Jung Dajun’s hand, holding the drumsticks, shot up.
“Then, let’s begin!”
At the same time, he threw the sticks into the air, caught them again, and struck the snare drum.
[Is this live????]
[lrmdje;ldrya dhlrmd‘;;;; are they doing a band live????!~!!#@@]
[Wow, idols doing a live band performance the moment they show up lololololol]
Watching that scene with satisfaction, Sung Jiwon lowered his head slightly toward the microphone and began to sing.
【...—Just meeting your eyes makes me tremble
and I end up stuttering like a fool】
It was “Superhero,” one of the songs from the same album as “Our Brilliant Dawn,” which they had promoted with in Japan. His sweet tone spread through the air.
[AAAAAAHHHH AAAAAHHHHH AAAHHHHHHHH]
[Everyone come quick, the full group is singing Superhero live]
[Wow Sung Jiwon’s vocals are literally from heaven....]
【Even though my hands tremble, I still want to hold you
Even if we can’t be together in this moment】
Kim Sunghyun and Kang Ichae tapped their feet to the rhythm as they played the electric guitars.
[I really want to marry Kim Sunghyun
A man who would take care of my life
└Even if he’s just practicing with a hobby band, if I called, he’d come home right away
└└Ah, stop, I’m drooling]
[Ichae-ya ( ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )
Ichae-ya (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ) Ichae-ya ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽~~~~!!!
└Shit, this is scary, the crying is getting more violent
└It’s literally tears of blood lolololololol]
And while glancing over the other members, Seo Hoyun plucked the bass strings steadily, his lips curling slightly.
【The dream we drew behind the stage
The color of you that dyed my colorless self
Is melting into the sunset and lighting up my world】
[They look good]
[How long has it been since a full The Dawn live.. I’m so glad they look healthy]
[I keep forgetting to screenshot.. I had so many things I wanted to ask after the Ichae collab but now I’m just happy seeing them. Is this what love is]
[Guys... we really missed you...]
As the song ended, leaving a lingering echo, fans assumed the next part would, of course, be the communication segment.
“Okay, next one!”
“Let’s gooo!!!”
Jing—.
With the ringing of Kang Ichae’s electric guitar, they dove straight into the next song.
[Wait, can we talk for a second, that was emotional—]
It was “Garage,” the NerdyFreak song Kang Ichae had participated in and featured on.
From there, the medley continued through several songs, lasting over an hour until they reached their first fan song, “Will You Go to Prom with Me?”
“Hey, Kang Ichae, you were fast just now.”
“I know. It happened when I was matching Dajun’s tempo. I’ll slow down from now on.”
Just when they finally put down their instruments, before they could even catch their breath, a review of the performance started—mostly Seo Hoyun scolding Kang Ichae one-sidedly.
[Hoyun talking to Ichae just now too... the members’ whole conversation feels more mature somehow]
[Ah, idols who’ve gained years of experience... beautiful..]
[Right, they’ve really matured
At least until the camera catches Dajun
└lololololololol they treat him like a puppy lololololol
└Is this a pet cam or something lol I feel nervous not knowing what he’s doing
└Excuse me, we were going for emotional vibes lolololololol]
Apparently unsatisfied, The Dawn tried matching the rhythm again, but it only led to Seo Hoyun and Kang Ichae bickering.
“...—Hey! You said you’d slow down! Why are your fingers getting faster?!”
“Sorry! Now that I hear it, the fast tempo sounds cooler!!”
[Take back what I said about them being mature
└lololololololololol the switch was instant lololol]
[The Dawns... are still the same
└Kim Sunghyun isn’t even pretending to stop them. He’s already given up]
[The Dawn really is a family (just... not the heartwarming kind)]
Watching Kang Ichae and Seo Hoyun squabbling noisily, Kim Sunghyun finally stepped up, expression flat, and approached the camera.
“Noeul, have you been well? Ah... ignore what’s going on behind us.”
[We can’t ignore the background, leader]
[It looks like the band’s about to break up]
[This chaos is fascinating to watch]
Sung Jiwon came up next and draped an arm over Kim Sunghyun’s shoulder, smiling.
“It’s fine, it’s the usual.”
Peeking from the side, Jung Dajun nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
“It feels a bit awkward since it’s been a while since our last live, but I’m glad we’re together.”
“Yeah.”
“For real!”
And the three of them chatted calmly as if the two in the back weren’t fighting at all.
[Wow..... they’re literally having a fierce argument in the background while the others just carry on
└They must be so used to it lolololol]
Meanwhile, Seo Hoyun ended the quarrel by pushing down Kang Ichae’s head, then quietly joined the others.
“Noeul, hello.”
Pouting and fixing his hair, even Kang Ichae quickly squeezed in beside them at that voice.
[Hoyun-ah Hoyun-ah it’s been so long did you eat??]
[Ah, my baby’s face is pure heaven]
[He looks a little thinner TT_TT]
“Haha, yes. I’ve eaten.”
Just as his eyes moved quickly across the comments, not missing a single one, Seo Hoyun’s gaze suddenly froze.
[Guys I’m the manager, when’s our next comeback again??]
Seo Hoyun slowly spoke.
“—When’s the next comeback?”
The moment he read aloud the question he’d normally avoid, a heavy silence fell, and all the members turned toward him.
“Hmm....”
As if collecting his thoughts, Seo Hoyun paused briefly, then his eyes softened.
“Well, I don’t know yet.”
[Would you even?]
“Right! It’s still early~.”
Jumping in quickly, Jung Dajun chimed along. It seemed like the tension might pass—until Seo Hoyun suddenly began humming.
[???]
“Ah—ah, I’m coming to you—.”
Kim Sunghyun, chugging from a bottle as if his throat had gone dry from nerves, suddenly choked and spat the water everywhere. His chin and shirt were soaked, but he didn’t even bother wiping them, rushing instead to block Seo Hoyun’s mouth.
[Hey, Seo Hoyun’s whole head just got covered lololololololol]
[He’s basically got his hand wrapped around his head lolololol]
While the youngest tried to steer the topic away and Kim Sunghyun darted his eyes around praying for calm, Seo Hoyun stayed still. When Sunghyun finally let go—
“—rry on—...”
“Yah!!”
Kim Sunghyun yelled, clapping a hand back over his mouth again, not realizing it only made things look more suspicious.
[lololololololololol he’s totally spoiling it lololololololololol]
[Ah... the no-brakes king has returned]
[Feels like it’s not the title track but a B-side??? Good job, Hoyun, good job good job]
At that, Sung Jiwon scratched his cheek and stood up.
“Hoyun-ah, are you okay?”
With a wavy groove in his movement—
“If you’re sick, wanna go home?”
He turned smoothly and gestured toward Seo Hoyun, making Kim Sunghyun’s face twist with pure betrayal.
[LOL one guy stops him and another starts right after]
[Is this a new choreography spoiler?? lolololololol]
[Jiwon-ah you weren’t like this before... lololol
└Even Jiwon’s craving for gags now, it’s hard out here lolololol]
Observing silently until now, Kang Ichae suddenly stood up, face serious.
“Seriously! What are you all doing!”
“Huh?”
“You’re being totally unprofessional.”
Glaring down at the members, he ran his hand roughly through his hair, then suddenly grabbed his electric guitar and struck a chord.
Jiiing—.
“—You have to add the backing track!”
“Aha!”
[Sung Jiwon ‘Aha’ certified lol]
[lolololololololololololololololololololol]
At this point, even Jung Dajun gave up and started going wild with the rest of them.
[Title: Jung Dajun Joins the Spoil Fest
Dajun: (doing b-boy top rock) Hyung! Long time no see! What do you want to eat?!
Ichae: (responding with waacking) Anything’s fine. As long as Dajun didn’t make it.
└Normally the older ones would stop them around now, but the problem is they’re crazy too (except Kim Sunghyun)]
As things devolved completely, Seo Hoyun—the root cause of all this—sat there calmly as if he had nothing to do with it.
Kim Sunghyun’s face alone was turning red and pale in real time.
[Sunghyun-ah... this is partly your fault
If you’d just let it go, everyone would’ve thought Hoyun was just randomly humming
└Harsh but true, Noeul
└You can see Sunghyun’s pupils shaking T_T lololol]
“Hey, cut it out and let’s play the last song.”
Deciding the only solution was to finish the live quickly, Kim Sunghyun slung the guitar strap over his shoulder and jerked his chin.
The members, still fooling around and dropping spoilers, reluctantly returned to their positions at the leader’s command.
[At least they still listen eventually
Though about as often as a cat in puberty obeys
└It’s serious, guys]
[It’s fun watching Sunghyun get dragged into things.
└You’re the worst..]
“Noeul, whew... are you ready?”
Within just a few hours, Kim Sunghyun’s complexion had visibly worsened. Unlike the frenzy on their private SNS accounts, only calm, well-mannered comments flooded into the live chat.
[Kyah I’m so excited~~♡]
[How did they know I love emotional bands~~~ haha]
[Noeul’s ready~~!!!]
“Haha, great. The last song we’ll play for you tonight is ‘Colors’...”
Doom, doo-doong, doom—.
But before Kim Sunghyun could even finish his sentence, Seo Hoyun slipped in a bass chord.
Diriring―, doom doom—.
Bang! Dadadadak, bang!
Without realizing it, Kim Sunghyun’s fingers caught the strings of his electric guitar. From behind, Kang Ichae and Jung Dajun, who had been quietly whispering together, jumped and scrambled to play their parts. Finally, Sung Jiwon burst out laughing and added piano accompaniment, completing an unfamiliar intro.
With a sly smirk, Kang Ichae leaned forward toward the microphone.
“I’m running straight to you right now—.”
Crash!
Thud! Clatter!
Throwing off his electric guitar as if it were burning him, Kim Sunghyun bolted forward in panic.
【The live has ended!】
The screen tilted downward—and the live abruptly shut off.
[LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO these guys never change LOOOOOOLLLLLLLL]
[Sunghyun runs fast LMAOOOOOOOO
└The leader’s tragedy feat. four runaway locomotives]
[Ah, so the new concept is band style, thank you, we understand perfectly now LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO]
[Even Sunghyun played without realizing it, that’s killing me
└Exactly.. he must’ve practiced so much it’s automatic LOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL]
About thirty minutes later, a long, apologetic post appeared on The Dawn’s fan platform, written by Kim Sunghyun himself.
In short: “Sorry for ending the live so suddenly without saying goodbye, and we promise to show you ‘Colors’ properly next time.”
But for Noeul, the fans, the live performance was already old news.
[That didn’t sound like the title track, right? More like a b-side??
└Yeah yeah yeah yeah]
[Ah, I wasn’t expecting much but I’m happy, looks like the comeback’s soon TT__TT idols who spoil before official teasers drop
└Their Daepaseong-era habits are showing LOOOOOOOLLLLLL
└LMAOOOOOOOOO they act like big-label live guidelines mean nothing to them LMAOOOO]
[It’s hilarious that no one cares about Sunghyun’s apology post
└Hey, you’re a Sunghyun stan LOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL
└Sunghyun stans have been the worst since earlier LOOOOOLLL]
Starting from that live, almost as if to celebrate Kang Ichae’s return, The Dawn began dropping group photos and clips nearly every hour.
[They’re uploading from the practice room, the soup restaurant, the dorm—ah... this is happiness.
└Who chose the soup place?
└└Who do you think?
└└F*ck LMAOOOOOO]
[Jiwon’s been posting a lot lately, I’m so happy TT__TT and Dajun’s selfie game is insane these days]
[Tlqkf Kang Ichae’s gone crazy TT_TT the airport sighting pics from Incheon were already legendary and now every upload is another masterpiece TT_TT]
[Title: I asked on PopPop why Kang Ichae’s so happy lately LOOOL
He said, ‘Because I’m back!!’
└Too cute, our sly fox..
└He must’ve had a hard time alone in the U.S. TT_TT
└Sending pictures every ten minutes, Kang Ichae,
you’re making it hard to organize my albums (smirk)]
Just as the fandom was enjoying this rare warm atmosphere, new news broke.
〈The Dawn confirmed for “Song Camp” Season 3...〉
An article announcing The Dawn’s appearance on Song Camp.
[Song Camp?? Soooong Camp? That variety show I’m thinking of?]
[Oh, wow! Did you see last season’s ratings? Just appearing on it boosts public recognition!]
[WH actually working for once?]
Fans were thrilled—it was a great chance to raise their public profile. But that joy didn’t last long.
〔Song Camp.
Those who dare challenge Billboard songwriters—show your skills.
The ultimate songwriting competition begins, with idols, trot singers, rappers, and singer-songwriters all vying for 1st place!〕
[Ah fck, Song Camp suddenly turned into a survival show]
[Broadcast bastards are selling off Kang Ichae LOOOOL it’s hilarious, those shts (actually not funny)]
[Ugh I’m nervous.. they’re not seriously gonna keep splitting the screen with Kang Ichae and someone else the whole time, right? Damn it, they’ll drag him into some clickbait rivalry T_T this is gonna be so annoying]
They couldn’t help but seethe after reading the program’s “concept statement”—though, of course, they kept the outrage locked safely within the fandom.
For the general audience, especially those who had been half-doubting Kang Ichae’s talent after the NerdyFreak collaboration, the news was simply exciting.
[Title: Song Camp lineup revealed
The Dawn
Baek Jijun
K.Voka
Jo Youngbi
Kang Woorin
LUMA
Looks like a concert whoaa
└Holy crap, Luma’s coming
└Heol, Kang Woorin!!!! Ahhh Jo Youngbi!!!
└I’m most shocked about Baek Jijun.. the PD must’ve gone all-out with casting LOOOOOOL
└└Right?? The “3-second first love” is appearing on TV again..
└└“3-second first love”? What’s that mean?
└└Because Baek Jijun never shows his face publicly. After his only 3-second appearance on a show, people nicknamed him that lolol he was so handsome it blew up a little.
└└??? For real? When was he ever on a show? LOOOL
└└ https://www.neotube.com/watch?bAekJIJun3sEConD?S
Go look at Baek Jijun’s face
└└Baby♡
└└LOOOOOLLL god damn you fall in love fast
└Baek Jijun, I love you... is it possible to fall for someone who only appeared for 3 seconds in a behind-the-scenes clip? Apparently, yes.]
In the past few years, almost every hit K-drama OST had Baek Jijun’s fingerprints on it.
The rest of the lineup were all names known for strong songwriting reputations, so even before the official trailer dropped, reactions were explosive.
[This lineup’s insane lolololol they could hold a concert instead
└Since TBS launched a similar show, looks like QBS is going all-in lolol with this cast in a survival lol
└└TBS: “We’ll just plagiarize it~”
QBS: “Go ahead, try^^”
└└LMAOOOOOOOO yeah QBS are total beasts]
[They brought in so many big names this time. The last seasons paired composers with singers, but now they’ve gone full celebrity lineup.
└Exactly, they must want sky-high ratings this season, everyone’s famous LOOOL
└└Haha, yeah this I gotta watch]
[K.Voka.. he’s the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) god of hip-hop.. please crush these idols trying to sneak into hip-hop again
└Get over yourself LOL]
[Baek Jijun vs Kang Ichae’s gonna be insane omg]
[But honestly, Kang Ichae’s nowhere near Baek Jijun’s level LOOOOL
└Kang Ichae entered Billboard though?
└└That was his company’s doing T_T damn people in this country are way too naïve
└└Let’s be real, Kang Ichae only got there because of his fandom and NerdyFreak’s pull. If it were his own talent, The Dawn’s songs would’ve hit Billboard ages ago
└└Exactly LOOOL
└One-hit-wonder Kang Ichae vs Baek Jijun, god of countless timeless ballads]
[I vote Baek Jijun too.
He’s been active since he was in college, tons of famous songs. His reputation’s unbeatable. Doesn’t sing much these days, but I’d say composition-wise he’s neck-and-neck with Cheongbeom.]
[He dominated last year’s charts. Kang Ichae’s nowhere near that level lolol
└Then again, The Dawn’s songs dominated the charts last year too LOOOL stop pretending otherwise
└└Streaming your own songs with fandom mass-plays isn’t “skill,” you know lol]
Flaring hotter and hotter, Song Camp devoured public attention—positive or negative alike—overshadowing every other program airing in the same slot.
[It’s already chaos, holy sh*t lolololol]
Well, after all, the most entertaining things in the world are watching fires burn and watching people fight.
