Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 198 A one-day wonder.
As Woojoo burst out laughing, Rihyuk came staggering over.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.”
Woojoo reached out his hand for a high-five.
“Good job. Wanna high-five?”
“No thanks.”
“Then let’s do it among ourselves. Guys.”“Yeah!”
The four of them clapped their hands and laughed, while Rihyuk pouted and sat down.
Soon after, the third group of the men’s preliminaries began.
They watched the other idols run and marveled at their speed, when they heard a cough.
“Ahem.”
They ignored it and cheered.
“Ahem, ahem!”
They still ignored it and watched.
“Wow, they’re all running so well.”
“I know, right? You can see how they’re gritting their teeth and running. Like they’re determined to be first.”
“Ahem, ahem ah… cough! cough!”
He seemed to have choked on his cough.
They looked at him and laughed, and he made a round face.
“Hey, aren’t you guys being too mean?”
He sipped some water like a cat and furrowed his brows.
Woojoo asked him with a smile, “What is it?”
“I ran and came back.”
“So?”
“Well, don’t you think you should at least comment on it as a human being? Look over there. The Street Boys are saying to Namu…”
They followed Rihyuk’s finger and looked.
They heard warm voices from the Street Boys’ side.
“Hey, persimmon. If you don’t want to burn, run like you’re behind.”
“You’re already losing steam. This guy.”
“If you don’t get first, you’re dead to us.”
They turned their heads back, and Rihyuk blinked.
“Well, not like that, but. Look over there! See how nicely the Soul Six are talking?”
“…”
“Did you understand what I said?”
That was when Woojoo spoke to the younger ones.
“He wants some praise.”
“No, that’s not it…”
They immediately surrounded the main vocal.
“Oooh, our Rihyuk is the best.”
“Write down the model name of the vacuum cleaner.”
“Rihyuk. You really ran well. You’d be good at delivering letters.”
He finally coughed and made a face that said ‘I’m pretty awesome’, as he received the compliments from the members.
They filled their one-day wonder’s self-esteem for a while, and then Woojoo put his arm around his shoulder and said, “Why are you feeling so hurt? We were quiet because we didn’t want you to feel pressured.”
“What do you mean?”
“If we keep praising you, you might feel like you have to be first and get stressed.”
“Well, I guess that’s true, but…”
They were being considerate in their own way.
He was already drained and turned into a liquid state after running just 60 meters once.
It reminded him of a surreal painting he saw in middle school art class, where a droopy clock hung on a branch. Rihyuk looked just like that.
His face was pale and dripping with sweat, and he drank some water, but he looked dehydrated.
He was so weak that their Soufflés looked like they wanted to feed him a dose of tonic from afar.
If it had been the finals, it would have been different.
But they didn’t say much because they were worried that he might feel burdened and overdo it in the preliminaries.
But he seemed to be hurt by that in his own way.
“What do I know? I’m not feeling pressured by that…”
When they gave him a look, he corrected himself.
“Well, a little.”
His eyes narrowed.
He coughed and said, “…I know it’s a bit of a burden, but why do you care about that? I’m handling it well on my own.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. We have more important things than this…”
“You mean the competition. I get it.”
Rihyuk nodded.
Then he pretended to catch a virtual heart that Soufflé threw from the fan seat and monopolized it.
He hugged the virtual heart as if it was his own and waved his hand at them while whispering.
“But the fans are watching, you know.”
“…”
“I want to do it moderately, but it doesn’t work out. They’re all watching, so I want to do better. I want to do my best since I went out as a representative. Is that how I should feel?”
“…”
“Isn’t that how you all feel?”
He turned his serious face to them and there was a brief silence.
Jiho exclaimed, “Wow.”
When Rihyuk was acting cool in front of the youngest, their maknae clapped his hands and admired, “That’s so cringy.”
“…”
They joined in.
“Hey. Rihyuk, are you going to the Olympics alone?”
“I have to write this down. Rihyuk… I’m the representative of New Black… I run for the fans…”
“Puhaha!”
“…Hyung, where are you going?”
Rihyuk got up with a snort.
“I’m going to bond with LB.”
“Don’t go. What did Namu do wrong?”
“…Eek.”
He sat down with Street Boys’ LB and started chatting.
They were complaining about their teammates.
As New Black and Street Boys gathered and listened, LB’s voice was heard.
“…They’re all too much. I came in first place, but they only criticize me. They don’t even praise me once. I’m sad.”
“I can sympathize with that.”
“I’m really sad. How about we just form a group of our own, Rihyuk?”
“I’m against that.”
“Okay.”
“And keep some distance. Namu. You invaded my personal space too much.”
What bonding.
LB looked sullen as he moved away from the bad cat like a big dog pushed away.
Both groups laughed uproariously.
60-meter dash final.
The winners of each group preliminaries lined up in the lane one by one.
“Wow, the lineup is extraordinary.”
“Rihyuk Hyung looks like the weakest one there.”
Woojoo agreed with Jiho’s words.
Maybe it was because they were the strong ones who won the preliminaries.
Middle school track and field club alumni, soccer club or childhood players, etc.
Among the idols who said they could run well, their kid was standing alone like a sickly crane among the muscular ones.
He looked paler than before, as if he had lost a lot of energy.
As they looked at him with concern, Street Boys’ Hanjo said with a stern face, “Then, that’s it.”
“Yes. It was fun.”
The friendly conversation was over.
Each of them held slogans like ‘Run, Namu’, ‘Pay for the food, Namu’ or placards like ‘Rihyuk is Rihyuk even backwards’ and entered the cheering mode with a serious attitude.
“Rihyuk!”
“Hang in there a little more! The vacuum cleaner is crossing the Atlantic right now.”
He flinched as he fiddled with the zipper that reached his chin.
Then he mouthed fiercely to Jiho, ‘It’s the Pacific, the Pacific!’
They nodded with satisfaction.
“He’s fine.”
“He must have more stamina than we thought.”
“But his face is too pale. Ugh, I’m upset. If I knew this, I would have fed Rihyuk some eel and abalone…”
Someone’s regret made them laugh.
Finally, the camera angle adjustment was over.
All the runners crouched down and touched the ground with their hands.
Beep-!
The final race began with a whistle.
Pabababak.
Among the runners who were giving their all, their kid was in the back row in the first 1 or 2 seconds.
But.
“Nyaaaah!”
…with that sound, their fourth one started running with all his might.
He was slightly weaker than before, but fast.
If the others were spewing speed from their heavy muscles, their Rihyuk was floating along with his low weight.
If the others were running like heavy bullets, their Rihyuk was like a bullet without any contents.
In conclusion, he was damn fast.
“Waaaaah!”
He soon started competing for the lead with Pael of the boy group Ace, who was in first place.
Behind them, LB of Street Boys and Seonwoong of TNT were closely chasing.
The four of them were jostling each other.
“Rihyuk-aaa!”
“Hyung, the vacuum cleaner has crossed the Atlantic and is at the front door! The front door!”
“Hyung will make you sweet potato chips!”
While they were cheering fiercely.
Finally, around 8 seconds.
“Waaaaah!”
Pael of Ace barely came in first, and their Rihyuk came in right behind him.
Third place was LB.
Starting with the leader Seonwoong of TNT, the rest of the runners came in one by one.
“…He’s discharged again.”
Their Rihyuk hit the wall with a bang and collapsed.
Then he got up holding LB’s hand, but his black hair was soaked with sweat and turned into seaweed.
He kept gagging and his eyes were moist, as if his stomach had turned inside out from lack of oxygen.
“You really worked hard, Rihyuk.”
He looked pitiful as he covered his mouth with his hand and gagged while being called separately as the silver medalist.
-But the fans are watching.
Their weakling ran with all his strength because the fans were watching.
Woojoo felt proud and sad.
Woojoo turned his head and looked at the Soufflés, and they all had eyes full of pity for Rihyuk.
On the other hand, they also had proud faces.
They also boasted about Rihyuk to the other groups around them with proud faces.
“That white kid is ours.”
“It’s amazing. Really. Ah, I raised that Hyung almost like a baby. He’s finally become human.”
“He’s frail, but kind.”
Meanwhile, the interviews of the medalists who had medals around their necks continued.
After Pael of the group ‘Ace’, who had a record of 7 seconds 58 in 60 meters as a middle school track and field club member, was interviewed.
Rihyuk, who had a record of 7 seconds 77 in second place, appeared on the screen.
His pale face was soaked with sweat.
His contrast between his snow-white face and black hair was so intense that the stadium was buzzing.
As they bragged to the people around them again, ‘He’s ours’.
Announcer Jung Hyojin pushed the microphone.
-Rihyuk, you showed the biggest reversal today. You ran so well.
-Um, thank you.
His ears were red as if they were stained on the screen.
-Do you have a secret to running, Rihyuk?
-Well, I think running is the best self-defense.
-Yes?
As the announcer blinked and the people in the stadium went ‘?’, their kid started to talk seriously.
-For example, when you’re attacked by a robber or run into a wild animal, I think the wisest self-defense is to run away. So I practiced hard.
-Oh, I see.
-Every time I run, I imagine being chased. That’s the secret.
They thought he was telling an embarrassing story, and his ears would be red, but their kid was confidently explaining his philosophy.
The announcer held back his laughter, and the audience laughed.
They quickly waved their hands and started to explain to the other groups they had been bragging about.
“We’re not really close.”
“It’s not like you can raise them as you want. Being a Hyung is not easy.”
“I don’t know him very well either.”
“Um, why is Rihyuk like that…?”
And the other groups couldn’t help laughing at them.
Aww. How embarrassing.
They sighed silently as they watched him strut over with a silver medal around his neck, like a baby sparrow bragging about the worm he caught.
Swish, swish.
Whack.
Swish, swish.
Whack.
“Ugh, seriously. Why do you always move away a little bit when I get close?”
“Go away. You’re embarrassing.”
He said, sounding aggrieved, “What? I got a silver medal too.”
“That’s because we don’t associate with silver medals.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Shall we try again?”
Woojoo smiled.
“Gather around, New Gold!”
“Yay!”
Bijoo, Jiho, and Woojoo held up their gold medals at the same time. Junghyun squeezed in between them.
Rihyuk fiddled with his silver medal and asked, “What about Junghyun Hyung?”
“He got the MVP for futsal yesterday. Junghyun is the golden hand.”
“Right.”
Jiho nodded his head.
“And we’re New Gold, but if Hyung joins us, we’re not New Gold anymore. The tier doesn’t match.”
“…Wow, you guys are so mean. These people.”
“Rihyuk, go and join Namu and Silver and Bronze.”
LB’s ears perked up from afar.
But Rihyuk shook his head and the other side looked glum.
As the two groups chuckled, Rihyuk looked up at the ceiling and lamented, ‘If only I was 0.5 seconds faster!’
“Wooaaahhh-!”
A huge scream filled and then left the stadium.
“Wooahh-!”
Woojoo blinked his eyes.
This was the kind of scream he heard during the morale-boosting performance in the army.
It was like the sound of male fans when the ball went back and forth in a soccer game.
Woojoo asked, “Hey. Am I the only one who went to the army?”
“Yes.”
Junghyun blinked his eyes and answered, “That’s because you’re the only one who came back.”
“Ooh. Junghyun is smart.”
“I’m smart too. Hyung.”
Woojoo smiled at Junghyun, who was talking with his eyes as round as possible. Meanwhile, the scream continued.
The cause of this commotion was the scene unfolding on the mat in front of them.
Women’s wrestling.
The girl group members, wearing singlets, were trying their best to topple each other.
The fans’ shouts and cheers echoed in the gym every time they rolled over.
While the basketball preparation continued in the auxiliary gym, they sat on the floor and watched the women’s wrestling.
“Oh, Scarlet Noonas are up.”
Ara, Rina, and Daisy of Scarlet, except for Bom, went up to the waiting seat with their singlets on.
The other side was.
“Hmph.”
They sounded annoyed, but they kept their expressions bright and muttered ‘hmph’ ‘hmph’ to them.
Girls on Top.
Joo Hana, Oh Hyena, and Gil Chaekyung stood opposite Scarlet.
The soldiers’ scream-like sound rang out as Girls on Top waved their hands at the fan seat.
“Wooaaahhh-!”
Everyone held back their laughter at that sound.
This time, Scarlet waved their hands.
“Kyaahhh-!”
Unlike Girls on Top’s fandom, which was mostly male fans, Scarlet’s fandom seemed to be mostly female fans.
The idols sitting in contrast smiled.
Daisy of Scarlet and Chaekyung of Girls on Top bowed politely to each other and grabbed their singlets.
The announcer’s voice was heard.
-Yes, it’s the youngest of the group versus the youngest.
-What do you think, Mr. Commentator? About the match between the two members.
-Well, I think Girls on Top’s Chaekyung has a lot of advantages in terms of reach and such. Starting from her height…
As he said, Gil Chaekyung was a head taller than the petite Daisy.
If you asked Woojoo who would win, one of them would get all the votes because of the physical difference.
But…
Bang!
One second after the match started, Woojoo saw it.
Daisy lifted her opponent up and slammed her to the ground.
-…
The commentator’s awkward voice was heard.
-Yes, well, reach and physique are important, but the key is strength.
-She’s truly the best in the world. Daisy.
The sticky rice cake waved her hands at her sisters and shouted woo-hoo, making the audience laugh.
But what could he say?
To Woojoo’s blank eyes, Daisy’s smile looked like a general from the Three Kingdoms who laughed and said, ‘I brought you the enemy’s head, brother!’
She was very hearty.
As Woojoo watched the result of the match with a flushed face, Bijoo whispered to him, “Scarlet was the wrestling champion last year.”
“Oh, that explains it.”
“They say the meat they eat goes straight to their muscles. That’s our company’s motto.”
No wonder they ate 25 servings of sirloin.
They ate meat like wrestlers and they were strong too.
Next came Rina.
With her slender body and stunning looks that made her the visual of Scarlet, the audience was restless for a moment.
Bang!
With a blank face, she tripped Girls on Top’s Joo Hana’s leg and knocked her down.
Another one-round win.
-…
Then she went to Daisy, who had a face like welcoming Guan Yu, and messed up her hair.
It felt like the image he had in mind was changing.
The last one to go up was Ara.
The leader of Scarlet, who had a friendly smile, calmly took on Girls on Top’s Oh Hyena’s power struggle, and then laughed and broke her opponent.
“Kyaah!”
The curtain, Scarlet’s fandom, waved their placards and cheered.
“Wow. Amazing.”
“See? There’s a reason why Rihyuk Hyung bows and acts politely whenever he sees them.”
“…When did I. I never did that.”
But Woojoo laughed when he saw Rihyuk avoid their eyes when Scarlet looked at them for a moment.
On the other hand, the screen showed their president wiping his head with a handkerchief and making a blissful expression.
Next to him, DNS Media’s President Im had a gloomy face at the next match table that said ‘La Vie en Rose vs Scarlet’.
Nearby, Woojoo heard a whisper.
“They’re so strong. Really…”
“But New Black is Lemon, right? Archery, running, everything. What’s with their physicals…”
“It’s like a martial arts tournament over there.”
“Why are you amazed by that? You didn’t come to soccer yesterday, did you? You should have seen the indestructible yesterday.”
Woojoo felt awkward when he heard the murmurs.
As he was cheering for Scarlet’s victory with his siblings, shadows fell on him.
Woojoo looked up and saw seven or eight men standing there.
-…?
They were the Street Boys’ Hanjo, Teen Spirit’s Hwiyeon, and the other teammates who would play basketball with him.
Han Taehyun smiled and tapped Woojoo’s shoulder.
“What are you doing? Let’s go play basketball.”