Chapter 127
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127
“Good work, everyone!”
“Yep, you too.”
As we came off stage, the members of Lia Purple, though mindful of the cameras, burst out with excited chatter.
“The reaction just now was incredible, right? Thank you so much!”
“Yesss!! Bluetooth is the best, the best!”
It seemed the tension had eased, and their usual way of speaking was slipping out.
We exchanged farewells behind the stage before scattering to our respective vans. The Lia Purple members all bowed a perfect, polite ninety degrees.
After that, once we had changed our clothes, touched up our makeup, and returned to our designated seats, we didn't make eye contact even once.
It was a calculated move, considering the foreign fans who, with no ill intent, could edit us into a clip with some strange song that would then wander aimlessly across Nutube.
It was always best to avoid getting entangled in things like that.
They’re going to get even bigger.
I was certain of it, seeing their perfect professionalism and skill.
Lia Purple was destined for much greater things, as long as their agency didn't screw it up.
[Quest Complete!
Successfully complete the collaboration stage with Lia Purple!
You have drawn a positive response from the public with overwhelming quality.
Success! 5,000 Points have been awarded.]
One hurdle down.
I twisted the cap off a water bottle on the table and took a gulp. The other members, however, showed no signs of fatigue, eagerly awaiting the next performance.
“Yesss, it’s the best watching after you’ve gotten your work done early.”
“When are Black Call coming on?”
“They’re last, I think. They’ll do their collab with White Cherry and then that’s it.”
A year-end stage with your ex-girlfriend, broadcast for all to see.
Seriously, that’s just cruel.
Thinking of it from my own perspective sent a shiver down my spine. But since this was all Ju Woo-seong’s karma, I wasn’t particularly worried.
“…The entertainment industry is so brutal.”
“Hm?”
Seong Ji-won turned his head toward me, but I just waved a hand and shifted my gaze back to the stage. It wasn't my problem, so I decided to just sit back and enjoy the show.
The performances that followed ours were all by idol groups with several years under their belts, so the quality was mostly quite good.
As I tried to gauge the level of popularity needed to get a slot that late in the show, recalling the currently active groups, a system window popped up before my eyes.
Tiring!
[Spe! Cial! Time Sale!
Real-time monitoring service now available!!
Pay 486 Points to view? (Y/N)]
“…What is this?”
“Huh? Ho-yun, what did you say?”
“Ah, no… It’s nothing.”
What’s with 486 points? And what’s with you suddenly being from my generation…
If a feature like this existed, I wish it had told me sooner. Recalling the ‘Narcissism’ text it had shown me before the drama filming, I pressed ‘accept.’
[Beginning real-time monitoring service.]
Instantly, reactions began scrolling in front of me like a live chat window.
[guys
it’s over, it’s just over. I don’t even need to see the next stage]
[tbh the next stage won’t even register ㅜㅜ ah how can (used) rookies be this good~]
[Honestly The Dawn should be treated as rookies, it’s such a shame they can’t get the New Star Award ㅜ
└ Discovery of the Year Award ㅎ
└ I was already counting my chickens, not gonna lie]
[Congrats to our Deonging-i-deul on the Discovery of the Year Award ♡ I thought it would be tough since the competition was so fierce this year, but this is amazing
To the other nominees, you all worked so hard!!
└ what are you talking about
└ The Seodongyo method #let’s go
└ lolololololol for a sec I thought they actually won lolololol]
So everyone’s thinking the same thing.
The Discovery of the Year Award.
It was an award that could be given to the group that had received the most attention as a rising star that year, not necessarily a rookie who had debuted within the last year. We were nominated, but I glanced back at the members, who were cluelessly linking arms and fooling around.
“……”
They didn’t seem to expect to win in the slightest.
Well, whatever…
Go ahead and get caught on camera crying in surprise again.
At that moment, a roar of cheers erupted.
Waaaaaah!
Just before the end of Part 1, the next award presenters walked onto the stage. I already knew from the lineup, but seeing them again still made my expression sour.
“Really…”
Isn’t this just blatantly screaming, ‘We are the hosts of Kabu’?
“Hello, I’m Yoo Ji-ah.”
“And I’m Min Ji-heon.”
They were the cast of Please Take Care of the Camera.
The award show’s host was one of the main investors in the drama. Even so, they had plastered the ceremony with people related to the show.
On top of that, the drama was a massive hit, so they seemed to have coordinated Yoo Ji-ah and Min Ji-heon’s outfits to push them as the representative couple.
[Oh, it’s the cast of Please Take Care of the Camera. It must have been really popular.]
They exchanged some light banter, punctuated with appropriate jokes, shy smiles, and gentle gazes. It was a truly professional display.
[Yoo Ji-ah is a goddess]
[Min Ji-heon’s aura;; he’s really ahhhhhhh]
[Ahhhhh God]
[Ahhhhhhh our bunny!!!!!!]
…Me?
“Oh~ Hyung, you’re on the screen.”
At Kang Yi-chae’s words, I looked at the screen and saw my face was indeed on display.
Hmm…
Still not quite used to the nickname ‘bunny,’ I managed a smile and waved. A cheer erupted from the section where the blue inverted triangles were packed together.
I saw Min Ji-heon, who was putting on a half-baked romance act up on stage, glance this way and smirk.
“Now, we will announce the winner of the Discovery of the Year Award.”
“Yes.”
The camera panned between us and a few other nominees. Min Ji-heon opened the envelope he’d been holding, pulled out the card, and a small smile played on his lips.
“It seems the winner is a group we have a deep connection with.”
“……!”
[Uhhhhhhahhhhhhhhhhh]
[No way no way no way no way]
Jeong Da-jun, the drama fanatic, whipped his head around to look at me in shock.
“The Discovery of the Year Award goes to…─”
Hey, stop it.
Get your expression under control. Don’t look over here.
“─The Dawn! Congratulations!”
[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[The manifesting method worked, holy shit!!!!!!!!!!]
In an instant, a flood of messages poured in, completely obscuring my view. Then, the windows all vanished automatically, clearing my line of sight to the stage. It seemed to be a considerate gesture from the system.
“Us? It’s really us?!?”
“Yeah! Us!! They said it’s us!”
I had anticipated it, but I hadn’t been completely sure.
I sent a silent thank you to the fans who voted for us, patted each of the members on the back, and rose from my seat.
“Hey, we have to go.”
“N-No way…”
Yes, way.
I mentally retorted to Jeong Da-jun’s muttering while diligently bowing my head to the congratulatory remarks from those around us as we walked onto the stage.
“Congratulations!”
“The Dawn, huge congratulations~!!”
In contrast to the blinding lights shining on us, I could see people in the darkness beyond, clapping with mechanical movements.
Half were genuinely congratulating us, while the other half wore smooth, superficial smiles.
Ah.
Even if it was a relatively minor award, receiving it like this made me feel the sharp, probing gazes of others, wondering how a no-name group from a broke-ass agency had suddenly blown up.
This is it.
That’s why this feels even better.
I smiled brightly and stepped onto the platform.
Yoo Ji-ah was the first to approach, handing me a bouquet with a radiant smile. Min Ji-heon, standing beside her, simply wore a faint, pleasant grin.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
I returned the greeting calmly, and all the members lined up horizontally. Kim Seong-hyeon, who had received the microphone from Min Ji-heon, took a moment to examine the trophy in his hand before slowly opening his mouth.
“Uh, yes…”
[Here goes Water Dumpling Leader again]
[Still, I’m proud of him. Kim Seong-hyeon isn’t crying anymore.
Actually, I wish he’d cry every time.]
Kim Seong-hyeon still seemed dazed by the win, unable to tear his eyes away from the trophy.
“Hello, we are The Dawn. We were so happy just to be attending a year-end awards show for the first time… I never imagined we would receive such a meaningful award.”
His acceptance speech began as it always did, listing names from the CEO, whom we still weren't very grateful for, to the staff.
Of course, I could acknowledge the contributions of our manager, who had been working hard recently, and the planning team with God Ji-hyeon.
“…And our Noeul.”
A huge cheer erupted.
“The love I’m receiving… it still feels like a dream. I will continue to work even harder to become someone worthy of the expectations you have for us.”
As expected of God Seong-hyeon.
“Thank you!”
It was a ‘Shining Seong-hyeon, God Seong-hyeon’ moment, the first I’d seen in a while, and I was nodding in satisfaction. But, as expected, Kim Seong-hyeon’s eyes welled up with tears. As I tried my best not to laugh beside him, the microphone was passed to Kang Yi-chae.
“Hi, we would like to thank all of you….”
[Whoa]
Since many international fans were watching the ceremony, he added another thank you in English.
A group really does need at least one member who’s good at English.
[OMG I knew Kang Yi-chae was good at English but wow… hearing it like this is insane ㅠ his tone gets lower and he speaks slower, it’s so sexy ㅜ]
[so fucking cool tlqkf]
[Huh what’s with Yi-chae???? Why is he so good?
└ There was a rumor he studied abroad, but no one knows where… so maybe he’s self-taught..
└ That’s not the pronunciation of someone self-taught; he’s a native speaker]
I heard he studied abroad at a young age, but I don’t know where either.
Even the company doesn’t know.
As I listened to Kang Yi-chae’s speech with half an ear, I noticed Jeong Da-jun staring straight ahead, his eyes slightly unfocused.
“Especially Noeul, who always support us….”
“……”
[Ah, in the middle of all this, Jeong Da-jun lololololololol he’s already given up
└ lolololololol ah he’s so cute for real lolololol the more Yi-chae talks the more his soul leaves his body
└└ Hey, you have to be a world star
Hey, you need to get your head in the game]
Anyway, as the speech neared its end, other reactions began to pop up—general thoughts on the Discovery of the Year Award.
[Sob ㅠㅠ I’m crying ㅠㅠ]
[I’m not even jealous of the Grand Prize tlqkf
No, actually I am
No, actually I’m not, The Dawn is the best!!!!!]
[Me too… I feel like I’m going to cry all of a sudden ㅠㅠ They just seem like pro idols, I’m so… proud of them… and I know how much they struggled since debut… so this award is so meaningful ㅠ
Sigh, I didn’t even raise these Deonging-i-deul, why am I being so sentimental…..]
It’s okay.
I was putting on my public-facing expression and reacting with as much sincerity as I could muster when I suddenly felt a poke in my side.
I wrinkled my nose and turned my head to find my vision filled with the members’ faces, a mix of overwhelming emotion and感動. Among them, Kang Yi-chae was holding the microphone out to me.
It seemed like everything had already been said. What more was there to say?
Hey, it’s not my turn.
It was clear none of them were in their right minds.
…Well, whatever. Maybe I’ll just say a quick word to Noeul again…
I took the microphone. Since all the thanks to the staff and company had been given, I was thinking of offering a brief word of gratitude to our fans.
Tiring!
An ominous notification sound rang out.
I froze for a moment, my eyes darting toward the system window.
[-Aigoo, it’s an award Ho-yunie deserves, isn’t it?ㅎ
-It’s a beautiful night. Cheers to our Noeul.
-Our Noeul, baby bunny Ho-u Ho-u loves you very much♡]
Fuck!
Fuck!
I was wondering why it hadn’t shown up. I thought the bastard had at least enough respect for human dignity to consider the time, place, and occasion before popping up a dialogue window, but this son of a bitch!
My hand gripping the microphone trembled with rage. I saw Seong Ji-won tilt his head with a puzzled expression. I could feel that I couldn't stall any longer. In reality, not even three seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity.
In the end, I failed to choose a line, and my mouth moved on its own.
“…Our Noeul.”
‘Baby bunny,’ are you insane?!
Even without a mirror, I could feel the blood drain from my face.
Just as my mouth, ignoring my will, was about to utter the next phrase,
“Baby t… Hk.”
I bit down hard on my tongue.
It hurts!!
I barely!
I barely stopped it!!
This was an official event. I knew that if I said that line to the end, it wouldn't just be an embarrassing memory; it would be a spectacular failure. With a desperate force of will, I managed to stop the words.
“Hoop… Ahem, hk, I’m, I’m sorry, no, thank you. It’s all thanks to Noeul that we were able to receive this award today.”
But I couldn’t stop the first words from coming out, and my pained expression was caught on camera, so I had to bow my head deeply as I continued my speech.
Tiring!
[hahahahahhahaㅠㅠㅠㅠ that must hurt ah ㅠㅠㅠ]
[He really stopped the line!ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Amazing!]
[Ah I’m so sorry but this is hilarious ㅜ I applaud that willpower lolololololololol]
For the record, this reaction wasn’t from the monitoring service.
[Ah, taking a deep breath]
“……”
[Ah hahahahahahahahahahahaha]
The system window was laughing its ass off at me.
“Th-Thank you…”
[Thanks to you, I got a good laugh today
I feel a little bad that you’re hurt, hope your tongue heals quickly ㅎㅎ]
[Embarrassing Moment +1♡]
You bastard, I swear I’ll get you back for this one day…
Even as I ground my teeth, a wave of disillusionment washed over me as I found myself thinking it was a relief I’d managed to stop the ‘baby bunny’ line.
If I had actually said that, right here, right now?
To hell with the scenario. I would have quit everything today and immediately smoked a whole pack of the cigarettes I’d given up.
Swallowing my curses, I quickly passed the microphone and turned to leave the stage, only to meet the eyes of Min Ji-heon, who was staring at me, speechless.
“……Ah, yes. Congratulations. Uh…”
“…─Truly, congratulations, The Dawn! We look forward to seeing what you do next.”
Beside Min Ji-heon, who could only repeat his congratulations, Yoo Ji-ah quickly swooped in to finish the closing remarks.
Meanwhile, I ducked my head again and hurried away. Kim Seong-hyeon, who had been sniffling beside me, cautiously placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered quietly.
“There’s no way you were nervous. Did you make a bet with Kang Yi-chae or something? Your ears are on fire.”
“Is my tongue bleeding?”
“……? No??”
I stuck out my tongue to show him, and Kim Seong-hyeon grimaced slightly but shook his head.
I didn’t taste any blood, but it hurt so much I had to ask.
“You bit it…? But why…?”
Unable to figure out why I was putting on such a one-man show, Kim Seong-hyeon looked bewildered. Even Kang Yi-chae, who would normally be gleefully teasing me, was just staring at me with a puzzled expression.
“Hyung, um… Sometimes I just don’t get you.”
“Yi-chae, hyung’s life is hard sometimes.”
“Right…”
He gave my back a warm, considerate pat.
“I’ll just say we made a bet. …I’ll do that for you.”
Hearing Kang Yi-chae’s words, Kim Seong-hyeon’s eyes wavered. I heard him muttering about why on earth I would bite my tongue if it wasn't even a bet.
Somehow, trying my best to avoid eye contact with anyone, I made my way down from the stage. Only Jeong Da-jun, ecstatic, scurried down like a puppy with the trophy he’d taken from Kim Seong-hyeon balanced on top of his head.
[Wow lolololol first time seeing Seo Ho-yun stutter
He must have been flustered by the sudden award, our bunny ㅜ]
I was flustered, all right.
Flustered that I was about to lose my human dignity…
[Looks like he bit his tongue ㅋㅋ tell us the rest, I’m curious
Our Noeul are babies?? You cherish them??
└ No way, Ho-yun would never say something like that at an official event
└└ That’s true]
[I was so moved until a second ago, but my tears are all gone now
Obviously
A flustered moment is so rare I’m screaming rn
└ It’s almost the first time seeing a flustered Min Ji-heon too lolololol so even Seo Ho-yun gets flustered.... ㅠ We’ll get you lots of awards ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
“Hah…”
Should I ask it to turn this service off now…
It seemed to be the first time I’d been so affected by real-time reactions. I hugged the trophy Jeong Da-jun handed me and trudged back to my seat.
But not long after my butt hit the chair, there was a reason to go back up again.
“The Best OST of the Year Award!”
Not me, of course.
“For the Please Take Care of the Camera OST, ‘Shabby Confession,’ Seong Ji-won! Congratulations!”
It was Seong Ji-won.