Breakwater Team (2)
“Tube Team! Tube Team, please get ready!”
The Tube Team was the sixth team, the one that had drawn the keyword “tube.” It was Myeong I-dam’s team. At the staff member’s loud call, Myeong I-dam’s team, minus Myeong I-dam himself, lined up and moved out.
Ever since Myeong I-dam had been rushed to the emergency room, they had been in a deep slump. They could not focus on practice and kept dragging the room into a restless, unsettled mood.
Only after getting a sharp dressing-down during the mid-evaluation had the Tube Team finally pulled themselves together and worked hard to prepare their stage.
Neoul stared at Lee Gal-chae, who stood at the very end of the line.
“Yeo Do-bin. Look there. Does Lee Gal-chae not look like a dried anchovy left out under the sun?”
Neoul asked Yeo Do-bin, who sat beside him.
“I do not know whether he has not eaten or has not slept.... The shadows under his eyes are dark. At this rate, I wonder if he can even make it through rehearsals.”
“Uh, um.... That’s... because of the smoky makeup. Semi-smoky....”
“Ah.”
The Tube Team, now without Myeong I-dam, had piled on a moderate smoky look and attached plenty of glitter pieces around the cheekbones beneath the eyes. Their kitschy outfits also leaned hard into a slightly debauched, lively party mood.
The lightest member, Lee Gal-chae, appeared seated on a giant flamingo tube while the others dragged him in by the strap attached to it.
The Tube Team’s stage evoked a pool party at a house from an American teen movie. They turned the mischievous, noisy energy of teenagers who might veer off in any direction into something fun through both dance and lyrics.
“Neoul.”
Neoul had been watching the stage on the wall-mounted screen when Ha On-ha, seated one chair over, called his name. He turned.
“Water. Over there.”
Neoul picked up the bottle and, before handing it to Ha On-ha, opened the cap and took a sip.
This is fine.
Only after confirming it was safe to drink did he pass the bottle over to Ha On-ha.
Since Myeong I-dam had been taken out by ambulance, Neoul had started stealing a bite from everything his teammates ate or drank before they touched it. If something was especially tasty, he would even take two spoonfuls. If it looked spicy, he would sample only half a spoon.
“......”
No, in fact, he had even snatched food and water from the other teams and been called a pig hippo for it. When he asked whether one was a pig or a hippo and what exactly a pig hippo was supposed to be, he was told it was “a hippo that’s like a pig.”
Ha On-ha asked, “Are you the court taster? Why do you keep tasting everything?”
He was smiling because the cameras were rolling, and his tone was gentle, but he was clearly irritated. Neoul answered with complete calm.
“I am merely preventing unknown disasters.”
“Preventing, my foot. So long as everyone else is fine, that’s enough? What if something happens to you? What then?”
“I will not die over something like that, so do not fret.”
“You won’t die? What are you, an immortal? A cat? Do you have nine lives or something?”
Ha On-ha, who had been wearing a perfectly painted smile, had a chilly look in his eyes now. It was an argument they had repeated several times already.
“Both of you, stop.”
Baek Yuri cut them off.
“We don’t have much time left until our stage.”
He meant they should stop wasting energy on pointless bickering.
In truth, Baek Yuri had also tried to stop Neoul from testing everything first to check whether it had been poisoned, drugged, or laced with seasoning. But Neoul’s stubbornness was unyielding.
— Teacher Baek Yuri. Humans... seem far too fragile.
— Pardon?
— Humans die just from drinking seawater, do they not?
— Well, yes, but... medicine is advanced now. If you get emergency treatment quickly, you can survive.
— When I was young, I honed my teeth by chewing the ocean trash humans had thrown away one piece at a time. Even if I swallowed a bellyful of black oil drifting on the sea, all I needed was half a day of stomach pain, and I would be as good as new.
— ......
— His Majesty the King scolded me soundly for eating anything I found, saying he had raised me as a prince and not to go around picking through the trash like a beggar. It did hurt my feelings. But my body suffered no ill effects.
— Ah....
— Yet after only a single sip, Young Master Myeong I-dam ended up in the hospital and had to withdraw from the program, did he not? Even after hearing this, do you still not understand me?
Once Neoul had realized just how fragile humans were, he could not stand by and let anyone else end up like Myeong I-dam.
Logan simply felt wronged that Neoul kept stealing his rice. Woo Cheong and Yeo Do-bin, who ate lightly, had already been sharing food with Neoul anyway, so they took it in stride when he helped himself first.
Baek Yuri had tried to stop him at first, but after speaking with Neoul privately, he no longer did. He still wore a worried look from time to time, but he no longer showed it openly.
The real trouble was Ha On-ha. Every time Neoul tasted food first, Ha On-ha reacted sharply.
— Why do you need to be the one checking it? Everyone should just be careful on their own, and if they get unlucky, call an ambulance. Why are you using your own life as a test? If anything, buy a silver spoon and soak it in there first.
But they could not leave freely while preparing for the competition, so shopping for a silver spoon was impossible.
Even if they had been free to go out, Neoul would not have had the time. Besides a pissed-off Ha On-ha, he had plenty else to worry about. He had to protect the contestants’ safety, prepare the stage, and keep watch on the suspect in this case.
Neoul had kept a close eye on Kim Ji-rok ever since Myeong I-dam was taken away like that.
The stench has grown stronger.
In the past, merely brushing past him had been enough to make his brow furrow. But now he had to swallow the urge to retch. He wanted to summon Baek Namu, the Grim Reaper, and tell him to hurry up, bind that bastard in a hemp rope, and drag him off already.
So the water Myeong I-dam drank.... Kim Ji-rok must be the culprit.
The smell had turned fouler exactly from that point, so there was no mistaking it.
Among all those shining humans, he had not understood why Kim Ji-rok and Gye Tae-seok’s souls were rotting away, but now the reason was plain.
He understood, too, why the Grim Reapers did not heal the maggot-ridden ghosts but simply dragged them off like criminals.
You’re stuffed full of evil.
That was why Neoul watched Kim Ji-rok so closely: to make sure he did not try anything else, and to see whether there was evidence beyond the smell that could prove his crime.
At least he’s been quiet....
Kim Ji-rok did not commit any further offenses and spent the rest of the time focused only on preparing his stage.
And then the day of the competition dawned.
“Ha On-ha.”
“What.”
“I am not doing this with the mindset that I must sacrifice myself for others. I am doing it because it is worth doing. If this were truly dangerous, I would not do it. I am going to debut no matter what.”
Ha On-ha did not answer. He only shot Neoul a look full of frustration, as if to ask, If you’re going to debut, why in the world are you acting like this? Neoul merely shrugged with shameless ease.
“Breakwater Team! Breakwater Team, please get ready!”
At the staff member’s shout, Neoul rose from his seat. His teammates also stood in one motion, without needing to look at one another.
“Big brothers! Let’s do well!”
Woo Cheong held out the back of his hand. One by one, the team members stacked their hands on top. Last to place his hand there, Ha On-ha nodded at Neoul.
“What are you doing? Put yours on.”
Neoul, wondering what sort of ritual this was, laid his hand on top of the others’ in turn.
“Breakwater! Breakwater! Fighting!”
“Fighting!”
Some raised their hands high, some lowered them, and everything was a mess of different directions. But thanks to that, the cold atmosphere loosened a little.
“Let’s go.”
“Let’s do this~”
“OK! Let’s Go!”
They lined up in a single file and headed toward the stage below.
* * *
Judge Hala flipped through her evaluation sheet to check the next order and let out a short, “Oh!” in admiration. Gal Neoul, Baek Yuri, Ha On-ha, Woo Cheong, Logan. That combination?
This is cheating.
No matter how she looked at it, the outcome of this fight had already been decided. With all the top-ranked contestants packed into one team, how could they possibly lose? She could not help but feel the expectation sitting at the base of her mind that, of course, they would be good.
They probably know it too. This must have been a lot of pressure while they were preparing.
A team like this Avengers squad needed more than just being good. Everyone already knew they were good, so the expectations only grew higher. They had to show something even better than anyone imagined just to break even.
That was why the production team had deliberately placed them as the final stage.
Hala watched the Breakwater Team coming up onto the stage. Every one of them had striking looks and was tall and straight-backed, enough to make anyone watching feel pleased. In particular, Gal Neoul stood out among the other trainees like a basketball player towering over the rest.
I’m jealous. What on earth did he eat to get that tall?
Twisting her pen idly, Hala watched them before glancing down at her own feet. An 8-centimeter platform boot that looked as if one wrong twist would snap her ankle was yawning open and chewing on her foot.
I want to ask if they could maybe donate five centimeters.
As she mused over that nonsense and looked across the Breakwater Team members, Yeo Do-bin, coming up last, caught her eye.
Hmm.... Do-bin....
The only contestant in the top ranks who had a low placing, and the composer for Breakwater Team in this mission.
Breakwater Team would absolutely do well. No one doubted that.
But this is a self-produced mission. Even if the members are all skilled, the song matters if you want synergy.
So, apart from the members’ individual abilities, she could not let go of her concern about the song.
Hala recalled the demo Yeo Do-bin had played for them in advance, before the contestants made their song selections. It had a highly difficult, experimental feel.
And it’s addictive.
She had thought it was a strange song. It clearly carried the scent of a professional, somehow, even while its structure was something no professional would ever use, mashed together recklessly in a way that made no sense.
It was like chocolate wine kimchi stew.... a hybrid that somehow made you want to take a bite.
She did not know what the contestants had thought, but after Hala and Woo Yongdam heard Yeo Do-bin’s demo, they had spent quite a long time in a state of confusion.
— Yeo Do-bin, what even is this kid? Is he an alien? Judge Hala, what do you think?
— Hmmm.... Maybe he came from a hundred years in the future!
Black Roulette was the representative girl group known for its self-produced concept. As the leader of Black Roulette, Hala had grown interested in Yeo Do-bin’s song.
Still, she could not help worrying: Can the public understand and accept something this difficult?Can contestants who are only trainees actually pull this off?
Hala was not the only one thinking that way. When word spread that the top-ranked contestants had chosen this song, everyone was astonished by the unexpected choice and also left with questions.
Why would smart kids go and do this?
They could have chosen a song that was advantageous for their ranking. Why had they picked such an adventurous track? It was baffling.
“Sunbae. What did you think of Breakwater Team?”
Hala asked the judge seated to her right, Woo Yongdam. He had been the one present at Breakwater Team’s mid-evaluation.
“It’ll be more fun for you to see them yourself than hear it from me.”
“You saw Breakwater Team’s rehearsal earlier, right?”
“Yes. I had to check one last time and give them feedback.”
Woo Yongdam smiled as he looked down at Breakwater Team, who were forming up neatly in orderly positions.
“The way you’re smiling, it looks like they did well?”
“Who knows.”
With another meaningful smile, Woo Yongdam kept his eyes on the stage.
“Ah, I’m curious!”
Hala fiddled with her pen and looked down at the stage.
To get genuine reactions and commentary from the judges, the production team had allowed only the judges who had been involved in the mid-evaluation to watch the rehearsal.
Hala herself had also watched the rehearsals of the two teams she was assigned to evaluate, and Kim Ji-rok, who was usually good, had somehow kept losing focus, which had forced her to give him a few sharp words.
And then he messed up on stage again.
He had lost his bearings, slipped from his blocking, collided with another teammate in a disaster of his own making, and even flubbed the lyrics.
As a judge, Hala was also a senior who supported the dreams of every contestant.
She wanted every team to show everything they had prepared on stage without a single mistake. That was why Kim Ji-rok’s blunder had pained her so much.
Breakwater is the final team.... I hope nothing unfortunate happens here.
With so much expectation resting on them, they might be under even greater pressure and make a mistake all the more easily.
They have to do well.
The audience members who had come to watch had cheered every stage with enthusiasm, but when Breakwater Team appeared, the volume of the screaming was on a different level entirely.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Woooooah!”
“Techwear! They’re wearing techwear! Insane!”