The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

“It’s so nice that I got to talk to you all. I hope we can meet more often like this. Hahaha!” Yoo Won-Dong appeared to be discomforted by the conversation and already took the stance to end it. It seemed he already knew that the more he talked, he would be at a disadvantage.

‘I wanted to have a deeper conversation with him and become a bit closer, but it’s not easy.’

Yoo Won-Dong seemed to have no intention to get close to us yet.

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to talk a bit more about our debut, director?” Perhaps, it wasn’t only me who didn’t want to end the conversation there and Yeon-Hoon spoke.

“I mean, there’s nothing certain about our debut yet, and there seems to be no work in progress either,” Woon supported us from behind.

“I think it will be good for us to take this time to discuss our debut album’s concept and the general direction we are planning to take~,” Dong-Jun added.

“If it’s too early to decide yet, I think we could turn the fan song we just released into an album and package it as a digital single,” Do-Seung also gave his opinion.

Yoo Won-Dong’s face turned pale. He had never cared for artists before, and I reckon hardly ever did practical work. He had probably only done administrative and management work before, and I supposed that his head was blank after receiving all these practical questions he never had to answer before.

“Hahaha. Hahaha...I like all of your passion...It’s nice. Hm.” In the end, all he could muster was compliments while smiling. It seemed he couldn’t say he didn’t know the answer to our questions as our boss, and in the end, he chose to make excuses and run away.

“Ah, look at the time...I have a meeting with the main branch today. I will talk to the marketing and A&R teams about the details.”

“Ah, that’s a pity. I wanted to become closer to you, boss~,” Dong-Jun said to Yoo Won-Dong. I thought Dong-Jun was making a bold provocation, but Yoo Won-Dong couldn’t get angry at someone for stating that they wanted to get closer to him.

“Hahaha. Let’s have a deeper conversation later. Then, I will take my leave now,” Yoo Won-Dong said and left the office. We waited until Yoo Won-Dong got on the elevator before we started speaking.

“Haaa.”

“Wow, my heart hurts.”

“Thank goodness.”

My members said while slumping on the sofa. I thought they all looked confident while talking to Yoo Won-Dong, but Yeon-Hoon, Do-Seung, and Woon all appeared to have been quite nervous.

“Huh? What’s up with you all~ We just talked to the director, that’s all. What’s there to be so worried about~” Dong-Jun appeared to be the only one who was carefree.

Nevertheless, there were many things we gained from this conversation.

“First of all, we won’t have to collaborate with JayQueen now.”

“Yes.”

“Haaa.”

That was our biggest accomplishment.

“From now on, I think we will be able to express what we want to do more freely.”

“Yeah.”

“It will be nice to have more meetings like this.” freewe(b)novel.c(o)m

Furthermore, we were able to win our first battle for authority with the company.

“Then, should we go out now and discuss our debut album?”

“Yeah, let’s go~”

Since Yoo Won-Dong said he would discuss our debut album with the marketing and A&R team in person, we could start brainstorming about the debut right now.

“Ah, but isn’t today a holiday?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right.”

“Let’s come back tomorrow.”

May 5th was a national holiday. We couldn’t act out in consideration for the people who probably had families.

“Let’s quietly return to the dormitory.”

“Let’s go~”

And that was how we carefully left the company building.

***

We left the company’s parking lot and went on the road. Yeon-Hoon was the driver, and the car we were using wasn’t the luxury van that the company provided us but the junk car that we used to ride around when we were part of WD Entertainment. We somehow ended up receiving this car too in the process of establishing the joint company, and thus, we had a car to use outside of our schedule freely.

“Are we heading to the dormitory right away?” Yeon-Hoon asked while activating the car engine. That was pretty much the only option for us since there was nothing for us to gain by wandering around. Though we weren’t widely known by the public, we were still well-known enough that people would take pictures of us if we kept staying outside.

“Uh....hm, no. Let’s just go back to the dormitory.” Do-Seung was about to say something and stopped.

“Huh? Why? Do-Seung, is there something you want to do?”

Yeon-Hoon stopped from putting on his safety belt and turned around to look at Do-Seung.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s just go to the dormitory.” Do-Seung said and looked outside the window. If Do-Seung, who rarely expressed his desires, was showing this sort of response, he clearly had something he wanted to do. Besides making the cola fruit punch, there was never a time he requested to do anything.

I made my guess and said, “You want to try going to your birthday café, right?”

“...”

I was spot on. As soon as I mentioned the birthday café, Do-Seung flinched, shuddered a bit, and froze again. Seeing how he didn’t respond any further, it seemed clear he wanted to go to his birthday café.

“But are you hesitating to go because you might cause a stir?” I asked. It seemed Do-Seung was worried that he might cause a commotion with his entrance.

“Ohhh~ Our superstar, Kang Do-Seung~”

“Ahhhh~ I’m sorry!”

Dong-Jun tried to tease him, but Do-Seung elbowed him hard and stopped it immediately.

“Well, since I never had a birthday café open for me, I’m curious...But if I’m going to cause a stir by going, I would rather just not go.”

“Hm...but still...it is disappointing.”

Woon seemed to sympathize with Do-Seung’s feelings and looked regretful.

“Hm...Do-Seung’s birthday café...hm.” Yeon-Hoon sat in front of the handle with his arms crossed and looked to be deep in thought.

In the end, he seemed to make his decision. “Let’s go!”

“Sorry?”

“We are going?”

“Ohhh!”

We decided to go to a birthday café.

“But! You have to come back quickly. Understand? We will be waiting in the car so you can just go to a couple of cafes you want to go to and come back.”

“Ah, before the fans recognize me?”

“Yeah!”

“But what if they do realize it’s me?”

“Then...” Yeon-Hoon thought about this. “Talk to your fans just enough so that you don’t cause any incidents and come out!”

It was such an obvious answer one could wonder why he even thought about it. Of course, there was no other option than that. Nevertheless, it was decided that Do-Seung would dash through one or several of his birthday cafés. It was then that an interesting idea came to my mind and I shared it with my members.

“What about this?” I suggested.

“Oh!”

“That sounds good!”

“It will be so fun!”

My members showed bigger enthusiasm than before and agreed to the idea.

***

One Siren fan wandered around the entrance of Hongdae while holding a bunch of transparent bags in both hands. Her hands were both heavy because she had been going from café to café since this morning.

She was completely satisfied with her finds because she had succeeded in getting all the first-come, first-serve goods from the cafes she wanted to visit the most. The item she liked the most was a black cat, ‘Do-Seung’s keyring doll’, which she had attached to her bag as soon as she received it.

‘So cute...’ It was a doll of a black cat that was looking forward with bored eyes. She thought the doll exactly reminded her of Do-Seung and liked it very much. Thus, she planned to go to one more final café before eating lunch. She opened the doors to the last café on her list before noon and unloaded her baggage to look around the café.

Since other customers were already making their orders at the counter, it was difficult to make her order now anyway. There was Do-Seung’s identification picture from when he was younger framed and hanging on the café’s wall. Besides that, there were printed images of The Showcase 2’s performance pictures and rap lyrics written by Do-Seung decorating other parts of the wall. Just being in this space made her smile.

At that perfect timing, the line in front of the counter disappeared. She planned to use up all her drink perks at this place.

Creak.

It was then the café’s door opened and a man walked in.

‘Oh...’ It was a tall man wearing a mask and a hat deeply pressed down over his face. Since it wasn’t too common to see a male fan for Siren, she wondered if he had come to the wrong place for a moment. But she soon turned her attention back to the counter menu to make her order.

‘...Hold on a minute.’ The silhouette of the man behind her and the picture of Do-Seung stuck on this menu board was too similar. As soon as she realized this, her body began to freeze.

“Are you going to order?” The café part-timer asked.

“Ah...Well...” Her head felt like it was spinning as she barely managed to answer, “Um, cola fruit punch, black cat cookie, milk tea, and americano. Give me everything.”

“Will you like it as a to-go?”

“Yes, yes...” She didn’t even know what she was ordering. Though she was reading off the menu with her mouth, all her focus was on the man with the big stature behind her. Then, she naturally moved to the side after ordering her menu and checked the man’s side face.

‘...What the hell!’ She was right. It really was Kang Do-Seung. Perhaps, he sensed her gaze and Do-Seung’s eyes also opened wide seeing her.

“Ah...!”

“Um, excuse me,” he said and quickly gave his order, “Cola fruit punch, black...cookie, milk tea, and americano to go please.”

Then, he asked her, “Did you notice...?”

“Huh?”

“Uh?”

“Notice?”

It was then, all the attention of the people in the café turned to the counter. Even the part-timer at the café looked at him in shock.

The tall man with a hat took off his mask as if he was giving up and said, “Um, hello. I’m Kang Do-Seung. I planned to leave quietly but...haha.” He greeted all the fans who recognized him.

***

On May 5th, social media feeds were getting flooded by stories of spotting Siren members during Kang Do-Seung’s birthday café event.

—This is insane, our black cat came to the café!!!!

—I am writing this in real-time. Do-Seung came to his b-day café in person!

—Ah!! Do-Seung!! See how is he taking all the event specials

—Wow, Do-Seung’s physique is so good...

—He looks like a giant compared to everyone else

—Wow...look at how big his hands are...

—He looks so good in daily wear

Posts about how Do-Seung visited his birthday café began to pour in, starting from pictures of Do-Seung and a video capturing their conversation with him. People’s attention focused on Do-Seung but things didn’t end there. (f)reewe(b)novel

—Oh my goshhhhhh I just saw Yeon-Hoon at Do-Seung’s café!!!

—???

—Why did Yeon-Hoon go there?? More than that, why didn’t I go fml

Other posts said that Yeon-Hoon appeared at the cafés they visited. People naturally thought Yeon-Hoon appeared in the same café as Do-Seung, but it was a different place.

—Yeon-Hoon came by himself and took all the birthday specials hahaha

—...Everyone, Woon also came here and took all the specials...(Lee Woon’s picture.jpg)

—Dong-Jun is so cute!!! He looked so like a puppy on camera but in real life, he’s bigger and so handsome!! Dong-Jun, I will give up my life for you :(

Furthermore, some posts said they spotted Woon and Dong-Jun.

—Did Tae-Yoon also come?

Reply: Yeah, I think Tae-Yoon visited the most cafés

Reply: Really? Why aren’t there any pics?

Reply: There is but not really (Shaking Tae-Yoon’s pic.jpg)

Reply: Ah hahaha

—Tae-Yoon just sweeps up the specials and leaves the café (Tae-Yoon running away. mp4)

Reply: There are only shadows of him ahaha

—I also saw Tae-Yoon!!! The part-timer asked him if he wanted to get the menu specials, and I saw him looking taken aback as he said, “P-please give me everything!” Even if he’s not on stage, he’s like the maknae outside

There were even posts that spotted Tae-Yoon.

—It seems all the guys are going around the nearby birthday cafés!!

—Ah...Why do I live outside of Seoul...

—Siren is like Hong Gil-Dong[1]

That day, Siren members split ways and visited more than half of the birthday cafés. Furthermore, Do-Seung uploaded a post on Siren’s official SNS page.

—Hello, everyone. This is Do-Seung. I was so happy to have met some of you at my birthday cafés in person and talk to you. I shared the desserts and drinks I bought from the cafés with my members. It was the happiest and best birthday I had in my life. Thank you as always.

Simultaneously, a picture of Do-Seung posing with the presents he got from his members and a birthday cake was uploaded. It was followed by another group picture of the five members posing in front of the dinner table. That was how the chaotic but fulfilling Do-Seung’s birthday passed.

1. A famous character in Korean literature who is similiar to Robin Hood ?

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