Chapter 457: What Should We Do From Now On (21)

"Welcome! Welcome!"

I began walking toward Bearview but suddenly halted. The closer Bearview got, the clearer the eccentricity of his outfit became.

"Wow, Bearview... just wow..." I was utterly astounded. From the headband to the wristbands, the T-shirt, and even the tumbler and light stick in his hand... Everything was decked out in Chronos merchandise.

As Bearview approached, one of the three cameras trailing him zoomed toward me faster than Bearview himself. It seemed keen on capturing my reaction to Bearview's extravagant outfit. My response came out naturally because encountering someone fully clad in Chronos gear charging at you wasn’t something I saw every day.

When Bearview came even closer, I instinctively stepped back.

"Senior, why are you running away? Why are you running?" Bearview called out playfully.

"No, it’s not that I’m running away..." I couldn’t hold back my laughter at Bearview’s earnest question. "I’m just a bit overwhelmed, that's all."

"Overwhelmed? But these are all tokens of my love!"

It was often said that honesty made

UTube

fun, which was a sentiment that Oh Yoo-Wol shared.

"Aren’t there many others who come dressed up like this at fan meetings?"

"There might be, but I guess I haven’t seen them often. Wow... did you buy all these yourself?"

"Of course! Who else would buy them for me? You can’t even find these anymore. They were limited edition from the Rings inauguration ceremony."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"Anyway, you are very welcome! Hyun-Woo, I can’t believe you’re visiting me. I’m so honored, guys!" He turned to the camera. "You see that? I made my dream come true! I told you! I knew I’d book him one day! Finally! All our Teddy Bears[1] know how much I’ve wanted this moment, right?"

Bearview was unable to contain his excitement, and pranced around while delivering an impassioned speech about how much he had anticipated this moment.

I was at a loss for how to react and simply stood there, smiling. I just watched the spectacle unfold.

"It feels like I’m watching Jin-Sung. Totally chaotic."

Aligning with the tone of Bearview's channel videos I had watched earlier, I spoke in a candid manner. A staff member fitting a microphone chuckled at my comment before disappearing.

Bearview was as exuberant in front of the camera as he was on stage. It took a while for him to calm down before he returned to my side. "So, Hyun-Woo, did you see that?"

He pointed to a banner that hung at the entrance. It was still as impressive the second time around.

"Yeah, it was the first thing I saw when I got out of the car. Wow, how did you manage to set all this up?"

"One can prepare anything when Chronos’ Hyun-Woo is visiting, anything! I really wanted to meet you."

Bearview's earnest demeanor, as if seeing me for the first time, only made me smile. We had met less than an hour before on stage, though.

"Why are you laughing?" Bearview bluntly asked.

I responded just as bluntly. "We just met earlier, remember?"

"Shh! Shh! You need to keep it a secret!"

"Oh, it’s supposed to be a secret?"

"Not really a secret, but still, try to play along with the mood!" Bearview adeptly steered the conversation and led me inside the building to the studio. "Here, please take a seat, Hyun-Woo."

"Thank you. I’m looking forward to today."

"Leave it to me. I will lead the way." Bearview clenched his fists with enthusiasm and prompted a director who had been giggling from the start to comment.

"Why are you so passionate today? You don’t usually go this far for guests," the director asked.

Bearview’s eye boldly bulged out in feigned shock. "Okay, I admit it. But what can I do? Look at me now."

He gestured to himself, wrapped in Chronos merchandise. The production team erupted in laughter.

"My heart is already this way. Today, I will show all of my support to our guest. Just so you know."

Bearview then blocked the camera once more. "Listen up, everyone. From now on, Suh Hyun-Woo and I are one. If you attack Suh Hyun-Woo? Consider it an attack on me, and I will chase you to the ends of hell. Be mindful of that. Oh? Careful with the comments, got it?"

"Wow." I clapped, relieved of the burden of leading the show. Bearview's unique flair made the encounter unexpectedly delightful.

After another round of excitement, Bearview finally took a seat. "Welcome once again, Hyun-Woo. Actually, it was supposed to be Eden sitting here today."

"Oh, yes, that’s right. This was initially scheduled to be a shoot with Eden."

After Eden’s concert, it had been arranged for me to appear as a guest. However, there was a sudden change in plans.

"It was supposed to be that way, but I like you so much. Hyun-Woo, I’m truly sorry, but... I really am sorry, could you please act as Hyun-Woo this time?" Bearview theatrically knelt again, mimicking a serious plea.

"Ah, you’re kneeling again..."

"Of course, I’m exaggerating. You know that, right, Teddy Bears? Senior Reina didn’t make me kneel. But I pleaded as if I was about to kneel. That was the gist of it." Bearview sat back down. "Did you know how much I pleaded for this, Hyun-Woo?"

"Yes, I heard from Senior Reina. You said you wanted to gush about me."

"Good! That's correct. It's been a lifelong dream of mine, you know? To have Chronos sit in front of me while I indulge in a fan frenzy? I even bought so many albums."

When Bearview clapped his hands, a wheeled table rolled in and piled high with copies of our latest album.

"Wow, what is this?" I exclaimed in amazement.

How many copies did he buy? I stood up and walked over to the table. Dozens, if not hundreds of the same album were stacked there.

"I bought

so

many. I really wanted to attend a fan signing event. But even though I bought so many, I missed out! How did this even happen?" Bearview then strode off camera to our manager Tae-Seong, and started protesting. "Manager, what's going on here?! Seriously, if I buy two hundred copies, shouldn't that guarantee a spot at the signing event?"

"What... Pfft!" I tried to hold back my laughter when I turned to the camera. "This is our manager, everyone."

This show was truly unique. It bounced from one topic to another, meandering and looping back. This was all done in Bearview’s unconventional style.

"Let's hear an explanation. Why didn't I win a spot?"

Caught off guard by Bearview's protest, Tae-Seong, ever stoic, responded in his business-like manner. "Please think of it as a testament to Chronos’ popularity. The authority to decide the signing event winners doesn't lie with me—"

Bearview quickly cut off Tae-Seong’s robotic response. "What a boring excuse!" He turned back and muttered, "I just wanted to prove how much of a true fan I am. I’m actually quite nervous right now, Hyun-Woo. I hope you understand."

"Of course. I’m notoriously shy too, one of the most introverted among the members along with Yoon-Chan. Therefore, I’m not sure how well I can do because of my timidity, but please bear with me."

The opening sequence of the video finally ended.

From just this introduction, I could see why Bearview held such a substantial subscriber base. Even without edits, his spontaneous comments and actions were hilariously entertaining. Though the opening was chaotic, Bearview’s broadcasts typically revolved around discussions.

He calmed down, finally picked up a cue card, and started the session. "Now, I’d like to delve into knowing you, Hyun-Woo. Being part of a group, it's rare for the spotlight to fall on individual members, isn’t it?"

"That’s true. I don’t usually do things on my own as a Chronos member."

"Yes, so since you are alone here today, we thought we’d take this opportunity to learn about Hyun-Woo the person, not just the idol."

"Oh, that’s really kind of you."

"Wow, how modest! You are a leading idol in Korea, how can you be so humble?"

At Bearview's remark, the previously giggling director started laughing again. Bearview’s eyes widened once more. "Why? I’m not embarrassed at all today. I am planning to be this enthusiastic all day long."

From watching a few videos, it was clear that the chemistry between Bearview and the main director was one of the highlights of their broadcasts.

"So, let’s dive into Hyun-Woo’s charisma! Who recognized it? Let’s go back to the old days when you were a trainee."

"Yes, that sounds good."

"For this shoot, YMM... Yes, I personally have a love-hate relationship with YMM as a Ring, but they cooperated extensively this time. Hyun-Woo, you were a trainee for a whopping ten years, right?"

"Yes, exactly ten years before I debuted."

"This tiny, pea-sized kid on the screen here!"

"Ah!"

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Bearview pointed to a monitor positioned between us. On it was a photo of me at eight years old, from the year I became a trainee, with fellow trainees.

"Wow, how did you find this? I've never seen this photo before."

It was truly a first for me to see this photo. When exactly had this photo been taken? In the picture, I was eating ice cream with the members of Allure, who were also trainees at the time.

"There is a way to find everything. Many people at YMM helped gather these materials."

"Now that I see it, I really was young then. I was so short."

"Very young indeed. Any events from that time?"

"There are many. I was not only the smallest, but also the only elementary school student among the trainees, and back then, YMM wasn't that big."

By the time Sequence made their successful debut, there were elementary and middle school trainees at YMM. But back then, there were hardly any. This was before Allure’s debut, and there were almost no auditions, mostly just casting calls to gather trainees.

Of course, most of those trainees had ended up without any projects or debuts. Therefore, they were just trainees who had practiced aimlessly.

"I was so young that the older trainees kind of became my guardians. The least they did was look after me in the practice room, and at the end of school, they would come pick me up and we'd go to the practice room together."

"Oh, who took on the guardian role the most? Is it someone we know?"

"The Allure hyungs were especially fond of me. Da-Win took care of me the most."

Bearview then revealed more photos from my elementary school days. These included pictures taken by the Allure members, practice sessions, interview videos, and photos of me practicing side by side with Joo-Han from my childhood. I recounted memorable episodes that matched the photos.

Bearview nodded continuously in response to my stories, wrapped up the topic at an appropriate point, and moved on. "The beloved cute youngest member adored by his hyungs becomes... Surprise!"

The next photo showed me in a school uniform, striking a pose with Goh Yoo-Joon. The photo was awkwardly inscribed with 'GOH and WOO & Friendship FOREVER.'

"...Wow."

The director laughed again. I was dumbfounded, staring at the photo for a long time. How on earth did they find this? This couldn't have been from a company source.

This photo was a dark part of our past that I thought had been forever buried when Il-Seong deleted his old mini blog where it had been uploaded.

Bearview began to scrutinize the photo in detail. "Here, you can see 'Goh and Woo' written in English, then 'friendship’ in Korean, followed by 'Forever' in English."

"Yes..."

"But why is 'friendship' the only word in Korean? Could it be that the two middle schoolers at the time couldn't spell 'friendship' in English? It's a reasonable guess."

"...Haha!"

Damn. He was right.

1. The name of Bearview’s UTube subscribers. ☜