Seo Hoyun’s slyness made Kim Sunghyun shudder with a “Ugh...,” but surprisingly, he didn’t explode. Because the live was still on.
“Didn’t I say I was sick of you? Why did you follow me all the way to Jeju?”
“Seo Hoyun, seriously...”
The words Are you insane? rose up to his throat, but Kim Sunghyun couldn’t get them out, only clutching the back of his neck.
Hoyun, grinning ear to ear, poured salt on the wound.
“No matter how pure and cute you are, this time you’ve crossed the line.”
“......”
[LMAOOOOOOOOOOO]
[Isn’t he just a straight-up lunatic?? LOOOOOOL]
By the time three deep lines etched across Kim Sunghyun’s forehead, Kang Ichae, who had been tidying up the board game, grabbed a wad of fake bills in both hands, stood up, and shoved them at Seo Hoyun. Lifting his gaze toward Ichae, Hoyun arched a single brow.
“Come on, what could my son possibly lack?! Lacking looks? Lacking body? What’s the problem! Wealth?! Look, money! All of this belongs to my boy~!”
[Life game going full nonsense, I love it]
[LOOLLLLLLLL Hoyun suddenly looking interested, lol]
Ichae’s fox-like eyes narrowed even sharper. Seo Hoyun quietly tucked the bills into his chest with a bright smile.
“Well, now that changes the story. Baby, you should’ve told me earlier you were rich.”
“...Seriously annoying....”
Like he’d given up, Kim Sunghyun let out a small sigh, only for Kang Ichae to thrust his face forward from the side.
“You, you, you! Know your place!”
“Father, I already finished fractions back in kindergarten. Now, please step aside so we can clear up misunderstandings and continue our sweet romance.”
What had started as a blind date simulation had long since devolved past makjang drama into full-on skit.
Left out alone, Sung Jiwon muttered with his head slightly lowered.
“Ah, I should’ve played the father....”
[Why are you jealous here...LOOLLLLLLLLL]
[LOLOLOLOLOL ahhh cute hahaha]
Stuck in the middle of the storm named Seo Hoyun and Kang Ichae, Kim Sunghyun trembled. After firing away one-sidedly for a while, Ichae suddenly threw the stash of property cards he’d kept aside at Seo Hoyun.
“Take this and break up with our Sunghyun!”
The paper cards smacked against his chest and fluttered to the floor.
A moment of silence fell, punctuated only by Jung Dajun’s loud gulp.
Hoyun bent slowly to pick them up, glanced at them with half-lidded eyes, and sneered.
“...Father, isn’t your scale a bit too small?”
“What?!”
“With all that fuss, I thought at least it’d be on a grander scale.”
[LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]
And then he even added smoothly, “If you plan to prove your worth right now with a bank transfer, please send it through MJ Bank,” sneaking in an ad plug like it was nothing.
[Holy shit LOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLL that sly little ad LMAOOOOOOO]
[LOLOLOLOLOL insane LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo]
[Noeul said they wanted a blind date, but hahahaha this is not what they meant hahahaha]
Swallowed in this endless skit between Hoyun and Ichae, Sunghyun tipped his head back, meeting the ceiling in despair. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, opened them again, and said:
“Let’s stop now....”
“Yeah, let’s stop this flirting.”
“I’m exhausted.”
“Love was never meant to be easy.”
But Seo Hoyun smiled mischievously and threw aside Sunghyun’s suggestion.
[Hoyun spitting nothing but quotes]
[Sunghyun, what did you do to him today?LOOOL He’s extra fierce LOOOL]
Glancing at the lively stream chat, Sunghyun smoothed his expression and tried to calm Hoyun several times. But when Hoyun kept openly smirking with stiff eyes, he finally exploded.
“Hey, just because I told you to worry about your collaboration earlier doesn’t mean—!”
“......”
“......”
“......”
“......Nng?”
All the members turned to look at Sunghyun.
Even the fans’ comments froze.
[???]
[Collab??]
[????]
Noeul began reacting cautiously, wrinkles gathered on Hoyun’s forehead, and Jung Dajun, startled, dropped his snack. Just then, the live cut off.
The ice pack on the tablet had melted, dripping water and causing the device to shut down. But from the outside, it looked like they’d dropped a bomb and fled without cleaning up.
As everyone exchanged nervous glances, Kang Ichae muttered belatedly.
“...Did you just spoil something?”
“...Uh... ha, haha....”
With a hollow laugh, Sunghyun dropped his head onto the table like the world had ended.
.
.
.
“Hey, Sunghyun-hyung is getting scolded.”
“Whoa, it’s rare to see him getting told off.”
The very next day at the Season’s Greetings shoot, Sunghyun had to take heat for the live incident.
Sometimes idols would purposely leak spoilers as fanservice, but for WH Entertainment’s concert, the company strictly controlled information.
“Alright, let’s focus on work now.”
Sung Jiwon patted Ichae and Dajun’s backs to get them moving.
This time, the shoot was set in Jeju’s reed fields, rented out entirely for the occasion. Even though the temperature was higher than in Seoul, the lack of buildings left the cold wind cutting through, making it feel freezing.
Still, they had no choice but to remove their coats and check their outfits one last time. The photographer in charge gave a thumbs-up in satisfaction.
“Seo Hoyun, today’s outfit really suits you.”
It was the third Season’s Greetings release.
Their debut year as The Dawn had been skipped entirely. Considering Daepaseong Entertainment had been paying for junk songs like “Mang Mang Mang,” it wasn’t surprising.
Grinding his teeth against the chill that bit to the bone, Hoyun locked eyes with the camera lens.
After hours of relentless shooting, they finally reviewed the takes with Lee Jihyun from Daepaseong’s planning team.
The bleak winter sky and desolate scenery matched the strained faces enduring the cold, producing striking photos.
“This season’s concept turned out really nice, right?!”
Normally, Season’s Greetings were cheerful, bright, and cozy for the new year. But this one deliberately aimed for a totally different direction.
“That hazy retro vibe, like it was shot on a 90s film camera!! Isn’t it amazing?!”
Were you even born back then?
As Hoyun changed into a shirt of deep blue fabric printed with white clouds, layered over a plain white tee, Jihyun chattered even more excitedly.
“And we put meaning into all the props and costumes too! They look peaceful, but there’s this dangerous outsider aura!! But since it’d be boring if everyone looked the same, Kim Sunghyun and Kang Ichae are undercover cops... Why, why are you looking at me like that?”
Realizing she’d been rambling, Jihyun rolled her eyes nervously.
“Jihyun, just be honest. Did you get a big bonus?”
“...I’ve realized inspiration really does come from money....”
Hoyun curled his lips and looked around.
Naturally, the behind-the-scenes camera was focused entirely on “Daepaseong’s rising dance star Jung Dajun,” who was suddenly showing off some random breakdancing.
Hoyun leaned closer to Jihyun and lowered his voice.
“By the way, Team Leader Jung Seonui isn’t here today? I haven’t seen her around lately.”
It wasn’t essential, but Hoyun was curious who had tried to shove him among the main dancers.
Jihyun answered with a sigh.
“Hmm, not sure. Team Leader Jung wasn’t really our dedicated person anyway. Plus, Black Call has their comeback next year. She must be busy juggling things.”
Just as he was about to nod, she suddenly added, like something came to mind.
“Oh! Now that I think of it, she’s been having a lot of meetings with higher-ups lately, looked really busy.”
“Higher-ups?”
Maybe because they’d endured Daepaseong’s hardships together, Jihyun spoke freely without caution.
“Yes, uh... was it Executive Director Han Jiheok? I heard she’s been summoned by him frequently. Probably promotion-related? Or maybe bonuses.”
Executive Director Han Jiheok?
Only months ago, when the company was in turmoil with internal politics, he had been at the center of the storm.
A man as tricky as they came.
Why would he be meeting Jung Seonui so often?
That uneasy feeling lingered as Hoyun retraced recent events in his mind. Jihyun packed up materials and added cheerfully:
“...Anyway, let’s work hard through the rest of December. Our team’s predicting we can really expect good things at the start of the year.”
“You mean prepare an award speech?”
“Of course! I’ll write mine too. Something like: ‘I’m grateful to have miraculously become The Dawn’s planner’....”
Jihyun waved playfully and hurried off toward the staff with the props.
The shoot continued late into the night.
They even ate dinner from boxed meals, finishing all planned content before finally returning to the pension.
But rest wasn’t immediate—there was still the task of writing short Season’s Greetings messages to each other for the postcards.
Freshly showered, hair half-dried, the members huddled in the living room with tablets provided by the company.
These will go on the back of the postcards, huh.
Twiddling his pen, Hoyun peeked at Sung Jiwon beside him, who was wearing a tangerine-shaped orange hat from god-knows-where, scribbling enthusiastically.
[Though I couldn’t make you into a dancing machine now, ten years from now I definitely will, Hoyun! I swear!!]
“...Cough.”
You too, huh....
Turning away, Hoyun saw Kang Ichae writing to Jung Dajun. Dajun, curious after spotting his own name, peeked over, only for Ichae to immediately cross out his neat Korean letters and switch to English.
“That’s so petty!!”
“Fufufu.”
“Hyung! You know everything gets translated these days, right?! Don’t underestimate my generation!”
The maknae tried using his phone to scan Ichae’s writing, but the fancy cursive only registered as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ nonsense letters.
“...Smart fans will figure it out later....”
Pouting, Dajun retreated but kept trying, borrowing other phones to re-scan.
After watching this unfold, Hoyun set his pen down and stood.
“Hey, you guys keep writing.”
“Eh? Why?!”
“Where are you going, Hoyun?”
“Too distracting. I’ll write later.”
He gestured toward the veranda and stepped out onto the first-floor terrace.
Closing the window cut off the noise at once.
Crossing his arms inside his sweatshirt sleeves, Hoyun looked up. More stars sparkled than in Seoul, and the crisp sea air filled his nose.
Still chilly, but oddly refreshing. Until—
Ding!
[Why aren’t you writing now?]
“Because I’ll write soon, you slacker.”
The words were obvious anyway.
Thanks. Let’s do well next year. That kind of thing.
Unless, at the upcoming awards, The Dawn actually won a Daesang. Then it’d be “Thanks” turned into “Thanked.”
Judging from public response and company data, The Dawn’s chances were very high.
If we win, I’ll use that momentum to talk with Kang Ichae too.
Not an easy person, but Hoyun planned to strike at the perfect timing for his scenario quest.
Looking back, he saw the four of them laughing and messing around in the living room.
“Wow... looks nice....”
It stirred something in his chest.
—What if he returned to his original world, and they were idols nobody had ever heard of?
—What if he returned, and they existed in a completely different form?
—What if...
...No. Never.
Not after how far he’d brought them.
Even if people said he’d sold his soul, he would drag them to this level of success—or higher.
Clenching his teeth, he swept his bangs up. His phone buzzed.
[Joo Woosung: (photo)]
[Joo Woosung: Nyangnyangie]
A selfie of Woosung with his cat. For once, the background wasn’t his home but somewhere unfamiliar.
So what.
Hoyun ignored it and turned back toward the pension—only for another message to arrive.
[Joo Woosung: Behind haha]
Narrowing his eyes, Hoyun tilted his head back in annoyance—just as something soft and warm brushed his cheek. White fluff filled his vision.
“Hello, Clumsy?”
Holding Nyangnyangie in his arms, Joo Woosung grinned.
