The Production Showcase (3)
After the photo time and the Signal Song stage of Welcome, once they stepped down from the stage, the contestants were done for the day.
The production showcase wrapped up with MC Jeong Ondo and the three star judges—Woo Yongdam, Halla, and the choreographer—holding interviews with the reporters.
On the way home, Kim Jirok, who had been busily searching Idol Travel and his own name in the waiting room, suddenly froze when he saw a post.
It said that someone had come to see him, only to fall for Gal Neoul instead.
As he stared at Gal Neoul from far off, Gal Neoul seemed to feel the sharp gaze and turned his head in this direction. Then he twitched his brow ever so slightly and turned away again, as if nothing had happened.
What the hell. Seriously?
He’d hated that attitude from the very beginning. That wasn’t how you looked at a normal person.
It was the same look you’d give a filthy cigarette butt scattered on the street, or something disgusting someone had spat out and left behind.
Just being looked at like that made him feel like a worthless lump of fine dust that only spread disease, and it left a sour taste in his mouth.
If Gal Neoul had looked at everyone that way, fine—he’d just think the guy was a total prick by nature. But that bastard was openly discriminating against people.
Gal Neoul acted close to the other top-ranked contestants like Baek Yuri and Ha On-ha, almost deliberately so, while blatantly ignoring and keeping his distance from Kim Jirok, who sat in the awkward middle of the upper ranks.
I’m still fourth in the dance vote, for fuck’s sake. Why’s he picking and choosing who to buddy up with? What a pain in the ass.
Because Gal Neoul avoided Kim Jirok, a few of the other contestants, pretending not to notice, had also begun treating him cautiously and keeping their distance.
Kim Jirok couldn’t understand it.
He acted as if it didn’t bother him at all that Gal Neoul ignored him, tossing it off casually and even putting on a good-natured face. But Gal Neoul was the one throwing bombs and then making it obvious he couldn’t stand him by turning his head away.
Shouldn’t people have kept their distance from Gal Neoul instead?
Kim Jirok looked down at the post still open on his smartphone, then snapped the screen off irritably and hurled the device into his bag.
What the hell is so great about a crazy bastard who says he can smell rot on someone the first time he meets them?
People had no eye for anything.
Harmony of yin and yang and the universe? What? Tempered a thousand times over by a god?
It was ridiculous overstatement. A god, my ass. What would a god have that much free time for? To sit around making people? No—someone had clearly made him. That face was obviously the work of a plastic surgeon, sculpted stitch by stitch with silicone and a needle.
Once an old photo or a graduation picture gets out, he’s going to be humiliated out of his mind.
Kim Jirok took off his name tag and handed it back, spewing curses under his breath. After the staff checked him off, he turned around—and saw Ha On-ha jogging over on light feet to return his own name tag.
“Oh, Jirok hyung! See you at the next shoot~”
Unlike that greenhorn Gal Neoul, he was at least a smooth little brat. He always smiled with those foxlike eyes, so it was hard to know what was on his mind, but still....
Ha On-ha was talking with Yeo Do-bin. They were debating where they should film their reaction to the first broadcast.
Ha On-ha let out a long sigh.
“I guess it’s tough since everyone has family at home.”
“It is late, after all.... If the broadcast starts at 10:50 p.m., most people are probably already getting ready for bed.”
“Hmm....”
Seeing Ha On-ha thinking hard, Yeo Do-bin spoke up as if to reassure him.
“If it really doesn’t work out, I can ask my aunt...! I’d have to go down to the provinces, but it’s quick by train!”
“No. We can’t just impose on people for no reason.”
Ha On-ha cut him off firmly, then brightened and offered another idea.
“Hmm—how about gathering a few more guys around Neoul’s age and going out together? A place like a natural recreation forest would be nice. Though maybe all the reservations are already full?”
“A natural recreation forest...? What is a natural recreation forest?”
“Huh? You’ve never been to one? Oh, right. You’re Australian! You look way more Korean than me, so I almost thought you were Korean for a second.”
“I-I mean, I’m Korean-Australian, so....”
“Okay, listen. A natural recreation forest is kind of like a pension, but national recreation forests are run by the government, so they’re a lot cheaper. Most of them have TVs built in as standard, too.”
“Ohhh....”
“You can go play in the stream during the day, grill barbecue over charcoal outside in the evening, film your reactions while watching the first broadcast together, and then split up the next day!”
“Barbecue outside? But they said a typhoon is coming....”
“Aaaah...! Nooooo! My charcoal barbecueee!”
Ha On-ha cried out and collapsed onto the floor. So the forest retreat and the reaction video had all just been a pretext—the barbecue had been the real goal.
What, so he was simpler than I thought?
Having eavesdropped on the conversation, Kim Jirok snorted inwardly and proudly squared his shoulders before approaching them.
“Do you want to film your first-broadcast reaction at my place?”
“Huh?”
Ha On-ha, who had been plopped down on the floor at random, lifted his head. Kim Jirok was a little startled when he saw Ha On-ha’s blue eyes.
Fuck, this kid’s insanely handsome too. I’d better keep him out of the same shot with me.
Had he always been like this? He hadn’t really looked at him closely before, so he hadn’t known.
The first time he’d seen him, he’d thought he looked like a classic pretty boy, sure....
Since he’d stolen the center position for the Signal Song, though, Kim Jirok had been wearing a filter of resentment, so he’d basically seen him as a fox bastard with nine tails attached to his eyes, nose, and mouth.
How irritating and pathetic it had been, the way he’d batted his eyes sweetly at the judges and buttered them up.
But now that he was seeing him clearly up close, he wasn’t just any ordinary pretty boy; if this were Joseon, he’d probably be the kind of man people whispered was the most beautiful in all of bustling Hanyang.
In any case, he was the kind of face you did not want in the same frame.
Honestly.
Did I screw up by asking him?
But once words were out, it was hard to take them back without losing face. Even the thought, for a split second, that he might be overshadowed annoyed his pride.
I was famous in middle school and high school for being one of the best-looking guys in school, too. I’m popular, too.
His friends had dragged him to blind dates and karaoke rooms of every kind, always whining, “If you don’t come, the girls won’t come either! Just come with us once!”
After regaining his confidence, Kim Jirok cleared his throat and spoke with a looser, more composed air.
“My parents aren’t usually home, so the place is pretty empty. The living room’s big, and the TV is huge, so everyone can watch comfortably.”
“Oh?”
From Ha On-ha’s expression, he looked tempted. After glancing at Yeo Do-bin standing beside him, Kim Jirok nearly flinched back on reflex.
What the hell is with that kid’s expression? Why does he look like that?
Yeo Do-bin wasn’t actually close to him, and he was only freezing up because he was awkward around a not-quite-close hyung who’d suddenly started chatting with him. But to Kim Jirok, it looked like he was coldly glaring at an innocent person.
Huh.... It didn’t feel like this a second ago, did it?
When he was speaking, he came across like a harmless, simple country boy—exactly the kind you’d get cheated by without a second thought. His voice was soft, his manner of speech slow and cautious, and there was something childlike in the way he stretched out the ends of his words.
But once he clamped his mouth shut, he looked like a completely different person. It was as if warm spring weather at twenty-five degrees had suddenly plunged to minus twenty-five. His long, narrow eyes, unsettling white irises, and rigid expression made him seem downright chilly.
What is it with these bastards, anyway? Why are they both such assholes?
Kim Jirok casually rolled his eyes away to avoid the gaze. Cold sweat slid down his back. He was embarrassed to find himself intimidated by kids who were barely twenty, so he kept smiling as if nothing were wrong and even lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Haha, ahem.”
Deliberately ignoring Yeo Do-bin’s presence, Kim Jirok went on.
“But I’d like it if you brought Neoul too. Just don’t say it’s my place.”
“Neoul? Why?”
“Well... you know On-ha, right? How Neoul keeps avoiding me. I just want to get along with everyone, but I feel like he hates me.”
“Ah....”
“If there’s some misunderstanding, this would be a good chance to clear it up. I don’t think I did anything to Neoul, either... I just wanted to ask why he dislikes me.”
Kim Jirok smiled the smile of a good-natured man.
But in truth, he had not the slightest interest in why Gal Neoul disliked him. The reason he wanted Neoul there was to make content out of the situation.
Ha On-ha and Yeo Do-bin seemed close to Gal Neoul, so they’d probably be able to bring him along without trouble. Once he got there, even if Gal Neoul clearly hated him, it would be hard for him to just turn around and walk off alone, leaving his friends behind.
But he also wouldn’t bother hiding how much he disliked him. That kid didn’t seem to care much about cameras.
Then Kim Jirok could cut up fruit for him as nicely as possible, order pizza, hand out ice cream, and occasionally wear a hurt, wistful expression.
And then he’d ask the production staff for a “counseling” interview.
It seems like Neoul feels uncomfortable around me.... Why? Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve been trying really hard to get close to him in my own way, but, um.... It’s a little upsetting.
Conflict between contestants was always juicy, stimulating material. There was no way the production team would pass up a scene like that.
Then, along with the interview footage, scenes of Gal Neoul ignoring him, avoiding him, or frowning at him would be edited in all the more provocatively.
The moment the broadcast aired, keywords like “Gal Neoul character controversy” and a wave of sympathy for him would plaster SNS from end to end.
Just thinking about it made Kim Jirok feel so refreshed that a laugh slipped out on its own. He waited leisurely for Ha On-ha and Yeo Do-bin’s answer.
Then Ha On-ha, still seated on the floor and looking up at him, tossed out a question as if he were genuinely asking because he didn’t know the reason. His bright smile was just a bonus.
“Maybe it’s because you smell like cigarettes, hyung?”
Kim Jirok’s brow crumpled mercilessly.
What the hell is this bastard...?
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