Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Translator: Penny
Chapter 48
"Hello," Yoon Eden greeted with a smile.
A beautiful crown of blue flowers, seemingly placed by some kind soul, already adorned his head.
Facing that signature, refreshing smile—the one that had instantly made her switch her ultimate bias from Seo Yehyeon—she experienced the momentary blankness of having all her intended words vanish from her mind.
Snapping back to reality, Ms. Kim first handed over an album signed by all four members and a pristine, unsigned album.
As she blankly watched Yoon Eden sign his name alongside her trembling voice, he initiated the conversation.
"Who did you come to see today?"
"You... you came to see me too, right? And all of Reve!"
A certain Ms. Kim, who had unconsciously started to answer, barely managed to regain her composure and pass the question along.
What if I want to see your face again because of today's fansign?
Unlike the other members' post-it notes, which offered multiple-choice answers, Yoon Eden received a single question. He picked up his pen and began to write smoothly.
Ms. Kim, who had expected a simple reply like "Let's meet again next time," was surprised to see a neatly written English sentence.
My baby wants me to dream about him...
"I'm going to start practicing lucid dreaming from today, Eden."
"That's lucid dreaming, right? I tried it once after seeing it online, but I never succeeded... Have you ever managed to do it, Noona?"
"I don't have one either, but I need to practice if I want to dream about you."
"Oh, really? Good luck with that."
Beneath the sticky note, Yoon Eden had scribbled "Lucid Dream Fighting." She delivered her carefully prepared line with a triumphant smile.
"By the way, Eden, did you know? If you can close your right eye and poke your left cheek at the same time, you're in the top 1% of geniuses."
"Ah, I see."
Right eye, left cheek... Yoon Eden muttered to himself, raising his hand to his cheek.
Thankfully, he didn't seem to have caught on yet.
With his right eye slightly closed, Yoon Eden poked his left cheek with a finger and grinned.
"Huh, this is easy. I guess I'm in the top 1% of gen... ius..."
A beat late, realization dawned on Yoon Eden, his voice trailing off.
Ms. Kim watched as Yoon Eden, who had unconsciously winked and delivered a cheek-poke aegyo, stiffened up, his ear tips and cheeks flushing crimson. She realized her exit from the fandom was being blocked in real time.
How can I quit being a fan after seeing this right in front of me...?
Just then, Gyeon Hajun's turn was delayed, creating a gap in the schedule. Ryu Jaehee, who had been watching from the side, stifled his laughter, his shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles.
When Ms. Kim requested a final high-five, Yoon Eden readily extended his hand.
"Your hands are so big..." she murmured, slipping into another unconscious state.
Yoon Eden let out a sigh of regret. "Ah, I was too late. That was supposed to be my comeback line."
"Oh, then I'll take back what I said! Say the line!"
With a light clap of their palms, Yoon Eden grinned and said,
"Your hands are so small, Noona."
Time to move on!
At the staff's shout, Ms. Kim reluctantly rose from her chair, her movements heavy with lingering regret.
Just as she was about to imprint her favorite idol's face one last time and offer a final farewell, Yoon Eden's greeting caught her off guard:
"Then I'll see you in my dreams again, Noona."
Caught off guard, she could only mouth a silent reply.
Urged on by the staff, she was forced to leave the stage without even saying goodbye.
Barely settled back in her seat, she saw Yoon Eden removing his flower crown and putting on a cat-ear headband.
If he'd worn that and shown off his aegyo, he would have been even cuter...!
Ms. Kim bitterly regretted her turn coming before that fan's and furiously snapped photos.
If she couldn't capture the moment in person, she'd at least take it home in pictures.
The fan signing event concluded smoothly without any major incidents.
I leaned back against the car seat, completely drained. Even for an extrovert like me, talking to a hundred people was exhausting.
Seo Yehyeon and Gyeon Hajun, who had tested as "I" types on the MBTI test we took for our self-produced content before the regression, had long since passed out. Even Ryu Jaehee, a textbook "E" type, was slumped against the window, his head pressed against the glass.
As usual, the Status Window appeared, indicating that my Original Intent Score had decreased alongside my pain. I immediately checked the score:
Original Intent Score: 78
Unbelievable! My score had only dropped by 8 points.
Compared to the previous fan signing event, where it had plummeted by 20 points, this was a monumental improvement.
However, "Ah, I see," the substitute phrase I had painstakingly devised to replace "Oh, really?" and "Oh, for real?" had already been banned after just thirty uses.
Is it really time to push the "Oh, for real?" 유학파 (overseas-educated) concept?
"There's no recording schedule for a while, but still, don't stay up too late."
I closed my eyes at Manager Hyung's words.
To finish the KICKS' song arrangement on schedule, I needed to work today, so I had to catch even a short nap during these spare moments...
...or not.
If I forget the Search Quest again today, I'll face another penalty.
Yesterday, I got so caught up in the arrangement work that I completely forgot the Search Quest. Today, I absolutely had to do it.
-Who said Seo Yehyeon was handsome? Seeing him in person, his looks are beyond human description. How dare they confine my oppa with such a paltry word as "handsome"?
- Dobin was so nervous, it made me nervous too... ᄒ
└ Puppy-type must have relaxed as the event went on ㅋㅋㅋ I was near the end, and he was in full "people-loving puppy" mode.
- I fell for Hajun all over again today. His first-love vibes are insane, seriously.
- Yuje, are you a regressor? You look like you've been a pro idol for at least ten years... No way you're a rookie with that kind of experience.
- Who put the cat-ear headband on Eden? ᄌᄂ Thank you so much! Work less, earn more!
- Yoon Eden used to habitually say "Oh, really?" but this time he switched to "Ah, I see" ㅋㅋㅋ The seeds of his "lazy mode" are already showing ㅋㅋㅋ
- Wait, I was almost last. Ah, I see. They didn't do that? Isn't it a rule that Dongtae gets less enthusiastic towards the end? But Yoon Leader kept talking to me so enthusiastically!
- By any chance, is your bias Seo Yehyeon?
Overall, the fan signing event was well-received.
Last time, there had been some chatter due to my habitual "Oh, really?" and the flinching caused by the pain of my Original Intent Score being chipped away. But thanks to the FROM Post I immediately uploaded to the Fan Cafe, it was framed as nervousness from my first fan signing event and quickly died down.
Of course, the fact that it was a small event with only 50 fans also helped keep it from becoming a major issue.
I finished monitoring the situation in about ten minutes and took a short nap in the car.
Manager Hyung, now used to the routine, dropped me off in front of Yongcheol Hyung's studio before taking the other members back to the dorm.
The next day was a music show schedule.
NITY, who had firmly held the top spot for weeks, even achieving a triple crown, had wrapped up their promotions the previous week. This week's battle for number one was a full-fledged showdown between Reve and KICKS.
A song by a famous solo artist had been released late last week and was climbing the charts at an alarming rate. However, since it was a digital single and the artist was known for not appearing on music shows, it posed no real threat.
W Countdown skipped the number one announcement, as neither Reve nor KICKS had secured the top spot last week.
"Wow, I can't wait to get enough seniority to keep using individual dressing rooms," one of us said.
"Exactly! This is seriously the most comfortable thing ever."
For the first time in a while, we had individual dressing rooms.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been an impossible dream. But with fewer active singers and our nomination for this week's number one spot, it had become a reality.
"What should we do? KICKS can't win... If Eden Hyung's reaction gets captured and turned into a meme..." Ryu Jaehee muttered anxiously, fidgeting with his clasped hands.
I was sprawled on the waiting room sofa, listening to the newly arranged parts through my earphones. I paused the music to reply, "As if I'm the only one in our group who dislikes KICKS. Why single me out?"
"Well, Hyung, you have the kind of face that invites misunderstandings even when you're doing nothing. And Hajun Hyung is a master of controlling his expressions, but you... um... how do I put it? Your temper tends to flash across your face intermittently."
Ugh, I can't even mess up that damn youngest member's hair with my perfectly styled hair.
"Yeah, just pray we get first place. If we see those KICKS guys gloating, I might lose my composure like you said."
The agency must have been sharpening its knives, because today's stage outfits were casual school uniform-inspired looks.
Week 5 of November - First Place Nominees #0303
1. KICKS 2. Reve 3. Jinse
The live music show was playing on the TV, currently showing a group performing. In the upper right corner of the screen, the first place nominees were listed.
I immediately sent a text message to #0303.
Naturally, my text vote went to Reve.
Knock, knock. A knock sounded, the door opened, and the senior singer hosting the show entered the waiting room with a camera crew to interview the nominees for first place.
"Yes! We're here in Reve's waiting room, the nominees for today's number one spot!"
"One, two." At my quiet signal, we all turned to face the camera and shouted in unison:
"Dream of me! Hello, we're Reve!"
"Welcome, Reve! You've been nominated for first place on Music Camp for the first time this week. How do you feel?"
The microphone was thrust toward me, as the leader.
As I recited the memorized lines about how honored and undeserving we felt, how grateful we were for the love and support, Gyeon Hajun nudged me from behind, out of the camera's view.
He meant I should speak with more sincerity.
"It would be disappointing if the first-place pledge were missing. Let's hear what Reve's pledge is!"
"We're going to swap vocal and rap positions."
Reve announced their pledge from the 24th group meeting, making a V-sign with his fingers to represent "2" and waving it at the camera.
"Ooh, I'm so curious about Eden's vocals and the vocal line's rap skills! If you want to see if Reve's pledge will actually be kept, text your vote to #0303 and stay tuned to Music Camp!"
After finishing the interview and successfully completing our stage performance, we finally had a moment to breathe in the waiting room.
Since we were performing before KICKS, we had plenty of time to relax until the first-place announcement.
I sent out mass texts to friends and underground connections, offering 200 won each if they voted for us. As I was finalizing the arrangement revisions, I was immediately called back onstage.
The moment we'd all been waiting for—the announcement of the number one spot—had finally arrived.
Our group and KICKS stood side-by-side on either side of the MC.
Since we were only in our second week of promotions, not winning today wouldn't be a major setback.
The only thing that would sting my pride was losing to those guys who were always talking behind my back. And seeing the smug looks on KICKS' faces would just twist my stomach.
I forced myself to maintain a calm expression, focusing solely on the camera. Just then, the MC's voice boomed from right beside me:
"After combining the advance voting scores, today's number one is...!"
📝 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