Chapter 25: The Weight of Being Watched

The fans who had come here were people with lives of their own, each with their own daily routines.
There was no way he wouldn’t be grateful that they had deliberately cleared almost an entire day of their lives just to come and see them.

As he was about to take a sip of his drink, Hyun Wooyoung came into view, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

“Why? What are you so surprised about?”

“I honestly didn’t think you’d actually say something like that.”

At Hyun Wooyoung’s words, Shim Eunchan turned his head to look at him.
Judging by his expression, he wasn’t exaggerating at all—he genuinely meant it.
Shim Eunchan frowned slightly.

“That’s only natural. Wait. When you say you didn’t expect that, are you saying you thought I was some ungrateful jerk who doesn’t even appreciate his fans?”

“Huh? No, that’s not it. I mean… no, that’s not it.”

When Shim Eunchan stood up, Hyun Wooyoung, who had been shaking his head, stared at him blankly.
Until Shim Eunchan moved behind him, Hyun Wooyoung did nothing but follow his actions with his eyes.
Then—

“…What!”

Shim Eunchan struck the back of Hyun Wooyoung’s knee with his own knee from behind, making him cry out and wobble.

“Even Wooyoung, who hasn’t debuted yet, thinks about the fans, so why would you think I wouldn’t, when I’ve already debuted?”

Hyun Wooyoung looked momentarily caught off guard.

“How dare you. That’s your punishment for doubting the bond between Pampaem and me.”

“No, it’s just—sorry.”

Hyun Wooyoung, who had been about to say something else, closed his mouth and offered a brief apology instead.
Shim Eunchan nodded and replied, “I’ll accept it,” and that was the end of it.

At the slight commotion, Jung Minyu and Ryu Seo-o, who had been standing some distance away, approached and asked what had happened.
When Shim Eunchan waved his hands and said it was just a joke, they looked at him with mild suspicion but didn’t press further.

“What event is next?”

“Hmm, I think it’s the penalty shootout.”

“Really? Then I should go sit over there to get some reaction shots.”

It felt like they had been filming for quite a while already, but it was still before lunchtime.
Then again, since the recording was being carried out slowly here and there, there hadn’t actually been many proper matches.
Straightening his slightly crooked name tag, Shim Eunchan looked toward where the idols were gathered.

On the other side, the idols who had been resting also began to gather one by one.

Moving more slowly than Jung Minyu and Ryu Seo-o, who were returning to their seats first, Shim Eunchan glanced toward Hyun Wooyoung.

“Oh, right, Wooyoung. Thanks for the drink.”

“No problem.”

Hyun Wooyoung called out to Shim Eunchan from behind, clearly aware that he had deliberately slowed down just to say thank you.
When Shim Eunchan turned around, Hyun Wooyoung gave a small bow.

“I’m sorry for saying something rude earlier.”

He didn’t need to go as far as apologizing again.

Shim Eunchan slowly blinked his wide-open eyes before speaking.

“No need to apologize. It’s fine. I’m sorry too for kneeing you from behind earlier.”

After giving Hyun Wooyoung’s back a light pat, Shim Eunchan quickened his pace.

He found himself deep in thought about when would be the best time to use the solo filming voucher they had won as a prize in the singing competition.

After the penalty shootout and archery, it was time for ssireum.

Their opponent in the ssireum preliminaries was IONACT.
Moon Sebyeol, who went first, easily pinned down his opponent.

For a moment, it felt like luck might really be on their side—until the next opponent turned out to be Redo, a foreign member famous for having transitioned from athletics to being an idol.

Do Junseo went out saying he’d give it a shot, his face filled with competitive spirit.

It was ssireum—why was he like this?
Shim Eunchan looked at Junseo with an awkward expression, feeling slightly flustered.
Of course, it would be great if they won and advanced to the semifinals, but he couldn’t understand where all that intensity was coming from.

Having spent so much time together, Shim Eunchan knew well that once Do Junseo had that expression, nothing anyone said would get through to him.
He quietly patted Junseo on the back.

“Just don’t get hurt and come back.”

“Got it. I’ll win and come back.”

That wasn’t what I said.

Still, Shim Eunchan didn’t bother adding anything and simply nodded in support.

“Junseo practiced ssireum really hard during the preliminary training.”

Jung Minyu filled him in while Junseo was away competing.
Shim Eunchan had been so busy lately that he’d barely done anything but sleep at the dorm and go to shoots, completely unaware of it.
Just how much effort had Junseo put in to be like that?

They had even filmed him practicing at the broadcasting station, so it would probably appear briefly as footage during the broadcast.
It would only be a tiny portion of the recorded material, but he thought he should watch it when it aired.

Redo had the build of a Westerner and was physically imposing, but Do Junseo, at 185 centimeters, wasn’t small either.
In the ready stance, the veins on the back of Junseo’s hand stood out as he gripped the satba.

Praying that he wouldn’t get hurt, Shim Eunchan focused on the match.
He could feel the camera moving closer, relentlessly sweeping over the faces of the teams with participating members.

Beeeeep—

With the sharp sound of the whistle, the match began.

The psychological battle over who would make the first move was intense.
After a few seconds of tense probing, Junseo hooked his leg.
But Redo was no easy opponent.
Using Junseo’s technique against him, Redo lifted him and slammed him toward the ground.
Anyone watching would have thought Redo had won.

But the one whose body touched the ground first was Redo.

As he fell, Junseo twisted his body in an instant, forcing his opponent’s shoulder to hit the mat.

“Wow!!”

Cheers erupted at the unexpected outcome.
Ryu Seo-o, who had been watching while seated, was now standing with both fists clenched.
They had advanced to the team finals in ssireum.
All the members ran toward Junseo in celebration, and from B the 1’s fan section, chants of Junseo’s name rang out.

“You did great…!”

“Junseo, you’re the best!”

It was the semifinals now.
Getting closer to the finals meant more camera close-ups.
With the members’ determination combined with Shim Eunchan’s own streak of luck, even the finals didn’t seem impossible.
But as if it were a lie, they lost two matches in a row in the semifinals.
On top of that, Moon Sebyeol slightly twisted his ankle.

Getting injured during a match was what he feared most, and that fear had become reality.

If someone got injured during filming, the broadcasting station didn’t take responsibility.
At most, they’d ask if the person was okay, but that was it.
Medical bills, delayed schedules during recovery—all of it was the individual’s burden, ultimately a personal loss.
That was why finishing the event without injury mattered more than winning.

“Sebyeol hyung, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’ll just run the relay later, go to the hospital after, and rest a bit.”

Despite Moon Sebyeol answering with a smile, the other members’ expressions darkened.
The runners for the final 400-meter relay—the very last event of the Idol Olympics—were Jung Minyu, Do Junseo, Shim Eunchan, and Moon Sebyeol.
Sebyeol, who was good at physically demanding tasks, was a key member of the relay.

“Sebyeol, you rest. I’ll run the relay.”

That was when Ryu Seo-o stepped forward.

Ryu Seo-o usually hated running and walked whenever he could.

“Hey, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“You pushing yourself would be worse.”

At Ryu Seo-o’s words, Moon Sebyeol fell silent.
He seemed to have made up his mind.

Everyone knew that even though Ryu Seo-o was quiet, once he decided on something, it was almost impossible to stop him.
He twitched his lips once before speaking again.

“But being the anchor is a bit much for me… so switch me.”

Ryu Seo-o was the practical type who never put on unnecessary bravado.

With that, the situation was more or less settled.

During a break in filming, they went over to the fan section and waved.
He’d heard that lunch boxes had been handed out in the meantime, but the distance was too great to see them eating.

He hoped they were enjoying the lunch boxes the agency had prepared.

All Shim Eunchan and the members could do was wave to the fans from nearby.

B the 1 and the other teams were also filming videos to upload to Nutube.
Perhaps worried about fans being concerned over his injury, Moon Sebyeol was filming with a more energetic attitude than usual.
While filming together, Shim Eunchan approached Jung Minyu and casually suggested when to use the solo filming voucher.

“How about we use it before our relay starts?”

“Before the relay?”

“Yes. Since it’s a group event, I think Sebyeol hyung could be in the shot too.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I think it’d be nice.”

Ryu Seo-o, who had been listening nearby, chimed in as well.

While Jung Minyu went to talk to the staff, Moon Sebyeol was seen filming someone who wasn’t one of the members.
Curious, Shim Eunchan walked over and saw Hyun Wooyoung on the screen, looking toward them.

“This here is our new member, Hyun Wooyoung. Right here, this person. Unfortunately, he couldn’t participate, but he came along with us. What is he doing with a staff necklace on?”

Watching the footage along with Moon Sebyeol’s commentary, Hyun Wooyoung looked oddly like a Lego figure, making Shim Eunchan snort with laughter.
Moon Sebyeol turned the camera back toward them.

“By the time this video goes up, we’ll probably be promoting together, which is a shame. We’ll have to aim for the next Idol Olympics, right?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s a shame, but next time.”

They were about to wrap up the video with some appropriate responses when someone approached from behind Shim Eunchan.

“Hello. Are you filming content?”

The person who suddenly joined in was Choi Wonmin from Max Upin.

“Oh—hello, sunbaenim.”

“It looked like you were having fun, so I thought I’d stop by for a moment. Would that be okay?”

Of course it was okay.
They were more than happy to welcome him.