Chapter 25 - The Conditions for Becoming a Gentle Idol Leader - Chapter 25
An anonymous fan named Aion, who had fallen for Zero One after listening to their comeback album, felt her heart pounding like mad. The numbered ticket clutched in her hand had already crumpled from the force of her nerves.
It was even her first time winning a fansign event.
She’d never really been into idols before, so everything was unfamiliar, but she had entered the raffle with one thought only: if she didn’t see them with her own eyes, she would regret it forever. Luck had been on her side, and she’d won.
Not knowing what she was supposed to say, she’d searched the internet and memorized all the famous memes she could find. When someone told her she absolutely had to bring a lightstick, she’d shown up with two.
Why am I so nervous?
After a staff member checked the Post-its and album she’d brought, she could finally face the members in earnest.
The first member to greet her was Cheon Sa-yoon. So this was the plan from the start—win by face alone, huh?
As expected of Zero One’s official visual, Cheon Sa-yoon was dazzling.
From the textbook perfection of his handsome, pretty face to the mysterious golden proportions of those features, somehow all fitting onto such a small face—it was impossible to understand how it all worked, and yet there it was.
"Hello, noona."
Whoa, damn.
She realized, looking at Cheon Sa-yoon, that no one had ever been immune to a truly beautiful face. Especially that smiling face—it was the kind of face that should be preserved for generations. How could someone even be descended from the same Australopithecus ancestor as her? Ridiculous.
"Can I hold your hand, noona? Mine feels empty. I think I’d feel better if you held it."
"Ah, yes! Totally! Of course!"
Without even meaning to, she thrust out both hands. How was she supposed to refuse when he asked for something with that face?
After that, Cheon Sa-yoon took the initiative to answer whatever she was wondering about, asked her questions in return, and carefully picked out only the things he knew she wanted to hear. His soft voice had a way of putting people at ease.
If they’d talked a little longer, she might have spilled all her personal information.
Next was Lim Se-bin. Maybe it was the strangely wistful atmosphere around him, but she felt like she ought to sit quietly and properly, and before she knew it, she’d straightened her posture.
"Hello. Could you tell me your name?"
"Please write down Youl… for me."
Even after that, Lim Se-bin answered each question carefully in a calm tone. A beautiful person with a quiet image could improve your quality of life just by sitting there silently, so it was fine if he didn’t say much. No—rather, his calm composure made her feel oddly reverent.
He was kind of cute when he got shy during the meme bit.
His naturally pale face made the awkwardness obvious to anyone watching, and she felt like some middle-aged, unfunny boss who’d cracked a terrible joke. Still, it was a satisfying reaction.
"Hello~ I’ve got something I really want to say, can I go first?"
Then came Kyeon In-woo. Before she even moved to the seat across from him—while she was still saying goodbye to Lim Se-bin and shifting over—he’d been grinning and casually talking to her the whole time.
"I’m quitting Zero One and joining a band now."
"Huh…?"
"Ah, come on, ask me what kind of band."
Wasn’t the fan supposed to ask that? Unlike the first two, his face had bold, clean lines, and a teasing grin sat across it.
"Your husband band."
Apparently pleased with the joke, he laughed out loud, and the sight of his smiling face made her think of the lead in a youth sports drama. Seriously. She couldn’t help laughing along with Kyeon In-woo. He had this power to make even the listener feel good just by talking.
And then, at last, it was time for the member who had led her into the path of becoming a Zero One fan.
As she was about to move to the seat across from Go Young-in, she only then noticed that he had been looking at her steadily from before.
How long has he been staring at me?! I should’ve brought heart medicine. What is going on with Go Young-in’s face!
Every time she looked at that face—her type from crown to toes—she let out a helpless little sigh.
It was the gap between his usual expression and the way he smiled, plus those enigmatic eyes, that had done this to her. She hadn’t meant to like idols this much!
"Y-Young-in! You looked really pretty in this music video!"
She could feel herself putting too much force into her voice from sheer nerves.
"If that’s how it looked to you, then the music video was a success."
Go Young-in, why are you doing this to me?
It was such a devastating answer that she forgot the joke she’d been preparing for the day—something she’d rehearsed so she wouldn’t stammer. Her bank account was empty, but she didn’t regret it. What had she even been about to say? She decided to just blurt out the first thing that came to mind.
* * *
"But honestly, everything’s perfect except for one thing I’d like you to fix."
[Article 47｜A perfect idol must also display professionalism in fan service.]
A status window had suddenly appeared between him and the fan, blinking in and out with an eerie light.
Go Young-in paused in the middle of the autograph, slowly lowering his eyes to the jacket he was signing. He was holding the fan’s hand properly. He hadn’t written the name wrong. The autograph was fine. He was even writing a little thank-you note. Everything was normal...
He had been thinking about how to respond to a joke he recognized. Whether he should act like he knew how to react, or pretend he didn’t. And then the status window had popped up too.
No, seriously, what now? I didn’t do anything that bad. Did I do something weird...? The only thing I’ve done is sign this. Right now. Just now. There’s no way. Did I write the name wrong?
Go Young-in didn’t want to receive the joke as if it were a documentary, so he answered at once. He also didn’t want to take it too seriously and make the fan feel awkward, so he put on just enough seriousness to make it look like he was teasing back.
"Really?"
"Huh? Ah—no! No, no, no!!!!!"
"Then..."
"My heart!!! Fix my heart!"
It really was a joke after all. That crazy status window. It had almost made things serious for no reason and embarrassed the fan too. Go Young-in smiled with as harmless an expression as he could manage and finished writing the rest. In truth, his heart really had almost gone into arrhythmia.
Wait. Then why did the status window even appear?
What’s the problem, damn it. A bastard that wouldn’t even tell him properly, just kept beeping out notifications like garbage.
Even when he wanted to focus only on the fansign, the status window wouldn’t disappear from in front of his eyes unless the listed clause was satisfied, or unless he received a caution or warning. It was infuriating.
Of course, this wasn’t the first or second time. It was practically part of everyday life. That didn’t mean it wasn’t irritating.
[Article 9｜A gentle idol leader gives appropriate advice to the members.]
Shit. So that was the real problem. It should’ve told him this from the beginning. Bastard.
He should have been doing this automatically already, shouldn’t he? He’d been in the industry how many years now—was he seriously still unable to handle even this?
...And then Pyo Jae-ho suddenly came to mind.
Right. That guy was here.
He’d been too busy signing autographs to think of it.
So I still haven’t gotten used to paying attention to other people.
Just then, his eyes fell on the Post-it note placed before Pyo Jae-ho at the next seat over.
Normally, if someone wrote something, they’d at least say it out loud while writing it down, but Pyo Jae-ho was stubbornly conducting a silent retreat. He was impressively consistent, in more ways than one.
Q. Oppa, could you please tell me to do well on my test? T_T..
Pyo Jae-ho remained silent for quite a while, staring blankly at the fan’s Post-it question. His expression was oddly serious, as if he were actually thinking about it.
Thanks to that, the fan watching him from across the table couldn’t even properly speak and could only stare awkwardly at Pyo Jae-ho. Just as Go Young-in was wondering whether he ought to step in and say something, the mouth that had been clamped shut like pasted paper finally opened.
"If you came here instead of studying, doesn’t that already mean you never intended to do well on the test? That doesn’t add up."
Even someone completely oblivious could tell the fan standing in front of Pyo Jae-ho was flustered.
So you really were the problem, huh, Pyo Jae-ho. Damn it. And the fact that he wasn’t speaking out of malice made it even more hopeless.
Without question, Pyo Jae-ho must have gone through puberty a little too hard.
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