All the award shows were over, and The Dawn had left behind new legendary performances of Fall and Christmas Again. Even the stages they’d done half a year ago were incredible, but the newly rearranged versions had been jaw-dropping. [Crazy... how could they possibly improve on this?] [Kang Ichae’s facial expressions were unreal, and the choreography details changed too? Damn, so good] [These guys can match their positions with their eyes closed LOOOL they must practice like crazy └└ Yeah yeah, in a live once, Jung Dajun joked he could do it blindfolded, so practice machine Sung «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Jiwon got fired up and said, “Let’s try it blindfolded” LOLOLOL https://www.neotube.com/watch?v=tHe_dAW!n_s1Ngi_BAngG! Clicking the YouTube link showed blurry live footage of The Dawn with black blindfolds and cloth covering their eyes. “Mm... nope. Play the music.” As soon as the staff turned on the track— —they performed Second Chance and Christmas Again. The timing of their turns and spacing, the choreography where they pulled each other’s arms—everything was executed perfectly without a single slip. [Are those transparent blindfolds?] [What the hell, how can they even see??;;] The comments were full of genuine praise for their skill, while Noeuls sheepishly rubbed their noses. Feels like they’re just testing my patience └LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I thought the same LOLOLOLOLOL] While fans were looping the part at the end where Seo Hoyun lifted his blindfold and smirked at the camera, a new post started circulating in the community—something about The Dawn’s flight seats. [Title: Is The Dawn going to the US?? Is there a tour announcement? Saw people on SNS selling The Dawn’s plane seat info... Anyone know what’s up? Seoul > LA (plane emoji) └They’re not going anywhere. └LOLLLL why would they go to America now, there’s no world tour announcement and they’re still cranking out self-content like crazy └LOLOLOL you actually believe that... looks like they’re working on a full album now └└ Oh, really? Sorry if that came off wrong ㅠ I was just wondering... └└ Yeah, people are still spotting them around the company LOLOLOL Ichae’s been dying over compositions lately... you should probably delete this post] Most people dismissed it as nonsense. [Oh my god, what BS LOL] [Do people still buy that crap? Just report it] [They’ve been glued to the practice room lately... Live rehearsals in the practice room, PopPop photos all in the practice room, Even meals in the practice room, Ask where they are? Practice room. Like they’re haunting it. └ Exactly, it’s like my video call background LOLOLOL I thought it was Photoshopped. I’ve never seen a group this glued to a practice room since debut trainees. └└ Honestly makes me proud though LOLOLOL └ For Kang Ichae, just replace ‘practice room’ with ‘studio.’ The guy really has no friends. └└LOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLL ahㅠㅠ too cute, I love you Kang Ichae... └└ Noeuls hoping Ichae gets a friend soon is hilarious... it’s like seeing Ju Useong before he had friends other than Chae Jungwoo... pure déjà vu] 《IRIX agrees to proceed with K-POP collaboration with Daepaseong Entertainment’s ‘The Dawn’》 It was an article Daepaseong had sent out for promotion. In one week, the song produced in collaboration between IRIX and The Dawn will be released as both an audio track and a music video. They will also perform live at the IRIX Cup finals opening stage in the United States. ...With this, The Dawn becomes the first K-POP stars to collaborate with IRIX. [IRIX? IRIX?? Are we talking about the same IRIX I curse at every time I play?????] Even after reading the article several times, the content was hard to believe. And it wasn’t just Daepaseong’s PR article—soon the official IRIX homepage and overseas media had the news too. 《IRIX confirms the collaboration with K-pop star ‘The Dawn’》 Noeuls felt like they’d been smacked on the back of the head. [I was watching their lives and self-content thinking “Once the full album drops, I’ll lose my mind,” and now IRIX??????] [Hey this doesn’t look like a joke] [LOOOOOOLLLLLLLL wow LOOLLLLLLLL okay but seriously??? Really?? There wasn’t a single hint about this, how the hell did they get it LOLOLOLOL] The fandom erupted into a festival. Kang Ichae did it!!!!!!!!!!] [LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO The man who swore he wasn’t that into IRIX... When he says he’ll do it, he does it] [Isn’t this enough to make Ichae cry? I mean, he wouldn’t, we’ve never seen him cry, Okay this is just my wishful thinking] [LOLLLLLLLL Have a great trip, Ichae LOLLLLLLL] Knowing better than anyone how much Ichae loved IRIX, fans flooded PopPop with messages. In response, he posted selfies—one with a V sign at his chin, another with a cheek heart. [Thank you thank you thank you IRIX] [I have never once thanked that mind-breaking game IRIX, but today I am bowing to it] Noeuls devoured the photos. [Ichae: Hehehehehehehehe Noeul~♥] [Ichae: Did you see?? HeheheheThe article’s out. I was itching to talk about it but kept quiet to avoid spoilers] [Ichae: Hoyun-hyung helped me a lot] [Ichae: Ichaebbooni will be away for just a little bit] [Ichae: You have to cheer me on♥] Fans smiled fondly at his words. [Weren’t you the one who said you weren’t into IRIX... That you could delete your account anytime... └LOOOLLLLLLLLL you said delete?? └└ Yeah, but didn’t. Like someone who’s been saying they’ll quit their job for 5 years] [Ichae excited is so cute, he’s always been but it’s even more overflowing now] [Apparently he was spoiling everything he was asked, until Kim Sunghyun freaked out and stopped him LOLOLOL He apologized and said he’s leaving now LOLOLOLOL After spoiling a ton LOLOLOLOLOL] Members met the producer in person US self-content behind-the-scenes coming Back in Korea before Hoyun’s birthday └ He’s sly enough that he might have just acted like he didn’t know, though LOLOLOLOLOL] [Title: Male idol who loved IRIX so much he gave a presentation to the producer Collaborates with IRIX and K-pop LOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL When he says he’ll do it, he does it...] While the fandom was buzzing in delight, negative voices started creeping in. For origınal chapters go to 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍 [Oh please lool do you really believe that?] [LOLOLOL Like the members themselves go do a presentation. These things are all pre-contracted] [The Dawn fans... never worked an office job? You’re spinning happy delusions LOOOL] Fans shrugged it off as just another step toward the top tier. Then, a video popped up on YouTube and quickly climbed the algorithm. [The Dawn Lip-Sync 1st Tier] The Dawn had been targeted by a clickbait celebrity gossip channel that made a living off ridiculous nitpicks. [0:44 LOLOLOL This is definitely AR] [1:31 Why do they pretend to be good live? Genuinely curious..] [2:35 Wow, just silence here~lool Are they even singers] The video dredged up an old, simmering “controversy” about their live singing, claiming MR-removed clips showed barely any vocals, suggesting lip-sync. They’d even pinned a comment agreeing with the claim. [Wow, they’re finally getting some hate now that they’ve risen] [Do they not see the encore stages? LOLOLOLOL They’ve had a rep for insane live singing since debut, what is this suddenly...] [Using a music show comeback stage—famous for either lip-sync or heavy audio correction—is just spin] [Someone bring the compilation of our puppy’s lyric mistakes └LOOOLLLLLLLLLLL That’s true live proof └└ Our Dajun’s creatively rewritten lyrics] Fans could feel their blood pressure rising. Jung Dajun forgetting lyrics and making them up on the spot during music shows was proof enough of live singing. But before they could just scoff it off, more similar videos began appearing. [Seeing fans gush after removing AR/MR from “live” vocals is just sad... wait until they have to do it raw later...] [They think breathing sounds automatically mean it’s live LOLOLL ㅠ Amazing how people who’ve stanned for years but just joined The Dawn don’t know better] [They’re gonna get wrecked in the US LOLOLOLOL] Fans reported the videos, saved PDFs of over-the-top comments, and talked among themselves. [Looks like there’s a lot of new fans lately] [Yeah, must be. They probably got more variety show attention, plus the last album sold really well—no wonder people are swarming] [My fighter’s blood is boiling └ brb, off to a keyboard war Every obvious troll post led to heated battles. [Title: Honestly, the idol in this recent controversy is clearly faking live vocals, right? Fans might love it, but... I don’t. There are idols out there with real skills, and calling these guys “skilled” feels off. They just slapped on the ‘skilled’ label because they came from a small company and sold well this time lool └└ ?? ㅜㅜ I don’t get what you mean └└ (Comment reported) └└ (Comment reported) └└ (Comment reported) └└ (Comment reported) └└LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Noeuls’ ferocity is scary enough to make you pity the troll └└ That was like watching a veteran of 50 years in keyboard battles └└ Holy shit, thrilling] After tearing into the troll, the Noeuls left without looking back. They weren’t worried about their idols. [LOOL Time will prove it] In the US, where raw, unfiltered sound and hand-held live singing were the norm, the truth would come out. And The Dawn had never once let them down. Unlike Korea’s January chill, the air here was just lightly cool against our cheeks. Palm trees lined the streets, low buildings mingled with high-rises—this was LA. Today was for rest to adjust to the time difference; rehearsals and behind-the-scenes filming would start tomorrow. In high spirits at his first time here, Jung Dajun was busy chattering under his beanie, clinging to Kang Ichae. “Hyung hyung! Take a picture of me there!!” No one here was the type to have their mentality shaken by such a minor controversy, but the management team had decided not to mention the live-singing chatter at all. Everyone had seen the YouTube and fan reactions, so they weren’t completely unaware—except maybe our maknae. “Jiwon-hyung! Let’s take a picture together! How about a failed-heart pose?” Dragging Sung Jiwon into it, Dajun was dead serious about getting shots for Instagram. Sung Jiwon bent his arms into a big heart, Dajun made a tiny finger heart, and Kang Ichae dutifully took the photos. ‘Well, the maknae doesn’t need to see that crap anyway.’ Meanwhile, I headed for our dumpling-faced teammate who had just finished talking to the manager. He’d been given the flashy opening for the IRIX collab song—his looks and aura matched the game’s aesthetic perfectly. I grabbed his shoulders, turned him this way and that, and asked, “How do you feel? Will the live be fine?” “Huh? What do you mean?” He frowned slightly, then answered calmly. “...You mean the live-singing controversy?” He looked completely fine. When I raised an eyebrow, he stared at me in disbelief, then— He burst out laughing. “Are you checking my mental state over that?” “Maybe before, but now? With you next to me, you think I’d care about anything else?” I got the meaning—basically, as long as I was here, he’d be fine. I’d trained him well. Knowing it would make him cringe, I still said, Swallowing a curse, Sunghyun looked up at the sky and muttered, “What did I do in my past life to deserve this...” I grinned, slinging an arm over his shoulder. ‘Well, if Kim Sunghyun says he’s fine...’ “Let’s kill it on stage.” This was the birthday gift I’d been waiting for since October.