LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 44
Chapter 44
“Looking fine.”
The next day, I got up as if I had never been sick.
Damn status abnormality.
I made up my mind.
“I really need to start exercising.”
“You look pretty serious about it for some reason.”
Ban Yo-han mocked me.
“……”
I had to work out hard to get stronger. And when I got stronger, I would hang that guy upside down. Then I would shake him until his precious brain stopped working properly.
“The company’s gym facilities are good, so use them. I haven’t moved much in a while, so let’s do it together.”
Kang Ji-woo, who had taken off his cast at some point, offered readily. He probably took it off on the day we had the competition.
“And all three of you, the reactions to the competition are no joke. Did you see?”
I shook my head.
“Hyung, don’t search for things like that. Not everything, but there are many weird people in the world.”
Kang Ji-woo, who had experienced similar things as a fan of reality idol survival programs, quietly put down the phone he had raised.
Even Gyun Seong-ha, who was looking at an English conversation book on the sofa, noticeably flinched.
Those guys… They had seen it.
Kang Ji-woo laughed awkwardly and said,
“Honestly, after seeing some of the posts, I could only think it was a relief that only two of us from our company went.”
“Why?”
Kang Ji-woo pointed to Seo Moon-gyeol and Ban Yo-han in turn, smiling broadly.
“One is carefree, the other is arrogant. The strongest combination with no need to ever worry about their mental states.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ban Yo-han threw a cushion at him. Kang Ji-woo caught it easily as if he had expected it and laughed.
“See?”
Meanwhile, Seo Moon-gyeol, whether he heard the conversation or not, continued squeezing a hand gripper with one hand while writing lyrics on a piece of paper with the other.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by Kang Ji-woo’s amazing insight.
* * *
It felt like quite a bit of time had passed since the first competition, but there was still about a month left until the next training camp.
In the meantime, there was a schedule where 100 trainees would go to a baseball stadium together and perform ‘Heart Attack.’
We also went to the broadcasting station in Sangam to film ‘Pick Your FRIEND!’, where we chose who among the Pick Heart 3 trainees seemed to have the most friends.
It was basically an ‘insider’ vote.
“Why did I get first place?”
“Watch the broadcast.”
To my astonishment, I was chosen as the first place among the 99 trainees.
I didn’t understand it.
One day, while I was diligently exercising and practicing to raise my stats, I happened to encounter Jung Sae-bom’s crush at SEED.
The moment I saw her in the hallway, I instantly thought, ‘This is the person.’
“Hello.”
She had an aura that was captivating, instantly making sense of why Jung Sae-bom visited SEED under the pretext of volunteering.
If Snow White turned into a witch, it would probably be something like this.
Her naturally flowing black hair and cold, urban face made me think she was extremely beautiful.
If her last name were Muk, I would have thought she was Muk Hye-sung’s sister.
[Geon Gyeoul]
Her name was pretty.
“Hi.”
Her voice was even more so.
Geon Gyeoul brushed past me.
It was actually a moment of less than 10 seconds, but it felt much longer.
I found out she was a ballad singer. A trusted and skilled one.
SEED, which had yet to debut an idol group, was a small company primarily managing a few veteran singers. At this point, Geon Gyeoul was practically the face of SEED.
Recently, she had been so active that it was fair to say she was practically supporting SEED alone.
That’s probably why I had never seen her face until now. She was busy with her schedule.
‘But today isn’t Sae-bom hyung’s day to come.’
Life was all about timing.
Poor guy.
* * *
SEED’s policy was to assign tasks and evaluate them but allow trainees to adjust autonomously within those bounds.
This was partly because SEED, a mid-sized agency, couldn’t systematically provide diverse training.
If even one lazy trainee existed, the atmosphere would have become chaotic, but luckily, there were no trainees at SEED who shirked their duties, and the training proceeded smoothly.
Therefore, SEED trainees, including On Raon, could leave the practice room a bit earlier than usual under Kang Ji-woo’s leadership without needing special permission from higher-ups.
When the trainees arrived at the dorm, they gathered in the living room with the TV as if they had promised.
“Let’s watch it quickly. What channel is it?”
“Channel 17.”
“Has it started?”
“No, commercials. It’ll take a while to start.”
“Then I’ll go wash up.”
Today was the first broadcast of Pick Heart 3.
After the fan meeting in Sangam, there were consistent talks that the level of this season’s trainees was quite good, and the interest in Pick Heart 3 kept growing until the broadcast day as it spread that the first competition was quite watchable.
After a long series of commercials, the broadcast finally started.
Viewers shared their opinions about the broadcast in real-time on internet communities.
– It’s starting off emotionally..
– Gotta tug at the heartstrings with the kidsㅋ
– As a Jena fan, I’m happy just hearing her talk
The SEED trainees, drenched in sweat from dance practice, took turns going into the bathroom for a quick wash.
After five people shared the only bathroom and everyone was fresh and clean, the broadcast officially began.
### Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer, Chapter 44
First, entering the studio and choosing seats.
As I quietly drank my water, I recalled what I had done after a long time.
Gyun Seong-ha, who seemed to be concentrating at first, lost interest when no familiar faces appeared and began writing in his trainee journal, lying down.
“A lot of debuted people are here…”
Kang Ji-woo muttered as he looked at the trainees sitting down.
On Raon noticed Ban Yo-han and Seo Moon-gyeol sitting somewhere in the middle in the passing scene and spoke up.
“The hyungs are over there. When did they sit down?”
“They must have been edited in. What does it matter?”
“This hyung doesn’t appreciate his screen time…”
“Isn’t almost everything shown already? Has Raon appeared yet?”
“Not yet. He’ll be on soon.”
Ban Yo-han replied with a chuckle in his voice.
Gyun Seong-ha, who had finished writing his journal, also started watching the broadcast again, fiddling with his phone.
A few minutes later, Kang Ji-woo and Ban Yo-han began to laugh so hard they could barely breathe. Gyun Seong-ha also bit his lips to hold back his laughter.
On the screen, On Raon was practicing the “Catallena” dance while waiting to enter.
Viewers watching in real-time were busy typing ‘ㅋㅋㅋ’ on their smartphones.
– Can someone explain what that dance isㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Is this the melancholic guy? What a twist
“What’s the point of showing that…?”
“Raon, value your screen time, puh, seriously.”
“Just laugh it off…”
“Puhahahaha!”
Kang Ji-woo and Ban Yo-han laughed continuously until On Raon, on the screen, calmly entered the studio as if nothing had happened.
Ban Yo-han wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his fingertips and said joyfully,
“Oh… This hasn’t even started yet. What comes next is even more spectacular.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
At his confident answer, Kang Ji-woo laughed, and On Raon slumped deeper into the sofa, unable to retort.
“What’s with predicting your rank as 100th? So unambitious.”
Gyun Seong-ha picked a fight, seeing ‘On Raon – Predicted Rank: 100th.’
“Seong-ha.”
Seo Moon-gyeol called Seong-ha warningly.
Despite having lived together for quite some time, Seo Moon-gyeol and Seong-ha couldn’t get closer due to Seong-ha’s sharp attitude.
On Raon glanced at them and muttered,
“That was probably written around the time I had just left True. I was so low on confidence that I decided to give it a try…”
“…Sorry.”
“It was really tough back then…”
“I said I’m sorry!”
When On Raon on the screen turned around and headed toward the first-place chair as if nothing had happened after moving to the 90th place seat, On Raon magnanimously accepted Seong-ha’s apology.
“Oh, first place?”
“I had regained some confidence when we filmed that.”
“I said I’m sorry!”
Feeling awkward, Seong-ha reacted as if something had pricked him.
On Raon replied with a laugh,
“I didn’t say it to get an apology.”
“…”
‘Those two will fight every day if they get close.’
Kang Ji-woo, who had two friends who could cause a lot of trouble in life, thought leisurely.
[Oh Hyun-jin: Hello.]
[On Raon: Hello.]
[Oh Hyun-jin: How about an arm wrestling match like a man?]
“If it’s arm wrestling, he’d definitely lose…”
Kang Ji-woo couldn’t finish his sentence and burst into laughter again.
Because, with a very sad background music playing, On Raon’s face, looking equally sad, filled the screen.
On Raon on the screen rolled up his sleeves and extended his thinner-than-now arm to Oh Hyun-jin, who had suggested the arm wrestling.
“Why did they even show that?”
“To make the viewers feel guilty.”
At On Raon’s resigned answer, Kang Ji-woo and Ban Yo-han laughed so hard they almost fainted.
Even Gyun Seong-ha was trembling, face buried in a cushion, and Seo Moon-gyeol, who usually didn’t show much emotion, occasionally twitched the corners of his mouth.
– The background music for this dramatic life theater is seriously insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Was On Raon always like thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Anyone with a bit of compassion can’t ignore this ㅋㅋㅋ
The reactions of the trainees on the screen were the icing on the cake.
[Ah… What to do….]
[Why does my heart hurt so much watching this person….]
[It’s just sad. Really sad.]
Was it necessary to look so pitiful?
The editing was truly phenomenal.
On Raon grumbled.
Finally, On Raon on the screen sat in the first-place chair, but with much left to be seen, On Raon could only gulp down cold water.