I had ended up snatching Kim Dojun's phone away from him.
"It's just one thread, but there are so many replies..."
"Yeah, you were trending for a few hours on Dwidder. That's why I really thought you knew."
So this guy wasn't purely stalking me. That's good to know, I think.
"It was weeks ago, though," I observed lightly, finally handing Kim Dojun's phone back.
"Well, some are still replying. Some people noticed you only work on the weekends now, I came here after reading that."
This guy's explanations only makes sense to him. I was going to ask why, but he probably visited just because he could.
"Jun."
"Yeah?"
I feel like this exact dialogue has been done before...
"Do you have other friends?"
Kim Dojun was surprised at the question. I was serious, though. It wasn't meant to offend him or anything.
Okay, maybe it was. Just a bit, though.
It seemed a bit too effective as Kim Dojun didn't answer for a while.
"Yeah, of course. I'm close with everyone in the company."
"No. I meant friends, not colleagues."
That singled him out real quick. Kim Dojun was left speechless. I felt bad. I wasn't really in the position to ask that sort of question, anyway.
"Don't worry about it. I also don't have anyone else."
We were left in awkward silence until Kim Dojun laughed, his mask shifting with every little chuckle. It wasn't funny and I didn't know what to do.
As if on cue, the shop's entrance opened again and I was ready to stand up. Yet Grandpa Jung, who had been in the kitchen for a while now, suddenly came out.
"Oh, ya have a guest here or somethin', son?"
The geezer just had to pop out now of all times. He sat me down and told me to take a break. Kim Dojun lightly bowed to him.
"What a suspicious lookin' fella." See that, Kim Dojun? Even the old man thinks so.
Now I had something to snicker about.
As Grandpa Jung walked over to the customer, me and Kim Dojun were left alone again in the corner.
"Well, anyway. I actually came here for a reason, Chan."
Kim Dojun broke the silence with this sentence. I was baited that easily and leaned in, letting him speak. He swallowed dryly.
"So you saw this Dwidder post already, right? And you also started posting covers on Instapounds."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Chan, I don't know what you want to do in the future or why you did street performances. But right now, you're a waiter in a rice cake shop."
Again, what about it?
"I just like singing, and I wanted money out of it."
That's right. To me, the reason is simple as that.
"Did you have to do it somewhere far from here?" Kim Dojun asked immediately, but I still didn't catch on.
"Chan. Did you, or did you not want to be famous?"
Oh, now I caught on.
I have thought about this before, but never gave much input to it. I felt that becoming known would be a given once I entered that survival show as a big joke. That stopped me from caring about how I'm seen before then.
"..it doesn't matter whether I'm famous or not. I post singing videos online to know what people think."
It's fine if they connect it to the Hongdae Siren, or even to the Rice Cake Oppa.
"Then, can I still show off that picture of us?"
.
After a few minutes of conversing, Kim Dojun had to leave and gave me a big tip.
Turns out his worries were simpler than he thought. I'm glad he had the courage to talk about it, though.
I understood the logic of his weirdly put questions. Kim Dojun is still a trainee, but he had hundreds of thousands of followers in his account. Anyone he tags in his main would definitely get profiled by his loyal fans.
I looked better than the average person and my singing isn't terrible. That alone wouldn't make me famous, but if Kim Dojun himself were to call me his friend?
He had to walk around in full disguise even as a trainee. This level of fame isn't to be underestimated, even I thought so.
Of course, I wouldn't have as many fans as Kim Dojun, but there would definitely be more than one.
Still, I assured Kim Dojun that it was fine to post that picture if he wanted to. I didn't have the heart to tell him about my participation in Make Your Idol.
Well, not that I have to. We only recently became friends and Kim Dojun also didn't say anything about an idol program.
But the audition period is almost over and the promotion was starting. I assume Kim Dojun would tell once that happens.
By the way, Admin-nim messaged me again.
- We have confirmed a total of 60 contestants. You will have five minutes of performance time, going in first.
Excuse you? I'm going first?
Talk about a comedic entrance, this piece of shit. The pay isn't even that good.
Actually, whatever. I'd have to go sooner or later. Going in first means I can focus on making dramatic reactions over the other contestants.
- Sneak your phone in and check it occasionally in a secluded place.
I physically nodded at that. Admin-nim must want to tell me who to talk to or when to exaggerate things.
By the way, I almost forgot to ask an important question: Is there anyone else participating like me?
The person on the other end didn't take long at all to answer.
- No, there isn't.