The Idol Training Simulation I Messed Up

Chapter 19

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Lol, I came to watch my idols at the competition, and there’s a super handsome guy sitting in the next section.

@An idol?

@@Yeah. I think it’s Moncle, they’re right next to me.

@Tell him you love him.

@@Are you crazy? LOL But seriously, he’s really good-looking. Should I sneak over to the next section to check him out?

@LOL The moment you move, you’ll become a traitor and probably get beat up.

@@Sigh… I need to focus on my fave. I was momentarily distracted by his face, but I’m back to watching my baby.

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***

Finally, the day had come.

The Idol Sports Festival. Abbreviated as ‘Idol Fest’. According to idol fans, it was the filming day for the ‘Crazy Sports Festival’.

Due to the nature of the broadcast, the events were mainly actual competitions, and there were also set changes, so not everything could be rehearsed. Still, since they had to manage many groups, the participants had gathered early in the morning.

The Monochrome members also looked tired when they first arrived, but as they started moving, their eyes quickly became sharp again.

Although it was winter, since it was indoors, they wore light short-sleeved t-shirts and hooded zip-ups. Of course, Jae Min, who wasn’t participating, was still in his casual clothes.

I gathered the prepared members before the recording started.

“You don’t have to try too hard. Just don’t get hurt.”

They all nodded at my words.

I was sincere when I said they didn’t have to try too hard.

It wouldn’t do for another member to get hurt just as Jae Min was about to return from his injury caused by the last Idol Fest.

“Woohyung, don’t cry.”

“D-did you see?”

“Ah, why did you cry there!”

This was something I said after watching VLive earlier. I understood his feelings, but if he got emotional again, the fans would be very worried.

Jun-hae scolded Woohyung, smacking his arm as he was flustered.

“Yeah. Jun-hae, stick close to him.”

Given Jun-hae’s quick reflexes in pulling Woohyung off the screen as soon as he started to tear up, I could trust him.

Jun-hae nodded seriously. It was reassuring to have such a reliable youngest member.

The members waited at their designated place for the recording to start, and I stood below the seats where our Colors were sitting.

It was a spot prepared in the staff passageway, so I could watch the scene without being noticed by the fans.

The Colors’ area was at the very end of the fan section.

“Do they really need to discriminate like this…”

The idol ecosystem strictly ranked everything based on popularity.

Seeing fans holding the same slogans or light sticks, one could tell which fandoms were seated where. Compared to others, the Colors’ area clearly had fewer seats.

“Are those fans next to us? They’re so quiet I thought they were staff.”

“They’re from that group. The one that had a member leave recently.”

“Ah…”

Standing slightly to the side so I could see the Colors, I overheard the murmurs from the fans in the adjacent section.

“Why do our fans always garner sympathy?”

Certainly, compared to other sections, it felt a bit like a mourning house.

“Given that it’s the first official schedule since a member left, and the program was the reason for that departure, it’s actually strange if they were in a good mood.”

People had come, enduring many things, just to see the members’ faces.

“It feels like we’re infiltrating.”

Jae Min stood next to me.

Even though it was a staff passageway and no one paid much attention, there were still many eyes around, so he wore a hat, glasses, and a mask.

“It’s infiltrating. No one would know you’re here.”

“What if I get caught?”

“Hmm… Let’s run away.”

“Pfft.”

He, the only idol outside the event, started watching with me.

As the recording began, many idol groups started entering with brief introductions in alphabetical order.

Whenever a group entered, cheers erupted from their fans’ sections.

When Monochrome entered, the sound from the Colors’ section wasn’t a “Kyah!” but more of a “Huh!” at first.

Then came the enthusiastic cheers.

‘What’s this? Are they a small elite squad?!’

Despite their small numbers, the noise was just as loud as any other fandom. They hadn’t checked vocal power when taking applications for the audience, had they?

Probably thinking, ‘I won’t let my kids be overshadowed,’ they must have shouted with all their might.

After Monochrome’s entrance, when the next group appeared on the electronic board, the fan section started buzzing again.

“Gasp. What’s with their visuals today?!”

“This is insane. Seeing them in person…”

“I would have regretted it for life if I hadn’t taken the day off.”

“I skipped school to come. Wow… Even their entrance is legendary. Others should have seen this.”

“A friend of mine didn’t even apply because they’re boycotting Idol Fest. Now they’re banging their head against the wall with regret.”

“Oh dear. But it was tough to apply this time. There were so few seats. What did Newma even do…”

“When the notice for the audience came out, I thought Newma had gone mad.”

Naturally, there were complaints about Newma mixed in.

As the person who had turned Newma from a medium-sized company to a terrible one, I felt a bit guilty, but this was something I had to get used to over time.

Even while talking amongst themselves, the fans’ eyes were on their phones.

The staff were blocking photo-taking, so they seemed to be diligently live-texting the event.

[Next, Iris!]

‘Iris?!’

At the call for the next group to enter, my head automatically turned.

Right, Iris was also an idol group!

I had been too busy with other things to think about it, but seeing them here was an unexpected treat.

Some wore short-sleeved t-shirts, others hoodies. The Iris members, smiling as they entered, looked casual like they did when filming choreography videos.

As Iris entered, there was a cheer from a section of the audience.

It was from Iris’ fandom, ‘Rainbow’. Iris meant ‘goddess of the rainbow.’

‘Iris is doing well.’

Rainbow’s seats were closer to the center and there were quite a few of them.

I felt both proud and bitter.

Seeing Iris made me constantly compare them to Monochrome, who was under my care in the same way.

‘Ha… Don’t keep comparing. Think about the future.’

Since there were many people, the waiting time after entering was longer.

Moreover, Monochrome’s event was just a race.

While other events were going on, their job was just to sit and wait, but as long as they didn’t interfere with the progress, they could move around.

And Monochrome came to the fan section where the Colors were.

***

“Black and White! We are Monochrome!”

The Monochrome members greeted their fans with their old greeting.

Monochrome, a group named after black and white, had a greeting where the members in charge of ‘Black’ and ‘White’ would speak in turn.

Originally, they would say “Black and” and “White” in sequence, but now that Haerang was the only one in charge of ‘White’, Jun-hae joined in.

This was their first greeting since they officially became a four-member group.

Seeing the members approach closely, the fans, reminded of this fact, lost their energy. Some couldn’t hide their feelings of regret.

Watching the fans’ faces, Woohyung also felt troubled.

Though it was a subtle change, Jun-hae, who had been with Woohyung for a long time, could tell he was about to get emotional again.

So, he whispered softly, only loud enough for Woohyung to hear.

“Hyung. Pull yourself together.”

Before the recording started, Jun-hae faithfully carried out the instructions given to him.

Seeing Jun-hae sticking close to him almost like a watchdog, Woohyung smiled. Indeed, it was time to think about the people next to him.

The fans weren’t completely gloomy either. The members were looking at them.

The atmosphere, which had momentarily dampened with the greeting from just four members, soon brightened as they chatted.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“No~.”

“How can we be tired when Monochrome is our fatigue recovery potion!”

From one corner of the fan section, a loud, rapid-fire comment burst out.

The voice was so loud that even fans in the adjacent section glanced over.

The members, eyes widening at the sudden outburst of affection, burst into laughter.

Thanks to that, the mood lightened, and they continued chatting with smiles.

“You guys, it’s your first time seeing Haerang’s hair like this in person, right? Isn’t he handsome?”

“He’s handsome!”

As Woohyung mentioned Haerang’s style, the atmosphere that had been down suddenly heated up.

It was the same style as the profile picture that had received a fervent response, but it was the first time they were seeing it in person today.

Words expressing ‘handsome’ poured out from all sides.

Surrounded by compliments from both the members and the fans, Haerang stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Who’s more handsome?”

Han-yi, with his arm on Haerang’s shoulder, asked the fans.

He wasn’t sincerely asking, but the fans’ answers to such questions were always the same.

“They’re all handsome!”

“Ah. I thought I was the visual member.”

While the Colors enjoyed this unique on-site communication, they also diligently reported it on their personal SNS.

[Han-yi says, “I’m the original visual.” Jun-hae replies, “It was always Haerang hyung,” and it’s shocking.]

[Han-yi says he’ll style his hair up next time because Haerang has his down nowㅜㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ cute]

[When asked what color they should dye their hair, someone quietly said, “Just don’t do bright red.”ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ They’d look good in anything, but stillㅠ]

In the midst of the cheerful atmosphere, one of the Colors asked a question.

“Is Jun-hae’s photo being released today?”

Since the new song announcement, a photo of one Monochrome member has been uploaded to their official SNS account every day.

It was something newly shot in preparation for the release of the new song. So-called comeback project image teasers.

Until yesterday, photos of Woohyung, Haerang, and Han-yi had been released in order of age.

Everyone expected Jun-hae’s photo to be uploaded today.

But today’s photo wasn’t of Jun-hae. Today was actually the day Jae Min’s return would be announced.

“Uh…”

“That’s a secret~.”

It was just a simple question from the fans, but the members couldn’t answer truthfully, so they momentarily froze.

Fortunately, Han-yi was the first to respond with a vague answer, allowing them to move past the moment.

Thanks to Han-yi’s quick thinking, the atmosphere remained pleasant, but the fingers of the fans holding their phones were different.

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The company must be gagging the kids, ㅆX

@What happened?

@@I asked about the teaser and they hesitated to answer, then Han-yi consoled the fans ㅠㅠ

@Oh my godㅠ Are they still controlling them like that..

@@They’re all smiling, but my heart is breakingㅠㅠㅠ

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***

I watched the members chatting with the fans from below.

Jae Min, standing next to me, also stared intently at the scene without turning his head.

With half his face covered by glasses and a mask, I couldn’t see Jae Min’s expression well, but his profile, looking up at the members and fans, conveyed a lot of emotions.

“You should be standing up there with them soon.”

Somehow, sensing loneliness in his appearance, I wanted to offer some consolation.

Soon, he would be able to stand proudly beside them.

Hearing my voice, Jae Min finally turned to look at me.

“I don’t know if I’ll be welcomed.”

“…”

Even with his return imminent, he was still thinking like that.

Should I say it was typical of Monochrome members to worry incessantly but not show it? It resembled the traits I’d seen in the members up to now.

I didn’t know if it was good to resemble them in this way.

Honestly, I couldn’t predict what the reaction would be either, which made me anxious. But I didn’t want Jae Min to carry that burden.

He was already a member, and I wanted him to think more about his role as a member rather than worry.

“You just need to keep moving forward.”

If the members kept pushing forward, the rest was up to me.

The image I saw of them would likely resonate with others too.

Jae Min looked me in the eyes, then turned back to watch the members again.

He continued to watch for a while, then suddenly flinched.

“I think I made eye contact with someone I know.”

He abruptly hid behind me as he spoke.

‘Doesn’t hiding behind me look more suspicious?’

Standing over 10 cm taller than me, Jae Min crouched down and hid, which seemed more noticeable.

Since the person he ‘knew’ was in front of me, Jae Min must have hidden behind me.

In front of me were the idols gathered together.

“Who?”

“The one in the blue hoodie greeting the fans over there.”

Following where Jae Min pointed, I saw an idol waving and greeting his fans.

Although he was currently focused on his fans, he must have come closer earlier and noticed Jae Min staring at Monochrome.

Whether he recognized him or not was uncertain.

“Let’s run.”

I had said we would run as a joke earlier, but now we really had to flee to the waiting room.