Chapter 61
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 61
[#1!!!]
The Noeuls were practically in a party mood. They were laughing and crying at the same time. The core fans, who had been there since the beginning, were especially losing their minds.
[#1… #1… #1… Ah, holy sh*t, is this for real or a dream? Is this actually happening? AHHHHHHHHHH, I love this so much!]
[They’re the fastest among this year’s rookies. What’s up with them?
└ Sajaegi?
└ Shining Star + Empty house robbery.
└└ Ah, lol, they really used their heads.]
[The kids started bawling the moment #1 was announced, lolololol. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ It’s so funny but sad and touching and great all at once. ㅠㅠㅠ I didn’t know I was such a crybaby...]
[Meanwhile, Kang Yi-chae and Seo Ho-yun are per-fect-ly fine.
└ Those two are the epitome of strong personalities.]
The reaction to the win itself was positive. Perhaps because of the image of them struggling on Shining Star, everyone was deeply immersed in the narrative.
[Wow, this really feels like a novel setting. Total nobodies -> Appearing on Shining Star -> Skyrocketing -> #1. I’m so proud I could die...]
The fact that this song was just as good as the last one also played a huge role in minimizing any noise.
Meanwhile, once The Dawn’s stage and Seo Ho-yun’s fancams were released….
[Hull.]
Seo Ho-yun’s individual fans seemed flustered.
[;;; What’s up with our God-tier baby?]
[Why is he so good at dancing? He must have practiced so much. ㅠㅠㅠ I’m so proud it’s making me go crazy.]
[What is Seo Ho-yun lacking now… He has the face, the vocals, the dance, and even variety skills…
└ Manners.
└ LMAO, holy sh*t, hahahahaha. I’m literally wheezing right now.]
Of course, the Noeuls made sure not to mention his "godly" personality.
Casual fans might not know, but those who were "obsessed" with Seo Ho-yun seemed to have a grasp on his true character.
They knew that while he was sweet to his fans in his own way… he was fundamentally strong-willed and not exactly the type to be kind to everyone.
In fact, those who had "bet their lives" on Seo Ho-yun remained steadfast regardless of any controversy. Even when Seo Ho-yun had called out Today, some fans just laughed it off with an otherworldly level of coolness.
[It’s just because Ho-yun is a baby, lol.
└ Hahaha, crazy. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└└ You laughing?
└└└ Sorry.]
[Our bunny can be like that, teehee.
└ Facts, facts, lol.]
Like idol, like fan—they were so brazen it would have horrified the other members if they ever saw it.
Regardless, the fans, who were becoming increasingly formidable in many ways, celebrated Seo Ho-yun’s remarkable growth with laughter.
On Nutube, clickbait titles like [Ttukttak-i Seo Ho-yun, The Evolution of His Dance] began to proliferate. While the number of complimentary comments grew, a growing feast was bound to attract flies.
[He’s only good at that because it’s his own part, lol. You can tell the level of a group when fans praise an idol for barely memorizing their own part.]
Naturally, the fans ignored them.
[Wow, look at the jealousy seeping in~~ Ah, this is so thrilling, lol. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[This is proof he did a damn good job, right? ㅋㅋㅋ]
They were almost annoyed for a second, but these weren't the kind of fans to be dragged around by such things. They knew that as his popularity grew, the trolls would only become more rampant.
However, even these trolls vanished in an instant when the #1 pledge fancam was released.
[The Dawn ‘Ocean Train’ Encore Stage – Congrats on #1!]
[Pledge Part Swap Summary!
Seong Ji-won → Kang Yi-chae
Kang Yi-chae → Jeong Da-jun
Jeong Da-jun → Seo Ho-yun
Seo Ho-yun → Kim Seong-hyeon
Kim Seong-hyeon → Seong Ji-won
Please hit like! ♡]
Whether they had decided on a comedic concept or not, the rap and vocal parts were completely swapped.
Watching Seong Ji-won awkwardly spit out rap lines while taking over Kang Yi-chae’s part, even his die-hard fans had to squeeze their eyes shut.
[He did memorize it….
The rhythm is right too…
His diction is good…
But why…]
[Ji-won-ah… Just sing.]
[Ji-won, don’t do what you want.
└ Hahaha, everyone is so cold.]
And Kang Yi-chae mimicked Jeong Da-jun’s unique singing style so well, waving his hands around as if possessed by him, that everyone lost it.
[Kang Yi-chae is so shameless, lol. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I saw Jeong Da-jun for a split second.
└ This guy has such a strong personality but his character is so good. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s the definition of ‘my pace.’
└ He’s the type who would’ve been top-tier in any group…. You can’t help but love him.]
Next was Jeong Da-jun. He tried to act cool by sweeping his hair back and making various gestures, but in the eyes of the fans, he was just adorable.
[Lol, he’s just Jeong Da-jun.
└ Jeong Da-jun: ㅠㅠ;;
└ Hahaha, our baby. ㅠㅠ He’s so cute.]
Kim Seong-hyeon sang Seong Ji-won’s part smoothly and diligently. His vocal tone was surprisingly good, causing a stir among the fans.
[What… What is this…
What’s with Kim Seong-hyeon singing the main vocal part all by himself…]
[This guy has too many character traits…… If he were a 2D character, people would be cursing at the author for having no conscience for giving him so many settings…….]
Everyone was enjoying the part swap, whether for the comedy or the unexpected talent, but the one who stood out the most was Seo Ho-yun. At first, he seemed to hesitate while taking on Kim Seong-hyeon’s part, but even during the dance break, he danced well, controlling his power and hitting the beats perfectly.
[????]
[Huh???]
He was still a long way off compared to Kim Seong-hyeon, but he seemed to have reached the average level of other idols. His dance lines were clean and pretty, drawing even more attention.
[What? Seo Ho-yun dances well even when it’s not his part??]
[He puts power where it’s needed and controls his movements well.]
[While Kim Seong-hyeon is powerful and disciplined, Ho-yun is precise and good at controlling his strength. His facial expressions are great too, I’m literally watching this with my fist in my mouth. ㅠㅠ
└ Gross, take your fist out of your mouth.
└└ Hmph.]
[Hey, all you people who said he can’t dance if it’s not his part, come out! Let’s go a round~!!! (Big smile, f*ck~!!)]
The reaction was flowing exactly in the direction Seo Ho-yun had intended.
* * *
“I really have no conscience.”
I said as I threw on a gray jacket. No matter how much I thought about it, I really lacked a conscience. Jeong Da-jun, who was still a high schooler, was bouncing around full of energy as he grumbled.
“I want to stop wearing school uniforms now.”
“Ah~, you’re at a good age.”
“Ho-yun, why do you say it like that? It’s only been four years for you too.”
No, it’s actually been a really long time for me. I wanted to say that in response to Seong Ji-won’s jab, but I decided against it.
The Dawn was set to appear on a talk show program. The concept was to become students in school uniforms and determine the true ‘Jjang’—the top dog—through dance battles and talk segments.
‘Kang Yi-chae, go.’
‘Okay.’
After finishing preparations for the shoot, we walked down the hallway toward the classroom set, following the staff’s guidance.
For a concept like this, the shameless and sly Kang Yi-chae was the perfect fit.
He took the lead, kicking the classroom door open with a bang and sauntering in. Then, he slammed his palm down on the teacher’s podium.
“Who’s the Jjang here?”
‘I see a lot of familiar faces.’
The celebrities I had ruthlessly tormented during my PD days cheered, knowing nothing of my past.
“It’s The Dawn!!”
“Hi, guys.”
Following him, Seong Ji-won entered while waving his hand gently, and the rest of the members entered the classroom one by one. We stood in a line, greeting them with smiles.
“We’re here to take over this school.”
“Hahaha!”
The filming proceeded smoothly. Since the cameras were rolling outside the set, and given their fame, everyone was committed to the concept.
“I heard Yi-chae composed the song this time?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“You must’ve made some good money, then? How much did you make?”
“Becoming endlessly hideous for the sake of a little money… I’ve seen it so much I’m sick of it.”
I glanced at him as those words suddenly came to mind, but Kang Yi-chae answered nonchalantly with a swagger.
“Ah~, unfortunately, the royalties haven’t come in yet.”
Kang Yi-chae gave a playful wink toward the camera.
“Please transfer to Yi-chae quickly!”
This guy really keeps business and personal life separate.
Everyone erupted in boos at his relaxed attitude.
They teased Jeong Da-jun for crying too much and asked Seong Ji-won if he was really a ‘Tiger Teacher.’ When it was Kim Seong-hyeon’s turn, they tried to touch on the school violence rumors indirectly to create an emotional moment, but Kim Seong-hyeon… well, he avoided the topic with a sour expression.
‘Yeah, don’t do it. It’ll backfire.’
After the stage was set for each member to have their moment, it was finally my turn. The celebrities suddenly leaned forward.
“Ho-yun, I heard you’re really smart?”
“Huh?”
I put on a troubled smile.
I was wondering what they’d bring up, so it’s this.
“No, I wouldn’t say that much.”
“What do you mean? We saw it all on TV. You’re good at English, and you can memorize dances in one go.”
‘Hmm…….’
Compliments were nice, but if I got stuck with that image, the fans might get bored.
It would be hearing the same story over and over again. I wondered if there was something fresher, but outwardly, I just gave a polite smile.
“Haha, it’s nothing special.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…But you’re really handsome.”
“I’m genuinely surprised….”
I think I heard similar things during first meetings back when I was a PD. Of course, once the program started and we began working together, it was no secret that they called me ‘Smiling Psycho’ behind my back because I was so good at ruthlessly tearing people down while smiling.
‘Ah, those were the days.’
I really missed it.
Now that I was in the position of the underdog.
“I think there are about ten cameras pointed that way right now?”
I waited calmly while listening to a celebrity with a playful image complain.
‘By the way, there’s nothing that’s really landing a punch….’
Just as I was starting to rev up my variety PD ego, thinking that we needed a big hit soon… the next corner began.
It was called [You Die, I Die]. It was a secret-revealing segment with a rather cocky title.
“Hey~, let’s tell some scary stories.”
“Yeah, let’s do it!”
As the classroom dimmed and the sound of thunder echoed, the comedians among the cast performed a skit to set the mood.
On a rainy day, the students in the classroom each shared an interesting story.
It was a chance to show off a star’s wit and head home!
“Alright, who’s going first?”
I was preparing to open my mouth when Kang Yi-chae suddenly raised his hand with confidence.
“Yi-chae will do it.”
“Yi-chae, why do you keep saying your own name?”
“So you’ll remember it well.”
Ding!
[Isn’t he just acting cute?]
I agreed with that sentiment.
Anyway, Kang Yi-chae walked out with a solemn expression and slammed both palms on the podium to draw everyone’s attention.
“This is a shocking true story I experienced.”
“What is it? What is it?”
“The protagonist this time isn’t me, but Ho-u Ho-u Hyung.”
“Ho-u Ho-u?”
“Ho-yun Hyung. His former stage name.”
‘This punk?’
Kang Yi-chae’s finger pointed at me. I crossed my arms and legs with a thud for show. The production crew seemed to think it was a joke and let out warm laughter, but I was actually breaking into a cold sweat because I had no idea what was coming. …Since there were so many outrageous or off-putting things I’d done.
‘No, Kang Yi-chae isn’t that thoughtless.’
He wouldn't say anything that would ruin my image.
But then there’s nothing. All the things I’ve said lately were related to Today, so they’d be edited out anyway….
While I was racking my brain like a malfunctioning computer, Kang Yi-chae’s story began.
“That day… it was raining hard, just like today.”
As if to match the atmosphere, Kang Yi-chae whispered in a low, eerie voice. Drawn in by it, even Kim Seong-hyeon leaned in to focus on the story.
‘A day it rained hard……?’
“What is it? Ho-yun, do you know?”
“No, not at all….”
I answered Seong Ji-won while quickly calculating in my head, but I still couldn't figure it out.
“It was the day before the final broadcast of Shining Star….”
“Shining Star? You mean the last broadcast where you did the Kismet stage?”
“Yeah, exactly. You know it well. Back then, there was a lot of talk about whether Shining Star would continue or not. But what could we do? We all just practiced hard in the practice room.”
I felt a slight sense of unease.
“We were practicing hard, determined to get #1, and we were about to head back because we were so tired…… but Ho-yun Hyung said he was going to stay behind to practice more.”
“Ho-yun did?”
“Yeah. But we just thought, ‘Oh, okay.’ Because Hyung is a practice bug. There was even a time he practiced without sleeping while he was sick and ended up in the emergency room.”
“Gasp, the emergency room?”
Stirred voices echoed through the set.
Jeong Da-jun nodded as if to chime in.
“Hyung suddenly collapsed. Everyone was panicking, it was no joke.”
“Wow~! You really worked hard. That’s cool.”
Since it was a pain I had calculated, I felt a bit guilty having everyone’s eyes on me, but the title of ‘Idol who was rushed to the hospital while practicing hard’ wasn't going to hurt, so I just let it be.
Honestly, my anxiety lay elsewhere.
‘What… what was it?’
“Anyway… Ho-yun Hyung is always calm and cool-headed. He said he was going to practice. So we were on our way back when we suddenly got a call. They said the Shining Star program would continue. It was good news for us, right? So I called Ho-yun Hyung to let him know.”
Kang Yi-chae tapped on the podium.
A rainy day.
The day of the final Shining Star practice.
The day he practiced alone.
“But he wasn’t answering.”
“……!!”
‘I remember!!’
Feeling like I was screwed, I bolted upright and ran to the podium. I struggled to cover Kang Yi-chae’s mouth. Kang Yi-chae bit his lip to hold back his laughter and tried to dodge me, but he couldn't stop my desperate strength.
The startled comedians stood up.
“Whoa, whoa, Seo Ho-yun-ssi, you can’t do this!”
“Stop, let’s stop. Let’s cut.”
If this got out, I felt like I’d want to die right then and there. I practically tackled him, hugging him as I tried to stop that wicked mouth of his. The other members, still clueless, just watched the situation with question marks all over their faces.
“Hey, you really….”
“Hyung! I’m getting you variety screen time.”
“Please, Yi-chae.”
There’s something here, something big.
The comedians, who had picked up on it with their ghost-like intuition, chuckled as they pulled us apart.
“Wow~, seeing Ho-yun react like this, there really must be something!”
“Ah, what is it? I’m so curious.”
A disheveled Kang Yi-chae stood up from under the podium. Then he said solemnly.
“The truth cannot be stopped, Hyung.”
Laughter erupted even among the staff. Faced with the predicted humiliation, I retreated to a corner alone, curled up on a chair, and covered my face to escape reality. I could feel the camera zooming in on me.
“Since Hyung wasn’t answering, I went back to the practice room. I was worried he might have collapsed again. But I couldn't just barge in if he was practicing, right? So I peeked through the door—.”
Kang Yi-chae gestured as if slowly opening a door.
“—And Ho-yun Hyung was practicing his aegyo.”
“WAAAAAAH!”
“UAAAAAAAH!”
“He was going, ‘You. Are. So. Cute. Heart. Shat. Ter. Heart. Shat. Ter.’ (Sim-ga-kae, Sim-ga-kae).”
Watching Kang Yi-chae mimic the situation by tapping his index fingers together, the comedians screamed as they felt the secondhand embarrassment.
“……What did you say?”
“Did I hear that wrong….”
The rest of the members either picked at their ears or stared at the ceiling as if they’d heard something they shouldn't have.
This punk….
I thought he was a good guy for not telling the members, but f*ck, he was just holding it in to expose me in front of the whole nation.
Kang Yi-chae let out a deep sigh.
“I couldn't believe if what I was seeing… was a dream or reality. Ho-yun Hyung isn't that kind of person……. You’ll know if you ask the members.”
“What’s his personality usually like?”
When a curious comedian asked, Seong Ji-won answered with a hollow laugh.
“Uh…… he’s calm and cold-headed. He’s absolutely, definitely not the type to do that….”
“Exactly! That’s the kind of person he is. He’s not someone who would ever do something that would make him lose face.”
This trash of a human being, Kang Yi-chae, was even building up the atmosphere with the people around him.
“But a person like that was doing ‘Sim-ga-kae, Sim-ga-kae.’”
“And then? And then?!”
“Our eyes met through the mirror. His face turned completely pale.”
“Kang Yi-chae……!”
When I bolted upright, the people around me were ready and grabbed my arms to sit me back down. The set was already filled with the screams and laughter of people (feeling secondhand embarrassment).
“So, fearing Hyung would be embarrassed, I very quietly delivered the news and left.”
“Hahahaha!”
“At that moment, as I walked out, I thought to myself.”
Kang Yi-chae finished by sweeping his hair back and muttering with a pitiful face.
“This Hyung… is really working hard to live.”
“Wuhahaha!”
“Wow, that’s a legendary story! I acknowledge it!”
As the target of the humiliation, I just lay face down on the desk and stayed dead. I thought it would be better to hide my presence and act like I wasn't there.
“Ho-yun-ssi, Ho-yun-ssi, you have to say something!”
“Was it for the fans?!”
The cast members were so excited they even forgot the informal speech concept. The comedians kept making a fuss next to me, asking if I’d fainted, so I eventually had to trudge out to the podium.
Kang Yi-chae was smiling brightly and obnoxiously.
‘He didn't just fill the 2 percent gap, he filled it 200 percent. Ha….’
“Hyung, please give us your thoughts.”
“…If the fans like it, isn't that all that matters?”
When I spoke honestly with a hollow expression, even the staff went beyond laughter and were practically sobbing. Kang Yi-chae, as if about to burst into laughter again, leaned over the podium and started wheezing as if he were wailing.
“You’re so lovely, Sim-ga-kae….”
It was the most depressing ‘Sim-ga-kae, Sim-ga-kae’ in the world.
In the end, I had to perform aegyo three times upon request to reenact the situation and continue filming while being completely drained. The staff even waved their sketchbooks like madmen, asking for more.
‘These crazy people….’
No, I’m the one who’s crazier….
Half-giving up, I read the lines written on the sketchbook.
“Ho-yunie was… just born pwetty….”
“Waaaah! So embarrassing!”
“But people keep saying I’m acting pwetty… so it’s hard for Ho-yunie too. Hng, hng.”
‘My life…….’
“Seo Ho-yun, please! Please stop!”
Kim Seong-hyeon, that punk, didn't even realize it was because of him and laughed so hard he slipped and fell off his chair.
He doesn't even know who raised him, f*ck….