[When the boys cried, I cried too..]
Up until the moment The Dawn won the Grand Prize at the Korean Music Awards, Noeul’s spirits were soaring to the heavens.
[TT_TT The Grand Prize was so emotional.
I can’t believe they came this far.]
[I mean, I knew they’d win... no, I knew they were already superstars, but actually seeing it happen in front of me made my heart shake.]
[It feels so damn good. A whole year’s worth of frustration just melted away.]
[Ah!!!!! Grand Prize winners, The Dawn!!!!!!! So proud!!!!]
However, in the live broadcast that followed, there was no sign of Seo Hoyun. Not even in the reaction video for the Grand Prize acceptance.
All the private messages he usually sent to fans, all his updates—gone. There was nothing from him on any official SNS either.
[Is something wrong? T_T There’s no announcement or anything..]
[Wow, thought he was the “forever fan-loving idol,” huh~? The way he cut us off right after winning is crazy.]
└ They just won the Grand Prize—why would he cut people off, do you even have a brain?
└└ Seriously LOOOL even hate comments need a bit of intellect T_T
[It’s nothing serious, right..?]
About a week later, WH Entertainment suddenly posted an official notice announcing Seo Hoyun’s temporary suspension of activities.
The reason was health-related.
[Huh, Hoyun’s sick?;;]
[GET WELL SOON HOYUN]
[Hey, Seo Hoyun’s the type who pushes through even when he’s sick... He must’ve really not been doing well at the awards.]
[WE LOVE YOU!!]
[I know, right? Even back in Japan, he worked so hard. During that MV shoot, the staff said later that he was in bad shape but stayed quiet and pulled through T_T]
[How bad is it T_T He already seemed off at the ceremony..]
The notice explained that due to his ongoing poor condition, all activities were being temporarily halted on the medical team’s advice.
But maybe because of how he acted during the ceremony, controversy began to spread online.
[Title: S.H.Y. doesn’t seem sick, he seems out of his mind
Especially his acceptance speech.
His attitude was so weird;;
He couldn’t even finish it, Kang Ichae had to take over.
People say it’s just because he was emotional, but no way LOOL]
└ Everyone saw how weird he was. Fans are just desperately shielding him.
└ What happened?? What did Seo Hoyun do??
└ He just zoned out completely when they won.
└└ ;; Just watched the clip. Was that... a panic attack?
└└ A panic attack? At the moment he wins? He looked fine on stage, he.. Just a dead-fish-eyed ending.
└└ Comments are insane. Since when do mental breakdowns follow a schedule lolol
[Title: I’ve been through this, so I’m sure.
It’s 100% panic disorder for Seo Hoyun,,
└ Right?? T_T
└ Yeah, I think so too. People say it’s nerves or emotion, but nah.
└ Ah, humanity’s doomed. Get lost.]
[Title: Aren’t people overanalyzing?
He just looked like he couldn’t believe it.
I went on YouTube and the forums, and everyone’s only talking about Seo Hoyun, even on other fandom boards.
People really love labeling celebs as freaks~]
└ It’s only because he’s famous that this became a thing lolol If he were some no-name, no one would care.
└ I did think it looked strange though..
Just—idols don’t usually look that blank at a time like that.
Who wins a Grand Prize and looks like that?
└ The members looked exhausted trying to cover for him.
└ Not just idol forums, literally everywhere’s split lololol “He was moved” vs “He had a panic attack.”
└└ Please, anyone with eyes can see he’s not fine. And now suddenly “health issues” and a hiatus?
└└LOLOL These lunatics are pounding their keyboards like it’s their big moment.]
Even Noeuls—who would normally just brush off this kind of mess and habitually report hate comments—were starting to waver.
[My hands are shaking..]
No matter what storms were raging around them, Seo Hoyun had always smiled as if to say, “What’s there to worry about?”
[Ah, I’m worried.. I’ve never seen him like this T_T
He’s never been like this before, that’s what makes it scarier..]
[Hoyun, it’s okay.
I can wait as long as it takes!!]
[You’ve worked so hard all this time. It’s okay to rest. I love you.]
[Hoyun, I love you so much.]
Because that day—he wasn’t smiling.
***
“Huff, huff...”
Jung Dajun took a deep breath.
He had borrowed a car and driven alone all the way to the countryside where The Dawn had filmed their self-made rural content three and a half years ago.
‘The rain’s really coming down hard....’
The weather couldn’t have been worse.
Biting his lower lip lightly, Jung Dajun turned off the engine. To find the time capsule they had buried together back then, he’d have to climb higher up, but the downpour made it impossible to drive any farther.
So he pulled a raincoat from the glove compartment, put it on, and decided to go on foot.
“Ugh, seriously...”
Aside from the sound of rain, the world was silent.
The reason he had come all the way out to this remote village wasn’t just because all schedules had been canceled.
“Ugh, mud.”
Jung Dajun had sensed a strange mood among the team lately—especially Seo Hoyun.
From the moment they received the award, he’d seemed... off.
Even during the encore performance, the meticulous Seo Hoyun missed all his parts. That alone was unsettling.
He had cautiously mentioned it to some WH {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Entertainment staff, but all he got was a dismissive response.
“Oh, Hoyun? Well, he probably just needs a break. Once he rests a bit, he’ll be fine.”
It wasn’t exactly the wrong answer, but still suspicious. Normally, Seo Hoyun would’ve recorded a live broadcast no matter what.
And sure enough, his unease proved right. Seo Hoyun vanished—cut off all contact for over a week.
He had never caused this kind of problem before, so the company had a minor stir at first, but it quickly died down.
They said he probably needed rest after working so hard, that this kind of thing happened all the time, that plenty of celebrities disappeared on event days.
Everyone was content to just gloss it over.
‘...That’s because they don’t know him.’
Anyone else, maybe.
But not Seo Hoyun—someone who strictly separated business from personal life. He would never disappear irresponsibly over some private matter.
The other members seemed to share the same concern, visiting his house repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Dajun buried himself in practice at the company, but every time he ran into the older members, he’d rush up and ask about Seo Hoyun’s condition.
“Hyung, how is he?!”
“...Oh, Hoyun’s taking a short break.”
“What??”
“Yeah. Guess he overdid it a little. He’ll be back soon.”
“Really?!”
The day he finally heard even that tiny bit of news from Sung Jiwon—
Seeing how grim the older members’ faces had been just before they noticed him, Dajun couldn’t shake the unease. So he quietly followed them up to the studio on the upper floor.
“—...I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“......Hmm.”
Pressing himself flat against the corner wall and peeking out, he saw Sung Jiwon lower his eyes with a heavy sigh.
“...Hoyun said he already told the company, and he seems to be in contact with them... So let’s just not bother him anymore.”
“I know. Stirring things up won’t help. Still, we should keep an eye on him every few days.”
Hearing Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon debate whether to tell the younger members, Dajun hesitated—then turned to leave.
They must’ve heard him, because both called out in alarm, but he ignored them, ran out of the building, and grabbed a taxi. He was going to the dorm to tell Kang Ichae everything.
“—So, you’re saying he’s got nowhere to go back to.”
But Dajun never got the chance.
The moment he entered through the front door, Kang Ichae was on the phone with someone.
“Hyung, please, just meet me. I didn’t know. If I had known, I never would’ve agreed! I only remembered after the award...”
The ever-composed Kang Ichae was visibly on edge. Dajun froze mid-step.
“...Yeah, I was stupid. I should’ve suspected when the system got transferred to me. You, me, all of us—we were all deceived by Seo Hojin.”
Seo Hojin?
That name sounded familiar, but from where...?
Right then, Kang Ichae fell silent.
The quiet stretched on, and Dajun couldn’t tell what it meant.
“......So, you’re just going to stay like this? Because Hojin’s gone?”
When Kang Ichae finally spoke again, his voice trembled.
“Now you’re just going to quit?”
Startled, Dajun stumbled back a step—just as the door suddenly opened.
Kang Ichae stood there, face rigid, ending the call with a single tap. Then, saying only that he’d be stepping out for a while, he left.
Left alone in the dorm, Jung Dajun was consumed by confusion.
‘...Quit? What does he mean, quit?’
Was he talking about retiring?
Growing frantic, Dajun tried calling Seo Hoyun. No answer.
“Huff, huff...”
That’s why.
In his desperation to do something, he came here—hoping to dig up a piece of their past, something to help persuade him.
‘It should be around here.’
Soaked to the bone despite the raincoat, Dajun finally reached the old house. He grabbed the shovel lying on the floor and began digging where the time capsule had been buried.
Rainwater pressed heavy on his eyelashes, and dirt splattered across his cheeks. He wiped his face roughly with his arm and gripped the shovel again.
“Ugh!”
After digging down to his waist, Dajun slipped and fell, rolling onto the muddy ground. He lay there for a moment, staring blankly up at the dark sky, before pulling out his phone.
[Hello?]
“L-Lee Jihyun...”
[Mr. Jung Dajun?]
When he asked Lee Jihyun about the time capsule, she seemed startled before explaining that the company had it stored, worried someone might steal it.
Saying he’d come pick it up right away, Dajun rushed back to the company. He walked straight through the lobby in his mud-stained raincoat, ignoring the horrified stares, and approached Lee Jihyun, who had come down to wait for him.
Her eyes widened in shock.
“Oh my god, are you okay?”
“Do you have the time capsule?!”
“Uh, yes...”
She handed him the slightly grimy capsule. Dajun carefully opened it.
[Still holding onto our desperation—hoping our fans can stay happy.]
The neat handwriting looked like Kim Sunghyun’s. Dajun quickly unfolded the next letter.
[Ah~~ K-pop’s Jung Dajun’s gonna conquer the world loool Just you wait lolol~~!!]
He frowned at his own message, then hurriedly checked the others.
‘Hope we can always have fun together—’, ‘May The Dawn always stay happy—’ Reading through Kang Ichae’s and Sung Jiwon’s letters in turn, he finally pulled out the last one.
[Return everything to the way it was.]
‘The way it was?’
Across the elegant handwriting were two bold lines drawn through the text.
[Five years from now, let’s still make sure to eat properly lolol Even if I nag, don’t stress too much~^^]
...Why did that make him so angry?
Swallowing a sigh, Dajun thanked Lee Jihyun with a quick bow and headed straight for Seo Hoyun’s apartment.
He already knew the others had been turned away multiple times, so he braced himself and pressed the doorbell repeatedly.
“...Eh?”
The door swung open.
It was Seo Hoyun—after about ten days.
He looked thinner, the whites of his eyes bloodshot and red.
Just as Dajun stood there, speechless, Seo Hoyun’s gaze slowly lifted to meet his—and he muttered sluggishly,
“...Why?”
