The new year had arrived. A lot had happened over the past year, but in the end, The Dawn had been nominated for multiple awards and even managed to take home wins in some respectable categories. [Looking at the nominations now, it really feels like proof they’re popular... It’s wild. Ever since Seo Hoyun appeared on Perfect Singer, it’s like the rest of the members all shot up like they were starting from the ground line.] [Kang Ichae was a good mentor, but that was more of an occasional buzz thing and his screentime was limited ㅜ... Still, his mentor performance stage was legendary...] In fact, at the special, lavishly produced Perfect Singer Christmas episode, the stage Seo Hoyun prepared had become a warm performance that, for some, brought hope, for others comfort, and for others nostalgia. And the fact that he lost to the winner by only a single point also caused a small stir. When a panelist asked if he regretted missing first place by such a slim margin, Seo Hoyun’s eyes curved sweetly. “I can’t keep coming back forever, can I? Haha, just kidding. It’s just a shame I won’t be able to sing here again.” That sly remark drew laughter from everyone. “This Christmas, I hope it’s a happy day not just for some, but for everyone, together with your precious neighbors, not alone.” With that short yet touching comment, Seo Hoyun stepped off the stage. [I really love the way Seo Hoyun talks...] [Honestly, isn’t The Dawn the miracle of a small-time company...? How did they get this far? It’s amazing. They’ve gained so many new fans, even overseas ones. └ I think it’s mainly because they’re good on stage LOOOL And behind the scenes they all get along, bicker, and play well together LOLOLOL That gap is moe.] [For real, people who’ve been here since the debut song Glow say they bow to their ancestors every morning they wake up... because The Dawn got so big.] [LMAO But seriously, back then they were so unpopular you could barely find fans. How did the early fans survive in that tiny fandom? └ Their mental strength is alloy-tier. └└ Go look at early-fan SNS accounts. The fans who’d supported The Dawn back when they were still only four members had always worn serene smiles, steadfast in a “this too shall pass” mode, no matter what happened. [We’re just grateful... that the babies are breathing.] Even the Noeul who had joined starting from Second Chance found that level of devotion overwhelming. [I choked on the affection and had to run away. └LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝙣𝙚𝙩 └ They post thank-you notes every 30 minutes, each one with a different message. It’s scary.] While Noeul were vowing to toughen their own mental fortitude by watching the early fans, a live notification popped up. ≪Group Tteokguk Live! Join us, Noeul!≫ [The Dawnies... are family...] [Tteokguk live, ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Are you kidding me?] By now, The Dawn seemed so close-knit they were practically family. Fans clicked the link with fond smiles, imagining the group clumsily helping each other make tteokguk. “Starting now, we will begin The Dawn Cup Tteokguk-Making Competition.” Cold, hard competition awaited instead. “Pick me, pick me, pick me tteokguk.” [??HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA] [He said it so calmly and prettily I thought I misheard him for a second.] The tteokguk competition’s scoring was split 50/50 between performance and taste. Performance points would be judged by Sung Jiwon, based on how lively the comments were and how much fans reacted. While quietly mixing dumpling filling, Kim Sunghyun suddenly asked, “Why is there even a performance score in a cooking contest?” Because if it was purely on taste, he’d be 100% in last place. At that subtle, oddly kind bit of consideration, Kim Sunghyun let out a small sigh but nodded in agreement as he finished the filling. Then he took out the pre-rested dumpling dough and began rolling it flat. [Ah, you guys still don’t get it LOOLLLLLLLL] [This was definitely something Jung Dajun said and Sung Jiwon agreed to. └ Sung Jiwon is really such a lunatic... my god...] But Seo Hoyun, as always, just sat there looking indifferent—until Kim Sunghyun began shaping the dumplings. Then he sidled over and started poking the finished dumplings with his finger. “Our boiled dumpling is making dumplings.” Kim Sunghyun swatted Hoyun’s hand away, protecting his beautiful lineup of dumplings, when Sung Jiwon suddenly said, “Sunghyun-ah, crack an egg while doing popping.” “...Huh? What, seriously?” His face showed exactly what he was thinking: Is this for real? But dutifully, he bent his joints and lifted his arm high, cracking the egg so it fell into an empty bowl—turning it into a performance. Afterwards, maybe a little embarrassed, he ducked his head low. Noeul went wild over the sight. [Three hundred points for the performance plus being shy afterwards.] [Forget the cool popping, I’m giving points for the embarrassment. Of course, I have no objections.] Looking sheepish, Sunghyun rubbed the tip of his nose with a finger and was about to get back to cooking when Kang Ichae finally appeared, strumming an acoustic guitar. “Kids, your oppa is here~!” [LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Are you insane?] [Wow, Kang Ichae is getting bolder by the day.] [Look at Kim Sunghyun and Jung Dajun’s faces—they’re genuinely disgusted hahahahaha] “—Your hyung is here, your dongsaeng is here, your cutie is here~.” [Wow, he’s covering all the bases for different types of fans. He’s worthy of making it to 1st tier. └LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I’m dying.] Strum-strum, strum-strum. Plucking at random chords, Kang Ichae hummed, “Of course a cutie should at least be able to play the guitar.” Stop wasting your talent.] [It’s just turning into a battle of showmanship at this point.] [LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO He’s a real entertainer.] [So are we getting a song out of this? If it’s The Dawn, I’m ready to stream.] By now, Seo Hoyun had completely slouched into a chair, unwrapping candy and idly glancing around. [Ha, Dajun cooking so earnestly is too, too cute ㅠㅠㅠ] [Dajun’s gotten so much taller lately ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ After eating that weird stuff... you really grew, huh. └Maybe... that weird food had hidden powers to make you taller...] When Hoyun was on his third lemon candy in a row, Jung Dajun tilted his head and asked, “Hyung, do you like lemon?!” “If you do, I was thinking of putting a little lemon juice in the broth!!” [Dajun-ah, you don’t need to get taller, so stop with the weird food now. └LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL] Hoyun rolled the candy in his mouth once, then—despite making it obvious he couldn’t be bothered—got up and cleared all the unnecessary ingredients off Dajun’s station. “Eh? I need all of that! I was going to top the tteokguk with cilantro...” “Quiet. Just watch me.” After silencing Dajun, Hoyun stood next to him and helped with the prep. [Seo Hoyun, eldest-brother-material performance +50 million points] [Seo Hoyun, oppa-material performance +3 million points] It felt like Noeul were getting a natural glimpse of The Dawn’s true personalities, and the comment section exploded. Kang Ichae, still strumming and tapping his guitar while serenading the fans, looked baffled. [LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Ah, f**k ㅠ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA] “What is this? What about me? Where are my points?” [Even cracking eggs with popping or playing guitar, Seo Hoyun’s casual actions win every time ㅠㅠㅠㅠ LOOOLLLLL] [Look at how pissed-off Kang Ichae looks while strumming—f**king hilarious.] In the end, by helping Dajun and finishing his tteokguk in just 15 minutes, Seo Hoyun took the win. With no prize or benefit whatsoever, he just let out a small laugh and addressed the phone filming the video. “Noeul, happy new year.” When the live ended, SNS and community boards flared up even more. [Ah... today was good too...] [Face genius... It feels like Seo Hoyun’s been training insanely hard lately... otherwise there’s no way light could be jumping out of the screen like that...] [Exactly! And the fact that he’s all prickly but has been faking shyness for two years is so cuteㅜ] Even with the youngest fans, Seo Hoyun always spoke politely, using honorifics. When one fan asked on PopPop why he always spoke formally, he’d replied that, for some reason, he didn’t want to use casual speech with Noeul. Knowing that he usually replied to his members with just consonants, even this was seen as part of his charm— [Hoyun: (Noeul emoji) ㅠㅠ Hoyun-ah, it’s the new year, send us a message in a different tone!! Even if it’s casual...] [Hoyun: Do you not like the way I’m talking right now?] Suddenly, he copied a line a fan had sent him and posted it on PopPop, asking Noeul for their opinion. [What the hell, what clueless idiot is this. His slightly awkward and stiff tone is exactly where you can see the effort and affection toward fans. That’s what’s good about it.] [Exactly ㅠㅠ If you only read the tone it seems dry, but I like it better than my convenience store text alerts because he messages more often than those. └LOOOLLLLLLLLLLL Oh my god, that’s hilarious HAHAHAHAHAHAHA] [What do you mean, he’s clearly a taste-master. I hate it when younger guys use casual speech with me, but with Seo Hoyun, I’d be begging him to.] [HAHAHAHA If he’d just say “Hey” to me, I’d be happy. Not that he ever would hehe] As the “keep the affectionate honorific speech” camp and the “let’s enjoy the novelty of casual speech” camp bickered, another message from Seo Hoyun arrived. [Hoyun: You want me to put ㅇ at the end of everything?] And about a minute later— The Noeul who had been squabbling just moments before all lost it. [Ah!!!!!!!!!!!! I literally screamed as soon as I got that PopPop.] [What is “okay-y”... You’re twenty-three years old right now... Stop acting like you’re twenty-three months old.] [Immediately answering with “How-y?” “Yes-y?” “No-y?” with ㅇ at the end every time—Seo Hoyun, you’re ridiculous... └It’s so, so absurd and cute...] [When Kang Ichae or Jung Dajun posts on The Dawn’s group chat, LOOOOOOL Hoyun’s tone is so different it feels weird HAHAHAHA Normal Seo Hoyun tone: PopPop Seo Hoyun tone: Shall we try it together? I’ll have to think about that. Same meaning, but who knew it could feel so different LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO This is killing me LOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL └Kind of touching, actually LOOOOLLLLLL Sung Jiwon says Hoyun reads his PopPop messages several times before sending them hahaha └Oh my godㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ That’s amazing... └└HAHAHAThis is why once you subscribe to Seo Hoyun’s PopPop, you can’t help but be drawn in... there’s no avoiding it.] But before long, the messages went back to normal. [Hoyun: LOLOL This feels a bit awkward. [Hoyun: Noeul, may you be very happy this year as well. Leaving behind a group photo of The Dawn holding their bowls of tteokguk (traditional Korean rice cake soup eaten at Lunar New Year for good luck and to signify growing one year older), Seo Hoyun signed off. [He gave us so many pictures... And his selfie skills are getting better and better...] [ㅠㅠ Ah, he’s so cute. Honestly, when you’re that good-looking, you could take them however and it’d still be fine... but it feels like he’s studying what fans like, which is ridiculously cute.] [At first he really seemed like just a regular guy, but watching him perform these days, he’s like a born entertainerㅠㅠ] [Honestly, it’s a relief Seo Hoyun became a celebrity. If you imagine the civilian version... drool... My god. └As if you don’t drool over the celebrity version... └└LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ㅠ f**k ㅠㅠㅠ] While fans were happily spending January 1st— Seo Hoyun was ladling cooled tteokguk back into a pot when the bell rang and he picked up the phone. It was his younger brother, calling with New Year’s greetings. Once the induction burner was on, Seo Hoyun stopped what he was doing, too absorbed in talking with Seo Hojin. The members helped themselves, ladling the now-steaming tteokguk into bowls and carrying them to the table. “Whoa! This is really good. Hoyun-hyung, why does it taste so good?” No one is good at something from the start. After their parents died, the first time Seo Hoyun had to cook, he’d failed a lot. “We should’ve invited Hojin-hyung too.” After he hung up, having endured a few nagging remarks, Jung Dajun muttered regretfully. “I asked, but he said he was too busy to come.” The truth was, he hadn’t even brought it up. Even if the company tried to block reporters or sasaengs as much as possible, the more famous The Dawn became, the more their private lives would be dug up. Seo Hoyun wanted to keep anything about Seo Hojin from spreading, no matter what. That’s why he even limited how often they met, and never visited his home. Mouth full of tteokguk, Jung Dajun suddenly looked up. “Ah! But don’t you think you and your brother look alike, Hoyun-hyung?! Of course, Hojin-hyung is really really nice!!” “I get the feeling Hojin-hyung has a bit of a temper though?” “Hey, Ichae, what are you talking about? Hojin’s not like that.” “I’m with him on this one.” When Sung Jiwon smiled like he’d just heard a funny joke, Kim Sunghyun, who had been quietly polishing off his third bowl of tteokguk, spoke up. “It’s just that Seo Hoyun’s personality is so outrageous that his brother looks normal by comparison.” The members all froze like they’d just had a revelation. “That makes sense...” “There’s no way Hoyun’s brother could be totally normal.” Seo Hoyun’s expression scrunched up. It wasn’t because they were saying his brother wasn’t normal. “You’re saying I look like him?” That was the real problem. He’d always thought they didn’t look alike, which made things easier—but as Seo Hojin matured, their vibes were becoming identical. You might not notice when they were apart, but once you paid attention, anyone could see it. After staring at his own face on his phone for a while, scrutinizing every detail, Seo Hoyun murmured quietly, “...Should I get plastic surgery?” “Are you out of your mind?” Sung Jiwon flatly shot him down, and Kim Sunghyun shook his head as he passed by, clearing away the side dishes. Even he had to admit it was ridiculous, so Hoyun clicked his tongue and shoved his phone deep into his pocket. Even with the garnish untouched, he didn’t feel like picking up his spoon for the tteokguk. He’d lost his appetite. “Why~? Hoyun-hyung, do you miss Hojin-hyung?” He brushed off Kang Ichae’s nonsense, but the guy winked. “Hojin-hyung’s doing fine. Don’t worry.” “What are you talking about?” “I sometimes play games with Hojin-hyung. He even makes sure to collect albums and my photocards now and then. He says thanks every time.” Like he’d really be # Nоvеlight # thankful? Kang Ichae rested his chin on his hand, grinning from ear to ear. He looked positively delighted. “Well, if that’s the case, when we go to the U.S. this time, you can just buy him a nice gift. Right?” Then he tapped the screen of his phone, which displayed a screenshot of an article headline. 〔IRIX to Release Expansion Set in Korea... K-Pop Collaboration Track to Drop Simultaneously〕 “Like you did for me.” Watching the overly excited Kang Ichae, Seo Hoyun let out a small laugh. A game company collaboration with a song release. To explain that tear-jerking bit of casting, they’d have to go back a few months.