WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

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Chapter 72

That afternoon.

“Ah, damn, I stepped on the line again……”

After lunch, I wandered toward the back of the practice room, glancing over my shoulder every three steps.

Anyone who might see me would probably think that what I was doing looked suspicious as hell, but it wasn’t like I could help it.

[<Conquer the Stage with Hopscotch> : Successfully play hopscotch ten times in a row, and you'll receive a buff for your desired position for 24 hours!]

“What conquering the stage? More like conquering the backyard. I might just pass out before I get to make use of it!”

I grumbled while furiously…… playing hopscotch.

Alone.

It had been a long, long time since I last played it, and now that I was trying to do it again, it was harder than I expected.

Even drawing the grid on the ground had felt quite confusing at first.

On top of that, the fact that I had to succeed 10 times in a row was quite brutal.

I barely managed to get 5 rounds, but by the 6th or 7th, I kept stepping on the line or losing my balance and toppling forward.

Wasn’t Ahn Yuyoung’s body supposed to be that of an idol’s?

Why was my leg strength and balance so garbage?

If I was going to be reincarnated into a younger body, shouldn’t I at least get some athletic perks?

As I kept grumbling to myself, stomping on the ground, a voice suddenly came from behind me.

“……What are you doing?”

“Argh.”

Startled, I lost my balance and tumbled forward.

When I turned around, I saw Haram standing there.

It felt like it had been a while.

Even though we shared a room, our practice schedules were so different that we barely crossed paths.

“Erm…… Well……”

“Where’s Gyeom?”

“Baekgyeom? He’s not here.”

“Oh, I thought you were doing this together.”

“No?...... Wait, why would you even think that?”

“I just can’t imagine you doing something like this alone.”

“……And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Haha, just kidding.”

Did he think that if I was doing something stupid, Baekgyoem always had to be involved?

That kind of hurt my pride, okay?

But whether I liked it or not, Haram just grinned and joined me in playing hopscotch.

“Why are you here anyway?”

“Ah, I was looking for you, Hyung.”

Haram had made it to the third square, standing there with his feet together as he looked at me.

I had stopped at the fifth before turning around to look at him.

“Erm, so actually. Hm……”

“Hm?”

“Erm, about the interview.”

Ah, the interview.

He was probably talking about that interview that almost got me killed.

“I……I didn’t think it would come out like that. I’m sorry.”

“Oh…… It’s fine. Whatever.”

Was he seriously here just to apologize?

Haram looked a little embarrassed.

“I actually wanted to say sorry right away, but you seemed really busy with practice……”

“It’s fine. It was my fault anyway.”

I really meant that.

Of course, when I said ‘my fault’, I wasn’t talking about me, Park Doyoon.

I meant the ‘Ahn Yuyoung’ who existed before I ended up in this body.

I wasn’t the one who messed up, but from the looks of it, the previous Ahn Yuyoung must have been seriously awful.

So if anyone deserved the blame, it sure wasn’t me.

That was why I never felt like the others needed to apologize to me to begin with.

Of course, that cursed way they edited it left me feeling completely drained, but……

Well, at least their interviews hadn’t been as aggressively twisted, so it was tolerable, I guess.

“Seriously, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“……Alright.”

I brushed it off again like it was nothing.

Haram on the other hand looked rather down.

Why was he being so gloomy?

I focused hard on my hopscotch as I thought about that.

Haram stayed in the fourth square.

“Erm, could you move?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Haram stepped over the line, staying there a few more seconds before turning away to walk toward the practice room.

I went right back to playing an absolute deranged amount of hopscotch.

At least when I was hula hooping, I had Beagyeom to suffer with me, but doing this alone seemed like absolute hell. However, once I got into it, it actually helped clear my mind after completely focusing on this.

“Ah! 10 in a row!”

[<Conquer the Stage with Hopscotch> buff will be active for the next 24 hours.]

A welcome system message appeared before me.

Exhaling, I wiped the sweat off my face.

It was winter, but sweat was still clinging to my temples.

“Alright then……”

I grabbed the tablet I had left on the nearby bench.

Unlocking it, I pulled up a video of Iho’s solo practice.

“Know thy enemy, and you’ll win a thousand battles.”

I was going to memorize everything.

You arrogant bastard.

* * *

Some time later.

The five of us had gathered in the practice room again.

“Alright, let’s start with three warm-up runs.”

Iho effortlessly took control of the group.

The members shuffled into their designated positions.

The sight was all too familiar to me now.

“Yuyoung-hyung?”

“You’re spot’s here.”

Chanyoung called me over.

I stood near the door, far from the group, just watching.

“Ah, I’m not really……”

“You’re not practicing?”

“Just for a bit……”

I barely finished my sentence before I darted out of the practice room.

I could feel the temperature inside drop.

I completely ignored that and headed straight for the water dispenser in the hallway.

With my buff activated and the Sponge item absorbing all of Iho’s moves, there was zero reason for me to follow his lead.

Sure, Iho was probably steaming by now, but oh well.

When I returned, the members were positively drenched in sweat.

Iho, of course, looked completely fine.

He probably still insisted on using the spartan method of stopping the music and nitpicking each member one by one.

“Where’d you go?”

“Hm? Just got some water.”

“……”

Iho’s brows creased slightly.

"Want some?”

“……No.”

Iho sure was a strange guy.

Even when I openly messed with him, his face barely changed.

He even smiled a little.

If it were Baekgyeom, he would be throwing a fit, asking why I was teasing him……

Ah, actually scratch that.

He would probably be playing along already, fetching water together with me. That was just the type of guy he was.

Even Seo Haedun would have been so pissed, that he would have punched me right then and there. Probably.

Maybe Iho was sharper than I thought?

His hot-tempered first impression didn’t seem to match his actual behavior.

And so, after wrapping up the practice session, there were three members dripping in sweat, one drill sergeant elite, and one completely dry slacker.

It was finally time for the ‘selection match’ (a.k.a the thing I picked a fight over for no reason).

To keep things fair, we decided the order with rock-paper-scissors.

First up was Saemi.

“Urgh, this is kinda stressful……”

Even though he said that, he was already walking toward the mirror.

“Actually, I learned a bit of street dancing before.”

With that, he played a hip-hop track.

We all watched as Saemi moved.

‘……As expected.’

I was silently amazed by him.

Saemi was seriously good at dancing. It looked like that even to me who wasn't an expert on this.

“Wow~!!”

Chanyoung and Kiwoong clapped excitedly, showing their genuine admiration.

Saemi’s movements reminded me of Seo Haedun’s.

His body flowed effortlessly to the rhythm.

He was bouncing around here and there.

It was far from the rigid, precise style one often saw in K-pop choreography.

However, just because it was different didn’t mean it was worse.

How did someone this good end up bowing down to Iho?

‘Actually, nah, I get it……’

I nodded to myself.

That guy’s leader was Yeeun.

After putting up with that guy, working under Iho must feel like paradise.

“Wow, you’re seriously amazing. I totally underestimated you.”

“Hehe, thanks.”

Saemi finished his performance and sat back down, looking a bit shy.

“Why didn’t you go on <Dance Off>?”

“Ah, erm, well…… Let’s just say, there were some unavoidable circumstances, haha.”

Saemi’s voice dropped a bit and laughed awkwardly at my question.

Aah, his agency probably blocked him from appearing.

I thought that he would’ve had great synergy with Seo Haedun. Maybe someday, a joint performance between them……

‘……Wait, why do I care about that?’

What the hell was I thinking about?

It wasn’t like them dancing together would save my life or something.

Shaking my head, I pushed the thought away and focused on the next performance.

“Next up, Iho-hyung.”

The members’ eyes quickly lit up.

Iho was the undisputed main dancer and the first ranked contestant on <Ultimate Idol>.

If a segment like this happened, it was guaranteed to make it into the final edit.

The members were also aware of that, so they put extra care into letting their eyes sparkle with anticipation as they turned to look at him.

Iho stepped forward and began his performance.

‘Hmm……’

For his dance, he chose to cover a song from his agency’s senior group.

A familiar melody played, and Iho executed the choreography perfectly, as if it had been engraved into his body.

The atmosphere he exuded and his movements were perfectly aligned with the beats and angles of the original, to the point that he could seamlessly step into that senior group right this instant.

“Oh~.”

The other members let out exclamations of awe.

On the other hand, the only thing I could think of was that for the first ranked idol this was……

‘Kinda boring……’

This guy, did he just want to coast on his top rank without actually pushing himself?

He had picked something too predictable, something designed to make him look good.

Still, I had to admit that he had executed it flawlessly.

His sharp precision and rhythmic control were proof of years of experience dancing in a group.

After Iho’s performance, Chanyoung and Kiwoon also showed off their own choreographies.

Chanyoung showcased a self-choreographed routine to an upbeat pop song.

Kiwoong covered a performance from a popular boy group from another agency.

“Everyone’s so good. It’s hard to pick a winner, right?”

“That’s right. Our whole team is centers~.”

When I started talking, Saemi responded in an excited voice.

I wasn’t sure if he was just that easy going or if his head was full of sunshine.

If I had to compare, he was similar to Chae Ire, though he was even more cheerful.

“It’d be a waste not to show off this talent.”

I deliberately spoke loud enough for a certain someone to hear.

Iho rested his chin on his hand, seemingly deep in thought.

Because of him, the rest of us had been pushed to the back, but almost all members here were main dancers in their respective groups.

There was no way that they would be bad.

The only difference in Iho’s performance was that the other members had cheered for him a bit more.

Skill-wise, everyone had delivered an almost flawless performance.

“It’s your turn, Yuyoung-hyung!”

Saemi clapped his hands enthusiastically while sitting on the floor, looking at me.

I got up and stood before the members.

“What song are you doing?”

“The song I chose is...”

I picked up the tablet and selected a track.

“……Chenstin’s.”

“Whoa, no way!”

Kiwoong shouted in shock.

Iho’s eyes went round as he looked at me.

I faced Iho with a smug expression.

Alright.

How do you like this Hyung’s masterclass level of aggravation?

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