I'M A GENIUS IDOL BUT MY PASSIVE IS SUNFISH: Chapter 76

 TL by Miru

I'm a Genius Idol but My Passive is Sunfish: Episode 76

Relieved to have navigated his part smoothly, he stepped aside, making room for Chung to move forward and show off his mischievous flair. As soon as the first verse and chorus of ‘WANT ME’ finished, a new sound kicked in, transforming the track’s atmosphere completely.

 

♬♪♩♬♪♬♪♩

 

The orchestration of ‘No Games’ began to play, allowing Baekya’s vibrato to shine once more. At that moment, the waiting dancers rushed onto the stage, momentarily obscuring DASE from view. Then, as the dancers lowered themselves, DASE reappeared, tossing aside their capes. They were now dressed in a billowing chiffon shirt accented with a jewelled brooch—the cute, playful vibe from just moments before had vanished without a trace.

 

— Shuffle mix, shuffle the cards
Our game has begun.

 

The fairy-tale castle, once so enchanting, now lay shrouded in scarlet rose vines under the night sky. The newly arranged instrumental accompaniment swelled, filling the stadium with a richer sound.

DASE stood at the center, surrounded by twenty dancers flanking the main stage. The sheer number of performers showcasing their synchronized choreography set the tone for what was clearly meant to be a grand opening to the awards ceremony.

Following Minsung’s introductory lines, the arrangement transitioned seamlessly into the chorus. Unlike ‘WANT ME,’ which showcased Jihan’s rap in the second verse in its entirety, ‘No Games’ gave just a brief taste of the chorus before plunging straight into a dance break. The camera even caught Baekya flinching as sparks erupted onstage right from the start.

 

— Now or Never

 

When DASE triumphantly finished the final line and struck the ending pose, the dancers collapsed around them like puppets whose strings had been cut. Gasping for breath, DASE members stood alone under the spotlight while waves of cheers and the glow of countless fan lights washed over them.

- JBC ASIA MUSIC AWARDS. Moving on to the next award.

The moment the performance concluded, the magic castle vanished. For a brief moment, the screen went dark before the award show’s logo returned, revealing a former child actress turned star as she took the stage.

“Thank you for inviting me to Asia’s most prestigious music awards—JAMA.”

After a short introduction and words of gratitude, she held up a red card. Her role tonight, she explained, was to announce the ‘Rookie of the Year Award.’

“Yes, it’s the one award you can only receive once in a lifetime. Let’s take a look at the nominees on screen.”

 

* * *

 

DASE stepped down from the stage, dabbing at their sweat with a relieved smile.

“You kept saying you were nervous, but you did just fine, didn’t you?”

Jihan handed Baekya a tissue. Accepting it without a word, Baekya parted his lips to speak.

“We still have one more performance left. It’s too early to relax.”

Ever since a certain day, Baekya had been acting as though making any mistake would be a catastrophe. Worried it might be the pressure getting to him, Jihan had decided to let it slide, but it seemed to be getting worse.

“Did someone say something to you?”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, usually, you wouldn’t mind much if you messed up the choreography. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything.”

 

Sensing Baekya was worrying more than necessary, Jihan offered him a few extra tissues.

“Your forehead.”

At Jihan’s prompt, Baekya pressed the folded tissue to his forehead to catch the sweat still lingering there.

‘Because if I mess up, I might literally die…’

Of course, he couldn’t say that out loud. Instead, Baekya kept his mouth clamped shut. Interpreting his silence as agreement, Jihan let out a small sigh and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“No matter who said what, don’t pay attention to it. Once you start letting that stuff get to you, it never ends.”

“I know. I’m not letting it bother me.”

Although Baekya’s shaky voice still bothered him, this wasn’t exactly the right place for a deep conversation. DASE was still standing backstage, and to get back to the artists’ seats, they’d have to cross the main stage. Thanks to the awards segment that began the moment their performance ended, they were stuck waiting below the stage.

“They’re announcing the Rookie of the Year now?”

Even in the flurry of activity after stepping offstage, Yuyeon had kept an ear out for what was happening on-site. He called the other members over.

“They’re introducing the nominees.”

Namkyung and Deokjin—who hadn’t received any hints about whether they might win—perked up at that. A small screen had been set up backstage so staff—and performers—could track what was going on in real time. On the screen, short clips of the year’s five debut groups played in quick succession. Naturally, that included both DASE and S.AM.

“No, no, no. I’m too nervous to watch,” Chung said, turning away and squeezing his eyes shut.

As soon as the nominee reel wrapped up, the camera cut back to the actress presenting the award.

‘It’s different from the dream. It’s not the same…’

When Baekya turned his head, he could make out Harang sitting in the artists’ section off in the distance. His fingertips trembled, and he clenched his fists so tightly his nails bit into his skin.

“JAMA Rookie of the Year Award for the male category…”

The moment the presenter named a group, a high-pitched ringing filled Baekya’s ears, forcing him to shut his eyes.

Beeeeeep—

“…Congratulations.”

Thunderous cheers engulfed the entire venue. As Baekya gingerly opened his eyes, he saw his fellow members standing there in a daze. His heart sank like a stone.

‘No... There are still more awards to be handed out…’

But what if they didn’t win anything else, either?

His thoughts spiraled down a rabbit hole of gloom, and his expression grew darker and darker. Suddenly, Chung threw his arms around Baekya, unable to contain his excitement.

“Waaaah! Waaaaah!”

Chung’s shriek was so close to Baekya’s ear that it nearly burst his eardrum.

“DASE, please come up on stage!” A nearby staff member called out to them urgently.

“Let’s go, Baekya!”
“W-why? Why do we have to go up there?”

Still at a loss, Baekya resisted, tugging against the arm pulling him forward.

“What do you mean ‘why’? Didn’t you hear? We have to accept our award!”
“…Award? What award?”
“The Rookie Award! Have you been daydreaming, hamster?”

Chung yanked Baekya along, while Namkyung gave him a congratulatory shove from behind. Less than five minutes after stepping offstage, Baekya found himself right back under the lights, still looking completely lost. From the artists’ section, Yeonha burst into laughter when Baekya’s face appeared on-screen.

“Pffft. What’s that on his forehead?”

Between their high-energy opening performance and now receiving the Rookie Award, it was hard to tell if Baekya was overwhelmed or simply clueless by nature. Either way, the tissue still stuck to his forehead made the crowd go wild.

“Congratulations!”

The presenter handed over the trophy, stealing a quick glance at Baekya. Minsung’s gaze followed involuntarily.

‘No green light, absolutely not!’

//TLN: “Green light” as in showing romantic interest. Minsung is afraid the presenter is showing romantic interest towards Baekya.

But “green light,” my foot—seeing his groupmate step onstage with a tissue stuck to his forehead, their leader nearly fainted on the spot.

“Hey, you…!”

The first thing Minsung did after receiving the award was to yank Baekya over and peel the tissue off his forehead. Looking bewildered, Baekya rubbed the spot, his eyes going round in alarm.

‘Argh! What is this?!’

When he spotted the bits of tissue stuck to the back of his hand, the sunfish quickly scurried to the back row, pawing at his forehead among the other members. He was sure Namkyung, Deokjin, and Chung had all seen his face before they came onstage, so why didn’t anyone say anything?!

Fueled by a sense of betrayal, Baekya trembled in silent indignation. Meanwhile, standing at the mic, Minsung hesitated before finally forcing himself to speak.

“Uh… hello, we’re DASE. First of all, thank you so much.”

It was clear from his stumbling delivery that he hadn’t prepared any acceptance speech—just like in his dream.

“Oh! We didn’t introduce ourselves properly as a group. Let’s do that now.”

With a quick glance at the members, he signaled the start. DASE all joined in for their signature team greeting.

“For your days! Hello, we are DASE!”

The audience burst into laughter at the group’s chaotic acceptance speech.

“It’s already such an honour just to be here alongside the senior artists we’ve admired for so long and our fellow performers,” Minsung continued. “We’re overjoyed to receive an award as meaningful as this.”

One by one, the members chimed in, promising that DASE would work even harder from now on and expressing gratitude for the staff and company employees who supported them behind the scenes. Then it was Baekya’s turn. Minsung pulled Baekya—who’d been hiding in the back—forward and made space for him at the mic. Their eyes met, Baekya’s gaze full of embarrassment.

‘I really don’t have to say anything…!’

Knowing full well what Baekya was thinking, Minsung leaned over and whispered just quietly enough so it wouldn’t pick up on the mic.

“Just say a quick ‘thank you’ to Nights.”

Swallowing his nerves, Baekya glanced around and finally managed a stammer.

“Na-naing… thank you.”

He gave a quick bow, and the soft background music swelled, signalling the end of the segment and transition to the next award. Instead of heading backstage, they returned to the artists’ seats. Other rookies, as well as BB9 and members of AIM, stood to applaud. Especially Guyang, who kept pointing at Baekya and struggling not to laugh.

“Tissue! That was quite unforgettable!”
“Please pretend you didn’t see it….”

S.AM’s seats were empty, likely because they were getting ready for their performance.

“Where are you going? Just sit here.”

Yeonha grabbed Baekya by the arm, stopping him. Technically, the artist section didn’t have assigned seats—junior artists simply chose the back row out of courtesy. Still, you could sit anywhere if there was an empty seat.

‘But this spot is a bit…’

Maybe because DASE was AIM’s first-ever younger brother group, AIM was determined to look after them. Any time the DASE members tried to slip into a more secluded row, Aim would herd them into the empty seats just behind them.

‘This is kind of overwhelming…’

With the massive “cannon zone” of cameras closer than ever, Baekya lowered his head and nervously chewed his bottom lip.

 

* * *

 

- Yuyeon’s visuals at the awards today are insane. I spotted a red cape off in the distance and legit thought it was a girl group.

- Congrats to DASE on winning Rookie of the Year ♡

- A rookie who went up to accept an award with tissue stuck to his forehead ㅋㅋㅋㅋ (Photo of Baekya with tissue on his forehead.jpg)

└ Isn’t that that guy? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ (Preview pic of Baekya secretly pinching his own cheek in the artists’ section.jpg)
└ Oh my god, he’s so freaking cute.
└ Guess he didn’t expect to actually win ㅋㅋㅋ

- A helpless sparrow caught in a cat’s lair (Photo of Baekya sitting between Jihan and Yeonha.jpg)

- That acceptance speech for Best Male Rookie was adorable, total rookie vibes, ㅋㅋㅋ. By the way, is their fan club really called ‘Naing’? So cute.