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There are very few things Jisung loathes. He keeps a list right next to his heart and resists screaming them out aloud; for one, because he’s a professional, and two, because Jisung has already written them all down and doesn’t want it to go to waste. Conditioned and calculated responses are usually the product of careful planning, to express deep thoughts about the human condition and criticisms of the capitalistic system the world is being destroyed by; but Jisung’s memory tends to be rather short-lived with hazard attempts picking moments in time, so a list carefully written down on a neon pink flashcard embodies everything he loathes rather well.
- Jisung loathes early birds (his roommate Renjun is a bit too inconsiderate and blasts Red Velvet’s Queendom every morning.)
- Jisung loathes idols (not because he’s particularly bitter, but because they make his job a tad bit difficult on rainy days.)
- Oh, and Jisung hates Dispatch and everything the bastardly company stands for. Profiting off of other’s privacy has always been a concept that’s irked Jisung and for good reason too—a lot of the relationships revealed eventually ruptured, the red string unable to withstand the comments and negativity from PANN.
Too bad Jisung just so happens to make his living working for Dispatch.
(A bummer. Genuinely.)
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However, conditioned, and calculated responses are also the result of compartmentalizing extreme dislike. And in vary extreme cases, hatred. But the word comes almost a bit too strong off the tip of Jisung’s tongue.
That’s a weak almost. Jisung doesn’t even get the chance to talk himself out of it, to convince his mind that this is just the result of working hours on end without proper sleep, a brain incapable of a coherent thought. It doesn’t quite work. The hatred remains.
The reason why Jisung hates idols comes in the form of Mark Lee.
Cupcake pink hair and a 100-kilowatt smile that makes everyone fall in love with him, their hearts skipping so many beats per second without hesitation. The concept of love at first sight cemented by the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet crumbles the moment Mark Lee was born. The lapse of time—seconds—occurs when the person falls out of love to kickstart a devotion that should have been temporary from its inception.
What Mark Lee is to Korea is everything but temporary.
Everything and beyond everlasting.
Named the nation’s little brother at the age of ten when he starred in a hit chaebol kdrama as the protagonist’s young son and now the face of SM’s new boy group VISION, Mark Lee’s face is plastered all over Seoul. Ads with Gucci and Louis Vuitton that Jisung can’t escape as he treks down the stairs towards his subway entrance on the way to work and the way back home.
There’s just this boyish charm about Mark Lee that attracts everyone’s attention. Everyone but Jisung that is. When Jisung looks at Mark Lee’s face, he says he sees fame, not adoration (but perhaps the two words aren’t that far off from each other. Without adoration, fame couldn’t exist, although adoration certainly could without a second doubt. Jisung loves his boyfriend, even if he had the most mundane of jobs. Laughter in places you’d never look for, kisses shared in convenience stores because seconds could never be wasted if you felt love brewing this strongly.)
These past few months, Jisung has been tasked by Dispatch to find out something about Mark to report and write an article on. Anything.
And by no means is this an easy task.
Dispatch for the longest time had been trying to find dirt about Mark to secure a deal with SM, but they found nothing in all of the years they had been tracking him. Their last reporter, Jaemin, had followed Mark all over Seoul one morning, but had only found that Mark attended all of his schedules thirty minutes early and even bought his manager lunch without being prompted. And when Jaemin had believed he found out something “spicy”—a secret date—it turned out that Mark had just ridden a public scooter over to a cat café and relax from his long schedule.
Now, there’s very few idols with such a squeaky-clean record and Jisung doesn’t even know why Dispatch is this insistent on reporting every single second of Mark Lee’s life, but the situation has gotten exponentially worse now that Mark decided to enroll at Yonsei University and take a temporary break from idol life and focus on acting (and enjoy the college experience he couldn’t when he was younger). Yonsei had offered Mark a spot in their acting program, and this is where Dispatch had believed they would find a fault in Mark’s character.
Against Jisung’s wishes, Dispatch makes Jisung relive college.
(Not as bad at high school, yes. But it’s the principle of going back to school that deeply offends Jisung. That and the fact that the only major at Yonsei University that accepted Jisung under all of these false pretenses is sociology. Which remains his worst subject.)
But there’s nothing that Jisung finds out about Mark’s life that’s particularly newsworthy. He finds out that Mark, as always, attends every one of his classes ten minutes early and has straight As (How? Jisung doesn’t even know.) Mark had even been selected as the class representative for his academic year, scoring the highest on the entrance exam amongst his cohorts.
Mark Lee: The Idol of Idols
That’s the only accurate title Jisung creates that surmises the entity that is Mark Lee, but it wouldn’t make for “good” news. People, as much as they lie no, want to see something completely salacious, like Mark cheating on his midterm exams, not be given a clean report card that makes every parent envious.
Jisung would rather go back to his old job at a small newspaper company, but bills had to be paid and there’s this ring he’s been meaning to buy for Chenle for their fourth-year anniversary.
(Jisung figures that because Mark is so rich, a tiny little scandal on his record wouldn’t affect him too much—although this thought doesn’t necessarily calm Jisung’s mind. There’s still guilt panging in the heart and Jisung then vows to only follow public schedules to get this article done and published.)
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“I can’t believe you got assigned Mark too,” Jaemin remarks over the phone with a chuckle that reverberates all the way to Jisung’s living room; a crude reminder of the impossible task Jisung had been given. “Good luck trying to find anything on him if you’re only sticking to public schedules.”
“I have morals,” Jisung retorts, not wanting to lose face. Jisung wants to say things that make his hopes reality, to make Jaemin eat his words, to say things that cloud the public’s perception of Mark and throw everything off balance before reason comes back for seconds too late to remedy the situation. But Jisung’s heart says that he’s nervousness ticking like a bomb, one that detonates in the next frame.
“But you’re not going to have a job later,” Jaemin singsongs.
“I hate you.”
“Love you too.” Jaemin cuts off Jisung before the rookie reporter could have a chance to formulate a rebuttal. “But before you swear undying devotion to me again, I have some information that might interest you. Information that might help you buy Chenle that ring you’ve been eyeing.”
And it’s in this next frame, where the heart begins palpitating at a normal pace where Jisung’s allowed to rest a couple of seconds more.
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The information Jaemin gives Jisung isn’t particularly new or life-changing, but it’s very much appreciated in Jisung’s eyes.
Living his best college life, Mark had single-handedly decided to join the most cliché of college activities: the radio club. Oh, and Mark’s now the co-host of Dear Dream, one of the few 100% student-run radio programs at Yonsei University. But te best thing about of all of this information is that Dear Dream is considered a public schedule. A public schedule that everyone could listen to if they wanted to waste one of their Friday nights listening to an idol give life advice about writing cover letters and struggling to meet rent each month.
Dear Dream will solve all of the wrongs in Jisung’s life and he’s going to get Chenle the best ring in the world. And maybe, just maybe if he’s brave enough, Jisung might propose to Chenle with that same ring.
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Or that’s what Jisung thinks.
Historically, Jisung had never been the type of person to correctly predict the future. Even the morning rain escapes Jisung, and he’s drenched all the way to the bus station despite being warned so many times by his boyfriend.
But this fact of life doesn’t stop Jisung from trying as hard as he can.
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Like everything else Mark Lee related, Dear Dream is scandal free.
There’s nothing particularly interesting about listening to college students recite Nietzsche incorrectly and complaining about their dorms being too small. Jisung’s been there and done that—not too well now that he remembers it, but he gets by in the end and Jisung figures he’s not doing too bad. Cute boyfriend, cute dog, and cute apartment are all checked and accounted for. What else could Jisung ask for other than Mark Lee daring to be scandalous for at least once before Jisung gets fired?
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[+7100, -85] There are few idols everyone loves and one of them is definitely Mark Lee.
[+6872, -98] I remember when Mark helped volunteer to donate coal to families during winter and the only reason anyone found out was because he lost his receipt. There are so few idols that contribute so much to our world out of kindness alone.
[+6801, -21] I agree with everyone else in this comment section. Even my grandma likes Mark Lee.
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"Hello! This is Donghyuck of Dear Dream with 37.5% viewer ratings! And thank you all for tuning in!”
This is how Dear Dream starts. With Mark’s co-host, Lee Donghyuck, introducing the name of their program. Surprisingly, it’s not Mark who starts off the radio broadcast. Instead, it’s a graduate student from the communications department that leads Mark and everyone else this night.
Maybe it’s a seniority thing? Jisung thinks as he tunes into the radio broadcast. But wait isn’t Mark technically Donghyuck’s senior? But Donghyuck’s been on Dear Dream longer? He slaps his cheeks together, and goes back to tuning in. Surely there has to be something Mark is going to say that’s interesting enough to report back to his boss.
“As you can hear, today is a very special day. And for this special day we—”
“Wait, today’s a special day?” Mark asks, a tone of surprise that echoes all the way to Jisung’s Daiso earbuds. “Did I not review the schedule for today? Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I’ll look through it right away.”
“Did you really just forget your birthday?” Donghyuck asks, more offended than Mark.
“It’s my birthday?” Jisung can just see Mark blinking at this very moment in confusion at Donghyuck’s question.
“I can’t believe you forgot,” Donghyuck repeats, although Jisung can tell there’s no frustration in his tone; it’s almost fond. “But now that you remember, is there something you wish for?”
“Something I wish for?”
“Yeah, is there anything you want this year? There has to be something you really want, right?”
“Oh, I already have everything I wish for,” Mark replies, almost too low for Jisung to make out. But Jisung attributes the fact of life to the sudden static and he turns his radio off, hearing that there’s nothing interesting to report.
If anything, fans would have been in more of awe of Mark Lee accidentally forgetting his birthday after enrolling in college and becoming completely engrossed in the life than having a good relationship with his radio DJ co-host.
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And as Jisung predicts, the reception to Mark’s birthday goes just as he expects it to:
[ BREAKING NEWS] VISION MEMBER MARK LEE FORGETS HIS BIRTHDAY?
Leader and face of VISION Mark Lee has reportedly forgot his own birthday. The 28-year-old idol forgot his birthday until his co-host for weekly radio program Dear Dream reminded him that they were hosting a special show for the idol’s special day.
[+2190, -89] OMG He’s so cute. I can’t believe Mark forgot his own birthday. How does that even happen?
[+2010, -31] This insider information is super funny. It seems like Dispatch can never get a blemish on Mark’s clean idol history.
[+1903, -202] I wonder who’s the classmate who reminded Mark about his birthday?
There’s simply nothing Dispatch can do to ruin Mark’s career and gain a bargaining chip against SM Entertainment.
Or is there?
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Jisung stands corrected.
The next two weeks prove uneventful as well.
The most interesting thing Jisung learns about SM Entertainment’s favorite idol is that he doesn’t have his driver’s license yet. But neither does Jisung and a lot of other people in a country that has excellent public transportation. So, naturally and like every other decent reporter, Jisung moves along to the next part of the story. The part of the story that progresses and functions like deus ex-machina at the end of Lord of the Flies.
Except it doesn’t happen.
Nothing eventful ever happens to Mark Lee.
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[+338, -761] One day, don’t you think that Mark will end up in a scandal? Isn’t it impossible for someone to have this clean of a record?
[+5109, -17] Why do you want Mark to get into a scandal, huh? Are you Dispatch or something? Weirdo.
[+4103, -89] Man you just got ratioed. I’m embarrassed for you bro. Edit: Wow, I’ve never gotten this many likes on a reply before. Let me drop my socials so you all can follow me <333.
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"Hello! This is Donghyuck of Dear Dream with 37.5% viewer ratings" is repeated again, but this time there’s no surprise. It’s Donghyuck who starts and ends Dear Dream.
Still, Jisung finds himself confused that it’s Donghyuck who leads the radio broadcast and not Mark, so he decides—like any decent reporter would in his place—to go through Mark’s resume on NAVER and figure out why the idol isn’t taking the lead (other than avoiding accusations of favoritism, but that had never been an issue with Mark. Fans would have found some way to spin the events in Mark’s favor. And having a celebrity endorse their university had been common practice anyways.)
Once, when Jisung was in undergrad, he remembered this professor telling him that the truth isn’t hard to find as long as you keep an open eye and ear. He had almost fallen asleep during the lecture—which afterwards, Jisung vowed to himself he would never sign up for an 8am lecture ever again—but luckily he had been with Chenle at the time and that had made everything bearable.
But before Jisung can sing-song more about his boyfriend, he tunes back into Dear Dream, not that he thinks there’s anything gone missed by his hears.
“Here’s my advice to you,” Donghyuck confidently begins, almost soothing like the soft whispers of a conch shell found along a beach; now Jisung can see why Donghyuck is the one who leads the radio program.
Even if Mark is undoubtedly more famous than Donghyuck will ever be, there’s something about Donghyuck that’s utterly charismatic. A boyish charm with a honey dipped tongue—in the endearing kind of way that makes you smile. But also, the dangerous kind, where Jisung has to be on the watch of not becoming infatuated like the rest of the Dear Dream listeners too.
Had Jisung not known that Mark is an idol actor, he would have assumed Donghyuck is the VISION member instead. And according to student sources, Jisung’s desk-mate, Dear Dream had already been popular before Mark even joined its cast simply because of Donghyuck’s voice alone. Wise beyond his years, and sexy too.
“If you have a dream, chase after it. Be the biggest dreamer of them all and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
All Jisung learns is that Donghyuck is his favorite Dear Dream host.
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jaemin:
have u really found nothing? Lmao
jisung:
shut up. at least i lasted longer than you
jaemin:
that’s what they all say
jisung:
fuck you
jaemin:
you should clean your mouth first before talking to a married man like me
jisung:
when did you get married????
jaemin:
god. It’s just a figure of speech. geesh. good luck getting anywhere with that attitude of yours
[jaemin changed to annoying hyung]
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"Hey everyone! This is Donghyuck of Dear Dream with 37.5% viewer ratings!” And Donghyuck’s greeting eventually bleeds into where should couple’s go for their 100-day anniversaries. A common question that Jisung’s seen being asked time and time again. Nothing special in the area of commercial advertisement and ratings.
Donghyuck may have the highest radio broadcast ratings, but Jisung still doesn’t have a pitch to send to his editor and chief. And having no pitch means that Jisung still doesn’t have enough money to get the ring he wants to gift Chenle.
The idea of proposing soon gets thrown out the window.
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twitter:
Lee Donghyuck @liuyuxindior I had so much fun talking to you all last night! I hope to see you all soon!
Mark Lee ✓ @_onyourmark @liuyuxindior Did you just change your name again??? How are people supposed to find out that Dear Dream is cancelled today?
Lee Donghyuck @liuyuxindior @_onyourmark But how are people supposed to know Liu Yuxin is the love of my life?
Mark Lee ✓ @_onyourmark @liuyuxindior Thank you for letting me know that you prefer Liu Yuxin over your own boyfriend.
Jisung didn’t mean to stay this long on his Twitter account.
But one tweet led to another.
And another.
And another.
And Jisung still hasn’t found anything suspicious about Mark other than the fact he doesn’t like Liu Yuxin. Which all in all, is just a travesty Mark needs to work on.
Actually, Mark does get slightly ratioed for not knowing who Liu Yuxin is and Jisung is close to having something to pitch to his boss, but then Mark Lee ends up tweeting a fancam of Liu Yuxin performing the Eve and he only ends up being more popular.
youtube
iQiyi uploaded: Girl's Version of Exo's the Eve Performance
top comment: We should all thank Donghyuckie for showing me the light hahaha.
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The next week, Jisung tunes into Dear Dream again. Donghyuck and Mark talk about couples moving in together and when it’s considered the right time to do so. Mark says when you’re already years in and think that your relationship is going the long run. Donghyuck says you’ll know when the time comes.
“Have you considered it? Y’know…moving in together?”
“Of course, I have.”
Jisung tunes out. He doesn’t need to hear Donghyuck talking about his boyfriend.
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twitter:
Lee Donghyuck @liuyuxindior Y’all my boyfriend agreed to moving in with me today.
Mark Lee ✓ @_onyourmark @liuyuxindior Oh my god Donghyuck. Don’t tell everyone that.
On the bright side, things are going well for Jisung’s favorite radio host.
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Before Jisung knows it, Friday night comes again, and Dear Dream is playing in the background. Jisung would rather be on a date with Chenle and their fur-baby Daegal, but work is work and he needs to keep trying to get this pitch in. And sadly, work means that tonight, Jisung is listening to even more love advice from Donghyuck and Mark.
Matters of the heart and the irony of Jisung’s gift relying on the matter of Mark getting into a scandal. But for now, Jisung decides to concentrate his very best to find that pitch. And it’s now when the story finally reaches its climax. Jisung can’t miss it now that it’s here.
“If you feel like the love you’re experiencing isn’t reciprocated, that’s okay. You shouldn’t feel like it was for nothing, the fact that you let your heart be vulnerable enough to fall in love is proof enough that you’re becoming a wonderful person.”
“Are you sure about that?” Mark asks Donghyuck in turn. “What if you love someone, but you’re unable to be with them?”
“Mark, I know for certain that you are always loved even if you’re unable to reciprocate that love for the whole world to see.”
This is the moment where Jisung finally gets it.
He gets it.
He finally fucking gets it.
Mark’s in love.
But there’s another question that remains:
With whom is Mark in love with?
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So there goes another night of Jisung trying to piece the puzzle together.
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Actually, that’s not quite the case.
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It takes Jisung only seconds to come up with his hypothesis and it takes another whole minute for him to have his theory become a hypothesis that’s gone unnoticed this entire time. The fact that the answer had been right underneath his nose the entire time pains Jisung—almost too much, but not enough to fully lament his obviousness. And Jisung neatly compacts this realization, just like any decent reporter would.
Dear Dream – April 12, 2021
Jisung remembers this broadcast first out of all of them because it’s one of the only introductions Mark has done for the broadcast. Jisung dismissed its significance because Donghyuck had been sick that day, but Mark had only talked about his co-host that evening.
Dear Dream – May 19, 2021
Another Night of Dear Dream airing on Friday night.
Dear Dream – June 6, 2021
Donghyuck’s birthday. Months ago. Mark had started this broadcast himself a couple of minutes early to celebrate Donghyuck’s birthday with everyone. A yellow cake with suns drawn over it is the last thing Jisung remembers Donghyuck commenting about before the broadcast abruptly ends. Jisung thinks he hears giggling before static makes him yank out his headphones.
Dear Dream – October 31, 2021
There’s nothing to report on this date.
The answer is Donghyuck. The answer has always been Donghyuck.
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Jisung does end up wondering how Mark had come to date Donghyuck as he hears Dear Dream one last time before he submits his pitch to the editor and chief.
Mark and Donghyuck are talking about silly things. They’re talking about rubber ducks and their effect on computer science majors and when they continue to go on and on about the subject matter. Lost in their own world without caring about onlookers they continue to go on and on about rubber ducks they want to buy after the radio show ends. Cute pink watermelon rubber ducks in Myeong-Dong.
Back in the living room, Jisung concludes that Mark and Donghyuck had used Dear Dream as a rouse to hide their relationship without anyone knowing; any claims otherwise would be dismissed as Mark simply indulging in the college experience. Not that these claims were necessarily wrong, but no college student’s reputation would be ruined if they’re caught secretly dating their classmate. Well—not unless they are named Mark Lee and are a member of the most popular boy group in all of South Korea.
Jisung is left logging in and signing out of his Microsoft Word account the rest of the night.
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Two weeks later, the story takes a shift that the world would have never predicted; except for Jisung that is. Jisung who in his hands holds all of the untold truths Mark had carefully hidden within his heart until the day bravery burns throughout all of NAVER and PANN.
[BREAKING NEWS] VISION MEMBER MARK LEE IN A RELATIONSHIP?
Last night, VISION’s Mark Lee posted a letter on his personal Instagram account stating that he’s in a relationship with someone he had meet at his university. Although Mark hasn’t revealed the identity of his partner, it is speculated that the couple has been together for a long time now and that marriage might be considered sometime close in the future.
Below is Mark Lee’s Instagram post:
“This year when I decided to return back to university and complete my undergraduate program, fate had brought me an extra gift. A gift that makes me the happiest person I’ve been in a really long time since I’ve begun my career. I decided to let myself fall in love and be with someone who makes me happy. I hope that you all understand and I’m sorry I have taken this long to come out with this statement. And perhaps forever might be too hard to ask for right now, but if you could please bear be by my side just a bit more, I will always hold you dear in my heart. MK ♡ DK”
With a smile, Jisung sends in his resignation letter to Dispatch.
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There are very few things Jisung loathes, but there had been one last item of the list horribly written on the back of the pink flashcard. An item that had made Chenle fall in love with Jisung the moment they met their first year of university and had continued to make Chenle’s heart rapidly beating when they’re in the same vicinity.
- Most of all, Jisung loathes being the source of unhappiness in anyone’s life and has always promised to never interfere in the matter.
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[+5410, -128] Wow. I never thought Mark would actually date anyone. But I’m happy for him. He’s always been a respectable idol and deserves happiness like anyone else does.
[+3790, -131] Our Mark Lee! We will always support you no matter what.
[+2211, -29] It’s so funny how Dispatch’s article about Mark’s dating scandal came in a whole day after Mark announced it himself. I’m guessing they just could never get dirt on Mark.
[+791, -67] I hope people don’t speculate too much over who Mark is dating. He deserves as much privacy as anyone else does.
[+210, -19] Jisung is that you? I thought you didn’t like Mark.
[+310, -0] I don’t know who you’re talking about.
[+299, -0] If you say so :p.