The Unpredictable Charms of HEX

The atmosphere within the studio was exceptionally congenial, so much so that I wondered if it was truly acceptable for a shoot to be this relaxed. The two MCs, occupying two of the seven chairs, offered not a single word of complaint to us, mere rookie nobodies who had arrived later than them.

I couldn’t quite place why it struck me as so awkward. I carefully maintained a neutral expression, choosing to remain silent, and soon enough, the filming began.

“Sparkling, shining stars in a high-quality broadcast!

“Star Room!”

Even though I had been on this show once before, I missed my cue for the title call, merely mouthing the words amidst the other members who followed it perfectly. Fortunately, it seemed no one noticed.

“Today, we’ve invited those at the center of attention, the monster rookies who have continued their number one streak since their debut single! Who comes to mind when you think of uniforms? Who comes to mind when you think of sexy? HEX has visited Star Room for the second time!”

Amidst the fervent cheers of the two MCs, our segment finally arrived.

“One, two.”

“Hello! We are HEX!”

Once again, I merely mouthed the words. It wasn’t that I felt uncomfortable being part of another group at this point; rather, I had anticipated that the guys beside me wouldn’t deliver the kind of rigid, disciplined greeting typical of most rookies. Fortunately, my prediction proved accurate.

Instead, Lee Sang-joo, the main MC and a variety show veteran in his forties, seemed to have misunderstood something, for he was smiling warmly at us, much like a friendly neighborhood uncle.

“Yohan, are you nervous? You’ve been frozen stiff since earlier.”

“No, not exactly…”

‘Not really…’ I started to deny, but Lee Seon cut me off, interjecting with a burst of words.

“Ugh. Why are you acting so unlike yourself? He’s just playing a character right now!”

He clung to me familiarly, feigning light slaps on my back. ‘What’s this? Why are *you* acting like this?’ While he was usually quite lively, I found myself struggling to adapt to his suddenly elevated energy, which was so high it almost suggested mania.

Lee Sang-joo seemed to take Lee Seon’s words at face value. He chuckled heartily, responding with a ‘So that’s what it was, then?’ ‘So that’s what it was…?’

“Indeed. Yohan didn’t even tremble the first time he came here. That was probably filmed before your debut, wasn’t it? It’s good that HEX has such strong maknaes. You should learn from them, Dae-yeol.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. You. Shave your beard too, huh?”

Moon Dae-yeol, the sub-MC whose trademark was a beard like that of a mountain bandit, wrinkled his nose and chuckled.

“Even if I shaved more than just my beard, I wouldn’t have a face like that.”

“Who’s talking about faces? We’re talking about variety show sense. Right, Lee Seon?”

Lee Seon pouted, grumbling in response.

“Why is Yohan called Yohan, and I’m just Lee Seon? That’s really unfair. Don’t use my family name, just call me Seon!”

Seeing him whine like a child, a sudden urge to tease him welled up within me. I made brief eye contact with the camera that was following me, then blinked my eyes wide, enough to make it look overtly preposterous.

Then, with my thumb and forefinger, I gently tugged at Seon’s sleeve, whispering in a soft, sweet tone.

“Seona… what are we going to do if you blame the hyungs for you not being as cute as me?”

“Pfft.”

At my words, Yoon Jihyuk, who had been quiet until then, burst into laughter. The way he primly covered his mouth with his sleeve was equally preposterous. Meanwhile, Han Doyoung, who had been sitting with his legs casually crossed, gazed at Lee Seon with an utterly pathetic expression.

Lee Seon, trembling slightly and glancing between me and the other members, glared at Han Doyoung like a small dog that had completely lost its fear.

“What! What!”

‘He really is like a Maltese, I swear.’ Han Doyoung retorted indifferently.

“So, what’s your stage name?”

“…”

With an aggrieved expression, Lee Seon hung his head low and mumbled his reply.

“Lee Seon.”

“And what’s his stage name?”

“…Yohan.”

A brief silence fell. Soon, Han Doyoung asked in a gravely serious tone.

“Are you an idiot?”

To Lee Seon, who was vehemently protesting ‘I am not!’, Choi Seung-beom offered a serious piece of advice.

“Why don’t you ask the CEO to change your stage name?”

“Aargh!”

Lee Seon shrieked, clutching his head with both hands as he slumped to the floor. In other words, Choi Seung-beom had inadvertently delivered the final blow.

The MCs and staff burst into laughter at the sight of his antics. As I watched the somewhat pathetic scene unfold, Yoon Jihyuk’s words came to mind.

‘He’s so good at this, yet he still pulls stunts like that.’

‘Yes. They’ve certainly secured enough airtime.’

Once the atmosphere had ripened, we concluded with a brief introduction of the members and our current album. Then, Lee Sang-joo asked us how we felt about our streak of first-place wins. Yoon Jihyuk, with a benevolent expression, humbly attributed our success to external contributors like the album’s composers. However, the usual troublemakers, for some reason, paid no heed to the leader’s watchful eye today.

“We’re Unique, after all.”

As Lee Seon boasted,

“And at debut, we essentially had an easy win.”

Han Doyoung countered with a wry smile.

I wasn’t sure how to interpret the context, but both statements held true. We had indeed received the full backing of one of the top five major idol agencies in the country, and by chance, our promotions didn’t overlap with any so-called ‘top-tier’ groups that would have fiercely contested the number one spot. It had been a smooth, silken path laid out before us.

Since he couldn’t exactly respond with ‘That’s right, you guys were just empty house burglars,’ Lee Sang-joo fumbled and flipped his cue card.

‘That’ll be edited out, right?’ It was obvious what kind of repercussions such remarks would cause if they aired.

“Alright! Now that introductions are done, shall we move on to the first segment? Dae-yeol, please explain the segment.”

“Yes, for this segment, one member at a time will pick a question card from this box. Then, you just go up behind the member who best fits the description on the question card and give them a warm hug.”

“We kindly ask you to keep the question content a secret even after filming, for the sake of enjoying the main broadcast later.”

“The order will be, hmm… shall we start with the maknaes, who showed us such an entertaining side earlier?”

“Then it will be Yohan, Lee Seon, Doyoung, Seung-beom, Jihyuk. We’ll go in that order.”

The two MCs exuberantly shouted the segment’s name, ‘Find Me!’ As the first one called, I calmly stepped forward, drew one of the papers from the box, and unfolded it.

[Which member is the scariest when they get angry?]

“Hmm…”

After showing the paper to the camera once, I handed it to Lee Sang-joo.

“Oh, this looks like quite a difficult choice!”

Though he spoke teasingly, I didn’t hesitate, striding purposefully forward. My destination was directly behind Yoon Jihyuk. The staff seemed quite intrigued by the situation.

I offered a faint smile to the camera, then embraced Yoon Jihyuk.

“What was it?”

He asked softly, his voice tinged with amusement, showing no surprise. He had already caught my wrist, just as I was about to pull away.

“If it’s hyung, it must be something good.”

At Lee Seon’s grumbling, delivered with a slightly sulky expression, Choi Seung-beom nodded in agreement. Han Doyoung, however, watched us with a thoroughly suspicious look.

Yoon Jihyuk’s eyes widened as he looked up at me.

“Is it good?”

“Well, it depends on how you interpret it. But I didn’t choose you with bad intentions.”

Immediately, the MCs’ eyes lit up, and they asked why I had chosen Yoon Jihyuk. Only then was I able to release my arms and step back.

‘How should I explain this without revealing the question?’ After a moment of thought, I spoke in a meaningful tone.

“You’ll know once you spend some time with him.”

Small gasps could be heard from various corners.

Next, it was Lee Seon’s turn. He stepped forward and picked a paper. He hopped around, making a fuss, as if he had received a particularly difficult question to answer.

“This is… *huff*…”

He approached us, who were sitting with slightly furrowed brows, and began to pace behind our chairs. When Lee Sang-joo asked, ‘Is it a hard one to choose from?’ Lee Seon nodded frantically.

“Well, Jihyuk-hyung and Seung-beom-hyung are definitely not it.”

At his words, Yoon Jihyuk’s lips curled into a slight smile.

“Must be something bad, then.”

‘Is that how it is, then… Indeed, Choi Seung-beom, though a bit blunt, had a personality with hardly any flaws, and Lee Seon was particularly fond of Yoon Jihyuk.’

A question that would make him agonize between Han Doyoung and Kwon Yohan. I found myself growing a little curious.

Lee Seon agonizingly deliberated for a long time, then, seemingly having made up his mind, he took a step. Soon after, his weight settled on my back.

“…Me?”

When our eyes met, Lee Seon grinned like a mischievous child.

“Honestly, I thought choosing Doyoung-hyung would be funnier. I would have a few days ago, but seeing how he’s been acting lately, I can’t help but think it’s him. Ah, no? Can’t I just pick two people?”

“No, you cannot! Lee Seon, please take your seat.”

At the MC’s sharp reply, Lee Seon pouted and sat back down. Next was Han Doyoung’s turn. As soon as Han Doyoung picked a paper, he raised one eyebrow and then held up his hand to ask the MC a question.

“Can I just think about myself, excluding all the additional options?”

“What are these ‘additional options’?”

Han Doyoung glanced at me, then scratched the back of his head and replied,

“…Money?”

The MCs burst into laughter and told him to do as he pleased. Han Doyoung then strode forward without hesitation and tightly embraced me. It felt less like being hugged and more like being captured.

Moon Dae-yeol crossed his arms, looking at us with an intrigued expression.

“That’s unexpected. You don’t look like you’d be like that at all.”

Han Doyoung quirked one side of his mouth into a rather unpleasant smirk. The arms wrapped around me tightened. Then, perhaps deliberately, he rested his chin on my shoulder and spoke.

“Because he’s such a young master.”

The voice was too close. The sensation of my insides tingling unpleasantly was unsettling. I tried to twist away, but he held me fast, making it even more irksome.

Despite being the one who had made such a cringeworthy remark, Han Doyoung tilted his head, looking at my reaction as if it were strange. He finally released his arms only after I gritted my teeth and whispered, ‘Let go.’

Choi Seung-beom immediately chose Lee Seon after receiving his question card, and Yoon Jihyuk hesitated for a moment before choosing me. Naturally, the MCs asked me how I felt about being chosen three times, and I replied with a preposterous smile,

“I guess the hyungs love me too much.”

Lee Seon and Han Doyoung’s faces crumpled.