Chapter 175

Chapter 175

The content of our gift to our fans was the following: the first item in the box was a sandwich. It wasn’t a sandwich one could commonly see on the streets like SubXXX but the premium kind that was only available in a handful of hottest chain stores in Cheondam Garosugil. It was the kind of place where a customer could freely decide the sauce ratio, bread type, number of inside and main ingredients, and even got ingredients not on the menu if they asked.

The key to this brand’s success was that it would make any sandwich the customer thought of and often trended on social media sites as people shared their own recipes.

“Wow...this is the place where I visited but had to return because the line was too long...”

“Siren is really feeding us.”

Siren members had prepared two hundred of these beforehand and handed them out to the fans who waited for them since morning recording.

“Is this Dong-Jun’s set? It’s a calorie bomb...?”

“This is Tae-Yoon’s set!”

“Wow...Look at Do-Seung’s...chicken breast is the main ingredient...?”

“Why is Yeon-Hoon’s sandwich the only one that’s pink...?”

“Ah, Woon’s sandwich looks the most standard.”

Since it was a sandwich that each member ordered with their favorite ingredients, it was fun to look at too. Furthermore, the ingredients in the sandwiches even revealed the members’ personalities.

“Isn’t Don-Jun’s menu just a hamburger set instead of a sandwich?”

“But this is really tasty! There’s a sweet, spicy, and savory sauce on this chicken breast patty...coleslaw...fries on top...wow, this is amazing. I think they put fried shallots over it?”

As expected of Park Dong-Jun who had the biggest reputation for liking to eat, his menu was sold out the fastest.

“Siren’s food scientist is Dong-Jun.”

“This is the greatest sandwich of my life.”

But besides Dong-Jun, everyone else’s sandwiches received similar responses. Yet, there was one sandwich that even fans turned away from the most.

“No wonder Do-Seung’s chest is so big. It’s because he eats so much chicken breast...”

“Ah, but it’s not untasty! It’s tastiest among all dishes made with chicken breast...haha...”

Do-Seung’s sandwich had chicken breast softened with sous vide and filled with lettuce, a variety of vegetables, tomatoes, and pickles. Rather than exploding with exciting flavors, his sandwich tasted natural and healthy. Though some people didn’t like the sandwich, there were also those who liked it the best.

“This is perfectly my type of sandwich.”

“I think Do-Seung shares the same tastebuds as me.”

“You have to eat like this for breakfast to feel comfortable for the rest of the day.”

Woon’s sandwich acquired an adequate amount of popularity with its standard appearance and taste. Tae-Yoon’s sandwich was a heavy and meaty sandwich that had cheese, ham, strawberry jam, bacon, and a beef patty. Unlike the other members’ sandwiches, the sandwich was toasted after filling its insides once more so that its outside was crunchier, and its insides had a deeper flavor. Folloow current novÊls on nov/3lb((in).(co/m)

Yet, the sandwich that created the most talk was Yeon-Hoon’s sandwich.

“Why is this sandwich so pretty...?”

“Even if it was rolling on the ground, anyone could tell it’s Yeon-Hoon’s.”

“How did he think of making a bread pink?”

It was a sandwich that had bread made pink with artificial coloring. Only its color was different but its taste was similar to all the other breads. Furthermore, there was a toasted imprinting on the bun so that it made the face of a dog with eyes, nose, lips, ears, and all.

The sandwich was the standard kind with bacon, ham, cheese, a variety of vegetables, and tomato. The most unique point about its flavor profile was that it had a potato salad to add extra texture to it. Though the taste was normal, people reached for the sandwich because of its appearance. Yet, the presents didn’t end there.

“What’s that?”

“Is it coming towards us?”

“A snack car...?”

A snack car arrived at the site and began setting up a location.

—Sailors! Please eat your fill and quickly meet us!

“...No.”

“Tae-Yoon is crying?”

“He isn’t.”

“He looks teary though.”

“...I don’t think so.”

Perhaps, it was because it was early in the morning, I couldn’t control my emotions well. Seeing how thankful and excited the fans felt on the social media feeds made me feel proud. Perhaps, this was the feeling of pride gotten from paying back what you received. I didn’t have much resistance to this emotion because I didn’t experience it often in my life. I quickly settled my heart.

“Siren, please be on stand-by~” The producing director told us.

“Yes!”

“I understand!”

“Let’s go!”

We prepared to get up on the recording stage.

“We can do it, Siren!”

“We can do it!”

“Let’s go do a good job!”

We shouted our familiar cheer and got on top of the stage.

***

The recording progressed stably. There were three recordings in total and we also communicated with fans in between. However, we kept having communication errors while trying to talk to fans who were quite a distance away with in-ear earphones.

—Did you eat food yet?

“Did I wash my foot yet?”

—Food!

“Room?”

“Did! You! Eat!”

“Ahh, no I didn’t eat yet.”

Though we couldn’t make our own commentaries, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to have a short conversation. Soon afterward, we performed our title song, ‘Blue Summer Night’ and went down the stage. Since it had been a while since we performed with fans cheering for us below the stage, we were able to perform a bit more excitedly than before. Fortunately, the song we were performing was bright and refreshing so it became better the more excited we were.

Since this was our first recording, we gave it our all and tried our hardest to make room for no errors. Thanks to that, we were able to come down after finishing a performance that everyone was satisfied with.

“Good work, everyone!”

“Be careful on your way back!”

“Let’s see each other again!”

Though all we did was a recording show, it felt as if we had used up a whole day’s worth of energy.

“Hello everyone! Let’s move on to the next schedule after finishing our breakfast!”

As it was for all idols, a recording was just the beginning of a schedule. The real thing started from now on.

***

While we worked busily to finish Siren’s schedule, all sorts of posts about Siren began to pour out on social media. From their debut show to this morning’s recording—Siren had been taking all sorts of attention and dominating internet communities. Siren seemed to remain on people’s minds more than Only One, but as if Only One also planned to put up a fight, they began to release issues that could draw in a lot of attention.

Around lunch on Tuesday at Only One’s media showcase, Kang Hyun-Sung’s legendary clip blew up.

—...Wait, hold on, Hyun-Sung! Damn it!