Chapter 156: So Good
Screeeech—
The van slid to a stop at the entrance of Incheon Airport.
Even without rolling down the window, it was clear a considerable crowd had gathered outside.
It looked like quite a few reporters had come, too.
Just imagining the article titled ‘Stardust Airport Fashion’ going up this afternoon made my head spin.
“Is this really okay?”
Jin Sehyun, who was about to open the back door, paused and mumbled.
That was exactly what I wanted to say right now.
Is this really okay?
I gave Seo Haim a gentle push on the back as I spoke.
“…You go first.”
“Ah, why?”
“This kind of thing always starts with the person who came up with the idea.”
If I were to scan Seo Haim’s outfit from top to bottom right now,
It would be a bright yellow, straight-cut animal onesie that continued from a chick hat—with its stupidly round eyes and protruding beak—down to her pants.
She’s really going to wear that as her airport fashion?
—Is what I wanted to say but….
I was the one wearing a hamster hat.
Wearing a hamster animal onesie at twenty-six.
Ugh, I was feeling a bit of existential dread.
I rubbed my face and muttered under my breath.
“I don’t want to go anymore.”
“My heart’s pounding so much.”
Unlike me, someone else’s energy level had gone way up.
Cha Seongbin grinned as he pulled the baby fennec fox hat snugly over his head.
I could faintly hear the makeup and hair staff’s screams echoing in my ears.
“Hyung, why are you already wearing the hat?”
“Ah.”
Anyway, I was currently in a very uncomfortable situation.
Because of the way those two swayed the group, I was about to leave the country wearing an animal onesie!
‘Hey, think about it. The fans will love it.’
‘No, still, we should dress normally.’
‘What if the Dusties say they wanted to see it? Are you really going to just coldly turn away? That’s disappointing~.’
The two of them kept pushing like that until Seo Ian hyung, who’s easily swayed, got pulled in.
Ha Junseo, who’s usually indifferent, had agreed from the start.
And Kang Siwoo caved the moment someone said the fans would enjoy it.
That was largely thanks to Cha Seongbin’s flashy persuasion tactics.
‘You’d look cute in it.’
‘Ah, really?’
Kang Siwoo had secretly had a thing for cuteness ever since Touch Me days.
Once even the leader raised his hand in agreement, there was no stopping it.
And that’s how we ended up in this mess.
Boarding the plane in matching animal onesies.
“I—I’m going out!”
The one who confidently opened the door first was eldest hyung-line, Cha Seongbin.
As expected, the moment he stepped out of the van, joyful screams erupted from afar.
“Oh… oh! It’s Stardust!”
Click—
Click—
At the same time, an explosion of shutter sounds burst forth.
“Kyaaaah! Guys!”
“What are they wearing?!”
“Animal onesies! Animal onesies. Freaking insanely cute!”
“Seohan, please look over hereee!”
Cha Seongbin and Seo Haim were the first to step out, waving their hands,
And I shyly followed behind, standing in front of the photo line.
I’d thought a lot of people came, but stepping out, I realized the crowd was even larger than expected.
As I responded distractedly to the roaring cheers, a fluffy sleeve came into my view.
“Do Seohan, give us a bite-heart!”
“Seohan, the hat! Put the hat on, please!”
Ah.
My animal onesie.
“……”
I really just wanted to board the plane quickly.
[Today’s Stardust Airport Fashion LOL]
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the article photos of our boys.
What’s with the group animal onesies LOL
And they even matched the animals to the ones fans associate them with—it’s seriously too cute.
They just showed up like that without any spoilers.
The moment I saw the photos, I wanted to clutch my heart.
(photo)
—Ah seriously, they’re so damn cute LOL even wore the hats for a group photo
└ That fanservice is insane….
└ I didn’t realize it was a spoiler, but Haim actually gave one in a private message yesterday! Something like “Departing for Malaysia cutely and adorably ><” must’ve been it
└ Ah LOLLLLLL
└ Haim’s always cute so I couldn’t even tell it was a spoiler
└ She really left the country as a baby chick
—Kang Siwoo in that outfit looks like a Siberian Husky dressed in a Maltese’s furry clothes
└ LOLLLLL Our Siwoo is 99% handsome, 1% soft….
└ But he’s still cute. Stop putting him in rider jackets all the time—give our Siwoo some fluffy clothes too!
└ Rider jacket LOLLLLLL
└ But leather jackets suit him so well….
└ If you watch Kang Siwoo long enough, he’s secretly cute. Like in Touch Me too….
└ The moment Kang Siwoo looks cute to you, you’ve already fallen
└ When he’s still, he’s got Siberian Husky vibes but when he smiles, he’s more of an Alaskan Malamute type
└ Hehe, it’s because it’s Kang Siwoo
└ Ah LOLLLLL Stop teasing “Hehe Kang Siwoo” LOLLLLLL
└ What’s even funnier is that Siwoo later edited the post like nothing happened LOL
—But why were Do Seohan’s ears red? Was it that cold?
└ Our maknae secretly gets embarrassed by stuff like that….
└ LOLLLLL He gives all the fanservice but his ears never lie
└ Do Hamjji wanting to crawl into a mouse hole
└Since it’s Do Seohan, his ears started turning red the moment there were lots of people LOL
└I want to know whose idea this was—hope we get the behind-the-scenes later
└One hundred percent sure Do Seohan and Jin Sehyun were against it
└LOLLLLLL agreed
└GIF of Do Seohan tightly shutting his eyes
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.
.
.
“Ugh, I’m so tired.”
Guess you’d have to travel abroad a lot to get used to this.
Getting swept up in a crowd at the airport had left me half out of it.
And after a seven-hour flight in that state, my body felt stiff the moment we arrived at the dorm.
While unpacking in our shared room, I instinctively threw myself onto the bed.
My temporary roommate was Seo Ian hyung.
“Seohan… want to go out and look around?”
“Go out?”
Peek—
At some point, Seo Ian had finished unpacking and was looking out the window as he asked.
I hesitated for a moment, but with my head feeling heavy, I flopped back down.
“Ugh… let’s rest a bit first before going out.”
The moment my head touched the pillow, I felt like I might pass out.
I pulled the blanket over my head and turned my body around.
Since we’d basically left as soon as the schedule came in, it felt like I woke up in a foreign country.
Music Bank in Malaysia stage.
It’s not a country known for having a lot of K-pop fans, so I couldn’t help but feel a little concerned.
But when we arrived today, I was surprised to see quite a few banners written in Korean.
K-pop fans really are everywhere….
The Music Bank stage here looked like it’d be a fresh, fun experience.
That’s when I muttered absentmindedly.
“Hm.”
A strange sense of déjà vu hit me.
Music Bank in Malaysia.
For some reason, I felt like I’d seen that title in the news at some point.
“Huh, why does it sound so familiar?”
“What does?”
I waved my hands at Seo Ian, who was staring intently at me.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
Maybe it was just my imagination.
Still, something about this event rang oddly familiar in my ears.
Meanwhile, at the same time.
In the relatively larger triple room, the five members excluding Do Seohan and Seo Ian had gathered.
Ha Junseo was sitting on the edge of the bed, checking a text from Seo Ian.
—I tried coaxing Seohan to go out, but he’s lying down…. Think he’s sleepy ㅠㅠ
A message from three minutes ago.
As he scrolled down, he found two more messages from just earlier.
—I stopped him from heading to your room
—That was almost a disaster….
Anyway, as long as they kept him from coming this way, it’d be fine.
Ha Junseo smirked and slid his phone back into his pocket.
There was only one reason why the members, minus Do Seohan, had gathered this late at night.
Leader Kang Siwoo nodded and brought up the topic.
“Seohan’s birthday is December 4th, right?”
“Yeah. It’s the day right after we get back to Korea.”
Once they wrapped up their schedule and landed back in Korea, the very next day would be the youngest, Do Seohan’s birthday.
Members who had been on the same team as Do Seohan during their Starf trainee days kept shaking their heads in disbelief, overwhelmed by memories.
It felt like just yesterday they were celebrating in the Starf practice room, but now, here they were.
“Wow, then it’s already been a year?”
“The day Do Seohan got his sunflower seeds?”
“He thought we were ghosts and ran away.”
Back then, the youngest had been scared of everything—and honestly, not much had changed.
If there was any difference, it was that now he just jumped in place a bit more calmly.
Jin Sehyun chuckled as he remembered the moment.
“Anyway, we’ve gotta celebrate again this time.”
“Of course! And let’s go all out while we’re at it!”
A boring celebration just wouldn’t do.
Their team name was Stardust, after all—time to go cosmic with the scale.
Kang Siwoo looked around, waiting for raised hands.
“Anyone got any good ideas?”
“First off, surprise party is the default.”
“Gifts are best when they’re given suddenly~.”
Even though he might not seem it, Seohan had a surprisingly cautious nature, so if they acted weird around his birthday, he might pick up on it quickly.
They had to approach this carefully. Jin Sehyun nodded as he shared his idea.
“Let’s do a surprise camera prank.”
“What should we use to fool him?”
“You can’t get Do Seohan with just anything. Unless it’s Seo Haim, maybe.”
“What’s that supposed to mean about my image?!”
Seo Haim snapped, clenching her fists.
The hyungs laughed as they piled on.
“Pranking Seo Haim is so low-difficulty it’s almost too easy….”
“She’s like a fish that bites the hook the moment you cast the line~.”
Choco Haim might have been trembling in protest, but… it was true.
But Do Seohan? Not happening.
With this current lineup, the chances of success were slim.
Which is why—
Cha Seongbin rested his chin in his hand and cautiously opened his mouth.
“I was thinking of bringing in someone we know.”
“Who?”
“What kind of someone?”
The moment he brought it up, everyone’s attention turned to him.
Cha Seongbin scratched his head and gave a sheepish grin.
“PD Do Seojun…?”
“How do you know him?”
He had kept the number since the anonymous account incident.
Do Seojun had told him to reach out if anything ever happened, so he’d saved it securely—but he didn’t expect to actually use it.
Since then, they’d only exchanged greetings during holidays, so he was a bit hesitant.
“What do you think?”
“Too….”
“Yeah, would it be uncomfortable?”
“I think he’d… love it.”
Ha Junseo nodded confidently.
Because no big brother ever passes up a chance to mess with his little brother.