Second Try Idol

Chapter 336: Stay Strong (9)

“Dialect?"

“...Ah."

When I probed further, Tae-Seong clammed up as if he had suddenly come to a realization. I couldn't help but wonder what made him react this way. What was with that look on his face?

As he continued driving, his expression remained impassive. He almost seemed resigned, as if he hadn’t said anything at all.

“What was that 'ah' about, Manager?"

“It's nothing."

“You thought I would sound awkward if I tried speaking with a dialect, right?"

Tae-Seong glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “I considered dialect as a form of acting. If I upset you, I apologize."

“It's actually sadder knowing you meant no harm, Manager," I said.

Tae-Song didn’t crack a smile. Instead, he simply nodded and kept his eyes on the road.

“I will fix my way of thinking."

“Ah, no, it was just a joke. But, speaking of which, can I call you 'hyung' more casually?"

“Yes."

“Am I the first one to call you 'hyung?’"

I threw the question out lightly, and he responded seriously, just as I expected.

“That's correct."

I heard that Tae-Seong's first job, which he used to have until recently, was at a place with a very strict hierarchical culture. That probably explained why he was much more serious and less inclined to joke around than Su-Hwan. His threshold for laughter seemed high.

Despite Jin-Sung and Goh Yoo-Joon’s efforts to draw a laugh from him with their antics, he rarely gave in. Instead, they would bring Su-Hwan around to lighten the mood or shoot videos for purely business purposes, which they would post on BlueBird.

Ever since Su-Hwan was announced as the head of the label, interacting with Tae-Seong and breaking down that distance had become somewhat of a trend. It was a habit for the members, especially Goh Yoo-Joon and Jin-Sung, much like they used to do with Su-Hwan.

“Thanks for the dialect suggestion, hyung. Ah, and feel free to speak casually with me too."

I made the comment lightly, half-expecting him to refuse, just like Su-Hwan would.

“Sure."

To my surprise, Tae-Seong responded casually right away. He might be reserved and a man of few words, but it seemed he wasn’t shy about easing into a more familiar tone.

Tae-Seong said in his deep, gruff voice, “There's a team dinner after today's Newbie Crew shoot, but feel free to pass up if it's too much. You can always leave under the pretext of the upcoming concert."

“Is that okay?"

Tae-Seong nodded. “I've already informed them that you might need to leave part way because of concert-related schedules."

“Thanks."

From his first day until now, one thing had not changed—his incredible knack for looking after the team’s welfare was outstanding.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the Newbie Crew studio, and the shooting was about to begin.

***

“This is our last shot, hyungs."

After failing the raid for six hours, this was now our final chance. After I made this clear, a renewed determination flickered in the weary eyes of the cast.

“Win or lose, we’ve given it our all."

“Exactly! Guys, remember when we started this? Just getting this far is nearly a triumph of the human spirit."

“Let’s push through to the end. Let’s show the viewers that we never gave up, that we kept pushing forward."

“We won't give up!"

We had made several attempts, but we continued to fail in the final phase. The difficulty was brutal, and any slip-ups before the last section typically resulted in a total wipeout. By now, the hope for a server first clear had long vanished.

We were close to clearing, and our damage output was strong. However, the challenge was consistently in the mechanics as one or two would make mistakes inevitably, forcing us to retry.

Now, we focused more on passion, effort, and the process rather than just clearing.

“Everyone is doing well,” Seong-Jin said. “This is our last chance, so let's boost each other up and give it our best shot. You all did incredibly well this time, though the end was a tad disappointing."

Seong-Jin had been prone to complaining and blaming others, but had drastically changed his attitude after a few episodes aired. He had been hammered with criticism as expected, so he began to genuinely praise each team member.

I joined in, trying to keep up the positive atmosphere till the very end... but, to be honest, it was frustrating.

‘Why can't they dodge this?’ I found myself thinking as these situations kept happening, needlessly dragging out our time to clear.

It was the final shoot, so we needed to last longer than we did in the previous tries. However, we were bound to make mistakes, and someone would definitely bite the dust.

What if we limit our use of revives and conserve mana for dealing damage? Could we stand a better chance then?

“Let's clear this with style and then go grab some dinner, everyone!"

“Yes!"

“Sounds good!"

While everyone was buzzing with excitement, I popped open the skill window. Due to my teammates’ frequent mishaps resulting in them getting wounded or worse, I had the window crammed with every instant heal, regular heals, and revive skills.

But now, it was time for a change. I reset everything and added just a few heal and revive skills. For a twist, I also added a couple of rarely-used offensive skills for healers. After all, I wasn't meant to be a healer since I was born to be a damage dealer.

“Is everyone ready?"

“Yes!"

After everyone chimed in, I casually remarked, “I’m joining in on the damage this round."

“Oh? Our healer is turning into a damage dealer now!"

“Yes, and since it's the last round, no heals if you mess up, guys. Take care of your potions, manage your health, and don’t forget to check your food buffs. They can boost your attack and defense."

“Got it!"

“Here we go!"

This was it. The real last try! After this, I swore to take a long break from gaming. I took a deep breath and hit the 'Start Game' button.

***

“Ah! I’m dead again! Argh, seriously."

“Hyung, at least you dodged that attack that always kills you. Good job."

Encouraging words floated among those who had perished. It was frustrating and absurd. Since I was focused intensely on battling the boss, their placid comments seemed unbearably irritating.

“Uh-oh, our tank can't die now. Need a revive here." I quickly revived the tank and rushed to replenish his health.

The tank stopped chatting with the dead players and redirected his attention back to the game.

“Everyone, I’m about to use my ultimate skill soon, so please stay focused on the game even if you are dead."

The healer's ultimate skill was a game-changer since it could bring all dead teammates back to life. Once I made this announcement, the chatter from the deceased quieted down.

Right, right, left, left, out, out, in, in. I dodged a barrage of complex mechanics I'd memorized like the back of my hand, but teammates kept falling despite my efforts. When I looked around, only four of us remained. There were two tanks and two healers.

And then, in the heat of the moment...

“Aaaah! How am I supposed to dodge that?!"

With the boss's sweeping area attack, I became the last man standing. Great, I was hogging all the spotlight at the end. Shoot.

“Hyun-Woo’s expression really turned dark, didn't it?"

“He’s trying to focus, keep it down! Shhh."

“Is this what they call when the healer turns to the dark side?"

Dark side? Ha, not really.

After the team collapsed around me, a strange calm settled over me. I was the last one alive in this raid. Now, I could play however I liked.

“I won’t be using the revive key for now. Like I said earlier, I am running low on mana, so I will revive everyone at once when I use my ultimate."

“Yes!"

“Leader, do whatever you feel like!"

That was my cue. I abandoned my usual healer duties and dove into dealing damage. Interestingly, there seemed to be that one healer damage skill that felt almost overpowered in every single game.

One Hours was no different. There was one healer offensive skill that, although slow to activate, dealt substantial damage. I nimbly dodged the boss's attacks and timed my strikes with precision.

“Wow, is Hyun-Woo handling this solo?"

“I’ve never seen a healer pull this off alone. I’ve watched loads of videos, but this is my first time seeing something like this."

“You’re killing it, really. No wonder you’re the raid leader."

I intermittently healed myself and fulfilled both tank and damage dealer roles.

“Hahaha!"

“Hyun-Woo, keep your head in the game!"

Since I was the only one left, it was only natural I was juggling healing, tanking, and dealing damage. Of course, it was impossible for a healer alone to whittle down the endgame boss's health. However, if I could dodge the next wave of attacks that had wiped out all my team members and then revive everyone, we could perhaps pull off a clear.

“The ultimate should've been saved for a healer, not a damage dealer."

In One Hours, ultimate abilities like Awakening could only be used once by the entire party, so they were often used by damage dealers who could maximize their impact. It was a common practice, but if a healer ended up using it, it was pretty much considered a party’s downfall.

“Uh oh. He’s running low on mana."

“You got this, Hyun-Woo!"

“Way to go, newbie! Our raid leader! Captain Suh!"

“Just hang in there a little more!"

“..."

But, suddenly, I was struck by a wave of melancholy.

‘Why am I the one struggling by myself? Why me?’ The thought that I might end up being the last one standing again filled me with despair.

I kept my avatar moving almost on autopilot and juggling between tanking, healing, and dealing damage. Deep down, I knew this would happen. I always ended up with too little limelight despite pulling most of the weight! They better give me lots of air time on this episode, ugh.

After tirelessly grinding down the boss's health and soloing the complex mechanics that had troubled my teammates, I hit the ultimate skill button with a sense of relief.

“That should do it!"

My character burst into a dazzling array of effects as all my teammates sprang back to life.

“Hyun-Woo really pulled it off. He did everything!"

“Amazing, man. Seasoned players really are a different breed."

“Thanks, Hyun-Woo. But now that we’re back, let's focus and finish this."

My teammates showered me with praise as they resumed chipping away at the boss's health. With all eight of us attacking, the boss's health bar melted away rapidly.

“Everyone, group up in the middle. You remember the strategy from the video, right? Once we are on top of the boss, scatter to your assigned spots!"

“Yes!"

I had faced down the toughest attack alone. Now, all that was left were maneuvers that required good memory and coordinated movement rather than fancy fingerwork. We methodically navigated through the boss's mechanics.

“Seong-Jin hyung, move back!"

“Ah! I fell off!"

“It’s okay. We can still clear this even with one down. Seong-Jin hyung, we can’t revive you since you fell off."

“Oh, sorry!"

Just a little more, just a bit further!

As the boss unleashed a flurry of attacks and obstructed even our view, the remaining team members moved in flawless unison. Our attacks were hitting hard, and we were dodging mechanics smoothly despite one casualty.

‘...Are we actually going to clear this?’

The boss's health was on its last sliver. I used a mass healing skill once, then continued blasting away with offensive skills.

“We are so close! Just a bit more!"

I hadn’t expected to get so immersed with this team. Excited shouts erupted from all around.

As the boss staggered under our assault, my final blow made it scream and collapse, triggering the ending cutscene.

“We did it!"

“Wow!"

“Dang, this is unbelievable.”

Cheers filled the room, and some cast members even stood up to cheer. And there I was.

“...We actually did it."

Although I was still in the middle of shooting, all the past hardships and arguments with my teammates flashed through my mind like a fast-forward movie. Tears unexpectedly started to fall from my eyes. The thrill of conquering the seemingly impossible, the relief that it was finally over, and the aftereffects of all that effort hit me hard.

“Is Hyun-Woo crying?"

“Why are you crying, young one? After doing so well?"

It was because of you guys, you jerks...

A cast member who wasn't particularly close approached with a tone that seemed to pat me on the back as if saying ‘Oh, young one, aren't you adorable.’

Ji-Hyuk came over and hugged me as expected. This guy seemed to overflow with affection no matter what. “Hyun-Woo, why the tears? Are you happy? Or was it that tough?"

But Ji-Hyuk was another reason I had struggled, so his hug didn’t quite feel comforting.

“No, I just... didn’t know if we could really pull it off..."

It seemed I was more drained than I had realized because tears kept streaming down. I was also relieved I could at least fulfill Joo-Han's joking command to cry if I couldn't get enough footage.

I quickly wiped my tears and scanned my teammates. “Everyone... you all did... so well..."

CEO Lee Mi-Hyang watched me tearfully with a pleased smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Huh?"

...Why was the CEO crying? My puzzled murmur made all heads turn toward her, and that was the trigger. Soon, everyone started hugging me, almost all of them wailing.

‘What the heck...’

This surprisingly made my tears stop flowing in an instant.