On the evening of the day we filmed the evaluation video, we were given a full rest period, except for brief interviews with each member.
It was supposed to be a break, but seeing the tired faces of the kids who had clearly become exhausted compared to the first day of shooting in the studio, it didn’t feel like we could rest comfortably.
The dining area, usually bustling during meal times, was oddly quieter than usual, making the clattering of the dishes sound unusually loud.
With the ranking announcement looming, the entire building seemed to quietly sink into silence.
It was enough to make the person serving the food ask if something had happened that day.
“I guess we’re all anxious because we’re leaving tomorrow.”
The lady nodded as if she understood, and with a warm smile, she piled a little more stir-fried pork onto my plate, saying I’d worked hard.
I thanked her, bowed, and went to the seat my roommates had saved for me.
Kim Junwu grumbled in a low voice.
“The portions here are always a bit small.”
“That’s enough. You eat a lot, hyung.”
Ban Yohan, who had previously scoffed at Kim Junwu’s claim to eat five meals a day, picked up his chopsticks and said so.
“It’s because you don’t eat much, especially you, On Raon. Koreans are rice lovers, but you don’t eat much, so your stamina is lacking.”
I wasn’t eating because the food was not tasty.
“Stamina… I wish I could level up every time I eat.”
“You sound like a game addict.”
“I want to play games.”
I was already playing a game, but you guys didn’t know, right?
As soon as I get my phone back tomorrow, I will download some mobile games.
As everyone was silently eating, Jing Xiao, whose face looked utterly drained of energy, muttered,
“It’s over tomorrow.”
“It’s the end, but it’s also the beginning.”
Yohan casually responded.
Hearing his words, Kim Junwu laughed hysterically for a moment, as if he was going to vomit.
And then he glared at Yohan with a slightly resentful face.
“Why do you talk about such things while eating?”
Jing Xiao and I agreed and nodded as we drank some water.
Only Nagase Ritsu, who didn’t understand Korean, looked at us alternately with a confused face.
“Anyway, let’s go out and have a big meal together after this.”
Kim Junwu threw a promise that would never be fulfilled.
Seeing his reaction, Jing Xiao retorted with a sly expression,
“Koreans always say that, but they never contact me.”
Upon hearing Jing Xiao’s perfect analysis of Koreans, even the kids at the next table burst into laughter.
“Xiao, you really know Koreans well.”
What a waste! There should’ve been a camera here.
If this was broadcast, it would’ve been captured with captions and circulated as a meme.
While everyone else was laughing and shaking their shoulders, Kim Junwoo was the only one who couldn’t laugh or get angry and just stared at Jing Xiao.
“Hey, that’s not just something you say.”
Kim Junwu shouldn’t have said that.
Jing Xiao and I pounced in delight.
“Huh? Hyung, are you buying?”
“If you’re buying, then it has to be meat. Maybe beef?”
“We’re nice, so we’ll consider it even if you take us to an all-you-can-eat place.”
“Yohan, why are you doing this?”
“Junwu-hyung is buying meat. Until we burst.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
“No! Ritsu, no! No money!”
Kim Junwu screamed, and I once again regretted the absence of cameras while digging into my dessert yogurt.
* * *
The next morning, all 100 trainees gathered at once in a spacious auditorium.
“Pick Heart Chicken Fight Tournament?”
Still shaking with anxiety, Kim Junwu woke up with a soft hum to the morning, haunted by the imminent announcement of rankings and the fear of receiving an F.
He found himself reading aloud the sign that had been attached to the front in a state of stunned disbelief.
“Chicken fight?”
“Are we doing a chicken fight now?”
That’s when two people who looked like female idols suddenly jumped onto the stage.
“Hello, Pick Your Heart Season 3 trainees!”
The clear voice echoing through the speakers silenced the murmuring trainees as they looked up at the stage.
“Yours’ Yu Hana!”
“Kim Da Young!
“Wow!”
The trainees who had figured out the situation cheered. I joined in, blending into the crowd.
It turned out that they were trainees who had debuted in the last season.
“This inter-group chicken fight competition can be said to be a tradition of Pick Heart! Last season, I took down as many as 10 people and won.”
“Ah, it was no joke then. Almost like an eagle stuck between chickens, fierce movements! I still remember it.”
“I was quite good then, wasn’t I!”
Trainees chuckled and mumbled words of admiration at Yu Hana’s energetic and bold statement.
“Now, let me explain the rules!”
The rules were simple.
Nine people from each group would participate in a group chicken fight, and the last group standing would be the winner.
A total of 45 people would come out at once, and it was impressive that Yu Hana was able to singlehandedly eliminate 10 of them.
How did she do it with her not-so-big physique? Was her power good? I’ll have to look for the clip later.
And it was added that a prize would be awarded to the winning group.
I stared blankly at the empty space before me, wondering if an unexpected quest would appear.
[Sudden Quest Alert! “Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee”]
As expected, a quest arrived.
You’re slow. Was it done manually?
[▶ Quest description:
The traditional inter-group chicken fight competition of Pick Your Heart has begun. Claim your rightful victory by any means necessary!
▶ Confirmed reward:
Choose 1 from Stamina, Strength, Agility, and get +5
Y/N]
In these scenarios, weren’t you usually told to play fair?
This system, being righteous in useless places.
There seemed to be no penalty either, so I accepted it carelessly. The reward was tempting.
About 10 minutes were given to select the players.
The commotion started as everyone, except for Jihui’s group, which had a confirmed full participation since their group only had 9 members, began to select who would go for the fight.
“Who wants to go from our group?”
“Me!”
Unlike others, I raised my hand faster than anyone else.
However, the reaction I received was cold.
“You look like you’d have a hard time even standing still with one leg up for 30 seconds.”
The fact hurt.
This was all because I watched and learned from our teacher.
“Right. Just sit and rest, group leader.”
“You’ve worked hard. We’ll win for you.”
Even if they said it warmly, it was a message telling me to get lost since I wouldn’t be any help in winning.
Bastards.
There was no condition that I had to go out as a player for the quest, so I stepped back, threatening them with a 10-point penalty if they lost.
There was nothing I could do as a weak player since my stats combined stats in Strength, Agility, and Health were no more than 20.
At that time, Ban Yohan, initially out of the group deciding who would go, called Jing Xiao, one of the selected players, and whispered something.
When Jing Xiao heard the whisper, he grumbled.
“Wow, hyung. Do you really want to win like that?”
“Is there anyone who hates winning?”
Still shaking his head, Jing Xiao went to the other selected trainees and said something.
It looked like he was passing on some kind of strategy.
When I made eye contact with Ban Yohan, he smiled at me.
“Raon, come over here.”
“Me? But I’m not a player?”
“Just listen.”
After hearing Ban Yohan’s plan, which was spoken softly so as not to be heard by other group trainees around him, I had the same reaction as Jing Xiao.
“Do you really want to win like that, hyung?”
“Why? I thought you wanted to win too?”
I had no rebuttal.
I had to win.
If I got this reward, I could finally surpass 20 in Stamina.
Above all, I wanted to escape from this crappy Stamina as soon as possible.
“Now, is everyone ready!”
The competitors stepped inside the line.
The rest of the trainees not participating in the race lined up on one side.
“Before we start, True’s Oh Hyeonjin, please share your determination.”
“I will take down just three people.”
“Just three? Will that suffice?”
“Umm, five?”
Yu Hana and Kim Dayoung continued to interview one participant from each group one by one.
“Chicken Fight Survival! Who will be the last one standing!”
“Everyone, please be careful not to get hurt. Lift one leg and get ready. Yes. I’ve confirmed that everyone is ready. Ready…”
Tweeeet!
Yu Hana blew the whistle.
Immediately, a strange noise could be heard.
“Who’s the best chicken!”
At Kim Junwoo’s resounding shout, our team’s athletes, who had been exchanging glances, opened their mouths almost simultaneously.
“I’m the best chicken!”
“我是最好的鸡肉！”
“私が一番よく行く鶏である！”
“ฉันเป็นไก่ที่ดีที่สุด!”
There was a flurry of alien, no… foreign languages. And all of this came from our team.
What the—
Yu Hana and Kim Dayoung were noticeably flustered and had even forgotten to relay the race.
But once they recovered, their expressions turned into pleasant surprises.
“Oh, what’s this? Team Hyeseong is being quite aggressive!”
“Are those words or curses? Could they possibly be curses?”
“Don’t worry. I have learned Japanese for three months, and according to my level of proficiency, they seem to be saying that they are the best chicken! For the words that came after… I don’t know!”
Our foreign-born team members, shouting in their native languages, charged at the other competitors like crazed chickens.
Caught off guard by the sudden multi-lingual assault, the victims were dazed, either running out of the boundary or falling over from uncontrollable laughter, thus losing their footing.
“…Are they having a nervous breakdown?”
When someone muttered this, I was mulling over the advice given by Ban Yohan.
“When you think the kids are about to be eliminated, try to distract the other team’s players. Make the most pitiful face possible. You sometimes look especially pitiful, so it might work.
The phrase “especially pitiful” was regrettably accurate and annoying.
I didn’t know if the effect of natural sadness would work in time.
If I did it wrong, I might just end up embarrassing myself.
But seeing our chickens, who had exerted too much energy in the early stages, slowing down in the latter part, I summoned the courage to do something.
Wait for me, Stamina +5.
And then….
[Because of the effect of the trait, Born Pitiful, the opponent cannot ignore you and must look back at you with pity.]
This damn system, did it enjoy watching variety shows?
Seomun Gyeol, who was swiftly attacking our side, suffered from the effect of Born Pitiful and had a seizure as he looked at me.
Seizing the moment, one of our players, Azumi Ren, hit Seomun Gyeol from the side.
Even though he tried to endure it by putting strength into his legs, Seomun Gyeol finally fell over after a series of blows.
“Isn’t this cheating!”
Seo Chanbin caught sight of me and pointed accusingly at me.
I shrugged and turned my head.
“Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“You made a pitiful face and acted cute from outside! That’s interference!”
“So, did I look cute to you, Trainee Seo Chanbin? Then I guess I wasn’t acting cute. I’m really cute.”
Seo Chanbin was at a loss for words and stared at me with a flabbergasted face.
He looked as if he wanted me to quickly take back my words.
If it was my original body, it would be different, but it was quite embarrassing to say such things with a face that was not cute at all by my standards.
However, the cheekier you were in such situations, the better.
There was a kind of cuteness in the world that didn’t depend on appearance, so it should be okay.
Probably.
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