Chapter 296: Meeting Golden Generation (7)
The two first-year Seoul National University Students, one of whom was an architectural student and the other an education major, straightened their outfits as they stared at the two men speaking to them in English.
Naturally, as Koreans, they knew who they were because they had seen them on different variety shows and even used Quiz on Block to practice English, as it exposed them to different foreigners.
"Are you speaking to us?"
"Yes. Would the two of you like to play a game? As you can see, we’re recording for the Quiz on the block, and we need volunteers to go against our guest today."
Immediately agreeing, the two university students walked over to see two incredibly handsome foreigners who were in a life-and-death battle over a kimbap roll before the blond one tossed the last bite into the air and snapped it up.
"Delicious!"
"I hope your hair strangles you in your sleep tonight."
"That happened one time! Once!
"If it happened once, it can happen again, either naturally or artificially. We’ll see tonight." The red-haired one dusted his hands off before turning to look at them.
Seeing that the fight had finished, Choi Soobin and Yoo Jae-bong spoke up.
"Ahem, Ahem, gentlemen, shall we continue. We have two university students who would like to participate in a mini competition with you both. They’ll be on one team and you’ll be on another, and whoever raises their hand first gets to answer. If you answer correctly, you’ll get 20,000 won per question. Would you like to play?"
"It’s still going to be up to high school curriculum, right?" Ari clarified.
"That’s right."
"Then that’s fine. Jamie?"
"I’m donebeing quizzed. I believe in you!"
"Okay, that’s fine. I can do it by myself."
"Oooh, the American style confidents. Then please introduce your names and backgrounds."
"Hello, I’m Ariel. I’m a high school student and an idol survival show contestant from the US." With an unbothered shrug, Ari held his hand out to the students as he introduced himself.
"I’m James Jones III. Musician and idol survival show contestant as well." Jamie waved from the side.
"Park Sungho. I’m a first-year architecture major at Seoul National University."
"Bi Hoon. I’m a first-year education major at the illustrious Seoul National University."
The architecture major shook Ari’s hand calmly, while the education major had a bit of a sneer on his face as he heard that Ari was an idol in training.
That was the one career that had notoriously unsmart people who were all high school dropouts.
All they focused on was their appearance and useless skills, such as singing and dancing.
Judging by their looks and the way this one was dressed, he didn’t look like somebody who had done a lot of studying.
Not only would this be easy money, but he would appear on TV and finally be able to ask the senior, who was a business major, out on a date.
Bi Hoon gave Ari a smug smile while squeezing his hand hard, but got a blank stare in return before crushing pain filled his hand.
Yanking his hand away, he immediately looked away when Ari gave him a sharp smile.
"Pleasure. I’m ready whenever the two of you are ready, so take your time. If you need to warm up with a couple of questions, that’s fine too."
└ He’s going to get it now.
└ Look at him being cocky with students from THEE Seoul National University. It’s one of the best schools in the world compared to Ivy League Schools. The entrance exam alone is brutal. Nothing in America or France compares to it.
└ The education major is going to teach him a lesson today.
└ Look at their faces, it reeks of educational elitism! These are the top brains of the country. The French boy is getting schooled today!
└└ Hey! Not too much on him! He clearly lived in France and the French education system is much harder than the American one
└└└ Excuse you, he actually lives in California, and their school system is hard! Not all places in America are the same!
While the chat thought Ari’s win streak was coming to an end and others were fighting as to where he had gotten educated, they were surprised to see that he was performing just as well as before, soundly beating out the two university students and not giving them a chance to get a single word in.
As a crowd gathered around, not willing to let Ari win just like that, Choi Soobin wrote some words on a paper in Korean and held it up.
"Ariel-nim, you said you’ve been learning Korean, so I’ll give you the chance to answer first. Can you read this sentence out loud? 다람쥐 헌 쳇바퀴에 타고파"
Ari stared at the characters before trying to sound them out and translate them.
He wasn’t sure how the Bilingual earrings worked, but if he could pronounce them correctly, he could understand the words.
"I...want to ride a dalamjwi? No wait, squirrel? That doesn’t make sense." After trying his best to read the characters before him, Ari gave the hosts his best guess, but judging by their expressions, he had gotten it wrong.
And as he expected-
"Wrong!"
"Education Major Bi Hoon from Seoul National University? Your answer."
Not looking too happy about it, Bi Hoon accurately read the phrase.
"I want to ride on a squirrel’s old wheel. It’s the panagram in typing programs."
"Correct! You get the point! And the final bills."
With a gleeful smile, the last two 10,000-won bills were passed over while Ari fell to his knees with a devastated expression.
└ He looks like he’s about to cry, OMG
└ After winning 980,000 won, he’s devastated about the last 20,000 won? What is wrong with him??
└ He really loves money, huh?
└ The university students don’t even look happy that they won.
"There there, it’s okay, contestant Ari. You did well."
"But it’s a shame that I didn’t get the full 1 million won."
Seeing the handsome boy still on his knees on the verge of tears over 20,000 won, Yoo Jae-bong felt kind of bad and rushed to comfort him.
"But you did really, really well. It was kind of a trick question to ask those learning Korean, so I wanted to test you a bit. My apologies for the trick question."
"It’s fine. It just shows that my studying is lacking. A couple of weeks of learning Korean is clearly not enough," Ari replied with a despondent sigh.
"Excuse me? You’ve only been learning Korean for a couple of weeks? How did you learn so much about Korea? Even your pronunciation of things is spot on, "Bi Hoon answered in shock.
As an education major, finding the best way to teach people was key, and hearing that someone was this talented with only a couple of weeks of work was shocking.
Wasn’t he supposed to be an idol, or had he misheard earlier?
Was it just a front?
"Ah, I’ve been doing Korean homework assignments and reading tourist guides since I could find copies in both English and Korean. From there, it’s just a matter of memorization. I already speak another language pretty fluently, so it’s the same pattern of learning, really. Unfortunately, I’m still doing primary school assignments because it’s a bit hard."
"...a couple of weeks?" Bi Hoon asked in shock. When he was learning English, it had taken him a couple of months to read semi-easily, and he definitely hadn’t bothered learning and memorizing the facts of other countries or even completing extra homework assignments, especially because his school load was already so heavy.
What the heck was this student doing, or was it all a ploy and promotion for himself and his agency?
"...may I ask why you’ve been learning Korean? Do you want to debut in Korea as a foreign idol?"
"No. I just want to know when people are talking about me," Ari replied honestly, causing the eyes of the two hosts and two students to almost pop out.
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Ehhh??"
"Really?"
Even online, people couldn’t believe it.
└ Learning another language to hear gossip is wild
└ Isn’t he supposed to be an idol trainee? An example to us all. This is so petty lol
└ based
└ No, but same. I want to know what people are gossiping about.
└└ But are you going to learn another language to understand the gossip?
└└└ That’s a bit...
"Yeah, that’s basically it. I want to know when people are gossiping or talking trash about me when I was in Korea, so I started learning when I had some free time."
"Are you just joking around?"
"No, I’m very serious."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Not because Korean is a beautiful language, or to stand out to your supporters, or to let the managers and directors assign a more important role in whatever company you sign on to, or to save them money? You just want to know when people are gossiping?"
"Exactly. I believe in clearing the air immediately and avoiding hearing second-hand information. I need to know what people are saying behind my back so I can...have a good talk with them. It will be fun~" Ari smiled sweetly, causing the hosts to shudder.
└ Fun? Don’t you want to beat them up?
└ Just say you want to talk with your fists
└ With that smile, who do you think is going to believe that you want to talk?
Choi Soobin, Yoo Jae-bong, and the two university students could only stare at the young man who had the most unique way of thinking.
Did it make sense to spend so much time and effort on learning another language just to know if someone was gossiping about you?
"Well, thank you, once again, Ariel and Jamie, for joining our program. I remember asking you to give us a performance. Are you both still up for it?"
"Sure! Just give me a moment, let me tune my guitar and discuss what we’ll sing with Ari."
The heads, one red and one blonde, came together to discuss before separating.
Jamie had his guitar, which he quickly tuned by ear, while Ari borrowed a painter’s bucket, which he used as a drum.
With Jamie playing his guitar, they did a quick acoustic medley of the Pop Star Academy signal song as well as other songs they had performed throughout the show’s duration.
It was a mix of songs with transitions that required being on the same page with the lead alternating between the two of them, but as if they had practiced, the performance was seamless.
└ woah, he really is a guitar god. How is he seamlessly switching chords like that? His fingers are flying everywhere!
└ They can sing so well. Wow!
└ The harmony is so crazy, geez
└ Ariel’s tone is so nice and distinct. The way he does his riffs is amazing!
└ I saw them filming in Hongdae, but I wish I had stayed longer to hear this live!
└ If they’re singing like this, they must be some of the highest-ranked contestants on Pop Star Academy.
└└ Please tune in after this to find out!
└└└ I will
Once the performance was over, there was a resounding round of applause from the small crowd that had gathered around them.
Yoo Jae-bong and Choi Soobin, who had recovered from their monetary losses to enjoy the performances, also applauded happily.
"Do you both have any final words?"
"Thank you for having us! It was fun and the snacks were tasty." Jamie gave them a happy smile as he put his guitar away.
"And you, Ariel?"
"Yes, thank you for having us, and also to the viewers at home, please tune in to the Pop Star Academy episode, which I think will air right after this. We, the contestants of the show, are working hard in our own way to showcase our best sides and deliver a great performance to achieve the dreams and wishes we all share. Even if the production team won’t reveal the full difficulties we experience, just know that everyone is trying their hardest in the background. And please vote, even if it’s not for Jamie and me. Thank you. Saranghae. Also, PD Park, the airport really lost Jamie’s guitar, that’s why we’re late! Just take this free promo as our apology and don’t punish us, okay?"
Making a finger heart before bowing his head along with Jamie, Ari gave the cameras a rare bright smile that made his face look even more handsome, causing the crowd to sigh happily before walking away.
As the crowd began dispersing, the hosts stood together to give their closing statements.
"Weren’t they interesting people, Soobin-ssi?"
"Very interesting! I never thought I would see the day that a foreign idol would challenge Seoul National University students and beat them in a quiz battle."
"Luckily, he was only reading hangeul at a primary school reading level; otherwise, we would have lost our dignity as Koreans who love education."
"Hahhh, maybe with this episode I can afford to eat a good meal tonight."
"Everyone, please watch and support these two bright young men in their dream to become idols."
Bowing to the cameras, the episode finished with the theme song and a montage of photos with both the university students and Jamie and Ariel.
And after the credits finished rolling, the chat continued to explode.
The episode was a hit.
And since it had been cutely advertised by handsome boys, instead of turning off the TV or changing the channel to something else, those who were watching naturally pivoted to watching the episode of Pop Star Academy.
The trailer started off with a cute montage of boys doing the classic luggage walk through the airport
[POP STAR ACADEMY FIELD DAY!!!]
[Pure entertainment, iconic fails, and serious wins for your team’s honor and glory!]
After that, the screen changed into different previews of contestants playing sports.
Thump!
A blonde boy with a buzzcut wearing a blue tracksuit lifted another boy into the air with one hand before slamming him into the gym mat spread on the ground.
As his sharp eyes looked upward, he bit his pink lips before smiling slightly and exposing sharp canines.
Then a text overlay with a bold sound effect rang out.
[☆SSIREUM ☆]
The screen then changed to a clip of 5 contestants wearing different colored tracksuits tiptoeing down the track with bright yellow chickens attached to the bottom of their feet.
With an obnoxious-sounding squeak, the text announcing the game appeared.
[☆4 x 100m Relay ☆]
Boom!
16 contestants, making up 4 teams, each holding a person high in the air, dashed toward each other with arms outstretched
[☆Cavalry Battle ☆]
A boy wearing a yellow tracksuit, juggling and dribbling the soccer ball past defenders, before performing a bicycle kick into an empty goal, rolling to his feet, and then running excitedly around the field while ripping and waving his top in the air.
Toned muscles highlighted by gleaming golden skin filled the screen as the owner ran to the camera with a wide smile, causing his dimples to appear as he screamed.
"It’s! A! Goal!!!!!"
[☆Football ☆]
Thwack!
A powerful jump smash performed by a blonde figure wearing a red tracksuit slammed the ball down on the tennis court.
[☆1 v 1 Tennis ☆]
At the somewhat familiar style of editing and sports display, Korean fans began commenting at a fast rate.
└ ISAC?
└ Is it the Chuseok special already? It’s several months early, right?
└ Wow, shirtless British oppa is so handsome. All of a sudden, I’m into sports. Go sports!
└ is that Red Lace in the background? Oh my gosh, Sakura unnie!!
The trailer ended with a clip of Areum, the leader of Red Lace, making an announcement.
[And the winner of the first Pop Star Academy Field Day is...]
The scene cut off, and instead, the signal song of Pop Star Academy began to play.
As people took their seats to watch handsome young men play sports, when the signal song ended, instead of the usual scenery of a sports day field, the opening scene featured a stage with an MC, a colorful cast, and a three-tiered pyramid behind him.
[Shall we begin with the ranking ceremony and find out which contestants won’t be joining us in Korea?]