A Blank Slate Regression for the Idol That Lost His Original Mindset - Chapter 498
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Regression Guide for Idols Who Lost Their Original Intent Episode 498
What is a touching birthday event?
Isn’t the standard format when a cake appears during talk time and the fans and remaining members join together to sing a majestic birthday song?
The birthday person listens to it while being moved to tears.
Such a standard event was too boring to present to Seo Yehyeon. Naturally, for a birthday, you should at least do a surprise camera prank.
But a surprise camera with the members fighting during the concert and making the atmosphere serious was impossible. Show that we fought on stage?
And since the birthday person had forgotten his own birthday, a surprise camera where the members forgot the birthday and he gets upset about not being celebrated was also impossible.
So we prepared a surprise camera utilizing the fact that it was a birthday being celebrated at a concert.
Thanks to Ryu Jaehee gathering us together a week ago to prepare a birthday event for Seo Yehyeon at the concert, we had plenty of time to prepare. You have no idea how nervous we were preparing while avoiding Yehyeon’s eyes.
If it had been about creating emotion from the start, everyone would have prepared without much enthusiasm, but since it was a surprise camera to trick Seo Yehyeon, everyone rolled up their sleeves and participated actively.
“With this combination, I knew we’d pull it off within a week. Honestly, we could have done it in just two days.”
“I’m really curious about Yehyeon Hyung’s reaction. Won’t he think it’s a dream and slap his own cheek?”
“Honestly, I’ve had nightmares like this sometimes too. But this is actually happening in reality… Wow, Yehyeon Hyung is going to break out in a cold sweat.”
Of course, the preparation process was a bit difficult, but imagining Seo Yehyeon’s face when he gets pranked by the surprise camera naturally gave us strength.
Even during rehearsal, while Kim Dobin distracted Seo Yehyeon’s attention, we went to FOH to double-check the Inst and VCR once more.
And finally, the last concert of this year’s tour began.
The stage was proceeding smoothly in the same setlist order we had been practicing and performing.
“Yehyeon Hyung is practically flying around on stage today? Is there some good news?”
“Since it’s the last one, I have to give my best. No, wait. Why does that sound like a retirement announcement? I mean this is the last concert of this tour!”
After safely finishing the short talk time, solo songs, and duet stages, the group stage continued again.
We sang 【Smoke and Mist Song】 and 【Reverse】 in order, and it was time to sing 【Start Again】.
But the melody that flowed out wasn’t the melody of 【Start Again】.
A situation that was clearly a sound accident. Seo Yehyeon looked back at us with a confused expression, but when Gyeon Hajun nonchalantly sang the intro of that unfamiliar song, his already large eyes opened even wider.
He pointed at Gyeon Hajun with the hand holding the microphone and desperately conveyed words like ‘What?’, ‘What is it?’, ‘Why are you doing this?’ through lip movements, but when Ryu Jaehee started adding harmonies, he realized it wasn’t Gyeon Hajun’s sudden action and his expression became even more stunned.
When we started choreography to match the song, Seo Yehyeon looked almost out of his mind.
He seemed to be trying to follow along somehow, even if awkwardly, but if someone could follow choreography they’d never seen before at first glance, that would be Kim Dobin, not Seo Yehyeon.
Seo Yehyeon, whose pupils had been shaking like crazy, was now even lightly tapping his own cheek. It seemed he was checking whether this was a dream or reality.
As the saying goes, “three people make a tiger” – old sayings are never wrong. When four people conspire to deceive, don’t you start doubting even when you know the song didn’t originally exist?
[I can clearly see your flustered face
I prepared hard just to see that face once]
Ryu Jaehee sang passionately with a face full of smiles, watching Seo Yehyeon perfectly demonstrate the reaction we had only imagined.
[This is a birthday song for just one person
I wrote it in an hour, so don’t be too moved]
Only after hearing my rap part did Seo Yehyeon seem to realize what situation this was, holding his forehead.
That’s right.
The surprise camera we planned for Seo Yehyeon was singing a birthday song I composed for Seo Yehyeon at the concert instead of the setlist order song.
The point was to sing it ‘shamelessly as if it was an original song.’
Kim Dobin naturally took charge of choreographing.
Now that Seo Yehyeon had roughly figured out the situation, we stopped the wide formation choreography and naturally gathered around the birthday star.
[Happy birthday to our beloved Yehyeon Hyung
Eden Hyung kept trying to write ‘dear’ so we compromised on ‘beloved’
Our pride, our face, Rev’s proud eldest hyung
Happy birthday]
All four of us sang the last verse together. It must be my imagination that Gyeon Hajun’s voice sounded particularly quiet. Well, Hajun hadn’t really liked the lyrics for this part since the songwriting stage.
As soon as we finished the song, colorful confetti and fireworks burst out, celebrating Seo Yehyeon’s birthday.
A custom-made three-tier cake also appeared, wheeled in on a cart.
Now it was the fans’ turn for an event. Along with [HAPPY Yehyeon DAY♥] slogans filling the concert hall audience seats, a group singing of the birthday song followed.
We didn’t want to drown out the fans’ voices, so we only sang along to the last verse.
When Seo Yehyeon noticed our surprise camera event, he held his forehead and stomped his feet, but at Daydream’s surprise event, his eyes were glistening with tears.
“With so many people celebrating like this… I think this will truly be an unforgettable birthday.”
Wiping away tears, Seo Yehyeon spoke into the microphone with a choked voice.
“And the event the members prepared too… Actually, I found out it was my birthday this morning when I received a birthday text from my parents. But none of the members congratulated me on my birthday. So I thought, ah, they must be planning to do an event at the concert, I expected it, but I never thought it would be this kind of event…”
“If you want, we’ll officially release the birthday song we sang and give you the copyright fees that come in regularly as a lifetime birthday gift, hyung. Deal?”
The usual Seo Yehyeon would have firmly refused, but perhaps because even he thought the song was good, he couldn’t answer immediately and hesitated.
“Couldn’t we change just the last verse lyrics to hide that it’s a birthday song and release it…?”
“No, this is meaningful because it’s a birthday song, so how does it make sense to hide that and release it? Daydream, don’t you agree?”
Yes!
At the resounding positive response from the audience seats, Seo Yehyeon finally raised his arms to make an X.
At the disappointed sighs from the audience seats again, all five people on stage burst into laughter simultaneously.
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Honey Hyeoni @yhhoneydream
Thank you for being born
Thank you so much for coming to us
(Yehyeon_cutting_cake.jpg) (Yehyeon_wearing_birthday_hat_thrown_by_fan.jpg)
(Yehyeon_watching_fan_event.jpg) (Yehyeon_receiving_birthday_congratulations_from_members.jpg)
#happy_birthday_Yehyeon
#the_brightest_star_in_the_world_Seo_Yehyeon
#HAPPY_Yehyeon_DAY♥
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Finally, this year’s tour was over.
Of course, there were year-end award ceremonies and other year-end and New Year events lined up until February, but still, hadn’t we crossed one big mountain?
[Essential Condition – You who disappointed 30,000 fans, make 30 million fans happy! (10,000,000/30,000,000)]
The essential Quest status window that I really hadn’t checked for a long time appeared before my eyes.
Since staring at it all the time wouldn’t make this number go up anyway, I had just left it alone and thought I’d open it once for commemoration around our 10th anniversary, but it shows itself like this. How very thoughtful.
Still, seeing the number that filled one-third made me feel at ease.
There were still 20 million people left, but it was much better compared to the past when even 10 million seemed distant.
Well, if a music video hits 100 million views, even if 1/1000th of those viewers became our fans, that would be 100,000 people.
Looking at the rising number trend, it seems like people who became our fans are counted, not just meeting fans at concert halls. Very fortunately, it doesn’t seem to decrease even if they stop being fans.
If it counted people listening to our songs and watching videos we appeared in, we would have reached 30 million long ago and finished, so this counting condition was somewhat disappointing.
Still, it was truly fortunate that I could see the possibility of not having to rap even at a senior center when I’m old.
I thought I’d have to carry this as a lifelong Quest until just before death. I even considered using that infinite regression penalty to live forever, but I gave up because I thought I’d become like Cha Yeonho before achieving immortality.
By the way, becoming like Cha Yeonho means going crazy.
“Come to think of it, Christmas is in a week. Another year is passing like this.”
“That’s right. I can’t believe I’ll be twenty-two in a month.” At Ryu Jaehee’s muttering, everyone turned to look at the youngest member with their mouths agape.
“What? The youngest is going to be twenty-two?”
He was definitely seventeen, so when did he surpass even Seo Yehyeon’s debut age? Even though we’re repeating the same time twice, time really flew by.
Realizing that I was gradually approaching twenty-eight, the age of my last memories, felt strange.
Of course, I had lived until thirty-one, but my clearest memories were only up to when I was twenty-eight.
After rambling about the transience of time, the topic circled back to Christmas again.
“Come to think of it, Hyung, did you receive separate Christmas and birthday gifts? When I was young, I had a friend whose Christmas and birthday were exactly a week apart like yours, but he always got them combined.”
“No. That’s why it was great when I was young. I could receive birthday gifts and Christmas gifts a week apart.”
At Kim Dobin and Seo Yehyeon’s exchange, Ryu Jaehee spoke as if he had heard something truly fascinating.
“You actually received Christmas gifts? Wow… I never received gifts as a child because my family would say ‘What Christmas?’ since we didn’t even go to church. So back then, during the My Idol Observation Camera filming, was it the Secret Santa? That Christmas gift was my last one.”
Damn, that 50,000 won limit. The piercing earrings from that gift exchange were uncomfortable due to Ryu Jaehee’s sincerity, but I still wore them occasionally.
The ion bracelet and snapback… they did follow me all the way to this dormitory. It was proof that I treasured them somewhat. Though I had never actually worn them.
“Back then, my wish was to have a Christmas tree at home during Christmas, but since we’re in a dormitory now, I still haven’t been able to fulfill that dream.”
The more Ryu Jaehee spoke, the more solemn the atmosphere became. We had become the hyungs but couldn’t even take care of such things for him. Of course, we had all been busy.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since we properly celebrated Christmas together because we were so busy.
“Let’s have a proper Christmas for once.”
“We have to spend Christmas in the waiting room at the Christmas Music Festival though.”
“Oh, right.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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