[ Park Moondae's POV ]
The first episode aired, finally.
The general public opinion of me was pretty good.
However, the character the producers edited me to be was soulless. Those bastards really emphasized the curtness of my answers and the lack of facial expressions when I danced.
Somehow, people found that to be cute. They dubbed me as someone who puts in their all despite the odds.
I guess choosing a song like <POPCON> was a good choice.
I scratched my cheek, embarrassed that I was accepting this.
The only problem was that there was almost no middle ground in opinions: people either thought I was cute or an attention-seeker.
A negative image that has already been created is unavoidable, but this could also be used as an advantage if done correctly.
There's just something I need to do, which is going against the expectations of the producers so they can't edit me only as an apathetic character. For example, what would happen if a seemingly antisocial contestant turned out to be quite friendly? There's a high chance that viewers will be more charmed by the new side of me.
The only issue I have right now is the fact that others were poking fun at me.
"Moondae, moondae!" Sejin grinned.
"Moondae, moondae!" Ha Iljoon also called out.
As soon as I gave them my attention, they both struck <POPCON> poses in an overly cutesy manner.
I wanted to disappear.
"What are you guys doing...?" I asked bluntly.
Snickering, Keun Sejin remarked, "We're welcoming the hero of the first episode, Park Moondae! You're already so popular. Everyone loves you!"
"You've got both the humor and skills down!" Gold 1 chirped in.
As the two continued to make fun of me, I saw Seungmin enter the conference room and swiftly walked over.
"Ah!" Sejin exclaimed, pointing to me, "Don't hide behind your dongsaeng*!"
*a person younger than you. you only really call this to people you're close to
Seungmin, confused with the sudden bombardment, did his typical head tilt. But his hair was a little messy and his eyes were darker than usual.
I decided to check his status page just in case.
[ Name: Cho Seungmin ]
Vocal: ? (Rapping: ?)
Dance: ?
Visual: B+
Charm: ?
Characteristics: On the spot! (active)
!Status abnormality: Sealed truths & Debut or die!
Animosity progress: 43%
"...!"
He wasn't in a good mood at all. His animosity was already almost halfway through, and his visual stat was revealed, meaning he felt under pressure to look normal.
"Come on, Min, don't tell me you don't know how iconic Moondae is on the internet right now?" Sejin asked while heaving his shoulders, oblivious to how frustrated Seungmin was internally.
"...I don't have social media," the younger boy answered. He rubbed his eye tiredly.
"Oh, I forgot you only have a few apps on your phone," Sejin murmured. "Well- oh, hi Ahyun!"
Right as Ahyun trotted toward us, the MC went up on the stage.
"Hello everyone! I'm sure most of you know what we'll be doing today..."
"Self-introduction!" some shouted.
"PR streaming!"
The MC laughed and continued, "That's correct. At 8 PM today, through the global Wetube channel, you'll be meeting your shareholders for the first time ever."
He then grinned mischievously.
"But there's a catch here! I'll be giving you an additional mission...product placement! Each of you will be advertising products by T1 while doing the stream."
I sighed to myself.
"So in other words, they want us to advertise their stuff for free."
Beside me, Seungmin tapped his head against mine. The punk was really tired. His head was bobbing up and down and didn't even realize he hit me.
I shook him awake as the MC explained how the collab product we use would be decided.
"...It's...a scavenger hunt!"
Seungmin finally stirred and stopped leaning against me.
44%
Oh, I made him angrier. Great. I'm walking toward my death.
I wanted to ask him what was wrong so we could talk about it directly, but that didn't go well last time, so I stopped myself.
"The production crew hid treasure balls with different items throughout the dorm. You have only 15 minutes!"
This situation was something that the viewers would find interesting; participants were going to fight like dogs for these plastic balls.
As murmurs of excitement arose from the contestants, the MC noted, "Like the audition, the treasure balls also have a grade. Make sure to check carefully."
People were already starting to shift closer to the front entrance.
Seungmin held my hand and shook his head. No words passed through us, but I nodded. I knew what to do.
"Go through the back doors."
I was thinking of doing that as well, but I'll give all the credit to Seungmin. Anything to prevent pissing him off more.
43% It went down one percent. I really felt like I was dealing with a ticking time bomb.
When the loud alarm blared to start the hunt, everyone ran for the gate. Meanwhile, Seungmin and I waited for a little while before swimming against the crowd to the back.
I was reminded again of how callused his hands were.
40%
When we made it out to the quiet pavement and went into the main dormitory through its side doors. But before I could close the door behind us, Seungmin propped it open.
"Ah- H-hello," Iljoon coughed. I raised my eyebrows. I hadn't even realized that he and Keun Sejin were following us.
Gold 1 looked awkwardly at Seungmin. They haven't interacted before, so being caught by him was probably suffocating, especially when Seungmin's resting face was so scary.
But the black-haired boy smiled and moved out of the doorway.
43% It went up again.
"Seungminnie, how did you know we were following you?" Sejin joked, patting his shoulder. "I wanted to scare you~"
"Your footsteps are loud," Seungmin said back. His voice was light and didn't ruin the mood, thankfully.
"By the way, Heesung and Ahyun were swept away by the crowd..."
I slid my hand out of Seungmin's and said, "First, let's check the storage room. The others will be here soon."
44%...Again. Is it because I let go of his hand?
For the next fifteen minutes, we searched the area quickly.
Iljoon found a silver-grade ball behind some ragged bags immediately. We looked a little more before moving on to the cafeteria.
There was a surprising amount hidden within utensil bins. Both Sejin and I found a gold-grade ball.
Seungmin's percentage also dropped to 35%. I think he was having fun.
Like this, our progress in collecting balls went smoothly. But others were slowly making their way to where we were after breaking out of the jam-packed main hall.
While running up the stairs and into the hall, Seungmin silently grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
Soon enough, a few other participants ran through the hall. When I thought the sound of footsteps disappeared, I peeked out again. Seungmin did the same above me.
"The coast is clear," he muttered to Sejin and Iljoon.
Seriously, he would do good with a noir film.
But everyone was taking the scavenger hunt seriously, so the two older ones nodded their heads without laughing and rushed down the hall into the room we planned on checking next.
In the end, we ended up with 4 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze.
Sitting around our successful hunt, Sejin huffed, "I don't think we can find any more."
Iljoon nodded his head and said, "Then since Moondae and Seungmin let us come with them, why don't we give them a greater portion?"
"That's fine with me," Sejin grinned. "What if you guys take two gold each? Iljoon hyung and I will take a silver and two bronze."
It was a good deal.
As we collected our individual balls, the loudspeaker announced that only 3 minutes remained, so we went back to the main hall where people were clamoring to switch.
"Okay everyone, you've got 100 seconds left!" the MC cheered.
I opened the hollow casing of one of the balls, but my heart sank.
'Guitar.'
"And the other one...'flower crown'? Damn it!"
It was an issue because I didn't know how to play guitar, and a flower crown at my visual level would become a gag.
I needed to trade. Fast.
I looked for Keun Sejin, but he was surrounded by others trying to trade.
Seungmin had disappeared.
Iljoon was also surrounded.
Luckily, I found Ahyun trembling by himself.
His ball said 'Frozen Food Products.'
I quickly jogged through the crowd and approached him.
"10 seconds left!"
"Can you play guitar?"
"Y-yeah? I can...play-"
"Do you like flowers?"
"5 seconds left!"
"Y-yes."
"4!"
"Do you want to trade with me?" I showed him my balls.
"3!"
"Huh?"
I'll take that as a "yes."
"2!"
Hastily, I switched our items.
"1...and time's up!" the MC shouted.
As the cheers and sighs resounded around me, I looked down happily at the bronze ball in my hand.
It was a great trade.