High-five. As a sibling group under Black Call consisting of six members, they celebrated their third anniversary since debut this year.
And they were being hailed as the leading force of the next generation of K-Pop, following in the footsteps of Black Call.
Well, most people would know that much.
There's no reason for them to be mentioned here.
"Conscienceless brats...."
As I walked to the waiting room, exchanging polite greetings with other groups and staff, Seong Jiwon tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hey, Hoyun."
"Yeah?"
I turned my head to where Seong Jiwon was looking, and I saw High-five.
"Hello."
As soon as our eyes met, the leader of High-five approached as if he had been waiting.
"Wow, that was really impressive just now. Congratulations on taking first place."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"I'm Kang Yeonhoo."
"Yes. I'm Seo Hoyun."
The leader of High-five, Kang Yeonhoo, smiled warmly.
I could feel the members of other groups nearby subtly reacting as their leader, the main vocalist, exchanged greetings with me.
But Kang Yeonhoo only looked at me as if he didn't notice anything else.
"This guy...."
I had a feeling about this.
I quickly changed my expression and smiled brightly.
"We enjoyed the High-five seniors' performance."
"To be honest, it's a bit disappointing about the ranking, but it can't be helped. Seong Jiwon, you were really amazing."
"Haha, thank you."
"But next time, we won't lose either, right?"
Kang Yeonhoo, with a playful smirk, didn't add any unnecessary words and moved away with his members.
Seong Jiwon slowly spoke as he watched their retreating figures.
"He's quite affable."
"Yeah, he is."
I brushed my hair, which was tousled by the hat, away from my eyes.
'Joo Woosung.'
A proper distance, appropriate remarks, and courteous laughter – that's what it takes.
"He seems a bit secretive, your junior."
He clearly knew how to behave and present himself, giving off the vibe of someone who had been trained for a long time.
At least he wasn't as reckless and openly revealing his weaknesses like Today.
"Do I need to rethink my strategy?"
I pondered slowly as I walked.
Working at a broadcasting station inevitably involved mingling with people and forming alliances, especially in the realm of variety shows where planning good programs was as important as shaping the characters of the cast.
Ultimately, rolling around in this field, I prided myself on having a pretty accurate eye for people.
So, with that in mind, there wasn't much to uncover about someone at that level. They managed themselves too well.
"Hey, Hoyun."
At that moment, the person next to me, who had an acute sense even as a long-time trainee, called my name.
"Yeah?"
"Let's not entertain strange thoughts."
"...What? When did I?"
I cheekily retorted to Seong Jiwon.
"You really didn't?"
"I swear on my conscience."
Well, I could swear on my conscience because I had none.
Seong Jiwon chuckled in disbelief as his phone rang. Excitedly, Jung Dajun's voice came through the phone.
"-We got second place in the dance unit."
"Is that so?"
S-Stats are second place.
Kim Seonghyun's dancing skills were objectively excellent.
I even thought that he would win, especially when you removed the idol label or covered his face.
So, naturally, I expected Kim Seonghyun to win...
"Surprising, isn't it?"
"Yeah… Oh."
When faced with results that didn't make sense, it was necessary to delve deeper into the meeting, but a short report from Kang Ichae arrived in the group chat.
[강이채: 1st place in rap]
[강이채: ^^V]
"Wow."
As expected from Kang Ichae.
1st place in rap unit, 1st place in vocal unit, 2nd place in dance unit.
"A great start indeed."
Seong Jiwon smiled widely and took a step forward. Walking behind him, he poked Seong Jiwon's back, which was bowed to every staff member they passed.
"Seong Jiwon, you should feel proud."
"...Hmm?"
You grew up so upright among those tricky buggers.
***
Even though the face-to-face meeting was over, there was no news about Shining Star Season 2 leaking anywhere.
So the Noeuls were incredibly peaceful.
[Title: Hey, have you seen the text that was posted on the official page? So funny, Kang Ichae captioned the photo with 'Hyung, you're really mean']
Ichae: Kyak, please praise me quickly ><
Hoyun: Congrats!
Dajun: Wow!! Hoyun, you're decent.
Seonghyun: They must be praised, look at those kids marveling at those two words, Seo Ho Yoon, how have you lived your life.
Kang Ichae: Seonghyun was rude, so Seo Ho Yoon texted him to express annoyance and posted a few more photos,
Ichae: You seem like a really fun (beautiful) and affectionate (trash) person, I sometimes feel (beautiful) admiration comes out, Seo Ho Yoon, you're (no-ssagaji) lol But why is Kang Ichae like this?
Hoyun: Thank you, lol But why is Kang Ichae like this? (Even Seong Jiwon copied it)
Jiwon: Ching-chan!! Lol, Is this 'praise'? Jiwon, please don't do this,
└ lol, it's hilarious that he copied that crazy, lol, Why is Seong Jiwon like this these days?
└ Last time, Da Jun suggested getting matching tattoos on B-app, and Seong Jiwon said let's get 'The Den' tattooed together...
└ Seriously, he's insane...
└ And Kang Ichae would be taken aback.
└ Seriously, I'm most worried about Seong Hyun these days... The rest are all just pretending to be crazy, but Seonghyun... Lol
└ How did he survive in that jungle last time?]
Everyone was just fooling around with the memes given by the official page, as usual, until one post came up.
[Title: But isn't that text asking for praise related to Shining Star? They said there would be unit battles. Did Kang Ichae do well in the rap unit?]
Even the Noeuls, who were initially skeptical, started to get excited.
[Damn... Is this for real?]
[Oh, fuck, here we go again with another survival show, and my PTSD is acting up...]
There were too many scars from the past experiences.
[Is it really worth going through all this just for that... I'm already feeling disillusioned.]
[It's kind of annoying, but going on the show isn't necessarily a bad thing. Considering how much they gained from the last Shining Star, they might gain even more this time.]
[To be honest, couldn't they just not do this? Can't they just happily promote without all this nonsense? Let's go all out as if this is the last time!!!]
Opinions were divided.
However, since it was already clear that the winners of Shining Star Season 1 would participate in Season 2, the Noeuls 'attention shifted rapidly.
So, on the day the news broke.
[Shining Star Season 2 is coming back!]
The broadcasting station's website server crashed.
[Hey, is it true that the server crashed?
└ Seriously, the glass servers, lol, these guys still haven't fixed them.]
Not only the fans of The Dawn but also all the fans of the groups listed in the lineup rushed in, so it was only natural.
Considering the tremendous success of Shining Star Season 1 and the considerable lineup already revealed for Season 2, the interest was bound to be tremendous.
[Shining Star Season 2 Star Will Shine Again!
High Five, Versy, TEW, Try the Dawn]
Simultaneously, the majority of fans of the idol groups included in the lineup were bewildered.
[High Five???????????]
[Damn, the abuse of power by big companies... How many albums have they sold so far? They don't need to be here.]
[Their capital scale is different, lol (Of course, they're kids raised with the money made from black calls, lol) Do they really have to meddle in this?]
Naturally, criticism towards High Five grew.
[We're pissed off too, lol]
The High Five side was also irritated to no small extent.
As a result, tensions among fandoms soared.
[It's infuriating to compete with incompatible peopleㅠㅠ What should we do with our kidsㅠㅠ
└ Yeah, your idol sucks
└ㅋㅋ Are you mentally challenged?]
As the official website was revealed and some teaser videos were uploaded on YouTube, the program was being promoted at a terrifying speed. Amidst the increasingly tense atmosphere, the Noels, who had experienced Shining Star before, trembled with anxiety.
[Say you love me-!]
Of course, that was only until the highlight edit video pre-released before the first episode aired.
As Seong Jiwon began singing the first verse, the excitement of the audience could be felt even beyond the screen.
The Noels felt the exhilaration rising up their spines.
[Ah!!! Jiwon!!! Hoyun!!!!!!!]
[If they don't get first place, it's unacceptable]
Because it felt like they were being pushed forward with skill.
[These days, Seong Jiwon has really risen, he might be the next K-pop god after Choi Jungwoo of Black Call..]
[He is Korean....]
As they eagerly watched the video over and over again and chattered away, the next video, the rap unit video, was uploaded.
Despite wearing a black mask, a cap, and a hood, the unmistakable watermelon-like hair sticking out was clearly Kang Ichae's.
[It's chasing!]
And he was indeed a formidable figure.
And he was truly a badass.
[Wow...]
Even in the short video, various skills and performances were seamlessly connected, and he played with the stage very freely.
"Kang Ichae is so talented that sometimes it's overwhelming.... Not only composing, writing lyrics, and producing, but also just;; his rap is mind-blowing."
"The atmosphere was insane.....
They must have had a relaxed time performing, oh, it's driving me crazy."
However, in the case of Kim Seonghyun and Jeong Dajun of the dance unit, although they showcased flashy breakdance moves and drew attention, the reason for their failure was too clear.
[Oh]
The main dancer of High Five had abs.
[Haha, lol,]
[Oh no, lol, I'll admit it.]
Since it was conducted through on-site voting, it was difficult to beat a stage that left a strong impression unless there was a huge difference in dancing skills.
In the end, High Five overwhelmingly took first place.
"This is first place???
└Yeah, I heard that."
[Yeah, lol, damn it, it's disappointing but I'll admit it.]
"Kim Seonghyun and Jeong Dajun really killed it, but they couldn't beat the guy with abs."
"Seonghyun, did you also work on your abs during this opportunity?
└He's secretly wishing for it.."
At that moment, a post predicting the rankings of the face-to-face meeting was posted on a community.
It was the result of combining the reviews of ordinary people who participated in the unit voting, examining the editing, and reading the comments.
[Title: Guernsey Dance Unit 1st place High Five Vocal Unit 1st place The Dawn Rap Unit 1st place The Dawn └Hey, don't pay attention to them
└-------Slowly, slowly, slowly------]
Contrary to the comments, the atmosphere of the sensitive fandoms, which had already risen as expected, was buzzing.
[It seems right, doesn't it?]
[Well, I'm still watching it, but it seems right. The Dawn dance unit is in 2nd place.]
Upon hearing the news, the Noeuls tried to play it cool, but they couldn't erase the smile even from the posts on SNS.
After all, it was a statement that they won purely with their skills through a blind vote.
[Well, we won't know until the broadcast airs.]
[The songs were really good this time ㅠㅠ Genius idols.]
However, since the atmosphere was already tense, there was no reason to stir up more controversy, so everyone tried to quietly move on.
But that didn't last long.
Someone leaked the plan for Shining Star's face-to-face meeting, completely turning the situation upside down.
"[Guys, they say if you win, each unit gets 1,500 points]"
That's right.
For the face-to-face event, first place in each unit was allocated 1,500 points, and second place received 1,000 points each.
The anger of fans, except for Noeul's fans, poured out on various websites.
"[The more we earn 3,000 points, the less they get 1,000 points for High Five???]"
"[Ah, seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are idols not about popularity and talent?! I'm so annoyed!! Do the production staff still not have their heads on straight?!!!!!]"
"[If you want to be the Masked King, you should go there, right? Damn~~ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are you kidding? You bastards???]"
Everywhere, only Noeul's fans remained peaceful.
"[Oh my??]"
Having faced countless challenges already, they could handle this with composure and retreated to private accounts to avoid causing further chaos.
"[Guys, we voted based on talentㅠㅠ Don't be too upset~ㅠㅠ]"
"[Ah... Let's not say too much.. It could be quite upsetting for other fans. To be honest, it's a ridiculous method, but, well, Noeul is our little one, isn't it?
└Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]"
"[If idols don't have talent, what should they do..? I'm curiousㅎㅎ
└They don't have talent but they do have faces... But our kids... their faces are heavenly;;ㅠㅠ It's really tough.. ㅠㅠ]"
"[Ah~ If Seonghyun showed his abs, it would be worth 4,500 pointsㅋㅋ Too badㅋㅋ Ah, Seonghyun, let's show them at the joint concert later!]"
They were experts at criticizing and finding similarities with others.
"[Ha.. Every time I feel disillusioned, I want to quit K-Pop
└The ones who quit last the longest └└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]"
"[Those who are leaving don't say such things, they just disappear
└└That's it~~!!!
Just a momentary infatuation...
I'll just go to see The Dawn being No. 1...]"
Despite Noeul's strong mentality, tension among the fandoms continued to build.
On the day of the Shining Star shoot.
As soon as Seo Hoyun entered the shooting location, he sensed a subtly cold atmosphere.
"Hello! It's The Dawn."
"…Ah, yes. Hello."
No matter who he greeted, the response was like meeting a stranger, completely blocking him out.
"Hello~."
"Hey! Long time no see."
All the idols gathered here knew each other somewhat due to their accumulated experience, and they exchanged friendly greetings.
But for The Dawn?
"Ah, The Dawn? You know, you know~."
Restriction? Not exactly. It wasn't quite like being treated as a ghost, but it felt like experiencing being sidelined after a long time.
Whether it was due to winning first place in the face-to-face event or simply because they didn't want to include them in their league.
Seo Hoyun glanced at him slightly, but didn't say anything.
'Ridiculous.'
To Seo Hoyun, a former PD with 34 years of life experience, it seemed like just childish antics that were useless and unhelpful.
"When will our Dajun grow up~?"
"He'll be bigger than you, bigger than you...."
"Is the growth plate still open~??"
"It is!!"
With a small click of his tongue, Seo Hoyun turned his head to Kang Ichae, who was playing around by poking Jeong Dajun's head, and asked, "Kang Ichae, stop it. What do you want to drink? Tell me quickly."
"...Hmm?"
"??"
"???"
For a moment, they stared at each other without understanding, but Kang Ichae burst into laughter.
"Ah, have you already formed a habit??"
"Ugh, I...."
Seo Hoyun, who had been careful around Kang Ichae since he got sick in Japan, got up from his seat, cursing, and Kang Ichae, who wouldn't miss such a good opportunity to tease, followed after him.
"Cheer up, Seo Togang~."
"Don't call me that nickname in front of me."
"Why are you feeling down lately?"
After escaping Kang Ichae's teasing, jeong Dajun, with a flushed face, quickly tidied his hair.
"Ugh.... If hyung doesn't tease someone for even 10 seconds, do you get withdrawal symptoms?"
"Jeong Dajun, we're just sacrifices.... Give up."
"As long as we're in this group with Seo Hoyun and Kang ichae, there's nothing we can do, right?"
Although there were some resentful glances at the overly relaxed demeanor of The Dawn, the people involved didn't feel the slightest bit affected.
"Sigh... Let's endure it, Dajun. Let's think about eating later."
"What does Dajun want to eat?"
"Umm, I want to eat what Hyungji wants to eat~."
"Don't lie and tell the truth."
"...I want to eat Hanwoo beef."
"Alright."
Kim Seonghyun wandered around a bit, looking a little lost, while Seong Jiwon and Jeong Dajun leaned their chins on their hands, busy selecting their lunch menus on their phones and chatting away.
"Do you see this?"
And the TEW group's vocalist, who was standing nearby, didn't like what he saw.
Despite TEW having some seniority, he kept his body out of unnecessary gossip, but the commotion caused by the youngsters, who hadn't even been around for two years yet, was irritating to witness.
"In my day, you know, I couldn't even drink water without worrying about seniority."
"Hello?"
So, he struck up a conversation.
"Oh, hello."
However, the person he approached happened to be Seong Jiwon, with an ironclad mentality that didn't let a single needle in.
"Aren't you nervous? Ugh, my hands are shaking!"
"Ahaha, of course. It's quite nerve-wracking."
'Hmm?'
Seeing Seong Jiwon respond with a smile without a hint of nervousness, the vocalist, feeling unimpressed, immediately shifted his focus.
"Is Jung Dajun nervous too?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, I haven't eaten anything. I feel like I might choke if I do~. It's better to approach such important occasions with seriousness, don't you think?"
=Are you really gonna pass on food now?
Jeong Dajun's eyes widened.
'Right.'
"Let's do our best."
=Pay attention to the atmosphere, haha
Seeing the innocence written all over his face, it seemed like he would easily fall for it.
Just as Kim Seonghyun was about to shoot him a fierce glance, "Oh…"
A vague sigh escaped Jeong Dajun's lips.
'...Huh?'
A year ago, Jeong Dajun would have been at a loss, fluttering around unsure of what to do or simply taking it as genuine, but spending the past year by Seo Hoyun's side had trained him well.
Living alongside the ultimate instigator had desensitized him to such low-level provocations, to the point where he couldn't even feel any emotion about it.
"Yep."
Thanks to that, his reaction was very lackluster.
"Well, that could be... Fighting, seniors~."
=Either don't eat....
"..."
"..."
"But seriously, what do you want to eat, hyung?"
=I'm gonna eatㅎ
That's why they say you have to be careful even with cold water in front of a child.
Seo Hoyoon had tried his best to protect the innocent youngest member, but his efforts were in vain, as Jung Dajun had already mastered a new way of dealing with things long ago.
---