Special Mission! Shine Bright (3)

Beep, beeeep—.

"Ugh, why'd they build the choreo this hard!"

Everyone had cleared out for dinner. Alone in the empty practice room and running the title track choreo, Hajin, irritated, killed the music and flopped down flat on the floor.

"A Choreo Copier skill — that's the one I should've made. Idiot Kang Hajin."

About a month into trainee life, one thing had become clear — learning choreography from a teacher was one thing, but picking moves up from video alone? Apparently he had no talent for it whatsoever.

Since he was down there anyway, Hajin was pressing the pre-frozen water bottle he'd brought against his neck and arms to cool the heat. Beside him, his phone buzzed. Too spent to sit up, he just stretched an arm out and checked the messages.

〈Miro_dongsaeng_LeeOO ‖ lolll but that hyung was really just practicing alone〉

〈Miro_dongsaeng_LeeOO ‖ if it weren't for Seongwoo-hyung〉

〈Miro_dongsaeng_KimOO ‖ dumbass wrong room〉

〈Miro_dongsaeng_LeeOO ‖ oh crap sorry〉

(deleted)

(deleted)

Sorry to break it to you, boys — screenshotted already.

"Hajin-ah, sorry for calling you dumb. Real idiots right over there."

Sighing at the little punks pulling stunts too childish to even laugh at anymore, Hajin turned and gave his reflection in the mirror an apologetic pat-pat. Then he checked the screenshots again.

〈Miro_dongsaeng_LeeOO ‖ if it weren't for Seongwoo-hyung〉

"Han Seongwoo again…"

There'd been two things Hajin had wanted to confirm when he'd pressed Ju Eunchan on his exact relationship with Han Seongwoo.

First. Was Han Seongwoo a bomb?

'I already knew he was a grade-A turf-defender, but that alone wasn't enough.'

Honestly — take a bunch of hot-blooded young guys, pen them into a years-long competition with no end in sight, and any one of them would end up half off the rails. It wasn't that Han Seongwoo throwing his weight around was fine — just that there was still enough wiggle room for extenuating circumstances that I couldn't stamp him a 'bomb' outright.

So, second. Was Han Seongwoo on the 'successful debut track'?

'Judging by how he was acting, probably not, though.'

Still, there was always a chance.

Hajin thought back to the conversation he'd had with Ju Eunchan two hours ago, in the dorm.

—So — quiet confession about the secret of your birth, or trade it for some dirt on that uncomfortable, obnoxious trainee-hyung?

—……

Hajin sat down in front of the kid with his arms folded — the clear message being, you're not leaving here until you answer. After a beat of hesitation, Ju Eunchan opened his mouth.

—…It's not like anything actually happened.

—……

—After I got demoted to the general class and the parachute-hire rumors started spreading, in the general class, besides Haru, the only one who ever talked to me was Seongwoo-hyung.

—Then why'd you tell me not to get tangled up with that hyung?

—It's just, uncomfortable. Every single time I finish a conversation with that hyung, I somehow end up being the one who did something wrong.

Ju Eunchan rubbed his arm with a face that said he really didn't want to be talking about this, and looked away.

—He hasn't actually done anything wrong to me, so it's hard to put into words. It's just — every time I finish talking with him, this weight settles on me. Somehow it's always my fault, my problem…. Anyway, seriously, avoid getting tangled up with him if you can.

If easygoing Ju Eunchan was going this far, there was clearly something solid to it — Hajin was frowning in thought when—

"Huh. Kangha-hyung, what're you doing here?"

"You? Not eating dinner?"

"Two bowls, hammered already."

Spotting Hajin through the half-open practice room door, Wonho strolled in, hands stuffed in his pockets, all swagger. Hajin waved him off in a loose greeting, and Wonho plopped down next to him and picked up the tablet still playing the choreo video.

"Practicing? By yourself?"

"I'm the outcast, Wonho-ya."

"You sound like Seok-hyung rapping. How are you an outcast, hyung. You'd make friends on a deserted island."

"Make friends with who, on a deserted island."

"Dunno, anyway you seem like the type."

…Is that supposed to be a compliment?

"No, seriously, I'm being ostracized. The kids are freezing me out."

"Yeah, gotcha. In my interview I'll say hyung's such a workaholic he skips dinner to practice."

"No, seriously, brat."

"Wow, Kang Hajin, an outcast? Doha-hyung breakdancing is more believable."

This little—?

It had started as an offhand grumble, but with Wonho's disbelief piling on, Hajin was slowly getting his back up. To prove one more time that he really was being ostracized, he thrust the phone he'd been staring at right up in front of Wonho's face.

"I'm telling you, I really am an outcast!?"

And in that exact moment.

Preconditions for skill 〈What's So Me About Me?〉's creation-penalty have been met! Additional conditions — — Do not activate anywhere Seo Taeil is present. — Where possible, activate where there are as few people as possible. As penalty, Mental Care effect is temporarily reduced. (−10%)

Ha. God, please, no.

"Uhhk."

"…? W-what, what?"

"I am an outcast. Wahhh—."

The system window flashed, tears burst out on cue, and every scrap of misery he'd swallowed down until now came rushing in like a broken dam. I grabbed Kim Wonho by the collar, shook him back and forth, shoved my phone in his face, and choked out sobs. (Not by choice, obviously!)

"They — they told me, told me not to show off, hic, fuck, seriously I, wahhhh…"

Right around when my mouth had slipped its leash and started running on its own, Hajin half-checked out.

Ha ha. Shut up, Kang Hajin!

---

My tear-show wrapped a solid ten minutes later.

I was sipping the banana milk Kim Wonho had rushed out to buy from the basement convenience store — after declaring 'hyung, you'll dehydrate at this rate' — and pressing ice water against my freshly puffy, swollen eyes.

This isn't what I brought this for, damn it.

"……"

"Wow, have these guys collectively lost it?"

Kim Wonho, who'd been reading through the KakaoTalk screenshots in the meantime, passed the phone back and huffed.

"Rat them all out in the interview!"

"Wasn't even caught on camera. That'd fly?"

"So just leave it?"

"Thinking about it."

I wiped the water off my eyelids with the back of my hand. Not tough-guy posturing — I actually had a rough plan for how to handle this. Nothing worth crying over. Damned penalty.

"Setting me aside. You okay?"

"Me?"

"Team A treating you alright?"

"Ah… it's brutal."

"Nobody giving you a hard time?"

Even with the question set up as a deliberate Han Seongwoo hit-shot, Kim Wonho only tilted his head. Not really. Everyone's just a little on edge?

"More like — what do I do about Lee Yugeon? Wow, that guy picks up choreo insanely fast. How am I supposed to beat that. I'll just get shown up and that'll be it, right?"

Belatedly remembering the battle, Kim Wonho crumpled his face with both hands.

'His special ability is literally Copy-Paste — of course he is.'

Watching Kim Wonho already spiraling at the thought of getting humiliated on TV, I gave the back of his head a light stroke and slipped the kid — who only had half the picture — a small hint.

"Hey. Try to get along with Lee Yugeon if you can. And practice hard. Not that you weren't going to."

"…What, 'love thy enemy' strategy?"

"Just do what I say. You don't need to force yourself close, but don't specifically peg him as a rival either, and filter what you hear in interviews carefully."

"……"

"You've got nothing to lose either way — win or lose — as long as you don't end up on the villain-edit route."

The kid stared at me for a beat, then nodded without much objection.

"If hyung says so, I guess so."

This kid had been showing a strange, quiet trust in me ever since the last month-end evaluation — on a normal day, that would've been a lot to sit with. But today, given the circumstances…

'Kind of nice, actually.'

"But that whole hyung's-an-outcast bit earlier? No way was I buying it. Wow — it was like being told 'Yoon Taehee has good manners,' but hey, apparently it does happen."

"You really wanna die?"

"Anyway, if it really gets bad, tell me. Either I rat 'em out to the manager-hyungs or slip a word to production."

Kim Wonho, having demolished my flicker of gratitude in under a second, dusted off his knees and stood up. I grabbed the hood of the guy muttering 'guess I'll head back to the dorm now,' yanked him backward, and sat him down again.

"Where you going."

"Gyack—"

"Thanks to you, I just watched twenty precious minutes of practice time evaporate."

"…How, how is that on me?"

Because you triggered the penalty.

"Pay me back before you go. My practice time."

"I-I already bought you banana milk!"

"Then help your poor outcast hyung out before you go."

"Your gear-shift is insanely fast, hyung."

Kim Wonho could stare at me like I was a con man all he wanted — I pulled up the stats I remembered on the kid.

label: Kim Wonho (Affiliation: Miro) Appeal points — 'A TO Z' — Fast learner

"You've got the title track choreo down cold, right?"

Wonho gave a reluctant nod. Of course he did — if Lee Yugeon was a human copier, this guy was a human sponge.

"B-but we're on different teams…" — I gave the shoulder of Wonho, suddenly acting all proper about crossing team lines, a couple of light pats and soothed, "it's fine, it's fine."

"If you wanna see your Kangha-hyung escape outcast life, teach me quick, teach."

"This attitude is for real?"

"Instruct me, o master-brat."

"Ha, seriously, a lunatic…."

---

"Ah, Haru-ya."

"Seok-hyung?"

Gong Seok, having gotten no reply to his messages for hours, had decided by now that Hajin must be seriously misreading him. This kind of thing had to be sorted face-to-face — but this building, evidently built to live up to its name, was laid out so much like an actual maze and was so huge and sprawling that Seok couldn't easily find Hajin anywhere.

"Have — have you seen Hajin?"

"Hajin-hyung? No, I don't know…."

Spotting Haru, who'd been close with Hajin, he'd urgently asked where he was, but Haru shook his head like he had no idea either.

"Come to think of it, he's been unreachable for a while now. Weren't you together, hyung?"

Haru's counter-question only piled on more unaccountable guilt.

'He isn't off crying alone because of the thing with the kids, is he…'

Sure, based on the personality he'd seen from Hajin during the month-end, that didn't seem to be Hajin's style — but hearts are hearts! Ganged up on by his own teammates on his first-ever survival mission!

'As his hyung, this is beyond shameful.'

At the last month-end, thanks to Hajin trusting him to carry the main vocal, Seok had ended up placing much higher than usual. It had also reignited a competitive drive and an ambition that had been slowly dulling as he watched kids younger and more talented than him — and made him ask again whether he had what it took to be an idol.

Which was why, honestly, when he'd ended up on Hajin's team again this time, he'd been thrilled inside — beyond words!

'So I have to talk to Hajin properly, and I have to get Hajin and the kids to make up. No — I have to get the kids to apologize.'

But with the man of the hour — Hajin himself — nowhere to be found, Seok was getting more and more anxious.

"Oh — isn't that Hajin-hyung coming over there?"

"Huh? Where?"

Seok had been pacing anxiously, wondering where he should even start looking again, when Haru pointed behind him and blinked. There, apparently just done with practice and freshly showered, was Hajin — walking slowly over, towel-drying his hair.

'What do I do. Was Hajin practicing alone? What if he's mad at me too? No — more importantly, what do I say first. I haven't even told the kids to apologize to Hajin yet! What if they don't listen to me? Would me trying to help Hajin on my own actually help anything?'

The moment Hajin was actually in front of him, Seok's head filled up with a thousand worries and stray thoughts. Hajin was younger than him, sure, but there was a weight to him that made it hard to be casual around him. The usual bright, smiling face softened it, but the second those sharp eyes went flat-serious, it felt exactly like getting scolded by a grown-up!

"N-no, not yet. In a bit — a bit later, I'll try again."

"Come on, hyung."

"Hm?"

"'Later' doesn't come around as easily as you'd think."

"……"

"So when the moment to say something arrives, it's best to say it right then. My grandma said so."

Haru caught Seok, who — faced with Hajin's actual face — had lost his nerve and was about to bolt. With a clear smile and an earnest, tender voice, he passed on his grandmother's words. And then—

"Hajin-hyung! Seok-hyung has something to say!"

—and with a sparkling eye-smile, he waved his arm big and called Hajin over. At the call, Hajin — who'd been about to turn down the corridor — strode straight over to them.

"Dan Haru, you haven't showered? What're you doing?"

"I'll go in a sec. That's not the point — Seok-hyung has something to say right now."

"H-Haru-yaa…."

Unable to say a thing to the bright-eyed Haru, Seok creakily turned his head back around. Towel draped around his neck with both ends held in his hands, Hajin cocked his head and asked. Hyung, to me? At that cold tone, Seok — holding back tears — timidly raised a hand.

"H-hi. Hajin-ah."

"Yes. Hi, hyung. So what did you want to say to me?"

…S-scary! Seok's lonely scream rang out. Internally, of course.