Chapter 147: 100% Sincerity
147. 100% Sincerity
"But what can I do? The words are already out."
Kang Hajin answered with a surprisingly calm demeanor for someone who was supposedly terrifying.
Truthfully, right after saying those words, he had wondered if he'd been too emotional... But after witnessing everything that happened to Team Loving You, he became convinced that even if he got criticized for it, speaking up had been the right choice.
"I already got an earful from Manager Suho today, so if you're gonna nag me, save it for tomorrow."
"Who said anything about nagging?"
"Save the pep talk for tomorrow too... This old man's stamina is shot. I feel like I'm about to collapse from exhaustion."
"Grandpa, if you sleep here, your mouth will go stiff. It's still cold at night—you might not wake up at all."
"Wow, now you're just trying to send me off for good."
Whether he genuinely couldn't bear the fatigue or simply didn't want to discuss the topic further, Hajin mumbled half-asleep before Taehyun shook him awake with an exasperated voice. Hajin swayed under Taehyun's grip before finally forcing his heavy body up. Honestly, if he closed his eyes now, he could probably sleep for ten hours straight.
"I wasn't going to nag you. Just go to your room and sleep."
"Then what were you trying to say?"
"Nothing much. I was just curious how you ended up saying something like that."
Taehyun cut himself short as he stood up. Hajin knew there were more thoughts lingering in Taehyun's mind but chose not to pry further.
"Then I'll head in first."
"Yeah. The stage today was great. You worked hard. Get some rest."
"Got it. You should sleep soon too, Taehyun."
Still wearing a white face mask, Hajin shuffled out of the lounge. Taehyun stared blankly at his retreating figure before slumping back onto the couch, leaning his tired body against it.
"'What can I do? The words are already out'..."
Taehyun muttered self-deprecatingly, replaying Hajin's answer in his head.
"That hyung makes everything look so easy."
...Enviably so.
After whispering quietly to himself, Taehyun got up from the couch and turned toward his own room.
Buzz—
Just then, his phone vibrated faintly in his pocket. Probably a keyword alert from a community app. Normally, Taehyun would've opened the app immediately to check posts about them.
"...Yeah. What can I do? What's done is done."
But if things were bound to happen anyway, as Hajin said, he wanted to fall asleep peacefully tonight, at least.
Taehyun took out his phone and pressed the power button.
The small, square screen went dark. He found the silence oddly comforting.
Just as Taehyun and Hajin had feared, the internet descended into chaos after the guerrilla concert. Since it was a free performance in an open space, reactions and reviews flooded in from everywhere.
[Is this really Joo Eunchan in real life?]
(Slightly shaky phone pic of Eunchan)
Is this really what he looks like???
—Damn.
—Whoa, what?
—If this is a trainee's visuals, K-pop's future is bright.
—I saw Eunchan in person—he's even more coldly handsome than this pic. His aura doesn't translate well in photos. In real life, you'd just gasp.
└ Reply: Even better-looking than this??? You're exaggerating.
[Wow, did anyone see Miro Maze's guerrilla concert today?]
(Photo of the packed audience)
The crowd was insane.
[But honestly, Miro's kids are really talented.]
I watched the online stream out of curiosity, and damn, they were all so good.
—Fr, even the "weaker" ones here would be above average elsewhere.
—Agreed. Haven't heard live vocals like that in a while—no post-processing either.
—They're all great at talking too, super entertaining. Their concerts will be fun once they debut.
From the Desty missions to the distinct team performances, praise poured in from all directions.
Hajin's team, Youth Never Fails, also became a hot topic.
[What song is this? @miromaze]
@ice_ciu
Randomly saw this on the subway...
Suddenly emotional dam burst...
The lyrics are so beautiful TT
(Clip of Youth Never Fails' performance)
What's the song where they sing "Butterfly" in the middle?
I listened to the original "Where Am I," but that part wasn't there—was it original? The song's so good TT
—Anon1: That's a song written by Jung Siwoo's father! Been listening to it nonstop too TT Sadly, no official release.
└ OP: Seriously TT? So disappointing... Accidentally stumbled on it, and it's totally my style. Wanted to download it.
└ Anon1: If you're okay with a fan-extracted version, someone uploaded it! That's what I'm using.
└ OP: Omg, thank you!! This version's great too TT TYSM TT
└ Anon1: Glad to help! Have a nice day!
@kang_HD
Turns out my boy was the overqualified male lead of a youth manga all along...
I'm struggling too.
Hajin, but seriously, lay off the Rebosha.
(Preview of Hajin playing piano)
(Preview of Hajin singing while playing piano)
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[Youth Never Fails' stage was youth personified.]
The sunset sky, the white-blue outfits...
The live instrumentals were so cool.
The way they harmonized while looking at each other—got me choked up.
Personally, Seok-i really stood out this time.
Always admired his hardworking attitude,
but this stage might be his breakthrough.
—I cried too TT The lyrics felt so personal.
—Other stages were great, but this folk vibe? Hit different. Mixing the two songs was genius.
—Wait, they actually played the instruments??? I thought it was lip-sync!
└ Reply: Nah, they really played. Soundcheck was done live, and when Seok-i paused because he was crying, the violin stopped too.
Beyond the audience's praise, the original composer of "Where Am I" also posted the performance clip on their Instagram with a lengthy appreciation post. By all accounts, it was a wildly successful stage.
But among the three performances, one team stood out with overwhelmingly dominant reactions.
—Lee Doha destroyed that stage.
Team Loving You's performance, the last of the night, took the spotlight.
@dohajin_luv
IS LEE DOHA INSANE????????
(Phone footage of Doha rapping)
5.1K shares | 1.3K quotes | 4K likes
[How was the crowd reaction for Loving You's stage today?]
Saw the clip—they killed it. How was the live vibe?
—Thought I was at a rock festival. Crowd went wild.
—Honestly, the mood was kinda stiff before, but afterward, everyone was talking about them.
—Doha didn't just destroy the stage—he blended it in a mixer.
—You gotta hear this live. The beat Doha made? Genius.
Fans erupted with heated (and profanity-laden) excitement.
Countless hip-hop channels on YouTube uploaded shorts of Loving You's performance. Amateur hip-hop communities spread them further, amplifying the hype.
The most viral clip?
<Even more impressive because it wasn't staged - Male idol survival stage ㄷㄷ>
A cypher-style segment from Loving You's performance.
The moment Yu-geon's part transitioned into Doha's.
With no LED screens—just the basic broadcast feed—the stage was dimly lit. Yu-geon turned on cue with the gunshot sound effect in the beat. Then, as Doha lifted his head and grabbed the mic—BANG!—the surroundings lit up instantly.
Evening had fallen.
The streetlights encircling the plaza flickered on at exactly that moment.
—Them not having stage LEDs was a blessing. Pure street cypher vibes.
—How did those lights sync so perfectly???
—Yu-geon was insane, but Doha just devoured everything after.
—Didn't expect real hip-hop on an idol survival show. Damn, hyung, quit being an idol.
Yu-geon also got reevaluated for flawlessly covering Kyoungho's missed lyrics with a seamless ad-lib, further heating up discussions.
The dark sky, the intense beat, Doha's long-building potential finally exploding—interest in their stage skyrocketed uncontrollably.
But with that came inevitable questions.
[Why did Loving You's team have no stage effects?]
Other teams had LED screens and stuff, but they only had basic lighting???
—They failed the mission to unlock them.
—Yeah, mission fail.
—The little lighting they had was barely scraped by Yu-geon and Doha.
People began questioning why Loving You's stage seemed lacking compared to others.
On the surface, the explanation—"They failed the mission, so they couldn't earn the items"—was factually correct and didn't seem problematic.
[LOL 'They failed the mission' my ass.]
Who even set them up to fail? Unpopularity is a crime, huh.
—Ugh, this pisses me off.
—I'm so upset and hollow right now.
—If you were there and still say they "couldn't" earn the items, you're heartless. They were prevented from earning them.
@rossy_1017
Finally snapping and speaking up.
I've held back because I know survival shows cater to solo stans,
and there are a lot of young fans here,
but after today, I can't stay quiet anymore.
Just because they're not your picks,
you insult them, criticize them,
even sabotage missions tied to their stage—
isn't that going too far?
...Read more
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But beyond the facts, the truth wasn't so simple.