Chapter 178: SOMETHING TO MULL OVER
TWO days flew by after the elimination announcement. Haneul refused to dwell on it too much. Instead, he poured all his energy into practice sessions, focusing particularly on his dancing.
Haru continued practicing with him, sharing whatever dance knowledge he could. Robin often joined their sessions too. Seongwoo noticed them practicing and asked if he could join since his dancing skills were also below average. They had no reason to turn him down, so Haru became the unofficial instructor for two people who only knew the basics when it came to dancing.
Of course, Haneul was still giving Haru vocal lessons in return. He couldn’t let the other teach him dancing without offering something back. That would have felt completely unfair. Thankfully, both of them were showing clear improvement in their respective weak areas.
After finishing another practice session, they returned to their cabins to take quick showers. Just as Haneul stepped out of his room, a new announcement echoed through the ship’s speakers.
[All contestants, please gather at the performance hall at 1:00 PM for a scheduled activity. Make sure to eat lunch beforehand.]
"Do you think it’s about that thing the PD mentioned last time?"
The sudden voice behind him made Haneul jump slightly. He turned to see Haru, who had just stepped out of his own room. Haru seemed to realize he had startled him and offered an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you," Haru added quickly.
"It’s fine," Haneul said, shaking his head with a helpless smile. "And yes, I think it’s probably about that."
When the PD spoke to them last Saturday, he mentioned there might be an off-ship activity on Monday, which was today. With all the intense practicing he’d been doing, Haneul had nearly forgotten about it completely.
"Should we head to the dining hall?" he asked Haru.
Haru nodded, and the two of them walked toward the dining area. They discussed what the off-ship activity might involve along the way. When they arrived, a familiar voice called out from one of the tables.
"Haneul! Haru!"
Haneul turned toward the voice and saw Robin waving them over. He pointed clearly at the empty seats at his table, making it obvious they should join him. Haneul gave a quick thumbs-up in response.
Then, he and Haru joined the line to get their food. As they waited, Haneul spotted Seongwoo carrying a tray toward Robin’s table. Shortly after, he spotted Taeyang with his own tray of food. When he saw Taeyang looking in the direction of Robin’s table, Haneul found himself wondering if he would join them.
As Taeyang remained standing there, Haneul felt his heart beat faster for no clear reason. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he thought he saw Taeyang glance briefly in his direction before turning toward an empty table instead. A sharp twinge of disappointment struck him at the sight, followed immediately by frustration at himself for caring. He forced himself to look away and stop watching the other.
It was then that he noticed Seojun wearing a strained smile while Choi Yujin chattered away beside him. The sight gave Haneul a twinge of sympathy for Seojun. He considered whether he should try to help him out of this awkward situation. But then he realized he had no idea how to do that without stirring up trouble. Given how Choi Yujin had acted during their brief interaction, he would definitely create drama if he thought Haneul was stepping into what he considered his ’territory’.
He shook his head and silently apologized to Seojun. As much as he wanted to help, he couldn’t risk getting into a confrontation with Choi Yujin on camera. There was no telling how the editing team might twist such a scene. So he could only hope, for Seojun’s sake, that Choi Yujin would be eliminated in the next round. He knew it was unkind to wish for someone’s elimination, but he considered Seojun a friend. Of the two, he naturally wanted Seojun to feel more comfortable.
He let out a quiet sigh. Once again, he realized he wasn’t quite as good a person as he liked to believe.
As if to prove that point, his eyes landed on Park Mirae standing near where Seojun and Choi Yujin were. A sudden urge flashed through his mind to push that fake smiling face right into a bowl of steaming hot kimchi soup. It wasn’t entirely because he disliked the other, though that was part of it, but more because of where Park Mirae was standing.
He was at the table where Taeyang sat alone. Park Mirae said something, but Taeyang didn’t even look up and just kept eating. Haneul watched as Park Mirae’s smile strained at the edges, though he quickly recovered and replaced it with a gentle expression. It seemed Park Mirae was growing accustomed to Taeyang’s indifference towards him, but that didn’t stop him from trying. To prove it, he calmly took the seat directly across from Taeyang.
What was that guy actually planning? Why was he suddenly trying to get close to Taeyang? Was it because he recognized Taeyang’s potential popularity and wanted to ride his coattails? Or was he trying to make Taeyang look bad by provoking reactions that would seem rude or cold on camera? Given how Taeyang kept ignoring him, it would be easy for editors to twist the footage to make him appear heartless.
But did Park Mirae not realize the same could happen to him? The way he was behaving, he could just as easily be edited to look like someone desperately clinging to a person who clearly didn’t want him around.
Haneul had no idea how the show was being edited, but he assumed they would include any drama that could increase ratings. Then again, the last time he spoke with his sister, she hadn’t mentioned anything about the situation with Lee Minjae. So maybe there was a chance this show was edited differently. It could also be that the PD was decent enough not to want to ruin Lee Minjae’s future by airing what happened. Especially considering how harshly the public viewed Alphas who lost control after forgetting to take suppressants.
Soon, it was Haneul’s turn to get his food, and he temporarily set aside his thoughts.