The Maknae Has to Be an Idol

A boring, staring contest between us continued for a couple of minutes. The first person to pull his eyes away was Kang Hyun-Sung.

“…Well, it doesn’t matter,” he said, sensing that I really had no intention to tell the truth. “Why don’t you leave instead of bothering me now?” He also looked like he didn’t want to talk to me any longer.

But I knew I couldn’t leave like this as I thought, ‘Why isn’t the system giving me a notification?’

I found Kang Hyun-Sung as it told me to, but I didn’t get an alarm saying that I had successfully completed the mission.

‘Does that mean there’s something else I must do?’ I had to do more than just find him. Perhaps, part of the mission was for me to drag him out of this place.

‘Haa.’ I sighed to myself. I could tell from a glance that Kang Hyun-Sung wasn’t going to leave here easily. Truthfully, I had sensed it since I opened the door. Kang Hyun-Sung was clearly burned out from everything. There was no energy in his pupils, his body slumped limply to the chair, and there was no eagerness on his face. I was surprised that even a guy like Kang Hyun-Sung could experience burnout, especially before a performance.

In my past life, I heard many people sharing their interactions with Kang Hyun-Sung on the internet and was always impressed by the grit and passion he seemed to display in his work. I had thought it was guys like him that succeeded. Thus, it was shocking that he would be struggling before a show like this. It was so unexpected.

I was sure it was tough for him, as people posted memes about him dropping from a first-tier idol to a doomed idol status. Because his position changed in an instant, he probably found it difficult to accept his changed circumstances. Furthermore, he was facing struggles in the program. He thought he could easily win first place before our appearance.

Seeing how the bet he made with his life on the line was crumbling bit by bit, he was probably under tremendous stress right now; and since he had to practice for the upcoming performance on top of that, perhaps, it was understandable that he was experiencing a burn-out.

“…Aren’t you going to leave?” Kang Hyun-Sung stared at me with hollow eyes.

I sat in the corner of the prayer room and stared at Kang Hyun-Sung. Perhaps, it was because he was receiving the room’s lights directly over him, he looked like the main character of a movie. While crouching in my spot, I met his eyes again. Kang Hyun-Sung also lowered his gaze so it was to my level.

“Are you having a hard time?” I asked. I had never comforted anyone before, so I just got straight to the point. I briefly recalled how, in these cases, people usually made empathetic responses first and got to the main issue afterward. Yet, I skipped the whole process to get to the core of the main topic right away. Kang Hyun-Sung looked a bit conflicted by my question.

I was surprised by how shocked he looked and how transparent his expression was. Kang Hyun-Sung parted his lips slightly and then spat out, “…You are quite nosy.”

At this response, I immediately had to throw away my plans to drag Kang Hyun-Sung out of this place with words of comfort and encouragement. I didn’t think those kinds of things would work on him anyway. No way he would listen just because I said some nice words. Instead, he would think I was overstepping my boundaries and mocking him, especially after the time I kept provoking him last time. Thus, I needed to find another method.

“Well, you sure do have a lot of free time.” It was a gamble, but I thought I could try provoking him again. There was no need for me to make a good impression on Kang Hyun-Sung and my mission was to just get him out of this place anyway. And without him, the show could go to ruins, so it wasn’t like I had much of an option anyway.

Kang Hyun-Sung snorted and stared at me. “Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

“No, I was just wondering if you have nothing to do, seeing how you are just playing around here.”

“I was planning to stay here only until I finished this IV drip.”

“Why are you getting it here instead of outside? The bed is much more comfortable.”

“…” Kang Hyun-Sung didn’t say anything and turned his head. It seemed he had nothing more to say.

“Are you tired?” I asked.

Kang Hyun-Sung flicked his head back towards me. He looked like someone who was greatly insulted. It was then, I saw that Kang Hyun-Sung’s burn-out was different from the normal kind. He wasn’t the type to want just to rest when he got a burnout. It was something more complicated than that.

‘He’s the type not to acknowledge it even when he is experiencing a burnout.’ Perhaps, he was hiding here because he didn’t want to admit that he was tired.

‘Hm.’ If I thought about his actions in my past life, it was a bit more understandable. Kang Hyun-Sung never made a mistake and never took a moment of rest. Perhaps, he was too much of a perfectionist to admit that he was fatigued and was sitting here with no energy because of that. His strong will to succeed and his desire for some rest were clashing head-to-head.

‘For myself, I need to support his will to succeed more.’ I didn’t know whether or not that would help his mental health more, but that was what I was going to do. Only One wasn’t a group that could fall now. Though it was unfortunate that Kang Hyun-Sung was tired, I couldn’t let my group members die.

“Mr. Park Young-Ho is creating a fuss looking for you. Is it all right for you to be just sitting around like this?” I brought up his group members first. Though he didn’t show it, Kang Hyun-Sung cared for his members more than he let on. I was sure that he had some attachment to his members even though it might take some time for him to open up his heart completely. Kang Hyun-Sung frowned.

“Do you think Only One will be able to do a proper show without you? When the center, leader, and the main dancer?” My second attack was to provoke Kang Hyun-Sung’s sense of responsibility. Despite everything, Kang Hyun-Sung was the leader of his group and the oldest. There was no way he wasn't responsible for those positions.

“Well, it’s better for us if you are not there. We can easily take first place then,” I said my next line of attack, which was to provoke Kang Hyun-Sung’s competitive spirit.

Kang Hyun-Sung’s conflicted gaze turned calm and he glared at me. “Don’t cross the line, Mr. Bong Tae-Yoon.”

I could sense that his voice turned cold. If I backed down now because I was scared of him, then all the provocations I made until now would turn useless. I need to make a final blow that would make this guy get up from his spot this instance and go practice.

‘Ah.’ I remembered Kang Hyun-Sung’s weakness. “Or maybe, you really want to finish as second place for The Showcase too.” I touched on Kang Hyun-Sung’s sore spot of failing to reach first place and landing second place at the end of his last idol survival show.

Even I felt my heart squeeze after saying those lines. It was such a blatantly rude comment to say, but I thought it would be difficult for me to finish this mission otherwise. Even if I became the prick in this situation, I needed to say it.

“If you won’t get out, I will.” Perhaps, it worked because Kang Hyun-Sung glared at him like he was going to kill me before rushing out of his seat. He dragged his IV drip stroller out of the prayer room and banged the door open. It seemed my provocation really worked on him.

“Let’s see each other at the studio,” Kang Hyun-Sung’s voice was chilling, and he sounded truly angry. Though I had to admit that it scared me a bit, I was relieved that I reached my goal.

Then, before leaving the room, Kang Hyun-Sung turned around and said, “Keep it a secret that you saw me here. I’m sure it won’t be good for you too if this story got out.”

“Yeah, sure.” I nodded to his suggestion of keeping this meeting a secret. Kang Hyun-Sung glared at me once before stepping outside, and when he was fully out of the prayer room, I heard the alarm ring.

[Mission successful]

After acting as an annoying prick, I finally completed my mission. This was truly a dreadful system.

[You succeeded in finding Kang Hyun-Sung. Only One’s withdrawal from the show has been canceled.]

[You gained partial control of Precognitive Vision.]

[Beware of incoming pain.]

As in all the previous cases, there would be some pain with the new ability. I prepared myself since I didn’t want to suffer like last time. Yet, even after knowing what was coming, this was a pain that I couldn’t endure.

Gasp!

I felt an intense pain in my right eye. It felt as if someone was trying to enter my eyeball. I clenched my teeth, trying to stop myself from screaming. If I let any sound out, doctors could come rushing in. I crouched on the floor and held my breath. It was good that I was in the prayer room. If I had to bear this pain outside, there would be a great fuss.

[Succeeded in gaining partial control of Precognitive Vision.]

After this alarm rang in my ears, the pain subsided. I leaned my back on the wall and stared into space.

“Haa…” Perhaps, it was because the excruciating pain disappeared in an instant, laughter kept coming out of my lips.

“Seriously.” I never wanted something like Precognitive Vision. It was good to gain new skills but if I had to experience such intense pain like that, I didn’t really want it.

Sigh.

Well, since I got it, I thought I should make good use of it. If it was the definition I knew, it was probably an ability that would allow me to see the future. It was basically another cheat-like skill. It was common for characters who could read the future to be one of the strongest characters in stories.

“Hm?” I didn’t have any inkling on how I could activate this ability. With the Insight ability, I knew the sensation of when it was activated because, although not out of my own will, I was able to use it a couple of times before.

‘But I have no idea where to start with this one.’ I wondered if I needed to say something out loud or something.

“Precognitive Vision!” I tried shouting the words out.

“…” But all I felt was shamefulness. After cooling my reddened face, I left the prayer room. I thought even if I couldn’t use the ability right now, there would be a time to use it. Then, I headed to the studio where my group members were.

***

When I went back to the studio, I found out that my group members had absolutely no interest in where I had been. I recalled Only One’s Park Young-Ho looking for Kang Hyun-Sung when he went missing, but my group members appeared calm and carefree.

“You were in the bathroom for a long time.”

“Did your stomach hurt?”

“Did we eat something wrong?”

And it appeared they all simply thought I had come back from the bathroom. But what kind of person spent one hour in the bathroom?

“I bought some anti-diarrhea medicine for you to take,” Do-Seung handed me a medicine bag that he probably got from a pharmacy. Seeing this, it seemed like they weren’t completely unconcerned about me and just firmly believed I had stomach problems.

“…Yes, thank you.” I took the medicine from Do-Seung and placed it inside my bag, thinking I could use it someday.

“Bong Tae-Yoon! So, is your stomach okay?” Dong-Jun asked while approaching me.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Really? Tell us if you aren’t okay. We can go to the hospital,” Yeon-Hoon said, looking genuinely concerned.

But I didn’t want to go to the hospital when I just came back from it.

“Yeah,” I answered for now.

“Okay, then, let’s eat something light for lunch.” Then, my group members gathered to decide on our lunch menu. We would probably choose something between salad or a diet lunchbox. But since I thought I needed to eat something, I also went to pick a menu.

Zing.

‘Hm?’ A strange fracture suddenly began to spread as if a haze was blooming. Eventually, the fractures widened, and a wave of vibrations rushed forward as if it were going to swallow up my surroundings. Time seemed to stop in that moment then and while only my mind was completely awake, my Precognitive Vision began.

—Today’s first place is…

I was baffled that my ability would activate like this, but I decided to focus on it for now. The future scene that I saw was the hosts announcing the results of the second-round performances.

‘Who will it be?’ I wondered.

—It’s Only One!

The first place wasn’t us but Only One.