Chapter 77

“Haah...”

As I bounced the ball against the ground and searched for an opening, I couldn’t find a single gap in Gowon’s defense.

“......”

“......”

Both of us faced each other with our backs rising and falling as we breathed. Then I turned my body first.

Thud!

“Ugh...!”

Our shoulders brushed, and I managed to slip past him.

But Gowon quickly caught up and blocked the area in front of the basket.

I caught the ball with both hands and jumped with all my strength. At that moment, an arm stretched straight out came toward me.

With no choice, I shot the ball from an unstable position.

“...Ah...”

It hit the rim and bounced away.

“Whoa.”

On top of that, I stepped down wrong and lost my balance, my body tilting sideways.

Seeing me fall to the ground startled Gowon, making his own body lose stability as well.

Crash!

In the end, both of us ended up sprawled across the court floor.

‘Damn, I got too caught up in the competition too.’

If I got injured before filming, that would become a bigger problem.

“Hey, sorry. Sorry. My bad. You okay?”

I brushed the dirt off Gowon’s body and checked him over. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any serious injuries.

“...It’s fine. That happens during a game.”

“You’re not hurt anywhere, right?”

“Yeah. Get up.”

Even though he hadn’t been asked, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me up.

Oh, so physical sports that involved crashing into each other really were the key to opening up the delicate heart of a teenager.

“Hey, you two! Come over here for a second!”

At that moment, a staff member waved from their side and called us over.

“I think we’ve filmed enough of the actual game, so we want to direct a few scenes.”

The staff members’ eyes, which had seemed uninterested until just moments ago, now held a different kind of light.

“What kind of scenes?”

“Something that brings out youthful friendship, teamwork. That kind of feeling.”

“......”

“......?”

I had a rough idea of what they meant, but... Gowon clearly didn’t understand.

“Like the scene where you two collided earlier, fell down, and then helped each other up.”

‘So they’re going for emphasizing the relationship dynamic.’

I had no disagreement that adding that kind of intention would probably work better.

The problem was whether this teenage boy could actually pull it off...

“Between the two of you, Gowon is the older brother and Baek Hanje is the younger brother, right?”

“Yes.”

Unfairly enough, that was true. The normally quiet Gowon only answered quickly at times like this.

“Let’s really bring out the older brother-younger brother chemistry. In that scene earlier...”

After listening to the explanation, we returned to the court.

Contrary to my earlier worries, Gowon, who had been assigned the role of older brother, became motivated.

Meanwhile, my enthusiasm completely dried up inside, but I didn’t show it on the outside.

Just like before, I bounced the ball, and Gowon stood in front of me.

I tried breaking through his defense from side to side, then jumped up and took a three-point shot.

Clang!

“...Ah...”

But the ball hit the rim and bounced away.

The missed shot was caught by Gowon with a rebound. However, his eyes landed on the disappointed younger brother in front of him.

Thud!

In the end, Gowon passed the ball straight into Baek Hanje’s chest without hesitation.

“Try again. You can do it.”

“......!”

I gripped the ball tightly, then looked at the basket and raised both arms again.

The ball flew in an arc, struck the net with a crisp sound, and passed through cleanly.

...Basically, that was the content of the heartwarming youth scene in the improvised script.

“Alright, now continue with the two of you high-fiving and then happily hugging each other!”

“...What?”

The scene seemed to work well enough that more and more content was being added. Gowon, whose idol persona was still only at the seedling stage, looked horrified.

He was probably thinking something along the lines of ‘Are you insane?’

You idiot. These people are the ones editing our PR videos too. Since we don’t have an agency, we have to do what they tell us.

Back in my day, playing the snack-stick game with members on variety shows was standard.

“Gowon hyung?”

“......”

“Let’s do this properly, okay?”

My final words were almost a whisper as I raised one hand first and approached him.

Gowon also forced himself to move forward.

Our two palms swung wide and collided with a sharp smack.

‘Now, next is...’

The intense embrace of youth at the peak of adrenaline was supposed to follow.

But the teenage boy didn’t move at all, as if he had been shot with a tranquilizer dart.

At that moment, comments that would appear under this PR video flashed through my mind one after another.

Gowon, you can’t even do this soft fanservice? Your eyes already look dead?

Damn, look at his expression rotting away lol

If he gets into the debut lineup, it’s obvious how he’ll treat the members.

Along with them came a notification that Plausibility had plummeted...

‘No!’

I jumped up just like I was making a shot.

My path was directly toward the person in front of me.

“Uh, uh...!”

The weight of my upper body landed on Gowon, and he reflexively wrapped his arms around my back.

But soon, unable to maintain balance, we rolled across the court floor while piled together.

The first time had been an accident, but this time it was intentional, so I fell in the safest direction possible.

Before the back of Gowon’s head hit the ground, I placed my hand underneath it.

At the same time, eye contact from close range.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

“Great! Cut! The two of you are going to look great in the video!”

Hearing the staff’s signal, I raised my eyebrows while looking at Gowon lying on the ground in a daze.

“Hey.”

“......”

“I’m moving my hand.”

“......”

Come on.

Instead of simply pulling my hand out from underneath his head, I supported him and lifted him up with the dignity of a real older brother.

But Gowon, completely unaware of my kindness, flailed and backed away.

“You, you...!”

“Wow, you’d be good at floor choreography.”

Being able to move that quickly on the ground meant he had unusual talent.

“We’ll edit and upload the one-minute PR videos in both Gowon’s version and Baek Hanje’s version. Good work!”

Seeing how the atmosphere toward us had become much warmer than before, I figured the final result probably wouldn’t be bad.

I brushed off the dirt and said,

“Since we’re already sweaty, let’s go practice.”

The biggest advantage I gained from becoming a seventeen-year-old trainee was the overflowing stamina that let me practice all day without running out.

Eighteen-year-old Gowon was the same. He jumped up without any sign of exhaustion.

“You go alone!”

“......?”

Gowon suddenly spun around and walked away by himself with long strides.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

“Hey, why are you saying go alone? We should go together.”

“Ah, just go!”

I couldn’t understand the delicate heart of a teenage boy at all, but there was something I needed to say.

“If you sang well and danced well, I would’ve felt comfortable sending you off alone.”

“......”

“Come on. Let’s go. To the practice room.”

Gowon didn’t answer and only clenched his fist tightly.

***

Several days passed after that.

The long-awaited signal song evaluation and grade re-adjustment time arrived.

“Hello. I’m individual trainee Gowon. I’ll begin the signal song MY STAR.”

Gowon completely destroyed that day’s stage.

“Waaaaah!”

“What is he? How did he get like that in only a week?!”

“Gowon! Gowon! You’re insane!”

“Wow... I knew he was handsome, but after styling him properly, he’s seriously...”

“Why didn’t they style him from the beginning?”

Standing alone on the stage, Gowon lacked nothing in appearance, dance, or vocals.

The only one-minute solo stage he had been given.

Gowon desperately grabbed that opportunity.

He didn’t allow anyone watching the stage to take their eyes off him, even for a moment.

The determination to stay here longer, the intoxication of being completely immersed in the performance.

Compared to those who had practiced for a long time, he lacked refinement, but because of the nature of the signal song, even that roughness became his own form of expression.

‘He did well, but he should’ve just stared holes through the camera and judges’ seats. I don’t know why he keeps looking over here where the trainees are gathered.’

Well, that too could be considered a valuable quality of a performer who would one day be able to control an entire audience.

‘See? I told you. You have talent.’

Plausibility increased.

Current Plausibility: 25% (▲6)

Real Plausibility came from a growth narrative.

If the level-up was steep enough that even the viewer felt proud watching it, there was nothing more to say.

‘Done.’

Even compared to the trainees who had received S grades in the original evaluation, Gowon had delivered a high-quality performance.

On top of that, there was the shock effect of finally revealing his appearance properly for the first time.

At this level, maybe he could even aim for first place—the center position—

The center of the signal song is trainee Baek Hanje!Huh?

Gowon looked back at me while I stood there dumbfounded after hearing the result.

His expression looked slightly frustrated, but there was some strange emotion mixed into it.

“...Yeah. I knew it would be you.”

I didn’t know?

We will now reveal the evaluations given by the five judges. Trainee Baek Hanje demonstrated the essence of the signal song through flawless vocal ability and choreography reinterpreted in his own style. His attitude toward the camera and audience also showed such a perfect tone and manner that it was difficult to see him as a trainee!That was because I had over ten years of experience standing on stage!

While receiving applause and walking forward, an ominous thought suddenly struck me.

No way...

‘Am I Gowon’s biggest obstacle to winning?’

I don’t even remember how I filmed the closing scene. My long idol career probably helped me finish it properly.

After that, while walking toward the hallway in a daze, I ran into Yunjin.

“Maknae! Our pretty, cool, talented maknae! You were the best!”

“What do you mean I was good? I screwed up!”

Does this guy seriously think I came out here for some cute performance festival?

Plausibility decreased...

Maintained.

Current Plausibility: 25%

“......”

It was probably just my imagination that I could hear the quest window sighing like, ‘Seriously... whatever.’

Still being hugged by Yunjin, I saw my reflection in the glass wall.

I had the kind of dead fish eyes that could get me kicked out immediately over a personality controversy.

At the point where the signal song mission was complete.

Current Plausibility: 25%.