Chapter 392 |
Side Story (9)
“One, two, pull! One, two, pull! Either side! Win! Go, winning team! Go, our team!”
‘They’re really fired up.’
As the match dragged on, the red ribbon marking the center of the rope gradually crept toward Yoo Jay’s team. Nam Yihwon, who had been watching Cha Woon the entire time, muttered quietly,
“He’s held out longer than expected. He’s trying hard. It’ll be over soon.”
His tone sounded as if he had already assumed Cha Woon was going to lose.
I nodded and firmly pressed the lit end of my cigarette into the ashtray, putting it out. It seemed like it was about time to head back to the judges’ table.
“That hyung really is something. He absolutely refuses to admit he can’t win with brute strength. His stubborn pride is unreal.”
“…Well, this time other people were competing alongside him, so use that as an excuse to comfort him. Don’t bruise his pride.”
The reason the two of us so naturally expected Cha Woon to lose was simple.
“Woon-hyung has gotten way too thin lately. Whenever he’s stressed, he loses weight first. Meanwhile, Yoo Jay just keeps getting bulkier. How is he supposed to win when he’s that skinny?”
“Even if he forced himself to gain weight, he still wouldn’t beat Yoo Jay.”
“That’s true.”
Up to now, Cha Woon has never beaten Yoo Jay in a contest of strength.
Not even once.
“Well, would you look at that. You’ve got a schedule tomorrow, so you made sure to hit only the places that won’t show? Real professional move, you brats.” “……” “And what are you nodding for, like you did something right? Eyes down. On your knees.”
To put it bluntly, if they fought ten times, Cha Woon would get beaten up about eight of them. The remaining two times ended in a tie, and that was only after he tried hard to claim a mental victory.
‘When it comes to verbal fights, it feels like they trade blows evenly, but once it turns physical, it’s always one-sided.’
Whenever the two of them fought to the point of bloodshed, I was usually the one breaking it up. But I was hardly someone with a flexible schedule, and there were plenty of times a fight broke out while I was away from the dorm. As the one who handled the aftermath every time, I’d say the record was generally as I described.
Saying it like this might make Cha Woon sound weak, but that’s not the case. Compared to an average person, he’s absurdly strong. But as the saying goes, ‘There’s someone flying above the one who runs‘. When you gather a bunch of strong guys in one place, a distinct hierarchy naturally emerges even among them.
‘So inside Prism, he’s nothing special…….’
You know how the ones with the nastiest mouths are often the weakest when it comes to brute force? Like how chihuahuas are the most aggressive dogs. Maybe Cha Woon is that kind of case too.
‘Actually, Jay doesn’t really look like a dongsaeng either.’
[I don’t know anything about idols, but who’s the youngest in Prism? The red-haired one?]
└ (Jay.jpeg) This guy
└ …? Sorry, but he does not look like a maknae at all.
There is a certain image the public tends to expect from a group’s maknae. A baby-faced look, a smaller build, and a personality that strictly follows age hierarchy, the kind that’s that respects and fears his hyungs.
So hearing that the maknae beat up a hyung might be a bit shocking, but well … our kid is two meters tall. He’s the one who tore a door off with his bare hands when Kang Hyukwoo locked him in the practice room. The same guy who just used brute force to push the car when it broke down.
‘To begin with, how is a guy who spends his free time playing guitar and piano supposed to stand a chance against someone who regularly goes to a gym?’
If it had been the older one beating up the younger, it would have been much easier to scold them. But … when scolding only ends up embarrassing the one who got hit, it puts me in an awkward spot. I mean, what kind of world is it where a hyung gets beaten up by his dongsaeng?
‘Jay isn’t usually that aggressive either, as long as it’s not Cha Woon.’
It was a perfect storm of a pairing. Cha Woon, who would never admit defeat even if it killed him, and Yoo Jay, who could never let Cha Woon’s provocations slide.
“…How could you beat your hyung down like this? What is he, corn?”1
In the end, after making the two of them kneel, that was all I could think to say.
“Who got beaten down? No one here got beat.” “…Alright.”
Seeing those big, mountain-like guys with their hair all messed up, their bodies blotched red and blue, sulking like that was honestly kind of funny. It was also funny seeing the older one get thoroughly beaten by the younger in such an undignified way. Still, since the people involved were taking it seriously, I couldn’t openly laugh.
So I always rubbed my face dry and put on a serious expression.
It definitely wasn’t to hide the corners of my mouth twitching.
“You … ha.”
I had no idea what I was supposed to say to Cha Woon. The words “You can never beat Yoo Jay with strength, so why do you keep picking fights?” rose all the way to my throat, but I knew I couldn’t say them. For the sake of Cha Woon’s pride.
“Do you really want to fight a kid who’s much younger than you like that …… you’re the hyung here, you should know how to be more understanding.”
Everyone in Prism knows the truth.
But for the sake of the delicate Cha Woon, no one ever says it out loud. Not even Yoo Jay.
‘Why does Yoo Jay pretend not to know? Is it that even if they fight, he doesn’t want to hurt Cha Woon’s pride?’
Anyway, just thinking about those two gave me a headache, a real headache.
Group activities really aren’t easy……
‘Right, how did it all wrap up in the end?’
“Go on, keep fighting like that, you celebrities. Huh? It’s not that I can’t show off my strength. I just choose not to.” “We can’t have me accidentally killing you, can we……”
Ah, right. I think it was settled peacefully.
As I hurriedly wiped the memory from my mind with a bright smile, Gong Seonghwa’s cheerful voice rang out.
“Three! Two! One! Match over! Solo team wins!”
“Gah, huff … cough! Haaah…….”
Unsurprisingly, the match ended with Yoo Jay’s team taking the win. The moment it was over, the Prism members swarmed into the field. They immediately started ruffling Cha Woon’s hair and patting his back as he caught his breath, all while pouring out a stream of sweet nothings to console him.
“Good job. You and Jay were pretty even, but I guess the staff team held back since the agency celebrities needed their screen time. It’s just part of office life, so you should just be generous and overlook it, hyung.”2
Nope. They pulled as if their lives depended on it.
Screen time or whatever, there’s a vacation on the line, so what office life are we talking about?
“I was watching from behind, and your team started holding back halfway through.”
They weren’t holding back. The assistant manager of the Rookie Development Team was practically lying flat on the ground.
“Hyung, your condition wasn’t great today, but you really held your ground. You’ve been looking tired since this morning. As expected of you, hyung, you’re the best!”
Cha Woon is always tired.
So a day when he’s in good condition will probably never come.
“…Is that so?”
When all the Prism members swarmed around him, soothing him almost to the point of brainwashing, Cha Woon, in a dazed state, looked around at them and then turned his head toward Jay.
“Ah, my condition’s really good today. No wonder my body’s felt so light since this morning.”
Even Yoo Jay played along with the pretense, so in the end, Cha Woon had no choice but to nod his head, still completely oblivious to the truth.
“Hmph, next time do it properly without the others. Today I let it slide for the solo team’s sake.”
“Well then, you can’t really call this a proper match.”
“But seriously, the way you held out while practically carrying the team by yourself earlier was really impressive. It must have looked so cool on camera.”
“Really?”
Prism had mastered the art of handling their sensitive and delicate second hyung.
Perhaps those guys were also partly responsible for Cha Woon’s refusal to admit defeat?
‘…What a bunch of clowns.’
“Hyung, why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
“No idea, you rascal.”
.
.
.
After that, the finals between the Pantheion team, which had advanced by winning the preliminaries, and the Solo team took place, and the team that ultimately won was Pantheion, with Lee Chise as their helper.
‘Was it a mistake to have Prism as a helper in this match?’
Somehow, it felt like the outcome of the match was determined by which Prism members were stronger. But that was probably just my imagination, right? It had to be just my imagination. Otherwise, we’d sound like grown men, old enough to know better, acting childish.
“Alright, Pantheion Team is currently taking the lead by securing a good result in this match as well. Up next is! King Dodgeball!”
Just as Gong Seonghwa was about to proceed with the next match, Seo Yuseong, who had been sleeping the whole time, finally stirred and sat up, looking tousled. His hair, already naturally curly, had become even curlier, probably from the heat of all the jackets the Prism members had left draped over him.
“You’re awake?”
I brushed his hair back naturally and greeted him, and he nodded lightly in a still half-asleep daze. Then, letting out a long yawn like a lazy cat, he buried his head against my side again.
‘He’s still not fully awake.’
Out of habit, I reached out and tapped his back in quick, rhythmic pats. That was my way of telling him to wake up immediately.
“You came all the way here, so it’d be a shame if you didn’t show your face on camera at least once.”
Then Seo Yuseong, with a completely disinterested expression, cast a glance at the Prism members fooling around in the stadium before turning his gaze back to me. His eyes seemed to ask, what on earth are those fools even doing over there?
“The Prism guys are too huge, so we’re assigning one to each team. You’re in too. You missed out on all the previous games, after all.”
“…….”
“Stop making that super obvious ‘I don’t want to’ face. Dodgeball isn’t that hard. Jo Inchan is going to participate too, since this game doesn’t really require much use of the knees. You guys should enjoy the Sports Day event as well.”
When I spoke to him in that coaxing way, Seo Yuseong squinted his eyes and frowned, like a cat irritated by an itch. His expression clearly showed he was dying of annoyance and didn’t understand at all why he had to do it, but since I was the one telling him, he couldn’t say no and was just putting up with it.
“Okay, go.”
After giving Seo Yuseong a gentle pat on the butt to send him off and high-fiving Jo Inchan, the dodgeball game finally began. Seo Yuseong was chosen as the helper for the Staff Team, and Jo Inchan for the Pantheion Team, and both were stationed in the outfield.
Beep!
“With an attack from Jo Inchan sunbaenim, the Assistant Manager from the Rookie Development Team is out!”
“Inchan-hyung is the best!”
Jo Inchan seemed to adjust his play so as not to influence the game’s outcome too much. It was like he wouldn’t hit anyone unless a teammate passed him the ball at the perfect timing to create a decisive chance.
As for Seo Yuseong … the ball rarely came his way.
Since Seo Yuseong hardly interacted with anyone, even people from his own company treated him like a mythical creature. There was no way his teammates could treat him comfortably.
‘This is serious.‘
Just as I was deeply realizing my younger sibling’s severe lack of social skills, the ball was finally passed to Seo Yuseong, who was right behind Do Yuda.
“Whoa! It’s a chance ball!”
Do Yuda, too close to even think about running away, curled up and screamed like a chicken.
“Aaaah! Kyaaaah!”
If you only listened to his screams, you’d think Seo Yuseong was standing there with a baseball bat, not a dodgeball.
Seo Yuseong watched him expressionlessly and then, simply fulfilling his role, he prepared to strike the ball.
At that moment, someone threw themselves dramatically in front of Do Yuda to block the way.
“…Zen!”
“Yu-chan, it’s too early to give up. Together in times of crisis, that’s what friendship is.”
Do Yuda, clearly moved, covered his mouth and looked up at Nagi Zen. Nagi Zen nodded, his face shaded in deep shadows.
“Where the two of us stand, that’s the starting line Clench your fists tight, and let’s go move forward”
Of all things, the song that happened to be playing now was a track the two of them had released in Japan, featuring majestic guitar sounds that spread beautifully. I remembered helping them with the arrangement because they told me they were preparing it as an opening for a sports anime.
“Strangely, when you’re here with me There’s nothing to fear at all (Me too!) You give me courage, My friend (Let’s go!)”
‘That’s killer timing.’
“With the power of friendship, we can conquer everything.”
It was like a scene straight out of a youth drama.
Against that backdrop, Seo Yuseong, involuntarily placed in this situation, stared at me with eyes that clearly asked, ‘What should I do with these guys?‘
‘What do you mean, what should you do? It’s a match, so you shouldn’t show them any mercy.’
When I made a slicing gesture across my neck, Seo Yuseong, with movement that looked utterly lacking in motivation, sluggishly threw the ball.
Thud, thud, tick, roll…….
The ball Seo Yuseong threw without any sincerity, as if tossing feed to a koi, landed with a weak thud after hitting both Do Yuda and Nagi Zen’s arms.
Of course, it was bound to happen.
Dodgeball is a sport where sticking together leads to disaster.
“…….”
“…….”
A hush fell over the scene.
Beep! Biiiiip!
Breaking that silence, I, who was observing the game as the referee, blew the whistle twice without mercy. Immediately, Gong Seonghwa shouted in a voice brimming with fighting spirit,
“Do Yuda, Nagi Zen, you’re out! Ooouuuut!”
At that, two bananas collapsed to the ground.
“Waaaaah.”
“Defeated.”
Somebody, please tell me those fools are not actually that hopeless.
Please……
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Translator’s Corner:
- Corn (옥수수) here might be chosen because corn is commonly used as figurative expression in 옥수수 털리다 (literally means “to have one’s corn knocked off), it means losing teeth from getting hit in a fight. Since corn kernels look vaguely similar to teeth, the expression came about that way. ↩︎
- Actually, if you read the previous chapter, Jay’s team is staff team, and Cha Woon’s team is solo team, and Jay’s team won. But I think the author mistook it and swapped them…..
And since it seems the author accidentally wrote the following dialogue as if Cha Woon’s losing team is the staff team, and Jay’s winning team is the solo artist team … I decided to just translate the previous chapter as it is to match even the original’s mistake, but I tweaked the translation for this one, so sorry if it looks weird. ↩︎
This chapter is my favorite in this sports day arc because it’s just comedy gold … it’s crazy how solid the characters are because every actions just made sense … like you see Yuda and Zen and Yuseong, and you just, yeah … that’s 100% happening