<Episode 17>
Someone trudged through the darkness and dropped heavily onto the bench. Under the moonlight, his distinctive pink hair glimmered faintly.
His name was Kang Min. He was supposed to be writing the report for the gate they had cleared recently, but he couldn’t focus on work at all, so he had come outside instead. Deliberately walking all the way to a secluded bench, he turned on his phone and habitually opened Nutube.
A few days earlier, a video had been uploaded of him running into the members of the group he used to debut with at the café they had stopped by after visiting the Hunter Market. The official broadcast hadn’t aired yet, so these were raw videos filmed by people who had been at the café that day.
“Hyuuung, then can’t you film the challenge with us?”
“The challenge?”
The clip of him asking, “The challenge?” replayed over and over again in slow motion. They even kindly zoomed in on each member’s expression one by one. As a bonus, eerie sound effects made the whole thing feel even more suspicious.
– Holy shit, he acts like he’s some big deal
– Is it because he’s not an idol anymore and is now some noble hunter? lol
– Our boys are too nice to still treat him like a member
– Ugh ㅜㅜ his pink-hair persona is still disgusting
– The way his expression completely hardened when they mentioned the challenge kekek
└ That part seriously felt creepy lol
└ He didn’t used to look like that before…
└ Ever since he left the group, even his eyes have changed
The comments continued endlessly. Though the short video had only been uploaded a few days ago, it had already surpassed a million views.
Kang Min bit down hard on his lip.
Hundreds of comments, all insulting a single person. After taking a brief deep breath, he moved his finger again and scrolled down.
– His hunter watch didn’t even ring though lol what “call”?
└ Oh wow, you’re right…
└ Wait, so he actually lied right now?
– Kang Min lol, did you hate doing the challenge that much?
– I always thought this guy felt kinda off
└ Physiognomy is seriously a science
└ I knew it ever since he kept acting cute despite being the oldest
– The watch thing is seriously creepy. What’s wrong with him?
– Look at the other members carefully watching his moodㅠ they’re pitiful
In the video, he hurriedly checked his watch and said he had received an urgent call. But if you zoomed in on the watch itself, it was obvious that no call had come in.
Watching the video titled “A-rank Hunter’s shocking lie? The scene everyone says gave them chills kekek ”, Kang Min let out a hollow smile.
“…I didn’t even think about the fact that people would film it. Idiot.”
At the time, he had only wanted to escape the situation. The members’ expectations. The countless cameras. The people were curious about how he would react. His stomach churned, and suddenly his head felt dizzy.
So he hastily made up the excuse about getting a call and left, only to get caught immediately.
“I’m seriously pathetic.”
How had he ended up changing like this?
Ever since he was very young, his dream had been to become an idol. Pale skin, large eyes, and a personality that wasn’t afraid of strangers. Even before he could properly walk, people around him always said, “This kid absolutely has to become a celebrity.”
Maybe that was why. Even after enduring five years as a trainee, he had never once imagined another path. No future for Kang Min was as an idol. And fortunately, luck had been on his side too.
—And this week’s first place goes to… BEYOU! Congratulations!
With a burst, flower petals fluttered everywhere.
Great members, great songs, and an agency that supported them.
An idol group that debuted with the title of “self-producing idols,” BeYou had managed to win first place on music shows immediately after debuting. It was an unbelievably rapid rise.
‘Back then, it really felt like the whole world belonged to me.’
But it seemed the world had never truly been on his side. Ironically, not long after winning first place, he awakened as an A-rank hunter.
Everyone wished to awaken as a high-ranking hunter, but Kang Min absolutely did not. Unfortunately, he awakened anyway, and his rank was far too high for him to continue idol activities.
“CEO, I’ll really work hard. I can do it without causing trouble for the group.”
“Min-ah… I understand how you feel, but I don’t think that’ll work. I’m sorry.”
He had to undergo hunter training, while his group now had a schedule packed to the brim. Trying to do both at the same time was physically impossible.
In the end, he left the group and fully stepped onto the path of a hunter.
‘Up until then, public opinion hadn’t even been bad.’
Kang Min had been the leader and center of BeYou. An appearance anyone would naturally like, a clean past without scandals, and genuine affection for his fans.
Fans were saddened by the sudden news that such a natural-born idol had awakened, but they still supported him.
Since he hadn’t left under bad circumstances, many fans even said “5-1=0,” insisting he could always return someday.
– Ah, it really feels empty without our Minieㅠ
– Becoming a hunter is something to celebrate, but… It’s still sad
– I miss Minie ㅠㅠ. He used to tell us goodnight every day
– Every time I watch the stage now, I just cry…
But the idol industry was cold, and people couldn’t keep longing forever for someone who had already left.
– Wow, were these guys always this good on stage?
– There are only four of them, but the stage feels full; their determination is insane
– OMGㅠㅠㅠ this choreography formation is sooo good
– The concept suits them perfectly. Who planned this?
└ Our puppy Doyu planned ittt
└ As expected of self-producing idols ㅠㅠ I’m so emotional
– They should’ve done this from the start lol this feels refreshing
– Wow, they’re actually amazing performers. Why didn’t I realize before?
Before he knew it, more than two years had already passed since he left the group and began working as a hunter. At first, fans missed him and felt regretful, but gradually they began focusing more on the remaining members.
BeYou continued activities without adding new members. While Kang Min closed the gates, the group released new songs, appeared on variety shows, and went on nationwide tours.
Once he stopped seeing the name “Kang Min” in the comments, he forcibly turned away from all the group’s activities. He deleted his now-useless SNS accounts and only occasionally watched healing videos with animals or babies on Nutube.
But the entire process happened so slowly that he didn’t even realize he was rotting inside. He brainwashed himself into thinking he was simply too busy to use social media and focused instead on getting close to new people.
Fortunately, hunters were ordinary people too, and they liked him because he was handsome and outgoing. Yes, that should have been enough.
‘If only I hadn’t run into them that day.’
He recalled the day he went to the Hunter Market. Running into the members at the café had truly been the worst possible luck.
When the members, more mature than he remembered, approached him and suggested filming the new song challenge together, he suddenly realized he hadn’t practiced dancing at all during all that time. Of course, he hadn’t. He wasn’t an idol anymore.
And yet he became terrified. If he danced badly there, it felt like “Kang Min the idol” would disappear completely forever.
Behind the approaching members, he saw people holding banners.
[We love BeYou]
[♡Doyu/TJ/Kang Sunwoo/Park Moonhyuk♡]
[4REVER BeYou]
Naturally, his own name wasn’t there.
His breath caught in his throat. Trying not to show it, he rubbed at his stiff solar plexus.
‘Their hair… turned green.’
One of the members had dyed his hair a vivid green, while another had braided his hair into a reggae style.
Their styling had completely changed from their debut days. It looked like they had moved on from a refreshing concept to a more conceptual one.
Among them, the only person still stubbornly keeping pink hair was himself. He alone was trapped in the past. A past nobody wanted anymore.
“Ah, this is bad. What should I do? I have to head back now.”
The moment he realized that fact, his eyes unconsciously drifted to his watch. The thought that someone might notice the watch hadn’t actually rung never even crossed his mind.
After awkwardly complimenting a new song he had never even listened to, he hurriedly escaped the café. He wanted to grab fistfuls of his pink hair and rip it out.
Maybe the comments were right. Even while working as a hunter, he still hadn’t forgotten those days. The fact that he still kept the same hairstyle from the day they won first place on a music show two years ago proved it.
‘…Was I hoping fans would like me again if I kept doing this?’
Others might call it a luxurious complaint, but he had never wanted to become a hunter.
No matter how painful or difficult it was, he wanted to remain an idol forever.
After ending his brief recollection, he fixed his gaze on his phone screen again. When he sorted the comments by newest, new messages appeared.
– Honestly, the group quality improved way more after Kang Min left
– Looking at it now, his awakening back then was god-tier timing lol
└ Fr tho, I’ve stanned lots of idols and guys with egos that huge never suit idol groupsㅎㅎ
└ Just looking at how greedy he was for more lines haha, glad he left
└ If Kang Min sees this, he will probably get hit right in the bones
He kept scrolling endlessly, forgetting even to breathe.
“Hunter Kang Min?”
Then suddenly, at the sound of someone calling him, he snapped his head up. Noona Haneul, who ran the bungeoppang shop, was staring at him with wide eyes.
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