During the past month, Won Yu-ha's fandom, the streaming squad Smingdan, had gone back and forth between heaven and hell without a moment's rest.
Among them, the fansite master couldn't even remember how she had gotten through the past month.
Right after the scandal broke—started by sasaengs spreading malicious hate—and the fandom shook and a large number of fans left, she drank for days on end.
Her conversation with an office-worker fan was a sight to behold.
[Fansite Master: Unnie I seriously trust Won Yu-ha right now I swear he didn't screw up this time can you please just believe in him a little and wait you know too he's really a good kid there's no one as diligent as him I'm sure there's a reason behind all this]
[Office-worker fan: Calm down. I care about him too, okay? You don't have to worry…]
Then when the truth about Won Yu-ha was revealed, calming the shaken fandom, she felt both joy that his votes were holding steady and a bitter aftertaste.
"It's not wrong to give your heart to someone you care about… even if it's because they make you worry more."
Even so, every time she saw fans voting for him because he supposedly had a "pitiful backstory," she felt a lingering discomfort.
After a few fans who had publicly left the fandom slinked back, and after more details about Won Yu-ha's past came out, Smingdan grew even bigger.
The fans who remained became what people called "core." After everything they had gone through—and above all, after learning about the hardships their beloved idol had suffered—they had no choice but to deepen their affection for him.
Core fandom isn't a bad thing. It means fans won't leave easily.
And right now, Dear Doll's voting was still ongoing. After dropping from 1st to 10th place, Yu-ha's debut was far from guaranteed, and they needed every possible vote.
But thinking about Yu-ha's "future," she couldn't tell whether having this "young breadwinner" image attached to him was actually good.
"People are going to see Yu-ha through the frame they've decided on."
They would expect excessive humility, endless gratitude, and an overly kind, self-sacrificing image. That's what people expect from someone with a "pitiful tragic past."
It was natural for fans to project their ideal image onto an idol—but this "pure, good boy" image carried too much risk.
If Won Yu-ha slipped up even a little, criticism and backlash would rain down immediately.
"I'm uncomfortable with people only seeing him as pitiful… feels like the only thing people care about is his tragic past, and honestly it doesn't feel great. There's so much more to Yu-ha to talk about, so why does everyone only bring up how hard things were for him?"
"Isn't treating a real person's past as if it's entertainment kind of wrong? Talk about it if you want, but stop over-immersing and twisting it however you want."
"I'm not saying we should ignore my pick's difficult past, but… I just want to talk about good things… Everyone obsessing over his past is exhausting. I hate looking at my timeline…"
There were many fans who felt this unease. So within the fandom, a movement rose to avoid consuming that image.
But—
「Dear Doll's Won Yu-ha, Stepping Toward a New Dream After Overcoming a Painful Past… A Leap Toward the Future」
「Dear Doll's Won Yu-ha: "I Hope Everyone Does Well" — A Wish Deepened by Pain」
Right on cue, KRM began media play that intensified that very image.
KRM distributed press materials related to Dear Doll, dropped hints about the past between Baek I-hyeon and Won Yu-ha, and fed exclusive stories to their preferred journalists.
Because he was connected to Baek I-hyeon—a top-tier idol—Won Yu-ha's name value surged far higher than before the scandal.
Journalists pounced on the bait.
Articles about Won Yu-ha were sensational, focusing on his tragic past and implying he had been miserable all his life, ending with the journalist's touching commentary cheering for his future.
Fans, wanting to boost his visibility, shared and recommended those articles, and the more they did, the louder the journalists became.
Thanks to that, Won Yu-ha's image was now something that stirred people's hearts—an icon of a "young breadwinner you just have to cheer for."
"I don't think Yu-ha would want this…"
But that only made the fansite master recall what Yu-ha said before the scandal.
It was when he and the so-called roommate duo were going around subway advertisements, meeting fans and taking proof shots. Among the many photos and fan accounts uploaded that day, one stayed with her.
"I met Yu-ha in front of his LED ad today, and I was so overwhelmed I thanked him for being on Dear Doll and begged him to debut. I told him that because of him I could forget all my worries, and just seeing his face when things were hard made me so happy…"
"I told him I was sorry I couldn't be a source of strength since he must be exhausted from competing… It was the day after that evil edit aired, so I thought he must be stressed."
"But even in all that noise, he listened to everything quietly. Then he said he was grateful I told him that, and that he was the one who was sorry — that he didn't want fans to be hurt or upset because of him, and he felt bad it happened."
"He said it's only natural that he should make us happy without worries, and he apologized… He said he'd do better from now on, and that if fans are happy, it would give him strength…"
"What do I even do with this kid? Then the crowd pushed him away and I couldn't even tell him he didn't need to apologize… Yu-ha, we just… we just want you to be happy…"
It was true that idols often said "pretty" words to win fans' hearts, but the fansite master wanted to believe Yu-ha meant it.
And even if those words were calculated—so what? The fact that he thought about them, and the fact that he promised, was enough to make a fan happy.
She believed she had heard a vow in Yu-ha's words. That he would never let them be disappointed or worried. That he wanted only to make them happy.
There was no way someone like that would want things to go like this.
So the fansite master only wanted Yu-ha to hurry through Dear Doll, debut successfully, and receive pure love.
If he debuted, and if they could see each other for a long time, his fans would be happy—and that would become Won Yu-ha's strength.
"…I hope he gets picked."
And so, she carefully typed in the name she had come up with for the debut group into the comments under the official webpage—a single name containing her feelings.
From that night on, her comment began racking up upvotes at an astonishing speed.
And when the final evaluation approached and the group name contest ended, her comment had risen to the top ranks, surpassing even the previously leading "Aideen."
***
I quietly looked at the system window inside the training-room dormitory.
『
Specialty (Vocal): S- (Unlocked)
Specialty (Dance): B+
Charm (Appearance): A-
Charm (Aura): B
Talent (Expression): S- (Unlocked)
Talent (Focus): A+ (Unlocked)
Stamina (Physical): C+
Stamina (Mental): D-
Luck: 60 points
Base Trait: Regression
Compared to the start of the regression, my stats had increased tremendously.
Several categories directly relevant to performance had been unlocked, and my attributes had risen enough that I no longer felt that frustrating sense of lacking on most stages.
But—
"Not enough."
I couldn't be satisfied with this.
Tomorrow, I would be performing with Do Ji-hyuk's team—the one with the highest recognition in Dear Doll, and correspondingly, the strongest individual members. To avoid being overshadowed, I needed something more.
And beyond that—
"It can't be that people vote for me because they feel sorry for me."
The idol-makers watching the show must not cast their votes for me because of my past.
At first, people may have set their eyes on my past—but what had to keep their attention was me.
Only that way could I survive after debut, and above all, achieve my goal.
I stared blankly at the Luck points I had left. I currently had a total of five spins available for the roulette.
"..."
Without hesitation, I invested all my points—except for the ten points required to preserve my life—into purchasing roulette random tickets.
There's no "later" for me anyway.
If I didn't debut in the upper ranks, I had no life to return to. So there was no reason left to save roulette points.
When I tapped the icon next to the Luck stat, the massive machine appeared before me again. The roulette, fed by the five tickets, began spinning violently.
Dding!
"…Ha."
Seeing the result appear, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
『Specialty (Dance) Stat Growth Ticket (Random)』
Specialty (Dance): B+ → ???
A second language for expressing a story!
One of the core fundamentals for creating a colorful stage!
A random stat growth ticket that will successfully enhance your ability.
※ Growth tickets are applied automatically.
『Specialty (Dance) Stat GROWTH!』
Specialty (Dance): B+ → A
(Stat +2, Lock released — Synchronization complete)
***
『Charm (Appearance) Stat Growth Ticket (Random)』
Charm (Appearance): A- → ???
No one can take their eyes off you!
Your visuals shine anywhere!
A random stat growth ticket that will successfully enhance your ability.
※ Growth tickets are applied automatically.
『Charm (Appearance) Stat GROWTH!』
Charm (Appearance): A- → A+
(Stat +2, Lock released — Synchronization complete)
***
『Charm (Aura) Stat Growth Ticket (Random)』
Charm (Aura): B → ???
The gaze you capture will never escape!
Your presence that draws in every eye!
A random stat growth ticket that will successfully enhance your ability.
※ Growth tickets are applied automatically.
(— Aura growth result shows later —)
***
『Stamina (Physical) Stat Growth Ticket (Random)』
Stamina (Physical): C+ → ???
The foundation of all activities!
The basic trait that turns willpower into action!
A random stat growth ticket that will successfully enhance your ability.
※ Growth tickets are applied automatically.
『Stamina (Physical) Stat GROWTH!』
Stamina (Physical): C+ → B-
(Stat +1, Lock released — Synchronization complete)
***
Along with the consecutive system windows, what appeared before my eyes was:
『
Specialty (Vocal): S- (Unlocked)
Specialty (Dance): A- (Unlocked)
Charm (Appearance): A+ (Unlocked)
Charm (Aura): S- (Unlocked)
Talent (Expression): S- (Unlocked)
Talent (Focus): A+ (Unlocked)
Stamina (Physical): B- (Unlocked)
Stamina (Mental): D- (Locked)
Luck: 10 points
Base Trait: Regression
At last, the perfected synchronization window had appeared.
And one more thing—the final item granted by the last random ticket:
『Buff: Beginner's Luck (One-Time)』
All the "luck" in the world is yours!
A one-time buff ticket that helps you achieve everything you desire for a single day.
It felt like a kind of sign.
A sign that I would no longer experience failure…
"..."
That today, I would achieve debut once again—and that this time, it would not be like my past life.
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