I got the iced tea I’d ordered and sat down. Before words, calming down the fire in my gut came first.
To be clear, I was here because Cheon Sayun called me to a cafe near the agency.
And yet the moment I arrived, I witnessed Cheon Sayun secretly talking with some stranger.
For a second I almost had a heart attack. That ridiculous post was real? No way.
Right before dying, all of Cheon Sayun’s various past offenses overlapped in my head at once, and I seriously thought every insane thought imaginable.
‘…A girlfriend?’
Like hell he’d meet someone in a public place like this while wearing the “idol” title. And still, if it’s him, it’s possible… no, Cheon Sayun at least wouldn’t do something like that so blatantly… though he did in the past……
Just thinking about earlier made my anger flare up again. This crazy bastard. If you manage your image like it’s your religion, then pay attention to this kind of thing too, for fuck’s sake.
[ Condition 41│A perfect idol must also pay attention to image management. ]
I unconsciously started gnawing on the straw, then got called out by the Status Window, so I put the iced tea down. Okay, okay. Petty-ass Status Window.
Maybe I should call it lucky, but the identity of the person with Cheon Sayun wasn’t some lover.
I found out because he introduced them. It was that agency staffer who’d been chattering away with Cheon Sayun at every chance.
Apparently she was a new junior employee named Bae Sojin.
What was even weirder was what came next.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes since I arrived. Somehow—how the hell did he know and show up instantly—Joo, no, the staffer named Joo Dongyun appeared and tried to drag that mysterious junior employee away.
And in the middle of it, Cheon Sayun, in a calm voice, spouted nonsense like, “Since we’re all gathered, let’s take a photo together before we go,” and actually managed the glorious achievement of snagging a picture with all four of us in it.
The Joo-whatever staffer took the photo, immediately apologized in a panic, and vanished with the junior employee.
“So what was that situation earlier?”
Please tell me it wasn’t some trashy, tabloid-grade jealousy fight.
“Who knows.”
‘If you weren’t going to tell me, why did you call me, you bastard.’
Cheon Sayun was still smiling brightly.
Now that I looked at him, Cheon Sayun was also the type whose expression was hard to read. What good is smiling like that. How am I supposed to know if that’s a smile that’s about to destroy someone, or a real smile.
“Sojin said she’s Dongyun’s direct subordinate.”
“So what? Don’t tell me you know why Dongyun does that?”
“It’s the other way around. She said he has leverage on her, so I comforted her a bit. She apologized, and told me to avoid getting involved as much as possible.”
Fuck. What kind of bullshit is this now. What “leverage” could it possibly be.
No, wait. If she’s suddenly talking about “leverage”… then either way, that junior employee has something to feel guilty about, or she did something.
“What kind of leverage?”
“She said she’s not ready to talk about it yet. I thought I might find out if I met her a few more times, but that’s a shame.”
“Ha ha……”
Ah, is Cheon Sayun insane. Meet her for what. Future scandal-maker bastard. Then that “caught together” photo last time—was it taken with that staffer too? From the circumstances, it sure seems like it.
“So last time, did you meet just the two of you?”
At my careful question, Cheon Sayun smiled prettily. For some reason, he looked like he was watching something pathetic.
“You keep saying idiot things.”
Is tossing out fresh, annoying lines his specialty? Like he was lecturing someone who couldn’t understand plain speech, Cheon Sayun continued slowly.
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have picked a cafe near the agency as the location. There were other staff there that time too. Today, you’re the staff substitute.”
This bastard. So the reason I ended up coming was just because I got contacted before he could grab some random staff member. I just happened to be the one who got caught.
If there’s one obvious celebrity-looking person and several people who look like staff, most people would just assume it’s some kind of work schedule. And since it’s near the agency, industry people would come by often too.
Fuck. I don’t know if I should be relieved it wasn’t one-on-one, or furious that he’s using people.
‘Calm down, first……. The situation I was worried about didn’t happen.’
“‘Avoid getting involved’ is about Dongyun, then.”
“Probably. You’ve experienced it. He doesn’t know his place and clings like a leech, stubbornly sticking to you and being annoying.”
“Th-that’s true…….”
He was an irritating type, but you’re the one who poked him in the first place. And even if he’s annoying, is it really the kind of problem you have to be careful about?
[ Condition 18│A perfect idol does not speak or act carelessly anywhere. ]
“Mmm.”
“Just looking at what he does, he’s not worth warning you about, but ‘being careful’ doesn’t only mean physical or bodily things, you know?”
Meaning psychological damage too—Cheon Sayun deliberately dragged out the end of his sentence, speaking with a perfectly composed face. That’s rich, coming from you.
“The reason I’ve shared this with you so far is simply to pay you back for last time. Of course, I didn’t ask you to do it, and even if you hadn’t, you would’ve handled it yourself.”
‘Pay me back for what… ah, wait.’
The only recent thing Cheon Sayun could call “paying back” was when, after the second anniversary live, I covered for him and made an alibi when he came in late without saying anything.
Paying back, my ass. Cold bastard. And it wasn’t even for him. It was to keep rumors from starting.
He never mentioned it, so I thought he didn’t know, but I guess he did. No wonder he’d been telling me to be careful lately in a way that wasn’t like him at all.
But that last part… you didn’t need to say that. When I think about the future you, it really didn’t feel like you’d clean anything up on your own.
“So we don’t owe each other anything now, so from here on, just avoid it yourself. Got it?”
“I never thought of it as a debt, but… okay.”
Do whatever you want. Right now, even if I listen, I can’t get a grip on it, so I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do.
I feel like I’m going to forget this again. Don’t tell me it blows up the moment I forget.
“Hm.”
Cheon Sayun lightly rubbed his chin, like he was weighing something. What kind of bullshit is he about to flip my insides with this time.
“Why……?”
“…….”
Even when I asked, Cheon Sayun didn’t answer—he just sank into thought. I don’t care who it is, I wish someone would crack open that skull and see what’s inside. What the hell does that bastard even think about while living.
“Nothing.”
Cheon Sayun, who’d been quiet, finally opened his mouth. He was staring straight at me.
“I was just wondering how long that’ll keep going.”
It was completely out of nowhere. Before I could even ask who he meant, Cheon Sayun smiled like he had something up his sleeve, picked up his cup, and stood.
‘Hey, what the hell. I’m not done drinking yet, you bastard.’
I stood up without thinking and started gathering my things. In the brief moment I fumbled, Cheon Sayun was already tapping on his phone keyboard and walking toward the counter.
Seeing him even thank the cafe staff and say it was delicious, without forgetting, made me think, wow, this guy really is something else.
With a little jingle of the bell, Cheon Sayun walked out. Huh……? No, wait, he’s really leaving by himself? After returning the empty tray, I hurriedly chased after him.
If we walk out separately, rumors about member conflict might start!
─ding
As I was following, a notification pinged on my phone. I was too out of it to check properly, but on the preview screen, a line popped up saying Cheon Sayun had posted the photo he’d just taken on social media.
ZER01 @ZER01_DD ✅
(Cropped_Photo_Only_Cheon_Sayun_and_Go_Youngin.jpg)
I came out to rest for a bit with Youngin. Now we’re heading back to practice. ^^
#SY #Youngin
Reposts 19k Quotes 1,990 Likes 83k
Later, when I checked social media, I got chills. So he even calculated the “what are you doing when you’re so busy” reaction. With a guy like this, how did he drag around every kind of rumor in the previous round? Don’t tell me this bastard did it all on purpose.
At this point, it was something I couldn’t know even if I asked him directly, so the truth stayed unknown.
***
ZER01_OFFICIAL @ZER01_Official ✅
(https://newtu.be/nM8xQP722E)
[ ZER01 – ‘BLUE WAVE’ Official Teaser Released ]
????07. 05. 18:00PM
#ZER01 #Summer_Special_Album #BLUE_WAVE #Summer_Blue
Reposts 147k Quotes 57k Likes 594k
Before I knew it, it was the day the comeback teaser went up. The moment the teaser was uploaded to the official account, fans rushed to NewTube and started clicking the video.
[ ZER01 – ‘BLUE WAVE’ Official Teaser ]
─shaaaa
The teaser started with a deep blue ocean filling the screen, along with the cool sound of waves.
Somehow exotic, a bouncy rhythm and synth sounds that immediately brought waves and wind to mind brushed past my ears.
Along with that, an acoustic guitar and marimba that swelled like it was building up, plus the sounds of various instruments, gave a clear, refreshing feeling.
Overall, the bluish color grading and the movement of shadows using light brought out the summer vibe even more, emphasizing coolness over summer heat.
As the background sound grew louder, it started pulling you in, drawing closer and closer to the sea.
Once you could see the rippling waves clearly, the screen that had been showing the underwater view turned pitch black, along with a splash—something falling into the water.
─Rather than avoiding it
Just keep waving
A camera that followed sunlight, shining from sky to ground, and a background that reminded you of an American high school. Within it, the members flickered past, each in a different space doing different things.
Wearing metal-rimmed glasses, I sighed and opened a long locker door. At the same time, wind whipped through, and the scene that had been showing the school switched back to the sea. The glasses I’d been wearing had changed into tinted sunglasses before I knew it, and my outfit had changed too.
─Don’t hesitate
Let’s ride the wind together
Do a wave
─Don’t be afraid
Let’s ride the flow together
Do a wave
The screen slowly brightened again. The members, wearing the outfits from the group concept photo, passed by as they danced a group choreography under warm sunlight, with the ocean and deep blue sky behind them. It was a dance that stood out for its lightness and its rhythmic, beat-splitting movement matched to the chorus.
When the chorus ended and the hook hit, the music and the wave sounds suddenly cut off, and the background switched from the sea back to the school.
[…….]
Starting with the glasses that had fallen to the floor, the camera angle slowly rose upward and zoomed in on my face—soaked in seawater, blinking in shock.
White text appeared over it, and the video ended.
─SUMMER BLUE
202X. 07. 05.
***
EternityRefreshingWaitingSquad???? @chungchun_jjang
Fuck our kids’ teaser, fuck fuck, Dubdi finally came to his senses, this album is definitely refreshing, fuck!!!!! I love it ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Reposts 8,900 Quotes 979 Likes 9,846
────────────────
HOT! [Anonymous Celebrity Chatter] Boy group that seems to be trying a refreshing concept for the first time since debut [845]
Yeah 202N.06.28 │ Views: 51,911
────────────────
(https://newtu.be/nM8xQP722E)
Link to today’s teaser video
(Teaser_GIF.gif)(Teaser_GIF2.gif)(Teaser_GIF3.gif)
ZER01
Comeback July 5, please look forward to it~
────────────────
[ 845 comments ]
>> First refreshing in two years since debut, fuck. And they didn’t even have any refreshing songs in their B-sides until now!!!!
>> Dubdi, the obsessive lore-setting freak, is giving us this kind of color, this kind of concept MV for the first time? Is this a dream
└ After watching the usual apocalypse-specific gloomy-pain-destruction-chaos-ruin shit every time, seeing refreshing makes the world suddenly look different
>> Zer01’s strong concepts are perfect, but refreshing is insane too
└ Dark was good too, but I think I’m still a refreshing-only stan, fuck I love it
>> The foundation of idols is refreshing, yeah
>> It’s too sudden though, why not just keep the existing concept, kind of a mood killer
└ 22 At the time when they should be pulling in fans the most, why do this. Dubdi has no sense, the new fans are gonna die out
└ Fuck, worry about your own group’s new fans, don’t come into someone else’s party and start shit ㅗ^^ㅗ
└ Honestly, it’s true refreshing doesn’t pull in that many new fans; you need hard-hitting songs to get overseas fans. And when their own group does refreshing, people are like “I want to see intense performances” in truckloads too
└ Korean fans like refreshing more though?
└ Refreshing pulls in tons of new fans, what the fuck are you talking about
└ Stop generalizing “Korean fans like refreshing” or whatever
└ [Author] Fuck, either get out of my post or shut up and just look at their faces
>> Aaaah fuck, I’m so overwhelmed. The moment I heard the song my internal dance went insane
>> At this point, I’m wondering if the problem is that I’m this old and I’m still chanting the refreshing prayer. I can’t quit refreshing
└ Why are you calling me out
└ That AOE provocation is insane lololololololololol
It wasn’t a bad reaction. There were different opinions, but either way, a lot of fans were generally welcoming ZER01’s new concept attempt.
They were welcoming it, sure, but the moment the quality drops compared to the last album, it’s over.
Before I died, every time the group got dragged into rumors, I’d seen similar things happen. The first sign would be the fans’ timelines, once lively, filling with silence in an instant.
They’d definitely get twice the backlash compared to a normal flop.
Should’ve just stuck with what you were doing. You’d at least have been decent.
Zer01’s musical spectrum isn’t that wide. They weren’t good at everything.
So there wasn’t some deeper reason they kept insisting on the same genre.
I could already see the reactions in front of my eyes.
Fuck… practice was the only way to live. No matter what, we had to nail the first start. Something new always demanded that much risk.