When Seo Hoyun appeared at the paintball survival game arena dressed in a ghillie suit, the very Kang Ichae who had vowed to interfere with him was, in reality, busy sweeping through minigames elsewhere.
【Test Your Ear - The Absolute Pitch Room
※ For one participant only】
The mission took place in WH Entertainment’s new building, inside the vocal training room.
Behind a partition, the production staff pressed piano keys. Kang Ichae rubbed his chin with his hand, his eyebrows slightly furrowing.
“F#, F, G, B, C.”
[Eh?]
[No way... come on...]
Behind Kang Ichae, waiting leisurely for judgment, murmurs from the staff filled the background like noise.
“Uh, correct.”
The rules stated that answering correctly after hearing only one or two notes would earn bonus points.
But since Kang Ichae answered too easily, the difficulty kept increasing until the staff finally resorted to pressing multiple keys at once.
[This is insane]
[If it were me, I’d have flipped the table by now, seriously fuck]
[How the hell are you supposed to get this;;]
“...And this one?”
The staff asked cautiously, as if probing, after deliberately pressing a complex chord. Kang Ichae’s lips twisted slyly.
“Ichae Ichae, B, E♭, F#, A, B♭.”
He rattled off answers smoothly, then deliberately stretched out his words, continuing slowly.
“Hmm, F#, A♭, E♭, A... and D?”
Not a single mistake.
At that moment, a cutaway showed the maknae struggling inside the Absolute Pitch Room. Jung Dajun managed to guess single notes correctly, but as soon as the chords moved past two, his head filled with question marks and he floundered around helplessly.
[Ah, Jung Dajun is too cute, I can’t]
[But how the hell did Kang Ichae get that right lol]
[Suddenly flexing his composer pride like crazy...]
【Kang Ichae gains 1 point for participation, plus 1 bonus point from staff, total 2 points.】
“Thanks~!”
With a bright smile, Kang Ichae tucked the mission slip he received between his index and middle finger, gave it a little wave, then moved on to the next room.
【Just Enjoy Yourself - The Room of Macau】
Three tables stood inside, each with a person in a suit. Sitting at the nearest table, Kang Ichae was greeted with a smile by the blackjack dealer.
“Check.”
Skillful hands.
“Raise.”
A flawless poker face.
“All in.”
No hesitation, bold betting.
【Not an idol—has the gambler returned?】
In the blink of an eye, Kang Ichae swept through two tables easily, scattering a charming grin toward the astonished staff.
“Come on, it’s not over yet. Don’t back out. I’ll bet all the points I’ve won so far—how about we raise it to 2 bonus points, call?”
“...Call.”
And of course, he won flawlessly in the end.
【Kang Ichae gains 2 bonus points plus 1 participation point, total 3 points.】
【Kang Ichae’s current score: 7 points.】
[Kang Ichae is god....]
[Why is he even an idol? He should’ve gone to Macau]
[Isn’t this basically Kang Ichae’s personal room?]
After defeating the blackjack dealer one-on-one, then the poker match against staff, and finally even hula, Kang Ichae casually flicked a chip into the air, caught it, and lifted one corner of his lips.
“Thanks~ang.”
[Why is this brat doing all this so hard lol isn’t he actually in first place?]
[Is he really going to give the 1st place to Sunghyun? For real? rly? This time can we believe it?
└Are you perhaps Mr. Water Dumpling, human, for believing that...]
Unaware of what Noeul were chattering about, Kang Ichae whistled as he headed ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ toward the next mission spot.
He walked a long stretch of corridor, turned several corners, and finally arrived at WH Entertainment’s monitoring room. Inside were two large single sofas, facing a projector screen on the wall.
He expected the game to start right away, but instead, Kang Ichae leaned back in a chair, pulled out his phone, and began tapping away at messages.
“...Mr. Kang Ichae, aren’t you going to start?”
“Mm, let’s wait a bit.”
He only raised an eyebrow while texting somewhere, ignoring the staff’s question.
“They’ll be here soon.”
Tick, tock. The second hand pierced the silence until finally, the door opened again.
The camera panned slowly upward from the shoes of the newcomer. Chunky sneakers, black jogger pants with many pockets, a black turtleneck. The man’s cheek and jawline glistened with sweat.
“Hey.”
【The hot guy in a ghillie suit makes his entrance!】
[Shit, why couldn’t he have dressed like this earlier]
[Exactly!!!!!!!! Furious!!!!!!!!!!]
Oblivious to the fans’ frustration that their “handsome new pics” had been ruined earlier, Seo Hoyun blew up his bangs and dropped into the seat beside Kang Ichae.
Kang Ichae wrinkled his nose, pressing a finger beneath it.
“Smells like fallen leaves.”
[Kang Ichae has animal senses, how did he know wtf]
[He can smell fallen leaves but can’t figure out what he’s wearing...
└Of course not]
“Why didn’t you come to the survival game?”
“Busy earning points.”
“Shame.”
【The lucky untrained escaped the veteran’s sniper shot.】
Both wore polite smiles, but sparks flew in their eyes. Then Kang Ichae struck first.
“Hoyun hyung, are you ready to be a slave for two weeks?”
“Then are you ready to get a kiss from Kim Sunghyun?”
“Ha ha ha! Me? Not you?”
Their words were smooth, but the way their gazes collided was electric.
Sensing the tension, the staff carefully spoke.
“...—Then let’s begin.”
【Keep a Straight Face No Matter What You See - The Room of Laughter Challenge
※ Solo or group mission】
【Watch The Dawn’s videos prepared by staff. If you laugh or get embarrassed, you fail. No matter what you see, keep a straight face!】
【Solo: survive until the video ends = 1 point. Group: only the one who holds out longer than the other gains bonus points. This time, if you don’t win bonus points, you also don’t get participation points.】
[Ah lol what the hell is this lolololololol]
[Fuck I haven’t even seen it yet and I’m already laughing, I’m giving up now]
[No way Kang Ichae can hold out, he’s totally gonna lose when Dajun shows up
└Right, our Ichae lives life to have fun lolol]
Seo Hoyun shook his head as if still feeling something foreign in his hair, while Kang Ichae simply stared at the screen. The first video began.
Set in a school, idols in uniforms battling for the title of top dog in a talk-show style variety segment.
It’s a shocking real-life story. This week’s star isn’t me, but Hoyuhou hyung.
This was the program where Kang Ichae had once exposed Seo Hoyun’s darkest black history.
Hoyun hyung practicing aegyo.
You are so lovely, shim-ga-kae...
Seo Hoyun had buried his face in the desk, ears red, pretending to be dead.
[Ah~~~ I miss it, I really do~~~]
[There was actually such a time for Seo Hoyun? Feels like an urban legend]
[Kya, he was so cute then lolololol couldn’t do aegyo properly and got hit with reality check, that expression was priceless]
The video switched—close-ups of Seo Hoyun and Kang Ichae watching it now.
“......”
“......”
Both faces were ice-cold.
Kang Ichae rested his chin on his hand, expression frigid. Seo Hoyun crossed his arms, calm, eyes fixed straight ahead.
[We’re sorry....]
[Sorry for laughing.....]
The staff, sensing unease, decided to strike hard.
Hoyun-ah, am I an idiot? How long are you going to make me wait?!
The infamous “Seo Hoyun disease” and “Kang Ichae disease” era—an FNL clip.
Seo Hoyun, sitting on a bed, gently brushed Sung Jiwon’s black bangs aside.
How long are you going to make me wait?
Until the traffic light changes 200 times....
[Ah that Hoyun disease bit, it was hilarious lololol]
[Ichae’s 100% going to break, he loved the Ichae disease era so much]
But again, when the camera cut back—
“......”
“......”
Neither moved a single millimeter of lip.
[Sorry sorry sorry]
[This isn’t laughter challenge anymore
I feel like the child between two parents fighting, reading the room like crazy]
[Please let me out of this room]
[No, it’s scarier because they’re expressionless]
【This laughter challenge room... will not end easily.】
Captions flashed under the two members’ cold faces:
Yes, hyung hyung....
After several videos swapped in and out with no change, Kang Ichae finally spoke.
“...Hyung, when you got caught practicing aegyo in the practice room, you were embarrassed, right?”
Seo Hoyun kept his gaze fixed ahead and answered dryly.
“Bbuing bbuing?”
“......”
[Doesn’t work at all]
[lolololol infuriating lololololol]
Leaning deeper into his seat, Seo Hoyun added:
“Kang Ichae, your IRIX rank has been dropping lately.”
“That’s just my alt account, playing casually.”
“Your main dropped too.”
“...That was just for fun too.”
[His reply came a beat too late]
Seo Hoyun’s lips curled faintly.
“That was me.”
“...?”
“Your IRIX ranked match—power went off in the middle, right?”
“...You mean the promotion game finale?”
Kang Ichae’s eyes flicked toward him but froze mid-turn. His face sharp, tense. Seo Hoyun looked utterly calm.
“I pulled out the plug and put it back in.”
“What?! ...Why?”
“As your hyung, I was helping prevent gaming addiction.”
[Seo Hoyun Shutdown Act]
Even the devil shook his head at that ruthlessness. Kang Ichae’s eyebrow twitched.
“...Hyung, you know your stock value’s plummeting lately, right? Your stock app looks dire.”
“I know. But I like blue.”
“Hey, my hair is red, though.”
“That’s why.”
Seo Hoyun’s indifferent answer made Kang Ichae’s expression grow colder.
“...Then what if I dye my hair blue?”
“Then maybe I’ll start liking red.”
[What even is this fight...]
[This isn’t laughter challenge anymore, it’s nonsense battle]
Kang Ichae touched his mouth as if his face had nearly cracked, sighing softly.
“...Can’t you just say anything suits me?”
The projector now showed a past self-produced segment, ‘The Dawn Workplace.’ Seo Hoyun, annoyed because Kang Ichae wanted to eat Pyongyang cold noodles, appeared on screen.
“Is it that hard to give a single compliment?”
“......”
[Whoa, sounds like a joke but maybe he’s actually hurt]
[Back then when Sunghyun and Ichae imitated Hoyun, each of them heard totally different things too]
Not even watching the video anymore, Kang Ichae stared straight ahead.
Then Seo Hoyun, who had sat motionless until now, finally turned his head lightly.
“Hey.”
“What.”
“You never believe me when I give compliments.”
“...Me?”
Kang Ichae turned his head belatedly, frown deepening.
“And the reason I’m stingy with compliments... is because I expect a lot from you. You know that.”
“......”
“I’m harsher to the ones I expect the most from.”
Seo Hoyun smiled faintly.
“If you hate it, should I stop?”
Caught off guard, Kang Ichae blinked rapidly, missing his chance to reply. At that exact moment, staff cut in.
“Seo Hoyun, you laughed. You’re eliminated.”
“Yes.”
Rising, Seo Hoyun walked straight out without hesitation. Kang Ichae, staring blankly for a beat, clicked his tongue and stood up.
【Kang Ichae gains 1 bonus point and 1 participation point, total 2 points.】
【Kang Ichae’s current score: 9 points.】
Above them, the results and current scores displayed.
“...Unbelievable.”
Pressing his forehead, Kang Ichae grumbled, slipping into his usual speech without noticing.
“He just left without even making excuses. Isn’t that just bluffing? Not even cool. Don’t you agree?”
Still muttering, he pulled another mission slip from staff, checked the location, puffed his lips, and called someone saved as ‘Water Dumpling’ on speakerphone.
[What. What is it.]
A wary voice answered soon after.
“Sunghyun hyuuuung.”
[...Wh-what? Kang Ichae, what’s with you?]
“Do the mission with me. Give me a ride on your bike.”
The whiny tone left the leader speechless for a moment, until his reliable voice returned.
[...Did something happen to you?]
