“Chanhwi, are you okay?”
“What? Yes.”
“Chanhwi, would you like something to eat?”
“Oh, yes. Thank you.”
People were unusually kind today.
“Why is that?”
The question occurred to me after receiving concern, consolation, and inexplicable snacks since morning.
Yujin answered from beside me, asking if I truly did not know why.
“You bawled your eyes out onstage yesterday.”
“Hey. I didn't bawl my eyes out.”
When I answered, Yujin showed me something on his phone.
I could not believe it.
Had I really looked like this?
In the photograph on the screen, I truly was bawling my eyes out, while Yujin stood beside me with a dumbfounded expression.
If I had cried that hard, then naturally people would assume something had happened to me and start treating me kindly.
“Hey, boys. You're here?”
“Noona, what happened to your face this time?”
Dark circles hung beneath Lee Eun-ha's eyes. Had she not been happy yesterday because she was leaving work early?
Instead, she glared at the two of us as if asking whether we truly had no idea, then sighed.
“I didn't sleep well.”
“You don't have to glare at us for that. Anyway, what else is there? What happened now?”
“You two haven't visited the fan café?”
The fan café?
After yesterday's showcase ended, calls had apparently poured into DM Entertainment without pause.
At first, they came from reporters who wanted to cover the appealing story of the second act produced by Kim Dae-myeong of the once-famous Beat: an idol group. But as time passed, their questions became increasingly personal to Sun & Moon.
A feud between the two members of Sun & Moon.
Sun & Moon's grueling training.
Sun & Moon's relationship with their agency.
They wondered why so many pointed questions were pouring in, and the reason turned out to be Chanhwi's outburst of tears at the showcase.
A small group of fans wandering around the Idol Gallery had uploaded footage of Chanhwi crying at the showcase. It drew a flood of trolls, leading to the current situation.
“What? Then you should have told me.”
I never imagined the situation would become so serious just because I cried.
If it had become that serious, I should have explained myself.
But even if I explained, what was I supposed to say?
I cried because I was happy my parents came to cheer for me. Because in my previous life, I had failed to treat my parents well?
......Let's leave out that last sentence.
“Of course, it would have been a big problem if things had stayed that way.”
Eun-ha giggled like someone who had thought of something amusing.
“But the situation changed quite a bit after that, you know?”
Since matters had escalated that far, the proper course was clearly to summon Chanhwi and have him explain. DM Entertainment was just about to contact him when.
A single post on the Idol Gallery reversed public opinion.
Sun & Moon Chanhwi's Facial Expression Analysis Results.
The analysis of Chanhwi's expression inside a square frame produced unexpected results.
Anger 0.000
Contempt 0.00000
Disgust 0.00000
Fear 0.00000
Happiness 1.00000
Neutral 0.00000
Sadness 0.00000
Surprise 0.00000
The people who saw his one-hundred-percent-pure happiness were bewildered.
-What, so he was sobbing because he was happy?
-All that over a debut?
-They say trainees usually spend years trying to debut. If he suffered for a long time, it makes sense.
-No, he debuted only three months after becoming a trainee;;; That's an ultrafast debut, isn't it?
-Anyway, that's what happened. LOL.
That quieted public opinion, though a few people still interpreted the scene negatively.
-I guess idols these days even have to put on a crying show to become popular. LOL.
Comments like that received far more downvotes, showing that public opinion had improved.
“So the PR Department rode the momentum and created a fan café.”
The fan café was named ‘Earth Star.’
Sun & Moon represented the sun and the moon. When they added the slogan ‘the first star you see,’ the result was a fan café called Earth Star.
Title: Congratulations! Now That Earth Star Is Born, Is Chanhwi Going to Cry Again?
(Photo of Chanhwi bawling onstage)
Sob. Sniff. Everyone on Earth Star. Thank yooou.
↳ You LOL are LOL seriously LOL terrible.
↳ I was genuinely worried when I saw him crying, then I saw Happiness 1.00000 and was completely dumbfounded. LOL.
↳ But I bet seeing him cry brought in a lot of new fans. Wasn't he kind of cute when he cried?
↳ Agreed. I want to make him cry more.
↳ The Prince of Tears. Wow.
↳ Ah, LOL. Has the commenter above lost their mind? LOL.
↳ Pwince of Tears...
↳ No, but people above me. Is it really okay for this to be the first post on the official fan café? LOL.
“The. Prince. Of. Tears?”
Reading the post, Yujin grinned and looked my way.
This was driving me insane. Seriously.
When I debuted in my previous life, I had earned the title of a charismatic dance singer. In this life, I was apparently the Prince of Tears.
It made me think that if you lived long enough, you really did see everything. I did not feel great about it.
“You two should visit the fan café later and at least leave a greeting. Chanhwi, make sure you apologize for causing an unnecessary misunderstanding.”
Would leaving a greeting not invite even more teasing?
After hearing the schedule for the music programs beginning tomorrow, we headed to the practice room.
“So you really cried because you were happy?”
Was this guy planning to run the joke into the ground?
“Yeah, punk. You saw the expression analysis too. Happiness 1.00000. Besides, the person I'm more worried about is......”
I suddenly realized what I was about to say and stopped.
I had remembered what happened yesterday.
Last night, I heard an agitated voice from the closet and went to see what was happening. The moment I reached the closet door, Yujin emerged with his face wet with tears.
He looked briefly startled to find me at the door, but soon wiped away his tears and said.
-It's nothing.
His expression made it clear that he did not want to answer, to the point where asking felt difficult, so I did not bring it up again.
-Oh, okay.
As a result, although the showcase had ended on a high note, the two of us returned to the dorm without exchanging another word.
We had even entered the Balloon Chart at number 99 on the first real-time chart after the album's release, but it was not a situation where we could celebrate.
He looked remarkably cheerful again today, as if he was fine now.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I chuckled at Yujin's question and spoke.
“Your hairstyle looks much better now.”
The ugly bowl cut Yujin had worn at the audition had become a neat short haircut.
“Really?”
Chanhwi sighed as he watched Yujin check his hair in the mirror.
‘I told you to say something if things get hard.’
Even without Yujin telling him, Chanhwi had seen enough before the regression to have a rough idea what was going on.
But since he had no right to interfere in that problem, he intended to watch for now.
Even so, if the problem became serious, he was prepared to step in somehow.
“Why are you sighing?”
At the question, I threw back the same words he had used last night.
“It's nothing.”
“Oh, really?”
Yujin countered with the exact same answer.
***
Knet Broadcasting Station.
It was like a gateway that singers making their debut or comeback had to pass through first.
The area in front of the building was crowded with fans who had been waiting since dawn to see the singers appearing on the music program K Countdown.
One married couple whose child had recently become an idol was among them.
“You understand, right? When Sun & Moon arrives, we cheer louder than anyone else.”
“Yes!”
Ha Chan-seong looked appalled as his wife, Madam Jo Hyeon-jeong, marshaled the fans.
The moment the fan club opened, Madam Jo Hyeon-jeong began rallying the fans by releasing several pictures of her son. Before long, she had earned the nickname ‘Big Mom’ throughout the fan café.
Today, she had led her new followers here to cheer for her son, looking like a formidable woman leading a pirate crew.
“Making such a fuss at your age. Seriously.”
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing. All right, everyone, let's cheer our hardest!”
Soon, vans began arriving in succession, and singers started to step out.
“Hello! We're Prominence!”
“One, two, three. Your secret alone. We're Top Secret!”
Watching the singers greet the crowd at the photo zone filled the couple with emotion.
“My goodness. Have I been away from the scene for too long? I don't recognize the names of any idols these days.”
“Good grief. Beat retired more than ten years ago. A hundred more idol groups must have debuted since then. Even the kids arriving now are rookies.”
It was the time slot when rookie groups appeared, so once these groups passed, the couple expected their son's group to arrive soon.
“Speaking of rookies, I heard KG is debuting another idol group the week after next?”
“Are you sure you've been away from the scene? How do you even know that?”
“I have to keep track of our sons' competition. Our boys need to widen the gap before KG's kids debut.”
KG Entertainment was one of South Korea's four leading agencies, and every singer KG debuted went on to become a top star.
The company had debuted one group six years ago and released no news about rookies since. Since this would be its first new act in six years, the media was keen to see what kind of rookies would emerge.
“There they are.”
“Everyone, get ready!”
They intended to scream the instant Sun & Moon stepped out of the van.
“Wow......”
Instead, an exclamation escaped them, and they could only hold their breath.
Two young men were walking toward the photo zone.
One was a beautiful young man whose elegance was clear from the way he walked alone.
The other was a masculine young man who waved brightly with a cheerful smile.
“Look at the one on the left. It's ridiculous how unrealistically handsome he is.”
“And what about the one on the right? Just look at that nose.”
Watching the two approach, Ha Chan-seong shouted loudly with a proud smile.
“I don't know whose sons they are, but they're incredibly handsome!”
One of the two approaching boys looked startled and gestured for Ha Chan-seong to be quiet.
Both boys' ears were as red as carrots.
When they reached the photo zone, the pair extended their hands and recited their slogan.
“Hello. The first star you see. We are Sun & Moon!”
As onlookers etched the name into their memories along with the duo's striking looks, a booming voice rang out from behind the fan photographers.
“Please take good care of our Sun & Moon!”
***
We're appearing on a music program today.
It's on Knet at six, so please don't forget to watch.
-So, Chanhwi. Why did you cry?
-Right. Don't cry today.
↳ You LOL really LOL are LOL terrible.
-Tell us why you cried before you go.
-We can't stand the suspense T_T
Chanhwi barely restrained himself from throwing his phone and vowed never to visit the fan café again.