CTFI 36

Chapter 36

“……!”

While the first and second team matches were going on, the fan gasped over and over again.

The arm-wrestling table almost broke apart, and during the thigh-wrestling match, one member even got thrown backward and hit the back of his head.

As expected from a bunch of hot-blooded young guys — their competitive spirit was no joke.

‘No!!!’

What if my boys get hurt?!
They’re all such hardworking kids — they wouldn’t even think to take it easy!
Tears were already welling up.

‘Please go easy! If you shed tears, I’ll be bleeding them out instead!’

But then—

[Title] Who’s that member arm-wrestling right now?
[Post] What’s with those arms? How can a face like that have biceps like that?

— Wow… his face looks so sweet, but his body is wicked.
— I’m a fan of another group, but honestly, I just fell a little.

[Title] Is he really an idol? Did they bring him from an athlete village or something?
[Post] LOL he must’ve trained at the national sports center.

— Maybe LumiS isn’t famous, but Ryu Sian will definitely be remembered.
└ LOL agreed.
└ LumiS, remember him too, please ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

The moment Ryu Sian went up on stage and shrugged off his jacket to hang it over a chair, the online community boards exploded.

“Oh my goodness…”

The fan, face flushed, stared blankly at the monitor as the corners of her mouth started to lift.
Her fingers were already poised to type something thirsty.

Rrrrr—

Her phone vibrated like crazy — a group chat with a few like-minded fan friends.
Messages poured in nonstop.

But their content was… unusual.

[Fan 1] You guys know “Hwaseon”?
[Fan 2] Of course. They were famous — lots of drama, lots of talent 😏
[Fan 3] Why?
[Fan 2] Used to be home master for Jin Dohyeon, but after he retired, they started shooting other idols too. Fans debated a lot — not quite a stan, not quite a photographer, kinda in between.
[Fan 3] Whoa… didn’t know that 😳
[Fan 2] But their photo quality was insane, so people couldn’t help but respect them.
[Fan 1] Back when I was in another fandom, Hwaseon once uploaded my bias’s best photo ever. It was so crazy good I followed them — and just never unfollowed. A few days ago, they posted something new.

(Photo: white background with big black text reading “Who is next.”)

[Fan 2] Oh! I saw that too.
[Fan 4] @[Fan 1] Who’s your current bias?
[Fan 1] @[Fan 4] It’s Sian now — I was talking about my old fandom 😂
[Fan 4] Why’d you leave your old bias?
[Fan 1] Scandal 😂 even my fave was involved.
[Fan 4] Ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 1] It’s fine — that trash left, and now Sian’s here 😎
[Fan 3] It’s fine~ Ding Ding Ding~
[Fan 1] (photo: Ryu Sian pushing back his wet hair)
[Fan 2] What are we supposed to do about his face!! ❤️❤️
[Fan 4] His flirting is lethal ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 1] That’s not even the main point though. Look at this. I actually stopped breathing.

(Photo) In the middle of a park, Baek Doha smiles brightly toward the sky, shading his eyes from sunlight with one hand.

“Gasp!”

The LumiS fan clutched her chest.

Seriously, if she didn’t, she might have gone into cardiac arrest right there.

[Fan 5] W-H-A-T?? Where did you get that???
[Fan 1] I legit almost died from breathlessness ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 2] ????? Are you kidding me?? That quality???
[Fan 3] THEY’RE BACK!!!!
[Fan 2] @[Fan 3] Who’s back???
[Fan 3] (emoji) My eyesight that had left home…
[Fan 2] LOL 😂😂😂
[Fan 4] Doha looks like a shōnen manga hero in this ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 6] He just raised his hand… and it’s already flirting. ㅠㅠㅠ
[Fan 7] PURE LIGHT!!!

Ding—

[Fan 1] Sharing the link (link)

Something bigger was waiting.

The fan clicked the link without even breathing.

A familiar logo appeared — Twex.

‘This is the legendary Hwaseon account?!’

The account was filled with fresh new posts — all from the past few days.

Scrolling down, photos of LumiS members appeared one by one:
Baek Doha’s sunlight photo, Ryu Sian’s charisma, Cha Eungyeol’s cold allure, Kang Ian’s bright grin, and Ha Jinwoo’s shy smile.

Color balance, framing, posing, timing — everything was perfect.

‘What… what’s going on!’

The fan covered her mouth, emotions swelling.

Even so, her eyes darted frantically between monitor and phone.

Rrrrr—

Other fans must’ve found the link too; her phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.

Their reactions were completely understandable.

‘Photos of LumiS… taken by Hwaseon, the top-tier fansite master known for legendary quality!’

Sure, some fans had uploaded their own shots before.
But compared to a true fansite master’s perfectly edited photos? Not even close.

Official fancams and recordings from music shows or variety appearances were just records.
These photos had love — the special flavor only a passionate fan could capture.

Being able to enjoy those kinds of photos again filled her heart with overwhelming joy.

“Haah!”

All those times she’d watched other fandoms gush over their fansite photos flashed through her mind like a movie.

‘Finally, finally…!’

LumiS had become someone’s lens’ “main character.”

Bursting with excitement, she was about to join the group chat frenzy when—

“I pick Jung Jae-yoon.”

On-screen, Ryu Sian had just finished his arm-wrestling match and lifted his head.

“Sian-ahhhh!!!”

Now it was time for thigh-wrestling.
But… something felt off.

Rrrrr—

[Fan 6] Ugh, Jung Jae-yoon’s attitude is so rude. Just because he’s from Vista? He’s talking to his seniors like that.
[Fan 3] Maybe he just wanted more screentime, but his eyes looked so hostile.
[Fan 2] Isn’t the camera focusing a lot on Beat12Y lately? Or am I overreacting?
[Fan 1] No, I think so too.

‘…So it’s not just me?’

Even she felt it — something off about Jung Jae-yoon.
His expressions, the way he looked at LumiS, that smirk.

‘Am I just being too sensitive?’

“Sorry for winning. I’ll apologize in advance.”

He said it with a mocking tone.

‘What’s that supposed to mean? Who are you to apologize?’

“Aaaaah!”

Riiip—!

On-screen, Jung Jae-yoon clutched his thigh and rolled on the floor.

“……”

The fan quietly reached for a can of soda.

Psshh— click!
The crisp sound of carbonation.

She took a long sip.

“Ahh!”

It was like all the pent-up frustration had been washed away at once.

* * *

Rrrrr—

Ruhwa’s phone vibrated.

[Park Miso] Was that good enough?
[Ruhwa] Great response. Your editing skills have gotten even better.
[Park Miso] Eh… I barely touched anything. The boys’ visuals did all the work.
[Ruhwa] “Did all the work,” huh?
[Park Miso] …Sir!
[Park Miso] (angry emoji)
[Ruhwa] I’ll count on you again (smiley emoji)
[Park Miso] Anyway, the program’s response was better than expected.
[Ruhwa] ???
[Park Miso] (link to a news article)

Ruhwa immediately clicked the link.

[Title: ‘RE:VIVAL’ Episode 2 Reaches Highest Rating of 1.1%]
[Content: (Photos: 6 group shots)

AMP MUSIC’s K-pop reboot survival show “RE:VIVAL” achieved its highest rating yet at 1.1% in Episode 2 — nearly double Episode 1’s peak of 0.6%.

Groups like Chrome and Starbolt, already well-known in the K-pop scene, joined the show alongside ToyBox, LumiS, and Spectrum, drawing viewer interest.
Meanwhile, Beat12Y from Vista Entertainment made their debut appearance on the program, further heating up competition.

Episode 1’s <Who We Are> stage showcased each group’s identity and individuality, while Episode 2 surprised viewers with fun, variety-style challenges.

The second round — <Position Battle> — pits each group’s representative members against one another in vocal, rap, and dance categories.
Episode 2 featured the dance battles; vocals and rap will air next week in Episode 3.

From Episode 3 onward, one group will be eliminated each week as the real survival begins.

Producer Kang Yoon-seok stated,

“We wanted to give a stage to talented teams that haven’t yet had their chance to shine.”

RE:VIVAL promises even more excitement ahead…]

“Episode 2’s peak rating was 1.1%, huh…”

Ruhwa’s eyes narrowed.

In recent years, idol competition shows had been in decline — whether variety, music, or survival programs.
Even big TV networks avoided the genre.

The idol industry had simply changed.
Nowadays, groups only promote on music shows for a week or two, then focus on concerts or overseas tours — much more profitable than domestic TV.

For agencies, it was a logical business move.
After all, raising an idol costs hundreds of millions of won.

Meanwhile, trot competitions and middle-aged-targeted shows thrived, since that audience still watched TV live.

But in that landscape, RE:VIVAL hitting 1.1% — almost double the premiere — was no small feat.

With numbers like that, making LumiS’ name known through this program wasn’t a pipe dream anymore.
Of course, it would take a killer performance to make it count.

Ding—

[Park Miso] Keep your promise.
[Ruhwa] ?
[Park Miso] …Sir!
[Ruhwa] ok ok 😂

Whirr—

Short fingers spun the mouse wheel.

“Not bad.”

The reactions were definitely positive.
Likes and shares on Park Miso’s Twex account — featuring LumiS members — were steadily climbing.

That old account thought forgotten was suddenly alive again.
Some longtime fans still remembered Hwaseon, spreading the word fast.

With LumiS’ visuals?

‘Who wouldn’t click at least once?’

Sure, they could’ve hired YouTubers, but with nothing solid to show yet, there was no need to risk fake hype scandals.

This much attention was plenty.

‘From here on… this is where it really starts.’