I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 8

Descending straight to the practice room, Baekya looked around the empty space.

 

“…Did they tell me the wrong place?”

 

He didn’t even know who had called him here. Baekya, who was looking around, approached the wall and leaned against it to sit.

 

For a moment, he stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror. A rumbling sound that broke the silence made Baekya clutch his stomach.

 

“I’m hungry…”

 

Come to think of it, all he had eaten in the morning was a banana. From the monthly evaluation to the sudden debut proposal, and even the profile shoot. There was no time to eat.

 

‘I even thought I’d fail to debut here and run to another agency.’

 

A hollow laugh escaped him without him realizing it. In fact, he was still in a state of disbelief, finding the current situation absurd.

 

‘To think I’m debuting…’

 

It was for survival, but somehow he had a feeling that after debuting, the real game would truly begin.

 

All he’d seen were reviews that recorded only fragments of the game.

 

“It probably won’t even compare to now.”

 

At the endless stream of stray thoughts, Baekya ruffled his hair. Then he took out a small packet from his pocket.

 

“First, let’s eat and then move.”

 

It was a chocolate pastry that Jiho had given him to eat before the evaluation started.

 

Baekya tore open the wrapper and shoved the bread into his mouth in one bite. The <No Food Allowed> sticker above the practice room door pricked at his conscience.

 

But before he could even chew a few times, that very door suddenly opened.

 

“!!!!!!”

 

Startled, Baekya froze with wide eyes. For a different reason, the other person was just as surprised.

 

“…Huh?”

 

“Cough! Choke!”

 

With crumbs stuck in his throat, Baekya coughed, hitting his chest.

 

‘I have to swallow it quickly…!’

 

Baekya quickly turned around and diligently chewed the contents of his mouth. He couldn’t ruin his first impression like this.

 

But it was all visible.

 

He had tried to hide, but the nature of the space made it impossible to hide in the first place. Because it was the biggest and widest practice room at ID.

 

Even though Baekya was facing the wall, the movement of his puffed-up cheeks was clearly reflected in the mirror in real time.

 

“Cheongcheong, why aren’t you going in?”

 

“Shh! There’s a hamster. It’s eating.”

 

Starting with the youngest members who had opened the door, the rest of the members gradually arrived.

 

“What’s in there?”

 

“Didn’t we book the practice room?”

 

A shameful tomato standing alone like a lighthouse on a remote island. No, it was a presence that couldn’t be ignored even if one wanted to.

 

And his back looked so desperate.

 

At the maknae’s sign to be quiet, the voices of the members who had arrived late naturally grew quieter.

 

“Guys, the manager hyung is coming to ask about our schedule now…”

 

Even the team’s oldest, Minseong, who appeared last.

 

“Why are you all just standing here?”

 

As he approached, he instinctively lowered his voice too. His eyes quickly scanned the inside of the practice room. Someone was there.

 

“Who is it?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“But he’s pitiful. He’s hiding and eating something.”

 

They say even a dog shouldn’t be disturbed while eating. At the suggestion to wait a little, the five men couldn’t bring themselves to enter and were huddled together at the entrance.

 

‘There are more people.’

 

Baekya felt the commotion behind him. He didn’t want to turn around.

 

On the other hand, at the sight of the back that showed no signs of coming out even though the meal was over, a presence soon drew closer. At the sound of footsteps stopping behind him, Baekya fidgeted and turned around. Of course, his gaze was fixed on the floor.

 

“Excuse me, hello.”

 

“…Hello.”

 

“I’m sorry, but we’re supposed to be using the practice room from 7 o’clock.”

 

A dismissal, delivered cautiously.

 

Baekya slowly lifted his head, and his eyes met Minseong’s. Judging by his expression, he hadn’t been told anything yet and didn’t recognize him.

 

‘What do I do?’

 

For a moment, Baekya wondered if he should introduce himself. But Minseong’s eyes were swollen. In fact, it wasn’t just Minseong; everyone there was the same.

 

‘Was it a year since the debut group was formed?’

 

If you included their trainee period, they’d spent far longer together. A friend who’d been with them all that time had been removed from the team overnight.

 

Even if it was his own fault, regardless of the facts, it was only natural for their hearts to feel hollow.

 

And then, on the very day an original member was expelled, a new member was suddenly chosen? It was a perfect setup for misunderstanding.

 

Why did I only think of this now? Baekya thought it was a huge relief that he hadn’t said anything, and quickly bowed his head to apologize.

 

“Th-uh, I’m sorry! I’ll leave right now.”

 

It would’ve been strange to introduce himself here as the new member joining the team.

 

‘It’d look like I’m the only one excited…!’

 

Which, honestly, wasn’t wrong—making it all the more bitter.

 

And he had just realized, but he didn’t have the confidence to go into that group. It felt like they already had their own solid fence. Baekya tried to leave the practice room as if he were running away.

 

But that action was blocked at the door.

 

“Oh?! You were here! I didn’t know and even went all the way to the studio and the development team!”

 

A large man suddenly appeared and grabbed Baekya, spinning him around.

 

“Hey guys!”

 

“W-wait a minute!”

 

Flustered, Baekya struggled. Five pairs of eyes turned toward him.

 

“I went to the development team and got a definite answer myself! Your debut isn’t canceled, it’s going ahead as planned!”

 

“…Is that really true?”

 

Jihan’s face contorted as he asked back.

 

“Yeah, you punk! Baekya here saved you guys!”

 

In that moment, with the gazes on him, the system window appeared for the first time in a while.

 

[A new quest (hidden) has arrived!]

[Q. First Impressions are Important: Overpower the opponent’s energy with a dance initiation rite]

 

‘Overpower what!?’

 

Baekya, who felt alive again at his blood pressure rising several times today, shouted without realizing it.

 

“I don’t want to! I’m not doing it!”

 

The misunderstanding smoothly deepened.

 

***

 

[Kim Dongman, Manager of the New Artist Development Team]

 

He had been promoted to manager in just two years after joining the company, thanks to Baekya’s lightning-fast debut. Right now, Dongman’s position within the new artist development team was that of a ‘hero.’

 

Whenever Dongman passed by, everyone would stop what they were doing and applaud and give him double thumbs-ups.

 

“Who’s this? Isn’t it our Manager Dong!”

 

“Haha. Deputy General Manager, I’m embarrassed.”

 

“No, no. If it weren’t for Manager Dong, I would have cried, I’m telling you.”

 

Just when it seemed the tower they had been painstakingly building for years was finally going to see the light of day, a thunderbolt suddenly struck. Not just the new artist development team, but the planning team, the PR team, and the A&R team were all in shock.

 

How many all-nighters did they pull!

 

The time, manpower, and cost that went into launching a new artist from a company were beyond imagination.

 

And was this new artist just any new artist? They were the flagship star of ID Entertainment. The boy group that would succeed AIM, after 8 years.

 

On top of that, with the whole worldview thing, the planning team had reportedly gone through every single book with the words ‘legend,’ ‘myth,’ and ‘world’…

 

There was a time when the planning office was called a zombie den.

 

Those were the days. Hahaha.

 

But that was all in the past.

 

At the CEO’s declaration that ‘there will be no changes to the schedule other than the addition of a new trainee,’ everyone swept their chests in relief.

 

“I saw that kid’s profile that was uploaded, he looks good.”

 

“Right? I didn’t know at first either because Baekya-gun was wearing glasses, but the moment he took them off! Ding~ Daaang~”

 

In short, it was like bells ringing over their heads. Dongman was busy heaping praises on Baekya to everyone he met like this.

 

The Deputy General Manager thought to himself that it wasn’t that amazing, but he didn’t say it out loud.

 

“Anyway, the kids are having a hard time. It’s practically a complete rework, is it even possible in three months?”

 

Everyone would have a hard time, but Baekya in particular would be worked to the bone without even time to sleep. Right away, there was recording, choreography practice, jacket shoots, and a music video.

 

“The schedule has been pushed back since last year. The CEO probably can’t delay it any further because of the investors. Still, the Planning Team said they’ll try to buy as much time as possible, so that kid just has to adapt quickly.”

 

“Baekya-gun will do well.His determination is incredible right now.”

 

“Really? That’s good. Apparently the kids cried a lot, thinking the whole thing was going to be scrapped this time.”

 

Dongman made a genuinely sad expression, as if it were his own affair. Then he glanced around cautiously, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered.

 

“I heard that Harang guy was a bit of a bully because he could sing a little, I guess it’s true. He did have the longest trainee period, after all.”

 

It was something everyone who knew the situation already understood. The Deputy General Manager nodded with a bitter face.

 

“Vocals are important in a team. Still, it seemed like they were getting along well, so it’s a shame it ended up like this.”

 

The Deputy General Manager briefly looked at Baekya’s profile on the monitor.

 

‘What kind of influence will this kid have on the team?’

 

They were kids who had been through a lot, so he hoped things would go well for them. But the process, so far, had been far from smooth.

 

***

 

At that very moment, the new face—already wielding tremendous influence from the instant he appeared—

 

“It’s a misunderstanding! It’s really a misunderstanding, ah…!”

 

—was drowning in a sea of wailing.

 

Flailing about.