestered me because he was curious about my end.
How much does he know, what is he hiding?
This guy or that guy.
I pressed my brow and turned my gaze outside the window. I had completely repressed the trauma. Now, even without looking at my phone while in the van, I didn’t feel nauseous like before.
…It’s just an old story.
Feeling a tap on my arm, I turned to see a smiling Seong Jiwon, who looked younger with his makeup removed.
“If you’re going to sleep, want to switch places? You can rest more comfortably.”
“It’s okay, I’m fine.”
“Then at least wear this.”
Seong Jiwon handed me the hat he was wearing. I accepted it without much fuss and put it on.
It was indeed more comfortable with my front covered.
Resting my chin on my hand, I closed my eyes and continued my thoughts. If Min Jiheon knew something, I’ll approach him again when the time comes.
I’ll have to postpone targeting the members until everything is clear.
That’s right. If I proceeded with the conquest without knowing anything, I’ll just be swept away by the intentions of the system window.
As I quietly finished my thoughts and was about to close my eyes, the system window rang.
Ding!
[Quest Arrival!]
In the darkness, a blue window visible only to me flickered. It clearly had a knack for timing.
It was as if telling me to stop messing around and focus on the quest.
[Let’s go on a variety show!
Whether it’s self-produced content or a solo variety show, anything is fine!
Show off Seo Hoyun PD-nim’s variety skills >. <
Success: 8,000 points awarded.
Failure: If you don’t appear within 2 weeks, permanent debuff to stamina]
It was hellbent on controlling me… but the more you’re suppressed, the stronger the urge to rebel. I smirked, touching my lips.
“Cute….”
Who are they trying to pick a fight with now, and where?
[1] The original line is a tongue twister, “간장 공장 공장장은 강 공장장이고 된장 공장 공장장은 공 공장장이다!”
“공장” (factory) is pronounced as “gong-jang”
“공장장” (factory manager) is pronounced as “gong-jang-jang”
“간장” (soy sauce) is pronounced as “gan-jang”
“된장” (bean paste) is pronounced as “doen-jang”
“강” (Kang) is pronounced as “gang”
“공” (Gong) is pronounced as “gong”
So, the whole sentence is pronounced “Gan-jang gong-jang gong-jang-jang-eun gang gong-jang-jang-i-go doen-jang gong-jang gong-jang-jang-eun gong gong-jang-jang-i-da!”
