Chapter 1066: Overcooked (19)

Dodgeball.

A sport that just about everyone had played at least once during their school years.

And I happened to have a rather deep connection with it myself.

"I was incredibly good at dodging."

"Huh?"

Ri Hyuk looked at me as though that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Aren't you good at every sport?"

"No. There was a time when I was terrible."

"People don't suddenly go from having awful athletic ability to being good. That's impossible."

"Scientifically impossible?"

"Not completely. Normally, electrical signals from the brain travel through the spinal cord and motor neurons before reaching the muscles. If something goes wrong there, athletic ability can deteriorate. So technically the reverse could happen too, but realistically..."

Listening closely, what he was really saying was that humanities majors and science majors simply weren't compatible.

"Wait, where was I?"

"You said you were bad at sports in school but good at dodgeball."

"Ah, right."

I looked at the others.

"Even though I sucked at every other sport, I was amazing at dodgeball. I had a reputation for it."

"A reputation?"

"I dodged in a very unusual way."

People with poor athletic ability often develop truly bizarre evasive maneuvers.

Someone would calculate the ball's trajectory and throw accordingly.

Then I'd dodge it in a completely nonsensical manner.

They'd predict where I would move.

I'd move off-beat instead.

-THUD!

-Got him!

-THUD clap clap.

It was like performing a complicated rhythm pattern with my entire body.

-Whooo...

-There?

-...Wooooong clap clap!

-Hey!

-THUD clap clap THUD clap clap!

A true klutz doesn't even understand why his own body moves the way it does.

Even I didn't know which direction I was about to dodge.

How was anyone else supposed to know?

-Ah! Why won't Sun Wooju die?!

-Hohohoho! You think I'll go down that easily?! I watched King of Dodgeball on Tooniverse yesterday!

-Teacher! Sun Wooju's taunting us!

-Wooju's just excited. You kids should let it slide. He needs to have fun exercising sometimes too...

-Teacher! Sun Wooju is mocking us while doing that weird dance!

-That's not dancing. His legs are probably cramping. Look, he's gasping for air...

I could almost see the face of my elementary school gym teacher desperately trying to calm down a crowd of furious children while clutching a whistle.

Anyway.

"I was ridiculously hard to hit. Whenever we had inter-class tournaments, I'd always be one of the last people standing and we'd win."

"Oh."

"The downside was that the kids from the other classes hated me."

"..."

"Though buying them snacks afterward usually solved the problem."

For that reason, dodgeball had been one of my favorite sports since childhood.

Which was why, despite feeling a little burdened by the broadcast aspect of the event, I was secretly excited about competing.

"So that's why you're watching King of Dodgeball?"

"I've already watched all the serious material. This is just entertainment now."

Ever since we agreed to participate in Supernova Dodgeball, I'd watched every relevant video I could find.

At this point, the only thing left was wildly exaggerated cartoons.

It was similar to when we filmed the NewNiverse cooking special and ended up watching cooking anime after exhausting all the actual reference footage.

Junghyun scrolled through my saved MyTube videos with an amazed expression.

"I haven't watched any of this."

"You don't need to. Just show up."

"I think you could probably do the same."

"This is just a habit."

After all, now that I'd acquired these unusual athletic instincts, letting them go to waste felt like a shame.

I loved learning.

So I'd used the opportunity to physically master everything I could about dodgeball.

I turned to Junghyun.

"Did you at least read the rules?"

"The rules?"

"Yeah. Dodgeball."

"Isn't dodgeball just dodgeball? We already know the rules."

I beckoned him closer.

"Dodgeball and what we played in school are actually different. They're technically the same sport, but..."

The words themselves meant the same thing.

The Korean word literally meant "avoiding a ball."

The English word dodgeball meant essentially the same thing.

The rules, however, were completely different.

Biju tilted his head.

"Huh? It's not like what we played in school?"

"Nope."

I showed them footage from international dodgeball tournaments.

"In America, once you're out, there's no standing outside the court throwing balls back in like we did at school."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And there's not just one ball."

In the video, the referee lined up six balls along the center line.

"Basically, the whistle blows, everyone sprints to the middle, fights for the balls, and starts throwing."

The balls weren't volleyballs either.

Apparently they were made of a soft material that didn't hurt much when they hit you.

Though I'd have to feel one myself before I believed it.

I spoke seriously.

"It's not easy. There could be a situation where I have to dodge six balls flying at me at once."

"...What kind of sport are you imagining?"

"I'm preparing for every possibility."

I showed them the uniform concept that Halley had sent over.

"The Korean flag is on the shoulder this time. We're competing with our nation's honor on the line."

"Do you think the rest of Korea actually agreed to that?"

"Junghyun."

"Eeeeeek! Stop stuffing snacks into my mouth! I'm an adult now!"

After silencing the youngest with a cookie, I continued explaining the rules to Junghyun.

Soon we were completely synchronized.

"Junghyun. The time has come to demonstrate the power of South Korea, a great sporting nation."

"I'll throw until my body breaks."

"Hehehehe!"

"Hoho! Hohoho!"

As everyone around us stared with growing concern, the skyline of New York gradually appeared beyond the airplane window.

After arriving in New York and finishing our guest appearance recording for The Alan Dale Show...

We rested at the hotel before heading to Madison Square Garden early the next morning.

No matter how much we'd prepared for Supernova Dodgeball, the real focus was still the performance.

"Wow."

Even though the event hadn't started yet, the area outside Madison Square Garden was already chaotic.

Official vehicles were everywhere.

The NYPD had established extensive security barriers.

Suspiciously large vans were parked throughout the area.

And scattered among them were soldiers wearing black uniforms, body armor, and submachine guns.

I wasn't entirely sure which agency they belonged to.

Min Ki Hyung glanced at his phone.

"The agency said security's going to be pretty intense today. Something about the First Lady being here and the Secret Service..."

Ri Hyuk nodded.

"The White House security detail."

"Right. Anyway, apparently they're checking everything. There was even a fake terrorist threat a few days ago."

"Ah..."

That explained why simply entering for rehearsal was such a hassle.

Security personnel wearing sunglasses and earpieces carefully verified each person's identity.

"Name?"

"Sun Wooju."

"Please sign here."

"Okay."

After clearing security, Jiho whispered while looking around.

"Wow. I've never seen this many huge people in one place."

"Same."

Several of them clearly had pistol holsters at their waists.

Yet somehow it felt like getting punched by them would hurt more than getting shot.

"The fact that Junghyun Hyung looks small..."

At the youngest's comment, Junghyun nodded happily.

"Am I cute today?"

"..."

Nobody answered.

As Junghyun wilted in disappointment, I beckoned him over.

"Come here. The only person in this group who thinks you're cute is standing right here."

"I knew I could count on you."

After properly appreciating our very large child, we greeted the event staff.

We exchanged pleasantries with the broadcast crew busily setting up cameras.

And then met the overall director in charge of the event.

Thin frame.

Horn-rimmed glasses.

"Hello. I'm Josh Liu."

A Chinese American.

And someone who happened to share a connection with us.

Not directly.

He knew Kim Bora.

"Deborah and I attended film school together. I've heard a lot about you through her. I'm really looking forward to Sound of the Sun."

I hadn't worked with him before.

Yet I already had a feeling he was exceptionally capable.

After all, appointing an Asian American as the creative director for a major U.S.-Canada event already felt like proof of talent.

Josh Liu smiled.

"As you probably saw in the schedule, NewBlack's stage is essentially the closing performance. We'll have opening support performances from representatives of both countries first. Since you've performed at the Olympics, you already know the general atmosphere."

"Yes."

The structure sounded similar to Pyeongchang.

First there would be national pride segments.

"Canada doesn't have this."

"America doesn't have that."

Then speeches about friendship between the nations.

Comments from the First Ladies.

The actual forty-minute match.

Commercial breaks.

A one-hour broadcast.

And finally the closing celebration.

A festive atmosphere where everyone relaxed and enjoyed themselves.

Five artists in total—American and Canadian—would perform congratulatory stages, including us.

"The competition for these slots was fierce."

Josh Liu laughed.

"A lot of agencies fought hard to get their artists included. In the end, we chose NewBlack."

"Thank you."

"Most importantly, the song is fantastic. That was the biggest factor. And then there was Halley Blue's... rather forceful recommendation."

"I-I see."

I should definitely thank Halley later.

I had no idea what she'd done, but the moment her name came up, a shadow crossed the director's face.

He smiled awkwardly.

"After the announcement that NewBlack had been selected, Moonlight kept requesting a performance slot too. Unfortunately, they didn't make the cut. The American side was just too competitive."

Apparently the available performance spots had been divided between the United States and Canada.

Moonlight hadn't been able to beat the other legendary American artists.

Then everyone had fought over the final remaining slot.

And Halley had somehow secured it for us.

Yeah.

I definitely owed her a serious thank-you.

"Shall we begin rehearsal?"

"Yes."

We started rehearsing with the American dance team already on site.

Since Overcooked emphasized fun more than difficult choreography, the performance itself wasn't particularly demanding.

Which meant we could rehearse comfortably without any pressure—

"Hm?"

Junghyun suddenly squinted toward the farthest corner of the arena.

"What is it?"

"I think someone's hiding over there."

"...Lying down?"

"Yeah. It looks like someone's lying prone and watching us."

The spot had been camouflaged well enough that it was hard to notice.

At this distance it looked no larger than a dot.

Still, I could see what Junghyun meant.

It really did feel as though someone was watching us.

The members immediately hid behind Junghyun and me.

"Let's tell the director."

So we informed Josh Liu.

"Oh. Nothing to worry about."

"Really?"

"Yes. That's probably a Secret Service sniper. There were terrorist threats, after all."

"..."

"You see the same thing at major events like the Super Bowl. Shall we continue?"

"..."

It was my first time rehearsing a performance in front of armed spectators.

As the youngest group among the five closing performers, we finished our rehearsal first.

The other artists gradually arrived and began theirs.

Among them was a goddess-like woman with blue hair.

"You brats! We really do keep running into each other."

"That means you're happy to see us, right? We're happy to see you too, Halley."

We exchanged high-fives.

My palm stung.

The superstar smacked my side with her elbow.

"You heard how much work I put in for you, right?"

"Thank you."

"We split the five performance slots two and two. Then fought like hell over the last one. And I won."

"Please tell me you didn't threaten anyone."

I'd intended it as a joke.

I expected a response along the lines of, What kind of person do you think I am?

Instead—

Freeze.

Halley suddenly stiffened.

Huh?

She froze...

Staring into the distance, she said,

"Sometimes people make questionable choices in life. You should always be strict with others and generous with yourself."

"...Thank you anyway."

"That's right! Be grateful!"

Her eyes sparkled.

"And if you're grateful, then give it everything you've got today. We're going to kick America's ass together!"

"I-I'll do my best."

"By the way, do you even know what dodgeball is?"

"I watched videos."

"Watching videos and playing are completely different. Come here."

We followed Halley onto the court.

The opening cheer squads were filing out as the basketball court transformed into a dodgeball arena.

"Let's do a quick practice round."

She waved toward someone.

"Jake!"

"It's Jacob..."

Moonlight's Canadian member, Jacob Ryan, jogged over like an obedient ball boy.

After exchanging greetings, Halley said:

"Help us practice."

"Okay."

"Since you're the weak mascot who survives on being cute, you should at least be useful."

"I know."

Grumbling, Jacob helped set up the balls.

The younger members joined him.

Then Halley pointed.

"Run over there, grab a ball, and throw at the target."

"Got it."

Junghyun and I took a running start.

We sprinted.

Grabbed our balls.

The expressions on Jacob and everyone else's faces seemed to slow down.

Quickly secure the ball...

I rotated my body slightly.

Throw.

Using the same motion I'd studied in all those dodgeball videos, I released the ball.

The soft foam ball shot forward.

PAAAAAANG!

The impact against the wall produced a terrifying explosion-like sound.

Everyone froze.

"Looks like all that practice paid off."

"Sure did."

Junghyun and I exchanged a crisp high-five before turning around.

Everyone was staring.

Mouths hanging open.

Jacob was rubbing his eyes in confusion.

Meanwhile Halley was applauding.

"I knew my judgment was flawless! You adorable, talented little monsters!"

Junghyun's ball was partially flattened.

Only our members seemed unsurprised.

As they nodded calmly, I noticed people staring from a distance.

"..."

"..."

The security personnel who'd been installing transparent protective barriers for VIP guests.

"Bring a longer one."

"Yes, sir."

Watching them extend the barrier even farther, I cleared my throat.

For some reason Jacob suddenly seemed much more polite while arranging the balls.

"Good. That's the spirit."

Eyes gleaming with excitement, Halley grabbed Junghyun and me.

"We don't have much time. Practice! Practice!"

"Yes!"

While we trained with Halley Blue and Jacob Ryan...

More celebrities began arriving.

"Did you hear what the security guard said? He asked me to prove who I am. Does he seriously not recognize me on sight?"

"They made me give my real name all the way to the end. Humiliating."

Famous personalities complained about the strict security procedures.

One by one, the participants arrived in casual clothing and greeted each other.

Since this was a sporting event, there were plenty of unfamiliar faces.

While making our rounds, we spotted an elderly man standing alone like an isolated island among the crowd.

"Hello!"

"Hm."

A sixty-something Black man.

Two meters ten centimeters tall.

He looked down at us curiously.

"Don't think I've seen you before. Who are...?"

"We're NewBlack."

"Ah. I see. I'm Lenny Jones."

Junghyun's eyes immediately lit up.

No surprise there.

Lenny Jones was one of the legends who had dominated the NBA in the past.

Even the grainy old footage I'd watched while studying basketball contained countless highlights from his career.

"Oh!"

The NBA legend spoke.

"Come to think of it, Cold mentioned your name once. You know him?"

"Yes."

"I thought so."

After shaking hands, he said:

"Since we're talking anyway, would you help me warm up? The others I was supposed to practice with haven't arrived yet."

"Of course."

As we tossed the ball back and forth with one of the American representatives...

"This isn't enough of a workout. Throw one properly."

"Properly?"

"With everything you've got."

He wanted to practice catching.

I nodded.

Not too hard.

Just using the most efficient motion possible.

I rotated my body and released the ball.

FWOOOOOSH!

As expected, he caught it effortlessly.

POP!

"Was that okay?"

"..."

"Sir?"

But the look in his eyes wavered slightly.

Why?

The NBA legend stared at me as though he'd witnessed something unbelievable.

Then he asked:

"Young man..."

"Yes?"

"Do you happen to have any Black ancestors?"

"...What?"