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Join the Server“Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too! Thanks to Germ-bo, our kid has been doing so well with…”
The woman launched into a long story about how well her child was brushing his teeth now. Woo Yeongchan nodded with a polite smile.
Even though he had explicitly introduced himself by his stage name, “zenon,” being called “Germ” meant this body was really remarkably unpopular. Then again, taking one look in the mirror made the reason clear enough.
“You’re much handsomer in person. On the blogs, you had a much darker image…”
“Honey,” the woman warned softly, nudging her husband in the ribs.
Woo Yeongchan narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Well, we’ll be on our way now. So sorry for taking up your rest time!”
“Not at all. It was a pleasure meeting you. Have a safe trip home, and please keep supporting us!”
“Please keep supporting us,” Woo Yeongchan chimed in, following Han Hoseong’s lead with a bow.
Once the couple left the café, the two sat back down. Han Hoseong put his mask back on and murmured, “You’re pretty good at that.”
“Me? At what?”
“Dealing with people. You seem used to it.”
“It’s just taking a photo and exchanging a few words. What’s there to be used to?”
“Some people find even that difficult. They get nervous around strangers.”
“Are you talking about Kim Jeguk?”
Han Hoseong nodded. Woo Yeongchan asked point-blank, “Is that why he’s not popular?”
“…I wouldn’t say it’s just because he’s shy, but… yeah.” Hoseong added reassuringly, “Still, he actually has one of the highest numbers of core fans among us.”
“What’s the point of ranking first in a class that ranks dead last in the whole school? Anyway, forget that—what was that about a blog?”
Woo Yeongchan was certain Kim Jeguk had done something embarrassing. Ever since taking over this body, every single thing he had heard about Kim Jeguk was overwhelmingly negative.
Sure enough, Han Hoseong began cautiously. “Well, there was a blog zenon ran even before debut…”
“Don’t tell me he badmouthed someone on it? Or posted photos of himself dating?”
“Ah, no, nothing like that. It was just a daily life blog. Nothing that would look shady to an outsider…” Han Hoseong trailed off. “…Except it was the kind of blog that’s awkward if others see it.”
“What was it, then?”
“It was basically a private diary. He wrote journal entries and his own poetry…”
Even though he had known zenon for over four years, Han Hoseong hadn’t known he posted on that blog so regularly. He had been completely oblivious to the heavy burdens zenon was carrying.
‘Must I be grateful for a gift I never asked for? If so, must I also be grateful for a life given against my will?’
‘If I were anyone else, would I have known what happiness feels like? I’m exhausted. It’s not that I hate being born—I hate being me.’
‘I want to quit. Everything, no matter what it is.’
“…There were entries like that. Truth be told, when you first tried to commit suicide, that was why I thought you’d actually done it. I thought you’d finally carried out those dark thoughts.”
Han Hoseong added hurriedly, “I-I didn’t mean to pry into someone else’s private diary. I was just monitoring things to see if a scandal had broken out.”
“I don’t care. It’s not my blog anyway. Besides, isn’t it careless to write a personal diary publicly in the first place?”
“It was a private blog, but it got hacked and turned public. The photos and daily posts made it blatantly obvious it was zenon, so he got exposed.”
It had happened right when HIGH-5 was beginning to gain traction and draw attention. People were scouring the blog with wide eyes, searching for any gossip or scandal that could tear down a newly risen overnight star.
“Even so, the fact that they couldn’t find a single real dirt on him shows how decent zenon is. Though that’s only natural. I can guarantee that whatever else he might lack, zenon isn’t someone to cause trouble when it comes to personal relationships.”
“Because he doesn’t have any personal relationships to begin with?”
“…”
Han Hoseong affirmed it with silence.
“Ahem. Anyway, it was a relief that things didn’t blow up into a massive scandal. The problem was that, ever since then, zenon gained a ridiculous image…”
“What kind of image?”
“‘An overly dramatic case of chunibyo full of hot air.'”
In today’s world, philosophy and romance were often brushed off as cringe. Naturally, the soul-baring poetry of an amateur writer became nothing more than a laughingstock.
“He got flooded with mocking comments. Most people were just laughing because they found it genuinely funny, but to zenon, it felt like pure ridicule. To make matters worse, it didn’t stay on the blog—it spread all over online communities.”
Title: (Cringe Warning) Collection of HIGH-5 zenon’s Self-Written Poems.txt
Body: ‘The wind blowing at 4 AM holds darkness / A peaceful darkness that covers a heart full of scars / Yes, night must be a blanket that covers the world / And a shield that hides me / Tonight, curled up like a baby bird inside its shell, / I fear the morning that will bring my hatching’
.
.
.
Academic consensus says he should have passed a literary contest, not an idol audition.
↳ Whoa haha, kids’ sentiments these days are no joke.
↳ Ugh, I cringed so hard I just scrolled down.
↳ Ah, so cute, he calls himself a baby bird haha. But he must be so embarrassed right now, probably kicking his blankets in bed haha.
↳ They dug up his entire history and all they found was self-written poetry? Good to see he’s clean… though the poetry isn’t so good to look at…
[Trending Video] zenon Challenge #TryNotToLaugh #SurviveFor1MillionWon #WhoWillBeTheFinalWinner?!
Title: Am I the only one who feels like that idol whose blog got leaked is deceiving fans?
Body: “Unwanted gift”… lol isn’t he dissing gifts given by fans?
↳ No, lol, look at the post date. It was 4 years ago haha. Back then, his recognition was completely in the gutter, so he couldn’t get gifts anyway. Don’t overinterpret and hate on him!
↳ Deceiving fans… lol, what are you talking about toward a guy who doesn’t even have fans to deceive?
↳ Sigh, people are so cruel… Looking at the blog, those are classic symptoms of depression. Do you really want to insult him for that? When I had depression, I couldn’t tell anyone I was struggling because of people like you.
↳↳ Then go write about it on your blog too.
Title: Wait, I thought Kim Empire’s gloomy vibe was just a concept?
Body: Turns out it’s real… Did you see the occult stuff on his blog?? Looks like he translated foreign Reddit posts himself, the dedication is insane.
↳ Being interested in the occult isn’t a crime, why are you being like this?
↳↳ (OP) I’m not saying it’s bad, just that it’s fascinating… haha. A K-pop idol is pushing a concept like some neighboring country’s subculture, and it turns out it’s actually real.
Sand Fairy @sand_yojung
Wow, I heard something happened with zenon and rushed over… Wow… This is the first time I’ve thought it would’ve been better if he’d posted dating photos instead, haha.
Money Please @moneymany_plz
I respect zenon’s artistic sensibility, but separately, it feels a million years too early for me to digest.
Hina @HeeNaa_1004
Honest opinion: looking at zenon’s blog actually made my eyes a bit teary, lol 😭
↳ Door @d00r_5pen: Ahaha, Hina-nim, you must be really sensitive too!
Habo @HABO__k
An idol deep into the occult? That’s refreshing, haha.
Sweet Potato @gogu_matna
…? So you’re saying that’s not a concept right now…?
“If he were someone thicker-skinned, he might have just felt a little embarrassed and brushed it off. But zenon is soft-hearted. Those kinds of reactions hurt him a lot.”
“Is that so?”
“His social anxiety got worse back then, too. He was already reserved to begin with, but it was never that bad. It felt like he developed full-on social phobia.”
Woo Yeongchan clicked his tongue. The more he learned, the more it seemed that even without the soul swap, zenon would have struggled to function properly as an idol.
“Honestly, I’m curious how this guy even debuted in the first place. That jerk said it too—zenon has no motivation, no skill, and no teamwork.”
“That jerk… Ah, you mean Haeil? I’ll make sure he doesn’t talk like that in the future. And actually, zenon was a member brought in at the last minute right before HIGH-5’s debut.”
Han Hoseong lowered his voice so the other tables wouldn’t overhear.
“The guy who was originally supposed to debut had a lot of problems. It was obvious he’d cause a huge scandal within a year, so we terminated his contract, and zenon came in to fill the spot.”
“So he was a band-aid.”
“Calling him a band-aid… Whether someone gets street-cast or auditions, once you debut together, you’re all equal members. Besides, do you know how hard it was to recruit zenon?”
At the time, Sosori Entertainment didn’t have trainees. Because of that, CEO Jang spent days wandering the busy streets in the scorching heat until he finally crossed paths with zenon.
“Up until then, zenon had zero interest in becoming an idol. Naturally, he had no intention of doing it, either. CEO Jang had to persuade him tirelessly just to bring him in, like visiting a hermit’s cottage three times.”
“Is that guy really such a talent that he needed to go to those lengths?”
When Woo Yeongchan spat this out indifferently, Han Hoseong replied with a serious face.
“Look in the mirror.”
“I did. So what?”
“He’s handsome!”
“…This?”
Woo Yeongchan pointed at Kim Jeguk’s face as he asked. Ever since the soul-swapping incident, he hadn’t once felt that Kim Jeguk was handsome. His only impression was that the guy looked thoroughly gloomy and frail.
“Yes. Plus, he has charm. Something decadent, sensitive… like he has a story behind him.”
“I don’t know about ‘decadent,’ but sensitive and carrying a story are certainly true.”
“Anyway, a face like zenon’s is rare. And his vocals are good, too.”
Hoseong paused mid-sentence and let out a sigh.
“Where is he right now, and what is he doing…? I wonder if he’s eating well, or if he’s even conscious. I wish he had possessed another body, just like you did.”
“What crime did the owner of that other body commit? Besides, he’s probably unconscious.”
Instantly, Han Hoseong’s gaze wavered. A faint look of resentment filled his eyes, as if asking why Woo Yeongchan had to say something like that. Woo Yeongchan met his gaze without flinching.
“Think about it. If he were conscious, he would have contacted you or the company.”
“…”
In fact, Han Hoseong had been thinking the exact same thing. Unlike a huge conglomerate like Kangmun Group, Sosori Entertainment didn’t filter incoming calls. If zenon had tried to reach out in any way, there was no chance they would have missed it.
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