Falling for the Omega Idol-Chapter 129: SLIGHT TENSION

HANEUL waited for the result with bated breath. From where they stood, it was hard to see who had reached the board first. He knew it was between Taeyang and Seojun—the two were almost the same height and build, and from behind, they looked nearly identical in their matching sweatshirts and pants. The only thing that set them apart was their hair color.

Haneul hadn’t expected the race to be so close. He’d assumed Taeyang would win by a mile, given his physical advantage as a dominant Alpha. What surprised him even more was seeing Seojun as the other frontrunner. Honestly, he hadn’t even thought about which team Seojun had ended up in.

Now, he felt a twinge of guilt. Seojun was still a friend, after all. He should’ve at least paid attention to where the other had landed. Haru too, for that matter. But no, his mind had been too preoccupied with whether Taeyang was looking at him or not.

Damn, that sounds so... juvenile, Haneul thought, almost cursing himself.

"Haneul, he got it!"

Robin’s excited exclamation snapped Haneul out of his thoughts. He quickly turned his attention to the front, where the race had just concluded. The black-haired one—Taeyang—had managed to grab a card first, followed closely by the one with honey-brown hair—Seojun. The third, fourth, and fifth contestants arrived shortly after, each securing a card of their own.

The remaining five, who hadn’t made it in time, stood catching their breath, their faces flushed and shoulders heaving from the effort. It was clear they’d pushed themselves hard, but the race had been unforgiving.

Haneul let out a quiet sigh of relief. Taeyang had done it. Since he’d reached the board first, there was no doubt he’d secured their team’s first song choice.

"And that concludes the race," Yoon Jihoon said as he stepped forward. "Congratulations to the five teams who successfully secured a song. Now, the next step is for each of you to choose one of the remaining teams to compete against. These matchups will determine who you’ll face during the first live performance."

What Yoon Jihoon said made those who didn’t get a card nervous. Especially the teams who were grouped at random and were not picked by the current top 5 contestants in the rankings.

"I’ll give the five successful teams five minutes to discuss which team they’d like to compete against," Yoon Jihoon continued, his tone calm but firm. "The order of choosing will follow the order of the race. The team whose representative arrived first will pick first, followed by the second, and so on." He glanced at the clock before adding, "Your time starts now. Use it wisely."

After Yoon Jihoon’s announcement, the members of each team quickly gathered to discuss their next move. Taeyang walked back to where his team was waiting, and just as expected, he was holding the card with [Falling For You] written on it.

Robin clapped Taeyang’s shoulder cheerfully. "Good job!"

Park Seongwoo gave Taeyang a thumbs-up. "Nice work!"

Kim Joonhyuk chuckled. "That was impressive. You really left them in the dust."

Lee Minjae, on the other hand, simply nodded.

Taeyang didn’t react much to their praise, his expression as stoic as ever. Instead, his gaze shifted to Haneul.

Haneul wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but it almost felt like Taeyang was waiting for him to say something—maybe even praise him. The thought was ridiculous, though. It seemed that whenever it came to Taeyang, Haneul’s usually dormant imagination went into overdrive, conjuring up scenarios that probably didn’t exist.

He shook the thought and simply said with a smile, "You did great."

"Let’s quickly discuss which team we’ll choose to compete against," Lee Minjae interrupted. "In my opinion, we should pick a team with weaker vocals—maybe one of the groups that were randomly put together."

Park Seongwoo nodded. "That makes sense."

"It’s mercenary," Taeyang said, his voice laced with disapproval. "As a team, we have strong vocal abilities. If we go after a group with weaker vocals, it won’t look good. It’ll seem like we’re bullying them. If we’re going to compete, it should be against a team that can match us—one that can give as much as we can."

"I agree with Taeyang," Robin chimed in. "Going after a weaker team might give us an easy win, but it won’t leave much of an impression. We should aim for a strong match—it’ll make our performance more memorable." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Lee Minjae crossed his arms. "I get that, but this is a competition. The goal is to win, not to make things harder for ourselves. If we pick a weaker team, we increase our chances of getting those extra votes. Isn’t that what matters most?"

Taeyang shook his head. "Winning isn’t just about votes. If we go up against a strong team and deliver an unforgettable performance, it’ll leave a bigger impact. That’s what we need—something that stands out."

Lee Minjae frowned, his tone sharpening. "Standing out won’t keep us in the competition. Votes will. We’re here to survive, not to take unnecessary risks."

"Surviving isn’t enough," Taeyang shot back. "If we want to debut, we need to show we’re the best. And we can’t do that by playing it safe."

The tension between Taeyang and Lee Minjae was growing thicker by the second, and Haneul could feel the unease spreading through the group. Before things could escalate further, he stepped in.

"How about we take a vote?" Haneul suggested. "It’s the fairest way to decide."

Kim Joonhyuk quickly agreed. "Yes, let’s take a vote."

Robin agreed without hesitation. "Sounds fair to me."

Park Seongwoo hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Let’s do it."

Taeyang’s agreement came more firmly. "A vote indeed is the best way to settle this."

Lee Minjae, however, was the last to respond. His expression was skeptical, but after a brief pause, he reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Let’s vote."

The tension dissipated a bit, and Haneul took the lead. "So, who agrees with Minjae-ssi?"

Only Lee Minjae and Park Seongwoo raised their hands. The result was clear even before Haneul had to ask the next question.