Hong Jinseok’s shallow tricks were obvious to everyone else’s eyes too. The PD and writer clapped and rejoiced at Ryu Geon’s butt filling up the giant screen on the field.
“Ah, good! Great shot! This is getting airtime!”
However, Ryu Geon himself, who was being humiliated, and BNCZ couldn’t laugh. Everyone stopped cheering and glared at the two locked in combat with cold expressions, and the reaction among the other idols watching wasn’t good either. A few careless idols pointed fingers and cackled, then belatedly managed their expressions and sat properly at the cold atmosphere.
“Ahahaha! What’s this? Player Hong Jinseok! You can’t grab the satba like that! Player Ryu Geon is flustered! He doesn’t know what to do!”
Naturally, the reaction from the fan section wasn’t good either. Idol fans especially sharply saw through this manufactured scene, the condescension based on rank difference, and the overacting to stand out alone and secure screen time. It was a reaction befitting the dishonorable idol who had such a long record that he once ranked first in ‘people I hope won’t get involved with my idol.’
“Ah, why is he like that?”
“Seriously, Jinseok’s at it again…”
Even cold whispers flowed out from Hong Jinseok’s own group’s fan section, so the atmosphere was telling. The commentator who had been cackling and loudly commenting also belatedly picked up on the cold atmosphere, but it was already too late.
“Kkyat! Eeyat! Eeyaak!”
While Hong Jinseok showed off making all sorts of exaggerated battle cry sounds, Ryu Geon, who was furious beyond measure, gritted his teeth. And instead of using a technique, he simply picked him up and slammed him into the sand pit.
“Ugh!”
With an ugly scream, Hong Jinseok was buried in the sand, and only then did enthusiastic applause and cheers burst out from the fan section. The reaction was that it was satisfying to give Hong Jinseok, who was hateful to everyone, a sand bath. However, even while receiving congratulations from the united front of all fandoms, Ryu Geon, whose butt outline had been close-upped by the camera, hadn’t calmed down.
“Ugh, ugh!”
Hong Jinseok, who deliberately got up looking stupid without brushing off the sand stuck to his face, made a ridiculous expression and pretended to be hurt in all sorts of ways. It was an excessive reaction clearly aimed at captures and meme generation.
“…Thank you for your hard work.”
Ryu Geon curtly gave Hong Jinseok a 90-degree bow and came down from the sand pit. And once the camera withdrew, only then did Hong Jinseok brush off the sand on his face and approached Ryu Geon, draping his arm over his shoulder. It looked like he was pretending to be friendly, but it was just a typical alpha male’s attempt to look cool and establish hierarchy with an arm around the shoulder.
“Hey, Lee-ssi. This is why you can’t make it big. When I’m helping you get screen time like this, you need to react, you know?”
“……”
“And how can you throw your senior? What if I got hurt? Do you know how many fixed variety show schedules I have?”
“……”
“You should either coordinate the breakfall, or arrange the scene so your senior wins. Ah really, what would I become if I got eliminated in the preliminaries?”
At Hong Jinseok’s sneaky behavior of pretending to joke while putting strength in his arm and choking him, Ryu Geon finally exploded. He roughly shook off Hong Jinseok’s arm and said.
“If you wanted to win, you should have grabbed the satba properly first.”
“What? Huh, look at this attitude when talking to a senior?”
Hong Jinseok was flustered by Ryu Geon’s cold reaction. He made sounds like “huh, huh” as if dumbfounded and looked around. He seemed to be hoping that other male idols with similar seniority to him would take his side.
But the dirty trick of trying to secure screen time by humiliating others was already an outdated method. Everyone who made eye contact with Hong Jinseok turned their heads away, and Ryu Geon straightened his clothes and returned to the sand pit for the next match.
“Ah shit…”
Jinyeong, who had been watching the situation from afar, muttered a curse softly. Since Hong Jinseok was his senior, he couldn’t confront him openly, but he couldn’t contain his anger at seeing what he was doing.
“That bastard is acting like this because we’re juniors and don’t have fans, so we’re easy targets.”
Jinyeong sought agreement from Jion in frustration. Of course, Jion also knew that Hong Jinseok had done it with such calculations in mind.
He probably chose an opponent at a level that couldn’t protest even if they came out looking ugly and were humiliated, who didn’t have fans so they wouldn’t get beaten up by internet public opinion, or even if critical voices came out, his own fans could swarm over and beat them up saying ‘they’re being ungrateful when he gave nobodies screen time.’
“Really, why are these punks who don’t even have a scratch on their resident registration cards yet using their heads so despicably?”
Jion sighed, trying to contain his anger. From the incident of Seonwoo Jin receiving a female idol’s contact information during lunch to consecutive infuriating events, Jion had even forgotten the fact that he’d exchanged greetings with Kim Yoon Hyeok during the relay.
Even Seonwoo Jin, though not as close as Jion, couldn’t have good feelings toward Hong Jinseok who had tried to humiliate Ryu Geon, who wrapped him in love. Seonwoo Jin, who couldn’t manage his expression, openly looked toward Hong Jinseok and made a fierce expression.
“…What’s with that bastard.”
At first, Hong Jinseok had been peeved that some nobody junior had talked back to him, but seeing the cold public opinion toward himself and Seonwoo Jin’s fierce expression as if he would bite him at any moment, he shrank his shoulders, deflated. It was a shabby appearance befitting a loser.
And Ryu Geon fearfully vented the anger accumulated from his first preliminary match and instantly secured his advancement to the finals. Unfortunately, in the finals he met a male idol famous for being a health addict, had a fierce close match, and failed to advance to the finals after losing, settling for a bronze medal, but that was still a good result.
The members warmly welcomed Ryu Geon as he returned with a disappointed expression. Even Seonwoo Jin, who lacked greeting skills, social skills, and affinity limited to the same sex, stood up from his seat and offered words of consolation and congratulation to Ryu Geon.
“Good work, hyung.”
“Thanks. Ah, I could have gotten a silver medal. Bronze is so disappointing.”
“Hyung, I don’t even have that bronze.”
“Sorry…”
“I’m joking. You really worked hard, hyung.”
Please let them edit out the preliminaries.
Jion prayed inwardly while watching Jinyeong pat Ryu Geon’s shoulder. But the level of Korean broadcasting stations was obvious—still clueless, using idol athletics championships that don’t even get ratings to overwork idols, exploit their fans for free, and abuse their power. Thinking about how Ryu Geon would continue to be stressed even after the broadcast, Jion didn’t feel good either.
Ryu Geon, feeling sorry for the gloomy atmosphere, forced a smile and changed the subject.
“Archery’s next! Woojin, shouldn’t you loosen your shoulders?”
“Ah.”
He had been so focused on glaring at Hong Jinseok that he’d forgotten about his own turn. Seonwoo Jin belatedly hurried to stretch and checked the site where the targets were being set up. The members surrounded Seonwoo Jin and offered words of encouragement one by one.
“Woojin-ah, just think of it as showing your side profile to the camera, you don’t have to try too hard. Don’t feel pressured.”
It was Jinyeong’s words, briefly sharing a brain with Jion. Ryu Geon poked Jinyeong’s side, worried that those words might dampen Seonwoo Jin’s motivation, but Seonwoo Jin, who had grown accustomed to Jion-style appearance compliments and brainwashing, actually smiled. Knowing that Seonwoo Jin wasn’t in a bad mood, Eungi went as far as placing his hand on his hyung’s shoulder.
“Hyung, I’ll massage your shoulders!”
“Ah, I’m not into guys.”
Seonwoo Jin half-seriously avoided Eungi’s hand. The members who heard that answer had to exercise great patience to hold back what they wanted to say.
Is Seong Jion a woman?
Why is Eungi awkward…
Geez… he likes it when Jion hyung massages him…
Jion, whose heart was already twisted and mood uncomfortable, had a slightly different direction of complaint from the members.
Ah, women are good? Women are good? How much? How much does he like them?
The anger he’d briefly forgotten due to Hong Jinseok reignited. The jealousy that boiled up fiercely, mixing with the anger built up by Hong Jinseok, was an emotion difficult for even Jion, who had been through all sorts of experiences, to handle. And understandably so.
The Jion before regression was timid, small-hearted, and had a somewhat slow side, so he’d never even had a proper first love. For such a Jion, the emotion of jealousy was very unfamiliar and a type of emotion he’d almost never felt.
Surprisingly, until this very moment, Jion couldn’t distinguish well between envy, spite, and jealousy. He just felt regretful that he hadn’t taught well when someone else’s academy student became that year’s top student, and felt it was a waste that one didn’t come out from his students… If the pre-regression Seonwoo Jin had succeeded as a solo singer, he might have awakened to the emotion of jealousy, but fortunately or unfortunately, Seonwoo Jin succeeded as an actor.
Just as he regressed after awakening to idol success strategies, if he had regressed after experiencing the emotion of jealousy, Jion might have quickly realized that his feelings toward Seonwoo Jin were none other than jealousy and wouldn’t have unnecessarily gone in circles. But just as Seonwoo Jin still hadn’t learned how to secure space with his soft palate and mouth when producing sound, Jion was also a clumsy beginner when it came to such romantic feelings.
“…Do well.”
Greeting Seonwoo Jin, who was waiting for his encouragement, awkwardly, Jion desperately prayed that Seonwoo Jin wouldn’t come out looking too cool.
Woojin (우진) – [alternate name for Seonwoo Jin]
