Chapter 290
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 290
The day of the university festival.
We spent the morning in the company practice room and then headed to the salon to get our makeup done in time for the event.
Just as the members' hair styling was wrapping up, we were waiting for our manager, who had gone out ahead of us to pull the van around.
"The handsome scammer makes his entrance!"
From behind me, Kang Yi-chae—sporting a diamond-shaped blue gem under his eye—shouted playfully with his arms stretched wide.
Yesterday, he’d been so dazed he’d meekly bought me ice cream, but today he seemed back to his usual self.
"Oh, look, it’s my bank account."
"Wow, you really don't let a single word slide, do you?"
Seong Ji-won tilted his head slightly, looking puzzled by the exchange, but quickly shifted his gaze back to the paper detailing our stage movements. He was a bit on edge because we had to perform at a university festival without a rehearsal.
Kim Seong-hyeon and Jeong Da-jun were preoccupied, excitedly looking up videos related to university festivals.
"Lately, you hyungs have no interest in me at all..."
Yi-chae’s eyes narrowed into a pout.
It was a total display of crocodile tears.
"We never did."
"...Right."
Yi-chae’s antics continued until the manager contacted us. Naturally, the members, who were well-accustomed to it, didn't react at all.
As we fought through the congested traffic toward the university, Jeong Da-jun’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
"Is the station always this far away?"
Back in my day, you had to hike for thirty minutes just to see the entrance, but it looks like a new station opened nearby.
"Ooh, that place over there is all shiny and fancy!"
It was a building I’d never seen before.
Built on the students' backs, or perhaps their blood, sweat, and tears. They must have come into some money from somewhere.
"Whoa, what is that hideous statue?"
That was the statue that everyone who had ever passed through this school considered an eyesore...
I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud, so I just kept the "back in my day" monologue to myself. I pressed a hand to my forehead as a wave of reality hit me.
"Hyung, are you sick?"
"My heart aches, Da-jun... my heart..."
Seeing the familiar scenery slowly pass by the car window made me feel even stranger.
While attending university, I’d worked part-time jobs non-stop, maintained my GPA, and prepared for employment all at once. I’d also looked after Seo Ho-jin.
It had been nothing but pure, unadulterated suffering...
We drove across the familiar campus and entered the athletic field, which had been transformed into a festival performance venue.
"Hello!"
Under the escort of security guards, we headed to the waiting room prepared by the university. A few students from the Festival Preparation Committee greeted us warmly.
"Wow! Welcome!!"
"Hello!"
"Thank you so much for coming today."
Immediately, we began checking the information for the preceding performance and whether there were any additional changes.
With little time left before we had to go on stage, everyone was busy making final checks. However, my gaze remained fixed on a suspicious figure wearing a rabbit mascot suit, blending in among the students.
"Oh, the rabbit is cute."
"It looks incredibly hot in there."
The members seemed interested for a moment, but they didn't pay it much mind.
Seeing as the security guards and managers weren't stopping the person... it meant their identity had already been verified.
Suspicious.
"You know, Ho-yun hyung!"
Even while a staff member touched up my hair and clothes and I put in my in-ears, I kept a close watch on that mascot. Meanwhile, Jeong Da-jun clung to me, acting restless.
"What?"
"Everyone who goes here is reaaaally smart, right?! That means Ho-jin hyung is like that too. Since when was he so good at studying?!"
"I don't know."
"Our Ho-yun hyung... you're so indifferent."
Well, the kid had been sharp since he was little.
Whenever I had consultations with Ho-jin’s homeroom teachers, all I ever heard was that he was kind and diligent, so I never worried much about his grades. I just vaguely assumed he’d do well on his own and left it at that.
On the other hand, I also thought it didn't really matter since I’d be by his side for the rest of our lives.
However, even after the CSAT was over and he’d done his provisional grading, he didn't report a single word to me. When I asked if he’d messed up, he just gave a nonchalant answer.
"No, I did okay."
This punk, he's definitely looking at a retake, I thought. I immediately picked up on Ho-jin’s signal and started looking into various prep academies. Then, one day, when I’d returned home exhausted from work and was sprawled out on the sofa, Ho-jin shoved his CSAT report card in my face.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw he’d only missed one question in math.
I was so proud of him back then...
I turned my head and glared intently at the rabbit mascot.
"..."
It tried to sneak closer to me, then flinched and pretended to look elsewhere.
Waaaaaaah—!
Just then, a loud roar erupted from outside.
At the same time, a student from the Festival Preparation Committee, who was communicating via radio, shouted.
"The Dawn! You're up!"
"Yes."
I headed onto the stage with the members. Thanks to the days getting longer as summer approached, the surroundings were still bright.
Bowing deeply to the cheering crowd, we took our starting positions for the first song.
Soon, the intro to Connected began to play.
.
.
.
"Did you all have fun?"
After greetings and a short talk, we performed a total of four songs, including a pre-arranged encore, filling the thirty minutes allotted to The Dawn.
"We were The Dawn! Thank you!!"
Contrary to my thought that we’d leave the school immediately after the performance, we had to return to the waiting room in a bit of a rush. According to the manager, the crowd was so dense that the van couldn't get out. He suggested we wait here for a moment until things calmed down.
"Your hair is messy here."
"What about me?!"
The members were checking each other's appearances, saying they should take photos for Starstagram since they had time, but I was slumped on the sofa, drained of all energy.
They sure have a lot of stamina, these punks.
Holding a hand fan right in front of my face, I rolled my eyes to scan the room, but the rabbit mascot was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, I caught the faint sound of someone on the phone outside.
"—Uh... what? Why aren't you—? Ah, the kids are taking photos— —?"
"..."
"Unbelievable—, you son of a... ———."
A short while later, the door to the waiting room slid open.
It was the student from the Festival Preparation Committee who had first greeted us.
"Ahaha, thank you so much for coming today."
"Oh, not at all. We're the ones who are grateful for the invitation."
Kim Seong-hyeon and the student went back and forth, each insisting they were more thankful.
"—Seriously, there are so many students at our school who play IRIX! No, even without that, you guys are just so popular! In the survey we did while preparing for this festival, The Dawn was the number one artist people wanted us to invite! Our budget was so tight that we had to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze again..."
I bet. S University was famous for being stingy and boring compared to other universities.
Money was always the problem.
"A-a-and..."
As I listened to the conversation, the student’s sentences started trailing off strangely, and the talk began to veer into odd directions.
"Ah! I saw that Over-immersion Master clip, and Seo Ho-yun-ssi, you were absolutely amazing! Hahaha! If you hadn't become an idol, wouldn't you have come to our school?"
"Ahaha."
I did go to your school.
And my class year is way ahead of yours.
I simply smiled, crinkling my eyes.
But for some reason, the student seemed to be getting more and more flustered.
"Also... uh, this year's festival was moved up a bit, but originally..."
By the time the student started talking about which department's food stall was the most popular, the road manager contacted us. The manager, who took the call, gestured to the members.
"Let's go now~."
"Okay."
By this point, I had a rough idea of what this student was plotting, but regardless, it was time to leave.
"It was nice talking to you, even if it was brief."
"Wait, wait! Uh??"
"You worked hard!"
"Thank you!!"
"Wait a minute!! I'm sorry, really, just for one second!!"
The student was flustered and couldn't bring himself to grab us, just stomping his feet in desperation. At that moment, the manager, who had been walking ahead and swung the waiting room door wide open, suddenly stopped.
"A rabbit...?"
I craned my neck to look, and there stood the rabbit mascot, making its presence known.
"You're here! You finally came!!"
A voice of relief leaked from behind us.
The Festival Preparation Committee student rushed forward and said, "Ahhh, this friend is also part of our committee, in charge of PR! But, they are a huge, huge, huge fan of The Dawn... especially! A fan of Seo Ho-yun-ssi..."
"Aha."
I knew it.
"A fan of mine~."
"Yes! Yes! Could you, could you all just take one photo together, just for one second?! It's this friend's lifelong wish."
Except for Jeong Da-jun, who approached the mascot and started fiddling with the rabbit's ears and tail, the members' eyes all turned to me.
I gave a bright smile.
"...Well, shall we then?"
So this is how you're going to play it.
As soon as I gave my answer, the members crowded around and struck poses. The person in the rabbit suit, however, just stood there awkwardly, keeping a strange distance from me.
"Okay, I'm taking it! One, two, three!"
The committee student, who had taken the phone from the rabbit mascot, showed burning passion, even rolling on the floor to get the shot.
"Perfect! I'm busy, so I'll be off now!!"
And then, as if throwing it, he returned the phone to the rabbit mascot and made a quick exit alone.
Meanwhile, my eyes followed the familiar phone.
Yes, that phone.
"Hello."
I blocked the path of the rabbit mascot, who was trying to follow the student who had hurriedly left. The person flinched and stepped back as if startled.
"Excuse me."
"..."
"Excuse me?"
As I took a step forward, they took a step back.
"Are you really a 'Noeul'? Hmm, are you shy? Or is it just hard because it's hot?"
"..."
Still, no response.
"Our dear student... aren't you going to answer?"
"...!!"
When I curled my lips into a smile, the mascot's head shook violently from side to side.
I scanned the surroundings; there was only the manager looking at his watch, the members glancing over here, and the security guards waiting with professional expressions.
In one swift motion, I closed the distance and grabbed the rabbit mascot's tail. As their center of gravity shifted, they stumbled, pulled toward me by my strength.
"But I have one thing I'm curious about. Can I ask?"
The rabbit mascot belatedly panicked and tried to struggle and run away, but I was faster.
With my remaining hand, I gripped the rabbit's ears and yanked the head of the costume off, tossing it aside.
"Gah!!"
I cracked my neck and looked down at the person in front of me.
"Seo Ho-jin."
Why was the person who said they were going to the library to study right here?
"Is this the library?"