Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 316

The rules of the game are simple.

Observation cameras are set up everywhere to film the members, and each member and the production team has a ‘That’s Not Like Them Button’.

If someone does something ‘distinctly unlike themselves,’ the staff can cast one vote, and the other members (excluding the person in question) can each cast one vote to deduct points.

It’s reassuring that the winner isn’t determined solely by the staff’s discretion.

At least our members aren’t the type to be blinded by victory and just spam the buttons of others.

Hugging Ah-in (Seok-jun’s latest favorite plushie, a snowman character made of flames, surprisingly warm) in one hand, I went out to the living room.

Seok-jun’s way of opening doors is to grab and pull with his left hand, befitting his left-handedness.

Fortunately, I’m ambidextrous, so I plan to live as a left-hander for today.

“Did you sleep well, hyung-nim?”

Lee Hyun-jae was sitting on the sofa, waving cheerfully at me.

Lee Hyun-jae has to live as Ryu Iden, so he’s pretending to be cheerful, but the dark circles under his eyes are prominent.

I heard he went out for a dawn workout; he diligently went and came back.

“Our Jun-ie. Come here and sit down, sit down.”

Lee Hyun-jae patted the spot next to him.

Seok-jun doesn’t usually make a fuss in situations like this. I rubbed my eyes sleepily, hugged Ah-in tightly, and leaned my head on Lee Hyun-jae.

Keuheup, Lee Hyun-jae suppressed a laugh, and I took a moment to get my bearings.

Ah, what am I doing?

Lee Hyun-jae patted his cheeks a couple of times and refocused.

“…Jun-ah, are you going to sleep again?”

“I’m sleepy.”

A drawn-out yawn; it hurts my cheek to force it. I don’t know what kind of life he usually lives.

Just then, I walked out—no, Chae Ha-min walked out, carrying a book (probably just grabbed one from my study).

After confirming that Lee Hyun-jae and I were sitting side by side, Chae Ha-min went to the edge of the sofa and sat up straight. The fact that he doesn’t lean against the backrest is something.

“You’re awake.”

That’s a cold morning greeting. That’s how I was.

“Yes, hyung-nim.”

Chae Ha-min bit his lip.

He’s happy, that damn rabbit. He must be happy that I’m his younger brother.

Hoo, a short deep breath, and then he opened the book without another word, read a few lines, and closed it.

At that moment, five counts accumulated under Chae Ha-min’s name on the screen showing the real-time penalty status in the living room.

The special rule of the game: if the count accumulates five times within a certain period, a ‘That’s Really Not Like Them’ is issued, and the game itself is temporarily suspended.

As the notification ‘Truce!’ sounded from the speakers installed in the living room and each room, Chae Ha-min hurriedly turned his head to the screen.

“Why! Why! I’m holding back from wanting to sit comfortably! I even read a book!”

As soon as he saw the phrase ‘That’s Really Not Like Them’ written next to his name, Chae Ha-min lay down on the sofa and twisted his body. He tapped his lower back a few times, as if it hurt.

“Hyung, Dong-hwa hyung doesn’t close a book that quickly once he opens it.”

“At least he doesn’t read just one line and close it.”

Unless someone calls him.

The other two, who were in the kitchen, also came over and nodded.

Seok-jun, who is acting as Chae Ha-min, must have been taking care of Ryu Iden’s meal, who is acting as Lee Hyun-jae.

“Ah, Dong-hwa-yah, Dooong-hwa-yah, I, you’re difficult for me.”

Chae Ha-min carefully placed the book on the table and twisted his body again.

Then Lee Hyun-jae banged on the sofa and shouted.

“…Hyung, I went for a workout at dawn.”

Lee Hyun-jae and Ryu Iden became depressed.

Ryu Iden must be sad that he couldn’t go for a workout. Crazy bastard.

“I even carried that human, who is three or four times bigger than me, on my back this morning.”

Sometimes Lee Hyun-jae sits at the table in the morning and falls asleep. In those cases, Ryu Iden carries Lee Hyun-jae to his room.

He did that, that crazy dog. With that much muscle difference.

Feeling my gaze looking at him like trash, Ryu Iden smiled awkwardly.

“No, well, our Hyun-jae is usually like that.”

“I won’t, I won’t do that again. I understand hyung’s feelings.”

“I like it? You can do it every day.”

Lee Hyun-jae’s speech mixed with Lee Hyun-jae’s Seoul dialect. A terrible mess.

Lee Hyun-jae immediately got up from his seat and backed away. I was also disgusted and my face was rotting.

In the midst of that chaos.

“…I, I hate vegetables.”

Seok-jun quietly declared.

“Carrots, mushrooms, all the drinks in my fridge are—, vegetables.”

A gloomy and weakened appearance.

“I, I hate it so much.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as if he was overwhelmed. Fortunately, he didn’t shed them, but I could tell how great his sadness was.

I’m still far behind. I didn’t even expect him to cry at that moment.

“Ju, Jun-ah.”

“Oh, when did you tear up.”

Seok-jun smiled sheepishly and wiped away the tears. The mole under his eye sparkled.

The carnivorous dinosaur, who has come to have a vegetable-based diet, sheds tears without even realizing he’s crying.

“Hyung-nim, are you a vegetarian?”

“No, well, isn’t it more delicious…?”

“I, I can’t become like Ha-min hyung-nim…”

With frustration and helplessness, like a child whose belief that he could become anything has been broken, Seok-jun slumped down in his seat.

“Wow, but I’ve never seen Dong-hwa not awake until this time.”

Listless. I was about to throw Ah-in, but I remembered that Seok-jun sees it as a living thing and quietly put it down.

I’m just shocked that it was still in my arms.

“He woke up a long time ago.”

“…Huh?”

Chae Ha-min was shocked, and Ryu Iden seemed to have expected it.

“When did you wake up?”

“The usual time.”

“…Huh?”

Lee Hyun-jae blinked slowly.

“Hyung, so when I went to work out.”

“Yeah.”

“Ever since then?”

“Yeah.”

“…Crazy person.”

It’s a broadcast, Hyun-jae. Even if we’re filming as usual.

Lee Hyun-jae hurriedly hit his own mouth.

“But this is mostly your fault, Dong-hwa…”

However, Chae Ha-min patted Lee Hyun-jae and blamed me.

I can’t say that you guys aren’t serious about this broadcast, but I’m just doing my best.

Just as I was about to answer, the notification sound declared the resumption of the game.

“I was wrong—. I’m sorry, hyung-nim…”

Dejected, I lowered my head and cast my eyes down. When I came to my senses, I was holding Ah-in in one hand. This damn doll.

Chae Ha-min and Lee Hyun-jae exchanged glances as if they were creeped out.

But there’s nothing I can do. A long-cherished project.

Ji Dong-hwa’s mental lesson, class 1, class 2, the settlement of historical grudges that have been passed down through self-produced content, all of that is before my eyes.

For that, I held a NinXdo [a fictional gaming console] and lay down on Chae Ha-min’s lap, pressing the buttons. If there’s no practice schedule, Seok-jun plays the game intently.

“The compatibility doesn’t match, Jun.”

And it’s also attractive that I get frustrated when I watch him play.

“But it’s cute—.”

Unlike me, who doesn’t give much meaning to data fragments, Seok-jun has a favorite pick.

Unlike me, who runs to the ending and cleanly abandons it if he judges that the performance is even slightly bad, Seok-jun embraces it no matter what once he’s hooked.

“Even if it’s a technical machine, use something else.”

“That’s not romantic, hyung-nim—.”

What kind of conversations did I usually have with Seok-jun?

However, even if it takes a realistic composition, it seems that as a broadcast, it has no choice but to capture one extraordinary moment.

[MISSION! Dong-hwa, prove that you are Seok-jun right now!]

Chae Ha-min muttered as calmly as possible.

“…What kind of bizarre thing.”

That’s what I would say.

Since Chae Ha-min’s penalty points aren’t going up, everyone must have acknowledged it. Wow.

“Hyung-nim, what should I do?”

Lee Hyun-jae pinched his own arm and appeared, making a ‘Tada!’ sound with his own mouth.

“For our fourth child, who is known to like carbonated drinks, hyung has prepared a mission!”

Please don’t do that. You’re doing well enough as it is, Hyun-jae.

“Our Jun-ie is famous among Roomnuts [a fictional fandom name] as a carbonated drink lover!”

“So, the hyungs have prepared a test!”

Seok-jun appeared, jumping as much as Chae Ha-min. It’s amazing how destructive it is when he jumps with that size, Jun.

In Seok-jun’s hands were a paper cup filled with carbonated drinks, an eye patch, and nose plugs that synchronized swimmers would use.

“Blindly guess the type of carbonated drink. Jun actually succeeded during the pre-interview. If you get even one wrong, penalty points will pour in.”

Heesh, Lee Hyun-jae’s smile was sly.

But somehow, it’s cute when Lee Hyun-jae does it, and I don’t want to beat him up, so I realized once again that Ryu Iden is the problem.

* * *

Watching the observation camera screen, the PD [Production Director] was smiling brightly.

A game where Dong-hwa just has to not be in first place. It’s hard to manipulate the winner, but it’s easy to make sure he’s not in first place.

On the screen, Ji Dong-hwa was wearing nose plugs and sitting in front of the table, grinning innocently.

I never thought I’d see that human smiling like a fool.

“Wow, he doesn’t even feel humiliated doing that. It’s proof that God is unfair, right, senior?”

“That’s why he’s an idol.”

Senior Jung mechanically pressed the penalty button, as if he was tired.

He said that if he left it to me, I would do whatever I wanted, so the senior took away all the penalty pages.

“But, isn’t the mission easy?”

“It’s because you haven’t tried it, senior, but if you can’t smell it, you can’t tell the difference between Coke and Sprite.”

—Can I taste it first—?

“It’s not like you can tell by tasting it beforehand? Unless you have a sugar meter on your tongue.”

“Jun didn’t block his nose.”

“That’s why he passed. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to do it? So even if Dong-hwa passes, he must have used tricks to pass!”

Look at him giggling.

“You’ll get burned badly if you keep doing that, Dong-won-ah.”

“You’re talking like it’s your experience, senior.”

“…It’s a secret.”

“I’ll soak you in alcohol later and find out.”

While they were having such trivial conversations, Ji Dong-hwa had already finished tasting and even put on the eye patch.

“Heu-heung.”

I was excited to think about seeing Dong-hwa fail.

Ji Dong-hwa immediately picked up a glass and took a sip, and then put it down.

—It’s CoX Cola [a fictional brand].

“…Huh?”

—It’s PepX [a fictional brand].

Dong-hwa doesn’t really like carbonated drinks.

It’s a well-known fact that he prefers coffee or energy drinks. The PD also knows that he enjoys subtly sweet things rather than overtly sweet ones.

In other words, he used a trick, our lovely Dong-hwa.

If I find it, I can retaliate with penalty points every second. That kind of head-scratching is definitely not something Seok-jun would do.

That’s why I gave Dong-hwa the role of Seok-jun in the first place!

“…He’s wearing the eye patch properly, and he’s blocking his nose properly.”

The PD immediately slammed his face into the screen to check the amount of remaining drinks.

“They’re all the same.”

Then, looking at the slightly zoomed-in screen, the PD smiled brightly.

“I found it. Senior, press the penalty button like crazy.”

“Why?”

“There, you see it. He’s slightly chewing on the paper cup. He’s using that to distinguish them right now.”

Based on the center of the paper cup, chewing on the left side means Sprite, chewing on the right side means Coke, chewing on both sides means others, and then making detailed distinctions based on the distance between the center of the paper cup and the chewed location.

Chewing it in advance when tasting and memorizing it wouldn’t be that difficult for our Dong-hwa.

But Jun wouldn’t do such a petty thing. As expected, he came up with a trick, so all I have to do is give him penalty points.

However, Jung Kyung-woo snorted and laughed.

“That’s Jun’s habit.”

When drinking carbonated drinks, his throat stings, so he drinks slowly, so he chews on the paper cup.

It’s a very minor habit of Seok-jun’s that the members testified to.

“…Ah, how petty.”

Only then did the PD realize it and hit his head once.

In that short time, he made a rule, and he thought that it was not possible to confirm that it was a trick because it was in line with Seok-jun’s usual habits.

“I’m feeling competitive for the first time in a while, senior.”

“…Is that so.”

“You’ve never seen me lose something like this when we were in college, have you?”

“Because you were the biggest idiot in the club.”

“God is God, so I’ll be satisfied.”

The PD took out his notebook.

Extreme situation manipulation is his specialty.