Chapter 26: When Luck Finally Runs Forward

Shim Eunchan’s eyes widened before he subtly stepped aside to make space for Choi Wonmin to move to the center.

“Hello to our Pampams and our Maxims. This is Wonmin from Max Upin.”

Choi Wonmin greeted them using the nicknames of B the 1’s fans, clearly having done his homework beforehand.

“B the 1 juniors, you must be working hard competing at the Idol Athletics Championships.”

“Ah, the seniors worked hard as well.”

“They say it’s rare for music shows to gather people on this scale, right? The Idol Athletics Championships are one of the biggest idol events there is, so we prepared really hard for you, the fans. I hope you enjoy watching.”

Choi Wonmin delivered a perfectly safe, polished comment without a single flaw.
It looked easy, but being that smooth was harder than it seemed.
As expected, his long experience in the entertainment industry hadn’t been wasted.

“We really did prepare hard, but now, well… we’re still in our late twenties, but our bodies aren’t what they used to be. It’s tiring.”

Choi Wonmin exaggeratedly slumped his shoulders and acted worn out.
His easygoing delivery made the members watching burst into laughter.

“Senior, do you have today’s TMI you could share with the fans?”

At Moon Sebyeol’s question, Choi Wonmin paused with a thoughtful “Hmm…” before speaking.

“I usually have an iced Americano in the morning, but today I had a strawberry frappuccino.”

Moon Sebyeol and Shim Eunchan clapped lightly and nodded along.
Choi Wonmin loosely draped an arm over Shim Eunchan’s shoulder and spoke again.

“B the 1 members, please share your TMIs for today too.”

“I’ll go first.”

Shim Eunchan raised his hand and stepped forward.

“Today, the members all went up to the shop and left just me behind.”

Moon Sebyeol jumped in place, and Ryu Seo-o narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, that’s not it. That phrasing is misleading.”

“But that is the fact. Hahaha. Just kidding. Actually, I was in the car with one of our staff members. I’ve been really short on sleep lately, so they let me sleep a bit longer. Thanks to the members, I slept really well.”

Moon Sebyeol stared at him for a moment before shaking his head with a smile.

“My TMI is that I used a new shampoo this morning. I switched from the one I usually use, and the scent was really nice.”

“My turn, right? For lunch today, I ate samgyeopsal gimbap made by our leader, Jung Minyu hyung. It had ssamjang that his mom made with lots of perilla seeds in it. It was seriously amazing.”

As if the taste came back to him mid-sentence, Moon Sebyeol gazed off into space with a nostalgic look and smacked his lips.

It really had been delicious.
Shim Eunchan agreed.

“Wow. He made it himself?”

“Yes. Minyu hyung is in charge of cooking at the dorm.”

“Wow. Homemade samgyeopsal gimbap… it must’ve been good. You ate it all, right?”

Shim Eunchan had thought Choi Wonmin was just making polite conversation, but his eyes were serious.

“We unfortunately never overlapped promotion periods with Max Upin seniors, but if we ever appear together on a music show, we’ll treat you to it.”

“Really? I’ll look forward to it.”

He really cared about food.
For some reason, it made him feel closer to him.

Thinking they’d gotten enough footage, Choi Wonmin looked at the camera and spoke.

“Please give lots of love to Max Upin, and also lots of love to our juniors, B the 1.”

At the closing comment, Shim Eunchan raised his voice slightly and said, “Bye,” to wrap up the filming.

“Thank you, senior. Our Pampams and the Maxims will really love this.”

Choi Wonmin smiled at Moon Sebyeol’s words.
They exchanged encouragement for the rest of the shoot and pleasantries about meeting again later.
Just as Shim Eunchan thought Choi Wonmin would return to Max Upin’s area, he approached him instead.

“What’s your phone number?”

“Yes, senior? My phone number?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Shim Eunchan was momentarily confused, but he took out his phone without hesitation.

Max Upin would remain a strong group for years to come, and as far as Shim Eunchan knew, they’d had no major controversies.
It was a connection worth having, and there was no reason to refuse.

“Let’s have a meal sometime. For real.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“Let’s take a verification photo to commemorate exchanging numbers. Is it okay if I upload it to my personal account?”

There was no reason to say no to that either.

Nodding in agreement, Shim Eunchan posed as Choi Wonmin took the photo with his own phone.

Whether it was the photo or the video they had just filmed, once uploaded, Max Upin’s name alone would be enough to generate buzz.
He hadn’t even asked, yet Choi Wonmin had willingly filmed with them.
It was unexpected luck.

At last, filming reached its final stretch, and it was time for the 400-meter relay.

Using the solo filming voucher they had earned as the first-place prize earlier, B the 1 filmed a segment explaining the history and rules of the 400-meter relay.
Thanks to Shim Eunchan and Moon Sebyeol, who were confident with memorization, they finished in just two takes.

The relay order was Jung Minyu, Ryu Seo-o, Do Junseo, and Shim Eunchan.

At Ryu Seo-o’s request, Shim Eunchan became the anchor.
Each team’s first runner lined up at the starting line, and cheers for different teams echoed from the stands.

Among all the chants from the fan sections, the phrase heard most often was this.

“You don’t have to try so hard—just don’t get hurt.”

That was probably how all fans felt.

He hadn’t fully understood it before, but now he did.
He didn’t know how anyone could love someone enough to cheer like that.

His nose stung for no reason, so Shim Eunchan lowered his head and blinked a few times.

“Attention!”

At the voice echoing through the stadium, he looked at Jung Minyu with a nervous heart.
Bang—the starting gun fired, and the race began.

Jung Minyu had a fast start and pulled ahead early, but the Veritons runner was quick, so the lead was razor-thin.
Next up, Ryu Seo-o stood at the exchange zone, ready to receive the baton.
The moment it touched his palm, he clenched it tightly and sprinted forward.
Ryu Seo-o ran with gritted teeth, but at the corner, he slipped and slid across the track.

“…!”

Screams and gasps rose from the stands.

He’d felt uneasy ever since they laid down the sheet to make the lanes.
Wait—weren’t my luck stats supposed to go up?
Is this what good luck looks like?

Biting his lip in frustration, Shim Eunchan watched as Ryu Seo-o got up and ran again, only to be overtaken by Veritons and A Mates from behind.
By the time the baton was passed, they had fallen to third place.
Panting, Ryu Seo-o bit his lower lip as he moved away.
Shim Eunchan approached him as he entered the waiting area.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“I just slipped. I’m not hurt.”

Thank goodness.
That was all that mattered.

At the same time, Do Junseo was running hard, visibly closing the gap with second place.

As Shim Eunchan moved toward the starting line, Ryu Seo-o lightly tapped his arm.

“I’m sorry.”

“…No—.”

Before Shim Eunchan could say anything else, Ryu Seo-o left.
With no time to follow him, Shim Eunchan’s thoughts grew tangled.
In the stands, Moon Sebyeol’s face was filled with regret.

He could see it clearly—what everyone was thinking.
Moon Sebyeol, Ryu Seo-o, even Do Junseo were blaming themselves.
And if the race ended like this, the guilt would only deepen.
Shim Eunchan knew better than anyone how painful it was when a mistake didn’t just affect you, but hurt others too.

“Hoo…”

Now it was his turn.
He had to do well, no matter what.

Shim Eunchan tapped the ground with the tip of his foot.

He watched Do Junseo enter the curve.

Please don’t fall, he prayed, and thankfully, Junseo made it through safely.
A Mates, who had been in first place, tried to pass the baton to their next runner but dropped it in a mistake.
There was no time to keep watching.
Soon after, Veritons in second place and Do Junseo arrived one after the other.

The system message resurfaced in Shim Eunchan’s mind.

[Temporarily applying increased Luck stat.]

Receiving the baton from Do Junseo, Shim Eunchan clenched his teeth and sprinted forward.
At the same moment, the A Mates runner picked up the dropped baton and started running.

Veritons, Shim Eunchan, and A Mates ran down their respective lanes.

From the stands came the chanting of team names, and from the commentators’ booth, excited shouts rang out faintly.

It was strange.
His body felt lighter than it had during the 60-meter individual sprint.
The distance between Shim Eunchan and A Mates, who had been running neck and neck, slowly began to widen.
Little by little, Shim Eunchan surged ahead.

It’s okay. I can do this.

Repeating those words in his mind, he ran with his eyes fixed straight ahead.

The back of the Veritons runner grew closer.

“Kyaa! Shim Eunchan!!”

“Seo Wooju! You can do it!”

At last, Shim Eunchan took the lead.

There was no room to look to the side.
He rounded the final curve.
The white line of the finish was in sight.
Just a little more.
In a marathon, you finish with your chest.
Remembering his regret from the 60-meter race, Shim Eunchan squeezed out his final strength and crossed the line.

Beeep—!

As he slowed to a stop, gasping for breath, Hyun Wooyoung came into view.

He’s standing there like a Lego again.

A laugh slipped out.
He wasn’t sure because of the distance, but it felt like their eyes met.
Before he could be certain, Shim Eunchan smiled as his members ran toward him.

The gold medal in the 400-meter relay went to B the 1.

Did anyone here go to the Idol Athletics Championships today? Drop a review.

└ I went. Max Oppas were absolutely flying again this year. But why did Wonmin film content with some other idol?

└└ What?? Wonmin? You lying?

└└└ (photo) (photo)

└└└└ =00???? That’s real??

└└└ I saw it too. I think they were called B the 1 or something.

└└└└ Never heard of them before;; Are they trying to leech off Wonmin or what;;

└└└└└ Wonmin went to them first. No idea when he got close with B the 1. I checked older videos and there’s nothing.

Is it true Wonmin joined another idol’s self-content shoot? I’m serious.

└ Yeah, it’s real. He went over first, too.

└└ Our shy baby bunnyㅠㅠ how could heㅠㅠㅠ Who are those idols?

└└└ I think it was B the… something.

└└└└ It’s B the 1.

Any B the 1 fans here? Today’s Idol Athletics Championships were insane. The men’s relay at the end was legendary.

└ What was so crazy about it?

└└ You can’t explain it properly in words. You have to watch the broadcast. I went today and became a fan after seeing the relay.

└└└ My friend went to the recording—no need to overhype. It wasn’t that great.

└└└└ Same. They just got lucky, honestly.

└└└└ Veritons fan would say that, lol.

Who won the men’s relay anyway?

└ B the 1. First time hearing of them.

└└ There were idols like that?

└└└ Must be a flop group… guess they were happy to finally get on public broadcast.

└└└└ They’ve been on public broadcast before; just because you didn’t see them doesn’t mean they weren’t there.

└└└└└ Why so sensitive lol, are you a flop group fan?

└└ Anyway, they’re a flop group, so they probably won’t get much screen time lol.

└└└ True, I’d focus on popular teams too if I were them.

Is it true B the 1 only had 20 fan seats?

Aren’t idol teams supposed to have at least 30? Never heard of just 20;;

└ A miracle of a flop group.

└ No, some teams only got 7 seats.

└└ 7 seats? LMAO who even is that? Why do you know that?

└└└ I’m a fan of the group that got 7 seats.

└└└└ Oh…… sorry.

└└└└└ Don’t apologize, damn it.

Looks like they practiced like crazy though. They got first place in the singing contest and even earned a special perk.

Did anyone see that tall male staff member at the event? He was insanely handsome.

└ What lol, you had the time to look around at that?

└ (photo)

└└ Holy—what is that? Who is he? A trainee? Where is he from?

└ Got any more photos? No way he’s a civilian.