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“Guys, we went up in real time!”
It was clear that they must have been exhausted from being in the practice room early in the morning to prepare for the showcase, but The Dawn members’ excitement didn’t seem to go away. Views on the music video were also part of the view count, so Second Chance had entered the real-time charts of Tinkerbell and Tab among the three representative music sites.
“A-Although it’s out of the charts now
”
We were ranked 91st, but the fact that we went up there remained.
“I couldn’t even sleep because I was refreshing it all night
”
“Hyung, me too
”
Sung Jiwon murmured to Jung Dajoon as they talked amongst themselves as if their tension had been relieved. But I was nervous.
All that remained was the Mango chart.
“I heard that Mango’s chart was reorganized yesterday
 What does that mean?”
Kim Sunghyun tilted his head.
Hmm, the timing was just right too.
“Originally, it’s supposed to be on the chart only by measuring 24-hour records, but this time it has been changed to a real-time score percentage.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know that.”
I sat in the back seat and listened to the conversation. It was similar to what I read in the article yesterday.
When I was a PD
 So, about a month ago, I heard it from the person in charge.
‘I was out of my mind. Why did I ask for 24-hour records?’
How could a rookie do that in one day? It was honestly no different from following the stars in the sky.
Ring!
[
For some reason, you were so confident, and you stretched out your feet while looking for a place to lie down [1] to the president.]
Of course.
‘I don’t gamble.’
I couldn’t hear it, but I roughly answered and tapped my cell phone. It was true that it was reorganized, but the chart-in was delayed because 24-hour streaming results were mixed and real-time results were not reflected at late night.
“Hmm
 I don’t want to file for bankruptcy.”
“What?”
“No.”
Not only was this performance important, but Second Chance had to enter the chart for the sake of my bet with the president.
It was true that the music video came out better than I thought, and I was proud of it, but I couldn’t feel anything because I hadn’t seen the external reaction yet.
Kim Sunghyun was also talking to Kang Yichae with his face flushed red and tapped me.
“Look at this.”
“What?”
“Our music video interpretation is already out.”
“That quick?”
The firepower seemed to be stronger than I thought.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t checked the community and SNS yet. I checked the post after accepting the cell phone that Kim Sunghyun gave me.
[Title: The Dawn Music Video Interpretation
Our kids’ music video is finally out after a long hiatus!!!!
Our children are wearing uniforms because they are handsome. Seo Hoyoon is holding the gun and flipping the cards because he’s handsome. Kim Sunghyun is suddenly running because he is super handsome
]
“
Kim Sunghyun.”
“W-What is it?”
“Did you want to hear them interpreting that you’re super handsome?”
“It’s not like that!”
A little shy, Kim Sunghyun quickly scrolled down. A proper interpretation was showing up.
“Look more.”
[
As you can feel from ☆God☆Cheongbeomhaeng-nim’s money-wrapped beat, the music video is an apocalypse sci-fi.
Seo Hoyoon/Sung Jiwon are government forces who oppress the revolutionary army. With Kim Sunghyun as the leader, Kang Yichae as the assault force, and Jung Dajoon as the key, the revolutionary army is in conflict with the government forces, looking for an opportunity to spy around.
However, there is one peculiarity here. Sung Jiwon committed suicide without killing the enemy, Kim Sunghyun, and returned. In ‘In other words, I’m back’ and ‘I can’t miss this opportunity’, we know that Sung Jiwon is a regressor.
Meanwhile, Seo Hoyoon appears in the same uniform as Sung Jiwon. (He had a stage name Houhou, but I guess they changed it, it doesn’t appear anymore
)
Seo Hoyoon picked up five cards on the table and spread them out. Joker means Jung Dajoon, who has the ‘key’. Jung Dajoon is important to the government army and the revolutionary army. Up to this point, Seo Hoyoon moved past it as expected, but he smiled meaningfully when he saw the last card.
“Running Jung Dajoon and Kim Sunghyun.gif’
After that, Jung Dajoon and Kim Sunghyun ran away from the government forces. On the way, he ran into Sung Jiwon, a government soldier, but he felt something familiar from him, with the lyrics ‘This strange feeling of dĂ©jĂ  vu. Don’t be scared’.
Sung Jiwon said, “You don’t have to worry,” and didn’t kill Kim Sunghyun. Instead, he saw Jung Dajoon, who was badly injured, and realized that the situation was wrong, so he aimed the trigger at his own head.
‘Sung Jiwon pointing the trigger.gif’
He was trying to commit suicide and return. This was the first scene we saw.
In fact, Sung Jiwon was on the side of the Revolutionary Army. But there is a twist here again, Kang Yichae, who was thought to be a revolutionary soldier, shot Sung Jiwon and prevented his return.
‘Kang Yichae holding a sniper gun.gif’
The first gunshot we heard was not Sung Jiwon’s gunshot, but Kang Yichae’s gunshot
!!!!
So, it let us know that he had failed to return in the first scene.
‘I ain’t gonna miss this time’, Kang Yichae was a spy for the government army and called someone on the radio.
It was Seo Hoyoon who appeared in this collapsed catastrophe. It started with his appearance.
‘This strange feeling of dĂ©jĂ  vu. Don’t be scared’.
But the song went on. ‘No, there is no need to get lost, I’ll find a way’.
That’s right. Seo Hoyoon had set up a plan. Sung Jiwon’s return failed, and the Revolutionary Army fell into Seo Hoyoon’s hand, and he even took the ‘Joker’ Jung Dajoon, who became the ‘key’. Seo Hoyoon knew it from the beginning.
‘Seo Hoyoon turning over a card to check it.gif’
The card that came out is the King of Hearts, Charles the Great. Do you know what this card is also called, guys?
The suicide king

Seo Hoyoon knew from the beginning that not only Jung Dajoon was the Joker, but also that Sung Jiwon, whom he thought was on his side, was actually committing suicide and regressing to stop him and save the Revolutionary Army

I think it will continue after this, but I don’t know what will happen

Everyone
 Do I look like I’m crying over this music video’s god-tier story?
Instead of wiping away tears, I streamed it.
Because it’s The Dawn that lit a fire in my K-Pop heart after a long time
]
“Wow
”
‘You wrote a really good interpretation
’
I nodded my head while reading. At the same time, I felt that something was strange and asked Kim Sunghyun.
“Who wrote this with all their heart and soul?”
“It must be
 Our fan.”
Kim Sunghyun lowered his voice as he spoke. With that level of skill, it would be natural to have fans now, but it wasn’t the case for me.
At the same time, it was also strange. It was true that someone was talking about me like this
 It was awkward and strange.
‘I have a fan?’
That feeling stayed until we arrived at the showcase site. We were lucky enough to reach the showcase’s Mecca Live Hall, and our pictures were hung big. At the door, I could see people waiting in line even though there were still at least a few hours left until the start of the showcase.
“Over there, people
”
“Huh, is there another performance here?”
The members didn’t think much about it. We weren’t popular, so there shouldn’t be any fans waiting for us already. Everyone thought so and got off the van.
“Jiwon-ah! Sung Jiwon!”
“Yichae-ya, Sunghyun-ah, look here!”

It was a mistake.
As soon as the members got out of the car, we could hear them shouting our names. We looked back in surprise.
There weren’t many of them yet, but they were waving their tickets or taking pictures of us with cameras.
Sung Jiwon stammered.
“W-What?”
“Say hi, quickly.”
As everyone was confused, I heard them calling again. When I bowed down in embarrassment, a shout erupted.
“Dajoon is so cute!”
“Are
 Are they our fans?”
Jung Dajoon murmured, bewildered. No matter how much of a second-hand rookie he was, he would be able to get used to it in a year

I also bowed in greeting next to Jung Dajoon.
“Hoyoon! Aaargh!”
“
!”
When I raised my head in surprise, a fan with a slogan shouted at me.
“Hoyoon-ah, fighting today!”
“You’re so handsome!”

Me?
I murmured stupidly at the reaction I had never had before. As I pointed my finger at myself and asked, they nodded.
“Hoyoon, when you smile, I like it, too!”
I couldn’t accept the reality and blinked. As I was standing there, Kim Sunghyun pressed the back of my neck and said in a laughing tone.
“What are you doing? You have to say hi.”
“Oh
 Uh.”
Not knowing what to do, I bowed my head. There were sounds of clicking among the fans.
What is this really
 When I entered the live hall in confusion, Kang Yichae teased me.
“Hyung, I’ve never seen you flustered before.”
“I know. He’s always been so calm no matter what
 The fan’s shouts broke him down at once.”
“
”
The members around me passed me by, adding a word. They were flustered too, but I guessed my reaction was the most unexpected.
I still couldn’t believe I had a fan.
‘Is this  real?’
I was only beaten with eggs for being a bad PD. The endless stream of goodwill was unfamiliar.
In my head, I could accept the fact that I had some fans with this kind of popularity, but I still couldn’t understand it realistically.
So when I was taken to the waiting room to get my makeup done and change my clothes, I still couldn’t come to my senses.
“You look good today, Hoyoon-ah.”
The stylist gave me a series of compliments while tidying up my clothes.
I could see myself standing in front of the mirror wearing an in-ear microphone. Since it was my first time, I agreed with the stylist to wear techwear with this momentum, so I put on stage makeup and looked at myself awkwardly.
‘
I feel strange.’
The cell phone vibrated. There were texts from Lim Hyunsoo and Joo Woosung. And Seo Hojin.
[Seo Hojin: Hyung]
[Seo Hojin: Tear the stage apart]
[Seo Hojin: If you can’t, I’ll change the front door password so that hyung can’t enter the house]
I laughed.
Yeah, let’s think about why I’m here.
When I took a deep breath and turned around, I could see the members except Sung Jiwon gathered together and trying to hide their anxiety. Jung Dajoon spoke with a nervous face.
“Hyung, we’re going up soon. Get ready.”
“What about Sung Jiwon?”
“He said he’s going to the bathroom. He’s a little late.”
“I’ll bring him.”
I think I know what it is.
I left the waiting room and headed for the bathroom. I thought it would be just the right time to take Sung Jiwon to the stage.
I bowed my head habitually at the staff passing by, but when no one was in sight, I hid myself next to the vending machine in the hallway and whispered softly.
“Item shop.”
[Open the item shop.]
Various products appeared in front of my eyes, as if asking me to buy them. As I moved my gaze along the products, the moment I found the one I had my eye on last time, I chose it without hesitation.
“Buy Cheongsimhwan.”
[Cheongsimhwan is purchased.]
[Consumes 300 points.]
At the same time, I slightly clenched my hand and opened it, then I found a small cheongsimhwan piled up on a gold leaf in my hand.
Wow, it was amazing.
After taking a look around, I pulled out a bottle of water from the vending machine and went to Sung Jiwon.
‘As expected.’
I found him. On the stairs right next to the bathroom, I found Sung Jiwon whose complexion was pale.
“
Uh.”
After sighing heavily, Sung Jiwon smiled awkwardly when our eyes met.
“Hoyoon, you’re here?”
“What are you doing? Are you not coming?”
“Ah
 I’m just a little nervous.”
I don’t think you’re just a little nervous.
With his face bleached so white, you’d think it was Sung Jiwon who went to the emergency room, not me.
“Sorry
 I’ll make sure there’s no damage to the team.”
I sat down beside him without a word. There was still some time left. Seeing Sung Jiwon muttering helplessly, I thought the showcase would be ruined if we didn’t resolve this.
Even his breathing was a little short of breath. His breathing was unstable, as if he would collapse at any moment. I looked at him calmly.
Ring!
[Comfort Sung Jiwon and finish the showcase safely!
Sung Jiwon is tired from being a trainee for a long time.
He’s very nervous about his sudden luck.
Comfort Sung Jiwon 0/1
Finishing the showcase safely 0/1
If successful: Charm 30, Dance 10, Vocal 10
If you fail: Charm -50, Dance -30, Vocal -30]
‘Fix the failure balance, you bastard.’
“Hey.”
I handed out the cheongsimhwan and water to Sung Jiwon. Sung Jiwon frowned slightly.
“Eat it. It’s cheongshimhwan.”
“
How did you know I was nervous?”
“Of course I knew, you’ve been making it so obvious.”
He was like that during the recording. A guy who did well during practice was suddenly struggling when it came to the actual match, as if he had trauma.
“I don’t need it.”
“Just eat.”
“No, I am fine–cough!”
It was expensive.
I threw it into Sung Jiwon’s mouth as he was talking. It went in properly. I had experience because I nursed sick Seo Hojin when he was young.
When Sung Jiwon couldn’t close his mouth because he was so dumbfounded, I quickly handed him the water.
He couldn’t spit out what came into his mouth, so Sung Jiwon glared at me with a slightly unfair expression as I forced him to swallow the water I handed to him.
“
You feed me in a very strange way.”
“I have a dongsaeng. If I throw things like this as if feeding a dog, he will eat it.”
“You mean I’m a dog?”
I looked at Sung Jiwon as I talked about such a trivial story.
[Sung Jiwon’s nervousness is gone!]
It seemed to be working. His breathing seemed to have returned to normal. Sung Jiwon blinked.
“This is good. What’s this? Is it the placebo effect?”
“That’s great.”
Objectively, Sung Jiwon was the best among us. We have to keep him together somehow so that our showcase could end safely. Sung Jiwon showed a weak smile that looked as though it would crumble.
“You really don’t get nervous.”
“I am nervous, too.”
“What? No way.”
I brushed the nape of my neck.
“Really, I’m trying not to make it obvious.”
“Haha, but it’s good that you really don’t look nervous.”
“Why are you so nervous?”
Sung Jiwon had everything. As much as he had a long trainee life, Sung Jiwon was the most popular and well-balanced member of our team.
Sung Jiwon hesitated whether he should speak or not, then he let out a deep sigh.
“This is a first for us
 It’s a showcase that can be the last.”
“Hn.”
“I’m afraid I’ll fail. It’s not something you want to hear at times like this, but
”
I didn’t think so. I just listened to Sung Jiwon without saying a word.
“I’ve been a trainee for a long time. I have had many opportunities like that
 Everything ended badly. I’m scared that this luck will disappear soon.”
I knew what this was about. Sung Jiwon had only learned failures over and over again rather than success. Every time he wanted to take a step forward, he was pushed back a hundred steps, and even if he tried to open the door to success, that door was forcibly closed.
That’s why Sung Jiwon was afraid to take that step. He was afraid this last chance would be closed again.
I knew that feeling. A little too well.
“
.”
“
 Sorry, um, I said useless things. Somehow I don’t think you’ve ever failed, so I just told you.”
“It wasn’t always smooth for me either.”
“What?”
“Do you want to see it?”
Before Sung Jiwon could respond, I raised my arm. Sung Jiwon looked at me in bewilderment.
“W-What are you doing?”
* * *
1. Stretched out your feet while looking for a place to lie down = thinking of the results in advance when doing something.