novelraw Chapter 240: My Kid Bragging Contest
Chapter 240: My Kid Bragging Contest
There was no way Iwol would tan his skin. He treasured sunscreen more than his own life.
But something did seem off. Even when standing next to Lee Cheonghyeon and Park Joowoo—both of whom had fairly light skin—Kim Iwol’s skin was the only one practically glowing white.
After a 3-minute search, Baek Haewon was able to find out the reason Kim Iwol had set foot in the human realm.
≫ Iwol apparently changed his foundation
He used to use a brighter one, but it stood out too much unless it was a solo shoot, so he decided to tone it down for group shoots, I heard
It seems he’s been mixing them since the IMO era
└ Wait, 17 is toned down?
└ Then what shade did he use originally;;;; 13 or 15?
└ It’s not just the shade number, his skin tone itself has a lot of blue undertones, so he usually buys it directly from overseas
Fans who had previously shared beauty tips with Iwol poured in with testimonials.“They say it’s because he changed his makeup.”
“Makes sense.”
Baek Haein was convinced.
But that was weird. How did a bastard who didn’t even put toner on his own face notice Iwol’s change?
She was curious, but not enough to ask. Instead of wasting time asking her damn sibling, it was more urgent to scan the corners of the screen to see if her boy was appearing.
After that… the spoiler reviews she’d seen on her timeline unfolded before her eyes as visual evidence.
They said Kim Iwol flashed a dazzling, confident smile, and she thought everyone was just throwing around blatant lies—until he actually high-fived Choi Jeho after scoring a goal, landing a massive area-of-effect blow right to Baek Haewon’s heart.
It was also true that Park Joowoo, the symbol of calmness, had shot an arrow with an uncharacteristically troubled expression. Baek Haewon, overwhelmed by the charming gap of a stoic pretty boy showing attitude, nearly passed out in front of the TV.
“Those guys playing ssal-bori in the back, are they Spark too?”
(TL note: ssal-bori is a light slap-fighting game, usually on the arms or shoulders.)
Baek Haein asked, squinting and pointing to a corner of the screen.
Two huge guys in black tracksuits were relieving the boredom of the long waiting time by playing ssal-bori.
…Though it looked a little more intense than the usual ssal-bori.
“That looks less like ssal-bori and more like they’re hitting a punching machine,”
Baek Haein added, seeing the spin in Choi Jeho’s punches.
“Our Jeho probably hasn’t played that much, that’s why. He’ll adjust gradually.”
“Kind of hard to say that when the one taking the hits looks that serious too.”
The camera also caught Kim Iwol, stably bending his arms and hands to receive Choi Jeho’s punches, which were aimed at his abdomen.
≫ Who are those guys in the corner playing ssal-bori with what look like real punches?
Their fists seem to carry a lot of emotion
└ Our boys aren’t fighting, they’re playing!
≫ That ssal-bori guy would be good at boxing
Looks like he has a talent for hooks
└ Kim Iwol, blocking those with his palm, is just as scary
└ Shouldn’t Iwol be doing a strength show breaking wooden boards or something?
└ The group where younger members would absolutely never dare to rebel against their hyungs—ranked #1
└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ The hyungs are just too strong for anyone to rebel against them
≫ It’s striking how innocently the kids play
Outside of fan sections, all they do during wait times is ssalbori or give each other piggyback rides
You’d think a trio like them would cause an explosion like Kkuyo Kkuyo, but even with six of them grouped up, nothing breaks—must be a bug
└ Even with six of them grouped up, nothing breaks, must be a bug << What the heck ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ They stick together like a glue. Watching Iwol or Cheonghyeon, you wouldn’t think they lack social skillsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ I used to think when the kids said they have fun amongst themselves, it was just a professional comment, but now it seems genuine. They’re just doing things like life-or-death ssal-bori among themselves
Baek Haewon, looking at the flood of SNS posts, said.
“Iwol must not have done stuff like that much before. My poor baby probably didn’t have friends, how cute.”
“I told you, I was in the same class as him!”
“And when did that make you two friends? You were just an acquaintance who shared a classroom with him for a year.”
Baek Haewon retorted coldly. By definition, friends should be those bound by an official contract to spend 24 hours a day together for 7 years, and only the common ground forged between the sole same-aged members within that bond could be called friendship, right?
‘ISD’ was really long. It was fortunate that Spark participated in all events and ranked reasonably well in most; otherwise, Baek Haewon might have turned off the TV midway.
Nevertheless, Baek Haewon enjoyed it. Especially when Kim Iwol came out for the table tennis match—her joy was indescribable.
Through the light, fluttery black outfit that looked like it could sway without wind, his forearms and thighs were clearly visible.
“Kim Iwol, who told you to wear shorts in front of so many people!”
The floral-patterned pillow from her grandmother’s house was mercilessly crumpled in Baek Haewon’s grip.
Why were table tennis players’ shorts so short? Why were they so short as to test Baek Haewon like this!
Baek Haewon’s hand reached for her phone. Her fingers poured out her troubled heart onto the screen.
≫ I can’t curse because my little cousins are here, but I really feel like I’m going crazy. I feel like I’ve suffered a huge loss in life right now. You mean I’m only seeing table-tennis-uniform Kim Iwol now? How can the world do this to me?
└ Spark, please come on ISD next year too… I can attend the weekday filming then…
└ You, go with me… It’s really not easy for a Korean high school student to be a Spark fan
≫ Every time they show Kim Iwol’s thighs, I want to cheer super loudly, but my mom’s son is next to me, so I’m keeping my mouth shut and just beating the crap out of this pillow
└ Is your mom’s son also watching ISD? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ It’s ridiculous. He doesn’t even stan any idols, so why is he watching ISD?
└ Perfect time to recruit a fan?
└ No, no, I can’t show such a delinquent bastard to the little ones
└ You are thoroughly on Spark’s side, aren’t you…
≫ Our Iwol didn’t put makeup on his arms and legs
What’s the point of toning down just his face when his arms and legs are like plaster statues?
└ Looking at the basketball uniform, it seems like he would have had to do his whole body… ㅋㅋ Maybe they didn’t have enough time?
└ Seriously, the basketball uniform showed off his chest, and the table tennis uniform showed off his thighs. They can’t exactly dip the kid in foundation. Conclusion: he slayed, so it’s okay
└ The tracksuit is long-sleeved and long-panted, so it’s not very noticeable, but when he takes off the outerwear, you gasp and have to cover your mouth ㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠㅠ
≫ Holidays are the best
Exercise is also the best
I’m not going to exercise, but anyway, it’s the best
└ I wish Spark would exercise every single day
└ I wish Spark would exercise every single day 22
└ Spark, exercise every single day (demanding)
└ It seems like they already exercise every single day though
└ Spark, exercise every single day >>in front of us<< (demanding)
Similarly, Jeong Seongbin, who wore shorts in the vaulting horse competition, also had to receive Baek Haewon’s burning declaration of love.
If there was a limit to how much love a person could give in a day, Baek Haewon would have hit her supply limit within 30 minutes of ‘ISD starting.
As Spark, with their peculiar flair, began winning medals one by one, the online communities also started paying attention to them.
≫ Today’s ISD summary
Spark participated in all events
Spark confirmed for the finals in all events
Spark is sweeping the medals << NEW!
└ Showing off the true rookie spirit
└ Isn’t this the first time we’ve seen this much tenacity since Hellas?ㅋㅋㅋ
└ It seems like only Hellas and these guys have participated in all events
≫ I have to admit, Kim Pep is serious about his activities
Who else but Kim Pep would even wear protective gear to a show like ISD…
└ Seriously, the ISD production team should bow down to Spark
└ They work hard, sure, but bow down? ㅋㅋ
└ Isn’t the production team for IDC and this ISD the same? Without Kim Iwol’s fighting spirit, neither would have gone this viral
└ Aren’t ‘IDS’ and ‘Shining Star’ filmed by the same broadcasting station? Is Spark going to be on ‘Shining Star’?
└ Yup, the recording schedule was posted
└ They’ll become MBC’s sons soon enough.
≫ Kids with good physiques who are also athletically talented are just on another level
The tension itself is different
└ It wasn’t for nothing that they even had a training camp. These guys have always been serious…
└ Look at their muscles. Not a single one of them has soft forearms
└ Exactlyㅋㅋㅋㅋ It would be weird if kids like that couldn’t do sports.
Besides sports, Spark also became a hot topic for other reasons.
For doing strange things with their outstanding visuals, and for their overwhelming fan service.
≫ There’s a lost matchstick boy wandering around ISD, who is he? He’s handsome. But it looks like he might set things on fire with those matches if pushed
└ A passing Sparkler here, that’s Spark’s Kiyeon!
└ Lostㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ matchstick boyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Our Kiyeon may have the face of an underworld matchstick gang boss, but he’s got the heart of a pure boy
≫ I was watching to see when my boys would come out and accidentally made eye contact with some guys gathered in front of a princess mirror. Oppas, you’re handsome
└ I looked out of curiosity and was actually shocked at how handsome they were
└ But why on earth is the mirror like that…?
└ I doubt all their faces even fit in the mirror
≫ Kim Iwol’s life update is driving me crazy
His hands were all splotchy, and I wondered what it was, but it turns out he was exchanging makeup information with fans;;;;
What are you doing at a gymnasium, seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ At first, I wondered what it was too, but I heard he was studying to look pretty for the fans… is this what it means to be an idol?
└ If you keep being like this, you can only be a genius idol
≫ Our fan section was right next to the Sparklers, and Spark came over really often
You could see they really take care of their fans. Beyond material things (though they give a crap ton of material things too)
You usually hear, “Have you eaten?” or “Tired from the trip?” but…
“This must be hard since you can’t hear us talking among ourselves, right? If it were a self-cam, we’d have personal mics.”
“You’ve been sitting for so long—should we all stretch together?”
“The stadium down there’s a bit warm. Is it hot up here? We came up to check. Is it okay?”
I’ve never seen idols care so much about the little things.
And they kept giving us snacks. A Sparkler next to me even shared some madeleines with us… They said these were the good ones, and they really were. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude
└ After seeing reviews that they gave out wet wipes, napkins, and alcohol swabs, I thought, these kids are insane…
└ Attending ISD itself is a fan-exploit program but it was touching how well they understood what might make fans tired ㅠㅠ If you looked even a little uncomfortable, they’d run over with a bunch of stuff in their hands asking, ‘Everyone, what do you need?!?!’
≫ Spark is kind of like… that
The grandpa who went to the market because he was worried his granddaughters would starve
But the grandpa literally swept the entire market clean, so now the granddaughters are in a hellish battle of trying to figure out what to do with it all ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ If you eat, you’re full, and if you don’t eat, they ask if it doesn’t taste good. Both are a problem
Thanks to creating a meme at least once in every variety show or self-produced content, Spark managed to draw significant reactions with each promotional period.
Added to this, their continuous appearances on public broadcast programs caused Spark’s recognition to skyrocket. This likely played a large part in Spark being able to win first place despite the disadvantage of it being their final music show performance.
Their skill in their main profession was proven on the survival program, and the fact that the members were kind and diligent was evidenced by the overwhelmingly larger number of cover songs and individual self-produced content compared to their peers. It went without saying that their self-management was impeccable, as could be seen just from their commuting photos.
But even idols who were good singers and diligent could easily stumble if they didn’t catch the wave. Spark, however, showcased their eccentric sides on every variety show they appeared on, fearlessly rolling around and not being afraid to look silly.
As a result, Spark was remembered by muggles like Baek Haein as…
“Huh? It’s the 3-scoop ice cream guy. Was his name Jeho?”
“I know him. He’s Mr. Cutie Pretty Visual, right?”
“But how did Kim Iwol end up becoming a fortune-teller octopus?”
…Should she be happy that at least they weren’t disliked?
In the end, ‘ISD’ concluded with Spark’s complete domination. No matter how hard the show tried to edit things fairly, there was only so much they could do to cut out the team that competed in every single event and won nearly all the medals.
Baek Haewon tirelessly saved screenshots of her proud athletic-dols that were uploaded to her timeline. Now, she had to go watch Spark’s self-produced content that had been uploaded right on time.