“Hello.”
Yoon Eden greeted with a smile.
A flower crown, intricately woven with blue flowers, adorned his head.
The fan, who initially fell for Seo Yehyun but quickly shifted her bias to Yoon Eden, saw his refreshing smile up close, she found herself temporarily speechless.
Gathering her thoughts, Kim Mo Yang handed him an album signed by all four members and a clean album with no signatures. She watched in awe as he wrote her name with his autograph, and Yoon Eden started the conversation.
“Who did you come to see today?”
“I came to see you… and all of REVE!”
Catching herself mid-sentence, she managed to finish her response.
<What if I want to see you again after today’s fan sign event?>
Unlike the multiple-choice post-its of the other members, she handed Yoon Eden a post-it with a single question. He picked up his pen and started writing.
Expecting a simple “See you next time” response, Kim mo Yang was stunned to see a neatly written English sentence.
My baby wants me to dream of him…
“Starting today, I’ll practice lucid dreaming, Eden.”
“That’s lucid dreaming, right? I tried it after reading about it online, but I never succeeded… Have you ever succeeded?”
“No, but I have to practice if I want to dream of you.”
“Oh, really? Good luck!”
He scribbled “Lucid Dream Fighting” under the post-it, and she delivered her prepped punchline.
“Eden, did you know? If you can close your right eye and pinch your left cheek, you’re in the top 1% of geniuses.”
“Oh, really?”
Mumbling “right eye, left cheek” to himself, Eden raised his hand to his cheek. Fortunately, he didn’t catch on yet.
As he closed his right eye and pinched his left cheek, Eden laughed.
“Wow, that’s easy. I must be in the top 1% of geniu—”
His words trailed off as he realized the prank a beat late.
Watching Eden blush and stiffen up after inadvertently performing a cute gesture, Kim Mo Yang felt the exit to her fandom closing in real-time.
How could she ever quit the fandom after witnessing this…?
Ryu Jaehee, who had been waiting for his turn next to Gyeon Hajun, burst out laughing.
Finally, she asked for a high-five, and Eden readily extended his hand.
“Your hand is really big…”
In another trance, she murmured, and Eden sighed in mock disappointment.
“Oh, you beat me to it. I was going to say the reverse.”
“Gasp, then I’ll take back my words so you can say it.”
With a light slap, Eden smiled broadly.
“Your hand is really small, noona.”
“We’ll be moving on now!”
At the staff’s call, Kim Mo Yang reluctantly got up from her chair. As she tried to take one last look at her favorite’s face and say goodbye—
“See me in your dreams, noona.”
Surprised by Eden’s sudden farewell, she could only mouth her words before the staff hurried her off the stage.
Finding her seat, she saw Eden take off the flower crown and put on a cat ear headband.
“If he had worn that and acted cute…!”
Regretting her earlier turn, she clicked her camera’s shutter fervently.
If she couldn’t capture the moment in her mind, she had to capture it in photos.
* * *
The fan sign event ended without any major issues.
I slumped in my car seat, exhausted. Even for an extrovert like me, talking with a hundred people was draining.
Seo Yehyun and Gyeon Hajun, who had tested as introverts before the regression, had long since crashed. Even the extreme extrovert, Ryu Jaehee, had his head resting against the window.
A status window popped up, indicating my ‘originality’ had decreased again. I quickly checked my originality score.
[Originality: 78]
Wow, only an 8-point drop.
Considering the previous fan sign event dropped me 20 points, this was a remarkable improvement.
But even my carefully crafted phrase “Ah, really?” had become forbidden after using it for the thirtieth time.
Was it time to lean into the “Ah, real-ly?” gimmick from my overseas study concept?
“There aren’t any more pre-recordings for a while, but don’t stay up too late.”
At the manager’s words, I closed my eyes.
I needed to rest in these short moments to keep up with the remix work for KICKS’ song…
…No.
If I missed the search quest again today, I’d get penalized.
I had forgotten it yesterday while working on the remix, so I had to do it today.
-Seo Yehyun, who said he was good-looking? Seeing him in real life, words can’t describe his looks. How could they confine my oppa with just ‘good-looking’?
-Dobin was so visibly nervous that I got nervous too… haha
└He seemed to relax more towards the end, like a friendly puppy haha. I was towards the end, and he was all smiles.
-I fell in love with Hajun all over again today. He has that first-love vibe, seriously amazing.
-Yoo Jaehee, are you a time traveler? He acts like a pro idol with 10 years of experience… He doesn’t seem like a rookie at all…
-Who put the cat ear headband on Yoon Eden? Thank you so much. May you work less and earn more.
-Yoon Eden used to say “Ah, really?” habitually, but now he’s switched to “Ah, really?” haha. You can already see the signs of him becoming listless.
└What? I was almost last in line, and he didn’t say “Ah, really?” at all? Isn’t it normal for idols to get less enthusiastic towards the end? Our Eden kept the conversation going enthusiastically.
└Is your bias Seo Yehyun by any chance?
Overall, the fan sign event reviews were good.
Last time, the habitual “Ah, really?” and the visible flinching from the pain of losing originality points had caused some complaints, but my FROM post in the fan café smoothed things over by explaining I was nervous because it was my first fan sign event.
Of course, the fact that it was only 50 people meant it didn’t become a big issue.
I finished monitoring the comments in about 10 minutes and took a short nap in the car.
The manager, now familiar with the routine, dropped me off at Yongcheol hyung’s studio and took the rest of the members back to the dorm.
***
The next day, a music show schedule.
With NITY wrapping up their promotions last week after achieving a triple crown and firmly holding the first place, this week’s battle for the top spot was between REVE and KICKS.
A famous solo artist’s song had been climbing the charts rapidly since its release late last week, but since it was a digital single and the artist was known for not appearing on music shows, it wasn’t much of a concern.
W Countdown didn’t feature either REVE or KICKS as the first place winner last week, so we could just let that go.
“Wow, I hope we can use a private waiting room regularly once we gain more seniority.”
“Seriously. This is so comfortable.”
We were able to have a private waiting room for the first time.
Normally, this would be unthinkable, but with fewer artists promoting and us being first-place candidates this week, it was possible.
“What should we do? KICKS can’t win… If Eden hyung’s expression gets caught on camera at that moment and he gets roasted online…”
Ryu Jaehee muttered nervously, fidgeting with his hands.
I paused the playback of the arrangement I finished yesterday and replied from my slouched position on the waiting room sofa.
“How many people in our group have a grudge against KICKS? Why me?”
“Because, hyung, you have a face that gets misunderstood even if you stay still. And while Hajun hyung is good at managing his expressions, you… well… let’s just say your emotions occasionally burst through your face.”
Ugh, I couldn’t even mess up the brat’s hair because it was styled.
“Yeah, let’s just hope we win. Like you said, if I see those KICKS guys happy, I probably won’t be able to manage my expressions.”
Our agency seemed to have pulled out all the stops today, as our stage outfits were school uniform-style casuals.
[1st Place Candidates for the Fifth Week of November #0303]
[1. KICKS 2. REVE 3. Jinse]
The TV, tuned to the live broadcast of the music show, showed a group performing on stage, and the top right corner of the screen listed today’s first place candidates.
I promptly sent a text to #0303.
Naturally, my vote went to REVE.
Knock, knock. There was a knock at the door, and it opened to reveal the senior artist who was the MC, along with a camera crew, entering for the first-place candidate interview.
“Yes! We are here with today’s first place candidates, REVE, in their waiting room!”
On my signal, we quietly chanted and then shouted our greeting in unison.
“Dream of me! Hello, we are REVE!”
“Nice to meet you, REVE! How do you feel about being a first-place candidate on Music Camp for the first time this week?”
The microphone was suddenly thrust in my direction.
Reciting the well-practiced lines about how it was an honor and a humbling experience thanks to the love and support we received, I felt Gyeon Hajun discreetly nudge me, urging me to speak more sincerely.
“It would be remiss not to mention your first-place promise. What would REVE do if you win first place?”
“We’ll switch the vocal and rap positions.”
Recalling the pledge made during REVE’s 24th meeting, I flashed a V sign with my fingers towards the camera.
“Oh, Eden’s vocals and the vocal line’s rap skills sound very intriguing. If you’re curious whether REVE will keep their promise, send your votes to #0303, and stay tuned to Music Camp!”
After wrapping up the interview and safely completing our stage performance, we were able to relax back in the waiting room.
Being scheduled before KICKS, we could rest until the first-place announcement.
I messaged my friends and old connections from our underground days, offering 200 won for each vote, and returned to refining my arrangement when we were soon called back to the stage.
It was finally time for the much-awaited first-place announcement.
KICKS and REVE stood side by side with the MC between us.
Since we were only in the second week of promotions, it wouldn’t be a big deal if we didn’t win first place today.
It would just bruise my pride to lose to those backstabbers and frustrate me to see their gloating faces.
Trying not to show any anxiety, I kept my eyes on the camera as the MC’s voice rang out beside me.
“Adding up the pre-vote scores, today’s first place is…”
***
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