“But Yuda-ya, the Water Festival is the day after tomorrow……”
“…….”
At Woo Kangwon’s words, Do Yuda clamped his lips shut and hung his head, huffing in frustration.
Even though there wasn’t really anything to argue with, he still couldn’t bring himself to accept the reality.
‘You should’ve prepared earlier. Why didn’t you?’
“Hyung, think about it. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I had this face but a body like Kangwon-hyung?”
“You’d look like a border collie’s face photoshopped onto a bulldog’s body.”
“…That’s the most humiliating comparison I’ve ever heard.”
“But you’re not denying it, Yuda-hyung.”
From the start, Do Yuda wasn’t particularly interested in his body shape. He was fully aware that his image was far from charismatic or cool, and besides, he simply wasn’t the type to develop visibly defined muscles like others.
“I’d rather go play soccer than spend time at the gym. Gym’s no fun.”
You know how there’s always that one or two kids in class, right? Slim, never seem to gain weight, light on their feet, always running around agilely during during P.E.. Do Yuda was exactly that type.
Ah, of course, it’s not like he was as skinny as Han Seungbeom just because he was slim. Do Yuda had a decent frame. If we considered Do Yuda, who kept his figure no matter how much he ate, as a zero, then Han Seungbeom, who turned scrawny the moment I let my guard down, would probably be in the negatives.
‘He’s lightning-fast at running, but really struggles when it comes to lifting weights.‘
Anyway, eating a lot didn’t make him gain weight, and since he was healthy and content with himself, I figured there was no real need for him to change. So why was Do Yuda, of all people, suddenly being so stubborn about this? The reason was simple.
Remember that time at the last Idol Sports Championship, when Nagi Zen’s judo uniform accidentally came undone during the match? From that moment, fans came to realize that Nagi Zen’s body was more impressive than they’d assumed.
[Zen’s outfit always made him look slim, so I didn’t realize he was that ripped. Guess he didn’t do judo just for the aesthetic. I’m gonna sue him for real]
[tlqkf Pat totally betrayed us. He doesn’t even work out, just plays around with Mat all day, and yet he’s built like that? This feels like when the friend you always hang out and slack off with somehow ends up ranking #1 in the entire school]
[No, wait, what are you showing on national TV right now?! Even we haven’t seen that yet! Ask for our permission first before airing stuff like this, broadcasting station bastards!]
└ I’m from another fandom… is it okay if I watch?
└ Not okay
└ ???
[Like, in their content, we often see Lee Hwayoung and Woo Kangwon working out. But seriously, what’s up with Na-ssi? I’ve been stanning them for ages, but I still have no clue what that guy actually does. In my opinion, he must be an alien]
[Button up]
Accordingly, with the Water Festival approaching, the excited Muses were reposting GIFs from the Idol Sports Championship, building up their anticipation. It seemed that Do Yuda was envious of that.
[Aa, if only I hadn’t found out Nagi Zen had a good body??? I could’ve just gone in with no expectations??? I could’ve just waited for the Water Fest in peace, thinking ‘it’ll be fun, haha’. But now that I’ve seen it once, I can’t stop thinking about it. This isn’t my fault]
[The taste you already know is scarier]
Of course, judging by the overall mood, it was clear that more people were waiting for Woo Kangwon and Lee Hwayoung than for Zen. But that sort of thing probably wouldn’t even register to Do Yuda.
The fact that Woo Kangwon and Lee Hwayoung had great bodies was already common knowledge, even people from other fandoms had heard about it. But no one expected Nagi Zen to be that fit, so when it was revealed, it’s only natural that the fans’ reaction was way more intense. If we were to guess what was going on in that simple head of his, it’d probably be something like, “Wait, people are calling Nagi Zen cool? Then I want to be cool too!”
‘Fools…….’
“If you wanted to prepare, you should’ve started earlier. Either manage yourself consistently like those Prism guys, or set aside plenty of time to prepare before big events. Starving yourself now won’t change a thing, so just eat.”
As I gave him a cold dose of reality and placed a piece of deboned fish onto his spoon, Do Yuda’s stomach let out a loud growl. Even as he swallowed hard, he still stubbornly refused to pick up his spoon. I let out a quiet sigh.
Then, just as I was about to say something again, Do Yuda let out a loud wail.
“Waaah, I want to hear Muses say I’m cool too huhuhu. I want to see them freaking out and screaming because I look so cool.”
“The fans like you too. They always say you’re pretty.”
“…Hyung, do you seriously not know?”
“What.”
“‘Kyaaa’, ‘Yuda’s the best’ is either fake hype, polite hype, or just the usual bias where everything I do seems cute because I’m their boy. That’s what it is.”
With lifeless, pitch-black eyes boring into me, Do Yuda shot those words out like a bullet, then shoved his tablet in front of me. He tapped on a video and said, “This is what real hype looks like, this is what makes people lose their minds”, and played a clip of Zen’s judo uniform coming undone and another of me making a ‘meow‘ sound during a performance, both featuring fans screaming like pterodactyls.
“Oh, my god.”
The moment I came face to face with myself wearing cat ears, I squeezed my eyes shut like I’d just seen something forbidden. Thank goodness it was Han Seungbeom’s face. If it had been mine, I might’ve bolted out of the dorm at that very instant.
Don’t bring that kind of stuff up so carelessly.
If you keep looking back at the past, this industry will be your end.
“I’m done for. I might actually die getting crushed between all these hot guys. Even Nagi Zen, the one I trusted, betrayed me. What am I supposed to do?”
I placed my hand on Do Yuda’s shoulder as he clutched his head in despair. Maybe he thought I was about to comfort him with something like, “No, you’re really cool”, because he slowly looked up at me, his face touched with emotion.
I met his gaze warmly, then whispered in a gentle voice,
“Just focus on running away from Prism.”
“…Okay.”
.
.
.
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, the day of the Water Festival arrived.
While waiting on stage with the other members for rehearsal, I stood by until the staff finished their preparations. Then I looked up at the sky. The moment I confirmed how blinding the sunlight was, I raised my hand to shield Lee Hwayoung’s forehead, casting a bit of shade over it, and said, “The sun’s strong even though it’s still early. It’s quite blinding, isn’t it?”
Then, under the small shadow cast by my hand, Lee Hwayoung finally eased the tension that had been furrowing his brows. He closed his eyes tightly, looking tired, then quietly nodded. He hadn’t said a word, but it was clear he’d been feeling pretty uncomfortable.
Seeing how we looked exactly like people squinting from the sunlight, the stylist who’d been watching the scene rushed over to the stage and quickly handed a cap to Lee Hwayoung. He usually carried a pair of sunglasses, but it seemed there wasn’t enough time to find them.
‘Once the sun gets stronger, a hat won’t be nearly enough.’
Lee Hwayoung’s eyes played a huge role in his overall impression, so it felt like a shame to cover them with sunglasses. Still, I thought it would be better than him frowning due to the blinding sun and potentially sparking a personality controversy.
“You’re having a very difficult time today, Lee Hwayoung.”
Seeing Lee Hwayoung’s expression stiffer-than-usual expression reminded me, without meaning to, of the way he had frozen up earlier in the waiting room—tense and awkward like a cat being scrubbed—while the staff applied body makeup without mercy. With that image in mind, I threw out a lighthearted joke.
I expected him to snap back in annoyance like he usually did, but to my surprise, Lee Hwayoung didn’t seem the least bit bothered. Instead, he blatantly scanned me from head to toe before speaking.
“Speak for yourself.”
He was pointing out how, from the neck down, I was practically covered up with barely any skin showing.
After discussing with the wardrobe staff, I had ended up wearing a pair of thick, off-the-rack shorts and a dark, heavy outer layer that didn’t become see-through easily. Lee Hwayoung would be taking off the shirt he was wearing now once the actual performance started, but I was planning to go on stage just like this.
“…I had no choice. The more skin I show, the more obvious it is how skinny I am.”
As I said that, all of a sudden, the surrounding staff broke into loud cheers.
“Wow … seriously … wow…….”
“So that’s why he’s a celebrity.”
“How is it even possible for an idol to look like that…….”
“Please, please, please let him have a terrible personality. Please.”
I turned my head at the sound and saw Woo Kangwon stepping onto the stage, wearing nothing but a thin shirt thrown loosely over him. He hadn’t tanned, but his naturally dark complexion made his already bulky muscles stand out even more prominently.
‘Man, I used to be like that too.’
As I quietly watched the scene, Lee Hwayoung slowly reached out and took hold of my arm.
In response, I poked at Lee Hwayoung’s firm, defined abs with my fingertips and joked, “My muscles won’t grow no matter what I do, so I’m just going to steal yours.”. Lee Hwayoung leaned back with a quiet chuckle, but just as quickly as the smile appeared, his expression turned blank again as he replied, “Stop it.”
“We’ll now resume Pantheion’s rehearsal!”
“Yes!”
.
.
.
‘What the.’
When we returned to the waiting room after the first rehearsal, we found Do Yuda clinging to the makeup artist’s feet like a dog.
“Please give me a six-pack!”
“What’s not possible, isn’t possible.”
“Please give me a six-pack!”
“I need at least something to work with in the first place if I’m going to shape it into anything. Do you really want a disaster where it looks three-dimensional from the front but suddenly goes flat from the side? People will laugh at you.”
When he heard the words ‘baby belly‘, Do Yuda looked utterly wronged, as if to protest that it wasn’t that bad. He lifted the hem of the jersey he’d been wearing while waiting and checked his stomach. At that, a perfectly flat belly, completely without a single curve, proudly revealed itself.
Considering how much he ate every day, it was genuinely impressive that his stomach wasn’t bulging but just dropped straight down. Still, since there wasn’t any actual muscle, a quiet silence fell over the waiting room.
‘Baby belly…….’
Everyone was probably thinking the same thing. Because Do Yuda had a noticeably fairer skin tone than most, it was hard not to see him as somewhat … harmless.
“…Why is it so white?”
Lee Danbi, who had ended up inspecting Do Yuda’s stomach against his will, murmured quietly with a blank expression. Meanwhile, the wardrobe staff, who had already seen Do Yuda’s body plenty of times while helping him change, calmly adjusted his jersey as if there was no need to take a second look.
“Yuda-ssi, we agreed you’d wear a rash guard today, remember? Don’t forget you’ll be standing next to Kangwon-ssi today.”
At the wardrobe staff’s cold remark, Do Yuda shot a quick glance at Zen, who was on his phone nearby. Zen couldn’t exactly sit around shirtless in the waiting room either, so he had thrown on a black sleeveless hoodie. Still, the deep cutouts at the sides of his top made it instantly clear he had an impressive body.
“My six pack…….”
“…….”
“Seonsaengnim1, ignore him. Give it up already, greedy snipe.”
“Waaah, please don’t give up on me, Miss!”
“I’m not the one who gave up on you, Yuda-ssi. It’s all the time you skipped workouts that gave up on you.”
Do Yuda looked back at the makeup artist again, but the reply was as cold as ever. In the end, he slumped onto the sofa, utterly defeated. Just then, Zen, who had been casually lifting Woo Kangwon’s dumbbells for a light pump, approached him with a smug look on his face.
Click!
Then he took a photo next to Do Yuda with his phone.
“Remember today’s defeat, foolish snipe.”
“You, if you post that on the fan app, you’re dead!”
“I can’t hear you.”
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