Chapter 56

Cultural Shock

Except for Green and Peppermint, the others said they had never really used SNS properly. Seohoon and Orlando only created accounts to browse other people's photos and posts.

Therefore, the other members, excluding the two insiders, never expected such a热烈的反应 from selfies and photos.

"How many likes are there? It's only been 30 minutes, is this normal?"

Seohoon turned to Green and Peppermint in a daze. Green smiled contentedly at our surprised expressions.

"Why are you so surprised? You should have calmly said, 'I expected this much!'"

Peppermint, who was putting on airs, demanded that Seohoon play along with her arrogant stance. Seohoon, thinking he had ruined the mood, quickly changed his attitude.

He immediately crossed his legs, leaned back in his chair, and raised an eyebrow.

"...Is this all? It falls far short of my expectations. If you have eyes, you can't help but like our photos."

He even snorted. It reminded me of a self-absorbed third-generation tycoon from a drama. It was a character I had seen somewhere before, but his good acting skills made it fit perfectly.

His talent was so abundant that he was even wasting his acting skills in moments like this.

Even Peppermint, who had asked for his cooperation, opened her mouth in amazement at Seohoon's acting skills.

"Seohoon, I didn't ask for this much. Wow! Your acting skills really haven't gone to waste!"

"What's the big deal... It's embarrassing."

Seohoon, scratching his head, remained a simple young man. The arrogant third-generation tycoon who exuded confidence and ease had completely disappeared.

"Seohoon, we should probably set up some acting schedules soon. It's a waste of talent to let this acting ability go unused."

Green, speaking seriously, fell into thought. The other members kept praising Seohoon with admiration.

"Enough. You've flattered me enough. I might fly away if you keep this up."

"Okay, got it!"

Because of Ji-on's immediate withdrawal of attention, Seohoon looked a bit disappointed.

Returning to the main topic, the members gathered to look at the comments on Theora's official account.

- Grandma smiled while watching, but my heart at the end! I thought Grandma was having a heart attack...

└I thought my heart was going to burst 😭😭😭

- What's with the face combination? This place is a face haven!

- Everyone's selfie skills are above average except for Seohoon 😂

└I can understand Ji-ton, but what about Ham-iwon? Isn't that wrong?

└Was it? I only saw angels...

- So who's the selfie king? I only see light.

- I want to die from Green's fox-like eye smile...

└222

└333

"Want to die from the eye smile! Isn't that a bit extreme?"

Despite her words, Peppermint had a smile on her lips. It was amazing how the comments kept pouring in as soon as the photos were posted, and the content was overwhelmingly positive, almost bordering on praise, making her face feel hot.

- Did Peppermint take Ham-iwon's photo? Peppermint is a professional portrait photographer, wow, she's really amazing

- Hong Oran is so cute, I might lose my memory. I bit my cheeks so hard I lost all my teeth... Hong Oran is so cute, I might lose my memory. I was practicing biting my cheeks, but why did I lose all my teeth? Anyone know? ... Hong Oran is so cute, I might lose my memory...

- Peppermint is always handsome, he's never been ugly, really

- For some reason, I'm drawn to Ji-ton's selfies, is it just me?

└Yeah... I thought it was a concept, but why is it a failed selfie?

└If someone else took it like that?

└Okay, I get it, it's just a face thing

Was this considered overacting? The first time seeing such overacting comments made her mind go blank.

"Angel..."

"Ham-iwon, cultural shock?"

I saw him close his eyes tightly and smile, and Green asked. The other members, sitting beside us, also took their eyes off the screen, intrigued by our conversation.

"How can they use such expressions? They don't seem embarrassed at all..."

His voice grew smaller, and Peppermint burst out laughing. The other members also laughed.

Am I the only one?

Oran seemed relaxed even after seeing the memory loss jokes. Oran, who was analytical about everything, could be an exception, but even Ji-on and Seohoon were calm.

"Ham-iwon, you'll adapt soon. Just think that fans love us so much they want to act silly."

Seohoon, who had experience as a child actor, understood the fans' enthusiasm well.

"The fans are so swag? They all have rapper potential."

From Ji-on's perspective as a rapper, the fans' comments seemed like rap lyrics? He could even read the overflowing swag from the arrangement of characters.

"Isn't it direct despite being exaggerated?"

Green offered a different opinion.

"Direct?"

"Think about it. When you meet someone in person, you can see how much they like you through their actions. But what about when you can't meet in person?"

On SNS, you can only express emotions through short comments. It's not easy to convey the depth and variety of emotions in just a few characters. In that sense, overacting comments are an effective way of expression.

"The conclusion is that overacting is an efficient way to express emotions. So, Ham-iwon, just enjoy it."

As usual, the entertainment doctor presented his logically sound opinion. I, a new entrant to the entertainment industry, was like a student who only clapped along and ended the class. I felt like I had been fed information, but my mind was still a blank slate.

"Feels like I've been tricked..."

"Hey, did we trick our precious member?"

I looked at each member's face. The members, who were now resting their chins in their hands, were watching us with interest.

When did they all become spectators?

"Overacting comments are so stimulating? Babies should only hear nice words."

"Babies...?"

Looking around, I realized the members were focusing on me, and 'baby' referred to me. I narrowed my eyes sharply at the teasing.

"Call me baby one more time, and I'll punish you."

Even as I said I would punish them, I had no specific method in mind. I had never been angry with a friend before. I also didn't have many friends.

"Baby."

"Come here."

"How can you not be scared...?"

Oran, who had been holding back, finally burst into laughter.

If fans saw his crescent eyes and dimples, they would have calmed down, but I wasn't.

"Hong Oran, call me hyung from now on."

Oran answered with a laugh. The other members were trying hard not to laugh because of my bad mood.

I thought it would be better if they just laughed. I couldn't understand what was so funny.

"Better to laugh freely."

As soon as the words were out, our table erupted in laughter. Even the manager, who usually didn't laugh much, joined in.

"Teach Ham-iwon how to not look easy to bully. Hong Oran."

"Me?"

"It's a punishment for teasing Ham-iwon. While you're at it, Seohoon should join too."

Oran looked at me and Seohoon, then accepted the punishment from Green.

"I'm the only expert in this field. We need to prepare before our baby and the soft-hearted Seohoon get hurt."

Hearing the word 'baby' again, I tensed my eyes. Oran glanced at my eyes and corrected himself.

"Not baby? Got it, Hyung."

"..."

The shivers ran down my spine as Oran called me hyung as instructed. Making me call him hyung myself...

Rubbing my arm, Oran smiled, as if he had expected this.

I shouldn't let him get too comfortable with teasing. I don't know why I keep getting angry at Oran.

On the other hand, it was a bit easier to be less careful. Oran's strong mentality meant he wouldn't be hurt by my honesty.

While I was having a mental battle with Oran, Peppermint was focused on the SNS comments again.

"Look at this."

- Should our Seohoon's aunt teach us how to take selfies? Address: Seoul...

└If you marry me, I can take them for you every day ^^

└Seohoon, run...!

- Today's battle winner: Ham-iwon, right?

└Right, she's always pretty, but the last photo is really something

└It doesn't seem heavily edited? Her face did all the work

└Right, I'm betting my life on this photo

- I hope you grow up soon, Ji-ton... Keep growing like this

└I get it, the type that makes older sisters go crazy. So sexy..

└Clank clank clank

└I can wait a year, baby~

"Taking photos in the cold was worth it! Right?"

"Everyone is saying such nice things. I'm touched. This is what it feels like to fall in love..."

Maybe because he had experienced the rough hip-hop scene? Maybe because he had received hate comments during his Show Me the Gold appearance? The flood of compliments seemed overwhelming to Ji-on.

Even if his mentality was strong in negative directions, he seemed to soften at someone's kindness.

"I feel like I'm falling in."

Murmuring, Green added that everyone feels that way, and once you get addicted to the love of fans, it's hard to leave the entertainment industry.

Each comment was fascinating. Realizing that overacting comments were extreme praise made me feel moved.

Fans are really watching us. They really like us. We can make fans happy with just a few photos...

It finally felt real.

Even though I had decided to become an idol, I was only obsessed with perfect performances. I had a vague sense of duty to please fans, but I only had a superficial understanding of how to make them happy.

But seeing such vivid reactions made my heart race.

So many people are paying attention to me, to us. So many people are putting their hopes and love into us...

"Idol..."

I entered the entertainment industry to fulfill Hyun-oh's dream. At first, my only goal was to succeed as an idol. But as time passed, I was growing to like this world.

Who would have thought that my inner self would become so fulfilled as I debuted and worked hard as an idol?

"Now, let's take them away."

While the members were glued to their phone screens, Peppermint, who had been watching the fan reactions with them, covered the screens with her hand and passed them to Green. Green, squinting one eye, put the phones in his pocket.

"Did you all promise to stay strong while reading the comments? Remember our situation?"

Some comments expressed sadness at not being able to see our performances live. But we had no opportunities to meet fans due to our lack of schedule.

Our task was clear: to set up a schedule to promote Theora.

"Should we go to the broadcasting station to promote? We're already dressed up, so let's go out."

Though he said it casually, it was an important challenge for Theora members. Green had apparently decided to go out for promotion from the moment they left the practice room and even prepared Theora's profile.

The members left the cafe resolutely and headed to a nearby broadcasting station with the manager.