Chapter 23
Soon, the music started. It was a song called “Today’s Me” by boy group Buffalo. The chorus was so addictive that there was a saying that even if you didn’t know Buffalo, you knew this song.
Since it was choreography that any trainee would know, everyone danced excitedly. As it was a gathering of people specialized in singing and dancing in South Korea, everyone burned up as if it were Friday night. Cameras moved busily, capturing the trainees.
Suddenly the music stopped, and a number appeared on the screen.
[7 people]
The participants who had been running around busily formed groups of 7. Juha and Eunwon roughly paired up with people next to them to make 7.
The second song was JuJu Star’s ridiculous song “I Kung.” Everyone looked at the trainee in front like a mirror and did group dancing. The sound of laughter as they watched each other dance was refreshing after a while.
He thought it was a childish game that you’d only play on school trips or retreats, but since many familiar songs came up, everyone forgot about competition and had fun.
Juha, who had been a trainee for so long that there was no choreography he didn’t know, could focus on the game for the first time in a while.
[5 people]
[10 people]
As the game dragged on, Juha gradually observed Taeri’s movements. Their eyes didn’t meet, but Taeri was definitely watching Juha too.
Juha gradually moved toward the corner in case Choi Taeri came close. As far away as possible, to avoid being caught in his sight.
After the 10-person game ended, music started again.
“Now, this is the last song!”
“Hyung! He says it’s the last one!”
Seo Eunwon’s eyes, who had been sticking right next to Juha, sparkled.
“You stay right next to me this time too. Don’t go chasing after some random person and get separated.”
“Okay!”
Eunwon nodded at Juha’s words.
1 and 2’s song “Flame” started from the speakers. Once again, the hall became a dance floor resembling a disco.
After dancing excitedly, the music stopped.
The number that appeared on the screen was two.
“Two…”
Before he could even check the number, someone hugged Juha tightly. The familiar rough breathing spread whisperingly near his ear.
“Uh…”
Juha lost his words as soon as he saw the owner of the embrace.
Choi Taeri, who had been standing far away, had run at full speed and hugged him.
“Ugh!”
Taeri’s fingertips wrapped around Juha’s back were full of strength. He hugged him so tightly it was hard to breathe. It felt like being tied up with heavy chains and locked in his embrace.
Right now, this wasn’t just a game to Taeri.
Choi Taeri was using the game as a pretense to express his anger.
“Ca, camera’s here.”
“I don’t care. Don’t go anywhere else, Lee Juha.”
Taeri whispered low in a barely audible voice. His body heaved as if he was out of breath from running so urgently.
Juha still couldn’t figure out what was happening right now. He had clearly been far away, but it wasn’t like he flew over – he had appeared as if he’d teleported and hugged Juha seamlessly.
Thanks to Choi Taeri’s reckless body tackle, Seo Eunwon, who got bounced away, looked around in confusion before throwing himself into the arms of 48th place Jae Byeongho. And even further away, Yoo Youngin, whose expression had stiffened awkwardly, paired up with his roommate, 57th place Choi Musin. He was a quite clever trainee who had chosen kimchi but overcame the crisis through patriotic marketing.
After confirming everyone had partners, Park Jusung came back to the front of the stage.
“Now, check your current partner trainee.”
Choi Taeri reluctantly released Juha from his embrace.
Whether Park Jusung said anything or not, Taeri only looked at Juha. This was during filming, and Taeri’s sudden rush toward Juha was good prey for the production team.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
Choi Taeri asked in a small voice.
“What are you talking about.”
Juha pretended not to know with all his might. When the camera approached, Taeri bit his lip and held back his words. His eyes were full of irritation.
‘This can’t be…’
Juha muttered to himself. He had been prepared for this level of reaction from Taeri. Juha quickly turned his head away, but Taeri was still looking at him. His eyes looked like he’d do anything if only the camera wasn’t there.
Park Jusung on stage smiled brightly and opened his mouth.
“The trainee in front of you is your teammate for the first competition.”
‘Damn.’
Juha swallowed a curse internally.
It was getting worse and worse.
He’d tried his best to avoid Taeri, but not only were they roommates, now they were a team of just two. They’d have to stick together like gum for a whole week without fail.
“The first competition mission is!”
Along with Park Jusung’s words, text appeared on the screen.
[1:1 Death Match]
The four characters “Death Match” were as intense as if they would really kill someone.
“To be or not to be, that is the question. In this mission, one teammate will definitely be eliminated.”
Park Jusung proudly introduced the mission.
“Ah!”
“What…”
“What is this!”
The trainees’ reactions were shock and horror. And rightfully so, because most of the people who were now paired were their closest friends. The trainees couldn’t hide their confusion.
Your closest friend becomes your biggest enemy, but you also have to team up with your enemy and cooperate to create a stage.
The most desperate person in this mission was Lee Juha, who achieved the triple crown of being Choi Taeri’s teammate, enemy, and roommate.
The invisible sky turned pitch black.
‘Ha, shit… should I just kill him…’
Juha glared at Choi Taeri in front of him. He’d rather turn away from this situation.
No one here would want to compete in this death match with Choi Taeri. But this bastard had clung to him and created this damn mess.
The expression of Choi Taeri standing in front also wavered.
Since one of them would definitely be eliminated in this competition, his words about wanting to debut together were obviously going to crumble.
A 30-minute break was given to calm the noisy atmosphere. Even Taeri was unusually dazed.
Leaving the commotion behind, staff approached the two.
“Trainee Choi Taeri, trainee Lee Juha, please come to the interview booth.”
“Yes? Oh, yes.”
Even while following the staff, the two remained silent.
Obviously they were going to ask about Choi Taeri rushing over like a dog chasing a ball and body-slamming him earlier.
Juha’s face hardened at this extremely twisted situation from just the second filming.
* * *
Taeri entered the interview booth first. Sitting in the chair placed alone against the white background with the ‘My Idol’ logo, he could see the camera and production team in front.
Taeri calmly settled his mind. The interview soon began.
-Why did you run to trainee Lee Juha like that during the game earlier?
“Just, because I wanted to play around (sheepish).”
-That seemed quite aggressive for playing around? Do you usually play like that with trainee Lee Juha?
“(I’ve played even more aggressively) I couldn’t control the intensity.”
-Haha. Trainee Choi Taeri, you must really like trainee Lee Juha.
“Yes (confident).”
-But what will you do about having to do the death match?
“…(dejected).”
-We’ll stop here.
Taeri got up from his seat with his head down. He had just jumped up because he was annoyed that Lee Juha was avoiding him so obviously, but of all things, it had to be a death match.
The more he thought about it, the more hopeless the situation became.
Outside the interview booth, Juha, who was next, was waiting. Since cameras were filming them, they could only look at each other and smile awkwardly.
“Do well.”
“Yeah.”
After answering briefly, Juha entered the interview booth nervously. He was even more anxious not knowing what Taeri had said about the earlier situation.
-First, congratulations on winning the mission.
“Th, thank you.”
-Trainee Lee Juha, you seem very nervous.
“Yes? Oh, yes. A little (trembling).”
-You were surprised when trainee Choi Taeri suddenly ran over, right?
“Yes.”
-You must have become really close after sharing a room for a week. Do you like trainee Choi Taeri?
“…(contemplating).”
-Ah, trainee Choi Taeri will be disappointed. Trainee Choi Taeri answered in 0.1 seconds.
“(Startled) Of course… I like him too. I was just surprised earlier because I thought I was being attacked by a bear. Haha…”
-You’re roommates again this time, so be nice to trainee Choi Taeri. During the last dorm stay, when trainee Lee Juha was sleeping, he was worried you’d fall off so he pulled you to the middle of the bed, and when you slept on the sofa he covered you with a blanket because you were cold – he treated you so sweetly.
“…Yes?”
-Hahaha, you didn’t know. Trainee Choi Taeri really takes care of trainee Lee Juha.
Juha came out of the interview booth lost in thought. He felt like he’d come for an interview but heard very strange stories.
‘He pulled me to the middle of the bed while I was sleeping?’
So that was it. The reason why he always fell asleep at the edge of the bed during the first dorm stay but woke up in the middle.
‘Why did he cover me with a blanket…’
After making the effort to sleep on the sofa, he followed and covered him with a blanket.
It was fortunate that the production team seemed to think nothing of it, but Juha felt uncomfortable as if something was stuck in his throat.
* * *
After the break ended, trainees paired up sat in the spacious main hall. While trying to look cozy, tension floated in the wide main hall.
Juha sighed every time he looked at Taeri sitting in front of him. He had somehow managed to get first place in the photo mission, but he had no confidence in beating Taeri in terms of stage presence or recognition.
“What song should we do?”
Taeri asked while selecting songs on his phone. Since there was a camera in front, he couldn’t show an awkward appearance.
“Should we do a duo song? Or should we arrange something else?”
Juha asked back while hiding his expression.
“Wouldn’t it be much easier to bring out the flavor with a song that was originally released as a duo?”
“Yeah, then.”
“How about this song?”
What Juha suggested was Crazy Monster’s “Even When I Think About It Again, You’re Pretty,” which captured summer’s refreshing beauty. It was a group whose stock was rising after their previous album track “My Deer” became hugely popular.
This music especially suited two twenty-year-old men well.
“That’s good too, but don’t you think this would also be okay?”
What Choi Taeri suggested was a song called “Mine” released by a popular group’s unit. It featured an intense stage of bloody fighting over one woman.
“Okay.”
“‘Okay’?”
Taeri seemed bothered by Juha answering mechanically without any consideration and asked back.
“Let’s go with what you suggested. That seems better. How are you so good at choosing songs too? Haha.”
When Juha smiled a camera-friendly smile and spoke, Taeri glared slightly. There was a mix of resentment and irritation, but Juha avoided that gaze.
After filming ended and dinner time came, close friends gradually gathered in groups of three to five. While Yoo Youngin was talking to Taeri, Juha secretly slipped away and headed to the cafeteria with Seo Eunwon.
“I told you to stay next to me, but what can we do about this situation?”
Juha spoke sheepishly to Eunwon. He had even grabbed Eunwon’s sleeve and kept him right next to him, but Choi Taeri flew over and crashed into them, separating him from Eunwon.
“No, hyung. It’s fortunate, what do you mean. If I had done the death match with hyung, I might have cried.”
“That’s true.”
Imagining preparing for a death match with that little guy, Juha’s heart already felt heavy.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
Eunwon carefully poked his head out and asked.
“About what?”
“Doing the death match with Taeri hyung.”
“Eh. I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow. You’ve grown up, Seo Eunwon. You even know how to worry about hyung.”
Even though Juha praised him in a tone that said he was proud, Eunwon’s eyes were full of worry. When the two set down their meal trays at an empty spot, conversation was already in full swing at the next table.
“Did you hear that? Starting tonight, all dormitory observation cameras will stop recording at night.”
“Why?”
“Why do you think. Who would like being filmed by cameras while sleeping. The parents must have made a fuss. Saying how could they film people sleeping.”
“That’s true. It creeped me out too.”
While numerous audition programs were being mass-produced, trainee human rights issues were also frequently discussed, and the voices of guardians had grown louder, making this possible.
“Right. Honestly, because of some youth protection law, they can only film minors until 10 PM, so filming people sleeping is illegal.”
“From what time?”
“Probably 10 PM?”
“I wish they’d remove them all.”
Come to think of it, the staff had said something strange earlier.
Something about Taeri pulling Lee Juha to the middle of the bed when he fell asleep, or covering him with a blanket.
It wasn’t like they were ghost cameras, but filming people sleeping was uncomfortable.
However, he couldn’t trust it 100%. Even if they set timers on the cameras, if there was a one-in-a-million mistake, it would be captured completely.
Juha, who had to spend the night with Taeri again starting tonight, rather wished the cameras would keep running.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
