Chapter 196: Chapter 197:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: Rxel

Chapter 197

Bijoo, who was standing at the shooting line, took his stance.

He took a deep breath and relaxed his breath, then his delicate hand gesture gracefully pulled the bowstring.

8 points. 7 points. 8 points.

It was a high score that matched his stable posture.

“Good job.”

Woojoo and Jiho gave him a high-five as he came back with a gentle smile.

Then, Seok Jihun, the youngest of TNT, shot 7 points, 7 points, and 6 points in a row.

A lower score than the last special episode.

It wasn’t just Seok Jihun, but the whole TNT trio had lower scores than last year.

Especially Taehyun, he had a blank expression.

“…”

The TNT trio looked at Woojoo’s face like a ghost.

It was a bit awkward.

At first, Woojoo thought they wouldn’t react so much, but when he thought about it, it made sense.

When he imagined himself as Rihyuk, he understood their feelings.

What if Rihyuk suddenly became a god of archery and came back? Woojoo would feel the same way.

Then Jiho came back after shooting 7 points, 8 points, and 7 points.

“Good work.”

“Please praise me.”

“Woo. Wow. Great. Awesome.”

He bowed down to receive the praise, and Woojoo laughed at his reaction.

After Taehyun shot his last arrow, it was Woojoo’s turn.

The eyes of the TNT trio followed his every move, while Jiho and Bijoo cheered him on.

“Good luck.”

“Hyung, make a cool final shot.”

They cheered Woojoo on like he was the ace of the team, and he smiled for a moment.

It felt strange.

It was the first time in his life that he received such treatment because he was good at sports.

Woojoo was always the hole in the team, and even in elementary school, he couldn’t join the soccer team and had to cheer.

Even when he was a trainee, he often felt depressed when he had to use his body.

He never thought he would feel so comfortable and confident while exercising.

He felt proud and excited.

This was how people with good athletic skills felt when they used their body.

He felt energized and confident.

It was the first time he felt so happy and proud while recording a broadcast.

He took his posture and pulled the bowstring.

He felt the tension in his fingertips, and his body automatically performed the necessary actions.

His eyes pierced the target, and his breathing was optimized for shooting.

Woojoo gently released the bowstring, and the arrow hit the target precisely.

10 points.

He felt a tingling sensation all over his body.

“Wow!”

Woojoo smiled without knowing it, feeling his heart soar.

That day, they easily defeated TNT, the runner-up from last year, and advanced to the semifinals.

Archery finals.

The competition was divided into girl groups and boy groups, and the semifinals and finals were held.

“Wow!”

Every time the idol members created various scenes of interest, there were enthusiastic reactions from all over.

-Wow! He completely missed the target. He got a set.

-A set of gifts for the holidays?

-Jeon Yubin avoids his mistake cutely.

After shooting outside the target, Jeon Yubin of La Vie en Rose made a cute honey bomb gesture on her head, saying ‘Ahkong’.

And the scene of Im Hyunsik, the president of his agency DNS Media, grabbing his neck.

-Wow! 10 points. He hit 10 points.

-It’s the second time breaking the camera lens since New Black!

Hanjo of Street Boys, who cheered after hitting 10 points, and Hanseok of Daydream, who hit 10 points after him.

Meanwhile, among such sights, there was someone who received the most attention.

-Yes, Woojoo of New Black is up.

-The atmosphere has changed completely. Daydream looks tense.

-He’s a dark horse who beat TNT, the runner-up from last year.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Daydream’s expression was caught on the screen, looking like a farmer watching the devil descend.

Someone walked out following their gaze.

The audience was stirred by his stunning visual, even after seeing it again.

Woojoo of New Black calmly picked up his bow.

‘Wow…’

His movements were so amazing that they couldn’t help but admire them.

All his movements were natural and smooth, without any hesitation.

They didn’t know exactly what the correct movements were, but they felt that the rookie idol’s movements were the closest to the standard.

And his score was also astonishing.

-10 points!

Three arrows densely decorated the center of the target.

-…He’s crazy. Really.

-10 points in a row, that’s the first time in the history of the Idol Sports Festival. It’s a record that won’t be broken unless an idol from the archery team comes out!

-He has a natural talent.

His skills were so impressive that even the former national archery team member praised his talent.

Every time Woojoo hit the 10-point target, the faces of the opposing team wilted.

Park Kyuho, the president sitting in the audience, smiled brightly.

“Hahaha! Lim, do you see that? That’s our kid.”

“…”

“Don’t you have a kid like that in your company? Haha!”

“…”

While Im Hyunsik, the president of DNS Media, was silently enduring.

The idol members who were squatting and watching whispered to each other, covering their mouths with their hands.

“He’s crazy. Really.”

“What is he?”

“It seems like he only shot 10 points every time. Is that even possible? Even the teacher at the archery center sometimes made mistakes and shot 8 points.”

It was a reaction of disbelief.

At first, they thought he was just a handsome rookie male idol, but it turned out he was some kind of ecosystem disruptor.

It felt like seeing a handsome bullfrog.

“I feel sorry for the Daydream Sunbae-nims, really.”

“I agree. I would have lost my mind if I had to compete with him.”

“…The other kids are doing well too, right?”

Although Woojoo was boasting an overwhelming presence, the other members were also achieving decent scores.

It was the moment when New Black, who debuted for the first time at the Dolympic this year, rose as the dark horse of the archery world.

‘They will win for sure.’

‘How can he not miss a single 10 point shot…’

‘Is he human? He’s a machine that shoots arrows.’

Those who were initially sneering inwardly soon watched the game with comfortable eyes.

If it were usual, they would have felt some jealousy, but not this time.

‘He deserves respect.’

It was a skill that could only be achieved by practicing for almost half a year for the Dolympic alone.

And every time they felt that reaction, the noses of the Soufflés in the audience went up endlessly.

Every time an arrow landed on the 10 point target, their shoulders shrugged and their cheeks twitched.

“I’m so happy…”

“It feels strange. I was just hoping that our kids wouldn’t get hurt until we got here, but now that they’re doing well, I feel somewhat warm…”

“It’s a proud feeling.”

Every time the New Black members appeared on the scoreboard, they smiled happily as they confirmed their beauty with binoculars.

They had been in line since dawn.

And waited for several hours.

The fatigue and irritation that had accumulated as they heard unpleasant words from the security melted away.

‘I really like it…’

It was nice to be recognized in their main field of music, but it was also nice to see them active in a different field.

They felt like they wanted to put up posters all over the country and brag, ‘They are our kids!’

Someone asked, “But, I have one thing I’m curious about…”

“What is it?”

“You know Woojoo, right? Why does he look so surprised and happy every time he shoots?”

“…Right?”

He had a professional expression on his face when he shot the arrows, but he screamed with joy when his turn was over.

He looked happy with his eyes wide open and his hands on his cheeks.

There were various guesses about the reason, but the conversation didn’t last long.

“His expression is so pretty.”

“That’s true.”

As fans who had been with them since their debut, they could tell when they saw their singer.

They didn’t know the exact reason, but they knew he was very happy.

“This is not the time for us.”

“That’s right. Let’s cheer for them.”

They also smiled brightly and started to wave their placards and slogans enthusiastically.

And then.

“…”

Every time the slogan with five golden archers waved, the fans of other groups nearby had a blank expression on their faces.

“Woohoo!”

They hugged each other and jumped around.

“Guys!”

“We did it.”

“We got the gold medal!”

It was a moment of ecstasy.

They put on the gold medals that the production team gave them, and went up to the fan seats on the third floor as a winner’s privilege to take commemorative photos with the fans.

They savored that moment for a long time, feeling so good.

“Good job!”

The morning recording ended with the men’s and women’s archery, but they still wanted to stay in the stadium.

They left the stadium with a sense of regret.

Everyone they met congratulated or praised them.

“Congratulations!”

“You were amazing with the bow, where did you learn that?”

“Come on, reveal the bow maker. Seon Woojoo!”

They kept nagging Woojoo to reveal the secret.

After shaking them off, they made new friends with those who they only knew from music shows or year-end stages.

And their close friends also came to talk to them.

“Wow. New Black got the gold medal.”

“As a member of the Mint Choco-dan, we believed that our leader would do it.”

The Street Boys in white uniforms spoke with a pleased smile.

They shook their heads.

“No.”

“What?”

“We’re not New Black anymore.”

Woojoo, Bijoo, and Jiho lifted their gold medals at the same time.

“We’re New Gold now!”

“…”

While Junghyun smiled and said ‘I see’, Rihyuk next to them looked disgusted.

“No way.”

LB looked betrayed.

“What do you mean? What about our Mint Choco-dan?”

“Namoo.”

Woojoo answered.

“Sorry, but the Mint Choco era is over.”

“…Sigh.”

Then Hanjo joined in with a sad face.

“Woojoo. Was this all we were?”

“What were we?”

“Mint and chocolate.”

“That was a bad combination from the start. Like pizza and pineapple.”

The Street Boys shouted.

“Our leader has no taste.”

“How dare you insult Hawaiian, that’s a serious crime, isn’t it?”

“What power do we have?”

“Yeah, let’s be careful. We might get shot by an arrow.”

While Woojoo swallowed his laughter, LB nodded in agreement and said ‘our leader has a unique taste’ and got persecuted by the Mint Choco followers.

Namoo was on fire today as usual.

Their youngest cleared his throat and showed off his gold medal.

“We New Gold are going to switch to Almond Bonbon-dan from today.”

“Wow, can we join?”

“First, you have to get a gold medal.”

Jiho made jokes left and right and both sides burst into laughter.

While the No Fun Family exchanged friendly greetings, Hanjo and Woojoo walked along the corridor side by side.

He asked Woojoo with an admiring face, “How long did you practice archery?”

“About two days.”

“…Two days?”

“Yes.”

“Then do you have archery as a hobby or something?”

“No. This is my first time. I was just lucky in many ways…”

The other person looked at Woojoo with a strange expression and reluctantly accepted it.

“Well, you look like you’re good at exercising too, from the way you dance.”

“No, I’m not. I’m bad at exercise…”

Wait a minute.

Was he good now?

“I think I’ve improved a bit since before.”

“By the way, aren’t we playing basketball later?”

“Yeah. We’re on the same team.”

Hanjo and Woojoo were making a name for themselves as rookies on the basketball team composed of ten idol members.

The other person asked Woojoo with a curious face, “Are you going to be amazing at basketball too?”

“I don’t know. It’s different from archery. It requires teamwork and all. You have to try it to know…”

Woojoo practiced one-on-one with Junghyun late at night on the basketball court, but he didn’t know how well he would do in a real game.

Unlike archery, this was a team sport that required teamwork.

He was unsure if he could do well.

But Junghyun said last time, ‘Wow, you’re like Slam Dunk.’ So it shouldn’t be too bad.

Yeah. Let’s have some confidence now.

Woojoo nodded and chatted with Hanjo about this and that.

After talking about how refreshing their bodies felt after doing rhythmic gymnastics at the opening ceremony today and the archery finals.

Soon, the topic shifted to the sprint race that would take place after lunch.

“By the way.”

Hanjo asked Woojoo as if he was curious, “Who’s going out of the New Black members later?”

“Oh.” Woojoo answered. “The one with the worst personality among us.”

“Oh, you mean Rihyuk.”

He recognized it right away and Woojoo swallowed a laugh.

After lunch.

While the filming equipment was being set up, they sat in a circle in front of one person.

“Hoo…”

The snowman-like pale one put his hand on his chest and took a deep breath.

“Hoo.”

They, who were sitting next to him, followed suit.

“Hooh.”

“Hoo…”

“Hooh.”

“Hoo…”

“Hooh.”

“Hey, stop copying me. I’m just venting before the race.”

They looked at each other at the words spat out by the grumpy face.

Then they made a playful face and imitated someone.

“Truhsz m~”

“…”

They high-fived and giggled at the sight of the guy making a sour face.

The other person sighed.

“How can you guys be so useless? The other teams are all caring and comforting each other… Hey, don’t touch me.”

“You asked for it.”

“I just said that. Who really wants that?”

He was ten times more irritable than usual, maybe because he was nervous before the race.

“I’ll handle my own tension, so just leave me alone. I need to do some mind training.”

“Okay.”

They nodded and turned their backs, and Rihyuk closed his eyes for about 30 seconds and then opened them wide.

“Don’t really lose interest, okay?”

“…”

They were scolded by the guy who was very sensitive.

He was so picky that they felt like they were the daughters-in-law who were abused in dramas.

That was why they all happily saw him off when he was called by the staff.

“What’s with that expression?”

“It’s a smile to wish you luck.”

“Yeah, right. Hah, I’m so happy,” he said sarcastically. “…I’ll be back soon.”

They waved their hands warmly at him, wondering what to cheer him on.

“Don’t even think about coming back if you don’t win.”

“Good luck, Rihyuk.”

“You’re going to get it if you don’t come back first after being insulted like this. You know what I mean, right?”

“…Ugh. I don’t know.”

He ran away, covering his ears as if he didn’t want to hear.

“Come back, Rihyuk…!”

They all swallowed their laughter at the sight of Bijoo waving a handkerchief like a mother sending off her son to the army.

As they sat together with their siblings, the men’s 60-meter dash preliminaries began.

This race was structured so that the first place of each group would meet in the finals.

Right away, in the first group, LB from Street Boys grabbed the first place with a crazy speed.

Woojoo was amazed.

“Mr. Namoo, you’re so fast.”

“I heard he’s the fastest in that team.”

“That’s true, but they’re all so fast in general…?”

The level was higher than he thought.

There were some who were from the track and field club. That made Woojoo worried.

“…Will he be okay?”

Jiho, who was leaning on Woojoo knee, asked, “What do you mean?”

“Rihyuk. I don’t know if he can run properly when he’s so skinny.”

“Don’t worry. Rihyuk is fast.”

“…Really?”

“You haven’t seen him yet.”

Jiho emphasized as he mimicked running.

“Really, really fast.”

“…?”

“You know, in games, there are characters who are very weak but have high agility stats. They move around and hit, but they’re so weak that they only do 1, 1, 1 damage. Those are the silly characters. That’s Rihyuk.”

“He’s that silly… I mean, fast?”

Bijoo and Junghyun nodded.

“Running is the only thing Rihyuk is good at.”

“He wants to run away by himself whenever something happens, so he doesn’t care about anything else but running.”

But it didn’t match.

Rihyuk could run well?

Woojoo tilted his head, thinking of his usual dull athletic skills.

Was this how Taehyun felt when he looked at Woojoo?

“Oh, he’s on the lane.”

Their kid was on the third lane.

He looked like a paper doll compared to the people around him, probably because he was so thin.

He zipped up his tracksuit to his neck and made a cocky expression.

The production crew with the ENG camera moved around and captured the faces of the runners.

They all posed, but when it was his turn, he smiled shyly and made a V sign. They all rolled around laughing at the sight of him.

The Soufflés had the same reaction as them.

He noticed the reaction and hid his small face in his tracksuit, his ears burning.

But the laughter was short-lived.

They all clasped their hands and got ready to cheer for Rihyuk.

The runners on the line also crouched and took deep breaths.

Beep-!

As the whistle sounded, the runners kicked the ground.

“Woah-!”

But contrary to Woojoo’s expectation, Rihyuk was not the leader.

The one who took off the fastest was Caleb from Soul Six, who debuted around the same time as them.

He had a tall height of over 185 and a running skill like an ostrich.

Woojoo guessed it was too much to ask for Rihyuk.

But from the second second, a white face in a black tracksuit suddenly stood out.

He was so fast, he looked like a crazy pretzel.

“…What is that?”

He looked like a paper doll with a motor.

He was waving his arms and running at a crazy speed. Rihyuk shot out like a bullet.

…He was really fast?

“Wow!”

They jumped up and started cheering.

“Run, Rihyuk!”

“Rihyuk! Don’t die!”

“Come on, come on, come on! I’ll buy you a vacuum cleaner if you win!”

Maybe that wish reached him.

Rihyuk ran like crazy and crossed the finish line first. As they all clapped and jumped around.

“…Huh?”

Rihyuk, who was running at full speed, couldn’t stop and crashed into the cushion wall. Then he collapsed with a thud.

What. The hell.

Woojoo made a serious face.

“…What? What. What’s wrong with him?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Unlike Woojoo, who was shocked and widened his eyes, the others looked like it was nothing unusual.

Jiho explained to Woojoo, “He’s so weak that he runs out of energy quickly.”

“I see.”

“I heard from the seniors at school that Rihyuk had a nickname when he was a sprinter.”

“What is it?”

As Woojoo looked at someone who was shaking his hands and getting up from the wall, he heard Jiho’s voice.

“Mayfly.”

Woojoo couldn’t help but burst out laughing.