The so-called "Won Yu-ha part-time job sighting rumor" first appeared after episode 3 of Dear Idol, right when the trainees were starting to gain some fandom.
Dear Idol became a hot topic immediately after broadcast, and as that happened, internet communities and social networks began filling up with posts written by acquaintances or past exposés about the featured trainees.
Among those, sightings were never missing—and the post about Won Yu-ha's part-time job came up along with them.
Of course, people didn't believe it at first.
-Don't feed the troll.└ ffs it's real I'm attaching more photos(photo)└ Huh? This looks real though└ No way a face like that is common in real life;;; looks exactly like ㅇㅇㅎ└ ??? It's real└ Wow it is real
-Wasn't he filming something?└ ffs no, he seriously looked like he was working. There's a bathroom behind the BBQ place so I went there and saw him scrubbing grill plates in the kitchen, then later he was out on the floor. I asked the owner afterward and they said he was doing a short-term part-time job. Said he was a hardworking kid.
But then more photos appeared, and soon more witnesses came forward one by one, and the post started gaining credibility.
Of course, a rumor about someone working part-time wasn't unusual by itself. What grabbed people's attention was simply that there were so many sightings.
-Wow I thought this one post I cursed out as boomer nonsense was fake, but maybe it was real└ What was it???└ lmao it said they saw him doing loading/unloading at Loupang and that even with a hat on he was too handsome to hide.. apparently he was famous there too as "blue cap"└ Maybe 00-district Loupang?; I worked in the next building and heard about the "blue cap". Don't know about other shifts but when he went around collecting items you could locate him even without him saying anything└ Why??└ First of all he drags a crowd of people with him.. so when he moves around, the cart noise is insane LOL like a mass migration, only that place has rush hour LOL there was even a warning broadcast once└ LMFAOOOOOOOOOO└ With that face? Fair enough
-My friend said she saw him too when he was doing a short-term job└ What is he, Hong Gil-dong? How many part-time jobs does he have;;└ lmao she said he was doing event assistant work. He was originally assigned to parking lot guidance but got moved to the front desk right away for being handsome└ LOLLLLL OMG└ If you're handsome you should be at the front. Parking lot is no place for talent like that└ Isn't this that one clan association event?? lol I remember because the grandpa kept saying the part-time kid was handsome└ LOL if even the elders say he's handsome, he must be insane in person
The "Won Yu-ha part-time job sightings" that appeared like this were mostly consumed just for fun by the general public. But concern and worry weren't absent either.
-When were these sightings?? Before Dear Idol aired, right?└ yeah around April?└ The other post I saw also said April└ Wait so that's right after the first mission; does that mean he was doing part-time work while appearing on the show?└ Maybe it was because of family circumstances or something? Maybe his home situation is tough
-Is the agency really allowed to leave him like this?└ Maybe his parents work in that line of business?└ He's way too elusive for that; looks like he's taking any job he can get, there's zero pattern
-An idol's body is his asset... what if he gets hurt doing that kind of laborㅠㅠ└ Exactly, shouldn't the agency take care of him? It's irresponsible└ But he's still just a trainee so it's kind of ambiguous;;; lots of idols said they worked part-time to pay living expenses while training└ But he's literally on a survival show right now and they're still not taking care of him? Isn't that a problem?
-He's not still doing part-time work recently, right?ㅠㅠ I'm worried because all the jobs he does look physically demanding, and people say he's not that strong└ All the sightings say April. Feels like he worked really hard for about a month after the mission└ If he's not doing it now, that's a relief…
Despite those worries, the sightings spread quickly across SNS and online communities.
After all, sightings of a trending trainee from a survival show—especially one from a major agency—were undeniably interesting gossip.
"Unexpected Encounter? The Dear Idol Trainee Who's a Part-Time Job Master?""Turns Out the Kid Who Changed My Grill Plate Was an Idol Trainee?"
Articles and curiosity-driven posts with titles like that spread with the public's interest, and Won Yu-ha's name recognition grew.
And that recognition skyrocketed again when the first mission stage was released—because Won Yu-ha's team performance, which had already gone viral among idol fans as the "perfect group-project success story," was edited and aired in a favorable narrative.
The structure of the episode was also perfect for piquing viewers' interest.
The practice segment of the "Your Type Team," revealed right before the stage, began with the team members silently watching each other, unable to say a word.
-?? I thought this was supposed to be a group-project success story-It's falling apart from the start..
As if to answer viewers' questions, the screen soon rewound and reconstructed the events.
[I want to do all of that—arrangement, lyrics, choreography.][Huh?][Um??]
This showed Aiden Lee, whose unstoppable bulldozer-like decision back then had left the team completely stunned.
A reckless challenge for a 3,000-vote benefit. And despite earning the second song-choice privilege thanks to Joo Dan-woo's performance, he still chose Lumière's "BINGO," which felt extremely risky, plunging the team's mood into a downward spiral.
[My plan is to make Yu-ha the main vocal.]
On top of that, the explosive statement made during the song selection brought negative reactions from viewers.
-Why is he doing whatever he wants;-Is it just me??;; Confidence in your skills is fine but why are they deciding positions however they want; I know the two are close but stop with the buddy-favor stuff; don't drag the other members into it-Isn't Won Yu-ha not at main-vocal level? If they pre-decided positions because of their friendship instead of skill, that's disappointing-The other kids' faces look so done oh no
The strong closeness of the two—already shown in the previous episode as "roommates"—was well known among viewers.
In the midst of all this, when conversations made it sound like positions were being decided unilaterally without any concrete discussion with the other team members, viewers began expressing their discomfort.
[…Aiden. Go over there right now, write down in detail how you want to arrange the song on that lyric sheet, and come back. I'm giving you ten minutes.]
But that uncomfortable atmosphere began to ease once Won Yu-ha started reining in the unpredictable Aiden Lee.
[Main vocal is an important position. I don't think it's right for just you and me to decide that without talking to the others.]
[We're the ones performing the stage, not watching it. The people who'll be watching are the Idol Makers, so shouldn't we choose a concept they're familiar with?]
[…How about "Pr*cess Maker"? And let's add a dating sim element.]
As he organized and adjusted Aiden Lee's ideas, Yu-ha brought the nearly pre-decided positions back to the table and asked for the team's opinions. Alongside that, he proposed a direction for the concept using intriguing keywords like "Pr*cess Maker" and "dating sim."
And then, when the production team captured the ambiguous dynamic between Aiden Lee and Won Yu-ha and aired it, the situation took another turn.
"You kept picking Won Yu-ha as the member with the lowest contribution."
[Yu-ha does well. But I'm sure he can do even better. But… Yu-ha doesn't do it. That's why I picked him—because he's someone who can definitely do more.]
"You received harsh criticism during the mid-evaluation. Is being main vocal that difficult?"
[…I think it's more accurate to say that I just don't know what exactly I should be doing. What more I can do… I'll think about it a bit more.]
During practice, Aiden Lee kept poking at Yu-ha, while Yu-ha responded by setting boundaries—this tense dynamic between the two was captured on screen.
In the following interview scenes, Yu-ha ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated, and confessed his feelings.
After his calm, excuse-free confession, the footage cut to Yu-ha sitting alone in the corner of the practice room, clearly deep in thought.
And finally—
[…I was thinking maybe we could change the structure like this. What do you think?]
Yu-ha presented the result of his contemplation, and Aiden Lee was shown briefly, looking taken aback. Then, with shots of the trainees agreeing to the new idea, interviews of both Aiden Lee and Yu-ha appeared once again.
"You looked surprised."
[Mm, yeah... I want to reflect on myself. I think I underestimated Yu-ha. Even though I thought he could do well, I got disappointed on my own. I was impatient—I didn't trust him. But Yu-ha did such a great job. It was my short-sightedness. That's why I'm really grateful to him, for being on the same team.]
"What kind of change in mindset did you experience compared to before?"
[Aiden told me this. That it's important to think about where to take the lead and where to step back. I think he's right. And more than anything, the important thing is to do well. I want to do well—with my teammates.]
And then, finally on the day of the first mission stage, one comment Yu-ha made to a nervous Joo Dan-woo sent his favorability with viewers skyrocketing.
[I told you we'd perform together next time. I said that wasn't an empty promise.]
Along with this, a clip from the day of grade re-evaluation was shown, where Yu-ha whispered to Dan-woo before moving classrooms.
[I know you're someone who does well. Just do as much as you can.]
The line that followed placed an exclamation mark on Yu-ha's character—"growth type," "hard worker," and "leader"—as the PD had been building it all along.
[Don't hold back when you know you can do it.]
Then, with emotional BGM and Yu-ha's voice narrating over the shots of the team walking toward the stage, the performance began.
[Waaaaah!!!!][Wow!!!!]
Just as countless Idol Makers had already spoiled online, the stage ended in the form of a perfect group-project masterpiece.
-I acknowledge Aiden Lee's big-picture plan-I felt so uncomfortable during their tension but now it just looks like the growth story of geniuses… please stay friends and debut togetherㅠ-Who said Yu-ha wasn't main vocal material—oh wait that was me… I'm sorry I'll go take a lap with my head down-Dan-woo… Dan-woo… Dan-woo... This grandma lives for you now...-"Pr Maker" with a dating sim? Mmm~ is this the concept gourmet restaurant?-Aiden's arrangement skills are insane and he sings so well… a real genius is a real genius…-A-Net please release the song-ㅠㅠ Can Your Type team just debut as-is? This is the "I didn't know what you'd like so I prepared everything" team… each kid's character is so distinct and so easy to recognize-What's with Kim Taeyoung and Park Wonhyo's chemistry-Tzushan is devouring the center… our apple-like Tzushan must debut@@-Young-oh's warm smile?? He's ridiculously cheeky-Concept OK, visuals OK, dance OK, vocals OKOKOK If this team doesn't get 1st place, that's what'd be weird
Thus, the discomfort caused by Aiden Lee's initial bombshell statements and their buddy-buddy dynamic faded away, and was replaced by praise for the Your Type team, who cleanly separated business from personal feelings and achieved healthy growth together.
Since everyone received an appropriate amount of screen time, each trainee gained considerable recognition.
But naturally, reactions to Won Yu-ha were especially intense—and as is always the case with rising attention, negative comments rose right alongside the praise.
-This is way too obviously PD-pick, annoying as hell. Feels like they stole other kids' screen time to give it to himㅋㅋ Are they trying to look good to Karma or what-Am I the only one annoyed that a major-agency trainee even came on this survival? Feels like he's stealing the spots of kids who are actually desperate-I thought he had bad stamina but he was running around doing all those part-time jobsㅋㅋ So is his stamina good or badㅠ pick one~-This "growth arc" is too forced.. how does a 5-year trainee do so badly in an individual evaluation and then suddenly get way better, the image-making is so obvious please stop
Even as the fandom grew and the gossip spread, Won Yu-ha didn't lose momentum.
And he would soon see just how far his recognition had risen—when the first ranking announcement after episode 4 of Dear Idol aired.
"First ranking announcement. The glorious first place goes to..."
I blankly listened to the MC's voice and squeezed the microphone in my hand.
I could feel the trainees' tense gazes looking back and forth between me and Kang Hyun-jin. Lost in the middle of it all, a distant thought crossed my mind.
'…How did things turn out like this?'