Chapter 289
“Blue team! Seong-ha! Blue team! Seong-ha!”
“Black team! Ji-oh! Black team! Ji-oh!”
Gyun Seong-ha, who had been standing next to Go Kyung-yoon before stepping onto the wrestling mat, exchanged a light nod with him. He knew very well the unusually heightened atmosphere without the slightest hint of the eye smiles he usually showed in front of fans.
‘I absolutely won’t lose.’
Although it wasn’t anything particularly important, there were those things that would bother you if you lost. This was one of those things.
And Seong-ha didn’t particularly like his opponent, Go Kyung-yoon, either.
‘Why is he pretending to be friendly with someone else’s member when he said he doesn’t like him?’
Strictly speaking, On Raon didn’t say he disliked Go Kyung-yoon, just that they weren’t close, but to Seong-ha, it was all the same.
That’s right.
There was someone here who was completely taken in by the bizarre yet convincing argument of the dependable eldest member, Kang Ji-woo, who believed that if a person wasn’t good, they must be bad.
If On Raon and Ban Yo-han knew, they would have teased him all day for being an idiot, but fortunately, Seong-ha had no intention of telling anyone about this.
“The first match will be between Blue team’s Orca Seong-ha and Black team’s Lifteen Ji-oh. Both were born in 1999, the year of the rabbit, and graduated from the same high school earlier this year.”
“Wow, their height…”
“I don’t know what students these days are eating to grow so tall.”
“Not all students are like that, though, Commentator Jang Woo-chan.”
Many fans seemed to agree with the caster’s words.
If all students were like that, they wouldn’t be here from dawn, spending the whole day like this.
– By the way, Seong-ha seems to look a bit tense.
On Raon scoffed inwardly.
‘That’s something only someone who doesn’t know him would say.’
From the expression on Gyun Seong-ha’s face, who had previously gone alone to a schedule where he learned wrestling with the Blue team members, there was no trace of trembling or tension.
Without puffing and fumbling awkwardly, without cowering in fear, simply calming down transformed his face from a foolish look to a naturally handsome and cold appearance.
Self-proclaimed charm detector On Raon evaluated this coolly.
Moreover, fortunately, Seong-ha had the kind of personality that was positively stimulated by situations where he had to compete physically, as he had shown before.
In moments like this, it seemed that the competitive spirit important for an athlete suited his aptitude well.
However, On Raon could easily imagine that if Seong-ha had continued to live as a swimmer, he would have felt burdened and stressed rather than confident in such situations.
‘A sensitive guy…’
Now, following the referee’s guidance, the two men bent at the waist to bow to each other before moving to the center of the wrestling mat and grabbing each other’s satba.
“……”
– Wow, the tension from the grip itself is amazing.
– They’re not even making eye contact.
How ridiculous.
Who makes eye contact while grabbing the satba?
On Raon briefly furrowed his eyebrows at the commentator’s nonsense that seemed to incite a fight, then relaxed them.
It was true that the atmosphere surrounding the two wasn’t exactly amicable. He was slightly worried that not only the fans, who were shouting themselves hoarse for the Blue and Black teams, but also the singers themselves might think they didn’t get along well.
‘That guy… He shouldn’t get too excited.’
If he got hurt showing off his strength in a place like this, that would be a major disaster that should never happen.
Soon, the referee instructed them to lift their left knees.
“Ready.”
“……!”
The muscles of both men tensed up momentarily, causing their bodies to shake significantly.
The commentators, excited, opened their mouths.
– Whoa, they only just said “ready,” but both players are on the verge of executing their prepared techniques.
– Such intense tension from the very first round!
Beep!
Finally, the referee blew the whistle to signal the start.
– Ah, are they going down right away? Are they going down?!
‘That’s it!’
On Raon clenched his fist, expecting Gyun Seong-ha, the brute strength stat monster, to easily topple Go Kyung-yoon within three seconds.
However, Go Kyung-yoon surprisingly put up a good fight, proving that he wasn’t selected as the wrestling representative for nothing.
– Oh, ah! Ji-oh is holding on well!
Seong-ha tried to simply lift and throw his opponent as soon as the match started, but thanks to Go Kyung-yoon’s height of around 185 cm, he managed to keep his feet on the ground and withstand the attack.
‘Tsk.’
On Raon clicked his tongue inwardly.
From then on, he half-listened to the commentators explaining the wrestling techniques, letting most of it go in one ear and out the other.
That wasn’t particularly important.
What mattered was that Gyun Seong-ha won in the end.
– Ahhh! Black team Ji-oh goes down.
‘No matter how much that weakling resists, it doesn’t change the fact that our young and vigorous guy will win.’
“Blue team! Seong-ha! Blue team! Seong-ha!”
The Aeries in attendance got excited and raised their voices, calling for the Blue team and Seong-ha.
In fact, Aeries, who had often clashed with Lifteen fans both online and offline, felt a great sense of satisfaction when Seong-ha defeated Go Kyung-yoon, who was like the pillar of Lifteen.
– Current situation at the Athletic Festival) Our soft and fluffy pup just beat Lifteen’s Ji-oh in wrestlingㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
A post by one of the Aeries on social media was quickly shared.
Meanwhile, the commentators commented as they replayed the video that had just been released.
– I thought Ji-oh would go down in one move here, but he held on.
– His leg strength is amazing. Look at the veins popping in his neck.
– But what’s remarkable about Seong-ha is that even though his initial attack was blocked, he didn’t panic and smoothly transitioned to the next technique.
– You might withstand it once, but you can’t hold out twice.
– Raon is incredibly happy right now.
– Ah, is Seong-ha avenging his member who was taken out in the short-distance running preliminaries earlier? He’s lifting Raon up and spinning him around as if to show off to Ji-oh. It’s wild.
– Normally, the one who comes back after winning should be treated like that, shouldn’t they?
– Well, if he wants to make the effort himself, let’s leave him be.
The noisy celebration by Seong-ha and On Raon, who had been so serious just a moment ago, ironically helped to relieve the previously tense atmosphere to some extent.
However, one Aerie, while happily watching their favorite idols playing cutely, instinctively sensed something.
Until I leave the stadium, it seems there’s going to be a lot of friction and chaos with those Lifteen fans over there…!
And the Lifteen fans felt the same way.
There were certain relationships that were particularly antagonistic between fandoms.
While unforeseen incidents can sometimes worsen fandom relations, when two groups are entangled in the sensitive issue of performance, it’s truly a battlefield.
If the singers are close and there’s a noticeable difference in their achievements, sometimes the fandoms can get along, seeing them as debut mates.
Except for situations like earlier when Go Kyung-yoon approached On Raon, Orca and Lifteen didn’t fall into that category.
The Aeries were determined.
No matter what, they would always ensure a victory over Lifteen.
Two suns cannot rise under the same sky.
Of course, objectively speaking, in the idol market, both Orca and Lifteen were far from being like the sun, more like newly born stars, but to fans, that wasn’t a significant issue.
—
After Gyun Seong-ha secured the first win against Go Kyung-yoon, our Blue team also won the second round. However, we unfortunately lost the next three rounds consecutively, resulting in a 3-2 defeat to the Black team.
“It would’ve been great to win and wear the royal robe.”
In the Idol Sports Competition, the wrestling winners got to wear traditional royal garments and be carried around the stadium in a palanquin as part of the ceremony.
“We’ll win next year.”
Seong-ha responded nonchalantly.
It seemed he didn’t care much since he had won his match.
“Um…”
However, shortly after, we found out that a far more serious problem had arisen for the Blue team, compared to being eliminated in the wrestling preliminaries.
“What’s wrong?”
“My ankle…”
“What?!”
Onliboyz member Ahn Hee-seop, who had participated in the wrestling match, injured his leg while trying to resist being thrown.
Moreover, Hee-seop was one of the members assigned to perform the acrobatic choreography in the upcoming group cheer event.
With the help of his manager, Hee-seop limped out of sight and into a building away from the fans’ view.
A little while later:
“Hee-seop won’t be able to participate in the next event.”
The staff conveyed the news that Hee-seop had been advised by the on-site doctor to rest and avoid movement.
The previously lively atmosphere of the Blue team suddenly darkened.
The group cheer event would start right after the wrestling match between the Red and White teams.
If even one person dropped out of the acrobatic choreography, the essential balance would be lost, and the entire performance would significantly suffer.
Gun, who was supposed to perform the acrobatic routine with Hee-seop, already looked pale with anxiety at the thought of having to handle the spotlight alone.
After pondering for a moment, I said:
“…How about I try?”
I asked in a low voice, only audible to our members nearby.
“What? No way.”
Kang Ji-woo’s refusal was almost reflexive.
“Absolutely not, maknae.”
He was probably thinking of the last time I practiced and fell, which must have stuck in his mind, leading him to reject my suggestion without much thought.
“I’m not asking without considering it, so don’t just say no.”
Kang Ji-woo flinched at my calm words.
In my skill set, there was the 《Acrobatics (Intermediate)》 skill I had acquired as a reward from the previous Dancing King quest.
Moreover, I hadn’t just let it sit unused; I practiced it whenever I could while preparing for the album.
“You know I’ve been systematically practicing with the choreographer.”
It seemed foolish not to seize the opportunity to put what I had learned to use.
“You two have seen me practice. Do you think I can’t do it?”
I asked Seo Moon-gyeol and Gyun Seong-ha, who had often stayed late into the night to practice with me, seeking to reassure Kang Ji-woo.
“No. You can do it.”
“Gyeol-ah…”
Kang Ji-woo sighed, calling out Seo Moon-gyeol’s name, but Moon-gyeol was fully supportive, as if he didn’t see any problem.
Gyun Seong-ha, though a bit uneasy, also nodded in agreement.
I looked at Kang Ji-woo firmly.
“It’s different from back then, hyung.”