Chapter 17: Mini Sports Day (1)

‘Why did you leave?’

‘Tell me. I’m curious. KJ must be a big place. You’re talented, right?’

A sharp pain flickered in my heart.

I frowned and took another steady breath.

Hearing those words again for the first time in years felt like the blood running cold at first.

But honestly, I managed.

“The reason I left KJ….”

There truly was nothing.

That description wasn’t enough, though, because at that time there really had been something.

I let that memory slip away with a little bitter laugh.

For Do Seohan at this point in time it had been only two years ago, but for me it might as well have been eight years ago.

How foolish of me, really.

“Let’s focus on the competition.”

I tapped both cheeks lightly with my hands and splashed cold water on my face.

Yet still.

My insides stung.

On the day episode 2 of the Stardust Project aired.

Han Yooyoung clasped her hands reverently and stared at the monitor.

“Ahhhh, it’s starting!”

After a week of resisting the fandom, she had already succumbed to that giant hamster.

“This is insane. So insane.”

Her emotions watching Episode 2 were exactly like any fan’s—countless moments of covering her mouth in awe.

Episode 2 covered the weather‑mission competition for song selection rights, and the start of the first team evaluation.

I had already seen in the previous teaser Do Seohan confidently walking away with the song‑selection right and wondered how he’d done it—and then…

Peeking.

He shot out into the hallway faster than anyone else.

Wearing the group t‑shirt and looking neat, not sleepy or disheveled, Seohan scurried out.

When he saw the cameramen his eyes widened.

“Um…uh!”

“Huh?”

All the cameras appeared startled and began to back away.

He must have been more surprised—he blinked, then bowed his head.

“I’m sorry….”

And then he returned to his room.

“Oh my god, so cute!”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Han Yooyoung nearly smashed her newly purchased keyboard last month.

Her intense reaction mirrored the comment section.

Everyone was already losing it.

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠAhhh so cute, crazy

Didn’t he realize there was a weather‑mission? lol he was totally peeking

Seems like he’s just the type who wakes up early? The baby came out so sparkling

He barely woke up and he’s eye‑rolling looking around ㅜㅜㅜ

Hamster is love

f‑‑k even the way he backed away was too cute, I’m going crazy

He startled the cameramen all on his own while everyone else was still sleeping.

Because he was already awake, he had no choice but to get there early.

No one expected him to be good at darts, though.

“Wow, that’s practically battle‑hardened in group dinners.”

Bang. Bang. Bang.

He popped five balloons in rapid succession, blink‑free and unfazed.

Even Cha Seongbin standing nearby looked stunned.

There was a close‑up of Cha Seongbin’s face.

“…Are you Jumong?”

It was hilarious.

He’s calling him Jumong lololol

Cha Seongbin’s bewildered face lolol

Seohan, oblivious if he heard it, got excited by himself.

“Yesss!”

Clenching his fist tightly, the camera captured Seohan’s plainly joyful expression.

“…I got first place.”

That face—so pleasingly proud.

Seohan, you were far more competitive than I expected.

Seeing him earn first place in a weather‑mission he didn’t even know what it gave made Han Yooyoung silently shout with him.

Seohan is so purely happy—are you really a baby ㅜㅜ

Quietly celebrating lol

ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ He earned that first place like this, our Mam‑Hamster

He looks so soft but plays darts so intensely

He’s basically the most experienced at a drinking‑gathering of battle veterans

└ Moms, what are you talking about to underage guy

└ Look at that expression ready to kill balloons lol the competitiveness lol

Then it was revealed that the reward for the weather‑mission was the song‑selection right, and she felt huge relief when he chose Eloy’s “On the Way to School.”

“I’ll pick LROY’s On the Way to School.”

“Good thing it wasn’t VENUS, really!”

VENUS had become the biggest disaster of this team mission due to the drunk‑driving scandal.

Fans had similar reactions.

Seohan, you’re a genius….

If he’d picked VENUS, that’d have been nerve‑wracking lol

Seohan sees the future

VENUS is going to cause an accident at five o’clock later!

lol this is like future‑sight level. Honestly, if it were me picking songs I would’ve avoided VENUS too lol

Despite questions about how he could choose an Eloy track, as long as the result was good, nobody cared.

“How fortunate,” kept flooding the real‑time comments.

Some said girl‑group songs were cute too, but first and foremost they were thankful he avoided VENUS.

Han Yooyoung drew in a quick breath.

“Phew. This screen time is pure happiness.”

All the moments so far had been uniformly heart‑warming scenes.

Whether it was due to center treatment or not, TBN’s typical harsh editing wasn’t there.

Having secured first in the weather‑mission and the opportunity to choose the song, Seohan’s screen presence, at least for him, was generously significant.

Just then, while the smile still radiated on my lips.

A moment aired that froze every fan.

“So, it’s totally fine. What about you, Junhyeok‑ssi?”

“……”

After working hard and coming in first in the wake-up mission, Seohan had chosen the most perfect song at this point.

And yet, someone blatantly expressed their irritation and threw side-eyes at him.

“Ah, I don’t like it.”

It would’ve been fine if it ended there…

“Why does it feel like the center has already been decided and we’re just voting for show? Image isn’t everything, you know.”

“Shouldn’t we be judging based on skill and not just words? I don’t even know this guy’s name.”

A string of outrageous remarks spilled out.

Han Yooyoung ended up cursing without even realizing it.

“What the hell is wrong with that jerk?”

-Who even is Lee Junhyeok? LOLLLLLL

└He had a pretty decent role in episode 1, didn’t he get an A grade?

└Yeah, but he sounded like he couldn’t sing~ And he totally has that thug look. Super intense.

└I thought vocals were his specialty? And his look isn’t even thug-like, that’s such a reach.

└Are you sure you’re not just being a biased fan?

-Power struggle in front of the camera, omg. I wonder what happens behind the scenes.

└Mam-Seohan is the leader of that team, right? ㅠㅠ Poor guy, I can already see the hell he’s going through. He’s my pick ㅠㅠ

└Look how all the kids are shrinking back. Does he think he’s the king or something?

└He’s clearly salty about the VENUS song not being chosen. LOL Junhyeok, if you guys had gone with VENUS like you wanted, your team would’ve been totally doomed^^

└Guess he doesn’t have any future vision haha

└If he did, he wouldn’t be acting like a lunatic in front of the camera, right?

-“Shouldn’t we be judging based on skill and not just words?”

└LOL embarrassinggggggg

└Didn’t even show a single ounce of skill himself lol

└Anyone can see Haim fits the center role better. She’s got talent and she’s cute.

└Seohan would’ve suited it too but he gave it up without a fuss.

└Probably because he was the center for the Signal Song?

└But wasn’t the Signal Song center undecided at that point?

└Either way, he’s way more mature than someone who demoralizes younger trainees just to take the center. Please debut, Seohan.

└I want Mam-Seohan and Seo Haim to debut together, holding hands.

└The youngest members have great chemistry.

└Love you, Herbivore Duo.

└Why Herbivore Duo?

└Hamsters are omnivores, they even eat meat.

└You idiot.

-Our Junhyeok isn’t like that ㅠㅠ The evil editing in episode 2 is too harsh, it breaks my heart ㅠㅠ Ugh…

└Evil editing? LOL All his lines were gold though lololol

└”I don’t even know this guy’s name.”

└The youngest chose the song and he goes “I don’t like it.” LOL

└Even TBN must’ve been pissed. They didn’t cut a single thing and aired the whole thing raw.

There was nothing more to see from Lee Junhyeok.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected his words to be broadcasted so bluntly, but it was shown even more plainly than I thought.

I assumed TBN would protect him.

“Was it so bad that they just threw him away…”

It wasn’t even worth calling evil editing, as the comments said. That was really how Lee Junhyeok behaved.

It was his own doing.

At the very least, he should’ve shown some manners in front of the camera.

The reason Lee Junhyeok didn’t become a problem in the past life was probably because the teammates in his group back then tolerated his nasty attitude.

But unfortunately, this time I was in the same team.

That variable brought out Lee Junhyeok’s true nature.

I didn’t intend it, but it did go the way I wanted.

Letting him self-destruct on his own.

It was unfortunate for Lee Junhyeok, but for Stardust, it was clearly a good thing.

He was practically a ticking time bomb.

With the current public opinion, no matter how hard he tried, it didn’t look like he’d survive until the next ranking ceremony.

Tremble, tremble.

Lee Junhyeok couldn’t hide his expression anymore, probably having read all the explosive community comments.

Did he really go around saying all that thinking it wouldn’t be aired?

The more I looked, the dumber he seemed.

Episode 2 of Stardust Project, which aired yesterday, became an opportunity for some and despair for others.

As always, the show didn’t care for everyone.

It was a fight to survive.

A fight to debut.

I suddenly realized once again that I was standing in the middle of that battlefield.

And today, there was a rather big event.

MC Han Dawon came out with a smile.

“Waaaah!”

“Everyone knows what day it is today, right?”

“Yeeees!”

“This is gonna be fuuuun!”

It was the final break before the first group evaluation and the first ranking ceremony.

“Miniiiiii Sports Day!!”

The mini sports day had returned.

On the broadcast, it was just a short fun segment, but since we actually went through it, the memory of the mini sports day stayed vivid.

MC Han Dawon held the script card in his hand and spoke seriously.

“Today’s mini sports day will test three basic virtues required to be an idol.”

Those three were…

Wisdom, Virtue, and Strength.

I didn’t really get the concept, but figured the broadcast staff must’ve had a reason for it.

Han Dawon passionately tried to hype up the atmosphere, and we filled in the background audio with cheers.

The first mini game to test intelligence—I remembered it clearly.

“One essential quality for becoming an idol: quick thinking, judgment, and reflexes. Let me introduce the first game in this cruel audition!”

Ta-da.

When Han Dawon lifted the black cloth, a metal pot and a toy hammer popped out side by side.

At the same time, we gave reflexive reactions from the back.

“Wooooooow!”

“Do we hit with the toy hammer?”

“Sounds fun. If it’s agility, it’s gotta be Seo Haim!”

The game wasn’t hard.

Just a simple rock-paper-scissors game where the winner hits and the loser defends.

It was a classic segment reused in countless variety shows, so everyone understood the rules immediately just by watching.

I couldn’t say I had great athletic ability, but honestly, my reflexes were pretty sharp.

Self-proclaimed dance genius.

That’s me—Do Seohan.

“Ahem.”

It’d been a while. Should I loosen up a bit?

I stretched and waited for my turn.

But then—

“Trainees Do Seohan and Lee Junhyeok, please come forward.”

Again?

Why… did it have to be with that guy?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep