Falling for the Omega Idol

LILY smiled at the gathered contestants, her voice carrying clearly across the performance hall. "You should all be proud of what you accomplished today. Facing a live audience for the first time takes courage, and every one of you showed up ready to fight. So, congratulations, everyone!"

The contestants applauded, but Haneul could tell most of them were just going through the motions. Not that he blamed them. Half the contestants here had just lost the vocal mission. How could anyone expect them to be in a celebratory mood?

"As you already know, the teams who won the audience voting will automatically receive 30,000 votes for the next elimination round," Lily continued. "And the contestant who earned the most points from those winning teams will get an extra 20,000 votes on top of that."

Hearing that, Haneul couldn't help but think back to earlier, when the points for their team and Baek Eunwoo's team had been revealed.

=====

As the two teams were shaking hands and being all sportsman-like, that same alarm sound from earlier blared out again, startling almost everyone in the room.

"What was that again?" Robin asked, turning toward the screen.

Everyone else did the same. Haneul froze for a second when he saw what was written there.

[Haneul - 452 points]

Next to the number was a small star symbol.

"What does that mean?" a contestant from Baek Eunwoo's team asked.

Eunwoo chuckled. "I think another congratulations is in order."

Robin's eyes widened like he'd just figured something out, then he grinned and threw an arm around Haneul's shoulders. "Congrats, Haneul!"

Seongwoo and Joonhyuk were right behind him, clearly just as happy about the news.

Haneul was still confused. But then he heard a whisper beside him.

"You got the most votes."

The familiar voice sent a shiver down Haneul's spine. Not the scary kind of shiver, but the... delicious kind. Wait, delicious? Before he could think too much about that, he lifted his head just in time to see the corner of Taeyang's mouth curl up into a small smile.

"Congratulations," Taeyang said. "I'm glad it was you."

He was so caught up in that smile that it took him a few seconds to process what Taeyang had just said.

He... he got the most votes?

=====

Yeah, it was kind of funny to Haneul how everything played out. He'd completely forgotten that the member of the winning team with the most votes would get an extra 20,000 votes for the next elimination round. So when his name appeared on the screen, he didn't get it at first. If Taeyang hadn't told him straight up, he might have stayed confused for way longer. But maybe that would've been better. At least then he wouldn't have been left flustered because of Taeyang's smile.

Haneul sighed. He really hoped the cameras hadn't caught his expression just then. He could already picture how some viewers might edit it to look like he was love-struck over Taeyang. And if someone added a clip of Taeyang smiling right after? That would basically prove the 'love-struck' theory for good.

He paused, then shook his head. Why had his mind immediately jumped to 'love-struck'? For all he knew, people might just think he looked stupid. Honestly, that would probably be better than his initial thought.

On another note, he was genuinely happy about getting the most votes. It would be fake to pretend otherwise. After all, with the highest votes on their team, he'd secured an extra 20,000 votes for the next elimination round. Now he just had to hope their group would score highest overall. That would mean another 50,000 votes for all of them.

"And of the five winning groups, the one with the highest score will receive an extra 50,000 votes," Lily continued. "Now, let's see which group earned the most points today."

As soon as Lily finished speaking, the names of the five winning groups appeared on the screen behind her.

ChocoBoom

Sparkle Boys

99% Handsome

Banana Kick

Stellar Five

Haneul looked at the names and realized that theirs was probably the most normal one.

"Let's start by showing which two of the five winning groups came in fifth and fourth."

After Lily said that, the points for two of the five appeared next to their names on the screen.

ChocoBoom - 1104

Sparkle Boys

99% Handsome - 1088

Banana Kick

Stellar Five

"Now we'll see which group scored just below the top two."

ChocoBoom - 1104

Sparkle Boys

99% Handsome - 1088

Banana Kick - 1322

Stellar Five

Haneul let out a quiet sigh of relief. Their group was still in the running. He crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping with everything he had that they'd end up with the highest score.

Lily's voice dipped lower, drawing out the moment. "We're down to the final two groups now." She paused just long enough for the tension to prickle up Haneul's neck. "One of you will claim that 50,000 vote advantage." Another deliberate silence. "Shall we see which one it would be?"

The moment dragged on, each second making Haneul's shoulders grow tighter. The seconds stretched. His eyes stayed locked on the blank screen. Until finally, numbers appeared next to the names of the two remaining teams.

ChocoBoom - 1104

Sparkle Boys - 1450

99% Handsome - 1088

Banana Kick - 1322

Stellar Five - 1439

Seeing the numbers, Haneul was quickly filled with disappointment. They were in second. The group with the most points was only ahead by a small margin. He could hear the excited shouts from the winning team.

He glanced in their direction, and the first thing he saw was Park Mirae crying 'prettily' as he smiled at his teammates and celebrated with them. Then the other glanced his way and smirked. Just as quickly, he turned back to his teammates as if nothing had happened. It all happened so fast that even Haneul wasn't sure if it had really occurred.

"It's okay, don't be disappointed." Taeyang's voice pulled Haneul's attention away from whatever Park Mirae was doing. "I know we can pass the next elimination even without those extra votes. I'm sure of it."