The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

Siren fans didn’t appear to think too deeply about the release of the new lightsticks. They just laughed it off, thinking there was nothing special about lightsticks coming out after a group’s activity period was over. They simply wondered whether the lightsticks would be worth their prices and if they would be true to their images.

With its release, the number of people who ordered the sticks increased, and eventually, interest in the lightsticks began to die down. It was then, that afternoon, a mysterious and suspicious-looking booth was installed in Hongdae, Seong-Su, Euljiro, Gangnam, Jeong-ro, and Sincheon[1]. Every spot that could be considered a hot spot in Seoul had one of these booths installed.

And not just in Seoul but these booths could even be sighted in places like Incheon, Chuncheonin Gangwon province, Gwanju in Jeolla province, Busan in Gyeongsang province, and Daejeon in Chuncheongprovince. Since the installation of booths was common in these areas, people didn’t pay much heed to them. Most of the public was already used to seeing pop-up stores like these come and go. They just thought some kind of new movie or product was coming out again, and these booths existed to promote them.

Yet, around the time when these booths were finished being installed, a Siren’s fan from Gwanju where the booth was completed earliest uploaded a post.

—???What is this??? Are our guys doing something again? (Pic of Booth.jpg)

It was a long, rectangular booth installed on the main street of Gwangju. The exterior of the booth was a simple writing on a blue background.

—Siren. 2022. 07. 25

Siren. July 25th. Though only the group’s name and date were written on it, it was very easy for an idol fan to deduce what that information meant.

—July 25th??? Are they having a comeback?

—What? But their activities just ended a couple of days ago.

—Is this for real?

—What in the world? This is crazy

—This is great news, but don’t they need more rest???

Whether they did a comeback on July 25th or not, it was clear Siren was going to do something again and this would be the continuation of their activity period. Though fans were shocked at first, they began to celebrate the news of Siren’s continued activities. It was then people raised more questions.

—Why is this only in Gwangju? It’s not like they are going to only do a comeback there

People wondered why the booth was only installed at Gwangju but their questions were soon answered.

—Hold up. Our area also has this!!! This is what they had been setting up since lunchtime

—This is insane. There’s one in front of my house too

—That’s what they had in front of my company

Just within an area, more Siren booths were completed. The booths inside Seoul soon reached their full form and people from other areas took pictures of booths near them and uploaded them.

—What in the world are they planning for them to install booths all over the nation?

—What if they randomly appear in one of the booths? They could be playing a guessing game with the fans

Reply: Seriously? Hahahaha That will be crazy

—I’m serious. What’s going on? Because of how huge this scale is, I have no idea what they are going to do. Did they collaborate with a company to release a product?

Reply: But I don’t see any company logos besides Siren’s. There was no article released either

Reply: That’s true

Now, people’s curiosity was about the contents inside the booth. Yet, there was no way they could find out what was inside since the booths weren’t open yet.

—They say admissions are only allowed from tomorrow

—I feel like there’s going to be a really long wait

—The description in front of the booth says that the wait time starts at 11 am. (Notice.jpg)

The notice also said that one’s admission could be restricted if they did anything similar to lining up or saving up their spots before 11 am. Some people expressed their frustration about this but a couple of working fans quieted them down.

—My company is located at Seong-Sun and if people are waiting outside in the morning, it’s super difficult to get to work

—I think they are doing it, so things don’t get out of control in the streets

—I live in Hongdae. If the streets get jammed because of ongoing events and I’m late to lecture, I really want to crush all the event sites down

—My company is in Jongno-gu. If people are packed in that narrow alleyway, I will just be late for work…

In short, the notice was telling people to come at 11 am to avoid the morning rush. Like that, many Siren fans fell asleep while waiting for tomorrow afternoon.

***

Siren’s fan took half a day off to stand in the streets today. Normally, she would have to be at work by 9 am; and she thought about using a time off from 11 am to 1 pm, but she didn’t know how long the lines would get and just took half a day off. Then, she circled around the booth from 10 am and scanned the people there.

As part of the fandom, she could intuitively tell people who were also Siren fans. Perhaps, it was the style of clothes they wore or the feeling they gave off. Nevertheless, it was evident in subtle ways—especially in this Jongno-gu office residence, they were more noticeable.

“Seems like quite a lot of people gathered,” she remarked. Though the notice told people not to line up, fans were gathered in nearby cafes and restaurants and talking to each other. She also ordered an americano in a nearby café and looked through the window to see the booth.

‘I hope the waiting isn’t too long. It’s so hot today.’ The weather was supposed to rise to 37 degrees Celsius today, and if the line got too long, she would have to return to her office, soaking in sweat. Of course, she was wearing daily wear right now and packed a blouse to wear to work, but she would still feel uncomfortable afterwards. While enjoying the café’s cool AC’s winds, she quietly glared at the booth. Time flowed and it was soon time for the place to open.

10:58am.

10:59am.

Then, 11am.

She picked up her belongings and headed out of the café. Other fans waiting for the booth like her simultaneously got up from their spots. Because the event didn’t allow people to stand in lines, people had to really compete for their spots. Though she didn’t want to run, she knew she would have to wait under this scorching heat for a long time. Thus, she ended up running in the end, and perhaps, her desperate wishes made it possible, but she reached the booth as the third person in line.

“Huff! Puff! Ahh…” Even she didn’t know how it was possible. After running senselessly until now, she was right in front of the Siren’s booth. She looked at the booth and thought,I

It was a long, rectangular booth and appeared very horizontally long. The space inside looked very spacious and the booth took up almost the entire main booth.

‘They must have really spent a lot of money.’ It would’ve probably cost Siren’s company a couple thousands to just install this booth.

“One person will enter at a time from now on. After entering, please take off your shoes and hold onto them with one of your hands.”

“Huh?”

“Barefoot?”

“What…?”

“What’s going on…?”

People asked in shock after hearing that they would experience the booth barefoot. She responded similarly.

The first thing that came to her mind was, ‘What if my feet smells?’ It was summertime after all. But even while bearing these thoughts in mind, she entered the booth.

“We are going to let five people in at a time now.”

Fortunately, she was able to enter with no problems. With rising expectations from entering Siren’s mysterious booth and anticipated for what was prepared inside. Her worries about her feet’s smell immediately disappeared and she took off her shoes and walked. Darkness that shrouded her vision greeted her. It was pitch-black darkness. Not just her, but the other four people also appeared taken aback.

“Huh?”

Flick.

A green neon light began to bloom upwards in the air. It looked like it was supposed to be a firefly on a summer night. With the small green light, she was able to assess her surroundings somewhat. Followed by the light, she moved her feet. Though she still felt like she was walking in the darkness, she was able to make out the figures in front of her and didn’t clash with anybody. Then, after going around a couple of corners and walking for around one minute, her feet sank.

Psh.

“Huh?”

“Wow!”

She felt her feet sink into sand, and she realized then why the staff here had told them to enter the place barefoot. She clearly felt a fine sand shift between her toes and wondered how many years it had been since she stepped on sand barefoot.

‘When did I…go on a summer vacation…?’

It had been six years since she first joined her company and was recently promoted as a manager. Because of how busy she had been at work, she never thought about taking days off during the summer to go on a vacation. Even on the occasional days where she had the day off, she just spent the day at home sleeping, watching Siren videos, or watching shows from various media sites. Thus, all sorts of feelings swept inside her as sand touched her feet.

‘Why am I getting so emotional about this? I should go.’ Her surroundings were still dark, and she headed forward while stepping on the sand. Soon afterward, she turned corners again and heard the waves moving.

Shaaaa— Shaaaa—

She turned another corner, and the smell of the ocean began to come in. If she closed her eyes, it would feel as if she was standing on a sandy beach. Then, she sensed it instinctively then what was beyond this corner. She passed the last corner and—

Shaaaaaa—!

“Wow…” Everything she had seen until now was a buildup for this moment. Blue light poured in from all over the place, and it gave her a more effective impact because she just came out from the darkness. She felt as if she had dived into the ocean and heard ocean waves ringing from all over the place. Smell of the ocean faintly spread across space and the sensation of the sand on the floor soothed her heart.

‘What…also the wind…?’

A soft breeze just pleasant enough flowed in. This space drew out all the sensations one might feel at a beach. Instead of a Siren’s pop-up booth, its quality felt like a pop-up zone intended to provide a vacation feeling inside the middle of the city. Not just her but the other four people who entered the space were immersing themselves in the space in a daze. They just didn’t have water around them but her brain was already unable to decipher between this space and the real ocean.

—You came?

From far away, she heard a familiar voice.

‘Yeon-Hoon?’ Drawn by Yeon-Hoon’s voice, she walked towards the next corner. The closer she got to the space, she heard the other members’ voices.

—I wanted to see you.

—Could you come closer?

It was as if she was seeing Siren from the mythologies. Their voices had been reverberated so that it sounded as if someone was calling them from deep inside the ocean. Along with the others, she circled around the corner and reached the last section. This space utilized ScreenX and light beams were shooting on three walls to maximize their immersion. In this section, she saw five Siren members sitting on a yacht and looking at them.

The wind blew across their loose shirts and linen pants. Their hairstyles didn’t look carefully set and the members looked pure and natural, making the video look strangely fantastical.

“Wow…” Anyone would’ve been impressed by the sight. The quality of the video was high enough to be a scene from a movie. It was then, the Yeon-Hoon from the video approached the edge of the yacht.

—Do you want to come up?

If she could, she wanted to grab his hand and climb onto the yacht but she couldn’t. She regretfully extended out her hand when she heard a familiar voice from behind.

“You aren’t going to go up?”

“…Huh?” Her heart thumped maddeningly. She turned her head and looked behind her.

“Should I grab your hand?”

Yeon-Hoon from the screen was…standing behind her.

1. Districts in Seoul ☜