Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 110

110.

A running race proving that Lee Hyun-jae was actually a cheetah, not a fox.

“Hyung, hyungs! I’m first!”

Lee Hyun-jae looks at the members with a face full of anticipation, even while panting for breath. His gaze is especially focused on me, probably because he sees me as a mentor figure.

Does he want to be praised?

Even though his mental age seems higher than the other members, he still shows his *maknae* [youngest member] side. That’s probably why seeing Lee Hyun-jae during the survival show reminded me of Mok-hwa.

“Hyun-jae, I thought you were a cheetah.”

I only said one thing and handed him a water bottle. I deliberately omitted the words ‘not a fox’ neatly. Lee Hyun-jae grins, unable to hide his delight.

“Ah, hyung really seems to like animal stories a lot. If I win a gold medal, I get to choose the next book we read!”

I let out a hollow laugh. I chose a difficult book to read together as a small revenge last time, so this is how he comes back at me.

To be satisfied with just that, it’s an incredibly simple wish.

“…Okay.”

“I knew you’d do this, so I bought the book in advance, so just wait, hyung.”

I chuckled at his confident answer. It was all planned. The fox was a fox after all.

While the members were praising Lee Hyun-jae, an announcement was made.

— The next event is *ssireum* [Korean wrestling]! *Ssireum* is scheduled. Contestants, please prepare!

‘Well, whoever ends up facing Ryu Iden is in big trouble.’

I naturally mourned for the sacrificial lamb, whoever it might be.

“Ah, I’m getting nervous.”

Ryu Iden says. I don’t know why he’s nervous in a game where he’s sure to win.

“Either way, you’re just going to lift them up and plant them, hyung.”

Lee Hyun-jae’s sharp remark.

“Hey, I’m not that strong.”

And Ryu Iden’s foolish answer. I guess it’s true that it’s frustrating to watch when someone doesn’t have self-awareness.

* * *

Lee Ho-seok, who made a name for himself as a *ssireum* wrestler. He is currently focusing only on broadcasting, but he still thinks about the old days when he sees the sandpit.

“Ho-seok, is there anyone you’ve been watching among the contestants this time?”

At the host’s words, Lee Ho-seok looked at the list and then took his eyes off it. After all, it’s just a competition at the idol level, and they didn’t have much time to practice, and the only record is last year’s game, so what am I supposed to predict?

“Still, I think Jay, who won last year, has a slightly higher chance.”

“Yes, he’s the defending champion. Then, among the new players this time, wasn’t there any player who caught your attention?”

“Well, among the rookies, there’s Iden. His frame alone is, well, amazing.”

Lee Ho-seok looked at the profile and photos provided by the production team and could feel the sturdiness in Ryu Iden’s frame and body line.

And the game started. It’s a bit boring, but it’s a job I’m getting paid for, so I’m doing my best to commentate.

Then the draw was made. The phrase ‘Jay vs. Iden’ is on the screen.

“It’s a match between the promising players Ho-seok pointed out! What do you think?”

‘What, I’m seeing Iden for the first time, how would I know?’

That’s what I want to answer.

“I think Jay, who won last year, will be able to play the game more skillfully. Sometimes experience and skill are more important than size.”

So, in the end, all I can say are platitudes. I can only answer with words that anyone can say, even if they’re not an expert.

And Ryu Iden came up to the sandpit.

‘…Seeing him in person, his muscles are really compressed.’

It’s clear that he’s been training for quite a long time. The frame itself is a perfect frame for exercising, was he an athlete?

The moment they grabbed each other’s *satba* [wrestling belt] and the referee declared the start, Ryu Iden naturally lifted Jay up and gently placed him on the ground. As carefully as a parent puts a child in their arms on the ground.

“…Huh?”

To be able to lift that up from that position… it is possible. It’s theoretically possible. If you have good hand strength and the opponent’s reaction ability is poor, you can win like that. It’s possible…

‘This isn’t a match between athletes and idols.’

Silence. The commentators and casters were embarrassed by the game that ended so monotonously and peacefully, as if putting a child to sleep, and lowered their voices, and Ryu Iden was on the sandpit, lifting Ji Dong-hwa and shaking him from side to side, rejoicing.

“…There is the future of *ssireum*.”

Lee Ho-seok muttered unconsciously. The caster next to him laughed, but Lee Ho-seok was seriously upset. Why a celebrity instead of an athlete?

‘We should have such talent in *ssireum*…’

If that face and frame were to go to the sandpit and train, wouldn’t many people be interested again?

“Really… if it were the old days, I would have grabbed his pants and begged him to do *ssireum*.”

Another unconscious utterance. The caster next to him burst out laughing again.

After that, all the singers who met Ryu Iden were eliminated with a ‘safe’ exit, and everyone looked at Ryu Iden with a look of doubt as to whether this was the right thing to do, and then greeted him and left.

* * *

‘…That guy isn’t even trying to hide that he’s not human.’

Who wins so recklessly?

Ryu Iden even carefully lifts up his opponent in the final match, completely subdues them, and then gently puts them down. At first, the audience was surprised and still, but then they cheered.

Among them,

“My idol’s safety keeper!”

One person’s shout was particularly loud, and laughter followed, and then the shout of safety keeper was gradually added.

“Ah, there were about 3 injuries last year because of *ssireum*.”

Then why do they do it?

I frowned for a moment and watched Ryu Iden come down cheering. He’s like the hero of a tale of protecting people’s safety instead of giving up on being human.

“Guys, I won first place!”

Then Ryu Iden looks at us with the same expectant expression as Lee Hyun-jae. And again, like Lee Hyun-jae, he fixes his gaze on me.

…Damn it, am I like the guardian of this group?

I’m barely able to open my mouth with my absurdity approaching zero.

“It’s amazing that you deliberately tried to be safe.”

“Oh, right. If it was just knocking them down, I would have just done it, but there are a lot of things to be subtly aware of!”

…So, the controversy is whether that’s possible in the human category, Iden.

After that, the members continued to perform uniquely in various places.

Seok-joon in basketball and Chae Ha-min in something similar to vaulting. Especially Chae Ha-min, perhaps because he was a human who used to dance.

“Just now! Did Ha-min hyung just do a somersault?”

He’s crazy. He stepped on the vault and shouted briefly, ‘Oh, I can do this height!’ and then naturally did a somersault.

He kept singing about health, health to me like health evangelist Ryu Iden, but he doesn’t think about his own body.

“Did you see? I almost flew just now!”

I gave Chae Ha-min, who was running towards me shouting, a cold look and jokingly asked if he was worried about getting injured, and then he seemed to come to his senses and did the vault properly.

And after some preliminary rounds.

“Then… is it time for the quiz competition?”

The time for the quiz competition came, consisting of only 100 questions, mostly asking questions that are common sense.

I wonder if this will even be broadcast.

* * *

“Everyone, as we announced in advance, we will proceed in a Golden Bell style! The questions will continue to be asked until the last person is eliminated.”

I felt a little puzzled as I listened to the writer’s words. What happens if you get all the prepared questions right?

“Do you have any questions?”

I carefully raised my hand.

“Yes, Dong-hwa from Team D!”

“What happens if you run out of all the prepared questions?”

The writer looked puzzled at that, and the other singers around him chuckled slightly. It sounded like they were saying it was an unnecessary worry. Well, I don’t think the production team would be so unprepared.

“Don’t worry! That probably won’t happen! Of course, if you’re the last one left, we’ll recognize the number of medals as 3!”

I nodded at the bright voice. Okay, everything is prepared, so all I have to do is get it right.

* * *

“…Writer Jung, what do we do?”

The PD of this sports event said quietly. The woman called Writer Jung had nothing to say either.

“Now, question number 85! A four-character idiom derived from the story of a farmer in the Song Dynasty, which means sitting under a tree and waiting for a rabbit, revealing the foolishness of clinging to old customs without flexibility, is?”

Along with the caster’s tired voice, a handsome man with a cold impression raises a panel.

‘守株待兎’

He casually wrote the Chinese characters in a neat handwriting and raised them. After a moment of judgment, it is revealed that the Chinese characters are *sujudaeho* [守株待兎, waiting for a rabbit under a tree].

“That, that’s correct!”

Only the caster’s embarrassed voice remains.

From exactly the fiftieth question, Ji Dong-hwa, who was left alone, was naturally massacring all the questions. In the meantime, it was even more problematic because he wrote the answers in Chinese characters, didn’t even make a mistake in the strokes, and even had beautiful handwriting.

Of course, Ji Dong-hwa only wrote in Chinese characters to give the most accurate answer.

“…If you solve it until the last question, you said you’d get 3 medals.”

“…I told you he could never come, Writer Jung.”

“No, this is how it’s supposed to be…”

Who would have thought that the busy idol would memorize 100 questions accurately? Moreover, the provided paper was not a question & answer composition, so it was not enough to memorize only the answers. You have to memorize the entire paper.

“Should we raise the difficulty of the last 10 questions now, even now?”

“…We’re already asking about very minor things among the things in the question paper, aren’t we?”

*sujudaeho* [守株待兎, waiting for a rabbit under a tree] was just mentioned in one line in the information about the novel.

“I can’t help it… Let’s ask something that doesn’t exist at all. From the ninetieth question. If you have 3 medals, you’re practically guaranteed to win without winning other games, what’s the fun?”

It’s petty, but it’s better than ruining the broadcast as it is.

* * *

Well, it’s a bit quiet. It’s a quiz competition held as a break, so I feel lonely sitting alone in the center of the stadium, writing answers on the chalkboard and raising them.

While I was solving the questions, question number 90.

The caster, who received a piece of paper from a running staff member, seemed embarrassed, but quickly regained his composure.

What is it.

“Einstein’s theory of relativity did not receive much attention at the time of its release. What is the name of the physicist who devised the concept of four-dimensional space-time coordinates and world lines to shed light on Einstein’s theory!”

Damn broadcasting bastards. I knew they would do this when they asked very minor things. They’re making a fuss to drop me somehow. I knew it from the way they treat the fans.

I sighed inwardly and looked through the file folders in my head, then picked up the marker. I wrote each letter and then raised it.

‘Hermann Minkowski (1864—1909)’

The birth and death years were written as a warning not to do nonsense. The level of difficult problems that broadcasting bastards can quickly find is only so-so.

One of the participants who had already been eliminated and was quickly searching through the paper screamed and shouted, ‘This isn’t even here?!’

Eat shit, broadcasting bastards. I will definitely solve up to 100 questions.

“That, that’s correct. Next, that, 91st question! When the concept of an autonomous subject became the norm, what is the name of the philosopher who advocated the formation of a subject by heteronomy, presenting the ‘ideological interpellation thesis’?”

Louis Althusser.