Chapter 109
Chapter 109
The challenge became an instant sensation.
It was essentially pouring gasoline on the already heated rivalry between the two groups that 'Music Record' had stoked, but surprisingly, the initial reactions were favorable.
This was because the challenge's setting—Mary's practice room rather than a typical music show hallway—added an extra layer of intrigue.
—Wow, first time seeing one filmed in a practice room instead of with senior artists
—Did Haejun invite Neuti? lol Unexpected combo
—Not Cha-gyeom...?? Why not
—I'm all for this pairing
—Please give us the behind story of how you two ended up doing this challenge togetherㅜㅜ
People intrigued by the unexpected pairing immediately checked the 'MAZE' challenge video uploaded to HAZARD's channel.
The video captured the two's fierce performance—an intense beat and pounding footsteps assaulting the ears while making it impossible to look away.
But their demeanor was far from simply working in sync.
Not a single exchange of glances, solely focused on the dance.......
It was, in every sense, a fiery, sparks-flying showdown.
—Yo, the look in their eyes.. lol They're practically ablaze
—lmaoooo the tension is insane, you'd think this was national team tryouts
—Just throw hands already, goddamn
—A straight-up fistfight would feel less murderous than this
—Whoa shit, both of them are absolutely dripping with killer intent, hell yeah, this is it, this is a battle, this is prime entertainment ㄷㄷ
—Ah, love it lol So fun, so fun, fight more, clash harder
From the perspective of AWER fans who'd been cruising through a competition-free calm, the appearance of a rookie boldly matching AWER toe-to-toe initially felt like a refreshing event.
Thanks to that, at this stage, the mood among them was more about enjoying the rivalry itself rather than determining superiority.
Amid this heightened fervor, the next thing to capture fans' attention was the 'Answer Me' challenge, posted one beat later.
'Answer Me' was AWER's most recent release, a song characterized by a delicate emotional arc and a smooth melody line.
As the choreography also emphasized flowing, soft lines over power, it drew a different set of reactions compared to 'MAZE.'
—Whoa, Neuti completely nails this wistful style too
—Like,, AWER felt like a mysterious boy met in the Alps, but Neuti feels like a professional killer longing for an innocent past... ㅠ
—Yo, Rei's unexpected, thought he could only do hard-hitting stuff
—Oh my... Neuti...
Fans expressed amazement and raved over Han Neuti's flexible dance lines and interpretive ability, which had been hard to notice in his sharp, powerful performances.
However, things were no longer as wholesome as before.
Subtle reactions had begun creeping in.
—Guess boy groups really do need to do hard-hitting stuff lol
—Answer Me is the better song, but MAZE is more visually thrilling, the impact difference is...
—No matter how well you pull off hardcore refreshing or hardcore dreamy, you still can't beat a 'hard-hitting song' in its purest form. Feels a bit bland in comparison
—AWER, just release one song like MAZE, please... It's not like you lack the skills, why do you always take the edge off...
—Performance-wise, MAZE makes me curious about the stage, Answer Me makes me curious about the digital track lol
The completely contrasting styles of the two songs inevitably generated comparative reactions.
Both fandoms sensed the subtle shift and swiftly tried to manufacture a wholesome atmosphere by spamming comments like 'It's a beautiful rivalry,' 'Both are amazing,' and 'Let's all get along.'
The problem, however, was that the two's challenge presented such a fascinating competition even to non-fans.
Soon, the challenge spread beyond the two fandoms into broader online spaces under titles like 'Rookie Boy Group Representative Main Dancer Comparison.'
And naturally, movements to determine an objective edge in their dancing skills began appearing.
—I'm a total dance noob but even I can see they both dance like absolute beasts, what's there to compare? Their styles are just different
—Han Neuti has the edge in detail... If you listen closely to Answer Me, it's not 'ttan ttan ttan,' it's 'ttan ttaran ttan,' and look at how he somehow catches and brings out those grace notes...
—ㅎㄴㅌ has clear dynamic control, the push-and-pull is definite, feels very dynamic and rolling; ㅇㅎㅈ is like flowing water, smooth and easy on the eyes like ballet. They're just both insanely good in totally different styles, yeah
—No, it's just a clear Han Neuti win, what's this talk of them being evenly matched;; The power alone is different;;;
└Not a clear win lol I see it as a matter of taste. Yoon Haejun's dance lines are cleaner and prettier
—I knew Yoon Haejun danced well, but didn't think he was on the level to go toe-to-toe with Han Neuti...
—Conclusion: MAZE suits Han Neuti better, Answer Me suits Yoon Haejun better. End.
There was no definitive result declaring one the clear victor.
But it was evident that the prevailing opinion was 'evenly matched' or 'Han Neuti has a slight edge,' which was bound to be an unsatisfactory outcome for AWER fans who had expected a total victory for Yoon Haejun.
After all, they had anticipated that Yoon Haejun would naturally draw more attention given the size of the fandom and general recognition.
In the end, some AWER fans, sensing a crisis as public opinion subtly leaned towards HAZARD, pulled out 'that card' once again.
—No but seriously, why are they clinging so hard?? lol You clearly don't have the power to make it on your own, so you're using the excuse of having been at the same company to go viral, it's so transparently obvious that I'm getting secondhand embarrassment lol
—Mary is a damn saint, they're totally showing their hand trying to leech off but she just accepts it all
—They're not even in the same league, why do they keep pretending to be rivals..
—If you're a main dancer who can only dance, of course you should dance better than an all-rounder, is that something to brag about?
But those claims no longer held any weight.
Because the general public who'd flowed in through the challenge had started taking HAZARD's side.
—Hey, you should compete with skill, not pick fights based on results~ I don't know the idol scene well, but isn't half of idols' results... thanks to company power? lol
—MAZE was a better song though, can't believe it has a lower digital ranking...
—No, the idol scene these days is fascinating, so being good at an easy song and being good at a hard song are considered the same now
With objective public opinion backing them, HAZARD's fans didn't need to walk on eggshells like last time.
—lol Where did all the people telling Cha-gyeom to come to AWER go
—Mary? AWER? Not precious at all~~ So damn glad our Cha-gyeom is in HAZARD ^^
—Now you see, right? Selling off relationships my ass, you can go fully viral with talent alone, what's this about leeching off lol Feels like you guys benefited from our song this time
Additionally, this challenge produced one more side effect.......
An influx of international fans.
Those who had initially been watching AWER due to Mary's name value, but who had expected the intense, sharp-angled performances characteristic of K-pop, found AWER's music somewhat bland.
And the 'MAZE' challenge that appeared at this moment was more than enough to quench their thirst.
The result was clearly revealed in HAZARD's comment section.
Comments
—OMG HAN NEUTI WHO ARE YOU?!?!?!
—I came to watch owr but HAZARD captured my gaze (emoticon)
—THIS is K-POP. Goosebumps!
In HAZARD's comment section, which had until now been almost entirely in Korean, foreign-language comments began noticeably increasing.
* * *
After the fan signing event ended and we returned to the dorm, we had to sit around the living room filling out our individual profiles without a moment to check the internet reactions.
It was because of the 'Idol Comprehensive Review' filming scheduled for tomorrow.
As the title suggested, it was a program whose main content was introducing idols' profiles. Even the paper now in my hands bore the calligraphy: [Comprehensive Review! ☆Seo Cha-gyeom☆ Profile].
I first wrote down the basic information—name, age, birthplace, and so on.
Then I checked the next field and stopped my pen.
[Representative Animal: ]
This one was easy.
[Representative Animal: Fox]
After filling it in without hesitation, I suddenly grew curious about the others.
What had the other members written?
'I know Han Neuti is a cat, and Baek Gyeonwoo is a rabbit.'
Didn't the other members not really have anything?
Unable to help myself, I sneaked a glance at Kim Sanho's profile next to me.
"......Deer?"
"Huh? Yeah."
"Why a deer?"
"They say I'm like a deer......."
If you're a deer, then who the hell is the puppy?
'And what kind of face even looks like a deer in the first place.'
But contradicting something his fans had said felt a bit out of line.
I ignored the bewildered Kim Sanho and moved on.
[MBTI: ]
......Ah, I still hadn't taken the test for this.
For reference, Kim Yuri, the primary reason I hadn't gotten tested until now, had already done it. Something about having naturally done it while attending school.
To be honest, I felt betrayed when I first heard it, but nowadays it's practically impossible to hold a conversation without knowing MBTI, so I generously let it slide.
'Should I just take it right now.'
I picked up my phone to find a test site, then stopped.
It was my first MBTI test, something I'd saved up for years—half-assing it in such an exhausted state felt too anticlimactic.
While I was mulling it over, I elbowed Jeong Sowol, who was sitting next to me writing his profile with his face practically buried in the paper.
Jeong Sowol lifted his head slightly and looked up at me.
"What?"
"What do you think my MBTI is?"
"You, hyung?"
Jeong Sowol stared at me intently.
His gaze was excessively serious, as if trying to see right through me.
Just as I felt a sudden sense of pressure and was about to tell him to forget it, Jeong Sowol's mouth opened.
"First of all, you're a T."
"Really?"
At that moment, an objection flew in from across the table.
"Yah, how is Cha-gyeom a T! He's clearly an F, just look at him."
The voice belonged to Kim Yuri.
Jeong Sowol protested with an expression as if he'd momentarily forgotten the hierarchy.
"In what way?"
"He's nice."
"So that means all T's are mean?"
"Hey, um....... No, that's not what I meant."
Kim Yuri, who had nearly sparked a controversy, pretended not to notice and returned to focusing on writing his own profile.
To clarify on his behalf, I'd heard that hyung was also a T. A wishy-washy T precariously balancing on the line between T and F, but anyway, he was saying to cut him some slack as a fellow T.
......No, this wasn't the time for that.
'So besides T, what should I put for the others.'
The other members had already written down their MBTIs long ago and moved on to the next section.
The atmosphere was too quiet, making it a bit awkward to ask again.
After struggling alone with the dilemma, I soon steeled my resolve.
'I'll just write ENFP.'
I seemed to recall hearing somewhere that this was the personality type idol fans preferred most.
Energetic, positive... the so-called puppy-like type.
It felt like it didn't quite fit me, but well, I could just live as an ENFP from now on.
"Hyung."
"Mm?"
A low voice came from beside me.
Turning my head, I found Jeong Sowol staring at my profile with a dumbfounded expression.
"That's seriously not it."
"......Really?"
"Give it here. I'll write it."
Before I could answer, Jeong Sowol snatched the paper from my hand.
Then he began filling in the blank with his own pen without a moment's hesitation.
The paper he returned to me with a satisfied look, as if he'd completed a work of art, had this written on it:
[MBTI: ROCK]
"......."
"Insane sense of humor, right?"
Watching Jeong Sowol engage in self-praise, I let out an empty laugh from sheer disbelief.
Not that it was funny. Just a truly hollow laugh.
But I didn't erase it. It was variety content anyway, so it probably wouldn't matter.
"You could just take it right now."
Baek Gyeonwoo, leaning against the wall in the corner, tossed the remark out casually.
"......."
But still... reading anything right now felt like a chore.
I neatly pretended not to hear Baek Gyeonwoo's perfectly reasonable suggestion.