#56

On the Saturday of the K-POP Summer Concert, and the following Sunday,

The Filaments had an extremely happy time watching L.I.T.

First of all, L.I.T at the Summer Concert was in top form, so much so that they were almost blinding to look at.

After the performance of <Promise>, they shouted at the top of their lungs, saying that L.I.T. shines the brightest when performing on stage. Especially, the sight of them in white shirts with suspenders was said to be the epitome of boyfriend material, causing a frenzy.

And then on Sunday.

After the highly anticipated summer season pilot variety show aired, L.I.T earned the additional title of "Variety Idols."

I'm dyingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Hanjoondaengㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ he wrecked the camera and the doorknob too ㅋㅋㅎㅋㅋ

└It's okay, Joondaeng-ah, what's the big deal if you pull out a doorknob? I've even prepared the foundation pillars of my house for youㅋㅋ Please come and pull them out.

└ㅎㅎㅎㅎ So that's why you've been working out all this time.

Noㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Isn't his voice just too cute? Sorry, my hyung is a bit of a destroyerㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└My baby >.< It's not even 'sorry,' it's 'Jaeseonghaeyeoja'ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

T.N.: Instead of properly saying "죄송해요" (I'm sorry) joesonghaeyo, they altered it to "재성해여자낰" Jaeseonghaeyeoja

└He may be tall, but his face and heart are still like a baby's.

└What are you talking about? When he's on stage, he's a total manly man! He tears up the stage.

└True, true

Roa, in the middle of all that, is bowing to the staff at a 90-degree angle to apologize.

└No matter what he does, our soft and sweet baby is serious.

└He looks like he's about to die of guilt towards the production teamㅋㅋㅋㅋ He's so focusedㅋㅋㅋㄹㅎㅋㅋㅋ Look at his straight backㅋㅋㅋ

Oh my, what do I do ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Our Siu was so nervous he completely froze.

└When he freezes up like that, I just want to break through the screen and hug him. How can a human look so much like a creature that triggers your protective instincts?

He's a fairy, that's why. It's like protecting an endangered speciesㅋㅋㅋ

Oh no, what are we going to do with our leaderㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ His expression is so seriousㅋㅋㅋ It seems like he's given up now.

└Where am I? Who am I?

└And in the midst of it all, he's still doing the interview calmly ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

After changing into neat school uniforms, Ichan entered the interview room, and a short interview was broadcasted.

<L.I.T is what kind of group?>

The subtitle passed by, and Ichan's face was zoomed in.

With an expressionless face, Ichan tilted his head slightly and fell into thought.

Then, in a calm voice, he answered.

―A awl that's carelessly placed in my pocket.

<An awl?>

―Eventually, that sharp charm will pierce through the pocket. I think the charm of L.I.T is the talent and energy that can't be hidden.

Still with an expressionless face, he slightly narrowed his brows and spoke again.

―And, there's one more thing that can't be hidden. If you keep watching, you'll soon find out, um…….

After a moment of hesitation, as if pondering, Ichan continued.

―Anyway, we're not normal.

<Huh……?>

Then, a short edited clip appeared.

It seemed to be a highlight of what was to come.

―We're very noisy.

The scene flowed showing Jaewon in white gym clothes and Möbius Junhee in hot pink gym clothes running around the set like crazy.

Their carefree laughter and playfulness were unmistakably childlike.

―And also quite chaotic.

Then, Roa kept shouting "Correct answer!" and jumping forward, while Siu, blushing with embarrassment, danced his heart out to the song.

At one point, Hanjoon was zoomed in, sitting still as if in deep thought, and then the kids were shown sitting sprawled on the floor, staring blankly at the same spot.

―And lazy.

A brief scene of Hanjoon's famous walnut noodle mukbang was shown.

Then, they were seen jumping over obstacles, drawing strange pictures, getting angry saying, "Hey, that's not it," and offering 'yeot' to MuteSeven's Wooyoung.

―And eccentric.

The screen cut back to Ichan's face.

Still expressionless, he slightly turned his head and looked outside the interview zone.

Whether he was checking on the members or looking somewhere else, Ichan soon faced the camera again.

―I think all of that, combined, makes L.I.T. a team that shines brightly.

Then, he slightly curled up one corner of his mouth.

―We're sincere in everything we do.

I'm losing itㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ King Ichan, I'm also sincere about everything with you.

No, don't you know that smiling like that with that face is a crimeㅋㅋ Murder, heart assault, what else is there?

└The crime of stealing my heart? The crime of collapsing a nation? From today, my country is ruled by King Ichan.

And so, for 3 weeks, every Sunday, as the episodes aired, L.I.T. became a hot topic, and by the 3rd episode, it was a complete frenzy.

Right from the start, the live chat was on fire.

Since last week's live walnut set sale, I was already hooked, I mean, I literally went to Gapyeong just to eat the pine nut noodles.

└Hey, you too? Hey, me too.

I fell for Yoon Siu when he was drawing that mysterious picture. Why is his hand so bad when he looks at a masterpiece in the mirror every dayㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└As long as my husband's face is beautiful, it's fineㅋㅋㅋㅋ But honestly, the drawing was a bit much.

Wow, I go to physical education school, and I want to scout Kang Ichan. He was flying over obstaclesㅋㅋㅋㅋ I'm looking forward to today too.

└He's risking his life for meal ticketsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└I fell for the bunny who gets all excited when Ichan brings back the meal ticketㅋㅋㅋ

Noㅋㅋㅋㅋ I completely fell for Ichan when I saw the loving look in his eyes toward Jeongsoo. I was totally falling for it.

└Our leader is an homme fatale, isn't he? When choosing partners, Leader Kang chose Leader Kim, and Roa was so disappointed. The way he got all sulky and turned off was hilarious ㅋㅋ

Today's when the manito reveal happens, right?

└Yeah, I bet my hand that Kang Ichan's Manito is Mute Wooyoung.

└Yeah. There was a hint in episode 1. Ichan gave yeot to Mute Wooyoung, and in episode 2's live, Ichan asked if he could buy a gift.

└Oh, that makes sense. So, the person selling the pine nuts was really nice and gave the kids sweet pine nut treats. Maybe Ichan gave his to Mute Wooyoung.

└Oh my, so our leader completed his mission?

└Not necessarily, he was carrying a bag of yeot and giving it out everywhere, so the muses called him Yeot Ichanㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└Yeot Ichan? Brrr. Mute, just eat the yeot.

Fellow bulbs, today is the last day of our kids' activities. How can we part with these shining kidsㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

└We'll have to hope they upload a lot on NewTubeㅠㅠㅠㅠ

It wasn't just the Filaments. From Muses to Mövings.

They all felt a strange sense of loss, knowing this might be the last chance to see their idols on TV before their next activities.

And finally, the last episode was released.

As previewed, the broadcast started with Manito time.

Some had already been found out, some revealed their Manito from the start, and others dropped hints over the past two episodes, making viewers guess who their Manito was.

The Manito game, though predictable but fun, was finally unveiled.

When Kim Jeongsoo revealed that Kang Ichan was his Manito, neither the viewers nor the cast were tense.

Kim Jeongsoo's short interview began.

―Wow, I tried so hard to hide it? But Ichan is so sharp.

Then, a scene from episode 1 flashed by.

It showed Jeongsoo trying his best to be nice to Ichan, and Ichan throwing a comment at Jeongsoo.

―Hyung. It's so obvious that you're my Manito.

Ichan's expressionless face while subtly teasing Jeongsoo caused chaos in the live chat.

Jeongsoo-oppa was bound to fall for King Ichanㅋㅋㅋㅋ You could see how much he liked him, wagging his tail.

Their chemistry is so great, it's the best.

Oh my goshㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What's with Kang Ichan? His heart rate dropped even more after receiving Jeongsoo's giftㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

And finally, Kang Ichan's Manito was revealed.

As some viewers guessed, Kang Ichan's Manito was Kim Wooyoung.

The screen captured Ichan's affectionate smile, which he only showed to Wooyoung, from start to finish.

Oh myㅋㅋㅋㅋ I didn't think the yeot was a hint.

└Kim Woo-young didn't eat the yeot, it was the blameㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Wow, he gave the last meal ticket to Kim Wooyoung. The mission was to feed your Manitoㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└Then why didn't he give it up?

└Typical of a muse, so ignorant. He gave it up so your oppa could guess, but he couldn't answer the quiz. So he took the meal ticket and gave it as a gift. Even if he gives, it's still a mess.

In the end, the final victory went to L.I.T.

And the screen showed the quiet streets of the morning.

* * *

On the first Sunday of August, the third and final episode aired, marking the end of L.I.T's official schedule.

The Filaments, who had been finding joy in watching L.I.T on TV, couldn't help but fall into deep depression.

The only thing the Filaments could cling to were the six photos posted on SNS after the first episode aired.

The first photo showed Jaewon, with a thin hand attached to an IV needle, smiling brightly as he held it to his cheek.

#L.I.T_FirstBreak #JJAN

<First break is with mom>

Below it, Roa's comment was visible.

You're even holding your Mother's hand now. Our youngest has really grown up. #ROA

└Thanks to my hyungs, the surgery went well. Thank you, everyone. #JJAN

└Oh, and Ichannie-hyung. Mom said to tell you she's grateful. I love you. I love L.I.T. #JJAN

Below that, photos of Roa with the sea as the background, Siu on a trip with his parents, and Hanjoon in silent meditation at his family home were posted one after another.

And finally, a photo of Ichan wearing headphones, working hard on something, followed by a selfie with a vertical line drawn between his brows.

<Returned from break and back to work. PD-nim, who forced me to take and post this, please buy me food. I'm sick of dumplings.>

#L.I.T #L.I.T_New_Song_Work #Please_Report_To_The_Labor_Office_The_CEO_Is_Forcing_Labor #PD_Pyo_Cheonhee_Samgyeopsal_And_A_Big_Hit_Box_Deal?

As if they had made a pact, the Filaments rushed to PD Pyo Cheonhee's SNS.

There, a video version of the photo Ichan had just posted was uploaded.

<Blade Entertainment's youngest producer, Jess. K>

#L.I.T_New_Song_Prep #Genius_Producer_JESS_K #I_Think_I_Picked_Up_A_Genius #Ichan-ah_I_Love_You

The Filaments, who were about to demand that he stop feeding Ichan dumplings and give him some meat, clicked on the video as if hypnotized.

And there, as PD Pyo Cheonhee had said, they encountered the genius producer.

Ichan, with his headphones slightly askew, was completely immersed in his work. His side profile was truly dazzling. He touched the synthesizer, then tapped on the computer, turned a knob, pressed a button…

Hey, someone call an ambulance, I can't breathe. Ichannie is too cool, he's a composing idol.

└ㅠㅠAnd he's making a new song for L.I.T. He's dropping such solid hints.

So Jess.K is Ichan's producer name, huhㅠㅠㅠㅠ Isn't that name just too coolㅠㅠㅠㅠ

MERRY ME ICHAN

└Get in line, unnie. There are already a trillion and one people ahead of you.

└A trillion and one? I was here first. Move further back.

└ME FIRST

Wow, PD Pyo is really stirring things up. I was about to complain about Ichan only eating dumplings, but then he drops this bombshellㅠㅠ Thank you.

└Hey, fellow lightbulb, you should also join in locking up PD Pyo. Just feed them only dumplings and make them upload ten videos a day like this.

And so, the Filaments spent their days looking forward to L.I.T's new song.

Then one day, another piece of news related to L.I.T was reported on the entertainment section of a portal site.