Chapter 118: The Prince Beneath the Cape

The man avoiding me was none other than Yongmin.

He clearly recognized me…… There were tons of fans who came to watch the music broadcast, and my name was mentioned several times.

Yet he just left?

The Yongmin I knew would normally act like he knew me and show off our connection to others.

But he desperately averted his gaze and hurriedly left the broadcasting station.

“What the hell?”

I couldn’t describe this uneasy feeling. Just then, a call came in from Hayoon.

“Hello?”

Hey, Hyunjae. There are about 40 people here, roughly.

“40 people?”

The fans who greeted me earlier weren’t that many, so I was surprised by the larger-than-expected number.

Including the fans in the parking lot, it adds up.

“Got it. I’ll order the drinks, pick them up, and head over soon.”

Right now, Yongmin wasn’t important to me, so I decided to take care of the waiting fans first. 

I ordered drinks at the cafe, and in the meantime, Hayoon gathered the fans at the mini fan meeting spot used by idols.

“Waaah!”

The fans all screamed in unison just from my appearance.

“Hahaha, hello. Hello.”

I politely clasped my hands together and bowed.

“Thank you so much for coming to see me on this cold day. Uh…… I didn’t expect so many fans to come, so I’m really touched.”

“You’re so populaaar!”

One of the fans shouted loudly.

“Hahat, am I popular?”

“Yes!”

“Thank you. Actually, I don’t know what I should do for you. With better acting…….”

“Challenge!”

“Aegyo!”

“Selfie!”

The fans each mentioned what they wanted.

Fans these days are different.

Unlike the old fans who were happy just to look, they precisely demanded what they wanted to see.

“Ah~ I’m not good at aegyo or selfies, but I’ll try my best. Please look forward to it!”

“Waaah!”

“Ah! I felt bad sending you away empty-handed after coming to see me, so I bought coffee and drinks. Enjoy them, and thank you for coming today!”

Because there was a live broadcast, I couldn’t talk for long, so I had a short time with the fans and returned to the waiting room.

“You’re back?”

“A ton of my fans came!”

“It must be because it’s your first day on the job.”

“Yes!”

As soon as I got to the waiting room, I bragged to Yerin.

“Good, you did great. First, let’s change into your outfit.”

Since the live broadcast was soon, I prepared quickly.

“Here, put this on too.”

“What’s this?”

“What do you mean? It’s a cape. This completes today’s concept.”

A black uniform with lace, a long cape, and boots that came up to my calves. 

I looked like I’d just jumped out of a manhwa.

“I did it myself, but I really nailed it.”

Yerin poured out self-praise upon seeing the finished look.

“It’s cool.”

“Right? Your fans will love this a hundred percent. Hurry and take some photos.”

Remembering the fans’ requests for selfies earlier, I took a few and uploaded them to Starsta.

Whoa, selfies!

Fans asked for selfies, so he uploads them right away, such a sweetheartㅠㅠㅠ

Selfies are great, but…… Am I the only one who wants to see the manager oppa?

Is it a rule for actors to take bad selfies?

(Photo), (Photo). Left is selfie, right is fan-taken photo from the same day, same timedoes this even make sense?

ㄴWhoa, at this level, it’s like he took it without looking at the camera?ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Jayden might take better selfies

ㄴㄴWhy are you like that to our Hyunjae? He must have tried really hard!

“What…… Is it that bad?”

I tried hard to take and upload them, but the fans were busy laughing.

“Hey, Hyunjae. What’s this?”

Hayoon, who must have checked my post, asked with a surprised expression.

“Selfies……

They asked me to upload them.”

“Pfft. Ah~ This is hilarious.”

Unlike the surprised Hayoon, Yerin couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Noona told me to upload them!”

“The selfies I know aren’t like this?”

“Uh, let’s delete them quick.”

“Huh?”

“You have to delete them……”

Hayoon’s reaction made me feel like I’d made a huge mistake, so I hurriedly deleted the post. 

Then I uploaded ones taken by Hayoon instead.

***

This one’s definitely by the manager oppa!

Our photographer bb as expected

Freaking out over the bad photo, deleting and reuploadinghilariousㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴWhy, our Hyunjae tried hard to take and upload them

ㄴㄴPut down that hand covering your mouth

ㄴ└Oops, caughtㅋㅋㅋ From now on, let the manager oppa take the photos

“I tried hard too…….”

“It’s okay. It happens.”

Hayoon comforted me, but seeing the fans’ drastically different reactions, it didn’t help at all.

“Hyunjae-ssi~ The live broadcast is starting soon. Please get ready!”

While I was sulking, a staff member announced that the live broadcast was imminent.

“I’ll be back!”

I’d already memorized the script perfectly, so I confidently got up and left the waiting room.

Korea’s 1% is making a moveㅋㅋㅋ

ㄴInsaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Today’s MC is Jung Hyunjae, looking forward to it. From earlier reviews, he’s pretty good

ㄴAina and his visual chemistry is insaneㅠㅠㅠㅠ Aina’s visuals this comeback are no joke

Lately, I think Aina is the prettiest among idols

Big agree

Even though it was a music show with 1% ratings, there were K-POP fans watching the live broadcast to support their idols.

Whoa, Jung Hyunjae’s visuals are crazy

If I wore that cape, it’d drag on the ground

Aina is a total fairy, so pretty

ㄴHer legs are insane, she walks on her wrists

They’re cute together, so fresh

Jung Hyunjae is good? No drop in energy, seems like he memorized most of the script? Barely looks at the cue cards

The reviews for Hyunjae’s first MC debut were mostly positive.

Not only his face match with the female MC, but his hosting skills also got some recognition.

How is he better than Choi Minwoo who did it for almost a year

ㄴChoi Minwoo was honestly too image-conscious

It was obvious he kept trying to avoid skit-like stuff

Hope they switch to Jung Hyunjae with this chance

The K-POP fans watching the broadcast praised Hyunjae, but quickly turned back to idol talk when popular idols appeared.

Is this prerecorded? Aina so prettyㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Today’s makeup is legendary

Stage set is pretty~

But isn’t the skirt too short? It’s obvious the kids are self-conscious

What is the stylist doing? This has been an issue since last time

Many people commented on popular girl group AENJEL’s performance, and the most common topic was the outfits. 

The exposure was uncomfortable even for viewers.

Aren’t they minors? And they make them wear that?

Stylist got flak for this before, why no change?

Please change the stylist, what is thisㅠㅠㅠㅠ They don’t have to go that far, we all know their legs are long and pretty!

After the much-discussed AENJEL performance ended, the MCs and all performers came on stage to announce the No. 1.

Congrats congrats!

Congrats on first No. 1 this comeback!

Knew they’d get it with those album sales

Whoa~ Jung Hyunjae is tall. He’s blocking everyone in the front

ㄴDoor-sized man is love

Today’s outfits are so pretty, and MC was good tooㅋㅋ

Hyunjae’s first MC debut got a passing grade, and the broadcast ended. Then, exclusive articles dropped immediately.

[AENJEL’s Aina collapses on stage]

[Due to excessive schedule? Aina ultimately faints at ‘Music Day’ filming site……]

Huh? What’s this?

When did she collapse? She was fine until the No. 1 announcement?

I knew this would happen, their schedule has been hell lately

Knew it from when they worked the minors like crazy

How many flights did AENJEL take this week alone? (Photo) This is way overkill

News of Aina collapsing spread quickly, even though she’d just been fine, saying see you next week. At the same time, reviews from people at the scene popped up.

[ Went to ‘Music Day’ live today (Aina review) ]

Got lucky and won tickets to the live. 

Starting with Aina: After greetings, during the encore stage, she was moving aside to go down the stairs when she just suddenly thud and collapsed. 

Everyone screamed, and while we were shocked looking, Jung Hyunjae took off his cape, covered Aina’s face, princess-carried her, and brought her down. 

Jung Hyunjae was like a real prince.

***

“I was so nervous for my first MC, but thanks to all your support, I think I did well.

Please continue to support me!”

“Yes~ We’ll say goodbye here. See you next week on ‘Music Day’~”

After perfectly delivering the final lines, I lined up behind the other idols to go down from the stage.

Ha~ I survived.

I’d been tense because it was live, but thankfully, no mistakes, so I sighed in relief as the broadcast ended safelythat’s when it happened.

“Kyaaak!”

A voice that sounded more like shock than cheer came from ahead, and everyone in the audience seats stared at one spot, mouths agape.

“Huh?”

And there, collapsed on the floor like a doll, was one person.

I felt uneasy since earlier…….

There’d already been a stagger during rehearsal, and another when she returned to the MC spot after AENJEL’s performance.

“Excuse me.”

While everyone was panicking and just staring, I quickly took off my cape and covered her face and body.

“Aina! Aina!”

“What do we do…….”

Her group members were stomping their feet around her, repeatedly calling her name.

“Make way!”

“Hold on.”

The scene descended into chaos in an instant, and feeling like we needed to get out of there, I picked up Aina and carried her down from the stage.

“What! What the hell is going on!”

As soon as we got down, the manager who’d glared at me earlier yelled, and from afar, men came running with a stretcher.

“Lay her here, please.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I placed her on the stretcher, they disappeared at high speed.

“What the heck happened so suddenly.”

“Huh? Hyung, when did you get here?”

When I came to my senses, Hayoon was beside me.

“I came to congratulate you when you came down…….”

“She staggered during rehearsal too, so I was a bit worried, but I didn’t expect her to collapse so suddenly.”

“During rehearsal too?”

I nodded at Hayoon’s question, and he let out a sigh of pity.

“Jeez…… She looks so young.”

“Yeah.”

Once Aina was gone, the onlookers dispersed quickly, and I returned to the waiting room with Hayoon.

“Hyunjae, whoa~ Good job. Good job! Really, the best MC I’ve seen!”

“Thank you.”

Since it was after the broadcast ended, Yerin, who knew nothing, praised my hosting skills.

“Today, a lot of male idols wore white tones, right? So you stood out even more…….

Huh? Where’s your cape?”

“Ah…… About that…….”

In that situation, I couldn’t just take the cape back, so it went with Aina.

“What, where did it go?”

“Suddenly, Aina-ssi…….”

Just as I was about to explain to Yerin, the waiting room door burst open.

“Hyunjae-ssi!”

There stood AENJEL’s manager, whom I’d seen earlier.