Chapter 146
Over there, Ban Yo-han was arguing to his aunt with all the logic he could muster that it was dangerous and that we should refrain from mountain climbing in the future.
When Gwak Sang-hyun conveyed to him the news that during the inactive period, there might be times when he could join mountain climbing again, even if not every week like before our debut, he was as horrified as I was and seemed to feel that it was an opportunity to uproot the bizarre company culture altogether. Other employees beside him were nodding enthusiastically.
The representative Ban Ga-eul, who had been stubbornly leading the mountain climbs so far, couldn’t win against her nephew armed with both reason and emotion and said she would consider it.
Ban Yo-han, who turned to us, wore a triumphant smile. The employees silently cheered. As expected, the representative’s nephew was the best.
“The sun is rising.”
“Everyone, gather around, gather around.”
From the east, where everyone’s gaze was fixed, a sun that seemed to be made of melted glass was gradually rising.
It was the first time I had seen such a complete sunrise, and the breathtaking beauty of it made me momentarily lose my words.
The mistaken thought that climbing at dawn wasn’t all that bad crossed my mind for a very brief moment.
“Hey, hurry and make a wish.”
“How cheesy… What is this, a shooting star?”
“We climbed all the way up here; it’d be a waste not to make one. If you don’t like it, make a New Year’s resolution at least.”
Waste.
That word snapped me back to my senses, and I clasped my hands together.
‘……’
I clasped my hands devoutly, but then the problem was that nothing came to mind.
‘What did I do last year?’
I definitely never dreamt of going to see the sunrise, and I couldn’t even remember if I watched the midnight bell-ringing event on TV in my room as the New Year began.
‘What’s important is this year.’
There were many things I wanted to achieve this year.
Just off the top of my head…
‘Please let me win the Rookie Award. Please don’t let the fans leave. Please let me catch that bastard soon. Oh, and let True and Music Box fail amicably too.’
Rather than New Year’s resolutions that I would strive to achieve, my wishes were more like entrusting them to a transcendent being or cursing, and by the time I finished, the sun had completely risen.
“Now, only On Raon isn’t an adult.”
Kyun Seong-ha, who could legally drink starting today, draped his arm over my shoulder teasingly.
It was an incredibly cocky attitude, like an older brother treating his younger sibling.
“Who’s this? Isn’t it Seong-ha, who hasn’t even graduated high school yet?”
I shrugged off his arm and retorted, receiving a childish declaration in return.
“Just wait. In a month, the older guys and I will be drinking, leaving you out.”
Still no impact.
“Sure. But you’re still my junior.”
“……”
In contrast to Kyun Seong-ha’s case, it was slightly ironic that I, who was mentally an adult, had not actually graduated from high school. I guess there’s no right answer in life…
Of course, I’d never tell him that. Not that I could, anyway.
Under the reddish sun, we took several personal selfies that would later be uploaded to the official SNS, under the meticulous direction of Kyun Seong-ha, who was recognized by Airy as a selfie master.
“No, not this angle, this one!”
“What’s the difference?”
“It’s totally different!”
“You look handsome in both.”
As if frustrated, Kyun Seong-ha’s face, which had reflexively frowned, gradually lit up with acknowledgment. Then he grumbled.
“If I were born with your face, I’d take a selfie every 10 seconds.”
“Even now, you’re almost doing that. Why pretend otherwise?”
“……”
“No, you look handsome now too.”
I was serious, not teasing, but he didn’t seem to believe me.
He still didn’t know that I never lied about looks. It was disappointing.
The call from Gwak Sang-hyun in the distance prevented a fight that almost erupted on New Year’s Day due to distrust.
“Guys! Let’s take a group photo!”
“Yes!”
On the way back to the company after descending the mountain, we ate clam kalguksu at a restaurant recommended by Representative Ban Ga-eul, and it was incredibly delicious.
* * *
Our first official schedule for the New Year was a grandly named variety show called “Idol Variety Showdown.” It was also our first appearance on a public broadcast variety show.
MBS’s “Idol Variety Showdown,” aired every year during the Lunar New Year, was a large-scale special broadcast that invited around 30 to 40 teams of idols or young celebrities for filming. It was on par with the same broadcaster’s “Idol Chuseok Sports Festival” held during Chuseok, forming a pair of major idol group variety shows.
The latter was particularly notorious for participants exhausting themselves completely.
The show invited too many teams, so unless you were fairly well-known, the actual broadcast time was minimal compared to the long filming hours.
The treatment of fans who suffered to attend the recordings was also notoriously poor.
Moreover, every year at least one or two teams inevitably got injured during MBS’s holiday special programs, which was the biggest issue.
For idols whose bodies were their assets, such damage was a significant loss.
The “Idol Variety Showdown” and “Idol Chuseok Sports Festival” were run by music show PDs, so the casting process was entangled with issues of power abuse.
It was a show that couldn’t be liked no matter how much one tried, so participants would escape without looking back once they gained enough experience and established their position.
‘…so said Juan, who failed to escape this year.’
At this point, it seemed Juan considered me a confidant who wouldn’t let any secrets slip.
Despite all its shortcomings, the fact remained that for third-generation idols like us, who couldn’t easily secure public exposure unlike the more popular first and second-generation idols, every opportunity to appear on such public variety shows was precious.
Anyway, the “Idol Variety Showdown” we were to appear in aimed to gather idols to compete in variety skills. But aside from gathering idols, it was no different from typical variety shows.
This year’s “Idol Variety Showdown” was scheduled to air over two days during the Lunar New Year holidays, with the preliminaries on one day and the finals on the next.
The competition included games that were popular in variety shows that year, as well as nostalgic games from the early 2000s or the 1990s, which the idols, who weren’t even born then, were asked to play. Sometimes, they were asked to do completely random activities like drawing or flower arranging.
The events were kept secret until the day of filming, so we couldn’t practice in advance.
Last year’s broadcast featured a talent show in the first preliminary round, a quiz in the second, and diss battles in the final eight rounds, among other varied events. Going back further, there were more physical events.
To put it bluntly, it was a complete hodgepodge.
“This year, there are rumors that they’ve taken out the Star Run set because of the Idol Variety Showdown.”
Since I wasn’t sleeping at the shop due to having enough energy, I picked up various bits of information from well-connected staff members.
“Star Run?”
“Oh, you might not know it well.”
The hair stylist, who kept forgetting I was a foreigner, awkwardly laughed as she touched my hair.
“It was a variety show from the early 2010s that got canceled due to low ratings. You run on a set track and do various things, avoiding obstacles, jumping over, rolling… It’s just a sports variety show. In short, it’s tough.”
“Ah.”
It wasn’t hard to imagine what it felt like.
When I searched for the exact program, it already felt exhausting and tough. As the hair stylist said, it seemed perfect for the Idol Variety Showdown.
“But how do you know about these things?”
“There are ways to know everything.”
The hair stylist grinned slyly.
“Who’s the best at sports in your team?”
“You’re not sharing this info with other teams, are you?”
“Seriously? Do I look like that kind of person?”
“No way, just kidding. You’re someone who’d know.”
“So, who’s the best?”
“Seong-ha is probably the best at sports. He’s strong, fast at running… The older guys always say Seong-ha is good at sports. Kyul-hyung is probably good too.”
“That’s what I thought. Seong-ha looks like the ace in gym class.”
“What about me?”
“All done.”
“What about me, sis?”
“Go ask Rina for an explanation.”
The hair stylist, avoiding my question, met my eyes for a moment before leaving the room altogether.
It was unfair.
The mistaken impression that I was terrible at sports due to my initial weak physical condition never seemed to go away.
I wasn’t bad at sports. If we’re talking about being good or bad, I was actually closer to being good.
Of course, that was before I started my reclusive life…
‘I used to be great in my prime.’
Looking in the mirror, instead of the white hair I had gotten used to over the past month, I saw myself with natural black hair, and I had a slightly sullen expression.
The hair stylist regretted covering up the nicely bleached hair with another bright color, but now that I knew my hair and scalp could handle repeated bleaching without damage, I was satisfied with my returning hair color.
In fact, now, as long as I had the time and money, I could change my hair color every week.
“Still, black hair suits men best.”
It was my personal preference, so I hoped it would be respected.
* * *
A few days later, the members and I left the dorm early in the morning for the Idol Variety Showdown filming.
As we drove through the dark roads and arrived at the filming site, we all couldn’t help but sigh.
“Wow…”
“There weren’t many physical activities last year, but why this year…”
“They say it’s a 15-year-old set…”
As we went out to the filming site, a huge, flashy Star Run set was installed just as the hair stylist had mentioned a few days ago.
A bit away from that set, there was a large, simple orange tent of unknown use. It was quite big.
What could that be for?
It didn’t seem like a space for staff or a waiting room for the cast…
‘Are they going to do something there later?’
Even when I asked the staff, they said they couldn’t reveal anything yet.
It’s not like leaking this information would cause a big problem, especially with filming starting in a few minutes. The power abuse was really petty.
The answer surprisingly came from Juan, who I was exchanging casual messages with.
Juan [Want to know what we’re doing today?]
Juan [LOL]
I didn’t contact him first; he reached out. Despite his appearance, he seemed like he had no friends and wanted to develop our relationship beyond just a confidant.
Me [Yes!!]
Me [(Praying Maltese Emoticon)]
I didn’t have high expectations, but soon, the “1” next to my last message disappeared.
Juan [We’re cooking]
Juan [LOLOLOLOL]
…Cooking?