Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 112

112.

The medal ceremony to confirm the final scores. Since the fans had left, I was able to film with a slightly more relaxed attitude.

Ryoo Iden, Lee Hyunjae, and I each received gold medals, while Chae Hamin unfortunately got a silver medal, and Seokjoon received a bronze medal as a member of the winning basketball team.

The scores varied for each medal, and the overall ranking was determined by summing them up.

The caster, about to announce the final rankings, tried his best to heighten the anticipation by raising his voice.

“Now, finally! The winning team of the 6th Idol Athletics Competition is!”

“It’s us.”

Lee Hyunjae muttered beside me, as if pouring cold water on the excitement. He must have calculated the scores after seeing all the medal presentations.

“Team D!”

Amidst the loud cheers, the members gathered and hugged each other in a frenzy.

I didn’t initiate the hugs, but people came up to me and hugged me as if they were going to break my spine. Of course, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand why.

“Dong-hwa, it would have been a tie without you!”

I had become a kingmaker.

“Wow, having two medals really makes a difference, doesn’t it.”

I nodded immediately at Chae Hamin’s words. It was probably one of the broadcasting station’s biggest mistakes.

To introduce a new concept and design it so poorly… philosophers would sigh in unison if they saw this.

While I was chatting with the members, I felt a strange gaze from the side.

I couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to other people’s gazes, so I decided to ignore it.

* * *

After finishing the filming, I stopped by the restroom.

While I was washing my hands, someone came next to me and turned on the water.

“Nice to meet you.”

I checked his face in the mirror. Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize him. Still, I had to be polite, so I bowed my head.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“I saw you getting the quizzes right earlier. Wow, it seemed impossible for anyone to do that. It was as if you knew the answers in advance!”

Um, why do you want to talk to me?

“By definition, you can only answer a quiz if you know the answer in advance.”

It’s hard to understand, but for a proper conversation, let’s start by correcting the parts where the definitions don’t match.

He seemed flustered by my polite words and pursed his lips slightly.

“So… does that mean the production team told you?”

Um, I feel like something is wrong from the premise.

“I received the same information as everyone else beforehand.”

“Come on, tell your senior the truth. These days, they’re really pushing your team!”

Hmm, what is this guy?

“I saw it, and no matter how I think about it, Nietzsche Entertainment must have paid some money.”

After that, I quietly listened to what he had to say.

The flow of the story, branching out in various directions, was just like entertainment industry gossip. I was listening when my unfamiliarity with others reached its peak, and I opened my mouth.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll say goodbye here.”

“Oh, was my story not interesting?”

“It’s not that there’s a problem with you, senior, but rather that I’m not interested in other people’s rumors.”

“…Are you saying something about me gossiping right now?”

What kind of crazy person is this? There seems to be a serious mental problem.

While I was wondering how to deal with it, someone hugged me from behind and said,

“No! I was wondering where our composer went!”

With Ye-eon’s voice, the guy in front of me looked slightly embarrassed.

“Oh! Who is this, our proud debut colleague! It’s Leo from Exile!”

Ye-eon stood in front of me with exaggerated gestures and started talking.

“Oh my, why are you two here! I suddenly remember Leo used to ‘discipline’ the juniors!”

Um, so was that guy trying to discipline me? It just felt like an uncultured person’s gossip.

“Hey, Ye-eon. We promised each other not to do that anymore, right?”

“That’s right, that’s right! I know you wouldn’t do that, but still! My mouth is the problem! You’re a precious junior and my future composer, so I’m just worried. Isn’t that right?”

“Of course! I’ll go first, Ye-eon! Take care, Dong-hwa!”

After the lion [Leo’s name sounds like ‘lion’ in Korean] left, Ye-eon frowned and turned to me.

“It’s better not to talk to that guy. He’s got a bad case of senioritis [acting superior due to seniority]. My gut tells me he’ll have a controversy about his personality within a month.”

I stared at Ye-eon. How can he be so sure about something in the future?

“…Did you see it in a dream?”

I wouldn’t normally ask such a crazy question, but for some reason, I ended up asking.

It’s all because of that Gijisaeng [referring to a previous incident where a spirit possessed him].

“Hey, it’s not like a precognitive dream, it’s just a feeling. I’ve been really good at sensing things like that since I was young.”

Ye-eon waved his hand with a smile and said something even more amazing without a second thought.

So, it’s something you can sense. Even our animal-like members aren’t that sensitive. Amazing.

Even though it’s setting a prejudice, I don’t feel any repulsion, so I think I like Ye-eon.

“Anyway, avoid that guy! Let’s go, let’s go to the company dinner!”

Ye-eon said that and grabbed my hand. I followed behind Ye-eon and asked quietly.

“Senior, have you ever had that kind of feeling about other celebrities?”

Prejudice is not good, but it might be possible to consider Ye-eon’s feelings as one perspective.

Ye-eon stopped walking for a moment, his eyes sharpened, and he looked at me before grinning.

“Okay! I’ll consider my business secret as an investment in my future composer!”

* * *

That night, on the community forum.

[Roomnut’s Review of the Idol Athletics Competition]

(Collection of food photos)

I was full.

Comments

— ㅅㅂㅋㅋㅌㅌㅋㅋㅌㅌㅌㅋㅋㅋ I was really full. I don’t know about anything else, but I was definitely full ㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅌㅌㅋㅋ

└ I unexpectedly felt a little sleepy. It’s the first time I’ve been able to sleep while looking at the kids’ faces

— Why are all the Blossence fandom reviews only about food? ㅋㅋㅋㅌㅋㅋㅌ

└ Because I was full.

└ I can’t spoil it, but I was more moved when the kids gave out food than at that moment ㅅㅂ

[I won’t say much. Ji Dong-hwa killed it.]

Seriously, Ji Dong-hwa killed it, okay?

Comments

— Dong-hwa… what did you do that everyone is talking about you… Did you win first place in ssireum [Korean wrestling]?

└ Ji Dong-hwa killed the production team. He will continue to kill it in the future.

I couldn’t directly reveal what happened at the sports competition, but it was indirectly revealed.

Among them, Blossence’s so-called reverse support [fans providing food and support to the idols] was even known to other fandoms.

[Comparison of Reverse Support Lunch Boxes at This Year’s Athletics Competition]

ㄱ. Rookie Level

1. God-A

: God Entertainment specializes in actors, so it seems like they are a bit lacking in treating idol fans. Overall, it’s poor, so about B— grade.

2. Blossence

: Did Nietzsche Entertainment have this much money? S grade.

(Omitted)

Comments

— Ah, what the hell are you to grade the kids’ sincerity like that, you 개X [son of a bitch]

— Roomnuts, let’s not do stupid things like getting hyped up by these posts and consuming~ It’s virtuous to be full just by eating the kids’ hearts~ Originally~

└ Seriously ㅅㅂ ㅋㅋㅌㅋㅌ I want to dissect and autopsy the head of the person who wrote this kind of post dividing grades ㅅㅂ

Luminous [Blossence’s fandom name] agreed to refrain from boasting about reverse support or using it as a basis for marketing in this situation. Originally, rookie fandoms should be as careful as possible.

Of course, there were a few mentions in the news as examples of ‘reverse support,’ but it didn’t become a big problem.

However, there are always people who don’t like this,

[Ah, those flower boys are 개 X [son of a bitch]]

It’s obvious that they increased album sales through sajaegi [bulk buying albums to manipulate charts], and it’s so frustrating that they’re getting support by bribing the broadcasting station ㅅㅂ If you look at the initial sales, you can expect a lot of profit when you hold a concert, right? Explain it.

Comments

— It’s a delusion~

— Please participate in oxygen conservation! The carbon dioxide you exhale is hurting the Earth!

└ ㄱㅆ) They’re rising in the next album, so let’s see, you peanut bitches

└ Ah ㅅㅂ Is it because my nickname is peanut that random people keep trying to diss me.

Momoji, songwriting trip, and year-end awards ceremony. As the amount of mentions of Blossence increased, negative remarks inevitably increased as well.

* * *

Finally, the athletics competition ended, and the official schedule stopped for a week. On the first day, I woke up in bed and looked out the window for a moment.

Hmm, I want to drink some water.

Yesterday, I had a 2-on-1 drinking match with Junseong and Ye-eon from TOT, and I won cleanly. I don’t know why they wanted to see my drunken antics so much, but it wasn’t a big deal when I tried it.