NOVEL WEB Chapter 273
Chapter 273. The Snowball of Luck (6)
Justice from the sky… no, no.
Kairos’s official fan café was flooded with schedule announcements.
<[Exclusive] Kairos Seo Taehyun selected as MC for year-end stage… To host ‘GMA’>
<#This week’s ‘NamTijoo Workshop’ guest alert – Kairos Yugeon, Eunchan, Haru>
<[LET US DANCE] K:RUS EUNCHAN, HARU│Performance Video│’Lotus’ by Hong Ran>
…….
In addition, constant notifications kept ringing about various content, such as fan signings and making-of behind-the-scenes.
At first, Destis enjoyed the unrelenting pace with a thrill, but as more kept coming, they gradually began to feel fear.
Park Jangmi ???? @roxeeey
I like the flood of content, but I can’t even imagine how much they plan to rest during the break.
[[Myfl] Are they even getting any rest?]
I’m worried because they seem so busy from the survival show at the beginning of the year until the upcoming year-end awards.
Seeing what Taehyun mentioned during his live, it really feels like they haven’t been sleeping lately and just practicing all the time.
It’s great they’re working hard, but I’m seriously worried… Especially after what happened with Miro before…
– I knowㅠㅜㅜ I do like all this content, but it’s upsetting to see them losing weight…
– I heard that after what happened with Miro, they’ve been paying extra attention to artist care, so don’t worry too much.
– Instead of dropping lots of mediocre content with bad conditions, it’s better to have one well-produced piece. But Miro never understands this balance… During the college entrance exams, Han Sewon even had to pick them up and drop them off personally because they couldn’t get a plane ticket, and it messed up their schedule. Seriously, Miro needs to get it together before someone collapses again.
In truth, for an idol group rising in popularity, they didn’t have that many overseas schedules yet, so their schedule wasn’t overly tight. However, since this was an early fandom that formed before they even had official fan club membership, they were prone to being easily shaken by even small things due to the influx of new and transient fans.
And Kang Hajin thought that kind of noise was nothing.
‘As long as the content is fun, it’ll all die down.’
And his prediction was spot on.
Destis, who had voiced concerns about the members’ health, soon found themselves overwhelmed by the flood of content that began.
The start—was Choi Yeonwoo’s visible radio show, which Kairos secured through their appearance on *Touch High!*
-We’re accepting your bittersweet love stories and troubles at the ‘Midnight Sugar Factory’. Tonight’s sugar factory is spinning with Kairos, who recently made history with ‘This is Not a Carol’. Hajin-ssi?
-Yes. Share with us your sweet love stories, those slightly bitter and sour breakups, and any dilemmas you have. Whatever it is, send it our way. We’ll gather those bittersweet feelings and gift you with a delicious dream.
The day Kairos appeared was the day of a regular program similar to a typical love advice column. In the second part, after introducing Kairos to the listeners with light stories unrelated to the segment, the real corner began in the third part.
Since ‘Midnight Sugar Factory’ was a segment meant to be moderately chatty in a way that suited late-night radio, even Destis and the regular listeners were casually enjoying the show.
– ?? Why are we trending right now?
└ Listen to the radio right now
└ …? Did the boys do something weird again…?
Yeah. It was definitely a lighthearted segment.
[Midnight Radio is seriously insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
People are losing it, saying all guys and girls who are ‘just friends’ worldwide should be eradicatedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ ??????????
…Until they began to *over-immerse*.
* * *
-You come to pick me up when I’m crying!? Then you take me to a karaoke room and play for an hour? You delay going home for that? (Hajin-ssi, please calm down….) And then, you call that a friend? F-r-i-e-n-d? Friend~???
-I… I think the guy just genuinely cares for her like a little sister and is close enough to do those things. But it feels like the person who sent in the story is trying to force herself to feel something romantic, and it’s a bit sad. If he really had feelings for her, he wouldn’t be confusing her like this.
-Huh…? Siwoo hyung. If your little sister is crying, do you rush to pick her up, take her to karaoke, and hang out? Were you always like this? (Taehyun hyung, calm down…) Oh, let go of me. Isn’t this clearly stringing someone along? This is really awful…! (Stringing someone along is bad, yes.) Even Eunchan agrees!
-Uh, Yu… Yugeon-ssi, what do you think?
-Well… If a friend is going through a tough time, it’s not a big deal to take them to karaoke or something, right? It’s a bit much to call that flirting…
-Thoughts like that make life hard for us unrequited lovers! If you’re not going to date them, why flirt!? (He didn’t flirt, but she fell for it anyway.) This guy…!? Doha, say something too!
-…It sounds like the person who sent in the story is really struggling, so I don’t want to speak too hastily.
-Haru-ssi. Please stop the hyungs….
-They’re being quite rational under the circumstances, though?
Ordinarily, love talk is one of the top NN forbidden topics for idols, but the Kairos members, as complete outsiders, became intensely engrossed in every story, passionately debating each one.
One might have expected comments like, “These young boys are already obsessed with love,” but once again, Destis remained calm. This was due to the personalities they had already shown.
-Please understand, everyone… These are the same guys who spent 30 minutes on one question during a balance quiz in a live broadcast…
-I should’ve known when Doha wrote a whole thesis on the Kkaetnip Debate
-Kairos’s Over-Immersion Trio never fails to crack me up during these segments…?
└ Who’s the Over-Immersion Trio?
└ Rapunzels. Doha, Hajin, Taehyun << They got so engrossed in *Tangled* that they all cried at the same scene and were dubbed the Rapunzels.
– 2Ugeon’s idol career spared the world from countless crimes, and it breaks my heart.
└ Why do you think he’s not committing them now…?
└ Omg 2Ugeon please graduate quickly… My wrist can’t handle this.
It was obvious from the start that Doha, Hajin, and Taehyun, with their xNFx MBTI types, would get overly immersed, and that day’s Sugar Factory turned from a love advice segment into a love court.
With such strong characters within the group, even the unflappable Choi Yeonwoo found himself lost and swayed by his juniors, which provided fresh entertainment for Enderway fans as well.
-So…. Let’s listen to a song now. Here’s Kairos singing ‘Destiny’.
After shaking up the late-night radio, Kairos then charmed the listeners with a live performance of *Destiny,* a song from their debut album that they had also sung for fans during the Miro Maze finale.
These days, the live environment on radio shows is so well-equipped that it doesn’t feel as raw as it used to, but there’s still a unique flavor to live radio performances.
The members, who had been noisily debating just moments before, quickly changed their expressions and delivered a sweet ballad, which was immediately clipped and spread all over the internet. The final track, *This is Not a Carol,* played as the ending song, also became a small talking point within the community.
…Thus, as they busily went through each day, exactly a week after Kairos won their first music show award.
“Kairos! Congratulations–!”
Kairos won the same award at the same place once again.
Having already won first place on all four music shows last week, this was now their fifth award.
“Destis, thank you!”
“It’s all thanks to you. Destis are the best!”
The chaotic crying and struggling to compose themselves had only lasted until the third time.
By the fifth time, they were slowly able to give their acceptance speeches with a clear mind. Although some fans might have felt a bit sad about it, there were things they could do now that they had become accustomed to winning.
“Hey, carry me.”
“Carry him, carry him.”
“Who’s going to—, ugh! You punks, one at a time!”
The encore highlight.
It was the first place pledge.
Kairos had been collecting encore moments by fulfilling all kinds of first-place pledges, like wearing animal-shaped hats, switching parts, and singing while doing push-ups. Today’s pledge was to carry a member while singing.
As Eunchan and Haru jumped onto Hajin’s back, causing him to lose his balance while trying to steady himself, Doha looked at Taehyun beside him.
“……?”
“…Come on
, carry me.”
“……Carry you? Not the other way around? Do you have any shame?”
Doha, the tallest member, and Taehyun, the shortest, were a popular pairing among fans, with the main charm being how Taehyun, the shortest, tried to avoid Doha, the tallest, which was considered cute.
Now, Doha was openly spreading his arms, asking Taehyun to carry him, which made Taehyun recoil in surprise. But Doha seemed determined not to take back his request.
“You need to build some muscle.”
“Why should I use you for that?”
“This will help you strengthen your core.”
“This is ridiculous.”
Taehyun looked over at the other members on stage.
Hajin, who had been struggling with the three, was now being hoisted up by Haru, who was strong enough to lift Hajin and carry Eunchan in a princess hold, shifting positions. On the other side, Yugeon and Siwoo, who were still a bit awkward around each other, settled the situation as Siwoo casually lifted Yugeon after a brief exchange of glances.
Clicking his tongue, Taehyun turned around.
“Fine, I’m in a good mood today. As your old roommate, I’ll carry you just this once. Get on.”
Taehyun struggled to lift Doha, who was more than 10 centimeters taller than him. In fact, Doha’s feet were still touching the ground, so Taehyun wasn’t exactly lifting him but more like carrying him. Having been roommates for a long time during their trainee days, Taehyun knew well that Doha liked to play pranks on people he was close to.
“Seriously, the hyungs are more immature….”
“Taehyun.”
“Yeah?”
When Taehyun mumbled as if he were joking, Doha stood up from Taehyun’s back. It wasn’t difficult since Doha was the one who had let himself be carried in the first place.
Doha, looking at Taehyun with a light smile, now offered his back to Taehyun as if telling him to hop on. Taehyun, curious, climbed on, and Doha slowly circled the stage, sending eye smiles to the fans while whispering quietly enough that only Taehyun could hear.
“You’ve worked hard all this time.”
“…Why all of a sudden?”
“I’ve always wanted to tell you. But you’re proud and smart, so I thought you’d hate it if I said something like that carelessly.”
“…….”
“But now we’re on the same team. So I think it’s okay to say it.”
Doha’s gaze drifted toward the other teams still exiting the stage after the ending. When Taehyun glanced over, he noticed Cha Minseok, who had been staring at them, hastily turn his head away.
Taehyun knew Doha’s mention of ‘all this time’ included their trainee days when they were roommates, so he just smiled and swung his legs playfully.
“Yeah. Thanks. Let’s keep working hard together. You need to keep making great songs for us.”
“……? Making great music isn’t hard work.”
“Sure, sure.”
How did I end up meeting such great people?
Since the day they won their first award, Taehyun had been pondering this question, but the only answer he could come up with was that it was sheer luck.
Feeling his eyes well up with tears again, Taehyun bit his lip and buried his face in Doha’s shoulder. Just then, someone playfully flicked Taehyun’s forehead.
“……?”
“If you bite your lip and get hurt, are you going to photoshop it out?”
“…I didn’t bite it.”
“Yeah, right.”
Hajin, raising his eyebrows and grinning, tapped Taehyun’s head.
“You did it.”
“…….”
“We did it, so let’s enjoy it. Just like that.”
“…Yeah.”
Taehyun thought Hajin’s words were just meant to comfort him, but they held a deeper meaning for Hajin.
Hajin recalled the time he had unintentionally said something to persuade Taehyun.
-I voted for you.
-You’re really good. I was really jealous when I saw you.
Even now, Hajin vividly remembered Taehyun’s final stage, which shone brightly on that small monitor in the dark, lonely practice room.
Thirteen always said there was no such thing as ‘fate’ in this world, only ‘choices’ that remained….
‘If our timelines were ever to intertwine, wouldn’t it be because of moments like these?’
Hajin felt a bit sentimental as he wondered when exactly the snowball he had rolled and rolled today had first begun.
Looking at the first-place trophy in his hand, engraved with the name Kairos, Hajin flashed another big, refreshing smile at the fans.
‘Whatever it is, it’s only just the beginning.’
Until all the snow in the world melts and dries up, he would keep creating more snowballs.
Hajin was determined to keep running at full speed.