Falling for the Omega Idol-Chapter 132: DEFENDING HIM

HARU’S eyes glittered with excitement, clearly loving the idea. Then the brightness dimmed slightly, a worried look crossing his face. "Would that really be okay? I mean... wouldn’t it take too much of your time?"

"It would take both of our time," Haneul corrected. "I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not a good dancer. I only know the basics—maybe not even that much. So believe me when I say I’m not offering out of the goodness of my heart. I’m doing this because we’ll both benefit from it."

Haneul’s words made Haru think back to their theme song shoot. He’d been so focused on appealing to the camera that he hadn’t paid much attention to others. He wasn’t sure if Haneul was truly as bad a dancer as he claimed, but he knew Haneul must have strong vocals—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been the first pick when the top five were choosing teammates.

So, Haru wouldn’t lose anything by agreeing to Haneul’s suggestion. In fact, as the other had said, it would likely benefit him immensely. There was truly no reason to refuse. Still, he was worried about one thing. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"But will we even have time to practice together?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry.

Haneul understood Haru’s concern. With the live vocal performance just two weeks away, every team would be focused on preparing their performances. Finding extra time for personal practice seemed impossible. But where there’s a will, there’s a way—and Haneul had will in abundance. He just hoped Haru had the same.

"If you’re okay with it, we could set aside specific hours each day—maybe from 11 PM to midnight. Our teams probably won’t be practicing then," he suggested. "We could also use part of our lunch breaks to work together. And any other free time we find, we could dedicate to this. What do you think?"

Haru seemed to ponder the suggestion. Then his eyes brightened again—this time with determination. "Okay, let’s do it, hyung!"

Haneul smiled. "Great."

***

Haneul entered the private lounge on the upper deck, where individual interviews were being held. Cameras, of course, were positioned around the room. A staff member directed him to sit on the stool at the center. Behind the camera in front of the stool, another staff member sat holding a stack of papers. As soon as Haneul took his seat, the staff member greeted him.

"Hello, Haneul-ssi."

Haneul gave a slight bow. "Hello."

The staff member glanced down at the stack of papers in his hand and asked, as if reading the question directly from the page, "Can you tell us about your experience during the public audition?"

Hearing the question, Haneul immediately understood the interview’s purpose. In an idol survival show like this, contestant footage was often superimposed with their internal thoughts during key moments. For example, during evaluation rounds like those in Idol Producer, featured contestants would have pre-performance interview clips inserted. This technique wasn’t limited to performances—it extended to dramatic or pivotal scenes as well. Haneul was certain Boys Odyssey would follow the same formula. At least, for this matter.

"I was very nervous at first," he admitted, voice softening at the memory. "It was my first audition ever. I kept worrying I’d make some obvious mistake and get cut immediately." He paused briefly, then a smile appeared on his lips. "I’m just grateful the judges saw potential in me and let me passed through."

"You said this was your first audition—does that mean you’d never considered becoming an idol before?" the staff asked.

"No, it’s more like I never had the courage to attend any auditions before," Haneul answered honestly.

The staff continued asking questions, and Haneul answered each one as honestly as he could.

***

By dinner time, all the individual interviews and introductory videos had been filmed.

Haneul and Robin met up, and they both went to the dining hall. They immediately saw Taeyang because the other was sitting near the entrance. Taeyang lifted his head at that moment and met Haneul’s eyes. Haneul thought Taeyang would just give his usual cold nod, but this time, his nod was much more friendly? If that was even possible. Or maybe he’s still the same and Haneul was just imagining things because that’s what he wanted to see.

He shook his head and simply nodded back at Taeyang. Then he and Robin joined the line to get food.

"Oh, there’s Kim Joonhyuk and Park Seongwoo," Robin said, glancing toward the entrance.

Haneul turned and saw the two. They appeared to have noticed Taeyang as well. After exchanging greetings, they joined the line.

"It’s only Lee Minjae left. Argh. I hope that guy won’t cause problems intentionally," Robin said, grumbling the last part, obviously not wanting anyone aside from Haneul to hear him.

"I’m sure he’s not stupid enough to risk elimination just because of whatever problem he might have had," Haneul replied.

"I really hope so, but I’ve known too many Alphas like him—his type, you know?"

Haneul tilted his head. "What do you mean by ’his type’?"

Robin shrugged. "Alphas with inferiority complexes who can’t stand being outshone—especially by other dominant Alphas. So they lash out, trying to knock down the Alpha who makes them feel inadequate."

At Robin’s words, Lee Minjae’s actions earlier suddenly made sense to Haneul. Of course, he had noticed that something was wrong with the way the other was acting, but he didn’t expect it was because of inferiority. He just thought that Lee Minjae didn’t like that his opinion was not chosen or something. But hearing what Robin said, Haneul could now see why Lee Minjae had acted that way.

But this was hardly the time to let such things affect them. Surely, Lee Minjae was not stupid enough not to realize that. Right?

"Jung Taeyang shouldn’t have chosen teammates based on vocal ability alone," Robin slightly complained. "He should’ve considered their attitudes, too."

Haneul couldn’t help defending Taeyang. "Well, we didn’t exactly have time to get to know everyone. There was no way for Taeyang to predict this would happen."