Hard Mode Idol

I scanned each of them with a gaze demanding an explanation. Yoochan was grinning, Jung Ilhan slightly avoided my eyes, and Kanghyun was just indifferent. I almost threw up because Seoho winked at me, smirking.

“Why are you winking! It’s disgusting!”

“What? How precious is my wink that you find it disgusting!”

“What’s so precious? It’s at the level of rolling around at my feet.”

“Huh, how absurd are you being again? Hey, you’re hopeless. I was going to let it slide, but I really can’t.”

Seoho rolled up his sleeves and grumbled. Then he strode towards me. What? What is he trying to do? With the thought that I could do whatever I wanted, I lifted my chin and glared fiercely.

Seoho, who had come right in front of me, suddenly raised the corners of his mouth and laughed mischievously. At the same time,

“Gasp! Hey, are you crazy, ahaha! Don’t, stop, ugh, help me!”

My sides were grabbed. Ten fingers crawled all over my sides at random.

“You need to be tickled. Who do you think you are, being cheeky to your hyung?”

I pressed down on Seoho’s wrists tightly, but he didn’t budge at all. With the idea that the best defense is offense, I tickled him back in the same way, but he was somehow unaffected. Didn’t he used to be ticklish before? I was the only one struggling, caught by Seoho.

“Don’t, hehe, don’t do it! Ah, I surrender! I surrender!”

“Are you sorry for disrespecting your hyung?”

“Yes! I’m sorry!”

“Hoo, do you now know the fear of your hyung?”

“Ah! Come on!”

“Not yet?”

The fingers that were about to stop started moving again. Those wicked hands weren’t satisfied with just my sides and started tickling my belly too. My upper body crumpled down.

“Ugh, help me! Hyungs!”

I randomly called for help from anyone, lumping them together, but it was quiet. They were all just standing far away, watching us. In the end, I had to declare surrender several times and call Seoho “hyung” before I could be released. How humiliating.

“Mwahaha! Did you realize that a paper doll can’t beat a human?”

“Gasp, gasp, ah, are you really a savage?”

“Huh? Did I hear that wrong?”

Seoho raised his hand again and wriggled his fingers in the air. I retreated slowly, trembling with fear. I’ve never succumbed to violence in my life, but to lose to mere tickling…

“Now, now, Seoho. That’s enough. Haon is having a hard time.”

You’re stopping him now? That’s too much.

“Since practice ended early today, should we eat something delicious?”

“Chicken! Pizza!”

Seoho raised his hands and bounced up and down. If Yoochan wants to eat, we should eat. I felt bad for him always eating salads while dieting.

He was the only one among us who was on a diet. Jung Ilhan, who has a small appetite, was originally on the skinny side, and Kanghyun had a beautifully solid body, probably from dancing for a long time. As for Seoho, whether it’s because he’s in his growth phase or his constitution, he doesn’t gain weight.

And I, who was skinny enough to be teased as a paper doll by Seoho, was being told to gain some weight. It means that among the members, only Yoochan is the type who gains weight when he eats. He also relieves stress through binge eating, so he gained a lot of weight after the cult incident.

If Yoochan wants to eat, we should eat.

“I’m casting one vote for what Yoochan hyung wants to eat.”

After actively supporting hyung, I flopped down on the floor. Opinions were divided on what to eat, but most of it was Seoho’s self-conflicting ideas. Chicken, pizza, pig’s feet, noodles, cold noodles, pork belly, tteokbokki, and so on. It seemed like he was trying to name all the food in this world.

“Don’t you guys want anything to eat?”

“No. I’m fine with anything. Haon.”

Jung Ilhan called me while standing in front of the long bench in the corner of the practice room. He spread out the padding he was holding in his arms and gestured towards me. The padding looked incomparably fluffy compared to the hard floor, like a sleeping bag.

“Haon, come here. You’ll get cold if you let the sweat dry.”

Is that spot for me? I jumped up and ran over, and Jung Ilhan tapped the bench.

“If you want to lie down, lie here.”

“What about you, hyung?”

“I’m going to take a shower and come back.”

“Aha.”

I asked while lying down to recover my stamina. The 5-minute breaks were far from enough, so I had to diligently replenish during lunch and dinner times. Since I raised my dance stat to A-, I’m enduring it, otherwise, I would have been in big trouble. Fortunately, the higher the stat grade, the less stamina consumption. Otherwise, how quickly would I have drained?

“Yeah. I’ll be back before Yoochan hyung comes back. We should eat dinner together.”

“Huh? Did he go out to buy it? Not getting delivery?”

“Didn’t you hear? He just left saying he’ll go pick it up.”

“Ah, yeah. I see. Okay. I’ll call you when hyung comes back.”

“Thanks.”

With even Jung Ilhan gone, I was left alone in the practice room…

Alone?

I’m the only one left?

When did Kanghyun leave? Was he drafted as a pack mule? I don’t even know when he disappeared while I was talking to Jung Ilhan.

Should I take a short nap while waiting?

Covering my eyes with my arm, I quietly lay there, and my breathing sounded particularly loud. The usual noisiness seemed like a lie.

I was nodding off and about to fall asleep. Suddenly, the practice room door opened, and a commotion rushed in.

“Surprise! Happy birthday, Haon!”

“Haon! Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday, Jin Haon~”

“Congratulations.”

I sat up halfway and looked at the members with a dazed face. Is today my birthday? January 30th. The birthday of Yooyeon and me.

Led by Yoochan, who was holding a cake, they approached me in a line. The candles on the cake were shining brightly. Jung Ilhan approached me and held out his hand. I took his hand, stood up, and stood in front of the cake.

At Yoochan’s signal, the birthday song began. I let out an empty laugh at the unnecessarily amazing harmony. It was as if they had practiced without me knowing. Well, they must have been together for a long time, so it would be strange if they didn’t harmonize well.

It was the first time I had received a birthday celebration from someone and had an event like this. It felt like soft dandelion seeds were flying in and tickling my heart. So this is how it can be with the members.

It’s amazing and joyful. I was happy and felt good.

Overwhelming emotions surged in, and my facial muscles moved on their own. I was smiling. Not a forced smile, but a genuine one. The scarlet flickering candlelight created shadows on my face. The hyungs were smiling as brightly as I was.

“Hey, what are you doing? Aren’t you going to blow out the candles? Make a wish and blow them out.”

Seoho poked my side, grinning. After slapping his cheeky hand, I took a deep breath. And I blew out the candles while making a wish.

‘May things continue as they are now.’

I blew hard, but two candles wavered precariously and came back to life. Thinking my wish wouldn’t come true if I didn’t blow them out properly, I quickly blew again. It was harder than I thought.

“We brought food too!”

Seoho ran over, opened the practice room door with his butt, and bent his waist before standing up again. Seoho’s hands were full of food as he straightened his back. He had hidden them in the corridor.

“Thanks, hyungs. I didn’t even remember today was my birthday. How did you know?”

“We have our ways.”

Yoochan put on airs. He must have asked the director. I knew the obvious answer but pretended not to know.

“I’m hungry! Let’s eat quickly!”

Seoho, who had plopped down on the floor, started unwrapping the food, rustling the plastic. True to his impatient nature, he was tearing it apart roughly. Chicken, pizza, tteokbokki, pig’s feet. They bought a lot. But I know. The five of us can finish all of that.

“Hyungs, sit down quickly before Seoho eats it all.”

I sat across from Seoho and waved my hand. Yoochan, Jung Ilhan, and Kanghyun sat side by side and tore open the chopsticks. Seoho, who had stuffed his mouth full as if he had been waiting for the hyungs to eat, mumbled something, but I couldn’t understand. It doesn’t matter even if I don’t know. It’s probably something like “Hyung!”

“Haon, there’s a lot, so eat slowly.”

“Okay.”

I answered while shoving chicken into my mouth first. I should eat pizza after this.

Three more weeks had passed since my birthday. I earned 120 more points from the weekly mission and was promoted to A+ in singing. At this point, my skills were similar to my abilities in my previous life. It finally sounded satisfactory to my ears.

“I can only gasp in admiration… I’m afraid of where our Haon’s limit is. I’m afraid, but I’m so happy! You’re really growing so well. Haon, were you a beansprout in your previous life? How can you be like this?”

I was praised by the vocal teacher, and,

“Haon has improved tremendously! Well done.”

I was also praised by the dance teacher, who is stingy with compliments. It was thanks to my dance stat rising to A. At this point, my dancing was similar to how I danced in my previous life. So my stats in my previous life were singing A+ and dance A.

Maybe that’s why, but the rate of increase in my singing and dancing experience noticeably slowed down. Was it faster until now because it was like retracing a path I had walked before?

If it slows down after reaching a certain level, the dance should also progress smoothly up to A+, but it wasn’t, so it was strange. I don’t know what it is.

There was no answer even when I asked the system. I couldn’t submit a 1:1 inquiry to Deus either, so what I have to do now is set. Work hard. If the rate of experience gain is slow, I just need to work that much harder.

Another change occurred, and the main mission was upgraded by one level. After completing the existing mission, I could attempt double points, just like the weekly mission. Of course, the penalty for failure was also doubled.