[Jiwon-ah, happy birthday!] His eyelids looked a little puffier than usual today, and there was some redness around his eyes, but since he seemed to be in a good mood overall, the Noeuls figured it must just be the lighting. Every now and then, nasty rumors would pop up, but the fans knew Sung Jiwon wasn’t someone who’d be easily swayed by that kind of thing, so nobody paid them much attention. [Ahh our Jiwonie ㅠㅠ happy birthday] [Thanks for singing for us, Jiwon-ah!] “...Ahaha, I’m really thankful too.” And so, everyone thought Sung Jiwon’s birthday was going ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to wrap up happily again this year— [What the hell is this picture] —but late that night, after the live ended, a single photo posted online sent The Dawn’s fandom into a complete tailspin. [Seriously what the hell is this????????] The zoomed-in photo showed Sung Jiwon standing in front of the dorm, head bowed, and Seo Hoyun standing quietly in front of him. The issue was the vibe. Sung Jiwon looked like he was crying. [It’s not even an official schedule, but someone just took a photo like that, and honestly I’d usually say wtf and be mad but..... The photo is so goddamn suspicious.] [Why the fuck are people even taking pictures] [Yeah the photo’s kinda shitty but like... I do want to know what the hell happened] [Why is Seo Hoyun comforting him what the fuck] [ㅠㅠ what if Jiwon saw something online... I’m about to grab myself by the hair and lose it] No one could figure out what had happened, and the community, SNS, The Dawn’s official Stargram, Twitter, and PopPop all exploded with questions. But the fans got no answers. And Seo Hoyun—who practically had perfect attendance on PopPop—was a goddamn master at pretending he knew nothing. Even when he did solo lives with the exact same expression as always, he completely ignored every comment about the photo. [Yeah... let’s stop askingㅠ] [Don’t keep pushing it, he probably doesn’t want to talk about the other members] [Sigh... the struggle between being a respectful fan of the artist’s privacy... and wanting to swing my head around to Daepaseong’s funeral beat out of pure curiosity Dun-gi-dun kung-du-du-dun kung-gi-dun kung-du-du-du-du-dun └└I’m actually gonna go insane No need to out yourself as a Kang Ichae stan] It seemed like Seo Hoyun didn’t want to address it at all, so fans tried not to overstep. Sung Jiwon burst through the door with a smile bright enough to put flowers to shame. [Thought I had my screen brightness on max for a sec] [Look at how unfazed Seo Hoyun is └Immune to Sung Jiwon confirmed;] [Sung Jiwon’s flower scent is overpowering,,,,,,,, └LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Jiwon you’re my freesia, my lavender, my lilac...] Jiwon sat down and exchanged a few words with Hoyun, and as the live stream picked up again, he spotted a comment about the photo—and froze. [Jiwon-ah, did you cry?ㅜㅜ] Seo Hoyun casually turned his head and took a long sip from the lemonade on the table through a straw. Sung Jiwon tilted his head, clearly not knowing what the comment meant. He scrolled through the chat, and after quickly grasping the situation, let out a soft, “Ah.” Then he grinned mischievously. “That was because Hoyun made me cry.” Seo Hoyun spat out his drink. Even as he choked and coughed from the sour liquid, Jiwon giggled. It had just been a light joke, a little passive-aggressive jab because he still felt a bit bitter... but once rumors of a fight started swirling, the two of them had to sit in front of a camera and go live again. “I’m sorry. It was a joke.” They posted a video clarifying that Jiwon had just gotten emotional from the touching birthday message, and that Hoyun had promised to get him something even better next year. Only then did the buzz about the photo finally die down. After that, Jiwon apparently discovered how fun it was to tease Hoyun, because he started poking at him now and then on camera. At that point, the Noeuls—whose hearts had been simmering like ticking time bombs—had all melted into warm, soft steamed buns. [Seriously... is there anyone else in the world who cries over a birthday message from a teammate... We’ll never know what was said, but why is this so heartwarming...] [And Hoyun staying completely silent about it all is so fucking good... is this what being a real man is...] [But seriously the members lean on each other so much..ㅜ It’s been especially noticeable this year Well, with a company like Daepaseong, I’d be clinging to my groupmates too lol └LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO] Fans even clipped and shared gifs of the moment Hoyun sputtered and coughed, hearts full of affection for the two. [Title: The Dawn is actually insaneㅡㅡ Ugh, I really wasn’t going to say anything but... └Spit it out, what is it? └└I just want HoGyung to be happy └└Fuck it ㅠ making me cry at 3am └└What are you all even doing...] And despite their already packed schedule, The Dawn didn’t slow down their original content output at all. [Title: I think bringing in new fans is all that matters right now Once they’re in, The Dawn grips them so tight there’s no escape Seo Hoyun’s still logging in on PopPop every damn day to take care of us Yeah, there’s that one week he missed...... but I’m gonna skip talking about it or I’ll lose my mind again...... └└Around the Shining Star S2 finale ㅠ └└Oh... that week. Fuck Daepaseong] [They really do just keep putting out new content... Behind-the-scenes, MV reactions, TikTok challenges— They’re doing literally everything that’s trending Honestly... I think Daepaseong’s doing a good job lately └└Sorry, I stan Ria Purple... └└Oh...... my bad For original chapters go to novel⸺fire.net └└LOLOLOLOLOL fuck ㅠ don’t try to understand meㅠ] Even fans from other groups were starting to admit how solid their content was. Plus, with Shining Star Seasons 1 and 2 streaming internationally on OTT platforms, The Dawn had seen a massive surge in overseas fans. [You call him a bunny?w No way. He’s obviously a cat, this guy.] Japanese fans were still bickering about what animal best represented Seo Hoyun. [This is the land of the bunny. If you don’t like it, you leave. └Already an international fan. Not even in Korea. [Daepaseong must be rolling in it. Did you see their Q2 revenue? Q3’s gonna be nuts too. └Damn, guess Min Jiheon and The Dawn are carrying the company now └└Well, Jiheon’s disaster movie was a surprise box office hit. How the hell did they pull those numbers in this era lol] Either way, their overseas push was going strong—and fans were watching closely to see when, and how far, Daepaseong would take The Dawn abroad. There was growing concern among Noeuls too—worried they’d get stuck in a revolving door of international rotations, like some other agencies had done. Thankfully, there was still no talk of a full-blown tour. 《Berlin K-pop Concert: The Dawn Confirmed for Lineup》 The group had just been added to a K-pop concert lineup in Europe. [Why the sudden Europe] [Don’t they usually go to the US first? Why Europe?] There was no stopping it once the articles were out, but fans who already had beef with Daepaseong weren’t exactly thrilled. Still, on the official account: [THE DAWN always thinking about the Noeuls <3 So proud of our babies! Stay safe in Europe, we’ll be waiting!] [Our Dungies are so amazing!] They posted only kind, beautiful words. [Fucking bastards... overseas concert? Whose bright idea was this Fine, I get it, they need to make money...] [It’s called K-pop. Can we do the pop part in Korea first? When did K become K-Europe?] [I’m telling you, Daepaseong is testing the waters to see how popular The Dawn is overseas right now. └Okay fine, I get testing the waters. BUT WHY EUROPE ㅠ] Somehow, this kicked off even more chaos. [They’re even filming a documentary about it apparently] Some Noeuls acted like the word “overseas” was a slur, but still tried to comfort themselves with the fact that it wasn’t a tour. But once the lineup and stage order for the Berlin K-pop concert was released, all that self-soothing went straight out the window. The Dawn – Hi-Five – Ria Purple. [WH you fucking bastard~~~!!!!] Even if it was just a slim margin, stage order reflected popularity. And in this world, that mattered—a lot. So, for a while, The Dawn’s fandom had no choice but to burn with rage. I’d already made up my mind on the way to Incheon Airport. Avoid Hi-Five as much as humanly possible. But of course, the universe had other plans. At the airport entrance, Kang Yeonhoo came waltzing up with a big smile. I could excuse it if the cameras were rolling, but even after we cleared immigration, the guy kept hovering. ‘What the hell is this asshole’s deal?’ I turned to him sharply. “You know exactly what I mean. Last broadcast is whatever—it couldn’t be helped—but there’s nothing to gain from being seen together now. You do realize that, right?” If it were someone like Joo Woosung—whose idol status was in an entirely different tier—no one would care if we were friendly. There’d be no tension between fanbases. But Kang Yeonhoo had been in the same survival show as us. He was constantly being compared to me. The risk was way higher than the reward. He smiled, eyes crinkling like he was Mr. Innocent. “I wanted to see you flustered.” Damn. Guess last time really left a mark. I flashed a plastic smile, snatched the neck pillow from his hand, and gently placed it around his neck, whispering sweetly: “Leave before I make it worse.” Kang Yeonhoo went stiff as a board. I winked. “Yup~ take care now~.” By now, Kim Sunghyun was immune to my antics. As he zipped up his passport into his bag, he asked, “Why do the WH Ent people... out of everyone they could bug, always come to you?” “Can you please stop saying horrific things?” Leaving the horrified Sunghyun behind, I strolled off, calmly sorting out my thoughts. ‘Kang Yeonhoo’s handled.’ The Dawn’s overseas strategy for this European trip could be divided into three phases. Phase One had already started the moment we entered the airport. Of course, clueless Jung Dajun was bouncing around excitedly. “Hyung, hyung! When we get to Europe~! Foreign fans are gonna be packed from here to there, screaming and cheering, right??” “Am I gonna become the Prince of Asia?” I pinched his lips shut between my thumb and forefinger. “Im alweady closhed it.(I already closed it.)” Then I glanced over at the documentary crew walking a few paces away. “First we observe the local reactions...” “Yeah, I think filming at the airport is smart. Gotta catch the local fans seeing a Korean idol for the first time.” “Let’s interview the idols too. Mix in some lines about the Hallyu Wave being massive. National pride edits are in right now, right?” I clicked my tongue and let go of Dajun’s lips. A hard pass on the national pride overdose.