SWNOVELXO Chapter 148
Chapter 148
At that time, the girl group Cheristine, having received instructions about the filming from their leader Sla, was also talking about Orca.
“Orca?”
“The people who greeted us earlier?”
Earlier, Orca, under the guidance of Kang Ji-woo and their manager, had gone around to greet each of the performing artists.
Among the celebrities participating in the Idol Variety Competition, they were the latest to debut.
As the people who saw On Raon in person for the first time were talking, even after Orca finished their greetings, they couldn’t stop talking about the handsome face they had only heard rumors about. Even in an entertainment industry full of attractive people, he was indeed outstanding.
The same was true for Cheristine.
“They’re all really handsome.”
“Young, fresh, and cute.”
“I’m not exaggerating, but On Raon? I’ve never seen anyone more handsome than him in my life.”
“Wow, look at this, Eun-jae is older than their leader.”
At Sla’s words, showing Kang Ji-woo’s profile found on a portal site, Cheristine’s youngest, Hyun Eun-jae, who was a year older than Orca’s oldest members, pouted among her older sisters.
“Then, everyone there is younger than us.”
As the years went by, they felt the passage of time as the age range of newcomers gradually lowered.
“But doesn’t the fact that they’ve paired us together this year mean they plan to completely connect us?”
“Ahhh, I’m already tired.”
While the girl group had enough popularity that people would recognize their names or songs, their fandom wasn’t particularly large. The boy group, with good looks and some buzz but not yet very threatening, made a perfect combination for the broadcasting station to use as they pleased.
If both sides were so unknown or unremarkable that they couldn’t be used, the station wouldn’t feel the need to involve them in anything. And if even one side had secured a position that was difficult to touch, the station would be more cautious in what they were asked to do.
Unfortunately, neither Orca nor Cheristine was in such a position. They were useful enough but not so threatening as to be a problem later.
Most of today’s performers fell into this category, but few combinations pleased the production team as much as Cheristine and Orca.
The Cheristine members, who had been on the Idol Variety Competition for several years, understood this reality well. They also knew that if any incidents occurred, the boy group fans tended to react more sensitively.
“Should I try dating this time?”
Bina didn’t just stop at understanding this reality but showed a willingness to actively participate in the romance setting provided by the Idol Variety Competition.
Lee Da-in, who was playing a mobile game, responded quietly.
“But I’m not into younger guys.”
“Me neither.”
“Same here. I don’t see younger guys as men.”
“Actually, I feel the same.”
After three members expressed their preferences, Bina, who had started the conversation, also revealed her taste, and the budding romantic enthusiasm quickly faded.
To the members of Cheristine, who had been around for a while, the average age of 20.8-year-old Orca members seemed too young.
Conversely, Ji-young, who only dated younger guys, had been secretly in a relationship for several months, so Orca was off the list of potential romantic partners for today’s game partner, Cheristine.
The manager of Cheristine, who had been listening to their bold conversation, sighed, not knowing whether it was out of relief or frustration over how to handle them.
“Oh, right. Before filming, we have something to prepare as a team.”
The production team had asked Sla to pick a keyword and prepare a skit based on it. They had a lot of demands.
“So, they said the Orca members would come to our waiting room.”
“What? When?”
“They said they’d come in 20 minutes… so, about now?”
Right on cue, there was a polite knock and a courteous voice asking if they could come in.
“Yes! Come in.”
The Cheristine members quickly fixed their expressions and outfits, standing up simultaneously. The Orca members, accompanied by a VJ, carefully opened the waiting room door and entered.
“Hello. Hello!”
“Oh! Welcome!”
For a moment, the scene was filled with both groups bowing and greeting each other. The accompanying Kwak Sang-hyun and Cheristine’s manager also exchanged polite greetings.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Yes, thank you.”
As the greetings dragged on, despite the limited time, Sla took charge and they finally managed to sit down.
“Can we know the keyword?”
Kang Ji-woo asked on behalf of Orca.
“Oh, we haven’t checked it yet. Let’s see together.”
Sla took out the card with the keyword from the envelope she had picked earlier. The VJ focused on that moment.
And the anticipated keyword was!
[Meeting]
“……”
“……”
Everyone present thought the same thing.
The broadcasting station people sure do come up with all sorts of things.
* * *
At an early hour before breakfast, the Idol Variety Competition filming began.
The idols, dressed comfortably from the waist down but wearing the sweatshirts provided by the station on top, gathered in a designated area with name tags bearing their group names and stage names on their chests.
The colors of the sweatshirts varied by team, making it easy to see at a glance who was on whose team.
Orca’s sweatshirts were a vibrant red. The color of Cheristine’s clothes sitting next to them was the same.
Outside, fans of each group, armed with light sticks and slogans, gathered in their clusters.
On Raon discreetly identified his fans’ locations through the cameras trying to capture his image, avoiding the staff’s watchful eyes.
Airy still held the temporary light sticks sold at their first showcase.
While the temporary light sticks had a certain charm, they did look a bit humble compared to the flashy, unique, and majestic light sticks of other groups.
“I hope we get our official light sticks soon.”
“Yeah, really.”
Recognizing how important equipment was in everything, Gyun Seong-ha nodded in agreement, hearing On Raon’s muttering about the shabby equipment their fans still had to use.
The MCs for the event, former announcer Han Ki-joon and Yoo Hana, formerly of the now-disbanded group Yours, took the microphones and explained the day’s schedule.
To summarize, today the 36 teams gathered here would be divided into pairs to compete in the preliminaries, and out of 18 pairs, only 4 pairs (8 teams) would advance to the finals.
After explaining the rules of the first and second preliminary rounds, the idols began performing the skits they had prepared in advance.
Due to time constraints, not all pairs could be seen; the writer had previewed the skits before filming and selected the promising ones.
As the keywords were revealed one by one, the fans’ atmosphere grew increasingly cold.
There were plenty of keywords as controversial as the “Meeting” assigned to Orca and Cheristine.
The Idol Variety Competition, already questionable in the eyes of fans, seemed especially outrageous this year.
Watching idols, awkwardly smiling like they were being dragged to a slaughterhouse, struggle through the skits while nervously glancing at their fans, made the fans wish their idols didn’t have to participate in this nonsense.
No one seemed happy with this setup; who exactly was this plan for?
“Alright. That was great. Now, let’s bring out the last pair.”
Han Ki-joon’s words made the remaining uncalled pairs and their fans tense up.
“Please, let it not be our kids.”
But Airy saw it coming just a moment before Han Ki-joon announced it, as they watched their kids stand up after hearing a staff member nearby.
“Orca and Cheristine. Please come forward.”
As Yoo Hana’s clear voice called out, the fans of Orca and Cheristine despaired.
Seeing their idols strangely excited only made them angrier.
“…What? Excited?”
Looking closely, they seemed to be holding back smiles, as if stifling laughter. This was true not just for Orca but for Cheristine as well.
“Have they already had some interaction?”
Trying to compose their expressions, Airy felt uneasy, suspecting some hidden intentions from the idols’ somewhat sly faces.
Then, when On Raon’s stunning face, capable of sweeping away all the world’s worries, filled the giant screen, the audience gasped in awe.
The camera directors diligently captured the reactions of other idols admiring On Raon’s beauty.
“First, let’s see the keyword you received.”
Han Ki-joon said.
Sla took out the card from the envelope, and a camera zoomed in on it.
The controversial “Meeting” was clearly written.
It was the most sensational topic among today’s keywords, explaining why their turn was scheduled last.
Everyone in the venue confirmed the shocking word through the giant screen installed on one side.
Airy’s stomach churned.
“No way, our kid! He can’t even drink yet! What kind of meeting!”
Han Ki-joon’s glance, after glimpsing the cue card, turned to Ban Yo-han, who stood like a perfect idol but was an ordinary college freshman just a year ago.
“Wow… Isn’t a meeting the highlight of college life?”
Ban Yo-han, feeling the gaze of the unspecified crowd on site, smiled a neat smile.
“I understand Yo-han was an ordinary college student just last year, enjoying his time as a freshman after getting accepted into university, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Since you’re so good-looking, you must have been popular among your classmates and seniors, right?”
“Haha…”
Ban Yo-han laughed awkwardly.
“Now you’re an idol, but back then, you weren’t even a trainee, just a regular student, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Honestly, how many meetings did you attend while in college?”
In the brief moment before he opened his mouth, many thoughts flashed through Ban Yo-han’s mind.
Many people knew about his college life, so the content of his answer was already determined.
But the key was whether to answer with a bit of shyness, pretending to be embarrassed, or just be straightforward about it.
In other words, it was a matter of attitude and nuance.
How he handled this would affect the options Ban Yo-han had for similar questions in the future and the image he would build.