The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Chapter 173

Do-Seung went up the stage while wearing a V-neck knitwear. It was nothing provocative, and there was much more skin left unexposed than exposed. But perhaps, because the outfit was so subtly exposing, it pulled in more attention than otherwise. He even pulled the gazes of people who didn’t usually show much interest in him. This was the power of the pecs he had grown until now.

—Everywhere I look, it’s pitch black in this deep night

—But it was you who found me that day

—This moment, I walked towards you again

—Ooh—Ooh—Oh

Tae-Yoon began to sing after raising the mic. Tae-Yoon wore an oversized shirt, slacks, and circular-frame glasses. Because of the strong image he gave off, Tae-Yoon usually looked older than his age but today, his image felt younger.

—Listen to who this song is about

—You and me, we can never separate. Wait for it

—Whoever says otherwise, I will be with you till the end

—Ooh—Ooh—Oh

The second person to sing was Dong-Jun. Curly hair added to his usual gleeful and carefreeness. His outfit, which was a short-sleeved shirt that had been buttoned to his neck and overalls, showcased his usual role of looking like the visual maknae instead of Tae-Yoon.

—OH, YOU AND ME You are my soft embrace

—The Only dream I have been waiting for all these nights

—The path I take towards you

—It shines like a dream

Lee Woon took a step forward while holding the mic and sang. Woon’s characteristic soft and ticklish voice rang lowly across the concert hall. Lee Woon wore a short-sleeved knit and brown wide-fit slacks that revealed his delicate form.

—SO I WILL BE SAILING FOR YOU!

—At the end of this deep ocean

—I WILL BE SAILING FOR YOU

—I will surf through these high winds and turbulent waves

—SAILING FOR YOU

—I will head towards your embrace, your dream

—To where you are

Then, as if someone had raised the speaker’s volume, a voice that rang strongly and clearly across the space entered the scene. Perhaps, it was the white Angora knit he was wearing or the spotlight he was getting, but Yeon-Hoon looked like he was shining.

—YOU ARE MY COMPASS

—At the end of the high tide, we lost our way

—BUT I WILL NEVER GIVE UP

—As long as you are here

—I WILL KEEP SAILING

—Till I reach you

It was finally Do-Seung’s turn to sing while he was wearing his V-neck knit. A heavy voice that fitted his sturdy body rang across the concert hall.

“Wow....ah.”

“My gosh....”

“Ah....”

“...How nice.”

People didn’t even scream but let out low gasps.

***

Siren’s debut show which had been shown on-live was gaining great buzz on social media. They were dominating the trending ranks before even the beginning of the debut show, but after they officially began it, they were gaining even more interest.

—1st. Do-Seung Pecs (34,710 tweets)

The trending ranks clearly showed where people’s interests particularly lay.

—Damn, black cat seduces me with his chest

—Who is the stylist who decided to put him on knit? Please accept my bow

—Love you Do-Seung

—Ah, Do-Seung drives me crazy

—Please Do-Seung come to my basement

Since Do-Seung talked a lot about exercising and many people mentioned how good his body was, many were aware that he was in good shape. Yet, they didn’t think too much about it since Siren’s group’s image was closer to pure than sexy. Perhaps, today, because people had seen a sexiness that surpassed their expectations, social media sites, including Bluebird, buzzed harder with this discovery than ever before. This was especially so because these days, it was uncommon for male idols to have this body type.

—From today, I started to like cats with big chests

—I learned from today that my heart wavered from a man with a big chest

—Do-Seung’s body looks twice the size because he is standing among such delicate-looking guys

People who hadn’t been very interested in Siren until now became pulled in. Even Do-Seung’s past pictures came to the surface.

—This is the epitome of Do-Seung’s performance

Reply: I am going to sue you if you erase this

Reply: This is seriously the peak

Reply: His pelvis...don’t call me a pervert, you all thought the same

Though it could be said that some had perverted motives, people began to explore Do-Seung’s charms. And while people were continuing to compliment Do-Seung, Siren’s debut show progressed. After the opening stage, they revealed a reality-variety show. It wasn’t an official one-hour variety show intended for broadcast but a short twenty-minute show. The title was called ‘Siren, Cheer Each Other Up’.

The premise of the show was for the members to watch each others’ legendary performances and give praise and compliments. People didn’t expect much entertainment from a reality show that was revealed in a debut show. Yet, it was better than they imagined.

—Let us see our maknae’s ‘Please pick me, nuna.’

—I thought we were going to see a stage performance. This isn’t a stage performance.

—You are on the stage though, Tae-Yoon.

—But this isn’t it. Why is the standard only different for me?

—So, shall I put this ‘pick me nuna’ part on an infinite loop guys?

—Oh, good idea

—...

Contrary to the purpose of cheering each other up, they were using this time for pure humiliation. The one who suffered the greatest damage was Tae-Yoon. He tried with all his might to stop the loop but he couldn’t win against four people stopping him, and Siren’s practice room rang with Tae-Yoon’s voice saying, “Pick me, nuna” repeatedly.

Tae-Yoon’s ears turned redder by the minute and Yeon-Hoon’s, Woon’s, Do-Seung’s, and Dong-Jun’s videos that came out afterward didn’t have as much impact as Tae-Yoon’s video.

—Why is Mr. Tae-Yoon so embarrassed about this?...It makes it all the better

Reply: hahahahaha you are crazy

—This is the moment when I stanned him

—I still remember when I heard that live

—Didn’t someone loop this before? Pick me nuna. Drrr tap. Pick me nuna. Drr tap. Pick me nuna. Drr tap. Pick me nuna. Drr tap.

Reply: please stop hahaha

Perhaps, it was because Tae-Yoon’s response was so funny; people on social media sites mainly talked about Tae-Yoon when the show was shown. Soon after, the performances for their title song and a B-side track song, ‘Blue Ocean,’ were revealed. They were all good performances so the majority of people on social media gave positive responses, yet the highlight of this program was still the V-neck knit that Do-Seung wore.

It was then Only One’s debut show also began. Though Wnet took out one of their time slots for Siren’s debut show, Only One’s debut show was happening on a famous national internet portal site. As people went inside the internet portal, they clicked on Only One’s live broadcast marketing banner like they were drawn into it.

—Only One began their debut show

—So many things happening haha

—How is Only One’s music video?

—Go watch it. It’s seriously good

With the start of Only One’s debut show, many of the viewers who had been watching Siren’s debut show began to change platforms. Do-Seung who had been trending first was soon followed by Only One. Though the start of Siren’s debut show was good, it was a wonder if they could maintain people’s interest till the very end.

***

My members and I sat side by side on the stool chairs placed on top of the stage. This was the beginning of the debut show’s last corner: a Q&A section with the questions asked in chatrooms. We weren’t reading chats in live time but had selected questions beforehand to answer. Naturally, the answers we could give to these questions were also decided.

Of course, we were told that we could freely reply with our answers if we came up with better ones, but...

‘It’s safer to go with what was decided beforehand.’ There was no need to be adventurous right now. As I blankly watched things flow according to the script, I suddenly recalled the details of Only One’s debut show.

‘Isn’t it about time for them to start?’ From what I remember, their show time overlapped with our time slightly. I didn’t know how they planned to progress their debut show, but I thought our debut show was successful at this level. Not only did we get into the trending charts thanks to Do-Seung’s pecs but we also pulled out a lot of buzz by bringing out my past shameful memory again.

‘Wasn’t the view count around 700,000 the last time I checked?’ I thought. The view count wasn’t enough. I couldn’t be satisfied by pulling in just an adequate amount of interest. There needed to be something that could make us a bit more noticeable.

‘Hm...’ Unfortunately, it appeared difficult to stir up additional issues with just this debut show.

“Since we just debuted, we won’t be just satisfied by the present and continue to strive harder to go up higher and higher!”

After answering a couple of questions that we were previously given a heads-up about, it was about time for us to put an end to the debut show. Since Only One’s debut show just started, many people would gather there. Our core fans who liked us wouldn’t leave but people who hadn’t firmly become our fans would be curious about Only One’s debut show.

At worst, we could lose all the attention we managed to get by selling Do-Seung’s V-Neck knitwear and my shameful past. In the Entertainment world, assessments were always made relatively, and no matter how well we did, if the other team did better, they would take all the spotlight.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon, is there anything you want to say to the Sailors who have watched you all until now?” Today’s host and ex-announcer who we called to manage this debut show asked me, and I thought about the worst and best thing I could do.

“The thing...I want to say to our Sailors...” Something came to my mind, but I knew it would be the worst thing I could possibly say. I didn’t know if it would have a positive influence on my members, but I would’ve given up on being human by then. Moreover, the issue I would gain from it probably wouldn’t be as high as I hoped for. If I considered all the plus and minuses, this was definitely a minus in the end.

Yet, despite all the losses, If I could just add one more view count to Siren’s view count...I thought I could do it.

‘Perhaps, a thousand more would watch.’ That was enough. Right now, Only One’s debut show overlapped with ours, and the view count for our music video wasn’t extraordinary. I felt an urgency to show something more. I continued to think whether or not I should use my worst card.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon? Is there anything you want to say to Sailors?” the host pressed on, and the sailors on-site looked at me expectantly. My members also looked at me curiously. I felt like I had to show something in this situation.

“...Um....I debuted, nuna...?”

“...?”

“!”

“...What did you just say, Tae-Yoon?”

“Hahahaha!”

“Kyaaaah!”

I let down my integrity and any sense of self-worth for this.

“Tae-Yoon!”

“Ha! You hated it so much whenever we made fun of you for that!”

“Wow....Bong Nuna is really pro...! Bong Nuna who debuted is really different...!”

“...Bong Tae-Yoon...seriously...?”

My members we also astonished and the people on-site responded with as much shock. I felt this before and felt it now.

‘Ah...Should I just die....?’ One really shouldn’t carry out something they had doubts about.

‘Why in the world did I do this...?’