Chapter 288: Chapter 288

The Dawn’s OUR TIME began with the flashy new headquarters building of WH Entertainment filling the screen.

All that remains for us are wings and faith....】

Then, a short cut of Connected’s Icarus.ver stage was shown.

[This IRIX stage, seriously Jung Dajun’s visuals and performance were insane]

[It was seriously, seriously cool, you could even see a bit of determination in Jung Dajun’s expression... ㅠㅠㅠ amazing]

[Fr,;; thought his face was an angel’s.....

but with bounce included

└LOOL this is exactly right LMAOOOOO]

As the words The Dawn appeared on screen, a cute BGM played and the member introductions began, followed by a subtitle.

【Today, we’ve invited the essence of K-pop, Professor Jung Dajun.】

“Alright, everyone, attention!”

The classroom’s front door swung open violently, and Jung Dajun entered, body rippling in a wave as he headed toward the podium.

[What are you doing, Dajun]

[Seriously, Jung Dajun’s thought process is impossible to predict, and when he sees a chance he never lets it go—our baby handsome, so cute]

He slammed the stack of papers he was holding onto the lectern with a sharp tak, then placed one foot on a chair and dramatically swept his hair back.

“Professor Jung Dajun, calling roll!”

The next shot showed the classroom.

Gathered around the front podium, the members of The Dawn were busy chatting, paying no attention to Jung Dajun.

“Hoyun-hyung, what should we eat for dinner today?”

“The cafeteria’s apple curry.”

“Oh, that’s really good!!”

[LMAOOOOOOO they’re not even looking at him lololololol fuck LOOOL]

[Jung Dajun just gets completely ignored but still stands proud... do you need that level of shamelessness to be an idol...]

They argued as though tonight’s dinner was a more serious issue than the appearance of their youngest.

Watching the members still noisily chatting, Kim Sunghyun let out a small sigh, then raised his hand as the leader, taking responsibility.

“Professor Elephant, what’s today’s lesson plan?”

“Good question. Today, we’ll be studying the history of K-pop. Uh... so....”

This was a subject Jung Dajun, with his 22 years of K-drama obsession (including the womb) and 10 years as a K-pop fan, was extremely confident in.

“But Professor, what’s different from last time when you acted like a star instructor?”

“I learned about college ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ through dramas, how would I know.”

Completely ignoring the members’ muttering, Jung Dajun passionately continued his lecture, playing one after another of the K-pop songs that had dominated his teenage years.

“Here!! Spitting out the rap like you’re chewing it is most important! Student Kang Ichae!! Show us an example!!”

“I miss the me who didn’t know you. I wanna go back!!”

“Exactly! That’s it!!”

[Ichae... just stop playing along with Dajun now

Fans had always thought Jung Dajun was being influenced by Kang Ichae, but now it looked the exact opposite.

While bored Kang Ichae actively played along with Jung Dajun’s fiery lecture, the older members kept talking about other things.

“But who’s cleaning when we get back?”

“Didn’t Sunghyun do it last time? This time it’s probably me.”

[Pay attention to the lecture, guys]

[What is this, kindergarten? They lose focus in 1 second]

Seo Hoyun, munching away on snacks set decoratively in front of Kang Ichae, made Jung Dajun’s eyebrows turn into triangles.

“Student Seo Hoyun! Not paying attention?! Do you not want to go to college... no, to graduate school?!”

“Ah, wait, maybe graduate school is too much?!”

Momentarily confused, mixing it up with his star instructor act, Jung Dajun shook his head quickly. Then he smacked the untouched paper bundle against the podium with a loud thunk to try to grab the members’ attention.

“Student Seo Hoyun, if you’re not listening to me properly, that must mean you already know enough, right? Then let’s try guessing the song title just by hearing the intro. We’ll start with a difficult one from 15 years ago.”

Quickly grabbing his phone, Jung Dajun played just the first 5 seconds of a song’s intro before stopping it.

On his face was full confidence—there was no way Seo Hoyun could know this.

[No way Seo Hoyun knows this...]

[Yup he totally gives off the image of not caring about K-pop back in his student days hahahahaha]

[How would Seo Hoyun know this, he’s too old hahahaha]

“LEL sunbae’s ‘Candy Like Me.’”

“...Huh? You know it?”

Without a shred of hesitation, Seo Hoyun answered correctly.

Thrown off by the unexpected result, Jung Dajun faltered, then quickly straightened and played another song.

“Then this one... this one! This was used a lot as BGM 20 years ago....”

“Ah... it’s been a while since I heard this.”

Seo Hoyun gave a small laugh, leaning back in his chair with a leisurely gesture.

“This was used a lot in old variety shows. Dalri sunbae’s ‘Longing.’”

Now even the members and filming staff stirred in shock.

“This one’s seriously old?”

“What the hell? How does he know?”

Even with a selection considered so obscure it might be called maniac-level, including songs that had never been remade, Seo Hoyun answered them all with ease.

“Wait, Seo Hoyun, were you even born then?”

Surprised, Kim Sunghyun asked in a low voice, but for the first time, Seo Hoyun’s lips pressed tightly shut.

In the end, the song-guessing game ended with Jung Dajun’s defeat.

He had tried to use a good chance to fluster Seo Hoyun, but with the youngest’s limited experience, it had been impossible.

Pouting with puffed-up cheeks, Jung Dajun suddenly raised his hand and shouted.

“T-then let’s do it with choreography this time!!”

Of course, this didn’t work on Seo Hoyun either.

[He was answering fine but now suddenly spacing out—this kid definitely doesn’t know]

[LMAOOOOOOO knows the songs but not the choreo, that’s hilarious LOOLLLLLLLL] Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs n0velfire.net

[Still, if it’s a recent song he’ll danceㅠㅠ even knows Black Call Joo Woosung’s choreo hahahaha]

Whether he knew the dances or not, Seo Hoyun shamelessly brushed it off, dragging Jung Dajun along in his current.

“But Professor Jung Dajun.”

“Yes, Student Hoyun.”

For a moment Seo Hoyun’s brow twitched, but he quickly returned to his usual expression and continued.

“I acknowledge that you have a deep knowledge of K-pop. However, for a professor, you seem unprofessional on stage, improvising too many lyrics on the spot.”

“Creative, yes, but still.”

While Jung Dajun stammered, confused by the situation, Seo Hoyun snapped his fingers.

Immediately, Kang Ichae jumped up, connected a tablet to the laptop, and projected a video onto the lecture room screen.

“First, the Wuchanbird stage. Second week of March, Music Core.”

【You promised me on the day the galaxy poured down....】

“Do you remember mispronouncing that as ‘sewer’?”

“N-no! That was just a slight slip of the tongue!!”

Even seeing the maknae shocked, Seo Hoyun motioned to Kang Ichae to play the next video.

【Maybe I’ll tell you next year, Merry Merry Christmas....】

“YuYu Bank, December 4th. You said ‘Merry Mary Christmas.’ What does that even mean?”

“M-maybe it’s like rosemary, the flower?”

“That’s not rosemary either. It’s Rose!Mary!”

[Rosemary RoseMary LOOOLLLLLLLLL TLQKF LMAOOO]

[Seo Hoyun holy shit remembering all of Jung Dajun’s lyric mistakes LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[LOLLLLLLLLLL he’s even going back 2 years, what the fuck LOLOLOLOLOL]

“Wrong lyrics in ‘Mang Mang Mang.’”

“Stop making up lines in ‘Fall.’”

“Even when you sang ‘At Dawn’ wrong, that sentimental expression you kept—now that deserves full marks.”

Seo Hoyun listed mistake after mistake that weren’t even in the videos, as though he had a script prepared.

“T-that was just nerves....”

“...Did you even catch that mistake too?”

Trying to mumble excuses, Jung Dajun was now left speechless, gripping the podium.

[Scarier that he prepared this... never let Seo Hoyun be your boss]

[Look at Jung Dajun with nothing left to say LOOLLLLLLLL]

[Seo Hoyun that smart bastard LOLOLOLOL using his brain for this hahahaha]

“So. Do you have anything else to say?”

Leaning back in his chair half-reclined, Seo Hoyun looked down at Jung Dajun.

Jung Dajun had no choice but to admit complete defeat. Closing his eyes tightly, he covered his face with both hands and muttered.

“...I hate Seo Hoyun.”

“Drop the honorifics. Remove this so-called professor.”

Sitting beside Seo Hoyun, Sung Jiwon smiled gently and pulled Jung Dajun away from the podium. Jung Dajun flailed and shrieked, but it had no effect.

“What did you bribe Sung Jiwon with?! Why does he listen to you so well, hyung!!”

Seo Hoyun let out a derisive laugh through his nose.

“This is simply the reward of my usual character.”

At once, all the members’ heads turned to Seo Hoyun.

That look of ‘stop spouting nonsense’]

[Kang Ichae and Kim Sunghyun are seriously about to lose it LOOOLLLLLLL]

“Ahaha, that’s right.”

Except for Sung Jiwon.

“Right? Right?? Hyung, did you really get hit in the head or something?”

“Shall we go now, Professor Jung?”

[Look at Sung Jiwon nodding alone, what the hell are you doing, Jiwon LOOLLL]

[Scary... honestly, Jung Dajun really did know his K-pop, he could’ve pulled off being a professor...]

[Ha... as a grad student, this fantasy hits too well... ‘Remove this professor’]

[But then what, there’s no professor anymore??]

Despite Jung Dajun’s desperate resistance, the moment he was expelled from the podium, a production caption appeared.

【Um... are we... done filming?】

Then Seo Hoyun stood up with a meaningful smile.

“Then is it my turn now?”

He tapped Jung Dajun’s cheeks, snatched his scarf, twirled it around carelessly, then stood at the podium, scanning down at the members with a smirk.

Pinned down by Sung Jiwon, the maknae cried out lines straight from a morning drama, like ‘That bastard stole everything from me!’, but Seo Hoyun pretended not to hear and continued.

“My name is Seo Hoyun, and I’ll be giving a lecture on Understanding Korean Variety Shows.”

[LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[Ah, so Seo Hoyun just wanted to play professor himself LOOOLLLLLL]

“Oooh~, Professor, you’re handsome~.”

From the very front row, Kang Ichae smirked slyly, teasing Seo Hoyun.

“Professor, tell us about your first love~.”

[A brat who doesn’t know the difference between a professor and a trainee teacher appears]

[Holy shit I’m dying LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

Seo Hoyun’s calm smile deepened as he answered.

“Kang Ichae. You fail.”

“You brought up a most inappropriate topic.”

[Seo Hoyun scoring idol points perfectly]

[LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

Watching Kang Ichae’s eyebrows shoot up, Seo Hoyun leaned forward against the podium and added quietly.

“Failures get stuck with dish duty at the dorm tonight.”

“Eh? But today’s rotation is Jung Dajun’s.”

“You will address him as Professor Jung Dajun. And for your lack of respect toward a professor, you’ll also clean.”

Beside him, Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon only nodded obediently, while Kang Ichae wound up with both dishwashing and cleaning.

“Professors deserve respect....”

“Hyungs, what are you doing??”

[LOOOOOLLLLLLLL they’re just trying to get out of cleaning themselves LOOOLLLLLLLLLLL]

[LMAOOOOO these idols are too cute hahahahahahahahahaha]

At that moment, the screen overlapped Kang Ichae’s scowling face with a shot of him actually doing the dorm dishes, grumbling with his red hair tied back.

【In the end, really washing dishes at the dorm, grumbling... redhead....】

Back in the lecture room, the camera returned to Seo Hoyun.

Kim Sunghyun knew all too well the danger of content led by Seo Hoyun. He’d been badly burned once already during the Apocalypse self-produced content when one wrong word wrecked him.

His sharp, disciplined reply rang through the classroom.

“I really like Sunghyun’s proactive attitude.”

“Thank you, Professor!”

“Come by my office later.”

But if being cautious were enough to protect you, Seo Hoyun wouldn’t be Seo Hoyun.

Seizing the moment of Sunghyun’s stammer, Hoyun struck.

“We’re organizing The Dawn’s variety shoot today, but they said they need some feedback before editing. You can help out, and since you’ve got a good eye, Sunghyun, it’d be great if you picked out the funny moments.”

“Of course. Just lightly... maybe about 30 hours of footage.”

[LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[Kim Sunghyun grad student ending, fuck HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

Seeing Seo Hoyun’s gleaming eyes, Kim Sunghyun realized there was no escape and slumped in despair. Suddenly, Kang Ichae sprang to his feet.

“I’ll put on rubber gloves and do the dishes!!”

“I’m a spring warm-tone, so fluorescent coral suits me so well!”

So annoying for real]

[You’re not even spring warm, you’re literally the farthest from it hahahahahahaha]

But just as Kang Ichae tried to make his escape, Seo Hoyun kicked the door shut, blocking him.

“Our Kang Ichae has a lot of talent in composing.”

“I do not!! Professor, thank you for the high praise, but I’m only at an average major’s level!”

[LOOOOLLLLL stop lying you bastard LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[You’re a registered member of the association LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO]

“Haha, modesty. Then, Ichae, please organize your unreleased track samples and send them to the A&R team by tomorrow. But let me check them first.”

Leaving his despairing members behind, Seo Hoyun turned with a fresh smile toward Sung Jiwon.

“You’ve picked the right line. Congratulations.”

For a moment, Sung Jiwon’s eyes went wide, then he smoothly flicked his tail with a gentle smile.

“It’s an honor, Professor.”

Seo Hoyun was a man who held grudges for a long time.

During that rough patch in America, Sung Jiwon had been the only one not to tease him, so Hoyun excluded him from punishment this time.

Laughing warmly, Seo Hoyun and Sung Jiwon left the classroom together while the other members howled about the unfairness.

“Come to think of it....”

At WH’s cafeteria, eating apple curry side by side, Seo Hoyun spoke to Sung Jiwon.

“It looks like the footage is too much for Sunghyun alone.”

Seo Hoyun’s lips curved upward chillingly.

“You can watch about 30 hours too, Jiwon.”

Sung Jiwon’s spoon dropped, curry splattering.

Above Seo Hoyun’s smiling face, a caption appeared.

【This man still holds a grudge about what happened back when Sung Jiwon assigned him as a roommate.】

[LOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL bro that was ages ago LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO]

[Legendary grudge LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]

Leaving the flailing, shocked Sung Jiwon behind, Seo Hoyun strolled leisurely out of the cafeteria.

【The Dawn members really did end up trapped all day in WH’s building, working alongside Professor Seo Hoyun....】

When even short “proof shots” popped up, the Noeul fans only nodded calmly.

[Our Hoyun is healthy again today...]

Seo Hoyun was being Seo Hoyun again today.