I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 35

Baekya stopped in front of the door and peered inside. Having received no particular instructions from the manager, he glanced back down the hallway he’d come from. As expected, Namkyung was nowhere to be seen.

 

[Baekya: …Did you get any message?]

 

[VJ: I don’t know. Maybe they just went somewhere for a bit? I think it would be better to go in and wait.]

 

The VJ in charge didn’t seem to know anything either. Deciding to wait inside until Namkyung returned, Baekya reached for the doorknob.

 

The door opened.

 

And the moment he stepped in

 

Pop!

 

The members appeared with a birthday firecracker and a flickering candle.

 

[Group: Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Dear Baekya~]

 

[Baekya (Startled hamster): !!!!!!]

 

[DASE, who has prepared a surprise birthday party]

 

Even when the lights snapped fully on, Baekya still hadn’t come to his senses. In that instant, Cheong hurried over and plopped an unidentified object onto his head.

 

A pink beret with a green leaf. The peach hat, which resembled Baekya, was ridiculous but also suited him well.

 

[Cheong: Happy Birthday to you!]

 

The peach staggered at Cheong’s fierce hug. As Cheong let go, Minseong quickly held out the cake in front of Baekya.

 

[Minseong: Quick, make a wish. The candles are all melting…!]

 

[Yooyeon: Just blow! Blow and then wish!]

 

Baekya’s chin trembled slightly, like he was trying not to cry.

 

Clearly deeply moved, he parted his lips a few times, then closed his eyes and quickly made a wish.

 

Phoo!

 

With his breath, the candles went out, leaving just a thin trail of smoke clinging to the wicks.

 

[Yulmu: Wow~ It’s your birthday, your birthday! What do you do on your birthday?]

 

[Cheong: Birthday spanking!]

 

The moment the candles went out, Yulmu dipped his finger into the whipped cream and smeared it on the tip of Baekya’s nose while shouting. As Baekya’s eyes widened, a burst of laughter erupted at the same time.

 

Baekya chased after Yulmu, and Yooyeon and Cheong also joined in, determined to smear whipped cream on Baekya’s face.

 

[Baekya: What is this…]

 

In no time, he was a mess of whipped cream. Yooyeon teased that he’d turned into a peach cake.

 

Baekya scrunched up his face at the slippery sensation, but there was no sign that he was upset.

 

[Jihan: Just wipe it with this for now.]

 

[Baekya: Thanks.]

 

Jihan handed him some wet wipes. Minseong picked up the pink beret that had fallen on the floor and placed it back on Baekya’s head.

 

[Minseong: Your leaf fell off.]

 

At the leader’s silly joke, Baekya and Jihan giggled.

 

[Manager: Guys, I’ll take a picture for you. Gather around.]

 

Namkyung, who had been celebrating along with the staff, called the members together. After roughly wiping their faces, Baekya and the others scampered over to stand in front of him.

 

On the count of three, the camera shutter clicked.

 

This was the behind-the-scenes story of the DASE group photo that was uploaded on Baekya’s birthday on their official account.

 

– No wonder only Baekya’s face was so shiny, it was because of the whipped cream lol

– The kids’ relationship is so good ㅜㅜ

– Please preserve the peach beret. The peach I saw always had its leaf falling off!

– 50 minutes of reality is too short.. give us 5 hours….

 

And the following preview for the last episode.

 

[COMEBACK DASE]

 

[Finally]

 

[The global hot rookie is back!]

 

Cuts from DASE’s teaser video flashed by, briefly showing the music video filming set.

 

[DASE MV Behind-the-Scenes Reveal]

 

[See you on August 9th at 8:00 PM~]

 

The next episode would air a week later, on the evening after DASE’s WANT ME track was released.

 

Perhaps because it was the last episode, the video ended completely with the announcement that it would be held live at 8 o’clock, an hour later than usual.

 

* * *

 

One week before the digital release.

 

Technically, DASE’s comeback activities began today.

 

The members had come to the salon early in the morning, dyeing their hair—temporarily blond again—back to pink. It was for the schedule they had later that afternoon.

 

“Pink really suits you, Baekya.”

 

Said one of the staff while blow-drying his hair.

 

Baekya smiled and thanked them, then pulled up his information window.

 

Lv.9 Baekya (Synchronizing)

Visual: A

Vocal: A

Dance: C

Talent: B

 

Two A-ranks.

 

His stats, which had started as BADD, were now AACB. Baekya felt a sense of relief; at the very least, he wouldn’t be criticized for being ‘talentless’ anymore.

 

When he hovered his hand over his visual rank, the details of his equipped skill popped up like a tooltip.

 

<Face Genius (A)>

: A handsome face acknowledged even by professionals.

 

Words he never thought he’d hear in his entire life were floating right before his eyes. This was a rare harvest he had obtained through a birthday gift (a 3-use Skill Gacha ticket).

 

‘The ones I pulled with it back then were….’

 

<Refund Specialist (B)>

: An appearance overflowing with charisma.

 

<I’ll Diet Starting Tomorrow (C)>

: Improves self-rationalization ability.

 

Without a moment’s hesitation, Baekya had discarded the others and kept only <Face Genius (A)>. Furthermore, after six months of alternating between filming reality shows and preparing for the comeback, he had accumulated a decent amount of Star Points.

 

▷ Current Star Points: 6

 

He had earned nearly 8 points through the hidden quest <Nerd Turned Idol> that appeared on graduation day, two practice-room exclusive quests, and a level-up. However, he had used 2 points to manage his stress levels, leaving him with 6.

 

Perhaps because it was the off-season, the Main Quest slot remained empty after <I Will Make It Big! (2)>. As Baekya stared blankly at the mirror (or rather, the status window), Yooyeon approached him from behind.

 

“Real men wear pink, after all.”

 

Their eyes met through the mirror.

 

“Are you done already?”

 

“Yeah, you’re the last one. The others went to change first.”

 

Following Yooyeon’s gaze, Baekya saw the empty chairs beside him.

 

“We’re almost finished. We’ll just spray some fixer and wrap up.”

 

“Yes, thank you.”

 

Yooyeon sat on an empty chair to wait for Baekya. He pulled out his phone and started taking pictures of him.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I’m thinking of submitting an entry for the next ‘Han Baekya Photocard World Cup.’”

 

Click! Click!

 

Each click made Baekya’s ears burn red as he noticed the staff sneaking glances his way.

 

“Stop it, everyone’s looking…!”

 

“Ah, sorry.”

 

Yooyeon quickly put his phone away with an awkward smile.

 

DASE’s first comeback schedule was for the currently popular variety show, <I Just Transferred!>

 

Since it was a program the members enjoyed watching, everyone had been looking forward to it since the appearance was confirmed. That explained why they were so energetic since the morning.

 

On the other hand, Baekya was a different story.

 

Because their manager, Namkyung, had told them that ‘personal talents’ were mandatory for rookies, Baekya hadn’t slept properly for days. He was worried about his personal talent even in his sleep.

 

‘Should I just change it to something safe now…?’

 

If only the writer they’d met in the pre-meeting hadn’t specifically asked for something unique…

 

When he asked the other members what they were doing out of curiosity, they all kept it a secret. It was every man for himself when it came to personal talents.

 

Baekya scowled and braced himself.

 

‘Whatever! It’ll work out somehow.’

 

***

 

Two days before DASE’s comeback.

 

Even though she had work the next day, ‘White Night Phenomenon’ was still sitting in front of her computer late at night, deep into photo editing. She was a well-known homma among Baekya’s fans.

 

She was working on photos of ‘Peach’ arriving for his variety show recording a few days ago. When her phone buzzed with a YouTube notification at the top of the hour, she checked it to find that the second teaser had just been released.

 

The thumbnail showed Cheong and Baekya sitting face-to-face in front of a pretty cake that looked straight out of a teen movie.

 

She stopped working and played the video.

 

[DASE ‘WANT ME’ MV Teaser #2]

 

The same pluck sound from the first teaser played.

 

Baekya was drinking morning coffee at a table while Cheong ate cake. As the camera panned smoothly toward the living room, the other three members came into view.

 

Minseong and Yooyeon were in the middle of a chess game. Jihan was watching them with his arms crossed.

 

The camera showed a chessboard with only a pawn and a king left, then moved again. Following the stairs to the upper floor, Yulmu emerged from the bathroom with wet hair.

 

Wearing a bathrobe, he stopped and gripped the railing. He leaned over and shouted something toward the floor below.

 

At his call, the members stopped what they were doing and quickly returned to their respective positions.

 

The camera slowly zoomed out.

 

A large model of a mansion was revealed. This time, a real room door opened, and a young girl came running in.

 

The girl stopped in front of the dollhouse.

 

As she opened the small toy door, the video ended with DASE sitting side-by-side on the living room sofa.

 

— Take me away, Want me

You want me too

[DASE]

 

After the final teaser was released, the atmosphere among fans was one of certainty: DASE’s concept this time was definitely doll play.

 

 – The wardrobe in DASE’s house looks exactly like the wardrobe on the current official site (Comparison.jpg)

 └ Wow, this is it. Great catch.

 

– I thought the doll concept alone was crazy, but doll play? I’m losing my mind.

 

 – C-c-crazy… Yulmu in a bathrobe?!

 

 – We already entrusted you with the MV, so hurry up and give it to us… You show us teasers like this and then tell us to wait two more weeks? What is wrong with ID?

└ Honestly, this is attempted murder.

└ I’m going to stop breathing while waiting for this comeback.

 

– I’m so curious about the album ㅠㅠ I want it now.

 

 – By the way, aren’t the boys doing a fansign?

 

“So cute. Too cute.”

 

Baekya was always pretty and cute, but this concept was really…

 

It felt so perfect that she wondered if ID had planned it specifically for their soft baby.

 

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[whitenight_by]

DASE ‘WANT ME’ MV Teaser 2 #Baekya (Link)

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After sharing the teaser on social media, she briefly got lost in her memories.