‘I really am going to all the comeback shows!’
A self-employed café owner in Hongdae and a fervent lover of 2nd-gen K-POP—now a Noeul—stepped into the venue where The Dawn’s comeback show would be held, her heart trembling.
Since she’d fallen for The Dawn at last year’s year-end stage, this was her first time seeing an actual performance.
[We just arrived; which anti are we taking down today, Noeul?]
[Ready to brawl like dogs.]
While skimming others’ posts on social media, she suddenly realized that everyone’s eyes here were blazing just like those words.
It seemed the talk tearing down The Dawn had overheated after they were compared to trainees not long ago.
She hadn’t meant to jump in, and yet before she knew it she was possessed by a keyboard warrior’s spirit.
‘It’s giving me a slight crash of reality....’
As her fingers were busy tapping away, the lights in the venue went out.
“Kyyaaaaaaa!!”
Screams erupted in surround sound from everywhere, and a VCR began to play on the jumbotron.
【—To be honest, I was scared at first.
Could I really pull this off,
could I become someone I wouldn’t be ashamed of in front of the fans.】
‘What is this, it’s starting more wistfully than I thought.’
【But now I think I understand.
That every road I’ve passed has meaning.】
A fully bloomed lotus reversed through time into a bud, then back into a seed; midday’s warm light poured down and the pale blue sky of dawn appeared.
“Waaaaa~!!”
At the same time, the lift rose and the silhouettes of five people appeared.
With the cheers climbing even higher, Seo Hoyun’s voice pierced her ears.
【It was all to meet you.】
She figured they’d set the opening of the comeback show to match this cycle’s title track, “Yeondeunghoe,” but the beat that came in was nothing she had expected.
【Give me, Give me, Give me Second Chance】
“Uwaaaaaahk!!!”
It was “Second Chance.”
Even arranged with an orchestra—grand and majestic.
‘What, did they do this on purpose?’
From the album to the concert to the stage composition, WH Entertainment’s voice weighed heavily in every part. Noeul thought that putting “Second Chance” up front among multiple songs must have been WH Entertainment’s intent as well.
There’s no way they don’t know what people have been saying to The Dawn these days.
It was also something they could do because they were confident they could cover anything even if further controversies piled on afterward.
“Let’s gooo!!! Let’s go!!”
As the excited fans’ shouts burst through the intro, a pin spotlight locked onto Sung Jiwon.
【Give me, Give me, Give me Second Chance.
This sensation buzzing in my head—say it again, that I’m back】
Choreography with not a hair out of place and perfectly in sync looked certainly more relaxed and mature.
【I will come back everytime
Don’t be afraid of this strange déjà vu】
From facial expressions to eye work, down to the tiniest fingertip details.
Even at a glance, The Dawn’s practice amount felt beyond ordinary.
“Seo Hoyuuuuuun!!!”
After the “Second Chance” stage—bewitching like a devil—ended, the members’ greetings followed.
Maybe because it was their first comeback since Daepaseong had been acquired by WH Entertainment, the venue where the show was held, like the album and music video, reeked of money in the air.
And in the middle of it, The Dawn shone without stopping.
‘My babies, born from my heart....’
Next was the b-side “Dive.”
Wearing white silk shirts and holding pale pink handheld mics, the members walked forward.
【In time that’s already cracked
Without weighing pros and cons
I just wish you’d speak honestly】
White smoke rose from the floor like mist over water, and balloons shaped like lotus flowers drifted upward.
【Can you be together? or not?
The words I blurted out, sticky like heat
Like a lotus whose breath has died
Let us dive till the end
Until we surface at the ocean to breathe
We can’t stay trapped in loneliness forever】
Noeul’s chest swelled.
【Let us dive till the end
Until we surface at the ocean to breathe】
She suddenly recognized that the beings she’d watched only through a screen were vividly alive.
She realized the love she’d sent was returning intact—as song, as dance, as affection.
She felt a satisfaction that offset every crash of reality that sometimes washed over her.
‘This is so good....’
The more she truly felt proud of The Dawn, the more violently her lightstick shook.
‘Even if the world ended tomorrow like this, I would have no regrets....’
As the song wrapped and darkness fell and she flailed in emotion for that split second,
【Perhaps we’re looking up at the same moon】
the stage for this title track, “Yeondeunghoe,” began.
“Wuaaaah!!!”
The faint moon on the rear screen faded, and blue lights illuminated the venue, dyed pitch black.
Ripple patterns shimmered across the stage floor, and the lanterns placed around beforehand lit up.
【Retracing the dawns we kept together】
Sitting dead center, Kim Sunghyun stared straight ahead, expressionless. He wore a sleeveless tee clinging tight enough to reveal the shape of his muscles beneath a fluttering blue durumagi embroidered in lavish patterns, paired with ripped jeans and bold sneakers.
As the Noeuls’ clamor peaked for the styling—harmoniously blending modern and past—Jung Dajun appeared, snapping open a fan to open the intro.
【Perhaps we’re looking up at the same moon
Retracing the dawns we kept together】
‘Wow, Jung Dajun is insane.’
Jung Dajun’s tone, fully transformed from boy to young man, seized the fans’ attention at once.
‘Did they all go cultivate on a mountain together?’
On top of that, his dance lines had changed drastically.
The Jung Dajun she knew, nothing but young, was no longer on that stage.
Noeul’s throat clogged so hard with emotion she couldn’t even scream properly.
‘When did our baby elephant grow up like this....’
Covering her mouth with both hands, eyes fixed ahead, she watched as Kim Sunghyun and Seo Hoyun swapped places with a smooth spin.
With one corner of his mouth tilted, just as Seo Hoyun snapped a fan open—pak!—
【Even if it seems like a tiny dot to you
I’ll gladly send as much as it takes】
Charrreuk... tuk.
One panel of the widening fan tore and fell off. The chant continued, but murmurs mixed in here and there.
But Seo Hoyun and the members themselves showed no agitation at all.
【Even if it doesn’t reach that shoreline
Even if it looks like a star about to go out】
Seo Hoyun let the fan drop to the floor and nudged it aside with his foot. Then, thanks to the choreo formation, Kim Sunghyun—half-screened by Sung Jiwon—pushed it to the corner with his hand while dancing.
It was an extremely natural relay.
【Waiting is something I’m good at】
But the problem started now.
In the music video, right after the group choreo centered on the Kim Sunghyun–Kang Ichae pair, Seo Hoyun should have burst between them and snapped a fan open.
Her heart thudded with lingering unease, but The Dawn looked utterly composed.
【Send my heart upon the flower】
As Sung Jiwon’s clear high note soared, a dance break followed to match Kim Sunghyun and Kang Ichae stepping front and center.
At the very peak, Jung Dajun’s fan alone floated up into the air and drifted.
Fwack!
And then, with impeccable timing, Seo Hoyun snatched it and burst straight forward, snapping the fan open.
【Like a rainbow rising lightly】
As if on cue, the members’ and backup dancers’ fans unfurled with a shshshshsh, like rippling waves.
The surrounding cheers were deafening.
【Inside the wishes spreading like waves】
【In emotions surging like waves,
may my lantern ride regrets and drift far away】
“Wow, shit....”
Even as goosebumps prickled her arms and she rubbed them down, Noeul couldn’t tear her eyes away from the stage.
【Even in faded mornings,
even in the shimmering procession of lights,
our days will be dazzling】
Fans opened and closed their fans, lined up and then scattered, reflecting the stage lights as if they were real lanterns glowing.
【In no time at all,
we’ll meet again】
The Dawn gathered slowly at center stage for the ending pose, like a single lotus blossom.
【In no time at all,
we’ll meet again】
While everyone was still lost in the lingering waves of the final note, Noeul saw it—Seo Hoyun flicking Jung Dajun’s cheek with his finger, as if to say, “Well done.”
***
[Still rewatching the comeback show fancams nonstop]
[The live audience reactions were hilarious.
The fan literally ripped apart and people were like, is Hoyun superhuman?
Cancel the rumors about Seo Hoyun’s health immediately.
He didn’t even flinch—stone-cold composure...
we were laughing, then suddenly dead silent.]
[Exactly... Everyone says The Dawn’s like a gagman group, but when he snatched that fan midair, I just screamed.]
[After seeing it from every angle, I finally get how Seo Hoyun and the members handled it.
If I’d only watched the online live, I might’ve thought it was all editing.]
[Wow hahahahahaha how the hell did he catch that? If he’d missed the fan, it would’ve been a total embarrassment.]
[But what makes me cry most is that Jung Dajun threw the fan for Seo Hoyun’s sake...ㅠ]
[Title: “Jung Dajun’s Growth.zip” Did you see it?
Ah hahaha, back at the Japan showcase he was just a baby who threw sneakers on stage...
Hoyun had to kneel down and put his shoes on for him...
And now that same kid can throw a fan to save his hyung on stage... I’m crying.ㅠ
└Dajun is Dajun, but Seo Hoyun catching that fan with such insane timing—he’s just too badass, I keep rewatching.
└└Seo Hoyun really is a madman hahahahahaha]
While Noeuls endlessly chewed over, rehashed, and relived the comeback show, a live alert popped up.
【[THE DAWN Dajun] Going live to tell the fan-throwing story.】
[Hahahahahahahahaha look at this title TLQKF did our maknae just want to brag?! Never misses a chance to show off]
[This puppy, seriously hahahaha]
Logging in, they saw Jung Dajun wearing sunglasses, slowly brushing back his hair as he greeted them.
“Hello, Noeul... yes, it’s your Dajun.”
And then he began explaining every single detail of the comeback show, from the tiniest thing to the biggest.
“...—Hoyun-hyung said the fan was a bit stiff! So I told him to use more force! But just then!! The fan ripped—...!!”
[Baby... you’re really telling us everything]
“...Hoyun-hyung shoved the fan aside and turned back, and then his eyes locked exactly with mine! I swear I’m not lying—his eyes said, ‘Jung Dajun, you’re the only one I can trust.’ And so, thinking I had to save my member in danger—....”
[Baby... please stop now...]
Like a tipsy dad repeating the same story over and over, Jung Dajun kept retelling the fan episode for over an hour.
Kim Sunghyun, who’d been quietly sitting there showing only his face, tilted his head toward Sung Jiwon and whispered,
“Our maknae would’ve looked cooler if he’d just stayed quiet....”
“Sunghyun, shh. Everyone’s thinking the same thing inside.”
Ignoring the hyungs’ interjections, Jung Dajun kept moving his lips.
“After the comeback show ended, Hoyun-hyung told me, ‘As expected, Jung Dajun, if it weren’t for you I might’ve cried on stage.’”
“Hoyun crying? I don’t think so....”
“He’s lying.”
“Hey! Sunghyun-hyung! If I said it happened, then it happened!”
[Seo Hoyun, absent and refusing to tell the story himself, is first-class]
[Our baby elephant is too cute I can’t take it]
Once Jung Dajun finally wrapped up and things settled down, fans started wondering about the two missing members.
[But where are Hoyun and Ichae??]
Behind the still-chattering Jung Dajun, Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon exchanged looks.
They’d known for a while things were a little strange between those two, but they didn’t want Noeul to notice as well.
Whenever similar questions popped up, Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon stepped in to divert the topic.
[Who doesn’t know the rumors about those two having beef?]
But there was no way to block every rumor floating around online.
[KIC says he couldn’t stand living with SHY anymore and left the dorm~]
.
.
.
“Congratulations. At this pace, getting 1st place will be no problem. The stage mishap was handled well too.”
“It honestly wasn’t a big deal.”
Seo Hoyun stroked the orchid on Jung Seonui’s desk and smiled brightly. It was the very smile that once earned him nicknames like “Broadcast Devil” and “Smiling Face,” the kind that could reel in any cast member. But Team Leader Jung Seonui just looked flatly at him.
If anything, her face was full of guarded suspicion: This bastard, how slyly is he going to wag that silver tongue again?
“You know about the recent skill controversy, right, Team Leader?”
“Well, yes. It’s still swirling a bit. But it doesn’t seem to have spread to the general public yet....”
“Then give us a live stage.”
Of course. She should’ve expected this.
Here he goes again.
“...What kind of live? You’re already performing live.”
“I mean without AR. I want to promote with only handheld ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ mics, no backing track. Even better if we could get on a radio program that makes you sing live nonstop for an hour.”
“Wait... that’s not something I can decide alone. It’ll need discussion.”
“Come on, who doesn’t know this is exactly your department, Team Leader Jung.”
Jung Seonui let out a long sigh and carefully laid out why it would be difficult. Seo Hoyun, listening silently, pulled back his lips into a faint smile and nodded.
“Yes, I understand.”
“That’s a relief, then....”
“Haha, so please arrange it.”
“.......”
Jung Seonui felt a stabbing, tightening pain in her gut.
Did this guy stir up the controversy himself just to pull this?
The thought, bitterly rising in her mind, was in fact the correct answer—but she would likely never know it for the rest of her life.
