A Failed Idol’s Rise to Bottom

Sugyeom smiled contentedly when he checked the community’s reactions.

He hadn’t read many reviews of their performance yet, but so far the reactions to it were good.

In his previous life, there had only been reactions on U-PITE’s official fancafe, while among non-fans it was just a forgetful performance. However, now not only their fancafe but also various large communities and social media was on fire, so it could be a success.

“Wow, the live ranking!”

On Twitter’s live ranking, ‘#pinkhair,’ ‘#gayodaejeonkiss,’ and ‘#gayodaejeon’ were taking off.

Frankly, he was surprised by the hashtags because there was no kissing, but in any case, his aim of catching people’s attention had been achieved.

He clicked on the live search terms out of curiosity and looked at the responses one by one.

[Is the group with pink hair a mixed group? She’s really pretty;;
└ Nope, surprisingly, he’s a man.
└ Crazy;;; What’s with his insane beauty?;;;
└ The group’s name is U-PITE and the pink hair is Song Sugyeom. His blood type is O. His birthday is May 9th. Thank me later 595959.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋFiliniano-nim, excuse me but were you already a fan? How do you know so much?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ I don’t know. When I woke up, I was searching without realizing it.;;
└ Very funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIt was the same for me too.]

[Did you guys see the performance at Gayo Daejeon? That’s where I found the owner to my heart.
└ Pink hair?
└ How did you know?
└ It’s your style even if you were being chased by zombies on a Korea Train Express.]

[@Eu00-nim Did you see the pink hair at Gayo Daejeon? I think he’s to your liking. I handpicked some pictures.
└ OMG…Poco-nim… I was actually swiping through all the pictures right nowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThank youㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ As expected…I think Eu-nim’s taste is very direct.]

[What, male idols kissing at the Gayo Daejeon just now;; Tongue went back and forth;;; Saliva was mixed, saliva threads were stretched, and what else was there? Ah yeah, I heard nasal sounds. Does this make sense? Idols kissing live on air??? Hooray for the world!!
└ Hamster-nim, calm down…they didn’t do that…It was just a shadow…
└ Shut up!!!!!! Anyway, I saw it!!! I’m done!!! How can I possibly calm down when male idols are kissing on stage! Live!!!! I’m speechless. Did their tongues become entangled?!!?
└ ReallyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIt’s funny Hamster-nim is going crazyㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Male idols kissing at Gayo Daejeon…Kissing…The world moves so fast…It’s amazing.]

""

[They must be really crazy;; Even though it’s official, did they have to prove it with a kiss at Gayo Daejeon? Before they immigrate to the Netherlands to get married, let’s legalize same-sex marriage.
└ ㄹㅇAt this rate we’re going to lose Gyeom-Gyeom to the Netherlands.
└ Oldie-nim, let’s meet on Saturday in front of the National Assembly Building with candles.
└ ㅇㅋI’m really serious.]

[Public Service Announcement. The pretty person with pink hair at Gayo Daejeon is Song Sugyeom from U-PITE. The handsome black hair guy next to him is Igyeom. Together, they’re called the Gyeom-Gyeom couple. Welcome. Welcome to U-PITE fandom with no exit.
└ Thank you…
└ That’s kind of you…Thank you…
└ No worries, I was also looking for it. Thank you]

[Everyone, you have a cherry loose…The real couple of Gayo Daejeon was Yuchan-Sugyeom..;;;;; Didn’t you see Su-Gumiho smiling brightly to Yuchan who just became an adult…?;
└ Cherry, what do you mean cherry?;;
└ I don’t want to. I’m going to pickle the cherry until the day I make Chan-Gyeom tie the top of the cherry.
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅁㅊTie the top of a cherryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋModan-nim, thinking of the bigger picture is amazing..]

[I don’t know, but isn’t it understandable when you know that pink hair is a fox? He kisses one member, crosses arm with another, and makes eye contact with another. I’m dumbfounded…ㅡㅡ Do it again! Do more!]

The reactions were hotter than expected. Among them, whether it was from fans or non-fans, the most common was the coupling of Sugyeom.

Sugyeom knew the reaction to see him as a ‘bottom’ would be popular, but he was still stunned by the more than enthusiastic reactions.

“Am I so…”

He turned off his phone and looked at his reflection on the black screen. Two eyes, one nose and one mouth. It didn’t seem particularly different to other people.

“Are you so what?”

Approaching Sugyeom was Hansol drying his hair with a towel after coming out of the shower. Sugyeom was sharing the same room with Hansol and Taewon.

Hansol was topless with only sweatpants on. As a result, Sugyeom’s eyes were drawn to his upper body. Having just come out of the shower, his muscular and robust upper body was glistening.

Sugyeom stared at Hansol’s body and then soon at his own.

It was inherently hard for him to gain muscle. As such, he had to put on weight first and then a great deal of effort just to gain muscles similar to Hansol in his previous life.

Naturally Hansol was also constantly training and exercising to take care of his body. His body didn’t form from nothing. However, compared to the efforts Sugyeom had made in his previous life, it was much easier for Hansol to pack on muscles.

In any case, although he had decided not to do such silly things as packing on muscles or exercising excessively like in his previous life, he still felt empty like he had been deprived of something.

“What were you saying? Did you see malicious comments?”

Contrary to Hansol’s light question, his expression soon turned gloomy.

He was known for his soft and kind personality, but occasionally he would become fierce. It was only when it was related to Sugyeom.

“No, nothing like that.”

Sugyeom was intimidated by Hansol’s icey appearance even though he was older than him.

Although he had quickly said it was nothing, Hansol still showed a suspicious look. He decided to be honest because he thought it would be better to tell the truth than to create a misunderstanding for no reason.

“Really. I just saw the comments online and there were a lot of people saying I’m pretty. I’m just wondering if I’m really that pretty. Am I that pretty?”

“…Uh, huh?”

Hansol’s serious expression was instantly dyed red.

Regardless, Sugyeom continued to speak his mind.

“People say I’m pretty, but I don’t know. Two eyes, one nose, one mouth. I have eyes where it’s supposed to be, a nose where it’s supposed to be, and a mouth where it’s supposed to be. It’s nice that people think I’m pretty, but I’m just curious. If I had to nitpick, I would think I only look pretty among non-celebrities…”

“…Wow, hyung, that’s ridiculous what you’re saying. Don’t let others hear you say that.”

Hansol, who was speechless for a while, said what was on his mind as soon as Sugyeom finished speaking. At his response, Sugyeom tilted his head slightly.

“Then, does Sol think I’m pretty?”

Sugyeom’s eyes showed a cat-like look. As his big eyes brightened, his black pupils sparkled.

Hansol was momentarily stunned. He simply looked at Sugyeom quietly. The more he did so, the more curious Sugyeom became as he tilted his head as if to say, “So? Answer me.”

“…Uh. Hyung is pretty. Very pretty.”

“Really?”

“You’re pretty enough to make people spin, so stop asking.”

Hansol said firmly when Sugyeom asked for confirmation to the answer that came after a long wait.

Surprised by Hansol’s voice that seemed angry, he looked at him with rabbit eyes. However, Hansol immediately left the room without saying a word.

“Wh-what…Did I do something wrong?”

Sugyeom muttered to himself in bewilderment.

“Why, what’s going on?”

Just in time, Taewon came into the room. When he was outside, he seemed to have felt something amiss after seeing Hansol suddenly coming out.

“No, I just asked Sol if he thought I was pretty, then he left.”

“What, it’s because he’s shy. Hansol used to sing many songs about how pretty you are.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yeah. He’s been like that since he was a trainee.”

It was the first time Sugyeom had heard this. Perhaps because the members didn’t talk about each other’s appearance, but he had never heard Hansol say he was pretty until earlier.

Thinking that Hansol had been saying he was pretty since he was a trainee, he bashfully swept his nose.

“Hyung? Does hyung think so?”

“What?”

“Am I pretty?”

At Sugyeom’s question, Taewon hesitated. He stood firmly and looked at Sugyeom. Then, in the room where silence had fallen, all that remained was the eyes of the two tangled in the air.