章 59: Fake Love (11)

@miyongsleft_ball

10 reasons why Mi Yong and Joon-woo MUST debut together…

Attached to the Weet were repeated individual photos of Mi Yong and Joon-woo. They were taken from their contestant profiles, and included the two in various model poses. They wore Producer10 uniforms, but they were different from the ones worn throughout the show.

The usual uniforms were adjusted and transformed to fit a certain concept on a certain contestant. And when it came to Joon-woo and Mi Yong, their outfits resembled a more cutesy concept compared to Reggie or Ryeo Hyun with their 'bad boy'-esque style concepts.

Joon-woo recalled that day. They were split into groups and told nothing, Joon-woo was grouped with Mi Yong and other baby-faced contestants. He knew from that moment what their assigned concept would be.

Just as he went to scroll to the next Weet, his phone was snatched from his hands. Joon-woo sat up and attempted to grab his phone from the perpetrator and in the process saw who. Jung Hyun-Ok. His expression was blank with the usual small smile, like he hadn't just snatched Joon-woo's whole lifeline from his hands.

"Hyung!" Joon-woo cried. Really, why was his phone always being snatched from his control?

Jung Hyun-Ok closed the Witter app tab and then Joon-woo's phone as a whole. "Nope, no Witter or social media for you or anyone in this room…" He spoke with his voice chilling. "Especially for you, because you're still young…"

Joon-woo squinted his eyes. He had a good guess on why this was happening, but found it annoying. "You're young too, Hyung…" Joon-woo huffed, reaching for his phone and by proxy, standing up from his bed. "You're only two years older than me…"

Ryeo Hyun watched the sight of his roommates with a fond smile. Joon-woo noticed it and tried to ignore the warmth building in his gut.

Jung Hyun-Ok persisted, tossing the phone to Bo Jaesang who was chilling on his top bunk. "Yeah but you're practically addicted to that ancient being of a phone. And you know how mean people could get…"

Joon-woo wanted to scream. He was older than everyone in this room mentally and knew those words better than anyone. He saw the curses against him as Ha-rin and Joon-woo now, Ryeo Hyun, Mi Yong, even Reggie! And thanks to his time as Ha-rin, didn't let the words get to him because it was nothing that serious.

Of course the words against Ryeo Hyun pissed him off. People had wished him death, a life of torture, and even worse– they had meant it. But the ones against him were nothing short of petty fans pressed by the PD pick editing.

Joon-woo eventually gave up though. These guys were under the illusion that Joon-woo was the youngest among them. Being 18 and therefore– the most impressionable. He couldn't convince these guys that he was actually mentally 29 years old and actually older than all of them if he tried.

"Okay I promise I won't go on. Just give me my phone so I can charge it?" Joon-woo pried, but to the snap of Jung Hyun-Ok's fingers, Bo Jaesang placed Joon-woo's phone back in Jung Hyun-OK's hand. Jung Hyun-Ok silently went to charge Joon-woo's phone himself.

"There." Jung Hyun-Ok simply spoke, dusting at his hands. "Now let's prepare for another day of recording. Your team has a lot to prepare, right?"

Joon-woo thought this version of Jung Hyun-Ok to be a bit scary, like a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Yes, Hyung…" He huffed. Really, going from being the oldest in Cheerleader to the youngest here? It was a harder transition than Joon-woo imagined.

–+–

Joon-woo leaned against the practice room wall, the mirror that covered the wall imprinted with the sweat of his neck. He hated having to face the mirror while practicing because it caught all of his faults and missteps and it caught his face. He had always avoided mirrors now, only looking at them when it would be too weird not to.

He chugged at water and felt his exhausted body inhale it as if starving. And it was the water bottle in his face that kept him from noticing Ryeo Hyun approaching from the right, and slumping right next to Joon-woo.

Joon-woo almost flinched and he looked at the other surprised. He really hadn't interacted with Ryeo Hyun much since last night. Hell– He hadn't even joined in on the group hug that took place after Ryeo Hyun broke into tears. He felt as if he didn't deserve to.

"Hi, Hyung." Joon-woo sent a small nod Ryeo Hyun's way, creating a couple inches more between them. "Are you… are you doing okay?" He asked, noticing the puffiness under Ryeo Hyun's eyes.

The details on what exactly was discussed for Ryeo Hyun to return were kept to Ryeo Hyun a few higher ups, and Joon-woo knew better than to press. However, he still felt guilty for suspecting the other for bullying and it only felt right to be more caring after harboring such distrust.

Ryeo Hyun hummed, "My eyes itch." He bluntly stated.

"And the choreo? Are you finding it okay even though you're a bit behind?" Joon-woo inquired. He recalled Ryeo Hyun's struggle to keep up.

He nodded, "I'll probably stay back to practice a bit more…" He replied in implications.

Joon-woo frowned at the reply. "If you'd like–" He began. Was he really gonna say this? His body was beyond tired and if he didn't pass out now he would pass out in bed later. "I can convince Reggie to stay after with me and we can touch up a little…" He offered, his fists clenched by his side. He owed Ryeo Hyun for not trusting him, for being a bad dongsaeng.

Ryeo Hyun's eyes widened for a moment, but on his blank expression a small smile was visible. Joon-woo noticed such and thought hope. "Hey, you seem pretty tired already. Don't overwork yourself." The word 'again' was left unsaid.

Joon-woo's body was relieved by Ryeo Hyun's reply, but Joon-woo's mind thought otherwise. "As the center I need to work harder. Hyung, you saw– I messed up during the chorus and there's a part–" He tried to reason, voice raising unconsciously.

Ryeo Hyun simply stared at Joon-woo with a piercing gaze most would be scared of, but Joon-woo was used to it now and knew the other meant it well.

Due to his voice slightly raising, Reggie, Baek Du-Ho, and Song Chunghee, all turned their way.

"Staying after? To practice more?" Reggie questioned, voice a bit hoarse from overuse.

Song Chunghee walked over and snatched Joon-woo by the shoulder, "Joon-woo-ah, I knew you were a practice bug, but really that's not a good idea. You must keep your young body healthy."

Joon-woo was getting tired of being treated like the youngest, though he knew he was. He huffed and puffed, "But Hyun Hyung is planning to stay back… So why am I being scolded?"

Baek Du-Ho stood silent behind the chaos, and accidentally Joon-woo found himself looking to the other for support.

Reggie hummed, "Well… Hyung!" He called out to Ryeo Hyun, who looked up from his blank face with a slightly curious expression. "You know your limit, right?" Reggie asked and Ryeo Hyun replied with a curt nod.

Reggie then dug in his pockets and pulled out a few wrapped chocolates. He signaled for Joon-woo to cup his hands and Joon-woo hesitantly complied.

Then, with ease Reggie dropped a few chocolates into Joon-woo's palms. They were warm from resting in pockets. "When you're a kid you should focus on eating more sweets instead of practicing so much." He spoke as if he wasn't just a year older than Joon-woo.

Joon-woo squished the chocolate in between his hands, "Where… Where do you even get these?"

Reggie slowly pointed to Baek Du-Ho. "Du-Ho Hyung said they were good for energy." He replied.

Joon-woo wondered how the cameras would edit this moment. If they would erase Baek Du-Ho's presence to make it seem like Reggie gave Joon-woo baseless chocolates? Then, in his thoughts, he stopped.

When did he start associating every single interaction with Reggie as an act for the camera? Something for the editors to use and interpret as they please. Really, wasn't this the beginning of how overly-shipped idols and people came to disagree?

Just as he went to linger on that thought, that realization more, the practice room door swung open.

It wasn't anyone on their team that had left to use the bathroom. Not Mi Yong or Bo Jaesang or Jung Hyun-Ok, but… staff?

Their cameras hung on their shoulders and Misa dashed into the practice room. Her outfit was cutesy like her usual concept and she held a microphone in hand.

Joon-woo watched the scene wide-eyed, before setting himself straight for the camera.

Misa noticed their surprised expressions and her smile widened. "Welcome to the surprise overview challenge!" She introduced.

Joon-woo gulped. They were all tired and really couldn't dance much longer.

"The team that shows the best performance now, will get a secret advantage!" She cooed.

He hummed and became more conscious of his lack of energy to think, move, and process. Really, he thought, this better be worth it.