I'M A GENIUS IDOL BUT MY PASSIVE IS SUNFISH: Chapter 64

 TL by Miru

I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is Sunfish: Episode 64

Daehwan didn't bother to deny Siyun's words; he just lifted the corner of his mouth slightly.

 

“You have some free time now that your activities are over, right?”

 

Baekya didn't quite understand the intention behind the question. As if a rookie would ever have free time. Smiling awkwardly, Baekya tugged on Jihan's sleeve, sending an S.O.S. signal.

 

“We haven't received the details about our schedules yet, but we'll probably be busy preparing for the year-end stages.”

“Oh right, the award shows.”

 

Daehwan seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. After mumbling to himself, he glanced at Baekya once more before turning away.

 

“...Did I do something wrong?”

“Who knows? I think he's just interested in you.”

“Huh?!”

“Not that kind of interest.”

 

Jihan, his face baffled over such a misunderstanding, clarified. His speech was slightly slurred, as if he was gritting his teeth.

 

“That almost gave me goosebumps.”

“You're one to talk.”

 

* * *

 

- As expected of AIM. They dominated KCON. The fan chants were legendary.

- Siyun keeps looking out for the junior groups, pushing them forward. He's such a sweetheart ♥. But that hamster-looking kid sticking close to his own member was kind of cute.

- DASE's 4-octave high note was insane.

- Looks like T Entertainment is debuting a boy group. I've seen a lot of ads on Twitter. Isn't the guy in the centre the famous ID trainee? Why is he debuting with T Entertainment instead of DASE?

└ Why do you think?

└ He probably got pushed out when the debut lineup was decided. Haven't you heard their main vocalist sing?

- Did DASE’s Baekya owe Daehwan money or something? He couldn’t stop staring at him (photo of Daehwan looking at Baekya.jpg).

└ Our golden maknae just has trouble expressing himself. He’s actually just really interested! ㅠㅠ

└ Was this when all the performers came up at the end of the show? ㅋㅋ

 

On the way back to the dorms. Yulmu, monitoring his phone, teased Baekya.

 

“Baekya, if you borrowed money, you should repay it quickly~.”

“What are you talking about?”

 

Minsung, also checking reactions to their performance, became curious.

 

“Look at this.”

 

It was a preview photo taken by AIM’s fansite master, showing Daehwan unable to take his eyes off Baekya, who was standing right next to Yuyeon.

 

“...You should pay him back soon, you know?”

 

Minsung, taking the fan's joke seriously, asked Baekya.

 

“Did you really borrow money?”

“Are you kidding? I met him for the first time today. Why would I borrow his money?”

 

Baekya was flabbergasted. Namkyung, who was listening to their conversation from the front passenger seat, laughed and turned around.

 

“Looks like he took a liking to you.”

“I didn’t do anything though?”

“But he saw your performance, right? Who knows? Daehwan might even give you a song.”

“Oh, come on. No way.”

 

Despite receiving numerous love calls from other singers, Daehwan was notorious for not giving out his songs. He only wrote for AIM, so even the other DASE members laughed off Namkyung's suggestion as a bit too far-fetched.

Just then, Baekya's phone buzzed briefly.

 

[d: This is Baekya, right?]

 

It was a message from an unknown number. Baekya wondered if some old high school friends had been sharing his number because he had been receiving a lot of random messages lately.

 

'Do I really need to change my number?'

 

He was attached to the number he had used for so long, but this constant harassment was making him seriously consider it.

 

[d: Are you heading back to the dorm? I didn’t see you leave.]

[d: When did you leave?]

[d: Are you going to the company tomorrow?]

 

The person seemed to know DASE’s schedule. Baekya's face gradually hardened. He immediately blocked the user, suspecting it was likely a stalker fan. He received dozens of these types of messages daily. However, it wasn’t long before his phone rang with a call from an unknown number.

 

“…Who could it be?”

 

He had a creepy feeling it might be this same "d" person. Although he thought about rejecting the call, the ever-considerate Baekya decided to let it ring out, hoping the caller would give up eventually. But "d" was more persistent than he had expected.

 

“I think your phone's ringing,” Minsung said, noticing the continuous vibration.

“It's an unknown number.”

 

That was explanation enough. They all dealt with similar issues. Minsung went back to monitoring the online reactions.

 

[2 missed calls]

 

Seizing a brief moment when the calls stopped, Baekya unlocked his phone. He tried to go into his contacts to block the number, but just as he was about to do so, the phone rang again.

 

"Oh, n-no…!"

 

As his phone accidentally accepted the call instead of blocking it, Baekya glared at his disobedient finger in frustration.

 

“This cursed finger!”

 

He tried to hang up quickly, but the voice from the other end came through clearly, even without speakerphone, due to the quietness of the car.

 

[Finally, you answered. Baekya-ssi? This is Daehwan.]

 

‘Daehwan? Who's Daehwan?’

 

With his mind momentarily blank, the sunfish’s eyes darted around as he tried to recall. Meanwhile, the nearby members also reacted to the voice they heard.

 

“I think I’m hearing things…”

 

Minsung rubbed his ear, recognizing the familiar voice coming from somewhere.

 

“Isn’t that Daehwan sunbae-nim's voice?”

 

Yulmu also looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice.

 

[Hello? Baekya-ssi?]

 

The voice called his name again, snapping Baekya out of his confusion.

...Daehwan? Daehwan!

 

“S-Sunbae-nim?!”

 

Startled, Baekya hurriedly grabbed his phone, holding it with both hands as if it were Daehwan himself.

 

[Are you in a tunnel? The connection seems bad.]

 

Tunnel my foot. It was a straightforward four-lane highway to Seoul, but Baekya just went along with it.

 

“Yes, we just went through a tunnel. Yeah...”

[No wonder. I didn’t get any reply to my messages. I thought I might have been blocked.]

 

Correct. Daehwan was indeed blocked by Baekya at that moment.

 

“Oh, no way. How could I possibly block you, sunbae-nim… No, of course not.”

 

The sunfish was not one to hold onto his conscience.

Not wanting the conversation to drag on, he quickly changed the subject.

 

“Then, what’s the reason for your call…?”

 

His voice sounded timid. Noticing this, Daehwan got to the point and added a brief apology.

 

[I wanted to check if you’re coming to the company tomorrow since you didn’t reply to my messages. Sorry to bother you when you must be tired.]

“The company? H-hold on.”

 

Baekya pulled the phone away from his ear and asked Namkyung.

 

“Hyung, are we going to the company tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Why? Who is it?”

“It’s Daehwan sunbae-nim.”

 

Answering quickly, he brought the phone back to his ear.

 

“Yes! We’re going tomorrow.”

[Is that so? All right. Get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow. You did great on stage today.]

“Thank you, see you tomor— wait, what?”

[Oh, this is my number, so save it and unblock me. See you tomorrow.]

 

Staring blankly at the now-disconnected call, Baekya sighed.

 

“Oh… my life…”

 

He had been caught blocking him. With his eyes closed, he buried his face in his hands. He had completely forgotten about giving his number at the vending machine.

 

‘Alright. I’ll just avoid him as much as possible.’

 

Baekya made a drastic decision and called out to Namkyung. To avoid Daehwan, he needed to know their reason for visiting and AIM’s schedule.

 

“Why are we going to the company tomorrow?”

“Oh, it's almost the end of the year. We need to finalize the schedule for the awards shows and have a meeting about preparing for the performances.”

 

Come to think of it, it had already been nearly a year since DASE debuted.

 

* * *

 

December, the month when DASE debuted, was also filled with major award ceremonies, including those hosted by the three main broadcasting networks.

 

“Currently, we have confirmed performances for the three major networks, JAMA, Kiwi Music Awards, and a celebratory performance at the K Entertainment Awards.”

“Is JAMA going to be in Hong Kong again this year?”

“Yes, it seems so.”

 

The meeting room, which they hadn't visited in a while, was now bustling with DASE members and staff gathered to discuss their year-end performances.

 

“We haven't finalized the dates for the other events yet, but they will likely be in early next year. So, for now, plan for about six events.”

 

The man listing out the year-end schedule was the chief of ID’s management team.

 

“We don’t need to prepare anything special for the entertainment awards. So that's five. But AIM will be there too.”

 

Another man, exuding charisma and scribbling notes on his pad, was Tiger, the choreographer and performance director of ID.

 

‘But why is he here…?’

 

Baekya glanced nervously towards one corner of the meeting room. Sitting there was Daehwan, whom Baekya had been trying to avoid. He was spinning a pen with a serious expression. It seemed he had come alone since the were no other AIM members in sight.

 

“The JAMA team mentioned they could provide an extra slot for a performance.”

“Yes, but they seem to want a joint performance between AIM and DASE…”

 

The chief responded while glancing at Tiger and Daehwan. When Tiger met his eyes, he threw his pen and leaned back in his chair, looking frustrated.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. But we can consider other collaborations.”

 

AIM already had 12 minutes of basic allocated performance time. Adding the same schedule as DASE, excluding the special performances, plus their overseas tour schedule would be overwhelming.

 

“That would be a death sentence for both AIM and me. Isn’t that right?”

 

Tiger firmly rejected the idea, cutting off the chief’s hopes. Meanwhile, Daehwan seemed more open to the idea of the performance itself, despite the intense schedule.

 

“They’re rookies, so they should try everything they can. We can’t deny them opportunities just because we’re busy.”

 

Daehwan, looking at the DASE members who had been sitting quietly, addressed them, specifically Baekya.

 

“Do you know ‘Walking Dead’?”

 

‘Viva’ was a five-member boy group from ID, now disbanded, and far senior to AIM. ‘Walking Dead’ was the title track of their second full-length album.