Chapter 151
After a series of ups and downs, the bizarre role-play finally came to an end.
Even though there was a brief break before the next shoot for the first round of preliminaries, unfortunately, dreaming of resting in the waiting room, free from cameras and prying eyes, was out of the question.
It wasn’t just about preparing for our role-play; having to constantly react with a smiling face to other celebrities’ words and actions in front of dozens of cameras and thousands of fans was already exhausting.
Feeling mentally fatigued made my otherwise lively body feel inexplicably drained, which was quite uncomfortable.
Anyway, setting aside my dignity as an idol, I decided to face the broadcasting station head-on.
I ended up forming a strange camaraderie with Cheristine, who appeared perfectly normal on the outside.
They even decided to speak informally to us, claiming there was no need for formalities since we had seen everything.
However, to maintain some distance, we continued to use formal speech.
When we persistently refused to drop the formalities, Cheristine seemed disappointed but didn’t push further.
“Good job!”
“When I acted that way in front of the camera earlier, it was just for show. Orca’s younger members are so cute and handsome that if they were really my younger siblings, I would have treated them well.”
After seeing Bina’s performance earlier, those words didn’t seem very convincing.
Was it really an act?
I wasn’t sure if this would benefit the girl group’s image, but since they seemed satisfied, it was fine.
Our image was… well…
[Why are you excluding yourself after having fun together? TP +10]
What the heck is TP?
[TP stands for Ttorai Point.]
“….”
Are you insane?
Half-expecting it, I checked my info window and saw that TP had indeed appeared at the bottom.
| Grace | On Raon
Level: 34 Experience: 62.00%
HP: 250/250 Fatigue: 30
Strength: 105 Power: 51 Agility: 413
Intelligence: 169 Wisdom: 155 Charm: EX
Luck: 99 Fame: 1266
Will: 362 Acting Skill: 104 Intuition: 87
TP: 10
Remaining Stat Points: 0
‘…What good does it do if it’s high?’
[It’s amusing to see it from my perspective. Larry Favorability +??? Current Favorability +???]
I don’t need it!
‘I should have hit him one more time when we met last time…’
Meanwhile, Gyun Seong-ha and Kang Ji-woo were bickering with Ban Yo-han.
It was because of that ‘purity’ remark.
“I’m embarrassed to be with you, so go away.”
“Ah, whyyy?”
“Purity, my foot. You’re impurity itself. You say things you shouldn’t in front of people since morning.”
“What are you talking about? Don’t you know the meaning of purity? Look it up in the dictionary. It means being untainted and clean. Why is that embarrassing? Seong-ha, are you having weird thoughts?”
“N-no!”
Gyun Seong-ha’s face turned as red as a burning sweet potato.
“You did.”
“Looks like you did.”
“You totally did.”
“Well, it is a time when you start becoming very interested in such things since you just became an adult…”
“What are you talking about!”
Seo Moon-gyeol was watching them with an expression that seemed to say how childish they were acting. Those kids would probably never know that…
Especially Gyun Seong-ha, who might faint from shock if he found out. I decided to keep it to myself forever.
“On Raon, what do you think?”
Ban Yo-han, who had completely subdued the innocent Gyun Seong-ha with just a few words, turned his attention to me.
Did he think I’d get caught?
I firmly extended my right palm forward, decisively rejecting the conversation.
“Sorry, but I don’t talk to anyone who remains pure until twenty-two.”
“Maknae…”
However, it was Kang Ji-woo, not Ban Yo-han, who seemed more hurt, looking at me with teary eyes.
[With a careless remark, you rendered Kang Ji-woo incapable of action. Kang Ji-woo Favorability +0 Current Favorability +100]
Is Larry seriously free?
“Could you reconsider that? Please?”
Kang Ji-woo pretended to cry as he pathetically leaned on my shoulder.
Ah, no….
I couldn’t help but think only about that damn ‘purity’….
Reluctantly, I said I’d apply that rule only to people with the last name Ban, and Kang Ji-woo’s favorability shot up dramatically.
Thankfully, the favorability indicator maxed out at 100; otherwise, I couldn’t even imagine how high Kang Ji-woo’s favorability might have risen.
It was all Ban Yo-han’s fault, but that sly fox acted as if he owned the world.
“On Raon, do you think you’ll never turn twenty-two? Do you think you’ll stay forever nineteen?”
Ban Yo-han snorted as he spoke.
I replied with the same expression.
“Of course, I’ll raise the cutoff to twenty-three next year. The year after, I’ll add another year.”
Ban Yo-han stared at me intently before whispering meaningfully.
“What if I suddenly say one day that I’m no longer pure?”
“!”
“Are you crazy?! Stop saying such things in front of the kid!”
Ban Yo-han seemed to lower his voice as much as he could, but Kang Ji-woo must have heard it because he smacked Ban Yo-han hard on the back.
The sound was so loud that even the other people around us were startled and looked over.
“…Everyone’s lost it.”
Gyun Seong-ha, who had good hearing, must have heard Ban Yo-han’s words, too. He shuddered as he moved away from Ban Yo-han, dragging Seo Moon-gyeol with him.
But they didn’t have anywhere else to go, so they ended up sitting next to me…
[Many people here think that your group, Orca, has gathered like-minded individuals.]
I wish it wouldn’t tell me things like that.
**Chapter 151**
* * *
After a while, the first round of preliminaries officially began.
As previously announced, the first round required a male-female pair to complete various missions together while running the track.
Upon closer inspection, the set was divided into two separate courses.
Each person had to enter one of the courses at the start, structured so they had to help each other. For example, operating a device in Course A would open a door in Course B.
There were also sections where the two courses merged. In these sections, one person had to lift the other to manipulate a high object.
It was a segment where one had to be particularly careful to avoid unnecessary scandals.
In the end, the eight pairs with the shortest completion times would advance to the second round of preliminaries.
With a total of eighteen pairs competing, more than half would be eliminated in the first round alone.
Preparing from dawn only to be eliminated after this was really not worth it.
From our side, Gyun Seong-ha and Hyun Eun-jae were competing.
Although it felt a bit wasteful to send out our ace, Gyun Seong-ha, right from the start due to the rule that once a person competed, they couldn’t participate in subsequent rounds, it was crucial to advance.
‘So we can unleash our secret weapon, Kang Ju-bu.’
The highly anticipated cooking segment was scheduled to start from the second round of preliminaries.
Gyun Seong-ha, who seemed unusually relaxed for someone facing such a critical task, was one thing. But I was worried about Hyun Eun-jae, who, among the already skinny idols, was particularly thin, making me doubt if she could run well without tripping.
“Eun-jae noona, are you good at sports?”
“No, I’m really bad.”
“?”
Was she still trying to be funny?
Seeing our members’ round eyes, Slua burst into a light laugh and continued.
“But our members are all seriously bad at sports.”
Lee Da-in, who was doing warm-up exercises that resembled those of a professional athlete, pointed with her chin to Hyun Eun-jae, whose stiff movements reminded me of a wooden puppet.
It made me worry if she could even dance well on stage.
“She’s the best among those who are bad.”
“Oh…”
We all had a look of understanding.
“Don’t worry too much. Surely, we won’t fail to pass the first round, right?”
Noona, that’s a defeat flag.
Anyway, our team was scheduled to go in the middle, so while Gyun Seong-ha and Hyun Eun-jae were waiting in a designated area, the remaining members stayed behind, diligently reacting to other idols’ races and comments.
During the waiting periods that occurred in between filming, we had brief conversations with other idols, all of whom were male.
Having spent a long time as a trainee and having briefly worked as a singer through “Heavenly Voice,” Kang Ji-woo, who knew quite a few idols who debuted earlier, was particularly popular.
“They want to get to know you.”
“Hello…”
“But you can ignore them.”
“Hey!”
“If you have time to get to know them, get to know me better.”
Despite his blunt attitude, he seemed quite friendly with Chaser, who almost debuted together with him.
After his race, Joo An, having a lot of free time, took me to where his members were gathered near the Pluto fan section.
It felt like I was being used to calm the public opinion about the Music Pang Pang incident, but it also felt nice to have a popular senior backing me up. I just hoped he wouldn’t pretend not to know me later.
We even called over other members to join us and have fun.
Of course, we didn’t forget to visit our fans.
Although the staff seemed to disapprove of idols wandering around, as a rookie, I kept a close eye on the situation. On my way back from hanging out with Pluto, I managed to slip towards our fan section.
When we approached, the fans cheered quietly.
“Thank you for coming.”
We weren’t yet able to comfortably treat fans like close friends like other more experienced idols, so I had to use the questions I had prepared for the last fan signing event. It was always good to be prepared.
“You guys… you don’t have to try so hard…”
One fan’s affectionate comment brought laughter from others in agreement.
Before long, the staff gestured for us to return to our seats as filming was about to resume.
Finally, it was Gyun Seong-ha and Hyun Eun-jae’s turn.