Chapter 0
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: So, Who's Chaewon's Childhood Friend?
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"Ever, Pina."
"Pardon? Oh, no, I must have misheard."
"Misheard my ass. Ever or Pina—which one's better?"
The barracks, twenty minutes before roll call.
Two senior privates deep in their skincare routines, three corporals debating what to watch during evening lights-out, four privates first class buzzing over their first taste of hazing a rookie, and the rookie's buddy still struggling to adjust.
Everyone was incredibly busy with their own thing.
"That's the high-class question you hit a rookie with after two months?"
Oh, and by the way, I'm one of those utterly disinterested senior privates.
"Come on~. Sergeant Kang Yumin, is there anything more important for military life than this?"
"What's the rookie's name again?"
"P-Private First Class Shin Yuseop!"
"No rank and name bullshit. Anyway, Yuseop. Choose wisely. All us seniors are listening closely to your pick."
The rookie buddy, tense as hell thanks to that bullshit-spewing private first class.
What can you do? Kid looks like he's in for a rough ride.
"This is hard? Just say it."
"W-Well, then..."
"Ever, right? No matter how you think about it, Ever?"
"Y-Yes—."
"You punk, with eternal military prez Pina out there, Ever? No way."
"Yeah, bullshit no. Pina might be amazing, but Ever's untouchable. Right, Yuseop?"
"Y-Yes, sir...! I like Ever more too...!"
Caught between gorilla-built gym rat and meerkat-slick weasel, the rookie sides with the gorilla.
Yeah, I'd probably pick the gorilla too if that dude got pissed.
"Kya. Told you, that kid's got the face of an Ever stan."
"Ever in their active phase beats Pina on hiatus, obviously."
"Sigh. From today, roll call time's me and him diving into Pina stanhood via Music Bank top 3."
"Unfair, you bastard. Unfair."
The rookie's words even got the corporals—who'd seemed uninterested till now—to chime in one by one.
The privates first class next to them showed varied reactions, the rookie still looked dazed...
"Music Bank, July 14th broadcast. 1 hour, 14 minutes, 23 seconds, Corporal Park Sangwoo."
"Yeah. This is Ever's legend."
Squad leader fired up the music show, and all eyes snapped to the screen.
Thanks to our self-proclaimed idol expert, the track started playing right away.
"Sigh... How can they all be so perfectly pretty...?"
"Minah's the top for me, though."
"May for me. That cuteness is another level."
"Hey, no one charms like Yerin."
"Rookie, who's your fave?"
"M-Me, sir?"
"Who else up front here but you?"
"Huh? I'm front too. Day 5."
"We get it, get out."
"Ah, seriously, fuck."
A senior private, mid-moisturizer, saw his chance to brag, but the juniors jeered like it was old news.
Ah, I've still got 33 days till discharge—pisses me off too.
"Rookie, so who's your pick?"
Even amid this, the diehard Ever private first class pressed on undeterred.
Trial number two for the rookie. He glanced around nervously, hemming and hawing...
"I think... Han Chaewon is the best...!"
Pointing right at Chaewon on screen, perfectly timed.
All eyes back to that clip—the aegyo scene with over 7 million Shorts views.
"How can a person be that perfect? Chaewon really is the ultimate idol..."
"Why ain't there girls like that around me...?"
"Look at your face. Think there are?"
"...Fuck. You a T?"
Han Chaewon. Leader of the world-famous girl group Ever.
Ever snatched titles left and right since debut, but Chaewon stood out even as a rookie with her innate sense and bubbly energy across shows...
Now in her fifth year, she's nonstop with acting, ads, solo albums, variety—truly the "all-rounder idol" loved worldwide.
"—So, who's Chaewon's childhood friend?"
A fellow sergeant muttered, chin in hand.
His favorite junior jumped right in.
"You mean that self-cam where she cheered on her childhood friend?"
"Yeah. Definitely one of our brigade sergeants, but the guy's stayed mum."
"With leaves falling on seniors like us, you think holding 'Chaewon's childhood friend' title gets you out alive?"
"If it were me, I'd flaunt it precisely 'cause I'm a senior."
Two seniors—my fellow sergeants—deep in heated debate. They enlisted during Ever's peak, so no one's more hardcore than them.
In other words, if they catch him, God knows what they'll do.
"What'll you do if you find the guy?"
"Make him do winter training again, no reason."
"Drag out his service longer, no reason."
My casual toss got the cruelest replies from my buddies.
"You heartless prick. You call that human?"
"Says the one who brought up winter training."
"But it fits him, right?"
"Honestly, yeah."
They shot each other "are you insane?" looks over their own words, but soon...
The corporals and sergeants, done with their empty chatter, clapped at Chaewon as the ending fairy.
"Yuseop."
"Yes, sir!"
"Serin's the best."
"...P-Pardon? I misheard?"
"Serin's the best in Ever. Don't know? Memorize it."
Five years on, and I still can't get used to my childhood friend being a beloved idol.