Chapter 238: Our Neighborhood Study King (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 238: Our Neighborhood Study King (4)
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s performance was truly spectacular.
Without batting an eye, he breezed through difficult biology problems, and when English questions came up, he put on a show by providing simultaneous interpretation.
That kid is a genuine genius.
I wasn’t the only one thinking it; everyone there must have felt the same. Even without looking directly at the monitors, I could feel the cameras focusing on Cheong-hyeon.
Who cares if we don’t have the "past exam papers"? Spark has a human supercomputer.
This guy is a total godsend—even right after a survival program ended, he was out there catching mudflat octopuses with a bright smile, composing all the group’s songs, and picking up any choreography within an hour.
In my entire life, I’ve never seen anyone as intellectually brilliant as Lee Cheong-hyeon. And I’m not talking about Mensa members or child prodigies on TV, but people I’ve actually met in person. His talent was truly limitless when given a stage to play on.
“Cheong-hyeon, you’re on fire today! You’re absolutely unstoppable!”
“It’s just—wow! Only things I happen to know are coming up! I should buy a lottery ticket on the way home… Hyung, can minors buy lottery tickets?”
Of course not. I sat there and made an ‘X’ sign with my arms.
“I guess I can’t buy a lottery ticket, so I’ll try to find a four-leaf clover instead!”
What a refreshing interview. As a reward, I should drop him off at a playground on the way home from work.
“I-wol, you’re holding your own as well. Was Spark actually a ‘brainiac’ group all along?”
“I’ve just been lucky. Still, I’m happy that I’ve managed to become an older brother Cheong-hyeon doesn’t have to be ashamed of!”
That’s total BS. It’s just that, having lived as many years as I have, I’m putting in the effort out of a sense of duty to do at least half as well as Cheong-hyeon. Having such a smart younger brother is quite a burden for his elder.
People were eliminated in droves, and after a resurrection match followed by another wave of dropouts, the final ten contestants began to take shape.
Those who were eliminated could just cheer for their remaining colleagues, but Cheong-hyeon and I couldn’t afford that luxury. We were currently racking our brains with veins popping on our foreheads because we wanted to block that senior, who clearly had the answer key, from winning.
Thanks to that, my head felt like it was about to explode. I never imagined that keeping up with current events during the interview season at Hanpyeong Industry would help in a situation like this. Definitions of words don’t really change just because time passes, after all.
Even amidst this, Cheong-hyeon faithfully fulfilled his role of flaunting his irrepressible genius. When a classical music question came up, he actually drew the musical score under his answer.
‘Is that… by any chance, the score for the part they just played?’
‘Yes, I thought I’d try a bit of ear training since it’s been a while!’
Naturally, the conversation shifted to Cheong-hyeon’s past as a classical music major. I hadn’t intended for it to go that far, but since Cheong-hyeon himself couldn’t have failed to anticipate this flow, I didn’t intervene.
‘So, Cheong-hyeon, were you originally a piano major?’
‘I changed my career path when I was too young to really call it a major, so let’s just say I dipped my toes in!’
‘For someone who just dipped their toes in, everyone else wrote the answer in Korean, but you wrote the original title.’
‘Oh, did I?! Should I quickly fix it now? Unity is a virtue for an idol, after all!’
After adding the Korean title and holding up his answer board again with a silly grin, Cheong-hyeon looked like a page straight out of a Milan fashion pictorial.
Shining Star, K-Top Scholar was gradually morphing into Shining Lee Cheong-hyeon, K-Visual Top Scholar. I don’t mean the hosting was biased, just that this was the atmosphere on set.
But think about it. A beautiful student who’s only a sophomore in high school—and who hasn’t even been to school much because of his idol activities—was once a classical music major, is well-versed in current events, studies well, and even has a great personality. Who wouldn’t be interested?
If I were the director, I would have already attached a personal camera to Cheong-hyeon during the break.
Just as I was lamenting everyone’s lack of intuition, the MC turned his cue card.
“According to information I heard from the production team during the break, Min-il and Cheong-hyeon are neighborhood friends. Is that right?”
They didn’t attach a camera, but they did find some material. It’s not a bad way to get some screen time. Since Song Min-il was mentioned too, MYTH would have something to say about it.
I looked back as if I didn’t know, and Song Min-il was also wearing a surprised expression.
“Have you two ever run into each other while walking around?”
“If I had seen a handsome man like my senior, I would have remembered it from a long time ago! This is the first time I’ve seen him since my debut!”
Cheong-hyeon quipped playfully. Strictly speaking, he would have remembered because of his own memory, not because of Song Min-il’s looks.
I expected a similar response from the other side, but Song Min-il gave an unexpected answer.
“I haven’t met Cheong-hyeon either, but I’ve heard a lot about him.”
“Really?”
The MC showed interest in the story.
“Yes. Cheong-hyeon’s older brother was classmates with my older brother.”
“Wow, you two really are neighborhood friends beyond just being from the same hometown! Min-il, is there an episode about Cheong-hyeon that you remember hearing?”
When the MC asked, Song Min-il seemed to search his memory before speaking with a bright smile.
“It was just ordinary. Back then, it seemed like his family didn’t have very high expectations for Cheong-hyeon… but I’m sure they’re prouder of him than anyone else now, right?”
With that, Song Min-il gave a thumbs-up toward Cheong-hyeon.
He phrased it indirectly, but wasn’t that basically saying, ‘Your brother used to think you were pathetic’?
I looked to my side and saw Cheong-hyeon smiling like a bunch of baby’s breath flowers tied together.
However, sitting close by, I could see it clearly. A faint, blue vein throbbing slightly on his temple.
Everyone in Spark knows that Cheong-hyeon isn’t on close terms with his family. For starters, he doesn’t hide it.
It’s not that he hates them with a passion like Choi Je-ho or me. But he doesn’t feel much affection either. That was the distance Cheong-hyeon felt between himself and his family.
Among them, he was particularly uncomfortable with his siblings. It was a different issue from finding his parents difficult because they were successful adults and his guardians.
‘I can just see it when I go home. Both my older brother and my younger brother look down on me.’
‘I don’t talk to my brother at all. It’s not like we fought or did it on purpose; it just ended up that way. I’m lucky if Lee Gang-myeong doesn’t pick a fight.’
‘Both of them have no manners. None. I used to think it was because they were nerds who only studied, you know? But I-wol hyung also only studied during his school days, and he’s not like that! So I realized, ah, the problem lies with my brothers~.’
He had said they seemed to think anyone who deviated from the typical path to success was pathetic.
Song Min-il could say something like that so boldly only because he believed his situation was different from Cheong-hyeon’s, even though he was also an idol.
Cheong-hyeon lived in a thatched-roof house called UA, while he was in a major agency.
If his own brother was just as outstanding as Cheong-hyeon’s, and he himself had debuted earlier with a significantly larger fandom, he might feel a sense of pride. Especially at that age.
After finishing the amicable conversation with Song Min-il, Cheong-hyeon turned back around and muttered.
“I wonder what the next question will be.”
There was a murderous intent in his voice that sounded almost like a hum.
The recording time was longer than I had imagined. It made sense, considering they went around to check the answers and conduct interviews after every single question.
Nevertheless, the end was approaching.
“Finally! The TOP 3 of ‘Shining Star, K-Top Scholar’ has been decided!”
Cheong-hyeon, Song Min-il, and I were the final three.
“I’d like to ask each of the three of you for your thoughts. First, Min-il!”
“Phew… I can’t believe I’ve made it this far. I’m a bit dazed right now.”
“You really must not have expected it. Your expression is just—!”
The MC laughed while looking at Song Min-il’s face. Since he was much older than us, I suppose kids our age looked cute no matter what we did, but the corner of the guy’s mouth was actually twitching. What, do you feel like the MC is getting under your skin?
As the seats were adjusted with only three people left, the distance between me and Song Min-il was much closer than at the beginning.
I was thinking it served him right and glanced at him, but what do you know—Song Min-il’s complexion didn’t look good.
I wondered if he was sick, but I soon realized the reason.
Unless you’re a fraudulent future human like Lee Cheong-hyeon, there’s a limit to human memorization.
And the fact that the recording had dragged on meant that many questions had been asked.
Looks like his well is running dry.
I mean, who told you to steal the exam paper and cram? Even without doing this, your company would have slotted you into famous and easy variety shows anyway.
On the other hand, Cheong-hyeon, who had survived the harsh environment of UA, maintained the same high energy he’d had at the start of the recording.
“How about Cheong-hyeon, the youngest of our TOP 3?”
“I’m worried because I’ve been so lucky. I feel like I could find six four-leaf clovers!”
“I suppose there are six members in Spark?”
“Yes! I-wol hyung… you’re a competitor right now, but I’ll give you a four-leaf clover too. Don’t worry about not getting one!”
Cheong-hyeon winked at me. There were too many cameras for me to say I was fine without one.
“Lastly, I-wol. When we went to see the fortune teller together, she said you knew the future… surely you didn’t already know all the questions for today, did you?”
At the MC’s question, Song Min-il flinched noticeably.
Honestly, he just can’t stay still. Do you want to come to the acting academy we attend? The teacher there is incredibly good.
“If I had known in advance, I don’t think I would have struggled so much with the previous question…”
I said, recalling the situation a few minutes ago when I had barely escaped elimination. It was a question I knew, but I had such a hard time because I couldn’t remember the word.
“You’re a good actor, I-wol. It could have been some high-level acting!”
“It was a real situation without a single lie, but thank you for the compliment!”
I was wearing a sincere smile to avoid sounding sarcastic when the teleprompter caught my eye.
[Take a short break after this question.]
It was an instruction that wouldn’t have been given unless they were certain no one would get the next question right.