Chapter 270
Before going to work on the schedule, Manager Hyung gathered the members and delivered a few important announcements with a serious expression.
I wondered what on earth was causing such a serious atmosphere.
"There's a general election on April 10th. So for the time being, you should be careful about your outfits and poses on official schedules."
Since the general election season in South Korea is coming up, it's like martial law has been declared throughout the entertainment industry.
If you wear clothes of a certain color or make hand gestures that remind people of numbers, it's easy for people to misunderstand.
"It's best to wear black or white clothes on your way to and from work, and be careful when greeting people."
"We can't even do a V or a thumbs-up?"
"Absolutely not! It's best to spread your fingers as wide as possible and shake them. No, don't even spread your hands, just make a fist."
Our daily clothes and poses were all subject to control for the time being.
After the manager hyung's announcement, we gathered in the living room and watched a video that Kang Si-yoon found.
The title of the 20-second video was [Kang Yoon hurriedly spreading his hands ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ].
"This is a video of a senior leaving the country two days ago, right? Take a look."
Just as the title says, a senior idol was greeting fans and posing at the airport photo line.
Then, instinctively, he put two fingers on his cheek and made a V sign.
After checking the shape of his fingers, he urgently spread out the remaining fingers and waved his hand fervently.
"Yeah, I'm telling you, this is scary. We always make V signs often too. Habits are scary."
"If I ever make a V sign, hit me from the side!"
"I'll pinch your cheek from the side."
"Okay! I'm only trusting you!"
Among the members, Yoo Min-ha, who does the V pose the most, gave Heo Yu-bin a look of trust.
Even when taking selfies for the album photo card, Yoo Min-ha did the V pose more than half of the time.
It really wasn't a joke, but I thought that the V pose might come out as a habit.
Song Hyung-bin seemed to be thinking for a moment while resting his chin on his hand.
"I need to wash the black and white clothes as soon as possible."
"Aren't we going to become single-piece gentlemen like this?"
"Oh, should we go shopping while we're at it?"
Chae Eun-gyu suggested that they buy completely new clothes when they said that they should wear neutral-colored clothes regularly.
Yoo Min-ha accepted this idea very happily.
"I think it's good! Don't you think it'd be okay to buy the same clothes as our uniforms?"
"You still can't get out of school content. You want to match school uniforms, right?"
"I didn't just say that, but isn't that good? It seems like we're united, and it's really good."
"Did I say something unnecessary.........."
Kang Si-yoon slightly regretted what he said, but he didn't really find fault with Yoo Min-ha's words.
So, all of a sudden, we finished ordering clothes to wear together.
In just 20 minutes or so after Yoo Min-ha suggested that we get our uniforms made, everything went smoothly.
"Why do you all suddenly fit together so well? It's awkward."
"Hey, what's wrong, hyung. We were originally a team. We always fit together so well?"
"That's not something you should be saying."
Song Hyung-bin playfully glared at Kang Si-yoon and inserted a fact.
"Don't you remember how we always lived in a cycle of betrayal and suspicion because of you?"
"That's all~ my big picture. Isn't it because we got the vaccination back then that we're so united now?"
"...There's no logic at all?"
"Oh, come to think of it! Isn't Min-ha and Eun-gyu hyung's hair color also a problem?"
Kang Si-yoon used his amazing verbal skills to change the flow of conversation that was disadvantageous to him.
His quick wit and speaking skills always make me want to emulate him.
"Oh, that's right. Honestly, they wouldn't overlook the hair dye?"
"I'm a little bit dangerous in some ways."
Yoo Min-ha dyed his hair red, and Chae Eun-gyu dyed it ash purple.
I looked at their hair carefully and came to a conclusion.
"I think it would be better to wear hats."
"....Should I bring hats?"
Ji Yoon-chul went to his room and came out with two hats before even hearing his hyungs' answers.
But Yoo Minha started to shiver a little, as if he remembered the bad memories of the beanie from before.
"Didn't everyone say that my hat didn't suit me? Oh, I don't want to wear this!"
"Hey, back then it was a beanie, and this is a ball cap. Just try it on."
"It doesn't feel good!"
Kang Si-yoon, who had been with Yoo Minha during the beanie incident, smiled and semi-forcibly placed the ball cap on his head.
"Uh, what do you think?"
"Wait a minute, this is a ball cap, so it seems like it needs to be pushed forward a little."
"I'll do it."
"Oh, Yoon-chul!"
Ji Yoon-chul, who often wears this kind of coordination among the members, stepped forward and personally touched up the hat Yoo Minha was wearing.
Ji Yoon-chul, who had been pushing down on the hat as hard as he could, nodded as he was done and stepped aside.
"This suits you well, right? Back then, the beanie didn't suit you that well."
"The beanie really didn't suit strangely. This suits you well."
"Min-ha, can I just go vote like this?"
"Is it okay? You're not making fun of me, right?"
Yoo Min-ha pulled his hat down low and looked at the members with suspicion.
Then, he asked a decisive question to the only person he could trust.
"Karis, am I really okay?"
"Hmm."
I looked at Yoo Min-ha as objectively as possible.
Of course, the coordination that brought out Yoo Min-ha's small face and clear, pretty features was the best.
It had to be done to hide the red hair.
And like Kang Si-yoon said, it felt much better than the beanie he had worn before.
"It's a shame that his face is covered, but he still looks okay."
"Phew! I thought everyone was just making fun of me."
"Hey, don't you think that Karis might be in the same boat as us?"
"Huh?"
Kang Si-yoon said something that woke up Yoo Min-ha, who was sighing in relief.
Yoo Min-ha immediately looked at me with wide eyes.
"No, right, hyung? You would never do that!"
"Of course not. Min-ha. Don't fall for that guy's sweet talk."
"That's right! Why do you keep trying to fool me!"
"Hahaha! Your reactions are so cute."
"Ah, really!"
While Yoo Min-ha was jeering at Kang Si-yoon, who was laughing, Ji Yoon-chul and Heo Yu-bin were both whispering something.
Then, he went back into the room and came out holding a black mask.
"Why the masks?"
"I was talking with Yoon-chul, and since half of the face is covered like this, I thought I should wear a mask too, so I don't think I'd look more like a celebrity."
"We're all celebrities, right.........."
No one listened to Song Hyung-bin's sigh-filled words.
Ji Yoon-chul put a black mask on Yoo Min-ha, and Heo Yoo-bin approached Chae Eun-gyu and handed him a mask.
The two's all-black fashion was completed like that..........
"They're definitely a duo of thieves."
"If you go to work in this fashion, wouldn't it be hard to tell who's who?"
"It's even more suspicious, isn't it?"
Both Yoo Min-ha and Chae Eun-gyu's faces were completely covered, making it impossible to tell who they are.
If only their physiques were similar, you could believe they were doppelgangers.
"I can't really see Eun-gyu's face at all."
"It's the same for you."
"But isn't this better? Should I wear this tomorrow, hyung?"
No matter what the situation, Yoo Min-ha overcomes it with super positive energy.
First, since it was a bit awkward to wear such stuffy clothes in the dorm, Yoo Min-ha and Chae Eun-gyu took off their hats and masks and returned to comfortable clothes.
Ji Yoon-chul, who returned after leaving his hat in his room, slightly lowered his eyes and said,.
"...I'm the only one who can't vote yet."
"That's right. Yoon-chul will have to stay in the dorm alone."
Some of the third-year high school students across the country can participate in this election.
However, Ji Yoon-chul, who is still only a second-year high school student, is not eligible to vote.
Ji Yoon-chul looked sad, perhaps because he thought he was the only one left out.
"It's okay, it's okay! Even if you can't vote, we can still go to the polling station together."
".....Is that okay?"
"It'd be sad to stay in the dorm alone. It wouldn't be a problem if we went together."
Even when Chae Eun-gyu said this, no one noticed that something was strange.
Even I didn't notice anything strange.
"Hmm, voting, it's been a really long time."
It was to the point where I was talking to myself.
"That's right, it's been two years."
"This is my first time voting, so it feels different!"
"Right? It's been a long time for me too... Huh?"
"Why, hyung?"
Kang Si-yoon, who had been unconsciously agreeing with what I said, creaked like a robot caught in buffering.
Then he looked at me and thought back to what Chae Eun-gyu had said earlier.
"No, no. It's not just Yoon-chul. Why are you leaving out Karis?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, that's right. Karis can't vote either."
"Wait a minute. But why did you say that as if you were voting together so naturally? Why are you joining in so naturally?"
"Ah."
Without realizing it, I was participating in the members' conversation with the thought that I had to go vote.
As if it was so obvious.
A Kang Si-yoon immediately grabbed my arm and shook it around.
"Be honest with me. You're Korean, right? You've been fooling us so well so far, right? Somehow, there's no way an ordinary foreigner can speak Korean this well!"
"No! I just said it unconsciously according to the mood just now!"
"Wow, but I didn't know. I really vaguely thought that Yoon-chul was the only one who couldn't vote."
"That's right, it was so natural."
Ji Yoon-chul nodded and said something in a serious tone.
"...Isn't it okay to have dual citizenship at this point?"
"T-That would require a very complicated process, Yoon-chul."
"As Yoon-chul said, Karis should be recognized as an honorary Korean."
"Let's just go to the polling station together, Karis and Yoon-chul."
In the end, the strange conclusion was that both voters and non-voters would go together.
I tilted my head and asked.
"Then what should the two of us be doing...?"
"You can take a picture of us."
"...You're not taking us to work for you, are you?"
"No, no! Absolutely not!"
"But why are you laughing so hard!"
***
For Seleste's comeback, Sigma Entertainment planned a much more diverse promotion than before.
The first of these, a short-form challenge, got off to a great start thanks to the collaboration between Karis and Owen.
Having succeeded in exerting influence on SNS platforms, Seleste now needed to move in a different direction and raise their status even further.
"Then let's fix the script as is and proceed. Is that okay?"
"Yes, please take care of it."
The next target was a weekend variety show.
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