ID Chapter 25

A busy day continued. In the morning, they finished a Sand Singing Stage and did a live radio broadcast. In the afternoon, an entertainment show recording was scheduled.

was a show where they played tag and various game competitions with six MCs. Fortunately, it wasn’t held outdoors, but in a museum building. As soon as we arrived, the main MC, a respected senior, saw me and asked, “Ira, have you eaten?”

“Ira, eat.”

“Let’s eat, Ira.”

“Hey, just eat.”

“Hyung, please eat.”

These were the words I’d heard most often these past few days. From celebrities and staff at the broadcast station,

“Mr. Ira, have you had your meal?”

Even in family group chats and friends’ group chats,

[Make Ira eat something already!!]

Everyone was putting a lot of pressure on me. Even Min, who had ended our last call awkwardly, sent a text saying [Eat your food]. Am I really that skinny? I don’t really know. No, of course I admit I’m skinny, but my health is perfectly fine, everyone’s just overly worried. My head even hurts from trying to find excuses to avoid the lunch boxes fans give us in front of the members.

While changing clothes and waiting, my phone rang.

Kwon Su-han [You said you have an entertainment show recording today]

Kwon Su-han [Do well. Don’t get hurt]

[Yesssss]

[Are my health check-up results not out yet?]

Kwon Su-han [Not yet]

Kwon Su-han [Let’s eat curry next time]

Kwon Su-han [(Photo)]

Ahahaha..

He just sent one picture of curry, but why did it make me laugh? I filled a whole page with ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋ’.

The recording began. Tug-of-war on ice was the first game.

“No Aura usage~ Jae-yi and Yadan, don’t use your Aura~!”

“Seniors, you shouldn’t use Aura either!!”

“Oh, how dare you underestimate us. Let’s play fair and square~~!!”

On the seniors’ side, there was a B-class Motioner who was a former Aura sports player, and on our side, we had an S-class Motioner and a C-class Motioner. If it were an Aura battle, Jae-yi alone from our side could win it all, but since it’s a non-Aura competition…

“Whoa…”

“Be careful.”

It was hard to keep balance on the ice. Jae-yi caught me when I stumbled and almost fell. Jae-yi seemed uneasy, gripping my waist firmly and not letting go. I naturally glanced at Mun Hyung, but he didn’t seem to mind. He was only thinking about the game.

“Ah, but the Match Run team has six members and we have five. We’re at a disadvantage, aren’t we??”

“One of us is a woman, come on~~~”

“We also have Ira, you know??”

Huh. What’s he saying?

While I was dumbfounded, Han-sae lifted my wrist.

“Look at his wrist. It’s so flimsy. Like a piece of paper.”

“Hey, I have some guts too!”

“Well, that’s true. Our Cheong-ha and Ira probably weigh about the same.”

“I do have some strength…!”

I was worried that comparing me to a woman might hurt her feelings, but truth be told, I probably looked smaller on the outside…

“Then let’s do this. It’ll be 4 vs 4, and if we lose, Cheong-ha does a spontaneous dance, and if Endorphin loses, Ira does a spontaneous dance. How about that?”

Ugh… A spontaneous dance on ice? Does that even make sense??

“Oh, good. Deal, deal!”

“Ira doing a spontaneous dance, giggles. I’m totally in favor.”

The members betrayed me and agreed. Regardless of senior Cheong-ha’s and my opinions, the penalty was decided just like that.

“Oppas, if you lose on purpose, you’re dead to me.”

I also followed the senior’s lead and said to the members with blazing eyes.

“You guys… if you lose on purpose, you’re dead…”

“Kukupu hahahaha. Look at this brat, clenching his molars.”

“Cute. Ahahaha.”

I was seriously panicking, but the members laughed with carefree expressions. Especially Jae-yi, whom I trusted,

“Should I lose on purpose for this…”

he was muttering. Even then, Jae-yi’s hand was still on my waist. I grabbed Jae-yi’s firm forearm, feeling like I was clutching at a straw.

“You know, Jae-yi… I can’t dance…”

“Wow, look at Ira acting cute with Jae-yi.”

“Jae-yi-yaaam…”

“…I get it, stop being so cute.”

When I looked up and blinked, Jae-yi covered my face with his large hand. The members barked and told him not to fall for it, but he didn’t seem to hear them.

With his ears flushed red, Jae-yi joined the tug-of-war, led the team to victory, and returned. Watching senior Cheong-ha’s spontaneous dance, I thought that I would have to repay Jae-yi for this favor for the rest of my life.

The second game was a singing competition, which seemed to be a consideration for me since I’m not good at games. We had to pick two balls from 20 balls numbered 0-9, and the two-digit number formed had to match the karaoke machine score. The team with the smallest margin of error after three songs would win.

The Match Run seniors’ first song drew 39 points and scored 45 points. Only a 6-point difference… Honestly, I was surprised.

“Hey, let’s just pick unconditionally high numbers. Pick 99, 99. Or maybe pick 01 so we don’t have to sing at all?”

“Let the lucky person pick. Who’s lucky?”

Definitely not me.

“Well, Ira’s definitely not it.”

“How about Yadan picks? Since he’s the maknae.”

I said, hoping Yadan would get even one second of screen time.

“Yadan, go go!”

It was decided immediately. Yadan picked the balls with a determined expression, and 4 and 3 came out. 43 points…. How do we match that? We held a serious strategy meeting.

“How about Ira sings one key lower?”

“Hyung, let’s sing together. All of us.”

“No, isn’t it not that hard to deliberately sing badly? I’ve acted like a tone-deaf person before.”

Mun Hyung volunteered. He sang a famous dance song and surprisingly got 30 points..! He really sounded tone-deaf. But either way, we were losing.

The Match Run seniors’ second song score: they needed to get 72 points but got 90 points. It seemed like they intentionally created a score difference.

Yadan also picked the second ball. 0, 9… 9 points… We had to get 9 points.

“This can’t even be covered by acting tone-deaf. What should we do?”

“Hyungs, I’m sorry…”

“No. Ira, you sing it.”

“Me?!”

“Yeah. With this song, you should be able to get 9 points.”

And the song Mun Hyung entered was a track made up 100% of rap… a song I didn’t even know the lyrics to…

I grabbed the microphone and stammered over the rapidly scrolling lyrics before giving up. The members, seniors, and even the staff all burst into laughter. If the score had been good, or rather, if it hadn’t been so bad, I wouldn’t have felt so unfair. It only came out to 29 points. The seniors probably wanted to create a more even situation, but they seemed satisfied with the very entertaining scene they got.

For the third song, the seniors drew 44 points and got 98 points. The senior, who was a singer, sang incredibly well.

We gathered in a circle with the ball bag in the center. The members were so big that I was in their shadow.

“Hey, we can turn this around. Just pick a good ball.”

“Do I pick this time too?”

“I’ll pick. I want to try picking too.”

Han-sae quickly plunged his hand into the ball bag. The first ball was 0, and the second ball was 0… Two zeros meant 100 points.

“Ooooh, jackpot!!”

“Alright…! I’m the best, as expected. Hahaha.”

Watching the cheering members, my stomach began to ache from the pressure.

“Oh, lucky you~ Endorphin is lucky.”

“We’ll just have to enjoy the show then.”

“We like this too. It’s like getting to hear Ira sing a song for free~”

“Oh, we’re all going to sing it together, aren’t we?? Not a solo, but all together.”

“Only one person can sing the last song.”

“That wasn’t a rule!”

“It just appeared~~~”

I frantically insisted on a group performance, but it was no use. Hahaha. The seniors burst into loud laughter. Even if it was a solo, that one person might not be me…

“Ira, hwaiting!”

However, the members had already decided it would be me, and a few staff members even cleared away the other microphone stands.

Haah… I moistened my lips from nervousness. My throat wasn’t in good condition, possibly due to the Sand Singing Stage. Jae-yi noticed this and quickly borrowed a bottle of water from a staff member.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t feel pressured. Just sing. We win if you get 52 points or more.”

Jae-yi said lightly, stroking my head. I gave a bitter smile. I knew the score didn’t matter. Endorphin’s fans would be furious if I didn’t get 100 points here. If the main vocalist, who replaced Go Yu-jin, couldn’t get 100 points on a karaoke machine like this…

Hearing the tip that upbeat, jumping songs get better scores than calm ones, I chose an exciting song with high notes. The seniors sat neatly opposite me, declaring it “appreciation time.” The members followed suit, huddling together. I calmed my pounding heart and grasped the microphone.

Now, I no longer feel excited when I sing. Even though it’s a rare chance to sing a full song alone, I only feel fear and difficulty. The memories of being excited are so distant it’s as if those days never existed.

The song ended. It was a song with many belting parts, and my throat wasn’t good, so it was disastrous. I sighed and wiped away the cold sweat with my sleeve. Jae-yi had already approached me and patted my cheek, saying, “You did well.” Now we had to see the score, but the seniors remained seated. For some reason, the dazed main MC senior only seemed to come to his senses and shot up when our eyes met.

“Wow, haha, this is my first time hearing Ira sing – I mean, in person – it’s no joke. It genuinely feels like I briefly visited another world.”

“Those high notes… woah. They’d pierce the ceiling. If the ceiling were open, they’d pierce the sky.”

“You’re too good, even when you’re good. And why is it so sad? This is an exciting song about playing all night, is it supposed to be this sad?”

“It’s exciting but sad. How do you sing like that?”

“Our Ira is really something, isn’t he? Hehe.”

“No, I really didn’t sing well. I made a lot of mistakes…”

I was so embarrassed I couldn’t even lift my head.

The score was 100 points. It seemed to be thanks to the high notes not dropping in pitch. Although we won this round, thinking about getting criticized again for my singing made me uneasy.

“What should I do? I keep thinking about it and can’t proceed.”

As they tried to proceed with the next game, the seniors seemed to be still dazed, fumbling their words. They were like glitching characters. In the end, they decided to take a short break.

“You sing so well. What are we going to do? We all almost cried. And it was an exciting song.”

“I can see why Ira is so popular now.”

“I’ve totally become a fan!”

Senior Cheong-ha clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling brightly.

“His body is so small… but seeing him hold the microphone stand, which is almost as tall as him, tightly with both hands and singing passionately with his eyes closed, somehow… it stimulates something within me, you could say…”

“Oh, Senior. I’m embarrassed. I really didn’t sing well.”

“Ah, I know what you mean, noona. That’s exactly what the fans mean by Ira’s charm point. Now you’re a Radeogi too, noona. Hahaha.”

“A Radeogi??”

“Ira’s fans are called Radeogi. An Ira fan/enthusiast.”

“Then I’m a Radeogi now too. You guys are so lucky. Getting to hear him every day. Jae-yi, how can you not fall for such a wonderful guy when he’s right next to you?”

Jae-yi then grinned.

“Of course, I fall for him every day.”

My face turned red, then blue. What am I supposed to do if this guy who came out doesn’t hold back with his jokes…?

I glanced at Mun Hyung, and surprisingly, he was smiling. Senior Cheong-ha also chuckled as if she’d heard a funny joke.

“Can you take a picture for me? To celebrate the increase in Radeogis.”

When Senior Cheong-ha pulled out her personal phone, the other seniors chimed in, asking to join. In the end, even the members took a group photo. Afterwards, I had to keep taking pictures with the staff and listen to their compliments. Feeling extremely embarrassed, I excused myself by saying I was going to the restroom.

I lowered the toilet lid and sat on it. Since I’d heard I was a national punching bag from the start of joining, and had so many anti-fans, the seniors must have known that Endorphin fans disliked me, but they didn’t show it at all. I was impressed, thinking, ‘Professionals really are different.’ I need to become like that too. An idol singer who doesn’t show their struggles and always does their job.

Plip-plop.

Uh… I blinked. Droplets of water splattered onto my thighs.

Why am I crying?

There was absolutely no reason to cry, so I was bewildered by the sudden outburst of tears. I wiped away the continuous stream of tears with my fingers. My heart pounded anxiously.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and once I had calmed down somewhat, I carefully left the stall. In the mirror stood a pale boy with reddened eyes. It was a relief that it didn’t look like I had been crying. Instead, I chuckled. Why did I cry, really? Why so out of the blue? It’s truly ridiculous.

The next game was tag dodgeball. The winning team was the one that threw five or more small, light balls with Velcro attached to them at the opposing team while moving around the museum building. I put on a Velcro vest and tied my shoelaces tightly. I shouldn’t be the first one out…!

Since the main MC senior loved games so much, we decided who would attack through a mini-game. It was dodgeball. For this too, I just thought, ‘I shouldn’t be the first one out…!’ But Jae-yi moved me to the center spot before the game started and whispered.

“You just stay put.”

So I really did stay still in the center, and I survived until the end with Jae-yi. Jae-yi just caught all the balls without dodging anything… Our team ended up winning and chose to defend. Everyone wanted to attack, but the writer wanted a scene where Endorphin was being chased and running away… I wondered what the point of the mini-game was then.

The VJ assigned to me was a young-looking staff member. I joked to the staff member that they would have an easy day today. I hoped my airtime would be short, but if I slacked off and got out early, I’d get criticized for that too, so I planned to do my best.

In the beginning, I got separated from the members and was wandering alone when I found a mission item. It was stuck upside down under a chair.

“Wow! Is this it? I found it on the first try? Amazing!”

I boasted to the VJ. They just smiled contentedly and didn’t answer.

Having found the mission item, it was now time to find the members. I went out into the 4th-floor hallway, and then,

“Aaaaaaah!!”

I heard a scream, and Han-sae came running from one end of the hallway to the other. He had two balls stuck on him. I thought he was a zombie. I immediately turned around and went down the right staircase.

“Stop right there!! Han-sae, I’m going to stick five balls on you.”

“Ah, hyung. Why are you only like that to me~~~ Squeak.”

I pretended not to hear Han-sae’s pathetic scream…

I walked out into the 3rd-floor hallway cautiously, when suddenly the front door opened and a camera staff member came out.

“Oh, you startled me. Is anyone in there…?”

“It’s Ira!”

A senior member was inside. I immediately ran, but a ball got stuck on me.

“Gasp, gasp…”

After running and being chased several times, I somehow ended up with four balls stuck on me. Oh, I’m tired… I hid in a storage room, catching my breath.

“Are you alright, Ira?”

“Yes, I’m fine… Your camera is heavy, isn’t it?”

“It’s not heavy. If you’re too tired, just stay hidden.”

“No. I’ll just catch my breath and go out…”

The VJ is amazing. They don’t look tired at all, even running with the camera.

“If one more gets stuck on me, am I eliminated?”

“…I can’t explain the rules.”

“Okay…”

I left the storage room. As soon as I exited, I spotted a senior about 10 meters ahead.

“Gasp!!”

“It’s Ira!”

The senior’s thrown ball missed, and I ran without looking back. Just then, a strong hand snatched my waist from behind.

“…Jae-yi?”

“You’ve got a lot of balls stuck on you.”

“Hey, Min-jung hyung is over there…!”

“Oh, I know. Get on my back. Let’s run.”

“Get on your back, he says… Ugh.”

Before I knew what was happening, I was on Jae-yi’s back, and Jae-yi carried me up the stairs. When we arrived on the 5th floor, my expression was completely dazed. The VJs were chuckling.

“You’re too light. You have no weight.”

“Hey… it’s because you’re too strong, you know?”

“Well… that’s not wrong either.”

I glared at Jae-yi, then discovered a terrifying truth.

“You don’t have a single ball stuck on you?? How is that possible??”

“I just dodged them.”

“You can just dodge them…?”

“I could.”

I reminded myself once again that this guy shrugging his shoulders was a Motioner.

Jae-yi and I decided to stick together. We ran into some seniors in the middle, and Jae-yi blocked me, getting hit by a ball himself. We ran away again and encountered Yadan and Mun hyung, but as soon as we talked about where Han-sae was, an announcement came that Han-sae was eliminated, and we all burst out laughing.

I showed the mission item to the members.

“If we have this, we’ve won, right? I found it!”

“Oh, well done. It says ③ here.”

“We just need to find two more.”

Mun hyung casually opened the center of the round mission item. I didn’t even know it could open.

Yadan and Mun hyung formed one team, and Jae-yi and I formed another, and we set out to find them. Even though I wasn’t good at games, perhaps I had good observational skills, as I found one more.

As we went down to the 2nd floor, which I hadn’t been to yet, we ran into two seniors, but Jae-yi blocked me, so I wasn’t eliminated. I ran like an arrow, utterly exhausted and unable to move anymore, so Jae-yi quickly picked me up and set me down on the 2nd floor.

“Wow… this is really tough. How do the seniors do this every week?”

“Doesn’t it occur to you that you have no stamina?”

“You punk…”

Just as we were bickering, an announcement rang out that Mun hyung and Yadan were eliminated. I blinked and looked up at Jae-yi.

“We’re going to lose at this rate. Let’s find one quickly.”

Despite his words, Jae-yi seemed very relaxed. I had four balls stuck on me, Jae-yi had three, and only one mission item remained, making it a tense situation for both sides.

Due to time constraints, we split up to search, and in the process, I ran into three seniors, got showered with balls, and was eliminated.

“Ira, good job. You survived a long time with four balls.”

“Yes. Please take it easy, seniors.”

When I went down to the 1st-floor lobby, Mun hyung, Yadan, and Han-sae were sitting on the sofa eating ice cream.

“You lasted longer than I thought.”

“He must have really tried hard. Look at his hair. Hahaha.”

“All three of you look really comfortable?? What’s with the ice cream too? I should’ve just gotten out quickly.”

I grumbled and looked at my VJ.

“Can I see your camera? Does my hair look weird?”

“No, it’s cute.”

“Aww, it must be weird then. Is it all messy?”

“It’s cute, though.”

“Oh, it’s super weird. Pffth. Come here. Hyung will fix it for you.”

Thinking it would get even worse in Han-sae’s hands, I entrusted my hair to the reliable Yadan. Yadan awkwardly fixed my hair with his large hands.

Thump, as I sat on the sofa, a groan escaped me. It was hard to manage my expressions since the camera was recording my every move. Just as I was wondering when it would end… the game finally finished.

Jae-yi found the mission item, and we received Aura Gems as prizes. They said they would be delivered to the company next week. After taking a group photo, we were once again praised for our karaoke earlier. I also received advice to gain some weight. None of the members sided with me.

Jae-yi, standing next to me with his arms crossed, even chimed in, “Please say more. He doesn’t listen to us.”