Chapter 387. Idol Class Showdown (6)
So, how did it go?
– Kang Hajin wins first place in Group A with a speedy time of 7.79 seconds!
– As expected from a former athlete, something’s different about him. His start was incredibly fast, wasn’t it?
– He seems to accelerate well in the moment. His balance while running is excellent. We can expect a great performance in the finals too.
“It went like that.”
After confidently taking first place in my group and throwing a celebratory gesture at the camera,
I returned to where the members were and made the declaration. As the cameras were still on us, the members brightly clapped and smiled, but soon enough, they began muttering their real thoughts like ventriloquists.
“What do you mean it went like that…? …Srsly, you fool…! (It went like that, my foot…!)”
“Yeah, well, didn’t have any expectations anyway.”
“I’m proud of you, hyung.”
“So, is it straight to the finals now?”
“Couldn’t you have just said you were going to win easily…?”
“Wait, were you really part of the track team?”
Yeah, just normal compliments. Thanks, everyone.
Of course, since I had boldly declared before leaving that I’d return after being eliminated in the preliminaries, I didn’t have much to say.
Even Seo Taehyun, who had been most concerned about my participation in this athletics event due to the risk of injury, crossed his arms as if accepting the inevitable and released his internal restraint.
“Now that you’ve advanced to the finals, you have to win the gold medal. Our group’s pride is on the line. Got it? Win the gold and secure the right to choose our song as the BGM.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I gave a half-hearted nod and, along with the members, headed back to the waiting area.
That is, I was about to—if it weren’t for those Believer guys passing by.
“Seokhyun-sunbae.”
“…?”
The sour apple villain, who had failed to advance to the finals after narrowly finishing second in his group, responded to my call. Losing to me clearly didn’t sit well with him, as his expression looked like he’d swallowed sand, though it wasn’t too obvious, with everyone still catching their breath after the race.
Ignoring the curious expressions of both the Believer members looking at me and Seo Taehyun, who clutched my arm with a “has this hyung lost it again?” face, I smiled brightly and innocently as I opened my mouth.
“You’re quite something.”
“…?”
“Your screen time, I mean. Quite a lot of it.”
Despite the poor recording conditions of this athletics event, there was a silver lining.
The cameras weren’t always pointed at me, and I didn’t have a mic on, so I didn’t have to worry about my personal audio being caught.
“I’ll take your advice in moderation.”
“…”
And with the general chaos around, even if I maintained a bright expression like this, there wasn’t anything controversial that would show up on the fans’ fancams.
To wrap things up, I smiled like an emoji, something along the lines of `^♡^`, and clenched my fist in a mock show of encouragement.
“Good luck~”
If it weren’t for the cameras, I would’ve flipped you off right here, you bastard.
Smirking at the now visibly irritated sour apple villain and the other two members, whose expressions twisted uncontrollably, I turned without hesitation and headed for the waiting area, where the game pod groups had gathered with the other members.
The preliminaries were progressing quickly.
Each race consisted of six people, with six groups in total. Faze and Lanion were already eliminated, while Stormheader and Wintertail hadn’t competed yet.
I could see Dan Haru and Joo Eunchan cheering from a distance for the youngest member of Stormheader, Hyian, who was at the starting line. Judging by how other groups’ youngest members were also gathered, it seemed that the Omurice Alliance had grown quite close in a short period.
“Wow, Hajin junior, you were really fast~?”
I had been forced to conserve my energy for the upcoming finals, with strict orders not to talk or move too much, so I was sitting in the back of the group when Wintertail’s Park Taeha approached with a friendly remark.
He naturally sat next to me, offering me a chocolate bar he’d grabbed from the catering booth. Just as I was about to feel a sugar crash, I gratefully accepted it.
I was beginning to wonder why he kept hanging out with us instead of his own group, despite rumors of discord. But looking around, it seemed his group was already scattered, sitting comfortably mixed with our group and the other game pod members.
‘…Tsk, it’s probably because I overheard something weird earlier.’
I wasn’t intending to act like some middle school bully, dividing people into ranks or anything like that. But once I heard about it, I couldn’t help but think about it, which slightly annoyed me.
I quickly shook off the distracting thoughts, unwrapped the chocolate bar, and casually responded.
“I mean, I’m a former athlete, after all.”
“I figured you were fast when you hopped over the fence during the Touch High days… but seeing it up close again, it’s seriously unreal. I thought our Ise was fast, but now he’s feeling a bit inferior.”
“Is Wintertail’s Ise hyung running?”
“Yeah. He’s pretty fast. He’s kind of our group’s athlete, you know?”
Now that he mentioned it, I recalled Ise’s quick movements when he ran to the fans’ seating earlier during a penalty. His reflexes had seemed pretty sharp.
Taking a bite of the chocolate bar, I glanced at Shin Ise’s back. Just then, the D group’s race ended. A quick glance revealed that Dan Haru’s ketchup kid had narrowly missed advancing to the finals.
Watching the Group D winners celebrate on camera, I absentmindedly replied.
“All you have to do is get first place. Honestly, I wasn’t even planning to run seriously, but then someone provoked me, and I got heated…”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“No, I must’ve heard you wrong… You weren’t planning to run seriously? Why?”
It was just an offhand comment, but Taeha’s sudden probing caught me off guard, and I didn’t know how to respond. Taeha seemed genuinely surprised, curious as to why I’d think that way.
Without realizing it, my fingers began tapping on my thigh. It was a habit that surfaced when I had too much on my mind.
“Well… I mean, our comeback isn’t far off, and if I get injured, it’d be a disaster… It’s not like winning here gets you anything special. At most, it just means I’ll be a regular for this event next year…”
“…”
“Of course, it’d be great to win, but I mean, right? Recording for this is exhausting and tough.
There’s no appearance fee, the risk of injury is high, and even if you do get hurt, no one takes responsibility. And even after putting in all this effort, the broadcast will only show a few seconds, if that. It’s not worth it, right?”
I knew that Idol Athletics Championships recordings had a bad reputation among idols.
Even when I was working in the entertainment industry, this was one of the most dreaded recordings, and before coming here, I’d heard countless outrageous stories from Utopia about things that had happened at the event.
So, I hesitated slightly but voiced my honest feelings, assuming Taeha would think the same.
“Ah…”
But instead of the usual upbeat laughter, Taeha didn’t smile at my response.
No, there was still a grin frozen on his face like it was nailed there, but the subtle shift in his eyes told me his thoughts were elsewhere. Suddenly, I felt like I’d made a mistake, leaving me unsure of what to say next.
“Yeah… I guess most people would think like that.”
“…”
“I’m jealous. For us, those few seconds are the most desperate.”
The last words slipped out of his mouth, almost without him realizing it, as if it was his true inner thoughts surfacing unconsciously.
And at that moment, when I heard those words, it felt like someone had struck me hard on the head.
‘Desperate…?’
It was only then that I realized how arrogant and conceited my thoughts had been.
Just because I’d signed with a good agency, debuted through a well-funded survival show, received solid support, and fortunately enjoyed significant popularity, I had unknowingly forgotten something I should never, ever forget.
‘Appreciation.’
A golden holiday when families gathered together, and the opportunity to appear on national television for three consecutive days.
The chance to finally introduce myself and my group to countless idol fans and viewers who might not have known our names or faces before.
Even if it was just for a few minutes, no, even a few seconds. It was a chance to appeal our group to the broadcast staff and production team.
No matter how difficult and exhausting the filming at Achae University was, just being here was such a great opportunity. For someone, this 12-hour-long recording session might have been the chance they had been desperately longing for.
And even after receiving such an opportunity, how arrogant was it of me to say something so petty as, ‘Let’s just blend in quietly like ghosts and disappear’? How different was my attitude from that of the Believer kid earlier?
“……”
“…Ah, sorry. I’m sorry, no, I shouldn’t have said that. Ha, that was a slip of the tongue. I didn’t mean to say this to you, Hajin. I just… lost control for a moment. I’m really sorry. Please don’t take what I just said to heart. I apologize.”
As expected, Park Taeha was flustered, realizing the words he had let slip, and he hurriedly tried to retract them, apologizing repeatedly.
Whether his words were right or wrong, he seemed to think that just saying them to me was a mistake, and his face showed sincere regret as he kept apologizing.
“What? You didn’t say anything that warrants this many apologies. You’re making me embarrassed.”
“No, that was really my mistake. I’m really sorry, truly.”
“It’s fine. Actually, I was the one being a bit spoiled earlier.”
Seeing Park Taeha still looking awkward and unsure, I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly, trying to make it seem like nothing. Taeha, realizing that if he kept apologizing, the situation would truly become awkward, simply scratched his forehead and fell silent.
Soon after, he clumsily excused himself to go cheer on his team members who were participating in the E-group preliminaries.
“What’s going on? What did you talk about with Taeha hyung?”
“……”
As expected, Seo Taehyun, who had returned from the catering corner with Lee Yugeon, sat next to me and asked. Instead of answering, I just stuffed the remaining half of the chocolate bar Taeha gave me into my mouth. My gaze naturally shifted to the member of Wintertail standing on the starting block.
“Ah, Shin Ise is up? How did Hyian do earlier?”
“…He narrowly missed the cut.”
“…? What’s up? Something wrong?”
Seo Taehyun noticed the sudden drop in my mood and nudged me in the side, asking. At that moment, the starting signal went off, and the athletes in E-group began running all at once.
Since it was only 60 meters, the race was over in a flash. I watched as the Wintertail member gritted his teeth, running as fast as he could to cross the finish line first.
“Waaahhh!!!”
“Shin Ise!!! Shin Ise!!!”
“Iseya!!! You did great, great!!!”
As soon as his first-place victory was confirmed, all the members of Wintertail, who had been sitting in the waiting area, shot out like bullets.
The cameras, which had been focused on other popular idols and race favorites, all turned to capture the Wintertail members for that moment. On the large screen, Shin Ise, the first-place finisher, and his teammates celebrating were broadcasted in full view.
This scene would probably make it to the broadcast without any cuts. And perhaps, this might be the first and last close-up Wintertail would get on this show.
“Hyung. What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. Just thinking about the finals makes me a bit nervous.”
“What’s this? Acting all cool before, but now that it’s time for the actual competition, you’re getting the jitters?”
“You were the one saying we’re aiming for nothing less than a gold medal. But looking at the competitors’ speed… Man, they’re no joke. Why are all these people idols and not training for the Olympics or something?”
“What are you talking about? You’ve got the fastest record in the preliminaries, hyung. You should be the one heading to Taereung.”
“Should I really go?”
“No way. Don’t you dare.”
Hiding my complicated thoughts, I teased Seo Taehyun as if nothing was wrong.
Whether he was oblivious to my mood or just pretending not to notice, Taehyun played along and joked with me.
‘…Desperate, huh.’
When had I started taking success and opportunities for granted?
Faced with that question I asked myself, I had no answer.
-Yes, and now the men’s 60M finals are about to begin!
Still unable to answer myself, the final race began.
The winning team for the women’s 60M dash was a girl group that had debuted four years ago and still remained relatively unknown.
As soon as they crossed the finish line, the winner couldn’t hold back her joy, hearing her group’s song playing and seeing the handful of fans’ banners on the big screen. She screamed happily for a long time, and the camera focused on her and her group members for an extended time.
“Wow, Hajin, you’re in the lane right next to me. I’m even more nervous now.”
“You were running so fast earlier, hyung. You’re too modest.”
“Whew. But now that I’m standing here, I really want to win. Let’s all give it our best without getting hurt.”
“Yes, safety first, hyung. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. Let’s do this.”
“On your marks!”
Exchanging light words of encouragement with Shin Ise, who was assigned to the lane next to mine, we all bent down and touched the ground at the signal. I, too, assumed the stance, filled with countless thoughts.
“Set!”
At the next signal, I raised my hips, my eyes still fixed straight ahead. My feet were firmly planted on the starting blocks, and I was ready to explode off of them at any moment.
My sharp hearing helped at times like this. I could catch the starting signal much faster than others and react quicker.
“GO!!!”
Beep!
The starting signal for the finals rang out. Once again, my body reacted instinctively, shooting forward. I felt the muscles in my legs propel me with full force.
I could sense it clearly—I, along with Shin Ise beside me, were overwhelmingly leading the pack. And I knew, if I just pushed a little harder, I could pull ahead of Shin Ise by about half a step.
In the mere 7 seconds or so that this short race lasted, I thought to myself.
‘Should I win? …Or…’
Or…
Even with all these thoughts racing through my head, my legs kept moving relentlessly.
And without fully making up my mind, we reached the fate-determining finish line.