Hyun Woo's hand trembled as he gripped his voice recorder, his eyes darting between the security monitor and the sleek, encrypted phone in Kang-joon's hand.
Kang-joon, for his part, didn't move.
He didn't lunged for the recorder or try to intimidate the visual with his Sanda skills. Instead, he let out a long, weary sigh...the sigh of a man who had explained the same concept to ninety-six different toddlers.
"Hyun Woo-ssi," Kang-joon said, his voice dropping into a tone of clinical concern.
"Do you know why your high notes have been sounding slightly 'airy' lately? Not cracked, just... textured in a way that wasn't there during the first month of training?"
Hyun Woo blinked, his aggressive stance faltering.
"I—it's just fatigue...Everyone is tired."
Kang-joon stepped closer, clicking off the security monitor with a casual flick of his wrist. "It's a vocal chord cyst, early stage on the left side.
It's a common occupational hazard for visuals who push their chest voice to compensate for lack of support.
If you report me to the PDs now, the ensuing stress and the mandatory 18-hour rehearsal for the 'Unit Formation' will cause it to rupture. You'll need surgery, and Starline will drop you before the anesthesia wears off."
Hyun Woo's face went from pale to ghostly. He was a man who lived and died by his image; the idea of a physical defect was more terrifying than any corporate conspiracy. "How... how could you possibly know that?" Kang-joon offered a faint, enigmatic smile.
"I have a hobby of studying sports medicine and laryngeal anatomy.
I was looking at the security footage to see if anyone tampered with the humidifier in the vocal room...I suspected that's why you were struggling."
He held out a small, unopened bottle of premium throat spray he'd kept in his pocket. "Take it.
Use it every four hours. And delete the recording...
Kang-joon glanced at Hyun-woo a bit intensely than usual seeing him as a potential threat. But he dismissed it.
'He's probably just confused...'
"I'm not sinking the company, Hyun Woo...
I'm ensuring that the team doesn't have a mute visual."
The silence that followed was broken by the sound of the 'delete' beep on the recorder. Hyun Woo snatched the throat spray, looking at Kang-joon with a mix of terror and deep, confusing gratitude.
"You're a freak, Hyung...you know that?"
"I've been told," Kang-joon replied, his heart rate finally settling.
***
The following morning, the atmosphere in the dorms was uncharacteristically light.
With the 72-hour contract delay in effect, the production team had pivoted.
They couldn't force the trainees to sign, so they decided to monetize their "rest."
The Top 18 were piled into a bus and driven to a high-end suburban cafe for a 'Healing & Branding' event.
The mission was simple: a three-hour V-Live stream sponsored by 'Glow-Up Vitamin Water' and 'Crispy-Choco Sticks.'
"Alright, everyone! Look happy! Look refreshed!" the assistant PD shouted, waving a selfie stick.
"Kang-joon, try not to look like you're calculating the caloric density of the chocolate!"
Kang-joon sat at a sun-drenched table, flanked by a beaming Jae-hyun and a brooding but perfectly styled Min-soo.
In front of them sat an array of sponsored snacks arranged with mathematical precision. Jae-hyun immediately tore into a packet of Choco Sticks, his puppy-like energy radiating through the camera lens.
"Everyone! Are you watching? We worked so hard on 'Ethereal' and 'Ignition,' and now we finally get to eat!"
Min-soo, ever the professional idol, picked up a bottle of Vitamin Water, tilted it so the label faced the camera perfectly, and took a slow, aesthetic sip that belonged in a high-budget commercial.
"It's so refreshing after a long practice," he said, flashing a wink that sent the 'heart' count on the bottom of the screen into a frenzy.
Kang-joon, meanwhile, was staring at a Choco Stick as if it were a complex architectural blueprint.
He knew from Loop #33 that this specific brand had a tendency to crumble and leave chocolate on the teeth...a nightmare for a close-up live stream.
He carefully broke the stick into three equal pieces and placed one in his mouth with the grace of a tea ceremony master.
"Hyung, why are you eating it like that?"
Jae-hyun giggled, leaning into the camera.
"Is it 'Artistic Merit' chocolate?"
Kang-joon looked directly into the lens, his expression deadpan.
"I am optimizing the flavor-to-texture ratio while maintaining visual hygiene," he said. The comment section, which had been a stream of 'Min-soo Marry Me' and 'Jae-hyun Puppy,' suddenly shifted.
[V-LIVE REAL-TIME CHAT]
@ProfessorStan: DID HE JUST SAY VISUAL HYGIENE?? LMAO
@EtherealWhore: Kang-joon is a literal robot and I love him. He's protecting his teeth for us.
@CookieMonster: Look at how he broke it! He's so precise. He's the 'Efficiency King.'
@MemeMaker: New meme unlocked: Kang-joon eating snacks like a diamond cutter.
The stream continued for two hours, filled with wholesome chaos.
Min-soo and Jae-hyun got into a playful 'spicy ramyeon' challenge that ended with Min-soo's face turning the color of a beet, much to the fans' delight.
Kang-joon, acting as the 'calm middle-man,' spent the rest of the time folding the empty snack wrappers into perfect origami cranes, which he then 'gifted' to the camera.
It was a masterclass in 'weird but endearing' variety skills that he'd picked up over time.
By the time the bus headed back to the dorms, the internet was already saturated with clips from the 'Healing Stream.'
Small, dedicated forums began to pop up, moving away from the main 'Road to Starlight' board to focus on specific trainees.
The largest, 'The Kang-joon Analysis Lounge,' was already trending on several community sites.
[THE KANG-JOON ANALYSIS LOUNGE - FORUM POST]
User: LogicIsSexy
Title: Is Kang-joon actually a genius or just very, very weird? A Thread.
I've been tracking his moves since the first episode.
* The 'Ethereal' lift wasn't just pretty; it used center-of-gravity physics usually seen in professional ballet.
* In today's live, he folded 12 origami cranes in under 5 minutes without looking down.
* Did anyone catch the way he handled that weird security guard last night? I saw a blurry fan-cam near the exit. He moved like a pro.
Conclusion: He's a 'Natural Born Leader' who treats the idol industry like a game of chess. We aren't just fans; we're his students. #ProfessorKangJoon #RoadToStarlight
[Comments]
@KpopTheory: I heard he's actually a former medical student? Someone on Twitly said he diagnosed a staff member's cold just by looking at them.
@MinsooStan_Official: I'm a Min-soo fan, but I have to admit, seeing Kang-joon calm him down today with those cranes was actually really sweet. They're like the 'Mom and Dad' of the Top 18.
@DetectiveL: Look at the way the PDs look at him. They aren't telling him what to do; they're waiting to see what HE does.
---
While the fans were theorizing, the trainees were bonding over the simple joy of not being in the practice rdoes
Back at the dorm, Min-soo had somehow smuggled in a box of extra-spicy fried chicken, and the Top 18 were huddled on the floor of the common room, sharing stories.
"I used to work three part-time jobs just to afford dance lessons," Ji-won, the 'Anchor' Wild Card, shared, his voice thick with emotion.
"I thought this show was my last chance before I gave up and just became a teacher."
"You're not giving up, Ji-won-ssi," Kang-joon said, handing him a napkin.
"The data shows you have the highest 'Loyalty Rating' among the fans over 25. You're the person they want to see succeed most because you represent their own struggles."
Ji-won looked at him, startled.
"Data? You... you really think so?"
"I know so," Kang-joon said, and for once, he wasn't just thinking about survival metrics.
He was looking at the faces of these boys...boys who, in ninety-six other lives, had often ended up as footnotes in a tragic industry story.
In this life, because of his 'Efficiency,' they were eating chicken and laughing.
Jae-hyun leaned his head on Kang-joon's shoulder, half-asleep and covered in chocolate crumbs.
"Hyung... thanks for the 72 hours.
It feels like we're a real group now."
Kang-joon didn't pull away.
For tonight, the only thing that mattered was that the chicken was hot, the fans were happy, and for the first time in 97 lives, he wasn't the only one trying to survive.
As the night deepened, a small notification popped up before Kang-joon's eyes.
[System Notification: Collective Morale has reached Level: 'Solidarity'. New Passive Skill Unlocked: [Group Harmony (B)]. Description: When the Host acts in the interest of the group, the risk of 'Individual Accidents' for all members decreases by 15%.]
Kang-joon stared at the screen.