The response to Jung Dajun's performance on social media was explosive.
"I was so worried about Dajun no matter what, wanting to say he's the best... But in the end, there was no need to worry... LOL! Ahahaha!!!! It's driving me crazyㅜㅜㅜ"
"I really cried a lot... It's my first time being this happy while crying. Tears just rolled down at the hand kiss in the end, insane...."
"I didn't expect to love him this much, but I'm overly immersed. Beyond being admirable, it's painful, heartwarming, funny, oh damn, I just really love Jung Dajunㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ"
Clearly, there were mixed opinions within the fandom about the second round competition.
Since it hadn't been pre-released or broadcast yet, everyone was cautious with their words, but the rumor that "Jung Dajun tore up the stage" couldn't be stopped.
"Tastes good."
As the fans were going wild, crying and laughing, Jung Dajun was busy eating grilled meat served by the manager and road manager.
"Does it taste good?"
"Yes!!"
After finishing filming the third round, on this emotional day, it was decided to eat meat, so the other members followed the manager, who acted as if he were a general, and came to the barbecue restaurant.
I glanced at the stats floating above Jung Dajun's head.
[Jung Dajun is soooooo admirable, I want to feed him with only hanwoo beef.]
Did you raise Jung Dajun yourself?
[Singing: B- Dancing: A- Variety: B+ Acting: C- ???: ???
Charm: B+]
Looking at him, I felt like I knew why Jung Dajun had been particularly anxious.
"Stats aren't everything, right?"
I wondered where the difference lay, as Jung Dajun, who had been gnawing on ribs, scanned the members with his eyes.
"Hyungs."
And then, after putting down the picked-clean bones, he spoke.
"Frankly, having a maknae is nice, right?"
"Of course~!!"
When Sung jiwon, who was next to him, hesitantly offered a new bone with thick meat to Jung Dajun's rice bowl, Jung Dajun smiled contentedly.
In the actual group performance, Jung Dajun really dominated the stage. The main dancer of High Five wasn't overshadowed, but the others seemed to be swaying.
Although High Five was slightly ahead in audience votes, Jung Dajun was superior in expert scores.
In the end, The Dawn won first place in the performance unit.
High Five was second, and TEW was third.
It meant that the youngest member had won first place, surpassing all the immensely popular guys.
"Eat a lot."
"Yes!!"
Well, they must be really hungry after crying so much.
"But how did you do so well? You were much better than during rehearsals."
"Oh, about that! It was thanks to Hoyunie hyung's advice."
"...."
"And Hoyunie hyung told me to think of the other cast members as assholes...."
"What...!"
"Hey!! Did you say that to the kid??"
"No, well, I'm an adult now...."
As Kim Seonghyun, pouring soda into Dajun's glass, looked at me with a troubled face, Jung Dajun glanced back and forth between me and Kim Seonghyun, then quickly continued.
"Well, that's one thing... But there are many others! Hyung also told me that if I feel unfairly treated, I should lie down on the bed and think about it..."
"...Lie down first?"
"Uh, it's not that...."
Jung Dajun, who was struggling to remember, finally gave up and picked up some lettuce.
"Ah, I don't know. So what?"
After putting five pieces of meat on top and adding kimchi, he confidently took a big bite.
"Such a drama queen. (He did well, didn't he?)"
Jung Dajun chuckled.
Jung Dajun chuckled.
I smiled back at him.
"Our youngest has grown up~."
Next was a joyful meat party.
Instead of the trembling manager worrying about the unexpectedly high food bill, I swiped the corporate card and we exited the restaurant.
As expected, meals paid for with company money tasted the best.
Satisfied, as I patted my stomach, I noticed Kang Ichae clinging to Jung Dajun in front of the van, whining. Jung Dajun was brushing him off, muttering something while brushing his chest as if he were annoyed.
"Dajun, you're an adult now, an adult. Let's just easily ignore this kind of provocation..."
"Yeah yeah~."
"....Let's ignore it."
"If you're an adult, you should just let it go~."
"...Ignore...."
"Our Dajunie is a super cool adult~"
"Ugh!!! Seriously!!"
After examining the guys who had returned to their usual selves, I turned to Sung jiwon and Kim Seonghyun, and the managers.
"I'm going to the company for a bit, then I'll go back to the dorm."
"Huh? Why?"
"I want to meet briefly with the planning team."
As we approached the final stage of Shining Star Season 2, I had something to think about.
"Then go with your manager. It's dangerous to go alone."
Although I wanted to go alone because it was bothersome to stick together and move, the manager's words weren't wrong.
After agreeing, the manager murmured something to the road manager.
"I'll see you at the dorm later."
After saying goodbye to the members, I and the manager hailed a taxi.
With the final stage looming, the results were roughly imaginable.
The results of the second round competition were roughly offset by the cross-unit competition. So, currently, we were in second place, following High Five.
It seemed like Verci and Try would remain at fourth and fifth place, struggling to surpass each other, but TEW was uncertain.
"Hmm."
It was because of the scoring system for the final round.
Until now, it had all been on-the-spot voting, but the final round was solely live voting. Moreover, the scores were almost tripled, so it was impossible to predict how the rankings would change.
'Is first place possible?'
No, it must be.
There were ways to secure first place more reliably.
'...Hmm.'
This was a bit, well, just.
"...The performance today was great."
Maybe because I was quietly staring out the window, the road manager spoke up. It was a bit unfamiliar coming from someone who usually just worked silently. Maybe my facial expression isn't good right now.
"Oh, thank you."
"It's a sincere compliment."
With that, the road manager didn't say anything more.
A little later, the company building came into view.
"Oh, please drop me off here."
After getting out of the taxi and entering the company, I bid farewell to the road manager and walked away. Near the first-floor elevator, I noticed someone crouching down.
It was Min Jiheon, sucking on a coffee straw.
"Hey!"
I tried to ignore him and walk.
Min Jiheon responded dully and resumed sucking on his coffee.
"Anyway, thanks. Chaeyeon will really appreciate it. She's been feeling down lately because of the competition."
"Is that so."
"If she likes it, that's all that matters. Why do you spoil her like this?"
"All younger siblings are like that...."
I replied without much thought, then quickly shut my mouth.
However, Min Jiheon, unlike my careless behavior, swiftly caught onto that word.
"Younger sibling?"
I made a mistake.
I never bring up sibling talk at work. You never know how it might come back to haunt you.
As I awkwardly averted my gaze, Min Jiheon's eyes sharply followed.
"...You have a younger sibling?"
That's when it happened.
"Wow! What are you guys doing here?"
Interrupting between Min Jiheon and me, a new voice surprised us, and when we turned around, the manager was staring at us intently.
"...Manager, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to go back after dropping us off at the dorm?"
"I haven't seen you off yet...."
The manager trailed off, glancing at Min Jiheon with a hint of panic. Catching his eye, Min Jiheon suddenly burst into laughter.
"Oh, hello there~."
"Hello, Mr. Min Jiheon! I watched your movie and cried so much!!"
Since when was he a fan of Min Jiheon?
The manager, oblivious to my gaze, blushing, exchanged handshakes with Min Jiheon.
If we kept this up, he would endlessly shake hands, so I pushed the manager back and nudged Min Jiheon.
"If you're done here, let's go, Min Jiheon-ssi."
"Yes, I'm planning to do that."
But despite his response, Min Jiheon hesitated even after picking up his shopping bag.
He seemed to act as if he had something to say, but I thought, 'Just go.'
"If you have any further business, sir?"
The manager asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"...Ahaha, no, we should go."
Min Jiheon glanced at me briefly, shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "Thank you for the autographs."
"Sure."
"If you need anything, contact me."
"....?"
As Min Jiheon took his steps, he dropped a bombshell with a slight frown.
"Fighting hyung."
"Damn it!"
He was truly a guy who never let anything slide.
I cursed under my breath, watching his disappearing figure, when the manager's voice broke the silence.
"...But, did he call you 'hyung' not Hoyun?"
"....."
"Oh!!"
The manager was startled.
"Is this... over-enthusiasm?"
"Sigh...."
"Are you still both so immersed in your roles whenever you meet?"
In situations like this, it's better to be clueless.
I sighed deeply and shot a pointed look, but our manager just looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
"Min Jiheon's method acting skills are impressive, but our Hoyun is also truly amazing!!"
"It's not a method acting, it's just insanity...."
As our manager continued to praise Hoyun as the best among us, I couldn't help but grimace beside him.
Well, in some ways, Min Jiheon was truly something else.
'Why does he always make me feel uncomfortable?'
Regardless, there was something more important than Min Jiheon.
After parting ways with the manager and heading towards the planning team, I started thinking about how to decorate the final stage.
The announcement for the final competition of Shining Star was approaching rapidly.
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