“Yes, of course he did... Like I would be crazy enough to forget that. God.”

I felt like all the blood was draining from my body. I had gotten so used to the seniors being nice that I had momentarily forgotten what a jungle this harsh world could be, I genuinely regretted that lapse.

“Wow, this is the first time I have seen you flustered, Mr. Iwol.”

“I am not flustered, I am coming to terms with my impending doom.”

Polo burst out laughing.

“Was Hellas Yur hyung that intimidating on “ISD”? He is not a difficult person.”

“Senior idols always exude an aura of authority, even when they breathe.”

Just then, Hellas Yur approached us for the relay race interview.

Polo nudged me and whispered,

“Want me to set the stage for some senior junior bonding?”

“Pwease.”

Polo wiped away a tear from laughing so hard as I maintained a perfect smile while ventriloquizing.

Despite the fact that I had not even returned a polite, “Let us grab a meal sometime, sunbaenim!” Hellas Yur was still warm and kind to me.

“First runners, I am sure you must be feeling the pressure. How about a few words for your teammates?”

Starting with the runner on the inside lane, each of us gave words of encouragement to our teams. Polo also gave a spirited interview, cheering on his juniors.

“Spark is performing remarkably well for their first “ISD”. We are all curious to see if they can finish strong.”

“I will do my best. And Spark, let us not get injured!”

At my words, Lee Cheonghyeon, the third runner, made a fuss beside me. Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon, the second and fourth runners, simply nodded.

“Runners, get ready.”

The command rang out. With the sound of the starting pistol, the relay race, the highlight of the sports day, began.

The cheering for the final event was intense. Shouts of support for different idols echoed from all directions, and colorful banners filled my vision as I ran.

How long had I been running? A name tag that read “D Jeho” came into view.

Thank goodness. ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) I really did not want to ram the baton into his head.

“Choi Jeho!”

As I called his name, his hand swiftly snatched the baton. His expression was far more desperate than it had been during futsal or basketball. Even from a distance, it felt like I could hear the wind rushing past.

“Why is he running so seriously?” 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Perhaps hearing my mumbling, Kang Giyeon handed me my jacket and replied,

“Did you not say we did not have enough medals?”

“I said that out loud?”

Kang Giyeon nodded. I thought I had only thought it, but apparently, I had said it out loud. My social skills had deteriorated.

Before I knew it, the baton had already been passed to Lee Cheonghyeon. He had changed from his suit into a tracksuit and was running with textbook perfect form. It was like he had his own background music playing as he ran.

I moved out of the way so Kang Giyeon could receive the baton from Lee Cheonghyeon. Then I joined Jeong Seongbin and Park Juu in cheering our team on.

“A fierce battle for second and third place, but Spark maintains a steady lead in first!”

Kang Giyeon glanced back to check the distance between Lee Cheonghyeon and the next runner. As Lee Cheonghyeon approached, he started to get ready.

“Do not stop after half a lap! You have a full lap to run!”

Lee Cheonghyeon yelled, passing him the baton with a barrage of nagging.

“Does he think I am Jeho hyung?”

Kang Giyeon muttered. Next to me, Choi Jeho’s eyebrow twitched.

“Kiyeon won the sprint earlier. I wonder if he has any stamina left... Oh, he is fast! He is so fast!”

Before the commentator could finish expressing concerns about Kang Giyeon’s stamina, he shot off like a rocket.

He had been dancing for years, of course he had stamina. If anything, he had stamina to spare.

Kang Giyeon’s hair flew behind him, his name tag fluttering on his chest.

But all I could focus on were his legs.

“I went to the hospital, and they said I do not need to come anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the inflammation is gone. They just told me not to overdo it.”

I remembered how strange I felt when Kang Giyeon said that.

When UA bought sneakers for everyone, did you know that even while I chose the pair that seemed least likely to slip, I was not entirely free of anxiety?

A white tape stretched across the finish line. Kang Giyeon broke the tape with a relaxed smile.

With a final tally of five gold medals, one silver, and one bronze, Spark won the overall championship for the Chuseok season.

≫ Let us stop calling them Northern Archdukes and start calling them Sports Idols now

Our boys have more medals than members. They could probably juggle with them

If this is not what you call a Sports Idol group, then what is?

└ Please stop ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Is that a spoiler?

└ Yeah, Spark won overall. Just do not repost this outside the fanbase

└ So there was indeed a reason for the training camp

≫ Was not Park Juu a baby chinchilla?

When did he become a full grown capybara?

And then when he asked if the lenses were expensive, he turned right back into a chinchilla. So sneaky

└ No, Juu is still a chinchilla. He only threw the arrow because it did not taste good. Protect Juu’s chinchilla character interpretation at all costs

└ Park Juu scoring 10 10 10, are you for real... Juu, let us just shoot anyone who gives you cr*p from now on

└ Instead of “Do Not Feed” signs, we need “Do Not Provoke” signs

≫ What was it like seeing the oldest members play basketball?

Why did everyone who went become basketball slaves?

No one talks about the score, only about sleeveless shirts

└ The score is not important... what matters is that they were in sleeveless shirts, sweating, and dribbling

└ Kim Iwol looks so calm, but he goes absolutely feral when playing basketball. It is so hot, I watched the game in just a t shirt

└ Were you the one playing the game? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

≫ Hey, Seongbin

Do you know what happens when you casually turn off your eye sparkle out in public?

People think you are a cold and distant guy and avoid you!

Our Seongbin is the warmest person ever, but other idols part around him like the Red Sea!!

└ At this point, Sparkler fans need to admit it, your leader is not a warm and sweet type...

└ I thought this was a made up story, but it is real?? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Shut up, our Seongbin is still a mini bungeoppang, freshly baked and warm

└ What good is a bungeoppang if the mold is an ice tray?

└ Shut up

≫ The hyungs’ expressions watching the maknae in the relay race .jpg

Photo 1

Are they not too surprised? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ They did not know our maknae was such an Amazonian creature

└ Look at the baby chinchilla’s wide eyes. Even though he was the one who broke eight lenses

└ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ Whoa, is this an official release?

└ Yeah, the broadcaster’s official account uploaded four preview cuts

└ Those cheapskates. How is it almost Chuseok and they only give us four cuts?

└ Guess they want us to watch the broadcast... Not like I can, my grandma has control of the remote

└ We will be lucky if she does not put on a Chuseok special movie

Even before the broadcast, photos released by the broadcaster, Spark’s official outfits, and fan reviews caused a frenzy online.

More importantly, I had to check the system rewards.

In the car on the way back, I checked the system notifications one by one.

 [SYSTEM] “Kim Iwol” is awarded “Porcelain like Fair Skin.”

▷ Effect: Reduces skin troubles and blemishes for “Kim Iwol.”

[SYSTEM] “Choi Jeho” is awarded “Captivating Charm.”

▷ Effect: Increases “Choi Jeho’s” ability to attract attention in gatherings of 10 or more people. Permanent effect, no expiration date.

[SYSTEM] “Park Juu” is awarded “Transparent Eyes that Convey Sincerity.”

▷ Effect: Increases “Park Juu’s” ability to convey emotions during close ups of 2 seconds or more. Permanent effect, no expiration date.

[SYSTEM] “Lee Cheonghyeon” is awarded “Luminous Inner Glow.”

▷ Effect: Maintains a luxurious and natural glow for “Lee Cheonghyeon.” Permanent effect, no expiration date.

[SYSTEM] “Kang Giyeon” is awarded “Mature Charm Appeal.”

▷ Effect: Increases “Kang Giyeon’s” depth of expression. Permanent effect, no expiration date.

 I felt a bit cheated that mine was not permanent, but this was enough. What mattered was that they all received solid rewards.

And most importantly...

 [SYSTEM] “Spark” is awarded “Camera Massage.”

▷ Effect: Reduces the distortion between “Spark’s” real life appearance and on screen appearance. Permanent effect, no expiration date.

 ...we got the Camera Massage. Was this not the whole point of winning? This alone made all the other rewards insignificant.

Thanks to Spark’s hard work, I could clean out the employee benefits mall. I could not be prouder.

“Is Lee Cheonghyeon’s glowing skin the only immediately noticeable change?”

As soon as we got back to the dorm, I had to make him lie down and turn on all the lights. It was time for the LED beauty mirror I had ordered through the company, in anticipation of his self makeup video, to shine.

Another thing that bothered me was the “Starlight Smile” that had appeared during the archery interview.

That phrase only appeared when I mentioned Heera. I smiled all the time during filming, so why only then?

“Are there special conditions? Or will it appear again if I smile the same way?”

It was technically a system guide message, so maybe if I did the Starlight Smile ten times, I would get a KPI reduction or something.

With a sliver of hope, I called out to Lee Cheonghyeon, who was sitting in front of me.

“You called?”

As Lee Cheonghyeon turned around, I tried to recreate the smile from earlier.

“What is with that expression? It is creepy.”

“......”

Unfortunately, the phrase did not appear. Instead, I received a dubious look from Lee Cheonghyeon.

What exactly was the Starlight Smile? The system had never shown anything useless before. Was I going to get hit with something unexpected again?

While I was lost in thought, Lee Cheonghyeon’s eyes widened. He turned his whole body to face me.

“Who told you to sit with your back twisted like that? You will ruin your spine...”

“Hyung, you removed all your makeup, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, I thought it would be bad if it mixed with sweat...”

Before I could finish, Lee Cheonghyeon placed his hands on my cheeks. I heard a slapping sound.

“Whoa. This is the first time I have seen you without dark circles!”

...What?

Even I have never seen my face like that.