Chapter 268
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 268
[Holy shit, are you kidding me???]
[He really stayed stubborn about not dyeing his hair, but three years in and we get this? Thank you so, so, so much, Ho-yun. Aaaagh, I’m going to lose it, thank you!]
[He is truly top-tier.]
The moment a single concept photo was released, sentences containing Seo Ho-yun’s name instantly shot up the trending search terms.
Every time she refreshed her social media or anonymous community boards, new posts flooded the screen.
Noeul wiped a stray tear from her eye and sent a KakaoTalk message to her friend.
[Me: Who wants to go drinking?]
[Stanning Buddy: Why?]
[Me: Ho-yun dyed his hair.]
[Stanning Buddy: Holy shit, I’m so down.]
The two met up immediately and spent ages passionately discussing the hair dye. Fans were the kind of creatures who could chatter all day long over a single concept photo.
“But don’t you think the reaction to The Dawn has been a bit weird lately? I don’t get why people are hating so much.”
“Ah, that…”
In the past, when comeback info dropped, it felt like the Noeuls were the main ones talking, with a few hardcore K-pop fans joining in. Recently, however, it felt like everyone was watching The Dawn.
On the surface, a few welcomed them while the majority remained silent, but on community boards, the jealousy and gatekeeping were reaching fever pitch.
“It kind of… feels like the reaction back when Black Call was rising.”
“Really??”
“Yeah. Ah… you weren’t that into idols back then.”
Just as she had written in her letter to Seo Ho-yun, The Dawn was the first idol group Noeul had ever truly liked. Because of that, she didn’t know much about the industry’s ecosystem.
Black Call had broken record after record from the moment they debuted. After that, every time they made a comeback, their album orders skyrocketed, and they entered the top tier in an instant.
Noeul’s friend, a K-pop veteran, patted the upset Noeul on the back and held her phone out.
“Look. Posts like these.”
[Title: The Dawn is top-tier? Since when?
LOL, look at them running their delusion circuits just because their pre-orders sold a bit.
K-pop album inflation is insane this generation anyway, so what’s the point?;;
└ Hey... does that look like it only sold ‘a bit’ to you?
└└ All the Noeuls were floored when they saw the pre-order numbers...
└ Isn’t this just massive media play? We won’t know until the first-week sales are out. Seeing Noeuls have the same delusions every time is kind of pitiful.. lol
└└ Hey......... have you seen their Nutube views?
└ Looking at the pre-orders for other idols coming back at the same time as The Dawn, it’s not just ‘inflation’...
└Even the Noeuls are confused right now, so posts picking fights like this just prove their popularity, right? :) Thanks!~!]
To be fair, perhaps because it was a full-length album, the pre-order volume was jaw-droppingly high.
The friend spoke with a hint of excitement.
“People picking fights over pre-order numbers? That’s where it all starts.”
“Wait. Come to think of it, they seem really popular with the kids at my academy, too.”
“Really? No wonder. I saw posts like this popping up, too.”
The friend showed her another post.
[Title: What is actually happening this time?
Where are all these new fans coming from?;; I thought they’d already sucked up all the K-pop veterans they could...
Where do they keep coming from?
└ I heard they’re the rising ‘school-meal pick’ these days.
└└ Hul; seriously? What happened?
└└ Seo Ho-yun and Kang Yi-chae are insanely popular with basically all the kids...
└└ Especially with high schoolers, it’s Seong Ji-won and Jeong Da-jun... the cute, healing types.
The crazy 12th graders like Kim Seong-hyeon...
└└ Ah, shit LMAO, I think I know why 12th graders like Kim Seong-hyeon XDDDDDDDDDD
└└ LOLOLOLOL he looks like he’d be a supportive husband and he’s got a great body.... ^^]
Seeing posts saying they were gaining popularity across various age groups—not just among hardcore fans or K-pop veterans—made Noeul feel like her mood was finally rising from the depths of the earth.
After a long talk with her friend, she returned home in high spirits.
And ten days later.
At 1:00 PM, the music video for The Dawn’s full-length album was released.
Late that night, Noeul met up with her friends at a nearby rental stay they had booked.
It was a gesture of consideration from her friends, knowing she couldn’t easily rest as an academy teacher.
Everyone had caught a glimpse of the music video in the bathroom or behind their boss’s back, but they hadn’t been able to truly enjoy it yet.
“Holy crap! I’m watching what I already saw, so why am I so nervous?!”
“Hey, hey, hey, can we film a vlog right now?”
“Hurry, hurry! Ah! The Arabic subtitles in the MV are so annoying, turn them off!”
One of the friends, who was making a fuss about creating a ‘Noeul-log,’ started recording with her phone, and they soon played the music video.
Haa, I’m so nervous….
In the silence, a Baroque-style palace appeared, and deep shadows fell across walls adorned with ornate gold decorations. The shadows belonged to the members, who held each other’s hands and crouched down, looking like a single mass.
“The set looks so expensive!”
“Damn, Daepasung must have made a lot of money!”
Then the beat started, and contrary to the atmosphere, it was bright. However, a sticky bass note intermingled here and there, forming a mysterious melody.
“Wow, look at that beat. It’s God-Yi-chae, seriously.”
“I had a feeling since the highlight medley dropped. The song is produced so well this time.”
The scene soon shifted. Unlike the luxurious palace from a moment ago, a house appeared where concrete walls were exposed and traces of human life had long since vanished.
The camera panned through the living room and kitchen toward the bathroom, then pulled back the shower curtain to reveal the bathtub.
There lay Seo Ho-yun, disheveled in a leather jacket.
“AHHH!”
“You crazy bastard, he’s so handsome!!”
Beneath the ends of his purple hair, which had darkened slightly from the water, Seo Ho-yun’s eyelids lifted, and his lips parted.
【Can you save me?】
Even though she was seeing the scene again, goosebumps erupted all over her body.
In an instant, someone snatched Seo Ho-yun’s hand and pulled him up. It was Kim Seong-hyeon.
Seo Ho-yun swept back his wet hair and began to sing.
【Whisper your faith to me
Like you promised me
La- La- ah】
Smooth high notes followed right from the start.
The camera angle pulled away from Seo Ho-yun and focused on Kim Seong-hyeon.
Opening a window and squinting as he surveyed the outside, Kim Seong-hyeon licked his lower lip.
【Can you hold me?
Hold me hotly】
“Ugh, aren’t the lyrics seriously insane?! These guys are determined to kill the Noeuls!”
“Shit, Oppaaaaa!!!”
Including her friends, they all only called them ‘Oppa’ when they felt like it, but none of them were actually younger than The Dawn.
As their emotions intensified, another face overlapped with Kim Seong-hyeon’s.
It was Seong Ji-won, looking out the window at the scenery. He was wearing a school uniform consisting of deep navy and gray.
“HEY!!!!”
“Look, I told you in the group chat earlier, didn’t I? I said it was school uniforms the moment I saw the concept photos!”
“I didn’t think they’d actually put them in them! Wow, why does Seong Ji-won look so good in that?! Is he really 25?!”
At first, based only on the concept photos and MV teasers, they had thought the group would push a decadent, mature, sexy vibe all the way through.
“Daepasung, you clever bastards!”
But by including flashback scenes of the past, they had shown The Dawn in school uniforms as well.
Then came the group choreography, with them wearing uniforms that had slightly different details. When the members held hands to form a circle, Noeul tried to stay calm, but a scream escaped her anyway.
【Our youth that will never come again
Whatever I don’t care
Come to me before I bite
You promised on the day the shooting star fell】
Next, Jeong Da-jun appeared, wearing a boxy Adi-X-s zip-up and smiling brightly while holding a sparkling sparkler. Beside him, Seong Ji-won smiled back at him.
Colorful fireworks erupted everywhere, showering the members like fragments of light breaking from the night sky.
“Wow…….”
It looked just like stars.
【Our dawn that will never come again
I don’t care even if the sky falls
Come to me before I get fickle】
The members exchanged glances and pressed their foreheads together, their faces glowing clearly.
【You promised on the day the Milky Way poured down】
Next to appear was Kang Yi-chae, wearing a black shirt and sitting at the top of the palace stairs from the beginning.
The flashback had ended.
He slowly turned the star-engraved music box in his hand, one corner of his mouth curling into a bitter smile.
【Circling around you like I’m broken
How can I live without you?
I will never change】
Kang Yi-chae, who had been fiddling with the moving music box, tossed it over his shoulder without regret and slowly descended the stairs.
【You can come when you want to
You just have to lean on me and laugh
Anyways, always love you
in perfect way】
The one who picked up the music box rolling on the floor was Seo Ho-yun.
As Seo Ho-yun watched the place Kang Yi-chae had left, covering his mouth with his hand—
【Can you hold me?】
The moment his hand dropped from his mouth, thick smoke began to drift out.
【Hold me hotly
Like you did before】
“Waaaagh! Waaaaaaaagh!!”
“The pseudo-cigarette is insane. Isn’t this a scene for the history books?”
Seo Ho-yun’s eyes crinkled slightly.
“But won’t this guy get flagged by the censors?”
“I’ve been wondering that for a year now, too.”
【La- La- ah】
It was a different kind of sexiness from when Kim Seong-hyeon handled the part in the first verse.
Maybe it was because he was her bias, but hearing Seo Ho-yun sing it made her toes curl and her ears tingle just from listening.
Noeul scratched her ears vigorously, just as she had the first time she saw the MV, yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen.
【Can you save me?
Whisper your faith to me
Like you promised me】
Seong Ji-won, dressed in a white suit, walked through a blazing hallway. The flames died down wherever he passed.
He looked up at a famous painting hanging at the end of the path.
A small sigh escaped him, and as he touched his forehead, Seong Ji-won turned his head as if he had heard someone calling him.
【La- La- ah】
Then, a close-up of his face smiling brightly as if meeting someone he was glad to see appeared, the screen went dark, and the title came up.
【Our Brilliant Dawn (From Dawn to Dawn) - The Dawn】
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
To end on Seong Ji-won’s heavenly face.
The stimulation was truly too much.
For a while, everyone remained speechless, staring blankly at the black screen.
This time, it’s going to happen.
It definitely would. There was no way this wouldn’t work.
To highlight both the pure, innocent side and the mature, sexy side by alternating between the past and the present.
Plus, if she was lucky, she might get to see Seo Ho-yun in a school uniform legally.
She was already excited, imagining what kind of outfits they would wear on stage.
Even the beat wasn’t too aggressive.
Recently, songs had been filled with powerful beats that felt like they were pressed out of a mold.
They were certainly addictive and good music, but it was hard to say they had the public appeal to capture all generations.
However, this song by The Dawn was fast but well-paced with its dynamics, and it felt sophisticated, as if it were the work of an overseas composer.
The music video interpretations being posted are insane, too.
Noeul’s heart pounded even harder than when she first saw the music video.
“Hey, can we watch it one more time?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
Just as her friends, who were shouting that they had to repeat it at least 20 times—no, infinitely until they went to sleep—put down the phone they were using to film the Noeul-log and were about to play the MV again, Noeul jumped up from her seat.
“I’m going to buy more albums.”
“Crazy, she’s totally hyped up.”
Her gut was making a strong claim.
‘Our Brilliant Dawn’ was a song that maintained The Dawn’s unique sensibility while maximizing public appeal.
Therefore, this album would hit the highest peak of The Dawn’s career and be recorded as their legendary era.
She didn’t know much about the idol world, but her intuition was striking her nonetheless.
Close your eyes, my tiny paycheck.
Her eyes gleaming, Noeul didn’t even check her bank balance before logging onto the internet and starting to order additional albums.
And all the while, the view count for The Dawn’s music video was climbing like crazy.