TL by Miru
I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is Sunfish: Episode 44
It seems that receiving someone's approval was the quest condition.
'My mouth tastes bitter.'
Look at the corners of Yulmu's mouth that were already twitching. Baekya had a feeling that he was going to be teased a lot for a while.
* * *
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My personal collection of <WANT ME> DASE photocards (DASE Photo Card Collection.jpg)
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Sparrow, who diligently roamed social media to gather information on DASE's photo cards, had done an impressive job. She took photos with her phone camera, adjusted the slightly blurry quality to make it clearer, and even replicated the design of a doll box for the background illustration. Laying out the twelve photo cards on top of that, they seemed even more enchanting.
After completing it, she felt it was too good to keep to herself and sneakily uploaded it on social media, where it received quite a good response.
- Did you make these yourself?
- Oh, my god! Sparrow-nim, your hands are absolutely golden!
It was an incredible waste of talent, but no one here thought so. They just admired her skill. Proud Sparrow smiled as she looked at her work.
"Hmm. This is great."
[V Minsung / Bunny Minsung]
[Hoodie Jihan / Popcorn Jihan]
[Shower Gown Yulmu / Wink Yulmu]
[Sticker Baekya / Fur Hat Baekya]
[Beret Yuyeon / Padded Jacket Yuyeon]
[Sunglasses Chung / Jelly Chung]
Each of the twelve photo cards had its own unique name. Among those Sparrow had only owned <Hoodie Jihan> and <Jelly Chung>. Having bought two albums in hopes of getting her favourite member's photo card, she was disappointed to find none.
Just as she was contemplating buying more albums, Sparrow stumbled upon a photo card exchange post on her timeline.
[Looking to Exchange WANT ME photo cards~]
Eventually, even casual fans might end up down the 'Dragon Ball' route, but as of yet, it was a concept that didn't quite resonate with her. For the record, 'Dragon Ball' refers to the act of collecting all the photo cards of each member, regardless of one's favourite member.
"If only I have Baekya..."
But first, she needed to know who wants to exchange what and which photo cards they themselves possess before posting an offer. Perhaps because this was her first experience being in a fandom, nothing seemed simple. This was the backstory of how she ended up creating her organized collection of DASE photo cards.
Now that she had figured it all out, it was time to post her own exchange offer.
===========================
Looking to exchange DASE's WANT ME photo cards.
Have: Hoody Jihan, Jelly Chung
Need: Any Baekya's photo cards
Direct trade possible in Seoul. Please DM me!
===========================
After posting her exchange request, Sparrow returned to browse her timeline which she had been putting off for a while. It was mostly filled with posts lamenting yesterday's live broadcast.
- My kid isn't just being overly invested. He. Is. A. Real. Doll.
- The boy we all loved back then. A thread of Han Baekya photos (Baekya.jpg)
- DASE's WANT ME 3rd day sales ▷33,8XX ▶Current Total 151,4XX
- So, Chung picked Sticker Baekya?
└ I'll die if I don't get Sticker Baekya.
└ I can't lose Fur Hat Baekya either ㅠㅠ
After checking all the recent tweets, Sparrow refreshed her message tab by clicking the letter-shaped icon. Her inbox was empty.
"...Did I post the wrong thing?"
It seemed like a considerable amount of time had passed, but she hadn't received any responses. Deciding to search on her own, Sparrow moved to the search tab. As she pondered what to search for, she noticed DASE's name in the top ranks of real-time trends, at an impressive third place at that.
[DASE Finally]
'Finally?'
Curious, Sparrow clicked on the trend.
- Finally!!! DASE has finally announced their fan sign eventㅠㅠ I'm definitely going to the first fan sign of their lives.
- DASE is finally doing a fan sign! Time to buy more albums!
- I was so jealous seeing the photo cards on my TLㅜㅜ Now I can finally touch them myself!! Long wait paid off.
- Gotta go buy the albums~
- Ah DASE finallyㅠ Announcing a fan sign event during the first week sales period is the best
"They're having a fan sign event?!"
Sparrow, who had been lying down scrolling through her phone, sat up suddenly.
"How do I apply for it?!"
Everyone was just excited about the fan sign event, but no one mentioned how to apply for it. Sparrow started scrolling down her timeline rapidly. After some scrolling, she found a tweet from a Yuyeon fan who had reposted the fan sign event notice amidst numerous texts exclaiming excitement about the fan sign.
- Finally... A real-life meeting with Yuyeon (DASE Fan Sign Event Information.jpg)
The post even had a helpful link attached. Sparrow, a beginner in fandom, clicked on the retweet and rushed to the detailed page. The event was scheduled for next Saturday at 7 PM, with 100 people to be selected by lottery. The method of entry was through album purchase, with 60 for online and 40 for offline buyers, hinting at a strategic battle.
"No, but... I already bought two albums, didn't I?"
Damn it. She would have to buy more albums.
"No, this is what I work for."
Indeed. Money wasn't the issue here. Her real concern was the two photo cards she had placed on her desk. She quickly deleted her exchange post; the two cards she had pulled were seriously pretty, even though she didn't get Baekya.
"This time, I'll definitely get Baekya!"
Feeling an unexplained surge of confidence, Sparrow grabbed her wallet and headed to Gwanghwamun, where the designated sales location was. However, she wondered if she was too late as the line was quite long.
'They wouldn't run out of albums, would they...?'
While DASE's popularity wasn't at that level yet, you can never know. Sparrow, lacking any real experience in being in a fandom, couldn't make an objective judgment. Biting her nails and waiting for her turn, she soon found herself next in line. Ready for a smooth purchase, she took out her earphones.
'Should I buy one album and try to exchange for the other? No, maybe just buy two?'
She was happily contemplating how many albums to buy for entry when she overheard a strange conversation.
"Please give me six. You do delivery, right?"
'Six albums and asking for delivery?'
Why not just order online? Sparrow glanced at the customer ahead of her. The person was carrying a medium-sized suitcase and a large camera bag.
They could just carry them in that. But then...
"Six boxes will be 120 albums in total. Do you want them all shipped?"
"I'll take one box with me."
"Please write down the address."
Alert! A magnitude 10 earthquake shook Sparrow's world.
'S-s-six BOXES, not albums?!'
Sparrow was stunned by the massive purchase. Failing to hear Clerk 2 calling the next customer, the person behind her tapped her shoulder.
"Excuse me."
"Me- me?"
A young-looking girl pointed towards an open spot.
"There's a spot open over there."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Sparrow quickly bowed and rushed to the clerk.
"How many would you like?"
"I, I want...!"
* * *
DASE visited the music show waiting room after a long time. It was early dawn, and only a few groups were present, but the makeshift waiting rooms separated by partitions were still the same.
"Wow~ It's been a while."
Yulmu stroked the partition, saying he missed this feeling.
"Should we suggest to the company to put one in our dorm?"
"Really?!"
Yulmu's eyes sparkled with an excited reaction. The man he had grabbed by the shoulder was Deokjin, DASE's new road manager. Having joined the company a month ago, Deokjin was now assigned to exclusively support Days along with Namkyung.
"The team leader said to just to tell me if there's anything you need. Wait a minute, let me take a note..."
Deokjin was about to jot down 'partition' in his notebook.
"No? It's okay. Just forget what he said."
Baekya, approaching, lightly pinched Yulmu's side.
"Ow, ow, ow."
A quiet warning followed.
"Stop teasing the innocent guy and come here to warm up."
Yulmu was being pulled away by Baekya, who was significantly shorter than him.
"The real hidden mastermind...!"
Deokjin, the new manager who had been briefed by Namkyung before being put on field duty, flipped to the very first page of his notebook to review the members' personal information he had noted down.