Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 93

93.

On the way home after receiving our first number one trophy, I borrowed Lee Hyun-jae’s tablet and was browsing social media.

Since I made a mistake today, I need to check how negative the public opinion is.

— (Cut of Flower Boys’ Encore Stage Video Today)

For now, Ji Dong-hwa’s rare flustered appearance + ‘I like you’ rush with no idea how to handle it + Ryu Iden finally smiling and regaining his senses to give his speech + Lee Hyun-jae’s missed note during the encore + Chae Ha-min hugging and crying with Seok-joon amidst all that

ㅅㅂ Seriously… Blossoms is legendary…. They’re definitely the last idol I’ll ever stan…

I play the encore stage video. Everyone is shedding tears, but I’m the only one feeling ashamed, muttering ‘I like you.’ I turned it off immediately. Damn digital age. Isn’t it a curse that recording everything makes us lose the preciousness of the moment? Maybe the invention of the camera is hindering the attitude of enjoying the moment.

“Dong-hwa! Don’t have weird thoughts!”

The rabbit bastard seems to have awakened the talent to censor my thoughts from some point on.

I sigh once and check other posts.

— (Ji Dong-hwa clapping and then looking serious after hearing Blossoms’ name, GIF)

LOL, so funny ㅅㅂㅋㅌㅌㅌㅋㅋㅌㅊㅋㅋ Dong-hwa’s flustered look was the funniest thing in the world ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

— Could he not have imagined it at all…? Or is he just pretending…?

— I feel like I know how different the world you see is from mine…

It seems like they’re trying to find fault no matter what, but if you leave such a comment on a fan’s post, it’s likely to incite public opinion. It’s an excessively one-dimensional approach.

After checking, it doesn’t seem to be a particularly big controversy. One way or another, we’re still rookies, so it seems to be taken as a mistake by a singer who didn’t expect to win first place. Well, the only ones who would see it as arrogance are people like me who have a habit of thinking negatively.

“Hyun-jae, here.”

Lee Hyun-jae smiles as he takes back the tablet. He made a fuss about having a book inside when he lent it to me, so he must be happy to get it back. Unlike me, he seems to be developing a habit of reading mainly e-books.

“Did you see everything? I told you, there’s nothing much.”

“Yeah, there’s nothing but talk about your missed note.”

“…Hyung?”

Well, you sly fox.

“But, it’s a late question, but hyung, what about your phone? Why did you use mine to look at it?”

I paused for a moment.

“…It’s unusable.”

Hyun-jae, I don’t know many people, but all the people who know my number are spamming me with the same message. If it were congratulatory messages, it wouldn’t matter, but they’re all sending messages like ‘I like you.’

It seems to have quieted down now, so I ignore all the messages and call Mok-hwa. He must be working hard these days preparing for the debut group’s final stages.

The ringtone plays, our song playing as the caller tune. And soon, a clear voice is heard.

— Hyung, I like you a lot too!

He’s just like his damn brother, making a fuss.

“…Practice instead of looking at that, little brother.”

— Hey, how can I do that? It’s the first time I’ve ever seen my hyung flustered! I can’t miss something like that.

Really… it’s a happy day, but why does it leave such a bitter aftertaste?

“Is it okay to talk for a bit, Mok-hwa?”

— Yeah, it’s break time.

“How’s the debut preparation going?”

— Yeah, they’re finalizing the concept and stuff this time. I think I’ll debut around February next year. It’s the most amazing thing that I’m not the youngest in our group! I was the youngest until Hyun-jin came in. I’m going to be like a real hyung to Hyun-jin.

I can’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“…Run away?”

— Hyung, you can even joke about that now! You’ve grown a lot, haven’t you?

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

— Anyway, hyung, congratulations on winning first place today. Momo-ji is having its first broadcast today, right?

“Yeah, the first day of the season revamp.”

— I have practice tonight, so I can’t watch it live, but I’ll definitely pay to watch it later.

“…Okay, I sent you some allowance, so check it.”

— …Huh?

“The royalties came in.”

Then, the other side of the phone goes silent for a moment. Mok-hwa, who was deep in thought, muttered,

— …So songwriting is a money-making business.

showing that he has become capitalist. He wasn’t this corrupted before, what happened?

* * *

Back at the dorm, we sat down and turned on the TV. According to Team Leader Jang Hae-jin, we’ll be busy with schedules from now on, so it won’t be easy to monitor like today, so she told us to do it well.

“Hyungnim, chicken— how— is it.”

Seok-joon makes a bet with Ryu Iden. How difficult would it be to get a health fanatic to agree to eat chicken?

I’m intrigued, so I put down the book I was reading. Lee Hyun-jae next to me turns off his tablet, so it seems he feels the same way.

“Let’s do it. Ha-min, give me my phone!”

…Huh?

I naturally look at Lee Hyun-jae. Lee Hyun-jae’s head also turns to me, and our eyes meet. Lee Hyun-jae tilts his head once, then cleans his ear once, confirms that there’s nothing wrong, and is shocked.

Well, if it were a novel, it would be criticized for a setting collapse. Ryu Iden… chicken…?

“There’s a saying that people die when they do things they don’t usually do, but an exception is about to be made, right?”

It’s amazing how much he’s improved his logical speaking skills. I’m so proud.

“…If an inductive case is added, it’s a big deal.”

Because if that happens, idol life and everything else will be quite painful.

Chae Ha-min, also flustered by our conversation, hands over the phone next to him with a fearful expression.

“No, are these guys trying to kill someone? We won’t have time to watch TV leisurely like this except for today, so what can’t we do?”

Only then do I nod and pick up my book again. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to have a terminal illness, so it’ll be okay.

* * *

We put the chicken on the table and turned on the TV to monitor. Momo-ji is broadcast for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and 40 minutes of that is allocated to our segment. The first part is structured like a typical educational program, gathering celebrities and having an expert talk about knowledge.

The lecture topic is related to world history. It explains how to view the French Revolution in a relatively easy way.

Chae Ha-min, who was watching it, sparkles his eyes, nods, and opens his mouth to me.

“Oh… Dong-hwa, so what does that mean?”

Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to understand the context and nod? Why don’t you reflect on yourself once.

I explain it to Chae Ha-min as I heard and understood it.

Chae Ha-min slowly chews and munches on the chicken while listening to my words.

“Ah! So the French Revolution contributed to popularizing the idea of freedom?”

“…Yeah.”

In fact, it’s knowledge that’s not very useful in real life even if you know it, but humanities are originally for deeper reflection rather than practical use.

Just like our little drama that’s starting now.

It’s a drama depicting the tragedy of a human named Joo Ha-na, but in fact, as you can tell from the name Joo Ha-na, it’s a parody of ‘Joo Ha-nim’ [Lord God]. The story of philosophers who still couldn’t escape the center of religion and God in the early and mid-modern philosophy, and Nietzsche, an anti-Christian thinker. It expresses a relatively dramatic moment in the turning point of philosophical thought. In other words, it’s a story that unravels the flow of the history of thought into a drama.

‘Honestly… it’s crazy.’

It might not be bad if you enjoy it as a drama, but it’s also clear that it’s just a common story structure. I don’t know what the PD [Producer-Director] was thinking when he planned this, it’s hard to fathom the meaning with my narrow perspective.

In this episode, it progressed to the point where they were isolated in a mountain cabin without anything revealed yet, and were listening to orders from a mysterious being.

“Wow… it’s so embarrassing to see it like this. I want to tear up all my lines.”

“Speak nicely.”

Ryu Iden laughs and teases Lee Hyun-jae’s muttering.

And the screen switches, and we come out and greet.

— Hello. To be blooming, Blossoms!

A part at the end of each episode that introduces the philosophical content that appeared in this episode. This time, it’s time to briefly introduce the life and thoughts of each character.

“When we filmed that, it was so hard to memorize the lines, right?”

“That’s— right. It felt like I was going to die— trying to memorize— something I had no interest— in.”

I smiled slightly. Considering that, he’s explaining it more clearly than most professors. I slowly watch the video we filmed. Personally, it’s a shoot that will remain a fun memory. I don’t know how successful it will be.

In the video, I was smiling faintly while explaining Nietzsche. He’s ugly.

“It’s kind of perverted that you only have a bright expression when explaining philosophy, right?”

Ryu Iden, who was quietly watching TV while eating greens, muttered.

“…It’s more perverted that you’ve only been eating salad, you damn puppy.”

“Wow, I don’t know why I feel good when you swear at me? Is it because it’s proof that I broke your composure with my own hands?”

…Crazy human.

* * *

Jane, who filmed with Blossoms in Detection, was active here and there as a rising star. In fact, the time when all entertainers are called ‘rising’ is the busiest time, so Jane was out of her mind right now.

So now, she was experiencing a terrible headache at a dinner with the director, other staff, and main cast of the new drama she was going to appear in.

“Jane, you’re doing a lot these days, starting with the music show MC, so it’s okay if you go in early!”

The director was a decent person in his own way, so he was considerate of Jane, but Jane just smiled and brushed it off.

But a familiar voice flows out of the TV installed in the restaurant.

‘…Huh?’

Detection has ended its second season, but still, an unforgettable voice. The evil voice that drove her to death.

Ji Dong-hwa was playing ‘Nietzsche’ on TV. Chae Ha-min and other members’ acting also unfolds.

‘He’s… pretty good?’

He’s good for an idol, but it’s easy to guess how hard the singer must have practiced to act to that extent.

‘Dong-hwa seems comfortable because he’s similar to his personality.’

Except for being rude, how could he be so similar to his twisted personality? I don’t know who cast the characters, but they must be a great talent.

“Oh? Those friends are acting well? They seem to be idols.”

The director follows Jane’s gaze and mumbles while watching TV for a moment.

“Oh? Director, don’t you know them? They’re the most popular friends among the rookies.”

The camera director recognizes Blossoms and introduces some information.

“Oh… so that friend is so good at composing?”

“I don’t know what’s so good about it, but I just listen to it often these days because the song is good. Their debut song was a little easier to listen to.”

“OST [Original Sound Track] or… something? They’re still rookies, so maybe a little cheaper?”

The director looks at the music director and mumbles, and he smiles and nods.

“I’ll put them on the contact list.”

Jane smiled as she heard the conversation. It’s fun to think about meeting those crazy people again.