Second Try Idol

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“Hey, do you want to go first, or should I?” Goh Yoo-Joon asked.

I quickly replied, “Better you than me. I get too nervous under pressure. I had never been a fan of the tense moments right before. On your mark, get set, go!”

“Alright then, step back.” Goh Yoo-Joon nudged me aside and took his position at the start.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but run like there’s no tomorrow, okay? If you’re anything but first, you’re letting YMM down. You’ve got to win this,” I answered.

“Bring us victory.”

Jeong Gyu-Chan must have overheard our playful banter. He then said, “Guys, guys, no fighting! Come on, Chronos, play nice!”

Goh Yoo-Joon quickly smoothed his expression. “We didn’t fight. I promise.”

Jeong Gyu-Chan tilted his head, playing along. “Really? You sure you weren’t fighting? What about you, Hyun-Woo?”

I shook my head, grinning. “Nope, we didn’t fight.”

“Alright, if you say so. It’s a bit odd, but I’ll take your word for it.” Jeong Gyu-Chan then turned away.

Seeing him going the other way, I added, “Just so you know, you are not getting back into the dorm if you don’t get the first place.”

“So, I guess I have to run for my life, huh?”

“Maybe not your life, but put something on the line. Bet your magic pendant or something.”

Overhearing our whispers, Jeong Gyu-Chan spun around. “Wait, are you arguing now?”

We both laughed and shook our heads. “Nope, no arguments here.” freeweb novel.co m

“Aww, you two are such a good pair. So heartwarming.” Jeong Gyu-Chan still seemed a bit dubious. “I’m not entirely convinced, but okay, I’ll believe you. Chronos, please get ready at your spots.”

Jeong Gyu-Chan gave me a friendly pat on the back and guided me to where I was supposed to wait for the baton. “You know, even the cool guys from Chronos have their lighthearted moments, fitting their age. Your little disagreements are adorable.”

‘What a weird thing to say.’ I managed an awkward laugh as the camera captured it all.

“And now for the relay race! On your mark! Get set! Go!”

Goh Yoo-Joon took off like an arrow. The cheers from each group and Jeong Gyu-Chan’s lively commentary made the race feel like an actual athletic running competition. “Look at that! Ju-Ho from Street Center takes the lead! But wait! Goh Yoo-Joon from Chronos is catching up fast! True Bye’s Eric and Ash Black’s On-Sae are hot on their heels!”

Street Center’s Ju-Ho was indeed fast. Despite Goh Yoo-Joon’s best efforts, he was pulling ahead.

“Street Center is dominating! Chronos’s Yoo-Joon is trying his best, but it might not be enough! Will they keep their lead? Let’s see!”

I told myself it was fine and that gap was nothing. As soon as Goh Yoo-Joon reached me with the baton, I started running with it in my hand, sprinting after the Street Center runner like a madman.

“Yes! Street Center passes their baton, and so does Chronos! Look at Hyun-Woo with that determination!”

I was closing the gap with Street Center, but I could feel someone gaining on me.

“Wow, even with his hair all messed up, Hyun-Woo still looks good! Man, am I jealous!”

‘Crap, they’re catching up.’

“It seems like Hyun-Woo will be caught soon. Pine from Ash Black is closing in fast!”

“Hyun-Woo, run!” I pushed myself even faster as I heard Joo-Han’s voice.

“The support from his team is working! Hyun-Woo takes the lead!”

Just as I caught up with Street Center, my feet got tangled up out of nowhere.

“Ah!”

‘This is bad, isn’t it?’

Before I knew it, I was tumbling forward. “Ouch!” 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Gasps echoed around, including from Jeong Gyu-Chan. “Oh no! Hyun-Woo has fallen! Are you okay, Chronos? Hyun-Woo, you alright? Ash Black seizes the moment for second place! Hyun-Woo!”

‘No, I can’t stop now, or Joo-Han hyung will smack me!’ I tumbled and rolled, somehow getting back up and continuing the race. My waist and knees screamed in pain, but I could tolerate it.

“Hyun-Woo is back up and running! Is he okay? Oh my gosh! Hyun-Woo is back on the second lead!” It was frustrating to lose by just a few points in a competition, so I couldn’t let myself feel such devastation this time.

However, catching up to Street Center proved to be difficult indeed. In the end, their member crossed the finish line first.

“Street Center takes first! And in second place is...” Because I tripped, my pace slowed, and soon I was overtaken by other groups’ runners.

“Ash Black in second! True Bye finishes third!”

I resigned myself to a slow finish. “Unfortunately, Chronos ends up in fourth place!”

‘Ah, so frustrating. If only I didn’t trip.’

I rubbed the back of my neck in annoyance, turning toward my teammates when they rushed over.

“Hey, you alright?” Goh Yoo-Joon asked, feeling concerned.

“Damn, that was embarrassing.”

“Are you hurt? Well, you’re talking about embarrassment, so I guess you’re fine.” Goh Yoo-Joon teased me, while Joo-Han squatted down to roll up my pants. “You’re bleeding. Are you more worried about being embarrassed right now?”

“Hyung, why did you keep running even after falling?” Lee Jin-Sung scolded, while Park Yoon-Chan had already run off to get some ointment.

“Let's take a break! Hyun-Woo, you okay?” The director called for a pause. Soon, Jeong Gyu-Chan and members from the other groups swarmed around me, asking if I was okay.

The more attention I got, the more I wanted to disappear.

“I'm, I'm fine...”

In the midst of it all, Park Yoon-Chan returned with the ointment, looking teary-eyed and sitting down near my knee. “Hyung, seriously... you shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Really...”

“Yoon-Chan, come on.”

‘Don’t make me more embarrassed.’

“Dang it! Stop it! I got this! I’m fine!”

“Whoa, Hyun-Woo, I didn’t know you had it in you to use such strong language!” Ji-Hyuk teased me. I just grabbed the ointment and staggered to the medical tent. Only then could I escape everyone’s attention.

The filming resumed, and after being checked out in the medical tent, I returned to find Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan participating in a quiz game. I then sat next to Goh Yoo-Joon, and he immediately put his arm around my shoulder.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

“How many times do I have to say I’m fine?”

“Hyung, don’t be too relieved. You might feel it more tomorrow.” Lee Jin-Sung’s words made me nod, and I just calmly watched Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan’s performance.

According to the scoreboard next to Jeong Gyu-Chan, Chronos and High Tension were tied for first place with five points.

“If I hadn’t fallen, we could’ve had a perfect first place.”

“Come on, why say that? We lost, but it was a good game. Didn’t you do well?”

I knew that, but it still felt disappointing.

“What’s the easiest number in the world? Ready, go!” At the sound of the whistle, the sitting trainees scrambled toward Jeong Gyu-Chan. Joo-Han, who arrived first, briefly fought over the mic with Ji-Hyuk before shouting, “Nineteen thousand[1]!”

“Great! Next up, Yoon-Chan! What is the drink that gets you drunk by just touching your lips?” Park Yoon-Chan shyly smiled and answered, “The lips[2]?”

“Correct! And just like that, Chronos takes another point!”

The two of them were acing the nonsense quiz.

“Hyungs, do we have to be smart to join that quiz?”

“Kind of. Do you think you will be able to answer those?”

“Nope. But aren’t those two just good at nonsense?”

In the end, Chronos won the quiz contest too.

“Wow, Chronos is great in all the games! Strong in competitions and games alike! But anyway.” Jeong Gyu-Chan approached me again, and I felt my face heating up. “Hyun-Woo, are you okay?”

The microphone was passed to me, and I could only smile awkwardly and nod. “I’m okay.”

“I’m so sorry. You ran so well, but it was unfortunate.”

“Thanks to my team members, we are doing pretty good!” I answered as I made a fist-pumping gesture. After chatting a bit, Jeong Gyu-Chan wrapped up his commentary and returned to his host stand.

“The final event! Dodgeball! The winning team’s members all get a hundred points.”

The last game was dodgeball, but I sat out due to my injury. Oddly enough, Chronos ended up on the same team as Street Center, which had the most members among all the groups. ‘Was it lucky that I got hurt so that we were grouped with Street Center?’

When two athletic groups joined as one team, how could we possibly lose? We easily won and eventually bagged the victory on the field day.

“Hey, isn’t this getting a bit too unfair? Chronos is like the main characters here.” After the shoot, my back was starting to feel the aftermath of the day’s exertions. I was massaging the soreness away when the leader of Ash Black passed by with a remark that struck a chord in me.

‘Main characters...’ His words echoed in my head.

Chronos was indeed on a winning streak in the competition, scoring points like we were the protagonists of a gripping drama. It was a morale boost to be seen as strong contenders, but it also painted a target on our backs.

Not thinking kindly of our success, other group's fans had started to manipulate votes against us. This much attention was a double-edged sword, a reminder that we couldn't let our guard down, not even for a moment. The stakes were high, and the unpredictable nature of competitions meant that even a single misstep could change everything.

***

"Ugh!"

The groan escaped my lips as I tried to stand up after sitting for a while. The fall I had taken during the field day had left its mark, turning into a full-blown muscle soreness the next day.

"You sure you don't need to see a doctor?" Supervisor Kim asked, furrowing his brows.

"It's just muscle pain. I've slapped on some patches," I replied, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

Supervisor Kim looked at me, his eyes filled with worry. "The competition is right around the corner. If you're in pain, get to the hospital, okay?"

"I'm fine, don’t worry," I reassured him, even as I gingerly removed my hands from my waist.

Supervisor Kim still looked skeptical but moved on with the meeting. "Visual team, what's the concept you've come up with?" he asked.

Our visual team leader, Hae-Ri, confidently stepped forward, plugging a USB into the laptop. The screen then lit up with the presentation slides. "For the first song, 'Chronos,’ we're thinking of a dreamy vibe—white silk shirts with black accents. We're going for individuality, so each member will have a unique shade. The outfits and accessories are detailed in the document."

"So, it's kind of like ‘Moon Sea,’ but with a twist in the colors?"

"Exactly. And for the makeup, we're planning to go bold to complement the stage lights," Hae-Ri added, flipping to the next slide.

"The second song, 'History,’ will have a more casual look. We're thinking of hats and sporty bags as props. And how about glasses for Jin-Sung?"

“Hmm...” Supervisor Seong pondered for a moment. "If it were our debut, I'd say no. But Jin-Sung's already known to Pick We Up viewers. That will be fine for this program."

Hae-Ri nodded, making a note in her planner, and then moved to the next point. "We're also planning a major change in hairstyles. Not just for the stage, but in general."

"How so?" Mr. Seong asked, intrigued.

The presentation showed our group photo from the 'Moon Sea' era. With a click, Hae-Ri transformed our hair colors in the photo. "We're thinking of dyeing Hyun-Woo, Joo-Han, and Yoon-Chan's hair."

"Why those three?" Supervisor Kim asked.

"Hyun-Woo is often in the center, so a visible change seemed necessary. Yoon-Chan needs to stand out more, and for Joo-Han, we think a brown tone would look softer than black, suiting him well."

As Hae-Ri and Supervisor Kim discussed, Goh Yoo-Joon couldn't help but interject. "How many times will they have to bleach their hair to get those colors?"

The thought of bleaching made the rest of us groan. Joo-Han was set for a light brown, Yoon-Chan for ash blue, and myself for ash gray. From past experiences, I knew those colors weren't attainable with just a couple of bleaching sessions. They looked fantastic, of course, but the mere thought made my scalp itch in anticipation of the discomfort.

1. ‘Easy’ in Korean is pronounced ‘shi-eun,’ and ‘nineteen thousand’ in Korean is ‘ship-goo-cheon.’ They are pronounced similarly, so that’s why this is the answer. ?

2. ‘Lips’ in Korean is ‘ip-sul.’ ‘Drink’ in Korean is ‘sul.’ ?