TL by Miru
I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is Sunfish: Episode 60
At that moment, Baekya locked eyes with Siyun, who had stuck his head in and peeked through the carefully opened door.
"Huh?"
Baekya, with wide eyes, looked behind him through the mirror's reflection.
"Baekya, hi!"
Siyun, smiling warmly, entered the room.
"...Sunbae-nim?"
Minsung, who was scrolling on his phone while waiting for his turn, awkwardly got up.
"We just got here. You haven't had lunch yet, right?"
It appeared that other members of AIM, including Yeonha and Guyang, had also arrived. The room paused its bustling as DASE and their staff halted to welcome AIM.
"Ah, the other members are tied up with schedules."
Yeonha, who had grown close to DASE during their livestream, waved his hand.
"Hyung-nim!"
Chung, rushing over, clung to him as Yeonha mentioned the absent members.
"I'll introduce them when they come. You haven't met them yet, right?"
Minsung, flustered, frantically waved his hands in refusal.
"No, no! We can head over to you instead."
Minsung, who intended to drop by as soon as his preparations were roughly finished, looked at Yeonha with sparkling eyes, as if to prove the truthfulness of his words just uttered, without a hint of falsehood. Chung, standing next to him, looked confused.
"We meet them all the time, though? The company's full of their pictures."
As the youngest asked, "Didn't we watch their concert video together yesterday?" Minsung impatiently tugged at Chung.
"Haha... come here, Chung."
"Why? Am I wrong?"
As question marks hovered over his head, Yeonha gently patted Chung's head, softly smiling at the two of them.
"Looking at you reminds me of when I first met Guyang."
"Why me?"
Guyang, a foreign member from Taiwan, chimed in.
"Seeing Chung reminds me of what you used to be like."
Clearly being teased, Guyang expressed his disbelief at the remark.
"What the—? But seriously though. It's great to finally see the faces of our hoobae-nims. If not for the tour, we'd be able to stay in Korea."
Such impressive Korean skills! Baekya, who had been talking to Siyun, looked sideways in admiration. Despite Baekya being distracted, the social networking by the group's leader didn't skip a beat.
"We also really wanted to meet you sunbae-nims."
Sharing a room with Yulmu seemed to have rubbed off on Minsung, who appeared to be increasingly adopting his habits—of course, his words were sincerely meant.
"Right? We're under the same company and yet it's so difficult to meet each other."
Siyun and AIM's manager started laying out various packages on the table.
"You haven't eaten yet, right?"
"Uwaah~ What is all this?"
Yulmu approached with interest. It was just past noon, and the sight of pizza and an assortment of snacks had DASE's eyes wide in amazement.
"We picked up some for ourselves and got some extra for you guys," Siyun explained.
"Hold on, Siyun. They can't have this."
Namkyung interjected after checking the menu, his face showing concern. The DASE members paused, withdrawing their hands and gauging Namkyung's reaction. They had all agreed to start a strict diet after their final feast the previous evening in preparation for the upcoming awards season.
"The kids have to manage their diet."
However, AIM was unaware of this dietary plan. Guyang looked particularly hurt by Namkyung's remarks.
"Wow... hyung, how could you say that even after seeing them?"
Guyang gestured towards Baekya, who flinched under the focused attention and rubbed his chest, attempting an awkward smile.
"I'm not that thin though..."
But that comment might have been a tad thoughtless.
"See how he's getting nervous? Namkyung hyung, why have you become so strict?"
Back when Namkyung had just started at the company and briefly managed AIM, he had a casual rapport with the members, trading jokes without reservation. Overwhelmed by criticism, he eventually relented.
"Alright... go ahead and eat."
It wouldn't be right not to let them eat the food that was bought with their juniors in mind.
"Yay! Tteokbokki!"
Chung excitedly grabbed a stick of rice cake and tapped Jihan on the arm.
"Jihan! Eat this!"
"I'll eat this one. You eat it."
With the AIM members returning to their own waiting room, the crowded dressing room suddenly felt more spacious. AIM had to rush as they too had to complete their rehearsal before the audience was admitted.
"Guys, eat carefully so you don't mess up your makeup."
"We know, we know~"
The boys' eyes already glowed with voracious intent, true to their hearty appetites. Yulmu had already finished a slice of pizza and was now unwrapping a roll of gimbap.
"People might think I'm starving you."
Complaining about the excessive amount of gimbap, Namkyung grumbled as he peeked into a black bag.
"Baekya, come and eat too."
"Okay, I'm coming."
Baekya, who had paused his makeup because of Siyun's arrival, quickly finished up. His lips were naturally pink even without lipstick.
"Chung, is this spicy?"
"Nope. Even a baby could eat it."
The youngest, mouth stuffed with two pieces of rice cake, seemed to enjoy it so much he grabbed another.
'It must be really tasty.'
From a glance, it looked fiery red, but seeing the members happily indulging made his mouth water.
'Should I eat? Or not?'
While holding chopsticks to his mouth, the Sunfish's hesitation lingered. Yuyeon watched him curiously and touched Baekya's arm.
"Are you performing a ritual? Stop gazing and start eating."
Yuyeon kindly placed a slice of pizza onto Baekya's barren plate.
"You need to eat lots to keep up your energy for practice."
Yuyeon flashed a smile, his dimples deepening. This might have made the fans go wild but to Baekya, this smile felt more menacing than warm.
"...Scary punk."
Preferring not to engage further, Baekya mindlessly reached for the tteokbokki. His head was already filled with dread about the upcoming Spartan practice session. He shook off his reverie and stuffed a piece of the tteokbokki into his mouth.
"Huh?"
Yuyeon looked at Baekya with surprise.
"Why are you eating that?"
"What do you mean? Didn't you say I need to eat a lot?"
Baekya, baring his teeth slightly, began to chew.
"No, I didn't mean that. That tteok..."
Yuyeon trailed off, his demeanour puzzled, contrasting with Baekya's casualness.
"...You're eating it well? Why though?"
"Plotting something again?"
However, Baekya's reaction came belatedly. His eyes widened as he froze in place.
"...uuhhhng?"
Baekya furrowed his brows deeply, his words muffled and barely comprehensible. Yet, his peers understood him perfectly despite the garbled speech.
"What do I mean? That's spicy tteokbokki."
Yuyeon peeled off a receipt from the package and handed it to Baekya.
[Spice Level 4 <Fire Chicken Flavour>]
It had a whopping four chili peppers listed.
'Damn it...!'
"That's why I was questioning why you ate it."
The eyes of the spice-intolerant Baekya swelled with a sense of betrayal. If he had to choose the guiltiest party, it would undoubtedly be this guy.
"Yulmu! Try this!"
"Tteokbokki? I had some earlier~ It packs a punch."
That person would be Chung Chung.
'Who said Americans can't handle spicy food?'
As the spiciness and the sense of betrayal mixed, beads of cold sweat formed on Baekya's forehead. Amidst this, another oblivious character contributed to the chaos.
[Warning!]
[Stress Index has reached the 'Caution' level: 66%]
'Oh, my neck.'
The sensation of his blood pressure skyrocketing from consuming spicy food, coupled with the alert of a life-threatening warning, was distinctly tangible. Yet, our status window was far from finished here.
[A New (Hidden) Quest Has Arrived!]
[Q. Challenge the Limits (1): There is nothing impossible for us! Challenge to the limits for the first time.]
How on earth was this even related to becoming a genius idol?
"Keuhugh, cough."
Unable to chew, and equally unable to swallow or spit it out, the Sunfish just stomped his feet impatiently.
"Just spit it out."
"Ungh!"
He didn't want to, was what Baekya said. Yuyeon understood this perfectly again.
"Then swallow it. Your face looks like it's about to explode."
As time passed, Baekya's face grew redder and redder.
"Ungh!"
Yuyeon, unable to understand why Baekya wouldn't just spit it out, watched the struggling Sunfish with a mix of pity, disdain, and bewilderment.
"Does even a spicy-food intolerant have his pride...?"
Yuyeon shook his head, watching Baekya stubbornly struggle, like dealing with a stubborn child.
"Here."
Yuyeon offered a cup of fruity drink to Baekya.
"Heungh."
"Skip the thanks. Just handle whatever's in your mouth."
Tears were already welling up in Baekya's eyes.
[<Challenge the Limits (1)> completed!]
[Quest Reward: 1 Star Point]
All that for one Star Point.
'But to think I have to use this straight for stress relief...'
It made him feel sick.
"...Do you have any stomach medicine?"
"Is it that bad?"
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[DASE_Official]
A waiting room scene at K-Concert! We'll see you in a bit~ Here's a photo of our spice-challenged member broken down after eating something spicy.
(Picture of a dazed Baekya and Yuyeon making a 'V' sign)
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* * *
[Sparrow: Where are you, Nara-nim? I just got off. ㅠㅠ]
[Jihan's Nara: I'm at Gate 3! I'm wearing a beige trench coat and holding a Jihan banner.]
Following the fan meeting, Sparrow and Nara kept in regular contact, becoming good friends and even accompanying each other at events. Considering the timing might be tight, Sparrow texted to hurry.
"Which way should I go..."
But there was no need to worry; everyone who got off the train was heading in the same direction.
'Is it that way...?'
Deciding to follow, Sparrow joined the moving crowd, looking around cautiously.