Chapter 142
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142
“……Whoa.”
Even Kang Yi-chae’s mouth fell open at the sight.
He had run simulations for all sorts of responses, but he never imagined a line like that.
Naturally, the Noeuls watching alongside him were going wild in the comments.
[YOU
CRAZY
SON
OF A
BITCH]
[How could he say no in that situation????? Seo Ho-yun?? When he said it with that kind of vibe??]
“The sheer power of that line…”
Seo Ho-yun let out a small sigh as he looked at Jeong Da-jun, who stood with his lips pressed firmly together (and had no more lines, anyway), then lowered his gaze.
-Alright.
Then he spun around and walked out.
No matter what Jeong Da-jun did, he was always playing right into Seo Ho-yun’s hands.
The innocent maknae had been certain Ho-yun would either get angry or be sarcastic. He hadn’t anticipated this kind of reaction at all and began to tremble uncontrollably.
The Noeuls were no different.
[Y-Yi-chae, Ho-yun’s leaving.]
[What do we do now??]
“It’s okay. This is off-script.”
Kang Yi-chae responded calmly, putting a hand to his ear.
It was Seong Ji-won’s turn to go.
“Okay, Seong Ji-won-ssi, we’re switching to Operation D.”
They had entered Phase 3.
The ‘Let’s Go Make Up’ Operation.
On the pre-installed CCTV, Seo Ho-yun appeared, walking down the hotel corridor after leaving the room. Seong Ji-won hurried after him.
-Ho-yun-ah!
Seo Ho-yun’s steps halted at the call. With a troubled expression, Seong Ji-won carefully approached his side.
-Wait, Ho-yun-ah.
-What.
-…I know you’re mad, but you can’t just leave Da-jun like that.
With his eyebrows drooping, Seong Ji-won gently tried to reason with him. The revised ‘Operation D’ had too many variables to prepare lines for, but his ad-lib was a masterpiece.
-Let’s go back.
“Whoa… look at this guy’s ad-lib.”
[That’s an ad-lib? lolololololololololololololololol]
Kang Yi-chae gave a thumbs-up, impressed by the beautifully directed scene.
-Let’s go back and talk it out slowly…
-Why should I?
-…Huh?
-He said he doesn’t want to. Why should I care?
But Seo Ho-yun crossed his arms, expressing genuine annoyance. Kang Yi-chae watched him, impressed.
“His acting is incredible, too.”
He had been nearly certain that Seo Ho-yun would be suspicious by now, but seeing the sheer irritation in his eyes, he almost looked like he was truly angry.
[Yi-chae ㅠㅠ;;;]
[Yi-chae, no, I think Ho-yun is really mad ㅠㅠ]
[Let’s not go too far ㅠㅠ;;;]
But Kang Yi-chae was completely unshaken.
“What are you talking about? That’s just an act.”
[???]
“When Ho-yun-hyung is really upset, he doesn’t talk like that, everyone~.”
It was a roundabout way of saying he was putting on a front for the camera.
Even the Noeuls, who had a general grasp of Seo Ho-yun’s personality, covered their mouths in shock. In that moment, Kang Yi-chae’s mind raced.
‘I have to confuse Ho-yun-hyung.’
Seong Ji-won was carrying the scene with his acting, but he was still no match for Seo Ho-yun, who had just finished a project with Min Ji-heon.
-…Mm.
Seong Ji-won knew this as well, so he simply maintained his silence with a troubled smile.
That’s when Kang Yi-chae decided to play an extreme card.
“Ji-won-hyung, send in Seong-hyeon-hyung!”
The only way to counter a bad move was with another bad move.
It was time to drop the Acting Stat E- bomb.
Seong Ji-won briefly lowered his gaze to hide his wavering, then looked up and spoke.
-…Hold on, then I’ll go talk to Da-jun.
As Seong Ji-won exited, Seo Ho-yun could be seen leaning against the corridor wall, fiddling with the corner of his mouth.
A moment later, the innocent Kim Seong-hyeon emerged, having fully bought into the situation while comforting the genuinely distraught Jeong Da-jun.
-Seo Ho-yun.
At the call, Ho-yun raised an eyebrow. Kim Seong-hyeon pressed his fingers to his brow, his face troubled.
-You… Look, I know what Jeong Da-jun said was harsh.
-…….
-But the maknae is still young. He’s really hurt right now.
Kim Seong-hyeon’s natural acting caused a slight crack in Seo Ho-yun’s composed expression.
-…Hmm.
His face clearly said, ‘There’s no way this bastard can act this well.’
Seeing it, Kang Yi-chae finally let out the laugh he’d been holding back.
“Puhaha!!”
[Hey lolololololol wow, Seo Ho-yun was totally acting lolololololololol]
[Look at his face, he’s getting confused lolololololololololololololol]
[Ah, chills lolololololololol is this group always so terrifying? lolololololololol]
“See, what did I tell you!”
The Noeuls seemed to have noticed too, as the comment section was flooded with laughter.
Kang Yi-chae, still chuckling, settled in for some prime popcorn-viewing.
-Let’s… let’s go back inside.
The clueless Kim Seong-hyeon seemed to be choosing his words with extreme care, trying to resolve the situation somehow.
-Honestly… you normally wouldn’t care about something like this, but you’re mad because it was Jeong Da-jun who said it.
-…….
-Because you care about him.
“Ugh, Seong-hyeon-hyung, really…”
Kang Yi-chae couldn’t stop the laughter from spilling out as he watched Kim Seong-hyeon, who had been unwittingly roped into the deception, being so utterly serious.
The atmosphere was electric with this golden content unfolding so perfectly, but then, Seo Ho-yun lowered his gaze.
-Kim Seong-hyeon.
His voice was drained of all energy.
-……?
-Let’s say… for the sake of argument, that I care about him. But how long do I have to be like this? He needs to learn, too. That his hyungs can’t always look the other way and let things slide.
The unexpected turn of events made Kang Yi-chae’s eyebrow twitch slightly.
[Uh… uh… guys, is it okay to be live-streaming this?
Isn’t Ho-yun going to be really upset when he finds out it’s a hidden camera prank?]
[.....;;;;;; i dunno]
Kim Seong-hyeon was deeply flustered by this vulnerable side of Seo Ho-yun he had never seen before. But, drawing on his experience from taking care of his younger brother, he asked gently.
-…Is something wrong?
Seo Ho-yun looked at him, then rubbed his eyes wearily.
-He didn’t listen to me.
-…What?
“…Hmm?”
At this point, even Kang Yi-chae was starting to get confused.
Did he really fall for it?
Should I end it now before this turns into a broadcasting accident?
As he wavered, uncertain, Seo Ho-yun could be seen letting out a deep sigh on screen.
-Haaa……. Hey.
-…….
He looked Kim Seong-hyeon directly in the eyes. The moment Kim Seong-hyeon gulped nervously,
-I—.
Seo Ho-yun began to speak.
—want to eat a whipped cream cake.
“……What?”
For a second, every reaction—from Kang Yi-chae, to the comments, to all of SNS—froze.
His brain seemed to short-circuit, unable to process what he had just heard. Kim Seong-hyeon was clearly in the same boat, his head tilting slightly with a giant question mark plastered on his forehead.
-……Huh?
-Jeong Da-jun, he doesn’t listen anyway….
Regardless, Seo Ho-yun simply turned his head away with a bitter expression. The atmosphere was needlessly melancholic.
-How many times did Ho-yunie say he wanted strawberries on his cake?
“…S-Strawberries.”
Seo Ho-yun was a madman.
“…Sob, strawberries….”
And of course, a hidden camera prank like this was never going to work on him.
The comment section erupted in flames once more.
[lolololololololol ah lolololol HEY!!! lololololol]
[Seo Ho-yun I’m gonna kill you for real lololololololololol]
He had known all along.
Kang Yi-chae, unable to stop the laughter that was sputtering from his lips, collapsed onto the table and sobbed.
“Ahahaha… Ah…”
-Wh-what are you talking about?
-Strawberries and whipped cream… or at least cranberries.
“Ah, I lost… I lost, damn it!!”
After shouting “damn it,” Kang Yi-chae remembered he was on the B App and quickly covered his mouth, slumping back onto the table.
His pride was wounded, but realizing there was no way to salvage the situation, he had no choice but to admit defeat to Seo Ho-yun.
-…What, what are you saying?
-Hoo. Should I tell you?
Leaving the still-clueless, stammering Kim Seong-hyeon behind, Seo Ho-yun returned to the room with Seong Ji-won and Jeong Da-jun.
A moment later, he seemed to come out of the room alone. After a few minutes, the door to Kang Yi-chae’s hotel room burst open.
“Yi-chae-yaaa~.”
The birthday boy had arrived.
“Tell Seong-hyeon where Ho-yunie’s strawberries went!!”
“……”
“Sob… Th-they’re in the fridge over there….”
“Ahahat~, are you crying?”
[Ah, I’m so pissed.
I’M SO PISSED!!!!!!!]
[lolololololol Seo Ho-yun’s “Ahahat~” laugh is so real lolololololololol]
After the hidden camera prank was exposed, Kang Yi-chae gathered all the members.
“…It was fake?”
He confessed everything to the leader, who had been terrified the team was about to fall apart.
“Ahaha, sorry, Seong-hyeon-ah.”
“Hyung, why would you say it like that? Do you know how much I freaked out??”
“You said you didn’t like me.”
“Th-that was….”
“Our maknae… drawing the line with his hyung as soon as he becomes an adult?”
“……”
Jeong Da-jun was on the verge of tears, genuinely sulking now.
But no one felt like comforting him.
Seo Ho-yun just watched the drama unfold as if it were a fire across the river, his eyes darting about as he scraped at his cake.
“Too bad~. Mission failed!!”
In any case, after chatting for a bit, The Dawn members ended the B App. While the others were cleaning up, Kang Yi-chae approached Seo Ho-yun and asked quietly.
“Hyung, how did you know? Seriously, weren’t you even a little confused?”
He had a point. They had even thrown in Kim Seong-hyeon, a man with all the acting ability of a rock, to maximize the realism, yet Seo Ho-yun had still seen through it. No matter how many times he replayed the situation in his head, he couldn’t find the flaw in their seemingly airtight plan.
Seo Ho-yun answered calmly.
“Yeah, I was a little confused.”
“…Then why?”
“I was just testing the waters.”
“With the cranberry thing? What would you have done if it had been real?”
“Ah.”
A smile played on Seo Ho-yun’s lips, and Kang Yi-chae’s eyebrow twitched.
If there was one thing Kang Yi-chae hadn’t accounted for—
“Even if we were really fighting, I knew Kim Seong-hyeon would have my back no matter what I said.”
“……”
—it was that Seo Ho-yun was, and always would be, a bastard.
.
.
.
‘Wow, they really tried.’
I demolished the entire cake and sipped my lemonade, watching the pouting Jeong Da-jun and a pissed-off Kim Seong-hyeon, who was mad that I’d tricked him, too.
So refreshing. Now this is what a birthday should be.
“Sometimes I get sick of you, hyung.”
“That’s what I love to hear…”
“So annoying, really, really…”
“That gets me excited, too~.”
I giggled, poking the maknae’s puffed-up cheeks and getting on his nerves.
“I’m not talking to you anymore.”
“Whatever~.”
Two in the morning. A day made even more enjoyable by the spectacular failure of my members’ birthday surprise.
And there was one more thing I was waiting for.
“…Huh?”
Just then, Seong Ji-won frowned at a message on his phone.
“…Ah, um.”
It was late. All eyes turned to him.
As I took another sip of lemonade and was about to put the glass down, my own phone vibrated.
[Seo Ho-yun-ssi, sorry to contact you so late.]
It was a text from the management team.
[It would be best not to go on Pop-Pop today.]
[Also, don’t look at the internet for now. We’ll give you more details once things are sorted out.]
“What is it?”
“…Uh, well.”
Seong Ji-won couldn’t easily answer Da-jun’s question.
I immediately went to a portal site and searched my name. A satisfied smile spread across my face as I saw the top post.
It was here.
[Title: Does Seo Ho-yun smoke?]
My birthday gift to myself.