“Did we manage to get in touch with the Japanese management?”
Daepaseong Entertainment was bustling with activity in October. From the beginning, Min Jiheon, a Hallyu star and popular actor, saw his popularity surge even more with his overseas OTT debut in Please Take the Camera. On top of that, it was because Seo Hoyun also gained popularity as a supporting actor.
Moreover, Shining Star had spread across the sea, creating a big impact in Japan. So, to prepare for the following year, Lee Jihyeon was typing like a madwoman.
“I wish I could borrow a cat’s paw.”
“If you have time to say that, why not get a cat first?”
Lee Jihyeon, who was having a hard time at Daepaseong Entertainment again today, sighed with her dark circles reaching her chin. Just looking at the Daepaseong logo on the computer background made her so angry that her hands trembled.
Small and medium-sized business hell….
Still, Lee Jihyeon endured it. When it got hard and she wanted to say “fuck this shit,” a bonus was pushed in front of her. Seeing the amount, Lee Jihyeon silently decided to endure.
The money was too big to refuse….
Unaware that Seo Hoyun was diligently mopping the floor behind her, Lee Jihyeon was mumbling to herself, looking at the fan merchandise on her desk.
“Ah… when will I get to fight again… when will I get to see our editor rolling around and the blonde third prince… No, when is the ungrateful son event coming…”
“What are you talking about, Miss Jihyeon?”
“She talks like that when she’s tired, let her be.”
Lee Jihyeon gritted her teeth and hit the keyboard. It was a mistake to had emphasized her ability to speak Japanese on her resume. Because of that, everything related to the Japanese expansion was coming through her hands.
If they don’t promote me, they’ll pay.
Lee Jihyeon, who was nodding obediently at the senior’s words with sparkling eyes a year ago, couldn’t bear the malpractices of the small and medium-sized company and finally turned dark.
“I just handed over to the Japanese the debut of The Dawn.”
“Oh~, it’s Jihyeon indeed.”
Shut up….
Now it was a basic passive feature for Jihyeon that whenever her seniors said something, swear words would rise to her throat. When her senior clicked away cheerfully, another employee looked at Jihyeon with a regretful face.
Jihyeon deeply sighed and opened a new document window to process the next issue.
“The Dawn is really popular, isn’t it? We could actually plan a tour with this much popularity.”
“We wouldn’t know until we try. Well, it might be possible in a small hall in the countryside.”
“It’s a pity. We should have planned a small concert, right?”
Are you crazy??
At her senior’s words, who was empty-headed in these matters because he only managed actors, Jihyeon felt rage rising within her.
“You want a concert abroad when we haven’t even done one domestically? Are you kidding? That’s like our company screaming that we want to be cursed at!! Huh?! There are so many concert venues and stadiums in this country! Why? Why can’t we use them?!”
“Uh, ah, err….”
…As she recalled the past and screamed like a lunatic, people turned their eyes, and gradually avoided Jihyeon.
In a world where the company would be criticized if they had even a slightly higher number of concerts abroad than domestically, what if they debuted abroad with a concert?
[Daepaseong, fuck you]
[I thought they were getting better at their jobs, but they’re still fucked upㅋㅋㅗHey Daepaseong, we’re offering you money, but you can’t take it and you’re wasting it on this (beep-) (beep-) (beep-) (beep-)]
[Daepaseong (beep-)bastards(beep-)look down on domestic fans ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋahㅋㅋㅋgone madㅋㅋ]
The rest were unspeakable expletives. Jihyeon, imagining the criticism of Daepaseong that she felt she would know even without looking up, brushed off the goosebumps on her arm.
Oh shit, it’s really scary just thinking about it….
In fact, in Jihyeon’s opinion, even though the Japanese debut was a bit of a sensitive issue for fans, it was inevitable. Apologies to the fans, but in the long run, overseas debuts were ultimately a path for the artist.
As she sent the proposal, Jihyeon tightly closed her eyes.
I can’t help but get some heat!
.
.
.
And at that time, Seo Hoyun was having a similar thought.
What should I do with this…?
The K-pop wave was blowing worldwide, and these days, it’s easy to spread abroad through YouTube and SNS, so the timing of overseas expansion has accelerated compared to before. There were also groups formed with the explicit purpose of overseas expansion.
Of course, it’s still openly said that if you only send a singer overseas, it’s because they’re not popular domestically. Also, because domestic fans could easily fall away, a balanced schedule of domestic and overseas activities was needed.
Currently, Daepaseong was busily rowing the boat as overseas projects were coming in.
Hearing the story of overseas expansion through Jihyeon, Seo Hoyun’s forehead naturally frowned.
Although overseas activities were inevitably a matter of timing, if they went abroad just as they were starting to get a response in Korea, it would inevitably be difficult to talk to domestic fans.
In Korean, ‘Ah’ is different from ‘Oh’, and the same words can sound different depending on how they are said nicely.
Even though it’s next year… how on earth should I handle this?
As he was worrying without being able to find an answer, as he had never experienced this in his previous life, Jeong Dajun, who was scribbling something with a Japanese test paper from the second language section open, suddenly collapsed on the table.
“…I can’t do it.”
Did you solve at least one problem?
“Keep quiet and solve it.”
Kim Seonghyeon, who had taken an ice cream out of the refrigerator and handed it to me, took a quick look at Dajun’s test paper and was stunned.
“You haven’t solved even a single problem?”
“Ah… should I just not study? Should I just perform instead of going to school on the day of the CSAT?”[1]
“What nonsense is that?”
You have to study to take the exam. Where is this brat trying to escape to? I thought it would end with a one-shot, but Kang Ichae slithered down from the sofa and chuckled at Dajun, patting his shoulder.
“Little one, study hard and guess the answers~. What’s important in life, happiness or success?”
“Success is obviously more important….”
“That’s so Hoyun-like….”
Kim Seonghyeon muttered beside me as I quietly replied. I stretched out my arm and lightly poked at Kang Ichae’s forehead.
“Hey, tell me honestly. Don’t you think the same way?”
“What?”
“You don’t care about money, okay, I get that. But if you work your ass off composing and the result is a failure, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t care?”
“…What about the box office success you were talking about last time?”
“That was important to us, that’s why I said it.”
Kang Ichae chuckled.
“As long as it’s precious to me, it doesn’t matter.”
…Yeah, why bother talking with this guy with such ironclad mental strength. Kim Seonghyeon then asked as he rubbed his chin,
“Kang Ichae, do you really think like that?”
“Huh?”
“You’re actually hoping that Jeong Dajun will fail his college entrance exam.”
“What?? Really!?”
Jeong Dajun suddenly threw his pencil. He was definitely overreacting because he didn’t want to study anymore… but surprisingly, Kang Ichae flinched.
“…??”
We were all stunned.
…Was it true?
“Hey, hyung. What are you talking about~ I’m cheering for our youngest.”
“Yeah, why would Kang Ichae do that?”
Late to the game, Kang Ichae laughed and cleaned up the spilled water. Even I, who have a not-so-great temper, had to intervene, but Kim Seonghyeon replied while stretching out his legs.
“He thinks it’s more fun to see someone fail than succeed.”
What kind of devil’s logic is that?
“Uh… Ahahaha.”
“Hey, hyung. Is it true?”
“Um….”
That shameless Kang Ichae was speechless, blinking quickly, then gently covered Jeong Dajun’s ears, who was looking at him in disbelief.
“Of course….”
“….”
How was our main rapper going to handle this?
Whether he covered his ears or not, Jeong Dajun, who had heard everything, was trembling as if his phone was vibrating from betrayal.
“Sometimes… you’re worse than Hoyun.”
“Holy shit! How can you say such harsh words?”
“Should I go harder? Ichae-hyung is just not swearing, but he’s really just like Hoyun!!”
“Gasp, Ichae, you’re cruel~.”
“I think I should be the one angry here….”
Seong Jiwon, who had been fervently typing on his laptop at the dining table, quietly approached the noisy members.
“Hoyun, didn’t you have a separate schedule?”
“Ah.”
That’s right.
I slightly turned my head.
“With Joo Woosung.”
“Hey, where did the senior go?!”
Kim Seonghyeon was angry, but I didn’t have a single gram of energy to spare for Joo Woosung. It was a “Best Friends Special” on YouTube with Joo Woosung and Yu Jia.
There was no need to rush like this, but I accepted it since a 2-week limit appeared on the quest window last time.
“Ahaha, have a good trip.”
It’s a bit concerning.
Using Joo Woosung to complete the quest was a good idea, but since the previous Over-Immersive Captain, I felt guilty about going out alone too much.[2]
The members didn’t seem to care much, but it’s easy to get talked about because of the different weights of each member. I was worried that if there were any disturbances within the fandom, fatigue would accumulate.
“Joo Woosung-senior, isn’t he very active these days?”
“His last song was so popular….”
“Yeah, that’s true. The reaction was awesome.”
As I was pondering over this, I received a text message.
It was from Lee Jihyeon.
– Planning Team Lee Jihyeon: Hoyun-ssi
– Planning Team Lee Jihyeon: You’ll be filming with Joo Woosung-ssi soon, right?
– Planning Team Lee Jihyeon: It’s a live broadcast today
– Planning Team Lee Jihyeon: Please watch this before you go on the variety show
“…?”
– Planning Team Lee Jihyeon: (Video)
I turned on the strange video and let out a hollow laugh.
“Wow, Lee Jihyeon-ssi is really amazing….”
“Huh?”
[Guys, Hoyun’s shooting with Woosung tomorrow.]
[What?? With The Dawn all together?]
[No, it’s a solo variety show. I heard it’s a YouTube special for Jia.]
Fans were stirred up on social media, but no one voiced any strong opinions. Woosung had appeared with Hoyun before on Over-Immersive Captain, but this time the response was a bit strange.
[Ah… um….]
Everyone was careful with their words. That’s because last time, “Kill the Lights’” activities clashed with Black Call’s “Kings’,” which significantly affected The Dawn’s performance.
[Well.. We’re not in a position to compete with Black Call Kingsㅋㅋ (It would be shameless if we did). Sure, “Kill the Lights” pissed us off last time, but it’s not Woosung’s fault… it’s because Daepaseong messed up the schedule…
└Calm down, speak slowly…]
[Well… It’s about raising public recognition…]
Even though everyone seemed a bit shaky, they tried to move on. Even though Seo Hoyun occasionally went off on his own, he seemed genuinely close with Woosung, and they decided to leave him be, thinking he’d handle it well.
Personal activities were inevitable. They wanted to let it slide as quietly as possible, but as expected, the timing was never missed, and trouble began.
[Ah ㅋㅋ, Seo Hoyun really has no sense, right after “Kill the Lights”?
└ㅋㅋRight…]
When such posts started floating around, fans just chuckled bitterly.
Seo Hoyun was clueless…?
[If our bunny is clueless… fuck… What about half of the world’s population?
And what about you?]
[Hoyun is not clueless, he just doesn’t care
└Exactly
└└ㅋㅋ I want to play the clip of Shining Star‘s nomination in front of you.][3]
Even if you’re used to being hit, it doesn’t mean you build tolerance.
[Ah, it’s annoying
└Don’t get angry, go do a hobby
└└Okay.]
Eventually, fans who held back their irritation exploded, arguing against anonymous hate comments.
[Seo Hoyun’s fans are really crushed…
└Yes, planning to crush till the core ♡]
[Isn’t his personality dirty? I’m a bit… repulsed by him
└You idiot, that’s one of his good points.]
They didn’t forget to send the worst hate comments in PDF to Daepaseong. And they laughed.
[Ah, if I could be repulsed by Seo Hoyun… Wouldn’t that be a happy life?…
└Indeed, it’s a bit exciting, right?
└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWow, this is really funny, look at everyone’s personalityㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.]
There’s a saying that you become like the character you’re a fan of, and indeed, Seo Hoyun’s fans started to resemble him.
Fans, who laughed amidst the hate comments with a staunch mentality, suddenly widened their eyes at a video that came flooding in.
[Wow.]
And they quickly clicked the link.
[Heart-pounding, shall we eat salad? The Dawn Cover]
A short 30-second video was uploaded to The Dawn’s official account.
[1] College Scholastic Ability Test, a test for South Korean high school students that plays a huge role in where a student could go to college.
[2] See starting with Episode 55
[3] See Episode 37
