Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 243

At this point, feeling the need to show a reaction to Kang Ji-woo’s excessive brotherly love, On Raon turned his head, finding it strange that one person was being unusually quiet.

Then, “Oh,” he flinched.

“Hmph…”

Gyun Seong-ha, who had turned halfway around and was trying to keep from making a crying sound by clenching his lips together, had a walnut-like wrinkle on his chin as tears welled up in his eyes.

On Raon, feeling strangely familiar with the tears of the usually cold-looking Gyun Seong-ha, asked weakly.

“Why are you crying again?”

“…I don’t know.”

“You’re the one crying. How can you not know?”

Gyun Seong-ha, stung by On Raon’s incredulous look, retorted sharply.

“I know! You’re really annoying…!”

“Yeah…”

Seeing the affinity notification window in front of him, On Raon let out a hollow laugh and brushed off Gyun Seong-ha’s complaint with zero impact.

Gyun Seong-ha’s eyes sharpened, not missing this.

“You’re not really listening to me, are you?”

“No, I’m totally all ears. I mean, I’m listening intently? All my auditory cells are focused on you at this moment?”

His attitude was completely sly, as if he had never been shaken.

Annoyed further, Gyun Seong-ha started with a loud “Annoy…!” but then shrank his shoulders and lowered his tone.

“Is that the face of someone listening to complaints about being annoying and unpleasant?”

On Raon, gesturing for the fuming Gyun Seong-ha to come closer, whispered.

“Because…”

Because? Gyun Seong-ha, wiping away a few fallen tears with the back of his hand, subconsciously leaned in.

“You’re the type who increases affinity while being annoyed.”

On Raon said, glancing at the affinity notification window that had popped up a moment ago.

[Gyun Seong-ha, with animal instincts, noticed one of the walls you built has disappeared and is secretly happy. Gyun Seong-ha’s Affinity +1. Current Affinity +52]

A tool that reveals people’s hearts so definitively is both convenient and cowardly.

‘But it seems like I could have known this without such a tool.’

“What are you talking about?”

Listening to On Raon’s words about affinity and such nonsense, Gyun Seong-ha’s teary eyes dried up without realizing it.

As things happened, Gwak Sang-hyun, caught between the members, wiped the sweat off his brow, lamenting over the frequent looks that seemed to ask, ‘Why are you even here?’

“I feel like I’m forgetting what shame is while being with you guys.”

“You’re part of Orca too, hyung. Don’t think you can quit now.”

“That’s right. You’re one of us now.”

“You only say that at times like this.”

As a warm sense of fulfillment and emotion started to spread across Gwak Sang-hyun’s face.

“Isn’t it touching, though?”

Ban Yo-han smirked as if he understood all those feelings.

“If only Yo-han hadn’t said that, we might have felt it a bit longer.”

“Oh, Ban Yo-han was bad.”

“Yeah, bad.”

“Bad.”

“He’s bad.”

“Let’s kick out Ban Yo-han and bring in Sang-hyun hyung. I’ll even make him the leader. The privilege of being a leader is…”

“Is?”

“Nothing in particular.”

“I almost asked for it if there was something.”

“See? Being a leader is…”

Kang Ji-woo’s eyes became sentimental.

“It might not have any particular benefits, but it’s still an honorable position.”

As Kang Ji-woo rambled on, Gwak Sang-hyun, who had been scrutinizing each member’s face, smiled serenely and said, “I’ll respectfully decline the position of team leader that’s left for more than six years,” making everyone burst into laughter.

After lightening the mood, Orca was surprised at how much time had passed.

“Isn’t this too much play? We’re the youngest ones here. We shouldn’t keep doing this…”

Especially when Gyun Seong-ha felt uneasy, Kang Ji-woo solemnly shook his head.

“Uh-huh. We weren’t playing; we were having precious bonding time.”

“Right. If anyone complains about what happened earlier, I’ll fight for you.”

“Hyung, I saw you calling the manager ‘hyung, hyung’ earlier. Can you really do that?”

Gwak Sang-hyun, grumbling about when that had been seen, turned to On Raon and said.

“Anyway, you seem okay, but don’t join practice for now. Sit here, and we’ll go to the hospital after it’s over.”
“I’m really okay…”

No. Even if I’m fine, I should pretend not to be okay to make that guy feel guilty.

On Raon, who had finished his calculations while glancing at the now repulsive choreographer, shamelessly changed his words.

“Yes, I’ll rest. I don’t think I need to go to the hospital, though.”

“Are you not okay?”

Seo Moon-gyeol, who alone failed to grasp On Raon’s true intentions, asked worriedly.

“No. I’m perfectly fine, enough to feel like I could succeed if I try again what I did earlier.”

Recalling the sight of him collapsing, the members and the manager, who all shuddered, opposed in unison.

“Don’t do it!”

* * *

After Orca members, excluding On Raon, returned to practice, the cheerleading rehearsal ended about thirty minutes later.

The members who had returned to practice were asked by many people, “Is Raon okay?”

Every time the members responded that it was best to get a proper checkup at the hospital to be sure, the choreographer’s heart grew cold with anxiety.

Some people had to leave practice early due to their schedules.

Similarly, Orca, busy preparing for their comeback, followed the leader’s opinion that it wouldn’t look good to be the first to leave from their initial participation, so they stayed until the end.

“See you next time.”

“Good luck with your comeback preparations.”

“Raon, you worked hard today. Make sure to go to the hospital.”

“Yes, thank you!”

Although the ending was somewhat risky and dangerous, the incident of On Raon failing while challenging a difficult skill left a rather positive impression on those present.

Until now, people had judged On Raon based on uncertain rumors and his outstanding appearance.

Now, people could judge for themselves what kind of person On Raon was.

Because the techniques On Raon displayed, including the failed last move, were so impactful, the image of him remained in people’s minds even as they returned to their cars.

Of course, this was also thanks to his unforgettable face.

“Honestly, he made a mistake, but wasn’t he really cool earlier?”

“Yeah. It’s like… another level?”

“Didn’t he almost succeed? It felt like a 90% success to me.”

“A former trainee from True said that Orca’s Raon used to be really good back in high school, but then he hit a slump…”

“Honestly, we both know how bad True is.”

“And he seemed to have such a great personality, I totally like him.”

“Me too. He’s the type I’d like to be friends with.”

“I can totally relate to how he must have felt when something he used to be able to do wasn’t working anymore. He must have really wanted to nail it.”

“Somehow… it’s touching.”

Even though On Raon hadn’t said much besides “I’m okay” after his failure, in the entertainment industry, which thrives on image, stories about On Raon quickly spread.

They said he was called a genius during practice. That he worked hard without shirking even when given tasks he didn’t want to do. That he was polite to seniors.

As a result, On Raon’s spirit of challenge, which did not spare his body, was highly praised.

These days, the notion that it wasn’t a big deal to put one’s body on the line was slowly spreading among the younger generation.

But the reality was that not sparing one’s body and taking on challenges was still seen as an admirable virtue.

Conversely, some people felt regret.

If he was going to fail anyway, it would have been better if he had been severely injured to the point where he couldn’t even stand or lift his head.

As Ahn Hee-seop harbored such cursed thoughts out of jealousy.

“Hey, that guy had everything, didn’t he?”

Nam Jin-ho, a member of OnlyBoyz who was in the same car, smirked and broke the tense silence inside.

“He has a good face, dances well, doesn’t have to serve in the military, does well on variety shows, has good connections, and a great personality.”

Unable to ignore the irritating voice, which seemed to mock him, Ahn Hee-seop turned his head.

“So what?”

Ahn Hee-seop disliked Nam Jin-ho, who had become arrogant after starting an acting career despite having an average face during idol activities.

‘That’s why I didn’t want to be in the same car with this guy.’

On the contrary, Nam Jin-ho, who had been belittled by Ahn Hee-seop many times during idol activities, wasn’t going to miss this rare opportunity.

“Honestly, you admit it too. Whatever you did will always be compared to what he does now.”

Ahn Hee-seop, hit in the heart, spat out a curse.

“Shit, what do you know?”

“Oh, are you freaking out? Did I hit a nerve?”

“Guys, stop it. Didn’t we agree not to fight in the car?”

The manager, who had long since given up, and Gun, the youngest member of OnlyBoyz, tried to mediate as they had often done before.

Nam Jin-ho asked Gun.

“Hey, honestly, don’t you think the same?”

Faced with a transparent question, Gun couldn’t answer.

‘Honestly, that person was way better than Hee-seop hyung…’

OnlyBoyz wasn’t the only one thinking that.

“Honestly, if Raon had performed, we would’ve won first place in the cheerleading competition instantly.”

“Agreed… It’s a shame.”

“But with everything that happened, I don’t think they can force him.”

“If they still force him, wow, that’s really trashy.”

“But in the end, OnlyBoyz decided to continue this year too.”

“They’re weird too. Said they wouldn’t do it, then suddenly decided to.”

“Right. If they were going to do it from the start, I wouldn’t have wasted my time and energy rolling around out there.”

“Even though they said this year would be the last, you can see right through their real intentions, and it’s not great…”

* * *

Meanwhile, On Raon discovered something astonishing at the hospital.