[Where did our cute little baby bunny go..
└Maybe he crawled into his rabbit holeㅜ.ㅜ
He’s hibernating, sleeping soundly.
└You’re all insane.]
[So what. The Japanese Noeul fans are still saying “Cats are just shy♡.”
└Hopeless...]
It had been a few months since Seo Hoyun halted his activities.
During that blank period, what fans did most was dig through his past.
Especially after Vile Trial was re-released, the flames reignited.
[Title: Damn, Vile Trial got re-released
You wanna make us cry again? The production team is cruel as hell. Releasing it now means they want us dead. Kang Giyeong really dies here, right? But still, what did Kang Giyeong even do wrong? He was just an innocent man who worked himself to death, never even traveled abroad once, only killed someone trying to get revenge, that’s all.]
└You watched it again?
└└Do you even know what love is?
The film was everywhere.
And every time people walked down the street, The Dawn’s songs played.
Billboard entries, Grand Prize winner, countless titles — since the end of January, The Dawn had been on break, yet their songs never left the charts.
[They don’t even drop group content anymore, and still this power lol]
└Because it’s The Dawn...
[I’m so proud I could die.]
Individually, the members still showed up now and then, but with Seo Hoyun absent, there were no full-group promotions.
At best, one or two appeared on variety shows.
Fans grew restless without official activities, but one thing kept their anxiety at bay—
【Freshly filmed fancam today】
The Dawn had opened their own YouTube channel, uploading short clips themselves.
Titles like ohmygodmustwatchNoeulalert, cryingtearsbecauseimissyou, ..youawake? — most were 10-second videos filmed by Kang Ichae and Jung Dajun.
[I still can’t tell if this is an official account or some college students’ project.]
The quality was awful, camera work sloppy, no context.
A clip of Dajun drumming in a mascot suit, a close-up of sleeping Kim Sunghyun’s face zoomed in endlessly, Kang Ichae pretending to cry at his desk, or Sung Jiwon humming casually beside what looked like a corpse in the practice room....
They didn’t care about revenue; it was just a nostalgic archive — which somehow drew even more attention.
[Every time I watch Kang Ichae and Jung Dajun’s videos, why do they feel so normal?
Except their faces are anything but normal.]
Even old footage resurfaced.
Whenever Seo Hoyun appeared, even for a split second, fans hit pause immediately.
He wasn’t doing anything special — just lying in the corner of the practice room, using a duffel bag as a pillow, squishing Dajun’s cheeks.
Or standing next to Kim Sunghyun at a café counter, boredly scrolling his phone while Sunghyun shouted, “One Americano and... a Java Chip Frappuccino with five pumps mocha syrup, one pump hazelnut, extra drizzle, and whole java chips on top, ah, and whipped cream!”
[Sunghyun-ssi, what are you doing.]
[Why does Hoyun look way too used to this order lol.]
And among them, there was one clip with the highest views—
【Hyung, you know~ we have to head out soon.】
It looked like their dorm.
Seo Hoyun lay on the sofa, covered with a black blanket, while Dajun giggled and ran toward him.
【Found Dad!!】
【.......】
【Aww~ Daddy’s not sleeping, don’t change the channel~】
Playful Dajun turned the camera on selfie mode and poked Seo Hoyun’s cheek. He frowned slightly and turned his head away.
【......?】
Huh, he usually wakes up by now... Dajun muttered, suddenly worried, and shook him.
【...Hyung? Hoyun-hyung?! You’re dead, huh?!】
For a while there was no answer, until Seo Hoyun’s eyelashes trembled and his lips moved.
【...Five more minutes.】
【Huh?】
【Five... more minutes....】
He exhaled softly, perfectly still, as if in deep sleep.
Dajun blinked, scratched his head awkwardly, and turned off the camera.
[...Why do I like this.]
[No seriously, why do I like this.]
That was all. Yet fans replayed it endlessly.
[I come here every day. I didn’t know I’d rewatch a 14-second video this much.]
[So Hoyun also begs for “five more minutes.” Ha, I wanna break into his house and tuck him in every night.]
[Is it okay to feel love watching someone sleep?]
[This is my No.1 marriage-encouragement video.
└I made it my alarm sound.
└└I’m ruined.]
They watched and rewatched Seo Hoyun’s past moments over and over, never tiring of them—
but never satisfied, either.
So they searched even harder for traces of him in recent media.
[I swear this video was edited by Hoyun!]
[I smell Hoyun’s touch!]
[No one said anything but the editing’s so clean they just assumed it’s him, I’m dying.]
That fleeting white hand must be Seo Hoyun’s.
That’s the gukbap restaurant he liked.
That scarf hanging on the chair — isn’t that his?
The obsession grew deeper by the day.
[Oh? It’s Seo Hoyun.
I can feel his breath here.]
[Report this freak.]
[LMAOOOOOOOOOO oh my god.]
After laughing for a while, the Noeul fans grew a little quiet.
[I wanna see his face.]
[I know he still messages us often, but I wanna see him move.]
Because they missed him.
[Seo Hoyun smiling and saying “Hello, Noeul” was pure heaven. What’s he doing now, I wonder?
└Heard rumors he’s filming a movie...
└└Caboo, maybe?
└└Please stop listing wishful thoughts...]
And when they got sentimental, hate comments always appeared.
[Seo Hoyun made enough money, he’s not coming back lol.]
[Knew he was slick, but damn, he really cashed out. Male idol life easy as hellㅠㅠ]
But the fans didn’t flinch.
[How cliché.]
They’d been through too much.
By now, they could post “Hoyun I love you” with one hand and curse out the haters with the other.
[Noeul fans’ mental strength is insane;;]
[They don’t even get swayed by malicious posts...]
To which those unshakable fans replied—
[Have you ever seen the mountain move because the wind blows?]
[To reach the stars, one must pay the price of pain.]
[Holy shit, are these Noeul fans Buddhas or Jesuses?]
Every day, they dutifully hit the report button, swore under their breath, and roamed the internet.
[WH sabotage theory seems most likely. Hoyun always said he wanted to see Noeul soon...]
[WH’s at it again, banning their lives.]
[Contract renewal season’s coming, here come the PR stunts. So predictable.]
There was anxiety over contracts, yes, but fans weren’t worried about The Dawn’s will to stay together.
The real problem was always the agency.
[I miss our pretending-to-be-innocent bunny.]
[What was the last video Hoyun appeared in...? Was it that sunset photo he sent?]
[...Letter?
└Shit...
└└Yeah, I regret even mentioning it.]
Even the word “letter” made them sigh.
[I can’t, it hurts too much to watch that one.]
[Can’t even joke about it...]
Late January — truly, every corner of Korea overflowed with Seo Hoyun.
The Dawn’s music played everywhere, subway stations plastered with his face, skyscraper billboards filled with replies to his letter.
It was the peak of his fame—
but even remembering it tore fans’ hearts apart.
Though most memories were of comfort and inspiration, recalling the flood of hate comments that followed still made them furious enough to grab a wrench.
[Sigh, I’m off to watch his aegyo again.]
[Yeah, bbuing-bbuing.]
And so, for months, it was the same loop.
[Seo Hoyun, you addictive bastard, what have you done to me.
I miss you so much. There’s no man like you.]
But today, the weather was nice.
Though the lingering chill of early spring still bit at the air, flowers were starting to bloom.
Somewhere, maybe he was watching that too.
Anyway, they waited.
[Hoyun-ah, come slowly.]
As someone once prayed — tomorrow always comes.
***
“Man~, what a killer day.”
The florist whistled as he looked outside.
It was March, yet the sky hung low and gray. He thought, Gotta take good care of the flowers today, and tapped on his phone.
“Let’s see... today’s reservation.”
His shop was fairly well known, and orders poured in steadily.
Most people booked flowers for graduations or anniversaries, but this time’s open-chat reservation was different—an enormous, extravagant bouquet.
Rare flowers, complex design notes, even reference photos—someone had clearly done their research.
“Why so picky?” he grumbled at first, but when the client said, No price limit, just make it the best, he grinned from ear to ear.
Despite the demanding request, the finished bouquet—mixes of blue and yellow blossoms—was stunning.
“Wow, that’s beautiful.”
Definitely a gift for a lover.
“The person getting this is gonna be thrilled! Wahahaha!”
The pickup time was 2 p.m.; it was now 1:45.
Most customers ran late anyway, so he stood to tidy up.
Srrrk—
Just then, a white, slightly old SUV rolled up in front of the shop. Parallel parked perfectly, he noted absently, then turned back to his work.
Ding. The bell above the door rang, and he greeted the newcomer while jotting something down.
“I’m here to pick up my order.”
A low, husky voice.
“Yes, may I have your name, please?”
“Kang Giyeong.”
Ah, Kang Giyeong.
The one who ordered that huge bouquet.
Still crouched, the florist glanced up—polished black shoes, crisp black slacks, a dark coat on top....
Wow, he’s dressed head to toe in black.
Standing, he smiled politely.
“Ah, one moment please. It’s ready—you’ve already paid, so...”
Then he blinked.
“...Oh.”
A black mask.
Most of his face was covered, but the eyes—those eyes—made the florist freeze.
He reached ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) toward the flower fridge, hand hovering mid-air. The man was staring straight ahead.
Not at him—at the flowers.
“Uh... well... since you’ve already paid, it’s fine.”
Even covered, the man looked strangely familiar.
“You can just take it and—here.”
He hesitated, pulled out the massive marigold bouquet from the showcase, and turned around.
“Kang Giyeong... right?”
“Yes.”
At that, the man gave a short reply and accepted the bouquet.
A faint scent of winter air drifted in as he stepped closer.
He gazed down at the flowers, then smiled softly.
“They’re beautiful.”
“......”
“I like them.”
That voice. So familiar.
“Have a good day,” he said quietly, and left.
The florist stood frozen until the white SUV drove off down the street. Then he blinked rapidly and rushed to his desk, fumbling with his phone.
He typed the name into the search bar—
Kang... Giyeong.
“......”
When he saw the result, the florist exhaled slowly.
