Chapter 127
Ban Yo-han spoke, looking fully awake.
The ambiguous words that only made my already aching head hurt more triggered an instinctive annoyance.
The heat surged so intensely that the once chilly living room air now felt uncomfortably warm, even without additional heating.
‘…No, this isn’t something to get annoyed about already.’
I took a short breath to calm the unnecessary emotions that had flared up.
Then, I decided to calmly acknowledge that I tended to be slightly harsh on him.
Just because I had a bad first impression of someone, it wasn’t mature to keep seeing them negatively.
“What are you talking about?”
My voice came out colder than I intended, due to the headache. Well, that was it.
“…”
For a moment, Ban Yo-han seemed to regret what he had just said, even if only slightly.
Occasionally, he would keenly discern parts he didn’t want to reveal—or rather, parts he hadn’t even consciously noticed before.
If it ended there, I wouldn’t care about someone discovering parts of me I didn’t know.
However, he pointed them out so precisely that it made me reflect on my past actions, causing trouble.
Honestly, the feeling of being seen through was not just embarrassing but also somewhat unpleasant, even putting aside personal feelings about Ban Yo-han.
‘Who are you to talk about me like that?’
…Such thoughts came up impulsively.
Now, even the slight hint of regret he had shown earlier was gone from his expression, as if he was aware of these facts.
“…”
After the initial displeasure subsided, I tried to be more generous.
Most immediate emotions like anger or annoyance could be managed if one remained calm.
The concern I had felt from the other members and people like Gwak Sang-hyun throughout the day was now felt towards Ban Yo-han.
Moreover, it was unlikely that Ban Yo-han, with an affinity level of 60, had any ill intentions to upset me.
I did think it was a bit sneaky of me to judge people this way.
‘Ah, so this is why I couldn’t dismiss the affinity level last time.’
In any case, there was no need to take offense so early on.
Contrary to my contemplation, I didn’t get an answer.
While he hesitated, the penalty disappeared as the hourglass finally vanished, and at the same time, sleep overtook me, and I lost consciousness.
It was such perfect timing that I wondered if Ban Yo-han had been waiting for this moment.
No matter how smart he was, only I knew about Larry’s existence, so this suspicion was absurd.
Though it wasn’t certain, it seemed the fatigue recovery mode I had set earlier had belatedly taken effect, causing this absurd situation.
This ridiculous system…
“Raon, On Raon. Get ready and come down by six.”
“Mm, okay…”
Gwak Sang-hyun lightly shook me awake and left the dim room.
I must have woken up late because the outside was already bustling.
A notification appeared, indicating my fatigue level had dropped to exactly 50 overnight.
After dismissing the notification, I sat up and blinked my dry eyes several times, feeling suddenly dumbfounded.
This system, like Larry, was it supposed to help my life or not?
[It is not appropriate to use someone’s name as a curse! Larry Affinity -??? Current Affinity -???]
What am I supposed to do about it?
I just snorted once.
Some skills like 《Find Camera》 were indeed helpful, so the system wasn’t entirely a zero-sum, but…
The downsides almost matched the upsides, making it feel more like a net negative.
Originally, the temperature might measure above zero, but the perceived temperature often felt below freezing, right?
Let’s not think too deeply about it.
Anyway, I asked about what I heard before falling asleep while opening my breakfast in the car.
But he acted clueless.
“What are you talking about? Did you have a dream?”
He nonchalantly dismissed my clear memory as a mere dream!
“Why would… you appear in my dream?”
It wasn’t my fault that the word ‘you’ slipped out uncontrollably.
Trying not to get involved, I broke the disposable chopsticks forcefully while recalling last night’s situation.
“You came out last night to drink water…”
I stopped mid-sentence.
I had clearly fallen asleep on the sofa, but when I woke up, I was in the big room.
Unless I had sleepwalking, there was no explanation…
“What’s wrong?”
Ban Yo-han feigned ignorance.
If it was true that Ban Yo-han had shown an uncomfortable level of kindness, it felt strange enough already… so I decided to let it go.
If it was something important, he would mention it later.
Since Ban Yo-han seemed to regret mentioning it in the first place, pressing further didn’t seem wise.
However…
‘I just don’t get along with this guy.’
Later, when I mentioned this to the members, Seo Moon-gyeol looked at me like he was genuinely surprised, making me a bit embarrassed.
* * *
Sunday’s terrestrial music show.
Orca’s pre-recording with 300 people ended smoothly.
After a rehearsal and one recording, the pre-recording was finished, and even the seemingly stern director praised both the singers and fans.
The fans, although disappointed by the quick end, felt proud as they saw Orca expressing their joy with thumbs up and bright smiles.
In fact, a lot had happened to the fans overnight.
Yesterday’s incident raised awareness about safety among Orca fans.
Since the incident was caused by external factors, not internal, the fandom could solidify internally.
Moreover, the members’ clear intention to hold a mini fan meeting to reassure the fans…
Although Orca wasn’t on the same level as Pluto, they were starting to show signs of disorder in terms of management.
**‘Strike First!**
With a firm resolve, Yoon Sun-woo suggested in a group chat among those in the know that this was a perfect opportunity to address the fandom’s order issues.
The SNS they primarily used was prone to follow specific trends, and with the fandom not being that large, movements led by a few so-called ‘notables’ were more effective during such times.
Around 9 PM, posts urging for order maintenance appeared on the accounts of ‘To The Whole World’ and other notable fansites.
Since advocating for order was not a bad thing, other fans eagerly shared and supported the related posts, creating the specific atmosphere Yoon Sun-woo had hoped for.
– The members are even saying this, so let’s all try hard to maintain order!!
– It’s the members who got hurt, but they’re worried about the fans first, Onraonㅠㅠㅠ. If you don’t want to see them get hurt again, everyone should keep order.
– If fans don’t behave, the artists have to apologize~
– It’s not our fault; the problem was caused by another fandom, yet the other fans are making a fuss.. The fandom atmosphere is already tiring.
– Today’s photo from ‘To The Whole World’ is just artㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– The reason ‘God Sener’ joined the fandom is hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋ They originally photographed baseball players but joined after seeing Raon’s heart attack performance at Pick Heart’s congratulatory stage.
┗ Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That’s destiny.
┗ This is true, but ‘To The Whole World’ used to be a fan of Chae-hoon for about two years. They had to leave the fandom due to a DUI accident and then started photographing baseball players, becoming quite famous.
┗ It’s just a cycle.
– They’re just fansites, yet so many sycophants.
┗ ?Why are you so bitter?
– ‘To The Whole World’ only goes to official schedules and Music Bank since Chae-hoon days, but their photo quality is top-notch. Won’t Raon become the top seed like this?
The fandom also took this chance to expose saesang fans.
Photos of a saesang fansite master, who had been following Ban Yo-han and Seo Moon-gyeol since Pick Heart, along with their account name, were posted from an account with a basic profile setup.
The shares of this post rapidly increased.
– Posting it like this is a bit scaryㄷㄷㄷ
– Let’s avoid saesang fansites. Supporting them only makes it hard for the members.
– But other than ‘To The Whole World’ and ‘Yes, My Treasure’, there aren’t many home master fans, right?
– Even so, such exposure seems too harshㅜㅜ
┗ Then they shouldn’t engage in saesang behavior, right?
┗ They secretly photographed the membersㅇㅇ. It’s their own fault, so don’t feel sorry. The members being harassed by them are more pitiful.
The difference between consuming saesang content without hesitation and refraining from it, even on the surface, is significant.
Getting too carried away with the image of being a conscientious fandom might cause new troubles, but…
It’s better than being blatantly seen as a thoughtless fandom.
‘Setting the tone early on helps the members suffer less later.’
Yoon Sun-woo, who had the highest follower count among On Raon’s fansites, scoffed at comments claiming the fandom couldn’t survive without saesang fans.
‘It’s just because they can’t take good pictures. If they could, it wouldn’t matter.’
The fan manager, aware of the fans’ movement, also repeatedly emphasized order maintenance, such as refraining from making personal comments, before entering the pre-recording.
The outcomes of these incidents continued to be reflected not only on Sunday but in future schedules as well.
If someone stepped onto the road during arrivals and departures, fans nearby would shout harshly to step back or come up.
There were comments that it was a bit excessive…
But the company also welcomed and supported this atmosphere.
On days with good order, members would flood their SNS accounts with posts like, ‘The broadcasting staff praised our fans for being so kind and orderly!’
Such incidents repeated so strongly that a sense of discipline was instilled among on-site fans.
Even the decision to hold a sudden mini fan meeting, which On Raon suggested to solve the order issue, yielded surprisingly good results.
And on the following Wednesday after their debut…
Orca members arrived at the SBC broadcasting center for their first radio broadcast since debut.