Chapter 130
I wanted to know who left that cryptic comment, but the only clue was the one comment I saw earlier.
The sender’s name I glimpsed at wasn’t anything significant either…
Considering the comment was in English, could it be someone who knew On Raon from when he was in America? Could they have sensed something odd from my recent appearance?
No, I couldn’t jump to that conclusion.
Anyone could write in English if they wanted to.
It could also be a smokescreen to prevent me from recognizing their identity.
Moreover, even if someone felt something was off, finding out that I was On Hae-jae all along is impossible through ordinary means.
So, I tried to get some information from Larry.
[The manager in charge of you, No. 14227, is currently unavailable.]
[The automated system is running, but there may be inconveniences due to its incomplete state. We ask for your understanding.]
“…”
This guy had various ways of being negligent in his duties.
‘Will this place really not go under?’
The timing of Larry’s disappearance, who had never left my side, felt a bit ironic, but I decided not to overly concern myself with the problematic chat.
If the sender was seriously trying to threaten me or intended to scare me with the information they had, they would have conveyed their intentions through a more certain method than a real-time radio chat that I might miss.
Even if that person went around telling everyone my secret, who would believe that I was once On Hae-jae from afar?
I’d be lucky if I wasn’t treated like a madman.
“…”
I stared at the hazel eyes reflected in the rearview mirror for a moment before lowering my gaze.
“Nervous?”
It seemed like Gwak Sang-hyun, who was in the driver’s seat, was talking to me.
I took the earphones out of my ears. The music from my hometown abruptly stopped.
“Yes?”
“I asked if you were nervous.”
He seemed puzzled that I, who usually just put on my seatbelt and fell asleep immediately when in the car, was still awake.
We were currently heading to the fan signing event location after finishing the second-week music broadcast.
“Oh, a little.”
I corrected myself after a moment.
“…Actually, more than a little?”
Gwak Sang-hyun laughed as if it was something unusual.
Although the stage could be perfected with practice to avoid mistakes, fan signing events required more than that, which was why Kang Ji-woo and Gyun Seong-ha, sitting behind, were particularly worried since yesterday.
Sometimes, watching the arrogant and laid-back duo… I’ll refrain from commenting.
“Don’t worry too much.”
Gwak Sang-hyun continued with a joke.
“No one in the world would say something unpleasant to your face.”
They do exist.
But I just smiled and didn’t say anything.
“Yes. Don’t worry, Hyung. We’ve prepared well.”
During our break without schedules, we had several meetings among the members to prepare for the first fan signing event.
You might think, “Why have meetings for something you can handle moderately?”
“How can you talk to 100 strangers like that…”
There was someone who seemed likely to explode with nervousness and awkwardness in front of strangers if we didn’t.
A few days ago.
According to Kang Ji-woo, who was in charge of pre-research before the meeting, even though it was called a fan ‘signing’ event, the atmosphere nowadays wasn’t just about signing and ending it.
Kang Ji-woo, referring to our fan manager who had worked at other entertainment agencies for a few years, said the really important part starts after signing the album.
That’s exactly what we were worried about.
Thinking it might be helpful, we looked up some fan signing event videos of other idols on YouTube.
But those videos didn’t give us much insight into what to talk about during one-on-one signing moments, not just the group remarks.
The next method we chose to prepare for the fan signing event was searching for online reviews.
However, when I typed ‘fansign’ into the search bar, the top autocomplete suggestions were mostly negative.
– Fansign reality check
– Fansign Ah, seriously Pluto
– Fansign quitting the fandom
It didn’t seem like good content, but I clicked on a few posts, thinking we could learn from their mistakes.
– It was so obvious that they were mechanically responding to whatever I said, looking tired… Sitting in front of them made me feel drained too… Later, I just lost the will to do anything.
– When the fan manager ignored me and managed things, I just felt awkward and left quickly. It didn’t even take 10 minutes for all 10 members to sign, and I left in a daze… Thinking about the money spent on albums on my way home, I felt a huge reality check.
– They leaned forward and smiled brightly, talking first to pretty girls, but during my turn… lol. He wasn’t my favorite member, but I felt so insulted that I quit the fandom immediately.
Ban Yo-han, who analyzed various cases and summarized the problematic factors, listed them big and clear.
1. Noticeably insincere responses
2. The time passing by too quickly before anything could happen
3. Discriminatory treatment based on gifts, appearance, familiarity, etc.
“There were comments about how the atmosphere felt inhuman with fans just taking pictures silently, and feeling more distant after the event… But that’s something we can’t fix structurally right now, so let’s skip that for now.”
“Yeah. And we don’t need to worry about the third point at all.”
“Right.”
“We don’t accept gifts other than letters, and this is our first time, so there’s no familiarity with fans yet. And about appearance…”
The members, including Kang Ji-woo, who had been speaking, turned their gazes towards me.
“What? Why.”
“Anyway, since the youngest exists in the world, what’s the point of being a little more handsome or pretty?”
“Well. But I’m a guy, and most of the people coming will be girls.”
“Gender doesn’t matter in aesthetic judgment.”
Putting aside Kang Ji-woo, who was blinded by inexplicable favoritism, Seo Moon-gyeol made a rather roundabout but calm remark.
“At least we’ll gain something from the fan signing event. The possibility of ruining one’s life by mistaking a fleeting crush for lifelong love will be almost zero.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Seong-ha, could you fall in love at first sight somewhere after seeing that face?”
“Ah…”
A fox was subtly coaxing a naive young lamb, no, a young puppy.
“But is that a good thing?”
“I don’t care if it’s good or bad, but at least that face is definitely a good thing.”
He really knew how to say nonsense pleasantly.
“Yeah…”
Gyun Seong-ha, while feeling uneasy about Ban Yo-han’s seemingly logical but absurd words, didn’t argue back.
So naive…
“Repeat after me. Everyone is equal before the youngest!”
“Equal!”
“Ban Yo-han, don’t tease him. Do it properly.”
“You’re just favoring him, right?”
“No? I like Gyeol too, and I like Seong-ha too.”
“I’m your younger brother too. By six months.”
“If you’re not going to call me Hyung, be quiet.”
“Ji-woo hyung?”
“I’m sorry…”
Having seen my face so much, it seemed like they had all gone crazy… or achieved enlightenment.
‘Of course, that’s possible.’
On the day I regained my charm, I almost understood Narcissus’ feeling of falling in love with his own reflection to the point of death, even though I’ve lived my whole life seeing this face!
Anyway, the conversation moved on.
“Let’s start with number 1. Seong-ha, read it.”
“Noticeably insincere responses.”
There was a brief silence.
“No, how can you be insincere!”
I was the first to burst out, and Ban Yo-han, looking at me with a strange expression, said nonchalantly.
“Since it’s our first time, it might feel special and difficult, but after a few times, you’ll get used to it, and laziness and tricks will follow. That’s human nature.”
He was right.
It wasn’t just about this; his words painfully struck at the core of human nature…
“But! We shouldn’t do that!”
Goodness.
“As long as my eyes are wide open, I will never! Allow such sloppiness!”
Unlike Ban Yo-han, Kang Ji-woo, who was straightforward and couldn’t stand seeing us being lazy, whether during practice or cleaning, slammed the floor and shouted with his amazing vocal power.
“Got it? From now on, we show the ultimate sincerity in everything we do!”
If I said I didn’t get it, he looked ready to grab me by the collar.
“Serving guests starts with sincere responses. You attract them… bring them in, make them take off their shoes and sit down, then serve them proper food, making your place famous for good food! And that’s not the end, no sir! That’s just the beginning!”
Ah, this is just the beginning?
“A popular restaurant starts to lose customers when the taste of the food changes! Instead of improving as you gain experience, you get lazy?! That’s why those places fail!”
He passionately preached, saying that he had let go of more than twenty delivery restaurants himself. It seemed I needed to remind him that what we were facing wasn’t a restaurant opening but a fan signing event.
Listening to his heartfelt philosophy, I thought I should at least try the food at the restaurant his parents run.
“But… hyung doesn’t have that stern look.”
Seo Moon-gyeol, who was fixated on a strange point, interrupted.
He had been staring at Kang Ji-woo’s face more than necessary, probably trying to determine if Ji-woo’s eyes were indeed piercing blue.
“…”
“Pfft.”
“Poof.”
“Pa-ha-ha!”
Ban Yo-han, laughing like he was about to choke, said.
“Indeed, it’s not quite right to say he looks sharp or scary enough to be called piercing blue.”
“I knew Gyeol lacked awareness, but I thought he was on my side at least…”
“?
“No, never mind…”
The passionate innkeeper who seemed ready to sweep in all the nearby customers, I mean, our group leader, suddenly looked like a drenched raccoon, pitiful in the unexpected downpour.
Kang Ji-woo, perhaps giving up on expecting any awareness from Seo Moon-gyeol, laughed heartily and concluded the briefing on the first agenda with a reasonably warm note, saying, “Anyway, an insincere restaurant will soon go bankrupt.”
“Maknae, read number 2.”
Our preparation to tackle the fan signing event was just beginning.