Chapter 2: A Sleepless Night of Idols

It was just past ten o’clock, but Dohoon felt as though he could fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Still, one task remained before he could surrender to slumber. He immediately opened his camera roll and scrolled, searching for a suitable photo.

Yet, all he found were pictures of dogs. After a moment of contemplation, Dohoon switched on his camera. His eyes, reflected on the screen, were still heavy with fatigue.

“It’s not entirely unbearable,” he murmured.

Dohoon idly rubbed his cheek, then curved his lips into a slight smile. No matter how many selfies he took, he never grew accustomed to them. Though it was hardly an objectively good photo, Dohoon opened his SNS app without hesitation.

Since there had been a fan meeting today, he intended to leave a message of gratitude for his fans. After pondering the caption for a moment, Dohoon’s fingers moved swiftly.

[Handohoon (nooHoDnaH): Thank you so much to all the fans who made today such a meaningful time. I can’t believe it’s already our 11th debut anniversary, as I’ve been so busy each year that time simply flew by. I’ll continue to strive forward without tiring. Have a good night. I love you all.]

Dohoon had taken the photo with only a small bedside lamp on, making it dark. He uploaded it without any color correction and smiled contentedly as the number of hearts climbed rapidly. He truly was a celebrity; his heart naturally swelled with excitement from the direct display of others’ attention.

Meanwhile, comments were pouring in just as quickly. With tens of thousands of comments typically appearing on each photo, he couldn’t check them all, only managing to read those posted immediately after upload.

[Oppa, today was so much fun ㅠㅠ Next time, please brighten the photo a little!]

[send love from Malaysia♡♡♡♡]

[Do you have any plans to come to Thailand?]

[selalu cinta dong oppa!]

[When will a law be enacted that Handohoon can only upload photos taken by others?]

[Melting Dohoon ㅠ He’s melting again..]

“Melting Dohoon?”

Dohoon tilted his head, puzzled by the unfamiliar phrase. He often felt a strange frustration when he couldn’t understand everything his fans said.

Ever since he started SNS, the demands from his fans had been incessant. Having started the account to document Taeshik, he had uploaded only dog photos, leading to a deluge of requests for his own pictures. Reluctantly, he posted an old profile photo saved in his album, but that, too, drew complaints.

Feeling apologetic, he took a selfie on the spot and uploaded it, earning him the moniker of ‘Selgo’ — selfie-challenged. When he extended his arm to take the photo like others, they complained it was too far away. So, next, he uploaded a picture showing only his face. This selfie, with his features filling the screen so much that not even his hair was visible, graced the entertainment section of portal sites the next day and became a hot topic for a while. For some time, SNS was flooded with similar selfies under the name ‘Handohoon Challenge.’

After browsing the comments for a while, Dohoon soon opened a video app. He intended to check if a new video had been uploaded to the dog account he subscribed to. However, the screen was filled with thumbnails of male idols. Only then did he recall watching a video his stylist had sent him in the car.

“Face A cross-edit? What’s a cross-edit?”

Dohoon was about to navigate to his subscriptions page when a captivating phrase caught his eye, and he clicked on the video without any particular intention. He saw seven men in black suits moving in perfect unison on stage. Dohoon, who had no talent for dancing, found it astonishing how they moved as one, perfectly in sync. Before he could fully marvel, their outfits changed to white. Dohoon’s eyes widened at the seamless transition, making it hard to pinpoint the edit points.

“What is this?”

The changes didn’t stop there. Watching their clothes transform with each beat, Dohoon finally realized that different stages had been edited together into one video. Given that the broadcasting stations were all different, it seemed to be a video uploaded by an individual, not a broadcast company. For Dohoon, who had never seen such a video before, it was nothing short of astonishing.

His eyes captivated by this new world he had never experienced, Dohoon, as if possessed, clicked on the next related video. He quickly consumed all the stage performances of Face A’s recent hit songs, then watched concert fancams one after another. After that, he even sought out the self-produced content videos uploaded on Face A’s official account. It wasn’t exactly hilarious, but he found himself chuckling idly without realizing it. After a few hours, he was able to roughly match the members’ faces to their names.

“But why is that one so quiet?”

Dohoon’s gaze was particularly drawn to one member who, in every video, never stepped forward, always stood at the very end, merely offering a suitable smile or clapping.

“He should come out and talk a bit more.”

Was his name Jaejeong? Dohoon suddenly felt a pang of pity for the member whose face and name he had just learned. In the quiet, Dohoon’s murmuring continued for a long time.

Dohoon’s video marathon continued even after that. ‘Just this one, then I’ll sleep,’ he vowed, ‘just this one more.’ But each time, a video that piqued his curiosity unfailingly appeared in the related list.

Unable to endure his strained eyes any longer, he moved the screen away, and through the gap in the curtains, a faint blue dawn light seeped in. The day had finally broken.

“Wow… this is insane.”

The time, belatedly checked, was 5:30 AM. He could hardly believe he had stayed up all night watching videos of an idol group whose name he hadn’t even known yesterday. He had never watched dog videos with such intensity. Dohoon, his face still dazed, turned his gaze back to Face A’s stage performance, which was still playing diligently. Just then, Jaejeong’s part passed, and he found his attention involuntarily captured.

“No, this can’t be happening.”

Dohoon finally collected himself, quickly closed the app, and turned off the screen. He intended to force himself to sleep. As he squeezed his eyes shut, Face A’s image naturally came to mind.

“Hmm-hm…”

Dohoon, who had been humming unconsciously, paused. Perhaps because he had watched their most recent activity videos so many times, he seemed to have memorized the song without realizing it. Embarrassed, Dohoon placed a palm over his tightly closed lips.

‘Am I really losing my mind?’

He even seriously wondered if he was going crazy. It felt as if he had been bewitched by something. To escape reality, Dohoon pulled the blanket over his head, urging sleep that seemed reluctant to come. As if his earnest desire had been heard, sleepiness slowly crept over him not long after.

However, the problem didn’t end there. Even his hazy dreams were conquered by Face A. Watching the videos right before bed had been the cause. In his dream, Face A’s song continuously echoed, and Jaejeong, alone on stage, put on a heartfelt performance just for Dohoon. Dohoon felt a deep sense of satisfaction from the bright smile Jaejeong only showed on stage.

While the dream had certainly been enjoyable, upon waking, he couldn’t shake off a lingering uneasiness, wondering what kind of dream it had even been. Dohoon recalled Jaejeong’s smile, which remained like an afterimage, then shook his head.

“Ha, I’m really crazy. I’ve lost it.”

This was the first time he’d felt this way after someone appeared in his dream. The fact that it was a man only added to his profound disquiet. Dohoon slapped his cheek with a resounding thwack, then stumbled out of bed. Taeshik, who had been waiting for Dohoon to wake up under the bed, immediately sprang to his feet.

“Ah, Taeshik.”

Taeshik let out a loud “Woof!” and naturally led the way out of the room. Dohoon trudged behind him. Taeshik headed directly to his food bowls, set up at the kitchen entrance. It was a silent signal for food. Drool marks were scattered everywhere, as if he had licked the empty bowls dry overnight.

Gathering the food and water bowls, Dohoon headed to the kitchen, his face still absentminded, and began washing them. Taeshik remained sitting patiently in front of where his bowls were usually placed. He had learned early on that rushing wouldn’t change anything.

“Daddy will give it to you soon, okay? Just a little wait, my princess.”

At Dohoon’s affectionate call, Taeshik barked “Woof!” once more. Taeshik rarely barked more than twice. After being scolded a few times for barking loudly, he had, at some point, stopped barking much, no matter how excited he got.

After Dohoon mixed supplements into the kibble and placed the bowls on the stand, Taeshik thumped his tail against the floor, as if waiting for permission.

“Taeshik, wait, wait.”

“……”

“Eat!”

At the short command, Taeshik eagerly buried his head in his food bowl. His frantic gobbling of the kibble was always adorable to watch. Dohoon, momentarily forgetting the thoughts that had cluttered his mind, crouched in front of him and smiled contentedly for a long time.

Taeshik, having meticulously cleaned up even the kibble spilled on the floor, then gulped down water, splashing droplets everywhere. Despite Dohoon consistently feeding him on time, Taeshik’s meals were always desperate and chaotic.

After tending to Taeshik, Dohoon finished his late breakfast and headed to the living room. For the first time in a while, he even put on his glasses. It wasn’t that his eyesight was poor, but he needed to wear glasses to focus when reading scripts. Dohoon yawned widely before he even started, then picked up the topmost script. It was a problem that he was already feeling bored.