Cheating way through to Stardom chapter 63- Our Idols

Really? I didn’t know that.

‘But why are you getting mad?’

Why is it any of your business that I didn’t get work done?

“Really? You didn’t even get double eyelid surgery?”

“I didn’t.”

“Damn it. Is it because you’re with Friends?”

I tilted my head, genuinely curious.

“What does my agency have to do with it?”

I could feel the director laughing again. No, the broadcasting staff were covering their mouths and snickering.

Ah, this is good BGM.

“Hey, you jerk. Do you think I don’t know Friends does plastic surgery like art?”

“Is that so?”

I looked at Yoo Hajin.

“Is that true, hyung?”

“Well…”

The atmosphere grew tense. Just when it felt like it was boiling, Yoo Hajin stepped forward and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, senior. Dowon has only been a trainee for four months.”

Suddenly, the Hush members’ eyes rolled around.

“We’ve been at it for a while, but he rose up quickly. He doesn’t know much, about the company or the industry. Please understand, senior.”

Wow.

‘Our leader’s pretty good.’

He handled it well.

I smiled brightly and continued.

“I’m sorry. There’s a lot I don’t know. I debuted suddenly, so my singing and dancing are still lacking compared to the others.”

If you watch my debut video, you’ll see.

‘I’m not that clumsy.’

Unless I stand out.

It was a roundabout way of speaking.

When Hush stayed silent, the director stepped in.

“Alright, alright. Let’s call it a day. Zenis, hurry up and get out of here.”

We bowed our heads and left the camera-filled meeting room. As we walked down the corridor, I asked Minjae.

“Does our company do good plastic surgery?”

“I don’t really know.”

“Has anyone among us had work done?”

Suddenly, Ki Jaeyun, who was following us, stumbled.

Ah.

‘So you did.’

I won’t ask.

I had a simple question.

‘Does that face look like it’s had work done?’

Oh dear. Plastic Surgery isn’t all-powerful after all.

I won’t ask about that either. It can happen.

Ki Jaeyun grabbed my arm and said.

“Hey, you…”

“Yeah? What?”

“Is your face natural? You’re so lucky. Damn it.”

Yoo Hajin covered Ki Jaeyun’s mouth.

“Let’s speak properly, Ki Jaeyun.”

I chuckled.

“Thanks for helping me earlier, Hajin hyung.”

“Our youngest was heading into enemy territory like a piece of equipment, so as the leader, I had to help.”

He understood why I did it.

Minjae said.

“Provoking is fine, but don’t get hurt.”

“Me? Well, I might get hurt.”

If that happens.

“But I won’t stay quiet if it does.”

Hush wouldn’t come out unscathed either. My body is that precious.

Minjae looked at me worriedly. Then Lee Seungjoon whispered from the side.

“Leave the physical stuff to me.”

“It’s fine. Why would I leave it to you? Are you made of steel?”

I looked down at my pocket. My smartphone was always quietly there.

With this cheat, it’s totally in my favor.

“I’m looking forward to the next shoot.”

Yoo Hajin shook his head and patted my shoulder.

“Please, don’t rush to behead the enemy commander by yourself, Dowon.”

“Hmm. Then will you come with me, hyung?”

Yoo Hajin’s eyes wavered.

Oh dear. I patted his shoulder.

“I’ll go alone for now. This level of support is enough.”

Minjae sighed deeply as he looked at me.

‘What’s with that guy again?’

Anyone would think you’re worried about me.

‘Well, you’ve got your own tasks to handle.’

I smiled brightly at Minjae.

“How are you going to arrange Kim Sangseok’s song?”

Minjae’s face immediately lit up.

“Well, how about extending the intro, then some dancing, then it gets darker with ballads? Ah, maybe mix in some EDM? Or combine it with classical? Include both string and wind instruments.”

“Of course, you’ll do well, hyung. You don’t get called a genius for nothing.”

Kang Minjae’s cheeks flushed slightly.

“Really? You think so?”

“Try everything you want.”

Since it’s not my money being spent on music.

‘If it gets too out of hand, Director Joo will step in.’

Kang Minjae’s eyes quivered as if overwhelmed with emotion.

‘What an irritating reaction.’

As I turned my head, I made eye contact with Ki Jaeyun, who had just escaped Hajin hyung’s grip and was looking at me.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Of what?”

“Aren’t you afraid of what Hush might do?”

I let out a small laugh.

“Jaeyun, guys like Hush are actually easy. The broadcasters are just waiting to catch them making a mistake. Oh, Hush’s agency isn’t that big, right?”

Yoo Hajin answered.

“Not really. At best, it’s medium-sized.”

So, it wouldn’t be easy to sway public opinion.

In that sense, Vita was actually more troublesome. Why would I be scared of facing a weaker opponent?

“Cameras are rolling. Do you think they’ll use their fists or kick? Actually, it would be better if they did.”

“It might hurt…”

“Does pain matter? Popularity is what’s important.”

I exhaled softly.

“If you’re scared, just stay put.”

Yoo Hajin rubbed his forehead.

“I’m really worried about you, Dowon.”

“About what?”

“Your ambition is too big. Ah, is that why your nickname is Ambitious One (Yo Dowon)?”

Damn it. I should strangle the choreographer who first gave me that nickname.

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this? It’s not a big deal.”

I smiled brightly.

“My dreams are much higher.”

At my answer, Yoo Hajin shook his head. Lee Seungjoon looked at me with concern, and Ki Jaeyun trembled with anxiety.

‘Forget about Kang Minjae.’

He’s too distracted, thrilled about arranging Kim Sangseok’s song.

“I look forward to it.”

In many ways.

Just then, the manager approached, wiggling his hips to signal the next schedule. I quietly picked up my smartphone as I followed.

[Zenis’s condition restored]

[Modified]

[Due to side effects, dizziness will occur for 5 seconds after 3 seconds]

Recovery was still generous. I paused briefly to steady myself from the dizziness before moving forward again. Nothing was in my way.

The schedule was hectic. Music shows, events, interviews. But the decisive day approached.

I smiled brightly at the Hush members sitting next to me. Despite our greetings, they still ignored us.

‘How childish.’

As I kept smiling, one of the Hush members spoke up.

“What’s so funny?”

I immediately wiped the smile off my face. Looking down at the ground with a troubled expression, they laughed amongst themselves, thinking they had won.

‘The cameras are rolling, idiots.’

The camera director had started a test shot five seconds ago. Couldn’t they see the red light?

‘Moreover, it’s focusing right now.’

They probably captured my troubled smile perfectly.

Soon, the MC arrived, and I stood up to greet them.

“Let’s get started! Standby! Cue!”

The youngest writer clapped loudly, and the MC began their introduction.

Throughout the introduction, the guys next to me were busy chattering.

‘There’s no pause in the audio.’

The audio director must be hearing everything. These reckless fools.

Then the MC spoke.

“Let’s start the competition! The first event is log splitting!”

I reacted appropriately.

With a surprised expression, I muttered.

“Log splitting?”

“Can you do it?”

“Who’s going to do it?”

Lee Seungjoon answered earnestly.

“I’ll do it.”

It would make sense for you to do it in a traditional sense. But the thing is,

‘This requires more technique than strength.’

Even back then, I wondered why Hush chose this event.

“Pick five members, and the group that splits the most logs wins!”

The camera stopped, and the staff brought axes and logs into the studio. I squatted down and inspected the axe blade.

‘It’s dull.’

They must have just bought it roughly from a hardware store.

‘Heavier axes are better.’

I loosened my shoulders and arms.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Leave it to me.”

“Dowon?”

“I have some experience with this.”

Before I came back in time, I worked part-time at a pension. It was only for two months, but during that time, I got very familiar with ‘log splitting.’

The pension that did barbecues and mushroom farming had a machine to chop wood. But during the peak season in summer, the machine broke down.

Thanks to that, on a day with a heatwave warning, the owners had to keep splitting logs.

Unfortunately, human endurance has its limits. When the owners collapsed from exhaustion, log splitting became my task.

‘Well, I did get paid extra.’

Sweat dripped into my eyes as I looked at the mushroom farm we built with blood and effort.

“Who’s going first?”

I immediately raised my hand.

“Oh, the youngest is going first?”

“Yes.”

The Hush members discussed among themselves, and eventually, a blond guy stepped forward.

“Start!”

I stepped firmly on the wood and swung the axe down.

Thud-

The log split cleanly without much force.

“Gasp!”

The MCs looked at me with exaggerated reactions. I smiled and swung the axe again.

Thud- Crack-

‘The trick is to split along the grain.’

Doing it the other way wouldn’t split it properly.

I kept swinging the axe. The MCs, amazed, moved over to the Hush side.

“Unbelievable~ Unbelievable~ They’ve already split three, but here there’s not even one!”

“It’s harder than it looks!”

“Hush members! Zenis is doing incredibly well!”

Some Hush members looked at me and pointed.

“He’s from the countryside?”

“How can he be so good at chopping wood?”

Bastards. Are they looking down on the countryside?

‘Gyeonggi-do Seongnam isn’t exactly the countryside, though…’

I didn’t mind and kept swinging the axe.

“Youngest! Youngest! Wow!”

My shoulders and wrists ached. As I sighed, Lee Seungjoon took over.

“I’ll do it.”

“Do you know how?”

“Yes.”

Lee Seungjoon swung the axe.

Thud—

Unfortunately, the wood bounced off.

‘Damn.’

I grabbed the axe myself.

“I’ll just do it.”

“Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing for this?”

It’s not like everyone can do it.

‘It’s not the same as boxing.’

The MC, hearing our conversation, remarked in admiration.

“You two get along well!”

I immediately shook my head.

“No, we don’t!”

“No, you really seem to get along.”

I looked at Lee Seungjoon.

“Hey, we’re not close, right? Say something.”

“We’re not close?”

Seungjoon’s pupils trembled.

‘He’s serious.’

Hey, we’re filming right now! Normally, we should insist we’re not close to create some drama.

‘Damn.’

He’s just a kid. I awkwardly swung the axe again.

“No, we’re close.”

Seungjoon grinned widely.

“Right? We’re close, aren’t we?”

Yeah. Please, just act a little, Seungjoon.

I shook my head. The camera director capturing everything laughed with a kick.

‘Damn.’

Whatever.

The MC shouted.

“Time’s up! Oh, we don’t even need to see the results. Zenis wins!”

“Wow!”

Yoo Hajin and Kang Minjae reacted with lifeless enthusiasm. Ki Jaeyun pouted and said.

“Are you good at chopping wood too?”

“Ah, I’ve done it before. My relatives grow shiitake mushrooms.”

It was a lie without even wetting my lips, but a perfect excuse.

“Zenis, how could you leave everything to the youngest!”

Yoo Hajin massaged my shoulder as he spoke.

“Well, yeah. Dowon, aren’t you tired?”

“Not really. Hyung! Massage here more. It’s stiff.”

Yoo Hajin pounded on my shoulder. The MC laughed and said.

“What a friendly team. Now, what about Hush?”

The MC went over to Hush. I quietly watched them.

“Hey! You said you would do it!”

“I didn’t know they’d be good!”

Oh boy.

‘Don’t react so predictably, Hush.’

If the dynamic is too clear, it’s no fun.

I hadn’t noticed while chopping wood, but the guy with the best body had taken off his top.

‘Doesn’t that violate broadcasting standards?’

I heard that exposing one side of a man’s chest is okay, but not both.