Guerrilla Fan Sign
When word quietly spread that Choose My Prince 99 would be holding a fan sign event, office worker Mr. Park seriously considered whether it was finally time to submit the resignation letter he had been carrying around in his heart.
With the kids’ schedules about to get even more packed, if I want to chase them properly, quitting is the only way, right?
Because of a damn business trip that had been locked in even before he became a fan, he had missed the monumental first performance.
He did not want to go through the experience of hunting spoilers and shedding bloody tears a second time.
With four episodes aired so far, Chumaf had firmly established itself as the trend of the idol industry.
There were still plenty of fans who drew a careful line, insisting they were only watching it as a casual pastime, but in Mr. Park’s view more than half of them would get over-invested and go all out the moment the ranking announcement ceremony aired.
Mr. Park clicked his tongue as familiar nicknames flooded his SNS timeline one after another.
Ever since a few days earlier when sightings of trainees dragging carriers out near the broadcasting station had circulated, communities and SNS feeds had been catching fire at regular intervals.
The prevailing theory was that after the ranking announcement ceremony the production team had simply sent the eliminated trainees home.
Some fans were saying the staff had gone too far this time and that the upcoming sign event should be boycotted, but because fans of the popular trainees who clearly had not been eliminated refused to join in, the outrage never gained real traction and quietly died out.
I just want to get to the sign event already and see their faces.
After watching through episode 4, Mr. Park was itching to photograph Ye-chan—who had somehow become his bias—with his own hands.
Ding.
The notification chime rang at the perfect moment. Mr. Park immediately opened the official SNS account. He had muted every account except the Chumaf official one, so there was no hesitation.
It’s up!
Mr. Park quickly checked the post.
The date was today.
He still hated the way the production team operated, but it was a holiday so he could go right away—he decided to let it slide for now.
All that remained was to confirm the location.
After that it would simply be a race to see who could get ready and arrive the fastest.
As he skimmed the rest of the notice, Mr. Park soon doubted his own eyes.
“……Five places?”
“As previously announced, today’s fan sign will be held as a guerrilla event. We’ll promote it on the official website and SNS three hours before it starts. Please be careful of spoilers!”
The moment the main PD finished speaking, the waiting writers began calling the trainees.
“First performance Team 1, gather over here!”
“Team 3, is everyone here?”
“Vocal Team 4, Rap Team 4, Dance Team 4! This way!”
Having gathered Woo Hwi-gyum and Bae Sae-byeok, Ye-chan pushed through the scattering trainees and approached Writer Kim Sang-hee, who was looking for Team 5.
“Ah!”
Kim Sang-hee’s face lit up for a brief second at the sight of Ye-chan before she quickly composed herself and began speaking.
“Vocal Team 5 trainees Ha Ye-chan and Woo Hwi-gyum, Dance Team 5 trainee Bae Sae-byeok—checked. Please board the bus.”
Following the writer’s directions, they climbed onto the bus and found Jeong Ui-tak already seated in the front row.
He was leaning his head against the window, looking thoroughly worn out.
“……You’re here?”
Confirming that Ye-chan had taken the seat beside him, Jeong Ui-tak only turned his head slightly in acknowledgment.
“Yeah. What kind of practice did you do yesterday that you look this wrecked overnight?”
“Wrecked……! Ha, never mind.”
Jeong Ui-tak flared up for a moment, then closed his eyes as if he no longer had the energy to get angry.
Shim Sang-rok isn’t the type to push people that hard during practice…… Ah.
The moment he thought of the other trainees in Jeong Ui-tak’s team, one face immediately came to mind.
Seonwoo I-gyeong.
Recalling the clear-eyed madman known as Seonwoo I-gyeong, Ye-chan roughly understood what must have happened.
Jeong Ui-tak already practiced more than most people, yet someone had managed to wring him dry like this. Apparently the real thing was even more intense than what they had seen on broadcast.
“Whoa, our bus feels kinda empty.”
At the familiar voice Ye-chan looked forward and saw Beom Se-hyuk, who had just boarded, smiling brightly as he surveyed the interior.
“Hmm, come to think of it, there’s no Rap Team 5, so we have the fewest people. What if the fans get mad?”
“Nah, no way. We’ve got first and second place right here.”
“Even if the headcount is fine, having one less stage is still pretty big, isn’t it?”
Worried voices rose from various seats. All of them had a point.
This guerrilla fan sign was being held simultaneously in Gangnam, Myeongdong, Sangam, Hongdae, and Yeongdeungpo.
Each sign event began with a performance of Chumaf’s theme song, “Choose Your Prince.”
After that they signed for the first one hundred fans in line, then finished with each team’s performance stage.
Having fewer trainees than the other teams would not draw much complaint since so many high-ranking contestants were present, but having one fewer stage than everyone else was more than enough to feel disappointing.
Especially for the people who didn’t get a signature and only watched from the back.
More than anything, Ye-chan himself hated the idea.
They came all this way to see me. I don’t want them walking away thinking any part of it was a letdown.
Having reached that conclusion, Ye-chan stood up abruptly, drawing every trainee’s attention.
“Could I have a moment of your time?”
Familiar faces turned toward him.
Thanks to the benefit, Dance Team 5 had not lost a single member at the first ranking announcement either.
With thirteen pairs of eyes now fixed on him, Ye-chan grinned.
“Let’s put together one stage together.”
Standing seventh in line at Yeongdeungpo Times Square, Mr. Park anxiously fidgeted with the camera hanging around his neck.
Ha, what if this isn’t the right place.
The words “first come, first served” had sent him sprinting to the nearest venue, yet anxiety kept making him refresh communities and SNS over and over.
Please let some other location post that Ye-chan isn’t there and some other kids showed up instead……
Just then the venue grew restless, and screams erupted from the entrance.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“Ha Ye-chan!”
“Hwi-gyum-aaaaah!”
At the sound of those welcome names, Mr. Park’s head snapped up.
The first hundred fans had already been seated in chairs prepared in front of the stage, so they could not rush toward the trainees; they could only crane their necks and peer toward the back.
Through the crowd Ye-chan’s dazzling face flickered in and out of view.
It’s not just Ye-chan—Hwi-gyum and Ui-tak are here too. They split us by first-performance teams!
Mr. Park’s mind raced. Seeing them arrive in outfits similar to their first-performance stages, it looked like they planned to do more than just signatures and light talk—they were going to show a stage as well.
“Aaaah! Beom Se-hyuk! Ah! His face is insane!”
Apparently more trainees had entered after Vocal Team 5, because the rear of the venue surged again.
Hearing a fan scream Beom Se-hyuk’s name at the top of her lungs, Mr. Park clenched his fist.
Ye-chan’s presence alone had already made today’s adventure a success, but Beom Se-hyuk was here too!
Objectively speaking, Yeongdeungpo was clearly going to be the best choice of all.
Escorted by security onto the stage, the trainees took their places in a triangular formation without any special greeting and stood with their backs to the audience.
People around him were already covering their mouths.
Holy shit, this is “Choose Your Prince,” isn’t it?
Before Mr. Park could even clutch his heart, the familiar intro began to play.
Ye-chan, standing at the very front of the triangle, turned around first, and the song began.
Choose your prince. The world you choose—
may I be waiting at the end of it.
Ha Ye-chan, first center!
Camera. He needed the camera right now. Hands trembling with pure exhilaration, Mr. Park pressed the shutter.
At the same time a dozen thoughts tangled in his head.
Why is Ye-chan center? Did he maybe take first place at the ranking ceremony?
The Ye-chan dancing right in front of him was so perfect that the theory suddenly felt more plausible.
Someone that good, that handsome, that flawless not taking first place would be the weird part! Wait……
Hands that had been madly pressing the shutter so as not to miss a single moment suddenly froze.
Ye-chan was looking at him.
Our eyes met……
The instant he thought their gazes had locked through the viewfinder, Ye-chan’s eyes curved into crescents.
An instinct that this moment must not be lost moved Mr. Park’s finger.
Click!
[One, two, three. Hello, we are Vocal Team 5 of Choose My Prince 99.]
[And Dance Team 5.]
Following the lead of each team’s leaders, Park Na-gil and Gong Du-chan, the trainees greeted the audience in unison.
Ye-chan wiped away a light sheen of sweat with a tissue he had kept in his pocket.
Did I go a little too hard?
But the moment he looked at the fans right in front of him, the option of “moderately” simply vanished.
Meeting the sparkling eyes of the fans staring up at him, Ye-chan decided—as always—that good was good enough.
[I’m Park Na-gil, leader of Vocal Team 5. I’m so happy we get to meet like this!]
[Hello, I’m Kim Su-young of Vocal Team 5! Please give us lots of love going forward!]
Starting from the left, the trainees began their individual greetings. Ye-chan casually scanned the choice options that had appeared for the first time in a while.
Your new life’s first fan sign! Shall we leave an unforgettable first greeting for the fans?
― I’m Ha Ye-chan, who wants to become the prince of all you princesses ♡
― Wait, I was told princesses were coming, so why is there only light? Ah, it’s blinding.
― The only thing that can make Ye-chan a prince is the princesses’ love! Heart-pounding ♡
None of them are bad?
They were a completely new flavor of lines he never would have imagined during his Lee:Spirit days, yet either he had built up resistance or all three simply looked decent—bordering on good.
[I’m Woo Hwi-gyum of Vocal Team 5. It’s an honor to meet you.]
Receiving the microphone from Woo Hwi-gyum after his brief greeting, Ye-chan recited the choice with complete composure.
[Hello. I’m Ha Ye-chan of Vocal Team 5, who wants to become the prince of all you princesses. Heart-pounding ♡]
The moment the line ended, Ye-chan casually tossed a light wink toward a familiar camera lens.
Screams erupted from the audience at the same time camera shutters began firing in rapid succession.
Standing to Ye-chan’s right, Jeong Ui-tak accepted the microphone and quietly raised a thumbs-up.
For something this mild, what’s the big deal.
He had rather liked the remaining choice lines as well, so he planned to put them to good use during the upcoming talk segment.
As expected, humans were creatures of adaptation.