I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 14

[DASE ‘No Games’ MV]

 

The thumbnail showed all the members checking their cards.

 

When they hit play, the screen faded to black.

 

♬♪♩♬♪♬♪♩

 

The song began with a grand orchestral arrangement. With his eyes closed, Baekya sat on a window ledge, his hair fluttering softly in the wind.

 

“Woooow! It’s hyung! Hyung! Hyung!”

 

An excited Cheong started smacking Baekya’s thigh over and over.

 

“That hurts, Cheong….”

 

Awkward about seeing himself filling the tablet screen, Baekya blocked Cheong’s hand and smiled stiffly.

 

– Whoa-oh-whoa-oh, Oh-huh

 

The camera slowly pulled back, revealing a castle bathed in sunset hues.

 

Brass instruments blended with the dark blue sky tinged with crimson, while Baekya’s clear voice adorned the intro.

 

Now, a brief aside.

 

This vibration—an ear-gasm delivered the moment the song began—was actually a part that hadn’t existed before Baekya joined. It was a newly added sound during the rework that followed the change in DASE’s main vocalist.

 

The camera returned to Baekya’s face.

 

On the tablet, his closed eyes opened. As he looked straight into the camera, the scene shifted, and the mood of the song instantly grew heavier.

 

– Shuffle mix, shuffle the cards

Our game has begun.

 

Minseong’s opening part.

 

DASE’s choreography began, the group standing in an A-formation. They wore loose shirts adorned with frills on the sleeves and chest.

 

Their softly curled hairstyles emphasized their youthful charm, while brooches and jeweled accessories added a sense of opulence.

 

The members sat around a table in the garden, dealing out cards.

 

After checking the face of his card, Minseong slowly looked around with a serious expression, his gaze probing.

 

That gaze came to rest on Yooyeon.

 

Baekya unconsciously glanced at Yooyeon. Everyone was so focused that the previous commotion was gone.

 

Even though they could have watched it earlier, they’d waited until six o’clock just to commemorate this moment. With that in mind, Baekya refocused on the music video.

 

– The wheel of fortune turns

 

The location changed to a luxurious room.

 

A splendid chair sat beneath a massive chandelier. A crown rested atop it.

 

After checking their cards, the members ran into the castle, and the scene shifted again.

 

– Finally, the perfect snare that surrounds

It’s time to explore, Babe

Hide me, to you

 

Centered on Yooyeon, a long sequence of razor-sharp synchronized choreography unfolded.

 

The setting returned to the room. Finding the crown, Yooyeon picked it up and held it toward the chandelier.

 

At the same time, the other members were scattered throughout the castle, searching for something. Yulmu was nowhere to be seen.

 

Cheong stopped before a dead-end door. When he opened it, a dazzling pile of jewels stacked high like a tower filled the room.

 

– Build a pyramid here

The first and last game

 

Back at the garden table.

 

Yulmu appeared, stacking a tower out of the remaining cards.

 

As he placed the final card and stood up, the sharp choreography resumed. The beat accelerated, and before they knew it, they were at the chorus.

 

– No Games, there’s no next

If you want to win, kill me

 

With a powerful high note, Baekya appeared, ‘No Games’ surging forward with increasing momentum.

 

In the treasure room Cheong had discovered, Baekya picked up a single sword.

 

The chorus ended, transitioning into the second verse bridge.

 

Jihan burst forward wearing a lavish necklace, his rapid-fire rap pushing the tension ever higher.

 

– No Gain, you want the high place?

Then kill me

I’m ready to send you off

How Naughty

 

Jihan tossed the scissors he’d been holding behind him. The camera zoomed in as one eyebrow lifted slightly.

 

At that moment, exclamations burst out all around the room.

 

“Oh~ Han Jihan~”

 

“Ahem.”

 

Jihan, who was rarely flustered, blushed and cleared his throat. He seemed embarrassed.

 

The song moved past the second chorus into the dance break.

 

Centered on Yooyeon and Cheong, a powerful group formation unfolded in perfect unison.

 

‘They hid me pretty cleverly.’

 

Not just the formation, but perhaps at the company’s request, the camera angles deliberately obscured Baekya.

 

He was a member who was added at the last minute, and the dance break was the most difficult section of the entire choreography.

 

this was the cursed part that had given the choreographer headaches over Baekya’s dizzying movements.

 

‘Hmm. They say they completely re-did the entire formation to hide me.’

 

Thanks to that, the members had to re-learn the changed formation.

 

But once the dance break ended and the song surged toward its climax, Baekya finally emerged. His appearance after being unseen for so long only amplified the dramatic effect.

 

“Wow… Amazing.”

 

“Baekya… you’re crazy, really.”

 

As Baekya hit a soaring high note in close-up, both the manager and Yooyeon rubbed their arms.

 

It seemed they had gotten goosebumps from the harmony that piled on top of Cheong’s low-pitched voice.

 

“Do you want some water, Baekya?”

 

“All of a sudden?”

 

“Phew, I have to protect our treasure. Your throat doesn’t hurt, does it?”

 

At Yulmu’s sudden offer of water, Baekya lightly smacked his back.

 

“Stop that.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

In the brief moment he had looked away, the song had reached its end.

 

– Now or Never

 

Minseong, who had finally won the crown, closed the door with a meaningful smile.

 

[DASE]

 

The logo appeared, and the music video came to a complete end.

 

“……….”

 

Silence fell over the room.

 

Then, starting with Cheong and Yooyeon’s screams, a tidal wave of emotion swept through the practice room.

 

“Waaaaah!”

 

“We finally debuted!”

 

The maknaes hugged each other and jumped around, while the leader stood with reddened eyes.

 

Yulmu pulled Minseong into a hug and dragged Jihan and Baekya along. Cheong and Yuyeon came running and joined in as well.

 

“Congratulations, guys! Let’s do a good job!”

 

The manager, who was also overcome with emotion, added his weight to the group hug, sniffling.

 

“Namkyung hyung, why are you crying too…”

 

Baekya felt his nose sting as emotion welled up—when suddenly, an unwelcome intruder appeared.

 

The damn system window.

 

[A new quest has arrived!]

[Q. I’m going to make it big! (1): Successfully complete the debut stage

※ Passive strengthened upon failure]

 

“Damn it.”

 

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

 

***

 

Ulsan Metropolitan City.

 

A university student (hereafter referred to as Boksoong), who had gone down to her family home for the first time in a while, was on her way back to Seoul after gaining a great deal of knowledge through her meeting with Shiyoon-bin.

 

[Boksoong · 9 following · 1 follower]

 

It was the app that all idol fans had to have. Blue bird and U-live. Her friend had given her a long speech, saying that no reporter’s information could be faster than blue bird, and that there was no broadcast more generous than the U-app.

 

「There are already a few home-masters, huh? You said Baekya is your bias, right? I’ll follow a couple of Baekya home accounts and the official account for you first.」

 

A veteran of this scene, she deftly handled even the basic setup for her friend who had no clue how SNS worked. Shiyoon-bin, who had even finished a crash course after the setup, just smiled, saying that Boksoong would learn the rest little by little.

 

“But why did she say to do a re-tweet…?”

 

As soon as Boksoong got on the train, she turned on her social media as she sat in her reserved seat.

 

But maybe because the lesson had been too fast-paced, she was still lacking a bit of understanding—no Q&A session had been held. A rookie to the idol world decided to just dive in headfirst.

 

The screen had finished loading. But there was a lot. No, it was pouring in.

 

[56 new tweets]

 

“?????”

 

She didn’t know why, but Boksoong instinctively pulled the screen down and let go.Somewhere in her mind, she figured it would be similar to Insta.

 

And her prediction was correct.

 

– DASE ‘No Games’ MV #DASE #NoGames

 

– No Games Baekya intro is heaven (Baekya MV screenshot.jpg)

 

– RT Event) DASE has debuted with the digital single ‘No Games’! To celebrate their debut, we’re holding a small RT event, so please participate♡

 

– Finally found my bias #Baekya #DASE #NoGames gotta go stream~

 

– Please just invest 3 seconds of your life and look at Baekya’s face once, you won’t regret it (Baekya screenshot.jpg)

 

– Have a taste of the singing soft white peach #Baekya (Baekya.gif)

 

“…The music video is out?”

 

The song had even been released on streaming sites. As a newbie fan, she clearly still had a long way to go.

 

“When did this even happen?!”

 

At 6 o’clock.

 

Although she didn’t have many followers, because she had followed the ‘Baekya’ topic, a considerable number of tweets with his name were being exposed on her timeline.

 

Having roughly grasped the priority of things, Boksoong quickly made a decision.

 

“M-MV…! First, let’s go watch the music video!”

 

Boksoong hurriedly switched apps.

 

Like a ghost, the algorithm—having already figured out her taste from a few teaser views—placed DASE’s music video right at the top. Bokssoong hit play.

 

– Came to check out the new boy group from ID, they’re the most handsome ever

 

– The MV is crazy; no, is it their faces that are crazy?

 

– How much money did they pour into the beat… ID is putting out good songs these days. AIM’s songs were good too.

 

– Are they rookies? The kid who sings with vibration in the window, his vocal tone is insane;; but his face is the most averageㅎㅎ

 

– Their outfits and MV are gorgeous… should I try to stan them?

└ I can’t even wear a frilly blouse like that, what’s with their ability to pull it offㅠㅠ

 

– 1:28 The accessories and clothes are all too much, but they’re overshadowed by his face… amazing center

 

– Is their concept the medieval version of O*-game? They said the game was starting, and then suddenly a chandelier falls and they’re killing each other and all hell breaks loose… in the end, the rabbit got the crown

 

– The MV, the beat, it all smells of money… the kids’ faces, outfits, and set are all perfect. Especially the rapping kid is totally my typeㅠ

└ The rapping kid looks like AIM’s younger member;

└ It’s Jihan:) He’s 19

 

– 00:03 Eargasm from the very beginning; someone please make a 1-hour loop of this part

 

– The kid who came out at the very beginning, his vocal tone is insane, really…

└ 222 I think he’s the same person as the kid who belts the high note later

 

– 02:16 The crown here! What’s the name of the kid lying down with the crownㅠㅠ

└ What’s his phone number

└ Ah, I was going to write this, but I’m late

└ I knew this would be here lol

└ So meanㅠ someone tell me

└ It’s Yooyeon♡

 

– The brown-haired guy’s proportions are amazing! The most handsomeㅠㅠㅠ Anyone know his name~

└ Na Yulmu~

 

– The princes are playing, is it okay for a humble servant like me to be peeking like this….

 

– As expected of a big company.. if I stan them, I won’t have to worry about photocards

 

– A medieval handsome boy concept, ugh.. from today, my bank account is yours

 

The reaction was explosive.

 

She found out later, but according to her friend, the buzz had been the highest since the members were revealed one by one. Thinking about it, this level of response suddenly felt only natural—and her chest swelled with pride.

 

Boksoong wanted to see the stage right away.