GIJS

Chapter 93 Are we enjoying it?

[Incorrect password. (1/5)]

"Ah..."

Although it seemed like they had taken a step closer to the past Yu Gunja, there were still obstacles. He knew the SNS account name, but not the password.

He tried entering the first password by mixing his parents' names, but it was unlikely to be correct.

[Incorrect password. (2/5)] [Incorrect password. (3/5)]

He tried several plausible passwords, but the account remained locked. Instead of an SNS feed, only warning messages appeared on the screen.

[Warning! 3 incorrect password attempts. The account will be locked after 5 attempts.]

"Gosh..."

The action of combining passwords to try again came to a halt. The thought of the account getting locked was quite daunting.

There were only two attempts left. Should he keep trying or stop here?

Ding—

While pondering, his smartphone rang. It was a message from Leon of Lunatic.

[Leon: Mr. Gunja] [Leon: Here's a phrase I wrote today.] [Leon: (photo) (photo)] [Leon: Han Sangji-man (恨相知晩).] [Leon: It's a saying lamenting that friends came to know each other late.] [Leon: I thought of you while reading the saying.] [Leon: Although we came to know each other late, it's not regrettable.] [Leon: We can be there for each other from now on.]

Wise words.

Gunja nodded as he read Leon's message. Although the handwriting was still poor, it might improve with practice. He didn't want to make comments about the handwriting for fear of causing offense.

However, even if it was written in poor handwriting, the meaning of the saying struck Gunja deeply.

Han Sangji-man, lamenting that they came to know each other late. Gunja shared Leon's sentiment. Although they met late, if they could be of help to each other, it was still a good relationship.

[Yu Gunja: Hyung] [Yu Gunja: May I ask you something?] [Leon: Of course.] [Yu Gunja: What happens if you enter the wrong password five times?] [Leon: Hmm...]

Leon paused, seemingly pondering how to explain this, and then sent a message.

[Leon: It becomes] [Leon: very, very] [Leon: annoying.] [Yu Gunja: Oh no...]

It seemed he had made the right decision to stop after three failed attempts. Now, he needed to find the correct password to access the account without further issues.

[Yu Gunja: Thank you, hyung.] [Leon: No problem.] [Leon: Oh, I heard you had your first fan signing event.] [Leon: Congratulations.]

It seems Hyung is also following their news.

Gunja felt a sense of pride. Although Lunatic was still far ahead, they hoped to eventually stand shoulder to shoulder with Leon by taking one step at a time.

[Yu Gunja: It was really enjoyable.] [Yu Gunja: I also gave gifts to the fans.] [Leon: Oh, what kind of gifts?] [Yu Gunja: I gave them wooden mandarin duck carvings.] [Yu Gunja: The mandarin duck is a symbol of marital harmony.] [Leon: Ah.] [Leon: Mandarin ducks, I saw that on TV recently.] [Yu Gunja: Aren't they beautiful birds?] [Leon: Yes, they are mysterious.] [Leon: I heard that male mandarin ducks mate with several females throughout their lives.] [Yu Gunja: Huh?] [Leon: After impregnating one female, they immediately look for another.] [Yu Gunja: No, that's not right.] [Leon: Aren't they quite the vigorous animals?]

"...My mandarin duck couldn't be like that..."

Gunja, having unexpectedly learned about the true nature of mandarin ducks, fell onto the bed in despair. The mandarin duck, which had been seen as a symbol of marital harmony, turned out to be so promiscuous.

The fans probably didn't take it that way, did they? Gunja felt a chill of anxiety.

In a hurry, Gunja searched for "Yu Gunja mandarin duck" on SNS and found fans' reviews of the fan signing event.

[Received mandarin duck from fan signing]
Gunja stayed up all night carving itㅠㅠㅠㅠ

This will be a family heirloom from today......

But I heard mandarin ducks are actually playboysㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Gunja... Can I really trust you?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

"!"

What a disaster!

In a hurry, Gunja called Hyunjae for help with the broadcast setup and then started a live stream on J-Live.

Despite being an unscheduled live stream, many fans had set their alarms, and the number of viewers quickly surpassed several thousand.

"I'm sorry—!"

Gunja started his explanation broadcast with a sudden, contrite apology.

"The meaning of the Mandarin duck was never, ever what you think. I just wanted to express my desire to marry my fans..."

The unexpected live stream and the foolish apology broadcast had made fans feel so entertained that they were almost breathless. The viewers envied those who had attended the fan signing event.

Despite this, the fans showed their amazing unity.

[Wow] [Gunja... Mandarin duck... was that what it meant?] [It's too late for an explanationㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [I'm hurt... ] [What about the fans who went to the fan signingㅠㅠㅠ] [Is Gunja a player?] [Were we all just 'enjoying' him?]
"Enjoying? What does that mean?"

[Was it just a one-night thing?] [Too much] [This Mandarin duck of a man...] [Well, at least he's good-looking~] [Tell us, who's the woman?]
"Oh, no, no! That's not it at all!"

Seeing Gunja, who had suddenly gone from a scholar to a servant, fans enjoyed the spectacle.

Although five minutes later, after revealing that it was all a joke, thousands of viewers had to comfort the sulking Gunja.

"Everyone's breath is just breathtaking..."

[Hahahaha] [Oh, lol, I'm going crazyㅋㅋㅋ] [I've been trained before but never had the chance to train someoneㅋㅋㅋㅋ] [An idol who digs his own pit and falls into it?] [Hahaha, isn't it just adorable?] [So envious of the fans who went to the fan signingㅏㅏㅏㅏ] [I also want a Mandarin duckㅋㅋㅋ] [Don't cry, Gunjaㅋㅋㅋ It's okay]
Fans threw various questions to shift the conversation. The most common and everyday question was about the next schedule.

[Don't cry, wipe your tears] [What are you going to do now?] [Is today a rest day?] [ㅠㅠㅠ I wish you would do J-Live all day]
"Oh, now I need to go to the practice room. We have a music show stage coming up soon."

When he mentioned that he would soon have to turn off the J-Live, fans expressed their disappointment.

[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Don't goㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [We were wrong... we won't tease you anymore...] [It was just too funㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Well, don't be cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Are you still practicing intensely?] [Might as well go easy on it now] [I saw on M-Planet you were still doing great]
But Gunja had a different thought.

Of course, he was now quite used to the new song stages. Unlike the audition days, the idol activities, which focused solely on performing the title song, meant he became accustomed to the stage and proficient in his performance.

Thinking back, even when he was on the tightrope at the marketplace, he had been nervous and trembling at first, but after mastering it, he could walk the tightrope like walking on the ground.

However, clowns never neglected practice. Even a clown who could walk the tightrope effortlessly practiced daily to hone their skills.

When asked if practice was boring, the clowns had responded:

"After being on the tightrope for a long time, it feels like home. If I'm comfortable, my body becomes lax. It's not good if my spirit isn't up."

"Ah."

"But that's not right. Even though it's always the same rope for me, the people who come to watch are always different."

"...I see."

"For the spectators, that one time might be everything. So, I must always give my best to avoid being ashamed of receiving money."

How wonderful the clowns looked as they casually stepped onto the tightrope while sharing such teachings.

Gunja hadn't forgotten that lesson, so he couldn't afford to slack off in practice, no matter how skilled he had become on stage.

Fans finally understood the necessity of practice after Gunja explained using the clown anecdotes.

[Let's send him off after he explained so muchㅠㅠㅠ] [Wow, a fairy tale made quickly] [Gunja says 'I want to practice' in such a long and beautiful way] [But why does he make old stories sound so vivid?] [Did he come from Joseon?] [Hahaha, Gunja is like a magician] [Hahaha, magician Gunja sounds a bit funny] [Oh, I'm waiting (sniffle)] [I'll stay here and wait]
After saying goodbye to the fans, Gunja headed to the practice room. By coincidence, Taewoong and Hyeonjae had arrived early and were warming up.

"Oh, the scholar is here early."

"You were doing J-Live; why didn't you interact a bit more before coming?"

"No, it'll spoil the habit."

"Huh?"

"If you keep turning on J-Live, it will spoil the fans' habits?"

Gunja hurriedly waved his hands to deny Taewoong and Hyeonjae's misunderstanding.

"No, it's not that; if I slack off on practice, my own habits will get bad!"

"Ah, I was surprised."

After quickly clearing up the misunderstanding, Gunja took a deep breath and joined the stretching session.

[Although 7IN took first place on M Planet, the ranking might differ on other music shows due to different ranking methods. Especially this time, on the terrestrial music show [Music Garden>, the major trot singer Song Yeong-geun is making a comeback.

7IN has also sold a significant number of albums, but Song Yeong-geun's album sales are beyond imagination, exceeding 1 million copies in first-week sales alone.

In contrast, 7IN could have an advantage in broadcast scores. With album sales and broadcast scores being close, the rankings might shift in online live voting.

"Let's definitely aim for first place this time."

"Oh, greedy?"

"Why is the scholar talking about first place?"

The colleagues were intrigued by his attitude, but Gunja was determined to take first place on [Music Garden>.

The special reward received after the end of A-Yuk-Si, he still hadn't confirmed its nature.

He was told that he would be able to find out what the reward was if he took first place on a terrestrial music show.

To find out what it was, he had to win first place on [Music Garden>.

Soon, Song Yeong-geun would start his activities and increase his broadcast appearances, and after a week, top rappers would make their comebacks.

The upcoming [Music Garden> might be the last opportunity for this activity.

He needed to take first place to check the reward and find out the password to the private SNS.

Though the tasks had suddenly increased, Gunja knew clearly what he needed to do.

After two days of diligent practice.

The members of 7IN finally stood on the stage of the first terrestrial music show [Music Garden>.