Four pairs of eyes sparkled brightly with expectation, one pair burned fiercely, and countless other curious gazes were fixed on me.
Letting out a small sigh, I pulled a card from my back pocket and slid it into the reader.
“...27,600 won, I’ll pay.”
Black Call’s faces were plastered with confusion. Conscious of the cameras, I smiled broadly.
“I just wanted to treat my seniors.”
“...Ahh......”
Chae Jungwoo let out a belated exclamation.
“So the person you respect most is yourself? Love myself. That’s cool.”
“Well, well. As expected of you, Seo Hoyun.”
Joining in, Jeon Saeyoung put on a shameless expression and even wagged his index finger side to side.
I’d thought Black Call would act more mature, but not at all. Maybe it was because they trusted WH Entertainment to pamper them with editing, or maybe because they had enough experience, but their words and actions were carefree.
“Respect? Weren’t we just picking the best-looking guy?”
Like someone who’d run over just to draw a card, Joo Woosung snapped his head back stiffly, as if posing. Hearing him, Lee Hanju tilted his head.
“Huh? What do you mean? I switched to ‘the member I respect’ earlier, following Beomhyeon-hyung’s choice...”
“What? Hey! Then you should’ve picked me even more!”
Seeing Woosung raging like that, I could more or less guess what line was used to lure him here.
No wonder Chae Jungwoo had been holding his phone the whole time—unlike him.
Lee Hanju narrowed his eyes and asked Woosung,
“So hyung, you ran out of the practice room just to hear you’re handsome?”
“Ah, n-no, that’s not it...”
Flustered, Woosung took a step back from Black Call, only for Lee Beomhyeon to step forward and grab his shoulder firmly.
“...Woosung-hyung, is your self-esteem low these days? Running all the way here just to hear that... Don’t fans tell you you’re handsome?”
“...Hyung, you’re handsome~.”
“Super handsome~.”
As if to make up for it, Jeon Saeyoung and Lee Hanju whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. Flushing bright red, Woosung forced himself to shout casually.
“O-of course I still hear it! Why are you guys looking at me so pitifully!”
“Joo Woosung.”
With practiced ease, Chae Jungwoo pressed his finger against Woosung’s lips to shut him up.
“Stop being noisy and let’s go. The more you open your mouth, the weirder you sound.”
Jungwoo smiled at me with his eyes, grabbed Woosung by the scruff of his neck, and walked ahead. The other Black Call members trailed after him.
A little later, everyone except Woosung returned to the practice room with disposable cups. Woosung alone slinked off with a mug to the camera’s blind spot and sat down.
He’d go back eventually, so I ignored him and focused on my part-time job.
Orders came one after another, and Kim Sunghyun kept pulling espresso nonstop. Kang Ichae, Jung Dajun, and Sung Jiwon rushed around the café as well.
Only when the customers thinned out did Lee Jihyun inform me that the scheduled filming time was nearly up.
Once Sunghyun, looking slightly giddy, made a few more drinks and the three who had gone to deliver returned, we could finally wrap up the long, exhausting shoot for this self-produced content.
“Thank you for your hard work~.”
“Yes, you worked hard~.”
The red lights on the cameras went out, and the staff began cleaning up.
There were still onlookers hanging around, but far fewer than earlier.
I walked to the corner of the café. Woosung was already slumped over asleep. I poked his back with a fingertip.
“Excuse me.”
He immediately lifted his eyelids, blearily straightening his upper body.
“Shouldn’t you go back and practice?”
“Ugh... Don’t wanna... don’t wanna go back...”
What the hell, since when did this lunatic try to act cute?
I brushed the goosebumps off my arms and brought up the question that had been nagging me since running into Black Call.
“You guys are coming back next year?”
“How did you know?”
“Of course I know. Anyone can tell when you’re all together like this.”
They’d announced a hiatus and scattered to individual schedules. If footage of the entire Black Call appearing together in The Dawn’s self-content went public, rumors about a comeback would spread instantly.
“Should I edit Black Call out of this content?”
“Forget it. Chae Jungwoo—that bastard walked right in front of the cameras with us. He probably wanted to hint at it on purpose.”
Sure enough, Jungwoo handled fan management better than Woosung—better than me too.
It was impressive, realizing he’d calculated everything in an instant and acted with that intention from the start.
Rubbing under his nose with a finger, Woosung lowered his gaze and muttered.
“He’s just itching to get back on stage. Should worry about his health first.”
“...How’s practice?”
“A complete mess. We’re so out of sync after so long. ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) I’ve been drilling them nonstop but... ah, Hanju, that kid’s hilarious. Fell over mid-choreo and then asked if we could just rest since he was down already.”
Despite his grumbling tone, Woosung’s face was lit with enjoyment.
‘What are you, a sulky teenager?’
Mouthing off while failing to hide his affection.
He’d been fine as a soloist, but now, preparing an album with his members again, he looked more natural, more alive.
“We’re coming out next year, right? You guys won’t even see the shadow of a Daesang.”
“......”
“If you miss this chance, you’re finished for good. Aww, how tragic!”
...Shit. If he’d just stop spewing crap, he’d be much more likeable.
Fine, I’d let it slide. He’s always been like this.
Just as I was about to generously overlook him, Woosung smirked and covered my eyes with his palm.
“Hoyun. Now, what do you see?”
“...Nothing.”
“Exactly. That’s your future.”
With people still bustling around, I kept my smile, clenched my teeth, and muttered like a ventriloquist.
“May a scandal about Black Call’s disbandment explode already.”
“Sorry, that already happened.”
Cackling with a Jungwoo-like grin, he patted my shoulder and left the café.
Clicking my tongue, I figured I might as well drop by the practice room with the kids. With the year-end stage coming up, I thought I’d grab drinks to take with us, so I headed for the counter—only to see Kang Yeonhoo walking down the hallway from the elevator.
‘So he’s doing okay now.’
Since the K-POP concert in Japan, I hadn’t run into him, even at the company. I could’ve just ignored him, but a mischievous impulse made me call out.
“Yeonhoo-hyung!”
His steps halted instantly. Even from a distance, I could see his eyes trembling uncontrollably.
I raised my voice.
“Hyung, long time no see!!”
With familiar staff packing equipment nearby, Yeonhoo must’ve assumed filming was still ongoing. His eyes looked like a condemned man’s as he trudged toward me.
Recognizing his presence from my voice, The Dawn members bowed politely. Their expressions practically read, “Seo Hoyun is at it again,” but I ignored them and smiled.
“I missed you.”
“...Hello... Haha, what are you doing here...?”
Yeonhoo tried to sound calm, but his eyes darted nervously.
“We’re filming.”
“Ah, I... w-what filming? The Dawn’s self-content? Recording?”
“Oh? Does it look like recording?”
His pale skin turned ashen in an instant. Even amid his confusion, he quickly scanned the surroundings.
Folded tripods, few staff for a live, cameras with no red lights.
“...It’s recording, isn’t it? Already finished?”
“Finished ages ago. But we’ll still take you as a customer, Yeonhoo-ssi.”
“Ah, damn...”
Shoulders sagging, he muttered, clearly on edge.
“Stop messing with people... I thought it was live, my heart nearly stopped.”
“Yessir.”
“Yessir?...”
“What do you want to drink?”
Smiling calmly, I watched him sigh and hesitate before muttering softly,
“Chamomile tea.”
The same as Chae Jungwoo.
I ripped open one of the pricey teabags, dropped it into a paper cup, filled it with hot water, and handed it to him. I’d expected him to leave right away, but he just fidgeted with the cup.
“...Seo Hoyun-ssi... about that. How did you do it?”
“Yes?”
“At the K-POP concert. When I hurt my ankle.”
He lifted his eyes from his fingertips and looked straight at me. His stubborn, upright nature showed through in moments like this.
“It hurt so bad I could barely move, but after you sprayed me with that stuff, I was suddenly fine—even dancing. What was that?”
I know. I’d checked Hi-Five’s performance when we got back to Korea.
The moves he must have repeated endlessly were neat and elegant.
“...Guess the medicine was really strong?”
Wrinkles creased his nose; he wasn’t buying it.
“You think I’m an idiot? I tried everything, nothing worked... What was it really?”
I held his gaze, then burst out laughing.
“This is kinda embarrassing.”
“...What?”
“Is this one of those new trendy ways of confessing?”
He looked completely lost.
“A caring junior sprays some medicine and suddenly all your pain is gone... Sure, asking me to dinner would be cliché, but this? Fresh approach.”
“Wh-what??”
His face turned scarlet with shock and embarrassment.
“N-no! That’s not it, I mean—it was weird! It looked like an ordinary spray, but I couldn’t even find the brand...”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“...Forget it! Asking you was my mistake!”
Scratching the back of his head, he still looked dissatisfied.
Smart and perceptive, but too rational. He could work out the outline of the answer, but once it strayed beyond logic, he couldn’t make the leap.
And whenever I teased him, he’d get flustered and clam up—easy to handle.
“...Anyway, thanks.”
He scratched his reddened cheek.
“Thanks to you, I finished well. Whether it was placebo or not, the results were good.”
He bowed, then turned to leave with his chamomile tea, only to pause and look back.
“But, none of our members passed through here, right? You know if Hi-Five gets mentioned in The Dawn’s self-content now, it’ll cause trouble?”
“Well. I think my answer depends on your attitude, Yeonhoo-ssi.”
“......”
***
By mid-November, the first episode of Let’s Go on a School Trip finally aired.
Despite WH Entertainment’s strict censorship, Kim Heeyoung’s editing produced a masterpiece of variety.
Communities and social media flooded with reviews and reactions.
[Title: Did you guys see Let’s Go on a School Trip
Everyone was saying it’d be a mess, so I was like whatever, I quit K-pop ages ago... “male idol showdown, heart-thumping!” lol
I was just watching for the drama but... huh.
It’s actually harmless and freaking cute.
└Right??
└And there’s even a next episode, WH’s milking it hard hahaha PD Kim is amazing
└The kids are seriously adorable lolol]
[Title: Lots of people are hating this show but
I like it, it’s cute.....
Can’t wait for next week’s second part..
└Same.. I was ready to trash it but it’s not bad at all...
└People say the idols giggling around is clueless lol but what, are they supposed to sit like statues? Idols are people too
└└They’re just doing what the company tells them...
└This is basically their job. Less noise because they hide it well, that’s all, but they’ll always face scrutiny T_T LOL
└└That’s the fate of popular idols...
└└Honestly it’s kinda thrilling sometimes...
└└LOLOLOL]
[Title: They used BRK really well
Instead of editing Hi-5 + Dawn together, they balanced BRK with each group too.
The gap in status is huge, so portraying BRK as respected seniors to the juniors made it feel natural.
└Didn’t see many Bloys hating on it haha
└Yeah BRK fans are starving for content, so they’re thankful for anything rn ㅠ They want stages but Jungwoo’s health...
└└Jungwoo managed his image so well, almost no one hates him lolololol. Even though the hiatus is basically because of him
└└What nonsense, when did WH confirm anything? Stop spewing headcanon like fact lolol
└Editing was top-notch... fr..]
Amidst all this, one team drew the most spotlight.
[Title: I don’t know idols but I watched School Trip
SeoMinKangJoo team is killing me
└LOLOLOLOLOL
└Right? Hahaha
└Even just the team name makes me laugh]
It was none other than SeoMinKangJoo—Seo Hoyun, Min Jiheon, Kang Yeonhoo, and Joo Woosung.
