translation by mourningmoor
The L.I.T fan club was buzzing with excitement.
Recently, Blade Entertainment joined Universe, a fan community network, and moved the fan communities of L.I.T and Dinaple there.
As a result, Universe now serves as the official fan café.
Universe allows artists to post directly and leave comments, so Filaments were introduced to a whole new world.
Today, Universe was in an uproar over the incident at Kang Ichan’s birthday café.
Noㅠㅠㅠㅠ I heard the light descended at the birthday café today. Did anyone see it?
└A lot of photos were uploaded earlier. You can find them if you scroll down a bit.
└Me. I went to Blade with a friend and witnessed the light descending. Got wrecked by Kang Ichan’s bare face@―@
Noㅠㅠ He set up the event as a birthday gift for himself, but then he gave back to the fansㅠㅠㅠㅠ Where else can you find such a sweet idolㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└ㅇㅇ It was so touching♡♡
Even with messy hair and no makeup, he was glowing. It was so bright I almost went blind.
Noㅋㅋㅋㅋ I seriously wanted to grab Ichan and ask which dermatologist he goes to. I’m really curious about what skincare products he uses.
└(Jaewon) That hyung doesn’t go to a dermatologist. He doesn’t even do face masks. He just uses whatever skincare product he sees. Still, he has the best skin among us. The world is so unfair.
└(Roa) True. It’s really unfair.
Occasionally, artists would leave comments on fans’ posts like this. Then everyone would beg for comments on their own posts, creating a frenzy.
And that evening, Ichan appeared on Universe.
He posted on the artist board with photos.
Ichan√
(Photo)
(Photo)
Filaments, the coffee and churros set was delicious.
The cups were so pretty too.
Then, I’ll greet you on N Live on my birthday.
Filaments immediately rushed to download the two photos Ichan posted.
One was a selfie of Ichan, Jaewon, and Roa waiting for coffee at the birthday café. The other was a solo shot of Ichan holding coffee and churros in both hands.
Then, Filaments started losing their minds.
└Oh my god. Ichan-nim’s flawless bare face. So cool.
└Ichan. I miss youㅠㅠㅠㅠ Come again, come often, come a hundred times a day.
└Ichan oppa. Please post often. I love it so muchㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Happy Ichan’s day, D―2
The comments of adoration kept pouring in.
* * *
Last winter, after settling the accounts, PD Pyo officially gave me a studio.
Thanks to the studio, I was able to stay away from the dorm for over ten days.
There was a two-seater sofa where I could take a nap.
Birthday gifts were piling up in that studio.
The birthday café was already a big deal, but gifts kept pouring in.
What surprised me was that the gifts weren’t just from South Korea. They came from the U.S., Brazil, France, Japan, China… even from countries I couldn’t name.
And the variety of gifts was astounding.
From homemade cookies, expensive fruits, and beautifully decorated sugar art cakes to high-end appliances, it was chaos.
I already had two top-tier laptops.
There were luxury brand clothes and shoes, as well as sneakers and workout clothes—enough to make shopping unnecessary.
So, I was worried.
The very practical worry of “What do I do with all this?” and the higher-level concern of “How do I repay this overwhelming sense of debt?”
The members, who had finished practice early for the first time in a while, crowded into the studio to help unpack the gifts.
The unpacking was done efficiently with clear division of labor.
Hanjoon would open the packages, Jaewon would take out the items, Roa would hand them to me, and Siu would organize the wrapping paper.
Siu. When I first met him, he couldn’t even handle a trash bag, but now he’s quite skilled.
“This should be all the gifts, right? Since tomorrow’s the birthday?”
“I hope so, but I can’t be sure.”
Roa tilted his head, rolled his eyes, and continued.
“Filaments, moved by hyungnim’s event set at the birthday café, might send more?”
No, if they send gifts in return for my reverse fan service, what should I do? That shouldn’t happen.
“Anyway, I’m also worried about what to do with all this.”
“The TV and refrigerator stored in the warehouse are for your mom, right?”
“Yeah.”
First, the bulky items that couldn’t fit in the dorm or studio were sent to Kang Ichan’s home.
“We decided to send them to Samcheok. We already have them at our dorm. Big ones.”
Since it’s a guesthouse, the more refrigerators and TVs, the better.
Kang Ichan’s mom seems to like it too.
I should ask if they need the laptops too.
The rest is the problem—there’s just too much. Even unnecessary stuff.
“Do you guys want anything you need?”
“Hyung, you’re asking for trouble.”
The youngest scolded me for my casual question.
“You can’t just give away gifts from fans. It’s okay to give them to your mom, but you absolutely can’t give them to others. Especially if you give them to a girl, it’ll be a mess.”
Jaewon’s words made Roa nod quickly.
“Why?”
Surprisingly, it was Hanjoon who asked why.
This kid had been eyeing the game cartridges earlier, and now he looked disappointed.
“Giving them to others is disrespectful to the fans’ sincerity. You can’t even sell them on second-hand markets.”
Yeah, he’s not wrong.
This industry is strangely transparent.
If you sell gifts on a second-hand market and your ID gets exposed, there’ll be chaos over selling fan gifts.
I subtly pushed away Hanjoon’s hand, which had been hovering over the game cartridges, and summarized the situation.
“Your birthday is next month, so look forward to it then.”
Then I took photos of a few items, including the game cartridges. It’s common courtesy to say thank you after receiving gifts.
Checking the time, I opened Universe.
The clock had already passed midnight, and the date changed to March 3rd.
“Wait, hyung.”
Hanjoon, still full of regret, was fiddling with the game cartridges. At times like this, he really acts like an elementary school kid.
“I’ll make sure you get over ten game cartridges for your birthday.”
After uploading a few photos of the gifts I had just taken, I quickly typed.
Thank you for the gifts. You sent so many that I couldn’t even fit them all in the photos. It was tough protecting the gifts from Hanjoon hyung, who was eyeing the game cartridges. Thank you for all the love, and I’ll work harder to repay you with great performances.
P.S. I’ll greet you again on N Live in the evening.
With this, I’m sure game cartridges of all kinds will pour in for Hanjoon’s birthday on April 27th. I’m looking forward to it.
* * *
6:30 PM.
As promised, the N Live alarm went off, and Ichan’s live broadcast began.
Ichan, seated in what appeared to be the studio, stared intently at the camera.
―I was going to say I’d start once we hit 5,000 viewers… but we’ve already passed that, so let’s begin. Hello, I’m Kang Ichan from L.I.T.
Happy birthday happy birthday happy birthday
Did you eat seaweed soup? Did you blow out the birthday cake candles?
Happy Ichan’s Day
Ichan. You are so BEAUTIFUL
The chat was flying by at lightning speed.
Ichan, his pupils darting as he read the chat, looked back at the camera.
―I ate seaweed soup. I also blew out the candles on the cake.
Who made the seaweed soup?
Did you cook it yourself?
Ichan, where are you? It’s different from the usual studio.
Ichan shifted slightly to show the studio behind him.
―This is my new studio. It was pretty empty before, but I decorated it with the gifts you sent. Do you like it? Oh, and Jaewon’s mom came and made the seaweed soup.
The chat exploded again.
Jaewon’s momㅠㅠㅠㅠ Thank you. You’re so sweet.
I love the studio sooooo much.
♡♡Is it a personal studio?
What have you been working on lately?
―Well, you know our digital single is coming out on the 14th, right? You’ve probably seen the poster, but the title is ‘Cotton Candy.’ It’s a very soft and sweet song. I’ve been working on other things after finishing that song too. I’m experimenting with various things.
Spoil us. Sing just one verse.
SingSingSingSing
♡♡♡♡♡♡
I’m looking forward to Cotton Candy. I can’t wait to see L.I.T on stage again.
Ichan quietly read through the flood of messages.
―It’s going too fast for me to read properly. I’ll read them slowly later. Today, let’s not talk about Cotton Candy.
Then he rustled around and pulled something out from under the desk.
It was a guitar. The white body had a very unique design.
―This guitar was also a gift from a fan. It sounds really good.
Ichan’s slender, straight fingers pressed the chords as he played the guitar.
―Why did I bring out the guitar? To play a fan song for you.
The chat went wild again.
A fan song? A fan song? A fan song…
Kyaha. I need to get my light bulb.
ㅋㅋㅋㅋEveryone’s going crazy looking for light bulbs.
The chat was soon filled with light bulb emojis.
Meanwhile, Ichan opened a water bottle and took a sip.
―I’m nervous.
Then he erased his default expression and smiled faintly.
―I’ve been working on this in my spare time for you, who always move me. It’s not finished yet, but I’ll upload it to SoundCloud when it’s done.
Ichan began to play.
The way his fingers moved on the guitar strings was art.
The melody that flowed out was also art.
The way Kang Ichan’s face alternated between looking at his fingers and the camera was also art. No, it was beyond art.
Then, Kang Ichan’s sweet voice broke through the screen, resonating clearly.
It shines. My star.
Countless stars densely packed in the dark night sky.
The star among stars shines on me.
Do you know? My star.
The star that protects me when I’m lost.
That star is you.
I’m not lonely. Because I have my star.
I’m not afraid either. Because my star is you.
Do you know? My star.
Because of you, I shine.
Filaments who watched the live stream shed tears of emotion, saying there’s no idol like this anywhere.
And so, Kang Ichan and Filaments spent a long two hours together through the live broadcast.