âWow, you really donât know. Look it up on the internet as you go.â
âAlrightâŠâ
âIâm off!â
Kim Heeyeon sashayed out of the room, waving her hand. I was left dumbfounded, and then I caught Seong Jiwon staring blankly at a distance.
âSeong Jiwon.â
âHuh?â
âDid we, like, get an electronic signboard or something?â
âWhat? What are you talking about?â
Seong Jiwon, as if hearing the story for the first time, tilted his head. I immediately pulled out my phone and searched. The moment I entered the SNS, the information came up. While searching, a good idea came to mind.
I grinned and turned to the members.
âHey, guys.â
âYes?â
âWho wants to do something fun?â
Everyone frowned, not understanding.
I shook my phone and hummed a tune. Everyoneâs eyes widened at my unfamiliar behavior.
***
âYou guys, donât be alone for the time being.â
The noisy car instantly quieted down at the managerâs words.
âAbsolutely! Stick together, and always stay with me. Got it? Huh? Understand?â
I secretly grimaced at the manager, who was checking the membersâ nods through the rearview mirror.
âManager.â
âHuh?â
âYou know, the Express Bus Terminal Station.â
âWhoa!â
As soon as I said that, the manager was startled and twitched. Then he cleared his throat.
âHa. Ha. Ha. Guys, arenât you hungry?â
The manager knows.
He and the company were deliberately keeping it hush-hush.
The Kim Seonghyeon controversy had blown up quite a bit, and the gaze on The Dawn was not very pleasant, so they seemed to want to let it pass quietly.
It seemed like they were planning to gather the signboard news and show it all at once later.
Certainly not a bad decision, butâŠ
I started the engine slowly.
âIâm hungry, manager.â
âAh, right? Should I buy some kimbap or something?â
âCan I ask you to?â
I deliberately smiled softer than usual. I could feel the other guys stiffen around me.
Our manager, who was a good person but a bit slow, didnât seem to notice as he laughed heartily and parked the car.
âAlright, guys! Wait here for a moment!â
âOkay.â
We quietly nodded.
As soon as the manager left the car and entered the kimbap store, I got out of the passenger seat and immediately got into the driverâs seat.
Escape.
It was a massive escape.
Holding the steering wheel, I hummed a tune.
âAre we really going?â
âOf course.â
âWith the van?â
âThereâs a perfectly functioning car here, so why bother catching a taxi.â
Everyoneâs eyes widened in shock. I discreetly signaled Seong Jiwon.
âOkay! We just have to pick him up later, right?â
Was Seong Jiwon unexpectedly excited?
I thought he would stop me, but he was the most excited and called the manager. The managerâs bewildered voice echoed from the other side of the phone.
âManager, take a break! Weâll be back in an hour!â
Jiwon looked thrilled as if he were a child doing something naughty. Jeong Dajun glanced at me.
âHoyun-hyung, your driverâs licenseâŠâ
âClass 1, perfect score on the written test, perfect score on the practical test.â
âGood.â
âLetâs go.â
And so, we escaped.
The great escape of rookie idols.
Even with the van in tow.
When the manager hurriedly bought the kimbap and left the store, the van was already nowhere to be found.
Is this for real�
***
I led the members to the express bus terminal. At first, some of the anxious members suddenly charged ahead as if their reins had been loosened.
Seong Jiwon constantly checked his phone for directions.
âIs it this way? Ah, no, not here?â
âUh, I think itâs over there.â
Everyone had their hoods and hats pulled down, but they still gave off an âIâm a celebrityâ vibe.
It wasnât long ago that they had only appeared briefly on television, but they were already attracting attention like thisâŠ
I watched them fondly for a moment before turning back to Seong Jiwon, who was about to enter the wrong place.
âItâs this way!â
âUh, isnât it over there?â
âRight, itâs that way.â
Everyone seemed excited, either chatting away or whistling. I slowly followed them, observing the chaotic subway station.
I used to commute like this every day.
Now, I can hardly even ride the subway. The company was so cautious about it.
After always riding in a van, being in the subway felt like returning to my everyday life after so long. I paused to take in the familiar scenery before turning my head toward the members.
ââŠâ
âHyung! Hyung!â
Jeong Dajun excitedly pulled me. And then, I saw the advertisements on the subway station wall.
A large group photo of the members and a smaller individual photo of each member were displayed.
[We support your shining days]
âWowâŠâ
I thought Iâd be thinking, âWow, they must have spent a lot of money on thisâ when I saw it.
âHere too!â
Apparently not.
[The Dawn, please cast your precious vote.]
It just⊠felt overwhelming.
Seong Jiwon playfully hit my flushed face. The members were smiling brightly, waving at something.
I stared at the photo in a daze before moving forward.
âGuys, there are post-its attached here too?â
âWhere?â
âPersonal billboards.â
âAh, really.â
âDid the fans put them up?â
The members were still buzzing, unable to believe that fans put up ads and left messages for them.
Kim Seonghyeon stared at his billboard with a choked-up expression.
His was filled with some post-its that wereâŠ
[Seonghyeon, weâre supporting you]
[Weâve fallen for the kind-heartedness youâve shown and always trust you]
[Seonghyeon-oppa ă ă Youâre my source of energy. Fighting today as well!]
ââŠâ
The messages were considerate of recent controversies.
Kim Seonghyeon hung his head and stood still for a long time. His hands were trembling.
âYouâre lucky, Kim Seonghyeon.â
I patted his shoulder and moved away, thinking he might want to be alone.
Not far from him, there was a billboard with my face on it.
There were many post-its attached to it as well. As if in a trance, I approached the billboard.
ââŠâ
A calm smile on my face. It seemed to be a photo from the time of our guerrilla performance. Judging by my neat hair, it must have been before I got eggs thrown at me.
Did I smile like this?
I raised my hand and touched the photo gently. There was a message written below my face.
[Hoyun, you are my light]
âReallyâŠâ
I was never that kind of person.
Sorry.
My heart felt heavy. I read the post-its next to it.
[Hoyun, I tried to stop being a K-pop fan but couldnât. I fell for you at first sight. Take responsibility!]
[Letâs get married]
I couldnât help but laugh.
I read the message below that. It was a bit more serious.
[Always calm Hoyun, I like that side of you too, but I hope you wonât carry everything on your own]
[I hope you have only happy and joyful moments!!]
[Oppa, if you ever have a hard time, just tell us ă ă ]
It seemed like this time had been full of ups and downs. Seeing the fans worrying like thisâŠ
As I read the messages, I felt a strange sensation.
It was odd to have countless people saying kind words to me rather than criticism.
Always getting scolded for sticking to the main job, taking on responsibility⊠It was amazing to receive unconditional love here, the more effort you put in.
I stared at the Post-its with fascination. The content, the writers, the handwriting were all different, but they all shared the same feeling.
They wanted me to be happy.
Ah, thisâŠ
It felt⊠suffocating.
I took my time to read the last Post-it.
[Hoyun, I love you a lot.]
ââŠâ
I repeated the words to myself, then slowly peeled off the Post-it. From top to bottom, I removed them all, one by one, without missing a single one.
It was the first time I had done something without any plan.
***
[Guys??? Why are there no Post-its?]
[Oh, theyâre really gone]
[Ugh, did the admins take them off? ă ă ă ă ă We were going to clean up later ă ă ă Was the announcement not made properly?]
[Ah, thatâs a shame⊠It was fun to see those post-its]
Fans reacted in real time.
The fansite master, who had hung Seo Hoyunâs photo as the representative, couldnât hide her disappointment. Still, she couldnât openly talk about the post-its on the official account.
The kids are already involved in controversiesâŠ
Itâs better not to get into trouble for nothing. But it was still a pity.
Iâll have to ask the supporters later.
While refreshing the timeline, suddenly, everyone was flooded with tears.
âHuh?â
Whatâs going on? Why is this happening?
For a moment, her heart sank.
Damn it, she was afraid that a controversy might have erupted because of some sudden reaction.
The fansite master calmed her heart and slowly understood the context. And then she saw a video that popped up.
[A video appeared on the community forum ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ă Hoyun is taking the post-its ă ă ă ă ă ă ă ]
âHeolâŠâ
It was unbelievable. The fansite master watched Seo Hoyun, who was wearing a cap, slowly and carefully peeling off the post-its.
Why is he wearing jeans?
No, whatâs with taking the Post-its?
HoyunâŠ!
The fansite master covered her mouth. She couldnât see Seo Hoyunâs face, but seeing him previously taking one post-it at a time, a tear welled up.
My poor babyâŠ
There wasnât much content in the post-its, right?
From what she saw in passing, they were all messages of support, so there shouldnât be any major issues.
Everyone just wrote a lot of cheesy expressions of love and support.
It made her heart feel warm.
âWhy did he take them? Thereâs nothing special⊠He should just keep letters later.â
[The other kids took them too ă ă They must have come to see them together]
[Is Kim Seonghyeon crying right now?]
[Heol, really?]
[It seems like heâs trying to hold back his tears ă ă ]
[Thereâs nothing bad written on the post-its, right?]
[Not that I know of⊠Maybe heâs just overwhelmedâŠ]
âWow, itâs a mess on Kim Seonghyeonâs side too.â
People say you canât sell someoneâs personality, but⊠Kim Seonghyeon was famous for being kind even among core fans. He had always taken care of the fans one by one.
And finally, chaos erupted.
The fans who had been holding back for Kim Seonghyeon saw him cry and burst into tears.
[You, who sees a Post-it and cries, whatâs with the bullying, you fucking bastard!!!!! Stop grabbing people by the hair!!!]
[Iâm really sorry, Seonghyeon. From the very beginning, it was suspicious⊠㠥㠥 They reacted well to Nightmare and Refined (even though it was edited), but if it were me, I would have been upset with Today
âWhy?? Is there something with Today??
âItâs nothing]
Although they tried to be quiet from their private accounts, the reaction was too big, and it eventually flowed to the community.
[Title: Is there a reason for Kim Seonghyeonâs reaction?
Kim Seonghyeon is famous for taking good care of Nightmare kids too⊠So the Nightmare fandom also likes Kim Seonghyeon. I think thereâs something between Kim Seonghyeon and Today]
[Title: Is it because of Seong Jiwon?
Seong Jiwon was originally in Todayâs debut team, and after he was eliminated, their relationship must have soured.
âAh ă Ąă Ą Donât randomly drag Jiwon into this
ââă ă ă ă Sorry, sorry]
[Title: But really, why??
Kim Seonghyeonâs expression is really not good
âDonât give attention to the bully ă ă ]
And those posts piled up and eventually gave birth to one popular post.
[Popular post: Iâll summarize exactly why Kim Seonghyeon hates Today]