Chapter 99
When I was in middle and high school.... Um, that was almost 20 years ago.
I remember going to a retreat, and I'm sure I went on a school trip too.
To be honest, it's such an old memory that a lot of it has worn away and disappeared.
But I vaguely remembered the atmosphere.
The last night, concluding several days of spending joy and sorrow together,.
A time to gather in front of a campfire and express gratitude to our parents.
A moment when you stay up all night playing truth or dare with your friends.
Perhaps all 14 trainees felt that kind of atmosphere and came back down to the auditorium.
'Um, they probably didn't have much time to prepare, but they did a pretty thorough job setting it up.'
I arrived at the auditorium early with Yoo Minha, who quickly came out of the cell.
The production crew neatly arranged 14 makeshift mattresses.
All other objects in the auditorium were taken out to prevent anyone from getting hurt while sleeping.
Other trainees arrived one after another.
As we entered the auditorium, one by one, carrying our pillows, the costume evaluation began right away.
"Hey, what's with Kang Si-yoon's outfit? "
"Why is that guy like that again!"
"No, when on earth did you get that sleeping cap? "
As if he had anticipated that this day would come, Kang Si-yoon brought a proper pajama set from home in advance.
From the green pajamas to the ridiculously fluffy sleep cap.
To anyone who looked at him, he looked like he was perfectly prepared for bed.
"Why, what's wrong with my hat? "
"Like Santa Claus. Rolling on the lawn like 100 times?"
"Why is it green, Hyung-nim? "
"Why, when it's green, it's a four-leaf clover. A four-leaf clover is good luck."
Kang Si-yoon winked at Yoo Min-ha and threw a pillow at me, choosing the seat next to me.
"Oh my. Oh, the matress is secretly good, huh?"
"Be careful; if you land belly-first like that, your ribs might pop out next time."
"It's okay. I've been studying falling techniques to avoid such unexpected injuries."
"Siyoon, you can use the falling technique? "
"Shall I show you? "
"No."
At my polite refusal, Kang Si-yoon looked aggrieved.
He grabbed my arm and pulled it here and there, throwing a tantrum.
"Hey, I'm quite athletic. Don't ignore me."
"Did a guy with great athletic ability miss one door during the name-tag-tearing game? "
"That's foul play! There were three people behind the door I was blocking! "
"I think it wouldn't have been difficult in the fight against Min-ha even without my help."
"Hmm."
Our two gazes naturally turned to Yoo Min-ha.
Yoo Minha blinked twice with a face that said he didn't understand.
Kang Si-yoon and I, who had been thinking about the situation for a moment, spoke at the same moment.
"I'm sorry. I don't think that's right."
"No matter how weak I am, I won against Min-ha without you."
"Excuse me? Hyung nims? Are you talking so confidently in front of me right now? I feel wronged! I was so exhausted back then-!"
Yoo Minha expressed his anger and beat my back mercilessly.
But because my back was full of strong muscles, Yoo Minha's fist felt like a high-performance massager.
Meanwhile, following Kang Si-yoon, another trainee wearing pajamas has appeared.
"Ah, no. Wait a minute."
"Hold it in, hold it in! Don't laugh! I am the eldest brother! "
All around, there were sounds of people desperately trying to suppress laughter.
To be honest, if it weren't for the Crown Prince's skill of maintaining composure, I think I would have burst out laughing the moment I saw Chae Eun-gyu.
Chae Eun-gyu, who is relatively well built, chose a sky blue pajama that looked very soft.
The color itself was okay.
The problem was that there were cute little clouds and heart patterns placed above it.
The eldest member of
"Um, I was looking for pajamas, but these are the only ones I brought from home."
"It's okay, Hyung! "
"Eun-gyu Hyung is cute! "
"It suits you well."
As I nodded and gave a thumbs up, Chae Eun-gyu playfully wrinkled his nose and sat down in the empty matress.
The trainees who came in after Chae Eun-gyu came wearing ordinary hoodies or short-sleeved pajamas.
So I thought the costume evaluation event would end here.
The final boss remained.
"...."
"...."
"...Why does everyone look at me like that? "
Ji Yoon-chul, who is over 185cm tall,.
He was someone who gave off an intimidating vibe just with his physical appearance.
Now, Ji Yoon-chul was wearing neat black pajamas and holding a giant rabbit doll in his arms.
The cute, smiling rabbit doll contrasted so well with the expressionless Ji Yoon-chul, making it even funnier.
"That's the rabbit doll that's more famous than me! "
"Yoon-chul, did you know that your doll has become really famous?"
"Is my doll famous...?"
"When we were playing name tag tearing, the national managers were really looking for the doll you were hugging. They said it was cute."
"Ah."
At Song Hyung-bin's words, Ji Yoon-chul hugged the rabbit doll even tighter.
Then he lowered his head slightly and muttered quietly.
"... This is my favorite doll."
"As expected, Yoon-chul was 17 years old! "
"I always forget because you're so much taller than me."
"The youngest is the youngest! "
So everyone gathered in the auditorium.
As everyone lay down comfortably on the soft mat, Song Hyung-bin, who led the meeting, cleared his throat and took charge of the proceedings.
"So, since tonight is the last night, how about we all take some time to talk about what we wanted to talk about and what we couldn't talk about before going to sleep?"
"Great!"
"It would be fun."
"There was one thing I was most curious about."
The full-scale truth talk began when Chae Eun-gyu brought up the first topic.
"To be honest, what were your first impressions of each person when you first met them? Who was the most memorable? "
"Oh, I can say this with so much certainty."
Kwon Dae-hyun waved his hand and spoke in a strict and solemn tone.
Just by his tone of voice, I could guess whose name he would mention.
"The first impression is definitely Karis. I'm telling you, I've never seen such a handsome person in my life."
"That's right."
"It's still amazing even when I look at him like this."
"So when he first appeared on the level test stage, I was like, 'Wow! ' But when I listened to him speak, even his way of speaking was incredible. He speaks Korean really well, but his way of speaking is like that of a nobleman from a foreign country, and he even likes fantasy novels. Even if you try to create a character like that on purpose, it's impossible."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Kwon Dae-hyun's words.
Kang Si-yoon tapped my shoulder and laughed heartily.
"Should we also hear the person in question? What are your thoughts, Karis? "
"Haha... Honestly, when I was learning Korean on my own, I studied a lot through novels, so I thought this kind of tone was natural. After I learned Korean in general, I realized that there was something strange about the way I was used to speaking, but it was already a habit, so it was too late to turn back."
"It would be a shame to fix that."
"That's right! If it weren't for Karis Hyung Nim's way of speaking, I honestly think it would have felt a bit empty."
"I found this interesting too."
When the topic of my speech came up, Song Hyung-bin also started talking excitedly.
"If you listen closely to what Karis says, you'll notice that he uses that solemn 'How rude! ' tone to friends who are the same age or younger than him. But to people who are older than him, like me or Eun-gyu Hyung, he immediately says 'hyung-nim.' I find this so fascinating. How can the way he speaks change so drastically depending on age? "
"I was treated informally at first."
"Did you speak informally to Eun-gyu Hyung, Karis? "
Ah, so this is how all the events are recalled, one by one.
I noticed what Chae Eun-gyu was going to say and made a relieved expression.
"It was during the sports day. I hadn't spoken to Karis at all, had I? We first talked when we went out to arm wrestle. But then he suddenly said to me in a serious tone, 'Is this all you can do?' I thought to myself, 'What is this? '"
"Oh, that's right! I remember that too. That time, Karis' competitive spirit kicked in, and he went wild, right? "
"That's right. But right after the sports day, we were on the same team, and at that time, he was really gentle and polite and said, 'Hyung nim. Have you eaten? ' I thought, 'I definitely didn't see you like that during the sports day.'"
The time when the Crown Prince's ego was running wild due to a damned abnormal condition.
I forced a smile and scratched my head.
"... At that time, I think I was only thinking about having to win."
"Yeah, you're usually so polite. But honestly, I was a little scared of you? Karis's power is really strong."
"It was scarier when you tore the name tag, Hyung-nim! "
"Everyone who was on the same floor as Karis at the time would know. They went around filming this guy, who was absolutely unrivaled."
Even from my perspective, the first impression of Karis von Walden was so strong that I gave up halfway through listening.
But soon, Kang Dong-hwi brought up another name.
"Actually, my first impression of Yoon-chul was really deep."
"Ah, Yoon-chul, I admit it."
"That's right, he just walked out, and his aura was no joke."
"... Are you talking about me? "
Ji Yoon-chul, who had been lying still while holding a rabbit doll, quickly raised his upper body when his name was called.
The slightly disheveled back of his hair fluttered.
"At first, I was surprised by his height, but then I was even more surprised by his handsomeness. When he introduced himself, he said he was 17 years old. Wow, I thought that was ridiculous."
"I don't think I was even 170cm tall when I was 17."
"Yoon-chul, what did you eat to grow so big? Please tell me your secret."
"... I don't think there is a secret method."
Ji Yoon-chul, who had been quiet for a moment, continued to make remarks that were likely to anger many people.
"I kept growing because I ate well and slept well."
"Ah, is this the leisure of someone with superior DNA!"
"What should I do when both of my parents are short? This is so unfair; I can't live like this! "
"Why do both Siyoon and Minha imitate Karis' way of speaking? "
"I told you, this is secretly addictive, Hyung. You should try it too."
"No, please don't follow me."
I quickly stopped Kang Si-yoon from recommending my tone to Song Hyung-bin.
If this strange historical drama dialect spreads any further, I think I'll lose my mind, even if I have the calmness skills.
The trainees' heartfelt talk gradually moved from first impressions to other topics.
"Come to think of it, are there any of these 14 people who have never talked to each other?"
"Isn't it hard to never say anything?"
"That's right. I'm sure we've said hello at least once in the practice room."
"Um, I think there might be some people who had no contact at all."
Kang Si-yoon looked around and then smiled wickedly.
I instinctively reached out my hand after checking where his gaze was fixed.
"Siyoon, this might be a little harsh―"
"They have never talked before, so is it okay for me to report this, Your Honor? "
"Who is your honor? "
"Eun-gyu Hyung will just do it temporarily."
"Me, me? "
Chae Eun-gyu had no choice but to accept Kang Si-yoon's skit.
"Um, who are you going to report? "
"That's right! It's Yubin and Yoonchul, the two of them who don't talk much and who seem awkward to everyone!"
"Oh?!"
When his name suddenly appeared, Heo Yu-bin let out an extremely high-pitched scream.
Even Ji Yoon-chul, who was always expressionless, had his eyes shake in an unusual way.
I shook my head at this incredible development that Kang Si-yoon created.
'... What kind of combination is this? '
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