EPISODE 18

Starting with their debut stage, DASE kicked off their full-fledged activities.

The members, who visited a proper broadcasting station for the first time today, were amazed by everything from the parking lot to the entrance and the elevator. DASE trailed behind Nam-Kyung like ducklings following their mother.

"Baek-Ya-ya. This is my first time at a broadcasting station. What to do? This is so amazing!"

Yul-Mu shook Baek-Ya's arm, excitedly making a fuss around him. Baek-Ya also kept looking around in awe at the broadcasting station, but when Ji-Han saw the two acting like that, he discreetly distanced himself.

"Why did you go over there all of a sudden?"

Ji-Han paused for a moment when his eyes met with Baek-Ya's.

'What is this… This feeling of guilt.'

He couldn't bring himself to say, 'Because you guys are embarrassing me' to that pure face. Instead, he grabbed Baek-Ya's sleeve, trying to pull him away from Yul-Mu. It was an attempt to get Baek-Ya away from Yul-Mu's influence.

Baek-Ya, being helplessly dragged along, now walked alone with Ji-Han.

"Aren't you amazed?"

"I am. But I don't really want to be part of that…"

He didn't express it, but he was just as excited about the broadcasting station.

However…

Following Ji-Han's gaze, Baek-Ya saw Yul-Mu next to the youngest members. That combination indicated a clear 'E' in the MBTI personality types without even needing to take the test.

//TN: 'E' as in extroverted.

"Woah~ Guys, look at that."

"Must be the waiting room! There's a name tag attached."

"Chung Chung, do I look nervous right now?"

Certainly, it was an image he didn't want to fit into. Despite whispering softly, their fidgety behavior drew the attention of the broadcasting station staff passing by.

'…I can't believe I was with them just now.'

Sometimes, actions speak louder than a hundred words. Baek-Ya stuck a little closer to Ji-Han's side.

These two were the definite 'I' in the MBTI.

//TN: 'I' as in introverted.

Walking through the maze-like corridors of the broadcasting station for a while, they saw some sparsely placed partitions in a wide space.

"I think it's here?"

Min-Sung stopped and pointed to a spot.

[DASE]

DASE's name tag was attached to a blue partition. It was DASE's first broadcasting station waiting room.

"I hope you're not disappointed. Once you get more seniority, you can get a proper waiting room like the one you saw on your way here..."

There was a limited amount of waiting rooms, and they were assigned strictly based on seniority. Therefore, rookie artists who just debuted often used makeshift waiting rooms made of partitions.

This was a customary experience not only for DASE but for all rookies.

"Disappointed? I love it here. Let's go in quickly."

Min-Sung replied as he patted Nam-Kyung on the side.

"Stop! Let's take a picture! A picture!"

The excited Californian boy exclaimed, and the members gathered in front of the partition, calling it a great idea.

DASE members simultaneously turned to stare at Nam-Kyung to whom they have left their cell phones during the schedule.

"…The unity you guys have is amazing. It gives me chills sometimes."

Without even needing to tell them to gather together, the members were already striking poses around the name tag.

"One, two, three."

===========================

[DASE_Official]

Hello, everyone. This is DASE! We finally made it to the broadcasting station (excited). We are so happy and nervous, but DASE's 'No Games' is just beginning so please stay tuned! Fighting!

#DASE (DASE's waiting room group photo.jpg)

===========================

* * *

Now, social media had become a daily routine for Bok-Soong.

She was saving the newly uploaded music show photos and GIFs of Baek-Ya.

- 2X0104 Music Box Baek-Ya(1) (Baek-Ya close-up.gif)

- DASE members are all on point, no exceptionsㅜㅜ (Waiting room group photo.jpg)

- Baek-Ya's neck has veins standing out, but his face looks so peaceful (Singing Baek-Ya.gif)

- Baek-Ya's introduction, a heavenly aria… It feels like my body is being purified.

- 2X0104 Baek-Ya on his way to work, the soft white peach rolling down (Baek-Ya.gif)

"Uwaack! So adorable! Save. How can he be this cute? Save."

Bok-Soong's phone gallery had already been taken over by Baek-Ya. Even though she had just saved similar photos a little while ago, she was now trapped in the cycle of endless saving due to different crops and adjustments.

'When I change my phone this time, I definitely need to get one with more storage!'

She even made the bold choice of deleting her own photos to free up some space, showing how much value DASE held for her.

DASE's debut song, 'No Games,' entered the streaming sites at 43rd place, marking a smooth start for the group.

The past year, they achieved everything perfectly, earning the title of the first rookie group to enter the newly revamped charts.

"But do they only appear on music shows?"

Of course, just having such a soft peach debut was already a blessing, but human greed knows no bounds. She loved seeing Baek-Ya singing on music shows, but she also wanted to see him talking.

She wanted to see him taking questions and answering them. Since he was a rookie, it would be nice to see him occasionally flustered and stumbling in his responses!

Just imagining it made her lips curl up into a smile.

"I hope they can appear on variety shows or radio programs."

Bok-Soong refreshed her timeline. Amidst the pouring GIFs, she spotted a few friends like her eagerly crying about DASE's variety show activities.

- DASE please make some personal content or do some variety showsㅜㅜ

- It's been 8 years since they debuted male idols, yet ID is still so cheap. At least spread some articles and promote them.

"Hmm…"

People seemed to be quite angry.

The pacifist Bok-Soong quietly refreshed her timeline again. Then, a radio program account appeared at the top of the timeline.

It was a recent post shared by DASE's official account.

===========================

[BeginAgain]

#Siyuns_beginagain #BeginFan

The first guests of the year are the monster rookies #DASE

Are you all ready to fall for DASE's charms? Si-Yun is currently preparing for fun #Games right now! Please leave questions you've been curious about or things you want to say to #DASE members~ (Excited) With the rookies' spirits, they will try to answer as much as possible (Wink)

===========================

It was a radio program hosted by AIM's Si-Yun, DASE's immediate senior under the same agency.

As soon as the post went up, the comments flooded in at an alarming speed, showing the explosive power of the newly debuted idol group.

- I'm curious about the members' first impressions of each other~

- I want to know about the behind-the-scenes stories of the rookies' spirits ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

- Ideal type! If they are rookies, we must ask about their ideal typeㅠㅠ Love you DASE ♡

- Mint choco vs anti mint choco

└ Also ask about the Eoljukah ㅎㅎ

//TN: Just to remind you that Eoljukah is slang that refers to someone who'll drink their drinks (usually Americano) iced no matter what.

- Ask about each member's audition/casting stories!

They were a boy group from a major agency, and even before their debut, they received a lot of attention. On top of that, their passion as rookies and the buzz surrounding their stages made their popularity soar rapidly.

Thus, DASE embarked on their first-ever radio broadcast amidst their fans' fervent support.

"Si-Yun's Begin Again. The first guest of the new year is ID's monster rookie group born in winter, DASE. Nice to meet you~"

"One, two, three. For your day! Hello! We are DASE!"

* * *

Moments after the 'No Games' stage was revealed for the first time in Imjingak. As soon as he came down the stage, the quest completion alert appeared.

[ Completed!]

[Quest Reward Granted: 1 Star Point]

With this, Baek-Ya accumulated 5 Star Points. His stress index was still in the 20% range.

Seeing the percentage rising more slowly than he expected, Baek-Ya suddenly thought that it might be okay to try the draw.

Of course, his goal was the dance skill.

'I'm going to draw a dance skill.'

Baek-Ya made the plan.

As DASE members were frightfully locked up in the car as soon as they stepped off the stage, Baek-Ya, who felt the heater was now a little too much, discreetly moved his hand toward the window switch.

To Baekya, who drank his drinks iced even if he froze to death, this place felt too stuffy.

'No one will notice if I roll down the window just a little, right?'

The sunfish carefully inspected his surrounding. But the moment he put some pressure on the window switch, the door opened instead of the window. A cool gust of wind hit him square in the face.

"No! I didn't open it!"

Baek-Ya, with his guilty conscience that needed no accuser, hastily exclaimed.

"?????"

The members turned to look at Baek-Ya with puzzled expressions. Min-Sung, who had been momentarily stunned by the sunfish's sudden outburst, responded.

"Yeah. I opened it. Baek-Ya, could you scooch in a bit? Let's monitor our stage."

Min-Sung, who received the cell phone from Nam-Kyung, quickly got into the car and closed the door. Baek-Ya, sandwiched in the middle, felt like crying in frustration.

'Su-suffocating.'

Nevertheless, the view from the middle was good.

A recorded video of the broadcast TV screen started playing. Nam-Kyung's voice, who was excited about DASE appearing, could be heard in the video.

♬♪♩♬♪

Baek-Ya's face appeared on the screen with his eyes closed as soon as the MC's introduction ended.

"Baek-Ya, you've got some style."

"I just did what I was told…"

Min-Sung laughed as he teased Baek-Ya. Baek-Ya, pursing his lips in embarrassment, gave a side-eye glare at Min-Sung's hand holding the phone.

"Wow. Jihanie hyung, what's with your diction? I think it got stuck in my ear just now."

"Our maknaes are rather good at dancing~"

//TN: maknae = youngest member

After that, the compliment relay continued in a similar pattern.

Whenever a member received a close-up shot, they gave each other compliments. And it was not just for show.

Finally, the leader's words of appreciation brought a heartwarming conclusion. There were certainly some regrets, but it was their long-awaited first stage, and the fact that they didn't make any mistakes was meaningful in itself.

There were still many more stages to come.

'This is just the beginning. I have to do even better from now on.'

As Baek-Ya made this resolution in his heart, the system window appeared again.

[A new quest has arrived!]

[Q. I will succeed! (2): As a rookie, you have to do whatever is asked! Now is a crucial time to determine your character within the team... (View More)]

※ Failure to complete within the time limit will result in the reinforcement of the passive.

However, this quest was slightly different from what he had seen before. The penalty for failure remained the same, but it had a new condition: Completion within the time limit.

'A time limit? This has never happened before…'

Moreover, the description was long and wordy. The introduction was too lengthy, and the important part was hidden behind the words 'View more'.

It had always been ominous, but this time, it felt even more so.

'What extraordinary things is it going to make me do…'

It was hard for him to hit the button. However, time might be running out while he hesitated. Trying to suppress his anxiety, Baek-Ya pressed on 'View more'.

At that moment, the system alert rang once again.

[Warning!]

[The stress index has reached the 'Alert' stage. 70%]

▶ Use Star Points (Points in possession: 5)

The stress level, which had been in the 20% range, suddenly skyrocketed to its maximum, reaching the highest value so far.

'Ah, my blood pressure.'