ALL NOVEL Chapter 257
Chapter 257. Touch High! (9)
“The final winner of the three-way idol battle on ‘Touch High!’ is…!”
Sanchez raised the hand of the winner standing next to him.
“Kairos’ Kang Hajin! Congratulations!”
As Kang Hajin basked in the applause from the cast, he spoke shamelessly with a mischievous smile.
“I think this was a foreseen result.”
“Geez, that guy’s character is really something….”
He heard the grumbling of the comedian who was the team leader, but Hajin just smiled and pretended not to hear, accepting the formal trophy given to the winner.
‘Guess I was lucky.’
Ten minutes earlier.
– I got it…!
After a tense struggle, the final person to grasp the flag was Kang Hajin.
Honestly, I had already gotten as much airtime as I wanted, so I thought about letting someone else win….
But no matter how much I tried to be generous, losing in hand-to-hand combat to a bunch of kids who hadn’t even been to the military yet was something I, as an unofficial veteran who might have to serve three more times (this part pissed me off the most), simply could not accept.
‘Damn. I didn’t even think about a winning wish.’
With a shameless expression, Hajin shook the trophy while his mind raced.
‘Should I ask them to feature our song on the broadcast for the next three weeks? It’d be nice to rack up some broadcast points.’
Not a bad deal, but it felt a bit weak for a prize I’d earned after such a (not really) bloody battle.
Besides, when idols appeared on shows like this, it was customary for the mixing team to use the participating group’s song as the BGM.
‘What’s a clever wish that would let us take full advantage of the production budget, make the staff feel good, allow us to benefit, make our fans happy, and be understandable to the viewers…?’
No one had asked him to make such a serious wish, but Hajin was already dead serious.
He quickly racked his brain, recalling the most impressive prize he’d seen during his years in production.
The spinning data roulette in his head came to a stop with a ting.
“Alright, Hajin. Please tell us the prize you want for winning.”
“My wish is….”
Enjoying the anticipation from everyone present, Hajin stated his wish.
* * *
“Thank you for your hard work~!”
“Great job, everyone!”
By the time we finished recording
Do Haru and I bowed so deeply to the cast and crew that our backs nearly broke. As rookies whose top priority was getting our names out there, this was the obvious thing to do.
“Ah, Kairos, you were great today. Good job.”
“It was an honor for us to film with you. Thank you so much for accepting all the unreasonable things we threw your way.”
“No, no. You guys were great at variety shows! I guess Miro alumni are all good at them. You’re Dowoon’s juniors, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Sanchez kindly took my hand and patted me on the back.
I hadn’t met him during my time as a PD, and even if I had, I wouldn’t have dared to speak to him like this. The fact that I was having this conversation with someone I hadn’t even properly greeted before felt surreal. It was surprising that he saw us in a positive light.
In hindsight, it was something I should’ve said earlier.
“Let’s meet again during the Kairos special. It’d be fun to film together more often.”
“Call us anytime, and we’ll be there. You saw how well we performed today, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll reach out if a good opportunity comes up. You worked hard today.”
Sanchez smiled gently and left after a brief farewell.
Since we had already greeted the other cast and crew members enough, we headed over to Ji Suho, who had been waiting for us.
“Have you finished greeting everyone? Let’s go. You all worked hard today. You didn’t even get to eat dinner, so you must be hungry, right? There are lunchboxes in the car, so you can eat those, or hold out a bit longer and have a hearty meal at home.”
“I’ll eat the lunchbox *and* steak when I get home….”
“Sure. You worked hard today, Haru, so eat a lot. The PD seemed really happy to have found a ‘boy with a big appetite’ character.”
“―Hajin!”
“……?”
As we chatted and headed towards the parking lot, someone called out my name from behind. I instinctively turned around and saw Wintertail’s leader, now dressed in casual clothes, running towards us.
“Did you call me?”
“Yeah. Ah, let’s exchange numbers. The other juniors too.”
“Ah.”
He didn’t seem like a bad person, but as a rookie, I first looked to Ji Suho for his reaction. He must’ve already scanned the situation as soon as we arrived because he signaled with a glance that I could do as I liked.
“…Sure. If you give me your phone, I’ll leave my number.”
“Alright. Let’s also exchange challenges.”
“If you mean the bet from earlier, I won, so I think I already won that.”
“Nah. I bet on you, Hajin. Watch the broadcast later.”
“You bet on me?”
“You sounded so confident. But since you really did win, we should at least exchange challenges, as comrades who shared the same boat. I’m also close with Yeonwoo.”
He’s probably closer to Choi Yeonwoo than he is to me.
…was something I chose not to say.
“Here’s my number. Should we film the challenge separately or together?”
“It’d be nice to film it now, but we have another schedule. Let’s just film it the next time we meet. If both our groups keep doing well, we’ll definitely see each other again.”
There was a subtle undertone to his words.
I vaguely recalled how Wintertail had performed in the previous timeline, and with a nonchalant smile, I shrugged.
“Yeah. See you next time.”
“…Yeah. Take care. Today was fun. I learned a lot.”
Wintertail’s leader hesitated briefly before extending his hand for a handshake, looking slightly embarrassed.
Without much thought, I shook his hand lightly. After we released our grips, he quickly returned to his members with a spring in his step.
“Hyung, did you get close to Leader Taehwa?”
“In this industry, one shoot together and you’re all best friends, right? He seems like a good person.”
I naturally tried to drape my arm over Do Haru’s shoulder, but then I remembered how he’d lifted me in this exact position earlier, so I hesitantly lowered my arm.
I almost felt awkward, but fortunately, Do Haru didn’t seem to notice.
“…Is it really that hard? Huh? I’m not asking for much, guys.”
“……?”
“Guys, don’t look over there, just hurry and get in the car. Hyung Wook will open the door for you.”
As we approached the car parked inside the lot, a harsh voice echoed from a dimly lit corner that had no lights, a designated smoking area.
Like a startled herbivore reacting to a sound, Do Haru started to turn his head, but Ji Suho stopped him. Quickly realizing what kind of situation it was, I positioned myself beside Do Haru to block his view, and even Lee Doha seemed to catch on, hastily getting into the open car.
Just before I got into the car and closed the door, I caught a glimpse of Stormheader’s youngest member, standing with his hands behind his back, seemingly getting scolded between the parked cars.
It was pitiful, but all I could do was quietly pull down the curtains on the car window to ensure that no one noticed we’d seen the scene.
As the car began to move, Ji Suho quietly spoke in a low voice.
“…Stormheader’s manager has always been like that. Today’s schedule was originally just for you guys, but they must have negotiated their way in at the last minute, so Stormheader’s team was hastily included by the production crew to balance things out.”
So there was that kind of trivial behind-the-scenes story.
No wonder the whole thing felt so chaotic and sloppy for what was supposed to be a last-minute fill-in.
Trying to expand a two- or three-person guest segment into a three-team scale in just two days….
‘The production crew probably drowned their sorrows in soju over the past two days.’
With a rough idea of the situation, I sighed, and our road manager, Hyung Wook, who had been working with our team, added a comment.
“But man, they really go hard on those kids, huh? It was almost uncomfortable to watch…. They kept coaching them even during breaks.”
“Their company’s atmosphere is a bit like that. …Anyway, it’s not your fault, so if you run into Stormheader later, just pretend you don’t know anything.”
There was probably some connection between Stormheader getting scolded and us.
It was undeniable that we’d dominated the airtime during this shoot.
However, saying that Stormheader was being reprimanded because of us was also misleading.
In the same situation, Wintertail had clearly secured their own airtime by establishing their position and character differently from ours.
‘This really is a fragile profession.’
But feeling pity or sympathy for Stormheader would be foolish.
Even though we had the best atmosphere on set, the final beneficiaries could be Stormheader if the viewers’ reactions exploded over one of their brief reaction clips.
I vaguely recalled Stormheader’s performance in the
previous timeline.
Wintertail and Stormheader. Neither had made a significant impression that stayed in my memory.
‘…But you never know.’
I, more than anyone, knew that the timeline could be rewritten multiple times.
Just as Sarin and Kim Wonho had in this timeline, this appearance on
As I gazed at the gradually falling rain outside the window, I called out to Do Haru, who was leaning against the window, lost in thought, just like me.
“Do Haru.”
“…Yes?”
“Did something happen between you and Stormheader’s youngest member?”
“Ah….”
Do Haru seemed a bit surprised by my question, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
With his sparkling eyes lowered, Do Haru hesitated before replying.
“Nothing really happened….”
“Uh-huh.”
“We just, after the opening, when we were changing clothes, we had a brief conversation.”
“What did you talk about that made you think about him all day?”
Hearing my tone, as if I already knew everything, Do Haru chuckled quietly, as if he found it amazing.
With an expression mixing slight fatigue, complex emotions, and numerous thoughts, Do Haru turned his head and pressed his finger against the fogged-up window as the rain continued to fall, leaving his answer.
“Really, it was nothing.”
“Then what was it?”
“It’s just…. He said he was envious.”
“Envious?”
There was a slight weight to Do Haru’s voice, which usually carried only bright and cheerful words.
“He said he was envious of me.”
“…….”
“That made me feel… a bit strange.”
The rain began to pour down even harder.
After that, no more conversations took place in the car.
Lee Doha had long since fallen asleep with his earphones in, and Ji Suho seemed busy catching up on work.
Do Haru, after that answer, seemed to have retreated into his own thoughts.
‘Envy, huh….’
That single word, which carried so much meaning, settled deep in my chest, and I closed my eyes, pretending not to notice Do Haru’s contemplative state.
Whether he was Chosen Regressor Do Haru or just our youngest member Do Haru, I knew better than anyone that he would have to find the answer to that question on his own.