The final stage ended with Hyunseung suddenly removing the black cloth that had been covering his eyes.
No, to be precise… he removed the cloth, and then, before long, a pitch-black darkness like the deep sea descended, so it ended abruptly.
The audience was unexpectedly silent.
Even as the lights came back on and Yoo Jaejun delivered his remarks, the oppressive stillness persisted.
That was… the same held true for Hyunseung’s entourage seated in the VIP section.
“Geumdong…”
“Oppa…”
“That guy just now…”
Except for Dohee, who had fallen asleep in her brother’s arms earlier, and Sarah Stewart, whose eyes sparkled with interest, no one could find the words.
Don’t they say people lose their voice when they’re too shocked or stunned? That was exactly the situation.
And no wonder.
Hadn’t he kept his promise for over two years, vowing never to reveal his face, even if it killed him?
Even though the lights went out immediately, Hyunseung’s face had clearly been captured on the LED screen.
Of course… he had briefly revealed himself at the last fan meeting, but that event was much smaller in scale and had a no-photography rule.
Above all, he hadn’t shown his face so clearly like this.
‘What on earth possessed him….’
Kim Woohyun shook his head from side to side, unable to understand.
Then, as Hyunseung and the other guest singers returned to the stage to deliver their final greetings, the crowd responded with cheers and a standing ovation.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—!
Needless to say, Hyunseung was wearing his helmet again.
─ Please be seated.
As Hyunseung signed, everyone in the venue stopped clapping and sat down.
“First, I’d like to once again express my gratitude to all of you who took the precious time to attend this fan meeting today.” He then bowed deeply in greeting.
The members of Hyunseung’s team, standing side by side, also followed suit, bowing at a 90-degree angle.
It was like… a scene reminiscent of the military.
“Today, before it was my fan meeting, this concert began with the hope that it would be a stage I desperately wanted to show someone, and that you could experience music with more diverse senses.” Hyunseung continued speaking, adding sign language even as subtitles appeared on the screen.
“I sincerely hope that today’s memories become a source of happiness and hope for that someone, and for all of you, as you live more joyfully in the future. Thank you.”
Kim Woohyun couldn’t hold back and gave Hyunseung, standing on stage, the most enthusiastic applause of all.
‘Well done, our Geumdong!’
It was truly the best closing remark. It was undoubtedly the best closing remark he’d ever heard.
Of course, it wasn’t just the remark; the entire fan meeting process was the best.
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought so, because Executive Director Park, sitting next to him, also stood up and applauded.
Sarah Stewart, too, pretended she couldn’t help herself and stood up, clapping her hands.
Applause erupted from the audience seats one after another, instantly filling the venue with the sound of clapping.
Among them, the only ones who couldn’t clap were Hyunseung’s family.
“Huh, ugh, oh, oppa…”
His younger sister couldn’t clap because she was bursting into tears.
Her father, trying to comfort his daughter, couldn’t manage a smile or a cry.
“Oh dear, crying is a talent too!” Executive Park opened his mouth, trying to offer comfort…
“Waaah, oppa…” It only backfired. Hyuna began wailing loudly. Tears like chicken droppings streamed nonstop from Hyuna’s eyes, framed by deep double eyelids.
But no one could rashly comfort or soothe her. Probably because there must be some deep, private family matter they didn’t know about.
‘This won’t do.’
Worried Hyunseung might dehydrate, Kim Woohyun gathered Hyunseung’s family and headed for the waiting room.
Opening the door, he saw Hyunseung, looking utterly exhausted after just finishing his stage performance, slumped over his instruments.
“Oppa…” Hyuna, regardless of whether her favorite idols were watching or not, sniffled and ran straight into her brother’s arms.
“You idiot, you’re such an idiot, sniff, sniff, why, why did you do that…”
“Why am I an idiot?”
“Oppa, you revealed your face because of what I said, right….”
Watching that brother and sister, Kim Woohyun felt his heart grow warm. It was like watching a family drama, perhaps?
‘So that’s why he revealed his face… because of his little sister.’
For just a moment, Kim Woohyun wished he had a younger sister too. If it were a cute little sister like that, he’d listen to her anytime.
“This is so touching…”
“Exactly…”
“I can’t watch this without tearing up…”
The highly sensitive Jung Arin, Yoon Jaeyi, and Lee Hyoeun also seemed quite moved by the siblings’ display, their arms linked as they stood with reddened eyes.
‘Wait, but why is he…’
For reasons unknown, Kang Hajun had already turned away, vigorously rubbing his eyes.
However, it seemed only those close to him felt this emotion. The actual subject of the touching drama, Hyunseung, just burst out laughing in disbelief.
“What did you say?” Then he added in a very firm tone. “It’s absolutely not like that, so don’t overreact.”
“Oh really…?”
“Anyway, since the montage was already mostly done, I just wanted to make sure.”
Hyuna seemed flustered by that and asked, “Uh…?”
“No, I mean, all these weird rumors were flying around—that I have a long lower jaw, or a bucktooth, or a fist-sized mole on my chin? It was unfair.”
“What do you mean…?”
“So I opened up for a bit to set the record straight.” Hyunseung stroked his chin with his fingertips as he elaborated.
“To let everyone know there are no blemishes on my face.”
At his words, the atmosphere in the room froze instantly.
Kim Woohyun also looked at Hyunseung with a hint of annoyance.
‘So that’s it. He knew all along.’
Well, if someone born with a face like that didn’t realize they were handsome, that would be unlucky in its own way.
Ah. Of course, he’s still just as unlucky now.
“Min Hyunseung, I really hate you.”
“Min Jin-shil.”
“Here we go again, again!”
“Again and again.”
Hyuna felt like her tears had completely dried up, leaving her eyes parched. They were cracked and shriveled. Still… Hyuna ruffled her hair, not entirely annoyed with her brother.
“Stop acting like you’re handsome and buy me lunch.”
“Is all you ever talk about when you see me food?”
“Then buy me chicken instead.”
Father watched the bickering siblings, his eyes full of their faces, smiling happily.
The smile Hyunseung gave today wasn’t just for his family.
Today too, Choi Yoonseo made herself a cup of coffee first thing in the morning and sat down at her computer. Her day always began and ended at the computer.
Why? Because everything started from the computer.
Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap!
She was an influencer with 160,000 followers on Byeolstar.
She had only just woken up, yet her message window was already overflowing with advertising and sponsorship proposals.
Not only that, but as she was also active as a power blogger, just handling the incoming ads and sponsorship proposals was enough to fill her entire day.
Occasionally, there were people who targeted her specifically for only posting ad content or sent abusive messages… but the majority of people saw just one of her posts or photos and followed suit—buying, eating, going, sleeping.
Now, people who claimed to be her fans had even appeared.
Still, Choi Yoonseo didn’t find that attention, affection, or jealousy enjoyable. She did it out of necessity, because she had to earn a living to survive.
The place that truly made her feel alive and breathing was somewhere else entirely.
Yes. Her playground, her field, so to speak…
Sweeter. Choi Yoonseo was a homma1 with 50,000 followers on Sweeter, a celebrity known as ‘Yuno’s Mom’.
It started purely out of fandom, not for any income. Nothing had changed now. Not only did she spend the income earned as a homma, but even the money from her main job went towards her obsession.
Truly. She was someone who wrote the history of a home-fan survival story that couldn’t be heard without tears.
Scratch, scratch.
Recently, there was one artist she had become interested in.
[ Composer HS, Reveals Face at Fan Meeting, Becomes Hot Topic! ]
None other than H.S. Though he wasn’t a singer, an idol, or an actor… judging by the montages circulating online, his visuals were decent and considering his composing skills and the various positive stories circulating, he felt quite appealing.
Of course. Since he didn’t do broadcast activities or even use SNS, there was no bait, so there was no way to fangirl even if she wanted to. So naturally, she hadn’t developed any particular feelings for him…
Then. She heard about the fan meeting. Whether it was divine intervention telling her to become a fan or not, she won the lottery despite the intense competition.
- LS Entertainment’s exclusive composer and one of Korea’s top composers, HS, finally revealed his face at yesterday’s fan meeting…
His ‘Five Senses Fan Meeting’ was his second fan meeting since his debut as a composer. It attracted significant attention due to the application condition: ‘Attendees must be accompanied by a family member or acquaintance who is deaf.’…
Yes, it must have been divine intervention. A sign from above telling her to fully immerse herself in HS and become deeply entangled with him.
- True to its ‘Deaf Attendees Welcome’ title, his fan meeting featured dedicated seating for the hearing impaired throughout the venue, allowing them to physically feel the music.
Merchandise included sign language-shaped pendant necklaces and Bluetooth earphones that double as hearing aids for the deaf, sold at very low prices, with all proceeds donated to deaf organizations…
Probably not just her, but anyone who attended HS’s fan meeting would have fallen for him. Even if they hadn’t gone as a fan.
- Guest singers included Seo Jini, Jung Arin, Kang Hajun, The Moon (Ahn Jiho, Choi Jeonghyuk), Yoon Jaeyi, and Lee Hyoeun…
Especially for the final stage of the fan meeting, ‘Dear my Beethoven’, all the guest singers and HS performed together in perfect harmony. Particularly, the performance incorporating sign language was highly praised as quite impressive…
Why? Starting with the merchandise, the guest singer lineup, the stages presented—everything that unfolded felt like it was thoughtfully crafted piece by piece, considering those who came to the fan meeting.
Truly. In her long history as a homma, this was the first fan meeting that felt both choking and warm. Probably won’t happen again either.
- At the end of this stage, HS removed the cloth covering his eyes and revealed his face for about 10 seconds. Above all, he added the sign language phrase, “I dedicate this stage to my respected Beethoven,” delivering both curiosity and emotion…
Testimonials pouring out, but no fan cams properly capturing his face. Fans who couldn’t attend the fan meeting are voicing their regret…
Only after thoroughly reading all the articles did Choi Yoonseo scroll down to check the comment section,
⤷ Why did I miss it? Why did I miss seeing it? Why me? T_T
⤷ No, all the videos showing his face are shaky and chaotic, you can’t see a thing;
⤷ It’s like some limited-edition luxury item; right in front of your eyes but you can’t see it, it’s killing me
The lack of proper footage was likely because, even though HS has a large fanbase, his role as a ‘composer’ means he doesn’t have dedicated home-made fans following him around, and moreover, no one expected HS to reveal his face.
Clatter, clatter.
But pros always come prepared, no matter where they are.
⤷ Seriously, no high-quality fan cam? Are there really no HS fan cams out there?
The reflection of Choi Yoonseo’s face in the mirror beside the monitor…
“Looks like I have to step up again.” She was smiling with utter satisfaction.
- A Homma is commonly defined as a fan who actively posts photos and videos of beloved stars on online “homepages” (Link to PDF)
– Lei, L. (2024). An informal narrative provider: An overview of “Homma” culture in the context of K-pop idol culture. Asian Communication Research, 21(3), 331–345. https://doi.org/10.20879/acr.2024.21.026 ↩︎
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