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Chapter 200: Joy (37)

‘I can\'t just sit here and do nothing.\'

Plenty of groups had faced challenges like this and emerged victorious. Wary of getting my hand stepped on, I used one arm as a shield while the other frantically searched the floor for the tape marker. Given the proximity of the footsteps, I hadn\'t been swept too far away from the others.

“Where\'s the center, gosh!" I grumbled.

“Hey, why are you over there, hyung? This way, this way." Someone grabbed my arm, their voice and assertive grip unmistakably belonging to Jin-Sung. He hoisted me to my feet and positioned me somewhere that felt right. The tip of my shoe brushed against something, presumably the tape marking the center, and I got myself immersed in the rhythm of the song.

“Thanks a bunch, our youngest!"

"No biggie.” Jin-Sung perhaps had an extra sense just for situations like this. He seemed to be managing the choreography fairly well on his own.

Once everyone was properly aligned, everything else fell into place with ease. By the time we reached the second verse, I had completed my part and was adjusting our positions again. I even ensured Goh Yoo-Joon and probably Yoon-Chan, who was behind me, were in their correct spots.

“That\'s you, Yoon-Chan, right?"

“Yes, yes. It\'s me."

Judging by the impressed reactions from the production team each time I helped realign the members, our formation seemed to be decently cohesive.

“Honestly, the choreography for this song is so complex! I think “Parade” would have been easier."

“Did it always switch up this much? Ugh, it\'s so frustrating!"

The members vocalized their irritation. Despite the initial chaos, the sound of our synchronized steps started to fall into place and brought a sense of calm and stability to our performance.

Yes, this was it! I pushed forward, fine-tuning the formation and stepping into the center with confidence. Feeling the tape marker under my foot, I knew it was time for the final part. I could sense a few members gently nudging my back and securing their spots.

The song concluded triumphantly. Even after the music stopped, we stood in formation for a moment longer until applause broke the silence.

- Great job, everyone! You can remove your blindfolds now.

“Well done, everyone!" As we removed our blindfolds and squinted against the harsh studio lights, the space filled with the production crew came into sharp focus. Once I could see clearly, I quickly checked my own position and that of the others.

Jin-Sung, Goh Yoo-Joon, and Yoon-Chan were all in place, but Joo-Han was...

“Where\'s Joo-Han hyung?" One person was not where he should have been.

“Joo-Han hyung? I thought I had positioned him here just a while ago," Jin-Sung remarked, tilting his head in confusion.

Looking utterly bewildered, Joo-Han spoke up from a distance. “Why am I over here?"

“Exactly, why are you there, hyung?"

Joo-Han stood, gazing in a completely different direction, utterly befuddled.

The director announced with a chuckle in his voice.

- That\'s a fail!

“Ah, well..."

- It\'s unfortunate. Despite the great effort from Jin-Sung and Hyun-Woo, it\'s still a fail!

“Can\'t help it... It\'s a pity, though."

“This was harder than I thought. Sorry, guys." Joo-Han offered a casual apology, and we shrugged it off nonchalantly in return, bouncing back to our feet.

“Do we have a penalty or something?" Goh Yoo-Joon asked.

- Ah, thanks for bringing that up. Yes, there is a penalty!

The director handed us a toy lie detector—a whimsical device that delivered a mild electric shock regardless of whether one’s answer was true or false. Their fate depended purely on luck.

“Oh, this thing."

“A lie detector, huh? What do we do with it?" Joo-Han asked.

- You just have to answer my questions in turn, that\'s all.

“Ah, so it\'s a penalty, but we can get through it with some luck, right?”

- Indeed.

It was a lighthearted penalty that everyone could enjoy. Goh Yoo-Joon declared, “Whatever questions come my way, I\'m ready. I will answer everything honestly.”

Goh Yoo-Joon seemed confident even as the toy lie detector made its way into his hands. The penalty seemed nothing more than a playful jest up to that point.

“Come on, we are Chronos. Surely, none among us would resort to lying, right?" Goh Yoo-Joon quipped, his voice brimming with mischief.

Joo-Han nodded in agreement, his actions reinforcing the sentiment. “Absolutely, we are Chronos, after all."

“I\'ve always been an open book," Jin-Sung added with conviction.

“Me too!" Yoon-Chan chimed in enthusiastically.

I couldn\'t help but chuckle as I stood beside Goh Yoo-Joon.

‘Who are we? We are Chronos.’

Among the Rings, we were known for passionately doing even the unnecessary things. Therefore, we must draw out our passion this time. The Rings had to be wanting it!

While all the members were enthusiastically claiming to be honest, Goh Yoo-Joon and I exchanged looks and sent signals.

“Are you all that confident?" As I spoke, Goh Yoo-Joon smirked and turned up the intensity of the lie detector to the strongest.

Following that, I said, “Let\'s start the game."

“...Why are you trying to put yourselves through such hardship?" Joo-Han asked. He couldn’t believe it, but games were supposed to be fun like this.

“Because it\'s fun," Goh Yoo-Joon answered on my behalf.

“Who wants to go first?"

“Let\'s start with our leader hyung."

“Captain Kang, come on. You first."

“Yoo-Joon hyung and Hyun-Woo hyung don\'t fight only at times like this."

“Exactly." Regardless of what Yoon-Chan and Jin-Sung said, Goh Yoo-Joon and I pulled Joo-Han over, forced his hand out, and placed it on the lie detector.

The director was asking questions with an amused expression.

- Joo-Han, here comes the question. Do you have a real favorite in Chronos? If you have a favorite member, what\'s their name?

“Ah, this is easy. Such an obvious question," Goh Yoo-Joon chuckled.

Joo-Han nodded calmly. “Yes! I do have a favorite in Chronos."

As I pressed the toy\'s button, the toy started making beatbox sounds of a train.

Pungchik, pungchik, kungchik, pungchik! Dding!

Green lights flowed between the colorless borders below the toy and indicated that Joo-Han\'s words were true. Joo-Han smiled and removed his hand, but all of us looked disappointed.

“But Joo-Han hyung\'s favorite has been decided a long time ago."

As soon as Jin-Sung said that, Joo-Han spread his arms wide toward me. “Come here, my baby!"

“Ah, please." As I avoided Joo-Han, Yoon-Chan added an explanation. “They have been together for so long that Joo-Han hyung really likes Hyun-Woo hyung."

“That\'s it! Next, let\'s go to Goh Yoo-Joon." I quickly changed the subject and seated Goh Yoo-Joon.

“I\'m confident." Goh Yoo-Joon shrugged his shoulders and confidently raised his hand.

- I will ask the question. If you had to choose between friendship and love, would you choose love?

“Oh! This is important!"

“Goh Yoo-Joon, you need to answer well."

“Ah, this." Goh Yoo-Joon seemed to ponder mischievously before answering. “Of course, it\'s friendship. I\'ve always valued friendship over love."

“Oh, really!?" Everyone\'s eyes turned to the detector, which made train sounds for a moment before showing a green light again.

“Yes! Passed! See! I only speak the truth!"

“Ah, all green lights."

“It\'s a shame. Usually, those who turn up the electric shock get caught."

While Goh Yoo-Joon was proudly boasting, I quietly sat down and raised my hand to the lie detector.

- Next question for Hyun-Woo. Be extra honest, okay? Do you like your current roommate?

“This will be a tearjerker if Yoo-Joon finds out the truth," Joo-Han smirked, and Goh Yoo-Joon playfully pushed him away.

“We haven\'t even heard the answer yet, hyung. Don\'t act like the answer is obvious," Goh Yoo-Joon retorted.

“I\'m curious about this. The two of you were the first to say you\'d room together."

“Let\'s see! Hyun-Woo hyung\'s answer!"

I calmly closed my eyes and pondered amidst the members\' commotion.

“Look at Suh Hyun-Woo pondering. How come? This is so easy to answer!"

Then, I opened my eyes wide and said, “I don\'t!"

‘I like Yoon-Chan.’

#Side Story - Concept Photo Shoot (Type B, Lee Jin-Sung)

“Jin-Sung seems a bit quiet today. What\'s the matter?"

In response to stylist director Hong Ah-Ri\'s comment, Lee Su-Hwan answered, “I heard he got scolded by Joo-Han earlier for eating all the catering snacks meant for the staff by himself."

“Oh, that\'s unfortunate," sighed Hong Ah-Ri. “Is that why he looks so sulky? It\'s okay to eat those though. Other artists don\'t mind and just eat them."

“Exactly."

While he might have eaten too much, it wasn\'t necessary to scold him to the point of making him sad as the catering was usually for both artists and staff to share.

“Shouldn\'t you go and smooth things over, Su-Hwan? His expression shouldn\'t be like that during the shoot."

“No, we left it that way on purpose. It actually fits the serious scene better."

“True, that expressionless look might actually suit this concept better."

Lee Su-Hwan nodded. After all, any issues within Chronos should be resolved among themselves. Intervention by adults in such trivial matters would only lead to forced reconciliations.

“Still, I feel a bit sorry for him."

Jin-Sung standing expressionlessly in a flower garden, which could be considered the center of the Chronos universe, was a sight to behold. However, Hong Ah-Ri frequently fell for Jin-Sung\'s youthful charm and found it difficult to watch without feeling sympathetic.

“This might be a sensitive question, but is Jin-Sung somewhat disliked within the group?"

“Jin-Sung?"

Since Hong Ah-Ri only saw Chronos during their schedules, she wasn\'t fully aware of their internal dynamics.

Hesitating for a moment, Lee Su-Hwan then shook his head and dismissed the notion. “He is actually very cherished by other members, especially since Joo-Han has looked after him like a younger brother since before their debut."

“Really? Every time I see him, he seems to be getting scolded by the members. I wonder if that’s the reason."

In the entertainment industry, it was common for people to act friendly to each other\'s faces while gossiping behind their backs. For a moment, she wondered if Jin-Sung, who seemed affectionate and kind, might be experiencing something like that.

As a result, Hong Ah-Ri still looked concerned and seemed unconvinced by Lee Su-Hwan\'s words.

‘He\'s not someone to speak thoughtlessly, but...\'

As Lee Su-Hwan was about to speak again, the members burst onto the set, made some noise, and drew Hong Ah-Ri\'s gaze toward them.

“Has Jin-Sung not finished shooting yet?"

“The youngest looks cool! The hyungs are watching!"

“Jin-Sung, I brought you a drink!" Park Yoon-Chan waved a drink high in the air, showing it to Jin-Sung, who was still in the middle of his shoot.

Meanwhile, Kang Joo-Han was smiling contentedly, taking pictures of Jin-Sung with Chronos\'s shared phone. He muttered, “Look at our youngest\'s charm."

Lee Su-Hwan smiled at Hong Ah-Ri. “Our kids get along well."

While they all cared and valued each other, the youngest Jin-Sung was particularly doted on and looked after by all the members of Chronos.

Hong Ah-Ri finally smiled and nodded. All four members had rushed over to support Jin-Sung\'s shoot as soon as their own shoots were done. She said, “I see. I must have completely misunderstood. I was worried why Jin-Sung was getting scolded so often and wondered if it was because he was bullied."

Hong Ah-Ri\'s gaze returned to Jin-Sung, who was now smiling at the waving members despite being sullen and expressionless throughout the shoot.