“That’s impossible!”
It took Kang Ichae fourteen full hours to completely come to his senses. In other words, he only woke up after eating three bowls of rice, watching Jung Dajun say, “Then I’ll be off!” and fall fast asleep, and then head out to find a new place to live.
The deranged rapper was more hysterical than ever.
“This makes no sense! No way! No, no, no, wait a minute—what kind of situation is this?! A d-dream?! The maknae is moving out? Why?!”
Except for Jung Dajun, who had gone out to look for an apartment, and Kim Sunghyun, who followed out of worry, every member was in the dorm.
“Seo Hoyun hyung isn’t moving out, even though he’s been suffering the most here! Sunghyun hyung, who’s also gone through hell, isn’t moving out either! So why the hell is the maknae going first?! Did I do something wrong?! Ohhh... ohhh... sob sob sob. Damn it, my life...!”
“Wow, that’s like a musical.”
The emotional range was theatrical. Sung Jiwon clapped lightly in genuine admiration.
What the hell was he even talking about? What could possibly be missing? Kang Ichae was clutching his hair and muttering obsessively, but Sung Jiwon, who was tidying up a shelf, and Seo Hoyun, who was lying on the sofa chewing dried squid while scrolling on his phone, didn’t seem particularly moved.
Seo Hoyun said lazily,
“You hate it that much?”
“......!”
Why was The Dawn so cold lately?
Frowning, Kang Ichae glanced at Sung Jiwon, who smiled gently and said cautiously,
“Mm, Ichae. I think we owe you an explanation. You were in the U.S., so it’s a bit late to tell you this...”
“What is it...”
“The contract for this dorm is about to expire.”
Huh?
Sung Jiwon took a few books from the shelf, placed them on the floor, and tied them neatly with string.
“WH asked us a few days ago whether we wanted to renew or move. But if we find a new place through WH, there could be complications.”
WH Entertainment had been interfering with all areas—lives, promotions, everything—before the renewal negotiations.
If they renewed the dorm contract now, WH could easily spin it as a sign that The Dawn intended to renew their exclusive contract.
And that wouldn’t be the end of it. WH would keep exploiting The Dawn’s name to exhaust the fans with nonstop promotional noise. That went directly against The Dawn’s plan to keep pressure on the company right up until the last moment.
“...So Dajun suggested we all move out temporarily until things settle.”
Besides, if it was announced that The Dawn moved out right before renewal, WH would never publicize it.
The group’s departure could impact stock prices.
While Kang Ichae blinked, Sung Jiwon added with an awkward smile, “We didn’t think it would happen this fast, though...”
“Dajun tried to tell you several times.”
Beep, click—
Just then, the dorm door rattled open, and Jung Dajun appeared.
“Super Genius Jung Dajun has arrived!!!”
With a contract taped to his forehead.
“How the hell did you even stick that on?”
While Seo Hoyun blinked in disbelief, Jung Dajun blew out a puff of air and placed his hands on his hips with proud energy.
“I’ve signed the lease!”
“—What?! Already?!”
“He actually did a good job.”
While Jung Dajun struck a full idol photobook pose against the wall, still wearing the contract on his forehead, Kim Sunghyun deftly stepped aside, took off his shoes, and added,
“The place is good, the price is fair, the location’s nice... and the previous tenant kept it clean.”
“......Hmm.”
Raising an eyebrow, Seo Hoyun finally got up from the sofa and peeled the contract off Dajun’s forehead.
“Kyah!”
“Give it here.”
Unmoved even as Dajun stumbled and fell, Seo Hoyun flipped through the pages quietly.
Taking the remaining papers from Kim Sunghyun, he glanced through them while Kang Ichae rolled over in panic.
“M-Maknae! If you rush into a contract like that, you could get in serious trouble~~!”
“Wait.”
Seo Hoyun pressed a finger against Kang Ichae’s forehead and said,
“It’s fine.”
“......!”
“You worked hard on this, didn’t you, Bouncy?”
“Ha!!! I did, didn’t I?!”
Seo Hoyun, slightly impressed, said it with a faint smile, while Jung Dajun, swelling with pride, slid dramatically across the floor and struck another “idol photobook pose #2,” brushing his hair back repeatedly.
Kang Ichae snatched the documents from Seo Hoyun’s hands and scanned them quickly. He knew real estate contracts well enough—he owned property himself, after all.
He got what Dajun was thinking, but...
This wasn’t right.
‘I’ll find something—anything—to nitpick!’
Determined not to let a single detail slip, he started reading meticulously.
Lease term, monthly rent date, deposit, landlord and tenant obligations, termination and cancellation clauses, cleaning fees upon move-out, special conditions...
“How is it?!”
“......”
...Perfect!
His grip tightened, crumpling the paper slightly.
Kang Ichae muttered while creasing the corner,
“...I don’t like the handwriting.”
“......”
“......”
“That bastard’s really trying hard, huh...”
Seo Hoyun muttered, but Kang Ichae, now desperate, seated Jung Dajun on the sofa and said earnestly,
“D-Dajun. Think about it. I really want to keep living with The Dawn. You do too, right? If you leave, I’ll cry all night.”
“That’s... pretty extreme.”
“Dajun! Or was I the only one who was sincere? Are you... are you tired of me?”
Kim Sunghyun frowned while Seo Hoyun chewed his squid again, unimpressed, but Kang Ichae stood firm.
Still, no matter how dramatic his tone or emotional his pleas, his opponent was The Dawn’s maknae.
“Hyung.”
A few years ago, if Kang Ichae had cried and clung like this, Jung Dajun might have caved out of sympathy.
—But now, he’d been raised in the jungle.
In that relentless entertainment world, overflowing with jealousy and sabotage?
No, even worse—inside the group itself.
When there wasn’t already a storm, Seo Hoyun was the storm.
Kang Ichae would fan the chaos, laughing.
Sung Jiwon would watch their insanity and go, “You’re so lively!” laughing too.
And poor Kim Sunghyun would be their eternal victim.
“Are you seriously saying that?”
Jung Dajun placed a firm hand on Kang Ichae’s shoulder.
“If you say stuff like that, you’re only hurting yourself.”
“......”
Surrounded by the four of them, Jung Dajun had long since reached the realm of Diamond Skin — Immune to All Poisons.
“—Puhahahahaha!”
“Ahahahaha!”
“Wow, shit, that was actually funny.”
While the hyungs burst out laughing and Kang Ichae froze like a broken statue, Jung Dajun turned away with a proud snort and neatly folded the contract.
“Anyway, hyungs. I’ll be moving out in three days.”
The deal was already done.
No matter how much Kang Ichae clung to his pant leg and sobbed—or rather, pretended to—Jung Dajun wouldn’t budge.
“For now, don’t let ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Noeul know anything. And as for Ichae hyung, who didn’t listen to me yesterday because he was too spaced out...”
“......”
“Sigh.”
Jung Dajun actually looked at his two-years-older hyung with pity.
“Ichae hyung... don’t cry when I’m gone.”
“......!!”
“Let’s live strong, in this harsh world!!”
“Damn it!”
It was way too mature.
With a prim, “Then, I’ll be off,” Jung Dajun declared he was going to prepare for the move and walked right out, leaving Kang Ichae to collapse onto his knees.
But that was only the beginning of his suffering.
“Hey.”
Seo Hoyun ignored the broken figure of Kang Ichae on the floor and looked around at the rest of the members.
“When Dajun moves out, what are you guys going to do?”
“Hmm... I found out while helping the maknae that there are actually plenty of nice places near the company. I might move into the unit next to his.”
“Oh, really, Sunghyun? Mmm... If we don’t live together, it might be harder to coordinate practice.”
“Then I’ll commute from home for the time being.”
“......!!”
Like dominoes, the collapse began.
Following the maknae’s independence, a chain reaction of escapes unfolded, and Kang Ichae’s jaw dropped.
“Me... alone?”
“Kang Ichae, you can just move into one of your own buildings.”
The Dawn was being torn apart!!
Everyone stepped over the (intentionally) dramatic figure sprawled across the entryway and left through the door.
“Bwaaaahhh—sob sob sob sob.”
Left alone in the dorm, Kang Ichae took a deep breath and raised his voice to full volume, wailing pitifully—but no one came back.
“Waaaah~~ sob sob sob.”
How cruel. The Dawn had become so cold. He was crying this hard, and no one even cared.
Couldn’t they at least talk about it a little longer? Sure, he’d been out of it yesterday because of jet lag, but today he was ready to talk.
After a few more fake sobs, the fox abruptly stopped crying and stared blankly up at the worn-out ceiling of The Dawn’s old dorm.
“...No way.”
But this was Kang Ichae.
His eyes gleamed sharply as he muttered in a low, deliberate tone,
“I’m not going down like this.”
Because Kang Ichae was a man of stubborn grit—a fighter who never stayed down.
***
Jung Dajun was enjoying his beautiful independent life.
“Wake up at six a.m....”
The clock’s hour hand pointed squarely to ten in the morning.
“Then I make myself a morning coffee and read a book to understand the world economy.”
The “coffee” was orange juice Kim Sunghyun had packed for him, and the book bought for “self-enrichment” only came in handy when eating ramen.
Pushing aside the soup-stained book, he continued his imaginary interview.
“...I suppose you could say I’m a bit tense from today’s busy schedule. Still, I try to stay composed.”
Seo Hoyun had asked the company to let the members rest a bit while they were moving. Maybe because WH was wary after the dorm contract expired, they readily approved a short vacation for the artists. So Dajun, while technically “independent,” didn’t have any schedules to attend.
Still, he smiled brightly and began introducing his new home as if filming a vlog.
“This is my mirror. You can see the view of the gray apartments outside... Ah, wait, that’s not right.”
But midway through, Jung Dajun realized something was missing.
“......Hmmmm.”
Ad-libs.
There was no Kang Ichae yelling beside him, “Ooh! Ahh! You’re so busy! What a hectic life for a working man!”
And without Seo Hoyun’s dry “Got too much free time?” or Kim Sunghyun’s and Sung Jiwon’s “Kids, eat first before you film” remarks in the background, the vibe just wasn’t right.
“Ssshh...”
On his first night alone, Jung Dajun lay on his bed and thought deeply.
‘I thought I’d be fine... but it’s a bit lonely, huh?’
After living with others for years, suddenly being alone wasn’t easy.
Cleaning, chores, meals—all manageable for an adult man—but there was another problem.
‘Maybe I’m... just a little lonely?’
Yeah.
‘...Can’t be helped.’
He couldn’t rely on his hyungs forever.
Hadn’t he promised himself not to become a dependent, useless dongsaeng who always needed someone’s help?
This solitude, he told himself, was simply the weight that all mature adults had to bear. It was what every “lonely but dignified director” character in dramas lived through.
‘Ha. The fact that I’m even thinking like this, Jung Dajun... you’re really something else...’
Ding~ Diriring~ Diriring~
“Who is it!!!”
When the obnoxious doorbell rang, Jung Dajun’s face brightened as he ran to the entrance—only to realize it was just one of the packages he’d mailed from the dorm during the move.
“...That was fast.”
Grunting, he opened the door and carried the box inside. Looking at the piles of luggage stacked near the doorway, he sighed.
‘...Hmm, what’s this?’
Why did it feel so empty?
He scratched his head and wandered around the silent living room for half an hour.
Lying on the sofa, he debated whether to rewatch a drama or head to the company for practice.
He finally decided practice would be more productive—just as he stood up—
Ding~ Diriring~
The doorbell rang again.
Probably another package, he thought absentmindedly, finishing up preparations to head out. He planned to go to the company, train, and work on stamina.
A perfect blend of Sung Jiwon’s work ethic and Seo Hoyun’s time efficiency—
“Yes~?”
Opening the door, Jung Dajun froze in disbelief.
“...What?”
He was blinded.
“...Hey.”
Standing there in full glory—as if on his way to an award ceremony—was Kang Ichae, dressed in a dark navy suit that shimmered with a faint gray sheen, a slim-fit cashmere turtleneck, and an elegant gray watch peeking from under his sleeve.
Normally dressed casual, he now looked like a top star straight off a magazine cover. Jung Dajun was momentarily speechless.
“Wh-What’s with that? Do you have a schedule?”
“No.”
Kang Ichae gave the room a short glance, then lowered his head slightly. His neatly styled bangs fell over his forehead.
And in a voice so low and heavy it sounded like it carried a tragic backstory that could bring anyone to tears—
“...Dajun-ah.”
Overwhelmed by the intensity, Jung Dajun instinctively took a step back. Then Kang Ichae flashed a radiant smile and lifted one hand.
“Want to watch a movie with me?”
Just as Jung Dajun was about to blurt out an instinctive “Absolutely not,” Kang Ichae silently spun his wrist and revealed the DVD case he was holding.
“The Rooftop Dog Living Alone Is Sad.”
A rare DVD from Min Jiheon’s theater days—one so scarce that it was practically impossible to find now.
