Chapter 183: Chapter 183

Kang Ichae and Seo Hoyun were as devious as they were perfectly matched.

“You’ll use Jeong Dajun and Kim Seonghyeon to find out the mission code and location. I’ll find out who the traitor is.”

“Okay.”

They knew each other so well that it was easy to predict each other’s actions, and they thought they could easily obtain the necessary information when they teamed up.

After exchanging glances, they turned their backs and gave a sly smile, which was overlaid with a speech bubble CG.

【He’s going to betray, this guy. 】

【He’s going to suck every last drop… 】

[Wow, the production team nailed the character analysis

└They must have really studied The Dawn’s concept]

Lee Jihyeon’s 56-page proposal included the character traits of each of The Dawn’s members in such detail that the production team couldn’t help but know it all.

Deciding that things were getting more interesting, the production team paused and inserted a short interview with Kang Ichae.

【Q. Who do you think the traitor is?】

– “Hmm, the only person I believe everything they say in The Dawn is Seonghyeon-hyung.”

【Q. Why is that?】

– “Because you can tell when he’s lying.”

Kim Seonghyeon played a decisive role in his reasoning.

Kang Ichae then flashed a grin and raised his sunglasses.

– “So, the traitor is definitely Seo Hoyun.”

[Hey, I think you left “hyung” out]

Confident that he had figured everything out, Kang Ichae walked slowly towards the temporary public phone, speaking as he went.

“Do you think I’d trust hyung?”

– “What?”

And then he entered the phone booth, fiddling with the receiver while joking around.

“Do you think Seonghyeon-hyung would lie? Don’t talk nonsense. There’s no way hyung could pull off acting like that.”

– “…”

“No, even if he were a traitor, hyung, why were you just lounging around like an amateur? At least pretend you’re doing the mission.”

– “…Do you really think that?”

Instead of answering, Kang Ichae merely chuckled.

– “Ichae, where are you?”

“What would you do if you knew?”

No matter how he thought about it, Kang Ichae couldn’t believe Kim Seonghyeon was good enough at acting to deceive him.

True, his facial expressions had improved recently, but when he spoke, he was a total mess.

However, Seo Hoyun was different.

Seo Hoyun could deceive the entire world without batting an eye.

“Hyung, I’ll call you back later.”

Kang Ichae waved to the invisible person on the other end.

“Do I need to tell you the code then?”

Then mercilessly, Kang Ichae hung up, humming a tune as he picked up the receiver.

[Thanks for making a movie, guys.

I’m full just from the setting,

But… trust each other a bit more.

I’d trust a door-to-door salesman more than this

└Seriously, door-to-door salespeople have more credibility]

While the Noeuls tore their hair out over the hopeless trust between The Dawn members, Kang Ichae smirked and spoke.

“Traitor, Seo Hoyun.”

He wanted to make this iconic scene look even more dramatic.

“Hoyun, how does love—.”

So, he deliberately paused for a moment, exhaled deeply, and in a wistful voice, began to speak the mission code, when a mechanical voice came from the other end of the receiver.

– “Kang Ichae, you failed to identify the traitor.”

– “You are immediately eliminated.”

“…Huh?!”

A perplexed Kang Ichae couldn’t even respond properly before the call was abruptly cut off.

Beep— beep—.

[?????]

[Why did Ichae get eliminated?]

As he stood there bewildered, unable to put down the phone, a knock came from behind.

Knock, knock.

Beep— beep—.

Startled, he turned around to find Seo Hoyun slightly tilting his head, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“Hello.”

The overly gentle tone was so out of place that everyone watching the broadcast screamed in unison.

Kang Ichae, unable to grasp what was happening, glanced around before looking back at Seo Hoyun.

“…What the heck??”

“Haha.”

Seo Hoyun opened the door of the phone booth and dusted off Kang Ichae’s spotless shoulder for no reason.

“You should’ve trusted hyung a bit more.”

“…!!”

“Come on out, you rascal.”

Seo Hoyun chuckled as he pulled the snickering Kang Ichae out of the booth.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Look at that satisfied expression ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Seems like he feels relievedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

“Wait a minute! You said I wouldn’t regret it!!”

“You won’t regret it because it was fun.”

【Fourth betrayal occurs!

Seo Hoyun betrayed Kang Ichae!】

Since it wasn’t entirely untrue, Kang Ichae missed the chance to refute and was dragged away by the staff, visible even over Seo Hoyun’s shoulder.

[Wait, if it’s not Seo Hoyun, then who’s the traitor???]

[Oh my, Seo Hoyun’s going straight for it;;]

[Gosh, this is intense. They said you can only do it once, isn’t the difficulty too high?]

Seo Hoyun, without any hesitation, dialed the number and then took out his phone from his pocket, showing the chat screen to the camera lens.

– Kim Seonghyeon: I did what you asked

– Kim Seonghyeon: They really betrayed me right away, those bastards…

– Me: ㅇpic

– Kim Seonghyeon: You’re bad too…

At the bottom of the short chat was a photo of the mission note, seemingly sent by Kim Seonghyeon.

【Identify of the traitor

“We have come through the darkness for this moment.”】

The legendary last stage of Shining Star Season 2.

It was the lyrics from “Stardust.”

Kim Seonghyeon had not intended to lie to Kang Ichae and Jeong Dajun from the beginning.

Even before filming, he tried to ignore Seo Hoyun’s subtle comments, like “Who else can you trust besides Seong Jiwon?” which only served to increase his anxiety.

But as time passed, Seo Hoyun’s casual remarks lingered in his mind like the devil’s whisper, and eventually, he gave a different hint as insurance.

He truly intended to correct it later if Jeong Dajun and Kang Ichae didn’t betray him.

But when he was actually backstabbed, the first person that came to mind was Seo Hoyun.

If not him, who else was more suitable to handle the situation?

【Fifth betrayal occurs!

Kim Seonghyeon betrayed Kang Ichae and Jeong Dajun.】

Ring… Ring.

Click.

Seo Hoyun called out “kindly” to the other person.

“Jiwon.”

The sweet times with Seong Jiwon flashed past Seo Hoyun’s side in clumsy CG.

Tapping the tangled phone cord messily, he paused and made a bitter face.

“How does love change?”

An awkward chuckle came through the receiver.

【The original betrayal.

Seong Jiwon betrayed everyone.】

.

.

.

This was the truth behind The Dawn’s Five incident, where a total of six betrayals occurred.

A few days before filming began, the production team pulled Seong Jiwon aside and assigned him the role of the traitor.

“Haha, alright! I’ll do my best.”

【Traitor Seong Jiwon secured!】

With an angelic face, Seong Jiwon enthusiastically embraced the role and carried it out even more impressively than the staff had anticipated.

From subtly hinting that Kang Ichae might be the traitor to intentionally drawing Seo Hoyun’s attention by mentioning how delicious the hot dog looked—even leading him to a café where fans would surround them.

[Holy fuck, there’s a reason they filmed ‘We Got Married’]

[It wasn’t Seo Hoyun dragging out the time, it was Seong Jiwon…]

Despite the delays and distractions, Seo Hoyun only nodded.

After all, he didn’t need to act.

He had already set traps for Kim Seonghyeon and Kang Ichae.

As long as they moved busily and self-destructed, he just had to take what he needed and make a single call.

It was an incredibly easy task.

“…Oh, this is a bit troublesome.”

Unaware of the situation, Seong Jiwon was bewildered that Seo Hoyun followed him so readily.

He hadn’t intended to be this much of a hindrance.

On one hand, he felt like he was getting caught up in Seo Hoyun’s pace.

“Hmm… I’ll play poker to figure out the treasure’s location.”

“Alright, then I’ll go act.”

Eventually, Seong Jiwon, after sipping his iced Americano and pondering, decided to find someone a little more approachable than Seo Hoyun.

Of course, even after that, Seo Hoyun continued to sip his drink at the café.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋSeo Hoyun, this heavy-ass guy…. Did he even move besides hanging out with Seong Jiwon?]

[But honestly, he’s really smartㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

All he did was stare blankly outside, occasionally check his phone, or engage in brief chats with the staff.

Then, after checking the time on his phone, Seo Hoyun slowly stood up.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The hint of the traitor was obtained through Kim Seonghyeon.

The mission code was conveyed through Kang Ichae, who, in turn, obtained it from Jeong Dajun.

Finally, the locker number was provided by an overconfident Kang Ichae.

He had gathered all the information.

Now, all that was left was to head to the payphone.

The reason Kang Ichae failed is clear.

In truth, unbeknownst to everyone, this game had been quite advantageous for Seo Hoyun from the start.

Kim Seonghyeon wouldn’t be able to act!

That strong belief was deeply rooted in The Dawn.

But when Sep Hoyun checked Kim Seonghyeon’s stats towards the end of Shining Star Season 2, he was very surprised.

[Kim Seonghyeon

Acting E → D]

Kim Seonghyeon had made remarkable progress in acting, albeit with a heavy dose of exaggeration.

Still, it’s usable at this level?

This was something only Seo Hoyun knew.

A short interview with Seo Hoyun was included this time.

【Q. How did you set up such a plan?】

– “If you have just two very certain facts, it’s not difficult at all.”

Seo Hoyun propped his chin and curved his eyes into a smile.

– “Kang Ichae will never trust me. And everyone thinks it’ll be obvious if Kim Seonghyeon starts acting.”

The more Kang Ichae distrusted and doubted him, the closer Seo Hoyun got to victory.

Opening the bag with the password Seong Jiwon provided, Seo Hoyun took out a jewel, kissed it, and grinned.

“Of course.”

【Seo Hoyun WINNER】

And so, Seo Hoyun naturally claimed victory.

***

Kim Seonghyeon, Jeong Dajun, Kang Ichae, and Seong Jiwon stood in front of the tvK broadcasting station.

The three, excluding Seong Jiwon, were busy glaring at each other and making a ruckus.

Bam~~ baram bam bam!

At that moment, the most famous OST from the movie Crime X’s suddenly started playing.[1]

And from afar, Seo Hoyun, who was squatting on a child’s electric car G-Bar X, drove up to the group, even managing to drift a little.

Vroooom—.

Screeeech.

Despite the car looking too small for him, Seo Hoyun parked skillfully in front of the main camera and lowered his sunglasses with a wink.

“Macau Seo, reporting.”

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋCrazy bastard, why are you riding that for realㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Wow, that’s slick, you fuckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

“Woohoo~~!!”

“Traitor, traitor!!”

“Why were you just lounging around like an amateur?”

He tossed back the words he heard from Kang Ichae and approached his only ally, Kim Seonghyeon, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

“Thank you for your help, Kim Seonghyeon.”

“Yeah… It’s… a relief I could help.”

“I should reward you.”

Seo Hoyun rummaged through the inside pocket of his jacket as if he was going to give something real.

Kim Seonghyeon watched with a reluctant gaze, not expecting much.

[Is he going to give money???]

But Seo Hoyun instead pulled out a finger heart.

“Oh, and this too.”

“…!!”

“Thank you very much~.”

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Wow, Seonghyeon looks disgusted, but Hoyun doesn’t care at allㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Kim Seonghyeon’s expression soured even further after receiving a wink.

He hadn’t been expecting money, but witnessing something utterly useless and eye-rolling wasn’t what he had in mind either.

As Kim Seonghyeon pretended to poke his own eyes and screamed, Seo Hoyun untied the briefcase that was attached to the back of the child’s electric car.

He handed over the bag filled with jewels and gold bars to the staff and swapped it for a bag filled with the prize money.

[Looks like Seo Hoyun is having too much fun teasing Kim Seonghyeon… What’s Seonghyeon going to do…]

It was true; he was enjoying it.

Jeong Dajun whined with a pout.

“What do we do about that personality of his??”

“Our Dajun, you’re too young to understand. Personality originally comes from the wallet.”

As if to say, “Look how generous I am,” Seo Hoyun opened the bag and waved a handful of cash bundles.

“I may not have style, but I sure have money.”

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Oh ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ isn’t that line the oppositeㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Just like Seong Jiwon did in the opening, Seo Hoyun slightly lowered his sunglasses and laughed.

Simultaneously, the ending credits of The Dawn’s Five rolled.

Photographs of the production crew who participated in the shooting appeared along with their brief comments.

【It was a project designed for them to band together and fight against the traitor… but they ended up betraying each other in a rather amicable way.】

【It made me realize once again how amazing The Dawn is… Watching them tear each other apart like hyenas was truly heartwarming.^^】

Finally, on the darkened screen, the phrase “Winner: The Great Seo Hoyun” was stamped, topped with an angel mark.

【However, Mr. Seo Hoyun was truly a good person.

(This statement is not being made just because he treated the entire staff to an expensive lunch course with the prize money.)】

That’s exactly why it was being said.

【The Dawn is an angel, and we will always support them forever.

(This statement is not being made just because a coffee truck was sent to us while editing today.)

Wishing you success.

– The Staff】

The broadcast ended with The Dawn’s “Stardust” song playing.

Despite being filled with suspicion towards each other and engaging in a chain of betrayals, The Dawn managed to maintain their title as angels.

Moreover, thanks to this reality show, Seo Hoyun successfully shed his previous image.

No longer labeled as “without parents” or “victim of a tragic accident,” he emerged as a sharp-minded, quick-witted guy.

Officially, he became known as a great guy, an extraordinary guy, a guy obsessed with victory.

[Seo Hoyun, our tiny, precious crazy angel…]

It was a necessity for the group in the long term, something everyone was already aware of…

The members of the Noeuls just laughed it off.

[Where in the world would you find angels who betray each other five or six times…]

They decided to overlook the minor details.

[1]The Outlaws (2017)