Chapter 160

The internet's reaction to new song A summed up in one line —

- ah fuck;

Seo Taehyun didn't just pull off going to the dark side — he'd flat-out reprised the "the small kid in the middle is the final boss" gimmick, straight out of some sports day back in the {day.}(#5cfybfj0z80h)

The intense, Miro-style stage — the first they'd had in a while — hit the picky general public's taste square on. Mention volume for Team A trainees shot up explosively, and that soon translated straight into votes as well.

- team B how they gonna cope? preview sounded totally like the-rascal-of-this-hood-is-me-style - haru jaeyoung ok whatever but jung siwoo lee yugeon kang hajin doing playful showoff concept? this is rare;; in multiple senses… - aaack but B should've gone firstㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠ no matter how i think about itㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ

Destis whose supported trainee was on Team B pounded their keyboards in frustration, each in their own way.

The more they did, Team A trainees' fans pounded twice as hard so mention volume for A team wouldn't drop, and then B team fans in turn cranked out four times as many posts — a miracle viral flood.

And even while everyone was going out of their minds inside their own vested interests, the finals stage kept charging forward without stopping.

> On a day when the pouring rain had let up…. > There's no one in the practice room?

While the stage set was being changed, the pre-VCR Team B had prepared aired.

This VCR's content was "The Trainees' Day Off."

In the video, everyone was shown as if they'd all been given the same day off — but in reality, splitting the camera team into five on a single day was out of the question. Due to production budget issues, the trainees had each shot their VCRs on separate days, and any trainee whose schedule absolutely wouldn't line up ended up using previously shot footage.

> Kang Hajin: Ah. The kid who looks just like me.

The footage of Hajin and his younger brother, Hawon — shot all the way back before the round-2 recording — was exactly one such example.

Very fortunately, Hajin's hairstyle hadn't changed much from round 1 up through just before the finals, so even though a cool spring day was passed off in an instant as a hot summer day, no one caught the dissonance.

In the VCR, Hajin was in a loose-fit black short-sleeved tee and a bucket hat with a small ring pulled low, waiting for someone. The khaki training pants and white sneakers he had on with it were things Hajin wore constantly in the practice room, so the outfit was one the Destis had long since gotten used to seeing.

- is that green thing a horcrux?? does our hajin only own one outfit? - no matter how i look at it, looks like he was practicing and they said go shoot so he pulled the bucket hat on - heol but the pants are super cute, anyone know info > boutique > boutique what… > ? i meant boutique — he said he got them at the underground mall, no brand > fuck this is hilarious i know this memeㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ > can't believe this is being reenacted right in front of me

While the Destis were entertained by even one of Hajin's outfits, in the VCR Hajin soon broke into a wide smile and greeted someone approaching him with hesitant, shuffling steps.

The camera work naturally tilted up from Hawon's feet to his face.

The moment Hawon was revealed — a far cry from Hajin's streetwear style, in straight-cut jeans and a well-fitted white short-sleeved shirt layered under a thin knit vest — the comments exploded all over again.

- omg young master - the family-introduction that strode right up to unprepared me (not really) - what?? a well-behaved kang hajin actually exists - euh they don't look alike at all > 22 if you didn't say they were brothers i wouldn't know > 333 - seeing them separately you wouldn't know, but put them together and you'd say brothers for sure

And as if predicting the viewers' opinions would be divided, an interview of Hajin, set against the backdrop of a quiet cafe, was inserted.

> Kang Hajin: Hmm…. I get told we look alike a lot. But I've also heard a lot of people say they didn't know we were brothers. > Kang Hajin: My little brother and I are polar opposite in personality, so I guess the vibes come out different?

Where Hajin had inherited their mother's easy mouth and smile, Hawon — the explanation went on — looked so much like their father that people sometimes mistook photos of their father as a young boy for photos of Hawon.

Along the way, past photos of the two of them were inserted as reference footage. The briefly-glimpsed family photo caught the mother — round-featured, big-eyed, grinning wide — alongside the father, with an even sharper gaze than Hajin's or Hawon's and a solidly built frame.

- nono was this actually a family introduction - hello mother, i'm your second daughter-in-law > then i'll snatch the eldest son of the kang family for myself > falling for him? - no next to hajini's dad and brother he's just a retrieverㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ - shocking. kang hajin was thought to be a purebred doberman but turned out to be a retriever mix… - the father — when we heard hajin's stories he sounded like a friend-like cute person for sure… - omg how are the parents literally a northern-grand-duke male lead and a sunshine female lead

Destis showed interest in Hajin's family, revealed for the first time.

Hajin and Hawon seemed as polar-opposite in vibe and personality as they were in their casual outfits.

If Hajin was the cheerful, sociable student-council-president type, Hawon was more like the vice-president type — the one who was always on time and quietly did his part in class.

A face slightly cooler-looking than Hajin's, a calm, measured way of speaking, and that expression that said just being outside had already worn him out — all of it proved he was a perfect capital-letter I.

> Kang Hajin: Come on, aren't you way too tired? > Kang Hawon: It's because I went out this morning too. > Kang Hajin: Went out? Where'd you go? > Kang Hawon: I went to the mart and bought kalguksu and sugar. > Kang Hajin: …? The mart's right in front of the house though? > Kang Hawon: Still outside the house. (firm) > Kang Hajin: Even so, you're out having fun with hyung for once in a while — aren't you happy about it? > Kang Hawon: I'm happy. I just have no energy. (firm 2) > Kang Hajin: (deflated) - i now fully get why kang hajin usually says he's a capital-letter F - there's a terrifying capital-letter T in the household - you are now looking at a perfect example of capital-letter E and capital-letter I. - ??? how is that going out??? are I-types really like that? > the fact that you put shoes on at all on a weekend is a big commitment.......ㅠ > if you stay outside the house for more than 5 minutes it counts as going out

The two brothers — mismatched from top to bottom — were pretty entertaining to watch.

Given how ridiculously incompatible they were, you'd expect them to fight a lot or not be close — but the surprise was that when it came to eating and hanging out, they hit it off perfectly.

The two headed straight into the cafe, ordered every kind of dessert that looked sugar-loaded at a glance, and spent a good while chatting about nothing much. People watching the two of them talk — edited around the moderately funny highlights — quickly figured out how two people so entirely different could be that close.

- the two of themㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋtheir sense of humor lines upㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ - little brother going along fine then suddenly flooring it or spouting nonsense is fucking hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ - ah, i get why kang hajin likes ju eunchan nowㅠ he seems to kind of like the quietly-unhinged type title: [the kang brothers' convo just nowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ] - hajin: (staring quietly out the window, then out of nowhere) say me and the PD both fell in the water. and if you saved the PD instead of me, the PD's giving you 30 million won. so who would you save. the brother stayed quiet here so i thought he was speechless but hawon: …does calling 119 to save them count too? (serious) hajin: no, you gotta save them directly for it to mean anything hawon: but i can't swim. if i go in it just becomes three people in the water. hajin: are you dismissing 30 million won? for 30 million won you should show that much resolve. hawon: that's true, but the hospital bills would probably come out to more…. (torn) then the two of them suddenly launched into a whole debate about what the criteria are for saving a personㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ - the two of them look freaking fun. no way they'd ever be lonely for life - so what was the conclusion for thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ? > the brother thought about it for ages and picked the PDㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ > aaakㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ > kang hajin was super shocked, but the brother very bitterly said 'art college prep is really expensive….' and stared off into the distance so they both got somberㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Hajin and Hawon, even after chatting at the cafe, hit up the arcade, karaoke, and a snack place, enjoying the day.

The one-day getaway ended on a heartwarming scene of Hajin buying Hawon new art supplies with money he'd been saving up.

The sight of him piling armfuls of expensive brushes and paints into his little brother's arms, then, in front of the subway station, looking out for each other's health in their own way as they said goodbye — was pretty touching in its own way.

Ah…. do I look here?

And finally, a short interview scene with Hawon was inserted.

It must have been squeezed in during a brief mid-filming break — a different angle on the cafe they'd first stopped by sat in the background. Hawon, who'd smiled easily and dropped jokes when he'd been with Hajin, was somehow back to being reserved and awkward again, calmly working through the interview.

> Kang Hawon: My brother is bright, first of all…. talks a lot. Unlike me, he really loves meeting people…. Um, lately he does seem to have a lot on his mind…. Still, because I have him, I don't feel lonely, and I'm at ease.

At the time Hajin had shot that VCR, he still hadn't broken through all the shackles binding him.

Listening to Hawon's interview through his in-ear from backstage, Hajin was slightly surprised at the fact that his little brother had noticed the shadow on him.

…that kid — is that why he agreed to shoot? Because he wanted to help me?

Broadcasts of any kind, forget it — he'd been wondering why a little brother who didn't even like getting attention from the people around him had so readily agreed to shoot a VCR for his sake….

Turned out Hajin himself was probably the reason.

Softhearted, seriously….

Hajin's eyes — layered with sparkling makeup — softly melted and eased warm.

In the audience today, along with his parents, Hawon would also be seated. Given the kid's personality, he'd probably fled somewhere by now, saying a VCR with himself in it was too embarrassing to watch.

"Alright, Team B, going up! Fighting!"

"You too, PD-nim, fighting~"

At the PD's signal, Hajin took his position on the stage with his teammates.

The large screen behind the stage was still airing the closing scene of Hawon's interview.

Oh, Kang Hawon can never do stuff like that.

> Kang Hawon: Ugh, ah. I really can't do this kind of thing.

Sure enough, at Hawon's horrified voice, Hajin — who'd been holding position — couldn't help letting his laugh burst out. Even so, once he shut his mouth tight again, Hawon — who'd been suffering for a moment — could be heard letting out a hoo, a deep sigh, then speaking in an extremely embarrassed voice.

> Kang Hawon: Um…. hyung. Well, you always do everything well. So this time too, I think hyung'll handle it well on his own. > Kang Hawon: Um, well, nothing in particular to say….

Hawon thought about it for a moment, then delivered his real feelings clearly, one word at a time, from the heart.

> Kang Hawon: I just — whatever it is, I want hyung to be happy.

At those words, Hajin genuinely wanted to cry.

> Kang Hawon: But hyung…. when things get hard, you go and sing. Even after you quit being a trainee, that was always the case. > Kang Hawon: So…. um, so what I'm trying to say is…. > Kang Hawon: Hyung will do well. Because it's something hyung loves.

With that as its ending, the VCR concluded.

Team B's prep VCR had already been fully aired before the day-off VCR, and since Hajin's day-off VCR had been the last in line among Team B's trainees, now it was time to actually deliver the stage.

'Team B-F: NALE.'

The title of song B — officially read as 'Finale,' with composer Seo Taeil reading it as 'Naeil (NALE, tomorrow) F (xck off)' — rose up on the electronic screen.

Cheers filling the venue to the brim.

Sparkling lights and stage lighting.

Dozens of cameras moving in a flash, racing against every second to hit the pre-arranged camera work.

Feeling in his bones that every one of these scenes was reality, not a dream, Hajin slowly lifted his head.