The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

[Sixth Sense has been formed.]

[Beware as there could be temporary pain.]

Mysterious sentences rang inside my head.

Shaaaa!

Then, I felt a pain so intense that I thought my head was becoming completely blank. I couldn’t believe that the system just told me that there could be temporary pain. It should’ve warned me that severely intense pain was going to assault me and numb my head. If I had to make a comparison, it felt as if my body was getting pricked by thin needles from head to toe without any gaps in between. My whole body seemed to convulse.

Yet, the strange thing was that though the pain was mind-numbing, it was endurable. It wasn’t to the point that I had to scream and roll on the floor. It was as if the system gave me a level of pain it knew didn’t surpass my limits, and I could endure it by clenching my arms tightly.

Still, it seemed others could also clearly tell that I was in pain. The people who came to assess the situation didn’t look at Young-Ho but me. My group members looked especially worried. It seemed they thought I got a serious injury after trying to catch Young-Ho.

“Are you okay, Tae-Yoon?”

“Bong Tae-Yoon? Hey!”

“Call 911!”

I thought the situation was going to become bigger than necessary when suddenly—shaaa—the pain completely disappeared. The pain I felt became completely replaced with a refreshing and cool sensation.

“Huh?”

“Tae-Yoon?”

“A-Are you all right?”

They seemed to be astonished that someone who had appeared to be in excruciating pain suddenly looked peaceful.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon! Are you all right? Do you have any problems?” Before I knew it, all the producers and writers were rushing toward me. Even though it was Young-Ho who had almost gotten hurt, I was getting more attention than him. I thought my priority should be to calm all of them down.

“…I’m fine,” I said in the calmest voice I could manage. Yet, it wasn’t easy to erase so many people’s worries.

“Are you really fine?”

“Are you sure you aren’t injured...?”

“I think we should take you to the hospital.”

Even Young-Ho, who was lying on the mattress, got up and said cautiously, “Um, Mr. Tae-Yoon, I think you should really go to the hospital. If you were injured while trying to help me…I will reimburse you somehow…” Young-Ho sounded very apologetic, like he thought he was the cause of everything, and I knew his mental state would become worse if he kept blaming himself.

Thus, I told him firmly, “No, it’s fine. Don’t be so sorry. It was just an accident.” I thought I should get up and stretch a bit to show everyone I was okay. I lightly got to my feet and repeatedly jumped up and down.

“I’m really fine, but since Mr. Young-Ho appears quite shocked by what happened, I think it will be a good idea to pause the shooting for a bit.”

My group members and the broadcasting crew looked at me bewilderedly, like they were looking at some kind of alien. The director especially looked at me with half worry and half surprise. I probably would’ve responded like them if I also saw a guy writhing in pain suddenly get up the next moment and jump up and down. I was about to tell everyone firmly that I was fine when Yeon-Hoon asked me in an uncharacteristically serious voice.

“Are you really okay? You can be honest.”

My other group members also looked serious as they told me, “Yeah. It could become dangerous later if you keep it hidden right now.”

“Bong Tae-Yoon, tell us honestly.”

All my group members looked very serious. I could understand their concern. If I was in the same position as them and one of my group members went through the same situation as me, I would’ve also responded similarly.

“Yes. I’m fine. I’m sorry for making you guys worried, but I guess I can’t be sure. I will keep checking over my body’s condition while resting and tell you guys if it gets bad,” I told them and looked to the main producing director. I was clearly expressing my desire to have a break before continuing shooting. One would have to be completely bonkers to resume shooting in this situation, and the director nodded.

Then, he said, “Let’s have a lunch break and gather at this place again at 3 p.m. For those who need to go to the hospital, please tell us before going.”

Since it was 12 p.m. right now, we were given 3 hours of break. It was an unusually long break time for a broadcasting site that was known for its rigorously packed schedule.

“Let’s continue after break~”

“We will continue after break~”

The broadcasting crew members passed on the message to each other and took back their equipment. Several writers came to us and took away the mics attached to our backs. I only felt like we were on a break after the mics were taken off us, and my group members also seemed to relax a bit then.

“Haaa.”

“That really surprised me.”

“Tae-Yoon, no matter how urgent the situation is, don’t do that again. I thought my heart dropped.”

My group members told me while lying on top of the mattress.

Then, I heard an unfamiliar voice from the opposite side.

“Thank you.” I turned my head and saw Only One. Including Kang Hyun-Sung, four members of Only One were looking at me.

“Young-Ho would’ve been severely injured without you, Mr. Tae-Yoon.”

“Thank you so much.”

“We will pay you back for this.”

“Please contact us if your body doesn’t feel good later.”

The Only One members also appeared very shocked by what happened.

“Yes, thank you.” Since these guys did nothing wrong, I just accepted their thanks and passed over the matter. The Only One members supported Young-Ho, who lay on the mattress and left the studio. I supposed they were planning to go to the hospital first. And after Only One disappeared, the other cast also began to move to the waiting room one by one. We also got up from our spots and left the studio, and on our way, we met Ms. Hyuna and Ms. Seung-Yeon.

“Do you really not need to go to the hospital?”

“Just in case, why don't you go get a simple checkup?”

The two tried to get me to go to a hospital somehow, but after repeating many times that I was fine, they dropped the matter. Then, after that small commotion, my group members and I moved to the waiting room.

But right before we opened the door and went inside the room, I said, “Wait.”

“Hm?”

“What is it?”

“Ah, I just realized I left something. Please go in first,” I told my group members and walked toward the studio. Then, I approached the writer, Ms. Min-Young.

“Sorry? Are you hurt somewhere, Mr. Tae-Yoon?”

“No, that’s not it,” I said and told her of the guy who was keeping secret cameras on the site.

“…What, that’s crazy…” Hearing this, Ms. Min-Young’s face turned dark. And seeing this, I thought I finished everything I needed to do, and the broadcasting crew would handle the rest.

***

Kim Gyong-Jun, The Showcase 2 part-time, producing assistant, was grinning excitedly while sitting on a toilet seat inside the bathroom. He replayed the video he had just taken and realized it was better than he expected.

“This is crazy. Isn’t this something that could make people cancel this program?’ Originally, Gyong-Jun didn’t plan to reveal which program he was working part-time for unless a big event happened. This was because he knew that once he specified which show he was working for in his internet forums, he would not only be unable to work in broadcasting stations in the future but could also be sued.

But this case was special. If he just uploaded this video, he could cause a stir in society; it was something that could make the press write articles about the harsh reality of the idol business and the broadcasting site.

Of course, it wouldn’t go that far if he just uploaded the video just as it was since he also got some footage of the producers taking safety measurements and checking the site and so on too. However, if he edited all those cuts out, he would have a video that clearly portrayed the brutal and inhumane working conditions of an idol. The video itself looked very shocking in some parts and clearly showed how corrupt and inhumane the industry was.

‘Unfortunately, nobody really got hurt. If someone did, it could’ve gathered quite the attention. How unfortunate.’ Well, he thought this much was enough to cause an issue and assured himself.

Though it was a serious situation, he couldn’t stop smiling. He kept thinking about how many views he would get by uploading the video and how much attention he would gather from something he made. The thought of it just made his heart thump. He was about to go to his internet forum to upload the video when someone opened the bathroom door looking for him.

“Mr. Gyong-Jun! Mr. Gyong-Jun, are you here!”

Though he was sitting on the toilet seat, he got up and stood on top of the seat without knowing quite why. Then, he blocked his mouth with his hands and kept quiet.

“What? This one is locked. Mr. Gyong-Jun! You are in here, right?” The person outside began to bang on the door outside of his toilet compartment. In the end, he couldn’t ignore the continuing pressure and opened the door himself.

“Yes, well, I…” As soon as he cautiously went outside the toilet compartment, the person in front of him snatched the phone away from his hands. It was so sudden that Gyong-Jun couldn’t react, and because he didn’t lock his phone, the screen he was looking at was exposed just like that. The producer in front of him skimmed through his phone and found the video Gyong-Jun had filmed.

“Ha, seriously. You really took it,” the producer said. “Didn’t you sign a confidentiality agreement when starting this job? It should’ve clearly said that upon breach of contract, you would need to repay for the possible damage that the program would have to suffer.”

Gyong-Jun’s face turned pale.

“Ha. It could’ve been really serious if writer Kim didn’t warn me.”

All sorts of thoughts passed through Gyong-Jun's head then. He wondered if he should grab back his phone and make a run for it. Or should he just pretend to be innocent? What would happen if he was really sued?

“Follow me,” the producer said.

But as these thoughts continued to whirl inside his head, one thing seemed clear: he had definitely committed a crime.

‘I’m fucked,’ he thought.

***

After eating lunch, I sat in the waiting room with my group members. Only One who used the same room as us hadn’t returned yet.

“Everyone is probably still at the hospital, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“I hope Mr. Young-Ho’s injuries aren’t that serious,” my group members said and stared at Only One’s spot. Only One didn’t come even during the time when it was almost time for the shooting to resume again. They only came five minutes before the shooting directly to the studio instead of the waiting room.

I thought they would send Young-Ho back to the dorm, but they brought him with them, and he still didn’t have a cast on his ankles. I wondered what if another accident happened, but then I realized that it was an inevitable choice that they had to make for the show.

‘It would create more fuss if he gets out right now,’ I thought. If Young-Ho disappeared with no warning in the middle, there would be all sorts of posts asking about him. Then, I scanned our surroundings and saw that the yellow-haired man I had seen before noon was nowhere at sight. Perhaps, the broadcasting crew thoroughly took care of that matter.

“Okay then! Let’s start our noon shooting!” the producing director announced.

“Did everyone enjoy their lunch?” Kim Young-Jin climbed up to the stage again and naturally said his lines. “Then, let’s continue to keep fighting and play the next round of games!” It seemed he was trying to raise the mood again. “Since the Sirens took the win for the fourth game, it’s guaranteed the Sirens would be the winners. But though ranks are meaningless now, let’s continue to do our best for the fifth game.”

Since we won the fourth game, jumping over vaults, we won most of the games prepared for today and were the final winners. Thus, I was sure that we would become the models for the PepCola commercial. Yet, the program continued the fifth game because there were additional prizes involved in this one.

“The fifth game is a treasure hunt!”

From what I recall, there were several prizes available in this treasure hunt. Though there were many subpar prizes, there were some neat ones mixed in, too. I remembered the best one being tickets to Jeju.

“Since there will be additional giveaways given to those who find the most treasures, please give it your all to find as many treasures as you can.”

“Giveaways?”

“Wow!”

“They are giving away a lot of gifts today.”

My group members’ spirits lifted after hearing about the giveaway.

“Okay, then! There are treasures hidden outside this studio, so please go outside and find them! Your time limit is one hour!” Then, at Kim Young-Jin’s signal, all the cast pumped themselves up and dashed outside of the studio.

“Let’s go!”

“Ohhh!”

My group members also appeared to desire the prizes and ran outside the studio.

“Let’s try to get something!”

“Yeah!”

I followed my group members from behind at a more leisurely pace when a familiar voice pulled me back.

“Mr. Tae-Yoon.”

“Could we talk for a bit? If the time is all right.”

I turned around and saw Kang Hyun-Sung looking at me. His face appeared calmer than usual.