translation by mourningmoor
The two places shown in the photos Hanjoon revealed were well-known to everyone.
They were Samsung Station and COEX K-POP Plaza.
“Are they telling us to come here?”
Juhee, who had been staring intently at the screen, narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.
COEX K-POP Plaza has a huge electronic billboard, and Samsung Station has several advertisement boards. They always display teaser videos and promotional videos for comebacking artists, as well as birthday celebration photos.
“Hmm. Are they doing a reverse fan meeting here at 2 PM?”
Doing a reverse fan meeting at a place known as the holy ground of K-POP. What could it be?
“No way.”
Juhee turned her head and looked at the clock.
1 AM.
She abruptly stood up from her seat and immediately grabbed her hoodie and car keys.
As she left the house, she called Yoojung.
“Hey, Kwon Yoojung. I’m coming to pick you up, so come down to the first floor of your apartment.”
―Why?
“I think the kids are planning to do something with the advertisement boards, so I want to check it out.”
―What?
And so, Juhee picked up Yoojung and headed to COEX K-POP Plaza in Samseong-dong. Yoojung, sitting in the passenger seat, yawned loudly and grumbled.
“Even if you have a hunch, this is too much. You’re such a workaholic. Who goes to check something like that at this hour? What if it’s nothing?”
“So what if it’s nothing? I’m a NewTuber who makes money off this stuff. Doing crazy things like this is part of the job.”
“True, no wonder your nickname is MadJuhee.”
Yoojung yawned again and closed her eyes.
“Wake me up when you’re done checking. I’m going to sleep.”
But Yoojung couldn’t fall asleep in the end.
Because her friend, also known as “Intuition Juhee,” always had accurate hunches.
And just as Juhee predicted, something was indeed happening at Samsung Station.
“See? I was right.”
The two parked their car at a distance and watched the scene carefully.
They could see advertisement boards being installed at the entrance of the subway station stairs. But what was even more surprising was the photo being put up.
“Juhee, is that ‘Fila…’ written under the photo they’re putting up? Could it be ‘Filament’?”
At Yoojung’s words, Juhee narrowed her eyes and looked closely.
“It’s hard to see from here, but it looks like it, right?”
“Did you bring your camera? Zoom in and take a photo.”
“It’s in the trunk.”
Just as Juhee was about to open the trunk, something unexpected caught her eye.
“Yoojung, isn’t that the kids?”
A familiar black van with its hazard lights on pulled over to the side of the road, and five men wearing hats got out one by one.
Then they started talking with the people working on the installation.
“Wait, what are our kids doing?”
Yoojung’s sleepiness vanished instantly.
It was so touching that it made her heart ache.
“A reverse fan meeting with advertisement boards is crazy enough, but they came here themselves to check it out? At this hour?”
Isn’t this something that wouldn’t be possible without extraordinary dedication?
Coming at this hour, it’s not like they’re doing it for show.
“Hey, Kwon Yoojung. You should thank me. If it weren’t for a workaholic friend like me, you wouldn’t have seen this.”
“I’m extremely grateful. My friend.”
Juhee, who had brought her camera, zoomed in as much as possible and carefully took photos.
* * *
The next morning.
Proof photos started popping up early in the morning.
From the entrance of Samsung Station to the inside, L.I.T’s love letters to the Filaments were plastered everywhere.
Photos of the members, including ones never seen before, were lined up, centered around photos taken with fans at the last fan meeting.
The Filaments’ reactions were also heated.
I work near Samsung Station. I almost had a heart attack when I went to work this morning. As soon as I got off the subway and came up, there were the kids’ photos everywhere ㅠㅠㅠㅠ And the messages ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I was moved from the morning.
└I’m so jealous ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I can’t even go because I’m in the countryside. Please post lots of photos.
└I’m taking half a day off to go. I’ll let you know what event is happening at 2 PM.
The event title itself is touching. Love letters? (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)
Let’s all share which message we liked the most. Mine is, “In the dark sea, because you became our lighthouse, our journey continues.
└Mine is, “The most powerful and brightest fandom in the world, Filament. I’m your fan.”
└“Hold my hand. Together, we can create any story.”
The Filaments were moved by L.I.T’s love letters, and Samsung Station was bustling with fans taking proof photos from the morning.
Thanks to this, the members also got busy.
“A thousand people expected? It’s not like this, right?”
Hanjoon, who was putting stickers on the plastic bags containing cupcakes, asked. Jaewon, who was frowning, scolded him in response.
“The number of stickers we’re putting on is 500. It’s first-come, first-served for 500 people.”
“I know that. But what if a thousand people suddenly show up and we run out of cupcakes?”
Roa laughed as he watched the two bicker.
“Looking at the recent community reactions, it might turn out like Hanjoon hyungnim said. Our recognition has completely improved after coming back from the jungle.”
At Roa’s words, Jaewon nodded with a bitter smile.
“The recognition is amazing. Even my treatment at school has changed.”
There had been many changes.
From <King of the Jungle> to <Survival, Music Genius>, and numerous CFs. Every time they showed their faces, it was a success, and L.I.T was being mentioned in so many places that the term “inactivity period” felt meaningless.
On top of that, the reaction video co-produced by Korean NewTuber @MAD JUHEE and American NewTuber @IRENE was a hit, and their recognition in the U.S. was skyrocketing.
Recently, the phenomenon of <Cotton Candy> being played on American radio stations had also occurred.
They were literally on an upward trend.
But they were also losing things.
They lost personal time and freedom, and there were changes in their family and personal relationships.
No one said it out loud, but the stress was immense.
That’s why they prepared this event.
They had lost a lot, but they still had each other and their fans, so they decided to do what they could now. That was the meaning behind it.
Plus, after I won <Survival, Music Genius> Season 2, we had the huge excuse of the “100 million won prize money.”
[The prize money is ridiculously large. So I’m thinking of doing a reverse fan meeting. Will you help?]
That’s how it started.
It was something I could have done alone, but I asked them to join to redirect the stressed kids’ focus to the fans.
But the response was different from what I expected.
[I’ll help. But on the condition that we all contribute the same amount of money.]
At Hanjoon’s words, everyone nodded.
[We can’t let you shoulder the burden all the time. We’re also getting paid.]
[I’m using the prize money, though? Not my earnings?]
[If the prize money is that excessive, just donate it. Let’s do the reverse fan meeting together.]
And that’s how the reverse fan meeting plan started.
As we gathered ideas, the scale grew larger than expected, and we ended up having a pretty busy time, even postponing our morning practice.
“Chani hyung. The photo card sets are all ready.”
Jaewon, who had been diligently working since morning, reported that he had finished packaging the photo cards he was in charge of.
Then Hanjoon and Siu, who were in charge of the cupcakes, also raised their hands, signaling that they were done.
The merchandise packaging was also finished on time.
“Shall we go now?”
2 PM.
As announced the previous evening, we headed to COEX K-POP Plaza.
Road hyungs 1 and 2, Gyuhyung, and even the PR team came along.
The members grumbled about wanting to do it on their own, but for safety reasons, it wasn’t allowed.
Instead, we were told that the security team would be expanded in the future.
It was a valid point.
Reluctantly accepting the close security, the members arrived at the plaza surrounded by the security team.
“Whoa.”
Siu, who got out of the car first, let out a strange exclamation.
The members who followed him out of the car also opened their mouths wide as they looked at the plaza.
“We said 500 people would be enough.”
Jaewon muttered with his lips closed, as if doing ventriloquism.
Then Hanjoon also scolded him in an excited voice.
“See? I told you around a thousand people would come.”
We had expected around 500 people. Even though we announced it, we thought how many people would come on a weekday afternoon.
It’s not like office workers or students could come.
But we were wrong.
Just as Hanjoon said, around a thousand people, or even more, had gathered at the plaza.
“Wow. If I knew this many people would come, I would’ve dressed up better.”
Roa, who had only done basic makeup, swallowed dryly, feeling embarrassed.
Siu and Jaewon were also busy fixing their hair.
Looking at them, I said one thing.
“You all look pretty and shiny enough as you are, so stand tall.”
As if on cue, the four of them straightened their backs and took a deep breath.
“Let’s go.”
With every step, cheers erupted.
Following the instructions of the event team that had arrived earlier, the Filaments lined up in front of the coffee truck.
Gyuhyung, who was walking ahead, turned around.
“Way more people came than expected. 500 won’t be enough.”
“Let’s go for a thousand.”
“How?”
“Since it’s a two-cupcake set, we can split them, and let them choose between merchandise or photo cards.”
“Okay. Let’s do that.”
And so, the guerilla-style event began.
It took about an hour and ten minutes to distribute drinks, cupcakes, and either merchandise or photo cards to the first thousand people.
It seemed like everyone had a great time meeting fans on-site after a long time. The reactions were also the best.
Even people who happened to pass by stopped to watch, so it seemed like we provided quite a spectacle.
After handing out gifts to the thousandth fan, we wrapped up with a final greeting.
Jaewon, who had been smiling brightly until then, suddenly hid behind me with a stiff expression.
His forehead touched my back.
“Hyung. I want to hide my face and get in the car. I can’t smile anymore.”
I didn’t ask why.
“Alright.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Roa put a hat on Jaewon’s head.