Second Try Idol

Chapter 97: Debut (20)

In my sleep, I vaguely felt itchiness on my face and heard intermittent chuckles and murmurs, but I was too deep in sleep to bother. The next morning, I found myself scrunched at the edge of a massive bed, with Goh Yoo-Joon spread eagle in the center, claiming almost all of the bed. Seeing him, I got annoyed and shoved his arm away to get up.

“This bed isn't just yours, you know?" I grumbled under my breath. I was already irked by having to share the bed, so I gave Goh Yoo-Joon's back a little stomp as I got off and then quickly withdrew my foot upon spotting the camera.

Heading to the living room, I saw Yoon-Chan dozing on the couch.

‘Why here of all places?’ I wondered briefly about Yoon-Chan's impromptu bed choice before settling down in an empty spot. After I thought about it, everyone had to be very tired from the trip, and probably Jin-Sung or Joo-Han was snoring louder than usual, driving Yoon-Chan out here.

As I watched the TV on low, I noticed the clean remnants of last night's feast, likely Joo-Han's handiwork. I then felt a twinge of guilt. I should've offered to do the dishes.

Shaking off the thought, I flicked through UNET's channels. Their daily MV medley was on, showcasing their latest hits. As I zoned out to the videos, Yoon-Chan stirred awake, looking up at me groggily. “Hyun-Woo hyung... you're up already?"

“I slept early last night. Why are you out here?"

“Jin-Sung's snoring was unbearable."

“Go crash in our room, next to Goh Yoo-Joon."

He likely didn't catch much sleep thanks to Jin-Sung's snoring, but Yoon-Chan declined, wiping his face instead. “Ah... I feel so stiff."

“That's what you get for sleeping on the couch. I feel bad for you to have to share a room with them most of the time."

“No, it's not that bad." Yoon-Chan stretched to loosen his stiff muscles and then made for the door.

“Where are you going?"

“Off for a jog. I had too much food yesterday."

“Still sticking to the routine, huh?"

Ever since a weight warning nearly derailed his debut, Yoon-Chan hadn't missed a day of his morning workout.

“If I miss a day, I get anxious. Let the others know not to wait for me for breakfast."

He would probably be famished after skipping breakfast today.

“Make sure you eat something, though."

“No, I'll be fine. And, Hyun-Woo hyung... um, about the look..."

“What's up?"

“...Never mind."

Yoon-Chan left with a look of concern, but I had seen him skipping meals before, so I just went back to watch the music videos. High Tension, Street Center, and Chronos's videos played one after the other. While watching them, I wondered about what the other groups were doing now. Rumors circulated that True Bye was timing their debut, and Air Senior had disbanded. However, there was no information about Ash Black, On-Sae’s group. The last time Team D got together, the situation didn't look very promising, and I hadn’t received any news of On-Sae switching to YU yet.

“Hyung, you're already up...?" Jin-Sung wandered into the living room, smiling upon seeing me.

“Why the smile? I woke up early because I went to bed early. What about you, Jin-Sung? Why are you up already?"

“My eyes opened," answered Jin-Sung. He sat next to me, and after a bit of watching the music videos, he shyly spoke up, “By the way, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I talk informally with you too?"

“Of course. We don't have that big of an age difference." I had encouraged them to do that yesterday, but Yoon-Chan and Jin-Sung seemed hesitant.

Jin-Sung's smile widened. “Alright! Hyung[1]."

"Yeah."

‘But why does he keep glancing at me and grinning?’ Then I remembered something.

“Jin-Sung, who's got the Chronos phone right now?"

“Should be with Joo-Han hyung. Want me to grab it?"

Before I could respond, Jin-Sung bolted into Joo-Han's room and came back with the phone. I then took it from him and hit the video button.

“Why do you need the phone, though?"

“Stand by the TV for a sec, Jin-Sung."

“Here?" Jin-Sung shuffled beside the TV, but the backlighting was terrible. Mulling over a better filming spot, I decided outdoors would do the trick. I then grabbed Jin-Sung by his arm and walked outside.

“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“It's for the dance challenge. I doubt Joo-Han has cleared it with our manager, but I think it's smarter to shoot in various spots rather than cramped up in one.” I envisioned some taking shots indoors and others outdoors—by the stream or at the lodge. It would give the impression that we were more relaxed and visually appealing, rather than rushed.

I was not sure if we would even get the green light for the challenge, but rare trips to the mountains deserved to be captured.

“Stand by that tree, Jin-Sung."

“Right here?"

“Perfect. I will turn on the music. Just forget the strict choreo and dance as you like it."

“My style..."

“And... action."

After cueing up “Parade” just before the chorus, I hit record. At the same time, Jin-Sung burst into a dance, displaying a level of animation and vigor beyond his usual style as the chorus kicked in.

“Ha! Cha! Ta-da!"

“Whew, heh!" I couldn't help but chuckle at his over-the-top morning talent show, so I just looked up to contain my laughter.

Once Jin-Sung wrapped up his flamboyant dance, I gave him a thumbs-up. “Spot on."

Checking the footage, Jin-Sung grinned as he felt pleased. “Hope this catches on. Wouldn't that be something, Hyun-Woo hyung?"

“Fingers crossed. Got friends on Teen&Talk? Give it a plug."

“Will do. But hyung."

“Hmm?"

With a crafty smile, Jin-Sung handed me the phone. “Yoo-Joon hyung swore us to secrecy, but I just can't keep it in."

“About what?"

“Well, it wasn't just me. We all saw it, but it was Joo-Han hyung and Yoo-Joon hyung's idea. The, um, mirror... go see for yourself. Hurry up."

Mirror? After Jin-Sung said that, he sprinted off toward the valley. He was more like flying than running.

‘What's going on here? Yoon-Chan's awkward exit and Jin-Sung's constant grinning...’

I felt uneasy and was about to check my reflection on the phone when...

“Gosh, Hyun-Woo! What in the world is on your face?"

“What the... Did the others do that? It's quite something!" The production crew who came to wake us up erupted into laughter at the sight of me.

I quickly checked my reflection on the phone. “Ah, Goh Yoo-Joon, you bastard!"

My face was plastered with doodles, giving me a panda-like appearance complete with whiskers. A tiny message on my cheek humorously declared, “Sleep early on a field trip, and this happens.” It was a classic Goh Yoo-Joon move.

Seething, I stormed into the house and bellowed, “Goh Yoo-Joon, I am going to kill you!”

I barged into the room and relentlessly kicked the still-sleeping Goh Yoo-Joon.

“Ouch, ouch! What the heck!"

Jolted awake by the kicks, Goh Yoo-Joon propped himself up. I then grabbed a pillow and smacked it across his face. “What's this nonsense on my face?"

“What's with your face? Why the drama so early... Pfft! Ha!" Goh Yoo-Joon lost it in a fit of laughter upon seeing my artistic makeover, and no amount of pillow-pelting could stop his hysterical laughter.

“How do I get this off!? This is freaking annoying! Ah, seriously!"

“It's a water-based pen! Ow, that hurts!" Overwhelmed by the assault, Goh Yoo-Joon eventually armed himself with his pillow. Then, a chaotic pillow fight ensued.

“You two, keep it down!" Roused awake by the ruckus, Joo-Han then came to our room and swiftly confiscated our pillows, putting an end to the pillow fight.

“You are no different, hyung. I heard you and Goh Yoo-Joon did this to me."

“Jin-Sung and Yoon-Chan were directing the whole thing."

“That bastard Jin-Sung, pretending he's all innocent."

As a gesture of truce, the other members agreed to let me skip breakfast prep, and I spent an hour erasing the doodles with the stylists' help.

Breakfast was a makeshift stew using leftover meat and kimchi with a dash of ramen seasoning.

After a surprisingly decent meal, the main shoot kicked off with cameras set up around the house.

***

- Did everyone sleep well?

“Did you hear all the commotion this morning, Director?"

Director Lee Won-Jae nodded with a thoroughly amused expression.

- I heard Hyun-Woo and Yoo-Joon had a pillow fight early in the morning."

“Aren’t they so mean? My face was almost covered by doodles."

“Hyun-Woo, it's all part of the travel memories. It made things fun, right?"

“Fun? For everyone but me, maybe!" No matter how much I protested, my fellow members just chuckled.

- I am glad that everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Now, we will proceed with the last game of Chronos History."

All of us groaned at Director Lee's words. The final game of Chronos History signified the end of our first variety show.

- For the last game, we'll compete for a delicious chicken soup. It'll be between Chronos and our staff who've been with you for almost half a year, from Pick We Up to Chronos History."

“A competition against the staff?"

- Yes, it's called the 'Speak Your Mind' game! We've all accumulated complaints and so on during our time together. So, in this final round, we'll openly air them out.

The game involved randomly paired staff and members holding hands and sharing complaints. The listener had to respond with “I'm sorry. Thanks for telling me.” If the listener showed any hint of agitation, they lost.

- Understood, everyone? Then, let's have Chronos's leader, Joo-Han, come forward and pick his opponent.

“Okay."

A plastic box was handed to Joo-Han.

- Inside are the names of all the staff, including the Chronos team. The person on the paper Joo-Han picks will be his opponent.

Joo-Han reached into the box and pulled out a paper. As soon as he read it, his expression shifted sinisterly. The visible change alarmed both the production team and his fellow members.

“Who is it? Who could cause such a reaction?"

“Who is it? Is it Director Lee?"

“No." Joo-Han revealed the name on the paper to the camera.

[Joh In-Hyun (Chronos Manager)]

“Ahh." Every member sighed. In-Hyun, of all people, had to be paired with Joo-Han. Joo-Han was likely the member with the most grievances against the manager, and certainly the most direct in expressing them.

“In-Hyun, please come forward."

Sensing his impending defeat, our manager came forward, pale-faced.

1. From this point onward, Jin-Sung starts talking informally to Hyun-Woo. It’s a bit hard to make it obvious in English, so yeah.... it is what it is ^^ ☜