I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 13
[DASE ‘No Games’ Teaser #1]
Under a blue sky, Minseong’s face appeared, wearing a jewel-studded crown.
‘Blond hair and a crown—so flashy, yet all I can see is his face.’
A visual you wouldn’t find in real life. As if possessed, the college student tapped the thumbnail. A drum beat played along with the video.
First, Minseong stared straight into the camera. The corners of his lips curled up playfully—but he wasn’t wearing the crown from the thumbnail.
The scene changed to a European-style castle. A room with antique décor. Members gathered around an old-fashioned round table.
Holding playing cards, their faces were captured one by one as they sized each other up.
– No Games
The thumbnail image of Minseong wearing the crown appeared in a full shot, then the screen cut to black.
[DASE]
The logo appeared, ending the 30-second video.
“Oh…”
Is this what teasers are usually like?
The university student felt dazed.
Thirty seconds passed in an instant. Yet the drum beat still echoed in her ears, and a single syllable heard just before the video ended had lodged itself firmly in her mind.
‘DASE? Are they a new group?’
Before she knew it, she was searching for DASE on a portal site. There was barely any information. She clicked a few blog posts, but they were all just scraped news articles.
Losing interest quickly, the college student decided to do what she’d originally planned.
“Let’s just watch vlogs.”
The next day.
[DASE ‘No Games’ Teaser #2]
“Huh?”
A university student who had had a busy day.
Before going to bed, she turned on YouTube as her daily routine, and… by what coincidence, the sequel to the video she had seen yesterday was there.
The still-flashy thumbnail featured Baekya, wearing a frilled shirt that looked straight out of the medieval era.
He was perched on a castle window, looking down below.
“This one’s even shorter.”
It was a 28-second video.
In fact, the video she saw yesterday was also 30 seconds long, but the logo at the end was 10 seconds long… The university student was annoyed, but she decided to be fooled one more time.
Once again, the drum beat played with the video.
A large chandelier swayed. Beneath it, Yooyeon lay sprawled across an ornate antique chair, holding a crown in one hand.
Disheveled blond hair. Eyes fixed on the ceiling. At the end of his gaze, a transparent thread reflected in the light, stretching out through the window.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. The screen changed. Yulmu, Jihan, Cheong, and Baekya were shown running through the castle.
A shot of Minseong opening wardrobes and doors, as if searching for something. The screen switched again, briefly showing a group dance.
– No Games, there’s no next
If you want to win, kill me
The thumbnail shot of Baekya passed by. A hand holding scissors cut the thread, and the screen went black.
– Now or Never
[DASE]
The logo appeared, ending the video.
‘I want to watch it one more time…!’
What was this? She hadn’t thought anything of it at first—was it because the song was good?
She hit replay. It didn’t take long to realize why.
– No Games, there’s no next
If you want to win, kill me
The screen was paused.
The man from the thumbnail, perched on the high window, was staring straight at her. The college student quickly took a screenshot.
Opening her messenger app, she scrolled through countless contacts and found ‘Shiyoon-bin’. She had a strong conviction that her friend, who had been crazy about AIM’s Shiyoon since high school, would know.
[Me: Teacher, do you by any chance know who this person is?ㅠㅠ]
[Me: (Photo)]
[Shiyoon-bin: What lol why aren’t you asleep at this hour?]
[Shiyoon-bin: Who’s that]
The university student knelt on her bed. While she was reverently waiting for her friend’s judgment, the final verdict arrived.
[Shiyoon-bin: Ah, he’s that kid]
[Shiyoon-bin: My bias’ junior group]
[Me: So what’s his name!!!]
[Shiyoon-bin: He’s cute]
[Shiyoon-bin: I think it’s Baekya?]
“Baekya!”
Another new entrant had appeared in the idol world, which was said to have an entrance but no exit.
***
The end of the year had come. ID Entertainment was a warzone.As if to prove it, Dongman—reduced to a human backdrop the moment he stepped inside—could only roll his eyes around at the entrance.
He’d happened to have business with the planning department, but in the chaos he didn’t even dare greet anyone.
“Excuse me, this…!”
He mustered up the courage to speak, but astonishingly, not a single person paid him any attention. His hand, left hanging in midair, felt embarrassingly out of place.
Naturally turning away as if it were intentional, Dongman placed his hand on the whiteboard in front of him.
“Hmm. There’s a lot.”
[December Events]
It was the schedule of the agency’s artists, filling up the whole month. Especially towards the bottom, there was a lot. The broadcast station’s year-end stages, various awards ceremonies, and DASE’s debut were all packed together.
“Come to think of it, there are really only a few days left.”
Dongman looked at the boxes of DASE’s albums stacked on the side of the central table. They were promotional, not-for-sale items that hadn’t even had their barcodes scanned.
He mustered up the courage to speak, but astonishingly, not a single person paid him any attention. His hand, left hanging in midair, felt embarrassingly out of place.
Naturally turning away as if it were intentional, Dongman placed his hand on the whiteboard standing in front of him.
“Manager Dong? What are you doing there?”
But just then, someone who recognized Dongman appeared. Dongman’s face brightened as he turned around.
“Team Leader-nim!”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I said I’d bring the albums. I was so busy I didn’t even know you were here. Is that it?”
“Yes, yes!”
Due to the nature of the industry, the entire company was sensitive about security, but among them, a few floors, including the planning team and the studio, were particularly severe.
Therefore, to receive items, people had to be sent down one by one, and Dongman, who happened to be passing by the lobby, had gladly agreed to deliver it.
“It always seems busy here.”
“It’s even busier because of the end of the year and AIM’s overseas tour. Anyway, thank you. It must have been heavy.”
“No problem. By the way, when are you going to check these out?”
The team leader took a sip of his now-cold coffee, finally catching his breath. It was clearly a line meant to wrap up the conversation—but Dongman had no intention of leaving.
Ever since they’d exchanged greetings, his eyes hadn’t left the taped boxes.
“You wanted to bring these yourself just so you could see the album, didn’t you?”
“Was it that obvious? So when are you going to look at them? Everyone else needs a breather too, you know. Whew.”
The team leader let out a hollow laugh at Dongman’s brazen reply. But since his words weren’t wrong, the team leader quickly gathered his team members.
“The DASE albums have arrived, let’s take a little break while we look at them.”
At the team leader’s words, the staff who had been trapped in the meeting room were released. A few staff members recognized Dongman and greeted him playfully, joking that other teams were forbidden from entering.
A moment later, DASE’s first album was finally revealed by the team leader’s hand, which tore off the tape without hesitation.
Although it wasn’t a formal album because the debut song ‘No Games’ was a digital single, just looking at the promotional CD brought back a rush of emotions.
“Oh~!”
As the box opened, exclamations of admiration poured out at the same time, as if they had been waiting. A group cut of the concept photo for ‘No Games’ was inserted as the cover of the transparent CD case. It was a scene that seemed to have been seen in the teaser.
The members sitting around a round table, playing a card game, and the DASE logo in English stamped above them.
“You could sell this as is!”
An excited Dongman picked up a CD and checked the back. The back had a photo of the entire view of a high school in Bukchon, which was the music video filming location.
“I’m so curious about the song.”
Since the teaser dropped, Dongman had played it more than fifty times a day. He’d even been suspected of being a bot—and was probably responsible for a significant chunk of the view count.
“It’s tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. 6 o’clock tomorrow. Ugh~ Manager, I’m the one who’s nervous.”
The new employee next to Dongman answered, caressing his heart.
People liked to say that since they worked at the same company, they probably got to hear the song and watch the music video early—but not at all. Unless you were in A&R or the composing team, life was the same for everyone.
Especially right before a debut or comeback, sensitivity to leaks reached an extreme. Caution ruled everything.
“If you’re done looking, return them!”
It was the day before the song and music video were to be released. With the goal in sight, there was no room for carelessness.
At the team leader’s words, the album box was quickly restored to its original state. Now, these albums would be autographed by DASE after the song was released tomorrow and distributed to broadcast stations and various media outlets.
‘I hope the kids do well.’
Dongman prayed quietly in his heart as he watched the albums being moved into a warehouse with a door lock.
***
And then came the long-awaited D-Day. Gathered in the practice room, DASE stood on the very brink of their debut.
Once the song and the music video were released in a few moments, that would be their true debut.
“Is this some kind of massage chair? Why is it vibrating so much~?”
“Are you okay, Baekya?”
The rest area inside the practice room. Baekya was sitting on the sofa with his legs shaking uncontrollably. Yulmu joked to ease his tension, and Minseong looked at Baekya with a worried face.
“Haa… I’m fine. I’m just a little nervous…”
“If you’re this nervous about the song release, what are you going to do on stage?”
At Jihan’s words to calm down, Baekya accepted the water he was offered with a trembling hand.
“Thanks.”
“Hyung, at this rate, aren’t you going to pass out when the music video comes out,”
Yooyeon, who looked just as anxious himself, was cut off when the manager suddenly shouted.
“Oh?! Guys, it’s up!”
“Oh my gosh! It’s really up. Quick, press it!”
Cheong urged, hitting the manager’s arm. In that moment, the system window appeared in front of Baekya. Baekya’s trembling body also stopped.
[<I want to be an idol! (3)> Complete!]
[Level up! Lv.7 → Lv.8]
[Quest reward is being distributed: 1 Star Point]
[Level up reward is being distributed: 1 Star Point]
The real game was just beginning.
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