Chapter 386. Idol Class Showdown (5)
The opening ceremony was grand.
It seemed like the production team had thrown all the budget they saved from the set into this, with fireworks, drones, banners being lowered—essentially, they were pulling out all the stops.
The opening performance was even by a trot singer with 30 years of experience, Mr. Im Chun-ho. He came out in a tuxedo adorned with sparkling sequins, passionately singing his signature song. Honestly, I thought the broadcasting station had lost its mind.
– “Everyone! Dance, daaaance!!”
When a teacher with 30 years of experience tells you to get up and dance, there’s not a single idol with the guts to just stand there clapping stiffly—not in this gym, at least.
In the end, with just a wave of his hand, we were swaying this way and that, grabbing each other’s shoulders, dancing in a trance. The broadcasting staff must have felt it was impossible to invite Mr. Im and only have him sing one song, so he went on to perform three songs in a row without taking a break.
– “Thank you, everyone~! Idol Strength Competition~ Fighting!!”
– “Sir, it’s not an Idol Strength Competition, but the Idol Sports Championship…”
– “Dear viewers, I hope you all receive lots of good fortune this new year! Huh? I said, lots!!”
– “Sir, it’s not a New Year’s special, but a Chuseok special…”
– “This has been Im Chun-ho!”
There seemed to have been a serious communication error somewhere, but it didn’t matter since it would be edited out anyway.
What was more important was us—us.
“Hyung, I see stars…”
“Hang in there, Chan. The first event hasn’t even started yet.”
After running for our lives for more than 30 minutes, immediately followed by a 10-minute trot party, even Joo Eunchan, who never got tired easily, was declaring GG (Good Game).
Thinking about how this guy stayed energetic even when he only got four hours of sleep for over a week while preparing for our year-end stage, this was a big deal.
“Okay, let’s get everyone lined up~ Please make sure you’re standing in order~”
It looked like the next sequence was the idol representatives’ pledge.
Assistant directors and floor directors wearing intercoms rushed through the rows, trying to organize the line that had been completely scattered thanks to Mr. Im Chun-ho’s powerful influence. Since wasting time on something like this was the worst, I quickly scanned around and started lining up the members.
“Hey, Taehyun, move in a bit. Good. Yugeon, tell him to focus. If you lose focus here, accidents happen… Oh, I’m sorry.”
While I was busy managing the members behind me, I didn’t notice the person in front stepping backward to make space, and I accidentally bumped into them. Out of habit, I apologized, but the face in front of me looked all too familiar.
“…It’s fine.”
‘Oh no, really?’
It was Lanion’s pink-haired Jung-hyuk.
Until a moment ago, there was another team in the front row, but after that dance mess, the lines must have gotten mixed up, bringing him right in front of us.
‘If Jung-hyuk is in front of me, then of course…’
I sneakily peeked at the front row, and sure enough, there he was. Cha Minseok, with his infuriatingly handsome face, stood expressionless, showing off his looks. To make things worse, right next to him were those unlucky Believer guys.
‘This is like crossing a narrow bridge in the idol world… Seeing all these faces I didn’t want to see.’
The only consolation was that Seo Taehyun and Cha Minseok didn’t seem particularly aware of each other. At least Seo Taehyun definitely wasn’t.
‘Still, there’s no harm in being careful.’
I straightened up, resolving to avoid face-to-face encounters during the recording. I thought Jung-hyuk had already turned around, but he was still staring at me. It seemed he was bothered by the fact that I had been glancing at his members unnecessarily.
“…Ha ha, I was just curious who was in the same line.”
“Oh, I see.”
I forced an awkward laugh and made an excuse, but Jung-hyuk, who had been watching me, gave a short reply as if he didn’t care and turned his head away.
But something about his attitude felt off.
It wasn’t like he was Cha Minseok, with whom I had a long-standing rivalry, nor did we have any particular bad blood, yet for some reason, he was acting a bit cold toward me.
‘…Is it just my imagination?’
Still, in my experience, my instincts were always spot on. I had a knack for sensing these things.
But if that were the case, then I couldn’t help but wonder why. It wasn’t like Cha Minseok had said anything to him. Even if he had, the one who should be giving me a hard time would be Cha Minseok, not him.
Well, I mean… It’s possible he’s just the type to keep his distance from strangers, and I’m not expecting everyone in the world to be kind to me. But didn’t I help him last time when he almost messed up his lines on the music show?
“Declaration of pledge!”
“…Hyung, what are you doing? Pledge, right hand.”
“Oh, right, right.”
Why would he act like that?
Lost in thought over the inexplicable hostility, Joo Eunchan tapped my shoulder urgently from behind. I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and focused again so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself after nagging Yugeon earlier.
“…That’s the end of the pledge! Thank you!”
Geez, some people are just impossible to understand.
The weird feeling of unease lingered like residue in the corner of my mind.
The first event of the Idol Sports Championship was the men’s 60-meter race preliminaries.
Although we were adamant about sending out Seo Taehyun, the production team unceremoniously rejected our suggestion and outright designated the participant. I wanted to protest, asking who cared what kind of variety show we did, but there was no way a rookie boy group like ours had any say on a major national holiday special broadcast.
And so, the representative from Kairos for the 60-meter race was—predictably—
– “Ah, Kairos has sent out this contestant. He’s an athlete, right, Dauni?”
– “Yes, that’s right. Kang Hajin used to be in the track and field team back in elementary school.
He even participated in local competitions, so you could say he has quite the experience.”
It was me.
Yeah, there’s no way the broadcasting guys would just let that valuable title of “former track and field athlete” slide by, right?
“Whoa, Hajin hyung, fighting.”
“Kang Hajin, go win~”
“Wow, former athlete. Insane, former athlete~”
“Wow, track team alumnus? I wonder how fast he’ll be?”
“If you don’t bring home a gold medal, don’t even think about coming back~”
“…If you’re going to cheer, at least put some soul into it, will you?”
Sarcastic cheers devoid of any real sincerity or expectation echoed around me. At first, I only heard the voices of my members, but soon enough, others started joining in, and I could hear the voices of the game crew mixing in, which made it even more annoying.
Sure, I was on the track team, but that was over 10 years ago, so it wasn’t exactly a big deal now. Plus, I wasn’t planning on running at full speed, since falling and injuring myself would be disastrous.
And knowing that all too well, my members were clearly mocking me with their reactions. Pure, 100% teasing.
“Wow, you’re really popular, huh?”
“……?”
As I stood waiting at the starting line, the cameraman taking insert shots, the guy next to me suddenly spoke up. I turned my head, wondering what now, and saw a familiar face. I couldn’t remember exactly who he was, but he smiled at me.
“…Yeah, well. If there’s a gold medal for social skills, I’m definitely a contender.”
Who was he again?
As I pondered, I quickly responded while casually lowering my gaze to scan his name tag.
After confirming the group name and name on the white number badge, I immediately knew where the annoying energy I had sensed in his voice came from.
<Believer ‖ Seok-hyun>
Oh, it’s him.
The “green apple villain,” the one who had sneered at Seo Taehyun, saying, “Taehyun is so fresh.”
He was one of those Believer guys who lost to us twice—once during the challenge and again when Utopia took first place on the special stage of <Shout Out to You> during Miro Maze on A-Countdown.
It felt like just yesterday when they mocked us in the waiting room, saying we were just trainees who hadn’t even debuted yet. And now, what’s this? He’s the one striking up a conversation? His tone and expression didn’t seem particularly friendly, though.
“You seemed very sociable the last time too. You like going around and chatting with people, huh?”
Oh, now he’s dropping honorifics?
Still, he was my senior and older than me, so I let it slide. What mattered more was why he was saying this to me right now.
Keeping in mind the people around us, I smiled brightly and answered.
“Since I’ve been invited to an event like this, it’d be nice to get to know more people. It’s an honor to have a conversation with you too, Senior.”
My empty flattery was met with another sneer from the “green apple villain.” He then turned his head slightly to check out the game crew, still huddled together, now playing a zero-finger game.
Enderway was sitting by themselves, Phase was warming up, and the only ones with Kairos were Stormheader and Wintertail.
“Well, I’m just saying… I’m jealous of how pure your relationships seem to be. You seem to build them really well.”
Who would believe that? That fake jealousy dripping with sarcasm.
His tone was so obviously mocking that it was impossible to misinterpret, but since nothing was explicitly offensive on the surface, I couldn’t outright show my displeasure. I smiled again, trying to decipher his hidden meaning.
“Oh, the game crew? We’re planning to hang out again during lunch. If you’re free, Senior, why don’t you join us?”
“Pfft… Ah, the game crew? No, thanks. I’ve got too many events to participate in, probably busy with interviews and all.”
“Ah, I see. Well, good luck.”
I responded with a hollow laugh, making a fist as if cheering him on, which seemed to momentarily stiffen his expression. Not caring one bit, I turned my head to check how far along the recording was. From behind, I heard a voice muttering something under his breath, barely audible but laced with a sigh.
“Not sure if you’re desperate for screen time or if you don’t care about it at all…”
It was clear.
That snide comment wasn’t aimed at me but at Stormheader and Wintertail.
‘He was so dismissive of Seo Taehyun when he hadn’t debuted, but now that he’s doing well, he slyly mentions him on social media. I should’ve expected this….’
So, he wants to draw a clear line, huh?
If I were to translate what this “green apple villain” was really saying, it’d go something like this:
‘You rookie idols, trying to hog some screen time with your weird group antics, huh? And what’s with hanging out with no-name groups like Wintertail and Stormheader, and even that just-debuted Phase? Wow, you’re really naïve when it comes to socializing.’
There were probably several reasons why he was picking a fight with me all of a sudden.
Maybe it was because we stole all the headlines from them during our comeback, or maybe because we swept up all the Rookie of the Year awards, which he found annoying.
Maybe he’s getting high on the fact that they gained a bunch of international fans during this promotion and feels like they’ve leveled up.
Or maybe he tried to cozy up to Seo Taehyun but didn’t get any response, and now he’s irritated seeing us suddenly being friendly with 2nd-tier idols.
“Contestants, get ready. Please step onto the starting blocks and get into position.”
Yeah, well…
There could be a hundred reasons, and while we might’ve approached Stormheader first, Wintertail’s Park Taeha probably said hello to us hoping for some trickle-down effect.
Stormheader’s agency had been unnecessarily flashy during <Touch High!>, so they might use this as an excuse to act all buddy-buddy with us.
In the ever-changing world of idols, where people rise and fall fast, forming friendships could be a poisoned chalice.
Who you associate with can sometimes determine your “class” and affect your reputation.
– “And now, the preliminaries for the men’s 60M dash, Group A, will begin!”
“Ready…!”
“One, two, three! Hajin hyung, fighting!”
“Woo! Go for first place, first place!”
“Show them what a former track athlete can do, hyung!”
“Hyung! I’m expecting you to live up to the name of Woldamz!”
But honestly…
Where did all these people learn to be so openly disrespectful to someone’s face?
These jerks need to get their heads shaved and go through three rounds of grueling military drills to get some basic manners into their thick skulls.
“GO!”
BANG!
The air pistol’s sharp crack echoed, signaling the start.
And then, the past imprints that had etched themselves deeply into my body through more than four timelines responded precisely to my will.
Back in elementary school, my coach used to say, “Your stamina is strong enough; you just need to drill your starts.” And that training was finally paying off.
“Wooooow! Kang Hajin is insanely fast!!!!!!!”
What? You can’t figure out if I’m desperate for screen time or not?
Well, no matter what, I’m going to make sure I eat up all your screen time today, you rookie punk.