Chapter 25: Fan Service

[Hero, just now… you totally sounded like a male lead from a romance manga…]

“Quiet.”

Roy’s neck turned red as he expressed his gratitude to his teammates.

Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, the team had spent enough time together to get a decent grasp of Roy’s personality.

“Roy hyung, can’t you just be my real big brother?”

Lee Hajun clung to Roy’s arm with both hands, stretching it out.

Although Roy spoke coldly, he didn’t shake off Hajun’s hands wrapped around his arm.

That contradiction was what Hajun found charming about him.

[Gathering cute mochi members of Dangheon-Ah Sweet Idol Training Show~]

— [Lee Hajun.jpg]

— [Song Doyoon.jpg]

— [Lee Siwoo.jpg]

— [Jo Soohyun.jpg]

— [Choi Eunhyu.jpg]

— [Are there more?]

— [Hajun is seriously such a baby.]

— [He looks like a baby, but the way he acts is just as cute—totally adorable.]

— [Even though he hasn’t appeared that much in the broadcast yet, the other contestants treat him like their precious youngest brother.]

— [Honestly, it made me feel kind of guilty about how I treat my own son at home.]

— [I feel like he’s too young to be on this kind of show. It made me uncomfortable.]

— [Yeah, but the filming’s been intense from the start.]

— [It’s always been like that though.]

— [Siwoo is seriously SO cute TTTTT]

— [When will he debut so we can see him at a fan meet… I want to watch his cheeks wiggle in real life…]

— [Me too…]

— [Is Choi Eunhyu that guy from the Hongdae cafe?]

— [Yeah. I live near Hongdae, so I know.]

— [Some contestants look really different in person, but he actually looks just as good on camera.]

— [Dangheon-Ah is getting more buzz than I expected. Even people who said they were tired of survival shows are starting to talk about it.]

— [That’s because the contestants are actually better than expected… I’m already in too deep…]

— [Also, there aren’t many active idol groups doing well right now. One major group just totally fell off the map.]

— [Don’t bring that up here… it still hurts.]

— [Oh… sorry.]

***

“Hajun’s photo turned out nice.”

In the group chat, Kim Jaemin shared a post he had found on an online community.

It was a post mentioning Lee Hajun.

Since only episodes 1 and 2 had aired so far, there weren’t any posts about Kim Jaemin yet.

That was because he had virtually no screen time in those first two episodes.

“Roy hyung, jjajangmyeon? Jjamppong? Fried rice?”

After morning practice, Kim Chan called out to Roy, who was completely absorbed in his phone as they were picking lunch.

“I want the one that has all three.”

“Ooh, hyung, you’re really getting into Chinese food, huh?”

Roy chose the combo meal that had all the dishes Kim Chan had just listed.

“What about you, Doha hyung?”

“…I want tangsuyuk.”

“Then should we get the set that comes with two jjajangmyeon and one tangsuyuk?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Doha replied in a half-asleep voice, hugging a cushion on the couch.

Filming might be over, but their practice time hadn’t been cut down at all.

Roy was already cutting into his sleep time just to keep up with training.

‘Status window.’

[Hwang Roy (22)]

[Vocal: B-]

[Dance: B-]

[Acting: F+]

[Lyrics: F]

[Composition: F]

His status window was finally looking decent.

Roy had managed to raise both his vocal and dance grades to B-level thanks to relentless practice and the help of Earth.

His “Honey-Glazed Vocal Cords” trait only worked up to C-level.

From B-level onward, he would need to learn higher-level skills.

As for acting, the improvement came after he finished his first stage performance and saw a sudden pop-up.

[You delivered a moving performance to many people! A special bonus has been awarded!]

Earth had copied the MC’s tone when showing the message, probably because the MC had sounded emotional.

[Being able to control your facial muscles at will is a basic requirement for Hunter Idols! Acting has increased from F to F+!]

‘…Thanks.’

Honestly, Roy had his hands full just trying to improve singing and dancing.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the other categories.

He’d decided to prioritize the ones he thought mattered most.

Singing and dancing had to come first—there was so much pressure to improve in those areas.

[Hero, I think you’ve officially reached the level where no one can say you’re bad at singing or dancing now!]

Earth was right.

B-rank was something that usually took a decently talented trainee at least three years of training to achieve.

‘Doha and Chan are probably S-rank, right?’

[Correct! According to Earth’s analysis, Lee Doha’s dance is ranked S+, and Kim Chan’s vocals are also S+! They’re both S-rank in both dance and singing. You’ve got some great teammates.]

Even among all the contestants in the show, the number of people with S-rank skills could be counted on one hand.

In that sense, Hwang Goo-man’s scouting ability deserved real praise.

‘Well, he scouted me too.’

[Whoa… Hero, that last comment was seriously…]

‘Don’t listen to my inner thoughts.’

[I wish I could, but I really can’t help it…]

Still, Roy had grown thicker-skinned since his past self had already been immortalized in embarrassing broadcasts.

And for some reason, expressing his inner thoughts to Earth didn’t feel all that embarrassing anymore.

Kim Chan quietly admired Roy as he skillfully mixed the fried rice with the jjajangmyeon sauce.

The way Roy enjoyed his food evolved day by day.

“Roy hyung, have some tangsuyuk too. I think it’s really good here.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Roy lifted a spoonful of fried rice, thoroughly coated in sauce.

With a clean sweep, the rice—stacked even with pieces of tangsuyuk—disappeared into Roy’s mouth.

It was like he had a secret storage pouch inside, like a squirrel.

“Want some jjamppong broth?”

“Then just one bite.”

Roy had already been eating so deliciously that Kim Chan found himself curious about the jjamppong too.

Without hesitation, he accepted the spoonful Roy offered him.

“This jjamppong’s good too. Should we order from here again tomorrow?”

“I’m down.”

“…Me too.”

By then, Lee Doha had already finished his bowl of jjajangmyeon and was munching on tangsuyuk.

All three had great appetites.

Among the trainees, many couldn’t even eat proper meals because of strict diet control.

Thankfully, none of the three gained weight easily, no matter how much they ate.

***

“Oh, right. I went to the ice cream shop for you today.”

“Yeah?”

“The owner seemed really disappointed that you didn’t come today. She told me to give you this.”

Roy took the cookie that Kim Chan handed him.

“I’ll go myself tomorrow.”

“She looked like she wanted your autograph too. I think she saw the show we were on.”

The ice cream shop Roy had been visiting regularly had quietly become a favorite among people at Bada Entertainment.

Since Roy was the least skilled among the three, he often finished training the latest.

So today, Kim Chan had gone to buy their post-meal ice cream on Roy’s behalf.

“The shop’s been getting more customers too. Maybe the word’s gotten out that their stuff’s really good.”

“It is good. I think it’s better than most franchises. Maybe because it’s handmade.”

“Hajun said he wants to eat it again, so I’m planning to send him some by delivery.”

“Let’s chip in together.”

Roy didn’t have any money of his own in this world.

The same went for Kim Chan.

Kim Chan hadn’t explained in detail, but Roy sensed that he, too, had either lost both parents or had no contact with them anymore.

Lee Doha occasionally talked about his family, and whenever he did, Kim Chan would awkwardly avert his gaze and go silent.

Doha might have seemed spacey on the surface, but he was surprisingly perceptive.

So at some point, whenever the three of them were together, no one brought up topics like parents or family.

Hwang Guman gave Roy and Kim Chan a small allowance.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough for things like sending ice cream to a close friend.

“You really are the best, Roy hyung.”

“You’re heavy. Let go.”

Overwhelmed by emotion, Kim Chan clung to Roy.

Since Kim Chan was bigger than him, Roy felt the full weight of the hug.

Roy casually peeled him off.

Kim Chan wasn’t hurt by the rejection—he immediately backed off and suddenly remembered something.

“Hyung, what color should I dye my hair? Minkyung noona said I could choose whatever I want this time. I’ll probably be dyeing it often anyway.”

“Is it because the color’s faded a lot?”

“Yeah, probably because it was bleached.”

Right now, Kim Chan’s hair was a frizzy yellow.

Roy decided not to dye his.

Jet black suited him best.

“What about you, Doha hyung? What color are you going with?”

“A shade that doesn’t need much bleaching.”

“Yeah. Bleaching hurts like hell…”

Kim Chan winced at the memory, as if he’d just been smacked in the back of the head.

The pain of past bleaching sessions came rushing back.

“Didn’t you say you should’ve gone with a gray tone last time? You were upset because there were so many other contestants with similar hair color.”

Roy recalled Kim Chan’s earlier frustration.

He’d wanted to stand out, but because he’d picked a trendy hair color, there were too many others with similar shades.

“How many times do you even have to bleach to get a proper gray tone…”

“Gray would look good on you. Go with that.”

[Hero, I think the corners of your mouth just went up a little.]

‘You’re imagining things.’

Roy didn’t need to bleach or dye his hair.

Whatever pain Kim Chan would go through had nothing to do with him.

“My scalp still hurts, though.”

“Here, ice pack.”

***

Time passed quickly.

Roy eventually gave his autograph to the employee at the ice cream shop who’d confessed to being his fan.

He reunited several more times with the teammates from his first stage.

Because dye colors faded quickly, Kim Chan redyed his hair the day before their shoot.

“Doha hyung betrayed me. We were both supposed to go with ash tones!”

“I think light brown suits me best…”

Doha avoided Kim Chan’s sharp gaze, turning to look out the window and quietly closing his eyes.

Kim Chan let out a small sigh.

“Maybe I was being greedy. I don’t think this suits me as well as I hoped.”

“No way, Chan. It looks great on you. Your whole face just lights up.”

“Really?”

“Of course, of course.”

In the rearview mirror, Hwang Guman smiled proudly as he looked at Kim Chan.

“Gasp—aren’t all those people gathered over there where we’re supposed to board the boat?”

Kim Chan’s eyes widened as he spotted the large crowd.

The similar-looking cars ahead of theirs, also headed in that direction, had all started slowing down.

“Uh, um, CEO? I think those people are coming this way.”

Do Minkyung, who had been checking the boys’ hair and faces one last time, widened her eyes in shock.