Chapter 365: Choose (8)

"Can you really handle this? You can’t just stay silent like last time. There will be a lot of talking parts too," Reina said, her expression clearly showing she wasn’t fully convinced. Considering the public figured out who I was from just one broadcast appearance, it was understandable.

I tried to sound more confident than I felt. "I’ll do my best, Senior."

"Uh-huh... right! I trust you!" However, her eyes still held a trace of doubt. She gave me a pat on the back and pushed me out of the waiting room. "Anyhow, you got this, Eden. Go greet the seniors."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Let’s greet Senior Hye-Yeon first." Reina’s manager directed me to the spacious waiting room in the far right corner. Hye-Yeon was a singer with a thirty-year-long career, and she was as respected as Senior Yeong-Yee in the entertainment industry. As expected, the hallway in front of her waiting room was packed with cast members waiting their turn to greet her.

"Hello," I greeted the cast members standing in line.

"Oh, Eden, you’re here? Come on over." The cast members at the end of the line greeted me with friendly smiles and pulled me to stand with them.

"How have you been, Eden?" One of them asked while giving me a gentle nudge.

"We expected you at last week’s shoot but heard it got pushed. Too bad."

"With you missing, Yoo-Wol took first place again. Think you will take the top spot today?"

"I’m not expecting much, Senior," I replied modestly, trying to hide my nervousness.

"Why? You should. It’s okay to expect it with your skills," they said while chuckling and giving me knowing glances. It seemed they had already guessed who I was.

"Yes," I responded, keeping my answers brief. Originally, I had planned to chat with the cast members to find out which rookie singer Hye-Yeon had brought, but I decided it was best to keep quiet to avoid further suspicion.

Another cast member asked the question I was curious about. "By the way, who’s the rookie singer Hye-Yeon brought?"

However, no one had an answer. They just shrugged or shook their heads.

"The name was listed... something like 'Isaac?’"

"Isaac, huh? Never heard that name before."

"Even if you search online, nothing comes up. They must be either a complete rookie or a totally unknown artist. Our staff said they are a rookie."

How could no one know anything about the singer performing today? Listening to the conversation, it was clear the cast didn’t know Isaac’s songs or even what the person looked like.

Isaac was a complete mystery.

Usually, even the most unknown rookies would go around the waiting rooms introducing themselves. It was odd that not only I, the youngest cast member, but the others didn’t know him either. However, who would openly criticize the rookie brought by Hye-Yeon? Everyone just quietly lined up to greet her before returning to their spots.

The manager next guided me to Oh Yoo-Wol's waiting room. "This is our next stop. You remember Oh Yoo-Wool from the last shoot, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, I do." He had been the first to recognize me and talk to me. Since then, he had even invited me to appear on

UTube

, making us somewhat acquainted.

Knock knock.

"Yes! Come in," Oh Yoo-Wol’s voice came in through the door, still full of energy.

When I entered, he was standing right in front of the door and stepped back in surprise.

"Long time no see, Eden. How have you been?" He grinned at me. "Did the concert go well?"

"...I still lack the skills for a concert, Senior," I replied, trying to deflect.

"Not falling for it, huh?"

I wasn’t going to fall for simple tricks like that.

"Anyway, good to see you again. Why didn’t you come last week? I was waiting to see you."

"I had another schedule," I said simply, hoping he wouldn’t press further.

"Uh-huh, I see. What kind of schedule?" His smile turned even more teasing.

The way he kept mentioning the concert and my schedule suggested he was nearly certain that Eden was me, Suh Hyun-Woo. He was the person I had to be most cautious around today.

For this day, I had endured Goh Yoo-Joon’s mockery to learn a dialect. Whether they knew I was Eden or not didn’t really matter. As long as I denied it, it wasn't true. To Oh Yoo-Wol, I might seem like someone bizarrely clinging to a hidden identity, but I was ready to put on another mask and start anew.

"Hmm!"

"Eden?"

"Just... I had an event, you see," I slipped into dialect.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, yes... an event," I repeated using the dialect.

Startled by the sudden change, Oh Yoo-Wol's smile froze as he looked at me. He raised an eyebrow. "Umm... What are you doing?"

"Pardon?"

"Are you... using dialect...?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Oh Yoo-Wol stared at me before breaking into a chuckle and nodding. "Got it. Well, good luck today, Eden."

"Thanks, you too."

"Great! Oh, here." He handed me the peach drink. It felt like he was either teasing me or showing some weird form of concern, having noticed the connection. I took the drink to my waiting room and continued my rounds of greetings.

Other senior cast members had reactions similar to Oh Yoo-Wol. Some openly tested me by asking "What are you up to, Hyun-Woo?" They were clearly aware but still played along. Each time, I responded in my newfound dialect.

Their reactions ranged from bewildered to amused, but it allowed me to escape the barrage of questions. Finally, the filming began.

The opening was Oh Yoo-Wol's performance as the winner of the previous week. Thanks to the privilege of being an episode forty-for participant, I was allowed to sit in the panelist's seat from the start. After his performance, there was a brief interview with him.

"Yoo-Wol, how many wins is this now? You've been on a winning streak. It seems like you’re practically a regular here now."

"Hehe, I’m always grateful to be here. The stage is incredibly precious to me, so I will do my best to stay on it as long as I can," Oh Yoo-Wol replied earnestly.

"Yes, we can feel your passion and dedication in every performance. Today was another fantastic stage!"

"Thank you."

"Alright, Yoo-Wol. Please take your seat with the panelists."

Oh Yoo-Wol greeted the audience and took the seat next to me.

"But speaking of which..." The host continued to expertly build up anticipation. "There is someone who might just be a rival to Oh Yoo-Wol’s winning streak. Sitting right next to him, it's our Eden!"

It was finally my turn. I raised the microphone and bowed deeply. My facial expressions were hidden with my mask on, so I had to be extra clear in my gestures.

"Hello," I said in a thick dialect.

"...What?" The host Seo Han, who had already heard my dialect in the waiting room, pretended to be shocked. "Eden, are you using a dialect?"

"I am from Gyeongsang-do[1]," I said, which caused laughter to ripple through the studio.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Come on, if you’re going to use a dialect, do it right! That’s not even Gyeongsang-do dialect! Who taught you that?"

"..." I hesitated. Goh Yoo-Joon had taught me, insisting it was authentic. It seemed I had been tricked again.

Seo Han and the panelists laughed, then Seo Han spoke in a teasing tone. "Alright, Eden. Cut it out! Stop pretending like that is going to hide your identity!"

"Right! We will just pretend we don’t know!"

"What... I mean, what are you talking about?" I tried to act clueless by tilting my head as if I didn’t understand.

"If you’re going to use a dialect, at least do it properly! That wasn’t even close!"

Even with my mask on, I could feel my face heating up from embarrassment.

"Alright, Eden. It's time for your performance."

"Yes."

I will get you for this, Goh Yoo-Joon.

I grinded my teeth and headed backstage. I had spent a whole day learning, only to find out it wasn’t a real dialect! I could already picture Goh Yoo-Joon laughing his head off when he watched the broadcast.

As I stormed into the waiting room, the staff were also fuming.

"What’s going on?" I asked.

I wondered if they were mad that Goh Yoo-Joon tricked me, but they seemed to be angry for different reasons.

"Are they ignoring us or what?"

"Come on, even if they are a rookie, they should have some manners!"

"This isn’t just about seniority. Chronos debuted a year and a half earlier. This is just rude."

"I heard they didn’t greet any of the other cast members either."

"I was looking forward to my junior’s greeting for once. What a letdown."

It seemed the rookie singer, Isaac, was the cause of their frustration. Having debuted two years ago and spent even longer as a trainee, I had encountered my share of rude or arrogant people, and Isaac seemed to be one of them.

"Eden, if you’re ready, please come in!"

"Yes!"

The production staff’s call silenced our grumbling team.

"Let’s go, Eden."

I headed backstage with the manager. No matter how mysterious Isaac tried to be, the most enigmatic figure here was Eden.

1. Gyeongsang-do is a region in South Korea known for its rich cultural heritage and vibrant cities like Busan and Daegu. The Gyeongsang-do dialect is characterized by its unique intonation and pronunciation, often sounding more abrupt and direct compared to the standard Korean language. I spent my elementary school life in Busan, so I used to use the dialect! But I stopped using it when I moved to Seoul and my classmates started teasing about it oof. ☜