Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: First Live
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I debuted in a group, but I was left alone (75)
“Is it on? Is it working?”
After logging into the account, I set up the camera just like the company had shown us and started the live stream.
But I couldn't tell if it was working properly.
Just then.
[Guys!]
[It’s the dorm!]
[What do I do?]
[Hey everyone, it’s good to see you.]
The real-time chat began to scroll by at an unreadable speed, and then the screen suddenly went black.
“I think it crashed, right?”
I nodded in response to Lee Ho-jun’s question.
“Did we do something wrong?”
“I heard it can crash if too many people join at once.”
“So it crashed because a bunch of people flooded in right at the start? Let’s try again.”
I nodded and fiddled with the phone again.
Soon, the live screen reappeared.
“Oh? I think it’s working now. The chat is scrolling.”
“Yoon-seul. Come over here, quick.”
At Lee Ho-jun’s gesture, I went and sat next to him.
“Should we start with a greeting? Hello, BRAVE!”
Haru waved his hand as he greeted them.
[You’re doing a live stream right after the video call fan sign?]
[Wow. This is the first live.]
The moment our debut teaser was released, a ton of content—pre-recorded variety shows, reality programs, photoshoots, and commercials—was unveiled, but we hadn't done a live stream yet.
The company had said it was fine to do a casual live stream, but since it was our first, everyone had been cautious.
[A live stream.]
[Doing a debut celebration live from the dorm means the guys really did this thinking of us. I’m so touched.]
[Their casual clothes are so nice.]
[I was dying of envy reading the fan sign recaps, and here you are. Thank you so much.]
“We ordered delivery for our debut party without telling our manager. This is a first for us.”
Jung Eun-woo proudly held up the delivery food to the camera.
“Looks delicious, right?”
[Yes.]
[It’s a real party.]
[But is that all you’re eating? Five grown men?]
[Our boys’ idea of rebellion is so minor. Their first act of defiance is just ordering food without the manager knowing. They’re like high schoolers in a dorm.]
The food we’d ordered was one pizza and two chickens.
“We might get scolded by our manager if we eat too much. We have a schedule tomorrow, so we have to hold back. Besides, I think I’ve gained weight from eating so well lately.”
[What do you mean, you’ve gained weight.]
[Haru. If you’ve gained weight, then there’s no hope for me.]
[You’re allowed to gain weight…]
For some reason, I could picture the expressions on our BRAVEs’ faces.
“If we’re still hungry after this, we’ll just make some ramen, so you don’t have to worry.”
[Of course, ramen is the perfect finisher.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They know how to eat.]
[Suddenly relieved.]
“More importantly, we should eat while it’s warm, so we’ll talk while we eat.”
[I should eat something while I watch, too. At least I can pretend we’re eating together.]
With pizza or chicken in hand, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the continuously scrolling chat.
[But Yoon-seul’s casual clothes are really all monochrome. I was surprised when I saw the luggage he brought to the dorm in the reality show.]
“Yoon-seul’s luggage?”
“Wow. We were surprised by that too. We thought he’d have more stuff delivered or bring it himself later, but not at all. Plus, I’ve been in Yoon-seul’s room. The guy just doesn’t seem to have any desire for material things; he has no stuff. There’s nothing in his room either.”
Park Ji-ham and Haru looked at me as they talked, as if asking for an explanation.
“I’ve moved dorms quite a lot. Moving my stuff each time was a hassle, so I started downsizing. Anyway, they provide our outfits when we have schedules, so all I really need are a few things to wear at the dorm, socks, and underwear. I don’t need anything else.”
[Yoon-seul. What about when you go out to meet friends?]
[Right. You go out sometimes, don’t you?]
[You must have occasions to go out.]
“I don’t have any friends…”
I had recently started talking to Wi Yeo-jun again, and I was maintaining a decent friendship with Kang Ju-hyeok, but our schedules were so busy that there was no time to make plans.
‘Wait a minute. What did I just say?’
The words had slipped out without thinking, and it seemed like I needed to do some damage control.
“No. It’s not that I don’t have friends, it’s more… what should I call it?”
To be honest, it was true that I didn’t have any friends.
After what happened with GANGSTER-M, I had lost contact with everyone.
‘But what am I thinking, saying something like that?’
“My situation was a bit complicated, you know. So I didn’t really have any reason to go out. And for the time being, I’ll be focusing on our activities anyway.”
[Yoon-seul…]
[It’s because of that incident. Because of those damn people, our boy!]
[Why does our boy have to suffer like this because of the Gangster Balloons? The ones who did wrong are out there, but he’s the one hurting. It’s so upsetting.]
[I want to buy you some clothes. Yoon-seul’s skin is pale and his hair and eye color are both light, so I think colors like yellow or pink would look great on him, but his casual clothes are always black. It’s a shame.]
Seeing the fans’ reactions, I thought I really should buy a few new outfits.
“Yoon-seul. Let’s all hang out together from now on.”
Park Ji-ham said, patting my shoulder.
It seemed like he was trying to comfort me.
‘No. I don’t really need this kind of comfort.’
I liked being at home in the first place, so refraining from going out wasn’t a problem for me.
In fact, it was preferable.
“Anyway, BRAVE, how was our performance today?”
I couldn’t let the mood on such a good day get any heavier, so I had to change the subject quickly.
[What’s there to say? It would just hurt my fingers to type it all out!]
[It was the best.]
[Why are you asking? You already know! You know you’re good!]
[???? Do you just want to hear it again? Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll say it as many times as you like. You were so good it brought tears to my eyes. How’s that? Satisfied?]
In response to my question, a flood of what they call flattering comments scrolled rapidly up the screen.
‘Thank goodness I succeeded in changing the subject.’
[If you get first place, what will your promise be?]
“A first-place promise? Don’t get our hopes up. We haven’t even been nominated yet.”
“Hyung. You even know the phrase ‘get our hopes up’?”
The more time I spent with Haru, the more surprising his Korean skills became.
“If they ever gather foreign idols for a Korean language test, don’t you think Haru would win?”
I nodded vigorously at Park Ji-ham’s words.
I was certain that if such an opportunity ever arose, Haru would definitely take first place.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s hilarious because it seems so true.]
[No doubt about it.]
[Sometimes I even forget that Haru is Japanese.]
“We asked him a lot during RED CUBE too. Like, aren’t you secretly mixed-race? Just tell us.”
[That’s understandable.]
[His Korean is good enough to warrant that suspicion. I didn’t know he was a foreigner at first. I just thought he was a Korean with a slightly unusual pronunciation.]
As we chatted casually with the fans, the food on the table was soon gone.
“Should we make just one more pack of ramen?”
No one answered, but as if by an unspoken agreement, we all stood up.
Holding the camera, of course.
[RE-V is kidnapping us.]
[Wow.]
[You’re taking us with you? It’s a bit dizzying, but it’s okay. Thank you.]
[But couldn’t just one person make it? Do you have to do everything together? Isn’t your friendship a little too deep?]
“We are all one.”
With that, we quickly started to cook the ramen.
[? Shouldn’t there be a debate when you’re making ramen?]
[Ramen is a matter of personal taste, so why is it so quiet over there?]
[This is weird. This can’t be right.]
The fans reacted with bewilderment.
“We just decided to do whatever Eun-woo-hyung says. Since he’s the only one who’s good at cooking, we just decided to follow his lead unconditionally.”
Since I was holding the camera, I was the one to give the answer.
[So Eun-woo is the mom.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Eun-woo looks like a boss from a drama, but in reality, he’s the dorm mom.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Mom. Make the ramen delicious!]
[A kind mom and a group of well-behaved, obedient sons. This is so great. I love it.]
After devouring the ramen, we chatted with BRAVE for another hour before ending the live stream.
***
“You guys had quite the feast last night, didn’t you? Chicken, pizza, and even ramen. I thought you’d stop there, but you had chips and gummies too, the whole works.”
As soon as we got in the car, the manager brought up last night’s events.
I knew the company would have watched our live stream, but facing it now sent a chill down my spine.
“Haha.”
We all offered up an awkward smile.
It was the classic “you can’t hit a smiling face” strategy.
“Trying to laugh it off?”
Through the rearview mirror, I could see the manager pouting.
“You should be glad your schedule starts in the afternoon today. If it hadn’t, I would have gotten a serious earful from the higher-ups.”
“We’re sorry. If we had a schedule early in the morning, we would have just done the live stream. We only did it because it was in the afternoon, so we could eat with the fans. Besides, our faces aren’t swollen or anything.”
The manager let out a small sigh, as if he couldn’t bring himself to say more.
“You should know I’m not making a big deal out of this because you don’t do it every day.”
It seemed we had gotten off easy.
“Yes.”
We answered in unison, as if we had rehearsed it.
“Oh, right. I heard Leon wanted to meet you guys.”
While we were on our way to our schedule, the manager dropped the bombshell as if it were nothing.
“Our senior, Leon?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would he suddenly want to see us?”
“How would I know? Maybe he just wants to meet his juniors. Leon composed your title track, after all. So, you’ll set a date, right?”
Realistically, we didn’t have a choice.
There was no way we could refuse an invitation from a senior artist, especially one from the same company who had even given us our debut song.
“Yes.”
“I’ll talk to Leon’s manager and we’ll try to set a date.”
‘What could he want to talk about?’
I couldn’t tell if it was for a good reason or a bad one, but I figured I would find out when we met. For now, I decided to put the thought aside.