Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 327

“Hyung, there’s an article saying you’re crazy.”

“Hmm?”

I massaged my tired shoulders after the performance. As I replayed the performance in my head, checking for mistakes, Lee Hyunjae came up to me and spoke.

“You’re smiling, Hyunjae.”

“Yeah, wanna see?”

[Blossence Donghwa, Deep Meditation Overseas]

The article title was displayed on Lee Hyunjae’s phone. I shouldn’t waste data on things like this.

Besides, when did they upload this photo?

The members had agreed that we didn’t need permission to upload each other’s photos unless they were bizarre. But, anyone could tell this photo needed permission.

“Hamin hyung said it’s just a cute photo in his eyes.”

“Oh, really.”

“And, look at this too.”

Lee Hyunjae busily fiddled with his phone.

“I’m great at taking action, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“I asked our fans to find the craziest member of our group, like we talked about the other day.”

“…Wait a second.”

The flow of the conversation was making me uneasy.

“Hyung is overwhelmingly in first place.”

“Why?”

I couldn’t help but react immediately.

Our fans, whom I trusted, why? They occasionally said I was subtly crazy, but they comforted me, saying I was better compared to Seokjoon or Ryu Ideun.

“Well, I didn’t expect hyung to be in first place either… Originally, the plan was to tease Ideun hyung a lot. I wanted Ideun hyung to be in first place if possible.”

There’s a general atmosphere of teasing Ryu Ideun within the fandom.

As my brick [a running gag or inside joke] proves, Ryu Ideun has the best reactions, and many Luminaries [Blossence’s fandom name] prioritize teasing Ryu Ideun among all the members.

Even with that atmosphere, I won, and the result was right before my eyes.

“…But why?”

I blinked once and looked at the screen again.

‘Hyunjae’s Statistics,’ a page Lee Hyunjae occasionally posts on the fan cafe. It’s a page used to ask fans about really trivial things.

No, just the fact that Lee Hyunjae is running this page means I can’t be in first place.

“What are you guys talking about?”

Ryu Ideun swept his forehead with a towel and approached. What to do.

“…It’s about an abnormal statistic that I’m the most abnormal.”

And laughter, obvious mockery.

Ryu Ideun seemed to quickly grasp the meaning of the words. What to do.

“I want to do a W app [a fictional live streaming app] broadcast tomorrow.”

“I knew you’d say that, so I already talked to them.”

“…How did you know?”

As if he knew it would happen.

“I encouraged the Roommates [likely a subgroup or specific fans within the Luminary fandom] to vote for you. The atmosphere was right, so I sealed the deal.”

Oh, there was manipulation. It was an unfair statistic.

I pushed aside the face I wanted to smack and took a deep breath.

I’ll need a brick.

* * *

“Hello, everyone.”

I switched rooms with Ryu Ideun, who uses a single room, for a day and turned on the W app.

―Blossence, 1st place in madness, Ji Donghwa.

The first comment that came up was very intense.

I bit the inside of my cheek without anyone noticing.

“Ji Donghwa, professor of Mental Education.”

I spread a blanket on the desk to create an elegant atmosphere and put on one of my stage costumes, a suit.

I wondered if I had to go this far, but to persuade them, I needed to revive the image that the Luminaries liked.

Actually, I didn’t have the courage to appear on the broadcast with a sane mind without a mask.

The sentence ‘I don’t understand why I’m in first place, so please vote for someone else’ is too petty.

“First, let me introduce today’s lecture topic.”

I took out a sketchbook from my bag, next to the brick, and opened the first page.

The sentence ‘Reasons Why Ryu Ideun is More Crazy,’ which I wrote stitch by stitch, was written on it.

―I saw the vote lololololol

―Donghwa, why are you doing this? lololol

“You are making a serious misunderstanding, and as a professor, I cannot just sit idly by, so I am trying to speak to you through this broadcast.”

I put on glasses without lenses and took out another sketchbook.

The first sketchbook is for those who came in the middle to grasp the general context, and this one is for delivering data.

“Everyone, I earnestly ask you, the idol who shares my name is not the most sane, really.”

―Instead of being embarrassed to say it himself…

―Watching today’s broadcast, I’m convinced I voted correctly yesterday.

“I can only see it as nonsense. Won’t you believe me?”

The chat window, filled with foreign languages and Korean, was full of laughter.

“Look at this, this is proof that my namesake is not compatible with madness.”

First, I revealed a harmonious selfie I took with Mokwha when I was young.

It’s a personal photo that I’ve never revealed anywhere.

“Being so harmonious with family is one of the circumstantial evidence that he is far from madness. This is a photo my namesake took with his younger sibling when he was in middle school.”

Of course, it’s not true. There are professors who cherish their children but harshly whip their graduate students.

But what’s important is.

“My namesake, I heard, has photos that haven’t been released yet.”

This is an important deal.

Language is slippery yet solid, and names are even more so.

Once a nickname is created, I know how stubbornly it sticks, and how long it took for the psychopath image to stick to me and fall off.

Therefore, I refuse the position of the craziest in Blossence.

At least, I want those who support me to remember me as normal.

I want to prevent them from looking back on the past and recalling that the singer they supported was a madman.

Therefore, in conclusion, I sacrifice Ryu Ideun. You’re someone I can be childish with, Ideun.

And to this end, I present the fans with a deal.

So that time passes, the process is forgotten, and the result remains as Ryu Ideun’s label.

“Next.”

I turned a page of the sketchbook.

“It’s a name you’re seeing for the first time, right? It’s actually a song title.”

It can’t be helped.

“He composed it, and I’m thinking of just releasing it this time. Just looking at this, you can see he’s dedicated to his work.”

It’s a lie. Being dedicated to work doesn’t guarantee sanity. The story of a capable boss who leads workplace bullying is quite common.

Again, this is a deal.

“My namesake, who is harmonious with his family, dedicated to his work, and loves you all, is the number one in madness, as a professor of mental health, I cannot stand by and watch this tragedy.”

I turned the sketchbook again.

In fact, according to this logic, Ryu Ideun must also be sane. That human is also harmonious with his family and dedicated to his work.

“On the other hand, Ideun enjoys arguing with my namesake and teases him like he eats rice [a common Korean expression meaning ‘very frequently’]. He even rejoices at the reaction when his younger sibling gets angry. How crazy is that! If you were to pick the craziest person in the group Blossence, it should definitely be Ryu Ideun, I, Ji Donghwa, confidently guarantee. I’m a university professor, so I have credibility, right?”

But does logic matter? All you need to do is clearly identify the target.

“Everyone, please hurry. Please bring about a change in the voting results. Thank you. That’s all for today’s lecture.”

I smiled brightly and waved my hand.

I walked quickly out of the screen, took off my glasses, messed up my hair that was styled with wax, and loosened my tie. If I take off my jacket, I’ve taken off all my masks.

“…Uh.”

It’s important not to panic. If you don’t panic, you can pretend to panic.

“I came into the room, but why is the W app on?”

I slowly sat at the desk.

I sat upright in a proper posture, tilted my body slightly, and looked up at the camera slightly. Statistically, it’s the pose that fans like the most.

“I don’t know why, but since it’s come to this, shall we talk, you and I?”

If the smile from before was bright, the smile now is subtle.

―What to do, Hamin, come and do something about Donghwa, he’s gone crazy lololololol

―Donghwa, who invaded your room

“Someone invaded my room? Oh, dear.”

What to do.

“Maybe they’ve been hit with the hammer of justice and are now imprisoned.”

Inside me.

“Madness vote? I guess you did something like that. Who was in first place?”

―You.

―Just looking at this, it’s you.

Nod nod.

“Ah, I’m in first place… If that’s what you all decided, I’ll gladly accept it.”

―No lololololololol

―Please, why lololololololololol

I just smiled.

Even if you ask why, there’s only one answer I can give. I don’t want to be a madman.

Ding―!

[Crazy person.]

Shut up, teacher.

The comments section erupted with laughter, finding this spectacle amusing.

―Give us a photo, Donghwa, please!!!!!!!!

“A photo?”

Saying that, I pretended to organize the sketchbook and lifted it up.

The first page I opened, the page that said ‘Reasons Why Ryu Ideun is More Crazy.’

As if accidentally folding the sketchbook paper, only ‘Ryu Ideun is More Crazy’ remained.

“Oh, I accidentally folded it.”

And pretending to speak, I leaned it forward slightly so they could clearly recognize it.

“It’s strange, Ideun hyung isn’t that crazy of a person.”

Injecting it one more time.

“Anyway, I don’t know what kind of photo it is, but I’ll definitely upload it.”

In fact, the photo will be uploaded to Bubble [a paid messaging service popular among K-pop idols and their fans] sometime tomorrow anyway.

It’s just forming the context. As if it’s a tribute to make Ryu Ideun fall to the bottom.

I’ve never said that even once, just the context.

* * *

And there’s a man watching all of this on his phone from home, having unexpectedly received a vacation.

“Ah, really, he’s just like Donghwa.”

A man who couldn’t participate in the self-produced content scheduled during this overseas trip due to someone’s wish.

A man who secretly wiped away tears after hearing that Senior Jung was in charge of the planning from beginning to end, and that a peaceful, smiling, and friendly self-produced content would be created.

The PD [Production Director], armed with the determination to never be fooled again, was smiling brightly.

While watching the W app, he frantically pondered how to tease him naturally.

At the same time, he began to record the ideas that had just popped into his head.

“…Everyone, just wait a little.”

‘Memories of the Cinema,’ which requires recreating past scenes, a new project that can recklessly touch on the members’ shameful parts, was engraved on the paper.

He smiled again and taped the paper to the idea board next to the bedroom.

“I will, definitely.”

And there, dozens of pieces of paper were already attached, on which he had transferred his rough thoughts as they were, starting from when his vacation began.

As if possessed by something, he attached them one by one as they came to mind.

So this is withdrawal. Ji Donghwa, you’re terrible, really.

“I’m going to plan all the next filming.”

It’s not like revenge. I’ve never thought of fighting with Donghwa from the beginning. This is just a game.

“Ah, I want to work.”

Other coworkers are also urging me to take a break, so I’m resting as Donghwa wished, but this is not something a human should do. Cutting off the most fun thing in life, it would have been easier to quit drinking in college.

The PD is preparing for another sad sleep today.