**219. King Maker (3)**
As soon as he saw Lee Doha’s gaze heading straight towards him, Kang Hajin slammed the desk and shot up, pointing an accusatory finger.
“This is a challenge! That guy already has the answer he wants! The voter who should be impartial has lost his objectivity! This is a rigged election!!!”
Then, Jung Siwoo quickly stood up and countered with his own pointed finger.
“Don’t you know that elections are all about voting according to your beliefs? What’s wrong with casting my vote with conviction, no matter what others say? Just accept the results and take the leader position gracefully!”
In the midst of this fierce tension, Dan Haru grew sullen.
“I wanted to try being a figurehead leader…”
The moment Kang Hajin heard Dan Haru’s muttering, he seized the opportunity and raised his voice.
“See? Our kid wants to try it out, doesn’t he? We should make him leader so the youngest doesn’t lose confidence…!”
“I didn’t raise our youngest to be so weak that he’d lose confidence over something like this.”
“You didn’t raise him!”
“Neither did you, for that matter.”
“But I feed him three square meals a day, so I must have at least a 0.8% stake in his life, right?”
Lee Yugeon, who had been watching the antics of the self-proclaimed ‘reliable’ first and third brothers, sighed and pleaded with the second brother.
“Doha hyung. Let’s just make Dan Haru the leader, or Seo Taehyun.”
“Why do you keep trying to throw me into this?”
“Honestly, out of all of us, you’re the only one who’s normal.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Hey, hey! Even Taehyun admits it.”
“Right, Taehyun, good luck.”
“So who’s the leader?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋThis isn’t getting resolved.”
Just as the situation, which had barely been settled, was on the verge of devolving into chaos again due to the members’ interference.
The one who resolved everything in one go was Joo Eunchan, who had been nervously rolling his eyes while watching his brothers argue.
“Everyone!!! Be quiet!!!!!!”
“……!”
At Eunchan’s rare outburst, the classroom instantly fell silent. Kang Hajin was so shocked that he even started hiccuping.
As everyone’s attention focused on him, Joo Eunchan stood up from his seat, turning his back to the camera to face the members.
It was a situation where Eunchan’s face might not even make it on screen.
But thanks to Hajin, who was concerned that his brother’s handsome face wouldn’t be captured by the camera, he managed to turn the mounted camera on his desk towards Eunchan despite his hiccups. Thus, the fans were fortunately able to witness the rare sight of an ‘angry Joo Eunchan.’
“Are you guys… saying you don’t want to be our team leader?”
“……!”
At Eunchan’s remark, which pierced right to the core, Siwoo and Hajin’s pupils shook dramatically.
It was too genuine to be dismissed as a concept for the show since both had been so earnest in trying to pass off the leader position to the other.
Eunchan spoke in a voice that seemed like he was about to bury someone.
“Is it because Haru and I cause too much trouble…? If so, then, then we’ll try to cause less trouble in the future!”
“He’s honest… he didn’t say he won’t cause any trouble.”
“Our tiny baby king got really upset.”
“Oh, look at Haru synchronizing with Eunchan, they’re so cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
Eunchan, who had become overly immersed in the situation, scrunched his eyebrows. As Siwoo and Hajin remained silent, even Eunchan’s lips turned downwards as if drilling into the ground.
“Fine.”
In the end, the first to lower his head was Kang Hajin.
“I’ll do it. I’ll be the leader.”
“…After wrecking the entire universe, now you want to be the leader?”
“Shush. Teacher, please be quiet. The leader is speaking.”
“Seriously?”
As if everything he had said about refusing to be the leader earlier was just a dream, Hajin gestured for silence, undisturbed by Taehyun’s sarcasm.
“But I can’t just do it. I’ll accept the position only if Doha explains why he chose me, and if it’s a reason I can agree with.”
Hajin finally turned to his friend, who had made him the team leader after the monthly evaluation. Doha clasped his hands together and began to speak as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“…Hmm. Actually, Yugeon’s words swayed me a bit. Haru may be the youngest, but he’s strong-willed and capable.”
“Thank you!”
“Yeah. But I still think you should be the leader, Hajin. Maybe it’s because I’ve been in sports, but being the captain isn’t just about representing the group.”
Subtitles briefly appeared next to Doha, listing his various sports experiences. His broad, muscular shoulders and arm muscles, which stood out as he moved, seemed to confirm his athletic background.
“As the captain, you have to be more attentive to the relationships, dynamics, and conflicts between the players than anyone else. Sometimes you need to give tough feedback, and at times you have to sacrifice yourself for the team.”
“…….”
“Siwoo hyung is strict with himself and others. If he became the leader, our team would never lose focus and would run straight towards our goal. But is that the kind of leadership our team needs the most?”
With Doha’s serious assessment, even the editing shifted to a more emotional tone. A gentle BGM played as the camera captured the members’ expressions as they listened intently to Doha.
“I just thought we needed a leadership that could bring everyone together, even if we get a little lost along the way. And that’s you, Hajin.”
Doha turned to Hajin once again as he spoke. Hajin, feeling somewhat embarrassed, avoided his gaze.
Acknowledging oneself is one thing, but hearing someone else recognize you right in front of your eyes carries a completely different weight.
“Why do you have to take it so seriously?”
“Oh? Hajin hyung’s ears are red!”
“Shut up, you brat.”
“Eek! Doont pull my cheeks! (Don’t do this!)”
For the first time, Hajin acted in line with his concept, pulling Dan Haru’s innocent cheeks with all his might.
Sensing that it was time to wrap up this mess, Taehyun clapped his hands twice.
“Alright. Those in favor of Hajin being our class president, raise your hands.”
Starting with Dan Haru, who raised his hand while rubbing his sore cheek with the other, the other members followed suit one by one.
Even Yugeon, who had been sending suspicious glances and tilting his head in doubt until the last moment, reluctantly raised his hand after Taehyun jabbed him in the ribs.
“Since the majority of the members are in favor, Kang Hajin is officially elected as the leader of Kairos!”
“Wow! He’s the leader!!”
With the enthusiastic support of the youngest members and Jung Siwoo, Kang Hajin was chosen as the leader of Kairos.
Hajin stood up and nodded slightly, acknowledging the cheers.
To deliver his acceptance speech, Hajin walked to the front of the podium and placed both hands on it.
“Alright, everyone. Well, in any case… Thank you for electing me.”
Hajin tugged slightly at the tie that had been suffocating his neck. He also undid a couple of the top buttons of his shirt that had been tightly fastened.
“Well…”
“……?”
Trailing off, Hajin took off the round glasses that had softened his sharp features and placed them on the podium. The way his eyes squinted slightly when he took off his glasses was anything but ordinary.
After blinking a few times to adjust his focus, Hajin smiled.
“You won’t regret it, right? You can’t back out now.”
“……!”
“I’ll work hard. As the leader.”
Hajin’s interview followed immediately after.
Gone was the nerd concept; now he was only wearing a black short-sleeve shirt and his school uniform pants.
**<Q. How do you feel about becoming the class president?>**
**<Hajin: Well… Honestly, I always thought it would be either Siwoo hyung or me. From my perspective, even after thinking it over several times, I think Siwoo hyung should be the leader… But if the members want me this much, what can I do? I have to do it.>**
**<Q. It seems like your attitude changed a bit after becoming the class president…?>**
**<Hajin: Yes. Until now, I stayed quiet because Siwoo hyung was around… But now I’m the team leader. It can’t stay the same.>**
**<Hajin: I’ll work hard to abuse… No, to serve the team well.>**
In the interview, Hajin smiled coolly, his eyes gleaming.
* * *
The **<All-in-one Kairos Leader Election>** wrapped up with Hajin’s election.
In fact, just as the production team had said they crammed in everything to ensure enough content, there was still a lot of the script left.
However, with the opening and the class president election taking up nearly 30 minutes of airtime, the production team decided to boldly push the remaining content to the next episode.
After the live release of the self-content, the fans enjoyed the aftermath
in their own ways from their own spaces.
**[Ah, today’s Okha was so packedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]**
The preview showed that next week, Hajin would be leading the members to each take on a role, and it already looks hilariously funnyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– **Imagine Jung Siwoo, who ran away from power, getting elected as the vice president**
└ **That’s so meanㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ**
– **I saw a capture of the blackboard; it had things like dance duty, cleaning duty, etc. Ugh, when will next week come?**
**@ice_ciu:**
**I can’t breathe with this character analysis of Kangshi**
**Jung Siwoo looks like he dropped out of high school**
**Kang Hajin looks like he has perfect attendance at an academic high school**
**This self-content with them in school uniforms wasn’t for nothing**
(Captures of Siwoo and Hajin in school uniforms from the self-content)
**@strongjin:**
**For my followers,**
**I’m giving out burgers**
**In celebration of our class president election**
**Destis, I’m picking 10 people from 9 PM tonight**
**(Burger gift card with barcode covered)**
**(Capture of Hajin from the self-content)**
The school concept and uniform attire, along with the packed comedy and content, made this episode of **<Today’s Kairos>** quite well-received among the fans.
It was as if the members were aware of the fans’ reactions. Shortly after the self-content ended, they uploaded their school uniform selfies and unreleased photos on Kairos’ official SNS.
**[Kairos group photo in school uniforms]**
(Picture of the members freely playing while in school uniforms)
**The youngest ones scribbling on the blackboard are so cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ**
– **Wow, looking at them like this, the older ones really look like older brothers, and the younger ones really look like younger brothers…**
– **Why is Taehyun the only one in a yellow gym uniformㅋㅋㅋㅋ Our Taehyun, please give us a school uniform selfie tooㅠㅠㅠ**
└ **There are school uniform photos of Taehyun too!!!**
– **Today’s school self-content made me so happy… The fact that there’s another episode coming is the best.**
**@kang_HD:**
**The first thing Kang Hajin did after becoming leader:**
**Stole Taehyun’s uniform and ended up in a yellow gym uniform,**
**Sleeping at the back of the classroom,**
**Caught on camera….**
**Humbled by the overwhelming authority of Kairos’ leader**
(Photo of Hajin sleeping, taken by Haru)
Just when everyone was deeply immersed in the aftermath of the self-content.
Another notification that would delight the fans rang out.
**<We, the New School, have come to greet the Destis. Join Kairos’ first group live broadcast>**
It was Kairos’ first group live broadcast since their debut.