“How am I supposed to find out?”
I left Park Minkwon alone in the practice room and stepped outside, but the truth was, I didn’t have any brilliant ideas.
Even after ruling out the obvious non-candidates, there were still over 90 participants left.
My gaze drifted to the number reflected in the mirror for no real reason.
[4 people]
At least the number wasn’t increasing… It was a relief that even the ones spreading the rumors were still being cautious at this point.
“Who did they tell first…?”
Think, think! Come on, think!
Just as I was about to focus and ponder for a moment—
“Hey!!!”
A shout echoed from a hallway not too far away, but with few people passing by.
“Jo Seha…?”
What’s going on over there…
“Haram isn’t that kind of person!!!”
…There! It has to be there.
I quickly moved in the direction of the voice.
Some participants passing by glanced at me, but nobody followed.
“What’s your problem! Who told you to go around saying stuff like that?!”
The faster I walked, the clearer Jo Seha’s voice became.
“Ah! What’s with this guy…! Let go!”
“I can’t! Where did you hear that nonsense?!”
“Ugh, I said let go!!!”
As I got closer, the voices became distinct enough that I could roughly count the people. Two… three?
‘If it’s three, that’s a relief.’
Hoping both rumor-spreaders were together, I turned the corner.
“Ah! Haram!!”
“……!!!!”
The moment I turned the corner, Jo Seha greeted me with a bright smile, while the participant who’d heard the rumor looked startled.
But you…
“What… are you doing?”
“Haram! These people were badmouthing you! So I grabbed them!!”
“Uh… hmm…”
Yeah. I appreciate it, but…
“Maybe let go of their hair now?”
The participant, whose hair was being pulled as if it might be ripped out any second, seized the moment to speak up.
“That’s what I’m saying!! Let go already, you lunatic!”
No, you let go too. You’re grabbing Jo Seha’s hair as well.
Jo Seha’s eyes flashed as he glared back at the participant whose hair he held.
“‘What—?! Like I’d just let go! Not until you tell me where you heard that nonsense!! Haram!”
Huh? Me? Why…?
Honestly, I just wanted to get away from this rumor mess right now.
It was such a bizarre and rare sight—grown men in their early twenties yanking each other’s hair…
“Don’t let go! They’re seriously saying the most absurd things about you!!”
I know. I get it… but, hmm…
Suddenly, I noticed someone standing awkwardly beyond the two, still holding onto each other’s hair.
“Hey.”
“Ah.”
Aren’t you from our Team D rank? And isn’t that guy with his hair grabbed the F rank one? The one who stormed out of the practice room?
When I looked over knowingly, the D rank participant gently cupped his own head with both hands.
“…Not me, please.”
“…Is that all your friendship is worth?”
“Huh…?”
Oops. I accidentally got swept up in the chaos and blurted out nonsense.
Not going to pull your hair, don’t worry. And what, it’s fine if I pull his?
I sighed and walked toward Jo Seha.
“Hey, Jo Seha.”
Sensing me approach, Jo Seha raised his voice even more.
“Haram! Hurry, grab this guy! And help me with my hair…!”
Lower your voice. More people will come.
“Sigh.”
I stopped between them and gently placed my hands on their heads.
“Uh…?”
More precisely, on the hands that were gripping hair. I stroked their hands to relax them…
“Alright, both of you, enough.”
As their hands relaxed, I slipped my fingers in and gently pried their fists apart.
While I moved my hands, my fingers brushed against their hair.
“Uh…?”
Why are you both so surprised?
When they finally let go, both of them stood up straight, their posture returning to normal. Now their eyes were at about my level—well, except Jo Seha was still a bit shorter.
“Hey. Look.”
I pointed at the F rank participant and spoke to the now-dazed Jo Seha.
“See? He’s not running. Why are you making such a fuss?”
And even if he tried to run, where would he go? Besides, he shares a room with us, doesn’t he?
“Oh… you’re right…”
At some point, Jo Seha’s gaze, now much calmer, shifted to the F rank participant.
“He… isn’t running away…”
Jo Seha’s eyes suddenly swung back to me. He smoothed out the spot where his hair had been grabbed just moments ago.
What’s up with him?
“Hmm…”
For once, Jo Seha seemed to be deep in thought, then looked up at me and beamed.
“Let’s stay friends from now on, Haram!”
“What are you saying.”
As expected, I could never keep up with Jo Seha’s train of thought.
Since when were we that close?
I brushed off Jo Seha’s smile and turned back to the task at hand.
“You there. Hyun-seok Son.”
When I called out the name I’d barely remembered, the F rank participant flinched.
“Can we talk for a bit?”
Then, turning around, I called out to the figure who was slowly edging away.
“You, the one sneaking off—Sang-gyun Kim, you too.”
The D rank participant, who had been inching away ever since Jo Seha and Hyun-seok Son let go of each other’s hair, gave me an awkward smile.
“Ah… should I?”
Giving up on escaping, Sang-gyun Kim sheepishly joined Hyun-seok Son and stood beside him.
“Hey…”
“Hmm?”
Hyun-seok Son glared at Sang-gyun Kim.
“Why’d you leave me behind… Is that all our friendship is worth?”
What are they even talking about.
*****
“So, where should we talk?”
We needed somewhere with no prying eyes and perfect soundproofing, which wasn’t common.
The solo practice room I always used was way too small for four people anyway…
‘It’d look weird for four people to cram into a one-person practice room.’
So, the conclusion was—
“Welcome.”
“…Didn’t expect you to come back.”
Honestly, I didn’t expect you to still be here, either. What are you doing here alone?
Park Minkwon gave the three people behind me a cynical look.
“Hello, Minkwon!!”
Jo Seha, clueless about what was going on, greeted him cheerfully, but Park Minkwon’s gaze lingered on the other two.
“…Hmph.”
Standing behind me, Hyun-seok Son and Sang-gyun Kim awkwardly avoided his eyes.
Seeing this, Park Minkwon finally sat up from the sofa where he’d been lying.
“You leaving? Why not stay?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
When I tried to joke, Park Minkwon shot me a look as if to ask if I was serious.
So, you can make that kind of face too?
“…I’ll get going. You four talk. And Hyun-seok Son.”
“Uh, yes?”
Apparently, Hyun-seok Son was the one who’d heard the story directly from Park Minkwon. As Park Minkwon headed for the door, he stopped beside Hyun-seok Son.
“I don’t know what you’re planning to talk about, but I never lied.”
So shameless.
He’s really going to leave things like this?
“Hey. You said you were leaving.”
If you’re going to leave, do it quietly. Why salt the wound on your way out?
“I’m going~ I’m going~”
Hyun-seok Son and Sang-gyun Kim watched Park Minkwon leave with awkward expressions.
“Why? What’s with him? Did something happen to Minkwon?”
Even after witnessing everything, Jo Seha still hadn’t caught on and kept chattering.
Jeez… his cluelessness is on another level.
“Let’s sit and talk.”
We each grabbed a chair and sat down.
“Listen, no matter what I say now, don’t make a scene, okay?”
“Okay! What is it, what is it?”
Feeling uneasy, I squinted and told Jo Seha everything that had happened so far.
But, as expected,
“No waaaaaaay!!!!!”
Jo Seha jumped up, making a huge fuss.
“Hey!!! Why did you just let that jerk go?! You should’ve smashed his head in! And what was that just now?! How can he spread crap like that and act all innocent?!”
This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell him. I hate unnecessary commotion…
Luckily, I knew how to calm Jo Seha down.
“Hey.”
“I’m going to go grab him by the collar right now…! Huh?!”
“And what makes you so sure you’re right to be mad?”
Jo Seha scowled at me as if he didn’t understand.
“What if Park Minkwon’s right?”
Yeah. What if I really did have connections and my debut was already set before joining Be the IDOL?
“……!”
Not just Jo Seha, but even the silent Hyun-seok Son and Sang-gyun Kim stared at me all at once.
What’s with those ‘Is it true?!’ faces? That stings a little…
“No way!”
“Hmm?”
Jo Seha put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest.
“Haram would never do something like that!”
Do you even know me that well? Honestly, I doubt Kim Haram was ever that close with you before…
Jo Seha snorted and plopped back into his seat.
Still… well…
“…Yeah. I’d never do that.”
I couldn’t say I felt bad.
“Right?!”
See, I knew it! Jo Seha shouted triumphantly.
You must be happy, living so simply.
“Now, anyway.”
I finally turned my gaze from Jo Seha to the other two.
“In this situation, what did you two hear?”
At last, the two exchanged glances, as if they’d been waiting for their turn.
“…Exactly what you said.”
Hyun-seok Son, the F rank participant, spoke first.
“I heard from Park Minkwon that your debut is already set, and that you’ll even get to pick some of the members yourself.”
Exactly what Park Minkwon had said. At least this much wasn’t a lie.
“Then, when we first gathered in the practice room… why did you storm out?”
That was the part I was most curious about with Hyun-seok Son. Why?
“Huh? Oh, that…”
Hyun-seok Son looked embarrassed and ducked his head.
What is it? Just say it.
“He said he really thought he was going to be eliminated.”
“Hey!”
Sang-gyun Kim, who’d been watching from the side, blurted out the truth.
“He thought his team was hopeless. Figured he’d get eliminated for sure. He was just really down about it.”
“Ugh…”
So it really was just a coincidence. In a way, I was relieved. It meant I wasn’t making the other participants feel any more deprived than necessary.
“Well, that’s a relief then.”
The two of them looked at me as if to say, ‘What’s so relieving about that?’
There was still a hint of wariness in their eyes. Just then, Sang-gyun Kim spoke up.
“Honestly, we don’t completely trust your story either, Haram. Park Minkwon’s story kind of makes sense too.”
That’s… frustrating to hear.
“I always wondered why you’d even bother coming on this show, Haram.”
Of course, they didn’t know what Kim Haram had gone through with Jo Jungjae, or what kind of future I’d started to imagine with the dorm members after Seo Jimin’s possession…
Can’t blame them for thinking that way.
It’s not like they’d believe me if I told them about possession or regression.
Since I stayed quiet, Hyun-seok Son spoke up again.
“…We’re going to keep a close eye on you, Haram. But we don’t want to cause trouble either, so we won’t go spreading it around.”
“For someone who says that, you sure told your friend pretty quickly.”
Hyun-seok Son looked sheepish and hung his head. Turns out he’s pretty mild-mannered.
‘So…’
Now what?
At least the immediate fire was out. I could tell they weren’t totally against me.
What’s left is whatever rumors Park Minkwon spreads from now on…
‘My image is… not so great, apparently…’
The reason they said they didn’t trust me was probably a mix of suspicion about why I joined Be the IDOL and a bit of jealousy.
‘So not everyone’s buying Park Minkwon’s story.’
But still, my reputation among the participants wasn’t great, and I had to overcome that somehow.
At that moment,
Puff—Ta-da—! ♪
For the first time in ages, Soram appeared before me with a burst of special effects.
[It’s been a while, so I made a special entrance!]
I blinked in surprise at Soram’s unexpected appearance, and Soram flashed a system window in front of me.
[Item: ‘Trait Blooming Quest’—Now is the optimal time to use it! Would you like to use it?]
[Y/N]
Now, of all times?
The optimal time for a quest… Honestly, I wasn’t sure what was going on.
‘Well… it can’t hurt.’
I glanced at the Y button and clicked it. Soram spun in the air and brought up a new window.
[A new special quest has been generated.]
[Acquisition Quest—The One Who Leads
> Goal: Lead your team to successfully complete the first round!
> Reward: Unlocks the inactive trait,
> Failure Penalty: Elimination from ]
Wait, the failure penalty is way too harsh! This is basically a forced quest.
‘What is this inactive trait, anyway…!’
I’d been holding onto it for so long, I didn’t even know what it did, so I couldn’t help feeling ripped off.
“Um… Haram?”
While I was lost in thought, Sang-gyun Kim spoke up.
“If you’re done, can we go? It’s getting late…”
“Ah, right.”
It was getting late—almost bedtime.
“Well… let’s call it a night for now.”
Just as we were about to wrap up—
Grrrrumble—grooowl—
A thunderous sound echoed from someone’s stomach.
“Um… Hyun-seok?”
Without thinking, I turned toward the source of the noise.
Hyun-seok Son, now blushing to his neck, hung his head.
“Uh… I… didn’t get to eat dinner…”
How did a guy his age miss dinner…
Sang-gyun Kim tried to lighten the mood.
“Even if you did, you’d still be hungry by now anyway.”
“Y-yeah, right?!”
For once, Jo Seha, who’d been quiet for a while, spoke up.
“Ah, now I’m craving chicken for a late-night snack…”
The moment Jo Seha said that, something flashed through my mind.
Ten young guys gathered far from home… night… hunger… late-night snacks… chicken…?
I grabbed Jo Seha by the shoulders.
“Hey, Jo Seha.”
“Yeah?”
Jo Seha, who’d been daydreaming about chicken, looked startled.
“You, help me out.”