#5. What is Business Gay Performance? (5)
I understood.
Maki was already quite famous. It all started when he was cast as a child actor in a Japanese drama, and from there he actively worked back and forth between Korea and Japan.
He attended school in Korea and focused on domestic activities, but until he joined the Arcus project, there were divided opinions on whether he would pursue idol activities or acting.
Even with labels like “party kid” and “delinquent” following him around, seeing that he still had a steady fanbase made me think that this too was a kind of natural talent.
‘The buzz level is definitely different.’
In comparison, I had lived more like an ordinary person, so this blandness wasn’t exactly a good trait for a joining member.
[Yoon Seowoo? Honestly don’t know who that is just from hearing the name]
[Unknown should leave]
[But you guys are weird;;;;; What is this, hiring experienced new employees? They haven’t even debuted yet but need to be famous too? How are they supposed to get famous ã… ã… ]
â”” ㄱㄴㄲ Never seen such a fandom in my life……. What kind of standards do they have before debut
â”” There’s not just one or two controversies but the fandom still defends this, truly amazing (-)
[If it were another group it probably wouldn’t be this much of a problem, but it’s like this because it’s Arcus]
â”” Honestly I think this is it ㅇㅇ They brought together all individually strong members so…….
[They should have just put in Na Jihan,,, Midnight 1st tier trainee + Days Bae Dojin’s cousin brother on top of that, but they ignore this and import a main vocal; from a bankrupt entertainment company at that]
[Am I the only one who thinks Yoon Seowoo is okay ã… ã… Looking at the photos he seems gentle and is my type, his face is also delicately pretty so there probably isn’t a color he can’t pull off…… Wouldn’t it be fine if he just performs well on stage]
â”” It’s not even this guy’s fault that a certain popular member left, he just joined because there was a vacancy; isn’t this too much unfair criticism
└└ Right…. When they sent funeral wreaths to Maki, they said it was too much for someone who’s only twenty, but why are they saying things about this guy ã… The new member is probably around the same age right?
I kept looking at reactions that went back and forth between worry and criticism, curiosity and rejection. Of course, there were more negative stories than positive ones, but maybe because I had already prepared myself mentally, I wasn’t shocked or disappointed.
Once I started looking, I strangely couldn’t stop. Before I knew it, I was diligently clicking through various accounts reading people’s reactions.
Among them, I discovered one peculiar post.
[Homeless JihanSeowoo fan gathering]
I felt like I had seen similar words somewhere before. When I looked through that account, it was all about Arcus. So this was also about our group…….
“What does this mean?”
Jihan…… Seowoo? Looking at this very awkwardly formed cluster of consonants and vowels, I copied the word and pasted it directly into the search bar.
There were far fewer results than when I searched for ‘Arcus’ or ‘Na Jihan’ or ‘Midnight’, but I could still see a few recent posts.
[JihanSeowoo is a stock that will rise. Guys. I’m being serious. Pour money in early.]
[Commute (photo) Whisper (photo) JihanSeowoo moment compilation]
[JihanSeowoo face combo is seriously heaven, wolf left fox right pant pant^^girl come here]
[The way Jihan is included in the selfies he posts every day feels good ã…‹ã…‹ Are you excited to debut with your almost-boyfriend?]
And various others…… there was content that was too embarrassing for me to read in detail.
So this was the RPS (*Real Person Slash, fanfiction written using real people) I’d only heard about.
Only then did I understand why the word looked so strangely shaped. Since they were dealing with real people, I’d heard they intentionally distorted words so they wouldn’t come up in direct searches. When there were similar names with other group members, they’d also avoid overlaps.
Of course I knew about this since I was an idol trainee. There was talk that subtly giving fans material and capturing their hearts was an emerging marketing trend.
However, knowing something existed and actually seeing its content were different realms entirely. And of all things, it was RPS between my childhood friend and me.
‘By my standards, this is like a makjang drama……’
Even as I thought that, I briefly had the utterly absurd and childish thought that I was envious. Wanting to be side by side with him in that sense, even if just in others’ imaginations.
This was probably a bit weird, wasn’t it.
I shook my head vigorously to shake off these useless thoughts. In any case, what was important now was safely joining Arcus. Not causing problems and settling in was essentially my only goal.
What would be a way to naturally establish myself while reducing the existing fanbase’s resistance? I was lost in such thoughts, sitting forlornly by my bedside, when it happened.
Beep beep beep. At the sound of the door lock being released, I jumped up from my seat. Not the doorbell, but someone naturally opening the door as if they were the homeowner—there was only one person who would do that.
“Yoon Seowoo. You’re on the second floor, right?”
Na Jihan’s voice had gotten much closer. It was just my name being called, but I don’t know why that made me so happy.
Na Jihan, who had come up to my room, looked at the luggage on the floor. There was hardly anything in the wide-open suitcase. It was because I’d been hesitating, wondering what to pack first.
“Unless you’re planning to live naked, you should pack clothes first.”
With those words, Na Jihan began filling the contents for me. His movements were incredibly diligent yet natural.
“You don’t need to pack all the outerwear. We share a wardrobe anyway. Pack mainly underwear and training clothes?”
“What do you mean we share a wardrobe?”
This was the first time I’d heard of this. Is this how it normally is when kids live in dorms? Not just using the same dorm but…?
He casually replied while folding and packing the clothes he’d selected.
“Just, it’s a characteristic of our group. When you go to the dorm you’ll see, but there’s a pretty big dress room on the first floor. The clothes we put there are all shared. If there are clothes you don’t want to share, you can bring them up to your personal room on the second floor.”
“That’s interesting.”
“It’s because Hapil and Haesol hyung are really into fashion. Just what those two have collected is enough that the real estate can’t handle it.”
Na Jihan playfully added that it helps with dressing, holding up a sweater.
“Oh, this is still here? This is what I bought you for your 17th birthday.”
Of course it is. Whatever you give me is precious to me.
“Should I pack this too?”
“No. Leave this here and only you wear it.”
He put the sweater back in its original place as he replied.
“I bought it thinking of you, so why would I let others wear it?”
“You said personal clothes can be kept on the second floor.”
“Sometimes when doing laundry they get mixed up and get kidnapped to the first floor. So only you wear it.”
“What are you saying……”
I hid my flustered state while gathering other items.
Na Jihan is always like this. He’s naturally affectionate and treats me more specially than anyone else. But when you look into the reason behind that attitude, it’s so refreshing it’s almost transparent, so he makes me flutter every time while also making me just as troubled.
‘If kindness is a sin, then you’d really be an irredeemable sinner.’
Actually, I know how absurd that statement is. If anything, I’m the sinner for impurely interpreting all those words and actions that stem from pure friendship and affection.
Still, maybe because he had some experience from dorm life, his skill at picking out exactly the necessary items was impressive. He filled the suitcase to the brim in no time, then finished by placing the photo I always kept on the desk on top.
“Just pack this much. The dorm isn’t far from here. Let’s load the luggage in the van and stop by the company to say hello. You need to get your card issued and there’s quite a bit to do.”
His tone suggested not to worry though. Seeing how brief his explanation was, it seemed like he planned to stick by my side all day to take care of things.
“I’ve arranged for people who work at our house to mainly manage this place. It’s nominal but we’ll also write up a contract, so you should come out on the weekend to meet them once.”
“To that extent?”
The house was on the larger side, but I wasn’t bad at housework either so I could manage it. I thought I could come by occasionally to take care of it even after debut, but it seemed Na Jihan was planning to hire people.
“I don’t want your uncle to say unnecessary things if it looks like the house isn’t being maintained.”
He spoke in a rarely stern tone.
“Since they’re doing it anyway, everyone said it was fine. I asked them to do minimal maintenance so they don’t have to come by too often. So listen to me, okay?”
“……Yeah, I understand.”
He naturally takes the suitcase he’d set up and pulls it along himself. Even though everything inside was my luggage.
When I followed behind him with a slightly darkened expression, Na Jihan patted my shoulder and spoke in a somewhat softer voice.
“I’ll make sure nothing happens for you to worry about. I’ll tell Hyeonjun hyung to check in frequently too.”
“Hyeonjun hyung?”
Why is that name coming up now?
The moment I stepped out the front door while puzzled, a familiar voice came from the direction of the gate.
“Geez, that sure took a long time. I thought you were packing moving boxes.”
“……Huh?”
A familiar face. No, a welcome face.
“Seowoo.”
“Hyung!”
My body reflexively shot forward. When I rushed over, he stretched out his arms and pulled me into a hug. When I was little, he used to lift me up by the waist like that, but now that I’m all grown up, he couldn’t do that anymore so he just laughed.
Na Hyeonjun. Na Jihan’s cousin hyung and someone who had been like a big brother taking care of us since we were young was waiting for us in front of the house.
“Why are you here, hyung?”
“Why? I came to give you guys a ride. I’m Arcus’s road manager.”
“……Really?”
“Would I lie? Look, I even brought the van over there.”
Only then did I see the black van behind Na Hyeonjun. Come to think of it, he who was always in hoodies and jeans was dressed in neat semi-formal wear today.
A bright smile gradually spread across my face.
“It’s nice that you’re debuting with Arcus, right?”
It would be a lie to say I had no worries, but I definitely felt good. It seemed like I could overcome anything with these two people I trusted most in the world.
“Yeah.”
I don’t know how long it’s been since I smiled this brightly. It was ticklish and happy.
“I like it, a lot.”
It was the moment I was optimistically thinking that I could achieve my dreams here.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
