Chapter 215. Welcome. It’s Your First Time at a Fan Sign Event, Right? (3)
Jung Siwoo, who had been watching seven men crammed into the tiny room, spoke up.
“…Let’s go to the living room.”
“Okay.”
In the awkward silence, the members stood up one by one and left the room. I saw Seo Taehyun, who was the last one left, mouth the words, “What do we do?” to me.
“What do you mean ‘what do we do?’ We’re just going to talk together.”
“Talk about Eunchan in front of Eunchan?”
“Yeah. It’s not like we can ask Eunchan to step out of the room so we can talk about him, especially now that he already knows everything.”
“That’s true, but…”
I followed Jung Siwoo and looked at Joo Eunchan, who was sitting upright on one side of the living room sofa.
He did look a little more tired than usual, but…
“Don’t worry. He’s not that fragile.”
After patting Seo Taehyun on the shoulder, we headed to the living room where the members had gathered.
Yoo Geon, who was still half-asleep from exhaustion, was tapping a toy squeaky hammer on the living room table—wherever he had gotten it from.
“Meeting starts now.”
And so, the second emergency meeting of Kairos began.
* * *
“But what kind of meeting is this?”
Lee Doha, who had been silent the whole time, raised his hand and asked. Yoo Geon, who was holding the squeaky hammer, also looked at us with a curious expression, as if he hadn’t heard the details either.
Jung Siwoo responded by showing them the problematic post that had been uploaded to the community earlier. Then he looked up and asked Joo Eunchan.
“Eunchan, did something happen at the fansign?”
“……”
“You said you didn’t notice anything strange during the fansign, but you felt bad after reading this post in the car.”
Joo Eunchan lowered his gaze and pressed his lips together.
Normally, I would have patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts and speak, but we didn’t have time for that today.
Even if I jumped straight into bed and passed out right now, I’d barely get five hours of sleep.
To make Joo Eunchan open his mouth, I decided to use a slightly dirty trick.
“I heard you cried, Eunchan.”
“……!”
At my blatant provocation, both Seo Taehyun and Yoo Geon looked at me with faces that said, “Is this guy crazy?” Just like they did when I threw a bomb at them during that live broadcast with the grandparents. Yoo Geon looked like he was about to fold me up again, so I quickly hid behind Lee Doha.
Even as I hid, I threw one last punch at Joo Eunchan, who was looking at me in disbelief.
“You’re still just a kid. If you cry over one bad review.”
“…That’s not it!”
“Then what is it?”
“This…!”
Okay, got him.
When I made a smug expression from behind Lee Doha, Joo Eunchan, now fuming, finally opened his mouth.
“I didn’t cry because of this post…! To be honest, I remember this person because I felt uncomfortable during the fansign.”
“Uncomfortable?”
At Joo Eunchan’s words, the atmosphere in the living room turned cold. Joo Eunchan continued, watching the expressions of the older members.
“…They kept trying to touch me, and they were complaining about how much money they spent to come here. Then they said maybe they should switch to another idol because they were annoyed. To be honest, I didn’t know how to respond, so I couldn’t answer properly.”
“……”
“They also talked about wanting me to sing at their wedding… I didn’t like how they were disrespecting the other members.”
“What exactly did they say?”
“…I don’t want to repeat it. I don’t want to pass on those words to you guys or to Haru.”
Joo Eunchan shut his mouth, showing a subtle stubbornness.
Considering that even this thick-skinned guy felt uncomfortable, it was highly likely that the person had been genuinely rude, and the members seemed to believe Joo Eunchan’s words.
I tried to recall if anyone at today’s fansign gave off such a bad vibe, but then I gave up.
‘They might have treated the other members fine and only acted that way towards him.’
Didn’t I already say?
Fans pour enormous amounts of money into their one-on-one conversations with their favorite idol and expect a return on their investment.
In my case, what they wanted was to see me in all sorts of princess costumes, looking ridiculous.
What that fan wanted from Joo Eunchan was probably for him to act like a clingy boyfriend. But in essence, the behavior is the same.
‘Of course, as an idol, it’s impossible to live completely separate from fan service…’
There are always a few people who cross the line, and it seems this was one of those cases.
Joo Eunchan clenched his fists and continued.
“I’m an idol, so I try to be kind to the fans who come to see us. After all, they’re taking the time to come see me. I want them to have a good time, even if it’s just a little bit…”
“……”
“I know this person is an exception, and that they wouldn’t have been satisfied with anything I did. I know that, but…”
Joo Eunchan frowned, tilting his head diagonally.
It was the same troubled expression he had when he was upset by the two-faced behavior of the trainees back at the gamjatang restaurant.
“I don’t think I can keep smiling at people like this. Rudeness is rudeness, and being uncomfortable is being uncomfortable.”
“……”
“But, what if other fans think the same way as this person? What if I really was being too sensitive? …That thought makes me feel a bit… frustrated…”
The kid, who had been speaking firmly, suddenly lost steam, and his voice trailed off. By the end, he had become uncharacteristically timid, fidgeting with his fingers as he spoke.
“To be honest, I do have a hard time with new people, and I’m not very good at talking… I worry that the fans might find me boring…”
Oh. This is more serious than I thought.
The once-confident boy, who had been so resolute even in the face of unfair criticism, was now visibly deflated. It seemed the impact of this fansign had been quite significant.
‘What should I say to him…’
Squeak—!!
While I was contemplating, someone snatched the squeaky hammer from Yoo Geon’s hand and smacked Joo Eunchan on the head with it.
“…!?”
“…S-Siwoo hyung?”
The one holding the squeaky hammer was Jung Siwoo, who had been listening to the conversation in a lazy posture with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his hand.
Wearing glasses instead of contacts because it was night, Jung Siwoo crossed his arms and spoke in a calm voice.
“Ah, sorry. You just sounded so stupid that I had to. When you need to stop thinking, a good shock does the trick. Eunchan, you’re not hurt, right?”
“N-No, I’m fine…”
The god of our household was definitely a bit of a lunatic.
This lunatic god then spoke in a cool voice.
“I have a lot to say, but let’s start with the most important thing. Eunchan, your fansign can’t possibly be boring.”
“…?”
“You’re handsome. Being handsome is always entertaining.”
Everyone fell silent at Jung Siwoo’s words.
The only one who agreed was Seo Taehyun, who was crouched on the floor.
“Well, to be honest, I kind of agree. There’s not much to a fansign. Fans are coming to see us, not to attend a comedy concert.”
“……”
“In this case, I think this fan behaved inappropriately, and other fans would probably think the same. The context was cut out, that’s why it looks like this… And separate from that, I don’t think you need to be so stressed about the fansign.”
Joo Eunchan’s expression softened slightly at Seo Taehyun’s gentle persuasion. Then, he suddenly glanced at me, who was sitting behind Lee Doha.
“But… It’s so much fun on Hajin hyung’s side. The fans laugh a lot, and the conversations go smoothly.”
“…Me?”
“I want to be like the hyungs, but it’s not working out… The fan in front of me kept looking over at your side whenever there was laughter.”
I was taken aback by the comparison that I hadn’t even considered, and just then, Dan Haru, who had been leaning on Yoo Geon’s shoulder, suddenly lifted his head to refute.
“That’s not a fair comparison! Hajin hyung looks like this and wears fairy princess costumes. How could you not laugh at that? It’s a difference in physical attributes, Eunchan hyung.”
Dan Haru, was that supposed to be a compliment?
Even as I felt a little offended, I lightly tapped Dan Haru and corrected him on one thing.
“Haru, it’s not ‘fairy princess.’ It’s ‘princess fairy.'”
“Oh, right. Princess fairy. …Anyway, comparing yourself to Hajin hyung is bad! If all the members were that funny at a fansign, we’d be a comedy group, not an idol group. I’ve never had a fansign where the fans and I were laughing out loud like crazy.”
For something that started as a jab, it was actually a
pretty logical conclusion, and Lee Doha agreed.
“I also agree with Haru on this one. What’s important in meeting and interacting with fans is conveying your sincerity and getting to know each other. If you’re doing your best in your own way, there’s no need to worry in advance about how the fans will perceive it.”
“……”
“But, aside from this incident, if you’re finding it difficult to communicate with fans, it might be good to prepare in some way.”
Not every fan would be as obsessive and overbearing as this one, so at the very least, he needed to improve his reactions for the ‘polite’ fans that Joo Eunchan was talking about.
After hearing Lee Doha’s words, Joo Eunchan finally nodded in agreement.
It was at that moment that I, having climbed off the sofa, spoke up.
“So, setting aside today’s issue, what really matters is the fansign tomorrow, right?”
“Well… Is it really something to worry about?”
At Seo Taehyun’s question, I pointed at the problematic post on Jung Siwoo’s phone and said,
“I looked into it, and it seems we were the only ones with a fansign today. This person also posted and then deleted something similar on their SNS. So, anyone who knows, already knows this is about Eunchan.”
There would be plenty of trolls watching Joo Eunchan’s attitude at tomorrow’s fansign.
“Of course, just like you said, Eunchan, people who dislike you will dislike you no matter what you do. If you suddenly change your attitude at tomorrow’s fansign, they’ll hate you for changing. If you act the same as today, they’ll say you’re being combative and hate you for that too.”
“……”
“That’s why your behavior at tomorrow’s fansign is important. I don’t want you to stress about every little thing, but there are too many people in the world who take small things and blow them out of proportion.”
“So, what do you think Eunchan should do tomorrow, Hajin?”
Jung Siwoo asked me in return.
I lightly shrugged and patted Joo Eunchan’s knee.
“Just do what you always do. There’s nothing wrong with your current attitude. Push through.”
“…Is that really okay?”
“But, let’s push through more aggressively. And someone else is going to help you with that.”
Someone else?
While everyone was left with question marks over their heads, I pointed at the person who was half-asleep, dozing off even during this serious meeting.
“Him.”
“…Yoo Geon hyung?”
“Let’s learn from him. The pseudo-romance meta.”
Make way.
The king of pseudo-romance in our group, Yoo Geon, has arrived.