Chapter 52
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52
[#TheDawn_Kismet_Forever]
[#TheDawn_YouAreMyStar]
[The Dawn Kismet – Special stage]
“Sob….”
[Because you told me, that I can be a star.]
“This is the life, f*ck….”
The moment she heard The Dawn was doing their first B-Live at five this afternoon, the office worker threw her half-day leave at her boss and sprinted home. Now, while stroking her puppy with teary eyes, she was rewatching the special stage on tvK—a performance granted to celebrate their #1 win on Shining Star—before the B-Live started.
I mean, it would’ve been a crime to perform a masterpiece like this only once….
Her heart swelled seeing them look even more relaxed and confident than they had during Shining Star.
Having joined the fandom during Second Chance, she knew exactly how much blood, sweat, and tears The Dawn had shed over the past few months, making this stage feel all the more special.
When she opened her SNS with a proud heart, it was already in a state of total chaos.
[As of today, I am withdrawing my support for The Dawn.
From now on, these boys and I are one single organism.]
[The next song is definitely going to hit #1. It’s a guaranteed #1, guys. Trust me, this is a blue-chip stock!!]
“I’m going all in! Take all my money!!”
She read through the posts with a grin, joining in on the collective fangirling. Her online friends, who had bonded through the hardships of Second Chance and Shining Star, had all pulled the same move—dumping their annual leave to be here.
[B-L-I-V-E]
[It’s been almost a year since they debuted, is it for real that this is their first B-Live?]
[Their agency is such a tiny basement company that they were literally neglected lol. They’re only just now collecting fandom names lol. When will Daepasung get their act together?
└Daepasung: So you’re saying you hate it? Should we cancel the B-Live?
└LMAO f*ck noooo!!! Thank you for your service!!! (scrambles)]
[Who else is even at Daepasung?
└Actor Min Ji-heon is the sole breadwinner.
└Ah, lol. Facts.]
Everyone was excited to see The Dawn’s chemistry, but the biggest point of interest for today’s B-Live was, of course, the fandom name. Which one would they pick from the names submitted by fans? Her heart throbbed with anticipation.
[Let’s communicate! The Dawn’s First B-Live]
“Aaaaah!”
The fan quickly tapped into the B-Live.
—Uh… is it on?
—I think so?
Finally, the B-Live started.
They were in what looked like the agency’s practice room, all dressed in fairly casual clothes. Seo Ho-yun, who was the office worker’s current obsession… had straight hair today.
—Should we say hello first?
[OMG]
[Straight hair is literally heaven…
└I bet he smells good.
└F*ck, this is the textbook definition of ‘I should probably stop talking.’]
However, Seo Ho-yun was dressed in black + black + black from head to toe.
Ho-yun, are you going for the shadow look today too…?
I love anything on your face, but could you please wear something white for once?
Tears threatened to fall again, but since he was handsome, she kept screaming and hitting the screen capture button repeatedly.
—Hello!
—The rising dawn! We are The Dawn!
Perhaps because they were "nugu" idols who had been around for a bit, they greeted the camera with much more intensity and discipline than other high-profile idols. Do idols even do synchronized greetings on B-Live these days…?
She watched them with a motherly smile, having not followed an idol group in so long, but a brief silence hung over the members.
—But is it really working?
—Let me check…. Ah, it is! It’s working!
[LOL it’s working!!]
[The Dawn’s first B-Live!]
—Hello~!
After some initial fumbling, The Dawn finally began to chat comfortably.
Seong Ji-won asked with a smile.
—Did you guys see the Kismet stage today?
[I saw it ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Oppa I love you!!!!]
[♡♡♡♡♡♡♡]
[The stage was so pretty ♡♡♡]
—Thank you so much for coming. The stage set was so beautiful, too….
[Right, right, it was gorgeous!]
…She left that comment on the B-Live, then hopped over to SNS to post something with a completely different vibe.
[Ji-won, the stage set isn’t what’s beautiful right now.
└LMAO f*ckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I’m dizzy... Seong Ji-won is seriously too pretty. I want to go down a slide on that nose bridge.
└Ah, seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
The temperature of the (moderate) chat on B-Live and the posts on Twitter were vastly different, but the level of obsession was the same. The office worker chuckled at the posts, then let out a sigh.
I should have gone in person….
She still regretted not going, but it hadn't been easy.
The viewership for Shining Star had been unexpectedly high, and the public recognition of all the members—especially Kim Seong-hyeon, who had been the biggest topic of conversation—had skyrocketed.
I’ll probably see just how popular they’ve become once they make their comeback with the new song….
She had heard that love calls were pouring in from all sorts of variety shows, but it was still unknown which ones they would actually appear on. Some said they should focus more on the new song to hit #1 as quickly as possible.
The desire for them to stay just as they were and the desire for them to become even more famous fought a fierce battle in her heart.
Still, the boys are so cute.
—The chat is moving so fast.
—Ah, um…. I need to focus to read this.
It was adorable how they would make a comment about the chat moving at light speed, then stop and stare blankly at the monitor.
While the other members were struggling, Seo Ho-yun was reading the chat with incredible efficiency.
It was the result of his years of experience in variety shows.
—Did we eat today? Yes, we did.
—We ordered Jajangmyeon at the practice room!
[Lol, he’s so cute for even telling us the menu.]
[I want to be the one delivering that Jajangmyeon ^-^!!!]
[Are you practicing well~?]
—We’re constantly practicing, yes. For now, we’re just working on the basics.
As Seo Ho-yun and Kang Yi-chae worked in tandem to read the chat, a malicious comment flashed by.
[Ho-yun, are you not getting hit by eggs anymore? lol]
[What a shame, the egg incident was so much fun haha]
It happened to be in the section Seo Ho-yun was focusing on.
Fck!!*
People like that should be fed prison food! The office worker clenched her fists and slammed the table.
Please tell me he didn’t see that.
—…….
Kang Yi-chae’s expression stiffened slightly, suggesting he had read it too, but he quickly smoothed it over, conscious of the camera.
Surprisingly, the corners of Seo Ho-yun’s mouth—the one being insulted—curled up slightly.
—We’re going to order food with the guys again in a bit.
Did he not see it?
[Ah, Seo Ho-yun is obsessed with food.]
[Food. Mad. Ho.]
[A true food maniac.]
—Hyung, they say you’re obsessed with food.
—A Korean must eat three meals a day….
—Ho-yun hyung, he’s starting again!
Kang Yi-chae also laughed and joked with Ho-yun, and Ho-yun played along naturally.
Phew, I guess he didn’t see it.
It seemed she wasn't the only one who had caught that comment with hawk-like eyes; private SNS accounts were momentarily in a frenzy.
[Ho-yun didn’t see it, right???]
[Ah f*ck, those kinds of bastards really need to be killed, sigh…… Lord, I’m sending one more to you today.]
[But Seo Ho-yun looks so handsome when he smiles slightly;;;;; (I have officially lost my mind)]
Fortunately, the B-Live chat was moving so fast that the negative comments were buried instantly without a chance to gain traction.
…Yeah, it’s better for the fans not to react. It’ll only draw more trolls, and we don’t need any more of that.
While the fan was cooling her anger, the main topic of the day finally emerged on the B-Live.
—Then, should we reveal the fandom name today?
—Yes!!
—Are you excited?
—Yeees~!
[Aww, the babies are having so much fun lol]
[So cute ㅠㅠ]
As Seo Ho-yun built up the hype, Kim Seong-hyeon fumbled to pull out a card. The atmosphere was as tense as an awards ceremony.
—Thank you so much for submitting so many beautiful names. Our company carefully reviewed them and narrowed down the candidates.
—Yes! And after that, we consulted with the company and made our choice.
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Anything is fine, guys.]
[If The Dawn picked it themselves, the fandom name could be ‘Cabbage’ for all I care.]
—Our fandom name is….
—…….
—Are you curious?
—Booo~!
Kim Seong-hyeon, who had been peeking at the card, suddenly stopped and crinkled his eyes playfully. Jeong Da-jun, unable to handle the suspense, suddenly pounced on him.
—Aaaah! The suspense is killing me!
—Ack!
—Just say it already!
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Jeong Da-jun is a true Korean…]
[The ‘Hurry Hurry’ nation.]
Because Jeong Da-jun pounced and even Kang Yi-chae joined in (saying it looked fun), Kim Seong-hyeon was pinned to the floor for a moment before pushing them off and standing up. His disheveled hair and trembling eyelashes perfectly illustrated the hardships of being an idol leader.
—Whew…. Okay, okay.
—Booo! Hurry! Hurry!
—I said okay.
[The face of a breadwinner.png]
[Ah, they’re seriously so cute lol]
[Kim Seong-hyeon’s annoyed face is so cute ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
—Our fandom name has been decided as… ‘Noeul’!
Noeul?
The office worker’s brain started working rapidly. Since the group was ‘The Dawn,’ they must have chosen something related to that….
But why ‘Noeul’ (Sunset/Glow)?
Feeling like it hadn't been given much thought, the fan—who had suddenly become a ‘Noeul’ without her consent—wore a complicated expression.
It seemed many people felt the same way, as the SNS reaction was lukewarm.
[Hmm, what does it mean?]
[Did the company just pick it….]
[How are international fans supposed to say that? f*ck lol Daepasung has zero sense.]
[Guys, f*ck, cheer for it. You said you’d be fine with Cabbage.]
At that moment, Seong Ji-won explained with a smile.
—We are ‘The Dawn,’ right? ‘Noeul’ doesn’t just mean the sunset at dusk. It also refers to the phenomenon where the sky is dyed red by the sunlight at dawn, when the sun is about to rise.
—Yes, yes!
—We hope that our fans will always be with us like that glow when the dawn approaches. …That’s the meaning behind the name.
[Ha… such a deep meaning…… (GIF of someone slamming their head against a bottle)]
[Seong Ji-won-ssi, I loved it from the very beginning.
└Look at this person’s 180-degree turn.
└But… but our Ji-won said… (crying into fists)]
[I’m so over-immersed right now, just staring into the void.]
Seo Ho-yun, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
—I’m glad we have a fandom name now. I’ve always wanted to call you something.
Seo Ho-yun smiled softly. It felt much more intimate and better than his usual provocative, broadcast-ready persona.
That gaze piercing through the camera is a crime, fck….*
[Noeul, okay okay. It’s time for international fans to learn Korean anyway.]
[└Facts~]
The ‘Noeuls,’ who had quickly changed their tune, moved on to the next topic.
[When is the next song coming out??]
[when r u coming back?]
The fans, always hungry for new music and activities, threw out all sorts of bait, but The Dawn subtly ignored them and moved on.
The boys will tell us when the time is right….
The office worker scratched her puppy under the chin, savoring the happy moments.
It was their first B-Live, yet it was already crossing the three-hour mark. One might expect them to be tired, but the fans were still busy building up TMI and analyzing each member’s personality.
[Seong Ji-won is surprisingly… a klutz ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I knew Seong-hyeon was kind, but I didn’t know he was this sweet. Jeong Da-jun was bouncing around and he tied his shoelaces for him in case he tripped ㅠㅠ I love that kind of delicate consideration.
└The size difference of his hands is what really gets me.]
[The hyung-line (same-age friends) is surprisingly soft lol and the younger ones are so full of energy.]
[It’s been over 3 hours. Why do these kids love their fans so much? Did they even order the chicken?]
Ah, the boys need to eat….
—Oh! The chicken is here!
—Maknae~!
—Ah, you only use me at times like this….
—You can have the leg.
—Jeong Da-jun, I’ll be right back!
At the cool offer of the chicken leg, Jeong Da-jun dashed out as if he’d been waiting for it.
The members watched him with fond eyes for a moment before returning to their chat. Soon, Jeong Da-jun returned, humming a song while carrying the chicken bags.
—Chi-chi-chi-chicken, let’s eat~, delicious chicken~!
[Jeong Da-jun ㅋㅋㅋㅋ he’s good at composing.]
[Yi-chae’s gonna be jealous of Da-jun’s composing skills.]
Jeong Da-jun babbled the lyrics while setting out the chicken and cola.
It was then. Perhaps he was too excited for the chicken in front of him, but another melody slipped out of his mouth.
—You’re my key~.
[????]
[???]
—Mmm-hmm, you’re my only answer~.
—Da-jun!
—……Ha.
In an instant, the atmosphere froze.
Seong Ji-won hurriedly covered Jeong Da-jun’s mouth, and Seo Ho-yun let out a hollow laugh, looking dumbfounded.
—Oh…….
—Uh…….
—Ahem!
—One moment!
Kim Seong-hyeon hurriedly turned off the B-Live.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, guys ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Is that a spoiler? Did he just drop a spoiler?]
[Ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋ they really turned off the B-Live ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“Ah!! What was that!”
The office worker burst out laughing. She had been setting up her own meal to eat along with them and almost choked.
A few minutes later, the B-Live turned back on.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Oppa what’s going on??]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Oppa, hello!!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Seo Ho-yun’s face looked closer, as if he had logged in via phone. He greeted them shamelessly.
—Hello, Noeuls.
[HIS FACE IS HEAVEN]
[I was so shocked by his face I dropped my food f*ck is he even human]
[How does Seo Ho-yun not have his own country yet???]
[He is our King (GIF of someone bowing)]
—Yes, everyone, there was a brief broadcast accident. Jeong Da-jun-ssi is currently reflecting on his actions in the next room.
(Hyungs, I’m sorry!)
[Da-jun got quarantined, OMG ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Soon after, Seong Ji-won appeared with his hand still over Jeong Da-jun’s mouth. Seo Ho-yun captured the scene on camera and said calmly.
—His punishment is a five-minute ban on speaking.
—Oh, suddenly Jeong Da-jun-ssi is… writing something? What is it?
Having prepared it in a hurry, Jeong Da-jun scribbled on a piece of A4 paper and held it up. Kang Yi-chae, who was next to him, read it aloud.
—(Can I eat the chicken?)
—Ah~, what should we do about this?
—Then you have to shove it in within 0.5 seconds.
—And then shut your mouth again.
—(ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ)
[The cold world of idols….]
“What… they all look so close… what is this….”
—Hey, eat slowly.
—Want some cola?
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, when he actually tries to shove it in, the hyungs laugh and tell him to eat slowly… so that’s the punishment.
└Ho-yun, I can shove it in too.
└I want to be scolded by Seong-hyeon to eat slowly too.
└└I want to tell you to snap out of it, but me too.]
[The kids are playing so cutely.]
[Maybe it’s because they went through hard times together ㅠㅠㅠ they don’t feel like a ‘business’ group ㅠㅠ so cute.
└They’re for real. Can I be fooled again?
└Let’s be fooled together.
└Okay okay lol]
—Then, we’ll head back to practice now!
After eating the chicken and continuing the B-Live for another hour, The Dawn waved goodbye with smiles.
Before Seo Ho-yun finally turned off the camera, he paused for a brief moment.
—Since it’s come to this, please look forward to it.
Thanks to Seo Ho-yun’s meaningful parting words, The Dawn’s name briefly trended on SNS that day before disappearing.
* * *
After Shining Star ended, several weeks flew by in a blur of hectic days. With their sudden surge in recognition, they were busy with regional events, and the song ‘Kismet’ could be heard frequently on the streets.
At this rate, they were bound to get good results as soon as they released their next song. They were, but….
“I want to check the hidden trait.”
[You have checked the hidden trait.]
[??? is being unlocked.
Congratulations! >_<
You have obtained the ‘Acting’ trait!!]
[Seo Ho-yun
Is he an idol or an invasive species…?
Singing: A
Dancing: C+
Variety: B+
Acting: B-
???: ???
???: ???
Charm: B+]
“It’s trash.”
[…….]
The Acting trait had been unlocked. Even though I was often scolded for not putting enough emotion into my singing, I was already a B- without doing anything.
“Sigh….”
Me? Why?
No, before that, if you were going to give me something, you should have raised my dancing stat instead.
I had somewhat escaped being a ‘Ttukttak-i,’ but an idol’s lifeblood was dancing and singing. At a peak time like this, I wanted an ability that could boost the whole team rather than just me individually.
Of course, if an idol member was good at acting, it had its advantages. There was still a lot of controversy surrounding ‘idol actors,’ but it was still a good way to raise the team’s recognition and generate buzz.
However, a ‘B-’ stat meant that while it wasn't bad for an idol, it was an awkward level that wouldn't exactly captivate the public, depending on the role.
In short, if I went out with this now, I wouldn't hear anything good.
It’s not even that great, and after all that work to unlock a trait, it’s just mediocre….
I clicked my tongue and decided to ignore the perk. There was no point in worrying about a hidden trait that wasn't much help right now.
Leaving the system window pouting at my ‘trash’ comment, I headed to the studio to work on the next song with the members.
“Composer-niiiim!”
As soon as Kang Yi-chae entered the studio, he ran over to Im Hyeon-su. They shared a flashy high-five.
“Disciple, you have arrived.”
“Is Master Cheong-beom in good health?”
“Not bad, thanks to my disciple.”
“It is such an honor!!”
What is this now….