Chapter 305 : Dustys, Come On In
Chapter 305: Dustys, Come On In!
‘Hyung, where are you going?’
‘Ah. I have a family dinner.’
Kang Siwoo's routine was simple.
Work, exercise, work, exercise.
I could confidently say that as long as I was awake, there was no chance a dating scandal involving Kang Siwoo would ever break out.
How could someone who even spent his days off at the gym possibly find time to date?
That's why it was unusual to see Kang Siwoo going out for dinner on a day off.
Aside from us, his own group members, he wasn't particularly close with anyone in the entertainment industry.
When I casually asked because it didn't look like he was heading to the gym, all he said was that he had a family dinner.
A family dinner, huh.
“Something definitely happened....”
By now, all the members knew Kang Siwoo had a complicated family background.
He'd told us himself.
In the twenty-first century, it somehow felt even more foreign.
He'd spoken of it lightly, but perhaps it was a story far heavier than we'd imagined.
We had no way of knowing just how much resolve it had taken for him to calmly tell us everything.
Even so...
We understood.
Because the hyung I knew was a good person.
The circumstances of the adults had never been important to our relationship.
“Where's Siwoo-hyung?”
“He came back earlier and said he was tired, so I think he's sleeping. He's not even going to the gym today.”
“What's gotten into Kang Siwoo~.”
“Do you think he's sick?”
But—
Kang Siwoo didn't look well at all after returning from his family dinner.
The fact that he'd shut himself inside his room the moment he got back, using rest as an excuse, wasn't a good sign either.
The Kang Siwoo I knew would never waste time like that.
“Hold on.”
I stood up.
The room Kang Siwoo and Cha Seongbin shared was next to the kitchen.
“......”
It was completely silent beyond the door.
Still, I was certain he wasn't asleep this early.
He was probably just pretending.
Knock knock.
I gently knocked on the firmly shut door.
“Hyung, are you already asleep?”
No answer came for quite a while....
[The Small Animalz Practicing for a Fansign! Dustys, Come On In ><]
Not even a minute had passed since the livestream began.
I let out a short exclamation at the viewer count skyrocketing.
We'd gone live once in Osaka, but there had been quite a gap before returning to Korea.
And on top of that, it had been a long time since the Small Animalz had done a livestream together.
“Hello, Dustys!”
“Wow. Everyone came in so fast....”
“They're joining almost the moment we started!”
-It's been so long since Small Animalz. ㅠㅠㅠ I've been waiting, babies. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Seo Ian's face is the future.... Seo Ian's face founded a nation....
-The members are seriously handsome today.
-Ah, I've been waiting only for this livestream. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Guys, welcome back to Korea!!!!
Seo Ian smiled as he scanned the comments rapidly flying upward.
“Yeah. They're saying it's been a while since they've seen Small Animalz... right?”
“It has been a while!”
-Weren't you originally Herbivorez?
-Well... rabbits are the only herbivores....
-Hamsters tear other hamsters apart;;;
-Isn't Do Seohan a cicada?
After reading the comments, Seo Haim pouted.
“It changed to Small Animalz because of Seohan's carnivore issue....”
“You eat meat too, hyung.”
“I'm an omnivore.”
“Hamsters are omnivores too.”
“But you're human!”
“Guys, stop arguing over weird things...!”
-This has become Seo Ian's parenting livestream. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-I don't think I've ever really seen Ian acting like an older brother, but somehow during Small Animalz livestreams he's obviously the hyung. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-It's so funny how Do Hamjji normally speaks politely to Seo Haim after they dropped honorifics, but switches back to casual speech only when they're arguing. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Seo Ian neatly wrapped things up.
“Let's just say you're both omnivores.”
“Sounds good.”
Smiling in satisfaction, I changed the subject.
Actually, today's livestream wasn't mainly about this nonsense.
It was finally time to tell them.
“I think an article will probably come out tomorrow....”
Seo Ian cautiously started speaking.
Before he could continue, Seo Haim suddenly jumped to his feet.
“We're making a comeback!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
“We started this livestream to give you a little hint. We got permission from the company!”
Our third full-length album.
-Holy crap, my babies are making a comeback. K-pop, you'd better brace yourselves.
-Ah. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I'm so happy. ㅠㅠㅠ Noona already filled up her bank account. Hurry up and take it. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Hmm. ^^ I'm already shaking like crazy.
-When's the comeback??? Give us a spoiler. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
The exact timing hadn't been decided yet.
I nodded.
“Probably sometime this summer.”
The comments exploded.
-Stardust is going to devour this summer. ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
-What's the concept? Is there lore?
-Is it going to be refreshing, guys?
-Honestly, I don't even care what it is anymore. Just hearing the word comeback has my heart out of control.
“There'll probably be lore.... Did they explain it during that meeting?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Hyung, do you remember?”
“......”
-The legendary Universe Dust lore that even Universe Dust doesn't understand. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Ah, Do Hamjji's reaction is killing me. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
We had listened to the explanation....
It was just so complicated that I didn't understand any of it.
I tried subtly passing the question to the others, but judging from their faces, they didn't know either.
And the concept still couldn't be spoiled yet.
“As for whether it's a refreshing concept or not... we'll spoil that a little later!”
“That's right. Otherwise the company will drag us away.”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The comeback's still a long way off. Calm down, Dustys.
-I want to see Mam-Seohan doing a refreshing concept. ㅠㅠ
-I have a feeling it won't be refreshing since they're aiming overseas.
Seo Ian changed the subject.
“So isn't this what we were actually going to do today?”
“Ah, right.”
We'd been wondering what to do besides simply chatting during the livestream.
Since the three of us happened to be especially weak at fansigns, we'd decided to practice beforehand.
Seo Ian looked off-camera.
“With that said... please come in!”
“Hello.”
Jin Sehyun walked into frame wearing a black cap.
At the same time, the comments began flying even faster.
-Jin Teacher is here. ㄷㄷㄷ
-The ultimate fan-savvy idol of this generation. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Did he come to teach them fansign techniques? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Every Dusty who's been to a fansign already knows. I can confidently say there's no joke Jin Sehyun doesn't know. I'm convinced he's secretly my JjaekJjaek mutual. ;;
“Wow, the fansign expert idol is here!!”
“Oh my, you're flattering me.”
Today's guest was none other than Jin Sehyun, the fansign expert, here to teach us various fansign jokes.
Grinning, Jin Sehyun looked us over.
“This place is definitely a disaster.”
“What?”
“Leave me out of it.”
Seo Ian and Seo Haim might always be bright and innocent, but I wasn't that bad.
At my fierce denial, Seo Haim joined in.
“If we're being honest, Junseo-hyung is the worst.”
“That's true too. Maybe we should've brought Junseo-hyung instead...?”
-Everyone's insisting they're actually the fansign expert. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Jin Sehyun watching them with that exhausted look....
-But it's true that Junseo's the worst. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He's adorable. ㅠㅠ
“Enough. Let's just start.”
Jin Sehyun waved dismissively.
There wasn't enough time if he was going to give personalized one-on-one coaching to each of us.
“Just pretend I'm a fan.”
I nodded.
“Got it.”
I was up first.
It wasn't as though I'd only done fansigns once or twice.
I thought I'd heard most jokes by now.
Still, because my opponent was Jin Sehyun, I couldn't help feeling nervous.
Swallowing, I looked straight ahead.
“Hello~.”
-Ah. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Listen to Seohan changing his voice. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Is this what they mean by turning on idol mode? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Why does Jin Sehyun look like he's the one being attacked? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
At a fansign, having nerves of steel was practically mandatory.
Keeping a smile on my face, I spoke naturally.
“What's your name?”
“Lee Gin Sehyun.”
“Oh... so your name is Gi.”
-He gets way too serious over the dumbest things, so I can't help getting immersed. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-What's with Do Seohan's empathy? ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Ian and Haim are dying trying not to laugh in the back. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-one. I'm one year older, so call me Noona.”
“......”
Jin Sehyun looked straight at me and smiled.
“Ah. Okay.”
-Do Seohan completely failed at managing his expression. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I can literally hear anonymous accounts being created.!!
-But honestly I'd probably react the exact same way if someone from my own group told me to call them Noona. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“Noona.”
“...Yeah.”
-Who is this fansign even for???
-Why do both of them look like they're being punished? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Then Jin Sehyun delivered his trump card.
“Seohan, why does it feel like you're always wearing the same T-shirt?”
“...Is it really that noticeable?”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That's not it.
-Mam-Seohan failed!
-I swear Seohan's heard this joke before, but got mentally destroyed and forgot it. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Wasn't that it?
“What's this joke aga—”
Jin Sehyun looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Pretty.”
“...Ah.”
My stomach churned.
-Mam-Seohan's blank expression. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is killing me. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Seohan, just give up. With a face like that, you'd already have a personality controversy. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Idol's expression completely dies at a fansign (Controversy NEW!)
In the end, I couldn't hold back and frowned.
“Sorry, but hearing that from you just feels kind of....”
Jin Sehyun immediately protested.
“Hey! I hate it too!”
I think actual experience is probably more important than practice when it comes to fansigns.
Doing this with Jin Sehyun sitting in front of us made it impossible to concentrate.
With that, we moved on to the second round.
Seo Ian swallowed nervously.
After watching my turn, he'd clearly steeled himself.
No matter what joke came his way...
He wasn't going to waver.
Smiling, I looked at Seo Ian.
Using a familiar tone I'd heard countless times at fansigns, I raised my voice slightly.
“Hello, Oppa.”
“...Ghk.”
He cracked!
He totally cracked!
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Don't go that hard from the start.
-Is this really a fansign? This is basically FNL. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-We asked them to go on variety shows, and instead they're filming one during a livestream. Ah. ㅠㅠ
-Why does Ian look like he's about to cry? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“Oppa, my name is Seohan.”
“Ah. That's a beautiful name.”
Honestly, Seo Ian might actually be perfectly suited for fansigns.
The smile that naturally stayed on his face no matter what happened.
The way he sincerely listened to every single word from a fan.
When it came to empathy, no one could surpass him.
“But your voice is kind of deep....”
“I hit puberty.”
Seeing Seo Ian's eyes tremble, I grinned.
Behind us, Seo Haim was already rolling around on the floor laughing.
“Ahahahaha! Ahahaha!”
The fans loved it too.
-Seo Ian really is a professional.
How is he holding it together? ;;
-An unexpected try-not-to-laugh challenge begins....
-Do Hamjji completely lost it during his own fansign, but now he's suddenly wearing a poker face? Seriously? ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“Please sign here.”
“Ah, okay!”
I casually held out a blank sheet of paper.
Smiling sweetly, I slowly opened my mouth.
“Ian-hyung. No, Oppa. Do you know what time it is?”
Seo Ian instinctively glanced toward the clock on the wall.
He probably realized I wasn't actually asking for the time.
Calmly, he replied,
“Hmm. What time is it?”
I stared at him as intensely as possible.
Pretending to know nothing.
Speaking with a voice overflowing with excitement.
Everything was ready to annoy Seo Ian as much as possible.
Then I delivered the line.
“Seo Ian... sexy.”
“......”
I saw it.
That gentle block of Sundubu...
Clench his fist.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Where did Do Seohan even learn that one?
-Which fan taught our innocent Hamjji that? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ큐ㅠ
-Seo Ian clenching his fist is so funny. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He looks like he's meeting him for the first time. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Seo Ian gritted his teeth.
“Hey.”
“Yep. I think that's all for today's broadcast! Seohan, run!”
“Hey. Ian-hyung's been working out lately!”
A wise decision.
Run.
Ian's Birthday Special Illustration
Artist Matgom, who is currently serializing the <I Became the Youngest Member of a Top Idol Group> webtoon, created a special illustration to celebrate Ian's birthday!