Hard Mode Idol

The manager hyung informed us about what to eat, our schedule until the dry rehearsal, and precautions before leaving. Since he likely had many places to greet people as the manager of a rookie group, I mentally cheered him on.

It was when Seoho and I were finishing our lunchboxes, and the hyungs were gulping down their coffees like potions. Deep Color entered, and we simultaneously stood up and bowed.

“Good afternoon, seniors!”

The people who had entered with weary faces hesitated.

“Huh? Oh, yes. Hello.”

We stood facing each other, exchanging awkward bows. Then, one person pointed to himself with his index finger and asked,

“But are we the seniors?”

Since they didn’t have name tags yet, I couldn’t match their faces to their names based on the brief glimpse.

“Yes! It’s our first day since our debut.”

In these situations, it was Yoochan hyung who took the lead and answered as the representative. Seoho had been sternly warned due to the risk of misspeaking, so he seemed to be holding back despite wanting to interject.

“Ah, we’re on our 8th day…… Doesn’t that make us peers?”

“You’re right. We’re peers.”

“Let’s be casual. By the way, you guys don’t look bad at all. I feel like everyone here could be the visual member. Who’s our visual member?”

“Me!”

“It’s me.”

“Are you guys crazy? I’m the ultimate visual!”

Deep Color bickered over who was the visual member. With all six of them talking at once, it was sheer chaos. I suddenly realized how quiet my surroundings had been until now. Seoho was the only noisy member in our group.

“Kids! Be quiet for a bit!”

“Be quiet~ Let’s be quiet~”

“Lechan hyung! Are you mocking your little dongsaeng?”

“Ack! Aack! Hyung! My Adam’s apple! Ack! That’s a vital spot! Ack! I’m sorry! Ack! Aack!”

Whoa…….

With his index finger pointed, he mercilessly twisted the person’s Adam’s apple in a circular motion. It seemed the one telling them to be quiet was the leader. Thanks to the demonstration, we also shut our mouths obediently.

“Go sit down quietly. Sorry about that. Ah, let me introduce ourselves by our stage names. I’m Blue. This is Green, White, Black Gang, Vermilion, and Red.”

Hands quickly shot up and down each time Blue called a name. It was fascinating, like they were doing a wave. This time, Yoochan hyung introduced us.

“Well…… At least DIAS only has one member with an unusual name. Everyone else has normal names except me……”

The weary-looking Leader Blue glanced at his members. Despite the brief moment of silence, they had already become rowdy again. The most surprising thing was how Seoho had naturally blended in with them like an old friend. His sociability is something else.

Still, it was fortunate that the group we were sharing the waiting room with was friendly. It’s better than being uncomfortable with no place to avoid each other in this cramped space.

“Hey! Jin Haon!”

“……Why.”

I’m not as sociable as you. Don’t call me out in such an awkward situation.

“Anyway. Look at this. Our maknae is so stiff, while Red is so adorable!”

“Uwu! That’s why! I’m so adorable! But our hyungs don’t appreciate their adorable maknae! They bully me all the time!”

“Aww! Be cute!”

How old is their maknae? I was introduced earlier but didn’t remember. I discreetly took out my phone and searched. 17 years old. An adorable age indeed.

“So does that mean I don’t have to treat you like a hyung?”

“What? Hey! Those are separate issues!”

“You said I’m stiff.”

“Then you should act cute too?”

“……No?”

What? Did I just get lectured? Isn’t this the tactic I usually use? Seoho didn’t seem to realize he had won and protested, “Hey! I’m still your hyung!” How absurd. You can just dote on your own maknae.

I surveyed the waiting room where the two groups had merged. Yoochan hyung had been taken by their leader, and Kanghyun hyung was conversing with their main dancer. Judging by how he was speaking faster and more than usual, it seemed they were discussing dancing.

The only members left idling were Jung Ilhan and me. The visibly tense Jung Ilhan was sitting alone at the end of the two-seater sofa. Thanks to that, his fierce expression looked even sharper, creating a clean zone around him. I should go over there.

“Are you the maknae?”

Just as I was about to head in that direction, someone approached me in a friendly manner. Since I had no connection or prior knowledge of this person, I didn’t know how to respond or what to say. It would have been easier if they were hostile towards me like when I first met the members…….

“Yes. Hello.”

“Why are you being so stiff? I’m the same age as you. Nineteen! My real name is Lee Jeongsu, and my stage name is Black Gang. Are you all using your real names? Or stage names?”

I should answer his questions one by one, right?

“We’re all using our real names.”

“Ah~ Why are you so stiff with someone the same age~ Just be comfortable. Comfortable. Ah, am I making you uncomfortable by any chance?”

Very uncomfortable. However, since he was still a one-week senior, I shook my head in pretense of surprise.

“No! I’m not uncomfortable.”

“Jeongsu~ Did you strike out?”

A new face appeared, draping an arm over Jeongsu’s shoulder. The lanky person teased Jeongsu while swaying.

“Huh? Did I strike out?”

“Yeah. You totally struck out. Watch how this hyung does it.”

Jeongsu clicked his tongue with his arms crossed. The man standing next to him cleared his throat, “Ahem,” before extending his hand towards me.

“I’m called Vermilion. My real name is Kim Junho. You can comfortably call me hyung. Nice to meet you, friend.”

“Ahahahaha!”

“……”

His tone was as stiff and awkward as reading from a book. Jeongsu doubled over, laughing heartily. Should I greet them like that too?

“Ah~ This isn’t working. This friend has a high laughter barrier! Strike out!”

“It’s your low-quality jokes that are the problem.”

“Jeongsu was the next one laughing~”

This is difficult. Uncomfortable. I don’t know what to do. Suddenly, the two froze as they looked behind me. When I checked why, Jung Ilhan had appeared behind me.

“Haon-ah.”

Jung Ilhan had come to my rescue. The two tensed up and greeted him, “Ah, hello! Hyung!”Their voices boomed so loudly that people’s attention converged on us. Jung Ilhan’s fingertips were slightly trembling. He was nervous.

“Sorry. It seemed like hyung had something to say.”

“Oh! Yes! Let’s talk again later!”

“Go, go!”

The two readily let me go. Phew. They seem like good people, but I feel apologetic for being wary of them. But difficulty is difficulty.

Since I couldn’t tell which words would offend someone, I had to be careful. It’s better not to get entangled. I don’t want to cause any harm to DIAS because of me.

As we sat side by side on the two-seater sofa, Jung Ilhan carefully asked,

“Did I interrupt something?”

“No. I was just having a hard time since I’m shy.”

“……You’re shy?”

Jung Ilhan looked at me as if he had never heard of such a thing before. His wandering gaze seemed to be trying to recall a memory. Then he tilted his head.

“But you’re good at being sociable……”

“That’s because.”

‘I didn’t care if I was hated.’

I abruptly cut off the words that were unconsciously about to spill out. What I used to casually blurt out suddenly got stuck in my throat.

“That’s because……”

“That’s because…… you’re all my members.”

It was a vague save, but fortunately, Jung Ilhan seemed satisfied. His bright, smiling face was so beautiful.

“Haon-ah~”

Suddenly, the back of the sofa sank down. At the same time, I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders. Yoochan hyung had leaned his weight onto my back like a back hug.

“You’re heavy……”

“Haon-ah, let me recharge for a bit.”

“Am I a charger?”

“Yeah.”

His straightforward answer made me chuckle. Yoochan hyung nuzzled his forehead against my back, tickling me.

“It tickles!”

As I squirmed, my balance shifted forward. Since Jung Ilhan was right in front of me, he ended up catching me, resulting in me being sandwiched between the two of them.

“Oh! What! Me too!”

Seoho came running over. Seeing his sturdy legs kicking up, I instinctively closed my eyes. Aren’t I going to get my back broken?

“Aack! Seoho-ya! Don’t run!”

“Ugh!”

“Haon-ah, do you need to catch him?”

Fortunately, there was no impact on my body. It seemed Kanghyun hyung had caught Seoho’s waist. Hyung’s arm muscles were bulging.

“Ooh! So nimble! So nimble!”

The Deep Color members were all applauding together.

“Huh? Kanghyun  hyung is no joke. He’s so fast!”

“……I was talking to him, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared.”

From their comments, it seemed Kanghyun hyung was the main hero who saved me. How did he catch him?

“Ugh, Seoho. Were you trying to break my back?”

“No! I was just going to gently climb up!”

Hard to believe. When I sent him a skeptical look, Seoho protested that he had common sense. No, you don’t seem to have any common sense in my eyes.

After one storm had passed, we brought our albums to greet our seniors. As we did so, we bowed to everyone we encountered in the broadcasting station’s corridors. Some ignored us and walked past, while others accepted our greetings.

“This is the last one.”

The name ‘Moonlight’ was written on the waiting room door. They were a 10-year veteran 3-member vocal group. The manager hyung had also warned us to be careful with this group.

They were originally a 4-member group, but one member was kicked out due to a drug issue, leaving only three active members. However, the remaining members weren’t necessarily clean either, as there were many unsavory rumors about them.

Although their popularity and large agency prevented the rumors from spreading outside, those in the know were aware of it all. There had already been a few leaks too. It was said they were a time bomb waiting to explode.

The manager hyung repeatedly stressed that we should only greet them and not interact further. We must absolutely not get involved with them. That’s why everyone seemed visibly tense. Yoochan hyung took a deep breath before looking at us.

Knock knock.

“Yes.”

An immediate response came back. As we opened the door and entered, two pairs of eyes turned towards us. One person was lying on the sofa with their face covered, so we couldn’t tell if they were asleep.

“Oh~ Rookies? Here to greet us?”

“Yes!”

Yoochan hyung signaled, and we simultaneously bowed.

“Hello! We’re DIAS.”

“Ah, yeah yeah. You brought your album, huh. Just put it over there.”

“Ah! Keep it down!”

The person lying on the sofa sprang up and snapped at us irritably. A gulping sound was heard. Seoho was visibly tense. I stepped forward, shielding Seoho slightly.

It wasn’t just Seoho. Yoochan hyung had also frozen, and Jung Ilhan had his head bowed deeply. Kanghyun hyung seemed unfazed, but he wasn’t the type to take the lead in such situations, so I was the only one who could step up and change the atmosphere.

“Hey, hey. Hoechai-ya. The rookies are here to greet you, so what’s the problem?”

“Ah, let me sleep! Let me sleep for a bit! You can speak softly, can’t you!”

A sharp gaze suddenly turned towards us.