Chapter 160:
Chapter 160
They all had to stay together until then.
They ate the holiday food they made together and had some fruits while telling their grandmother stories about their activities. Ian showed her a group photo he took with the fans who came to the concert as the background.
“Do you see the lights behind us? Those are all our fans who came to see us.”
“Wow, that’s a lot. How many people came?”
“How many were we? About 5,000 or 6,000 people.”
“Our grandson is very popular.”
Jo Tae-woong had a proud expression on his face. He remembered the excitement of the first concert, but also felt uneasy about the online concert he couldn’t do because of him.
“What happened to our online concert?”
“What do you mean? It was fully refunded.”
“Really?”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll do a live concert at a bigger venue later.”
Lee Joo-hyuk answered as if it was no big deal, not wanting Jo Tae-woong to feel anxious.
He wanted to try an online concert at least once, but of course, singers enjoyed it more when there were fans cheering for them. And the agency was happy because they could sell goods and make profits.
The industry was slowly moving towards opening live concerts instead of online ones. BHL Entertainment was discussing to do a concert as soon as Jo Tae-woong recovered.
“Do you think we can do a gymnastics stadium next time?”
“Of course. Our album is still selling well, they say.”
“Really?”
“Wow, really?”
The album sales were a way to measure the influx of fandom. Especially when they gained popularity from dramas or variety shows, the album sales also increased noticeably.
Ian’s ‘Hee-bin Jang’s Family’ was not only popular in Korea, but also in China, Japan, and other Asian countries through OTT sites. It even spread to Europe and America through word-of-mouth from drama maniacs. Thanks to that, Awi’s album was selling steadily.
“I might cry if we do a live concert again.”
“Me too. I already cried so much.”
“Kim Joo-young, are you going to faint from crying?”
“No, I’m not!”
How would it feel to do a bigger venue than last time? Jo Tae-woong, who had been depressed and anxious lately, was able to think positively for the first time.
They decided to go to bed early for their grandmother who fell asleep early. The members spread out their bedding that they brought with them.
“How are we going to sleep? Can we all fit?”
“It’s okay, we brought our own blankets too.”
“Oh, you’re well prepared.”
Jo Tae-woong poked Shin Soon-ja’s arm with a dissatisfied expression.
“Grandma, don’t you like Seo-dam more than me?”
“She’s so cute.”
“When are you going to get marr… Ow! Ouch!”
Shin Soon-ja pinched Jo Tae-woong’s arm. She had teared up when she heard Park Seo-dam’s family situation, saying that she was proud of her for growing up well without being twisted.
“Kids, sleep well and call me when you come back.”
“Yes, hyung. Good night.”
Park Dong-soo slept in the room that Jo Tae-woong used and headed back to Seoul early in the morning. He planned to come back again when the members returned.
“Tae-woong, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Yes.”
Jo Tae-woong approached Park Dong-soo’s side. Park Dong-soo patted Jo Tae-woong’s back and whispered.
“Are you going to counseling regularly?”
“Yes, my parents are coming and going.”
“That’s good. If anything happens to your parents, call me and I’ll take care of it.”
Jo Tae-woong nodded his head. Park Dong-soo sighed with relief as he saw Jo Tae-woong’s brightened expression.
“I’m glad you’re doing well. It might take a long time, but keep going to counseling. The kids are all doing it too.”
“Yes. Good night, hyung.”
As soon as Park Dong-soo entered the room, he contacted the people who were curious about Jo Tae-woong’s condition.
“Yes, CEO.”
(How is he?)
“He looks fine. The kids seem to take good care of him too.”
(I know our kids get along well.)
Park Dong-soo had heard about Jo Tae-woong’s state from the members who went to the market and felt hopeful. It was not nothing that he didn’t collapse like he did during rehearsal.
“I think his comeback won’t take as long as we thought, since his expression is brighter than before.”
He wondered if he had something important to say when he called him separately. Maybe he was causing trouble for the group’s activities. Jo Tae-woong stared blankly at the door that Park Dong-soo entered.
‘He’s not rushing me? Is it because it’s only been a month?’
Neither Park Dong-soo nor any of the members mentioned anything about Jo Tae-woong’s comeback.
What if the hiatus lasted more than a month or two, and became half a year or a year?
‘Will it change then?’
No one knew how things would change if one person’s activities were restricted for the whole group, and if it took too long.
‘Hey, that’s too much.’
Jo Tae-woong knew well that the members were not like that. It wasn’t that the company didn’t let them do individual activities, and it was a ridiculous thought to have. If they had a lot of complaints, they wouldn’t have come to this remote mountain village to help with the cleaning and stuff during the holidays.
Jo Tae-woong chuckled softly, and Kim Joo-young, who was lying on his right, lifted his head.
“Why are you laughing like that? It’s creepy.”
“No, I’m just grateful that you all came.”
“What are you doing? It’s ticklish.”
“Ouch!”
Kim Joo-young hit Jo Tae-woong’s stomach lightly with a pillow. Lee Joo-hyuk, who was lying on the edge, tossed and turned. He was holding his phone tightly and frowning.
“Is the data always bad here?”
“It’s a mountain village, there’s no wifi either.”
“No, isn’t it supposed to work these days?”
Lee Joo-hyuk grumbled but didn’t turn off his phone screen.
“Joo-hyuk hyung, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Oh, I’ll just upload this… Done.”
Suddenly, a short notification sound rang on the members’ phones with a time lag.
“What is it?”
“Dong-soo hyung uploaded the photo he took of us earlier.”
They opened the notification window and entered the fan cafe. Lee Joo-hyuk had just posted a post.
[AWI] Are you all having a happy holiday?
(Photo)
We’re going to spend it together! How do you like us as a complete group after a long time?
└Wow Tae-woong oppa
└How can this be????? A complete group?????
└Oppas, I miss you!
In the photo, Jo Tae-woong had a faint smile on his lips, and because of that, fans who had Jo Tae-woong’s photo as their profile picture filled up 1,000 comments in an instant.
Jo Tae-woong looked at the first page of the comment window. There were meaningless contents like 1, ??. He asked Ian.
“What are these front comments? There’s no content.”
“They post them first and then edit them later to get the first spot.”
“Really?”
“You’ve never seen it? Refresh it later. They write really long letters like they’re stacking bricks.”
The other members also left a message on the short comment board.
When the fans heard that the members were logged in to the fan cafe, they flocked to the fan cafe.
They only said that they missed them, that they had been waiting for them, and that they should come back soon. Park Jin-hyuk laughed as he saw a meme that had his face edited coolly.
“I feel like I’m some kind of… leader when I look at the fan cafe?”
“Leader? Jin-hyuk ah. That sounds weird.”
“Don’t you feel that way?”
“I know what you mean, but leader is a bit…”
“Evanjelly?”
“Yeah, evanjelly.”
Lee Joo-hyuk hesitated to speak. He felt like he knew what Park Jin-hyuk meant. People who blindly liked them. He felt a tingling and proud feeling in his heart.
“Wow, it’s lagging.”
“Let’s check it out tomorrow morning.”
On the board where they wrote letters to the members, countless posts were uploaded every second. And more than half of the posts were nothing but worries and cheers for Jo Tae-woong.
‘Wow, what…’
Jo Tae-woong hadn’t really entered the fan cafe since he came to his grandmother’s house.
He started to read each post filled with fans’ love. Even as he read, new posts were uploaded and the ones he had read before were pushed back to the next page.
There were far more people who supported him than those who cursed him. Jo Tae-woong felt a surge of emotion and smiled unconsciously.
‘I should post something on the fan cafe tomorrow.’
Jo Tae-woong tossed and turned a few times and fell asleep quickly. It was a night without insomnia.
***
AWI’s rural life began. There wasn’t much to do. Helping out with grandma’s work was all they did.
“Who wants to play Halli Galli?”
“Pass me the cards.”
“I have amazing reflexes, you all know that right?”
In their spare time, they played board games they brought with them or walked around the neighborhood.
“Is this what kids these days play?”
Shin Soon-ja, who was watching them, took out a deck of cards from the drawer.
“Do you all know how to play Go-Stop?”
“I’ll do it!”
Park Seodam brought a blanket from the living room and spread it in the center.
“Seodam, do you know how to play? I don’t know the rules, is there anyone who does?”
“I learned from my grandmother.”
“I know too.”
Ian raised his hand. Kim Hyun looked at him with a doubtful gaze.
“How do you know, Ian?”
“…I also learned from my grandfather.”
Actually, it was from his previous life, but after Ian and Park Seodam’s explanation, the game finally began.
“Juyeong, look at that card, is it…?”
“Don’t act like you’ve seen it before. I’ll double the stakes!”
Meanwhile, Shin Soonja started to bring snacks for everyone, saying they were all too skinny. The members, who were amazed by her cooking skills, ate more than usual.
“Don’t you think we’re being fattened by our grandmother?”
“Yeah.”
The members lay down on the living room floor. They were so full that they couldn’t sit up. Was this how our fans felt at the Arimpyc.
“We have to work out hard when we go back.”
Ian patted his swollen belly.
He had a meeting with director Park Pyohyun of ‘Heebin Jang’s Family’ next week. He was able to find out why Park called him through Jin.
[Director Park… isn’t he working on that thing now?]
‘That thing?’
[The Emflix original zombie drama.]
‘Oh.’
‘Z-Day’, which Park directed, was a drama that Ian knew well. It became popular worldwide with its unique and sensational direction and original story. Park even made his overseas debut with this drama.
If he asked for a meeting, there was a high chance that Ian would get a role in ‘Z-Day’. He couldn’t afford to gain weight for that.
Ian straightened up and leaned his back on the sofa.
“Hey, did you have fun today?”
“Yeah.”
Cho Taewoong smiled slightly at Kim Juyeong’s question. He had a fun day with the members. He wasn’t afraid of tomorrow anymore, and he was looking forward to what he would do tomorrow.
But the intermittent anxiety was still there.
“…Aren’t you guys anxious?”
“About what?”
“We can’t release an album because of me.”
As soon as Cho Taewoong finished his sentence, the members booed him.
“He’s digging his own grave again.”
“What can we do?”
They said that low self-esteem was a symptom of depression, but it was strange to hear such words from someone who wasn’t like that. But they didn’t say anything more because he was trying to express his worries.
“It’s not because of you, we’re doing our solo activities, right?”
“That’s right. You should worry about yourself instead of us.”
“There are many idols who have long hiatuses. We’re at that level now.”
The popularity of Awi, which seemed to have reached its peak, was spreading beyond Korea to the world. There were even rumors among the staff that they might become like Midia. It was a pity that they had to stop their team activities when they had to ride the wave of popularity.
“You can rest as long as you want.”
“Really?”
“Well, if you take a break for 2 or 3 years, we might be a bit nervous…”
But unlike the agency’s opinion, Ian thought that they had enough popularity already. He wanted to stay on stage longer than popularity. The members agreed with Ian’s answer.
“That’s right, don’t be too anxious. We can extend our contract as long as you rest.”
“Wow, Joo Hyuk is amazing at building up. But he’s right.”
Park Jin Hyuk sat up abruptly.
“We can’t become pigeons by then.”
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