Chapter 416 |
Side Story (33)
As soon as the Seras clicked on the newly uploaded video on the Prism channel, the very first thing they heard was a loud rustling noise from the mic brushing against a blanket.
[“Haa…….”]
[<I’m doing this because I was told to, but I have no idea what to do>]
Not long after, the pitch-black screen suddenly showed a messy-haired face, Seo Yuseong, looking like he had just woken up, radiating that fresh-out-of-bed warmth. The chat immediately filled with question marks.
— ?????— What is this?
— Ah crzy
It wasn’t because the protagonist of the vlog sighed from the very beginning. It was because the vlog’s protagonist was Seo Yuseong.
— No way, is that Yuseong? Wow, I can’t believe I’m watching a Seo Yuseong vlog in my lifetime ㅜㅜㅜㅜ— What the hell lololololol People are making such a big deal out of him filming one vlog. This is why he never gets his act together, everyone babies him like this. Because of him, the group barely even appears on variety shows. He’s such a nuisance
┗┗ yousay: lmao Seo Yuseong fans are so mentally trained they don’t even get triggered anymore hahahaha
It had been years since his debut, yet Seo Yuseong didn’t even have a personal SNS account. He didn’t even use LetterU, an idol messaging service that even Seo Yutae, who ghosted everyone’s texts, managed to use.
— Typical Seo Yuseong stans: It’s been over 3 weeks since the last Letter, but they’re like “our boy is busy~ he doesn’t use his phone much~” and keep defending him like their lives depend on it lmao and still can’t leave the fandom┗ There isn’t one
┗┗ ??? What do you mean?
┗┗┗ There isn’t one, f**k. He doesn’t use Letter at all. He doesn’t even have an account. You can’t even subscribe. He has to actually sell it for me to buy it, you fing jerk
If Seo Yuseong had actually taken people’s subscription money and then barely showed up, that would have been a huge issue. But since he never even started the service in the first place, he’s basically just a primordial idol from the era before messenger apps existed.
— I really wish Byul would please do LetterU. I’d be fine with him only messaging once a year, I just want to see how he texts ㅠㅠ Other groups are out here taking people’s money and sending messages like once every few weeks without feeling any shame, so why do you have to be so honest in this business, Yutae-ya, please— It’s so funny watching other fandoms get mad and call out their idols for not messaging, questioning if the paid service is even worth it lol. Hey, our idol actually protects our bank accounts! He knows he’s bad at it, so the leader won’t even let him start in the first place! I asked him at a fansign, and he said he doesn’t want to do it either! Pretty jealous, right? hahahahaha
┗ Don’t cry, just talk it out
Of course, the fans were crying.
There were also Seras who were dissatisfied with his lack of communication. But as time passed, those who couldn’t accept that Seo Yuseong never changed simply left, and only those who were fine with it remained.
— At this point, Seo Yuseong fans probably have some kind of weird fetish┗ At the fansign, he stared at me with that blank expression, and it was kind of thrilling
┗┗ You’re a lost cause. You’ve crossed a line you can’t come back from
He’s a unique case, practically unheard of among idols active today, but there were two main reasons why this was tolerated.
First, Seo Yuseong didn’t communicate; not just with fans, but with anyone in the world. He was the only person who wouldn’t even reply to Seo Yutae’s messages.
Given the nature of the job, long waiting times usually mean heavy phone usage, but Seo Yuseong had never once been seen using his phone, even in the waiting room. Most of the time, he was just quietly sleeping.
“You’re asking where Yuseong is? He’s sleeping right now. Curled up, face buried in a plushie. I just fixed his posture for him. I used to hold him to sleep every night when he was little, so he developed a weird habit.”
According to Seo Yutae, he’s a long sleeper, so he needs to sleep about half the day.
That’s nearly three times more than his older brother.
Since fans already knew he just repeated a cycle of sleep and work, sleep and work, it was at least somewhat understandable.
Second, compared to fans who got into him because of fan service, an overwhelming number of Seo Yuseong’s fans fell for him because of his singing ability, so fan service naturally held much less importance.
— Seo Yuseong doesn’t really act sweet toward fans like other idols do, so yeah, sometimes it’s a bit disappointing. But he’s never dated and caused a scandal by deceiving fans, never gotten involved in weird circles, never gotten drunk and caused trouble that made fans turn away ……. Plus, he’s never once disappointed fans on stage, and I don’t think he ever will. He’s just such a peculiar guy…….┗ Wow, I literally cannot imagine Seo Yuseong secretly sending signals to a non-celebrity girlfriend during a concert. He doesn’t feed fans that pseudo-romance fantasy, but he also doesn’t date himself. He’s just a cat lol
┗┗ But if he did that, wouldn’t Seo Yutae kill him? I’ve never seen a dating scandal come out of Prism. The members look like they’re living in fear— Stanning Seo Yuseong feels more like stanning a singer than an idol. And I’m not talking about that ‘I’m an artist, not an idol’ bullshit. He genuinely just lets his music do the talking … He doesn’t gain fans through variety shows or fan service. I, for one, became a fan solely from listening to his solo album
┗ But his face is insanely handsome too?? Isn’t that cheating??
That Seo Yuseong … doing a vlog?
It had only been about a month since Seo Yuseong’s fans begged Seo Yutae during his commute home, asking him to let them see their child more often, and received an ‘OK‘ gesture from him.
Fans already knew that after moving to YT Entertainment, Seo Yutae had been given much more freedom, but they didn’t expect their request to be granted this quickly.
[“…….”]
Usually, you’d expect him to at least say, “I’ll try filming a vlog for this reason”, but Seo Yuseong just stared silently at the camera.
[“Hello.”]
[<First words, 3 minutes after the vlog started: ‘Hello.’>]
Even the angle made it obvious he had no experience filming; anyone could tell he had never watched a vlog before.
He was probably just faithfully following Seo Yutae’s instruction to film your daily life with a camera.
After the brief greeting, Seo Yuseong immediately got up and went to wash his face and brush his teeth.
Meanwhile, the camera filmed nothing but the bathroom wall.
[<……>] [<Wall: uh … awkward;;>]
— Is the wall really supposed to be this close??
— Please show your face ㅜㅜ
Just as fans were sobbing at the sound of water splashing, Seo Yuseong—presumably finished with washing his face—picked up the camera again and walked out to the living room.
[<Looks like he’s done washing>]
— Why am I getting motion sickness— Even if I strapped an action cam to my dog’s collar, it wouldn’t film this badly
Then, as if he had also just woken up, Nam Yihwon appeared on camera, barely able to open his eyes. Wearing a sleeveless shirt and training pants, he was melted into the sofa in a completely natural state. The moment he spotted Seo Yuseong, he grinned and flashed a V-sign at the camera.
[“Morning.”]
His voice was hoarse from sleep, and his white hair—which was all frizzy from his curls, just like Seo Yuseong’s—was flattened against the pillow, making him look exactly like a Bichon Frise.
Seo Yuseong went and sat down next to him without a sound, though it was unclear if he’d even nodded in response to Nam Yihwon’s morning greeting.
[“Oh my, looks like you slept amazingly well.”]
Smirking, Nam Yihwon reached out and roughly ruffled Seo Yuseong’s curly hair. Receiving the touch quietly, Seo Yuseong briefly glanced toward Cha Woon’s room.
Even though Seo Yuseong hadn’t said a word, Nam Yihwon immediately gave the answer he wanted.
[“He stayed up until morning because he scrapped all the B-sides we reviewed yesterday, said he didn’t like them. I mean, we all told him they were fine, right? But I guess he’s still anxious.”]
[“…….”] [“Right. Yutae-hyung said it’s not good to get into the habit of constantly revising …… but he claims he’s dying because he’s so unhappy with it.”] [“……”]
[“You’re asking where Hyung went? No idea. Looks like he woke up at dawn again. Chise-hyung would know, though. He woke up early today too. Wait a second. Lee Chise!”]
Even though Seo Yuseong didn’t respond at all, Nam Yihwon continued the conversation by himself, leaving part of the chat confused.
— Wait, how on earth is this conversation even taking place?? Am I the only one who can’t hear Yuseong’s voice?┗ Must be a newbie lol so cute. Prism is always like this ♥
┗ It’s fine, we see this every day and still haven’t gotten used to it
When Nam Yihwon suddenly shouted, Lee Chise, who had been in the kitchen eating a lollipop, popped into view. Of course, the camera had long since been abandoned, so it was pointed at his lower body instead of his face.
[“Which punk is out here calling his hyung’s name like that?”] [“Aang, where did Yutae-hyung go? Yuseong’s looking for him.”]
At that, Lee Chise held the lollipop between his index and middle fingers and mimicked the opening and closing of a mouth. Nam Yihwon awkwardly chuckled and muttered,
[“So it failed in the end…….”]
[“Hey, but it really has decreased a lot, right? Seems like the CEO’s scolding actually worked.”]
People were pretty curious about Seo Yuseong’s reaction after hearing the news of his older brother’s failed attempt to quit smoking—and then his successful attempt to reduce—but that damn camera was once again pointed somewhere completely random. There was no way to see his facial expression. Not that anyone expected him to say anything in the first place.
— This is nice in its own way … feels like I’m viewing the world from the perspective of someone buried underground. It lets you see the world from a whole new perspective— So warm… where am I…?
Then the video abruptly switched to another scene.
There was no way the editing team would cut things this randomly without reason, so the Seras guessed that Seo Yuseong had simply stopped filming midway through. “He must be in a bad mood”, “Maybe he got upset”, they quietly speculated about his mood among themselves.
The next clip showed a blue sky and a crowded parking lot packed with passing cars.
[<A scenery shot no one would ever guess came from an idol vlog>]
— At this point I’ve basically reached enlightenment. Even hearing the camera rustling is enough for me now. It’s better than getting nothing at all— If you think about how Byul probably filmed that sky all carefully and earnestly himself, it’s ridiculously cute
┗ Everyone here is slowly losing their minds
— I’ll take this as Seo Yuseong’s grand plan to detox fans from dopamine addiction. This kind of vlog is rare, truly rare
— 「 Ah… I have come to love even this side of Seo Yuseong …….」
Then the sound of the Prism members bursting into laughter echoed out, and the camera slowly turned toward them with sluggish movement.
[“Yuseong-ah, film people instead of the sky.”] [“Right, hyung. The fans are probably bored. Everyone already says our group is boring.”]
It seemed they were out for a schedule, since everyone already had their makeup and outfits fully done. Still, because it was break time, the atmosphere was relaxed; some had clips pinned into the parting of their hair, others were holding snacks in their hands.
[“Every time I go live, Yuseong’s fans come in asking where he is, where he is. Because he never shows himself.”] [“With a face like yours, why waste it? What a loss.”] [“Is that why you keep posting photos on SNS all the time?”]
[“Obviously. With a face like this, I’d be doing the world a disservice if I didn’t show it off. There’s a reason this hyung-nim here has the highest follower count on Prism’s SNS, Inchan-ah.”]
[“Ugh, who are you calling hyung-nim? You’re heavy, stop leaning on me.”]
The members were peacefully laughing together under the warm sunlight.
For Seo Yuseong, who had repeated countless years over and over to save Seo Yutae and protect Prism, what kind of sight did this scene look like to him?
[“…….”]
The screen, which had been steadily filming the Prism members, suddenly went dark.
When Yuseong turned around at the change, Seo Yutae’s face suddenly filled the entire frame.
The chat instantly exploded with reactions, messages scrolling up at lightning speed as fans gushed in admiration.
— Wow…….— So this is how Yutae looks through Yuseong’s eyes…
— They say photos and videos show how much the person behind the camera loves the subject, and wow … it’s actually true
And honestly, it was understandable.
The expression on Seo Yutae’s face was one he normally never showed in front of cameras.
As if worried that Seo Yuseong’s eyes might hurt from the brightness, worried the sunlight might be too harsh on him, Seo Yutae had deliberately stood with the sunlight behind him, creating shade for him instead. Then, rather than looking at the camera, he looked directly at Seo Yuseong and smiled gently. Tilting his chin upward as if talking to a child, he spoke.
[“What now?”]
[“…….”]
[“Is filming a vlog hard? Still, now that you’ve been doing it for a bit, doesn’t it seem kind of fun?”]
Watching him, Seo Yuseong thought to himself.
That maybe this wasn’t so bad either.
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Translator’s Corner:
Translating this very chapter right on my birthday kinda make me feel warm. This is my 7th birthday with cabin four … I hope this blog stay safe forever … I’ll try to be more active. I hope everyone is happy and in safe place too
Thank you byARMI for the Coffee!
It’s very late but I just realized it had a message … gmail didnt show it to me …. I’m very touched with you kindly thinking of me like that T_T It really feels like we’re in actual book club … I’ll give it some thoughts, thank you so much ❤
[PsA. Guys have you listened to Noah Kahan’s new album? It’s sooo so good, I’m quite literally obssesed with it]