novelraw Chapter 217: Group Training (2)
Chapter 217: Group Training (2)
Here was the gist:
I had always emphasized exercise as a means to maintain the physique and stamina required for idol activities, so when I suddenly took the lead and suggested we enter a sports competition, the others assumed I was aiming for the championship trophy.
“Do I look that competitive?”
“Not really.”
Choi Jeho said as he closed the lid on his empty delivery container.
But I was all about safety first. I’d rather not see anyone get injured or have a bad experience due to overzealousness.
I was just thinking we should participate in every event with a positive attitude and do our best…
+
[SYSTEM] Work instructions from ‘Supervisor’ have arrived.
▶ Oh, by the way, Assistant Manager Kim! Check how many points you’ve accumulated in our employee benefits mall. See if you can buy something big.[SYSTEM] ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ Overall victory in ‘Idol Sports Day’
▷ Reward: Body Stabilization (Synchronization decrease by 3%)
+
…
“But you’re right.”
“What?”
“I do want to win the whole thing. Don’t forget. There’s no such thing as defeat in Spark’s dictionary.”
Seeing the word ‘stabilization’ attached, this was clearly a reward meant for me. Even if 3% was ridiculously stingy.
This time, I would get rid of these dark circles and escape from these migraines. I burned with renewed determination.
* * *
In the afternoon, I went to the archery range with Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo. They had only had one session ahead of me, but they already gave off a pretty convincing vibe.
Park Joowoo even helped me put on my chest guard. It felt like just yesterday I was the one rescuing this guy from the harness trap—when did he grow up so fast? I was genuinely touched.
“So? How does it feel to actually try it?”
“Aiming is harder than I thought. Even a slight wobble throws the arrow way off.”
While the instructor showed me how to hold the bow, Jeong Seongbin quietly explained the difficulties he’d faced during the morning session.
“Have you shot a bow before? Between the two of you, who do you think adapted faster?”
I asked casually, careful not to put any pressure on them about their performance.
Jeong Seongbin then put his hand on Park Joowoo’s shoulder and gently nudged him forward.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“I think Joowoo might be an archery genius.”
Park Joowoo? Can he even pull the bowstring? Wasn’t he about to throw up while running earlier?
As I stood there full of doubt, Park Joowoo shyly lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck.
Jeong Seongbin wasn’t the type to lie, but I wondered if he was just being biased towards his friend.
But the moment Park Joowoo drew the string, any suspicion of ‘Jeong Seongbin’s friendship bias’ vanished in an instant.
“Wow…”
Exclamations erupted from the staff. They seemed to think they had struck gold. Park Joowoo’s arrow, after practicing all morning, hit the 9-point ring.
“Huh? Why are you so good?”
“Mr. Joowoo has a very stable posture! No small tremors, and above all, his concentration is excellent.”
The instructor explained, but my surprise didn’t subside easily.
No, but the target made a ‘thwack’ sound! There was power behind it! Just this morning, the guy was crawling during the run!
While I was still flustered, Jeong Seongbin also drew his bowstring. Although he didn’t score as high as Park Joowoo, he didn’t miss the target. For someone who’d only had a quick morning lesson, it was an excellent result.
“You guys are really good. I’m starting to feel left out.”
“Ahaha, we practiced pretty intensely in the morning.”
I figured they wouldn’t slack off with Jeong Seongbin involved, but both of them had trained far harder than I expected.
Fortunately, I wasn’t scolded for my posture. On the contrary, I received a lot of praise for having a more balanced posture than Park Joowoo.
However, even I, the genius of standing still, had a hurdle to overcome.
“Let’s try breathing a little slower. Relax and take a deep breath!”
I hadn’t realized it, but my heart was beating incredibly fast. It was so fast that I wondered if it always beat this fast.
Maybe it was because I’d been playing basketball all morning. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to calm my erratic internal organs.
Even after I steadied myself, hitting the target wasn’t easy. It felt completely different from shooting. I had a sharpshooter patch and some experience back in the day, but it must have melted away during the regression. It was amazing how these guys managed to plant their arrows so firmly.
“Should we change team members now…?”
“Don’t be discouraged, hyung…!”
Park Joowoo actively cheered me on.
“But Joowoo, look over there.”
I pointed to the arrows that had missed the target completely and were deeply embedded in the back wall. Park Joowoo couldn’t say a word. The path to overall victory felt very long.
* * *
“How was it, running around a bit this morning? Think things will go well?”
A writer asked me this while I was taping a bandage on my finger during a break.
Come to think of it, these kinds of programs usually included interview clips. Plus, I heard that Spark was the only group this season doing the training camp, so they might be looking for more footage. I tried my best to answer sincerely.
“I don’t know how well we’ll do, but I hope we can have at least one person in every event. Our members are actually pretty athletic.”
“Which events are you participating in, Mr. Iwol?”
“I’m in basketball, archery, and table tennis. Oh, and the relay race too.”
“Isn’t that too much?”
“I like using my body. I’m actually looking forward to it!”
It was true—I liked using my body for exercise. It was just that I disliked using my body for weekend hikes or carrying shelves for my boss.
The writer’s expression turned into something like admiration as if touched by my sincerity. But honestly, my heart was full of ulterior motives, so I hoped she wouldn’t interpret it too positively.
“What about the other members?”
“Jeho is joining me for basketball. And he’ll probably participate in futsal too!”
“Isn’t Mr. Cheonghyeon also doing futsal? I saw him running on the field earlier.”
“Cheonghyeon said he’s applying for goalkeeper. I wanted to join too, but it’s a shame.”
We could only have a limited number of people per team, and I’d already been banned from futsal. I could only soothe the disappointment by voicing it.
After a bit more chatting, the writer wrapped it up with one last question.
“So, what’s Spark’s goal this time? Can we expect a win?”
“First, it’s to show our fans that we’re working hard. And to have fun without getting injured, those are the two main things! As for winning… we’ll do our best!”
“Please leave a message for your fans watching this video.”
“Yes!”
The moment I looked at the camera lens after my energetic reply…
+
[SYSTEM] ‘Subordinate’s’ KPI ‘Achieve 1st place on a music show with 6 Spark members’ has been confirmed.
▷ Reward: Memory Data (1 piece)
+
A system notification popped up saying the KPI had been confirmed. I didn’t even glance at the damn memory data.
But then…
+
[SYSTEM] The KPI ‘Capture the hearts of potential customers’ has been assigned to ‘Subordinate’
+
…What is this outlandish KPI? What does ‘capture the hearts of potential customers’ even mean?
I couldn’t even begin to guess. Do you think hearts are objects or something? How do you capture them? They’re not pigeons.
As if sensing my confusion, the system reappeared, wearing Manager Nam’s skin.
+
[SYSTEM] Work instructions from ‘Superior’ have arrived.
▶ The way I see it, Assistant Manager Kim, you need to be more aggressive in targeting customers. So, how about you try attracting some potential customers this time? I think about 10,000 should do the trick.
[SYSTEM] KPI ‘Capture the hearts of potential customers’ is being notified to the ‘Subordinate’.
▷ Secure 10,000 new fans whose bias is ‘Kim Iwol’
▷ Support provided: Auxiliary guide for KPI achievement
+
My vision went white.
Forget potential customers. Forget the guide. I’m more than happy with the people who already love the current, worn-out, insignificant Kim Iwol!
With that desperate, breaking heart, I finished the interview. I mean, gaining 10,000 new Sparklers might be doable—but 10,000 whose bias was Kim Iwol? That twisted my insides.
* * *
In the end, I didn’t open the Memory Data. I didn’t even look at the auxiliary guide the system provided. Instead, I just exercised like crazy. Perhaps fueled by my rage, I didn’t feel tired even after shooting arrows until 10 pm.
I returned to the dorm at Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo’s insistence, and found the futsal team spreading out blankets in the large room.
“We’re all sleeping in this room together?”
“That’s what I heard. Hyung, your spot is over there.”
Lee Cheonghyeon pointed to a corner spot by the window as he dragged a blanket.
“Why am I stuck in the corner?”
“Because if we let you sleep near the door, you’ll sneak out to practice at night.”
“…”
“And for the record, that was Kang Kiyeon’s order. This Cheonghyeon didn’t say anything!”
Lee Cheonghyeon’s nonchalant look made me even more annoyed.
“So, where is our mastermind, Kang Kiyeon?”
“He went to the next room to get more blankets. He said we might not have enough.”
Park Joowoo, who was counting the blankets laid out on the floor, tilted his head at Lee Cheonghyeon’s words.
“Not enough? I think we have six…”
“Hyung, look at our size.”
“Ah…”
Park Joowoo sighed as if he just had an epiphany.
If I’d known we’d be sharing a room like this, I wouldn’t have helped bulk them up. I tried to aim for the greater good, but now I was stuck sleeping in the corner.
As soon as our conversation ended, Kang Kiyeon appeared, carrying a bundle of blankets. His face was bright red from carrying so many.
Looking at Kang Kiyeon, Choi Jeho said,
“If you were just going to bring all the blankets anyway, we could’ve just slept in separate rooms.”
No one was better at throwing cold water on a situation than Choi Jeho. His timing was always perfect. Everyone just gaped at him.
“Hyung, let’s just sleep together for team unity. It’s not like sharing a room for one night will kill us.”
Lee Cheonghyeon smiled and put his hand on Choi Jeho’s shoulder. Perhaps to convey the meaning of ‘just go along with it’, the veins on the back of Lee Cheonghyeon’s hand bulged.
“Yeah, none of us have bad sleeping habits!”
Thanks to Jeong Seongbin’s cheerful energy shift, we were finally able to tuck in peacefully.
Lying down practically glued to the wall, I felt a sense of déjà vu. Didn’t I have a similar experience recently?
Probably it was when we went to the countryside to film our self-produced content. It hadn’t been that long, but it already felt like a distant memory.
“I can’t sleep.”
“What?”
“It’s too much of a waste to sleep like this.”
Lee Cheonghyeon muttered in the darkness.
“That’s because you didn’t train enough.”
“Joowoo hyung, please cover Iwol hyung’s mouth.”
Park Joowoo’s hand, which had no sense of humor, slapped over my face. His grip was incredibly strong, making me understand why he was so good at archery. Although I was not sure if grip strength was actually related.
“Is there anyone who feels so sleepy right now that they absolutely need to fall asleep immediately to be in good condition for training tomorrow?”
Lee Cheonghyeon asked.
And no one answered. It was only natural, considering they usually practice dancing until dawn.
“Then, shall we play for just one hour before sleeping?”
I could feel some of them flinch at Lee Cheonghyeon’s words.
Seriously, you guys want to play in the middle of the night?
Maybe it was because I was just an old man, but I couldn’t understand them at all. Yet, one by one, the boys started crawling out of their blankets.