Did I say that even if the two who fought didn’t make up immediately, one or two schedules would probably be fine?
I take it back.
That was bullshit.
‘How the hell do they get paired together on the very first one, fck.’*
I’d taken the risk because I was afraid that if we just covered everything up and moved on, it might explode even worse about half a year later and completely destroy the atmosphere beyond recovery.
I just hadn’t expected the entire risk to blow up in our faces on the very first try.
‘I wish this were a dream.’
The most absurd part was that I’d put safeguards in place specifically to prevent this disaster, only for it to happen through those safeguards anyway.
For starters… this W app content had begun like this.
“Hello, Loviewers! It’s been a while since all seven of us did a W app broadcast together, right? We announced it beforehand—did you see the notice~?”
“Right now, we’re at… ta-da! An indoor climbing center. Today, we wanted to show you a slightly different side of us having fun.”
“Should we divide into teams of two? Yep. Thank you for the cheers.”
“Ah, Chungwoo hyung says he’ll be the host because otherwise it wouldn’t be fair!”
Originally, Big Sejin was supposed to be the MC.
Honestly, this wasn’t the Olympics or anything. We were just messing around among ourselves, so fairness hardly mattered.
‘If anything, Ryu Chungwoo slaughtering the rest of us would’ve been more entertaining.’
But if Big Sejin hosted, he would have to keep talking with Bae Sejin too, so we’d arbitrarily taken him out of the MC position.
And I had already quietly spoken to the company beforehand.
I told them to pull some strings so those two wouldn’t end up on the same team.
But apparently something had gone wrong somewhere in the chain of communication, because when we drew chopsticks, Big Sejin and Bae Sejin pulled the same color side by side.
“…Wow! Both Sejins are on the Blue Team together.”
Before the viewers noticed anything strange, we needed to clap immediately.
Clap clap clap clap!
Fortunately, everyone clapped desperately.
It looked passable enough.
“Oh, let’s do our best, hyung.”
“…Yeah.”
The fact that they were talking at all because the cameras were on was impressive.
A deep fury toward the company welled up inside me.
‘Can these bastards seriously not even handle one thing properly?’
Mistakes like this were common anywhere, but with the timing lining up like this, I seriously wanted to replace the entire staff.
And let me point out the final problem.
This wasn’t prerecorded footage where we could use the magic of editing.
It was a live broadcast.
“…….”
In other words, an all-around disaster.
I could already see a swarm of brand-new anonymous accounts popping up after the broadcast ended.
‘No.’
I could practically hear those two’s mental states cracking from here.
Just as I started breaking into a cold sweat, a vigorous voice sounded beside me.
“Hyung! We win! Go Red Team~ Go Red Team!”
“Yeah.”
That was it.
All we could do was have the rest of us react loudly enough to bury any sense of awkwardness.
I deliberately egged on Cha Eugene, who was on my team.
“Which team do you think would be easiest to beat?”
Cha Eugene responded exactly as expected.
“Umm… Kim Raebin’s team!”
“That statement is merely reckless bravado! Ahyeon hyung and I, as former roommates, undoubtedly possess effective cooperative capabilities…….”
Good.
Now everyone only had to burst out laughing and react.
Using Cha Eugene in similar ways, I kept driving the atmosphere forward.
The reactions in the W app’s live chat, which I glanced at, were going according to plan too.
—Why is Moondae so excited lolololol
—No but Moondae lololol
—The maknaes are seriously like a bunch of Maltese puppies
—Already boring
—So cuteㅠㅠ
Hmm.
Judging by the stable, content-free hate comments, nobody seemed to sense anything awkward yet.
‘We just need to get through those two’s match.’
Fortunately, since there were three teams, their team was selected to advance straight to the final with a bye.
Of course, we deliberately lost.
“Then, according to the rock-paper-scissors-minus-one result… the team advancing directly is Blue!”
“Oh~”
“I believe playing fewer games actually places you at a disadvantage.”
“Wow~ Thanks, Raebin. You’ve made this less exciting already.”
Big Sejin smoothly used Kim Raebin’s remark as an excuse for why the two of them didn’t even exchange an ordinary high five.
—LOLOLOLOLOL so funny
—Raebin is brilliant
—Ugh suddenly awkward
—Bae Se’s expression lolololol
‘Only one hurdle left now.’
As long as the two of them didn’t glare at each other while climbing in the final or jerk their shoulders away the instant they touched, we’d be fine.
I started climbing alongside Cha Eugene against the Kim Raebin–Seon Ahyeon team, feeling somewhat tense.
‘We can’t get eliminated.’
If the other team won and moved on, I had absolutely no confidence in their ability to handle unexpected interpersonal situations.
The problem was that the other team was better at climbing than I’d expected.
Especially Seon Ahyeon.
“F-Fighting…! Watch, watch your footing…….”
“Thank you!”
He climbed smoothly, and even helped pull Kim Raebin upward.
I wanted to compliment his strength and sense of balance, but none of it was useful right now.
‘Well, if they had enough sense to deliberately lose, there would’ve been no reason for that team to lose in the first place…….’
Holding back a groan, I continued climbing in silence.
Fortunately, we did win.
“Red Team wins!”
“Wow!!”
That was because Cha Eugene, who climbed at tremendous speed, interfered with both members of the opposing team.
After landing on the floor, I gladly gave him a high five.
Then I said with complete sincerity,
“Good job.”
“Hehe.”
Cha Eugene grinned and waved at Kim Raebin.
“Winning is good!”
“Cha Eugene obstructed another person’s climbing, whereas Ahyeon hyung and I assisted each other, so I believe the two approaches are fundamentally incomparable!”
“Hmm, whatever~”
Cha Eugene clearly wasn’t listening in the slightest.
Another wave passed through the live chat, with viewers crying over how cute the protesting Kim Raebin was.
—The best bunnyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
—Cha Go-young has learned variety skills
—Kim Rabbit is so cute
—LOLOLOLOLOLOL
And then the moment of fate arrived.
“All right, the final round of TeSTAR’s climbing competition is about to begin. Everyone get ready… Hey, Eugene, back up.”
“Yep.”
At Ryu Chungwoo’s sharp command, Cha Eugene, who had apparently gotten excited by the game and stepped forward a little too early, obediently backed up again.
Then he shrugged.
“It’s okay. Even if I’m late, I win!”
“…!”
“Oh~ Eugene’s overflowing with confidence. Won’t it be really embarrassing if you say that and then lose to your hyungs?”
Big Sejin threw out a pointed remark, but Cha Eugene gave him a smug grin.
“You can’t win!”
“…!”
That was some insane provocation.
‘What the hell is wrong with this bastard?’
The staff and the live chat seemed to think his baseless confidence was just him trying to be funny, so their reactions were fine.
But from where I was standing, the guy was serious.
‘Did winning once go to his head?’
These guys absolutely could not be provoked right now—
“Ohhh~? And what are you going to do if we win, Eugene? You’re not going to cry, are you?”
“I don’t!”
Big Sejin grinned.
“Really? Then I guess we’ll have to find out~”
He meant it.
Even Bae Sejin, who had been standing rigid with tension behind him, was silently checking his gloves.
He had definitely lost his mind too.
‘Both of these bastards really hate being looked down on.’
At that moment, something flashed through my mind.
Wait.
Could this actually… help?
I immediately opened my mouth, deliberately pretending to be as serious as possible.
“Yeah. I don’t think we’re going to lose.”
“That’s right!”
“Wow, Park Moondae, even you?”
While Big Sejin booed, Bae Sejin looked over at me too.
For some reason, he looked betrayed.
‘What’s with him?’
Either way, it worked.
If I made them obsess over the competition, the awkwardness would probably be less noticeable.
“All right~ That’s enough trying to intimidate each other. The four of you, line up again.”
The four members waited in front of the climbing wall with more enthusiasm than before.
“Ready… go!”
And all four surged up the wall.
‘They’re seriously trying their hardest.’
I deliberately climbed at a moderate pace so I could keep an eye on the situation, and grew a little tired just watching the other three move their arms and legs with their eyes fixed completely upward.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to be a little more careful?’
Especially the one with less muscle mass.
The moment I thought that, Bae Sejin’s foot slipped.
“…!”
But he immediately regained his position and started climbing again.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine.”
Bae Sejin’s voice as he answered Cha Eugene was clear.
Big Sejin, who had been climbing while bickering with Cha Eugene, hesitated for a moment before replying in an easygoing tone.
“Then I’ll head up first~”
Apparently, he’d been debating whether he should say something concerned.
What surprised me was that Bae Sejin answered him.
“…Okay. Give me a second.”
“Ohhh~”
For the record, that last exclamation was Cha Eugene.
Immediately afterward, Cha Eugene reached the target point.
“Cha Eugene succeeds!”
“YEEES~!”
Cha Eugene quickly moved around, made a few pointless gestures as though trying to obstruct Bae Sejin without actually affecting him much, then soon approached in my direction.
He stretched out an arm as though he were going to help support me, then whispered using only the shape of his mouth.
It was English.
[We have to lose!]
“…!”
We have to lose.
It was an unexpectedly perceptive statement coming from Cha Eugene.
‘Am I dreaming?’
Of course, this was reality.
For a moment, I almost gave Cha Eugene a suspicious look, but then I stopped thinking about it and let myself slip naturally.
Honestly, after two consecutive rounds, my grip strength was already fading, so it would’ve been ridiculous to even call it going easy on them.
“Gasp.”
“Moondae hyung, are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
While Cha Eugene subtly pretended to check on me and delayed my climb, Bae Sejin stubbornly hauled himself upward.
Then he touched the target hold.
“I did it…!!”
Bae Sejin’s face was bright red when he looked back.
“Excellent. Blue Team wins!”
“Ooh!”
Forgetting all their tension, the other members applauded Bae Sejin, who was proudly gripping the hold.
‘Good. I’m done too.’
I landed on the floor with a sigh of relief.
At least we’d succeeded in losing naturally.
Cha Eugene followed, descending with unnecessary flair as though performing some sort of stunt. The two winners came down to the floor shortly afterward as well.
“Wait, Eugene, didn’t you say you were going to win~?”
“I win! Moondae hyung loses to Sejin hyung.”
“Hey.”
I deliberately smacked Cha Eugene on the back. The staff watching the shoot hurriedly held back laughter behind us.
“Ow! You’ll put a hole in my back!”
Leaving Cha Eugene to make a blatantly exaggerated fuss, I spoke to Bae Sejin.
“You were good, hyung.”
“Well, I just… somehow… Yeah.”
His words were modest, but his expression looked proud.
Big Sejin had been trading joking barbs with Cha Eugene, who was still putting on an exaggerated act, when his eyes met mine.
“…….”
I subtly jerked my chin toward Bae Sejin.
Big Sejin slowly opened his mouth.
“…He really was! You’re good at this, hyung.”
“…!!”
Judging by his shoulders, Bae Sejin nearly jumped in surprise, but fortunately his expression returned to normal in an instant.
“…Yeah. Thanks. You were… good too.”
“Haha.”
The two gave each other an extremely polite high five.
Even if they were only doing it because the cameras were on, it was still clear that some of their anger had subsided.
‘Looks like both of them spent a lot of time thinking last night.’
Read only on MUGEX
Cha Eugene, who had been watching them with satisfaction beside me, whispered in English.
[Performing well and winning in sports. It always works.]
“…Speaking from experience?”
[I was a pretty good football player! Well, it was only in middle school.]
Even though I was taking a crash course in conversational English, half of what this guy said wasn’t even standard English, so I couldn’t understand it properly.
How many times could someone possibly fit like into a single sentence?
…Still, I couldn’t criticize the quality of his judgment.
‘So he really isn’t oblivious. He just chooses not to care.’
I gave Cha Eugene a light pat on the back.
“Good job.”
“Of course!”
As we casually bumped fists as though celebrating second place, it finally sank in that we had gotten through this shoot safely.
And it seemed the two who had fought were ready to sit down and talk in a reasonably calm atmosphere much sooner than I’d expected.