Chapter 198
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198
As we finished the performance and habitually tried to make a quick exit, the MC caught us with a smile.
“Please, give us a few words on how you feel!”
I had been so focused that I almost skipped the interview portion.
The MC held the microphone out to Kang Yi-chae, who was closest, but he just grinned and took a step back to join the dancers.
‘He really is on his second life.’
If a featured artist draws too much attention, it can ruin the flow of the broadcast, so he bowed out on his own.
“Ho-hu Ho-hu Team! How was it preparing for this stage?”
“…Huh? The Ho-hu Ho-hu Team?”
Ho-hu Ho-hu.
What even is that… What are they doing?
Startled by being called a team name he had never coined—and likely never would—Kang Yeon-hu shot a questioning look at the MC before glancing toward me.
When I gave him a single nod, Kang Yeon-hu hesitated for a moment before taking the mic.
“Ah… actually, I have a very worrying personality.”
I was slightly surprised by his unexpected honesty.
“I was really worried when I ended up in a unit with Ho-yun this time, too…”
“Wahaha!”
The audience and the MC burst into laughter, thinking it was a joke, but I knew for certain.
That was 100% Kang Yeon-hu’s sincere truth.
“But looking back, it was completely unnecessary. It was just… it was all just fun.”
Ending with a word of thanks, Kang Yeon-hu waved toward the audience members who appeared to be High Five fans.
Taking the microphone as it was passed to me, I slowly began to speak.
“First of all, Yeon-hu hyung and I are aiming for the Best Couple Award at the end-of-the-year awards.”
“Ahaha!!”
“Sigh….”
You’d think he’d be used to it by now, but Kang Yeon-hu let out a deep, consistent sigh.
Seeing how he always provided such a satisfying reaction whenever I teased him, this guy was definitely cut from the same cloth as Kim Seong-hyeon.
“It was an honor to work with someone who has so many admirable qualities. We will both continue to work hard in our respective positions.”
I shifted my gaze slightly to look at Kang Yeon-hu and gave a soft smile.
“Just this once, for the last time—I’ll go back to calling you ‘Senior’ from now on.”
I said it with the leaked script in mind.
“Hyung, I had fun too.”
Everyone cheered enthusiastically, as if moved by the "warm friendship" between the two rivals.
Even though we hadn't won first place, we were handed armfuls of bouquets before heading backstage.
There were more units and special event stages scheduled after us, so Kang Yeon-hu and I could now just relax and enjoy the show.
We moved to the area where cameras were set up to film our reactions, and from then on, we focused on giving good reactions without much conversation. Even then, Kang Yeon-hu seemed to still be basking in the afterglow of the performance.
After a few more performances, the special Singing Variety Show festival came to an end.
“Great work, everyone!”
Hearing the staff announce the end of filming, I dropped my business smile and stood up from my chair.
“Good work.”
I was about to leave with a simple nod when Kang Yeon-hu grabbed my arm and whispered softly.
“I’m really confused. You seem like a good person, Seo Ho-yun.”
“Senior, you’re surprisingly naive.”
“…Right. My mistake, again.”
When I shrugged, Kang Yeon-hu let out a short laugh.
“See you around.”
Then, with a face full of mirth, he gave a light wave and disappeared first.
Just as the Daepasung managers were a bit slow on the uptake but purely kind people, perhaps this was a trait of WH Entertainment artists.
Being surprisingly soft-hearted, that is.
‘You won’t be seeing me much anymore, kid.’
I had fully repaid my debt to Chae Jeong-woo, so now I planned to focus on looking after my own interests again.
Coming out into the hallway, I saw Kang Yi-chae, who had been waiting elsewhere, chatting with the main vocal of Mars.
I thought about heading back to the dressing room to change first, but the maknae of Lia Purple came running toward me.
“Ho-yun!”
“Yes?”
I was a bit taken aback by her close approach, which was unlike the Lia Purple members who usually maintained a strict distance, but I stayed still to see what was happening.
Filming was over anyway, and the atmosphere was noisy with the cast and staff greeting each other. A few words wouldn't cause a scandal.
“Ah, well, I wanted to say thank you….”
“Ahaha, for what?”
“Just for everything. Thanks to you, we finished filming safely. Thank you. …And, um… I’m not sure if I’m overstepping, but.”
She swallowed hard as if nervous, scanned her surroundings, and then lowered her voice to a whisper.
“……Please be careful.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, not about yourself, Seo Ho-yun! Uh… there are some bad rumors going around about Seong Ji-won behind his back. About his former agency. There’s no evidence and they’re just rumors, so they died down quickly, but…….”
The Lia Purple maknae tried to be as indirect as possible, but it eventually sounded like she was talking about "sponsorship" rumors.
She shifted her eyes and spoke cautiously.
“…It’s not certain, but I think Yun Hee-eon from F.O.B is spreading them on purpose.”
Only then did I understand why she had gone out of her way to tell me this.
Since her own group had suffered because of Yun Hee-eon, she seemed worried that another victim might emerge.
“I heard Yun Hee-eon has already tried to contact Seong Ji-won a few times.”
“Contacted him?”
“Yes. Hmph, he should worry about himself……. He’s got plenty of skeletons in his own closet.”
She had sent a cute warning, but it seemed Yun Hee-eon was cutely messing with Seong Ji-won again, perhaps because he didn't realize I was the one behind his recent troubles.
“…….”
The corners of my mouth twitched involuntarily, and seeing that, the Lia Purple maknae peeked at my expression.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“…No, it’s nothing. I’m the one who’s grateful this time.”
I quickly masked my expression and thanked her.
She scratched her head awkwardly, gave a deep bow, and scurried away.
I was organizing the complex information in my head as I walked when Kang Yi-chae, finished with his conversation with the Mars vocal, approached me with a bright face.
“Hyung!”
The grinning kid faltered for a moment after seeing my expression up close, then tilted his head.
“What?”
“Are you mad?”
He’s unnecessarily quick-witted.
“I’m not.”
I thought about asking Kang Yi-chae about Seong Ji-won, but decided against it, thinking it would only worry him.
However, Kang Yi-chae didn't seem inclined to let it go.
“Tell me.”
“…….”
“It’s bothering me.”
The guy who would usually pretend not to notice and move on threw a straight pitch.
I chose my words for a moment, then decided it wasn't exactly a secret. I pressed my throbbing temples and spoke quietly.
“I just heard something annoying. Apparently, there are weird rumors going around about Seong Ji-won.”
“Ah.”
“What? You know about it?”
“Well, sort of….”
Kang Yi-chae shrugged, scratched his neck, and glanced at me.
“I know, but it’s nothing for you to worry about, hyung.”
“Why?”
“I saw it while I was running a game event on Ji-won hyung’s phone.”
The corners of Kang Yi-chae’s mouth curled up.
“It looked like someone was trying every trick in the book to lure him out. But have you ever seen Ji-won hyung leave the dorm for anything other than schedules or practice?”
“No, never.”
“He was leaving every single message on read, but then, was it the day before yesterday? He finally replied for the first time.”
Even though we had reached the dressing room, Kang Yi-chae didn't open the door. Instead, he spun around with a mischievous look on his face.
“He said he couldn't go out because his curfew is 5:00 PM.”
“…….”
Even elementary schoolers don't have a 5:00 PM curfew these days.
“When the guy replied asking if a 5:00 PM curfew for an idol makes any sense, Ji-won hyung said it’s because his roommate is very strict.”
Me?
“…And then?”
“That was it.”
I had become a "strict person" without even knowing it, but the result was satisfying nonetheless.
The easiest way to block a troll is to be consistent with ignoring them.
Though it seemed Ji-won felt he couldn't completely ignore F.O.B since they were a senior group, so he sent that one reply.
I pushed Kang Yi-chae aside, opened the dressing room door, and stepped inside.
“Nothing came for you?”
“…Ah, me? Nothing for me. I’ve blocked everyone except The Dawn members and the composers.”
“Good job.”
I felt certain he’d never get caught up in useless drama, but I briefly wondered if I should be encouraging his antisocial tendencies.
I shook off Kang Yi-chae, who was already clinging to me and asking if I was worried about him, and started thinking about my next move.
‘I might need to do some cleaning.’
I had been busy and didn't see any profit in dealing with it, so I’d left it alone, but Yun Hee-eon was repeatedly crossing the line. If it was going to be like this, it might be better to nip this problem in the bud.
I had a rough idea of where to start the work, but—
‘I’m torn.’
I wondered if I even needed to step in, or if he’d just ruin himself anyway.
I grabbed my change of clothes and changed the subject.
“Anyway, thanks to you, the stage went well.”
“Really? I had fun too.”
He grinned as he unbuttoned his shirt one by one.
“Oh, Gu Chan hyung said this. That you’re really something else. He said you would’ve done well even if you’d started at a major agency.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah.”
He pulled a black short-sleeved T-shirt over his head and popped his arms through.
Honestly, I was curious too. Why Kang Yi-chae had come to Daepasung.
As I brushed back my messy hair, Kang Yi-chae tilted his head.
“It is interesting. You know how talented you are, hyung, so why did you join Daepasung?”
“To do The Dawn.”
“…Why?”
Because the System gave me no choice.
“Because it had to be you guys.”
Otherwise, I couldn't progress with the quests.
His eyebrows twitched at my words.
Ignoring him, I opened the dressing room door.
“Let’s just go home.”
Kang Yi-chae, following half a beat behind, started making a fuss, saying he wanted to tell Jeong Da-jun what I just said.
Chattering away as he matched my pace, he asked:
“How much training do you need to do to let lines like that slide out so smoothly?”
“It’s just natural talent.”
He seemed to think it was just a hollow remark, but I didn't feel like explaining, so I let it be.
* * *
[Singing Variety Show was a god-tier program. I will not be taking questions.]
[Kang Yi-chae is seriously insane. How does he write songs like that?]
[The way Yeon-hu came up with the American Pub concept and wrote those lyrics... I'm dying ㅠㅠ And then Kang Yi-chae adding the ex-boyfriend concept to give it an instant storyline... sigh...]
Singing Variety Show continued to receive rave reviews even after the program ended. The view counts for the stages released exclusively on Nutube were also incredibly high.
The majority of the reactions were that it was healing to see the artists helping each other and working hard in their respective positions rather than competing.
[Yeon-hu looked like he was having so much fun, it made me happy just watching him ㅠㅠ]
[1:41 Why does Seo Ho-yun smile in a way that makes my heart flutter so much...]
[The timing of the "Hyung, I had fun too" line was insane.........]
While it was true that Seo Ho-yun had brought Kang Yi-chae on the show believing his appearance would garner a certain level of popularity, the interest that poured in far exceeded expectations.
[2:52 Kang Yi-chae is seriously a genius lol
└ The chills when he came out for the feature]
[The guy who was chewing gum and going "Eh~ Hueng~ Neng Heheh" = The guy spitting the "Your innocence in thinking it's a coincidence remains the same" rap.
Yes... surprisingly, they are the same person..]
[A genius at his job, I'm losing it ㅠ I love how he's such a cutie off-stage too, argh]
The massive gap between his usual self and his stage persona drew immense favor.
And the same went for Seo Ho-yun.
When his usual effortless actions were combined with a bright smile and "guilty" remarks, he sniped the hearts of the public perfectly.
[Seo Ho-yun’s Prohibited List:
No smirking.
No eye smiles.
No guilty remarks.
No looking cool in black clothes.
No calling the maknae "Bangbang-i."
No teasing people in a heart-fluttering way.
No staring silently with arms crossed.
No liking sweets when you look like you only drink Americanos.
No being kind to me if you’re not going to date me.
└ Lolllll isn't the last one just what you really want to say?]
At first, it was just fans giggling and playing around with Seo Ho-yun’s actions and speech patterns.
[What was Seo Ho-yun wearing here??]
[Where are their tracksuits from?]
[The ball cap ㅠㅠ so freaking cute ㅠㅠ]
But gradually, all sorts of people began trying to mimic his clothes, his accessories, his way of speaking, his actions—everything he did.
[Wait]
In particular, people began mimicking the specific way Seo Ho-yun spoke, gestured, and laughed during the special festival broadcast.
[Wait, f*ck, hold on]
If they had known his true personality, this likely wouldn't have happened so easily.
[Has "Seo Ho-yun Disease" become a thing now.....?]
A minor disaster had struck the Republic of Korea.