Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Translator: Penny
Chapter 47
In the end, I only managed one bite of ramen before claiming my stomach was upset and dumping the rest. I hurried back to the dorm.
Even swallowing that single noodle without spitting it out cost me more Original Intent Score points.
As soon as I returned, Ryu Jaehee burst into my room and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hyung! Manager Hyung said to remind you about the fan signing event the day after tomorrow!"
"I'm not deaf yet, maknae," I grumbled.
I'll never understand why he wastes that impressive vocal power on such trivial matters.
A fan signing event? I sighed inwardly.
Every time I attend one of these events, I feel like I'm reliving my rookie days, completely clueless about what to say.
The phrase "Oh, really?" had become a forbidden phrase, uttered out of habit. The merciless System punished even the slightest insincere response or moment of absentmindedness with excruciating pain, relentlessly deducting from my Original Intent Score. This made it impossible to approach my work with the same casual indifference I had before my regression.
Still, now that I had a substitute for "Oh, really?"—"Oh, really?"—I was invincible at this fan signing event!
As I grinned smugly, Seo Yehyeon glanced back at me, sighed, and shook his head.
But since this man had been the one to reveal the existence of "Oh, really?"—the key to abandoning my half-baked foreign student persona—I decided to let it slide with magnanimity.
"You need to stop saying 'Oh, really?' It's such a bad habit. At the last fansign, my heart dropped every time you said it. I swear, it felt like my lifespan was shrinking in real-time!"
"Don't worry, I won't do it this time. Oh, and I'll ask Manager Hyung to put your fansign seat as far away from me as possible. I don't want you losing any more years—live a long, healthy life!"
As we were having this surprisingly amicable conversation, Ryu Jaehee, who had been leaning against the doorframe, let out a series of dramatic sighs, loud enough for us to hear.
"Do you guys get thorns in your mouths if you don't fight for even a day?"
"When have we ever fought?"
"Yeah, we've never fought before!"
Ryu Jaehee looked at Seo Yehyeon, who was nodding in agreement, with a pitying gaze and sighed again.
"So, Yehyeon Hyung finally adapted to Eden Hyung's way of speaking... Eden Hyung, I told you, you need to show you're willing to lose to avoid rumors of discord, right?"
"Is the camera even on right now? That's just a broadcast persona. Why should I have to 'lose' even off-camera?"
"Hyung, have you heard the saying, 'A leaky bucket leaks both inside and out'? Habits are really scary."
Ryu Jaehee, never one to back down, continued relentlessly. Yoon Eden groaned, rubbing his temples.
Come to think of it, answering with "Oh, really?" at fan signings had become a habit.
When did I start taking things so casually?
Back in their flop idol days, when only thirty fans showed up to their rare fan signings, he used to give relatively lengthy answers and even have genuinely warm conversations with fans.
At an idol fansign event, the youngest member, his eyes blazing like a fanatic preaching "Unbelief is Hell," declared "Oh, really?" a sin. Instead of sympathizing, I scoffed. It was after Seo Yehyeon's 직캠 went viral, and we held our first fansign event that filled all 100 slots.
I grew weary of the perfunctory questions from fans who clearly only came to see Seo Yehyeon. My own perfunctory replies became a habit.
Back then, I justified it. But now I realize even my few genuine fans must have heard my carelessly uttered "Oh, really?"
Forced back to our debut days, I reflexively tacked "Oh, really?" onto my responses to fans' questions. Recalling the 20-point deduction from my Original Intent Score, Ryu Jaehee's words about the terrifying power of habit suddenly rang true.
"Eden Hyung kept saying 'Oh, really?' at the last fansign, even though it's a big no-no. So I thought I'd give him a little practice this time."
Before I could even agree, Ryu Jaehee suddenly cupped his cheeks with his hands, channeling his inner fan.
"I skipped school and snuck here just to see Eden Hyung today!"
"Oh, really?"
As expected, the Original Intent Score remained unchanged, just as I'd confirmed several times before.
Seeing the look in his eyes that seemed to ask if that was all he had to say, I chuckled and added, "I skipped school a few times back in my student days too, so I never got the perfect attendance award. We're comrades in truancy now!"
Ryu Jaehee's expression turned subtly awkward before he moved on to his next line.
"I've been listening to your new song non-stop. It's so good!"
"Ah, really? I'm so glad you liked it. Thank you for loving Reve's songs."
I thought I'd given a perfectly normal response this time, but Ryu Jaehee still wore a subtle expression as he demanded, "Just show me some aegyo!"
"Ah, reall—"
Habits are truly terrifying.
Realizing I'd reflexively added "Ah, really?" to a statement that didn't require a response, I trailed off. Ryu Jaehee narrowed his eyes and stared at me.
"Hyung, is there a reason you always have to start with 'Ah, really?'"
"It just feels... empty without it, I guess."
"But why are you saying 'Ah, really?' even when I ask for aegyo? This isn't about feeling empty anymore."
"Habits are scary things, you know. Jaehee, are you angry with me right now?"
A fresh-faced kid like you, barely out of his teens, glaring at his hyung who's already twenty-seven and grilling him like this? Seriously?
As I clicked my tongue at this blatant act of insubordination, a ding! rang out—a sound that now filled me with dread.
Every time that sound chimed at a moment like this, nothing good ever followed.
The forbidden phrase "Ah, really?" has been added.
Fuck.
The news hit me like a bolt from the blue. I shot to my feet.
"Hey, you bastard! Because of you...! If you hadn't insisted on practicing for the fansign...!"
Even the substitute word is now a forbidden word?! What am I supposed to use for mindless retorts now?!
Afraid of damaging his Original Intent Score, he couldn't bring himself to grab Ryu Jaehee by the collar. Instead, he gripped Ryu Jaehee's shoulders and shook him violently. Ryu Jaehee wobbled weakly, muttering, "Hey, I was just trying to help. Why are you suddenly acting like this out of nowhere...? Hyung, are you crying?"
"I want to cry, you little shit!"
With only two days left until the fansign, how was he supposed to find another substitute word? Was he going to lose another 20 points from his Original Intent Score and regress again?
Ms. Kim sat anxiously in the audience section of the fansign venue, adjusting her camera and double-checking that the writing on her sticky notes hadn't smudged.
She had become a fan of Reve after their Come to My Universe promotions, making this her first time attending one of their fansigns.
I heard they only had one-shot fansigns back then, she thought, clicking her tongue in regret.
Having spent 300,000 won on albums for this fansign, Ms. Kim couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.
But the higher fansign cut was also proof of how much her idols had grown. She quickly brushed aside her disappointment and smiled proudly.
The previous fansign had barely exceeded 50 attendees, but this one was packed to capacity with 100 people.
Home Master fans with their massive DSLR cameras were a common sight.
Finally, the long-awaited fan signing event began, and Reve took the stage.
"Dream of me! Hello, we're Reve!"
The members, dressed in the most praised outfits from last week's performances, stood behind the table on stage and greeted the crowd with a thunderous bow.
The venue erupted in deafening cheers in response.
Silver-haired Eden! Eden in a baseball jacket!
Perhaps it was the baseball jacket, reminiscent of a university letterman jacket, that made Yoon Eden look more like a fresh-faced college student than a high schooler. Ms. Kim relentlessly snapped photos of him.
As soon as the members finished greeting the crowd and took their seats, Ms. Kim scanned the order in which they were seated.
The order was Yoon Eden, Ryu Jaehee, Gyeon Hajun, Kim Dobin, and Seo Yehyeon. Yehyeon was first, and Eden was last.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting, her turn finally arrived.
"Hello," Seo Yehyeon greeted her with a gentle smile, the member who had first drawn her into the world of Reve.
"Yes, hello," she replied, nodding as if hypnotized by that radiant smile.
...As expected, Reve's visual center and the fairy who draws people in.
His delicate features appeared even more striking up close.
It was almost frustrating to realize that photos couldn't capture his true beauty.
She wanted to shove his real face in the faces of those who dismissed him as just "photogenic."
After getting her album signed, she handed over a sticky note with her question. A light conversation followed, sparked by the note's contents.
Seo Yehyeon wasn't particularly eloquent, but his mere presence was enough to bring smiles and joy. After signing the first album, he cheerfully moved on to the next person in line.
"Ah, hello."
Ms. Kim suppressed a smile as she observed Kim Dobin's stiff, nervous expression, even after ten fans had passed before him.
Despite the role reversal, Ms. Kim, drawing on her decade of experience as a K-pop stan, skillfully steered the conversation.
"You're closest to Jaehee, right? And the coolest member is... Eden Hyung!"
"Not Yehyeon?"
"Visually, Yehyeon Hyung is the best, but considering overall capabilities, Eden Hyung has the edge. It's like choosing between maxing out one stat or balancing them all. Still, balancing them is more advantageous for overall stats—"
Now that her nerves had eased, Kim Dobin cheerfully checked off the post-it note she handed him, chattering away like a retriever who had finally overcome his shyness and was now eager to cuddle up to people.
"I'll definitely show you a more professional side next time!"
"Oh? Then I guess I'll have to come see you again."
"Really? Promise!"
They locked pinkies, and she moved on to the next member. Gyeon Hajun greeted her with a warm, eye-crinkling smile.
He really has the look of a natural actor.
She was so confident that Gyeon Hajun would be cast in a drama within the next three or four years that she would bet Reve's debut album on it.
True to his reputation as the quietest member, Gyeon Hajun spoke calmly and softly.
But the way he maintained eye contact, smiled warmly, and answered her questions with genuine effort was unmistakable.
The fact that Jun wrote a postscript twice as long as the other members' beneath his album signature was enough to earn him a passing grade.
Next up was Yuje.
While Ms. Kim was keenly aware that Eden was next in line, the moment Yuje opened his mouth, that thought was swept away like a storm.
"Hello!"
Yuje greeted her brightly, signing her album while effortlessly extracting her name, age, favorite Reve member, and preferred track from the album in the blink of an eye.
His adorable aegyo was just the cherry on top.
He was practically a decade-long professional idol. Even her old idols, who were entering their seventh year, weren't this polished. Yet this newly debuted rookie...
"See you again, Noona!"
"Yeah, see you again."
After Yuje, who seemed to have been born under the star of idols, finished his turn, Ms. Kim finally arrived before her ultimate bias, whom she had been eagerly awaiting.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny