From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

Chapter 1020 Idols Are Not Your Friends

"Obsessive fans are smart in other aspects," June said as he saw that the perfume bottle he deliberately left in the restroom was gone.

He had to give props to Mia! She was great at hiding that he didn't even notice.

However, everything was falling into place now.

June had gathered enough evidence of her stalking their group and was going to talk with the higher-ups right after their photoshoot.

Jisung was in a much better mood, too. Phoenix had increased their security, and although the amount of fans that came to them during their non-working hours was still ridiculous, it had definitely gotten better.

Since Jisung and June were done, the two of them decided to head back to June's place to rest first. They loved their job, but it was definitely tiring at times.

The two were in the back seat, filled with comfortable silence. The site was pretty far from June's apartment, so Jisung came up with a suggestion.

"Hey, do you want to go live?" he asked.

June raised one eyebrow. "Right now?"

"Yeah," Jisung said. "It would be fun. We hadn't done one by ourselves before."

June glanced at the navigation screen and shrugged. There was still half an hour left before they made it to his apartment. With the traffic, it may be even more than that. With that, he shrugged. It had been a while since they had spoken with their fans, and June knew they were having a hard time, too-especially with everything happening on the news about DAWN.

"Let's go," June said.

Jisung beamed and turned on his phone before going to their official Navel page. Another good thing about being on Phoenix was that they could access their own account now! Of course, there were still some restrictions, and they have a team dedicated to controlling their posts, but it was better than nothing!

"Let's wait a bit," Jisung muttered, looking at the view count.

However, it seemed like they didn't have to wait long because as soon as they went live, there were already thousands of fans in the live stream.

"Oh," he chuckled. "We have a hundred thousand in the live in such a short time. Hi everyone!"

- Omo! It's Jisung and June.

- The duo we love the most.

- The youngest line!

- I bet Casper is having a breakdown right now.

"How has everyone been?" Jisung asked with sparkling eyes.

June smiled and waved at the camera. "It's been a while."

Yeah, it really has been!

- I think we should ask you guys that question.

- How are you, boys?

- Is everything going well?

Jisung pursed his lips. "Well, it's been a tough week. I'm not going to lie," he muttered. "But, it's all good now. It's not entirely good, but it's getting better! Things are looking up-and our concert is very near now!"

- Aww, we saw what happened.

- We were so worried.

- People who stalk you shouldn't be called as fans.

- I second the motion!

- Seriously, you guys should just leave the fandom if you have that kind of mindset.

June read the comments and shook his head.

"It seems like you guys are angrier than us," he said. "I understand, though. It really is frustrating."

- Aish, seriously. Who are the people who made them feel this way?

- Jisung, please don't lose your smile.

"Don't worry, guys," Jisung chuckled, showing his signature smile. "I'm really okay. It's impossible for a person to always feel happy. So, there are times like this, too.

However, we're idols, so we have to show you the best!"

June pursed his lips.

- I think June disagrees!

- Come on, June. Speak your truth!

- What do you think about what Jisung said?

- You don't always have to show your best. You guys can be sad with us!

June let out a deep breath and looked outside of the window before focusing back on the phone.

"I've actually been thinking about this a lot," he started off.

- Here we go.

- I'm all ears.

- Let me hear June's defiance!

"What is an idol?" he asked, leaning against the headrest. "I find myself asking this question a lot. Of course, the main answer would be-a performer. That's the main

job."

"However, it's so much more than that. I don't think we're seen as regular people," he continued.

Jisung looked at June, wondering if it was all right to say such things. However, June kept going.

- Oh, so we're going this route.

- I didn't realize we were getting so serious.

- I don't mind it at all!

- We'd love to hear your perspective. Everything is SO cookie-cutter in K-pop, so this isn't talked about much.

"I would assume that others would ask-why can normal people go to clubs but idols can't? Why can't we be in romantic relationships? Why do we have so many

restrictions when our job is to perform?" he asked.

"Then, I thought long and hard about it-and I think that Jisung is right," he continued.

"We should only show our best selves."

"Oh," Jisung said, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

"What?" June asked.

"I didn't expect that kind of answer," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

June chuckled. "Now, don't get me wrong. Our 'best' selves don't necessarily have to be good all the time. Our best selves might mean our hardworking, our tired, our real selves. However, aside from that, we have to take into consideration that people look up to us. They spend money on us. You're like our employers, honestly," he added. The comments lightheartedly disagreed, but they knew that it was somewhat true. "I don't know you guys personally, and there are some things you don't know about me, too. That's our relationship. It will never go past that," he continued. "We're your friends, but not at the same time. I already told this during my speech at the PAPA, but I'll repeat it again. We should not be the center of your lives." "We show our best selves because we know that you come to us for happiness. You don't watch us to see us set a bad example. We feel untouchable for you." "And I'm sorry for saying this," he continued. "But I hope it stays that way. Not in the

'you guys can't think of us as your friends' kind, but in the sense that we are a fleeting part of your life-one that serves to make you happy and not to satisfy your personal obsessions," he ended.

Jisung looked at him with wide eyes.

He wasn't even a fan, and yet he felt a sting from June's words!