Chapter 302
"Then, now! The first
With the MC's loud shout, the numerous idol fans gathered in the gym cheered.
After the opening ceremony, the idols moved to their designated areas and waited for the first event to begin.
Those who would compete in the event warmed up and headed toward the track.
The first event of the
Since it was held in an indoor gym, they couldn't run 100m like a typical Olympic event.
So they changed it to a 60m race.
In fact, the shorter distance made the idols even more competitive.
"The 60m race. I heard that there are quite a few points to look at in this event."
"Yes, that's right. Unlike the 100m dash, the distance is short, so you absolutely must not lose the tension from the start to sprint."
While the idols were stretching on the 60m track, commentator Joo Hyun-sik, sitting in the broadcasting booth, explained the important parts with great force.
The reaction speed of kicking off the starting block the moment the starting signal is heard.
The sprint that increases acceleration.
And the sprint that dashes towards the finish line with all your might.
Joo Hyun-sik asserted that the idol who gets all these three things right will win.
"Do you have any predictions about which athlete will win, Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik?"
"Oh, I have to be careful about this. If I point out an athlete first here, that athlete might get nervous and fall. Is it okay for me to make a prediction during the finals?"
"If you predict it during the finals, it will have a bigger impact. I think we'll hear that they didn't win because of Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik's curse."
"The psychological pressure is enormous."
The players' preparations are all complete.
Short distance running, the flower of track and field. This is the first time that active idols are competing in a real sport.
The first group of preliminary runners are in a state of readiness on the track filled with tension.
-Bang!
"Okay, let's go! Ah, lane 3 is fast! lane 3 is fast!"
Despite the pressure of the first match, the first group of preliminary runners performed excellently without making any mistakes.
The two groups that followed also finished their matches safely, and Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik, who was carefully examining the records, began his analysis.
"If you look closely, all the players' records are generally in the mid-to-late 8 seconds. The players who won first place in each group are in the early 8 seconds. I think the key point of this competition is who will break the 7-second barrier first. It seems to depend on that."
"I see. If you can just get into the 7-second mark, it will be the best record among all the records that have been set so far. Let's see if the players participating this time can live up to Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik's expectations."
Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik, who was looking at the track, watched an idol with exotic hair turn his ankle on track number 4.
One of the players he personally selected when introducing the profiles of players worth keeping an eye on earlier.
It was Karis von Walden.
'His frame is really unusual.'
Perhaps because he was standing with 7 other idols, Karis's natural body caught his eye even more.
Strong-looking shoulders and long legs. Well-muscled thighs and arms.
At first glance, he looked like an athlete rather than an idol.
Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik coughed once to suppress his rising anticipation.
Just because you have a good physique doesn't mean you'll always get good results.
"Let's meet the 4th group of the preliminary round right now!"
Karis turned his ankles and wrists and slowly placed both feet on the starting blocks.
A stable posture with a subtle sense of solidity.
Even from the broadcasting booth, he could feel a strange energy from Karis.
-Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the runners in all lanes started.
In most of these amateur games, there were no cases of them getting ahead noticeably at the start. It was the same in other groups that had been there so far.
However, this idol, who was sprinting down the track with his beautiful blond hair fluttering, was different.
"Number 4! Karis in lane 4 is so fast! He starts to overtake the other runners from the beginning!"
"The start was so good! Now, let's pick up the pace here! More power! Forward! Forward!"
Commentator Joo Hyun-sik unconsciously shouted a chant he had used in training in the past.
His two eyes were fixed on Karis, who was striding forward with long legs.
After the start boasting an incredible reaction speed, Karis's two legs gradually gained speed.
The muscles of his entire body moved smoothly like a well-oiled car engine.
Karis' body, which gained momentum in an instant, widened the gap with the idols in the next lane.
The idol in lane 5, who frowned and jumped with all his might, looked at Karis, who was running forward in an instant, in a daze.
"Karis! Seleste's Karis, showing overwhelming speed!"
Caster Jung Woo-jin and commentator Joo Hyun-sik, who were sitting in the broadcasting booth, stood up on their two feet without realizing it.
It was an irresistible force.
The unconscious thought that they shouldn't sit and watch Karis, who was showing explosive elasticity, made them move their legs.
"He's in! He's in! Wow, Karis! What a great performance!"
"What did I say earlier? When I was introducing the athlete profile, didn't I say that you should keep an eye on that athlete! I can't believe he's showing this kind of performance right from the preliminary round."
Commissioner Joo Hyun-sik grabbed the microphone and spoke at a rapid pace with an incredibly excited tone.
This excitement was heightened even more when Karis' record appeared on the scoreboard.
"7.88 seconds! 7.88 seconds! This is the first time it was recorded in the 7-second range!"
"Karis, you're definitely a candidate to win! You're a strong candidate to win this competition! Oh, right after I emphasized how important it is to break into the 7-second range, this record came out! That's really amazing speed, Karis!"
Karis, who recorded a 7-second range for the first time in this preliminary round, waved at the camera without changing his expression, unlike the excited broadcasting booth.
The area assigned to Seleve was fortunately above the 60m finish line.
As Karis greeted the fans, jumping up and down, the stadium erupted in cheers that were loud enough to shake it.
The 60m finals will feature the top 3 finishers from each group.
Now, only the last group of the preliminary rounds remains.
"As of now, Karis has secured his spot in the finals with the top record in the preliminaries. Will a player who can match him emerge like a comet? The final group of preliminaries is entering!"
***
"Hyung-nim, should I rub your ankles a little more? Or your shoulders? Or maybe your calves?"
"It's okay, Yubin. You can sit down."
"The finals are coming up soon, how can I sit down!"
Despite my dissuasion, Heo Yubin continued to massage my legs diligently.
Realizing that it would be useless to try to dissuade him any longer, I gratefully accepted Heo Yubin's massage.
I had a pretty satisfactory result in the preliminary.
Now, all that was left was the final group of the preliminary.
Currently, no one has achieved a record of 7 seconds except me.
I wonder if there will be an unexpected surprise in the last group.
"He'll run well."
"Huh?"
Behind me, Chae Eun-gyu quietly got up from his kneeling position.
I followed his gaze and saw an idol in the second lane of the last group of the preliminary.
Bleached hair that looked familiar.
Relatively short, but with a solid physique.
This idol is definitely someone I've met before.
'Connex Bae Min-seo.'
I heard Chae Eun-gyu talking calmly.
"He's good at exercising. He'll probably run pretty fast too."
"Hmm. Is he really fast?"
"I've never actually competed against him, but I think he was fast. But I'm sure he is slower than me, right?"
Chae Eun-gyu smiled slightly as if I was saying something obvious.
I'm not being boastful, but I didn't expect anyone to easily surpass my physical ability.
"7.90 seconds! Connex's Bae Min-seo, 7.90 seconds! This is the second 7-second record!"
Bae Min-seo achieved a good result, only 0.02 seconds behind my record.
"Nice, nice!"
"Min-seo hyung, you're really fast!"
"This is basic."
Bae Min-seo smiled and received the members' congratulations.
The moment I looked at where the Connex members were sitting, I felt my competitive spirit, which had been slightly slackening, being rekindled.
"...This, I can't let my guard down."
"Of course, bro!"
Kang Si-yoon, who heard our conversation from the side, hit me hard on the back and smiled brightly.
"You can't let your guard down. There are so many eyes on you right now."
"Uh, uh-huh. In fact, the preliminaries were just a preview."
"Right? You hid your strength, right?"
"Right. I haven't revealed my full power yet."
"You really have to show it properly. Okay? Be sincere like when you hit me."
"If I hit you with sincerity, you'll break at least one or two bones."
"Don't say scary things, really!"
I gave Kang Si-yoon a faint smile.
'Even if you don't say that, I'm going to go all out.'
Connex, who has a bad relationship with Chae Eun-gyu.
I promised myself that I would not back down easily against Connex, no matter what.
Not on stage, but in this kind of event match.
I will win thoroughly without giving an inch.
'As Kang Si-yoon said, there are a lot of people watching us.'
A large audience is always welcome.
A clear impact should be planted in front of as many people as possible to make it taste good.
I suppress them so they can't do anything.
I have an aura of total destruction so that the opponent loses their motivation.
I win so that everyone clearly knows my status.
Even though the consciousness of the crown prince sleeping inside me hadn't awakened, my hot competitive spirit was dominating my body.
I stretched and took a deep breath.
Yes, this is natural even without a status abnormality.
I never missed a victory while living as a crown prince.
After clearing the game and coming to the real world, I achieved all my goals.
The experiences that I have in my body are always with me.
After the women's 60m preliminaries were over, it was the turn of male Idols whose stamina had recovered to some extent.
When the people who advanced to the 60m final were told to gather in front of the track, the members gave me a word of encouragement.
"Go and get the gold medal!"
"Hyung, you know? Smash it! Smash it!"
"You have to win no matter what. If you don't win, our family's pride will be destroyed."
"Hyung, don't get hurt and run carefully, you understand!"
"...make sure to win."
I nodded confidently and took off my top tracksuit.
"I will come back with the gold medal."
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