His eyes, curved deeply, carried a solemn weight, and his lips traced a faint arc.
When Seo Hoyun’s face filled the big screen, the audience rippled with murmurs.
[Wow..........]
[That face..........]
Slowly, Seo Hoyun dropped his gaze and spoke again.
“...In the letters our fans sent us, someone wrote that they had never wished for someone else’s happiness over their own, but after seeing us, their thoughts had changed....”
The members, apparently not briefed on this in advance, looked a little surprised. Soon though, they softened their expressions and listened attentively to Hoyun’s words.
“...We were always anxious, wondering if we could ever repay such sincerity. At times, I even scolded myself that instead of worrying, I should just practice harder to show a better performance in return.”
As if to seek agreement, Hoyun tilted his head slightly toward Kim Sunghyun. Sunghyun’s eyelashes trembled.
[Holy, guess Hoyun’s been having a lot of deep talks with Sunghyun lately...]
[So moving... T_T Look at Sunghyun getting choked up at Hoyun’s words]
Of course, the only reason Sunghyun’s face tightened was fear of what kind of bomb might be hidden behind Hoyun’s gentle façade—but the fans had no way of knowing.
Stirring the heartwarming mood, Hoyun lifted his gaze forward, putting even more strength into his voice.
“We still don’t know how to return this love equally... but there’s one thing we can promise: we’ll make sure we never bring shame to the award we’ve received.”
Then, pressing a hand to his chest, he spoke each word with careful gravity.
“So that we can proudly say The Dawn is a group that loves, and so that Noeul can feel it was fortunate to like this group, we will strive even harder.”
Low, steady, and just faintly trembling at the end—his voice held everyone. Even those who disliked or kept wary of him found themselves entranced in that moment.
“We who might have remained strangers instead reached you like a miracle, and we thank you for letting us become your idols.”
Stepping back from the mic, Hoyun bowed deeply. The Dawn followed suit.
As they exited the stage, Sunghyun’s stiff shoulders tapped Hoyun’s, Sung Jiwon wore a soft smile, and Jung Dajun beamed cheerfully.
[Wow........]
[Shit, I can’t even think straight....]
Only Kang Ichae had a hand covering his mouth, head bowed. He leaned toward Hoyun and whispered something, but the words were drowned by the BGM.
Hoyun let out a small laugh and ruffled Ichae’s slicked-back hair, mussing the pomade, before the screen shifted to the sea of glowing blue lightsticks filling the Mango Music Awards.
[This is literally a scene out of a movie...]
Like stars faintly illuminating the darkness, the lightsticks shone softly.
.
.
.
In the end, neither Hi-Five nor The Dawn received the Daesang at the Mango Music Awards.
Both groups had results more than worthy, so the public was puzzled. But what drew the most attention at this ceremony was Seo Hoyun’s acceptance speech.
[Honestly, it was just like a movie. Hoyun spoke calmly, the members looked at each other with such trust, and then they showed the fans waving their blue lightsticks at the end.
It was just fucking beautiful.]
[Noeuls are so lucky..]
[“Miracle, reaching you, thank you for letting us become your idols” — Seo Hoyun is a legend...
└What’s that?
└└It’s shorthand from his line: “Thank you for letting us become your idols like a miracle.”
└└Another abbreviation to memorize.
└└Better study, it’ll be on the next test.]
Hoyun’s speech had clearly been a heartfelt thanks to his fans.
But perhaps proof of his growing influence—every single word ended up with a label stuck to it.
<Mango Music Awards Global Artist Award speech, Seo Hoyun: “Sometimes we were anxious.” Bold confession!>
<“So we can proudly say The Dawn is a group that loves”? Is this shade toward idols who won fraudulently?>
Opportunistic media mashers jumped at the chance, slicing up Mango Music Awards clips, slapping on subtitles, layering robotic narration, twisting and packaging the moment however they liked.
[He literally just thanked the fans from start to finish. Calling that a diss is pure reaching.]
[Wow, if people are dissecting it this far, how do they function in daily life??;; I just thought, “Damn, he’s good with words,” while watching TV.]
[At this point, even breathing will be turned into a scandal haha]
Still, most of the public—especially fans—didn’t buy into the twisted takes. Of course, there were some who did cheer them on.
[Guys, do you think Hoyun was throwing shade in that speech? Opinions?
└Of course it was shade LOOOL Look at his word choice, blunt as hell]
[His temper hasn’t changed a bit—just got more elegant (gloomy^^). I still love this man’s style]
[Honestly, I was touched. One fan posted part of their own letter as proof, saying it sounded just like theirs—and it turned out Hoyun really remembered it.
└He’s famous for reading all the letters hahaha
└Still, that was clearly a prepared line. Don’t act like it’s some fresh revelation lol]
Naturally, attention shifted back to Ravish’s acceptance speech at the Green Music Awards, pointed to as the target Hoyun had “dissed.” At Mango Music Awards, since Ravish won nothing, their previous moment was dragged up for comparison.
【—CEO of LV Entertainment, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for bringing us here. We will always respect and love you. Ah! And thank you to the fans as well.】
Even setting aside thanking their own staff, they had spent an excessive amount of time expressing gratitude to GMA staff, while fans only got a single line of thanks at the end.
At the time, people let it slide. But now, compared to The Dawn, Ravish began losing support.
And at the same time, old rumors and buried issues surrounding them started resurfacing.
[They say the scariest ones are the fans who turn into antis...]
[For real.... Ravish’s fans were saints to put up with them this long]
Most of all, since GMA’s voting was only available to paid members, the controversy whipped up even harder.
<Unfair Awards and Corporate Tyranny... Can This Continue?>
<Their Event, Full of Lies and Pretense — A Look at the State of Today’s Award Shows>
With even heavyweight news outlets taking interest, the situation spiraled further.
Meanwhile, Noeuls and Hi-Ris, seeing their names dragged around without any effort on their own part, decisively cut ties with each other.
[It was fun while it lasted, Hi-Ri girls. Be safe in the snow these days.]
[Can’t deny it felt reassuring having Noeul as allies.]
[Go.
Next time we meet... we’ll be enemies.
boys_two_standing_in_rain_like_rivals_turning_backs_at_crosswalk.jpg
└LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
└└God, Noeuls are hilarious LMAOOOOOOOOOO]
***
[Quest Complete!
After the year-end stages of the Green ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Music Awards and Mango Music Awards, The Dawn generated the highest buzz volume among all existing idol groups for four consecutive days.
Success! Awarding 10,000 points.]
[Current Points: 259,000]
“Nice.”
Three days after the Mango Music Awards ended, the quest finally registered the buzz count and granted the points.
LV Entertainment had been greedy from the start. They must have known there’d be backlash, but they pushed Ravish too hard, and in the end, one small crack led to an uncontrollable wave of damage to their image.
“They should’ve at least managed the kids properly.”
If they’d shown even a bare minimum of sincerity to fans, the fallout wouldn’t have been this bad. Surely this will be their most bitter mistake of the year.
Ria Purple, whether back when they were still with a small agency during the year-end joint stage or now absorbed into LV Entertainment, seemed cursed with bad company luck.
Mango Music Awards would be tied up handling backlash, and Ravish would have to keep their heads down for some time.
“That’s what you get for drooling over someone else’s bowl.”
Annoying.
Clicking my tongue, I recalculated my remaining points—barely enough left before resetting Seo Hojin’s memory.
Just then, Jung Dajun sprang up from where he’d been sprawled on the dorm couch, clutching his chest with dramatic sorrow.
“We who might have stayed strangers....”
“.......”
“...Thank you for letting us become your idols like a miracle. Ahhhh!!!”
Stop boiling the same broth dry.
Even at my cold glare, our elephant kept chattering.
“Hoyun-hyung, sometimes you’re really soooo cool!! That day my heart was beating so hard I thought I’d die... right, Ichae-hyung?!”
“Yeah, yeah. My heart almost dropped toooo~.”
Kang Ichae replied lazily, flicking his crossed leg. Dajun still looked clueless, but Ichae had clearly caught on to my intent by then.
“Overprotective.”
That’s what he whispered as he came down the stairs.
My gaze lingered on him for a second, then shifted to my phone. Tomorrow’s schedule in Jeju—season’s greetings and self-made content shoot—I checked it again. Afterward, we’d record WH Entertainment’s New Year’s Day concert.
Sung Jiwon, brewing decaf drip in the kitchen, called over to Ichae and Dajun, who were still messing around.
“Ichae, did you finish packing for Jeju? Dajun said he already did.”
“No, can’t I just borrow all your clothes? Head to toe. Even a sock.”
“Well, if you’re really too lazy, that’s fine too.”
“...No. Thinking about it seriously, I don’t like that....”
Smiling faintly, Jiwon’s calm answer left Ichae fumbling, then he flopped onto the floor with a groan.
“Whatever, I’ll just throw everything together tomorrow morning.”
“Get up. My youngest cousin is nine and more responsible than you. Even she packs her schoolbag the night before. What are you doing?”
“Wait, Sunghyun-hyung! The maknae is me, Jung Dajun!!”
“There’s no Jung listed in my family registry.”
After wrangling with the loud maknaes, Sunghyun finally grabbed Ichae by the scruff and dragged him off to pack.
Jiwon came over to the sofa and handed me a mug of decaf.
“Hoyun, you packed everything?”
“I was planning to borrow yours too.”
“Huh? Uh... ummm......”
It was just a joke, but Jiwon looked flustered, squirming in real time. Watching him squirm as I sipped hot coffee—
Bang!
From the room where Sunghyun and Ichae had gone, a loud crash.
‘...What now?’
“—Wahh!! Uwahh!!”
Sunghyun’s yell followed. Then the door burst open and Sunghyun practically rolled out.
“...What’s wrong?”
Expecting maybe one of Ichae’s nasty pranks, I peeked inside, but even Ichae looked shocked.
“Hey, I-I-I....”
Snatching his phone, which he clutched with a flushed, trembling face, I saw the message on screen—from Jung Seonui, WH Management Team Leader.
[Black Call Joo Woosung, The Dawn Kim Sunghyun, Seo Hoyun — Special Collaboration Stage added. Song selection to follow.]
“Talk about supply where there’s no demand.”
I was already thinking of messaging Seonui to reconsider when beside me, Sunghyun’s dazed voice muttered dreamily—
“...Me, performing a special collab stage with senior Joo Woosung...?”
“...Excuse me, I’m on that list too.”
Even waving my hand in front of his face, Sunghyun seemed blind to everything, mumbling in a daze.
“Is... is this real?”
“Hello? Kim Sunghyun?”
“Could you... slap me once to make sure?”
Now that really killed my mood.
