SWNOVELXO Chapter 283
Chapter 283
Due to his fear of Jena, Rai unfortunately had a mistaken perception. As he spoke the words he originally intended to say, his face was filled with uncertainty, wondering if it was the right thing to say.
“Anyway, you don’t have to be so careful about speaking to our team members. They’re not that difficult to deal with…”
“Okay.”
“It feels a bit awkward now… Yeah… But as we continue filming together, we’ll naturally get closer.”
The Idol Athletics Championship, due to the nature of the program, involves tough and often unpleasant activities like being forcefully mobilized for cheering.
However, Rai explained that there was also a charm to it, as spending years cheering enthusiastically as a team naturally brought team members closer together.
“That’s why quite a few people like this filming.”
Engaging in physical activities for such a long time makes it nearly impossible to remain awkward with same-gender teammates after years of constant interaction.
In the past, they even played sports like soccer, which drove people crazy.
In the midst of this, subtle romantic relationships also naturally developed…
And fans who watched in person would be turned inside out…
“I see.”
“Yeah, it really does feel like a school sports day when you’re cheering. You know how it is at Han La Art School? That feeling of the whole class moving together.”
“Yeah, I think I get it.”
Actually, I didn’t really get it.
Indeed, the awkward atmosphere among team members was most noticeable around us and Berry Blossom, who were participating for the first time this year.
Most of those who had participated two or three times before were already friendly and happy to see each other when they met, maintaining a certain level of camaraderie among themselves.
But, did this person really think I was like Go Kyung-yoon, evaluating people’s worth and calculating like that?
It’s not like that. I am genuinely an introverted person who is simply misunderstood. Before I could formally explain, Rai, saying let’s cheer up for practice, quickly moved forward to avoid the approaching Jena.
After that.
Even with everyone’s busy schedules, we managed to get through individual practice to a satisfactory level, so the final group cheer practice ended without any major issues.
The next day, Ban Yo-han and Seo Moon-gyeol, who had been intermittently attending basketball team training, finally wrapped up their sessions. The two, who had been running around busily without rest before and after their comeback, finally got a moment to breathe.
Seo Moon-gyeol, who rarely showed any sign of dislike, even let out a long sigh before heading to his schedule, which showed how tough it was.
“Hyung, do you dislike basketball?”
I suddenly worried that we might have forced Seo Moon-gyeol into basketball training against his will without realizing his feelings.
Thankfully, Seo Moon-gyeol shook his head without any particular reluctance.
“No.”
“Then why did you sigh?”
“Because it interferes with album activities,”
“Ah.”
“I don’t like such intense training.”
It was a very Seo Moon-gyeol-like reason.
“Be careful not to get hurt. Even during the filming and matches.”
“…Okay.”
Wasn’t his response a bit delayed just now?
[Seo Moon-gyeol is wondering if that’s something you should be saying right now. Affection +1. Current Affection: 76]
Why?
[You should have done better normally. Willpower -1]
But I did well.
[Larri acknowledges it. Willpower +1]
However, having someone like him acknowledge it is quite troubling…
* * *
The day before the Idol Athletics Championship recording.
The first teaser video for this year’s Idol Athletics Championship was released by reporters who quickly grabbed the promotional materials distributed by the production team and typed away on their keyboards.
In the first teaser video, the idols who became captains and vice-captains of each team this year were introduced.
[Blue Team Captain: Iric Rai!]
[Blue Team Vice-Captain: Soneti Mella!]
[Black Team Captain: Pluto Jooan!]
…
The captains and vice-captains are idols with a certain level of recognition, experience, and athletic ability within their teams.
They balance the gender ratio by selecting a male captain and a female vice-captain, or vice versa.
There are issues with fans overseas shipping the captains and vice-captains of different genders as couples, but people who are going to ship them will do so regardless, so it doesn’t make much difference.
Despite the workload, the screen time and editing are quite guaranteed, and the captains and vice-captains of the Idol Athletics Championship have a dedicated fan base both domestically and internationally, making it a popular position.
‘…or so Jooan, this year’s Black Team captain, bragged.’
The following video showed those captains and vice-captains evaluating and picking idols who were first-time participants in the Idol Athletics Championship, like Orca, for their teams.
The evaluation was based on pre-recorded fitness test videos and other entertainment show clips that involved physical activities.
**Chapter 283**
Out of curiosity, I watched last year’s video in advance.
It was a simple introduction aimed at idol fans, briefly explaining who was expected to shine and make an impact.
If a rookie’s face appeared prominently for any reason, it implied that, considering factors like recognition, skill, and agency, they could expect decent screen time.
On the other hand, if they weren’t mentioned at all,
The senior members on the same team, who had experience in the show, advised that unless they showed an extraordinary performance during the actual recording, they shouldn’t expect to see much of themselves on the broadcast this year.
In reality, the process of assigning rookie idols to teams wasn’t as actively involved by the captains and vice-captains as shown in the video, where they would enthusiastically say, “I want to bring this person to our team.”
Based on the previous physical tests, the production team likely divided the rookies meticulously, considering the characteristics and strengths of the four teams.
Of course, such minor truths weren’t particularly important for the broadcast.
This was just a piece of content, and as long as it was entertaining, it was all good according to the PD of the Idol Athletics Championship.
“The PD really likes Raon, so we should have a decent amount of screen time.”
“That’s right. And he’s also a music show MC.”
“Oh, the Blue Team is coming up now.”
The Blue Team’s outfit was decided to be a bright blue hoodie that exuded a sense of freshness, paired with clean white jogger pants.
The captain and vice-captain of the Blue Team were also wearing these clothes in the promotional video.
“The outfit’s not bad.”
“But isn’t it a bit too blue? It’s so bright that it’s hurting my eyes.”
Still, compared to the ‘red crab’ concept of the Red Team, which was so strange it made you wonder what it was, the Blue Team’s outfit was a much more reasonable and pretty choice.
‘That team was criticized by fans last year for their flamingo outfits, yet they insistently went with the red crab this year too, which is truly admirable and absurd…’
Since some people look forward to seeing what bizarre outfits the Red Team will wear this year, their persistent approach wasn’t entirely wrong.
Except for the fact that fans of rookie idols prayed every autumn that their idols wouldn’t end up on the Red Team…
Cherrystin, who was part of the Red Team, was adamant about pushing the cherry theme for the team outfits this year, but judging by the earlier Red Team video, it seemed they failed miserably.
“Wow, Gyeon Seong-ha.”
“Gyeon Seong-ha! Gyeon Seong-ha!”
“Don’t do that!”
Due to his outstanding physicality, which naturally drew attention, and his past experience as a competitive swimmer winning several competitions, the production team was giving significant focus to Gyeon Seong-ha.
Together with Gyeon Seong-ha, I was introduced from Orca.
A clip of me running a solo race during the Lunar New Year special idol variety show was replayed, with Rai commenting that I seemed agile and quick.
‘This seems more like they included me out of courtesy rather than because I’m exceptionally good at sports.’
Despite the undeniable fact that I was quite good at sports, people still viewed me as weak, almost equivalent to being poor at physical activities…
Unfortunately, Berry Blossom was entirely skipped over, and the video moved on to introducing other teams.
I expected at least one of the basketball team members, Ban Yo-han or Seo Moon-gyeol, to appear, but it was surprising that they didn’t.
Among the rookies introduced from the Black Team, Jing Xiao and Go Kyung-yoon stood out, although not as much as our team’s Gyeon Seong-ha, but they had quite impressive physical attributes.
“Wow, Xiao is really good at sports.”
“But our Seong-ha is even better, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Is this the person?”
Seo Moon-gyeol, who was quietly watching the video, pointed out the bespectacled Go Kyung-yoon to me.
“What about him?”
“He’s the one who recorded the guide for ‘Again’.”
Since I hadn’t mentioned to the members or the company that Go Kyung-yoon did the guide recording for ‘Again’, I was astonished by Seo Moon-gyeol’s perceptiveness and widened my eyes.
“Wow, how did you know?”
The version Seo Moon-gyeol heard had a slight voice modulation to make it less recognizable that it was Go Kyung-yoon singing, though it didn’t significantly alter the overall tone.
“I recognized the similar intonation.”
“I get what you mean, but it’s impressive you noticed that.”
Considering his level of auditory perception, if I had sung it myself, I would’ve been caught right there…
Of course, it was only someone like Seo Moon-gyeol, with his extraordinary abilities, who recognized that the guide vocal was Go Kyung-yoon. The rest of the members, who were even more clueless than I had been earlier, were just as wide-eyed.
“Wow, so Geon-ha was the one who recorded the guide?”
“No… Why did… When I was here…”
“Why did you show such a good song to an outsider?”
Gyeon Seong-ha, in particular, grumbled worriedly about what would happen if the song leaked.
“I’m not stupid enough to do something that foolish.”
“Are you close?”
“Just know each other a little. Not close.”
* * *
Sometime later, on the day of the Idol Athletics Championship recording.
“Hello, sunbae.”
Go Kyung-yoon, who always deliberately exposed his true nature with his fox-like behavior, greeted me and the other members, as well as the staff inside, with a neat smile.
After exchanging greetings with everyone, I got a chance to talk to Go Kyung-yoon, who had been giving me sidelong glances, separately.
“Why did you come alone?”
Well, I’m not the type to insist on receiving greetings from juniors who debuted a few months after Orca, but it wasn’t particularly pleasant that he came alone.
“Never mind that, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Could you pretend to be close with me just for today?”
“…”
I had just told the members yesterday that I wasn’t close to you.