Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 54

54.

“…Those people are called sasaengs [overly obsessive fans]. They often stick to idols, lurking near their dorms, trying to talk to them, or acting a bit aggressively like just now.”

…Why would they do something so inefficient? In this day and age, you can just search the internet and see their faces.

“Actually… I heard that they do it because they want to steal a peek into their favorite idol’s private life, or they want to get closer, or something like that.”

“…Hmm, the underlying psychology is quite interesting.”

It seems like the internal basis is a sense of superiority—that they are closer than other fans. Or maybe they want to see their favorite person in distress.

Ryu Iden stared at me, who was seriously analyzing, with a fed-up expression for a moment, then smiled as if he couldn’t help it.

“Anyway, I should tell Manager Seung-won about it tomorrow.”

“I’ll tell him, so you should go to the dorm quickly……”

The road manager still looked apologetic as he looked at us, then stuck close and looked around warily. …Like a meerkat.

Well, you can run into weird people like that while living. Still, just in case, I should memorize all the parts except the ones hidden by the mask.

When Ryu Iden brought up the story about the sasaengs after returning to the dorm, everyone became gloomy.

…No, the more I think about it, the more annoying it is. Why did they suddenly appear in our peaceful lives and make the atmosphere like an American household after the Great Depression?

“Dong-hwa… you’re thinking strange things again……”

Chae Ha-min opened his mouth as if he would point out what needed to be pointed out, separately from being gloomy.

“…Uh.”

“Hmm, for now, the manager said not to acknowledge them at all if we meet them, and to either go out with a manager or not go out at all for the time being.”

I pondered for a moment before opening my mouth.

“…If we show any psychological reaction, it will become a medium that triggers such behavior.”

Because even getting angry will likely be satisfying for them.

“Ah! Leon hyung told me that too. He said it’s not good to show a reaction.”

…Leon, I don’t know anything about him except that he belongs to TOT.

“Then… we have no choice but to ignore them for now?”

Chae Ha-min is the type of person who enjoys going to the convenience store at night, so he must be feeling down.

“Well, we can only hope that nothing big happens.”

…That’s a line that comes out before something big happens in a typical movie.

* * *

Separately from that, the time has come to decide on a name for the fans, considering the serious naming sense of the planning team.

…Speaking of names, I’m reminded of when we filmed the importance of names in the first episode of the reality show.

Seok-jun raised his hand enthusiastically and expressed his opinion.

“I― would like it to be Prince&Princess―.”

What a crazy idea. …Even if he composes the music, it seems right for the members to decide on the title together.

“That’s… a little, um, haha.”

Ryu Iden can’t openly say it’s bad, so he looks helpless. This is when someone like me is needed.

“…Well, the intention is good, but it’s not easy to pronounce and difficult to say at once, so wouldn’t it be better to have something else?”

Then Seok-jun nods and becomes dejected.

Chae Ha-min, who struggles as much with seeing someone else dejected as he does with cutting off mushrooms, opens his mouth.

“Dong-hwa, what’s the German word for royalty?”

“Lizenzgebühren [royalties].”

Chae Ha-min was taken aback by the unique German r pronunciation in ren, then hurriedly says,

“F, French!”

“…Altesse royale [royal highness].”

“Oh… c, cool.”

Yeah, it seems like you can’t do anything about this either.

“…Well, since we’re plants, how about a word with a light-like feel?”

And he naturally looks at me. …Well, am I being treated like a translator?

“In German, it’s Licht, in French, it’s Lumière, the former might not sound good, so in Latin, it’s Lux.”

I added a word that most people would know, thinking that it doesn’t make sense to convey it in German and French in the first place.

“…There are many places that know light in other languages too, should I say more?”

“…Lux?”

Lee Hyun-jae starts to cover his head and lower it.

“As expected, Blossence official naming center.”

Ryu Iden looks at Lee Hyun-jae with hopeful eyes.

Well, thanks to his still young brain, Lee Hyun-jae has excellent creativity.

After pondering for a moment, Lee Hyun-jae quietly spat out a word.

“…Luxembourg?”

…What a crazy idea.

* * *

The news of Blossence’s entry into the W app spread widely, and fans gathered in groups of three and five, waiting for the first live broadcast to begin.

And the broadcast begins. As soon as the notification popped up, the fans rushed in, but paused for a moment after seeing the title.

‘Blossence’s Naming Lecture’

The fans’ minds went blank for a moment at the name that seemed like it would be in a fortune teller’s shop that you sometimes see on the street.

And the screen opens, and the Blossence members are sitting at a table in a row in order of age, and behind them, there is a sign that says Blossence Naming Center in large, calligraphic letters. Moreover, the members were all wearing modernized hanboks [traditional Korean clothing].

‘Welcome, customers! This is Blossence Naming Center!’

―No, what’s with the concept ㅋㅌㅌㅋㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋ [laughter]

―Ha, look at the kids being a little nervous, I really like rookies

―I came to see Blossence, but is this a Cheonghakdong [traditional village] vlog?

―Hanbok… is so good…

Ryu Iden, wearing a reddish hanbok, shouts with a bright smile.

‘Wow, our naming center has finally opened a branch on the W app.’

The members applaud in succession.

‘Unfortunately, it opened today! But today is the last day the naming center will be open.’

‘So, to our customers today! Do you have any names you would like us to make for you?’

The intention is obvious. The fans had been constantly asking for a fan club name, so the members, the agency, and the fans were vaguely aware that the purpose of this broadcast was to reveal the fan club name.

But originally, fans are serious about teasing their idols…….

―My dog Kim Jeom-rye gave birth to 4 children, please give them names…

―My last name is Jegal, please name my grandson who will be born in 60 years!

―ENG PLZ♡ [English please]

―I’m going to study abroad in Philadelphia, please give me a name to use there

The chat window neatly went wild.

Lee Hyun-jae, who was supposed to speak next, was flustered after seeing the chat window and opened his mouth.

‘Everyone is of one mind and heart, um, asking us to name the fan club…?’

―Hyun-jae… am I the only one who doesn’t see that post?

―No, give names to Jeom-rye’s puppies ㅠㅠ [crying emoticons]

―It’s so cute how he’s closing his eyes and pretending not to see it

‘Everyone! Please just look at it once. You all know it, but you’re deliberately teasing us.’

When Ryu Iden appealed, comments like ‘Ogu ogu’ [baby talk] started to appear, saying ‘Please give us a fandom name!’

‘Hmm, to decide― on a fan―dom name, we need to know what kind of existence― fans― are to us first.’

‘Our Blossence is all about blossoming and blooming ourselves, and this is all possible because of you fans.’

Ji Dong-hwa says quietly.

‘Fans are like light to us, helping plants grow!’

Then everyone gathered their hands on the scroll placed in the center, suddenly lowered their hands, smiled brightly, and looked forward.

‘But before we see the final decision, how about we first look at the names our members came up with?’

‘Oh, Hyun-jae. That’s a good idea. Then I’ll start.’

Thus began the members’ bizarre name reveal time. Starting with Lee Hyun-jae’s Luxembourg to Seok-jun’s Prince&Princess.

‘Ah, honestly, the moment Luxembourg came out during the meeting, my brain stopped for about 4 seconds.’

‘Um, personally, rather than Prince and Princess… no, both are names that deserve to stop the brain.’

The fans mostly laughed but smiled at the meaning behind it.

And then it was Ji Dong-hwa’s personal presentation time. He glanced at the members for a moment with eyes asking if he really had to do it, then unfolded the scroll and showed the name.

‘Wahrheit’

―Ah, this is Dong-hwa doing Dong-hwa again

―A word that no one knows has appeared

‘It means truth… in German. Since ancient Greece, no, since before the four major civilizations, truth and light have been equated, so it contains the meaning that you are the truth of our Blossence.’

‘Dong-hwa! I was actually very embarrassed when I heard that!’

―The meaning is good, but I don’t want to be called Wahrheit ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜ [crying emoticons]

―Huh? What’s your fandom name? Wahrheit?

―It’s hard to promote to friends, Dong-hwa ㅠㅠ [crying emoticons]

―Wahrheit was foreshadowed since the Wienerschnitzel lyrics…

As the members laughed while reading the comments, Ji Dong-hwa said awkwardly.

‘…I also knew the name was bad, so I didn’t want to reveal it, but the evil members forced me to, everyone.’

Thus, the nonsense time, which was fun in its own way, passed, and finally, it was time to reveal the real name.

‘Now, we will reveal the name of our fans.’

Ryu Iden stood up as the representative and pulled the string of the scroll hanging largely in the center.

The word ‘Luminous’ is written in calligraphic style without fail.

‘Luminous! What does it mean, Dong-hwa?’

Ryu Iden passed the baton to Ji Dong-hwa, who had suggested the idea first.

‘Luminous means shining in the dark in English.’

Next is Lee Hyun-jae.

‘When we look at you on stage, you shine brightly in that darkness, so we came up with this name.’

Next is Chae Ha-min.

‘We also included the hope that you will become our stars and shine in the darkness in the future!’

Lastly, Seok-jun.

‘If the Luminous― become the Milky Way―, Blossence will do its best― to shine― by receiving that starlight―.’

The camera changed to a large angle, capturing the 모습 [image/appearance] of the members all smiling in their own way.

* * *

I silently handed a cup of ginseng tea to Ryu Iden, and Ryu Iden quietly accepted it and drank it.

‘…Well, I was unnecessarily nervous.’

Today is the day to perform ‘Cliff and Boy’ live on cable TV.

I heard that the visible radio edit of ‘Cliff and Boy’ was released and became an issue in its own way. Since then, the MV [music video] and 음원 [music track] were released at the same time, and there were rumors that it would soon catch up with the 음원 ranking of ‘Cloudy Blue.’

‘…My song and my song are competing in the rankings, I don’t know who to support.’

Thanks to such topicality, a request came from a cable broadcasting station with a relatively free stage composition to do a live performance once.

And the result is Ryu Iden’s second state of tension.

I don’t know why this guy, who doesn’t usually get nervous, is acting like this.

“Wow, if Iden hyung [older brother/male friend] stands right in the middle and sings, it will look really cool.”

Chae Ha-min’s intention may be to praise him, but words can be felt differently depending on human psychology.

Ryu Iden made a groaning sound and lay down on the sofa, as if the heart he had calmed with ginseng tea was throbbing violently again.

“…If there’s a vocal crack, the Luminous will like it anyway.”

“I had a high note that cracked exactly once during the second stage of ‘Cloudy Blue,’ and the fans really liked it, saying it was live 인증 [proof of being live].”

“Um, Hyun-jae. They didn’t like it, they were just teasing you.”

When Lee Hyun-jae and I told him from the side that it was okay to make mistakes, he finally realized that he was the leader and returned to Ryu Iden in ‘cool hyung’ mode.

‘…Well, this is kind of fun.’

It might be nice to create solo songs and watch the members feel burdened one by one.