Rabbit Candidate No. 3
Neoul’s heartbreaking story spread across social media in the blink of an eye, not even waiting for Episode 11 to finish airing. Before long, even fabricated tales of his kindness and rumors that had never existed in the first place began circulating as if they were fact.
Speculative comments poured in as well.
Ah, just thinking about how Neoul could barely even walk, yet worked himself to the bone practicing dance until he pulled off a stage performance—it was enough to drive people insane.
On TV, a clip played of Neoul laughing sadly as he clinked drinks with a baby, bonded as fellow “walking-disabled comrades,” and of him stripping off his clothes to wrap the child up tightly in his arms because he was mindful of his low body temperature.
Then the last interview segment came to an end, and the video evaluating Neoul’s character wrapped up.
[Q. Is there anything you want to say to the passengers?]
[Neoul: I’d like you to focus on the present me rather than the me of the past.]
[Neoul: I’m healthy now, I’m doing well, and I’m very happy to be able to meet all of you.]
This scene, in particular, was captured by countless people and uploaded all over social media with tear-soaked reaction memes. The people who had insulted Neoul deleted their posts one after another and disappeared without a trace.
After some time had passed, messages of sympathy and support began to pour in from parents with sick children, as well as from people who had once been ill themselves.
I was also someone who, back in school, couldn’t join sports activities and was in so much pain I could barely sit in a chair during class. Now I’m healthy, I work at a company, I go to the gym, and I’m a father with two children. I feel how precious health is, and I always try to live with gratitude and positivity.
I spent a long time in the hospital when I was young. I was jealous of kids in school uniforms and wanted to go to school so badly, and now, before I knew it, I’ve become a middle school teacher and I’m teaching students haha.
I talk about more than just studying—I keep preaching the importance of health. A lot of my students watch Idol Travel, so I started watching it too, and before long I ended up falling for Neoul. I’ll be cheering for him.
After the character evaluation scenes for the other contestants, the ranking announcement proceeded, but social media was still blazing with Neoul’s story.
Yeo Do-bin, who had pulled off a dramatic climb in the rankings, was highlighted in tears, and Neoul’s remarks upon taking second place once again turned the internet into a sea of tears.
[Neoul: The stage is enjoyable.]
[Neoul: The preparation was hard, but it was so fun... so much fun, in fact, that I wondered whether it was even okay to enjoy it this much. Thank you for giving me another chance to stand here, and thank you for giving me such a high ranking.]
Every time Neoul showed up genuinely enjoying the survival show, there were always people guessing that he wasn’t that desperate; but really, it was just that now he could do things he’d been unable to do before, and that made him happyㅠㅠ
Even after the broadcast ended, the excitement continued as videos titled Idol Travel Contestant Who Overcame Illness to Take on the Challenge and Tearful Memories of Neoul’s Past were uploaded one after another.
The members of Team A, who had been worried that Neoul would be badly damaged by the absurd scandal, checked the reaction on Lee Gal-chae’s smartphone and went to bed with their legs stretched out, finally at ease.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The composers who had created the song for the final stage only appeared at the filming site on the day of the interim evaluation. During the previous round’s interim check, the judges had each taken turns reviewing the teams one by one and giving feedback.
But this time, since it was the final competition and only three teams remained, all three judges were joined by all three composers for the interim evaluation. The contestants were also given the chance to sit nearby and observe quietly.
Before filming began, Neoul spotted Rabbit Candidate No. 3 talking with Woo Yong-dam.
The leader of Dunkiss, Eunto.
Neoul looked back and forth between Baek Yuri and Eunto in the flesh. If Baek Yuri was a pure white rabbit, then Eunto looked like a rabbit with plenty of gray fur mixed in.
After every round of competition, Baek Yuri meticulously touched up his roots to keep his bright platinum blond hair immaculate, and he made sure to apply sunscreen at least three times a day whenever possible.
Eunto, by contrast, had a spiky silver head with a heavy gray cast and black roots showing through. He was a little shorter than Baek Yuri, and the thick aegyo-sal under his eyes gave him a lively, cute look whenever he smiled.
“Yo, Yong-dam! You look a little brighter now? Being in Korea feels good, huh?”
“Yeah. Feels great. Where’d you come from? You look a little grubby, don’t you?”
“New York! Flew straight here after the photo shoot!”
Usually, the leader of an idol group was the oldest member, but Dunkiss was different.
Leader Eunto, who casually tossed informal banter at his older brother, was actually the youngest in the group. He had debuted at the absurdly young age of fifteen, and even now, ten years into his career as a professional idol, he was only twenty-five.
He was young enough to blend in without issue among the clustered survival-show contestants, but the unique aura that came from years of experience couldn’t be hidden.
Neoul looked for a chance to speak to Rabbit Candidate No. 3. But the moment the interim evaluation ended, Eunto stood up.
“Everyone, fighting! See you again someday!”
He left after tossing out a light word of encouragement.
Neoul quietly slipped away and followed Eunto, calling after him to stop.
“Tok... no, Composer-nim. No, senior. No, Composer-nim?”
What was he supposed to call him?
Eunto, who had been running off with the manager like a rabbit in a hurry to make his next schedule, stopped and looked back.
“Just call me senior!”
“Eunto senior.”
“You’re the trainee named Neoul, right? Your tone color is really nice!”
“Thank you.”
Neoul had wanted to blurt out whether Eunto was the rabbit, but he couldn’t risk seeming too suspicious on their first meeting.
If I rush, I may ruin everything.
For now, he needed to build some familiarity first and look for another chance to meet him again.
“Then could you make me a song someday?”
“Waaah! You’re really ambitious!”
Eunto’s eyes widened in admiration. He looked like he’d never met anyone quite like this before.
“Kids these days are so bold. Well, the bigger the ambition, the better.”
At twenty-five, Eunto had spent so much time around older members that he sincerely considered himself far removed from “kids these days,” and he answered with a grin.
“Come back after you debut. Then I’ll think about it. Bye~”
Eunto waved and left with the manager.
After the interim evaluation, the production team prepared a special outing for the fifteen surviving contestants. It was a recreational activity meant to restore bodies and minds worn down by the string of high-pressure competitions.
The heat had finally broken, and the weather had turned cool enough to make outdoor activities pleasant.
“Oh~ look at the leaves. It’s totally autumn!”
Baek Gi-yeom ran toward the falling leaves.
It was a quiet glamping site nestled in the mountains near Seoul. There was a walking trail nearby, so they could take in the bright red and gold foliage and the autumn flowers along the path.
“When we filmed the first shoot in Jeju Island, it was summer.”
The seasons had shifted in the blink of an eye. The scenery had changed a great deal, but the sky remained the same as always—blue and clear.
A fallen maple leaf stuck to Neoul’s hair. He fumbled at it, then lifted it into his hand and stared at it. The deep red leaf, tinged with a hint of purple, was truly beautiful.
“What is this?”
“What is that?”
“Does this have a name too?”
“This is....”
With every step he took, Neoul asked the world questions. There were so many things he had never seen before. Baek Yuri, trapped in a hell of question marks, answered diligently until he finally got tired and ran away. Baek Yuri, who had been walking ahead, tapped Baek Gi-yeom and then overtook him, his back receding into the distance.
“Lee Gal-chae.”
“...Yuri hyung. Come with me!”
Lee Gal-chae fled as well.
“Yeo Do-bin.”
“Mm...?”
Yeo Do-bin didn’t run. He was strolling slowly, enjoying Korea’s autumn.
“What is that?”
Neoul asked, pointing at a yellow chrysanthemum.
“A flower...?”
“I know it’s a flower. What is the flower called?”
“Mm.... Chrysanthemum?”
Yeo Do-bin didn’t know most of the plants that grew in Korea, so he could only answer a few of Neoul’s questions. But when he knew something, he answered sincerely, and when he didn’t, he became curious alongside him.
Even though Neoul never did figure out the names of the unfamiliar plants and insects, he decided to leave some room for wonder and enjoy the walk.
Then a dragonfly landed on the back of Neoul’s hand.
“Yeo Do-bin, what does this taste like?”
“Dragonfly.... Wait, hold on. What did you just say...?”
Yeo Do-bin glanced over and answered, but a moment later he realized something about the question was deeply wrong and turned back to Neoul again.
Not “what is this,” but “what does it taste like”?
And in that very moment, he witnessed Neoul pick up the dragonfly and pop it straight into his mouth, and he nearly lost his mind.
“Agh...! Spit it out!”
Yeo Do-bin slapped Neoul on the back in sheer horror, and Neoul spat out the dragonfly he had been about to sample. Fortunately, the dragonfly was still intact, only its wings a little damp, and it wobbled away before taking flight.
“You...! You...! Why are you eating random things?!”
“I merely wished to taste it.”
“Why would you taste that?!”
“Because I was curious about its flavor. Do you not eat it?”
Neoul spotted a white butterfly fluttering closer and stared at it while asking the question.
“I don’t, I don’t, I don’t eat them! And I never will!”
Yeo Do-bin frantically waved both hands to drive the butterfly away. Baek Yuri, who had been far ahead, heard the commotion and turned around, then pressed a hand to his forehead. He could already picture the audience reaction, no less chaotic than startled Yeo Do-bin himself.
To Neoul, whose diet had long consisted of shrimp, anchovies, plankton, and the like, flying insects such as dragonflies and butterflies looked no different from food. To humans, however, it was a sight shocking enough to make them reel.
“Th-that’s not food...! There are so many delicious things in the world! Why would you eat flying insects...!”
Neoul tilted his head, unable to understand why Yeo Do-bin was so disgusted. He looked up at the butterfly, which fluttered lightly through the breeze above his head. Then Yeo Do-bin shouted again.
“Don’t eat it...!”
“Very well. I shall not.”
Neoul withdrew his gaze from the butterfly and started walking on. The butterfly flew safely on toward the flowers.