SENSING the surrounding cameras, some contestants made exaggerated expressions, their eyes widening and smiles growing as they performed for the lenses. Others reacted more subtly—some straightened their posture, smoothing their clothes, while a few flashed confident smiles that showed their familiarity with being filmed. A few appeared more reserved, their gazes flicking to the cameras before looking away, trying to maintain a calm demeanor despite the excitement. Some exchanged quick glances with each other, silently communicating as they took in the luxurious surroundings.
Haneul carefully aimed for a natural balance. He didn't want to seem overly enthusiastic, but he also didn't want to come across as indifferent. Striking the right middle ground felt like the best approach in this situation.
"Come on, everyone, follow along," a staff member called out, grabbing everyone's attention that started to wander after seeing the cameras around.
Everyone started moving forward again as the staff led them to what appeared to be a huge ballroom. Inside, there were ten rows of seats arranged in a 10 by 10 grid, totaling around a hundred—exactly matching the number of contestants present. At the front of the room, a makeshift stage had been set up, with a large projection screen positioned above it.
"Please sit in an orderly manner," one of the staff members instructed.
Since there were cameras around and no one wanted to be seen as disorganized or inattentive, the contestants quickly complied.
Haneul followed Robin and took a seat beside him. To his surprise—or perhaps not—Jung Taeyang soon sat down on his other side. In the end, Haneul found himself sandwiched between Robin and Jung Taeyang, just like on the bus earlier.
He wasn't sure if Jung Taeyang was simply too lazy to find another seat or if there was another reason, but whatever it was, his presence only heightened Haneul's tension. But then again, maybe this was a good thing. If he could get used to Jung Taeyang's presence early on, perhaps his 'fan mentality' would start to diminish.
"Haneul, why do you think they brought us here?" Robin's question pulled Haneul's attention away from Jung Taeyang. "I thought we're going to the dorms. This hotel won't be our dorms, right?"
Haneul wanted to mention that their real dorm would be on the ship, but he knew that was confidential information meant only for the production staff. So, he couldn't share it with Robin. He recalled that in his original world, the first two episodes of Boys Odyssey were filmed at Jeil ENM's dormitory/training center. But now, they were in a different location, leaving him uncertain about what would happen next.
This was yet another sign of how differently events were unfolding in this world compared to his original one. And one of those changes was sitting right beside him.
"I'm not really sure," was all he could manage to say.
Robin was about to say more when he finally noticed the guy sitting on the other side of Haneul. It was the number one guy! Sure, he had seen him on the bus earlier, but he never expected that he would actually choose to sit next to Haneul again. Could it be that he enjoyed sitting next to Haneul on the bus so much that he instinctively chose to do it again?
Robin narrowed his eyes at the number one guy. This person didn't actually fall in love with Haneul in that short time, right? But, after noticing the indifferent expression on his face, Robin quickly dismissed the idea. That uncaring look said it all. Sitting next to Haneul without even a hint of reaction? It seemed almost absurd.
Satisfied that he'd found his answer, Robin breathed a sigh of relief. He had actually promised Aunt Eunji that he would look after Haneul. There was no way he would let someone with impure intentions try to get close to Haneul. They were here to debut, and not to date, after all.
As Robin was having those thoughts, Haneul was looking around at the other contestants. He had been trying to find the people who became Boys Odyssey's final debut group members since they got off the bus. But with 100 contestants to sift through, it was no easy task. And so far, he hadn't seen any one of the five.
It was only natural for him to search for them. Despite three of the five being quite problematic, they had still won the survival program in his original world, currently making them his biggest competitors on this show.
Haneul was just about to glance to his left, which he had been avoiding because Jung Taeyang was sitting there, when the ballroom lights suddenly dimmed. Moments later, the projection screen lit up. A group of men appeared in what looked like a practice room, dressed in casual workout clothes and clearly resembling a dance crew.
Then, a very familiar melody reached Haneul's ears.