Bang!
“Hey, hey, hey, did you see homeroom teacher’s hairstyle today? He used wax!!”
“Yeah, it’s hilarious. What’s with the suit? Is he really going on a blind date? Someone ask him already.”
At that moment, the noisy kid who barged in through the front door drew everyone’s attention. After confirming it wasn’t anything important, Bloy turned his eyes back to the parking lot—only to realize the van was gone. The uneasy feeling lingered, but she brushed it off and got ready for class.
With homeroom over and phones collected, the first period began. After enduring endless boredom and a few drowsy nods, it was finally the fourth period ahead.
“Hey, do we have to move for art again today?”
“Yeah, we’re going to the art room. They said there’s a special lecture.”
“A special lecture in art at this time of year? Since when was our school so cultured?”
“Dunno, maybe the instructor’s the chairman’s relative or something.”
The students scattered according to their elective classes.
Bloy yawned repeatedly and strolled leisurely. Since grades wouldn’t be affected much, she sat in the very back and pulled out a math workbook she’d brought. A photocard of Joo Woosung from the “Get Over” era slipped out.
Last night, she had told herself to study but couldn’t concentrate, so she ended up reorganizing her photocards. One must have slipped in.
“Hul, what’s this? Kang Hyejin, you had Joo Woosung’s debut photocard?”
“Cool, right?”
“God, the freshness. How much is it worth?”
She laughed, saying it wasn’t that expensive, but back then she had spent every last bit of her Lunar New Year money and allowance on it when she was just a little elementary kid.
Then her friend with silver glasses also pulled a card holder from his pocket.
“Tada! It’s only polite to show mine if you showed yours.”
It was a rare Seo Hoyun photocard from the “Second Chance” era, valued like Gangnam Banpo apartments.
“Holy shit!!!”
“Fuck!!”
“You, you, you—you didn’t have this! How the hell did you get it?!”
Usually, non-selfie cards were less valuable, but this particular Seo Hoyun photo was so rare it was still impossible to find a seller.
“Well, let’s just say I begged my mom and basically signed a slave contract. It’s a card I got with my life as collateral!”
Just as his voice swelled with pride—
“Mm. Life might be a bit much....”
A strange whisper floated from the back of the art room. Everyone’s eyes followed the sound.
“Seo Hoyun, guarantee this and that....”
“Guarantee it, guarantee it!”
Kang Ichae and Jung Dajun had slipped in through the back door and were squatting next to Seo Hoyun, pestering him. All three were wearing nothing but white shirts and navy slacks in this freezing weather.
The class froze in shock. Seo Hoyun smirked at their dumbfounded faces.
“...Shall we take a picture together then?”
The room erupted in screams loud enough to shake the school.
“Crazy! Crazy!”
“Someone slap me right now!”
A high school full of restless teenage boys was already a jungle, and now with idols added, it turned into utter chaos. Even Bloy almost got swept up in the frenzy.
Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon soon entered through the front door. Seo Hoyun stood first, followed by Kang Ichae and Jung Dajun, taking their place in the aisle.
“Rising dawn, we are The Dawn! Since the ‘School Bell Ring Ring Ring!’ has rung, let’s all have fun together!”
So that’s why there’d been a strange van in the parking lot!
The moment they heard the signature opening line of School °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Bell Ring Ring Ring!—nicknamed Hakjongddang by K-pop fans—students felt as if someone had smacked them in the back of the head.
It was a broadcast where idols secretly visited pre-registered schools to give students surprise memories.
A few kids who had lied and hidden their phones that morning quickly pulled them out to record. The teacher next to The Dawn looked absolutely displeased.
“Aaagh!!”
Not that anyone cared.
Apparently, before their stage in the auditorium for the entire school, the idols first dropped in on a random classroom to film content.
“Sunghyun-aaah!!”
“So handsome!!”
One fan, Bloy’s friend with the silver glasses—clearly a Noeul—couldn’t hold back.
“Oppa, Hoyun oppa! I’m a first-generation Noeul! Could you solve a math problem for me?!”
“Eh, I don’t know stuff like that.”
“Please, just once! Please?”
Since when did you ever care about math...
Bloy clenched her lips to save face for her friend.
Seo Hoyun smiled awkwardly, then slowly walked over.
“...Here, substitute x with 1. Then b comes out as 0, so—”
He glanced over the book and solved it in an instant, then began explaining step by step.
Her friend, who clearly just wanted to admire Hoyun’s face up close, blinked in surprise, then started following the explanation in earnest.
“Oooh....”
“Got it now?”
‘...Why does this feel like private tutoring?’
The atmosphere suddenly shifted into study mode.
“This word needs a long vowel, so it requires ‘u’ at the end. That makes this choice incorrect....”
Sung Jiwon translated a Japanese question, while Kang Ichae explained a tough English passage.
Kim Sunghyun tried to help too, but instead of giving him problems, the kids threw cheeky and embarrassing questions at him until his ears turned red. Jung Dajun, eager, asked them to quiz him as well, but after one attempt, he admitted, “Sorry, I’m an idol...,” and quietly retreated to the others.
“All right, the bell’s going to ring soon. Let’s hand out gifts and move quickly.”
A staff member checked the time. The Dawn split into two groups and began distributing hot packs and candy.
‘...They really are handsome.’
Bloy had never seen a celebrity in person before—not even Black Call. As they drew nearer, her heart pounded wildly.
“Hello, would you like a hot pack?”
Sung Jiwon beamed at her.
“No.”
Bloy’s firm refusal slipped out before she could stop herself. She realized too late—she tended to shut down when overly startled.
“Ah, are you okay? It’s really cold outside today.”
Sung Jiwon’s brows furrowed with concern, then relaxed again into a warm smile.
“Then how about candy? Hoyun and Sunghyun are passing them out.”
She couldn’t bring herself to reject that kind face and nodded hesitantly.
Meanwhile, Seo Hoyun moved slowly through the desks, casually engaging with the students.
“Look! I bought this pencil because it’s the Year of the Black Rabbit!”
“Oh, cute. It suits you.”
“It’s your theme! I debated between cat and rabbit for so long!”
“Did you really think of me when you bought it? You’re not just saying that?”
“Really, really! I even have two, want one?!”
He handled them with practiced ease, hitting the sweet spot without going overboard.
‘So this is why Seo Hoyun is so popular.’
Bloy stole glances as he approached.
Soon, it was her turn.
“Here’s candy. Enjoy it and have a happy day.”
She had planned to just take it coolly and move on.
After all, she was a Black Call fan. She didn’t believe The Dawn had anything that could leave a mark on her heart.
“Um, excuse me....”
“...Yes?”
Seo Hoyun looked at her curiously.
Her friends’ phones were recording, but—
Bloy gripped the candy stick tightly and barely moved her lips.
“Ah, uh...”
Will Black Call have a comeback? Why does the company keep sending our boys abroad? Can’t you do something? Why does Joo Woosung seem closer to you than his own members? And, and...
“...Is... he... healthy?”
‘Fuck, brain, hold it together.’
All her bottled-up frustration surged like lava, but she couldn’t say any of it. No matter how true her feelings, voicing them would brand her as a problem fan.
“...Do WH artists... eat well?”
“Huh?”
It was all she could manage—a vague question about their well-being.
“Do they eat properly?”
His head tilted at the odd question, then his gaze dropped. She followed—and saw it. On top of her textbook lay Joo Woosung’s photocard, exposed since she’d been startled earlier.
‘Shit, this is humiliating.’
Hoyun chuckled softly, clicked the rabbit pencil he’d just received, and scribbled something on the corner of his notebook.
“...Well, the cafeteria food’s plenty good.”
He smiled, then moved on to the next student.
After that, requests for autographs poured in. Hoyun signed jerseys and gym clothes without complaint until staff finally pulled him away.
“See you in the auditorium! Sorry, everyone~.”
Before the bell, The Dawn left the art room.
But word had already spread, and soon chaos reigned despite teachers trying to contain it.
It took a long time before the entire school assembled in the auditorium for the real performance.
【Tomorrow I’ll say I love you again, maybe
Stop with the jokes, I just wanna dance】
The Dawn’s performance impressed even fans of other groups.
“Don’t ask, just come out and dance, baby!! Like it’s our last!!”
They performed five songs in total, including one of the year’s biggest hits, “Level S2.”
Afterwards, Jung Dajun joked he’d been so excited he wanted to throw candy like at a talent show, drawing laughter all around.
‘Not that funny, really....’
But given how starved the students were for good-looking guys, their reactions were understandable.
Finishing their schedule, The Dawn left after reminding everyone to eat well and study hard.
Barely two or three hours.
It felt like a daydream. Returning to class, the students could talk about nothing but The Dawn.
“God, that was insane.”
“Suddenly I feel proud of my school....”
“Now I get why seniors are crazy about Kim Sunghyun... I understand completely....”
Before long, the school buzzed even louder with The Dawn chatter.
Some students even won Polaroid photos of the members in a raffle.
“Kang Ichae looked like a mischievous brat on TV, but up close he gave off serious scary-oppa vibes.”
“Forget that. I went to The Dawn fansign a year and a half ago, and he remembered me?!”
“No wonder they say their fan service is insane....”
When Bloy finally pushed through the crowd and returned to class, her friends swarmed around her, still chatting. The third-year supervisor was shouting for students to return to their classrooms for staggered lunch.
Her friend with silver glasses pressed a hand to his forehead, his face still flushed.
“I almost feel guilty, like I’m the only one who got lucky. Maybe someday Black Call will come on School Bell Ring Ring Ring! too?”
But a bob-haired friend scoffed.
“Are you kidding? No way. Did you see the stadiums they filled during their U.S. tour? They’re way beyond this. Hyejin, don’t even dream.”
“......”
“Uh-oh, Hyejin’s pissed.”
Bloy’s sharp eyes flicked toward her friends from over her notebook.
“...Ahaha, sorry, Hyejin.”
“Haa....”
She wasn’t angry.
Just conflicted.
Her gaze dropped again.
There, on her notebook, was the reply Seo Hoyun had written when she’d asked if WH artists were eating well.
He’s doing fine.
“...He seems like such a good person, it hurts.”
“Huh?”
After that day, at Bloy’s school, The Dawn members were worshipped like gods.
Though to everyone, the maknae Jung Dajun remained simply “Dajungie.”
