Chapter 285
Whenever On Raon, whose hair had turned a bluish white after the blue dye had faded, passed close to the cheering section, there were simultaneous exclamations of “Wow, wow, wow…”
The fans in the cheering section near the waiting area for the short-distance runners had a rare experience of having their early morning grogginess instantly cleared.
From a distance, the Aeri, who were watching On Raon bow and exchange greetings with other group members, gained a new realization.
‘Our kid is…’
‘Taller than we thought!’
When he stood among the generally tall members, it was hard to notice his height, especially with the overwhelming 186cm tall member right next to him.
However, standing next to smaller female idols or male idols in the mid-170cm range, his height and slender limbs made his good proportions stand out even more.
While On Raon’s fans were thus charging their pride.
– Ah, it looks like it’s about to start.
– We will now begin the preliminary rounds of the women’s short-distance running.
The voices of the commentators sitting at the broadcasting booth echoed throughout the venue through the speakers.
The short-distance running preliminaries consisted of four groups of eight people each, with the top two from each group advancing to the finals.
The professional cheerleaders hired by the production team were seen instructing fans in the front of each team’s cheering section on what cheers to shout.
“White team! White team! White-victory-victory-win!”
“Blossom youth! Shine youth! Win youth!”
“Advance black lion! Roar black lion! Win black lion!”
“Red-hot-red-red~ Burn~ Passionate Red~!”
The deep, resonant cheers created an atmosphere reminiscent of a military training camp.
The low, heavy cheers of the male fans supporting the female idols in the first match reverberated energetically, boosting the excitement.
Of course, at first, some people felt embarrassed and awkward about the cheers, thinking it was just a kind of audience participation rather than a college festival where everyone lets loose. They mouthed the cheers hesitantly.
However, before filming began, a seasoned MC with a recreation instructor certification skillfully incited competition among the teams along with some idols, quickly creating a heated atmosphere.
– Which team is the loudest! Shout your team name for 5 seconds!!
– Ho-o-o-o-ong!!
– Ba-a-a-a-a-aek!!
– Cheo-o-o-o-oong!!!
– I can’t hear the black team!!
– Hoo-o-o-o-o-oong!!
– What? Huh? Huh?
– Oh, is your ear blocked? Black! Black!! Black, I said! Hoo-o-o-o-o-oong!!!
– Good job!!!
Everyone shared the sentiment of not wanting their own to lose to others in any way.
The production team of the Idol Athletics Competition even awarded decent prizes to the team fans who cheered the hardest.
Most people were caught up in the atmosphere, adding their voices to the cheers.
In such an atmosphere, as the women’s short-distance running progressed, each team’s cheering song was revealed one by one.
When the female idol from the White team crossed the finish line first in the first group, Neverland’s lively hook song, one of the biggest hits of the year for girl groups, played.
When the female idol from the Black team finished first in the second group, the majestic song of Pluto, a Black team idol, resounded.
In the following third and fourth rounds, the first place in each group alternated between the White and Red teams, leaving the Blue team’s cheering song yet to be revealed as the men’s events began.
– We will now begin the preliminary rounds of the men’s short-distance running.
On Raon was set to compete in the first group.
‘Should I use all my saved stat points now?’
Turning on his status window after a long time, On Raon pondered whether to invest a considerable amount of accumulated stat points from level-ups, quests, and achievements into agility while watching the women’s races.
|Once again| On Raon
Level: 41 Experience: 17.40%
HP: 250/250 Fatigue: 20
Stamina: 110 Strength: 55 Agility: 913
Intelligence: 300 Wisdom: 277 Charm: EX
Luck: 241 Fame: 2650
Willpower: 522 Acting: 391 Intuition: 174
TP: 190
Remaining Stat Points: 76
[You can now designate a burning stat.]
While there were noticeable increases in agility, willpower, acting, and other stats that he hadn’t seen in a while.
‘Why is my stamina still so low?’
Although he had somewhat given up on strength due to its inefficiency.
He had invested all his stat points into stamina for survival purposes for a while, yet the stamina stat didn’t seem much different from the last time he checked.
Even though he had designated it as a burning stat.
‘Is it because I often skip workouts…’
On Raon, who had been momentarily lost in thought, decided not to invest the points and closed the status window.
A few days ago, he had practiced running with the members in preparation for the Idol Athletics Competition and found himself quite fast. It seemed that his current stats would be sufficient to pass the preliminaries.
The commentators called out each contestant by name.
– In lane 5, Blue team’s Orca Raon!
As the camera moved closer to On Raon in lane 5, his face appeared on the large screen installed in the stadium.
The sight of his incredibly handsome face caused a stir throughout the venue.
When the camera zoomed in, On Raon, like the idols called before him, lightly ran his fingers through his hair and showed off a bit.
“So handsome!”
“Cute! Cool!”
Then, the Orca members sincerely praised him, and other Blue team members told him to feel embarrassed.
Embarrassed? No way.
With his unwavering confidence in his appearance, On Raon merely smiled faintly, nodding inwardly as if it were a given.
The commentators were equally enthusiastic.
– Wow, he’s really handsome.
– Looking at Raon’s face, he seems prettier than Jia sitting next to me.
– I don’t even feel like arguing because he’s so beautiful. I’ll support the Blue team today.
Finally, the introductions concluded with the player in lane 8.
– By the way, the Blue team hasn’t had a single first place yet, only second places.
– At this rate, the Blue team will go home without hearing their team cheer song.
In a previous Idol Athletics Competition, the Red team had never taken first place, so their cheer song was never revealed that year.
Hearing the commentators’ teasing remarks, disappointed sounds came from the Blue team fans.
The Blue team contestants also expressed their disagreement.
– And in lane 5, Blue team’s Orca Raon has been repeatedly retying his shoelaces and preparing thoroughly. Can you share a few words about your determination?
Receiving the microphone from a nearby staff member, On Raon confidently declared without hesitation.
“I’ll bring the first victory for the Blue team back to my hyungs and noonas.”
– Great!
In response to the bold statement from On Raon, who was the youngest in the Blue team, the Blue team contestants and their fans erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
The cheering, which had momentarily died down during the interview, reignited with fervor.
As it was a match among male idols, the proportion of high-pitched cheers from female fans increased compared to before.
– Ready…
Bang!
The signal flare, which made everyone’s shoulders twitch, was fired.
A few seconds later.
“Wowww!”
“On Raon! On Raon!”
And they shouted,
Again!
On Raon, who crossed the finish line first, smiled brightly and was embraced by someone waiting for him, just as the Blue team’s cheer song, “Again,” played vibrantly throughout the stadium.
* * *
“…Are you crazy?”
On Raon, who wasn’t wearing an individual microphone due to the large number of people, spoke his mind freely but immediately saw the profanity filter activate and lamented.
If he had caught his breath a little and had a moment to look around, he wouldn’t have embraced Go Kyung-yoon, who was wearing the grim reaper-like black team’s uniform, as if he were a teammate.
Having just finished sprinting at full speed and gasping for air, On Raon couldn’t imagine that the person approaching him might not be a member.
‘And this guy approached so naturally that I couldn’t help it.’
As soon as he realized it was Go Kyung-yoon, he pulled away.
However, Go Kyung-yoon, looking very friendly, tousled On Raon’s hair and patted his shoulder, all of which was perfectly captured by the camera focused on the first-place winner of the first group.
Meanwhile, two black team members, who came in 7th and 8th place, humorously waved their hands at Go Kyung-yoon to signal their presence.
Failing to catch Go Kyung-yoon’s attention, who was busy responding to On Raon’s protest, they shrugged and triumphantly walked back, arm in arm.
Then.
“Gio, Raon is our member and our team!”
Kang Ji-woo, who had brought the team’s first victory and the cheer song, protested to Go Kyung-yoon with wide eyes, annoyed that their proud youngest member was suddenly taken by an opponent.
Go Kyung-yoon waved apologetically at Kang Ji-woo.
Maintaining a strained expression with the help of his acting stats, On Raon whispered a warning before returning to his team.
“Maknae!”
“Hyung!”
“You were the fastest!”
“Our song played too!”
“Wow!”
Though it wasn’t that the members weren’t curious about Go Kyung-yoon’s behavior, which suggested they weren’t close, they decided to prioritize congratulating him for his first-place finish.
On Raon hoped that the recent incident, which caught the attention of only Liftin fans as planned, would help resolve Go Kyung-yoon’s rumors.
However, the problem was that the production team would not miss this intriguing situation where a black team member openly congratulated a blue team rival.
As directed by the production team, the commentators, who would typically have asked for a simple first-place impression and moved on to the next match, brought up Go Kyung-yoon at the end of the first-place interview for the preliminaries.
– But, Liftin’s Gio from the black team, why did you hug Raon even though he’s not on your team?
“Isn’t it the spirit of the Idol Athletics Competition to sincerely congratulate the other team even if they win?”
– Well, if you put it that way, there’s not much more we can say.
Not only did Go Kyung-yoon clear his rumors by congratulating On Raon at the finish line, but he also managed to gain valuable broadcast time without breaking a sweat.
‘Wow…’
Realizing that his recent actions were merely ‘pretending to be close,’ On Raon, who was the first to understand Go Kyung-yoon’s intentions, admired his remarkable shrewdness.
‘You cunning bastard.’
Although he hadn’t actually suffered any loss, On Raon couldn’t help but feel as if he had, and he inwardly cursed.
And he made a resolution.
He would make sure to repay that sly bastard with something harmless but annoyingly bothersome in the near future.