Chapter 163
Chapter 163
Did I say it would be fine for a schedule or two even if the two I fought with didn't make up right away?
I take it back. It was total bullshit.
‘How the fuck did those two end up together on the first try?’
I had taken the risk because I was afraid that if I just swept it under the rug, it would blow up even bigger six months later and completely wreck the group's atmosphere.
I just didn't expect that risk to blow up in my face during the very first round.
‘I hope this is a dream.’
It was beyond absurd that the very safeguard I’d built to prevent this disaster was the thing that triggered it.
Anyway… this W App content started like this.
“Hello, Loviewers! It’s been a while since all seven of us did a W App together, right? We posted a notice earlier—did you all see it?”
“We are currently at… Ta-da! An indoor climbing center. We wanted to show you a new side of us having fun today.”
“Shall we split into teams of two? Yes. Thank you for the cheers.”
“Ah, Cheong-woo hyung will be the MC for the sake of fairness!”
Originally, Keun Se-jin was supposed to be the MC.
Honestly, it wasn't like this was the Olympics; we were just playing among ourselves, so what did fairness matter?
‘In fact, it would’ve been more entertaining to watch Ryu Cheong-woo massacre the amateurs.’
However, if Keun Se-jin were the MC, he would have to constantly talk to Bae Se-jin, so I had arbitrarily pulled him from that role.
I had also already dropped a hint to the company. I asked them to pull some strings so those two wouldn't end up on the same team.
But somewhere in the communication process, a mistake must have occurred. When we drew chopsticks, Keun Se-jin and Bae Se-jin both pulled the same color.
“…Wow! The two Se-jins are on the Blue Team together.”
I had to start clapping immediately before the viewers noticed anything strange.
Clap clap clap clap!
Fortunately, everyone else clapped desperately as well. It seemed like it might pass.
“Oh, let’s do our best, hyung.”
“…Sure.”
At least they were willing to talk in front of the camera.
A deep sense of irritation toward the company welled up inside me.
‘Can these guys seriously not get one thing right?’
Mistakes like this are common anywhere, but the timing made me want to fire the whole lot of them.
And here was the final problem: this wasn't a recorded video where we could use the magic of editing. It was a live broadcast.
“…….”
In short, it was a total disaster.
I could already see the swarm of anonymous accounts that would pop up the moment the broadcast ended.
‘No way.’
I could practically hear the sound of their mental states shattering.
Just as a cold sweat began to break out, I heard a vigorous voice beside me.
“Hyung! Let’s win! Go Red Team~ Go Red Team!”
“Right.”
That was it. The only way was for the rest of us to overreact and bury the awkwardness under a mountain of hype.
I intentionally egged on Cha Yu-jin, who was on my team.
“Which team do you think will be the easiest to beat?”
Cha Yu-jin moved exactly as expected.
“Umm… Kim Rae-bin’s team!”
“That statement is nothing more than mere bravado! As former roommates, A-hyun hyung and I will surely demonstrate effective operational power…!”
Perfect. Now everyone just needed to burst out laughing and keep the reactions going.
I continued to use Cha Yu-jin in similar ways to drive the atmosphere.
A quick glance at the real-time chat on the W App showed that it was working as intended.
Hmm, seeing the stable, mindless hate comments meant they hadn't sensed the awkwardness yet.
‘I just need to get through the match with those two.’
Fortunately, since there were three teams, one team was chosen to advance straight to the finals by a seed. Their team got it.
Of course, we lost on purpose to make that happen.
“Then, according to the results of the rock-paper-scissors… the team going straight up is Blue!”
“Oh~”
“I believe you have actually suffered a disadvantage because you will be playing fewer games.”
“Wow~ Thanks, Rae-bin. Thanks to you, I’m not excited anymore.”
Keun Se-jin smoothly brushed off the fact that the two of them hadn't even shared a common high-five, making it seem like it was because of Kim Rae-bin’s comment.
‘Now there’s only one hurdle left.’
As long as those two didn't glare at each other while climbing in the finals or jerk their shoulders away if they touched, we’d be fine.
I felt a bit nervous as I started the climb with Cha Yu-jin against the Kim Rae-bin and Seon A-hyun team.
‘We can’t lose.’
If that team won and moved up, I had zero confidence that they could handle any unexpected interpersonal situations.
The problem was that the other team was better at climbing than I expected.
Especially Seon A-hyun.
“F-fight…! Watch your, your footing…!”
“Thank you!”
He zipped up and even pulled Kim Rae-bin along.
I wanted to praise his strength and sense of balance, but he wasn't being helpful right now.
‘Then again, if they had the tact to lose on purpose, that team wouldn't have needed to lose in the first place…’
I suppressed a groan and climbed silently.
Fortunately, we did win.
“Red Team wins!”
“Wow!!”
It was because Cha Yu-jin, who climbed at an incredible speed, kept checking both members of the opposing team.
After landing on the floor, I willingly gave him a high-five.
And I said it with total sincerity.
“Good job.”
“Hehe.”
Cha Yu-jin grinned and waved at Kim Rae-bin.
“It’s good to win!”
“I believe it is essentially incomparable because Cha Yu-jin interfered with other people's climbing while A-hyun hyung and I helped each other!”
“Hmm, whatever~”
Cha Yu-jin didn't seem to give a damn. In the real-time chat, a wave of comments crying about how cute the protesting Kim Rae-bin was passed by.
And then, the moment of truth arrived.
“Now, the finals of TeSTAR’s climbing match are about to begin. Everyone, get ready… Uh-oh, Yu-jin, step back.”
“Yes, sir.”
At Ryu Cheong-woo’s sharp restraint, Cha Yu-jin, who had stepped forward a bit too early in his excitement for the game, retreated back.
Then he shrugged.
“It’s okay. Even if we’re late, we’ll win!”
“……!”
“Oh~ Yu-jin is overflowing with confidence. Won’t it be embarrassing if you lose to your hyungs after saying that?”
Keun Se-jin threw out a pointed remark, but Cha Yu-jin just smirked.
“You can’t win!”
“……!”
It was insane aggro.
‘What is wrong with this kid?’
The staff and the real-time chat seemed to think his groundless confidence was just for laughs, but to my eyes, he was serious.
‘Did winning once make him lose his mind?’
These guys are the ones you shouldn't provoke right now…
“Oh~? What are you going to do if we win, Yu-jin? You’re not going to cry, are you?”
“I won’t!”
Keun Se-jin smirked.
“Really? Then I guess we’ll have to find out~”
I could feel his sincerity.
Even Bae Se-jin, who had been stiff with tension, was silently checking his gloves in the back.
They definitely had that look in their eyes.
‘Both of these guys absolutely loathe being looked down upon.’
At that moment, something flashed in my mind.
Wait, could this actually… be helpful?
I immediately opened my mouth, pretending to be as serious as possible.
“He’s right. I don’t feel like we’re going to lose either.”
“Exactly!”
“Wow, Park Moon-dae, even you’re doing this!”
Amidst Keun Se-jin’s booing, even Bae Se-jin looked over at me this time.
For some reason, he looked betrayed.
‘What’s with that look?’
Regardless, it was a success. If I made them hyper-focused on the match, the awkwardness would be less noticeable.
“Alright~ Let’s leave the intimidation at that. The four of you, line up again.”
The four members waited in front of the climbing wall with a much more proactive attitude than before.
“Ready… Go!”
And they all scrambled up the wall.
‘They’re really working hard.’
I climbed at a moderate pace to observe the situation, and I was a bit taken aback seeing the three of them moving their limbs while looking only at the top.
‘Shouldn't they be a bit more careful?’
Especially the one who lacked muscle mass.
Just as I thought that, Bae Se-jin’s foot slipped for a moment.
“……!”
But he immediately regained his posture and continued to climb.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine.”
Bae Se-jin’s voice in response to Cha Yu-jin’s question was clear.
Keun Se-jin, who had been bickering with Cha Yu-jin as they climbed, hesitated for a moment but then replied nonchalantly.
“Then I’ll be at the top first~”
He must have been debating whether he should say something out of concern.
The surprising thing was that Bae Se-jin actually replied.
“…Fine. Just wait.”
“Whoa~”
For the record, the last exclamation was from Cha Yu-jin.
Immediately after, Cha Yu-jin reached the goal.
“Cha Yu-jin succeeds!”
“YEEES—!”
Cha Yu-jin immediately moved around nimbly, making a few inconsequential gestures as if to interfere with Bae Se-jin, before approaching me.
Then, while reaching out an arm as if to help support me, he whispered under his breath.
It was in English.
[We have to lose!]
“……!”
We have to lose.
It was an insightful comment I never expected to hear from Cha Yu-jin.
‘Is this a dream?’
Of course, it was reality.
I almost looked at Cha Yu-jin with suspicious eyes for a moment, but I quickly stopped thinking and naturally slipped.
To be honest, my hands were losing strength after two consecutive matches, so it was almost funny to say I was letting them win.
“Gasp.”
“Moon-dae hyung, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
While Cha Yu-jin pretended to check on me and my climb was delayed, Bae Se-jin scrambled to the top with everything he had.
And then, he touched the target hold.
“I did it…!!”
Bae Se-jin’s face was bright red as he looked back.
“Alright, Blue Team wins!”
“Ooh!”
The other members, forgetting their tension, applauded Bae Se-jin as he triumphantly gripped the hold.
‘I did it too.’
I let out a sigh of relief as I landed on the floor.
At least I succeeded in losing naturally.
Following that, Cha Yu-jin came down with some flair as if performing a stunt, and the two winners also landed on the floor.
“Hey, Yu-jin, you said you’d win~”
“I did win! Moon-dae hyung lost to Se-jin hyung.”
“Hey.”
I intentionally swatted Cha Yu-jin’s back. The staff watching the filming from behind hurriedly stifled their laughter.
“Ouch! You’re going to put a hole in my back!”
I left Cha Yu-jin to his obvious theatrics and spoke to Bae Se-jin.
“You were really good, hyung.”
“Well, you know, it just, somehow… happened.”
He said that, but his face was full of pride.
It was then that I made eye contact with Keun Se-jin, who was exchanging playful banter with the exaggerating Cha Yu-jin.
“…….”
I gave Keun Se-jin a slight nod.
Keun Se-jin slowly opened his mouth.
“…I agree! You were great, hyung.”
“…!!”
Judging by his shoulders, Bae Se-jin looked like he was about to jump in surprise, but fortunately, his face regained its composure in an instant.
“…Yeah. Thanks. You… were good too.”
“Haha.”
The two of them shared a very polite high-five.
Even if they were only doing it because they were in front of the camera, it was clear that their anger had softened a bit.
‘I guess both of them had a lot on their minds last night.’
Cha Yu-jin, who was watching them with a satisfied look from the side, whispered in English.
[Performance and victory in sports. It always works.]
“…Is that from experience?”
[I was a pretty good football player! Well, in middle school, anyway.]
Even though I was taking a crash course in English conversation, I couldn't understand half of what this kid said because it wasn't standard English. Just how many times did the word ‘like’ appear in one sentence?
…Of course, I couldn't fault his excellent judgment.
‘As I thought, it’s not that he lacks tact; he just chooses not to use it.’
I patted Cha Yu-jin on the back.
“Good job.”
“Of course!”
As we bumped fists in a sort of runner-up ceremony, the reality that we had safely navigated this shoot finally sank in.
And it seemed that the two who had fought were ready to talk in a reasonably peaceful atmosphere sooner than expected.