Chapter Six
"SEVENTEEN on standby!" said one of the staffs. The entire waiting room became busy after the staff announced that and last minute touch-ups were being made.
Dino turned to the side and did his best not to move so much while the stylist worked on his makeup one last time. Once it was complete, Dino and his members waited by the closed door that would be opened once they were ready for SEVENTEEN to enter.
"Do your best, everyone," Seungcheol said right before everyone entered the set of the talk show.
"...SEVENTEEN!" the host said and SEVENTEEN immediately entered the set, waving at the audience, camera and the host.
"Say the name! SEVENTEEN!" Seungcheol said, doing their greeting pose before they bowed.
Dino looked around the set and saw the audience in front of him. He tried not to appear nervous. It wasn't his first time appearing in front of a crowd. He's been to MAMAs. He's performed in front of a stage with a large number of people watching him. But he still gets nervous.
Like right now.
"SEVENTEEN is rising in the K-pop world and capturing the many hearts of women of all ages out there. How do you feel about that?" the host asked, finally beginning the talk show.
Dino didn't exactly know where to look at—the audience, the cameras, or the host?
Seungcheol was the one who talked first. He grabbed a hold of the microphone and looked at the host while replying, "It's nice to have fans all over the world. We'll continue to work hard to show them different sides of SEVENTEEN. Please give us lots of love!"
The host looked pleased in Dino's eyes. He was smiling and beaming at all the members so Dino eased up and smiled as well.
"As you all know, SEVENTEEN is known as the self-producing idols. They choreograph their own dances and make their own songs. Who are the ones that contribute the most to the group?" the host asked, looking at his card which probably had questions written on them.
The microphone was passed to Woozi and another one—one that suddenly made an appearance out of nowhere—was passed to Hoshi. They had their hands raised up, as if to indicate that they were the two.
"I'm usually the one who creates the songs. The members help me by writing a few lyrics. Especially the hip hop unit. They write their own raps," Woozi explained, looking at the host.
So I'll have to look at the host too if I were to answer a question, Dino thought, taking note of how the hyungs handled it.
It was Hoshi's turn to talk. "I just make up dances with random things I do everyday. But it's sometimes really hard to make up an entire dance just for the song. It's a good thing the performance unit helps me."
"I see," the host replied. He looked at his card again and then up to the camera. "In that case, why don't we invite the performance unit up to the front for them to show us a few moves?"
The audience began cheering and clapping.
Dino was flustered at first. He wasn't expecting this to happen. Slowly, he, The8, Jun and Hoshi made it to the front and waited for the music to start playing.
The first song that was playing was Aju Nice and immediately, Dino worked his body and danced along to the music. He and his members were doing well and Dino felt himself ease up to being in front a live audience.
The music changed and this time, it was playing Adore U. Dino suddenly saw flash backs of when SEVENTEEN just debuted. They were at their happiest times. They had finally debuted and they were enjoying promoting the song Woozi worked hard on.
The songs kept changing, making sure performance unit showed their best on the set. Mansae, Pretty U and Boom Boom played. People cheered and Dino looked into the camera and flashed a cheeky grin.
After they were done, people clapped their hands and the performance unit returned to their seats.
Mingyu, who was sitting next to Dino in the back row, gave Dino a thumbs up with a smile as he patted the maknae's back.
There was another question from the host. "Everyone knows Hwan Hyejin, right? She's your fan who wrote a fanfiction of you guys and got published."
Jeonghan took the microphone and nodded. "Yes, all of the members know her. We're really grateful for her. It's nice to have someone write a fanfiction about us. It being published and her becoming famous because of it gives us a sense of responsibility that we helped her, in a way."
"You mean like you guys being her muse?" the host specified.
Jeonghan nodded and smiled. "Yes, like that. I think Dino has to be the biggest muse for her, though."
"Dino?" the host repeated with a steady smile on his face. "Ah, he was one of the main characters, after all. Dino, how do you feel about this?"
The microphone was passed to Dino and it felt like Dino was being interviewed by Vernon all over again. He stretched a smile and answered, "It's an honor. There are so many talented fans out there who write fanfictions for us, even if we aren't very aware about it. I'm glad Hwan Hyejin was able to show her talents through the fanfiction."
The host nodded along. "Are you a fan? I heard that you've bought a copy of the story Highlight."
Dino was definitely not expecting that. He tried not to seem nervous as they talked about his idol. "Yes, I did get myself a copy of the story. I like her writing as well as the story. Well... I guess you can say I'm a fan?"
The others laughed and Dino laughed along as well. He was slightly flustered over the changed of topics from SEVENTEEN to Hwan Hyejin.
"Dino, if Hwan Hyejin was watching this, is there anything you'd like to say?" the host asked, anticipating a good answer. Before Dino could say anything, the host then indicated to the camera. "Say it to the camera. It's a video message for her."
Dino could already imagine how the video would be edited. Keeping a smile on, he turned to face the camera he was supposed to face and thought the words over and over. "Hi?" He let out an awkward, embarrassed laugh, lowering his head.
"It's okay, it's okay," the members encouraged. All of their eyes concentrated on Dino for a moment, cheering him on.
Dino could already imagine the tease that will happen later on once the talk show was over. He was so done for.
Dino finally continued as he looked back at the camera and tried again. "Hi, Hwan Hyejin. Thank you for writing an amazing story and thank you for making me the main character. I really enjoyed the story and don't give up on writing, okay? You have great talent there. Fighting! I'm your oppa fan, I guess?"
"Oppa fan?" the host asked, surprised.
Dino turned to face the host this time. He nodded. "Nae, uh... you see, Hwan Hyejin is younger than me by two years."
"Omo, well she's quite a young one, isn't she?" the host teased.
The talk show continued with SEVENTEEN playing a few games and doing a few requests from fans here and there and before they knew it, they were done with the talk show.
The cameras stopped filming and everyone started moving around to get things done. The host also stood up and bowed at SEVENTEEN, thanking them for coming on the show. SEVENTEEN exchanged their thank yous and before they all knew it, they were piling into the mini bus, heading to another schedule.
"I heard Hwan Hyejin's going on the talk show tomorrow," Mingyu said out loud in the car.
Dino sat at the very back of the mini bus and at the sound of that, his entire body froze. He was quietly listening though he made himself look preoccupied.
"Really?" Seokmin asked in return. He leaned back in his seat and said, "That girl's really famous, isn't she? She seems to be everywhere nowadays."
"Hyung, you sound salty," Seungkwan teased, laughing in front of Dino. After all, he sat in front of him.
Seokmin turned his head to face Seungkwan. "No! It's just because she hasn't written a fanfiction about me."
Wonwoo was smiling next to Seokmin as he lightly knocked the back of his head. "Yah, the girl's too busy attending shows these days. Do you actually think she would have any time to write another fanfiction?"
"Ow, hyung!" Seokmin complained, rubbing the back of his head.
Dino did his best to suppress a laugh while still trying to act like he was preoccupied with his phone.
"But who knows? She could be writing the next member's fanfiction at this very moment," said Seungkwan. "Want to make a bet on who's the next member?"
"Sure!" the rest agreed, grinning as they started throwing random names.
"I make a good concept, don't I?" Seunghceol teased. "My bet's on me."
"Ey, what the heck, Coups!" Jeonghan shook his head at the leader. "I feel like it could be one of her biases. She didn't say anything about her other biases, am I right? This is going to be a hard one."
"I have a feeling most people write fanfictions of me," Mingyu conceitedly said, grinning at the other members.
The members rolled their eyes at him.
Dino didn't want to interrupt the hyungs talking so he went on Wattpad on his phone to check her profile again. He noticed that she usually posted messages on her board at random times about random things. He found it interesting to know about a few things in her life. She was still living as a normal girl, he concluded.
His eyes squinted at a new message she had posted on her message board.
@hwan_ji: Ooo, guys! Guess what? A new fanfiction will come out soon! The only teaser I can give you is the title and what member it is specifically concentrating on: Lean On Me - Hoshi. Keep an eye for it, everyone! ^-^
Dino grinned as he screen locked his phone and cleared his throat. He said, "I bet on Hoshi hyung."
Everyone stopped guessing names and looked over at Dino.
"How are you so sure, Dino?" Joshua asked, eyeing him from head to toe.
Dino shrugged. "I'm just randomly blurting out names. What do we get if we win the bet?"
"Good question," said Jun. He looked over at Seungcheol and grinned. "Hyung, how about the losers treat the winners to lunch?"
Seungcheol was caught off-guard by Jun's proposal. He looked left and right before he pointed at himself. "Are you referring to me right now, Jun?"
Jun shrugged. "Who else? The cat?"
Seungcheol nervously laughed as he answered, "Why are you talking to me specifically? Do you think I would lose?"
Jun then shrugged again. "Maybe. Who did you bet on again, hyung? Yourself, right?"
"Okay, let's make this clear. Starting from S.Coups hyung. Who did you bet, hyung? Woozi will write it down on his phone and it's unchangeable once it's written," Hoshi said, pointing over to Woozi, who sat next to him.
"Okay," the other members agreed.
It started with Seungcheol. "I'm still betting on myself, though. A leader has to have good fanfictions written about him, right?"
Woozi cringed lightly before he typed that into his phone.
"Okay, next. Jeonghan hyung," Hoshi called. "Who's your bet?"
"I'm betting on my son—The8," Jeonghan said, looking over to The8 with a mom-like smile.
"M-me?" The8 said, slightly flustered as he smiled back at Jeonghan. "Thanks, hyung! I hope you win the bet."
While Woozi was typing away on his phone, he asked, "I'm guessing Dino's name will be excluded from this list? Since he already has a fanfiction about him written."
"Hmm, true," Joshua hummed, nodding.
"But I can bet on who's fanfiction will be written next, right?" Dino asked, looking at the others.
"Yeah, sure, of course," Hoshi answered, looking over to the next member. "Joshua hyung? Who's your bet?"
Joshua eyed every member before his eyes landed on Jun. "I feel like Jun could be a potential next character of her works."
Jun was flabbergasted. "Me? Why?"
"Jun has... how do you say this? That type of face..." Joshua was struggling to find the perfect words to describe Jun properly. "Like... a character from a cartoon come to life?"
Jun turned shy all of a sudden as he put a hand over his mouth, eyes blinking a lot. "Wow, hyung. I didn't know... wow."
Everyone else laughed.
"Next member: Jun. Who's your bet?" Hoshi continued asking.
"Me? Well..." Jun took a good look at everyone before he settled with, "Woozi."
Woozi, who was typing away suddenly paused and let out an absurd laugh. "Me?"
Jun nodded. "Yup! Go on. Write it on your phone. I trust in you to make me win, Woozi."
Woozi was still laughing as he typed away into his phone.
Dino hid a secret grin. Only he knew the right answer to the bet. Perks of being a fan and keeping up with her every news.
"Oh, it's my turn." Hoshi laughed as he tapped his chin, wondering which member would be a potential main character. "Seokmin? Yeah, I'm picking Seokmin. Hwan Hyejin wrote a story about Dino and it mostly had a boyfriend feel to it. That young, boyfriend feel. Seokmin would fit perfectly if her next concept is the same."
He did have a point, Dino thought. But he knew the real answer.
Seokmin looked taken aback as he smiled a wide smile. "Wow, really, hyung? Thank you!"
Hoshi smiled back at Seokmin before he turned his attention to Wonwoo. "Wonu, who's your bet?"
Wonwoo had his clear answer and looked at the member he had his bet on. "Vernon."
"Me?" Vernon asked, surprised.
Wonwoo nodded as he smiled. "Yup. You, Choi Hansol."
"Okay then. Continuing with—" Hoshi was saying before he got cut off.
"I've already typed in my bet," Woozi said.
Hoshi took a moment to stare at Woozi before he said, "Yah! You should be telling everyone who you bet on."
"Fine," Woozi stubbornly agreed. "I bet on Seungkwan. He could make the story really interesting since he talks a lot."
"I don't know whether to feel complimented or insulted," Seungkwan said, holding a hand up to place on his heart.
The other members laughed again.
"Next, Seokmin!" Hoshi called.
"Me? I vote for Woozi hyung," Seokmin answered, smiling a big smile.
Woozi cringed again. "I have two votes?"
Jun and Seokmin looked at each other before they gave each other a high five.
Jun said, "So if we win, we get to share a lunch together? With the other members's money?"
Seokmin thought about it before he answered, "It seems like it."
"What's with you guys, picking me and all..." Woozi grumbled, typing it down onto his phone.
"It's because hyung has a charm. You're cute but manly. Fan girls can write well with your personality," Seokmin told him, giving him a thumbs up.
Hoshi looked out of the car, noticing that they were nearing the music show they were performing. "Yah, we'd better hurry up. We're almost there. Mingyu? Who's your choice?"
"Wonwoo," Mingyu simply answered.
"The8?" Hoshi asked.
"Jun hyung," The8 answered.
Jeonghan looked betrayed. He stared at The8 and said, "I picked you, but you didn't pick me? I can't believe this."
The8 shrugged cutely. "Sorry hyung!"
"Moving on. Seungkwan?" Hoshi called.
Seungkwan answered, "Myself."
"Ey," the members teased, their nose crinkling.
"Vernon?" Hoshi asked.
Vernon shrugged as he answered, "Jeonghan hyung."
"One last member. Dino?" Hoshi called.
The other members held anticipated gazes. It made Dino want to laugh.
Dino shrugged as he answered, "Hoshi hyung."
Hoshi was taken aback by the sudden mention of his name. He pointed at himself. "Me?"
Dino nodded with a smile. "I pick you, hyung."
More like Hyejin picked to write a story about him.
Hoshi's facial expression turned into a touched one and he looked like he was about to jump all the way to the backseat just to give the maknae a hug. "Thank you, maknae! I haven't been voted that it's so sad."
Dino chuckled and nodded.
"We're here," their manager suddenly voiced out, opening the door of the passenger seat.
Woozi stuffed his phone into his pocket and told all the members, "I guess we'll have to wait and see who will win that lunch, huh?"
Everyone nodded but deep in Dino's heart, he could already imagine himself eating like a king with all the members's money.
Thank you, Hwan Hyejin. You just gave me a free ticket to a free meal, Dino thought as they got down and go on with their schedule for the day.
~Author's Notes~
Well, then! The maknae's surely going to spend his hyungs's money well. In return, his hyungs will probably bully him. Haha! <3
Thank you for reading this update. See you in the next one. <3