[Guys… ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
The reaction to Jeong Dajun’s performance on SNS was explosive.
[I was so worried about Dajun, I wanted to support him by saying everything he does is the best… but in the end, it turns out I didn’t need to worry at all… ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋㅋahㅋㅋㅋ!!!!!!! ㅜㅜㅜIt’s driving me crazyㅜㅜㅜ]
[I really cried my eyes out… It’s the first time I’ve felt this happy while crying, at the end, when he blew a hand kiss< my tears just stopped, crazy…]
[I never intended to love him this much, now I’m overly invested, beyond being proud, it’s heartbreaking, bittersweet, hilarious, ah fuck, I just freaking love Jeong Dajunㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
Clearly, there were mixed opinions within the fandom about the second competition.
Since it hadn’t been pre-released or aired yet, everyone was careful with their words, but rumors that “Jeong Dajun tore up the stage” couldn’t be stopped.
“Tasty.”
While fans were desperately searching for any new content, crying and making a fuss, Jeong Dajun was busy eating meat that the manager and road manager were grilling, with the members serving diligently.
“Does it taste good?”
“Yes!!”
After filming the third competition, on such an emotional day, it was decided that eating meat was a must, and the members followed the manager, who lifted his corporate card above his head like a triumphant general returning from battle.
I glanced up with only my eyes to see the stats floating above Jeong Dajun’s head.
[I’m so proud of Jeong Dajun, I only want to feed him Korean beef.]
Did you raise Jeong Dajun?
[Singing: B-
Dance: A-
Variety: B+
Acting: C-
Charm: B+
??? : ???]
Looking at him, I seemed to understand why Jeong Dajun was particularly anxious.
Are stats really everything?
As I pondered where the difference lay, Jeong Dajun, gnawing on a rib, scanned the members with his eyes.
“Hyungs.”
He then put down the cleanly eaten bone and said,
“Honestly, it’s good having the maknae around, right?”
“Of course~!!”
Seong Jiwon, who was next to him, placed a new bone with plenty of meat on it into Jeong Dajun’s rice bowl and cooed over him, causing Jeong Dajun to smirk contentedly.
In the actual group performance, Jeong Dajun truly dominated the stage.
Although the main dancer of High Five wasn’t overshadowed, the rest noticeably faltered.
In the audience vote, he was slightly behind High Five, but with the expert scores, Jeong Dajun had the advantage.
Eventually, The Dawn clinched the first place in the performance unit.
High Five was second, TEW was third.
It was said that the maknae had beaten all the famous contenders to take first place.
“Eat a lot.”
“Yes!!”
Well, after crying so much, he must be really hungry.
“But how did you do so well? You were even better than in rehearsal.”
“Oh, that! Hoyun-hyung gave me advice.”
“…”
“Think of the other contestants as losers…”
“Wait…!”
“Hey!! Did you really say that to a kid??”
“Well, he’s an adult now, so…”
Kim Seonghyeon, who was pouring cider into Jeong Dajun’s glass, looked at me with a bitter face.
Jeong Dajun glanced back and forth between me and Kim Seonghyeon and quickly continued.
“Well, there was that… but there’s more! Hyung also said that if I ever feel wronged, I should first lie down on my bed and think…”
“…To just sleep on it?”
“Uh, that’s not it…”
Trying hard to remember, Jeong Dajun eventually gave up and grabbed some lettuce.
“Ah, whatever. Who cares?”
He then topped it with about five pieces of meat and confidently added kimchi before stuffing it into his mouth in one go.
“I di’ wel’, di’n’ I?”
Jeong Dajun grinned.
I smiled back.
“Our maknae is all grown up~.”
What followed was a joyful meat party.
Because of the unexpectedly high bill, I had to swipe the corporate card on behalf of the trembling manager and walked out of the restaurant.
Indeed, meals paid for with company money tasted the best.
Patting my satisfied stomach, I noticed Kang Ichae clinging to Jeong Dajun and whining in front of the van.
Jeong Dajun, seemingly annoyed by the nagging, was murmuring something as he stroked his chest.
“Dajun, you’re an adult now, an adult. Let’s easily ignore this kind of provocation…”
“Right, right~.”
“…Ignore it.”
“If you’re an adult, you should be able to overlook this much~.”
“…ignore…”
“Our Dajuni is the coolest adult~”
“Ah!!! Seriously!!”
After watching the usual bickering, I turned to Seong Jiwon, Kim Seonghyeon, and the managers.
“I’m going to stop by the company before heading to the dorm.”
“Eh? Why?”
“I need to meet with the planning team for a bit.”
As I went through Shining Star Season 2, I realized there was something I needed to think about.
“Then go with the road manager. It’s dangerous to go by yourself.”
Though I wanted to move freely without dragging anyone along, the manager’s concern was not unfounded.
Acknowledging his point, the manager whispered something to the road manager.
“See you back at the dorm.”
After saying goodbye to the members, I caught a taxi with the road manager.
As the final stage approached, the outcome seemed almost predictable.
The results of the second competition were made up for by our cross-unit performance.
So, now our score put us in second place, right behind High Five.
It seemed unlikely that Bercy and Try, battling for fourth and fifth places, would be able to climb any higher, but TEW was a bit of a wild card.
“…Hmm.”
It was because of the scoring system for the final.
Until now, all voting had been done on-site, but the final relied solely on live voting.
Moreover, the points were going to be tripled, making it unpredictable how the rankings might shift.
Is first place possible?
No, it had to be.
There was a surefire way to clinch first place.
“…Hmm.”
This was, well, just…
“…Today’s performance was impressive.”
Perhaps because I had been quietly staring out the window, the road manager spoke up.
It was a bit unusual since he was normally silent and focused on his work.
I wondered if my expression didn’t look too good.
“Ah, thank you.”
“I mean it sincerely.”
With that, the road manager turned his gaze forward again and said no more.
A bit later, the company building came into view.
“Ah, please let me off here.”
After getting off the taxi and entering the company, I sent the road manager home and began to walk when I noticed someone crouching near the first-floor elevator.
It was Min Jiheon, sucking on a coffee straw.
“Ah!”
I intended to pass by without notice, but Min Jiheon, with a bright expression, deliberately stood up to block my path.
“Awesome! I was just about to text you.”
It had been almost half a year.
His light brown hair fluttered gently.
“Who?”
“Wow~, I really missed this prickly tone of yours.”
“What’s this about?”
“Ahaha, do we only meet when we need something?”
Obviously.
Min Jiheon took a frappuccino out from the drink carrier he had set on the ground and offered it to me.
He wasn’t one to play with food, so I accepted it, but he dallied in front of me without getting to the point.
“It’s too much to only see each other once in half a year, even if we’re both busy.”
“I’ve seen you plenty.”
“Eh?”
Jeong Dajun had been secretly watching Min Jiheon’s movies in the dorm and sobbing nonstop.
In the disaster movie, Min Jiheon, who dreamed of becoming a firefighter as a college student, proved his title as a guaranteed success by ultimately hitting ten million viewers.
“—Ah!! You mean you watched my movie?”
“No, I didn’t watch it because I dislike you.”
“…”
“Jeong Dajun did.”
Seeing Min Jiheon pouting as if he was offended made me feel better.
“Did you come to get an autograph for your sister?”
“…How did you know?”
“You hurriedly came with a shopping bag, how could I not?”
Besides, he had waited in front of the company with my favorite menu item.
I stretched out my hand to him while sucking on the straw.
“Give it.”
“???”
Min Jiheon’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected that.
“Before I change my mind, hurry.”
“…Uh, yes.”
He quickly took out an album and bromides from the shopping bag.
“There’s quite a lot.”
I popped open the pen cap with my mouth and started signing, and Min Jiheon squinted his eyes.
“It’s rare for you to do this so willingly.”
“I would never do it for you. I’m doing it because your younger sibling is a Noeul.”
“Uhm. Thanks.”
“If you’re thankful, maybe you should have a meal with Jeong Dajun later.”
“…Eh?”
Min Jiheon blinked and then slightly covered his mouth with his hand.
“Wow, what? Really?”
“…”
“Ahaha, did you actually get attached to the members? I knew hyung was soft-hearted, but this seems fast?”
“Min Jiheon, seems like you’re full of crap today as well.”
I pushed the signed items toward Min Jiheon with a sneer.
Despite frowning slightly, he carefully put them back into the shopping bag.
“Well~, it’s good to see you looking healthy. It’s nice to have good people around.”
“…”
“Why would you worry about me?”
“I care about hyung more than you think.”
Min Jiheon responded nonchalantly and then sucked on his coffee again.
“Anyway, thanks. Chaeyeon will really like this. She’s been having a hard time because of the competition lately.”
“Is that so.”
“Why does she worry so much? She could just like me.”
“Younger siblings are always like that…”
I replied absentmindedly, then quickly shut my mouth.
However, unlike his naïve actions, the quick-witted guy swiftly caught onto that word.
“Younger sibling?”
I made a mistake.
I never brought up the topic of siblings at work because I couldn’t predict what kind of impact it would have.
As I turned my gaze away, Min Jiheon’s eyes followed me intently.
“…You have a sibling?”
That was when it happened.
“Wow~!! What are you all doing here?”
Startled by the new voice that cut between Min Jiheon and me, I turned around to find the manager staring at us.
“…What are you doing here, Manager? Didn’t you leave for the dorms and then head home?”
“I still haven’t reported back yet and…”
The manager trailed off, glancing at Min Jiheon with a quick flick of his eyes.
Following his gaze, Min Jiheon, who had been silent for a moment, suddenly smiled.
“Ah, hello~.”
“Hello, Mr. Min Jiheon! I recently watched your movie and cried my eyes out!!”
Since when was the manager a fan of Min Jiheon?
The manager, oblivious to my glare, was blushing and even went as far as to shake hands with Min Jiheon.
If I left them be, they seemed like they would wave goodbye endlessly, so I pulled the manager back and nudged at Min Jiheon.
“If you’re done here, it’s time for you to leave, Min Jiheon.”
“Yes, I was planning to.”
However, contrary to his response, Min Jiheon lingered even after gathering his shopping bags.
He acted as if he had something more to say.
Hurry up, just go.
“Do you have any other business?”
My manager asked, his eyes sparkling.
“…Ahaha, no, I should be going.”
Min Jiheon glanced at me briefly before shrugging his shoulders.
“Thanks for the autograph~.”
“Sure.”
“If there’s anything, contact me.”
“…?”
I frowned slightly, but as Min Jiheon stepped away, he dropped a bomb.
“Keep fighting, hyung.”
Fuck!
He was someone who could never just smoothly pass by.
I clicked my tongue while glaring in the direction he disappeared, then the manager’s voice reached me.
“…But why did he call Hoyun ‘hyung’??”
“….”
“Ah!!”
The manager was startled.
“Is this… over-immersion?”
“Haah……”
“Do you two still immerse yourselves in your roles from Please Take the Camera whenever you meet?”
It was indeed better to be clueless at times like this.
I sighed deeply and gave a look, but our manager just gazed at me with eyes full of admiration.
“Min Jiheon’s method acting is on another level, but our Hoyun is really amazing too!!”
It’s not the level of method, it’s the level of madness…
Watching the manager make a fuss as if we were the best, I made a face as if I had eaten a sour plum.
In some ways, Min Jiheon was indeed a madman.
Why is it always so unsettling every time?
Regardless, there was something more important than Min Jiheon.
After parting with our manager, I headed to the planning team, thinking about how to decorate the final stage.
The announcement for Shining Star‘s final competition was quickly approaching.
