I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 89

“What?”

 

“Muscles.”

 

Minseong pressed Baekya’s forearm half-heartedly and made a doubtful expression.

 

“There’s nothing here.”

 

“It’s here, right here.”

 

Baekya fussed, telling him to feel properly.

 

“No, there’s nothing.”

 

At the firm answer repeated again, Baekya became sullen.

 

“That’s not true, there is…?”

 

While Baekya flexed his arm once more, the tug-of-war positions were all assigned.

 

The result.

 

‘Why only me…?’

 

Only Baekya was sandwiched between girl group members. The pink peach stuck between brown heads stood out conspicuously.

 

“U-Um, Sunbae-nim! Why am I the only one here….”

 

Baekya, who debated internally over ten times whether to ask or not, mustered the courage to speak to a member of VICTORY.

 

“Cheong said your finger got smashed? But it looks… fine. Still, just in case, stand in the middle. Don’t overexert yourself. Okay?”

 

It’s been healed for ages!

 

But before he could explain, the man had already moved to the back. Jihan and Minseong were standing at the very end of the rope with him.

 

‘Take me too! Take me!’

 

Making eye contact with Minseong, Baekya sent a signal with sparkling eyes. However, Minseong just chuckled and waved his hand.

 

“So clueless!”

 

Frustrated, his inner thought slipped out of his mouth. The girl group member standing next to him was startled and responded to Baekya’s monologue.

 

“Yes?”

 

“…Yes?”

 

Suffocating air.

 

Flustered, Baekya shook his head saying it was nothing and bowed his head. It was the start of a vow of silence.

 

— A total of three matches will take place. The team that wins twice first will take the victory.

 

After a brief explanation of the procedure, the first whistle blew. The rope lying long on the floor was lifted into the air.

 

“Didn’t expect to meet you like this.”

 

“Please take care of me, sunbaenim~”

 

Gukhwa of Boys World and Shiyoon, facing each other in the center, exchanged greetings while keeping each other in check.

 

“Take it easy, Gukhwa.”

 

“I’ll just do my best.”

 

Gukhwa wrinkled his nose and smiled. Along with the gunshot signaling the start, the rope was pulled with all their might.

 

One two! One two!

 

The White Team had agreed beforehand to breathe in on one and pull on two. Thanks to pulling with their body weight right at the start, the White Team seemed to be slightly ahead in the beginning, but.

 

Heave! Ho! Heave! Ho!

 

The flow quickly shifted to the Blue Team, whose rhythm was relatively faster.

 

“Just lie down!”

 

VICTORY’s leader shouted.

 

The White Team’s last struggle.

 

However, once the momentum shifted, it was hard to bring back. Thus, the first match was a victory for the Blue Team. The next match proceeded after switching positions.

 

Baekya moved to the opposite side and quietly slipped to the back row.

 

“Why are you coming here? This isn’t your spot.”

 

“Hey! Be quiet.”

 

Baekya poked Minseong in the side to hush him when he asked loudly without reading the room.

 

“Hyung, why don’t you try standing over there.”

 

For a severely introverted person, strangers, especially the opposite sex, were more uncomfortable.

 

— Then let’s proceed with the second match right away.

 

The whistle blew and the rope was pulled taut. Baekya also pulled the rope with all his might.

 

However, although the White Team seemed dominant in the beginning again, their bodies were gradually dragged towards the Blue Team, and the formation collapsed in a heap.

 

— Blue Team Wins!

 

— Ah~ The match ended faster than expected. Are the White Team players okay?

 

“That’s a shame.”

 

Baekya dusted off his knees and stood up. Across from them, the Blue Team was hugging each other, celebrating their victory.

 

“It’s okay. The athletics championship is just starting.”

 

Shiyoon approached and patted Baekya’s head, boosting the White Team’s morale.

 

— We’ll continue with the third event. What do we have next?

 

— It is Target Hitting. We will proceed with the Men’s Target Hitting Team Match first.

 

The MC declared that if the Olympics has archery, the Idol Star Athletics Championships has target hitting. Next to the staff handing out toy bows, players could be seen putting on chest protectors.

 

“Pull~ and shoot! Swoosh!”

 

Cheong, already wearing his protector, stuck the suction-cup arrow onto Baekya’s chest as a prank.

 

“Don’t goof around and do well.”

 

“I do well.”

 

Cheong, the only member praised by Teacher Juyoung, lifted his chin arrogantly and boasted.

 

At the request for everyone except the participating players to leave, everyone withdrew outside the line, leaving only six players from the White and Blue Teams. The audience seats were noisy with the voices of fans cheering for their respective singers.

 

“Heard you went to a sports academy?”

 

“Yes! It was super fun.”

 

Standing beside Cheong was Daehwan, another White Team member. Lifting a surprisingly large toy bow, he struck up a conversation.

 

The target hitting team match consisted of three members per team, and the White Team players were Daehwan, Cheong, and a 3rd-year member from a small agency.

 

— There are 27 prepared arrows. Each player will shoot nine arrows.

— First is the White Team’s turn. The first player is DASE’s Cheong.

 

Beep—.

 

Along with the first signal sound announcing preparation, Cheong stood in front of the target. As the image of him nocking an arrow and pulling the string was captured on the electronic display, the audience stirred.

 

Closing one eye and pulling the string tight next to his lips, his focused appearance was no different from a national archery athlete.

 

“He looks like a different person when he keeps his mouth shut.”

 

Baekya found Cheong’s serious appearance unfamiliar.

 

At that moment, Cheong’s hand released the string. The arrow left the bow, drew a parabola, and flew onto the target board, striking it.

 

Pyok!

 

A cute sound effect rang out as the suction cup stuck to the leg of the target stand.

 

— Out of bounds! 0 points!

 

It was the birth of a legendary archery.

 

* * *

 

– AIM Daehwan, DASE Cheong, Boys World Gukhwa. The 3 Archery Captains of ISAC

  └ What is the Korea Archery Association doing not taking these three. Why aren’t they escorting them to Taereung immediately

  └ Comment is so mean lol

– If someone asks about the future of K-Pop, tell them to look at ISAC Archery

  └ Visuals acknowledged. DASE Cheong definitely shot my heart instead of the target ㅠㅠ

– Is ISAC pre-recording today? Timeline looks fun…. (Hermit crab meme.jpg)

 

“It’s a different arrow from the one at the academy. That’s why.”

 

“People are calling you a legendary archer.”

 

“…What even is a legendary archer, Hamster?”

 

“There is such a thing. Someone who shoots arrows well.”

 

“Jamong?”

 

To Cheong, ‘legendary archer’ apparently meant Jumong. Baekya nodded like, yeah, that makes sense, and Cheong frowned.

 

“You’re making fun of me!”

 

“Oh… you noticed?”

 

For once, he understood sarcasm. When Baekya showed a genuinely surprised reaction, Cheong put him in a headlock.

 

“Ack! Rice, my rice!”

 

“You little punks! How dare you mess around at the table!”

 

Minseong slammed his palm on the table, scolding them.

 

With Part 1 of filming over, it was lunchtime. Back in the waiting room, DASE took a break while eating their late meal.

 

“Okay~ Don’t fight. Dangbaek needs to eat quickly and practice with me.”

 

The current score had the Blue Team ahead by 1 point. Perhaps his chronic competitive spirit was flaring up, Yulmu’s eyes were burning with enthusiasm.

 

“What practice now? Forget it.”

 

“If you go outside right now, everyone’s practicing. Seriously.”

 

Unable to bear being between Cheong and Yulmu, Baekya took his lunchbox and moved to the seat next to Jihan.

 

The events for the second part of the recording remained: three-legged race, flipping the board, girl group cheering, and the mission relay to decorate the finale. Now, just hearing the ‘th’ of three-legged race made him frown; he tried to dodge it by saying he’d go all out in the actual match—but it didn’t work.

 

In the end, Baekya was dragged out to the arena mid-meal.

 

“Can’t we just go out and tie our legs there?”

 

“You need to get used to it~”

 

Yulmu, stopping in front of the entrance to the stadium, tied his and Baekya’s ankles with a thick ribbon.

 

“Okay! Start!”

 

Yulmu, putting his arm around Baekya’s shoulder, led him recklessly.

 

It seemed his words weren’t a lie, as outside, some idols were seen practicing for the next match or communicating with fans in front of the fan seats.

 

Throwing an arm over Baekya’s shoulders, Yulmu pulled him along without mercy.

 

True to his word, outside they could see idols practicing for upcoming events or interacting with fans in front of the stands.

 

“Which way should we go? Oh! Want to go where our Naings are? I think I’m a genius.”

 

“Did all the geniuses die out or something….”

 

With an unimpressed expression, Baekya looked toward where Bapsae and Nara were seated. The area where DASE’s fans were was completely opposite to where they were standing.

 

The path looked rough, but wanting to see the fans up close, Baekya just puffed out his lips and didn’t object. After a short sigh, he draped his arm around Yulmu’s waist.

 

“Ah, wait.”

 

“What.”

 

“I get goosebumps.”

 

“You…! You think I am doing this because I want to!?”

 

However, when Yulmu twisted his body and pushed him away as Baekya’s hand touched his waist, the sunfish’s feelings were hurt.

 

“I’m not doing it! Forget it!”

 

“Hey, hey, okay! Do it! Really do it.”

 

Yulmu urgently stopped Baekya, who was about to untie the knot immediately. Meanwhile, the members who finished fixing their makeup in the waiting room came out to the stadium to watch the two practice.

 

“What’s with you two? Why are you messing around here? Baekdo, you think you can beat the Blue Team like this?”

 

Seeing the two bickering in front of the entrance, Yooyeon asked teasingly. Even the other members who joined with leisurely steps chimed in, asking if they were too slow.

 

The Naing Zone started buzzing at the appearance of DASE in the stadium during break time. Minseong, looking around to find the fan seats, pointed to the opposite side.

 

“They’re over there. Shall we go see the fans too?”

 

“I was just planning to go there with Dangbaek anyway.”

 

“Let go! I’m going back to eat.”

 

However, the hurt sunfish was still sulking.

 

Jihan, quietly following the members from the back of the line, looked down at the bunch of bananas in his hand at Baekya’s mention of food. Then, as if a good idea struck him, he quickened his pace to stand ahead and looked back.

 

“What is he doing?”

 

Minseong cast a suspicious glance at the inexplicable action of the Quiet Weirdo offering a banana.

 

“If you make it over there, I’ll give you this.”

 

Offering snacks as leverage, it looked exactly like someone training a pet dog.