Chapter 65:
Chapter 65
NMA in Vietnam. (1)
A week after AAMA, Ahwi, who had his hair done at the shop early in the morning, got on the van with sleepy eyes.
“This is my first time going to Vietnam.”
“Dongsoo hyung! Will we have some free time there?”
Park Seodam asked and Park Dongsoo answered.
“Well… it depends on your rehearsal schedule.”
“Oh, I hope we finish the rehearsal quickly.”
Jo Taewoong was excited.
Ahwi was heading to the airport to perform at Nnet Music Awards in Vietnam.
“We’re taking the same plane as the other singers going to NMA.”
“How many teams are going?”
“Ten teams from Korea… Iwon is also there.”
Iwon, as expected from Nnet audition graduates, was participating in all NMA events held in three countries.
What was surprising was that Ahwi was also taking the plane provided by Nnet.
Maybe that’s why the other members didn’t doubt Nnet’s intention.
Only Ian had a dark expression.
‘It’s a bit suspicious…’
Ian couldn’t believe that Nnet invited Ahwi so easily.
What if everything goes according to Jinui’s scenario?
“Guys, we’re almost there, so get ready.”
“Yes.”
Ian put on a black beanie hat.
“Hey, do I look okay?”
“Didn’t the stylist hyung check your outfit? You look fine.”
“I heard airport fashion is so important…”
Kim Juyeong held a hand mirror and fixed his bangs.
He seemed very nervous for his first airport schedule.
The best place to show off fan gifts was the airport. Ian’s outfit also had no items bought by himself.
They were all fan gifts.
“Let’s go.”
Lee Juhyuk opened the van door.
As flashes went off from all directions, Lee Juhyuk squinted his eyes.
All the singers participating in NMA were leaving at the same time, so the airport entrance was crowded with reporters and fans.
“Guys!”
“Here! Here!”
Ahwi got off the van and stood in a line to greet the reporters across the street before crossing the traffic light.
“Let’s go.”
The light turned green and Ahwi crossed the traffic light and entered the airport.
“Wow… there are so many people.”
[Are they all here to see Iwon?]
There were many people at the airport despite it being an early morning departure.
There were also many reporters who followed Ahwi and took videos and photos.
Ahwi, who didn’t know what to do with this unfamiliar scene, was led by his manager, Park Dongsoo.
“Please look this way.”
“Oh!”
Ian stepped back and grabbed the arm of a person who was filming them.
The cameraman, who almost fell over, didn’t let go of his camera with his professional spirit.
“Be careful.”
Ian smiled and passed by him.
The cameraman opened his mouth wide.
And his reaction was captured by the fans’ cameras.
Ahwi had already checked in at the city airport, so he headed straight to the departure hall.
“Do you know that, hyung? This is my first time on a plane.”
Park Seodam said to Ian while waiting in line at the departure hall. Ian’s eyes sparkled.
“Do you know that you have to take off your shoes when you get on the plane?”
“Ah hyung, who falls for that these days!”
Park Seodam hit Ian’s shoulder. Kim Juyeong, who was behind Park Seodam, said dejectedly.
“I thought you had to take them off…”
[Is there anyone who believes that?]
Jo Taewoong laughed out loud.
“Ah damn… if it wasn’t for Seodam, Kim Juyeong would have really taken off his shoes, right?”
“Is it not true? I saw it on the internet!”
Kim Juyeong, who still didn’t understand, was teased by the six members.
“Dude, you should always ask us before you decide anything when someone tells you to buy something.”
“Juyeong-ah, no multi-level marketing.”
“Dude, Kim Juyeong, it’s a lie about the plane. You have to put your belongings on a rail for security check when you go in there, right? Do you know that you have to take off your shoes and put them on there?”
“Really?”
“Wow Jo Taewoong is a devil, a devil.”
At that moment, a scream like a concert hall came from the airport entrance.
“What… what is that?”
The members who were having fun teasing Kim Juyeong were startled and looked back.
“…I guess Iwon is here.”
“They’re so popular.”
They felt envious of the cheers that were different from when Ahwi arrived.
They looked at the entrance where Iwon came in with security guards.
“Guys, let’s go in.”
Park Dongsoo led Ahwi, who was staring blankly at the crowd around Iwon.
Ahwi entered the departure hall and passed by the bright duty-free zone.
“I wish I had money to buy my mom some cosmetics…”
“When will we get paid?”
Park Dongsoo, who was walking ahead, felt embarrassed and asked the members.
“We still have an hour left, do you want to eat something?”
“I want jjamppong!”
“Wow, I’m getting goosebumps. I was craving for tangsuyuk today.”
The members became simple-minded when food was mentioned and went ahead.
“Do those people feel like they’re filming us?”
“They’re probably filming us, right?”
Ian answered Lee Juhyuk’s question. Since they entered the departure hall, some fans inside the airport had been following them and clicking the shutter incessantly.
Some of them even tried to talk to them persistently.
Those fans were handled by the manager, but they didn’t back off even after being scolded by the manager.
“Wow… it’s kind of scary.”
Park Jinhyuk, who brought the food, said.
Ahwi, who didn’t have a business ticket, had breakfast at the airport restaurant, but the problem was the crowd of people sticking to the glass window outside the restaurant and taking pictures.
“Just ignore them, hyung.”
Ian, who was already used to this kind of attention, calmly chewed on a pickle. Ian usually had a lot of eyes following him, so he just thought of it as adding one more camera to that gaze.
“I don’t know if the food is going into my mouth or my nose.”
“Let’s eat quickly and sit in front of the gate.”
They finished eating and went to the gate, but the fans didn’t seem to let go.
“Guys, I’m sorry. It’s uncomfortable, but please bear with it.”
“Yes, hyung.”
There were too many groups of fans, so Park Dong-soo couldn’t handle them all.
“Just ignore them and play with your phones.”
The members of Awi, who were sitting in front of the gate, took out their phones and surfed the web, pretending not to notice the fans.
Ian was thinking of playing a puzzle game and opened the app store, when a notification popped up on the top bar, showing a text message he had just received. Ian felt goosebumps on his arm as he read the message.
*Message
Ian, look here to the right ^^
‘Wow…’
[No need to look for a thriller movie. This is a thriller itself. Who sent this?]
Jin was looking for the sender of the message in the air. Ian tried to act calm and took a screenshot of the message.
(Ian3) Anyone want to see the message I just got? – 8:39
(Ian3) (Picture) – 8:39
(Jo-taeng2) Wow crazy – 8:40
(Hyun-hyun) F*ck – 8:40
(Seo-da-mi) It’s so scary, hyungs – 8:40
(Park Jin-hyuk) What? Are they here right now? – 8:40
(Dancing King Kim Ju-young) Wow sh*t I got chills – 8:40
(Lee Ju-hyuk1) Guys, don’t look over there. Adra is looking for the sender of the message – 8:40
(Lee Ju-hyuk1) Especially Park Jin-hyuk, lower your head – 8:41
Park Jin-hyuk quickly lowered his head.
(Park Jin-hyuk) But isn’t it noisy on the left? – 8:43
Awi glanced at the left side.
A crowd of people was rushing towards the gate from the other side.
They were the fans of I-One, who had come to see them off.
“Ju-won! Here!”
“Kim Young-joon!”
“Ji-woong!”
I-One, who walked fast through the security guards, seemed used to these fans and looked ahead.
(Lee Ju-hyuk1) But why does I-One look like they’re coming to our side? – 8:51
(Seo-da-mi) They’re really coming this way, hyungs? – 8:51
(Hyun-hyun) OMG no don’t come – 8:51
(Jo-taeng2) Don’t come! – 8:52
“Wow! Awi! Hello!”
Kang Ju-won, the center of I-One who won first place in Project Idol, smiled brightly and sat next to Ian.
“…Hello.”
Ian smiled and greeted Kang Ju-won. Awi’s surroundings were filled with people in an instant.
“Long time no see, hyung.”
“Huh? Oh… long time no see, Young-joon.”
Kim Young-joon scratched his back of his head awkwardly and sat behind Lee Ju-hyuk.
‘Are they using us as a friend shield?’
[A reasonable suspicion.]
‘Did you find out who sent me the message?’
[I got pushed away by I-One’s fans.]
Ian sighed softly. Kang Ju-won misunderstood his sigh and made a cute face.
“Oh, are you uncomfortable because I sat next to you…?”
“No, it’s just that I got a text from a fan earlier.”
“Oh… I know how you feel.”
Ian forced a smile. He felt dizzy from the fans who had multiplied two or three times. This was the reality of a top-tier group.
Kang Ju-won chatted away with a friendly smile.
“Your AAMA stage was awesome. I watched your fancam more than ten times after that stage. I wanted to talk to you then, but you guys looked so serious doing something.”
“Did you? We get so absorbed when we play games…”
“Oh, you were playing games. Our team’s Young-joon is from BHL Entertainment, so I wanted to get close to you through Young-joon.”
“Is that so… I don’t know him well because he left after I joined.”
“Really?”
Ian peeked at his right side. Kim Young-joon was having an awkward conversation with Lee Ju-hyuk and Park Jin-hyuk. Jo Tae-woong stuck to Ian’s side and chatted with Kang Ju-won.
“You can relax, hyung-nim. We’re nineteen years old.”
“Should I?”
Kang Ju-won, who was twenty-one years old, relaxed his speech easily. I-One had gone through a brutal survival show called Project Idol and had been hit by netizens too early, so they seemed very laid-back in their actions.
“Can I have your number?”
“Of course. It’s an honor, hyung-nim.”
“Who would have thought we’d get the number of the nation’s center?”
Jo Tae-woong and Ian joked around with Kang Ju-won, who laughed heartily. Ian and Jo Tae-woong entered their numbers on Kang Ju-won’s phone.
“Let’s keep in touch.”
I-One went on the plane first through the business class entrance.
“Wow, business! I’m jealous.”
“We’ll get to ride that someday, right?”
“But did you see the fans who followed I-One?”
Some of the fan groups followed I-One into the business class.
They were the complete fans among the airport fans, who took the same flight as them.
“How was Young-joon?”
After the business class boarding was over, Kim Hyun asked Lee Ju-hyuk as they lined up for the economy class.
“Just, you know, same as always. He couldn’t ignore them because there were fans in front of him. He kept apologizing and saying he was sorry, but I felt bad for not accepting it.”
Lee Ju-hyuk took out his passport.
“Still, it must be hard for Young-joon to have them follow him around like that.”
Kim Hyun, who felt sorry for Kim Young-joon, couldn’t disagree with that. Even as they showed their tickets to the flight attendants, the fans’ shutters didn’t stop.
***
It took five hours to arrive at Hanoi, Noi Bai International Airport. Awi dragged their tired bodies and finished the immigration check.
“Wow, my face is swollen. What do I do?”
“That’s why I brought disposable masks.”
“Look at Choi Ian’s preparedness.”
They all put on the masks that Ian had given them and went outside the gate.
Before they knew it, local airport security guards were standing on both sides of Awi and leading the way.
They had thought until then that even if they had security guards, there wouldn’t be many fans. They raised their heads at the fans’ screams.
“Oh…”
The screams of Vietnamese fans were so loud that they seemed to pierce their ears. They even saw some fans holding Awi’s slogans.
Ian burst into laughter when he saw a huge slogan made with a still cut from ‘I want to hear your voice’.
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