Chapter 391
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 391
A gaze filled with sincerity behind eyes curved in a smile, and lips pulled into a gentle arc.
As Seo Ho-yun’s face filled the giant digital billboard, the audience seating area instantly erupted in a stir.
[Wow...]
[His visuals...]
Seo Ho-yun slowly opened his mouth again, dropping his gaze slightly.
“...In the letters our fans have sent us, I saw someone write that they had never wished for someone else’s happiness more than their own, but that their mind changed after seeing us...”
It seemed this wasn't something the members had discussed beforehand, as they all looked at Seo Ho-yun with slightly surprised expressions. However, they soon softened their features and listened intently to his words.
“...I was always anxious about whether we could ever repay such sincerity. On the other hand, there were many times I pushed myself, telling myself to spend that time practicing more to show a better side of us instead of worrying.”
As if seeking agreement, Seo Ho-yun tilted his head slightly and looked at Kim Seong-hyeon. At that, Kim Seong-hyeon’s eyelashes trembled.
[Omg, Seong-hyeon and Ho-yun must talk about stuff like that a lot lately...]
[So touching... T_T Look at Seong-hyeon getting choked up at Ho-yun’s words.]
In reality, Seong-hyeon was merely terrified because he didn't know what kind of bomb might be hidden behind that virtuous face, but the fans had no way of knowing the truth.
Having heightened the heartwarming atmosphere to its peak, Seo Ho-yun looked straight ahead, putting even more strength into his voice.
“We still don’t know how to return this love in equal measure... but I want to make one promise so that we aren't ashamed of the award we’ve received.”
He placed a hand over his heart and recited each word with deliberate care.
“We will continue to strive so that you can proudly say you love The Dawn, and so that Noeul can feel glad they chose to support this group.”
Everyone listened to his low, steady voice, which carried a faint tremor at the end. Even those who disliked him or viewed him as a rival were focused as if possessed in that moment.
“I am simply grateful for the fact that we, who might have remained mere strangers, reached one another like a miracle and became your idols.”
Stepping back from the microphone, Seo Ho-yun bowed deeply. The rest of The Dawn followed suit.
The screen then showed them descending from the stage. Kim Seong-hyeon, looking somewhat stiff for some reason, patted the shoulder of Seo Ho-yun, who had his eyes slightly cast down. Seong Ji-won wore a gentle smile, and Jeong Da-jun beamed brightly.
[Whoa...]
[Holy crap, I can’t snap out of it...]
Only Kang Yi-chae had his head bowed, covering his mouth with his hand. He then leaned in and whispered something to Seo Ho-yun. However, his voice was drowned out by the background music.
The scene ended with Seo Ho-yun letting out a smirk and ruffling Kang Yi-chae’s pomaded hair, before the screen transitioned to the lightsticks of Noeul filling the venue of the Mango Music Awards.
[It’s literally a scene from a movie...]
Like stars softly illuminating the darkness, the lightsticks emitted a tranquil glow.
*
In the end, neither High Five nor The Dawn won the Daesang at the Mango Music Awards.
Everyone was puzzled since both groups had achieved results more than worthy of it, but the part of the ceremony that garnered the most attention was Seo Ho-yun’s acceptance speech.
[Honestly, it really felt like a movie. Seo Ho-yun speaking calmly while the members looked at each other with expressions of trust, and then showing the blue lightsticks of the fans at the end... It was just damn beautiful.]
[I’m so jealous of Noeul...]
[Gidang-adoe Seo Ho-yun is a legend...
└ What’s that??
└└ It’s short for “Grateful for the fact that we reached one another like a miracle and became your idols.”
└└ People really shorten everything these days.
└└ Memorize it. It’s on the next exam.]
Seo Ho-yun’s words were clearly an affectionate expression of gratitude toward his fans.
But perhaps it was a testament to his popularity—every single word was met with all sorts of labels and interpretations.
<Seo Ho-yun says, “I was occasionally anxious,” after winning Global Artist Award at MMA! A bold statement!>
<“So you can proudly say you love The Dawn?!” Is he referring to idols who won unfairly?>
Excited by the opportunity, cyber wreckers spliced clips from the Mango Music Awards, added subtitles and robotic voiceovers, and manipulated the situation to suit their narratives.
[He was literally just saying thank you to his fans from start to finish. Calling this a call-out is just forced hate.]
[Ugh, reaching that far... do these people even have lives?? I just thought he spoke well while watching TV.]
[At this point, they’ll say he’s causing a controversy just by breathing lol.]
However, the majority of the public, including the fans, didn't easily buy into such claims.
Of course, there were those who actively supported such videos.
[Guys, do you think Seo Ho-yun’s speech was a diss? Let me know what you think.
└ Obviously a diss lol. It’s so blatant, look at the word choice.]
[Wow, his personality is the same as ever. He’s just learned how to diss elegantly (and sneakily^^)... This man is still my type.]
[But honestly, I was surprised... I saw a Noeul post a photo of part of a letter they sent as proof, saying it sounded like their letter... That means he actually remembered it. It was touching.
└ He’s famous for reading all his letters lol.
└ That was obviously a prepared script. Why are you getting touched all over again? lol.]
Naturally, Lavish’s GMA (Green Music Awards) Daesang acceptance speech, which was rumored to be Seo Ho-yun’s target, resurfaced. Since they hadn't won anything at the Mango Music Awards, their previous comments were dragged back up.
【—CEO of LV Entertainment, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for leading us to this position. We always respect and love you. Oh! And thanks to the fans, too.】
Setting aside the company staff who managed and helped them, they had spent a long time thanking even the GMA staff, only to toss a single "thanks" to the fans at the very end.
Even those who had let it slide at the time began to turn their backs on Lavish now that they were being compared to The Dawn.
At the same time, issues that had been spreading under the surface began to erupt one by one.
[They say a fan turned hater is the scariest...]
[For real... Lavish fans must have been saints considering everything that’s happened.]
Above all, the controversy raged even harder because the GMA voting was restricted to paid members.
《Unfair Award Ceremonies and the Tyranny of Large Corporations... Is This Okay?》
《An Event for Themselves, Filled Only with Falsehood and Hypocrisy - Regarding the Current Trend of Award Ceremonies》
As major news outlets began to take notice of the incident, the situation grew increasingly grave.
Meanwhile, Noeul and Hairi, seeing that the topic was being discussed enough without their intervention, cut ties with each other with surgical precision.
[It was fun while it lasted. Hairi girls, it’s snowing a lot lately, so get home safe.]
[Sigh, I can’t deny I felt reassured teaming up with Noeul.]
[Go.
The next time we meet... we are enemies.
Image_of_two_boys_standing_back_to_back_in_the_middle_of_a_crosswalk_in_the_rain_like_rivals.jpg
└ LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
└└ Ah, Noeuls are seriously so funny lolololol.]
* * *
[Quest Complete!
Following the end of the year-end stages for the GMA (Green Music Awards) and Mango Music Awards (Mango Music Awards), you have generated the highest buzz volume among all existing idol groups for four days each.
Success! 10,000 points awarded.]
[Current Points: 259,000]
‘Nice.’
Three days after the Mango Music Awards ended.
The quest was marked complete once the buzz volume was sufficiently tallied, allowing me to collect the points.
LV Entertainment had been too greedy from the start. Even though they must have expected some backlash, they pushed Lavish so hard that a single small crack eventually caused uncontrollable damage to their image.
‘They should have at least managed the kids better.’
If they had shown even a minimum amount of sincerity to the fans, the fallout wouldn't have been this bad. It would likely be their most painful mistake of the year.
Whether it was when they were a small agency during the Lia Purple collaboration or now that they were absorbed into LV Entertainment, it seemed they had mediocre luck with their labels.
The Mango Music Awards would be busy dealing with protests, and Lavish would have to keep a low profile for a while.
‘Seriously, why covet someone else’s bowl?’
How annoying.
Clicking my tongue, I was recalculating the points left until Seo Ho-jin’s memory reset when Jeong Da-jun, who had been rolling around the dorm living room, suddenly jumped up and said in a tragic tone while clutching his chest.
“We, who might have remained mere strangers...”
“...”
“...reached one another like a miracle and became your idols. I’m so grateful! Kuaaaa!!!”
Stop milking it.
Despite my cold glare, our Mr. Elephant didn't stop chattering.
“Ho-yun hyung, you’re really, reaaaally cool sometimes!! My heart was beating so loud that day, I thought I was going to die... Right, Yi-chae hyung?!”
“Oh, absolutely. I thought my heart was gonna fall out too~.”
Kang Yi-chae chimed in nonchalantly, bouncing his crossed left leg. Jeong Da-jun still seemed oblivious, but Kang Yi-chae had definitely grasped my intention back then.
“Overprotective.”
Because that was what he had whispered as he walked down the stairs.
My gaze, which had briefly lingered on Kang Yi-chae, moved to the phone in my hand. It was to double-check the schedule for the Season’s Greetings and self-produced content shoot in Jeju Island tomorrow. And upon our return, we were scheduled to record for the WH Entertainment concert on January 1st.
Seong Ji-won, who was opening a decaf drip bag and boiling water in the kitchen, asked Kang Yi-chae, who was giggling with Jeong Da-jun.
“Yi-chae, are you all packed for Jeju? Da-jun said he’s done.”
“No, can’t I just borrow your clothes, hyung? Everything from head to toe~. Down to a single sock.”
“Hmm, if you’re really that lazy, I guess you could.”
“...Actually, thinking about it seriously, I’d rather not...”
Kang Yi-chae, who had poked at Seong Ji-won only to get a nonchalant response accompanied by a bright smile, muttered some excuses and flopped onto the floor.
“Well, I can just pack roughly tomorrow morning.”
“Hey, get up. My youngest cousin is nine, and he’s more mature than you. Even he packs his bag the night before school. What are you doing?”
“Wait, Seong-hyeon hyung! I’m the youngest, Jeong Da-jun!!”
“There’s no one named Jeong in our family registry.”
After dealing with the noisy maknaes a bit more, Kim Seong-hyeon finally grabbed Kang Yi-chae by the scruff of his neck and headed to the room to pack the suitcase.
Seong Ji-won, who had walked over to the sofa, handed me a mug filled with decaf coffee.
“Ho-yun, are you all packed?”
“I’m going to borrow your clothes too.”
“Huh? Oh... uuummm...”
I had said it as a light joke, but surprisingly, Seong Ji-won looked quite flustered. Just as I was sipping the hot coffee while observing Seong Ji-won’s real-time panic,
Crash!
The sound of someone falling heavily came from the room Kim Seong-hyeon and Kang Yi-chae had entered.
‘...What now?’
“—Wack!! Ugh!!”
Immediately, Kim Seong-hyeon’s scream leaked out. Soon after, the door flew open and Kim Seong-hyeon practically tumbled out.
“...What’s wrong?”
Thinking Kang Yi-chae might have played a nasty prank, I looked inside, but he also had a bewildered expression.
“Hey, I, I, I...”
I snatched the phone from Kim Seong-hyeon, who was trembling with a beet-red face and repeating the same word. On the screen was a text from Jeong Seon-ui, the Team Leader of WH Management.
[Special collaboration stage added: Ju Woo-seong of Black Call, Kim Seong-hyeon of The Dawn, and Seo Ho-yun. Details on song selection to follow.]
“Talk about supply without demand.”
Just as I was thinking I should request a reconsideration from Jeong Seon-ui, a dazed, dreamlike voice drifted from beside me.
“...A special collaboration stage... with me and Ju Woo-seong sunbae-nim...?”
“...Excuse me, I’m in it too.”
Even though I waved my hand right in front of his face, Kim Seong-hyeon muttered blankly as if he couldn't see anything.
“I-is this for real...?”
“Hello? Kim Seong-hyeon?”
“Can you slap my cheek just once??”
This is starting to get quite offensive.