𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 8

[ Park Moondae's POV ]

The rest of the evening was relatively lighthearted. People were relaxing in their rooms after practicing nonstop for ten days while others were motivated to practice harder for the upcoming performance of <Shining Star.>

I was leaning toward doing the former, first, because the number of people trying to talk to me increased tenfold once receiving the platinum badge. I would rather stay in my room where they couldn't bother me.

Second, Seungmin had offered some homemade tea packs he brought from home. He left to brew them in the cafeteria while Ahyeon chose to shower.

"Hyungs, I brought the tea," Seungmin soon said as he entered the door. He was holding three cups in his palms, and I quickly took one. 

"...!"

I almost dropped it.

I managed to set it on the flat frame of the bed I was standing by before I let go.

"Seungmin, the cups are hot," I stated incredulously as I furrowed my eyebrows.

The cup wasn't at a temperature any normal person would be able to hold without reflexively recoiling at least once.

I don't think the black-haired boy realized this. He looked down at the two cups in his hands with his usual dull stare before placing them on the bed frame as well.

I hastily took his hands and examined them. They were red and overly warm, but they didn't seem to be burned, somehow. And there was a lot of callus all over from his b-boy activities, assumingly, so it might have acted as a barrier.

Seungmin slid his hands out of mine and smiled, "I'm okay."

Only then did I realize what I did. I returned to my poker face and nodded my head understandingly.

The reason why we were drinking hot tea was to calm ourselves after the long day. Frankly, I needed some beer rather than tea to calm down after getting the platinum badge, but this was all I could get my hands on.

Seungmin was right. I didn't like getting platinum. The other participants might've thought that I was moved speechless when I froze, but it was more complicated than that.

And that's because I don't have a strong standing in the idol community. Unlike the first two rankers, I don't come from a trainee life, and I've already stated that I've never taken lessons before.

Depending on how it's edited, I'll be getting a lot of criticism for not living up to the platinum grade. It was already stressful to think about, sober.

Seon Ahyun came out of the shower in the shared bathroom with a towel draped over his shoulders. He noticed the steaming cups on his bedframe and beamed.

"Seungmin, t-thank you," he managed to utter. Then, after mustering up some courage, he asked, "Do y-you brew tea often?"

Seungmin nodded, "It's a big part of my Mother's culture."

"Is s-she a foreinger?"

Seungmin nodded again. 

"Japanese."

Ahyeon's expression lit up.

"T-that's so cool! Wow!"

The youngest one nodded for the third time and took his own cup to his bed, where he sat down and began drinking. I could tell he ran out of social battery. He was staring out the window.

Actually, I would see him look out the window a lot as I came back to the dorm after practicing with the 'Sleeping only after you die' characteristic.

I wasn't sure why a nineteen-year-old had a gaze of a grandpa sitting in the countryside.