[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]
I went to a blind spot in the main hall and watched silently as people ran desperately to exchange items.
I sank into the ground with my back against the wall.
I was so tired...I did missions for three days straight with about 7 hours of sleep in total. Even I get sleepy in that circumstance.
As the MC counted down from 100 seconds, I popped open the circles and looked inside.
'Speaker' and 'Balance Ball.'
I didn't think much of it and stared at the movements of people instead.
It was really loud.
"...And time!" the MC announced. Slowly, I turned my head to look at the stage.
I closed my eyes while he explained how to get ready for the PR live.
"..."
"M-min?" It was Ahyun hyung's voice. I contemplated opening my eyes for a while before doing so. I looked up to see him and Moondae hyung.
"A-are...you okay?" the blonde hyung asked. His hands were nervously reaching out for me.
After staring blankly at it, I took his hand and stood up.
Moondae hyung walked closer, saying, "Hey, we have a while before the live starts. Come here."
He began walking out of the main hall and into one of the quieter areas of the dormitory. There were benches, so we all sat together.
"If you're really that tired, sleep for a bit," he murmured. "We'll wake you up when it's time."
I didn't have the energy to explain that I couldn't actually sleep with others around.
I leaned against his shoulder.
He had his phone with him, and he was checking the discussion boards about the show.
I wasn't interested.
My eyelashes drooped down.
"Just...for a little while..."
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"Seungmin?"
I woke up to a pleasant voice near my ear.
I..woke up?
Slowly sitting up straighter, I looked around and realized where I was. The dormitory, sitting between Ahyun and Moondae hyung. The latter got up and went somewhere.
"Fuck."
B was asleep right now after our mission. She sleeps 13 hours straight, so she wasn't there to cut the cameras. And yet, I fell asleep in such a place.
"She's going to get angry later..."
I kept blinking absentmindedly until a bottle of water appeared in my field of vision.
"Here," Moondae hyung said. His hazel eyes gazed softly into my own. "Are you feeling better?"
I nodded my head honestly and thanked him for the water.
Big gulps went down my throat. I didn't realize I was thirsty too.
"Do...you w-want chocolate?" Ahyun hyung asked from beside me. He already had it out in his two hands.
I received it and thanked him for that too.
I could feel some energy coming back from the sugar as it melted in my mouth.
"The PR live will start in 30 minutes, but you don't want to look like you just woke up," Moondae hyung explained.
I nodded my head again obediently.
With a hand on his hip, he sighed lightly and sat back down.
"W-what did you get?" Ahyun hyung asked.
I took out the opened gold grades from my pants pocket and showed him. He looked excited.
"W-wow! What will y-you do?"
I wasn't actually sure. I thought about it for the remainder of the time left.
8 PM. The start of the lives on TNET's global Wetube channel.
A familiar Idol Inc. wallpaper hung behind me. By my foot was the balance ball. Beside that was a speaker.
"Hello, I'm Cho Seungmin," I smiled when the producer gave me a signal. "Today I will be using this balance ball to warm up and dance on with some music."
First, I played a random r&b song and slowly laid down on the balance ball. It was half of a small yoga ball, so it felt nice to relax my back onto.
"Ah, I know this isn't how you properly use it, but I thought it would feel nice," I explained in a slightly playful tone.
I stretched big and laid there for a while, almost melting onto it. Maybe because I was really sleepy.
Turning to face the camera, I raised my arms above my head and felt the stretch run through my side.
I got up with a cartwheel and clicked a button on the speaker for the next song.
"Oh, it transitions smoothly," I noted.
Then I went back to the balance ball and stood on one leg.
"...This is easier than I thought?"
I stepped down and contemplated how to make the item stand out.
"It's very rubbery...and the stability is pretty good. I don't think you'll need to pump air into it ever."
Lowering my upper body, I slowly put my hands on it and did a handstand. My arms remained steady under my weight. I did a few pushups and turned on the ball so that my face would be shown on the screen.
I ended up grinning.
"It's more fun to do it like this."
Without me knowing, the live chat of my video was increasing in speed.
- Sheesh, he has some insane muscles
- Free videos of hot men >> Click here! <<
- This noona can't even do one leg on it...how are you doing a handstand ㅋㅋㅋ
- I just joined...omg what is going on
- Even while upside down his face is handsome ㅠㅠ
I would try some cool poses while balancing on my hands, shifting the weight of my legs in a ninety-degree angle or crossing them toward one side to the beat of the music. It was a good workout.
Making sure not to hit anything, I got my knees to the floor and breathed heavily. I leaned over the speaker, but a drop of my sweat got on. I backed up.
"Oh, right, the speaker can be controlled through sound as well, huff," I informed the viewers. "Hi T-0, play XXX by XXX."
I wasn't sure what song or group that was. The producers told me to shuffle through a list of songs, so that's what I did.
I looked at the screen in front of me showing how I looked on the live. There was a notification.
[ Please thank everyone for reaching over 10,000 views! ]
I wiped some sweat off my chin and went back on the balance ball with a smile.
"Apparently there are 10,000 of you watching right now. That's a lot...thank you for coming here."
I stood back on my hands.
But my shirt came loose and fell a bit.
"Oops. I'm sorry."
I shifted my weight onto one hand and used the other to tuck my shirt back in.
- Crazy crazy crazy
- He was stretching one second and became a circus the next
- I want that speaker now
- He has abs. I repeat. He has abs.
- T1 go bankrupt! T1 go bankrupt! T1 go bankrupt! T1 go bankrupt! T1 go bankru...
- He just got on one hand. Is this a secret martial artist? ㅋㅋㅋ
"Even, huff, if I sweat on it, I don't slip," I tried to advertise.
- ㅋㅋㅋ earlier he said the rubber feeling is nice...he's so cute
- It already sold, Seungmin, don't worry ㅋㅋㅋ
I tried to do a few more things, but doing this for 10 minutes was exhausting.
An alarm went off, and I almost fell over, startled.
I hopped down to my feet and glanced at the PD.
"Oh, the time is up. Um, huff, the number of likes and views will be counted, and, huff, if I rank within the top 33 participants, I can keep going for another 5 minutes," I said to the camera.
I sat down on the ground and placed the balance ball in my lap.
"Don't forget to watch episode 2 of 'Relisted! Idol Incorporated.'" I read off the screen with a small squint.
I was about ready to clean up. My hair was sticking to my face, so I brushed it back.
But another notification popped up on the screen.