I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 69

Jihan was the only one doing something productive.

 

He was rummaging through the stylist’s pouch looking for something sharp. He wanted to find scissors but could only find a cutter knife, so he pushed the slide part of the knife and approached where Baekya and the members were gathered.

 

“Chucky, it’s Chucky!”

 

Cheong was apparently watching a horror movie all by himself.

 

“What, what are you doing now…!”

 

Startled by Jihan slowly approaching with a knife, Baekya pushed the members aside and leaped over the sofa.

 

“Come here, Han Baekya.”

 

“N-no! Would you come if you were me?!”

 

“Come quickly.”

 

It was a pure horror show.

 

Falling from bed in the morning was ominous enough, but today was the day of the special stage with that damn guy. Plus, there was a main quest where he really might die this time.

 

His head was already a mess, but the members who managed to blow everything up in one go were impressive in more ways than one.

 

“D-don’t come closer!”

 

Baekya, engaging in a standoff with Jihan, slowly backed away toward the waiting room door.

 

“It gets more difficult if you go out that door.”

 

Jihan told him to come quietly while he was still being nice. Normally expressionless, Jihan holding a knife and saying that made him look like a psychopathic villain.

 

Baekya shook his head at Jihan trying to appease him with an extended hand.

 

The moment he took one more step back, the waiting room door opened, and Deokjin and Namkyung, who had gone to buy coffee, appeared.

 

“Ah! Whoa, I almost spilled it.”

 

“What now. What’s going on? What happened?”

 

Seeing the waiting room in chaos at a glance, Namkyung grabbed the back of his neck.

 

“Hyung! Catch him!”

 

“…Hey!”

 

When Yulmu pointed at Baekya and shouted, Baekya bit his lip tightly, escaped the waiting room, and started running away.

 

“Hamster escaped!”

 

Simultaneously with Cheong’s shout, Yulmu and Yooyeon quickly brushed past Namkyung.

 

“…What just passed by?”

 

“Yulmu-nim and Yooyeon-nim.”

 

“Tsk. It’s total chaos.”

 

While Deokjin kindly informed the dumbfounded Namkyung, Minseong slyly stepped back pretending he wasn’t involved.

 

At that time, the hamster was running down the hallway and the two people frantic to catch him.

 

“Aack! Don’t come!”

 

“Baekdo, why are you running!”

 

“I’ll take responsibility!”

 

The hallway that was empty when DASE arrived was now bustling with staff and singers.

 

Just running through this crowd was already a huge nuisance. He felt like he could hear the sound of DASE’s reputation dropping from here.

 

Eventually, the one who stopped first was the hamster.

 

“I’ll go! I’m going! I’m going but I’ll untie it myself.”

 

Once again, a standoff situation continued in the hallway. Baekya put his palm forward sending a sign not to come any closer.

 

“Okay. First… first let’s go.”

 

“Wow… Why are you so fast?”

 

Yooyeon and Yulmu panted, hands on their waists.

 

“Oh? Yulmu, Yooyeon.”

 

Then an unwelcome voice was heard from behind.

 

“Harang hyung?”

 

“…Hyung?”

 

Harang ignored Baekya and went straight to the two.

 

He even pulled Yulmu and Yooyeon into a hug, acting overjoyed to see them. Maybe it was just personal bias, but it was honestly hard to watch.

 

“Ah… I heard you debuted. Congratulations.”

 

“Thanks. It would’ve been even better if we’d done it together, right?”

 

Only Baekya, awkwardly left out, exchanged stiff eye greetings with Harang’s teammates.

 

‘Childish, so childish.’

 

Baekya pouted one corner of his mouth with a disapproving expression.

 

“Ow! Why is this tied so tight again.”

 

He shoved his fingers between the ribbon and his neck, yanking irritably as he complained out loud. He could feel Yulmu and Yuyeon looking at him, but Harang soon drew their attention back to himself.

 

‘Ha!’

 

So that’s how it is—happy reunion and all.

 

Baekya, feeling twisted inside, pouted his lips and turned around. He felt leaving this spot would be beneficial for his mental health.

 

But before taking a few steps, he encountered another familiar face.

 

“Hubae-nim, where are you going?”

 

It was Daehwan.

 

“Ah, well, that is….”

 

Baekya unconciously glanced behind him. Daehwan followed his face.

 

“Yulmu and Yooyeon were here too?”

 

Daehwan spotting the two made a puzzled face.

 

“And what is that on your neck?”

 

“This got tangled while they were fooling around…..”

 

The sunfish shriveled up, unable to speak properly in front of the awkward senior.

 

“Oh? Isn’t that kid from our company.”

 

“It’s Baekya? Hi Baekya~”

 

AIM members were approaching Daehwan one by one, having apparently just finished pre-recording. Shiyoon reached out to ruffle Baekya’s hair but stopped just short when he noticed how nicely it was styled.

 

“Wow… that was close.”

 

He patted Baekya’s shoulder instead and let out a relieved sigh.

 

“But maybe because you’re a rookie, your placement choice is pretty bold. You tied it tight on purpose so it wouldn’t come loose, right?”

 

“N-no, it’s not that. It was just tied wrong, and it won’t come undone…”

 

Shiyoon laughed as if finding the flustered company maknae cute. Just then, Harang’s team along with Yulmu and Yooyeon approached AIM.

 

“Now Six AM! Hello. We are Six AM!”

 

When Harang led the team slogan, his group members greeted AIM.

 

“Hello, sunbaenim.”

 

Harang looked at Shiyoon and greeted him again.

 

“Yes. Nice to meet you~”

 

Shiyoon smiled and accepted the greeting. Unlike Shiyoon who accepted it skillfully, AIM members seemed slightly burdened. It seemed awkward for them to receive such grand senior treatment when they had only debuted 9 years ago themselves.

 

Meanwhile, Harang looked towards AIM with a face seemingly expecting something.

 

“…Uh?”

 

As if meeting his expectations, Yeonha pointed forward with his finger. Harang’s lips curved into an arc. However, the words coming out of his mouth were completely different lines.

 

“Why is this tied on his neck when you guys have it on your wrists?”

 

Yeonha said pointing at the ribbons tied on Yooyeon and Yulmu’s wrists. When the reaction wasn’t what he’d expected, Harang’s expression stiffened for a split second.

 

“Uh-huh. Baekya stay still.”

 

“Sunbaenim, I feel like my neck is tightening more…….”

 

“Tsk.”

 

“…Yes sir.”

 

Baekya obediently offered up his neck to Guyang and Daehwan. Watching from behind, the two of them rubbed the back of their necks with apologetic looks.

 

“I messed it up while joking around.”

 

“I was trying to help.”

 

The two, who suddenly became bullies tormenting a weak member, felt awkward.

 

Just then, Baekya’s joyous voice was heard from the front.

 

“Wow! Sunbaenim, you’re the best!”

 

Guyang, throwing the blue ribbon into the air with a haughty pose, and Baekya clapping were seen.

 

“Daehwan, did you see? Baekya, rejoice more.”

 

“Yes sir!”

 

Yulmu also widened his eyes in joy at the finally untied ribbon.

 

“Wow~ As expected, sunbaenim! You are amazing.”

 

At Yulmu sincerely admiring with double thumbs up, Guyang’s shoulders soared to the sky.

 

“I thought your face was going to explode.”

 

“It’s because you twisted it more. Damn Yooyeon.”

 

“Oh? You’re feeling lively again now?”

 

As Yulmu and Yooyeon naturally approached Baekya’s side, Harang’s eyes followed the two.

 

“You said Six AM, right?”

 

Just then, Shiyoon’s voice was heard from the side. Harang turned his gaze to look at Siyoon.

 

“Yes, that’s correct. I saw you a few times at the company.”

 

“Really?”

 

That was the end of Shiyoon’s answer.

 

“There are a lot of people here, and it’s a hallway, so it’s a bit chaotic. Let’s talk longer next time. It was nice meeting you.”

 

Leaving behind polite congratulations on their debut and a promise to cheer them on, he took DASE and left. Harang glared at the back of Baekya surrounded by AIM members.

 

* * *

 

Without even realizing it, the sunfish had thoroughly pushed Harang’s buttons. Having changed into his outfit for the special stage, Baekya appeared looking like a ball of fluff.

 

“Is the concept perhaps a snowman?”

 

Jihan’s lips twitched—he was clearly holding back laughter.

 

“…Grr.”

 

Thinking about having to see that guy Harang’s face again soon made Baekya grit his teeth on instinct.

 

“Wow~ You could go hunting right like that. No shotgun?”

 

Baekya was wearing a white fur hat and a fur jumper. Yulmu, seemingly liking the texture, kept stroking his back.

 

“Wait, no. Are you the one being hunted?”

 

Yulmu chattered ceaselessly, saying Baekya looked exactly like a polar bear in all that white.

 

Hah. Letting out a short sigh, the blowfish turned his head to look at Yulmu.

 

“What?”

 

“What do you think?”

 

Baekya tossed the question back curtly, then grabbed Yulmu’s arm and bit down on it.

 

“Aaagh! That hurts, that hurts!”

 

“That hamster is definitely a zombie now.”

 

Cheong, sitting at the end of the sofa, stuck his body closer to the edge, wary of Baekya.

 

“How do you not get tired after causing that commotion earlier….”

 

Namkyung muttered that just watching them was draining his energy as he sipped green tea and called over the stylist.

 

“But isn’t Baekya’s outfit really too excessive?”

 

“Is it…? But it’s cute.”

 

The stylist fell into deep thought. She conversely asked for advice saying she wanted to do this and that but didn’t know how.

 

“Actually, that’s already toned down a lot.”

 

“…That is toned down?”

 

It already looked like serious overkill—he couldn’t even imagine how intense it would’ve been otherwise.

 

“Still, maybe either the outfit or the hat should be something more normal—no, more neat…”

 

Namkyung tried to say indirectly that the kid’s face was getting too buried.

 

“And this is just my personal curiosity, but… um, of course I’m sure you handled it properly—but you coordinated with the other groups too, right?”

 

“Of course. The other teams are similar.”

 

“As expected.”

 

Namkyung was certain. The concept must be snowmen.