Little Pink Starfish

Those gathered in CASE Hall looked around and realized that they were Han Sion’s fans.

Since the agency had limited the size of cheer banners, most people were holding small ones, and most of them had Han Sion’s name on them.

‘Which means…….’

That Han Sion’s fan signing event was happening in this hall.

At the entrance, they had seen that the MICE Center had various halls besides CASE, like ECO, PAPER, and others.

Which meant fan signings for the other members were taking place there.

What turned their guess into certainty was when a familiar intro started playing on the empty stage.

SINCE’s <Never Played Around>.

Back when Coming Up Next aired, the general public had reacted to this stage with a simple, “Wow, Han Sion can do even this?”

But not among idol fans.

This stage had caused quite a stir, and many people became fans of Han Sion through this song.

It was understandable — it surpassed the original.

While the original was exaggerated to the point that even long-time fans could get tired of it, Han Sion kept perfect control of the line.

Yet still perfectly handled the parts meant for seven people.

Even now, clips of this performance still float around idol fan cover communities as legendary content.

At that moment.

Finally, Han Sion appeared on stage.

Pushing through the screams of 350 people, Han Sion smiled and performed the song and dance.

Light skinship, bold jokes

Time spent together with bored facial expressions

He hadn’t changed SINCE’s choreography much.

Because if done carelessly, it could seem like mocking senior idols, so one had to be careful.

But while keeping the key moves intact, the added gestures and different beat accents stood out vividly.

‘Come to think of it…….’

Han Sion is truly strange.

When Han Sion first appeared in mass media, many people said he didn’t suit being an idol.

Understandable, since the song that first made his name known to the public was Melisma’s <Tony Bright>.

A Delta blues song released in the 1940s, rearranged into Chicago blues — the song that earned him the nickname “Hip-Sion.”

But that wasn’t the end of Han Sion.

He has layers of endless talent.

Singing, composing, arranging, conceptual work — there’s nothing he can’t do.

He even dances well.

Unlike his singing, he doesn’t have his own identity in dance, but his ability to digest any choreography is outstanding.

But Han Sion’s fans don’t like him because of his talent.

Han Sion has something special.

To be precise, there’s something special about Han Sion on stage.

Pretending like it was nothing, but I—

Not even once

Played around

Offstage, he seems indifferent to everything.

Sometimes he seems gloomy, sometimes apathetic.

But the moment he steps onto the stage, everything changes.

As if he would die if he failed this performance.

As if this song were the last one of his life.

Burning everything like that.

That was the true reason they liked Han Sion.

And it was also what gave Han Sion the strength to endure his long regression.

The utmost effort on stage, and the cheers shown offstage.

That was Han Sion’s only realism.

Not even once

Played around

As the chorus ended, the choreography poured in.

---

“Hello.”

As he finished singing and greeted them, screams exploded.

From “Hi,” “I missed you,” to cheers with his name in them.

“Thank you so much. For supporting me.”

It was sincere.

Because those gathered here were the ones trying to save him.

I’m usually a calm person, but once I’m on stage, I become emotional.

So without realizing it, I talked quite a bit and answered fans’ questions.

The MICE Center was designed for international conferences and debates, with well-controlled sound reflection.

Meaning, when people speak from the audience, it’s easily heard on stage.

Even without a microphone.

After chatting for a long while, I paused.

It seemed my talking had gone on too long.

I stood up and approached the grand piano already set on stage.

The instrument I’m most familiar with is the guitar.

When I worked as a musician rather than a vocalist, I usually played guitar, and I get most of my composing inspiration while playing with the guitar.

But the instrument I play best isn’t guitar.

It’s piano.

Because during one round when I challenged classical music, I was a pianist.

Though I couldn’t reach the top of the classical world, I once placed joint 4th at the Chopin Competition.

The charm of piano lies in its rich melodies.

Once you reach the point where you can embed emotions into those melodies, you can even speak with the piano.

And I reached that level.

“As you can see, I’m alone, so the rest has to be done by Time Traveler.”

As soon as I finished speaking, scattered voices shouted “TT!”

“……TT has to do it.”

I’ve gotten fairly used to it, but it’s still a bit embarrassing.

Yet people burst into laughter, perhaps because they found my embarrassment endearing.

To shake off the embarrassment, I quickly started playing.

As soon as the simple intro was heard, fans let out cheers.

Because it was <RESUME>.

Bedroom pop is known for simple yet dreamy melodies, but I can play it like this too.

♬♪♩♪♪♩♪

The fancy piano playing made the intro of Resume rich.

The main melody familiar to everyone remained intact, but I filled the surroundings with splendor.

The one who taught me classical piano was Hungary’s great master Lili Fischer.

When I challenged classical music at the age of twenty, usually you can’t become a disciple of a master at that age.

Normally, you must start before fifteen at the latest.

But she found my talent too precious and accepted me as her student.

In the end, though, she firmly said I could not become a top pianist.

The reason was simple.

“When you play, you get too carried away emotionally.”

“You were born with the talent to deliver emotions, but you force your own feelings onto others.”

At first, I denied Lili Fischer’s words, but in my final classical challenge round, I finally accepted it.

She was right.

I want people to feel the same emotions I feel when listening to my music.

But classical music requires wide interpretation and allows for diverse feelings.

So it wasn’t a fit for me.

But pop music is a bit different.

Because there are lyrics.

When people listen to Resume, I want them to feel warmth, to feel happiness.

I can’t imagine them listening to this song with any other emotions.

Fortunately, the fans share my emotions.

The fancy variations returned to the original melody.

Looking down from the stage, TT sang in unison.

Woo- hello

Did you

Have good dreams

Through the night

I was surprised by how well they sang.

The timing was perfect.

Woo- hello

Start the day

A little earlier

Fresh morning

This time I joined in too.

I originally didn’t plan to sing parts that weren’t mine, but I got excited.

Thus, we sang Resume powerfully together.

What’s amusing is that when I sang the chorus, the fans didn’t sing along.

They left my parts completely intact.

As if they wanted to fully savor my voice.

Well, wouldn’t you want to sing along for the chorus?

Such patience is impressive.

We’re here

Earnestly

Wishing for this—

At the end of the chorus, I threw in another variation.

Cheers erupted again, as if they never tired.

This time, it was Summer Cream.

---

Small theater performance?

Fan meeting? Fan signing?

Or recreation?

An event no one could quite define continued nonstop.

For the first 15 minutes, while we sang three songs, there was no host, but afterward, an MC appeared.

Someone vaguely familiar from TV, though maybe not.

He was a relatively unknown MC, but skillfully guided the interaction between Han Sion and TT.

We had intentionally hired someone talented.

“Number 33! Please come up to the stage! Think of your wish as you come up!”

Clearly, this wasn’t a normal fan signing.

But whenever the MC proceeded with something, Han Sion came down from the stage to sign for fans in turn and chat with them.

He even wore the gifts immediately in front of them.

Actually, Han Sion was quite busy with 350 fans, but the other Sedalbaekil members weren’t as busy.

Eion had about 180 people, while the others had around 100 each.

There was plenty of time, and each spent time with fans in their own way in their own halls.

Onsaemiro, who was less outgoing, depended a lot on the MC, while Choi Jaesung, who was full of energy, prepared many things himself.

What mattered was that everyone was having fun.

Moreover, Sedalbaekil members were quite candid.

Even when fans asked cheeky questions, they answered smoothly.

“Rank 1 in team looks? Probably me.”

Eion’s fans burst into laughter at his comment, but Eion was simply being objective.

The first fan signing to end was naturally Choi Jaesung’s, with the fewest participants.

Though each one’s content and format varied, the general flow was similar.

Naturally, the smaller groups finished first.

Choi Jaesung’s fans thought the event was over, but under the guidance of Choi Jaesung and fan managers, they boarded buses waiting in front of the MICE Center.

Of course, they could go home if they wished, but only two people chose to, and they left almost in tears.

By the time Choi Jaesung’s fans arrived at a nearby gymnasium, Onsaemiro’s hall had also finished.

Fans moved sequentially to the gymnasium, and last came Han Sion.

After signing for all 350 fans, Han Sion and his fans finally arrived.

The gymnasium, not far from the MICE Center, was rented by Sedalbaekil and fully equipped with high-end audio equipment.

Because it was for a performance.

Even though they mostly liked Han Sion, there were fans who wanted to see Goo Taehwan or Onsaemiro too.

Or those who, though they picked one, were really all-fans.

Especially TT first-term members, having gone through the entire Max Taehos era with Sedalbaekil, held affection for all members.

Some Eion fans disliked Han Sion due to the unequal song distribution, but it wasn’t a big issue.

“Hello!”

Thus, a huge cheer erupted as Sedalbaekil, fully assembled, appeared.

And so, the concert began before an audience of about 850.

---

SNS and the internet became flooded with fan signing event reviews.

Normally, such reviews float around idol communities, but Sedalbaekil had unusually high public favor and interest.

-Is Sedalbaekil crazy? Don’t they want to make money?

-I’m sick of hearing that by now.

-Didn’t they sell merch at least?

-They gave it out for free, apparently?

-Why worry about celebrities? They’ll earn plenty. Their album passed 1 million copies, and they made Billboard.

-True.

-Sedalbaekil is smart. It’s like investing for the future. Their fan loyalty is on another level now.

-Honestly, it’s good they don’t have a company.

-Don’t disrespect SBI Entertainment.

-What’s that?

-Sedalbaekil’s company name, lol.

-Haha, sounds shady somehow.

While general audiences, distant from idol culture, analyzed the situation through capitalism, the idol communities focused on Sedalbaekil’s intent.

Since it wasn’t a familiar fan signing format and had an unusually large number of participants, there were certainly some regrets.

But wasn’t the intention clear?

To repay the fans’ support.

-Kind of jealous.

-Saw Choi Jaesung fan signing reviews — apparently it was like a small gathering with only about 80 people.

-Han Sion seemed busy though?

-Since over 300 gathered. Still looked pretty solid.

As these stories spread, someone even calculated and posted the estimated cost online.

People said Sedalbaekil really seemed like they didn’t care about making money……

“Well, shall we start making some money now?”

But at this point, that wasn’t true.

Because filming for Self Made, produced by PD Kang Seokwoo, had officially begun.