Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 57

57.

Seeing Ryu Iden rushing at him aggressively, Chae Ha-min puts aside his curiosity about their earlier conversation and asks,

“…Diogenes?”

“The craziest bastard in the academy. No, a dog would be more accurate. The only madman here who preaches philosophy through action.”

While typical philosophy is based on human logos [reason or principle], constructing logic, and that logic manifesting as philosophy.

“Ha, those who rely on language all feel unpleasant.”

He is one of the few philosophers who can construct philosophy through action, not logic.

“…Be careful, Aristotle, he’s dangerous when he’s really angry. In terms of philosophical skill, he’s about on par with me.”

And the moment Ryu Iden reaches them, he grins again and shouts.

“Who’s the kid next to you? Did you bring a new disciple or something?”

“I have never taken a disciple, you plebian. The commoner next to me is about to become my disciple, though.”

“Oh, a plebian. Using such discriminatory language, you’re all talk.”

Ji Dong-hwa slowly scans Ryu Iden with a cold expression, sighs, and raises his hand.

“Idea.”

The radiance of light spreads as if to swallow the world. The space touched by that light even evoked the illusion of being in a place different from reality.

“That’s your problem, Plato. Whatever it is, philosophy doesn’t start without the Idea.”

Ji Dong-hwa ignores him and simply murmurs.

“Philosopher King.”

Then, Ji Dong-hwa’s eyes flash gold, and Ryu Iden’s face hardens.

A sense of oppression—what is emanating from Ji Dong-hwa is clearly a sense of oppression.

The dignity of a king who understands the truth and looks down on everyone.

Ryu Iden smiles weakly.

“…Are you really going to fight, you loudmouth? It’s something that could be solved by buying me a meal as usual.”

Ji Dong-hwa looks down at Ryu Iden with an arrogant expression. In fact, Ji Dong-hwa was looking up because of the height difference, but the arrogant expression only created the illusion of looking down.

“Don’t be mistaken. I just thought I should train the dog sometime; in other words, it’s not a fight, it’s training.”

“Haa, I came to get a barley bun and now I’m about to bite someone.”

Ryu Iden also says, gathering his logos in his hand. An energy like a flame burning in his hand, befitting the only martial arts philosopher in this world.

Chae Ha-min watches the two of them, and people begin to gather around to watch.

Soon, when Ji Dong-hwa gestures, the radiance from the sphere of light transforms into several sentences and pours down on Ryu Iden.

Each word contains powerful logic.

Ryu Iden dodges once with a backflip, but as if he had predicted even that, Ji Dong-hwa’s golden eyes intensify, and a sentence changes its trajectory, grazing Ryu Iden’s leg.

Ryu Iden straightens his body and checks the condition of his leg. There is no problem in appearance, but he cannot put strength into it properly.

“What kind of philosophy is this?”

“…I have simply banished what is useless from the domain I control. You won’t be able to function in this domain.”

Then, Ji Dong-hwa sits back on the bench, crosses his legs, and raises his head.

“Give up and get lost. You can’t beat me, a physical type, with one leg not working.”

“…Hah, give me a barley bun! Plato! I’m hungry.”

Ji Dong-hwa clicks his tongue once and ends all the philosophy that had been unfolded. Ji Dong-hwa’s eyes return to their original color, he looks at Ryu Iden, then turns his head.

Then, in an instant, Ryu Iden smiles and rushes in, using only one leg, and raises his fist.

Seeing him, Ji Dong-hwa stops the hand that was about to take out a barley bun from his subspace pocket and looks at Ryu Iden.

It was then.

“Ethica: Mesaiou (Ἠθικὰ : Μεσαίου, Ethics: The Golden Mean).”

The moment Chae Ha-min’s voice echoes, Ryu Iden stops in mid-air.

That wasn’t all.

“Diogenes, I ask you! Isn’t it excessive to attack when the opponent has disarmed?”

And the moment Ryu Iden unconsciously nods his head.

With Chae Ha-min’s declaration, “Then restrain yourself,” Ryu Iden falls to the ground with a thud, and all the logos he had wrapped around his hand disappears, disarming him.

Ryu Iden mutters in a hollow voice.

“Goodness, what is going on.”

Even Ji Dong-hwa is momentarily taken aback.

“…Complete control, what kind of philosophy is that?”

Only then does Chae Ha-min realize that he has all the attention of the audience, and he bows his head as if embarrassed.

“I, I’m sorry! When I see something immoral, ethics come to mind habitually.”

Then Chae Ha-min runs out from among the people, Ji Dong-hwa’s eyes following him.

And in an instant, the screen goes dark, a rearranged version of ‘Cloudy Blue’ plays as background music, and the next episode preview passes.

Ji Dong-hwa and Chae Ha-min sitting in a cafe having a serious conversation, Lee Hyun-jae watching it and innocently smiling as he plots, and Chae Ha-min confronting Lee Hyun-jae, Ryu Iden lying on the dirt floor eating a barley bun deliciously, and finally, Ji Dong-hwa facing Seok-joon.

All the videos flash by briefly, and then the screen goes dark.

* * *

Ji Dong-hwa’s fan was startled when her face was reflected on the black screen and dropped her phone.

‘I… was watching with a completely stupid expression.’

The time is now 3 a.m. A time when it’s okay to be mentally hazy.

But even she, a 9-year idol fan, was awakened by the bizarre content she was seeing for the first time.

“…What kind of idol am I stanning [supporting]?”

How much money did they spend to produce this video?

Even though Nietzsche Entertainment operates its own CG team, isn’t this too much?

Especially the scene where Ji Dong-hwa and Ryu Iden fight, the CG was almost movie-level.

However, she decides to put aside such calculating thoughts for a moment.

It was definitely something to be happy about that the agency was investing in her idol.

And she automatically moves her finger to Ji Dong-hwa’s face on the related videos.

[Blossom’s Philosophy Academy: EP 01, Adding Philosophical Knowledge]

There, Ji Dong-hwa and the members were showing off the techniques used by their respective characters and explaining the related philosophical knowledge.

“So… is this like, stanning becomes studying, or something?”

Ji Dong-hwa’s fan leaves the slowly rising corners of her mouth alone and thinks to herself.

‘Seriously… stanning Blossom is so much fun.’

She quickly goes to SNS [Social Networking Service] and starts looking at other people’s reactions.

—Haa… Am I the only one who’s into Ji Dong-hwa’s golden eyes… I almost had a heart attack for real…

└There’s no way there’s a Luminous [Blossom’s fan name] who isn’t into Ji Dong-hwa

—Ah… Ha-min-ah… You’re preaching ethics with a face that looks like you go to the same church as me… I feel like such an immoral person… So come to my house and shout Ethica! just once!

└Don’t hit on him lololololol

—Ryu Iden! Ciba [slang for “damn” or “jerk,” used affectionately]! I love you so much! Martial arts philosopher! Ryu Iden’s shoulders are wider than our school’s stadium!

└lol but what’s with the concept lololololol who came up with this concept lololololol

└Isn’t it highly likely that Ji Dong-hwa did it…?

—The acting skills are top-notch idols… Especially Chae Ha-min’s acting skills, is that real…

└For real, Ji Dong-hwa is similar to his usual self, so there’s no sense of incongruity, but Chae Ha-min is different from his usual self, but there’s no sense of incongruity either…

Perhaps her final assignment will not be completed.

* * *

Our dorm, I was sitting on the sofa spacing out.

And Ryu Iden on my left shouts proudly.

“Idea!”

Then, Seok-joon, sitting next to him, reflexively retorts.

“Panta Rhei [Everything flows]!”

…With me in the middle.

“…Have you finally gone crazy, you two?”

Weekend after the schedule, we decided to gather together and monitor the first episode of ‘Blossom’s Philosophy Academy’ on the TV connected to the center because there was no schedule tomorrow.

Since then, they’ve been making this fuss non-stop.

“Wow… Luminous, the reactions are amazing.”

Lee Hyun-jae, who was looking at SNS on a tablet on the sofa, muttered quietly.

“Oh, really?”

I see. Really, why are they doing that? There is a need to seriously study this cultural scene.

“Yes, I think I’ll be fully appearing in the next episode, so there are people who are studying Protagoras in advance!”

That person is not normal like us either.

“Oh, come to think of it, I saw someone saying they were studying Diogenes earlier. It really feels like we’re all studying together, just like Dong-hwa said.”

…If that’s the case, it might have been okay to name the fandom Agora [a public open space used for assemblies and markets] or the Academy of Athens.

By the way, hasn’t that beast Ryu Iden learned what shame is?

“…You’re going to appear even more bizarrely in the next episode, are you okay with that?”

Ryu Iden, who was sitting next to Lee Hyun-jae and looking at the tablet together, stares at me quietly, then smiles and takes a martial arts stance.

“I am Diogenes, a philosophical martial artist who preaches philosophy not with logic but with action!”

Yes, from the beginning, it was a team composed of humans who had no concept of shame other than Lee Hyun-jae. I’m the only one who can’t lift my head in shame like this again.

And in an instant, my phone vibrates. I open it thinking it’s Mok-hwa, but Jun-seong, Yoon Seong-ho, and Mok-hwa all received the same text message.

—Idea!

…Damn it.

* * *

Kim So-young, the PD [Producer-Director] of ‘Momoji,’ is feeling the need to innovate the program.

“Haa… how do I increase viewership ratings.”

She had been immersed in the positive aspects of mass media, that it could share deep knowledge with people, but now it seems it’s time to face reality.

She wanted a ‘cultural’ entertainment show, but the public wants a cultural ‘entertainment’ show.

Right now, she’s somehow making up for the viewership ratings with the fans of singers and actors, but it doesn’t seem easy to maintain the status quo like this.

“PD-nim, there are some things I’d like you to confirm regarding the casting you mentioned last time.”

The assistant director approached over her shoulder as she was spacing out.

“Um? You mean the team called Blossom?”

“Yes, this team… seems to be more interesting than I thought, so would you like to watch a video?”

She took the tablet and plugged the earphones into her ears.

‘…Philosophy Academy?’

The moment she hesitated for a moment and played the video, an extraordinary story slowly unfolds. At first, she was rather embarrassed, but she began to seriously appreciate the sincere acting, the reasonably constructed storyline, and the philosophical content that was incorporated into it.

‘Wow, it’s absurdly funny…….’

Very naturally, they replaced the setting of ‘magic,’ which is common in fantasy novels, with ‘philosophy,’ and implemented it with pretty high-quality CG, so it’s subtly immersive and fun.

It’s not just funny either. At least after watching this video, only one word, ‘Idea,’ will remain clearly in my memory. It will also be easy to remember the conflict between the relativists and absolutists of ancient Greece.

Although the depth of knowledge may be shallow, it is a method of delivery that leaves a clear impression.

“And if you watch the next video, there will be a video that explains the philosophical concepts that came out in this video in detail.”

And the explanation of ancient Greek philosophy that unfolds, it was deeper than expected.

However, since it explains what is already left in the head as an image through the video, it comes into the head quite easily.

‘…This, if I refine it a little more.’

Isn’t it a format that can slowly change the calm Momoji of now?

It’s quite elegant to be childish, and it’s quite light to be noble, it could be a cultural video worth trying.

“…Let’s send one more message to the management side of the Blossom team, changing the casting details.”

“How should I change it?”

“If they produce it in the video format I just saw, we’ll push them.”

I can’t steal the video format without conscience, so if possible, let’s make both sides benefit.