Carols had already begun to spread early through the streets, and the whole nation was busy wrapping up the year.
The Dawn, too, was swamped with self-produced content and countless activities, barely finding time to breathe.
[When they say row the boat while the tide is in, they’re talking about The Dawn]
[This time they filmed “Hakjong-ddaeng” at my friend’s school TT_TT I’m so jealous T_T]
[Why do only students get this kind of infrastructure
Working adults have feelings too
Working adults are Noeul too
Working adults want autographs too
Come visit companies too
If you agree, copy this post
Boom-up it
└What does boom-up even mean??
└└(Author) Are you for real?
└Calm down, auntie..
└└(Author) Auntie?? That’s too much (*´□`)ﾟ
How old are you!!!! Let’s fight for photocards at the PC bang.
└└I’m 12 years old...
└└(Author) Ah.. sorry.. Auntie’s being immature..
└└LOOOOLLLLL Like hell they’re really 12 LOOOOOLLLLLL
└└LMAOOOOOOOOOOO Don’t fold so fast LOOOOOL]
[Title: Everyone already knows they’re on Hakjong-ddaeng
Kept getting asked about it on live but they dodged saying it’s a spoiler
So instead they steered it into a counseling session LOOOLLLLL
Noeul1: I want to be a really big problem for you, oppa
Noeul2: Have you ever thought a fan could become your biggest worry?? Be prepared, it could happen
The chat kept going like that and Kim Sunghyun made this pained face while pretending to sip his drink (feat. Kang Ichae laughing so hard beside him he nearly fell over)
Ichae: Not worries but happiness~ You should only look at good things haha
Jiwon: Right, right hehe
Dajun: Ohhh~~~ that’s a quote right there
Ichae: (proud)
└Why has our Dajun grown up so much? He used to always spoil things..T_T.. Now he dodges just fine and makes it fun without spoilers..T_T Dodge level maxed out
└└Dawnings’ moves are insane these days
└└LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO
└The best part was after that
Hoyun, who had been quiet the whole time drinking his choco frappuccino... When Ichae said, “The fan wants to be your problem, hyung?” he casually replied, “Wanna try?”...
└└Screams
└└Screams222
└└This bastard still doesn’t know to be afraid of women
└└Seriously, brace yourself Seo Hoyun]
Videos pushed by the YouTube algorithm, variety shows, even ads for all sorts of products—carbonated drink Lanta, luxury men’s beauty line, bank commercials—all since the early days of their rise, The Dawn appeared everywhere.
[Title: Lately it feels like The Dawn is the only thing on TV
I’ve been a fossil fan since Glow days....
Sometimes I feel like the world is tricking me
└Looks like you’re happy..
└└Yeah...
└└Good for °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° you (laughs)]
[Title: Proud of The Dawn’s bank commercial but it’s hilarious
The ad’s basically about how one app lets you do everything—stocks, payments, banking, whatever LOOOOLLLLLLLLL
And Kim Sunghyun suddenly pops up with the killer line:
“You still use that?”
It’s supposed to mean switch to their new app, so at first I was like oh okay, but then when the members teased him I nearly died holding back laughter LOOOOL
Now whenever he does anything they chime in with, “You still use that?”
Looks like he gave up resisting—he even advertised it live himself:
Sunghyun: Please use MJ Bank a lot, everyone....
Dawnings: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
└Kim Sunghyun seriously LOOOOLL He looks like the type who wouldn’t know how to use anything on the app except savings, but he recited the lines perfectly—totally unbalanced and cute
└If Seo Hoyun had done it, everyone would’ve just let it slide...
└└If it had been Jung Dajun, he would’ve used it indiscriminately without even knowing what it meant
└Did you guys notice? In the group shot when they all raise their hands, if you look closely at Dajun’s mouth, he’s saying “Hou~~~” LOOOOL Then right after Sung Jiwon and Kang Ichae also raise both hands shouting “Hou~~~” LOLOLOLOL
└└Ah LOOOOLI didn’t notice
└└They’re still having fun LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO]
The Dawn was especially known for making the most of ads and promoting them wholeheartedly.
Catching a clip of that, someone let out a sigh of admiration. It was Yoo Jia, absentmindedly scrolling her phone in the GMA (Green Music Awards) waiting room.
‘Looks like The Dawn really are the trend right now.’
The GMA was an awards ceremony attended by both actors and idols.
As both singer and actress who had left her mark, Yoo Jia had been holding the MC spot for years.
‘Maybe I’ve been resting too long, I can’t quite get the feel back.’
Turning off her phone, she picked up the script she’d already read countless times.
She had joined the filming of “Let’s Go on a School Trip” thanks to PD Kim Heeyoung, but aside from her personal YouTube channel streams, she hadn’t been active.
She had simply been passing the time leisurely at a friend’s vacant house in Jeju.
There was a time when she thought thick makeup, glamorous outfits, being surrounded by fans proved her existence. Now, the silence and fading from the public eye felt not so bad.
Perhaps because she still believed she had a place to return to.
“Senior Yoo Jia! You’re as beautiful as always!!”
“Hahaha, I think I’ve just been eating and putting on weight.”
Before rehearsal, most junior idol groups and actors came by her room to greet her.
She did her best to greet them kindly, offering whatever advice she could.
“Hello, senior.”
Just as she thought no one else would come, familiar faces appeared.
The Dawn, who would be closing the ceremony.
It had been a while since she saw them, so she stood up at once with joy.
“Wow, it’s really been a while. Have you all been well?”
Among them, she particularly favored the type like Sung Jiwon standing at the far right.
Gentle on the outside, but in truth sharp, upright, and not the type to snap like bamboo.
“Have you been well?”
“Of course.”
But it wasn’t just Sung Jiwon who caught her attention. For another reason, one more stood out.
Seo Hoyun.
His hair slicked back with pomade, leaving part of his bangs in front, wearing a gray suit with stripes only on his left sleeve.
It reminded her of filming “Bring Me the Camera.”
“Mr. Seo Hoyun, I really enjoyed ‘Before the Moon Wanes.’”
“An honor. Was it decent?”
“Oh, it was incredible.”
He didn’t seem to be pursuing acting, yet his performance had ripened.
Even though she’d been away from the industry, she’d still heard rumors that Director Kang Jeonggun had his eye on Hoyun. The man himself, however, seemed uninterested.
“Min Jiheon goes without saying, but Mr. Seo Hoyun, the emotions you conveyed in those brief moments were remarkable.”
“Haha, all thanks to the director and senior Min Jiheon’s consideration.”
His expression unchanged, Yoo Jia’s thoughts spun busily.
‘What is this?’
He always used to wear a sly, insincere smile, but something felt different.
The Seo Hoyun she remembered wore a social mask, but underneath was sharp and sensitive.
Like during Shining Star Season 1, when he had smiled without flinching while spitting venom at Today.
‘Though lately on broadcasts he does seem softer.’
She wasn’t naïve enough to take media appearances at face value. The entertainment world was full of people whose inside didn’t match their outside. Her memory of Seo Hoyun was still stuck two years ago.
“Hmmm.”
Finishing her quick assessment, Yoo Jia teased him with a joke.
“PD-nim, you used to grill me so hard, looks like you’re living much better now.”
“Huh?”
“Closing out the awards ceremony and all.”
At that, Seo Hoyun’s eyes crinkled with a bright smile.
“Miss Yoo Junghwa, please don’t tease. If a senior like you says that, I’ll get fired.”
“......”
“Not like you’ll take responsibility?”
Yoo Jia looked at him, surprised. When silence lingered long enough for Hoyun to notice, a dazed voice slipped from her lips.
“......You’ve gotten so mellow...?”
“Eh?”
Quietly listening nearby, Jung Dajun blurted out an odd sound.
“If you feel that way, I must’ve gained some experience. Anyway, you must be busy too, so we’ll go ahead.”
Hoyun simply brushed it off with a polite bow, leading The Dawn out.
Left alone again, Yoo Jia leaned back on the sofa, resting her chin.
That gentle smile, that loose atmosphere, as if some barrier had fallen....
“...Has he changed?”
Somehow he seemed to shine more than before....
***
‘Was he just fishing?’
Whatever his intent, it didn’t matter much. She decided to let it slide—when Sung Jiwon’s voice, higher than usual with excitement, rang out.
“Senior Yoo Jia looks just as amazing as always, even after all this time. Right?”
Still admiring her, Jiwon babbled on excitedly before suddenly glancing at me, flustered, waving his hands.
“Ah! Ah, o-of course I respect Hoyun too!!”
“Uh-huh.”
‘Well, anyway.’
I responded just enough, then asked what I needed.
“So Jiwon, how many grand prizes tonight?”
“Mm, combined for singers and actors, eight.”
“Wow.”
The Green Music Awards weren’t one of the award shows listed in the Main Quest. But suddenly its importance spiked. A new mission had just appeared.
[Quest Arrived!
Year-end stages are festivals for fans and turning points for reflection!
Through the next two year-end stages, generate the highest buzz volume among all active idol groups!
※ Measurement period is three days after each broadcast.
※ Buzz is counted via SNS, news, and comments. Keywords measured are ‘The Dawn’ or ‘Seo Hoyun.’
Success: 10,000
Failure: All future idol activities barred from year-end stages]
‘Huh... this isn’t as hard as I thought.’
If things went well, Seo Hojin’s memories could be restored within December.
Back in our assigned waiting room, Jung Dajun slid onto the sofa, cheeks flushed red.
“Hyungs, do I look scary now?”
“What nonsense?”
“No, it’s just... when I walked down the hall, some rookie-looking idols flinched and avoided me... I panicked too....”
The finale alternated with Hi-Five, and at this GMA, The Dawn had been given that responsibility.
For a mid-tier group of four years to rise this high so quickly was rare, so all sorts of people approached them. Some junior idols lingered nervously at a distance instead.
Even Kim Sunghyun secretly felt hurt by it, but he still scolded the maknae sternly.
“Jung Dajun, you need to get used to being a senior now. Be more mature.”
“Ugh... but I don’t like people avoiding me.”
Puffing his cheeks, Dajun scowled, then pointed at Kang Ichae.
“And if I’m like this, then whenever people run into Ichae hyung, they act like they’ve hit a disaster and run away.”
“He’s had a scary reputation since Rising Rookies... can’t be helped...”
“Hahaha, they just don’t know~. I’m such a lovable guy.”
“Ugh...”
“Gross.”
Calling himself lovable, Kang Ichae turned to me with a big grin.
“Shouldn’t we pack the year-end with love too?”
I just chuckled and shrugged my shoulders in reply.
The curtain on the year-end stage was about to rise.
