Chapter 254
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 254
January 1st.
A new year had dawned.
Though much had happened over the past year, the result was that The Dawn had been nominated for various awards and even managed to take home trophies in several respectable categories.
[Seeing them nominated now really proves how popular they’ve become. It’s so cool... It feels like after Seo Ho-yun appeared on The Complete Singer, the rest of the members just blew up along with him, like they all hit the ground running.]
[Kang Yi-chae as a mentor was good, but that felt more like sporadic word-of-mouth since his screen time was low... T_T But his mentor performance stage was legendary...]
The stage Seo Ho-yun had prepared for the special, lavish Christmas edition of The Complete Singer had become a warm performance that brought hope to some, comfort to others, and nostalgia to many.
Furthermore, the fact that he was eliminated by a mere one-point difference from the winner became a minor hot topic.
When a panelist asked if he felt any regret losing first place by such a slim margin, Seo Ho-yun’s eyes curved into a gentle smile.
“I can’t keep appearing on the show forever, can I? Haha, I’m joking. I’m just very sad that I won’t be able to sing here again.”
His sly, witty comment drew laughter from everyone.
“I hope that on Christmas, you aren’t alone but with precious neighbors, and that it’s a happy day for everyone, not just a few.”
With that short but heart-tugging remark, Seo Ho-yun stepped down from the stage.
[I love the way Seo Ho-yun talks so much....]
[Honestly, isn’t The Dawn a miracle from a tiny agency... It’s amazing how they got this far. Their new fans have increased like crazy, and international fans love them too.
└ I think being good on stage is the biggest factor lol. And behind the scenes, they all bicker and play well togetherㅋㅋㅋ There’s that gap moe.]
[People who’ve been fans since their debut song Glow say they bow to their ancestors every morning now... because The Dawn has made it so big.]
[ㅋㅋㅋ But for real, they were so unpopular back then it was hard to even find other fans. How did the early fans survive in that tiny fandom...
└ Their mental strength is made of alloy.
└└ Huh?
└└ Go look at the early fans’ SNS accounts.
└└ K.]
In fact, the fans who had followed The Dawn since they were a four-member group maintained a consistent "this too shall pass" mode, wearing serene smiles no matter what happened.
[I am just grateful... that the babies are breathing.]
It was at a level that even the Noeuls who started stanning during Second Chance found terrifying.
[I ran away because the affection was suffocating.
└ LMAO
└ They post words of gratitude every 30 minutes. And every single message is different, it’s scary.]
While the Noeuls were resolving to toughen their own mentalities after seeing the early fans, a live notification popped up.
≪Group Tteokguk Live! Noeuls, join us!≫
[The Dawnies are... family.....]
[A Tteokguk live? Omg T_T Are they crazy?]
The members of The Dawn had become so close they seemed like a real family. Fans clicked the link with heartwarming expectations, imagining the members helping each other make rice cake soup in a chaotic but sweet way.
However...
“The Dawn Tteokguk Making Contest will now begin.”
Cold reality and competition awaited them.
“This is the ‘Pick Me, Pick Me, Pick Me’ Tteokguk.”
[?? LMAO]
[He said it so calmly and prettily that for a second I thought I misheard.]
A Tteokguk making contest.
The score was split 50/50 between performance and taste. Seong Ji-won was in charge of checking the performance score based on how active the comments were and how the fans reacted.
Kim Seong-hyeon, who had been silently mixing dumpling filling in a corner, suddenly asked, “Why did you bother including a performance score in a cooking contest?”
“For Jeong Da-jun.”
Because if they went by taste alone, he would 100% come in last.
At that subtly kind consideration, Kim Seong-hyeon let out a small sigh but nodded in agreement as he finished the filling. He then took out the pre-aged dumpling dough and began rolling it out with a rolling pin.
[Ah, do you guys still not know them well? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[This was definitely Jeong Da-jun’s idea and Seong Ji-won went along with it.
└ Seong Ji-won is seriously such a weirdo... My god...]
Seo Ho-yun, however, remained still with his usual indifferent face. But as soon as Kim Seong-hyeon started folding the dumplings, Ho-yun slunk over and began poking the finished dumplings with his finger.
“Our little Mul-mandu is making dumplings.”
“Hey, stop it.”
As Kim Seong-hyeon swatted Seo Ho-yun’s hand away to protect his elegantly shaped dumplings, Seong Ji-won suddenly spoke up.
“Seong-hyeon, they’re asking you to crack the eggs while doing popping dance.”
“...Huh? W-what? Seriously?”
His face clearly screamed, Is this right?, but he faithfully isolated his joints, thrust his arm high, and performed a popping move that ended with the egg cracking perfectly into an empty bowl.
Once he was done, he ducked his head, looking slightly embarrassed. The Noeuls went wild at the sight.
[300 points for the performance of being embarrassed after doing everything he was asked.]
[Look at them giving points for the embarrassment rather than the cool popping. Of course, I have no objections.]
“...Thank you....”
Just as Kim Seong-hyeon was about to start cooking again, rubbing the tip of his nose awkwardly, Kang Yi-chae—who hadn’t been seen at all until now—appeared while strumming an acoustic guitar.
“Babies, Oppa is here~!”
“Ack!!”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are you crazy?]
[Wow, Kang Yi-chae is getting more shameless by the day.]
[Look at Kim Seong-hyeon and Jeong Da-jun looking genuinely disgusted ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“—Big brother is here, little brother is here, your pretty boy is here~.”
[Wow, Kang Yi-chae mentions everyone to cater to all the different fans. He truly deserves to be a 1st-tier idol.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I’m dying.]
Twang, strum, twang.
Kang Yi-chae hummed along, playing random chords and messing with the strings.
“A pretty boy should at least know how to play the guitar, after all.”
[Excuse me, Mr. Kang Yi-chae.
Please don’t waste your talent.]
[This is just turning into a talent show at this point.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s a natural-born celebrity.]
[So, is a song coming out of this? If it’s The Dawn, I’m willing to stream it.]
By this point, Seo Ho-yun had plopped down in a chair and was just scanning his surroundings while unwrapping a candy.
[Ha, Da-jun cooking so hard is so, so cute T_T]
[Da-jun has grown so much lately T_T After eating all that weird food... you grew up well.
└ Maybe that weird food... had a hidden power to make you taller...]
When Ho-yun had finished his third lemon candy in a row, Jeong Da-jun tilted his head and asked him, “Hyung, do you like lemons?!”
“Why.”
“If you say you like them, I was thinking of adding some lemon juice to the broth!!”
[Da-jun, you don’t need to grow any taller, so please stop with the weird food now.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Rolling the candy in his mouth, Seo Ho-yun stood up, making his annoyance very obvious. He then proceeded to clear away all the useless ingredients in front of Jeong Da-jun.
“You, stop wasting food.”
“Eh? But I need all of this?! I’m going to use cilantro as a garnish for the Tteokguk...”
“Quiet. Just watch what I do.”
After shutting Jeong Da-jun up, Seo Ho-yun stood beside him and helped prep the ingredients.
[Seo Ho-yun’s ‘Eldest Brother’ performance: +50 million points.]
[Seo Ho-yun’s ‘Oppa’ vibes performance: +3 million points.]
The comments from Noeuls exploded as the members’ usual dynamics were naturally revealed.
Kang Yi-chae, who had been strumming his guitar and singing a serenade for the fans, looked bewildered.
“Wait, what?”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ LMAO T_T ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“What about me? What about my score?”
[No matter how much you crack eggs while popping or play the guitar, Seo Ho-yun’s nonchalant actions win everything T_T ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Look at Kang Yi-chae looking so wronged after strumming that guitar ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, this is so funny.]
In the end, Seo Ho-yun, who finished his own Tteokguk in 15 minutes while helping Jeong Da-jun, took the victory.
At the win, which came with no glory or benefits, Seo Ho-yun just let out a smirk and gave a closing remark toward the phone recording the video.
“Noeuls, Happy New Year.”
Once the live ended, SNS and online communities burned even more brightly.
[Ah... today was good too...]
[Visual genius... I feel like Seo Ho-yun has been managing his looks super strictly lately.... Otherwise, there’s no way light could just burst out of the screen like that...]
[My thoughts exactly! Plus, even though he’s prickly, the way he’s been acting all innocent for two years is so cute T_T]
Seo Ho-yun always treated his fans with respect, using polite honorifics even with younger fans. When a fan asked on Pop-Pop why he always used honorifics, he replied that for some reason, he didn’t want to speak informally to Noeuls.
Since fans knew he usually replied to the members with just consonants, even this trait was seen as part of his charm. Then, at that moment—
[Ho-yun: (Noeul emoji) T_T Ho-yun-ah, it’s the New Year, so please send a message in a different tone!! Even if it’s informal...]
[Ho-yun: Is my current way of speaking not good?]
He suddenly copied a fan’s message, posted it on Pop-Pop, and asked the Noeuls for their opinion.
[What? Who is this person who doesn’t get it?
The best part about him is the effort and affection you can see through his slightly awkward and stiff way of speaking.]
[Exactly T_T I thought he was dry just looking at his tone, but I love that he contacts us more often than my convenience store card notification texts.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[What are you talking about? That fan has great taste.
I usually hate it when younger guys speak informally to me, but I’m literally begging Seo Ho-yun to do it.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I wish he’d call me ‘Hey’ (Ya).
Though there’s no way he ever would, haha.]
While the fans were bickering between the "Keep the affection of honorifics" faction and the "Experience the novelty of informal speech" faction, another message from Seo Ho-yun arrived.
[Ho-yun: You want me to add an ‘ng’ to the end of everything?]
And about a minute later:
[Ho-yun: Sure thing~]
All the Noeuls, who had been arguing just moments ago, lost their minds.
[AH!!!!!!!!!!!! I seriously screamed as soon as I got the Pop-Pop.]
[What is this ‘Sure thing~’...
You’re 23 years old...
Don’t act like you’re 23 months old, seriously.]
[I can’t believe Seo Ho-yun is immediately replying with ‘How’s this~?’ ‘Yes~?’ ‘No~?’ while adding ‘ng’ to everything.....
└ Ah, this is so ridiculously cute...]
[When Kang Yi-chae or Jeong Da-jun post screenshots of The Dawn’s group chat ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seo Ho-yun’s tone is so different it feels like a different person ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Normal Seo Ho-yun tone:
K
Y
N
Pop-Pop Seo Ho-yun tone:
Yes, that’s right.
Shall we do it together?
I’ll think about that.
To think the same meaning could be so different ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, this is so funny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ It’s actually kind of touching ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Seong Ji-won said Seo Ho-yun reads his Pop-Pops several times before sending them ㅋㅋㅋ
└ Heol T_T That’s amazing...
└└ ㅋㅋㅋ This is why anyone who subscribes to Seo Ho-yun’s Pop-Pop has no choice but to fall for him.. You just have to understand him.]
However, before long, the messages returned to their original state.
[Ho-yun: ㅋㅋ This is a bit awkward.
But I’ll try.]
[Ho-yun: Noeuls, please be very happy this year.
Don’t get sick.]
After leaving a group photo of The Dawn holding their bowls of Tteokguk, Seo Ho-yun signed off.
[He gives us so many photos... Plus, his selfie skills are steadily improving....]
[T_T Ha, so cute T_T Honestly, with a face that handsome, any photo would be good.. but it’s so cute how he seems to be researching what fans like.]
[At first, he really felt like a non-celebrity, but seeing him on stage lately, he’s a total idol T_T]
[Honestly, it’s a relief Seo Ho-yun became a celebrity.
If I think about a non-celebrity version of him, I’d be drooling... My god.
└ As if you aren’t drooling over the celebrity version..
└└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ T_T Shit T_T]
While the fans were spending a happy January 1st,
“...Oh, Seo Ho-jin.”
Seo Ho-yun was putting the cooled Tteokguk back into the pot when his phone rang. He answered it.
“Have you eaten?”
It was a call from his younger brother to give New Year’s greetings. After turning on the induction stove, Seo Ho-yun’s hands stopped as he talked to Seo Ho-jin.
The members took it upon themselves to dish out the Tteokguk, which had quickly warmed up and started steaming, and moved it to the dining table.
“Pass the salt.”
“Heol! This is really good. Ho-yun hyung, why did you make it so delicious?”
Nothing in the world is originally done well. After his parents passed away and he started cooking for the first time, Seo Ho-yun had failed many times.
“We should have invited Ho-jin hyung too.”
When Ho-yun hung up after a few nagging remarks, Jeong Da-jun muttered regretfully.
“I asked, but he said he’s too busy to come.”
In reality, he hadn’t even brought it up. Even if the company blocked reporters and sasaengs as much as possible, the more famous The Dawn became, the more their private lives would be scrutinized.
Seo Ho-yun wanted to prevent anything about Seo Ho-jin from spreading at all costs. That was why he even set a limit on how many days they met and didn’t even visit the house.
Jeong Da-jun, who was chewing a mouthful of Tteokguk, suddenly snapped his head up.
“Ah! But Ho-yun hyung, don’t you look like your brother?! Though Ho-jin hyung is, of course, really, really kind!!”
“I feel like Ho-jin hyung might actually have a bit of a temper, though?”
“Ayy, Yi-chae. What are you talking about? Why would Ho-jin be like that?”
“I’ll put a vote on that side too.”
As Seong Ji-won laughed at what he thought was a funny joke, Kim Seong-hyeon, who was silently finishing his third bowl of Tteokguk, spoke up.
“It’s just that Seo Ho-yun’s personality is so intense that Ho-jin looks normal in comparison.”
“...!”
“...!!”
The members froze as if they had reached a great realization.
“That sounds plausible....”
“There’s no way Ho-yun’s brother would be normal.”
“What?”
Seo Ho-yun’s face crumpled. It wasn’t because he heard he wasn’t normal.
“Do I look like him?”
That was the biggest problem. He had thought they didn’t look alike, which made him feel a bit more at ease, but as Seo Ho-jin matured, their vibes were becoming carbon copies of each other.
If they were apart, people might not know, but once someone took a good look, anyone would notice.
After staring at his own face on his phone screen for a while, Seo Ho-yun whispered quietly.
“...Should I get plastic surgery?”
“Are you crazy?”
Seong Ji-won looked genuinely appalled, and Kim Seong-hyeon shook his head as he passed by while clearing the side dishes.
Even Ho-yun thought his own thought was a bit ridiculous, so he clicked his tongue and shoved his phone into his pocket. Even looking at the Tteokguk with all its garnishes intact, he didn’t feel like picking up his spoon.
For some reason, he had lost his appetite.
“Whaaat~? Ho-yun hyung, do you miss Ho-jin hyung?”
Ho-yun ignored Kang Yi-chae’s nonsense, but the guy winked at him.
“Ho-jin hyung is doing fine. Don’t worry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I play games with Ho-jin hyung sometimes. He even makes sure to get our albums and my photocards. He says thanks every time.”
You think he’s actually thankful?
Kang Yi-chae rested his chin on his hand and beamed. He looked to be in a very good mood.
“Well, if you’re that worried, you can just buy him a nice gift while we’re in the US this time. Right?”
With that, Kang Yi-chae tapped a screenshot on his phone screen. The photo showed a news headline:
〔IRIX Announces Expansion Pack Set in Korea... K-Pop Collaboration Track to be Released Simultaneously〕
“Just like the one hyung gave me.”
He looked so happy.
Seeing the excited Kang Yi-chae, Seo Ho-yun let out a smirk.
A music collaboration with a game company.
To talk about this tear-inducing recruitment story, one had to go back several months.