/
Ding!
[Quest Arrival!]
When I came to after fainting, a blue system window was floating in the air. I blinked my eyes and jolted upright.
The system window had returned.
“How did it…”
No, it wasn’t important how it came back. What mattered was that it had returned to normal after Min Jiheon’s incident.
“Why did you disappear?”
But there was no answer. It was evident that the system window chose not to appear on purpose.
I sighed, staring at the screen floating in the air.
“Quest check.”
Ding!
[Quest Arrival! “Let’s create a fan song together!”
The group shines more in group activities rather than individual ones!
Let’s make a surprise fan song for Noeul.
Success: 5,000 points awarded.
Failure: If a fan song isn’t made within two weeks, Dance stats drop significantly (B+ to D+).]
I carefully looked at the quest window.
Usually, I wouldn’t suspect a hidden meaning in such a quest, but something felt off this time.
First, “group activities rather than individual ones.”
On the surface, it seemed like a perfectly normal quest compared to the ones I’ve received before.
“Individual activities” – in other words, they want to divert my attention from acting. While I did think group activities were more appropriate at the moment…
Why?
If they wanted to discourage me from acting from the start, they should have stopped it when the offer first came in.
In other words, a quest like this should have appeared when the CEO asked if I wanted to act. Or at least when Seong Jiwon asked about acting, and I resisted saying I wouldn’t do it.
But now?
Besides, if they wanted to stop my acting activities, why not give a quest asking me not to appear in the drama?
Or is it that they can’t?
For some reason, it seemed the system window also had limitations. That’s why it sent a quest with such a tight deadline, as if trying to disrupt my acting activities.
In other words,…
“They’re nervous.”
It was a message to avoid Min Jiheon.
The system window remained faintly glowing. But I didn’t need an answer anymore. I had found the answer in its silence.
I quickly got up and went to the living room. The members, who had been talking for a while, suddenly stood up when they saw me.
“Uh, um…”
It would have been nice if they had forgotten about me and were happily playing, but these kind-hearted members couldn’t do that.
Which group would feel down just because one of the members was feeling down?
“Feeling down, huh?”
I clicked my tongue and sat heavily in an empty spot on the sofa. The members hesitantly sat down after me.
“Hoyun…”
Seong Jiwon tried to say something but closed his mouth. He looked agitated and seemed to be holding back. Kim Seonghyeon quickly finished what he was going to say.
“The manager came by earlier. He didn’t want to disturb you because you were asleep.”
“Okay.”
“You passed the first round of auditions. Now you just have to go for the second round.”
Normally, the members would have been happier and made a fuss. It was good news, after all, but they were carefully choosing their words because of what happened earlier.
I snatched the drink that Jeong Dajun was holding and drank some of it. My throat was so dry that I gulped it down, making Jeong Dajun’s eyes widen.
“Hyung, that’s mine…”
“Jeong Dajun.”
“Y-yes?”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Why are you being careful?”
“Um, well?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to be cautious if you didn’t do anything wrong? Why isn’t it working for you now, huh?”
“….?”
It took a moment for Jeong Dajun to process what I said, then he smirked.
“The jerk is back….”
“No, it’s just his attitude disappeared again.”
“Ah, right.”
The other members murmured. Jeong Dajun stuttered and suddenly grabbed me, pouring out his words.
“Hyung, um… Please forget what I said earlier. I didn’t mean that I wanted you to pass the audition to see Min Jiheon-sunbae. Of course, there was some fan spirit for Writer Kim Sukhui… I don’t know what it is, but if you don’t like it, I don’t like it either!”
“Really?”
This innocent kid. I grinned as I looked at Jeong Dajun, who was fun to tease.
“Maknae, choose between Min Jiheon and me.”
“Huh?”
“Choose.”
After about three seconds, Jeong Dajun hesitated and answered.
“…It’s obviously you, hyung??”
“…”
“What kind of crazy thing are you saying?”
…It was satisfying, but thinking about it, it was cheesy. I sighed and patted our bewildered maknae’s head. He seemed to have been wronged, but I ignored it.
“So, should I go to see the second round of auditions?”
“Yes. It’s something to celebrate, but since Hoyun said you didn’t want to do it, we’ll respect your opinion no matter what.”
“Okay, that’s good.”
“But if you’re even a little hesitant… Huh?”
Seong Jiwon suddenly stopped speaking in surprise.
“You said it’s good?”
“Yeah.”
I picked up my phone and sent a positive text to the manager.
“I want to do it.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m going to act.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
Just a few hours ago, I didn’t seem like I would do it at all, but now that I said I would, everyone looked at me with a questioning gaze, but I didn’t intend to answer. I had already decided to play “Lee Jeonghun.”
The system window was hiding something and extremely reluctant toward Min Jiheon. Min Jiheon knew something and could even temporarily remove the system window.
So, the answer was clear.
If I couldn’t get an answer from the writer or the system window, I could use Min Jiheon to find out.
How should I try it…
While searching for information about Min Jiheon online, I suddenly looked up at the members. Kang Ichae awkwardly averted my gaze, but…
For now, let’s move on. There was something more urgent.
“Ah, let’s make our fan song.”
“…?”
Everyone was even more puzzled by the remark.
***
[Seo Hoyun confirmed for the role of young genius PD in Please Take the Camera]
[Seo Hoyun, transforming from “idol” to “actor”… Syncing with Min Jiheon]
As expected, Seo Hoyun showed a perfect fit as the PD in the second and third rounds of auditions, and he was unanimously accepted.
Moreover, to cram the 23-year-old Seo Hoyun into the role, Writer Kim Sukhui even lowered Lee Jeonghun PD’s age to 29, adding all sorts of “prodigy” titles.
Casting news spread quickly, as if someone had leaked the information.
Lee Jihyeon, who had now become almost a full-time consultant for The Dawn, was worried when she saw the article. Yet she thought it was better to get it over with quickly, and she sent out additional press materials.
When Seo Hoyun’s personal fans read the article, they were stunned by the sudden news but quickly posted it on social media.
[Hoyun is confirmed to appear as a genius PD in Please Take the Camera!! He’s such a perfect fit and I can’t wait ♡ I support your first acting challenge! (Press release link)]
And that post went viral like crazy. But… there were more quotes than simple retweets.
Depending on the situation, it sometimes worked differently, but…this time, it had a very negative effect.
[?????????????? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Where did Lee Kangseok, who was supposed to appear, go??????]
[Wow, Daepaseong is working hardㅋㅋ They’re trying to force Seo Hoyun inㅋㅋ]
[It’s so funny that they’re even changing the character settings and age to fit Seo Hoyun in. Are you guys having fun forcing him in?]
If it was just an acting challenge, it wouldn’t have caused this much of a stir, but it was a role that was rumored to almost be confirmed for the rising star, Lee Kangseok. There had even been several news articles saying that it was close to being confirmed.
The image fitted well, and the response was good, but when an idol suddenly came in, the reaction wasn’t so good. In fact, it wasn’t an issue that the casting was decided right before the deadline. It was that the character’s age didn’t fit, so they had to adjust the setting after casting, which led to an article reporting this, followed by a comment from Lee Kangseok’s management expressing their regret for not being able to take on the role, which, ultimately, attracted even more criticism.
The individual fan who posted that message saw the reactions from Noeul and drama fans, as well as people who were just there for the fun of it. They then went to another private account to post a comment.
[Hmm]
There’s only one thing they wanted to say.
[I got it, guys, I’m sorry for being crazy
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAhㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└└I actually know tlqkf]
Still, they posted messages like “Wow, Seo Hoyun is acting? This is going to be awesome,” and “I can see Seo Hoyun’s face regularly for two months, I need to save new pictures.” Of course, they also cried in the background, saying, “Please stop, it’s scary.”
Noeul fans were only able to vent their frustrations on private accounts.
[Sigh… We know this is a stretch, too…
└I’ve been cursing all day at work, I must be crazy now]
[What are you talking about? Seo Hoyun acting? He just can’t let go of his acting ambitions~~~]
[I can see it… The future where people tell him to stop pushing idols and get criticized… The signs of fighting with all kinds of antis and attention-seekers…
But shit we are die-hard Seo Hoyun fans, winter is coming, let’s fight, you bastards]
As if to prove their words, sparks were already flying in the community.
[Title: Isn’t Seo Hoyun being pushed into Min Jiheon this time?
This time it’s too obvious, it’s annoyingㅋㅋ They even changed the age… Amazing
└Seo Hoyun? Has he ever acted before??
└└ㄴㄴNope
└└Wow… ㅋㅋㅋ…
└I know ㅠㅠ I had high expectations because it’s written by Kim Sukhui, but now we have an idol on top of everything else]
[Why not just say he wants to be an actor ㅋㅋ I knew his face was always expressionless, and he didn’t want to be an idol, but I didn’t expect him to reveal his true colors so quickly? He’ll probably get anti-fans soon, so just die before causing trouble for the other members
└You fucker, do you think someone who hates being an idol would do everything? ㅋㅋ He’s famous for being really active in communicating with fans, you should mind your own business]
[Honestly, his schedule would be affected by acting activities… Does he not care about the other members at all? Why did he debut in a group then?]
[Isn’t it too obvious that he doesn’t care about group activities? ㅠㅠ Just leave the group ㅜㅜ #LookingForNoeul #Noeul_FriendApplication
└Shut up]
As the anonymous accounts smelled blood and started appearing one by one, the fans felt sick but fought back as hard as they could… Meanwhile, what was Seo Hoyun doing?
“…”
“Uh, why are you here…?”
“Cough, cough!”
“…Hey, everyone, get out for a second.”
He was in Lim Hyeonsu’s poorly ventilated raccoon den (studio).