Chapter 35

Ding—

“Just do it. Hurry up.”

After sighing, Gowon followed the note I had played with an “Ah—.”

After Gowon had been put through the wringer for about an hour, the alert I had been waiting for finally appeared.

Gowon

Vocals Lv.95 (▲1)

One hour of vocal lessons every morning and evening.

That was why Gowon, who had attempted to escape every day, had ultimately ended up trapped here.

After buying Gowon a meal, I contacted the management team and told them we intended to appear on <Under the Same Sky>.

The Young Ace team was somewhat reluctant, asking what benefit this would bring “Baek Hanje,” but Gowon’s team immediately threw both hands up in celebration. I pushed the appearance through.

The filming date was scheduled in no time. And until the day before filming, our daily vocal lessons continued.

Gowon

Vocals Lv. MAX (▲1)

“That’s it. We’re done now.”

“...Yes....”

The maximum would rise again once we cleared the quest anyway, but reaching the end still left me feeling refreshed.

I flopped onto the sofa and looked up at Gowon, who was standing stiffly.

On the day before filming, Gowon was even more nervous than I had expected. After the production crew installed cameras throughout the house and left, he kept touching his hair until bedtime.

“What are you acting shy for? You’d still look handsome even if you came out as you are.”

“...I’m handsome?”

“Has anyone ever criticized your face? They can criticize your skills, but criticizing your face would be ridiculous.”

“...I’m going to bed.”

As we returned to our respective rooms, each of us held a small camera to place beside the bed.

Several hours later, filming for the entertainment show began.

***

Lonely Hanzel Chat

Notice: Chat restrictions will be lifted during the broadcast of <Under the Same Sky> Episode 105 (18:00–20:00). Please communicate freely and enjoy the show together.

Lonely chat unlocked, let’s get it

Wait, Hanje is appearing on something today??????

Under the Same Sky?? Holy shit, wonder who he’s appearing with this time

Isn’t Kim Yeban the only one currently promoting?

Leaving behind the cries of casual fans who had neglected to check his schedule, the fans who had already settled in front of their televisions calmly raised the volume before the broadcast even began.

Under the Same Sky Episode 105 ♥Guest: Hanzel♥ Live Discussion

But Hanje First @howeverHeIs

Watching Baek Hanzel live

Rambling commentary in the thread

They had also carefully set up their laptops and phones to share their reactions in real time.

When Young Ace had been at the height of their activities, the fan had still been a student living with her parents. Every weekend an entertainment show aired, she had fought her family for the remote while shouting, “I have to watch this!”

But now that Young Ace was in their thirteenth year, the fans who had grown up alongside them had also moved out, become working adults, and fully connected every streaming service to televisions of their own.

Thus, one fan living alone leisurely cracked open a can of beer while sitting on her sofa before the opening had even begun. Just as her cat, which only showed affection whenever its owner was focused elsewhere, approached and began rubbing against her, a room appeared on-screen.

It was a neat bedroom: a square space containing only a bed and a storage cabinet.

Lonely Hanzel Chat

Why are they starting with a bedroom instead of his studio for once?

Huh? Hanzel is territorial as hell, there’s no way he’d let staff into his house

Then I guess the other guest is appearing before Hanje

Wait, does that mean black-haired Kim Yeban????

A person sleeping curled like a shrimp with only the crown of his head visible soon sat up groggily.

As his curled body unfolded, the broad shoulders hidden beneath the blanket filled the bed generously from side to side. Like a padded jacket expanding after being decompressed, the man stretched out his arms and legs and grew to an astonishing size. After rubbing his face several times, he stiffly surveyed the cameras around him.

Then he climbed out of bed and fled toward the bathroom.

He soon reappeared and fumbled with the vlog camera beside the head of the bed until it turned on.

Lonely Hanzel Chat

??

Why are you coming out of there?

The man who appeared on-screen had a face that roughly half the fans recognized and the other half did not.

“Uh... um....”

Beneath his damp bangs, freshly wet from washing his face, his round eyes shifted awkwardly, unable to conceal his discomfort.

Even his defined double eyelids and feline, upturned eyes could not hide his naïveté. Meanwhile, the clear innocence created by his pale face and delicate features was doubled by the lingering moisture.

His smooth lips soon parted awkwardly.

“Good... morning.”

As though answering the viewers asking who he was, the screen transitioned to an interview.

Q. Please introduce yourself!

—Nice to meet you. I’m Gowon.

Q. You seem very uncomfortable with the cameras.

—Well, this is my first time being filmed from the moment I wake up....

Anonymous Lady 31 Ahahahaha, I was wondering who he’d appear with. So it’s his junior

Anonymous Lady 01 Holy shit, I fucking love Gowon

Anonymous Lady 42 A Division Five parachute drop under the same sky, lol

Anonymous Lady 17 Ugh, they’ve lost their touch. Honestly, shouldn’t it have been Kwon Taeyoung or Kim Yeban...?

The fans’ opinions split in several directions.

Some were pleased because they already knew the two had worked together. Others were disappointed it was not another Young Ace member. Some went even further and sneered that Gowon was being bundled into the appearance for promotion.

But the latter group was soon buried by fans who had been peacefully watching television until they began moving their fingers.

Lonely Hanzel Chat

Baek? Hanje? Our? Gangster youngest member? Promoting someone as part of a package? Quietly? Doing what the company tells him?

You might as well say there’s going to be a flamethrower show in Leader Kwon’s office tomorrow, hahahahaha. Why would Hanzel agree to that when he has nothing to gain?

He appeared with an Edelweiss member last time too; it was never decided he had to appear with Young Ace members, so what are you even saying?

How dare anyone spout nonsense about something their youngest member was doing?

A singer’s disposition often passed directly on to their fans. Baek Hanje’s individual fans had taken after their favorite and developed the powerful identity of, “I like it, so what the hell are you going to do about it?”

If Hanje said he was doing it, then he was doing it.

More importantly, this was their first entertainment-show content in ages. They could not let themselves be dragged around by a few trolls.

Just then, Gowon was heading stiffly toward the kitchen, painfully conscious of the cameras.

He opened the refrigerator and took out a sandwich and a one-liter carton of milk. After placing the food on the table, he carefully rearranged everything according to what he considered visually pleasing.

At last, he took his first bite.

Lonely Hanzel Chat

??

Hahahahahahahaha, there was bread, and now there isn’t

Aw, look at him eat so well—wait, he really does eat well

Gowon finished half the sandwich in two bites, rapidly devoured the rest, and only then poured milk into a cup.

Lonely Hanzel Chat

Why did he bother arranging everything? He should’ve just eaten each thing straight from the fridge, lol

But why does he keep drinking...?

Is he seriously downing his third glass of milk on an empty stomach first thing in the morning?

Meal finished in three minutes, lol. He really feels like a twenty-year-old who still hasn’t shaken off his high-schooler vibe, hahahahaha

Gowon looked down at the carton in confusion when the milk sloshed near the bottom.

Apparently, he had not intended to drink that much.

Perhaps putting it back with only one mouthful remaining felt pointless, because he simply lifted the carton and drained the rest. In contrast to the bold way he drank it, he then carefully rinsed the milk carton and folded it neatly.

Afterward, he attached a small handwritten note to the refrigerator.

The camera zoomed in on it.

Brother, I drank all the milk.

I’ll replace it later.

After finishing breakfast, Gowon changed clothes and returned to the living room. Then he stared down at {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} his phone with a rigid expression.

Looking as serious as though he were reviewing confidential Division Five documents, he soon tapped the screen.

What he had composed with such grim determination was a message for the communication app Boggle.

Gowon was writing the following sentence.

ARTIST Gowon

Good morning~~^^

Maintaining a perfectly motionless posture, he proceeded to compose several more warm messages that looked as though they belonged in a neighborhood association chat for elderly residents.

Since his Boggle messages had attracted attention for their amusingly old-fashioned style, a related question appeared in the interview.

“The twelve-key keyboard... the company told me that, at the very least, I had to change that....”

Lonely Hanzel Chat

Oh, so that’s why his middle-dot typos disappeared latelyㅠ I’m weirdly sad about it

My lady, you’ve just been completely exposed for cheating on them

Sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry. I plan to be buried in both brothers

Being a celebrity really is nice. He released one debut album and gets to live in a place like that, lol

He is cute, but I was wondering why reality suddenly hit me... Fuck, that was it

When is Hanzel coming out?

A little later, Gowon rose from his seat, crossed the wide hallway, and knocked on a bedroom door.

“Brother, I’m going to the company to practice.”

Anonymous Lady 03 Ah, so that’s the brother he reported drinking all the milk to, lol

Anonymous Lady 11 Looks like they live together

Anonymous Lady 17 I came here to see Hanzel. Why do I have to learn about some nobody roommate too?

Anonymous Lady 18 Gowon or whatever your name is, stop showing off and fuck off

Anonymous Lady 18 The preview baited the hell out of everyone with Hanje, but this bastard’s been the only one on-screen for ten minutes

Anonymous Lady 05 He’s still his direct junior artist, so let’s not say anything too cruel... Hanje will probably get ten minutes too

With Gowon’s words, the screen changed.

#Side. 2.

It meant the program was moving on to the next person.

A face familiar to the fans soon appeared.

“Mm.......”

Baek Hanje’s home was shrouded in mystery, but he occasionally started live broadcasts there, so fans remembered details such as the shape of his headboard.

Once the person they had been waiting for appeared, the fans uniformly returned to well-behaved reactions.

Baek Hanje groaned as he pushed himself upright. He looked around with his hair in disarray, then waved at the nearby camera in greeting.

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

Unlike Gowon, who had been uncomfortable with the cameras, he appeared relaxed and practiced.