I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 102

“VIVA?”

 

Surprised, Beom asked DASE if they hadn’t recently covered a VIVA song at an award show.

 

“Yes, we did. ‘Walking Dead’.”

 

Baekya nodded. But after drawing out the suspense, the MC announced that it obviously wasn’t ‘Walking Dead,’ but rather a B-side track from that album called ‘Piece’.

 

“Ah~ figures.”

 

Beom couldn’t hide his disappointment.

 

After listening to the song’s explanation, the members grooved to the chorus echoing through the set, only to perk their ears up at the sudden countdown.

 

Baekya and Yulmu also focused with somewhat nervous faces.

 

3, 2, 1.

 

[Problem section playing]

 

“Hey, come on~ That’s way too long, honestly. Didn’t you just play the entire second verse at this point?”

 

“This is too much, way too much.”

 

The part that would serve as today’s first question was revealed. The song played longer than usual, drawing exclamations from around the studio.

 

A close-up captured Baekya’s dumbfounded face and Yulmu diligently organizing the lyrics he had heard.

 

“Now, moving on, we will reveal the question. Question! Show it to us!”

 

[6 incorrect answers]

 

“From now on, please find the incorrect words and change them to the correct answers.”

 

At the MC’s hosting, the Burning Friday members picked up their pens while grumbling.

 

“Did everyone write it down? Then who should go first?”

 

Before the MC could finish, Baekya shot his hand up. He looked unsure.

 

“Mr. Baekya, do you lack confidence?”

 

“Yes! I have no confidence.”

 

The MC laughed, saying that he stated his lack of confidence with extreme confidence.

 

Unfortunately, stating that guests go last, Matae’s answer sheet was revealed first. In the meantime, Yulmu peeked at Baekya’s tablet.

 

“Pfft.”

 

“Stpp lghing (Stop laughing).”

 

Even amidst the noise, Baekya, having accurately heard the laugh, gave a light kick as a warning.

 

And finally, it was DASE’s turn. When the MC asked which of the two’s notes should be revealed first, Baekya raised his hand once again.

 

“Me!”

 

“Okay. Then let’s look at Mr. Yulmu’s first.”

 

Behind Baekya’s flustered face, Yulmu’s answer sheet was revealed.

 

[I > You / Road > Orbit / Truth > Answer / Life is > Mercy is]

 

The Burning Friday members marveled at the notes filled neatly. It was the most plausible sequence of words among the answer sheets revealed so far.

 

“Wow~ He really wrote down a lot.”

 

Seungji gave Yulmu a thumbs-up.

 

“He has caught the most words so far. Perhaps because it’s an old song, there are many philosophical words. Now, let’s move on and open Baekya’s notes. Notes, open!”

 

[Also I > Run away? / I’m sorry..]

 

This time, the studio buzzed for a different reason.

 

“Pahaha! What is that~ The spacing doesn’t even match. Ah, seriously, that’s so adorable.”

 

Beom laughed as if he were going to fall backward. Suppressing a laugh, Matae asked Baekya.

 

“You don’t want to run away right now, do you?”

 

“No. That’s really what I heard….”

 

Baekya waved his hands in denial.

 

“The only thing he corrected was ‘run away.’ Maybe he felt it wasn’t right while writing it, because he also wrote ‘I’m sorry’ in small letters.”

 

As even the MC joined in, Baekya sent a look pleading for help. However, Yulmu looked like he had absolutely no intention of helping.

 

‘You snake…!’

 

He needed to snatch the spot of the rising star of the variety world with an outstanding performance, but things weren’t off to a great start.

 

“Alright! Let’s leave it at that and move on to the one-shot. The main character closest to the correct answer!”

 

The MC built up tension with his words.

 

“Show it to us!”

 

“Wow~!”

 

Along with the booming announcement, exclamations rang out. The large LED screen captured Yulmu holding up a sign that read, ‘DASE NAN Comeback ♡’.

 

“Today’s One-Shot winner is Mr. Yulmu! Amazing for your first appearance!”

 

Yulmu’s eyes widened in surprise, then he beamed. He leaned over and flashed a V-sign so Baekya could be in the shot too.

 

“DASE’s Yulmu and Baekya are on screen. Our one-year-and-five-month-old baby vampires.”

 

The filming continued.

 

After finding the incorrect sections by repeatedly listening at 2x speed, the Burning Friday members decided to check the second word, which they were unsure of after discussion.

 

The Tiger Hint went to the guests. The MC asked DASE to shout the hint catchphrase.

 

“Roar! If you give me a rice cake, I won’t eat you~”

 

Yulmu and Baekya shouted while mimicking tiger movements.

 

“Is the second word ‘Orbit’?”

 

Yulmu looked at the MC with an expectant face. The MC dragged it out, exchanged looks with the guests, then—after Beom scolded him—confirmed it was right.

 

“Alright! We got it.”

 

Soyoung clapped, sensing victory in the first round. The other Burning Friday members also seemed confident in the answer, so the MC asked if they would go to the Answer Zone.

 

“We’ll go. One of you, Baekya or Yulmu….”

 

Matae looked at the two. Signaling he wanted one of the two to go up.

 

“Go! Dangbaek, I mean, Baekya!”

 

Yulmu shouted playfully, pulling Baekya to his feet. It seemed he thought it was right for Baekya to go up since he himself had already had a lot of screen time.

 

“Okay, then I’ll do it.”

 

Rising from his seat, Baekya moved to the Answer Zone.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Standing in front of the standing mic, Baekya stared straight ahead, looking a bit nervous.

 

Baekya sang while looking at the notes displayed on the LED screen without any special accompaniment. The set buzzed for a moment at the sound of his vocal tone.

 

“Do you know the song? You sing it so well.”

 

“That guy is actually famous for having a great voice.”

 

Even though he sang it casually, the reaction was good. The shy Baekya bit his lip and waited for the results.

 

“So… do you have any plan to change your answer?”

 

“No. None.”

 

Matae answered firmly to the MC’s probing question.

 

“Yes, understood. Then the results!”

 

The voice echoed through the set.

 

Standing in the Answer Zone, Baekya kept a wary eye on the penalty machine with his eyes half-closed. The hand gripping the mic stand and his shrunken body tilted slightly backward.

 

“Show! Us!”

 

The production team stalled for a moment to capture the cast’s reactions. Soon, the two letters for ‘Correct’ appeared on the large screen, and brilliant lights flashed on.

 

The Burning Friday members, Yulmu, and Baekya jumped from their seats, genuinely rejoicing over passing the first round on their first try.

 

“Mr. Yulmu is the number one contributor~”

 

“I agree.”

 

As Taehyeok applauded Yulmu, Seungji agreed as well.

 

Thanks to Yulmu’s great performance, the members got to eat delicious glutinous rice sweet and tangsuyuk. A neat spread of tangsuyuk was set before the cast.

 

“Thank you for the food~”

 

Yulmu politely looked around as he picked up his chopsticks. Baekya, who bowed along with him, also picked up his chopsticks just as the MC spoke to him.

 

“Now that we have our tangsuyuk, I can’t not ask this. DASE, are you pour-it-on or dip-it types?”

 

Holding a piece of pork, Yulmu answered without hesitation.

 

“We’re dippers.”

 

However, Baekya seemed to have a slightly different opinion.

 

“I’m a pourer.”

 

“You pour the sauce?”

 

Drop.

 

Perhaps Baekya’s statement was too shocking, Yulmu accidentally dropped the piece of pork he was holding.

 

“You have to pour it. It’s delicious when it’s soggy.”

 

“Hey, no way~ Fried food lives on crispiness.”

 

The debate between the two split the Burning Friday members into the pouring faction and dipping faction, causing the filming to get chaotic for a moment.

 

“Then while we’re at it, let me ask a few more things. Fans really like this kind of stuff.”

 

A segment within a segment run at the MC’s discretion. The Balance Game began.

 

* * *

 

After a snack game and a short break, filming resumed. However, as time passed, Baekya felt increasingly anxious. Precisely because of Yulmu.

 

“I heard the last word exactly. It’s ‘Dawn’.”

 

“Dawn? Ah… I heard it a bit differently. I heard ‘Ordeal’.”

 

“Taehyeok oppa, are you sure? Let’s bet next week’s punishment outfit.”

 

“Whoa, that’s a bit much…”

 

“Forget it, Yulmu says it’s dawn. Just go with dawn.”

 

“Awesome~ You really won’t regret it. I heard it very clearly.”

 

The flow of the show had long since shifted to Yulmu. Therefore, the sunfish wasn’t really smiling inside, even if his mouth was.

 

“Dangbaek, you trust me, right? I’ll make sure you get to eat that.”

 

With his cheerful personality, unique sociability, and innate variety show sense, Yulmu instantly captured the hearts of the Burning Friday members and the production team.

 

On the other hand, variety-newbie Baekya was trying hard, but the reactions stopped at just finding him cute.

 

Among the skills he had equipped, the only one that seemed like it could affect variety shows was the ‘Charm’ stat, but the <Concept Master (A)> skill didn’t help his variety sense at all.

 

‘That damn Yulmu-cha who came to ruin my life…….’

 

Baekya shot him a mournful look.

 

The same hand that once grabbed his collar and told him not to die was now pushing him off a cliff.

 

Full of confidence, Yulmu high-fived Beom and Taehyeok and moved to the Answer Zone.

 

Standing confidently in front of the standing mic, Yulmu glanced at the popcorn machine and smirked. It was an attitude completely opposite to Baekya’s.

 

“Round 2! Indeed! Will it be correct or not!”

 

Yulmu’s sweet singing lasted only a moment. Along with the MC’s comment asking for the results, fanfare exploded.

 

[Correct]

 

“Woah!”

 

Confirming the result, Yulmu ran over to Baekya and shook his shoulders wildly.

 

“Gyaah!”

 

“Hey! We did it! We did it!”

 

Overjoyed, Yulmu couldn’t contain his excitement.

 

Seeing the paper-doll-like Baekya flapping in his hands, Taehyeok laughed awkwardly and spoke to Beom.

 

“Isn’t he going to break at this rate?”

 

“Mr. Yulmu, you’re going to kill the kid.”

 

“Huh? Ah, I was just so happy…. Dangbaek, are you okay?”

 

As Yulmu let go and stepped back, Baekya could be seen with his eyes shut tight. The sunfish’s will to reduce the dizziness even a little bit could be felt.

 

“Hehe~ Pork belly.”

 

As Baekya cautiously opened one eye, Yulmu stood there, clearly fishing for praise.

 

“You…!”

 

You bastard! To hell with pork belly!

 

This guy was smiling brightly without knowing someone else’s internal suffering. Facing his imminent doom, the sunfish could only clench his teeth and glare.

 

Before they knew it, only the closing of the shoot was left. The Burning Friday members moved to their seats to eat the round 2 menu, Jeju Black Pork Belly.

 

‘Yeah…. They say a ghost who dies well-fed looks better……’

 

Foreseeing his own death, the sunfish headed to the banquet table.