I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 100

***

 

“Just like a movie.”

 

As expected of the center.

 

Even after lifting his head, Yooyeon’s face lingered before his eyes like an afterimage, thanks to that overwhelming immersion-factor of a face.

 

“That guy’s seriously handso—”

 

“Do you like me or something? That’s kind of a problem….”

 

“Gah! M-Make some noise when you walk around, you lunatic!”

 

“Ack!”

 

Yooyeon’s foot was struck by the tablet that had been thrown to the floor as if body-slammed. Yooyeon, who had simply come out to drink water only to meet with sudden disaster, clutched the top of his foot and hopped around on one leg.

 

“Gasp. A-Are you okay?!”

 

The startled sunfish approached Yooyeon’s feet and plopped down on the floor.

 

“L-Let me see. It’s not broken, is it?”

 

“You little…! What are you doing out here alone at dawn?”

 

“I just couldn’t sleep….”

 

As soon as Yooyeon stood on two feet, Baekya, who had been pressing down on his foot, looked up at him.

 

“Sorry….”

 

Seeing the downturned corners of his mouth and drooping eyebrows, which showed he knew he was in the wrong, Yooyeon didn’t get angry anymore.

 

“Why? Because of the shoot today?”

 

“No. Just….”

 

“With you, it’s always ‘just, just’.”

 

Yooyeon moved his foot, shaking off Baekya’s hand.

 

“Forget it. Stop.”

 

Then, as he headed to the kitchen to achieve the goal he had come out of his room for, Baekya followed behind him like a puppy.

 

“Is your foot really okay?”

 

“Can’t you tell by the way I’m walking?”

 

He downed a cup of water in one go, then took out a fresh glass, filled it with cold water, and placed it in Baekya’s hand.

 

“Stop stealing glances at other people’s faces. Drink this, go inside, and sleep.”

 

“That’s not what I was doing!”

 

“Hey! You’ll wake everyone up.”

 

Yooyeon covered Baekya’s mouth as he flared up. As Baekya struggled against the ruthless hand squashing his face, he accidentally let go of the cup.

 

Crash—!

 

Water soaked the floor amidst shards of glass. In the moment the two froze with eyes wide as saucers, Minseong’s voice came from behind.

 

“What the hell…. What are you two doing, hugging each other?”

 

Yooyeon and Baekya creakily turned their heads to see Minseong, eyes red and bloodshot, looking at them with a flat expression.

 

“Is this a secret rendezvous or something?”

 

When Minseong asked if he should go back to his room, Yooyeon gritted his teeth and spat out the words.

 

“It’s not like that, okay?”

 

Instead of answering, Baekya looked at Minseong with a rotten expression. His eyes were telling the leader: ‘Extreme disgust.’

 

“Look at that vicious expression…. But why are you guys secretly out here at dawn making people misunderstand?”

 

Minseong also couldn’t understand the current situation. He looked them up and down with a sour face as they were still stuck close together.

 

“That’s not it, the cup just—”

 

“See. You’re still holding each other.”

 

“How does this look like holding! We’re this far apart!”

 

Yooyeon retorted in disgust at Minseong, who kept teasing them until the end.

 

“Oh. Look at you getting all worked up.”

 

Finding Yooyeon’s reaction amusing, Minseong smirked and walked toward them. At that, Baekya shouted.

 

“No! Don’t come!”

 

“Do you think you own the kitchen? Anyway, was our dinner too salty? Why is everyone so thirsty….”

 

Baekya had tried to explain that they were just frozen because the cup broke. But because Minseong cut him off, he hadn’t been able to convey the most important fact.

 

Realizing it too late, Baekya reached out his hand, but Minseong, who had already taken a step, ended up stepping on a glass shard.

 

“Ack! My foot!”

 

Somehow, his heart had been racing and he had a bad feeling ever since the cup broke. It seemed he really was a sunfish that brought bad luck wherever he went.

 

* * *

 

There was about a week left until DASE’s comeback. Today was the day the second teaser video would be released.

 

As expected of their first full album, DASE showed off serious budget power even from the teaser stage. The thumbnail alone was art.

 

“This is insane.”

 

The protagonist of the day was the monolid cat-boy staring straight ahead while wiping his lips with the back of his hand. He was even wearing a uniform.

 

Boksoong took a deep breath and played the video with a reverent heart.

 

[DASE ‘NAN’ MV Teaser #2]

 

As soon as it started, the Instrumental track played.

 

A massive old castle built atop a high cliff. A red moon hanging behind the castle roof.

 

The cut transitioned to show Yulmu wandering through a foggy forest. As if being chased by something, he held a silver cross in his hand.

 

As he took a step, a flock of bats flew up, and the scene changed.

 

At the same time, Baekya was walking down a hallway inside the castle. When he opened a large door, a dagger tucked at his waist peeked out beneath his uniform.

 

The camera passed Baekya and showed what was beyond the door. A single ray of bright light pouring through the crack of an open window.

 

On the bed in one corner of the room, a silhouette could be seen curling up in the corner to avoid the light.

 

— Night After Night

Na na na na na

 

As the chorus melody played, there were quick flashes of Minseong looking at a statue, and Jihan and Yooyeon pointing guns at someone.

 

An image of Cheong playing with an arrow in his hand flashed by quickly.

 

— Take my hot breath away

 

With the sound of a gunshot, Jihan appeared standing under the moonlight.

 

As he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, the red lipstick smeared messily, and the video ended.

 

[DASE]

 

“Oh my god.”

 

As soon as the video ended, Boksoong slapped her forehead.

 

“These crazy absolute perverts!”

 

She had wondered what NAN meant, and it turned out to be an abbreviation for Night After Night.

 

Take away my hot breath every night!

 

Plus, with the uniforms and guns, and especially the red eyes of some members, it hinted that this concept involved non-human beings.

 

The more she chewed on it, the more immense the full album concept seemed, keeping Boksoong busy slamming her forehead. Her forehead had become as red as Jihan’s lips.

 

Unable to contain her excitement, she quickly picked up her phone and opened social media.

 

The first thing she saw was the teaser image posted on the official DASE account, which had been up for the past week since the first teaser release.

 

It seemed a fan edit account she followed had edited the teaser photo to their taste and reposted it.

 

The released Baekya had red hair. Wearing a shirt, he was clutching his neck with one hand.

 

Originally, his eyes were brown, but after the second teaser dropped, they had edited them to be red; a peach wearing the mask of an apple was looking at her.

 

“Ugh…! Save.”

 

This was already the fifth time she’d saved the same photo.

 

– I’ve already watched the teaser 847,261 times ㅠㅠ

– Han Jihan!! Bite my neck!!!

– Album details are out > Vampire ver, Hunter ver (2 types)

– This is it. The boys are taking 1st place this time. It’s going to be a massive hit, so let’s all go buy albums!!! Let’s surpass WANT ME’s first-week sales.

– The decadent cat and smeared lipstick? Is ID crazy?? (MV capture.jpg)

└ I think that part is absolutely insane, too…

– Vampires: Yooyeon, Jihan / Humans: Baekya, Yulmu, Minseong, Cheong. Is that it? But why are the kids carrying guns??

└ The ones holding guns are said to be Hunters.

– The woman on the wanted poster looks like a Vampire ㅇㅅx Seeing Jihan and Yooyeon holding guns, looks like they are chasing her…

└ Crazy; Vampire vs Hunter, this is it. I ran here after seeing the details uploaded.

– They took so long to upload the details I thought they weren’t working, but I guess that wasn’t it…

└ No no, they definitely weren’t working.

– Slightly off-topic, but the person on the wanted poster is gorgeous.. Is she an ID trainee?

– When will the fan sign come ㅠㅠ Does anyone know what the cut was for the WANT ME fan sign?

└ 30? I don’t know. But it’s definitely high for a rookie.

– Yooyeon was human, but maybe he got bitten by that vampire woman? If you look at the first teaser, Yooyeon sighed while looking at the wanted poster.

└ Yulmu only showed his back in the teaser too, so I suspect he’s a vampire.

– Baekya red hair!!!!

└ Jihan, Cheong: Black hair / Yulmu, Minseong: Brown hair / Yooyeon: Platinum blond

 

With DASE’s comeback right around the corner, everyone was going wild.

 

* * *

 

“Did the troublemaker arrive?”

 

“I’m sorry….”

 

“Hey~ Our Baekya has reflected a lot. Riiight~”

 

Baekya’s eyes drooped as he got into the car.

 

“But why are you here, hyung? Where is Deokjin hyung?”

 

“He got dragged out since dawn and probably didn’t sleep at all, so I sent him home.”

 

Last night, Minseong stepped on glass, causing chaos in the DASE dorm at dawn. Fortunately, it was a small shard and didn’t go deep, so it didn’t lead to a major injury.

 

“You didn’t leave anything behind, right? Then I’m starting the car. Put on your seatbelt.”

 

The two who had just come out of the salon were currently heading to a comeback schedule. DASE’s first recording for their full album promotions was <Burning Friday>.

 

“I know you’ll do well on your own, but always behave politely. Especially Yulmu.”

 

“Yeah, yeah~”

 

Namkyung sighed, saying he wasn’t worried about Baekya, but he couldn’t help but worry about Yulmu.

 

They arrived at the filming site while listening to his nagging. The moment Baekya stepped inside, a quest alert popped up.

 

[A new quest has arrived!]

 

[Q. I’m Going to be a Star!(3): Let’s become the rising star of the variety world with an outstanding performance!

 

※ Failure penalty: Passive enhancement]

 

‘Rising star of the variety world? Me?’

 

Speechless, the sunfish stared blankly into empty space.

 

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

 

“Huh? Uh, yeah.”

 

Led by Yulmu’s hand, Baekya went around greeting the seniors in their rooms. Afterward, they returned to the guest waiting room.

 

“Massage chair mode again.”

 

Sitting in the chair, Baekya’s leg was trembling furiously.

 

“Aren’t you even worried?”

 

“What’s the point of worrying? Nothing changes. You just do your best~”

 

Seeing him grinning, unaware of anyone else’s struggles, was incredibly annoying.

 

Ever since reading the quest details, Baekya checked the wall clock every minute. Less than five minutes remained until filming started.

 

“Hey, why did the company send me? Wouldn’t Yooyeon or Cheong be better? Ha….”

 

If he hadn’t come here, the ‘Variety Rising Star’ quest wouldn’t have even appeared.

 

As Baekya bit his nails nervously, Yulmu smirked and answered.

 

“I know why~”

 

“…What is it? Did you hear something?”

 

“Nope. But I know.”

 

When Yulmu kept dragging it out, Baekya threatened him to hurry up and say it. Seeing the clenched cotton fist, he calmed the sunfish down and answered.

 

“You have to do the biting heart~”