NOVPUB'Ahh… fuck.' Minjae woke up, groaning.
The harsh morning sunlight stabbed through the curtains of his room like they were tiny knives straight into his eyes. His head throbbed violently with a deep pulsing ache following it.
"Shit," Minjae closed his eyes tightly and buried his face deeper into the pillow.
For a few seconds, he just lay there, in a daze and confused.
'What happened?'
He turned his head slightly to the side, wincing at a sharp pain that was pulsing in his head. He can't remember anything that had happened in the latter part of the dinner. All he knew was that everyone was having fun, and so was he.
'How the hell did I get here?'
Minjae sat up slowly, grimacing at the feeling of being nauseous that followed. He scanned his room. His jacket was just tossed over the ground, and his shoes looked like they were kicked off carelessly by the door.
His phone was also at the corner of the bed, ready to fall of any moment if he just moved further to the side.
Minjae's mind was a thick fog, he couldn't think clearly. But then, as he sat in silence for more, bits and pieces of what happened last night started to creep back into his mind.
The restaurant.
The episode showing.
The chaos.
The karaoke.
And him... singing.
'Ah, shit...'
Minjae pressed his hands against his face, groaning at the memory.
"What the fuck did I do...?" Minjae muttered into his hands, his voice was hoarse and sometimes even cracking from the dryness in his throat.
He stayed in that position for a few seconds. His face remained buried in his palms as the memories from yesterday showed in his mind even more, with brutal clarity.
Minjae could see himself standing there in front of everyone, with a microphone in his hand, singing his heart out like he was some kind of idol in a concert
He could also remember how the staff clapped their hands, cheered, and even how they chanted his name like they were some fans.
But on top of all that, he could clearly remember how he laughed, had fun. He even took song requests after requests, like he was enjoying it.
Minjae g roaned louder, dragging his hands down on his face.
"What the fuck did I do?" he asked again, as if somehow the universe would answer him and say it was just a dream.
"And why did I do it?!" he cried out, throwing himself backward onto the bed and staring at the ceiling in utter disbelief.
He was speechless.
The headache on his head throbbed even harder, almost like it was mocking him for every bad decision he made last night.
Minjae turned to the side, groaning again, kicking the blanket off his legs in frustration.
Everything felt even more humiliating the more he remembered all the details of it.
He just remembered how he sang a rap song, how he danced to a famous Korean song, and how he do small little gestures as if he was doing a fan service to his fans.
Everything was all ruined.
Minjae grabbed his pillow and slammed it over his face, muffling a frustrated yell into the fabric.
'This is why I don't drink too much...!' he thought miserably.
For a few minutes, he just lay there, sighing in regret. The weight of his hangover and secondhand embarrassment pressed down on him like a heavy blanket he couldn't kick off.
After a long and heavy sigh, Minjae finally forced himself to move and sat up.
His body ached like he had been hit by a truck, but he stretched out his hand toward his phone, which was hanging on the edge of his bed.
He needed to text Donghyun that he was already awake.
He just remembered that among all the chaos last night, it was Donghyun who drove him home and dropped him at the door of his apartment.
Minjae didn't even know how he managed to get inside his apartment, but he owed Donghyun at least a proper thank you.
With another groan, he grabbed the phone and brought it to his chest, resting it there for a few seconds as he mentally prepared himself.
'I will just do a quick text. Just tell him thanks and that I'm alive, then I'll go to sleep again,' he thought.
But the moment Minjae unlocked the screen of his phone, he was surprised to see notification after notification, flooding his screen.
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
Bzzzt.
The group chat of the drama was blowing up.
There were dozens of messages from his other co-stars, staff, and even some of the managers who had been at the party.
But before that, he scrolled through the list of private messages he had received first.
With stiff fingers, Minjae scrolled through the chaos.
[Donghyun: Minjae, I got you home safe. Rest well.]
[Jihoon: Hyitung!!!!!!!! Hahsa Swill cs't believe you sahng like that. Hahagahaga]
[Yura: "Oppa, I'm home. I'm still laughing 🤣 Are you okay??? I hope you survive the night?"
Minjae winced as he read through the chaotic message. It was obvious that Jihoon was clearly drunk when he sent his, and Yura was probably already sober when she sent hers.
He forced his fingers to move, typing out quick replies.
[To Donghyun: Hyung, thanks for bringing me home. I'm alive... barely.]
[To Jihoon: Sleep it off, you drunk idiot.]
[To Yura: I'm still dying. Thanks for your concern.]
He let out a long groan after sending them, every part of him just wanting to curl back under the covers and disappear for a day. But his curiosity got the better of him.
Minjae scrolled back up and tapped into the group chat that he opened earlier.
It was quiet now, and all the chats were from a few hours ago, when they were starting to leave the restaurant.
[Staff Nayeon: Last night was seriously so much fun ㅋㅋㅋ We should do that again after the drama ends!]
[Staff Rosie: Best night ever 😂 Thank you everyone for making it unforgettable!!]
[Staff Jihu: Let's all keep supporting each other until the final filming! Fighting 💪]
[Staff Minko: I hope you're all fine, everyone!]
[Staff Ning: We enjoyed it!]
[Manager Jun: You all worked hard. Let's make it a success together.]
[Writer Na-Eun: Thank you, everyone! I hope to see you again soon!]
The mood of the group chat was warm. It was filled with laughter and encouragement for one another. Despite the pounding in his head and the pit of embarrassment in his stomach, Minjae couldn't help but smile a little at it.
Maybe last night wasn't a total disaster after all.
But just as he was about to close the chat and throw his phone aside, a new message popped up at the bottom.
[Staff Sechan: Guys...? Who the fuck drunk posted Minjae's singing video on their social media? 😳 It's trending online!!"]
Minjae's soul left his body for a second.
He stared at the message, frozen.
Trending?
Online?
The fuck?
Minjae's fingers trembled slightly as he scrolled down on it. The group chat that was dead for a few hours, suddenly became lively once again.
"What?"
"Who posted it?"
"Shit.
"Oh my god."
"Someone call the management!"
Minjae's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.
He suddenly felt like throwing his phone across the room.
"What the fuck..." he whispered to himself, pure dread washing over him.
Minjae had to see it.
He had to know how bad it was.
With shaky hands, Minjae opened his social media app.
And there it was.
Front and center.
A blurry video of him, swaying with a microphone, passionately rapping the lyrics to some hype song like his life depended on it.
The caption?
"Look at how Minjae shows off his hidden idol dreams during a company dinner 😂 #UnexpectedTalent #DrunkButStillSlaying"
And worse, the number of views was climbing by the second.
"What the hell?"
Minjae was in utter disbelief. He stared at the screen, frozen in place. He couldn't move his body. He didn't dare to do so.
The video had already hit over a million views in the span of 6 hours. The comment section was a battlefield of chaos, with people, expressing their surprise and admiration.
"LMAO who is he??? He's kinda good tho 😂🔥"
"This is Minjae from the right? He's hilarious 😭😭 I love him already."
"Lmaoo! Minjae can sing? Lololol"
"IS HE A HIDDEN IDOL??? Why is he rapping better than some of my oppas 😭"
"Nah, no way this is Minjae."
"Is this really the Minjae that I'm seeing?"
"He can sing too?"
"This guy just gained a new fan and it's me."
"No way guys. I can't believe what I'm seeing."
"The person who posted this is the true MVP."
"Oh no."
Minjae shook his head in disbelief. He was through all sorts of comments. By then, he just wanted to die and disappear into the world.
It was so embarrassing.
Minjae was already praying to the gods for someone to delete the video.
However, since it was posted 6 hours ago, he was sure that a lot of fans had already saved it on their phones.
It would already be impossible to delete every trace of it.
Because of the video, many people suddenly became interested in Minjae, and his social media followers also soared.
