Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 99

99.

She started as a fan of Lee Hyun-jae from The Next Nietzsche and smoothly transitioned to Luminous, so she is, at her core, a fan of Lee Hyun-jae.

She sits in a lecture hall at Korea University, looking at her phone screen while waiting for class to start.

It’s Bloescence’s Halloween cosplay and their first-place promise video. They performed it on a music show, and later, a version filmed in the practice room was uploaded to their official account.

‘Lee Hyun-jae, fox costume. Suffocatingly cute.’

He and Chae Ha-min dressed up as a set of rabbit and fox characters, and it’s so cute she could die. Her cheeks naturally lift.

Having distanced herself from TV and phones until coming to university, she had never been a dedicated fan of celebrities before. Even these common events lead to an overwhelming sense of devotion.

Thus, she regains the meaning of life and can endure today. The life she lived without idol fandom to get into Korea University was the foundation for Lee Hyun-jae becoming her first idol.

Her friend sitting next to her watches her and mutters, ‘Ugh, you’re such a fangirl…,’ but she can’t hear it. Of course, she is actually a fangirl, so it doesn’t affect her.

Then, at exactly 11 o’clock, class begins. It’s Introduction to Philosophy, held on Mondays and Wednesdays. She only signed up for the class after hearing that Ji Dong-hwa was enrolled in the same philosophy department, but she has no particular interest in it.

And then the professor comes in. The boring class progresses to some extent, but she can’t help but think that she’d rather skip and indulge in her fandom on her phone at home while taking notes.

However, in the middle of the class, the professor suddenly shows a video on the PPT [PowerPoint presentation].

“Ah, I found a video of these handsome people talking about modern philosophy, which is today’s topic? Shall we watch it together?”

She, who had been typing away on a Korean document on her laptop, looks up at the screen.

…Momoji?

It’s a clip she’s already watched countless times, but why does it feel so new every time she sees it?

“This show is quite good, so everyone should watch it. It’s good for gaining a light understanding of modern philosophy.”

The most focused time of the class so far. She is delighted to see Lee Hyun-jae introducing Descartes on the giant screen.

‘…Cairo.’

She repeats the spell that Lee Hyun-jae shouted in the philosophy academy episode to herself.

* * *

In a community where the Bloescence fandom is established, a post titled [Ji Dong-hwa’s Alma Mater Appearance] is uploaded.

The photo immediately visible upon clicking the post is a capture of a scene from Momoji, where Ji Dong-hwa is explaining Nietzsche with a smile on the giant screen.

It’s about the incident of Ji Dong-hwa appearing in a liberal arts class in the philosophy department at Korea University.

Comments:

— Lol, Ji Dong-hwa is attending school like this lol

— Bloescence is popularizing philosophy, something the philosophy department at Korea University couldn’t do!

— ??? : (While only looking at the members’ faces) Modern philosophy became easier to understand with your beautiful faces!

— Ah… It’s strange, but what kind of idols are the ones we like…? I liked them since the philosophy academy, but I was scared…. It feels like my taste is being remodeled….

— I was seriously thinking about that yesterday. I suspected that everyone was half-crazy because they were cosplaying on stage in the making-of-song trailer (including me, of course)

— But you know that’s the charm.

— The charm of this group: the balance of madness and reason, an unorthodox idol moment

— So, it’s between Ji Dong-hwa and Seok-joon?

— Lol Ji Dong-hwa officially recognized as a crazy friend lol

The clip from the Momoji video unexpectedly started to spread widely. After Momoji aired, more and more Luminous [Bloescence’s fandom name] cited ‘ethics class’ or ‘university liberal arts class’ as the reason for becoming a fan of Bloescence.

Luminous, immersed in Bloescence fandom that progresses somewhere between madness and reason, began to get drunk thinking about the future that hasn’t even come yet.

[K-pop Heretic is Going to Conquer the Rookie Award.]

This is someone who is already waiting for the end of the year. Everyone, move aside. I’ll hold my breath until they win the rookie award.

Comments:

— Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…. We’ll get cursed at again….

— Just looking at the scores, it’s not an exaggeration to say the rookie award is confirmed…. Please….. Please!!!

* * *

The activities for the 2nd mini-album have officially ended, and we had our last fan signing event today. Many of the fans who came to my side especially requested counseling, so I was a bit confused whether it was a fan signing event or a counseling session, but it ended smoothly. The final music score was in the top 20. Considering that ballad songs were rampant in the fall, it wasn’t a bad haul, even though it was a vacant house [a period with few strong competitors].

When I returned to the dorm, I noticed a reptile enclosure installed in one corner of the living room, with three levels. Originally, it was planned to be installed in our room, but thanks to the members all listening to the situation and agreeing, it was placed next to Ryu Iden’s exercise equipment.

Chae Ha-min’s mother said she would hire someone to install it, but personally, it seemed like these reptiles were living in a better situation than humans.

“Okay, everyone, let me introduce you. This one is Hope, this friend here is Darkness, and this friend is Unfamiliar! It’s Beginning.”

The plump lizard, as thick as my forearm, is Mr. Hope. The black snake stretching out elegantly alone in the slightly darkened space above is Mr. Darkness. Above that is Mr. Beginning, who seems to have recovered his health, as he is no longer biting his tail.

…Well, all the names are unusual. Chae Ha-min’s mental world is also crazy to a level slightly below Seok-joon, so it’s understandable.

“I’ll take care of everything, so there aren’t any special precautions… just don’t shine too bright a light on them!”

To be honest, I’ve never raised an animal before, so I’m actually interested.

“…Ha-min, when you feed them later, can I try feeding them?”

When I carefully said a word,

“Wow, Dong-hwa hyung, you were interested in this kind of thing? How cute?”

“I know, right? I thought you knew everything, but it looks like you’re interested in this kind of thing.”

Ryu Iden and Lee Hyun-jae stuck to me and started teasing me. Lee Hyun-jae is a commendable younger brother, so I let him off, and I turned to Ryu Iden.

“If you say that one more time, I’ll put those snakes on your face while you’re sleeping.”

Ryu Iden frowned for a moment as if he imagined it, and then apologized.

“Dong-hwa! You shouldn’t play tricks on the kids like that! They’ll get hurt.”

Chae Ha-min frowned in a different sense and snapped at me. The expression of anger, like a rabbit who had its carrot stolen, is impressive. It’s the second time I’ve seen Chae Ha-min get angry, but I think it will probably be new every time I see it.

However, what I want to say is, those children are species that biologically cannot be your offspring, Ha-min. Rabbits can’t give birth to snakes.

* * *

Although the activities for the 2nd album have ended, for some reason, the schedule has not decreased. There were many cases where events were held in all sorts of places, and we also appeared on idol-specialized programs on radio or cable channels.

And apart from that, we also had to prepare for the upcoming year-end stage.

So, Seok-joon and I are now gathered in one of our company’s conference rooms, waiting for the God-A members to arrive. There’s a rumor that our company is the best among the new agencies, so they decided to gather here. Nietzsche has defeated God.

While talking about Seok-joon and Fruits World—unfortunately, I wanted to be quiet—while waiting, the door finally opened.

And the face that appears is Yoon Sung-ho.

Considering that the one who enters first in this kind of situation leads the group, it’s a really interesting change. Especially considering that the human [referring to a specific member] blocked Yoon Sung-ho from speaking on the radio last time, it’s an even more mysterious phenomenon.

Following him, Ho-yeon and that human enter in order. The lowest in the group’s power, Lee Ji-hyun. It could be seen that the practical leader, Yoon Sung-ho, was properly sealing the trash bag [keeping the problematic member in check].

“Jun, Dong-hwa! Long time no see!”

Smiling brightly as he sat down, he looked brighter than last time.

“Hyung-nim [older brother]! Long time no see!”

Seok-joon got up and approached Yoon Sung-ho, hugging him tightly. He tried to do that to me before, but his face was pushed away, but unlike me, Yoon Sung-ho stroked his head and expressed his joy.

“Dong-hwa, long time no see.”

Ho-yeon sat in front of me and said a word bluntly.

And then Lee Ji-hyun sat next to him with his head deeply bowed. He is admirably repaying his own stupidity.

However, I could only look at Lee Ji-hyun with a cold expression. Because I saw the hidden side of the world through the Gi-saeng [a mysterious entity or ability], I knew what that trash would do. It is irrational to be angry about something that has not happened, but I am a petty human being to fully control my emotions.

Ding—!

[Very human-like!]

Shh, Gi-saeng. Do you want to be confined again for breaking the law?

[Currently, I have been confirmed as a heretic, so all these deviations are overlooked. In the first place, the morons who couldn’t even implement the technology of communication through notification windows can’t do anything to me!]

You are definitely a great creature.

I turn my mind back to the present.

“Jun, this is the first time you’re seeing this friend, right? Say hello.”

Yoon Sung-ho’s benevolence is truly great, and even when he looked at Lee Ji-hyun, his eyes were warm. It’s like… looking at an abandoned puppy.

“Hello—nice to—meet you. It’s my first—time meeting—you.”

I’m really sorry, but it’s not the first time, Jun. That guy bumped into your shoulder and told you to apologize because he was your senior.

“Nice to… meet you. I’m Lee Ji-hyun.”

He finally installed manners. It’s a truly amazing development. Could it be that Yoon Sung-ho has a talent more suitable for a dog training center?

* * *

“Certainly… Nietzsche Entertainment is free. We hardly had any choice.”

Yoon Sung-ho muttered bitterly while having a song selection meeting with us.

“That’s right. The higher-ups don’t know anything but talk a lot.”

Ho-yeon still spat out the words that came to his mind right away. Yoon Sung-ho sighed as if he was used to it and hit Ho-yeon’s back.

“Anyway, since rappers make up more than half, it would be right to select a hip-hop song, right?”

I nodded. In the first place, the fact that they put together the unit like this is closer to meaning that they want us to create a rap line consisting of three verses.

“…However, the problem is that there are not many songs to choose from to match the theme of this project, ‘Reconstruction of Legends’.”

Honestly, the side hosting the awards ceremony is at fault. They formed a unit to cover songs by early senior idols, but what crazy person put together a group of five members, three of whom are rappers? There are all sorts of crazy things, but what can we do?

“Hmm… that’s right. Even if it’s a hip-hop song, most of them have a vocal line more often.”

Yoon Sung-ho also nodded. By the way, isn’t this a conversation between me and Yoon Sung-ho? I looked around. Seok-joon has no thoughts, I don’t know if Ho-yeon is thinking, and the human looked a little depressed.

A sigh.

When my eyes met Yoon Sung-ho’s, Yoon Sung-ho smiled with an unavoidable expression. It seems to be a signal that it is best for the two of us to decide.

“Ah, but are you going to arrange it? Or should we leave it to our company or your company’s A&R [Artists and Repertoire] team members?”

Yoon Sung-ho asked, suddenly curious. Of course…

“I have to do it too.”

There will be several more of those tasks, so we have to do it together.

As a result of about an hour of ‘conversation’, we were able to select a song.

“…Is this okay?”

I thought about it carefully and nodded.

“It’s not my taste, but it will suit the God-A team or Jun better. Of course, it’s a concept that I can digest to some extent.”

Personally, I think it’s the best solution for everyone.

Especially Yoon Sung-ho, for you. I know because I analyzed your strengths several times during the survival show. Maybe you don’t know.