𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃: 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀. | 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘪 [✔]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 - 𝔅𝔢𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔡: 𝔖𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔢

✧･ﾟ: ✧ﾟ･::･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

What do you believe in?

For Kim Sunoo, that question was easily answered: good food and the right selfie angle.

At least that's what I-LAND Sunoo would've said. The one that was known for his diversity and captivating facial expressions on stage.

Real Sunoo, the part of him the camera rarely - if ever - caught, would probably laugh at the superficialty of his alter ego's words. It's not that he wasn't down for a good ice cream once in a while. Hell, he was. But he still had to get used to the new way of thinking. Shallow and self-regarding and not like his true self at all.

But he knew what he did it for: living a life that was dedicated to making people happy, touching them with his music. Becoming an Idol and maybe, just maybe, adding a little joy to the grim creature that was today's society.

And if getting there required him to play a little dumb every now and then, he'd gladly bite that bullet.

If only he wouldn't feel so strange. He had known from the time he auditioned, that his profundity was something he'd eventually need to wind down.

People loved seeing glamourous performances and shining artists but thinking about all the sacrifices it must've taken to get there was nothing they particularly cared about. Thank you very much.

"You don't wanna drown your fans in the ocean of your mind, boy. Cut it down a little, your smile alone is enough to make them girls write poems". That was something he's been told by one of the staff once and the remark stuck with him ever since.

Yet no matter how hard he tried, the little voice in his head remained.

You'll always be at risk of drowning when you first learn how to swim.

Though as time passed, the voice became gradually quieter until it died down completely, and his new personally started to feel less wrong.

After a few weeks of filming the survival show, his manner had already gained him a solid amount of fans.

However, it still came as a shock when he got announced as the number 1 candidate by the viewers. Never ever did he imagine that his bubbly attitude would get him this far.

Later that day, when he and a few other trainees gathered in the kitchen to eat, Jungwon gave him an acknowledging smile:

"Nice job, Sunoo-hyung. You deserved it".

Real Sunoo shuddered at the younger's compliment. He appreciated the kind words, but he also couldn't help but feel like a fraud.

The other part of him though, I-LAND Sunoo, who in a way was the one responsible for his success, soaked in the praise like his favourite mint ice cream.