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Chapter 87: Debut (10)

In the mere five minutes of my absence, the game\'s landscape had shifted dramatically. Park Yoon-Chan, previously an expert in hiding, was now out, while Goh Yoo-Joon and Jang Seok had also fallen victim to Goh Seong-Cheol\'s cunning tactics. This left just Goh Seong-Cheol and me in the game, setting the stage for a dramatic showdown and providing the perfect opportunity for my revenge.

Surveying the vast expanse of the game area, I spoke aloud, “It\'s so hard to find people because the place is too wide."

Despite my words, a gut feeling told me that Goh Seong-Cheol was lurking close by. His strategy was clear to me: hide, watch, and pounce at the opportune moment. Knowing this, I saw no reason to wander and split my focus.

I chose to sit on a chair against a wall on the first floor and scanned the surroundings. Waiting here seemed like a smarter play to bait Goh Seong-Cheol into making a move.

- I\'m curious about something.

“Yes?" I responded, slightly startled.

The cameraman, who had been a silent observer all day, suddenly asked a question.

- What if Seong-Cheol tries to ambush you again, offering to spare you in exchange for a meal together?

I chuckled lightly before answering, “I\'d probably refuse."

- Any particular reason?"

“Not really. It\'s more about the lack of proper interaction between us. Plus, it\'s tough to arrange meetups as I don\'t have a personal phone yet. However, I do appreciate his gesture.”

In my mind, Goh Seong-Cheol was a ticking time bomb—unpredictable and bound to explode eventually. The polished public persona he presented on Flying Man stood in stark contrast to the messy reality of his private life.

The known incidents—such as excessively close interactions with fans or involvement in money extortion—were just scratching the surface. These issues had dealt a substantial blow to the reputations of many celebrities associated with him and Flying Man, forcing them to take extended hiatuses.

I knew the risks. Even a polite response like “Ah, but if the senior calls, I should go" could land me in hot water when his scandal erupted. For me, it was much better to be perceived as disrespectful on air than to be associated with his controversies.

Just then, the sound of footsteps caught my attention. They were close, yet no one was in sight, so I froze, my senses heightened. It had to be Goh Seong-Cheol, who was watching me from his hidden vantage point.

I sprang to my feet in an instant, my eyes darting around. Sensing my alertness, Goh Seong-Cheol burst from behind a pillar, targeting my head. With swift agility, I evaded his grasp and promptly assessed him for his item. True to my suspicion, it was concealed beneath his jacket—suspenders.

‘Suspenders? That\'s a tough one.’

“Hyun-Woo, it\'s time for you to rejoin the other members," Goh Seong-Cheol said, eyeing me.

“But Senior, I still have one more revival ticket," I countered, catching him off guard.

“Ah! You haven\'t used it yet? Damn!" he cursed.

“Senior, those suspenders give you too much of an edge!" I exclaimed, seizing the moment to grab and rip his suspenders. I managed to tear the front part with a considerable amount of force, leaving only one clip attached at the back.

As Goh Seong-Cheol tried to reach for my pin again, I deftly covered it with my palm and circled to his back. It felt like a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match. After a tense struggle, I finally succeeded in tearing off his suspenders.

- Goh Seong-Cheol eliminated. Goh Seong-Cheol is out. The final winner, Suh Hyun-Woo!

I was exhausted, so I collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

However, it was all worth it! I won!

“Ah, rookies are really scary these days," Goh Seong-Cheol grumbled as he got up. The other eliminated cast members soon swarmed around me, sprawled on the floor.

“We\'ve decided to form a group in prison. It’s called ‘the ones who got betrayed by Suh Hyun-Woo,’” Ji-Hyuk explained, eliciting a hearty laugh from Yoo Il-Seok, who playfully thumped Woo-Seok\'s back.

“Woo-Seok, you might need to step up your game. Your title as the ‘\'Icon of Betrayal” seems to be in danger now. Hyun-Woo was simply outstanding. It\'s like we\'ve unearthed a hidden gem for variety shows."

“Thank you," I replied, feeling a mix of pride and modesty. With Yoo Il-Seok\'s assistance, I rose to my feet.

- We\'ve reached the finale of all Flying Man games. Good job, everyone. And now, the grand prize awaits our winner, Hyun-Woo.

Director Han Bu-Joon extended a box toward me.

“It\'s quite a rare sight, isn\'t it? It’s seldom for a guest to win.”

“Hyun-Woo really is something else.” I carefully lifted the lid of the box, revealing its contents amid a backdrop of compliments that carried a subtle, backhanded tone.

“...Is this actually made of gold?" Nestled inside was a golden turtle, just a tad smaller than my palm.

- Of course. It\'s genuine gold.

“Why can\'t we have such awesome prizes in the games between regular members!?"

“Looks like the Chronos team is going to party hard tonight."

- Well done, everyone. Now, Il-Seok, please wrap this up with your closing remarks.

“...Bu-Joon, make a note of my complaint! Anyway, dear viewers! Flying Man will be back again next week! Thank you!" With Yoo Il-Seok\'s sign-off, the filming for Flying Man wrapped up. I then passed the box containing the golden turtle to the Chronos members who huddled around in excitement.

“How much is this even worth? It\'s crazy!"

“Let\'s place it in the drawer of our dorm and then trade it for a beef party later on."

“Beef party, really?" Amidst the excited chatter of the youngest member and Goh Yoo-Joon, I and Joo-Han bade farewells with the rest of the cast.

“Thanks for looking out for me. Your support made the shooting a breeze," I said.

Yoo Il-Seok responded with a gratified smile. “I\'m happy to hear that. Chronos is a rookie group, yet you\'ve outdone yourself, and I mean it. Let\'s keep in touch."

“Definitely! Thank you so much!"

As I was chatting casually with Yoo Il-Seok, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Yoo Il-Seok then glanced at the person and gracefully excused himself with a polite goodbye.

“That was quite a performance at the end, Hyun-Woo." It was Goh Seong-Cheol.

I respectfully bowed in response. “Thank you, Senior."

“Now that we\'re done shooting, how about we exchange numbers? Drop by my shoe store sometime. I\'ll take you to a nice place nearby. Do you drink?"

“Ah... no, Senior. I\'m underaged."

“Really? Still a minor, huh? Well, feel free to just hang out then." Goh Seong-Cheol extended his phone toward me.

I gently shook my head again with a sorry look. “I\'m really sorry, but as I just debuted, I don’t have a phone yet."

“Ah..." Disappointment flashed across Goh Seong-Cheol\'s face as he pocketed his phone and walked away. His reputation for wanting to mingle with young, popular idols seemed to be true, given his continuous efforts despite my obvious unease.

“You handled that well, Hyun-Woo. It’s best to maintain a distance from Goh Seong-Cheol," Ji-Hyuk advised as he passed by me to rejoin the High Tension members. Clearly, he was aware of Goh Seong-Cheol’s reputation as well.

“Chronos, let\'s head to the car!" After bidding farewell to the crew and cast, we climbed into the car. Exhausted from the day\'s activities, I fell asleep as soon as I got into the car seat.

***

Before the shoot, I had posted a photo from a rest stop on BlueBird

, with the caption “Where do you think we are heading?” This ignited fan speculation about our schedule.

Director Han Bu-Joon was delighted with the fun-filled shoot, and I was itching to share it. However, to my frustration, the broadcast would only air two weeks later, so we could only be patient. Thankfully, it would air before the end of our debut schedule, providing a boost for "Parade."

As a new idol group in its debut week, we were still adapting to the hectic schedule of hopping from one broadcast station to another. However, the unwavering support from our fans—the Rings, who followed and cheered for us at every venue—turned each performance into a dream-like experience.

“Seriously? High Tension gets to perform two songs, and here we are!" Our manager was endlessly grumbling about the music show at KEW Broadcasting Station, which only allowed us to perform our title track, unlike other stations.

High Tension was under a major label, while we remained a mid-tier idol group despite our rising popularity. True, we lacked the same level of influence, but it seemed that our manager had forgotten the fact that our agency, YMM, wasn\'t exactly a titan in the entertainment world. This whole scenario felt eerily similar to the early days of Allure, not that it was anything to fret over.

“Chronos is a nominee for first place even though it’s your first time showing up in the music show! With this level of buzz, shouldn\'t they be investing more in us?" Our manager\'s frustration was obvious.

Joo-Han, who had been quietly listening, finally couldn\'t hold back anymore. Removing his earphones, he interjected, “It\'s not just about being a nominee. It seems we need to actually snag first place to get the privilege of performing two songs. High Tension is the first place right now."

On our way to KEW Broadcasting Station for Music Case\'s pre-recording, our focus was more on delivering one stellar performance rather than performing more songs. Realistically, we understood that KEW probably didn\'t want to allocate as much airtime, considering we prioritized UNET’s schedule first and showed up in Music Case a week after releasing our song. It wasn’t surprising that they limited us to a single track, and I couldn’t blame them for it.

“But oppa, did you hear that?" In the midst of preparing for our stage looks, our stylist leaned in to chat with the manager.

“What\'s up?" he asked.

“About the closure and complete disappearance of River Topside, the most famous Homepage Master[1]

“Ah, the well-known one? Makes sense. She halted her activities because of that scandal, and River\'s been in a downfall ever since."

“Maybe she likes someone else now? You know, she was an Allure Homepage Master before switching to River and gaining fame as Topside.”

Our manager chuckled in disbelief. “Yoo-Jin really is something else. Most fans change their nicknames when they switch idols, but she\'s stuck with the same one through and through."

“She\'s quite a celebrity in her own right. Even if she changes her nickname, she\'s too prominent to go unnoticed. I\'m curious about the group she\'s rooting for now. Lucky them.”

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Lee Jin-Sung pulled out his earphones to join in. “Who is this person we\'re talking about?"

“Well, there\'s this legendary Homepage Master in the idol world. She started as an Allure fan, known to us, and then a few years back, she shifted her favoritism to River and became a top-tier Homepage Master.”

Our manager couldn\'t help but express his awe. “The amazing part is, River was barely scraping by as a second-tier group back then. But Yoo-Jin, with her Homepage Master prowess, propelled them to the top tier."

“Really? Isn\'t that a bit of an exaggeration? How can a Homepage Master shoot a group to stardom?" Lee Jin-Sung questioned, feeling it to be incredulous. However, it was a fact. Hong Yoo-Jin, River\'s Homepage Master, was so renowned that even I, a former trainer, knew of her.

Armed with a colossal camera, a booming voice perfect for capturing the target’s right angles, exceptional photo editing skills, and unmatched fan-cam shooting prowess, not to mention her ability to rally fans, she was always a formidable presence in the fan base. Despite being known for shifting her loyalty from Allure to River, she was a steadfast supporter who zealously backed River for around four years, until they fell off the radar following a scandal.

Yoo-Jin was famous for transforming River, a once-obscure mid-tier idol group, into a top-tier sensation with her photos and fan-cams. Notably, her most beloved member\'s popularity had skyrocketed to the extent that he even tried his luck in Hollywood—though that venture flopped.

“Anyway, it looks like this famous fan is hinting at a comeback.” The stylists were buzzing because her account went active post Pick We Up’s broadcast season. “We are having hope that she would be fangirling over a group in the show.”

Whoever had caught her eye was indeed fortunate. Back in her Allure days, her favorite member, Tucan, even landed a gig hosting a music show because of her. I didn\'t know which group or member it was this time, but they were certainly in for a stroke of good fortune.

1. The operator of a website created for celebrities or athletes. ?