Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 23

23.

Amidst the Ryu Iden incident, Ji Dong-hwa’s public image manipulation, and Nietzsche Entertainment’s firm response that led to the quiet retraction of the assault claim, the idol community was buzzing with interest in ‘The Next Ni,’ whether because of or thanks to the Ryu Iden incident.

[Is the relationship between Seok-joon and Ji Dong-hwa real?]

Aren’t they the epitome of F [Feeling] and T [Thinking] types? LOLOLOL

The older brother who sings well makes the younger brother cry, and the older brother logically explains why the younger brother is crying. LOLOLOL

I was so moved by the performance that my heart stopped and I was spacing out, but then I watched the comments and my emotions exploded!

(Seok-joon’s crying history introduced by Ji Dong-hwa in a GIF)

(Close-up GIF of Ji Dong-hwa in Hanbok and Seok-joon crossing paths in choreography)

[(The Next Ni) Dog and Cat, Tom and Jerry]

I really love the dog and cat moments between Ji Dong-hwa and Ryu Iden. Every time I see them together, it’s funny and cool; they do it all.

(Video of Ji Dong-hwa waking Ryu Iden up early in the morning, and Ji Dong-hwa calmly saying he’s going to kill him)

(GIF of Ji Dong-hwa in a choker and Ryu Iden in a harness standing together in the second competition)

[Revisiting the Ji Dong-hwa and Lee Hyun-jae Counseling Duo]

I’m going crazy over Lee Hyun-jae quietly holding a coffee in Ji Dong-hwa’s studio.

(GIF of Ji Dong-hwa and Lee Hyun-jae half-lying on chairs and sofas in the studio without saying a word)

I also love how Lee Hyun-jae always speaks first.

(GIF of Ji Dong-hwa quietly looking and nodding when Lee Hyun-jae speaks)

But when I think about these guys acting as a seductive devil and a pure child in the second competition, I go even crazier.

(Genie cover stage GIF and stage video link)

[(The Next Ni) Delinquent Younger Brother and Strict Older Brother.jpg]

Is Kim Hyun-jin and Ji Dong-hwa.

(GIF of Ji Dong-hwa bringing Kim Hyun-jin back and forcing him to practice when Kim Hyun-jin tries to play instead of practicing)

(GIF of Ji Dong-hwa quietly massaging Kim Hyun-jin’s shoulders when he falls asleep during a meeting, and Kim Hyun-jin in pain)

[Summary of the Current State of The Next Ni Fandom]

??? : (Desperately trying to create a relationship between my baby [favorite trainee] and Ji Dong-hwa to get mentioned even once more)

Comments

―But the real friend moments between Hamin and Dong-hwa are so good?

―But the energetic big dog Ryu Iden and the annoyed cat Ji Dong-hwa are so good?

―But Ji Dong-hwa subtly taking care of the young 17s [17-year-olds] is so good?

―But our Seong-ho has no connection with Ji Dong-hwa…

―What is this infiltration ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅌㅌㅌㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Of course, there were also individual fans who didn’t like this atmosphere of trying to pair their favorite trainees with others.

They pretended to laugh and joke in the idol community because they didn’t want to be ridiculed, but they gathered with like-minded people on their private SNS accounts and cursed Ji Dong-hwa to their heart’s content. For reference, ‘Gyeol-Ggot’ is a bizarrely twisted nickname derived from ‘winter flower,’ which is associated with Ji Dong-hwa.

―Gyeol-Ggot is so annoying, pretending to be cool ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

―Why does Hamin have to see that bastard’s face every time he watches behind-the-scenes content because he’s real friends with him?

―Every time I hear that there’s a 90% chance my baby will debut with someone like that, I feel like throwing up, I feel sick, anyway, Gyeol-Ggot just die

The reason Ji Dong-hwa was being criticized was partly because of his image, as he had half expected, but the most important reason was that his debut was a foregone conclusion.

―Why is a kid who could have lived a normal life as a Korea University student coming out and dropping Seong-ho’s ranking by one?

―I admit he’s good, but honestly, when I look at Gyeol-Ggot, I think he has a really cold personality and will cause team discord

―That’s right, sometimes his eyes are so intense

In particular, Yoon Seong-ho’s individual fans, who had never been on stage with Ji Dong-hwa among the trainees whose debut was uncertain, were especially sincere in cursing Ji Dong-hwa.

* * *

“Everyone!”

All eight of us gathered in the practice room. Lee Dong-seok is introducing the reason for calling us, as it seems to be a fairly full-fledged shoot.

“The reason we’ve gathered you like this in the middle of practice is that we’re going to air this 4th competition and then have a week off next week. That way, we can extend the voting period and do other things.”

Well, it is the final competition.

“So, we’re going to film a few things in advance today and use them then.”

I was annoyed to death because they called me in the middle of practice, but I understand.

“First up is The Next Nietzsche: Quiz Show! A high-end speaker is prepared as the first-place prize, so please do your best to get everything right.”

…This is too advantageous for me.

The other kids look at me as if they had the same thought. I hope you’ll stop looking at me like you’re going to complain to me that it’s unfair when you’re the ones who are stupid.

“That’s right. Ji Dong-hwa trainee is too advantageous, isn’t he? So Ji Dong-hwa trainee will be in charge of creating the questions and giving hints as a question writer.”

…Question writer? I’ve never made any.

…Wait, yesterday, the production team came and asked me to write down some common sense things that people who graduated from high school or are attending high school would know, that’s… this.

‘…I’m screwed.’

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have written it like that.

* * *

# The Next Ni Quiz Show Rough Cut

The subtitles show Ji Dong-hwa’s profile the moment he picks up the paper.

[Question Writer Ji Dong-hwa (20)

Freshman in the Department of Philosophy at Korea University, currently on leave]

‘…Then, the first question.’

Ji Dong-hwa says, looking ahead with a blank expression.

‘Explain what the principle of sufficient reason is, which is called the essence of the philosophical thought of the German philosopher Heidegger.’

And a chilling silence descends, with the subtitles also responding with ‘……?’

Then, the screen changes to Ji Dong-hwa’s personal interview scene.

[Q. Why did you do that?]

‘It’s my fault. Honestly, if I had known it was a question for my colleagues, I would have adjusted the difficulty, but I was just writing down things that I wanted people who graduated from high school to know, so such a bizarre question was created.’

[Q. Is your main purpose to ruin this quiz show content?]

‘…Personally, I think the writer who suggested that I should ask the questions should also be suspected.’

Then, the screen switches to Chae Hamin.

[Q. Did you understand what the question meant?]

Chae Hamin, who was smiling brightly, answers with a clear smile.

‘Dong-hwa didn’t look like he expected us to know when he read the question either?’

Next is Ryu Iden.

‘Wow, I don’t even know who Heidegger is.’

And the screen switches again. Ji Dong-hwa is trying to quickly fix the situation. You could almost hear his head spinning.

‘…I’ll correct the question. Sartre, an existentialist philosopher like Heidegger, left the following famous saying: Life is like C between B and D. Here, B means Birth and D means Death. Then what is C?’

[A question that has been lowered to a difficulty that you can at least guess]

‘So, you’re saying I should say an English word that starts with C?’

Ji Dong-hwa nods in satisfaction when Ryu Iden asks. Then Chae Hamin raises his hand quickly and MC Lee Dong-seok reacts.

‘Yes, trainee Chae Hamin! You raised your hand! What’s the answer?’

‘Chicken!’

‘Oh, life is chicken? That’s really true. Will trainee Ji Dong-hwa accept this as the answer?’

The moment Chae Hamin answers chicken, Ji Dong-hwa is looking at Chae Hamin with a pathetic look, but he hesitates for a moment when he is about to open his mouth and receives Chae Hamin’s earnest eyes.

The screen continues to alternate between Ji Dong-hwa’s hesitant expression and Chae Hamin’s desperate eyes, and then ends with a scene of Ji Dong-hwa opening his mouth.

‘…That’s correct.’

‘Wow!’

When Chae Hamin shouts for joy that he got the answer right, Ryu Iden shouts on behalf of the remaining trainees.

‘Question writer! The answer selection seems biased! You definitely went easy on Chae Hamin because you felt sorry for him, right!’

‘…It was fair.’

And the screen switches and Ji Dong-hwa’s personal interview scene. The subtitle below reads ‘Ji Dong-hwa (weak to Chae Hamin)’.

[Q. Was it really fair?]

‘…I don’t remember.’

Then, the production team deliberately shows the scene on a tablet. On one side of the screen, Ji Dong-hwa is staring blankly at Chae Hamin before acknowledging the answer.

[Watching footage]

[Q. Was it really fair?]

‘…I’ll invoke my right to remain silent.’

* * *

The chaotic quiz show filming ended, and Lee Hyun-jae and Chae Hamin tied for first place by answering a total of 3 out of 10 questions correctly.

And the next shoot proceeded.

I’m suspicious that they’re not telling me exactly what we’re going to do this time.

I followed the production team’s instructions and entered a small conference room, where there was only a small table, a camera, and my cell phone, which I had returned during the training camp.

I sat down and read the paper attached to the phone.

‘Call the one you love!’

…This is the time for each of us to call our guardians. They obviously know that I don’t have any family members on the registry right now, so they’re expressing it indirectly as someone I love, so I can call a friend.

It’s a thoughtful consideration.

‘Well, it’s common to expect that I have at least one friend.’

However, I appreciate the consideration, but unfortunately, I don’t even have a friend to call.

If my relationship with the previous world was similar.

I look through my address book in case there’s a number I can call. Most of them are numbers exchanged while participating in the survival show, and the only ones left are the welfare department numbers from the area I used to live in…

I carefully press a number in the address book.

The number listed as ‘Mok-hwa,’ the number I saved when the child was still my sister. It’s the number from when I first opened the phone, so it must have changed by now.

I silently stared at the number before turning off the phone screen and looking at the camera.

“…There’s no one I can call. I’m sorry.”

* * *

The PD [Producer Director] of The Next Ni, Jung Kyung-woo, ran into a problem while reviewing the footage to pre-edit episode 5.

‘I wanted trainee Ji Dong-hwa to call anyone… If I do this, it’s weird to edit it all out.’

Of course, he got quite a few usable scenes, such as Chae Hamin acting cute to his mother in a polite manner, and Kim Hyun-jin crying his eyes out, but there are only eight trainees left now.

If there were about thirty people, I could just edit it out with the excuse of the amount, but if I take out only one person, it’s perfect for controversy, and if I take out more, there won’t be enough.

And above all…

‘It’s a material that’s too good to attract attention!’

The trainee who is running as a popular member in the survival show is actually an orphan from a young age? What a provocative material and a good material to attract viewers’ attention! Even reveal this before the last episode?

The sound of the last episode’s ratings exploding was ringing in Jung Kyung-woo’s ears.

I don’t have to overdo it. Without openly saying that he’s been an orphan since he was young, if I just give a very slight nuance, viewers will guess and create a theory in the community.

“I’ve edited it as pleasantly and gently as possible so far… If I can get a sweet topic in return…”

Jung Kyung-woo, who was talking to himself like that, very secretly and carefully began preparing to attract attention.

* * *

We finished the long practice and are preparing to go on stage in the backstage. There was nothing special except that Jun-sung sent another love call asking me to work on a solo album with him during the mid-term check-up.

And now I’m sighing as I look at the costume that’s shaking in front of my eyes as if telling me to take it quickly.

“Really, do I have to wear this?”

I asked, taking the clothes that the stylist handed me.

“Isn’t this, as a piece of clothing, too excessively torn…”

“It goes perfectly with the concept you told me about, right?”

“I can’t say no, but… what I wanted was something that was somewhat worn out.”

“Dong-hwa, this is the real deal. Trust me.”

No, what’s the real deal about this rag, I carefully wrapped up what I wanted to say in my mouth.

The costume I received was torn black jeans and a light silver sweater.

But the sweater seems to be very worn out, and my skin seems to be faintly visible in between.

Even the size is quite larger than what I usually wear, so my shoulders are clearly exposed.

“…Ha.”

As I was sighing, Chae Hamin, who received similar clothes and came out already wearing them, smiles brightly.

“Dong-hwa, the clothes are so cool!”

You always look so happy. After seeing Chae Hamin’s appearance, I gave up and went into the dressing room to change my clothes.

“Ah, Dong-hwa!”

At the voice calling me, I briefly had unrealistic expectations that the costume had been changed…

“Take this choker with you too!”

…I let out an even bigger sigh than before. This was created to commemorate those who died during the French Revolution…

“Hurry up and go in!”

Ha, I understand.