WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

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Chapter 25

<Title: Idol Collapses During Radio Show shiver>

‘What is this?’

With a sense of dread, Hayeon clicked on the trending post on DukDuk Forest……

And within three seconds, she felt her world crumble.

<Content: Article Snippet

[Exclusive] WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung Collapses During Live ‘Noon Tea’ Broadcast…… Rushed to ER

WEEKANIZ’ Yuyoung Collapses During ‘Noon Tea’...... Suspected of ‘Overwork’>

From that moment on, Jo Hayeon couldn’t eat anymore.

Worrying about Ahn Yuyoung had become all she could do.

An idol had collapsed. Those four shocking words brought in a flood of trolls who found this situation entertaining in a twisted kind of way.

<@ Hey, hey, hey, does anyone have a gif of him collapsing?>

└ There’s no video since it wasn’t a video broadcast lol

└ Wow, how did these damn trolls manage to find their way here?

By the way, in this case ‘trolls’ referred to fake accounts, also known as blank accounts or empty accounts.

Hayeon even brought out her ‘sub-account’ ( The one she mainly used to argue with other fans) to speak up.

Since that braindead agency wouldn’t do anything to moderate this war between fans, Jo Hayeon felt compelled to make a statement using her main account.

The post was shared nearly 500 times, with 480 of those probably just being people who mocked her with comments like “Are you right in the head?’, but she didn’t care.

Fortunately, a day later, a post appeared on the official fan café stating that Yuyoung was doing fine, which brought Jo Hayeon back to life as well.

Now she was desperately waiting for Ahn Yuyoung’s life stream again, her eyes practically glued to her phone, fingers twitching in anticipation.

But then.

……Instead of Yuyoung, someone unexpected and unwelcome showed up.

Yoon Sanho’s blunder……Something else that would go down in history as the infamous (And deeply disappointing at least for Jo Hayeon) “Please let me leave” life stream.

It was very obvious that he hadn’t consulted the other members before doing this……It felt more like a venting session, with him unloading all his frustrations live.

It was as if he was throwing firecrackers onto the already dry and brittle firewood that was the group WEEKANIZ..

There was no way that she could look upon Yoon Sanho kindly!

‘Actually, we could never agree on things, and there was a lot of conflict…… it was so tough.’

And then there was that annoyingly arrogant tone with which he subtly threw shade at Ahn Yuyoung!

<@ Does being handsome make up for everything?>

<@ You can’t even gather a single fan yourself, who do you think you are?>

<@ A face that becomes more handsome with makeup can’t be called handsome. You call that Count Asura>

She furiously wrote these messages from her private, follower-less Pings account named ‘Waste Treatment Plant’.

At this point, should she just perform some rituals, like stabbing a knife into a pig’s head……

As she entertained these thoughts, she suddenly transformed as if she had been possessed by a spirit, shifting her rage towards someone else entirely.

“……Hah, I’m so freaking pissed. Those damn Seo Haedun fans.”

She suddenly began cursing out Seo Haedun’s fans instead.

“Yeah. It’s better to see you’re angry.”

The fans of Seo Haedun were the forever sworn enemies of Ahn Yuyoung’s individual fans.

Despite being the same age, he was the member who seemed to have the worst relationship with Yuyoung, treating him like a thorn in his side.

Just thinking about their history and the rumors around them made her want to sigh.

His presence was already annoying enough, but then he had to go and show off by going on a dance show solo…… Jo Hayeon was absolutely furious.

‘If he wanted to be a dancer so badly, why did he become an idol then? He should have just been Yuyoung’s backup dancer.’

Jo Hayeon was just so angry.

However, she had no idea that every word she uttered was like a sledgehammer threatening Yuyoung’s life.

Still, she made sure to watch the first episode of <Dance Off>, because if she was going to criticize him, she should do it properly at least.

Seo Haedun’s insolent look in his eyes, combined with the equally insolent broadcast, made for quite the enjoyable watch.

Even though he was being dismissed for being an idol, he stood firm with a ‘So what?’ attitude. It was almost admirable.

Sure, it was, but……

‘……With that same attitude he must have fought a lot with Yuyoung as well, right?’

That was all Jo Hayeon could think about.

There was a reason why having members of the same age in a group was rare. It disrupted the hierarchy, leading to inevitable fights.

“……But Yuyoung is the leader! That bastard Seo Haedun…… What are his brainless fans even doing?”

Unable to find a plausible reason to attack Seo Haedun, Jo Hayeon instead redirected her anger towards his anonymous fans.

“<Dance Off>? He can join that. Why not, right? But why are Seo Haedun’s fans tripping up Yuyoung, who was just minding his own business? They say that if a child is bad, the mother isn’t any better.”

“……”

Kim Minjeong thought that Jo Hayeon was essentially spitting in her own face but decided not to say it.

“And what’s with the comparisons of Haedun on <Dance Off> and Yuyoung’s solo single? Are they just pulling at each other’s hair because they know that he won’t succeed on his own like Yuyoung?”

“The world of idol fans is really deep, huh?”

“Haah…… Yeah. It’s driving me nuts.”

Jo Hayeon sighed deeply as she poked at the soggy cup noodles.

Kim Minjeon just quietly watched her before speaking up.

“But honestly, you don’t really want them to split up, right?”

“……”

At that moment Jo Hayeon thought, ‘This is why it’s hard when someone knows you too well.’

Deep down Jo Hayeon knew it too.

Her anger wasn’t just directed at Seo Haedun and his fans.

In reality…… if WEEKANIZ hadn’t fallen to such a disastrous state, things would be a lot different.

If Ahn Yuyoung truly abandoned the group to pursue a solo career, it wouldn’t sit right with her.

‘What did these past five years even mean to them……?’

Of course, there was a faction within Ahn Yuyoung’s fandom that passionately believed that ‘Solo was the only way’. They were quite vocal about it too.

While Jo Hayeon tried to show herself as a ‘calm and composed’ public account on social media, she was actually quite lost about what she should think about this.

She didn’t dislike the idea of Ahn Yuyoung going solo (How could she?)

But if he suddenly decided to leave the group one day, or if the group suddenly disbanded, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to handle that without some alcohol.

Actually, there was a truth she hid in her heart.

……She secretly feared that if he went solo, he wouldn’t be as successful as he was in the group!

‘Yuyoung, just stick with the group for a bit longer…… The male solo market in the K-pop industry isn’t so easy……’

These were Jo Hayeon’s brutally honest, raw feelings, which she wished she could ignore.

She firmly believed that Ahn Yuyoung would never betray her by getting involved in some unnecessary scandal.

When she was in middle school one of the male idols she naively admired ended up in trouble with the law because of drugs.

In high school another male idol she liked got socially destroyed after it was revealed that he had verbally abused staff members.

So when Ahn Yuyoung came out and personally shut down Hyun Jiwoo, she felt so relieved, as if an old wound had finally healed.

That was why she felt even more frustrated.

None of the members had committed any major blunders, yet somehow, the group simply wasn’t selling.

Meanwhile, Yoon Sanho is dancing with knives during a live broadcast, announcing his departure, and Tae Oh was caught at the airport as he was seemingly trying to flee the country.

……Thinking about that, it did seem like they had quite the collection of blunders going on for them after all.

But anyway, the important part was something else.

……There were even some small rumors circulating about Ahn Yuyoung being spotted at the airport as well!

“Maybe Yuyoung went there to stop Tae Oh from leaving, to keep the group together. Yuyoung could easily go solo, but he still wants to stay in the group while these other guys just try to run away or join weird dance shows……”

“Ugh.”

“But honestly, Yuyoung shares some of this blame. He must have known that the fans were divided, fighting, and spreading rumors, yet he didn’t say anything.”

“Maybe he’s still discussing it with the agency…… No, the agency I know wouldn’t give a damn.”

“Would that agency even bother trying to talk to the members? If they had tried, they would have intervened when Yuyoung went to the airport. They don’t care at all, and the fans are the only ones who are worried. I really don’t think I’ll be able to survive this, sigh…….”

“Seems like you’re finally more worried about yourself than Ahn Yuyoung. Good job, Hayeon.”

Despite Kim Minjeong’s genuinely proud expression, Jo Hayeon began to tear up again.

“Yuyoung, just say something, anything……”

Minjeong wondered when this cycle of suffering would ever end when she turned her attention back to her phone. She wanted to see what had triggered Jo Hayeon’s current emotional state.

“……Hey, Jo Hayeon.”

“Huh?”

“Did you see this? It came out like 30 minutes ago.”

“What is it?...... No wait, I don’t want to hear it.”

“Hey, hey, it’s not about the group members leaving, disbanding, doing drugs, or a dating scandal.”

Hayeon’s eyes widened.

“……Then is it a power abuse scandal?”

“Ah, I forgot about that one.”

“I’m not listening.”

“I-it’s not about that! Apparently they’re going on some show? What was it called? <Ultimate Idol>?”

“……What? Let me see.”

Jo Hayeon quickly moved to Minjeong’s side, and what she saw was:

<[Official] Amidst rumors, departures and noise, WEEKANIZ…… to Reveal New Song on ‘Ultimate Idol’.>

Ultimate……?

New song……?

None of these words seemed to match WEEKANIZ, so Jo Hayeon rubbed her eyes hard.

“What is this……?”

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