“This is my first time meeting the fans. What if my hands get sweaty? It won’t be a problem if I wipe it with a handkerchief, right?”
“Calm down. The fans’ hands are sweaty too, so they won’t even notice if your hands are a little sweaty.”
Before I had a chance to clear my complicated minds, the last event arrived: the mini fan signing event.
Normally, fan signing events would be hosted by a brand for the brand ambassador they had chosen, or by an agency after their artist released an album.
However, this time, the number of trainees had reduced considerably, so they needed an event to fill in the remaining airtime, and it was also necessary to give a final boost before the live broadcast, so the production team seemed to have specially planned this event.
‘What kind of fansign is hosted by a broadcasting station.’
We were originally informed that the event would be a budget-friendly ‘
free hug
‘ event. But considering the negative feedback the program had received regarding crowd control during the last mini-mission, fans opposed the idea, and it was changed to a fan signing event.
‘I’m sure they didn’t intend to go this far….’
Even in the midst of all this, they still managed to find a way to profit. Only those who subscribed to the broadcasting company’s premium service were given entry tickets. Fans, despite cursing the station’s marketing tactics, had already subscribed to the service for the voting system, so they could participate without making additional payments. Posts filled with existential disillusionment about this situation were frequently uploaded.
“Wow, this guy smells good.”
“I guess you sprayed some perfume for the fansign.”
The trainees were so excited about their first fan signing event that they went wild in preparation. Some even used more hand cream than they’d ever used in their lives, while others doused themselves in so much perfume it was almost torture for noses. Even
that
Lee Hwayoung was tossing and turning at night, so it was fair to say that everyone was losing their minds.
“Why is this hyung so calm? Isn’t he nervous?”
“Yeah, Seungbeom is the same as usual.”
“I’m always like this.”
‘Well, it’s not my first time.’
The guy who was slathering hand cream on, Do Yuda, stared at me—the only calm one among the trainees—with a puzzled look and complained, and I casually replied.
“Trainees, let’s enter!”
After killing time like that for a while, the production staff called us, and we immediately moved to where the fans were gathered.
.
.
.
I opened the conversation with the fans by asking small talk like, “
Wasn’t it too hard to wait?
“. and as we chatted for a while, a loud fan suddenly shouted something that hit my eardrum like a sharp blow.
“I’m over 30! For the first time in 10 years, I’m having my bag checked!”
Then, the fans around them burst into laughter. And as if they had a lot of grievances, some of them even joined in, shouting “That’s right!” with a hint of teasing.
“Why did they do that, why did they do that!”
As soon as Do Yuda grabbed the microphone and started soothing them playfully, the fans, who had laughed once more, began shouting their grievances in a joking manner.
”They arranged the chairs without considering the view!”
“The chair is uncomfortable. What should I do? Can’t the chair be moved? I’ll ask about it!”
“It’s my first fan signing event! And the entrance was so chaotic!”
“I see. It’s your first fan signing event. Oh my, everyone must have had a hard time.”
“The rules keep changing!”
“The rules keep changing! Oh my goodness!”
Do Yuda, thinking that those were real complaints, was listening intently.
“These f**ing people are putting on an ass show to exploit the children for their own gain, it’s so obvious. And the way they’re doing a shitty job of it, I just want to throw eggs at the building, f**k.”
I already knew what words they would actually use to express their anger, so I couldn’t help but see the fans as just being all lovey-dovey with Do Yuda. Look, weren’t they looking at Do Yuda with such a warm gaze, as if he was their grandson?
“…….”
“…….”
And the fans’ shouts didn’t last more than three minutes; they disappeared as quickly as if a mouse had just died.
“Huuh?”
Do Yuda, who had been filled with the intention of communicating with the fans, tilted his head with blank expression at the sudden silence. I sighed softly as I watched him.
‘They’re waiting for you to speak. They’re here to hear our voices.’
Originally, if you talked to an idol for too long, you could receive cold stares from the surrounding fans. I remembered hearing that it was a culture meant to avoid interrupting the idol, and to prevent situations where the idol, unable to cut off the fans’ words, would feel awkward.
‘I can feel that they’re trying their best to be considerate because this is the first time the trainees are holding a fan signing event.’
Just because the trainees were newbies, I couldn’t guarantee that the fans would be the same.
…It seems like they were all just caught while being fans of other idols.
Although I didn’t know what would happen once the fansign started and photo-taking was allowed, the overall atmosphere felt positive and civilized.
“Anyway, thank you for coming all the way here. Let’s have a fun time together today! Please take care of us!”
“Yees!”
With those words, Do Yuda, who had regained his composure, ended the greeting, and the trainees’ first fan signing event began.
***
“Yuda-ya, you don’t have to be so tense. Relax!”
“Kangwon-oppa! That’s the table, not a signing spot!”
While the fansign was in full swing, tapping sounds could be heard from around.
Having plenty of experience with fan signings, there was no particular reason for me to be nervous, so I had a very peaceful time interacting with fans.
But even I, with all my experience, would sometimes run into fatal problems.
“Seungbeom, what is your MBTI?”
“M … what kind is it?”
“MBTI!”
‘What is that? MVP? Most Valuable Player?’
The problem of not being able to understand what people were talking about because I didn’t know what was happening in the world. It seemed like a lot of strange new things came up during the time I couldn’t access the internet after the scandal broke.
What’s going on, Seo Yutae?
I thought you were living the life of a trendy man.
“I’m not sure. What is that?”
“Oh, you don’t know! That’s okay. You’re really cute.”
“…I’ll look it up and let you know next time. Through the agency’s SNS….”
Even if I couldn’t give a proper answer, fans would always cover for me by saying I was cute. Being treated this way so openly was something I could never have imagined in my original body, so it felt a bit strange.
“You can move now.”
“Seungbeom, goodbye! You have to debut!”
After finishing up with one group, I briefly turned my attention and saw a fan of Lee Hwayoung staring at the headband she had brought, unable to hand it to him. Since there was some time before the next group arrived, I mouthed a question to that fan.
“Why aren’t you giving it to him?”
“I don’t think he’d like it……”
Lee Hwayoung didn’t seem to catch our conversation because he was holding a pen and staring at the autograph sheet like he was going to pierce it, as if he was seriously contemplating whether the fan’s name was
Hye-eun
or
Hae-eun
.
‘Maybe the rumor started because he was the only one who wasn’t wearing a headband in the amusement park sightings.’
I glanced at the fan’s sullen face, then held out my hand.
“Can you give it to me for a second?”
“Uh, yes!”
At my words, Lee Hwayoung’s fan, seemingly confused by my request, hurriedly pulled out all the accessories she was carrying.
‘There are so many. One, two, three, four….’
You … for someone who seemed so worried about Lee Hwayoung’s reaction, you brought quite a lot.
I was honestly surprised to see so many accessories spread out on the table, but I managed to keep a straight face and got up from my seat.
Then, I quickly grabbed a headband and stuck it into Lee Hwayoung’s hair. Startled, Lee Hwayoung flinched and turned to look at me with wide open eyes.
“Don’t look at me, look over there. Pretty expression.”
However, I ignored Lee Hwayoung’s bewildered expression and firmly turned his head to face straight ahead. Then, the extremely excited fan pointed towards the direction of a large camera with her finger.
“Over there! Over there!”
“Okay. Make a V. V.”
I fixed Lee Hwayoung’s face in the direction the fan pointed, took off the headband, and quickly put on a different hat that was on the table. And after hearing the shutter sound, I quickly put on another accessory. Since the staff behind us were timing everything with sharp eyes, all actions had to be quick and precise.
When the breathtaking shooting time of trying on all the accessories brought by Lee Hwayoung’s fans ended, the fans burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! I should upload the video to SNS.”
“Fantastic!”
I bowed my head to the fans, who were laughing heartily in unison. After coming all the way here, they deserved to enjoy everything they could get.
While I was building invisible bonds with the fans, Lee Hwayoung blinked his eyes as if he couldn’t understand what had just happened to him, but soon regained his senses and asked,
“…What are you doing?”
“You’re always making such a stiff expression, so the fans feel hesitant to ask you for anything. Try smiling a little.”
“…….”
Lee Hwayoung went stiff as if my words had shocked him. It seemed like he had just realized that he had been having a one-sided sense of closeness with his fans, completely unaware that they found him difficult to approach.
After remaining still for quite some time, Lee Hwayoung suddenly lifted his head with a determined expression. Then, he turned toward the seated fans and made an “
O
” sign with his fingers.
“It’s okay. Everything is OK. I don’t hate it.”
.
.
.
After the fan signing event ended and I returned to my senses, the figure sitting next to me was not Lee Hwayoung, but a hybrid of something with all sorts of accessories covering its head.
“…….”
‘What is that?’
As I tried my best to pretend I didn’t see that sight, I heard the sound of someone arguing in the next corner.
“Here … if you come for me…….”
“But if you…….”
The people arguing seemed to be discussing something that shouldn’t be overheard by others; even as they quarreled, they lowered their voices cautiously.
‘Are there any fans who haven’t returned yet?’
From the sound of the voice, it seemed to be a young woman. When I casually glanced in that direction, a woman in her early to mid-20s was standing there, just as I had expected.
That much wasn’t particularly surprising. However, the moment I saw the face of the person she was arguing with, my mind went blank.
‘Lee Danbi?’
The identity of that person was Lee Danbi. I had hoped that he was a staff member or a trainee unrelated to me, but as expected, reality was cruel.
I grabbed my dizzying head and used my ability on Lee Danbi. I apologize for the invasion of privacy, but I had no choice. This was a situation I simply couldn’t ignore.
‘Lee Danbi.’
“Danbi-ya, wait a moment, listen to me.”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Then at least take this!”
“Noona, if you keep doing this, it’ll only make things harder for me. Why can’t you understand that?”
“Lee Danbi!”
As soon as I heard the dialogue that reminded me of a melodrama, my head felt numb as if I’d been hit on the back of the head repeatedly. And the emergency bell in my brain started ringing loudly.
‘Dating? No way, how can a newborn even think about dating.’
No, my dear little brother. Why are children these days growing up so fast?
The world wasn’t like this when I was raising Seo Yuseong. I couldn’t keep up with today’s culture at all.
‘Fans tend to be more sensitive when you’re still a trainee. How are you going to handle this?’
I quickly looked around. Fortunately, the fans had already left, and the production staff were busy working at a distance. Unless there was another human eavesdropper like me, there was no concern that the conversation would leak into the wrong place.
As I breathed a sigh of relief, Lee Danbi frowned fiercely and ordered the woman in front of him to leave.
“Go back. And don’t ever come back. That’s the only way you can help me.”
With those words as the finishing touch, headlines like “
Lee Danbi’s Girlfriend Interview … ‘
He suddenly cuts me off after appearing on the program
‘” and “
Survive IDOL Trainee Lee Danbi’s Ex-Girlfriend Visits The Fan Signing Event
” exploded in my head like fireworks.
As I sat there with empty eyes, that kid happened to glance in my direction. Then, seeing me completely pale as if I had seen a ghost, he seemed to think for a moment before speaking with a rare expression of disgust.
“…It’s not what you think, hyung.”
Oh, it’s not?
Well then, that’s a relief.
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Translator’s Corner:
Here’s the cute chapter stress-free you guys have been asking for …