…Come to think of it, wasn’t Jeong Dajun’s birthday tomorrow?
Jeong Dajun meticulously lined up his wrapped birthday presents and took a selfie with them in the background.
“Wow~, awesome!!”
As he unwrapped the gifts, he tilted his head in confusion several times. From behind, I watched the pile of gifts and couldn’t help but admire.
Wow, Jeong Dajun… you’ve become quite popular.
The inclusion of letters written in English or other foreign languages suggested that some of the gifts were from international fans. I crossed my arms and looked down at an excited Dajun, his cheeks flushed red as he babbled on in delight.
“Wow! These are seriously pretty!”
“Tell me about it.”
“And I haven’t seen any of these before!”
Of course not.
All of them were from ridiculously expensive high-end brands.
Jeong Dajun, not knowing or perhaps uninterested in the “B” of the brand, kept busy unwrapping the gifts, making comments like “This pattern is unique” and “Wow, sunglasses!”
Kim Seonghyeon stood nearby, having finished his ice cream.
Clad in a scarf, sunglasses, and a necklace, Jeong Dajun was decked out in gear.
Similarly, Kim Seonghyeon, who might not know the “B” of the brand either… well, he probably knew up to “B.R.”, also enthusiastically handed over more items for him to wear, resulting in our maknae looking quite comical.
“Are you a Christmas tree?”
“Oh! That’s a great idea, should I add some lights?”
“Pfft, just take the picture, will you?”
“Sure! I’ll post it on our fancafe!”
Our idol, our silly maknae.
After taking enough photos to satisfy the soon-to-be birthday boy Jeong Dajun, I left him tapping away proudly on his phone and started putting on my sneakers to head back to practice, but Kim Seonghyeon grabbed my clothes from behind.
“Where are you going?”
“Practice.”
“It’s a holiday, you know? Plus, you almost pulled an all-nighter yesterday. Take a break.”
Well, it was a holiday, but it’s not like I had anything better to do.
I didn’t reply, just dragged my feet, and Seonghyeon clicked his tongue, calling me a “workaholic.” It was a bit rich coming from someone who’d just spent three hours at the gym on his so-called day off.
“You should come too. If we’re doing a year-end stage, you need to stay sharp.”
“…Seo Hoyun, do you even have such a thing as ‘stage sense’??”
“You wanna die?”
Kim Seonghyeon gave a half-smile and pondered for a moment before suddenly lifting his head with an “Ah!”
“Speaking of which, isn’t it about time we heard some news about the collaboration? What did the manager say?”
“It should come out tomorrow or so.”
I answered and glanced at the corner where a new quest popped up.
It was a quest that had been there for a few days.
[Quest Arrival! Successfully complete the collab stage with a sexy concept!
Show the public overwhelming quality.
Successful completion: 5,000 points awarded.
Failure: Dance stats will slightly decrease (B+ to C+)]
No matter how you looked at it, a slight decrease in Dance stats wasn’t right, was it?
When I complained that it’s so hard to increase but so easy to decrease, the system window gave me a cheeky response, “Think of it like stocks,” then disappeared.
When you put it that way, it makes sense, I guess.
Anyway, Kim Seonghyeon wouldn’t know I was sighing at the quest window, and his brow furrowed slightly.
“Ah, really? How’d you know?”
“It seems like things are being decided, and news is going back and forth.”
Plus, I had recently visited Joo Woosung’s place to see his cat, Nyangnyang, and it was there I heard about Black Call and White Cherry collaborating.
The expression on Woosung’s face turned sour as he received a call from the manager.
Still, I just rubbed Nyangnyang’s nose with my fingertip and asked in confusion,
“What’s up? You seemed okay with it.”
“…Ugh.”
Quite shameless (I mean, you’d need this kind of mental fortitude to date that many girlfriends), Joo Woosung had even been a special MC on YuYuBank with Han Chaeri before.
I thought encountering an ex-girlfriend wouldn’t be a big deal for a playboy like him, but Joo Woosung subtly avoided my gaze.
“Hey, it’s one thing to run into Han Chaeri, who I seriously dislike, but those members, they’re really scary, man…”
“…?”
I hadn’t gotten that impression when I saw the White Cherry members before.
I didn’t bother telling Woosung about the kind words Chaeri once told me about him, considering he hadn’t done anything to deserve it.
I recalled the warm atmosphere that had surrounded Han Chaeri and Liz’s conversation.
“Everyone seemed nice. Very considerate.”
“What are you talking about? Are we even talking about the same White Cherry?”
Joo Woosung shivered.
“Sure, their teamwork is great, and they look cool, but… people have mixed feelings about them. If you get on their bad side, it’s freaking scary there.”
“That must be because Joo Woosung did something to split opinions.”
“Ugh, I’m already suffocating.”
I couldn’t help but feel refreshed thinking about Joo Woosung, who had been whining for a while that he’d be left out in the practice room since the Black Call members already said they wouldn’t cover for him.
Yeah, it was about time Joo Woosung got a taste of his own medicine.
“What goes around comes around, I guess. Just look at that collab.”
“What are you talking about? Are you worried about the collab?”
“No, I’m fine. There’s someone else who’ll worry more than me.”
Jeong Dajun seemed to have thoroughly checked the reaction to the photo he posted on the fan cafe, as he kept trying on and draping his birthday gifts while taking pictures.
Wearing a school uniform… the fans should like it, right?
Wait a second.
What time was it?
“Hey, Jeong Dajun. Aren’t you supposed to be at school now?”
Startled.
Jeong Dajun hesitated slightly, then smiled brightly.
“School ended early today.”
“He left early.”
“No, I didn’t!”
“He’s short on attendance days.”
“Are you kidding me?”
Kim Seonghyeon, like a nagging sister-in-law, quickly confessed to me.
“Wow, you said you wouldn’t tell…!!”
It was his own fault, after all.
Jeong Dajun puffed his cheeks and glared at Kim Seonghyeon, then started making excuses with a wronged expression.
“I’m still going to take the college entrance exam! Isn’t it impressive that I attend school occasionally? College is for those who want to go, right? I’m totally satisfied being an idol?”
“So what?”
“…You really know how to leave someone speechless.”
“This Confucian boy, what do I do with him,” “My parents are okay with it,” blah blah blah… When Jeong Dajun realized his grumbling wasn’t getting through, he started rolling on the floor.
I caught Jeong Dajun’s gaze.
“Alright, let’s say your attendance days are fine. What about your CSAT studies? You said you’re going to take it.”
“…!”
“It’s not far away. Bring out your workbook. Let’s see how much you’ve done.”
“…Hyung, just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“I haven’t solved any!”
I smacked him on the head, and finally, Jeong Dajun grumbled and started organizing his gifts, then brought his workbook.
Ding!
[Aren’t you supposed to be at practice?]
I’ll just skim through it. Whatever.
I sat nonchalantly, looking at Jeong Dajun’s workbook, which was so clean it looked brand new.
“Why is this so pristine, you little rascal?”
“…For collection?”
“Are you joking?”
Who buys a workbook just to collect them?
Jeong Dajun pouted, holding a mechanical pencil, and there I was, with my experience of tutoring seven students during my university days, furiously pushing him.
He screamed in agony as he reluctantly solved the problems.
Bang!
While I was giving Jeong Dajun a hardcore, Spartan-style crash course, Seong Jiwon and Kang Ichae burst through the door.
“Wahaha!!”
“Why is he like that?”
“Just the usual Kang Ichae.”
Since this wasn’t the first time we’d seen Kang Ichae in attention-seeking mode, I acknowledged Kim Seonghyeon’s comment and was about to get back to Jeong Dajun’s questions… but Kang Ichae was acting really strange.
“Wow, this is really tough, huh?”
“…”
He was laughing his head off as if he’d reached some sort of enlightenment.
“Life’s gotta be tough to be fun, right, Hoyun-hyung??”
“Just get to the point.”
“Aww~, why so cold today~?”
“Typical Seo Hoyun…”
Kim Seonghyeon murmured quietly beside me.
Kang Ichae beelined for the sofa and flopped down. Following behind him, Seong Jiwon seemed to share the sentiment, scratching his forehead awkwardly before cautiously broaching a topic.
“Guys, our collab stage has been set.”
“Oh~? With whom?”
“Lea Purple-sunbae.”
“…Huh?”
Were they talking about that idol group from “The Victory is Mine” who almost got injured? I didn’t know much about them, but the way the members took care of each other left an impression.
…But a collab with a girl idol group?
I quickly weighed the pros and cons and came to a conclusion.
Well, it should be fine.
It’s true that mixed-gender collabs could attract criticism given our junior status in the industry, but we weren’t the only ones doing it.
Some fans might have mixed feelings, but it was a pretty steady event.
The unwavering mental fortitude I saw online earlier also played a part in my assessment; it wouldn’t be easily shaken by this.
Kim Seonghyeon seemed to share my sentiment, calmly asking without much surprise,
“Is the song decided too?”
“Of course!”
Then, Kang Ichae, who had been motionless with his face buried in the sofa, suddenly shot up and giggled weakly.
Wait!
I sensed trouble brewing. Kang Ichae was about to do something crazy.
I quickly dodged to Seong Jiwon’s side, and sure enough, Kang Ichae, having lost his target, twisted his upper body.
Then he grabbed Jeong Dajun by the neck and pulled him close, opening his mouth wide as if to bite his cheek!!
“Our maknae’s cheek, waaang~.”
“Aaaack!”
Jeong Dajun, whose only fault was sitting right in front of Kang Ichae, paled and managed to escape by rolling on the floor.
I was just as startled by the spectacle.
Was Kang Ichae out of his fucking mind, seriously?!
“Are you crazy?! Aaah!!”
“Wahaha!”
Jeong Dajun tried to stand up but couldn’t see properly and banged his head on the sofa leg with a thud.
“Ow, my head hurts…”
“Ahh~! Ichae is lonely~, hug me~.”
“Ugh, I really, really, really hate this!!”
As Jeong Dajun clutched his head in pain, Kang Ichae stretched out his hand again, but Jeong Dajun sternly slipped away like a slippery eel.
He then rubbed his nearly bitten cheek furiously, though it hadn’t actually been touched.
Watching this, Kang Ichae casually propped his chin on his hand and hummed a tune I felt I’d heard somewhere.
“Let me bite, bite~”
“Uhhuhu… Why is Ichae-hyung like this? He must be crazy.”
I pressed down on Jeong Dajun’s mouth to stop him from turning into Kang Ichae and wiped his reddened cheek with my sleeve to comfort his whimpering.
“Today, even Hoyun-hyung is being unusually sweet…”
“Hey, watch your words.”
“Okay…”
While pressing on Jeong Dajun’s cheek and responding to his grumbling thoughts of #KangIchae_Explain, deep down, I felt differently.
Thanks for being the sacrifice, Jeong Dajun…
After all, I had dodged the bullet.
Kang Ichae’s humming continued unabated.
“…That melody sounds really familiar.”
Seeing Kim Seonghyeon tilt his head in confusion, Seong Jiwon, with a faint look in his eyes, spoke in a soft voice.
“The actual lyrics are like that.”
“…There’s really a song with those lyrics?”
Seong Jiwon let out an awkward laugh.
“‘Let’s Spend the Night’.”
…Ah.
“…That song?”
“Yeah, that one.”
“…”
“…”
“…No way?”
“Yeah.”
“…A mixed-gender?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t believe it, so I asked again, but Seong Jiwon just closed his mouth and solemnly nodded.
I slightly opened my mouth in shock.
Let’s Spend the Night.
It was a song by a senior from Lea Purple’s agency who went solo and made a huge hit, well-known to the public…
For having a sticky, very suggestive… sexy concept song.
“Wahahahaha!”
Daepaseong Entertainment…
What were they thinking?
