Chapter 212
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 212
Expanding overseas was a significant milestone for both idols and their fandoms.
The Hallyu wave, which began in the 1990s, had taken Asia by storm with the export of dramas around the 2000s.
And now.
Its vast influence reached even the Western world, spreading the prowess of Korean culture far and wide.
“Do you know… Kimchi?”
“Do you know… Black Call?”
While some reacted negatively, claiming the nationalistic pride was becoming excessive, such concerns weren't particularly important to The Dawn right now.
‘Now is the time to be unconditionally humble.’
They were an idol group that had gained some traction in Korea and was just beginning to see a response from abroad.
If they were a group standing tall at the summit like Black Call, or one that had steadily built up recognition near that peak, they would have joyfully basked in the international acclaim. But that wasn't the case for The Dawn.
‘The Dawn fueling nationalistic pride? That’s an absurd notion for now.’
Furthermore, getting entangled with the theme of "nationalistic pride" was dangerous, as it made them an easy target for the fans of other groups.
It was one thing if an article claimed a group of Black Call’s caliber was fueling national pride, but if the subject was The Dawn, the general public—aside from their fans—would react with lukewarm skepticism, asking who they even were or accusing them of media play.
Accusations of being full of themselves would surely follow.
As it was, the fandom’s fatigue was already at its limit due to the constant pressure from High Five and worries about the overseas tour.
While it was inevitable that various trolls would follow as their popularity grew, there was no reason to give them ammunition.
Besides.
‘The Noeuls… their intuition is no joke.’
They had pinpointed the overseas tour immediately.
Taking this concert as a starting point, Daepasung was planning a full-scale overseas tour.
The agency likely saw it as the perfect timing for a natural progression, but there was no way the Korean fans—especially the Noeuls, who had weathered all sorts of hardships since the group was just a tiny "handful"—wouldn't notice.
That was why it was necessary to give them the pride of succeeding abroad while still maintaining restraint.
‘Okay.’
Having finished my train of thought, I stood up abruptly after the plane took off.
The documentary seemed likely to focus on the Hallyu craze in Europe, so I had to make sure we conducted ourselves properly.
I scanned the members and picked out the one most likely to cause a problem.
“Kim Seong-hyeon, swap seats with me.”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
Despite the sudden request, Kim Seong-hyeon obediently moved. As soon as I sat in the seat he had just vacated, I thrust my face toward the person in the next seat.
“Jeong Da-jun.”
“Whoa! You scared me! Hyung, why are you here?”
Jeong Da-jun, who had already reclined his seat all the way, pulled out his earphones and widened his eyes.
“I swapped because I missed you.”
“Seriously, why do you say things like that?”
I had decided to do a rehearsal with the most worrisome one first.
Snatching the travel guidebook titled Falling into Europe from his hands, I spoke in a low voice.
“The documentary team comes up to you and asks: ‘The local response is very passionate. What are your thoughts?’”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hurry up. How would you express your current feelings in one sentence?”
Jeong Da-jun tilted his head slightly as if contemplating, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Do you know… The Dawn?”
“The moment you say that, be prepared not to speak to me for a month.”
“……!!”
“Now, second one.”
Leaving the shocked Jeong Da-jun behind, I quickly scanned our surroundings.
Fortunately, no one was paying attention.
“A Nutube video titled ‘The Reason Foreigners Fainted the Moment a Korean Idol Grabbed the Mic’ was uploaded. Why did they faint?”
“……Because they’re the gods of K-pop?”
“Wrong. It’s just a clickbait thumbnail title.”
“What? Clickbait?”
Jeong Da-jun was shocked once again.
Still, he had grown enough to have some wits about him; he seemed to catch on to what I was trying to say.
I threw the final question at the now-sharper maknae.
“Last one. A foreigner suddenly appears, introduces themselves as a Noeul, and says they flew all the way to Germany just to see us. What’s your response?”
“Can’t I say, ‘I’m so incredibly moved!!’?”
“Are you kidding me?”
Never mind, I guess he hasn't grown up that much yet.
Tsking, I pinched Jeong Da-jun’s chubby cheek.
“Of course that’s fine. Always give the Noeuls a sincere and heartfelt thank you.”
“……!!”
Jeong Da-jun looked at me with a face full of betrayal, realizing he had fallen into a trap, but I ignored him and pulled up my blanket.
It was much better than when he was shouting "Do you know~" earlier.
There was still a long way to go before we reached Berlin, so there was plenty of time to drill the precautions into him.
“Hyung, I’ll do a good job!”
“Whatever.”
However, there was one thing I didn't tell Jeong Da-jun.
‘People who are determined to spin a narrative will find a way to link you to it even if you’re just breathing.’
No matter how careful The Dawn was, simply because they were part of the cast, Nutube would be flooded with videos like “Foreign Fan Cries at The Dawn’s Touching Comment” or “The Reality of Idols Overdosing on National Pride.”
* * *
“Jeong Da-jun-ssi! The local response is very passionate. What are your thoughts?”
“Da-jun-ssi, how do you feel after seeing the concert poster just now?”
“How does it feel to sing in Korean in a foreign country?”
The documentary team stuck to The Dawn with relentless professional spirit.
I respected their work, but we had to survive first, didn't we?
“Ah! I will work really hard.”
“Yes, it made me feel like I should work even harder on the performance!”
“I’ll give it my all and work hard!”
Though it sounded like various responses, Jeong Da-jun was actually just repeating that he would "work hard" like a parrot, skillfully avoiding the traps.
‘If our Puppy managed this much, he did his best.’
Kang Yi-chae was maintaining his poker face, but it was obvious he wasn't particularly interested in the documentary; he kept his mouth shut and spent his time playing pranks on the members.
As for Seong Ji-won, his years as a long-term trainee weren't for nothing, and Kim Seong-hyeon, with his leader’s perceptiveness, quickly realized what I was trying to avoid and handled himself well.
“Sigh, interviewing The Dawn is harder than I thought.”
“Doesn't look like we'll get the picture we want.”
As soon as they decided they wouldn't get the scenes they desired from us, the documentary team moved on to other groups without lingering.
‘Very good.’
As long as it wasn't The Dawn, what did it matter?
Wishing them luck with their project, I headed up to the stage.
Seeing the massive venue filled to capacity with an audience, my back straightened with a rare surge of tension.
[If you hate it, I won’t do it
But when I try to stop, you stand in my way]
The Dawn performed four songs over about twenty minutes, including ‘Falling Down,’ ‘Kismet,’ ‘Ocean Train,’ and ‘Stardust.’
Throughout the stage, the foreigners sang along to all our Korean lyrics.
[Let this not be our end]
‘Man. No wonder the documentary team is looking for national pride.’
Even after the performance ended, the heated atmosphere didn't easily cool down.
“Oh, High Five sunbae-nims’ stage is starting.”
“Oh!”
Kang Yeon-hu’s face, smiling brightly at the center, filled the monitoring screen.
‘What is this?’
The more I watched the performance, the more amazing it felt.
‘Did he practice like his life depended on it?’
Usually, long-term trainees tended to get stuck in a rut.
But every time I saw Kang Yeon-hu, his skills had improved by leaps and bounds.
Of course, he still had that tendency to be a bit of a downer.
Is that a WH trait?
Seong Ji-won, who never took his eyes off the screen whenever he had a chance to watch music shows or other idols' stages, was doing the same today.
“It’s amazing.”
“I know.”
As if determined not to miss a single frame, he watched intently until High Five left the stage and Lia Purple finished their performance.
Then, with an excited face, he said:
“Ho-yun, do you want to practice more when we get back to the dorm??”
“Why are you talking nonsense?”
“…You’ve been really sharp with me lately.”
Seong Ji-won muttered, his eyes drooping as if he were hurt. However, since I had already realized he wouldn't actually be wounded by something like this, I didn't react.
Sure enough, realizing his act wasn't working, he left my side with a bright smile to find his next target to drag into practice hell.
‘Scary guy….’
The first phase, Operation ‘Absolute Avoidance of National Pride Overdose,’ needed a proper conclusion.
After the concert ended, a wrap-up party was held in a restaurant that had been rented out entirely.
I searched for my target with a hawk's eye.
“Ah, that… Seo Ho-yun-ssi.”
Still, we had to show our faces in the documentary at least a little bit.
“PD-nim.”
I eventually found Choi PD in an alley near the restaurant.
When I approached him with a friendly smile, the main PD of the documentary team looked a bit lukewarm.
It seemed to be because, by broadcasting standards, they hadn't been able to extract anything useful from The Dawn.
“You’ve worked so hard. It must be tough coming all the way overseas.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just a bit disappointed we couldn't get a substantial interview from The Dawn.”
“Oh dear. But you were filming us so beautifully. I suppose it’s because you have experience on-site.”
“Eh?”
Seeing Choi PD’s puzzled expression, I let the corners of my mouth curl up slightly.
“I saw the documentary about the German pilgrimage you filmed the year before last.”
“What? You saw that??”
The cigarette in Choi PD’s hand dropped to the ground with a thud.
“That was a total flop for me!”
“What are you talking about? Based on the filming techniques you attempted there, you later won a directing award for another work. Wasn't that all possible because you filmed the German pilgrimage documentary? I respect you, PD-nim. I really enjoyed watching it.”
“Wh-what?!”
Otakus tend to babble about what they love even if you don't ask.
Choi PD was cut from the same cloth as Lee Ji-hyeon.
After I played along a few times, he got excited and spent over thirty minutes rambling about documentary filming techniques and his intentions.
“Man, you’re really interested in filming! We speak the same language! I love it! You even worked your butt off during the dry rehearsal. You’re a true role model for idols~!”
“Oh, you even captured that?”
“Captured it? That scene is a masterpiece. I’ll edit it brilliantly for you.”
Choi PD, whose mood had soared, gave me a big thumbs-up and returned to the restaurant humming a tune.
‘Good.’
It was a pretty decent conclusion.
I was walking out of the alley, grinning to myself, to head back to the restaurant when—
“You sly fox….”
“Whoa, you startled me.”
Kang Yeon-hu, who was crouching around the corner, was shaking his head.
“Ah, sunbae-nim. I was looking for you everywhere. So this is where you were?”
“The cameras aren't rolling, hoobae-nim.”
Having already experienced much of my true nature, Kang Yeon-hu flatly cut off my business-mode comment.
“I’m truly amazed. Did you memorize a script? How can you talk so smoothly? I’m surprised by your brazenness every time.”
“I’m amazed too. How does someone who knows that fall for it every time?”
“…….”
I tried to ignore the grumbling guy and pass by, but I saw the row of beer cans next to him.
In the end, I couldn't help but comment on his pathetic appearance.
“Why are you drinking alone outside like a loser?”
“Even if the cameras aren't rolling, can’t you say things a bit more nicely?”
Adding that he was just enjoying the exotic atmosphere since he was abroad, Kang Yeon-hu suddenly asked a question.
“How did you do it? The quality of your stage was on another level.”
That was what I wanted to ask him.
“Well, the kids work hard….”
“No. I mean, Seo Ho-yun-ssi, you were impressive.”
“……Hmm?”
Me? The klutz?
When I looked at him with one eyebrow raised, Kang Yeon-hu clicked his tongue.
“Your skills have improved since Shining Star, but more than that… I can feel a power that draws people in. Certainly, Ju Woo-seong sunbae-nim had a reason to praise you.”
“Ju Woo-seong did what?”
“…You really don't use the 'sunbae-nim' title for him, do you?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
That guy was someone who always started by cursing at me, asking why I was even an idol if I was going to dance like that.
I had heard the words “Ho-yun, do you want to be a singer?” from Ju Woo-seong so many times it felt like my ears were bleeding.
‘What? Did that jerk go around praising me behind my back?’
With a slightly proud heart, I waited for what came next.
“Yes. He praised you.”
Kang Yeon-hu looked up at me and said:
“He said you’re a guy who gets by on your face and your guts.”
“…….”
Then he nonchalantly took a sip of his beer.
That’s not a compliment, you bastard.