Chapter 273
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 273
“This makes for some good ASMR.”
He was remarkably brazen.
Kang Yi-chae, holding his surround-sound noise-canceling headphones, looked utterly defeated.
“…Does Ho-yun hyung even have a sense of shame left?”
“That’s what I’m saying… He’s actually getting scary now…”
Kang Yi-chae had also failed miserably.
Kim Seong-hyeon, exchanging glances with Seong Ji-won, decided it was better to get it over with. Following the saying that it’s better to be the first to be hit, he took a step forward.
However, nothing good came to mind, so he just paced around his room.
At that moment,
“—Do you like Rubik’s Cubes?”
Startled by Seo Ho-yun’s voice coming from behind, Kim Seong-hyeon whipped his head around. Seo Ho-yun was peering at a cube sitting on the bedside table.
“……No. I mean, I just bought it, but I haven’t been able to solve it…”
“Really? Hey, want to see something cool?”
“…Oh, sure.”
Before handing it over, Kim Seong-hyeon intentionally scrambled the cube a few more times. Taking it, Seo Ho-yun stared at the six faces for a moment, then gave a smirk and started moving his hands.
Click!
Clatter-clack!
Whirrr!
Within his long, white fingers, the 3x3 Rubik’s Cube was solved in an instant.
[Whoa]
[Holy crap, whoa]
The moment the colors aligned and the cube regained its perfect form, a subtitle appeared: ‘Total Time: 24 Seconds.’ Then, the original footage from the recording played back in fast-forward.
An arrow pointed to the recording time at the top, emphasizing once again that it really only took 24 seconds.
“Whoa!!”
Having had no expectations, Kim Seong-hyeon’s eyes went wide as he took the cube back, turning it over and over in his hands.
“Wow, how do you solve it so fast? That’s amazing.”
“There’s a trick to everything.”
“That was actually kind of cool??”
As the innocent Kim Seong-hyeon got slightly excited and showered him with praise, forgetting what he had originally intended to do, Seo Ho-yun stared at him before letting out a chuckle.
“Oh, you.”
Then, he playfully flicked Seong-hyeon’s forehead with his palm.
“…….”
It was an action done with full knowledge of exactly what made Kim Seong-hyeon feel embarrassed and annoyed.
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL holy shit LMAO]
[This crazy bastard ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s a total pro at trolling in every possible way ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
After being suddenly attacked on the forehead, Kim Seong-hyeon could only blink as his face turned beet red.
Next, an interview with Jeong Da-jun was inserted.
“I think our Ho-yun hyung literally lives just to tease people.”
And as if to contrast with Da-jun’s grumbling, an interview with Seo Ho-yun was spliced in.
“I’m grateful to everyone. They follow my lead well.”
[Lmao ‘I’m grateful’ my ass ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s a high-level troll.
└ This guy would probably send an email saying, ‘I’m sending this because I have some shit to give you.’ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I told you, our bunny doesn’t hold back...]
[At this point, I think he’s already figured out everything the members were plotting behind his back ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
By this point, the new Noeuls were starting to get confused.
[Seo Ho-yun.... was... was this his image?]
[Wait, our God-baby soft bunny... was he always this much of a prankster?...
└ He’s only a prankster now because he’s close with the members.. In the early debut days, he was a total ice prince, cold as a winter wind..]
Sensing the opportunity, the veteran fans quickly began sharing compilations of The Dawn’s "strongest personalities."
Meanwhile, the documentary steadily moved on to Seong Ji-won’s individual interview.
“Ho-yun?”
Seong Ji-won glanced toward Seo Ho-yun, who was watching the members’ interviews nearby, and gave a bright smile.
“Ho-yun is actually really kind and sweet!!”
“…….”
Seo Ho-yun, caught on camera, clearly had an expressionless face, but a hint of disbelief seeped through.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s right next to him, how can he say that? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Look at even Seo Ho-yun being dumbfounded. Ji-won is amazing. I can’t tell if he’s full of prejudice or has none at all...]
Even the new Noeuls were amazed by Seong Ji-won’s capacity for tolerance.
[Isn’t Seong Ji-won basically the winner of this bet?]
[Yeah.. Who else but Ji-won and his sunshine power could shake Ho-yun?]
However, this behavior of Seong Ji-won’s was just his natural personality; he hadn’t actually made any attempt to unsettle Seo Ho-yun yet.
After the individual interviews were finished, everyone was lingering in the living room even though it was time for bed.
“…Um, Ho-yun-ah.”
“Yeah?”
Seo Ho-yun was just lounging on the sofa with his usual face, while the other members couldn’t leave because they wanted to see him get flustered.
Having roughly organized a plan in his head, Seong Ji-won chose his words carefully and started.
“I’ve had some worries lately.”
“Yeah?”
Then, he slightly lowered his gaze.
“I feel like I practice hard every time, but I’m never satisfied. I’m always nervous.”
“……Hmm.”
【Seo Ho-yun shows a bit of interest.】
[This is starting to feel less like a documentary and more like a massive ‘Prank Seo Ho-yun’ project.]
[Right? But it’s so exciting.]
“I worry about what if I make a mistake. I wonder if I’m just not good enough….”
He wasn’t particularly confident in his acting, but since he had learned the basics at his previous agency, he knew exactly what kind of expression to make.
Besides, Seo Ho-yun always listened seriously when it came to topics like this.
Then,
“Right. The Noeuls were sad about it.”
“……Huh?”
Seo Ho-yun sat up straight and met Seong Ji-won’s eyes.
“I heard through the company. They said you’re doing well, but you’re too hard on yourself, and it makes the Noeuls sad.”
“……R-really?”
“Yeah.”
Seong Ji-won was a bit flustered by Seo Ho-yun’s reaction, which was completely different from what he expected. He had only thrown out a topic to provoke him, but he received a serious answer in return.
He even started to get confused about whether the Noeuls were actually worried about that.
“The Noeuls are sad…?”
He didn’t even realize that Seo Ho-yun and Kang Yi-chae had already exchanged glances.
Of course, the Noeuls watching through the screen were equally bewildered.
[I mean.. I do worry sometimes that he might overwork himself, but that just seems like his personality....]
[I’d like him to be more relaxed, but I also like Ji-won being strict with himself, so he doesn’t necessarily need to change....]
[Ho-yun saying that is the most unexpected part. Hmm, what is it?]
While Seong Ji-won was lost in thought, Seo Ho-yun looked around at the members.
“So, how about we try to boost our self-esteem right now? Why don’t we take turns complimenting ourselves?”
“Ayyy! Then the handsome rapper can’t be left out.”
Kang Yi-chae was the first to jump up before the other members could even voice an opinion.
“First of all, I’m the most handsome member of The Dawn~! I’m cool, and I’m great at making songs!”
“Okay, that’s enough for Kang Yi-chae. Kim Seong-hyeon.”
Ignoring the self-praise Yi-chae spouted while tossing his short hair (which couldn't possibly flutter), Seo Ho-yun pointed to the next target.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He immediately shut up Kang Yi-chae, who already has maxed-out self-esteem ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Look at Jeong Da-jun revving his engine next to him, itching to say something. He’s so cute, dammit ㅠㅠㅠ]
“Me? Me? Uh….”
“The part of your body you’re most confident in.”
For Kim Seong-hyeon, who was wandering without a clue, Seo Ho-yun kindly guided his answer.
“……My legs?”
When Kim Seong-hyeon barely managed to speak while rolling his eyes, Seo Ho-yun turned his gaze coldly to the next target without any reaction.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Hey!! Why did you even ask if you weren’t going to give a reaction? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Seo Ho-yun is truly the King of Trolls ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Kim Seong-hyeon fell for it again ㅠㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
It was Seong Ji-won’s turn.
Jeong Da-jun was egging him on from the side.
“Hyung! Say you’re handsome! Just a little bit less handsome than Da-jun.”
“Uh, uh, well… I’m… I’m handsome.”
“Yeah.”
“And I’m… not bad at singing.”
Seong Ji-won’s ears turned bright red with every word he forced out in embarrassment.
“You’re great at it.”
Seo Ho-yun added a comment to each one.
When Seong Ji-won kept his mouth shut as if he couldn’t think of anything else, Seo Ho-yun said,
“Ji-won-ah, you have to mention the part the fans like, too.”
“Huh??”
Seong Ji-won hesitated for a moment. Then, Seo Ho-yun scrunched his nose at him.
Realizing what he wanted, Seong Ji-won let out an ‘Ah,’ hesitated for a bit, then squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“The mole on the bridge of my nose…….”
“…….”
“The mole on my nose is cute, too!!”
Cute….
Cute…….
—ute…….
Seong Ji-won’s voice echoed through the dorm living room.
“Good, we’re done.”
Having extracted the scene he wanted, Seo Ho-yun stood up with a smile and no lingering regrets.
Kang Yi-chae also stood up as if it were only natural.
“Let’s go to bed~.”
[??]
[?????]
With startled eyes, Seong Ji-won hurriedly grabbed Seo Ho-yun’s arm.
“Ho-Ho-yun-ah. What was that just now? Why aren’t you doing it?”
“Ah—.”
Seo Ho-yun tilted his head slightly and brushed back his bangs.
“I was lying, so I’m not doing it.”
Then, he curled his lips into a smile at Seong Ji-won.
It was that very smile that had played the biggest part in earning him the nickname ‘Bing-gre’ (Smiley) during his PD days.
“Are you always this naive?”
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Look at Kang Yi-chae laughing his head off next to him saying the nose mole is cute. He’s so obnoxious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I heard he’s been bickering with Seong Ji-won a lot lately, he was just waiting for a chance to mess with him ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[No, but ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He was the one who led the plan to unsettle Seo Ho-yun, and then he stabs him in the back like this? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’re literally preying on each other, it’s a total jungle ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
As Kang Yi-chae and Seo Ho-yun disappeared into their rooms, and Seong Ji-won, who finally came to his senses, followed after them, a stiffened Kim Seong-hyeon muttered quietly.
“Then why did I….”
“…….”
“Why did he make me do it?”
“…Hang in there, hyung.”
The youngest’s gentle pat was delivered to Kim Seong-hyeon’s shoulder.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Holy shit, why did Kim Seong-hyeon even do it? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[The Dawn is truly consistent.....]
Then, Seo Ho-yun’s individual interview was inserted again.
【The production team asked Seo Ho-yun directly if he did that to help ease Seong Ji-won’s nerves.】
“Oh, that earlier? No. He hasn’t been nervous lately. Look how long The Dawn has been together. I can tell just by looking at his face.”
Seo Ho-yun added with a friendly, easygoing laugh.
“I just wanted to tease him.”
At that, the new Noeuls who had been insisting on ‘kind and sweet Seo Ho-yun’ decided to accept it. The real Seo Ho-yun. Though, of course, a few still seemed to push the ‘Angel Seo Ho-yun’ agenda.
[Our God-baby bunny Ho-yun.... is a crazy bastard.... I see....]
The veteran fans felt extremely refreshed seeing the baby Noeuls face reality through the documentary.
[New Noeul: Ho-yun is such an angel and so soft.
Old Noeul: (Frowns, feels indigestion)
New Noeul: Seo Ho-yun is a total crazy bastard.
Old Noeul: (Bright smile, digestion cleared)
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
After that, the documentary showed The Dawn working diligently and pouring their affection into the album.
Just as the screen turned black and the names of the production staff began to scroll, making it seem like the documentary was over.
“Is it on?”
Kim Seong-hyeon’s voice drifted out.
[???]
[Whoa, there’s more]
Additional interviews with each member had been inserted at the very end.
The feelings and inner thoughts the members had experienced throughout their career were revealed one by one.
As if proving why people had no choice but to love them.
Kim Seong-hyeon fiddled with his fingertips and spoke carefully.
“I want to keep doing well with the members for a long time. We can’t always have happy days, but I want us to be able to laugh through whatever comes our way together.”
Kang Yi-chae said he wanted to live fun and healthy lives with his hyungs and the maknae, and the youngest, Jeong Da-jun, followed with his story of wanting to live every day to the fullest.
And then, Seo Ho-yun appeared.
【It is the first day of the documentary filming.】
Seo Ho-yun, sitting in a chair, answered a few questions before slightly lowering his gaze.
“—At first, I just thought I had to keep my head straight. That I was the only one who had to do well. Maybe it could be seen as childish arrogance, but honestly, I was confident. That if they just followed my lead, we could succeed.”
Seo Ho-yun, cast in shadows, looked somewhat unfamiliar.
“I don’t know. Maybe I was the foolish one. A person can’t do everything alone. To begin with, our members are all incredibly talented individually, so I rely on them a lot, and they all do so well on their own. Maybe that’s why…….”
Seo Ho-yun, who had been speaking without hesitation, paused for a moment and then slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Now, I like the feeling of relief, knowing that they’ll be able to do anything well even without me.”
Then he said in a refreshing tone.
“Of course, I have to do well too. Until the end.”
【When asked to summarize what The Dawn means to him in one word, Seo Ho-yun bursts into a large laugh.】
“That’s hard….”
Seo Ho-yun raised his gaze and looked directly into the camera.
“It’s a dawn that must be sent away without regrets.”
Following him, the protagonist of the final interview was Seong Ji-won.
【We shared the results of Seo Ho-yun’s interview with Seong Ji-won.】
“Ho-yun said that? That’s unexpected….”
After appearing lost in thought for a moment, Seong Ji-won soon nodded slowly.
“But I guess those words are right, too.”
Seong Ji-won’s soft gaze met the camera lens.
“Because, either way, we’ll face a newly rising sun every day.”
With Seong Ji-won’s face smiling brightly, the screen faded out.
From Dawn to Dawn.
Seeing the subtitle that read ‘From Dawn to Dawn,’ the Noeuls’ hearts swelled with emotion.
[I really didn’t know Ho-yun thought like this..... I figured he might be a perfectionist, but I guess he felt a huge obsession with having to do well himself ㅠㅠ]
[Maybe it’s that specific emptiness celebrities feel... ㅠㅠㅠ He tried so hard not to show it, but there were times when he’d space out more than usual..ㅠ The fact that he viewed even that as a weakness and pretended to be okay ㅠㅠㅠ]
[Thinking that he has to do perfectly from now on so he can send it away without regrets is so like Seo Ho-yun, I love it.... And then Seong Ji-won’s final words, ugh..... I love you guys......]
As the documentary ended with the members’ interviews revealing their true hearts, the Noeuls were moved to tears.
[Still, I’m glad he’s found his original energy by bickering with the kids lately ㅠ Looking at photos of when Seo Ho-yun was happy, the first concert was legendary....
└ There was a period when there were exceptionally many photos of him smiling... When he smiles, his image changes completely, it makes my heart so warm and he’s so cute ㅜ
└└ Right, there are so many new fans lately and they seem really active, I hope they hold a concert soon while the momentum is high ㅠ]
While the Noeuls were still lingering in the afterglow of the documentary, creating clips of the key scenes, a photo that looked like a cropped snippet was posted on The Dawn’s official SNS with the words ‘Coming Soon.’
[Whoa, what is this]
[What is it, what is it, what are they doing?????]
[Can I hope? Can I hope for a concert! Daepasung!!! I’m not even asking for Gocheok Sky Dome!]
[Seriously, Gocheok is a bit much.
└ They’re so popular lately, maybe it’s possible even if it doesn’t sell out...]
A few days later,
[They said it’s the Gymnastics Stadium, holy shit!!!!!!!!!!!!]
The official announcement for the concert was posted.
While the Noeuls were letting out silent screams of overwhelming joy, Pop-Pop messages from The Dawn members arrived one after another.
[Seong Ji-won: I’m getting ready for the ticketing!!
I wanted to try it once, too..]
[Seong Ji-won:
Seong-hyeon&Ji-won.jpg
Practicing with Seong-hyeon next to me ㅎㅎ]
[Kim Seong-hyeon: Yes!! I’m practicing ticketing with Seong Ji-won right now. How did you know?]
[Kim Seong-hyeon: Ah.. You saw the Pop-Pop ㅋㅋ]
[Kim Seong-hyeon: Seong Ji-won is good at ticketing.
His reaction speed is really fast..]
Seong Ji-won and Kim Seong-hyeon saying they’d challenge the ticketing themselves, Kang Yi-chae sharing a teary-eyed selfie, and Jeong Da-jun sending a long, detailed message like a diary entry.
However, Seo Ho-yun only added one short sentence.
[Seo Ho-yun: I’ll finally get to see you, then.]