Chapter 74:
Chapter 74
Idol information is almost like a public good.
“This is Mr. Na Sang-jun, the head of the security team from ‘Elgard’, the security company that will protect you.”
“Nice to meet you!”
Awi finished their reality show shooting and departed for Japan. There was one thing that changed: Awi now had bodyguards.
“Wow, bodyguards!”
“We’re so cool!”
The members murmured as they saw the muscular and imposing bodyguards. Jin clicked his tongue.
[They don’t know what’s coming.]
‘Why?’
When he was Kim Yong-min, Diamond belonged to a small company that had no resources to send them abroad, so he never had bodyguards in his previous life.
[Why do you think they assigned bodyguards? It’s probably because they expect some crazy fans like Bunsuni to follow you, so the agency is taking precautions.]
‘Ah…’
Bunsuni, he had heard that term before.
They were the fanatics who stuck to the idols like glue and followed them everywhere.
They would shove cameras in their faces, and even try to touch them physically.
“Let’s get going.”
Park Dong-su opened the van door and looked at the members with a pitiful expression.
“Hyung! What are we going to do in Japan? Like fan signing or something?”
Maybe it was because he heard something from Mykit, but Lee Ju-hyuk took the lead and asked Park Dong-su.
“We’re going to do a handshake event, a high-touch event, and a signing event.”
“Oh, they have signing events in Japan too.”
“It’s different from Korea. There, you sign individually, and you just get the signature and leave.”
“Wow, that sounds easier. Is that all we do? Anything else?”
Park Dong-su turned his head and looked at Lee Ju-hyuk from the passenger seat.
“Anything else? You mean like a performance?”
“Yeah, anything besides that?”
“Where did you hear weird things?”
“No, I just heard from Mykit kids that they do weird things.”
“Mykit? That must be ST Entertainment, right? They’re known for that… But do you think our company would make us do that?”
Park Dong-su chuckled sarcastically.
The members sighed in relief when they confirmed that there were no events like Mykit did.
“What’s a handshake event? Isn’t that the same as a high-touch event?”
“I’ll look it up.”
Kim Ju-young questioned and Jo Tae-woong took out his phone and searched for an answer. He entered a portal site and searched for Japanese handshake events.
“Holy crap, look at this. There was a stabbing incident at a female idol’s handshake event.”
There was even a member who was injured by a knife.
“A stabbing?”
“Crazy, did they get stabbed?”
“What are we going to do?”
The members who were looking at Jo Tae-woong’s phone screen gasped.
Park Dong-su sighed deeply as he thought about how to deal with these troublemakers.
“Guys, don’t worry too much. We have bodyguards and local staff behind us.”
“Do we put them here?”
“Yeah, over there. Where the reporters are gathered.”
The road manager Kim Myung-jin parked the car smoothly.
As soon as Lee Ju-hyuk opened the van door and got out, camera flashes flashed from all directions.
“Look over here!”
Awi skillfully finished their photo time and crossed the traffic light to enter the airport. Homma and reporters mixed together and followed Awi’s path.
There were also many people taking pictures on the upper floor of the airport.
It felt like there were more people than when they left Vietnam.
“Don’t get too close.”
The bodyguards of Elgard warned those who were too close.
Thanks to them, they were able to pass through the security checkpoint smoothly and enter the airside.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
The fans had no shame.
They followed Awi into the airside and took pictures of them browsing the duty-free shops.
“Just bear with it for a bit.”
Park Dong-su clicked his tongue.
As an agency, there was no way to stop this.
They posted a notice on the fan cafe not to follow them to the airside or take pictures, but there were always people who ignored it.
It was no use telling them not to do it on site.
If they raised their voice, it would only cause trouble for other passengers.
There was also no legal means to catch them, even though a related bill had been proposed.
“Let’s go eat something.”
Some fans followed them even when they went to eat.
They deliberately sat in a corner seat, but they zoomed in their cameras and took pictures while waiting for Awi to come out.
Park Jin-hyuk let out a hollow laugh as he put down his water cup.
[It’s not something I should get used to, but I’m already getting used to this feeling. What is it?]
“Right?”
They should have worried about the fans in Korea before worrying about the unlikely stabbing in Japan.
“Guys, look here!”
“Don’t lower your head!”
The fans shouted to get Awi’s attention, and Awi tried not to show any interest and just looked at their phones.
They headed to the boarding gate when it was time to board.
The fans went to the boarding gate before Awi.
Ian was shocked when he entered the plane.
‘What?’
There were fans sitting near Awi’s seats. There was even one right next to them.
‘How did they know we were on the same plane and even get seats close to us?’
Maybe it was because of ‘the situation’, but the tickets for Japan flights didn’t sell well, and only the fans who were aiming for the same plane as Awi booked them happily.
‘How did they get that information?’
[Don’t you know? As soon as you book a flight, your flight number and seat number are leaked. They pay money to get that information.]
‘That’s possible?’
[Why not? They even get your phone number. To them, idol information is almost like a public good.]
Ian let out a hollow laugh.
Not only him, but the other members also had to change their numbers.
As soon as they changed their numbers, they got a text from an unknown number saying ‘Why did you change your number?’
(Lee Ju-hyuk1) Did you see who’s sitting near us? – 13:02
(Jo Tae-woong3) Yeah, they’re crazy – 13:02
(Hyun Hyun2) Ah, crazy, they’re sitting next to me, what do I do? – 13:02
(Park Jin-hyuk1) What do we do in this situation? – 13:03
They all had numbers attached to their names because they kept getting their numbers leaked and getting calls from unknown numbers.
That’s why they changed their numbers and even deleted and re-registered their messenger app IDs.
But Ian had a feeling that this number wouldn’t last long either.
As soon as he changed his number, he got a text from an unknown number saying ‘Why did you change your number?’
(Lee Ju-hyuk1) Dong-su hyung said to stay still as much as possible – 13:04
(Seo Da-mi1) Can’t we tell them to stop taking pictures over there diagonally? – 13:04
Ian twisted his body as much as possible to hide his phone screen. It was the same for the other members.
(Ian4) Don’t do it, they’ll get excited and do more. – 13:05
Park Dong-su sighed deeply as he saw the gabby fans who surrounded Awi.
When he was in charge of Black Rush, he was a rookie manager at the time and he warned the fans not to follow them or take pictures.
It’s a coincidence that we’re on the same plane, right? I paid for my own ticket, why do you care? You didn’t even talk to me or act like you know me, right?
You know how people take pictures with their phones when they see celebrities in restaurants or something? Why can’t we do that?
They were obviously stalking, but they had no shame.
They didn’t care about the singers’ privacy.
They only did it for their own satisfaction.
The fans criticized Homma and Gabi for taking pictures of Awi in the airside and told them to stop via direct messages, but their audacity was beyond imagination.
-Look at these brooms(*brooms that have been swept away)??? They’re so jealous and making a fuss????
-Why are you talking to me, you broom bitches who don’t spend any money and don’t help the fandom? If you’re jealous, why don’t you follow them offline too^^ I can hear their breathing^^
They forgot that stalking was a crime and were intoxicated by ‘me who runs with the idols’ schedule’ and even shouted ‘I’m right and you’re wrong’.
(Lee Ju-hyuk1) Guys, just hang in there – 13:12
Before departure, the in-flight announcement came on and Ian switched his phone to airplane mode.
[You’d better not go to the bathroom if you can help it.]
‘Why?’
[If you go to the bathroom and come out, they’ll go in and say ‘The bathroom where our baby went~ Snap snap!’ like lunatics.]
‘Ah, shit…’
Jin laughed quietly. Ian was already tired before the plane took off, so he reclined his seat and put on an eye mask and lay down.
[And don’t accept any gifts. That one over there is trying to give you a gift.]
Ian took off his eye mask slightly and looked at Jin.
[You didn’t ask for it, but they’ll give it to you and say ‘He hates us but he takes all the gifts?’ and act like you snatched the gift from them.]
‘Ugh… crazy.’
[That’s the reality of being a popular idol. You’d better get used to it soon.]
Ian took off his eye mask and raised his seat.
He was afraid that there would be a gift from someone he didn’t know near his seat if he slept like this. Ian didn’t want to accept gifts from fans either.
Ian read a book he brought in advance or played some phone games that didn’t require data to kill time.
The in-flight announcement came on, and the plane shook slightly as it landed safely on the runway.
The plane didn’t stop and kept moving, but the fans unbuckled their seat belts and got up.
“Sir, please sit down for now. It’s dangerous.”
The fans ignored the flight attendant’s words and stood firmly in front of the exit. They wanted to get off first and take pictures of Awi.
“Sorry for causing trouble because of us…”
The flight attendants smiled and said it wasn’t their fault.
It was something they expected as soon as they saw an idol on board.
“Ow, my back hurts.”
“I couldn’t do anything because of those fans.”
Awi stretched lightly and followed the bodyguards out of the plane.
The fans who were waiting ahead ran out.
They held up their cameras as they followed Awi’s movements without stopping.
“At least there weren’t many passengers because of the situation.”
“Right, we almost became nuisance idols.”
“Why are we nuisances? They’re the nuisances.”
“That’s true. But people blame us anyway.”
The ones who suffered because of them were not only the idols but also the ordinary passengers.
They would ask who the idol they were with was, and then blame them for causing trouble.
“Why are you tired already?”
Ian turned his neck. As soon as they passed immigration and came out of the gate, the fans who came to greet Awi screamed.
“Oh…”
“There are quite a lot?”
The fans who were waiting on both sides of Awi’s path waved slogans and fans with Awi’s face printed on them.
Awi waved their hands at them and left the airport.
The Awi members who got into the van prepared by the Japanese agency spoke with a bewildered expression.
“Guys… I guess we’re kind of… popular?”
“Yeah…”
It was hard to tell if all the fans who gathered at the airport in Vietnam were for Awi, since all the idols who participated in NMA arrived on the same plane. But the number of fans who gathered at Haneda Airport just now was more than they expected.
“We won’t have any trouble selling out our events.”
Ian sighed in relief.
Visit freewe𝑏nov(e)l.𝗰𝐨𝐦 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience