LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 60
Chapter 60
Standing still while searching might be manageable, but singing and dancing simultaneously already felt chaotic and exhausting, not to mention needing to find the camera in the midst of it all.
I began to somewhat admire the idols on screen who managed to locate the cameras and flash beautiful smiles as if they had a sixth sense.
Tonight, I tried desperately to find the cameras, and just as the song ended, a notification popped up.
[Daily Quest Completed!]
[Quest confirmed, reward granted.]
A confirmation message from the guesthouse owner regarding my payment must have arrived on the phone I left backstage.
Today was rehearsal day, which could be considered an important quest in itself, so the system seemed to have given me an easier task.
If I had failed, I would have cursed, asking why this was even a quest. But since I succeeded, it was fine.
After the stage performance, the camera director gave us a brief piece of advice.
“During the part where you all turn, the angle flips dramatically, so make sure to check that carefully during the final rehearsal.”
“Yes!”
“And Raon, you did well finding the camera for your second stage. Did your company make you practice hard?”
Perhaps it was because of the camera director’s comment.
[Skill 《Finding the Camera》 acquired.]
[Skill 《Finding the Camera》 – As an idol, you must be able to find the camera and make eye contact as if you had eyes on the back of your head. You can instinctively grasp the location of the camera filming you. Using this skill slightly increases fatigue accumulation. This skill can be turned on and off with a switch. (Current state ON)]
I had finally acquired a skill worthy of being called a skill.
The performance of the skill checked during the final rehearsal was neither extremely good nor bad.
I could get a vague feeling like, ‘Ah… it seems like it’s that camera over there…,’ and when I turned my gaze, I would see the camera with the red light on.
However, it didn’t indicate every moment.
‘Still, it’s better than nothing.’
The system explained that as my proficiency increased, I would be able to identify the camera more accurately.
When I asked how to increase proficiency quickly, the answer returned was naturally to experience and interact with the camera as much as possible.
‘……Isn’t it obvious that the more you do something, the better you get at it?’
I felt like I had been tricked for no reason.
Rehearsal finished late at night.
“Get some rest and see you tomorrow.”
“Ugh, tomorrow it’s over.”
“It’s over!”
We were about to part ways with tired faces after greeting each other.
“It’s late. Since Kinex is nearby, I’ll give you a ride.”
Seo Moon-gyeol made a kind offer.
“That would be great, thanks.”
I had been thinking of walking to save on transportation costs, so this worked out well.
Jo In-soo joined us, and we walked silently to where Gwak Sang-hyun had parked the car.
“Hello.”
“Hey, you’re here? Since there’s stuff in the front, you all have to sit in the back.”
As Gwak Sang-hyun said, the passenger seat was piled with stuff, so the three of us sat in the back seat.
“Raon, you seem to have lost even more weight.”
“Losing weight is good, isn’t it?”
At my somewhat self-deprecating remark, Gwak Sang-hyun sighed and advised with concern in his voice.
“I know you have to lose weight by starving yourselves, but take care of your health while doing it.”
“Well, it’s not to the point of worrying about health.”
“Really?”
I responded with a silent smile.
“You know?”
Joo Yeon-ho, who had been watching my expression under the car’s interior light, spoke up.
“When you have nothing to say or are in a disadvantageous situation, you try to laugh it off.”
“Me? No way.”
“Yes, it’s true. I’m sure of it.”
“Sure, really?”
While I felt a bit dumbfounded, Gwak Sang-hyun and Seo Moon-gyeol supported Joo Yeon-ho’s opinion.
“Yeon-ho seems right. Just a moment ago, you tried to laugh it off to avoid more nagging. It looks deliberate.”
“You kept laughing during the surprise camera incident last time too.”
With the two supporting his claim, Joo Yeon-ho spoke again.
“See? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Really?”
“Would I lie? With three witnesses here.”
Thinking that their words might be true, I understood why I had this habit.
In the past, before I shut myself in my room, when I faced an awkward situation in social interactions, if I laughed once, it would somewhat diffuse the tension.
I must have developed this habit then….
No, seriously, I’m not exaggerating.
Just as people say laughter brings happiness, when I slightly smiled, the sharp gazes from others would soften. Really.
“He seems sleepy. His eyes are unfocused.”
As mentioned before, I was capable of rational thinking even when drowsy.
“Anyway, it’s late, and we’re tired. Let’s go quickly. Raon, where’s your lodging? I heard it’s near Kinex.”
“Oh, I’m staying at the Daily Guesthouse.”
“Isn’t a guesthouse shared with strangers? Is that okay?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t seen any other guests yet, so I’m using it alone. It’s almost like a hotel.”
“That’s a relief. Be especially careful of stalkers in such places.”
“Yes.”
Gwak Sang-hyun, who entered the destination into the navigation system, started the car.
Playing an energetic song whose title I didn’t know, Jo In-soo spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, tired from the day.
“The more I see you, the more I wonder if you’re the same person who shot that one-minute PR video.”
“Originally, when a person receives a great shock, they can use it as an opportunity to be reborn.”
It was a fact I had proven through experience.
“And despite appearances, you have a strange personality. Whether I laugh or not when I have nothing to say, who points that out?”
Perhaps because Joo Yeon-ho was an NPC, he didn’t get offended by such words. It was a certainty that allowed me to speak freely.
Joo Yeon-ho, slightly surprised, questioned my statement.
“Do you always say everything on your mind?”
What was I thinking?
Suddenly, I straightened my back, which had been leaning against the seat, and grabbed the golden wireless microphone from the rear seat shelf.
Seriously, what was I thinking?
I started nodding my head to the beat.
“One two two three three three.”
The music was just right.
[Seo Moon-gyeol looked at you with a face that said, ‘Here we go again.’ Seo Moon-gyeol’s favorability +1. Current favorability +66.]
Recently, I had been practicing rap diligently and receiving praise from my team members, so my confidence in hip-hop was at its peak.
“If you stay still, people will take you for granted. I learned that too late. Now I don’t hold back. I say what I want, and I’m neither a fool nor a pushover! Hey, what about you? Don’t you have any complaints about the world, MC Banban Mumani?”
From the beginning of my beat, Jo In-soo, who had been expelling air violently from his lungs, accepted the microphone from my trembling hand as he tried to suppress his laughter.
Struggling to contain his laughter, Jo In-soo took a deep breath and, making some hand gestures I didn’t know where he learned from, started to rap with a serious face.
“Don’t call me with a restricted number. Don’t text me. Don’t come to my place. Don’t go to the kids’ school. If you want a lawsuit instead of a reply, keep it up. Since it’s come to this, why don’t you try it once, MC Moon-gyeol, or rather, Gyeol.”
“Go for it! Moon-gyeol, or rather, Gyeol-hyung!”
Seo Moon-gyeol, who was sitting between Jo In-soo and me, couldn’t avoid our intense gazes from both sides.
In the end, partially forced by Jo In-soo, who was stronger than he looked, Seo Moon-gyeol took the microphone and started to speak.
“My name is Moon-gyeol, not Gyeol… Why is this on?”
“Bwahahaha!”
“Hahahaha!”
Originally, the microphone was off when Jo In-soo was using it, but the one in Seo Moon-gyeol’s hand was on, and his pleasant voice resonated loudly in the car.
“Don’t be shy, hyung! Just do it! Do it! Today is the day to let the world know that your name is Gyeol!”
“Wow, cool! So handsome! Your face is already killing it!”
With Jo In-soo pestering him on both sides, Seo Moon-gyeol, who seemed to have given up, continued rapping about his name with unnecessarily high quality.
The culprit who turned on the microphone, Jo In-soo, leaned forward and shook with laughter.
Even Gwak Sang-hyun, who was driving, joined in the laughter, making the car filled with people who seemed to have lost their minds.
Once the laughter subsided, the car fell silent as if nothing had happened.
Back in the day, when I lost my mind at the thought of going back to the military and shouted “I can do it,” Jo In-soo, who was the first to join in my enthusiasm, was one thing….
But Seo Moon-gyeol wasn’t like this.
It seems that when people are extremely tired, they let go of their sanity just a little bit.
“Hey… you guys are surprisingly fun. You didn’t drink, did you?”
I leaned back and replied to Gwak Sang-hyun in a voice that was calm due to exhaustion.
“Oh, alcohol? I don’t drink. I have to abstain.”
Jo In-soo barely managed to stop laughing, saying that it was funny for someone who had never drunk to talk about abstaining.
That guy laughs too easily.
“It’s not that. I’ve been learning rap recently.”
In fact, our team had been boosting the atmosphere during practice in this way.
Usually, Jing Xiao and I, as beginner rappers, would freestyle rap, and the other team members would judge who won.
It wasn’t just for fun; it was a part of our stage preparation, and unbelievable as it might seem, it seemed to have some effect.
“No wonder…. When Seong-ha first learned rap, he was just like you. But you’re like ten times worse.”
“Oh, really?”
I found a new teasing point for Gyun Seong-ha for the next year.
“But Yo-han really seems like he’s drunk….”
“I think he just enjoys living his life happily, laughing whenever he wants.”
“That’s true. What do they call it these days, YOLO?”
“That phrase exists just for Yo-han-hyung. Let’s call him YOLO-Yo-han instead of Banban Mumani.”
“I like it. I’ll use both.”
“What a greedy guy.”
Gwak Sang-hyun, listening to our conversation with a puzzled expression, said,
“He wasn’t this lively before. I think ever since he started hanging out with you, he’s loosened the screws he was barely holding on to….”
“That’s just how he originally was. Don’t blame me for something that’s not my fault.”
“…Let’s put that aside. What about Gyeol?”
“I’m sorry. We corrupted him. I have no excuse.”
Seeing Seo Moon-gyeol close his eyes and cross his arms, pretending to sleep, Jo In-soo was about to die laughing again.
I added in a low voice,
“But seeing him do well with us, I think he’s just normally quiet but has a bit of Jo In-soo inside him.”
“Are you crazy?”
Jo In-soo shouted, “If anyone has Jo In-soo inside them, it’s you!” and picked up a half-empty water bottle rolling on the floor, hitting me hard enough to make a popping sound.
“Ow! Gyeol-hyung, help me!”
“…….”
No help.
……He can sulk?
“You’re letting your little brother get beaten up and still pretending to sleep… Who are you! You’re not Seo Moon-gyeol but Seo Moon-gyeol!”
“Evil Moon-gyeol! Give us back our pure and kind Gyeol!”
Jo In-soo seemed to like my joke as he immediately switched sides and shook Seo Moon-gyeol’s clothes.
“Wow. Could it be… it’s not Moon-gyeol inside?”
“Wow, that’s creepy.”
“Guys… go easy on him……. Gyeol might cry.”
During a traffic stop, Gwak Sang-hyun, who looked like he had a headache, spoke.
“And Yo-han, are you crazy? You need to watch what you say.”
“Scold him more. He really hit me hard.”
“How hard could it be?”
“It hurt! Who hits bare skin with a bottle like that? It hurt more than hitting my head against a wall.”
My HP decreased by 1 with each hit, so it went down by 8 after being hit 8 times.
“So, is Ban Yo-han stronger than a wall?”
“See? You just called him Ban Yo-han. Earlier, you called him Ban Yo-han after a pause. I know everything.”
“Do you hit people over something so childish? Don’t you know I don’t usually care about that? Why are you acting out of character?”
“What’s acting like me?”
“According to Ji-woo-hyung, it’s arrogance and self-centeredness.”
“What else? Do you want to get hit by someone stronger than a wall again?”
“……Guys, you really didn’t drink, right?”