I’m a Genius Idol but my Passive is Sunfish Chapter 98

[<Only the Practice Maniac Survives (8)> Complete!]

 

Thud.

 

Baekya, who was striking an ending pose, suddenly fell.

 

“Ack!”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Jihan looked down with a startled face. However, there was nothing on the floor.

 

“Suddenly in front of me… no, I just tripped over my own feet.”

 

Shaking his head, Baekya rubbed his knee. Judging by how his brows creased, it seemed to hurt quite a bit.

 

“Be careful. Filming is only a few days away.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The sunfish rolled up his pants to check for bruises.

 

It was already April. It had been nearly four months since DASE started preparing for their comeback.

 

Since the Idol Star Athletics Championships that aired as a Lunar New Year special, DASE’s official activities had been on hold. The only crumbs fans had were the members’ vlogs uploaded to their official Y-Tube channel starting in March.

 

“Ah~ I want to eat meat~”

 

Yulmu, lying on the practice room floor, muttered loudly to himself.

 

“Me too, meat! Chicken! Samgyeopsal!”

 

Cheong chimed in.

 

With the music video filming just around the corner, diet management had become stricter. Complaining about wanting meat was something the members said habitually these days.

 

“I think I’ll do well in the music video this time. This must be how a vampire feels when they can’t drink blood.”

 

When Yulmu turned his head, his eyes met Baekya’s, who was pulling his rolled-up pants back down.

 

“What.”

 

“Just~ wondering if your knee is okay. I heard we’re filming for 4 days this time, and one day is in the mountains.”

 

“Mountains?”

 

“Yeah, and at night too. What if a ghost appears?”

 

Baekya, who was listening seriously to Yulmu, frowned.

 

“…Why are you looking at me while saying that?”

 

“I wonder why?”

 

“You little…!”

 

It must’ve been around this time last year. He’d screamed a bit at a haunted house during a reality shoot, and Yulmu was definitely teasing him about it.

 

As Yulmu clutched his stomach laughing, the sunfish darted over and grabbed him, rolling him around as revenge.

 

“You guys are really having fun.”

 

Minseong, slumped against the mirror with a drifter-like air, watched the two blankly. It had been eighteen hours since they’d been locked in the practice room. Endless choreography drills had long since drained both the leader’s body and mind.

 

“Ah, it’s so hot!”

 

Baekya approached the resting members, huffing and puffing as he flapped his shirt.

 

“Water?”

 

“Yeah. Give me some.”

 

Snatching the water Jihan offered, he emptied half of it in an instant.

 

Even while drinking, his sharp gaze scanned the front. Baekya’s eyes angled upward warily, keeping Yulmu in check.

 

In his own way, he seemed to be threatening to bite if provoked, but well…….

 

Judging by Yulmu’s twitching lips, it didn’t seem to work at all.

 

“I told you I’m not scared of ghosts.”

 

He tried to sound intimidating, but it was pitiful at best. He was the only one who didn’t realize that reactions like that only encouraged the other person.

 

“Stop it and sit down.”

 

Yooyeon pulled Baekya’s clothes and calmed him down.

 

With an annoyed look, Baekya sat beside him and let out a big sigh. Even getting worked up took a fair bit of stamina.

 

“Aren’t you curious how our hair will change tomorrow?”

 

“Right. we’re going to the salon tomorrow, aren’t we?”

 

Baekya fiddled with his sweat-soaked hair. He had consistently maintained pink hair since WANT ME promotions, last bleached and dyed it for ISAC.

 

The hair, left almost neglected since that day, looked very messy with grown-out roots and faded color.

 

‘I look like a slave hunter.’

 

Who would look at this state and call him an idol? Baekya pressed his lips together, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

 

But right next to him was someone in a similar state whose face still seemed to glow.

 

“What is it?”

 

Yooyeon, meeting his eyes in the mirror, asked with slightly widened eyes.

 

“You’re annoying.”

 

“What now? I didn’t do anything.”

 

As if to say don’t you know how quietly I’ve been living lately, the swindler felt guilty first.

 

“……”

 

One of us needs an A-rank skill just to be passable, while someone else is born with a face like that. Baekya stared at Yooyeon in silence.

 

Then he reached out and turned Yuyeon’s face once to the right, once to the left.

 

“Wuh aruh yuh duhin (What are you doing).”

 

Yooyeon, his face squished by the grip filled with emotion, asked with slurred pronunciation.

 

“Tsk. Filthily handsome.”

 

Baekya pouted as he let go. Rubbing his cheeks where the sensation lingered, Yooyeon frowned.

 

“Did you read some weird post again?”

 

“No.”

 

It had been quiet for a while, but plastic surgery rumors were surfacing again after the vlog of Baekya wearing glasses was released.

 

“You saw it, you totally did.”

 

“I told you not to care about every single thing.”

 

With Minseong and Jihan chiming in too, Baekya scrunched up his face.

 

“I said I don’t care! I really don’t!”

 

Whether it was this stupid broken-game system or some kind of delusion-type skill he didn’t know he had, the members often ignored what Baekya said and interpreted things however they liked.

 

The balcony incident at the previous dorm was a prime example.

 

“In my opinion, Dangbaek, the glasses were your problem. The director said you had this exact face when you came for the audition.”

 

Yulmu held out his phone displaying Baekya’s graduation photo.

 

“Why the hell do you even have that saved?!”

 

Yulmu, having his phone snatched by Baekya, eventually got hit once.

 

  * * *

 

– Kids dyeing hair > Wearing hats > Comeback imminent = Time to save money!

– Heard they finished MV filming and are shooting jacket photos today, please black hair

– ID, please give us refreshing concept this time too ㅠㅠ No wait, don’t.. No do it…

  └ Actually school uniform is good, harness, techwear, hanbok, bad boy look, chains are all good so just give us amazing hair and makeup please

– Eh, another group’s article popped up. Comeback timing overlaps (It’s that house desperate to be linked with our kids)

– Can definitely see the fan influx increased after shooting DASE-log. Of course I’m one of them

– Please release Peach glasses selfie as photocard ㅠㅠ Already looking forward to full album photocards

 

“Photocard…!”

 

This was the site of DASE’s 1st full album jacket photoshoot. Having finished the group shots and waiting for his individual cut, Baekya hurriedly opened his photo app.

 

‘Come to think of it, I think they said to submit it by today.’

 

To avoid repeating the same mistake as last time, he had taken selfies in spare moments, but whether there were any usable ones was another matter.

 

“As expected.”

 

Between photos of the music video set and animals, Baekya’s face appeared here and there. But aside from different clothes and backgrounds, every pose and angle was the same.

 

The synchronicity was eerie, like he’d copy-pasted them.

 

‘Can’t I just submit anything?’

 

He didn’t want to get caught in this situation and do another Photocard World Cup or whatever.

 

They’d even won a rookie award. And since no major main quests had popped up afterward, it was only natural for the sunfish to grow complacent.

 

Then, as if reading Baekya’s mind, a status window suddenly popped up.

 

[A new quest has arrived!]

[Q. I Didn’t Know My Face Was This Colorful : If you are an idol, you must be good at this next to your main job… (See more)

※ Upon failure, passive enhancement]

 

“N-No…!”

 

Don’t do this, please.

 

Baekya despaired, dropping his phone at the sudden quest.

 

“See more….”

 

A ‘See more’ appeared on the quest?

 

He was screwed.

 

Baekya stood there trembling like a drenched bird, not even thinking about picking up his fallen phone.

 

“I shouldn’t have read the comments….”

 

Sensing an ominous aura, the sunfish squeezed his eyes shut. Since it was a main quest, he couldn’t even ignore it.

 

When he clicked ‘See more’ with resignation, detailed content unfolded.

 

[Taking selfies, something you must be good at next to your main job if you are an idol! But a ★Genius Idol’s★ selfies must be different, right?

 

An opportunity to discover a side of yourself you didn’t know! Get photocards and earn Star Points!

 

– Take a photo doing a V sign

– Take a photo doing flower cup pose

– Take a photo winking

– Take a photo with another person

– Take a photo looking in the mirror

 

※ Achievement Rate 0%]

 

‘I hate trash games. Really hate them. Hate them so much. Hate them the most!’

 

Head hanging low, Baekya trudged over and picked up his phone. Thankfully, it was fine.

 

“Ah, you startled me. Why are you acting like this here?”

 

Yooyeon, who had just returned from his individual shoot, almost stepped on Baekya, who was crouched in front of the entrance.

 

“It’s nothing….”

 

“Did your screen crack?”

 

“I said it’s nothing….”

 

He was pretending to be fine in his own way, but Baekya had no talent for hiding his emotions.

 

“Give it here.”

 

Yooyeon took Baekya’s phone wordlessly. Flipping it this way and that, the condition looked fine.

 

“Huh, it’s fine?”

 

“I told you it’s fine.”

 

Sighing, Baekya got up and took back his phone. With slumped shoulders, he shuffled over to the sofa. Watching his drooping back, Yuyeon’s expression turned uneasy.

 

“What’s with him…?”

 

Puzzled, Yooyeon followed. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but the other members were curled up on the sofa, taking short naps.

 

After waking up Cheong, who had his turn next, and sending him off, Baekya sat down and picked up his phone.

 

“Did you submit your photos?”

 

Yooyeon suddenly spoke to him. He seemed to be talking about selfies, Baekya’s current biggest worry.

 

‘What does this guy know?’

 

The sunfish narrowed his eyes.

 

However, Yooyeon’s gaze was fixed on the phone held high in the sky. He was taking selfies, turning his chin this way and that to find the optimal angle.

 

“…I will.”

 

“Oh. Guess you took some photos this time, then?”

 

Yooyeon smirked, saying it was a shame since he had a few photos to submit for the Photocard World Cup.

 

Click—.

 

At that moment, the shutter sound rang out. Yooyeon didn’t stop his hand movements even while conversing with Baekya.

 

‘How is he so natural?’

 

Baekya, eyes wide open, looked at Yooyeon with fascination. Then, suddenly, a ray of hope flashed through his mind.

 

This might be the perfect chance to clear one of the quest conditions: ‘Take a photo with another person’.

 

The sunfish’s eyes shone sharply.