Chapter 274: Chapter 274
The news of the concert sent fans into a frenzy.
Those who had been following The Dawn since their four-member days muttered through tears, “Our boys... doing a concert at the Gymnastics Stadium...,” while new Noeul fans were beside themselves with excitement at the chance to finally see The Dawn in person.
A few had already caught glimpses of them at pre-recordings for Christmas Again? or Our Shining Dawn, but since the slots were so limited, the majority had never actually seen them live.
[Goddd T_T I missed the first concert and then they never held another one, I was so sad... finally it’s happening T_T it’s been, what, a little over half a year?]
[I’m so happy T_T it really feels like the boys have leveled up.]
Hearing the venue would be the Gymnastics Stadium gave people a little relief.
[LOL of course I’ll get a seat, do you know how many people it holds?
I’ve never failed a course registration before. Let’s go.]
└ [Concerts are always fails tho.]
└└ [Wow, thanks for stabbing me right in the wound.]
But come concert day, that fleeting confidence vanished, swallowed up by waves of anxiety.
[Feels like way too many people are talking about this concert lately...]
[Seriously why is this so scary, like it feels as if the entire world is going...]
Fans gnawed at their nails, wondering if they’d get tickets. And just as if to acknowledge their tension, The Dawn’s live broadcast alarm went off.
【I pulled a photocard. Awesome, right? Look at this album, it’s a jackpot.】
Fingers clicked the link on instinct, and Noeul froze at the title.
[What the hell is that title hahahahahahahaha]
[LOOOOL is it The Dawn or Daepaseong writing this? Do you guys read the same webtoon as me? hahahaha]
The stream opened on The Dawn crowded together in Kang Ichae’s studio, snickering among themselves.
Front and center, Jung Dajun waved both arms wildly at the rapid flood of Noeul greetings.
The other members, lined up on either side (minus Ichae), looked oddly resigned.
“Hello, Noeul~!!! How have you been? We’re a bit late, but let’s do an unboxing of our new album today!”
In just three minutes, Dajun rattled through the album versions, packaging, and contents.
“Now! Let’s get to the main event!!”
He pointed dramatically behind him, where a cloth with a pentagram drawn on it lay across the low sofa table.
[What the hell is that???]
Each corner had a member’s signature, and in the center sat Dajun’s tablet, showing the photocard he wanted.
“Behold, today’s photocard summoning circle.”
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA omg I was so nervous about ticketing and they completely broke it, these kids are insane]
[Literal Satan-worship idol group hahahaha]
It was classic Dajun—always copying whatever trend seemed funny or popular.
“Of course, all these albums are bought with our own money, not company support! I want the Cotton Candy photocard!!”
[He’s not even chasing the market value hahahaha he just wants the card he personally likes hahahaha]
[LOL the legendary pull this round is the Goggles card, but he’s fixated on Cotton Candy...]
[So cute T_T Dajunie really wanted Cotton Candy?? Guess the price on that one’s going up now.]
The members settled onto the sofa. Kim Sunghyun dragged one of the stacked boxes onto the floor and started tearing the tape—only for Dajun and Ichae to leap up in protest.
“Excuse me! Sunghyun-ssi! Where’s the sincerity in that!”
“Ah~~ really~ that’s not the attitude of someone desperate to pull a card!”
“...Am I supposed to apologize right now?”
Trying to help by opening the box, only to be scolded, left Sunghyun baffled.
But as leader, he couldn’t win against the maknaes. His punishment: opening the boxes live while singing Our Shining Dawn.
“Hold me tight, h-hot, just like you did before~”
Sunghyun’s sweet tone was immediately drowned out by Ichae and Dajun’s screeching backup vocals.
[HAHAHAHAHA our baby’s ascended to nirvana...]
[Well, yeah. If you’re stuck with those members 365 days a year, even the brightest light fades...]
After tearing open every box, Sunghyun distributed five albums each. Hoyun, checking both sides, ripped the plastic wrap without hesitation.
“Hyung! You can’t just rip it like that—”
“Who cares. The photocards are all that matter.”
Dajun’s eyes sparkled as he leaned in close.
“Which one are you aiming for??”
He meant the TowerPalace photocard, nicknamed “School Uniform Hoyun”—a shot of Seo Hoyun in uniform under warm sunlight on the MV set, smiling faintly as his ash-gray hair glimmered.
[I don’t even have that one...]
[Same... I still don’t have it...]
Hoyun’s face, bored and detached, quickly shifted to a soft smile when he caught fans’ reactions.
“I’ll pull it and give it to you. I don’t need it.”
It should have been moving, but Noeul, ever realistic like him, replied:
[And how exactly are you gonna give it, babe?]
[Don’t tease if you’re not actually handing it over.]
[Not even Seo Hoyun gets a free pass on this.]
“...Well, I’ll try anyway.”
Thinking he’d figure out a way later, Hoyun flipped open the albums.
“Let’s check them all at once?”
He laid out the backs of the photocards from his five albums with smug confidence.
But the universe never favored the unlucky.
“Wow... how is it even possible to pull four of the same card? And two each of these? Not a single one I wanted.”
“Our Dajun... crushing souls so politely.”
“Hoyun, just go home and sleep early.”
Not one of the legendary member photocards from this batch landed in Hoyun’s hands.
Ignoring the members’ jeers, Hoyun quietly tidied up the ripped plastic. Next to him, Sung Jiwon opened an album.
“Ah! Hoyun, here’s one of your cards.”
Not the school uniform version, but the very first pull was Seo Hoyun’s card. By sheer luck, Sung Jiwon had gotten the version he wanted after only five albums.
[Oh wow, Jiwon low-key pulls really well.]
[Right?? I swear I opened more than ten albums chasing that exact card and failed, but he just... got it lol.]
Next was Kim Sunghyun’s turn.
He tried to open his album normally, but Dajun and Ichae blocked him.
“No way, hyung. No cheating under the table.”
“Correct! Place it on the summoning circle!”
With a reluctant sigh, Sunghyun set the album on the cloth. Then came their next demand.
“Hyung! You need to dance a desperate dance break!”
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. Exhaling, Sunghyun broke into popping moves as he carefully tore open the packaging.
“Come to me before I bite you~.”
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[This is what happens when you spoil the maknaes, Sunghyun—now they’ve got summoning circles hahaha]
But soon reality hit him. Pausing mid-move, he asked:
“Wait, maknae. Can’t I just strike the same pose and print it out instead?”
“There’s no such thing as duplicate photocards in this world, hyung! You still don’t get it!”
As the chaos carried on, Noeul fans watching felt oddly slighted.
[Wow... I feel... disrespected.
I’m gonna film my own unboxing redo.]
[Same. Getting clowned by the idols themselves during unboxing is humiliating.]
While fans consoled themselves by calculating how many more albums they’d buy, The Dawn’s chaotic unboxing rolled on.
“Agh, it’s not coming out.”
Failing to pull the photo card he wanted, Jung Dajun pouted with his lips sticking out.
He flipped over the empty box that had held the albums and scrawled on the bottom: “World’s Most Handsome Jung Dajun Cotton Candy Poka Wanted.”
“Looking for Poka trades!!”
[LOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL]
[I’m dying, where did Jung Dajun even see that...]
[Suddenly giving off HotX-Racks vibes HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
While Kim Sunghyun and Seo Hoyun, who had also failed their pulls, were busy making trades and bargaining, Kang Ichae opened his album.
“Wait! Ichae, isn’t that the one you were aiming for?”
And just like that, he pulled his own legendary photo card. Kang Ichae chuckled and hummed smugly.
“Behold, the most handsome man has arrived~.”
Then, flipping another card, he pulled the one Kim Sunghyun had been desperate for.
“Wait, Kang Ichae, what the hell?”
Holding up his photo for a ceremony kiss, Kang Ichae tore into the next album without hesitation.
“Should I try pulling Hoyun-hyung in a school uniform next?”
“What bullshit is that?”
Even though Seo Hoyun had opened several extra albums, that picture never showed ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ up.
He scoffed, confident Ichae wouldn’t pull it either.
“There’s no way you’ll get that.”
But thirty seconds later—
The first card was the cotton candy Dajun had wanted, and—
With a whistle, Ichae revealed his second card: Seo Hoyun in a school uniform, faintly smiling.
Seo Hoyun hurled the photos in his hand and shot to his feet.
“—Don’t palm the deck. You swapped it, didn’t you?”
“You’re pathetic, hyung.” Get full chapters from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
[Guys calm down LOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLL camera’s on HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[Even idols can’t escape the madness of photo cards...]
[Even throwing albums around looks...]
“What can I do if I was just born lucky?”
With a shameless shrug, Kang Ichae suddenly found a box shoved in front of him. On it was written, “World’s Most Handsome Jung Dajun Cotton Candy Poka Wanted.”
“Two-for-one cotton candy Poka trade available!!”
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[I can’t, where the hell did he even learn this hahahahahaha]
[So you’ve been watching Noeul Logs diligently hahahahahahahaha]
Fans’ hands were busy typing endless streams of “ha,” but at the same time, others were scrambling to delete the Noeul Logs they’d uploaded to YouTube. It felt like their most private, sensitive space had suddenly been exposed.
[Frantically searching my account to delete that video, this absolutely cannot be seen]
[Ugh, thinking the kid saw my raw desires laid bare makes me break into a cold sweat]
Some suggested titling it “Do Not Enter, Jung Dajun”—but then again, that might just make him enter more.
A heated debate broke out among the fans.
“...Goodbye, Noeul~.”
“Next time we’ll make sure there aren’t so many Poka types....”
When the live ended, everyone except Sung Jiwon and Kang Ichae, who were satisfied with their pulls, looked a bit glum.
[Kang Ichae’s my bias but I got pissed for a moment]
[Seriously, I almost clicked off in frustration]
Even Noeul, after witnessing Ichae’s outrageous luck, felt slightly wounded. But right now, something more urgent loomed: ticketing for the concert.
[Oh god, it’s already time]
With both the ticketing site and portal clock open, fans began slamming the purchase button the moment sales opened.
[..........................]
Most didn’t even make it to checkout.
And the more they refreshed, the faster the seats disappeared, leaving them with nothing but empty hands.
They trudged toward convenience stores, muttering about needing soju to drown their sorrows, venting on SNS.
[Shit, is the whole world trying to go to The Dawn’s concert]
[So jealous of The Dawn... Even if they fail ticketing, they still get to go to The Dawn’s concert...]
[Guys... forgive our nonsense... good luck with the concert prep...]
Trying to act cool but swallowing tears, Noeul could only despair at their failed attempts. Meanwhile, The Dawn was buried in frantic concert preparations.
Though they had practiced endlessly, once the date was set, everything suddenly felt lacking.
On the day before the concert, they continued practicing tirelessly as always.
Sneakers scraped against the floor in rhythm—
Seo Hoyun slipped and went rolling across the practice room floor.
The members’ faces instantly went pale at the sight.
His mind went blank as pain shot through him, but clenching his teeth, Hoyun checked his ankle.
Even through his sock, the skin was already turning red, looking ready to swell.
A hollow laugh escaped him.
It was the day before the concert.
At the corner of his vision, a quest window appeared.
“Successfully complete the upcoming concert at the Gymnastics Arena!”
Now that the influx of new fans is at its peak, this is the time to row hard! Provide them with a concert they’ll never forget.
Reward: 15,000 points
Failure: Permanent Stamina Debuff]
That was the signal he was utterly fucked.