I camped in the management team’s office until they gave in, and maybe because Jung Seonui wanted me out of her sight quickly, she raised the white flag faster than expected.
Well, after seeing The Dawn’s skills over the past few months, she must have judged that it wasn’t such a bad proposal—just risky enough to be worth a new challenge.
[The Dawn’s hand mics are insane;;;;]
On the first week of our comeback, The Dawn used hand mics on every music broadcast. For WH Entertainment, it was an unusually bold decision.
[LOOOLLL Hey, Seo Hoyun, why do you keep changing the lyrics during music shows?]
[Who are you even aiming at?
Is it a jab at Jung Dajun, or at the “live performance purists”?
└Nobody thinks it was a mistake hahaha
└└No way the bunny would mess up lyrics lololol That guy’s too damn smart]
Even intentionally changing the lyrics brought good reactions.
[The Dawn’s powerful vocals are insane
└Did you watch the rehearsal?? Ha.. fuck, it’d be enough if they were just handsome... but they sing well too... I’m crying
└└LMAOOO the way you wrote this is hilarious.. watching them bounce up and down excited by fan chants was too cute]
[No, but since they promised ice cream as a pledge I thought they’d barely sing... how the hell did they sing this well looooool]
[Guys, congratulations on first place TT_TT I’m so proud of you for working so hard without losing your original drive♡♡]
[The Dawn is getting bashed everywhere these days... but how can you not love a boy group who sounds like they swallowed a CD from first verse to last?]
[Their live sounds better than the recording???? I’m shocked]
Even the encore got good reviews.
[Holy shit, my boys are on that infamous radio show lolololololol WH had always avoided it because it’s live only... The Dawn is the real deal hahahaha]
[Real-time harmonization, crazy,,,,,,, singing for an hour straight without tiring]
[Where are the assholes saying “post-editing” now~~~~!!!!]
Every once in a while skilled idols appeared, but WH Entertainment had never sent their artists to that radio program. Yet The Dawn did.
And all this happened within a single week of comeback.
“—Well, the negative opinions comparing them with trainees disappeared completely. Some people say they’re flexing, but the stronger opinion is that it’s nice to see them always working hard even after achieving a certain career milestone.”
“What about the skill controversy?”
“It’s gone quiet. In fact, it turned into a positive image with the public. Performing all live worked out really well. Short edited clips are spreading on SNS. And since they’ll perform a rearranged live of the title track at an upcoming schedule in a few days, that should nail it down.”
Lee Jihyun pushed up her glasses, then kept swiping her °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° tablet screen.
With a stable first-place win and album sales skyrocketing, all the staff in The Dawn’s dedicated team were smiling despite days of late-night overtime.
“Ha... honestly, just looking at your face, Seo Hoyun, fills me up... no, never mind.”
“You’re full because of the bonus, not me.”
“Krhhk, busted.”
She slapped both her cheeks hard and regained composure. I just looked at her blankly. I was used to juniors doing that since my PD days.
“Ahem, anyway. They say a true star drives both fans and haters crazy... once one controversy clears up, now a disunity rumor popped up.”
“Disunity? Between who?”
I leaned back in my chair, checking a text. Sung Jiwon had messaged asking to head back to the dorm together.
“Between Kang Ichae and Seo Hoyun.”
My hand stopped mid-reply. I lifted my gaze.
“What nonsense. What group gets along as well as The Dawn?!”
I hit send, then just listened to Lee Jihyun’s grumbling.
‘So, did someone notice, or did they just stumble onto it?’
Truthfully, I had avoided being alone with Kang Ichae. But I’d never let it show on camera, and I’d been careful in every way.
I was retracing where the problem might have started when Lee Jihyun’s shaky voice cut in.
“...Wait, wait. Why won’t you meet my eyes. Don’t tell me...”
“......”
“...No, it doesn’t matter whether you really fought. I don’t need to know the details.”
She set down her tablet with an unusually sharp expression.
“Whatever it is, resolve it quickly and smoothly! You know fans are extremely sensitive about these things, right?”
“Yes, yes.”
I crossed my right leg casually.
‘Not something I can just “resolve” because I want to.’
Even if Kang Ichae blew everything up and tried to sabotage promotions, I’d probably just let him. He’d always shown signs like that whenever I was sick.
He was diligently doing schedules and smiling for fans—no reason to stir him up unnecessarily.
Still, part of me thought, if he didn’t actually want to ruin everything, maybe he’d adjust to me in the end.
“I’ll try to make it look good in tomorrow’s self-produced content.”
“Seriously! Please. I’m begging you!”
She repeated herself over and over. I waved her off and stood up.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be going now.”
But Lee Jihyun blocked me, firing off more questions.
“Wait! Just one more thing—about that rumor Kang Ichae is leaving the dorm, is it true?”
“...Dorm?”
“Oh... it’s not? I figured it was just gossip, but it’s not just online—it’s circulating in-house too...”
“Kang Ichae is leaving the dorm?”
I stepped closer. She flinched.
“...You really didn’t know?”
“......”
“Don’t glare like that!”
Rolling her eyes nervously, she grabbed her tablet and some documents and hurried to the door.
“Anyway! I have another meeting! Please make tomorrow’s content nice!!”
I watched her flee, then stepped into the corridor myself.
“Hoyun, hi—... wow, the weather’s nice.”
“Seo Ho—krrhm, hem, cough! Maybe I’m catching a cold. My throat’s scratchy.”
As I bit down on my inner cheek and walked, staff members greeted me warmly but let their words trail off awkwardly.
“Hoyun-ah!”
But Sung Jiwon approached with his usual bright smile.
“Something happen? You look upset.”
“Sung Jiwon. Have you ever heard that Kang Ichae is leaving the dorm?”
“Uh, uh??”
Uncharacteristically, Sung Jiwon looked flustered.
“Ah... ah, that’s probably nonsense. I’ve heard it too, but apparently fans say Ichae owns multiple houses, so they started speculating he might be leaving the dorm.”
“That’s what’s going around?”
“Yeah. Just rumors. ...Probably.”
Oh, really?
I narrowed my eyes at his uncertain answer. Deciding it was faster to confirm directly, I turned to leave—but he grabbed my arm.
“Wait, Hoyun! Sunghyun already went to check.”
“Kim Sunghyun?”
“Yeah. If it’s something we really need to know, Sunghyun will tell us. Let’s calm down and wait.”
His smile faltered slightly.
“Though... Sunghyun was a bit scared.”
“......”
I had a lot to say but held it in, letting Sung Jiwon guide me away.
.
.
.
About an hour earlier.
Kim Sunghyun was pacing alone in Kang Ichae’s studio.
‘Why am I so nervous?’
He hadn’t planned to involve himself in any “disunity” rumors. He figured time would solve it.
But hearing rumors that Kang Ichae might leave the dorm made him worry something was wrong.
So Kim Sunghyun decided to face him directly.
“But... won’t he hate it if I ask?”
“Why? Ichae will probably answer you honestly.”
“You think so? I’m kind of scared of how he’ll react...”
He had confided his worries to Sung Jiwon, who gave him a troubled smile.
“I know why you’re concerned, Sunghyun. But in front of Ichae, let’s not show fear. You know he’s actually a good kid. If you say something, he’ll listen seriously.”
Kim Sunghyun knew that too.
It was just that understanding and truly accepting were two different things.
Restlessly fidgeting, nearly pulling at his hair, he finally froze when—
“Eh? Sunghyun-hyung, what are you doing here?”
Kang Ichae entered, surprised to see him.
Sunghyun had no talent for circling around.
“Kang Ichae.”
“What?”
So he went straight to the point.
“Are you leaving the dorm?”
The rustle of candy wrappers stopped.
“No?”
Kang Ichae, sitting on the sofa picking candy, looked up.
“Who said that?”
“Well... it’s just a rumor going around.”
“I have no intention of leaving.”
He raised one eyebrow and popped candy into his mouth. With his sharp look, Sunghyun got even more tense.
“Was that rumor tied to the disunity talk?”
Bulls-eye.
‘Read the room...’
Sunghyun wasn’t good at lying, so he asked instead:
“...Did something happen between you and Seo Hoyun?”
“No.”
Impossible.
He was radiating hostility.
“It’s just... you don’t seem happy when you’re with him. I was worried. ...Fans seem to notice too.”
“Ah...”
Kang Ichae’s expression was harsh, but he listened quietly. He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled.
“Got it. I’ll be careful not to let fans notice.”
“......”
“I’ll keep staying at the dorm, so don’t worry.”
“...Okay.”
“Is that all? I want to work now.”
He treated Sunghyun like a nuisance.
‘This isn’t it.’
Kang Ichae calmly turned back to his laptop. If Sunghyun left now, it would only cause misunderstanding.
“Wait, Ichae.”
“What now.”
“Sorry. I think I said it wrong. I didn’t come here to lecture you. I just...”
Facing his blank expression was even more nerve-wracking than a scowl.
“...Listen. I just...”
He inhaled deeply and shut his eyes.
“...I want The Dawn to be your home. Your shelter!!!”
He blurted out what he had been holding in.
He knew if the others heard, they’d laugh. Even Kang Ichae probably would.
But it was his true feelings.
“...Shelter?”
Kang Ichae blinked.
“N-no! I mean, I said it wrong!”
Sunghyun rubbed his face frantically.
“D-don’t laugh until I’m finished. You’ve seemed uncomfortable lately, so I thought a lot about it. You rarely call your family. Even on holidays you don’t go home. So I wondered if maybe you feel uneasy about returning there. Ugh, I’m rambling.”
“......”
“Anyway, what I want to say is—I hope The Dawn can fill that role, even just a little. We’re strangers, but if calling it family sounds childish or like business-speak... still. I just...”
That was the message he wanted to give today.
“I hope this place, with us, can be somewhere you can always come back to.”
He didn’t regret saying it, but his face flushed red. He felt embarrassed. Maybe it had come out all wrong.
‘He’s going to laugh now.’
He braced himself for the jokes.
“Shelter, huh? So I’m the sheep and you’re the shepherd?” Or maybe, “Wow, our leader spits out quotes. Should publish a book.”
He imagined it all.
But strangely, there was no response.
“......”
Head bowed, Kang Ichae fidgeted with his ear, then murmured quietly, after a long pause:
“...Yeah.”
“......”
“Thanks, hyung.”
While Sunghyun blinked in surprise, Ichae slipped out of the studio.
Somehow, his back looked... lighter. Happier.
Sunghyun stared at the closed door. Sung Jiwon’s words echoed in his mind.
“He really does listen seriously...”
***
That night.
Meanwhile, Seo Hoyun couldn’t sleep.
‘Kang Ichae, yeah. Hyung’s sorry.’
He lay awake until dawn, then made up his mind.
Tomorrow, in the self-produced content, he’d soothe him thoroughly with the “Kang Ichae is always right, mm-hmm” operation, sugarcoating him with every sweet word he had.
