Chapter 115
Just because the status window had disappeared didn't mean any major change had occurred for me.
As Chris Ward had said, we must have been the last participants for the competition, because as soon as we decided to enter, the schedule was quickly set.
Thus began a hectic time with pre-interviews and preparation for the first competition.
And we were now waiting for the first recording that would begin soon.
Fortunately, the disappearance of the status window didn't mean the rewards I had gained so far had vanished.
My appearance, as well as my dancing and singing skills, remained exactly the same.
I couldn't confirm my skills precisely, but I didn't feel anything particularly different from before yet.
However, even amidst the busyness, random thoughts would occasionally cross my mind.
'Could it all have been a dream?'
Even while knowing it wasn't a dream, thinking about the status window that had disappeared overnight made various suspicions pop up unexpectedly.
"Lin hyung!"
"Yeah?"
"Did you see this article?"
Thanks to Woo Jungwoo shoving his phone screen in my face, I snapped out of my thoughts.
"Look at this."
[Will a new king be born? Lil X aims for the throne on 'King's Road.']
[Rising diva Ashley Graham declares, 'The throne will be mine.' Confirms participation in King's Road.]
It seemed the identities of some participants had been revealed even before recording began.
Out of the 6 teams participating in the competition, two participants' identities had already been exposed.
"When we asked who was participating, they said they absolutely couldn't tell us. Broadcast station bastards."
"Huh? Did they reveal who's participating?"
"Look here, it says Lil X and Ashley Graham."
"Wow! Aren't they both super famous singers?"
"There are a ton of comments too. They're saying they're really looking forward to King's Road."
In an instant, the members gathered around me and Woo Jungwoo.
"We'll meet them all at the first shoot, right?"
"I'm a bit nervous..."
"Hey Kang Ajin! What are you doing getting scared already!"
"Who's scared!"
"Seongha, you're talking big but yesterday you called your mom and— mmm!"
"Jungwoo hyung! What are you saying!"
Although they seemed no different from usual, I knew the members were watching me carefully.
I tried not to show it as much as possible, but I couldn't fool the members' eyes.
It had already been a year and six months since we'd been together every day. Now, without even needing words, our actions gave everything away.
"Mom! Seongha is— aaaaaagh! Don't bite me Sim Seongha!! Yujin, Han Hwi hyung, help me!!!"
"How lively and nice."
"Yujin hyung, what should we have for dinner?"
"Well, we had Korean food yesterday, so how about Western today..."
"No! Kim Yujin! I said help me!!"
"Just stay still!"
Watching the still-noisy practice room, I slowly stood up from my seat.
Then I saw the members quietly watching me.
"Alright, shall we start practicing again?"
"Yes!"
"Let's go!"
Listening to the energetic voices of the members, I stood in front of the mirror.
And I blankly stared at the reflection of us seven people in the mirror for a moment.
"Lin hyung?"
Hearing Baek Shihyun's voice, I turned around with my back to the mirror.
"I'm sorry for making you worry."
"..."
At my sudden words, the noisy practice room fell silent in an instant.
"I can't say exactly, but I had some personal issues recently. It was a bit confusing too. But it won't be a problem from now on. I'm sorry for worrying you... and thank you all for pretending not to notice on purpose."
I finished speaking and silently looked at the members.
That's right. Whatever the members said, everything was my fault, so there was nothing to make excuses for.
However.
"Hehe! Saying such embarrassing things... I wouldn't say I'm happy to hear that at all or something."
"Ugh, it's so cringy!!"
"Who are you really! You're not Seonwoo Lin!!!"
I could see the members looking at me with burdensome expressions, as if they'd finally found something to tease me about.
And I started to regret whether I'd said something unnecessary.
"Now, have you had enough playing around?"
"No! Look at everyone, Lin hyung is changing the subject because he's embarrassed!"
"I'm sorry, guys. And... thank you, sniff."
Still.
It was much better than everyone just eyeing each other cautiously.
"Um... our competition practice..."
"We are the anti-terror special forces WEARS!"
"Our goal is victory! If we can't win, then not winning is fine too!!"
"What on earth does that even mean?"
"It means you're that excited!"
...Or not.
***
A new competition program prepared by Fox Channel, which broadcast American Idol and The Masked Singer.
Could a new hit program be born following two successes?
The first day of recording arrived amidst everyone's expectations.
"I don't hear any sound?"
"Looks like we're the first."
Careful footsteps entering inside.
And camera lenses capturing the faces of our members looking around as soon as we entered.
The filming had finally begun. The first ones up were none other than us, WEARS.
The scenery that appeared after passing through the entrance with white marble pillars.
In this studio where the 6 teams challenging the King's Road gathered for the first time, only empty seats waiting for participants who hadn't arrived yet caught my eye.
And in the center.
"Wow!"
"Look at this!"
A massive structure that immediately caught the eye in the grayish-white filming set.
A golden throne sparkling beautifully.
As if no one could sit on the throne yet, it sat alone on a high platform.
"So we have to win to... sit there?"
"It doesn't look that high. Should I go up and try sitting on it right now?"
"Jungwoo, please don't do anything impulsive."
While holding Woo Jungwoo back with one hand and looking around the set, I was able to gather some information.
"4 solo teams and 2 group teams, huh."
"What? How do you know that?"
"Look at the number of chairs."
"Ah."
I led the members who were still blankly looking around the set and found our seats where 7 chairs were placed.
"There's one more group besides us. It probably isn't a K-pop group, right?"
"If it's five people... it wouldn't be Next or Cross."
"I wonder who's coming in next."
While sitting in our seats waiting for the next participants, noisy sounds soon came from outside.
"They're coming. They're coming."
"Who is it?"
[Everyone~~ I missed you so much!!! Bonjour~ Ni hao~ Huh? Only one team has arrived so far.]
A familiar face walked into the set.
[Hey! Long time no time, friend. We met once before, right?]
[Yes, it's been a while.]
The person who approached Kim Yujin to greet him was Lil X, who had performed on the final stage with Kim Yujin on The Masked Singer.
After exchanging greetings with Kim Yujin, Lil X looked at us with sparkling eyes and spoke.
[WEARS friends. For some reason, I feel like we could become good friends. Let's work hard together!]
After finishing greetings with us, Lil X looked around the studio once and soon stood in front of the throne in the center.
[Hmm... it looks like I could get up there if I jump.]
"Jungwoo, he's saying the exact same thing as you over there."
"Tch, one step too late."
"Why are you disappointed...?"
Looking again, Lil X was already grunting and jumping, trying to climb up the high platform.
However, with his utterly insufficient jumping ability, Lil X managed to pull off a rather pathetic look.
[Haha! It seems climbing the throne will have to be put off for a bit. Just wait a little.]
I eventually saw Lil X quickly finding his own seat.
"If Lin hyung hadn't stopped me, I would have done it first... my screen time..."
Around the time I was pretending not to hear Woo Jungwoo still muttering with regret beside me.
The 3rd and 4th participants entered in turn.
The 3rd participant was the rising female solo singer Ashley Graham, who had already been revealed in the article.
And the 4th participant to enter, or rather team, was Neon Punch, the only rock band in this competition.
'Why are they glaring at us like that?'
While we were flustered by the sight of Neon Punch members glaring at us as they entered.
[Hello.]
A young voice came from somewhere. And the 5th participant who soon revealed themselves was—
"A child?"
"Are they a participant?"
A young participant who looked to be about elementary school age walked in with bright, sparkling eyes.
[I'm Joshua. Please take care of me.]
Joshua, who bowed to the other participants, walked over to the empty seat next to us.
"Wow. Cute."
"But can they properly compete? They look so young..."
While everyone's attention was focused on the newly appeared young participant.
[Uhh...]
"That chair looks too high for them."
"Yeah."
The chair in the seat was too high for Joshua to sit on. I could see Joshua blankly staring at the chair.
I observed the situation for a moment, and since Joshua's seat was closest to mine, I stood up and approached Joshua.
[Wait, I'll lower the chair for you.]
[Okay.]
I lowered the chair as much as possible and looked at Joshua again.
[Hmm...]
The chair still looked too high for Joshua to sit on. At that moment, Joshua spread both arms toward me and spoke.
[Lift me up.]
[What?]
[Lift me up onto the chair.]
At Joshua's naturally spoken words, I found myself almost bewitched as I lifted Joshua's body onto the chair.
[Thank you.]
Joshua then smiled and spoke to me.
"They totally look like uncle and nephew."
"I should have been the one to do it... my screen time!"
"If Jungwoo hyung did it, it would look fake so no."
"What...? Even you, Shihyun..."
Returning to my seat, I shook my head at the members' intense reactions and sat back down.
Then, feeling like someone was looking at me, I glanced to the side. And I happened to lock eyes with Joshua, who was staring intently in this direction for some reason.
Whoosh—
Joshua, whose eyes met mine, quickly turned his head as if nothing had happened, but why did it keep bothering me?
It was probably just because he was a young participant. Thinking that, I brushed it off as nothing significant.
The entry of the 5th participant was complete. Now only the last participant remained.
With the growing tension as more people gathered, the set felt even more silent than before.
"Who could the last participant be?"
"I don't know who, but I wish they'd come out quickly..."
Around the time everyone was growing tired of waiting.
The last participant finally revealed themselves.
"Huh?"
"Don't tell me..."
As soon as they saw the last participant's face, the members let out exclamations of surprise.
And the same was true for the other participants.
[That person is appearing here?]
[Why would someone who reached #1 on the Billboard charts do a competition again...?]
[Hmm, this competition won't be easy.]
The last participant who appeared while receiving wary glances from everyone.
He entered the set with a relaxed demeanor.
And.
[Hello. I'm Eric Foster.]
'Eric Foster?'
The name sounded familiar. I rummaged through my faint memories and soon recalled that name.
"Ah! Eric Foster, then..."
At that moment, Eric Foster walked toward us, or more precisely, toward Kim Yujin.
And held out his hand to greet him.
[Yujin, long time no see.]
[Yeah.]
[This is almost the first time since the audition, right?]
[Seems like it.]
Kim Yujin clasped Eric Foster's hand with an uncomfortable expression, and seeing the two of them, the surrounding participants started buzzing.
[The winner and runner-up of American Idol have gathered.]
[That's right, Eric Foster and Kim Yujin. It was a legendary season.]
[But hmm, it's hard to see them as rivals now...]
Eric Foster.
He was the winner of American Idol in the same season as Kim Yujin. And for some reason, he was someone Kim Yujin was uncomfortable with.
I watched Kim Yujin and Eric Foster's greeting for a moment, then stood up and spoke.
[Hello. I'm Seonwoo Lin, the leader of WEARS.]
[Yes, the leader of WEARS... right, nice to meet you.]
Eric Foster stared at my face, then grinned and grabbed my hand.
[This is going to be fun. Right?]
Eric Foster muttered almost inaudibly, just loud enough for me to hear, and returned to his seat.
All participants had finished appearing, but we hadn't heard anything about what we were supposed to do from here.
While we were all just staring at each other as if testing who was better at a staring contest.
[Everyone, please focus your attention here!]
A figure who suddenly appeared without anyone knowing when.
And at the sight of that familiar face, the participants cried out.
[Conan!]
[Wow! Conan!]
[Thanks for the warm welcome. Yes, hello there little kid too. Nice to see you handsome young men as well. Yes, I am Conan. Though not a detective, of course.]
With the host's appearance, the atmosphere changed in an instant.
Conan immediately broke the stiff atmosphere and captivated the participants with just a few words.
[I'd love to chat more, but unfortunately, this isn't the Conan Show, it's King's Road. That is, a competition to claim the throne.
The winner will receive prize money along with an incredible benefit that hasn't been revealed yet!!!]
At Conan's words, the participants' eyes sparkled.
And Conan looked at those participants and continued speaking.
[Right now, before the 1st competition. Everyone must be curious about their opponents. Though it seems like someone doesn't seem interested in the other participants...]
Saying that, Conan glanced at Eric Foster once, then grinned as he glared at all the participants one by one.
[It feels a bit lacking to go straight into the 1st competition. Since we're all gathered together, how about we do a fun vote? It's about which participant is the weakest... Ah! Did I make it too complicated? Simply choose the participant you think is beneath you! Someone who can't compete with you!]
At Conan's words, the atmosphere in the set froze over once again.
[Then let's get right to choosing. By the way, you make your choice by facing them directly and sticking this sticker on them right in front of you.]
Conan shook the skull-marked sticker in his hand as he spoke.
'It's not easy from the start.'
I had expected some psychological warfare since it was a competition, but I didn't think they'd openly start a fight from the first meeting.
Unavoidably, I would prioritize the participant who targeted our team first...
[Then we can start in order of appearance! WEARS, who appeared first! Who will you choose?]
'Crazy.'
Without even giving me time to think, Conan held out the skull mark toward me.