Second Try Idol

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“Wake up.” Someone was violently shaking me awake. In response, I lazily swung my arms in the air without opening my eyes, which unexpectedly let out a loud smack.

"Ouch!" I realized I had just left a stinging handprint on the manager’s cheek. Immediately, his weight, which had been almost squashing me, rolled away. Only then did I open my eyes and glare at him.

Staring at me, he scolded, "How can you hit your hyung like that?"

"You should have woken me up gently as I asked," I retorted, still feeling the grogginess of sleep.

In the midst of all this, Goh Yoo-Joon was already up, simply buried under his blanket and giggled.

“I warned you that you might get hit by us if you keep waking us up like that,” said Joo-Han as he came into my room with a toothbrush in his mouth, looking like he had been at the receiving end of our manager’s atrocity

The manager pouted his lips and headed toward Lee Jin-Sung and Yoon-Chan’s room.

“Ah, I am so tired.” I yawned loudly and got up from bed. I wondered if it was already time to go to practice as I felt like I had not slept much. “Hyung, why are you waking us up so early? There is still time left, isn’t there?”

After waking up Lee Jin-Sung and Park Yoon-Chan, the manager checked the time on his phone and shook his head. “We have to stop by the company on our way to practice. Hurry up and get ready.”

“Ah, okay.” Having a sudden meeting was common, so I dressed up and headed to the parking lot.

As Joo-Han was about to step into the car, a moment of hesitation caught him off guard. “Why is there a camera? Are we filming?”

Already comfortably seated in the driver’s seat, our manager responded with unexpected blabbering. “Uh? Oh, umm, I forgot to mention this. We decided to start filming from here.” His words were tangled, and it was evident to all that he was hiding something.

After a moment of contemplative silence, Joo-Han let out a chuckle. "Really? You might have mentioned it, but I don’t remember. Guys, let's get in."

Joo-Han slid into the car, followed promptly by the other members. Although it was clear that something unusual was happening, Joo-Han's feigned ignorance meant that we all chose to leave the topic of the camera untouched for now.

As we got closer to the company, the manager nonchalantly zoomed past the building. "Huh? Hyung, you just drove past the company, didn't you?" I pointed out.

From the back seat, Goh Yoo-Joon's laughter filled the car. "Hey! I knew this would happen! Where are we heading, hyung?"

Still faithfully carrying out his duty, our manager offered no clear answer. The car continued its journey, turning into an alley, indicating that our destination wasn't too far. Unexpectedly, we found ourselves entering a high school, and confusion spread among us.

"...High school?"

"Don't tell me we're here to perform or something."

With a wave of his hand, our manager dispelled that idea. "Nah, it's not that. Everyone out."

Once we were all out of the car, the manager's face finally relaxed, a sign that we had arrived at the intended destination. Like a trail of curious ducklings, we followed him to the auditorium. Inside, we were greeted by the sight of other group contestants, their faces mirroring our confusion.

"Oh, hello. Hi!" After we exchanged greetings with the other groups and staff, we stood awkwardly next to High Tension. I couldn't help but ask, "Hyung, do you have any idea what's going on?"

Ji-Hyuk shook his head, equally clueless as the rest of us. Before we could ponder further, a familiar voice boomed through the auditorium. “Everyone! Thanks for coming all the way here!” Clad in gym clothes, announcer Jeong Gyu-Chan was making his way onto the stage.

The room directly buzzed with whispered questions.

"What's happening?"

"Why is Mr. Jeong here?"

The murmurs were silenced as the announcer blew a whistle, commanding everyone's attention. “Welcome to the Pick We UpField Day!” he announced.

‘Field Day?’ My confusion turned into surprise.

“You have twenty minutes! Change into gym clothes, and the first group to return here gets a bonus of thirty points!”

“What?”

“Get ready-.”

Instinctively, we started running. Our minds hadn’t fully processed the importance of the points or the sudden necessity to change into gym clothes, but the bonus points spurred us on.

No matter what, Chronos needed the bonus points, so we darted down the corridor, following the arrows to a room where gym clothes were laid out, sorted by size. We then grabbed the clothes and raced toward the changing room, each member fueled by a competitive edge.

“Hyung, hurry up!”

“Uh... but why are we doing this...?” questioned one of us amidst the rush.

“We'll ask that later!”

Nearby, members of Street Center were having a similar conversation, driven by the same competitive spirit yet equally baffled by the situation. With our focus solely on reaching the auditorium first, we sprinted with all our might.

The first to arrive was Lee Jin-Sung, followed by two members of High Tension whom I didn’t recognize. Then, it was Goh Yoo-Joon and me. After that, each group entered the auditorium in turn.

“Wow! Chronos is so fast! Three out of five members have arrived already? Who is left? Just Joo-Han and Yoon-Chan?” The commentary of announcer Jeong Gyu-Chan led to an outburst of complaints from the members of Street Center. “No! Hyung! Isn't it unfair for us since we have more members?"

Then, Jeong Gyu-Chan responded with a sly smile. "That's Street Center's issue! It’s your business that you need to take care of!"

"Ahh! You are so mean!"

Soon, the members of High Tension also started to arrive, and among the remaining members of Street Center, Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan started running. "They are here! Hyung, hurry up!"

Seeing Lee Jin-Sung shouting, Joo-Han grabbed Park Yoon-Chan's wrist and ran faster. Triggered by this, the members of High Tension and Street Center also picked up their pace.

"Look! The athletic members are standing out. Are the ones waiting here the usual workout enthusiasts? Meanwhile! Hehe, our Air Senior is already giving up and just strolling leisurely. They know they can't win even if they run now! Ah, it's nice to see the passionate runs of blooming youths! Great!"

The escalating commentary of Jeong Gyu-Chan and the rising cheers from each group filled the air.

"The final winner is!" With some members of Street Center, Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan entered the auditorium.

Jeong Gyu-Chan laughed heartily and blew a whistle.

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"The winner is Chronos! Chronos is in first place! They are strong on and off the stage! Let's give Chronos a bonus of thirty points!"

"Wow, wow! Thirty points!"

“Yay!”

‘But what are these thirty points for?’ In truth, everyone was happy without even knowing what it meant.

Seemingly aware of our thoughts, Jeong Gyu-Chan chuckled and said, "Look at Chronos being happy without knowing what those points are for. Yes, it's cute." Jeong Gyu-Chan settled the noisy atmosphere and lined up the groups. "From now on, you'll compete in various events and earn points based on your ranking. The top three overall will receive bonus points for the next competition!"

Jeong Gyu-Chan’s words momentarily quieted the groups before they became noisy again.

"Isn't this quite a disadvantage for the groups that are already at the top of the rankings?" Joo-Han muttered. As he said, winning this event was good for the groups that were lower in the rankings but a disadvantage for those already high up, as they had to win just to maintain their position.

"Everyone, you have to remember! The final winner of this competition gets to be on a reality show! Work hard and earn lots of bonus points!"

After Jeong Gyu-Chan's explanation, the filming paused for a moment. During the short break to set up the first game, the top-ranking groups, including us, felt rushed.

"Let's have Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan do the thinking."

As Goh Yoo-Joon suggested this, Park Yoon-Chan put his hand on my back. "Hyung, don't forget about Hyun-Woo hyung."

Goh Yoo-Joon shook his head. "Suh Hyun-Woo is kinda dumb.”

"...You are the same!" I barked.

I put Goh Yoo-Joon in a headlock, but he remained unfazed and continued, "We'll give our best in the physical contests."

Lee Jin-Sung had warmed up early. When the set for the first game was ready, the groups gathered again in the set and the filming resumed.

"Okay, the first event of Pick We Up Field Day is Wrestling! Each group, please choose your athlete!"

We easily chose ours. "Go, Muscle man!" encouraged Joo-Han as he pushed Lee Jin-Sung forward. Regardless of how Joo-Han called him, Lee Jin-Sung walked toward Jeong Gyu-Chan with a beaming smile.

"Wow, Chronos sent Jin-Sung without hesitation! Are you guys that confident? Jin-Sung, how confident are you?"

Jeong Gyu-Chan passed the microphone to Lee Jin-Sung, who nodded confidently. "I've won a wrestling competition at our agency before."

"My goodness, does YMM also have wrestling competitions? Hahaha! Such an interesting company! With a wrestling championship under his belt, we have a strong front-runner here! How about saying a few words of determination for the others here?"

Acting all serious, Lee Jin-Sung clenched his fists and said, "I will give it my all, with all my life!" He was really excited. Other groups also sent out members with sturdy physiques as their representatives.

When the wrestling match kicked off, Lee Jin-Sung lived up to his title as YMM’s wrestling king, dominating his opponent right from the start.

He secured victory in three consecutive matches, solidifying his reputation as Chronos’s muscleman. Grinning widely, he resembled a giant as he walked back toward our group proudly, displaying the 1st place sign.

"The next round is a relay race! Please select two members from each team and send them to me."

We didn't need much discussion for this one either. Goh Yoo-Joon and I were already on our way before Joo-Han could push us.

After spotting us, announcer Jeong Gyu-Chan lifted his microphone with an excited expression. "Chronos is the quickest to send their athletes again. Yoo-Joon and Hyun-Woo! What’s the reason for your participation this time? Are both of you also winners of your company’s running competition?"

When the microphone was passed to me, I simply shook my head and said, "We ran a relay together in high school."

"Oh, did you both attend the same high school? In the same class?"

"Yes."

Of course, that was before I dropped out of school, but we did win first place back then.

"Could you say a few words for us before we start running? Something like giving it your all," suggested Jeong Gyu-Chan as several cameras turned toward Goh Yoo-Joon.

He smiled awkwardly. While holding the microphone, I thought for a moment and then said, "I might not stake my life, but I'll put something on the line and give my best."

"Wow, what will you wager?"

"Uh..."

‘What should I say?’ As I looked toward Goh Yoo-Joon for help, his playful gaze gradually drifted downwards. I just followed his gaze, then...

‘Ugh.’

Everyone, including our team, started giggling. Jeong Gyu-Chan then burst into laughter and said, "Oh Hyun-Woo, that might be a bit risky, don't you think?"

"No, definitely not that! I mean, I'll just do my best!" As the camera seemed to angle downward, I quickly turned around and smacked the chuckling Goh Yoo-Joon on the back.

Jeong Gyu-Chan still had a mischievous look on his face and said, "Will Hyun-Woo be able to protect his precious treasure? Hahahaha!"

"Ah!"

"Let's see. Shall we start the race now?"