“No way, hyung! How could you make our first OA live broadcast a silent one?”
I welcomed Ryu Jaehee, who walked briskly into the room without the usual “knock before you enter” reminder.
“Maknae!”
[It’s almost like a reunion of separated families.]
[Finally, after three minutes of the live broadcast, the audio is back.]
[I thought Eden muted it by accident because there was no sound for so long.]
Ryu Jaehee plopped down next to me and immediately smiled brightly, waving at the phone screen.
“Hi, our Daydreams! It’s Jae-hee! How have you been?”
[Of course! How have you been, Yujae?]
“I haven’t been well. I missed our fans.”
I gaped at how naturally he connected his greetings and comments, as well as his flawless flirting to match the fans’ needs. It was simply a natural talent.
“Look at Eden hyung’s expression! Ugh, hyung, why do you look like you’re seeing a new invention when you look at me?”
Ryu Jaehee burst into laughter at my expression after reading a chat.
At his laughter, I quietly closed my gaping mouth.
“How did I time it so perfectly? Actually, I was going to start the live broadcast first, but Eden hyung started it before me. So I was watching the broadcast, but when hyung said ‘What should I do?’ and then it went silent, I rushed over.”
“Well, it’s just that it’s my first time using the OA app…”
I awkwardly scratched my head in embarrassment, and the maknae teased me from the side.
“Huh, it’s my first time today too?”
“Yes, yes, our OA app genius Jae-hee. You totally rocked the OA live.”
I clapped a few times without much enthusiasm, and the chat was filled with [ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ].
“Since we’ve started the live broadcast, how about we have a quick Q&A session? If you have any questions for REVE, please leave them!”
I realized then, belatedly. Oh, we could just take questions and do a Q&A. It’s the safest thing to do when you don’t know what to say, and I hadn’t thought of it.
[This OA live started by Eden but hosted by Jae-hee is chaotic]
[Is this a maknae-on-top situation? Eden, did the maknae perhaps tell you to start the live?]
“That couldn’t be.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
I read through the chats, which were coming in at a manageable speed, excluding questions about members who weren’t present and those asking about our next activities, picking ones we could answer comfortably.
[Are you two roommates?]
“Someone asked if we’re roommates. Our dorm has two rooms, so I share a room with Hajun and Yehyun hyung, while Dobin and Jaehee share another room.”
We politely declined requests to show our rooms. Not only were they messy, but the wallpaper was peeling, and there was some mold, so it wasn’t something we wanted to show on a live broadcast.
[Who is the best cook in REVE?]
“Hajun hyung is the best at cooking in general, and Yehyun hyung is good at making diet-friendly, low-calorie meals. Me? I can’t cook, and Eden hyung is good at making ramen?”
“Add tornado omelet to that. I’m really good at it.”
“Yes, apparently he is. I haven’t seen it myself, though.”
I had gotten hooked on it while watching YouTube during the idle days of a failed idol, so of course, the current Jaehee wouldn’t have seen it.
I had made it a few times for the maknae who was studying for public service exams before I came back in time.
I don’t miss those memories, though.
“Oh, you want to see it? Now? I’ll show you next time. If I turn on the gas stove in the kitchen at this hour, Yehyun hyung will come running with his eyes blazing. He doesn’t like us eating anything after 6 PM.”
I put off the tornado omelet demonstration, subtly exposing Seo Yehyun’s strictness to the fans. But even then, the fans admired our Yehyun for his perfect self-management.
[What’s your favorite genre of music or one you want to try?]
“My favorite genre is hip-hop. The genre I want to try is rap rock or tropical house?”
“I like rock and R&B! The genre I want to try… Hmm, I’ll just follow Eden hyung’s lead.”
As I continued to scan the chat for more questions we could answer, I suddenly froze at one.
[ED-Is “Salmanhae” your mixtape?]
As soon as I saw my old stage name and the song title, I instinctively covered my mouth.
“Wow, ‘Salmanhae’… that’s a really old mixtape I released when I was in the underground scene. I was seventeen or eighteen, I think? I’m surprised someone knows this song… How did you find it?”
“Well, it’s only been two or three years, so it’s not that old.”
Having returned to the present at age twenty-seven, it felt like ten years ago to me.
I bowed my head in gratitude to the fans who said they were interested in the underground scene and had been surprised to see me debut after disappearing.
“We can’t just skip this! Don’t you all want to hear a snippet of ‘Daydream’?”
Prompted by Ryu Jaehee, I recited a short piece of the lyrics I remembered.
“No matter how shitty the world gets, it’s still worth living. That’s all I remember.”
“Hyung was quite cynical even at a young age.”
[Wow, his voice is amazing.]
[You can tell his skill even from a short snippet.]
[You’re hyping him up for nothing. I could do that too.]
[Then go debut instead of starting shit here, jerk.]
As I continued to answer questions, ‘that question’ finally appeared.
[Eden oppa, why do you always use the phrase “Gi-che-ho-il-hyang-man-gang” in your From greetings?]
It finally came. The question I’d been anticipating the most.
If I answered honestly, like I did with Ryu Jaehee before, with “To fill up the word count,” the possible reactions were twofold:
– I smell the scent of someone trying to fluff up a résumé in that long greeting.
– LOL, everyone does that when they have nothing to say.
▲ They just laugh it off lightly.
– You’re proud of saying that on a fan live broadcast?
– I can’t believe I thought it was cute without knowing the real reason.
– Filling up lines like that, huh?
– So FROM posts were just a homework assignment for you, huh?
▲ They get mad at me.
Based on weeks of searches and monitoring, and my seven years of idol experience, it was clear that the latter reaction would be far more common.
Knowing the real reason, Ryu Jaehee subtly signaled me with a side glance to keep it hidden.
Reassuring him with a confident smile, I recited the prepared response.
“The greeting is the most respectful and dignified way to greet someone. It means that our Daydream fans are the most precious to me.”
[A true filial idol]
[Haha, Jae-hee is cringing]
No, that’s not cringing, he’s dumbfounded.
Hey, no matter how careless I am, I have seven years of experience; did you think I’d say the same thing to you in a live broadcast?
After answering a few more questions, it was almost 11 PM.
“It’s about time to wrap up.”
[It feels like it went by so fast, even though it’s already late.]
[Don’t goㅜㅜㅜㅜ]
[Please call Yehyun oppa.]
It’s not good to reveal everything in the first live broadcast. We need to save content for next time.
“This isn’t our last live, and we’ll see you again soon. We’ll be back as soon as possible.”
[Eden, don’t make it a silent broadcast next time.]
[Show us the tornado omelet, I’m really curious.]
[Please come out with your roommates next time!]
[Yehyun really won’t come out till the end?]
We gave a farewell speech to the fans who were reluctantly letting us go.
“So, this was REVE ’s Jae-hee!”
“And Eden.”
“Our Daydream! see you next time! Dream of me! Oh, hyung! We have to do the final greeting together! Again, again!”
“Oh, geez. What a hassle.”
I let Ryu Jaehee pull me along and shouted the cheer in unison.
“Dream of me.”
“Dream of me! Sweet dreams, Daydream!”
We waved at the phone screen and ended the live broadcast.
Thus, my first OA live broadcast ended successfully.
As soon as the phone screen turned off, I collapsed onto the mattress with a groan.
I had thought it was easy because Ryu Jaehee used to turn on OA live broadcasts and chat all the time before I came back, but it wasn’t easy at all.
“Wow, that was exhausting.”
“Hyung, please think about what to do before you start the live broadcast next time. Don’t ask the fans!”
“I will. I really will. I learned my lesson today.”
As the maknae, who was starting to resemble Gyeon Hajun with his nagging, sighed and left the room, I rolled around on the mattress with my ears covered.
[Would you like to use a random ticket? Yes/No]
I was briefly startled by the sudden pop-up window, but I calmly chose No.
However, this damn system didn’t disappear and kept presenting the options before my eyes.
It was practically forcing me.
“Ugh. Fine, I’ll choose it!”
I furiously hit Yes, bracing for something strange and useless.
[A video collection of “Popular Solo OA Lives” has been released!]
…Wow, completely useless.
This isn’t suggesting I study how to do solo live broadcasts by watching this, right?
[Correct!]
I lost the will to respond to the cheerful confirmation and sarcastically played the video.
Is this really random? It seems to keep giving me exactly what I need.
[If you prefer, I can give you garbage next time.]
No, keep giving me what I need like now. I love you, system.
As I played the video displayed before my eyes like a movie screen, I blinked at the familiar faces, even without wearing earphones.
As I skimmed through and checked the people appearing in the video, I belatedly realized what this video was.
It was a compilation of the solo OA lives of future first- and second-tier idols from the time when the OA app became widely popular, with particularly high numbers of hearts and views.
‘This will definitely be useful as a reference.’
Thinking indifferently, I lay on the mattress and watched the video for 30 minutes.
Late at night, lying between the sleeping Gyeon Hajun and Seo Yehyun, I was the only one awake, engrossed in watching the video.
…This is quite interesting.
***
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