Chapter 99:
“What?”
Yi-jun asked back with a quick reflex.
No one cared that he used informal speech.
“They said you just hit number one on the Fine Chart in real time!”
A fan who was standing right below the stairs showed him the screen that he was looking at.
Yi-jun leaned his head down to take a closer look.
“Wow, you look even better up close!”
The fans who surrounded the stunned fan took out their phones and snapped pictures like crazy.
“Look at this, I took a close-up shot and there’s no flaw.”
Yi-jun exclaimed in admiration as he checked the ranking with his eyes narrowed.
“Oh, really? Wow, thank you!”
They all looked incredulous. When they left the dorm today, they weren’t even in the top 30 of the real-time chart that lasted less than 24 hours.
“Are you sure it’s number one?”
Kyunghwa asked with shaky eyes, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Check it on your phone later. You have to take a screenshot anyway.”
Yi-jun picked up the speaker to wrap up the situation for now.
“Thank you so much for celebrating with us until the end today! We have our first comeback stage on Sunday, so please look forward to it!”
I was also out of my mind right now, but I had to escape from this crowd and find a place where I could sort out my thoughts.
“Thank you! We’ll repay you with better activities and awesome stages!”
Kyunghwa swayed, not as bad as last time when he fainted, but he seemed to lose his strength and staggered towards Yi-jun.
“I’ll watch the live broadcast!”
“I’ll vote too!”
“You were so cool today!”
Kyunghwa barely mustered up some energy and waved his hand towards the fans with all his might.
“Thank you! I’ll work harder!”
Work harder? You’ll collapse if you do that. I had a mountain of things I wanted to say, but right now, getting out of here was the priority.
“Thank you! We’ll be back soon!”
There were so many people crowded around that the stage was not far from where we parked the car, but we had to push through the dense crowd.
“Thank you! We’ll see you again when we start our official activities!”
Seon-woo and Yi-jun pushed people away with their hands as if they were guarding us, but everyone just smiled or took pictures and didn’t budge.
“Ah, what do we do…”
There were hundreds of cameras taking pictures of us from all directions. We couldn’t raise our voices or get angry.
If we tried to force our way through, we would end up on the entertainment news as idols fighting with fans.
“Sorry. We’ll get through!”
Some people in the distance looked pityingly at us and murmured.
“Can’t they make some room…”
“They came with only five of them and no staff. It’s a mess…”
“Huh? Does WePlanet have no staff?”
No, they don’t.
Even if they did, they wouldn’t assign them to us.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and cautiously moved forward.
Should we beg them to let us in now? I was getting all kinds of thoughts when the police showed up.
“Please disperse if you’re done with the show. You’re blocking the traffic!”
This place was always crowded even when nothing was going on, so they must have arrived quickly.
“Thank you! We’re sorry!”
As the officers waved their batons a few times, the crowd parted like the miracle of Moses.
We hurriedly apologized and thanked them before jumping into the minivan.
“See you next time! Thank you for coming today!”
As Seon-woo rolled down the window to say thanks, some unexpected items flew in through the gap.
“Wow! Thank you!”
Seon-woo closed the window in surprise and Kyunghwa picked up the items that had flown in.
“They don’t seem like much.”
“What are they?”
I didn’t look back and quickly steered the car in the direction the officers guided us.
When I moved the car to a less crowded area and looked at the rearview mirror, I saw that the crowd was finally dispersing.
If I hadn’t gotten out earlier, I might have been stuck in the car for hours with that huge number of people.
“Just letters, chocolates, and snacks?”
“Be careful when you open them, just in case.”
I warned them, thinking of the extreme fans I had when I was young, and Yi-jun scoffed.
“Come on, we don’t have that kind of crazy fans yet.”
Yi-jun was joking, but I was serious. Because…
“No, don’t take it lightly. I think we have a car following us.”
I had noticed a taxi that had been following us since a while ago. It had turned into the same alley as us three times already.
I wondered if I had mistaken the license plate, so I memorized the last digits carefully.
Unfortunately, I was right.
“What?”
As soon as we got into the car, Kyunghwa, who had been taking screenshots of the first place ranking on his phone, turned around in surprise.
“That one? The one with 67 at the end.”
“Yeah. I think it’s been following us for a while, so it might be dangerous to go straight to the hotel.”
Kyunghwa suddenly clutched his stomach and curled up in fear.
“What’s wrong, are you hurt somewhere?”
I was busy checking the taxi behind us, keeping an eye on the road ahead, and running away wherever the signal allowed. This was the last thing I needed.
“My stomach hurts so much. It feels like it’s being squeezed. Or stabbed with a knife. Ugh… My back hurts too, I can’t straighten it.”
“Oh, no…”
It was a typical symptom of gastritis.
“Where’s the nearest emergency room from the hotel?”
It was almost midnight, so there was no chance of finding a regular hospital.
“I know you’re in pain, but you need to change your clothes first. If you go to the hospital like that, you’ll end up on the internet.”
Kyunghwa nodded weakly.
“I’ll lend you my clothes. They’re a bit loose on me, so you’ll be comfortable wearing them.”
***
Yi-jun handed me the wide-sleeved shirt he had prepared before getting in the car earlier. His pants were shorts, which looked out of season in this cold weather, but they were plain enough that he didn’t need to change them.
“Ow…”
Kyunghwa grimaced in pain as he straightened his waist to change his clothes. It hurt so much that he couldn’t even do that.
“We’ll be there in ten minutes, just hang in there.”
It was midnight, but the streets of downtown Seoul were still crowded with cars.
I was getting anxious and tapped the steering wheel with my fingertips. When I saw the signal turn red, I quickly made a U-turn and changed lanes.
“We can’t go where we were planning to go. We have to go somewhere else. I’m sorry, just bear with me.”
As I changed the route hastily, a taxi tried to follow us, but luckily the green light came on for the opposite lane.
They didn’t seem to have the guts to chase us at the risk of their lives.
Thankfully, they didn’t show up in the rearview mirror anymore.
“It looks like the taxi isn’t following us anymore. Let’s return the car and rent a new one. Does anyone know how to use this app?”
I reached behind me with my phone in my hand and Yi-jun quickly took it.
“Uh, I’ve never used it before either.”
“I’ll do it.”
Seong-won volunteered and took my phone.
He fiddled with it for about three minutes and then gave me an address.
“You can exchange the car at the public parking lot in ○○ district.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
I quickly took back my phone and entered the navigation while waiting for the signal.
Fortunately, there was a hospital with an emergency room within five minutes.
I helped Kyunghwa get out of the car and checked if we left anything behind. Then we moved to the new car right away.
If we went to the emergency room with the car whose license plate had been exposed once and another extreme fan followed us, it would be a disaster.
It was an inevitable decision, but I felt uneasy seeing Kyunghwa in so much pain.
“We’re going to the hospital now.”
Kyunghwa nodded faintly.
***
“Are you guys out of your mind?”
The manager’s voice was low and angry. Yi-jun answered back with a defiant tone.
“But thanks to that, we hit number one in real time.”
That was true.
We only found out after we admitted Kyunghwa to the emergency room, but the internet was buzzing with Climax’s guerrilla live.
It was leaked that it was a live show that the members had pushed for on their own, without consulting with the agency or the staff at WePlanet.
That made it even more of a hot topic.
Of course, not all the reactions were positive.
[- Isn’t this just a nuisance to the staff? They said they had to call the police at the last show because people wouldn’t get out of the way. These losers are on a different level of nuisance.]
[? Which loser hits number one in real time? Which loser hits number one in real time? Which loser hits number one in real time? Which loser hits number one in real time?]
[? You’re happy with hitting number one in real time for anyone or anything?]
[? Why? Do I look like a fan of an idol who hit number one in real time (emoji covering mouth with hand and laughing)? ]
Some people called us a nuisance, but soon they were swept away by a huge wave of positive feedback.
[- dfjksdfjldjslf OMG? I was going to go to Konkuk University today, but my plans got canceled and I didn’t go. ]
[? Ugh?????? It’s Friday, why didn’t you go? I’m banging my head right now.]
[- Guys… I have no regrets in life now.]
(Photo)
[? OMG, did you see Yejun’s close-up shot???]
[? Yes?????? The person next to me showed me that Jooni got the real-time number one spot and I freaked out ????]
[? Wow, you were right in front of him, how was it?????? Was the choreography good?]
[? It was so intense, he knelt down several times and looked like he was praying when he lay down, everyone was holding their breath watching him]
Not only SNS, but even the entertainment community, which was a bit slower to spread the news than SNS, was in chaos.
I wondered how the real-time views skyrocketed, and it turned out that someone’s video got the benefit of the algorithm.
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[Title] Full Cam of Climax Live Performance (999+)
[Body]
It looks like a video taken from a cafe window on the crossroad side, zoomed in.
I won’t say anything more.
Heavenly timestamp 4:32
↑Watch this again after you watch everything
(Video link)
[Comments]
[- 4:32 He’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy, he’s crazy]
[- 2:12 I realized that there are faces that make your heart swell just by looking at them]
[? Thank you, I’ll take the timestamp]
[- 4:32 Oh Yi-jun, you madman, compete fairly]
[? Oh Yi-jun group lawsuit recruitment 2222]
[? 333333]
[? I’ll join too 4444]
(View 36 more replies)
[- Son Seong-won’s vocal range is insane, runner-up class????;;]
[- Who put five more street lights there, it’s so bright that I can’t see the video]
[? How can he shoot high beams with his face on stage?]
(View more omitted comments)
[- I think the desperation of rookies or unknowns makes people go crazy]
[- They should sit down the male idols who have star disease and can’t do live properly and make them watch this]
[? ? Why are you grabbing the hair of other idols?]
[? Which group did I mention? Are you feeling guilty???]
[- Friends, please play this video at my funeral]
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