GIJS

Chapter 184 Gunja's Gift

Christmas, also known as Seongtanjeol (聖誕節) in Chinese characters.

For Gunja, who only knew about winter solstices like Ipdong (入冬), Daeseol (大雪), and Dongji (冬至), Christmas was a truly unfamiliar holiday.

"What on earth is Christmas that makes the whole world so excited?"

"Seriously, did you forget about Christmas too? This is unbelievable."

"Hey, how can you not know about Christmas! It's the day Santa Claus comes!"

"Santa Claus? Does that mean the old man climbs mountains? Impressive for someone his age."

"...What are you even saying...?"

Though his colleagues eagerly explained Christmas to him, to be honest, the explanations didn't really resonate with Gunja.

However, as December 25th approached, Gunja found it amusing to watch the world turn red, green, and gold.

It was nice to see the world becoming colorful and warm, and even better, large pine trees were being set up everywhere.

"Oh wow, pine trees here too! And over there as well!"

Pine trees, one of the Ten Symbols of Longevity (十長生) and the Three Friends of Winter (歲寒三友), are strong, resilient trees that remain green even in the coldest winters.

Since Gunja loved pine trees more than anything, he was more than pleased to see them set up everywhere.

"Tae-woong, isn't it nice to see so many pine trees?"

"Pine trees? Oh, you mean the Christmas tree?"

"Tree? A tree that fights for benefits! Even its name sounds appealing."

"...Yeah, sure, think of it however you like."

"But it's a bit disappointing that they've hung so many decorations on the pine trees. Pine trees look most beautiful when left green."

"We can't help it. That's part of Christmas culture."

"That's right. If you try decorating a tree yourself, you'll change your mind. It's really fun."

"Heh, if I decorated one, it would be much more refined and elegant than those flashy trees."

It was great to see the world become a pine tree paradise, and Gunja also enjoyed the music called "carols" that warmed his heart.

"Oh wow, Hyun-jae, who sings this heartwarming song?"

"This? It's by Michael Bublé! Don't you just love carols?"

"Oh wow, this song that just started is also great!"

"This one is by Mariah Carey. It's like the most classic of carols."

"Michael Bublé? Mariah Carey? No matter, it's good—this music really warms the heart!"

Though it was the first time Gunja had heard this genre of music, he couldn't help but feel cozy and comfortable while listening to carols.

"Christmas... Honestly, I don't know exactly what kind of day it is, but I do like it."

"Of course. It's the most love-filled day of the year!"

"Love-filled day... That's a beautiful phrase, Hyun-jae."

Christmas, a season overflowing with love.

As soon as inspiration struck, Gunja picked up his brush and began to write a poem on a blank sheet of paper.

절거운성탄절(節巨運聖誕節)
On this Christmas, may great fortune accompany us.

산타할배오심(産妥轄配娛心)
Santa Claus comes with his companions, and it brings joy to the heart.

누가착한앵지(累佳着悍鸚之)
Stacking up goodness and adding sincerity, they become like a pair of parrots.

납부운애인지(納婦雲愛仁之)
Sharing love as vast as the clouds, kindness knows no bounds.

마익굴부불래(魔翼屈府佛來)
With that love, demons' wings are broken, and Buddha descends to the village.

모라이어괴리(摸喇以語魁利)
He seeks the trumpet and delivers great benefits with these words.

매리구리수마수(埋異求利愁磨綏)
Burying differences and seeking only benefits, worries fade away, and peace is restored.

"Heh, as always, writing poetry calms the mind."

But he couldn't just relax. Soon, Gunja had to prepare a Christmas gift for his fans as well.

Preparing something for the people he loved was always a joyful task, but this time, Gunja wanted to satisfy everyone.

The wooden mandarin ducks he made were well-received, but the problem was the production scale. He couldn't make hundreds of thousands of wooden pieces, so some fans inevitably missed out on receiving a gift.

Gunja understood the disappointment of fans who couldn't receive a gift. If possible, he wanted to prepare a gift that could reach all fans this time.

Planning an online mini-concert like Hyun-su and Hyun-jae was also an option, but Gunja didn't want to simply copy his friends' ideas.

"Ugh, what should I prepare as a gift...?"

"Gunja, would you like to join Hyun-jae and me for a concert? I think the fans would love it."

"That's a bit..."

"Huh? Why? You don't like us?"

"It's not that, but doesn't it seem like I'd be intruding on your plan?"

"Hey, where's that coming from! You could just come and carry the show."

"I'm worried that your presence might be overshadowed... that wouldn't be good either."

"Wow, that's really annoying!"

But even if it was annoying, there was no way around it.

Now in his second year as an idol, Gunja knew how strong his own character was.

He didn't want to overshadow the content his friends had planned with his own unique style. Hyun-su and Hyun-jae surely had their own vision for their projects.

"...Ugh..."

As he racked his brain, it felt like hot steam was coming out of his ears. To cool off for a moment, he took out a small brush pen from his pocket and began writing.

"Wow, look at Gunja writing."

"How does someone write so perfectly, like a machine?"

"Don't even mention it; I'm already stressed despite the compliment..."

"Haha, Gunja, you still haven't decided on a Christmas gift?"

At that moment, while observing Gunja's handwriting, In-hyuk offered a short suggestion.

"Gunja's handwriting."

"Yes, Hyung?"

"How about giving that beautiful handwriting as a gift?"

"...My handwriting?"

"You could make it into a font file, right?"

"Wow, that's a fantastic idea, Hyung!"

"Font? What's that?"

The members explained the concept of a font file to the bewildered Gunja. They thought it might be a difficult concept for him to grasp, but surprisingly, Gunja quickly understood the idea.

"So, in essence, it means I could create my own unique typeface."

"Yes, yes, that's exactly it."

"I'm already familiar with the concept of a typeface."

"Wow, really? That's unexpected."

"Heh, Master Han Seok-bong created the 'Sajagwan Style,' which became the standard for diplomatic documents in Joseon."

"Uh, that's a very classical understanding, but... yeah, that's basically it."

"With a font file, fans could use Oppa's handwriting!"

"That... that would indeed be a meaningful gift."

To distribute his handwriting to the world!

It seemed a bit arrogant, but on the other hand, it also felt like a meaningful gesture. Fans had always tried to imitate Gunja's handwriting.

"Good, I'll create my own typeface."

Resolving to proceed, Gunja asked Director Yong-jung Lee for help, and Solar System went all out, mobilizing their entire network to assist Gunja in creating the font.

Thus, a new font inspired by Gunja's Korean and English handwriting was born.

[Human Gunja.ttf] [Human Gunja.otf]
This became the Christmas gift Gunja prepared for his fans.

Fans who checked Gunja's gift on the official website cheered with joy.

[Waaaangraaaahhhh] [Uwawk, lolololololol] [Lolol, Human Gunjache, lololol] [Ack, lolol, it's too cute, lololol] [Wow, but seriously, it's amazing. Did Gunja make this font himself?] [Quick, open the file and write something, lol. The font is really beautiful.] [Whoa, you're right! It has this retro brush script vibe, but it's also so cute that it would suit everything.] [Just imagining him spending all day carefully writing each letter is so adorable.] [It's exactly the handwriting I know from Gunja, so I love it...] [How does he even come up with the idea to make a gift like this?] [He kept saying in live streams that he felt sorry for fans who couldn't get gifts, and now he really made something that all fans can receive.] [It's seriously so cute, lololol.]

Not even ten minutes after the gift was revealed, various ideas on how to use the Human Gunjache began popping up on social media.

[Whew, I'm currently writing a letter to myself in the Human Gunjache font.] [A letter? All of a sudden? What did you write, lol?] [Hey, Chillingz, it's me, Gunja. To be honest, I've loved you for a long time. Let's run away together in secret. I've already built a secluded temple in a strategic location with mountains in the back and water in the front, just for you. Hehe, all you need to do is come, my little princess~★] [Lolol, what even is this, lololol.] [You're crazy, seriously, lolol, what the heck, lololol.] [Calling yourself a princess, lolol, I seriously want to smack you.] [But, I gotta admit, writing it in Human Gunjache makes it feel like Gunja actually sent it, and now I'm kinda fluttering...;;;;] [I'm pretty sure this isn't what the font was made for, lolol.] [I'm just an ordinary office worker, but I just did something totally wild.] [Whoa, what did you do?] [I just changed the font of all the documents to be posted internally at work to Human Gunjache.] [Lolololol, you're crazy, don't do that, lololol.] [But the funny thing is, everyone loved it, and now I feel all proud, lol.] [This is how we all become Gunja fans, lolol.] [Hey, I'm a college student, but if I use Human Gunjache in my PowerPoint presentations, will it give away that I'm a total fan?] [Oh, you little greenhorn... Are you embarrassed to be a fan, huh?] [Well, the font is pretty, so just go for it, my friend^^].

Even though the process of making the font wasn't easy, seeing how happy the fans were made Gunja feel incredibly happy as well. The font-making film that was released afterward also brought joy to the fans.

With Gunja successfully finishing his Christmas event, the members were now fully immersed in "album mode."

As they added tracks to the album and perfected the choreography for the title song's performance, they were deep in the grueling process of completing their first full-length album. Before they knew it, the shooting date for 'Restaurant Maker' was just around the corner.

The progress on the full-length album had reached 90%. While the mixing and mastering engineers were doing the final tweaks on the tracks and Solar System was preparing to produce the music video, the members headed off to film 'Restaurant Maker'.

The filming concept, as the members had suggested, was set as 'a restaurant at the entrance of a hiking trail.' As they headed to the filming location at the entrance of Bukhan Mountain, the members seemed a little tense.

"There's probably going to be some kind of competition again, right?"

"We've done nothing but survival shows so far. It'll probably be something similar this time too."

"Then I guess we need to prepare some kind of special move again today."

"Huuu, competing is fun, but sometimes it feels a bit tiring."

"Seriously, I hope we don't end up doing nothing but competitions until we retire..."

"Guys, we just have to win, right? If we win, it's all good!"

"Hahahaha, easy for the manager to say~"

"Yeah, manager, you're mean..."

In the slightly tense atmosphere, the car carrying the 7IN members finally arrived at the filming location.