Chapter 167: Check (1)

“Whew, this is tough….”

Office Worker Dusty stretched lightly and leaned back against the sofa.

There had been an unusually large crowd on her way home from work today, and after being pushed and shoved from all sides, a wail slipped out on its own.

She was so exhausted that she could fall asleep at any moment, but even in that state, there was one reason she stayed awake.

[Can true friendship be found in this harsh world <I Am Alone> Episode 3]

Still, I can’t give up the kids’ self-content.

Office Worker Dusty returned to the sofa with a can of beer and dried squid.

Pop—

The refreshing sound of the beer can opening echoed through the silent studio apartment.

Dusty took a small sip of beer and accessed YouTube.

<I Am Alone> self-content that was receiving positive reactions among the Dusties this time.

Fans were already quite immersed.

-I think Kang Siwoo will definitely choose Do Seohan

└Even after destroying his stone tower like that?

└Yeah, because Kang Siwoo gave birth to Do Seohan

└That’s correct

-Can Haim get picked by any of the three?

└No….

└If our Choco Haim Power Engppuppi doesn’t get chosen, I’ll cry

└It’s okay, noona will choose you instead ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Today was the time for the final selection.

Why does this make me so curious?

Office Worker Dusty chewed on the dried squid and focused on the self-content.

As soon as the screen turned on, Seo Haim’s tense face was caught in a close-up.

“Do you think Seohan can succeed in his mission~?”

He was the youngest who had done his best over the past two nights and three days to earn the older members’ resentment.

He had destroyed Kang Siwoo’s stone tower and actively contributed to Ha Junseo’s elimination.

Still, Dusty had a gut feeling that he would be chosen by at least one person.

Under Seohan’s face as he gulped nervously, a subtitle appeared.

[A hamster who doesn’t want to be chosen]

That’s right.

Meanwhile, Seo Haim standing next to him was in the exact opposite position.

Seo Haim pointed to herself with a desperate voice.

[A chick who desperately wants to be chosen]

“Pick me. Pick me, please.”

“Why?”

“Haim wants attention~.”

She had been muttering nonsense like that for a while now.

How will harmless Seo Haim survive in this cruel world?

Office Worker Dusty smiled warmly while watching Seo Haim squirm anxiously.

Between the two, Kang Siwoo trudged out.

Kang Siwoo’s Mireuksaji 12-story stone tower had survived five rounds of member invasions before collapsing.

That morning, even the pedestal was found missing.

Perhaps that’s why Kang Siwoo appeared at the final selection time in a half-enlightened state.

“Out of the six, the member I want to get closer to is….”

Kang Siwoo hesitated for a moment and then spoke softly.

“There’s no such thi— Ah, never mind.”

“Pfft.”

“Sorry, Siwoo~.”

“Hyung Seongbin, please be quiet.”

The one who ran off with the stone tower’s pedestal at the end was Cha Seongbin.

Seo Haim, standing beside him, made sure to promote herself.

“I! I’ve never once broken your stone tower, right?”

“I know.”

“Then please pick meee!”

“Sounds like it’s your mission, so I won’t.”

“Nooooooo!”

Sorry.

Haim, your plan was completely obvious.

Kang Siwoo turned his head and glanced around at the other members.

It was to pick a Friendship Mate from among the others, excluding Seo Haim.

And then.

As the Dusties predicted, one name came out.

“Seohan.”

“Huh?”

“Do Seohan.”

“Why… Why me?”

Do Seohan, who had been quietly standing, got hit by a bolt from the blue.

Seohan blinked as if he couldn’t understand and spoke.

“I… I even smashed your stone tower…”

“It’s okay. I can understand.”

“Please don’t understand things like that!”

The truth is….

Kang Siwoo had his own reasons.

“I’m not going to pick Seo Haim because of the mission.”

Fair enough.

“Jin Sehyun, Seo Ian, and Junseo hyung all broke my stone tower once each, and even Seongbin hyung ran off with the pedestal.”

“Ah….”

“They’re all the same.”

Yikes.

Not a single one helped him.

-Crazy, Kang Siwoo’s enlightenment is hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-You can see how angry he is but trying hard to stay calm lolㅋㅋㅋㅋ he’s so pitifulㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Siwoo, just give up on the mission….

And so, Do Seohan was chosen.

Seohan wiped his face dry and muttered softly.

“Ah… I’m screwed.”

“Breaking the stone tower wasn’t enough.”

“If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve breakdanced on top of the tower…”

“Seohan, have you lost your mind.”

With that, two people were eliminated as a result of the final selection.

Seo Haim received 0 votes, Do Seohan received 2 votes, and the remaining votes were split among the rest.

The speaker announced the elimination of the remaining members.

[Seo Haim has failed the mission.]

[Do Seohan has failed the mission.]

“Does that mean the only person who succeeded the mission is Ian hyung?”

“Nice.”

“Then, hyung, please sing just one line of our ‘Mayday’ with joy.”

“Wow, our main vocal~.”

“So cool!”

Jin Sehyun, unaware of Seo Ian’s mission, casually handed over the hosting line.

“Sure!”

Seo Ian nodded brightly and mimed holding a microphone in the air.

Thinking all the missions were over, a relaxed Seo Ian let out a light lyric.

“Mayda~.”

“But hyung, what was your mission?”

“…!”

Ah.

Seo Ian’s body creaked like it had broken down belatedly.

“M-my… mission was not singing….”

“What?”

“What are you doing?”

[Seo Ian has failed the mission.]

The person himself was just as dumbfounded.

“R-right. What was I doing?”

No one knew Seo Ian’s mission…

He self-destructed all on his own?

Jin Sehyun stared with his mouth agape, looking speechless.

“Hyung, are you an idiot?”

“Was that on purpose? Because you felt bad eating Hanwoo alone?”

“I… I let my guard down.”

Everyone failed.

<I Am Alone> Self-content Trilogy received quite a warm response after it was uploaded.

Among the reactions were some mistaken comments.

-Ian is really kind. He sang because he felt bad eating Hanwoo alone ㅠㅠ

-Seo Ian hesitating a little before singing proves it ㅋㅋㅋ Ha… how can you not love our Soft Sundubu….

But that hyung had actually just zoned out.

It’s not bad to be misunderstood in a good way.

In any case, since we kept running even right after our promotion period, Dusties were happy that there was no shortage of content.

It seems our bodies will need to be worn down even more.

After all, year-end is a busy season with not just self-content but also regular schedules.

One of the major schedules is the award show.

The award show we were attending today.

The Seoul K-pop Awards was one of the bigger events in the K-pop field.

Just being nominated for Rookie of the Year at such an event was an honor, but we also strongly hoped to win.

There’s always hope to win other awards someday, but Rookie of the Year is only given to first-year rookies.

We wanted that one-time award.

In fact, Stardust was mentioned as one of the strong candidates among the Rookie nominees.

The Core was also nominated, but many people expected Stardust to win.

Ray, whom we hadn’t seen in a while in the waiting room, looked noticeably brighter.

“Hyung, your face looks so much brighter these days.”

“Yeah, someone’s not causing trouble anymore.”

Who knows where Kang Ji-hyuk is living now.

The rest of The Core members weren’t exactly obedient either, but it seems taking out the biggest problem made life easier.

Thanks to the influx brought by ‘Boy’s Dream,’ the group’s performance was also steadily rising.

Ray smirked and patted my shoulder.

“I enjoyed your self-content.”

“Please stop watching that stuff….”

“Why? Am I the only one watching it?”

“No….”

People around me always seem to watch it.

It makes sense for Tiple’s Sung Jihoo sunbaenim, but even someone like Do Seojun, who you’d think would never watch it, did.

Especially in <I Am Alone> Episode 2, Seo Haim’s comment rubbed hyung the wrong way.

‘What was Seohan like as a kid? I feel like he would’ve been the easiest to raise.’

‘You’re spot on.’

That’s all I said!

But as soon as the self-content went up, I got a message like this.

-Don’t go around saying you were easy to raise;; it’s annoying

└Why? It’s true, though?

Left me on read.

I really don’t know what the problem is.

As I scratched my head in thought, Ray hyung spoke up.

“Shall we head down soon?”

“Is it your rehearsal time too, hyung?”

“Yeah, they said to gather~.”

And so, we moved to the rehearsal venue together with The Core.

The lower floor was bustling with movement rehearsals.

From finishing greetings to returning to the right spot, each team ran through a short rehearsal before the actual award show.

As each group’s rehearsal proceeded, staff members shouted loudly.

“Yes, to the back! Please exit to the back!”

“BK members, great job!”

“Yes, thank you!”

As fate would have it.

There was a familiar face in the same time slot.

It was the one we’d gone head-to-head with for first place during the ‘Mayday’ promotions, and coincidentally, also interviewed at the same time during Music Bank in Malaysia—BK’s Han Gabin.

I’d heard he mentioned wanting to have dinner sometime, but nothing ever came of it, so maybe it was just talk.

“Oh, Seohan-ssi!”

As soon as he saw me, BK’s Taekyung came over with a bright face and held out his hand for a handshake.

Ever since I shielded him from the egg last time, he had been especially friendly—not with any ulterior motive, but more like simple goodwill.

“Stardust is nominated for Rookie of the Year, right? You’ll be taking an award home today.”

“Ayy, not at all. I’d be grateful if we did.”

“Humble, huh…. Who’s this?”

“Hello, I’m Ray from The Core!”

“Ah, I guess our promotions didn’t overlap. Nice to meet you. Hey, Gabin, come say hi.”

“…….”

You asked me to grab a meal together and now you’re shy?

Han Gabin, who used to throw advice left and right with only his mouth working when we first met, now averted his gaze.

“What’s with him now. Just ignore him.”

Guess he’s embarrassed.

Leader Kang Siwoo, standing right behind me, gave Han Gabin a nod.

Surprisingly, Gabin responded with a slight bow.

Usually, rehearsals were done one team at a time, but gathering like this was complete chaos.

“There are so many people….”

“Right? That’s an award show for you.”

As I stood cautiously, watching the staff running back and forth nonstop,

Suddenly, a strange voice came from behind.

“Hey, is that rumor true?”

Not far off.

Kang Siwoo flinched and lifted his head.

Then came a blatantly obvious whisper meant to be overheard.

“Who? That guy?”

“Oh, the one they say is the Taewoon Group son?”

“Like, an illegitimate child? Damn. Seeing something straight out of a morning drama in real life. There’s all kinds of crap in the 21st century.”

“If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to show my face….”

My nerves bristled along with the tension.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep