The Dawn’s self-produced Hawaii special, which had started with comedy, ended warmly with members’ heartfelt letters, leaving Noeul wrapped in a cozy atmosphere.
[Hoyun stumbling a bit is so cute LOOOLLLLL must be drunk]
[I will never mess with Jiwon again...
Knocked out after a drink and a half next to Kang Ichae]
[Seo Hoyun’s skill at dumping alcohol lol
Dajun tried to copy him but Kim Sunghyun scolded him, saying not to learn stuff like that and just refuse hahahaha
└Once a maknae, always a maknae..
└└Seriously, Sunghyun feels like the eldest brother at times like this... ha...]
Above all, despite Daepaseong being acquired by the giant agency WH Entertainment, The Dawn’s unique charm hadn’t vanished—live stages and videos continued to be uploaded steadily just as before. This consistency eased fans’ anxieties.
[Ah I was nervous about WH but looks like it’s nothing haha]
[Well, the cafeteria food looks JMT so that’s good~]
[The taste of capital is hella sweet~ From dancing in a practice room with cracked walls to suddenly being idols at a big agency that sends us to Hawaii for our 3rd anniversary?!
└Our babies worked so hard T_T]
But the better The Dawn was treated, the more Hi-Five’s fandom boiled.
Ever since WH suddenly pulled Daepaseong in under the excuse of strengthening actor management, things felt off. They’d told the press it was “just a formality” and they wouldn’t interfere, but soon everyone was using the same building, and even The Dawn was being meticulously funded and managed.
What should have been exclusively Hi-Five’s share now felt divided, making HiRi uneasy.
[I don’t want to hate on rookies that just rolled in, but... what kind of management is this? I’m pissed]
[Real punch-in-the-face management... Black Call bust their asses to bring in money, and the execs waste it swinging their personal connections around]
[I don’t get why they brought in Daepaseong at all. Is actor management even going well?? Or is it just because of fanboying over Min Jiheon?]
While this tension simmered, WH’s official YouTube channel uploaded a new video:
【WH Workshop Part 3 Release! – WH Workshop Vlog】
It was a vlog from the recent company workshop.
[Crazy]
[Ah!!!!!! Thank you WH!!!!!]
[Waaah I finally get to see Saeyoung again TT_TT Hanju’s so cute too]
[Glad to see Jungwoo looking healthy. Even though Beomhyeon wasn’t there... Black Call chuap, love you chuap chuap]
But fans of The Dawn, Hi-Five, Black Call, and Min Jiheon who were happily watching soon got jolted.
[Wait, isn’t this during Hi-Five’s promotion period?]
Posts like that began appearing on anonymous boards.
[LOL Yeah their hairstyles are exactly the same]
[Didn’t some HiRis already complain a lot about this when rumors first came out?]
[Look at the desk clock on the table, the date’s right there. This was when Hi-Five was running on less than 3 hours of sleep and grinding music shows nonstop
└Be accurate, Hi-Five wasn’t “grinding music shows nonstop.” These days promotions last only 2 weeks...Hehe
└└You know how packed their schedules are, stop pretending otherwise
└└Hi-Five_Promotion_Period_Schedule.jpg tlqkf]
[Title: WH execs lost their damn minds?
Even when workshop rumors were going around, I didn’t think they’d actually do it.
Why hold a workshop during promotion period hahahaha
I’m so mad my head’s ringing
WH really treats Hi-Five like absolute pushovers]
└Other boy groups enjoying themselves with zero awareness haha
└└Hi-Five performed too though
└└Workshop attendance was mandatory
└└But talent shows weren’t mandatory LOL They had fun, now suddenly this outrage...
└└Then why the hell did they release that boring-ass Hawaii vlog of The Dawn? Nobody wanted it LOLOLOL
└└You’re the only one who didn’t want it. Look at the views and comments exploding... idiot]
Soon, HiRi and Noeul were in open conflict.
[Title: Just because we keep quiet,
Does WH think we’re happy?
It’s still the same bullshit. Execs decided to do an acquisition out of nowhere, not The Dawn’s fault]
└Lmao The Dawn sucking honey at a big agency, going from cracked walls to Hawaii trips, and now playing victim, disgusting
└└The mood’s getting overheated
└└That comment went too far, but honestly WH’s ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ handling of the comeback schedule was a mess. I get why HiRi’s upset]
The ball WH tossed into the air with their workshop only grew bigger, carrying the controversy into the next comeback.
[Heard Hi-Five and The Dawn’s comebacks are overlapping again~~ WH brains empty~ boy groups chumming it up shamelessly~]
[If The Dawn’s popular overseas, maybe push them abroad for a while haha WH needs to refill all that money they squeezed out]
[Hi-Five lived off Black Call’s money anyway so maybe they’ll be fine? LOL Weren’t they a one-hit wonder too? Even with all that big-agency investment they still lost to a no-name company’s group]
Most fans from both sides tried not to join this worthless fight.
[Calm down... this is a low-level brawl...]
But effort doesn’t always equal results.
[Your idol ugly af bye]
[Fuck off you bitch]
.
.
.
“Our comeback might be delayed.”
Kim Sunghyun dropped the bomb in a calm voice as he came through the door.
“What do you mean, suddenly...?”
We had just gifted the planning team Honolulu cookies and Kona coffee as souvenirs when he said it.
Lee Jihyun, her eyes already blackened from September comeback prep, dropped her cookie in shock.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I stopped by management and overheard. Not confirmed, but it might happen.”
Might happen?
I frowned. Jihyun, trembling, ran up to Sunghyun.
“Really? Seriously? I’ve never heard anything like that?!”
“Seems like the order came from above today. Even Team Leader Jung Seonui sounded frustrated...”
Sunghyun sighed between words, clearly upset.
“How long?”
“...Don’t know.”
“Indefinitely?!”
Sunghyun only shrugged at the horrified Jihyun.
‘Delay activities?’
Says who.
The grand masterpiece called “The Dawn’s Daesang this year,” painted since New Year’s, was supposed to be completed with the next album.
My life depended on it.
Clicking my tongue, I leaned forward and asked:
“Why? It’s not like this place lacks money.”
“Because of fandom mood maybe?!”
Jihyun cautiously added. Sunghyun nodded.
“Yeah. Team Leader Jung said the atmosphere’s too hostile right now, so they think some time is needed.”
Even as he spoke, Sunghyun only slightly frowned and brushed back his bangs, hiding his annoyance.
But Jihyun was puzzled.
“The higher-ups care about fans’ opinions? That’s strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mm... back when I was into K-pop—let’s say Stone Age, or at least Iron Age—WH already had a reputation. They never listened, no matter what fans said. We used to joke that in that sense, smaller agencies were better....”
“Like Daepaseong?”
“Phew. If not for the acquisition, maybe they’d have stayed like that.”
Her words only stank of rot.
‘Something’s definitely off.’
I shoved my irritation aside for now, stood, and gestured to Sunghyun.
“We’ll talk later, Jihyun.”
“Ah, yes.”
There wasn’t enough info yet on why WH was suddenly playing cautious or why they’d postpone The Dawn’s comeback.
As I walked out, Sunghyun spoke up.
“...Anyway, not confirmed yet.”
“Hm.”
“I’ll go tell the others in the practice room. You’ve got a solo schedule later, right?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Mm....”
Even as leader, he couldn’t hide the disappointment draining his voice. The other members would feel the same.
I slapped his back hard.
“Straighten up, kid.”
“......”
“Don’t worry too much.”
Finally, Sunghyun cracked a small smile, waved, and walked off. I turned toward management to try digging directly.
The moment I rounded the corner, I spotted a familiar back—but with unfamiliar hair color. I almost ignored him out of disgust, but instead drew in a deep breath and called out:
“Kang Yeonhoo sunbaenim!”
He reacted a beat late, eyes avoiding mine.
“...Ah, hello.”
‘Judging by his face, he’s already heard.’
I grabbed him before he could slip away and steered him into an empty meeting room.
“I heard our activities might be delayed. Do you know anything about it?”
“Uh, well...”
Caught off guard, Kang Yeonhoo stroked his chin.
“That’s... true?”
“I’d like to know too.”
“Strange...”
After a pause, he looked at me and sighed.
“You probably know already, but this company’s infamous for zero communication with fans.”
First Jihyun, now Kang Yeonhoo.
Both said WH wasn’t the type to delay comebacks just because of fandom fighting.
“...Unless something happened higher up.”
Higher up?
I stared at him. He smiled awkwardly, unwilling to say more.
“Hm.”
This guy was WH’s longest-surviving trainee, their beloved golden grandson. Smart, politically savvy, well-liked by execs.
Right now, he might be a better card than Jung Seonui.
“And even Kang Yeonhoo sunbaenim doesn’t know...”
I lowered my brows, stepping closer.
“Then we might not get to promote at all this year...”
“No, it’s not—”
“Our members stayed up till dawn rehearsing, pouring their sweat into this comeback, only for it to be wasted—”
“It’s not confirmed—”
“Well, it’s fine. At least Hi-Five sunbaenims get to move forward as planned, that’s such a relief—”
“Ahhh! Wait! Hold on!”
Hook, line, sinker. He clamped a big hand over my mouth, panicked.
“Truth is, we don’t know our comeback date either...”
“Mmph...”
“Why am I even making excuses...”
He dropped his hand, flustered.
“Forget it. Just get to the point, Seo Hoyun.”
Man, what a softy.
While tearing and taping WH’s org chart in my head, I smiled brightly.
Our leader had no reason to worry.
“Please help out your pretty junior, sunbaenim.”
I had years of experience buttering up directors.
