“Haha, Hoyun always brims with energy, doesn’t he?”
Thank you, Seong Jiwon!
Seong Jiwon stepped up even before I could speak. Thanks to him, my foolish actions were seen as an enthusiastic human-like expression.
Without stopping there, the genuinely kind Seong Jiwon added sincere comments.
“Our team became more lively after Hoyun joined. He suddenly brought a song he received from composer Blue Tiger.”
“Ah, so you’re saying Seo Hoyun brought this single for the group?”
“Yes, we were all surprised. We had no connection with the composer before.”
“Well, now I’m curious… How does Seo Hoyun know Blue Tiger?”
Attention was drawn to me. I decided to be as cautious as possible with my words to prevent any unnecessary issues.
“I was just lucky.”
I decided to keep it brief.
Before I could finish, the reporters’ typing and camera flashes went off, but I didn’t crack a smile anymore.
If they’re curious, let them keep watching.
Kang Ichae quickly noticed the awkward atmosphere and added more to the conversation.
“He was really cool. He said, ‘Trust me and follow me.’ I could only admire him.”
“Seo Hoyun really has an extensive network. You’re friends with Joo Woosung, right?”
“Yes, he’s a senior I know from before.”
“Senior Joo Woosung came and shared his secret with us this time.”
“Please share the secret of your networking skills with me later.”
The MC playfully winked and flipped the cue card.
Discussing the stage concept, the music video interpretation, and the album’s BTS eventually led to this question:
“You also became famous for catching a thief a few weeks ago, right? Can we hear that story?”
As soon as the question was asked, camera flashes went off again, likely hoping for something that would draw views.
Kim Seonghyeon cautiously picked up the microphone.
“We were taking a break from practice and heading to a convenience store at that time.”
“Hoyun immediately noticed.”
“And then Seonghyeon rushed out like crazy. I thought Seonghyeon was an action star.”
Jeong Dajun and Kang Ichae spiced up Kim Seonghyeon’s calm story. The reporters feverishly typed on their laptops.
The headline would probably be something like this.
[The group that won’t stand for injustice: The Dawn… The story behind the robbery incident]
MC: Weren’t you scared?
Kim Seonghyeon: Well, I was scared, but when I came to my senses, I had already caught him.
MC (laughs): That’s amazing.
I could already anticipate the interviews without even reading them. As Kim Seonghyeon continued the story, a sudden spark flew.
“I heard you almost got seriously hurt….”
“Yes. I could have been severely injured if Seo Hoyun hadn’t caught him.”
What’s going on? This is so unexpected.
“It’s fortunate that he wasn’t hurt badly.”
The MC laughed as I replied cautiously to avoid being cornered.
“Why are you so calm, Seo Hoyun? It sounds like you’re just pondering what to have for dinner.”
“Hoyun is always composed, so it takes something huge to surprise him.”
“That’s right, he’s such a big-hearted friend.”
“Why… am I the only one being targeted?”
As I asked while grabbing the microphone, feeling singled out, the showcase was filled with laughter.
Kim Seonghyeon playfully added something else.
“But he was really surprised to see our fans today.”
“Why?”
“It seems he didn’t know he had fans.”
At that remark, the members and fans laughed hysterically. Kim Seonghyeon didn’t expect this reaction.
“It was the same for Jeong Dajun.”
I couldn’t be the only one to take the hit. Dragging Jeong Dajun into the conversation, he looked greatly flustered.
“That’s right, he kept asking if they were our fans.”
“No, everyone was flustered. Why are you doing this?”
“Hahaha, The Dawn’s popularity is indeed remarkable these days.”
As the MC skillfully led the interview, I noticed a commotion from one side of the audience.
What’s going on?
I glanced over with a curious look to see what was happening, and I saw a staff member on the backstage stairs vigorously waving a sketchbook.
Suddenly, a hunch struck me. Oh, could it be?
The MC pretended to be surprised after hearing something on the walkie-talkie.
“We just received some fantastic news.”
“Yes?”
Seong Jiwon’s eyes widened. The MC quickly scanned the audience.
“It seems like the fans already know?”
“What is it?”
“Everyone, shush for a moment! Please keep it a secret!”
As the members tilted their heads and asked the audience, the MC tried to stop them, but words spilled out anyway.
Briefly, words like chart, mango, and rankings were heard.
A ‘could it be?‘ atmosphere circulated among the members.
“You’ll be surprised when you hear it!”
The MC, aiming for more surprise, quickly changed tactics and grinned.
“Our ‘Second Chance’ song is charting in the top three!”
“…”
The members looked at each other with disbelief.
“Mango, Tinkerbell, and Tap – the song has made it onto all the charts! Tinkerbell and Tap are re-entries. Tinkerbell is 56th on the real-time chart, Tap is 71st, and Mango is 89th!”
No one expected such great news during the showcase.
Reaching the charts is like grasping at the stars for newcomers who haven’t made it big. Even with a member who gained fame through a competition program, it was not unusual for the song to linger in the lower rankings and disappear.
But here we were, a lesser-known idol group from a small company with no variety show appearances, entering the music charts after a long hiatus.
Objectively, it was an unbelievable event.
I guess I won’t have to file for bankruptcy.
Still, it was something I anticipated.
It was not common for a lesser-known idol group to become a sensation, make a comeback with a great song, and enter the charts during a showcase.
Journalists with a keen sense for news went crazy with their camera flashes.
I’ll have to analyze later which factors contributed the most to this outcome. Just as I thought this, a hand suddenly landed on my shoulder. The force almost made me fall off my chair.
“Ouch, guys.”
“We’re on the charts!”
“Are we dreaming right now?”
“Seo Hoyun, what are you doing? Say hello!”
The thoughts in my head flew away as the overjoyed fools flocked around me.
Those who seemed like core fans were already shedding tears like rain, shouting at us.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry!”
Wondering who they were telling not to cry, I looked around to see Seong Jiwon and Jeong Dajun in tears.
“We, we really…”
“…”
Jeong Dajun was sobbing uncontrollably, and Seong Jiwon was shedding tears like a faucet that had been turned on.
On the other hand, Kang Ichae and Kim Seonghyeon were wearing the brightest smiles they had ever seen.
Ah, these fools…
Normally, he would have ignored it, but Jeong Dajun suddenly clung to him and thanked him.
“It’s all thanks to you, hyung. Thank you so much, really.”
He couldn’t respond to this. Though Jeong Dajun’s tears soaked his shoulders, the stylist wouldn’t scold him just this once.
“It’s so soggy, you little punk.”
“Hyung, but… ah, it’s embarrassing…”
“It’s a big fuss just for entering the charts, not even being number one.”
“You know how desperate we were.”
They must have struggled a lot during their long trainee period and the seemingly short one-year journey. Just for charting like this…
I patted Jeong Dajun firmly and comforted the other members while joking so only they could hear.
“You have to cry like this again when we get number one next time. Make sure the camera catches it.”
“Seo Hoyun, you’re really…”
“Let’s say our thanks.”
“Ah, right. Thank you.”
Seong Jiwon nodded, and Kim Seonghyeon lined up. We bowed at a 90-degree angle to our crying fans.
“Thank you!”
The MC looked at us warmly while tapping his watch with a sense of humor. It seemed to mean it was time for the next cover song.
Seong Jiwon, who caught on to this, took the microphone.
“Th-thank you. If it weren’t for our fans, we couldn’t have done this.”
“…”
“We have so much more we want to say… Thank you so much. We’ve prepared a lot. We’ll show you our next performance that we’ve worked hard on.”
I took the microphone from the flustered Seong Jiwon and made eye contact with each fan in the audience.
“It seems like it’s time to show you our next performance. We’ve prepared with gratitude for our fans in mind. Please look forward to it.”
As I smiled brightly, the fans stopped crying and laughed while nodding vigorously. Fans, they’re so cute no matter how you look at them.
I comforted the members with Kim Seonghyeon and prepared the lineup for the next cover song.
“Can you guys sing?”
“It’s a charting singer’s stage. Let’s stay focused.”
Kang Ichae giggled. I acted confidently, but I was just as thrilled. I looked at the members with their swollen eyes and clicked my tongue.
I told you it would go well, you fools.
It was an expected outcome, but I couldn’t help but smile seeing their tearful faces.
***
[Title: Today… Today’s The Dawn Showcase… was so touching.
Why are the kids so emotional??????? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ └ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I also went and cried when Seong Jiwon cried
└ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Why??? What happened???
└They entered the charts during today’s showcase!! The kids found out on stage ㅠㅠ The fans cried, and it was a mess…
└There seems to be some word-of-mouth effect ㅋㅋ It became a hot topic in the community
└There’s also some real fan-pick effect… It got a lot of attention on SNS, didn’t it?]
[Title: I cried too ㅠ I’m really relieved… To be honest, The Dawn kids have suffered so much ㅠㅠ From the robbery to the leak incident…
└But there was a lot of noise marketing ㅋㅋ In the end, they created a fuss and even charted, they used their heads well
└What’s with this comment? Are you being sarcastic?
└Don’t feed the troll]
[Title: In the midst of all this, Seo Hoyun is so stoic ㅋㅋㅋㅋ “I’m glad nobody got hurt” “We’ve worked hard to prepare”
I thought I was at a shareholders’ meeting ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Ah, but the point is that Seo Hoyun is not familiar with the fans… There’s a bit of a gap ㅠ So cute ㅠㅠ
└In a few years, they’ll treat you like ATMs and have dead-fish eyes anyway… ㅋㅋ
└Why does this person start a fight in every post?]
[Title: What’s with Seong Jiwon? Crying just because they charted, wouldn’t people think they got first place? It’s just a rookie group… I heard he trained for years at a big agency, but his skills weren’t great.. Seems like Seo Hoyun just hitched a ride on the bus that’s being carried by Joo Woosung and Lim Hyeonsu.
└Joo Woosung… Lim Hyeonsu… Seo Hoyun riding the bus that’s being carried… (Ah, I’m so cool and objective ㅋㅋ) Pat, pat, pat, pat!
└└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋWhat is thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└I enjoyed your outburst ㅋㅋ Jiwon is a charting singer now]
After the showcase ended and everyone went to rest, I received a call from the CEO alone. While traveling with the manager after making an excuse to the members, I searched for the reactions to the showcase. But…
The fans are quite… resilient, huh?
I thought the fans wouldn’t be able to handle the sudden rise in popularity, but it was beyond my expectations.
Of course, there were cases where they took the bait from malicious comments, but it was manageable at this level.
Upon reflection, the answer came quickly. The Dawn debuted about a year, so there was a small core fanbase, and it was safe to say that they quickly grasped the early atmosphere and practically carried the group.
Moreover, the concept was more stan-focused, so many fans with some K-pop fandom experience joined.
… I was grateful.
The feeling of setting up a plan you’re confident in succeeding and confirming that fans who like you have joined was really different.
Wrapped up in this strange feeling, I put down my phone and confirmed the completion of the quest.
[Quest Success!
Cheering for Seong Jiwon 1/1, finishing the showcase safely 1/1.
You have succeeded.
Charm 30, Dance 10, and Singing 10 are added.
As a reward for the first stage, you receive a special gift.
You can now view other people’s stats.]
“Hey, would it have been great if you’d told me sooner?”
“What’s the matter?”
Come on, you should’ve let me know about this kind of thing. Damn it…
They’re doing this to mess with me. While annoyed, I stared into space and muttered, causing the manager to look back. I lowered my head.
“It’s nothing.”
Every time I succeeded in a quest, my charm or dance stats increased, and though I couldn’t tell for sure, I felt it was reflected in reality. That’s why I thought there would also be some evaluation criteria for other people’s skills.
But you should have shown me right away!
I promised myself to definitely try this on The Dawn members and Joo Woosung.
Is this the reward for the first stage? Are there more rewards to come?