𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 22

[ Park Moondae's POV ]

With unanimous voting, Ryu Chungwoo was given the leadership position. It was an obvious outcome after everyone watched the 3rd episode, but there was still a strange power struggle for the position.

The teammates clapped and made comments about working hard together.

So far, it was a cheerful start. But I could feel the tension behind their smiling faces; after all, all of us managed to get past the fierce competition to come all the way here. The only two exceptions to this mood were Seungmin and Cha Eugene.

Cha Eugene, I think, understood the good mood as truly just a good mood. He was smiling to himself in a context that he understood alone.

Seungmin, on the other hand, was more quickwitted than he made himself to be. I knew he was aware of the tension, but he was in a decent mood for some reason. He was also smiling from beside me.

30% His animosity percentage lowered drastically from this morning. 

After some more beguiling remarks were said by the other members, the MC began talking again.

"Everyone, did you have a chance to get to know your teammates?"

Echoes of "yes" came from the groups.

"Well then," the MC continued, "I will announce the theme for the second team match. Introducing... the 'Revisiting Hidden Masterpieces' project!"

He motioned to some clothed items behind him.

I nodded my head, knowing where this was heading.

"There are countless underrated masterpieces that haven't been able to gain much popularity for various reasons! You will be reinterpreting these songs and performing them in front of the original artists and the shareholders!"

Idol Inc. was definitely a bastard. In other words, they wanted us to make use of songs that were decent enough to be considered a hit. With that, they would save costs on songwriting and make money off the remakes.

While I thought this, the MC flamboyantly pulled the black cloth off the table and revealed random items. Supposedly, they're the cherished items of the original artists of songs we can choose from.

"You have five minutes to discuss with your group! The leader of each team will then engage in a race to grab the desired item!"

There was an immediate clamor as participants began to decide.

I felt weight against my head. To my side, Seungmin was resting his head against mine. Before I could ask what he wanted, I heard Lee Sejin A's unexpected voice.

"Hey Moondae, which item would you choose?"

"...I'm not sure," I chose to answer. "What about you?"

Seungmin leaned over my shoulder to listen in.

The child actor glanced at him awkwardly before saying, "That DVD over there is a limited edition, so it must be from a prominent artist."

Another unexpected voice came forward.

"Excuse me." It was Kim Raebin. "I was thinking of asking Chungwoo hyungnim to bring us the most expensive-looking item. What do you think about this?"

"Why is he asking me?" 

I was conflicted by these strange conversations, but I nodded and answered honestly, "That sounds like a good strategy."

Kim Raebin seemed content with my answer. He rambled about his theory of how the more costly something is, the better the chances of the owner being a successful person.