I'M A GENIUS IDOL BUT MY PASSIVE IS SUNFISH: Chapter 58

 TL by Miru

I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is Sunfish: Episode 58

"Dang, this is a masterpiece~"

 

DASE gathered in front of the camera. Yulmu, looking satisfied as he gazed at the sticker-covered members, seemed incredibly smug.

 

"Isn't your face too clean, humanely speaking?"

 

The only stickers on Yulmu were a leaf on his head and a butterfly on his face. The only other places with stickers were his forearms, where there was a cake sticker from Minsung during a struggle, a lemon from Jihan, and two butterflies from Yuyeon.

Baekya looked at him with a sulky face.

 

"You should have done better~"

"What did you say?"

 

The sharp front teeth were revealed as his upper lip raised, grimacing. Yulmu laughed heartily at the Maltese biting him. He was especially enjoying Baekya's reactions.  

 

- Next time, we'll make sure you can do it on stage 😭

- Baekya should always wear a peach on his head.

- No way, I can't let go... If not WANT ME, then come back with WANT YOU 😭

- Jihan, I'm going to K-Con!!! See you at K-Con ♥

 

The other members were watching the live chat that was updating in real-time. Most comments were requests to turn on the stream more often or about the upcoming K-Con.

Suddenly, Chung noticed a short sentence in English.

 

"Fan club?"

 

It was about when DASE's official fan club would be established. Idols and fans were indispensable to each other. A fan club not only provides a special sense of belonging to fans of a celebrity but also strengthens the bonds among fans. Yet, DASE still had no official fan club. Nowadays, when most groups launched a fan club right at debut, DASE was considerably late.

 

"Um..."

 

Minsung glanced across. Namkyung, with a troubled look on his face, not having received any updates either, made a vague gesture to gloss over it.

 

"We haven't decided anything definite yet. We'll let you know once things are settled."

 

The leader smoothed things over with a promise not to keep them waiting too long. Namkyung nodded approvingly and quickly pulled out his phone to send a message, likely to inquire about the fan club. Even at that moment, the chat window kept filling up. As fans pleaded for them to stay a little longer, some of the more tender-hearted members hesitated, reluctant to log off.

 

"9th place?"

 

Jihan's soft voice sounded, and faces crowded around the chat window in response.

 

- Guys, WANT ME is 9th in real-time charts!

- Baekya, practice your dance. You're totally f*cking off. It was better when we couldn't see you during No Games. Just stay invisible why do you keep crawling out and messing up the stage in WANT ME? Today again, it was like you were dancing to a completely different song.

- Wow, our boys are climbing up, superstars!!!

- It's crazy, finally hit single digits!

 

The joyous news that DASE's 'WANT ME' had risen to 9th place on the real-time chart was met with cheers. Deokjin immediately turned on the streaming app to confirm the chart position and passed his phone to Chung.

However, among the congratulatory messages, a malicious comment stood out. Unfortunately, the chat didn't scroll up due to someone accidentally touching the screen, keeping the malicious comment in view. Of course, Baekya read the comment.

 

'Oh. That's harsh.'

 

Baekya's expression stiffened slightly. Yuyeon and Yulmu subtly glanced at him, their actions captured on the screen.

 

"We really made it to 9th place!"

 

Chung, as if he hadn't seen it, held out his phone excitedly exclaiming, and Minsung discreetly scrolled up to hide that comment from view.

 

"Wow! Thank you so much~ DASE will work even harder~"

 

Yulmu, conscious of Baekya, naturally started applauding to lighten the atmosphere. Yuyeon seized the moment to express regret.

 

"But everyone, I think we need to stop and go practice now."

 

Pretending to exchange glances with staff off-camera, Yuyeon used Namkyung as an excuse to announce the end of the broadcast. With quick support from Minsung and Yulmu, the fans could no longer insist on keeping them.

 

"We'll be back next time."

 

With Jihan's farewell, a notification that the broadcast had ended appeared. As soon as the screen went dark, Minsung turned around to look at Baekya.

 

"What is it?"

 

Baekya, feigning ignorance, asked back with a forced calm expression. However, Minsung wasn't fooled.

 

"I know you saw it."

 

What's with the accusations?

Baekya, with a sour expression, reluctantly admitted.

 

"Yeah, I saw it. It's not like they said anything wrong."

 

Embarrassed, Baekya averted his gaze and fiddled with his earlobe. Let alone surviving as a genius idol, the thought of being a burden to the group made it hard for him to face his members.

 

'Damn system window.'

 

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Jihan was about to tell him not to worry about it, but Chung was quicker. He grabbed Baekya's face, forcing him to look into Chung's eyes.

 

"Baekya! I'll help you!"

 

Baekya's face flattened like a sunfish. Having been calling Baekya 'hyung' for a while, it seemed he had finally decided to treat him as an equal.

 

'Well, we're the same age, so it doesn't matter.'

 

Baekya thought he had just acted a bit like an old fogey. No, but it would be nice if he'd let go…

 

"Lut guh uf muh."

 ("Let go of me.")

 

Baekya's lips puckered like a carp under Chung's merciless grip.

 

"Wuh hup?"

("What help?")

 

What on earth was he trying to help him with? The carp struggled to escape from Chung's grasp.

 

"I'll help you dance!"

 

Chung was, after all, along with Yuyeon, responsible for DASE's main dance positions. Baekya had thought Chung hadn't noticed it earlier during the broadcast as he was so upbeat, but it seemed he had.

Resigned, Baekya closed his quivering lips.

 

"Dance improves with practice! Guaranteed!"

 

Thus, the after-school lesson was set. The head instructor would be Spartan Chung, with guest lecturer Yuyeon.

 

* * *

 

[<Only the Practice Bugs Survive (7)> Completed!]

[Quest reward: 1 Star Point]

 

After a long hiatus, the Practice Bug quest reappeared, this time marked with the number 7.

 

'Was that the one for achieving 2,000 dance practices…?'

 

The staggering number had him chewing his lip in disbelief.

 

"Hey! Biting your lips banned."

“...I wasn’t.”

"Sulky face banned!"

"I wasn’t!"

"Baekya shouting banned!"

 

Banned! Banned! Banned! Chung rattled off prohibitions like he could draft twenty constitutional amendments on the spot.

 

"Come here. Today, it's do or die."

 

Two days before the upcoming K-Concert.

The practice had started in the morning and only ended an hour before midnight, which meant they were virtually locked in the practice studio all day. Naturally, meals were also taken in the studio. For a debuted group, eating in the studio wasn't considered an issue.

 

"Woah! The hamster is attacking people!"

 

Until just moments ago, Baekya had been sprawling on the floor, but now he was unbelievably chasing after Chung with incredible speed.

 

"Youths... they're different."

 

Minsung, his eyes half-closed, blinked slowly. As soon as the choreographer left for the day, Chung stepped in to take over. The wolf cub had appointed himself the instructor of the dance remedial class, taking the Tiger’s place.

 

"Ahh! So tired."

 

Chung, too, seemed to be running out of energy, as he nearly rolled on the floor from exhaustion. Baekya almost stepped on him as he suddenly fell, and the startled Sunfish barely stopped in time, clutching his chest.

 

"That scared me!"

 

However, Chung, struck by a sudden mischievousness, started rolling around holding his leg, pretending to have been stepped on.

 

"Aigoo~ My leg!"

"Are- are you okay?!"

 

Baekya, pale with worry, checked Chung's leg. When Chung caught Yuyeon's eye, he knew the jig was up.

 

"Baekdo, you didn't step on him. He’s just playing around."

"This snitch...!"

"What?"

 

Baekya’s eyes narrowed viciously at Chung, his face now genuinely angry. Sensing danger, Chung quickly softened his expression and lowered his eyebrows with an innocent face.

 

"I’m sorry, hyung."

 

Quick to switch gears, Chung only called Baekya 'hyung' in times like these. Indeed, the youngest member’s skill in handling his elders was improving day by day.

 

"Sigh, seriously."

 

Baekya bonked Chung on the head with his fist without hurting him.

 

“You just drained all my energy.”

 

Thus, the Sunfish declared a strike on any further dance practice for the day and flopped down next to Chung. Even Spartan Chung seemed to agree to call it a day.

But Baekya had another teacher waiting...

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

It was none other than the demonic instructor, Yuyeon.

 

"Resting too long can also be tiring."

 

Yuyeon approached and stood like a totem pole in front of Baekya.

 

"You said you wanted to dance well."

"Well, yes, but..."

 

The relentless instructor tugged at Baekya's clothes, urging him to get up quickly. Startled by the harsh tug that exposed his skin, Baekya jumped up.

 

"Don't pull!"

"You say you're tired, but you seem fine to me. We'll just do it five more times. Deal?"

 

What deal!

Baekya felt it was unfair. He complained, "You say 'we,' but aren't you just going to watch?"

 

"Sulky face banned," Yuyeon teased, borrowing Chung's words.

"Haa..."

 

These guys were all the same.

Resigned, Baekya was dragged by Yuyeon to stand in front of the mirror.

Meanwhile, Yulmu and Jihan, watching from behind, shook their heads in sympathy.

 

"The Tiger would have been better."

 

At Jihan's comment, Yulmu nodded in agreement.

 

"When I was a trainee, I asked those guys to teach me to dance, and I think I lost about 5kg…"

 

Yulmu commented that they should make sure Baekya will be well-fed.

 

"He's already so thin, he might just disappear."

 

The concern for Baekya was significant. Yulmu kept making motherly comments by his side.

 

"But isn't someone missing?"

 

Jihan looked around for the one who had been absent for a while.

Peeking out from under a pile of jackets on the sofa, a beige sock was visible. Minsung, camouflaged in a black sweatshirt, was passed out there.

 

"Tsk, tsk. He's gone, totally out."

 

Yulmu's face held a look of pity that didn't seem to fade anytime soon.