From Skid Row to Superstardom: An Idol System Novel-Chapter 348: Vacation (10)

"Why the hell are we here?" William asked rudely as he glared at Ari.

"What was that? I didn’t quite hear you. Please repeat the question." Ari smiled cheekily as he pointed the camera toward William.

"I said, what are we doing here, friend?" William bit out through a forced smile and gritted teeth, causing Ari to burst out laughing.

It was truly very, very funny watching William force himself to be nice, and he planned on thoroughly milking it for what it was worth.

He wasn’t the one who was desperate for their team to win the scavenger hunt; after all, it wouldn’t affect his votes, and he had no faith in whatever prize the production team had in store.

They might just get a basket of ramen or something.

"Earning money that you wasted, so get ready to properly warm up your throat and get ready to sing, buddy," Ari instructed as he glanced around at the decent sized crowd.

He had brought them to an open-mike patio, a place they always passed by on the way to karaoke.

It was surrounded by restaurants with outdoor seating, and even late at night, people would watch and donate to the performers.

In fact, it was where he had seen the older men dancing with canes and gotten the idea to use them for his group’s Standing Next To You Performance.

While he had no faith in earning enough money by performing alone, with 4 of them together, it would be achievable, so he had signed them up and quickly workshoped the medley that he and Jamie had performed on Quiz on Block.

He would play piano, Daniel would lead dance, and everyone would sing.

"Are the four of you ready to go up?" the person organizing it asked, and Ari nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Then do your best. If you get booed, you have to leave."

"Understood. Do you mind using this to record us?" Ari asked as he handed the camera over and took off the ugly vest that was ruining the aesthetic of the hanbok.

"Sure."

"Let’s go boys."

*********

After the impromptu performance, the four foreign boys dressed in hanbok were standing in a circle, ignoring the people staring at them, while trying to figure out what to do now.

Money was no longer an issue, but figuring out their destination was.

"What was the hint again?" Vishal asked, and Ari brought out the paper and read it out loud.

"I have no seatbelts, but I hold you tight, I spin you around in the neon light. I create couples against their will, no matter how big or small, you can’t hold still. If you don’t hold on, you’ll slip to the floor, and the DJ will laugh as someone asks for more." Ari read it out loud slowly, and everyone glanced down, deep in thought.

Ari briefly thought it was some kind of rollercoaster, but that was quickly thrown out the window.

What kind of rollercoaster had no seatbelts? Wouldn’t everyone just fall out and die?

Then he thought it was a Ferris wheel, but he had never been on a Ferris wheel with a DJ before.

All in all, he was thoroughly stumped, and nobody else seemed

"Hi...uhm....excuse me....but are you talking about disco pang pang?"

A soft, accented voice standing to the side spoke up.

"Disco Pang Pang?" All four of their heads turned to the female student who was wearing a school uniform, fidgeting nervously with he hair.

Meeting the four different yet intense eyes, the student suddenly looked nervous before clenching her fist and igniting the fire in her heart.

Get your courage up, Seo-yeon! This is a one in a lifetime chance to meet and help your favorites!

Plus, you can get a custom in-person hanbok photo from each of them as a reward! Imagine how jealous everyone will be!

You just have to lock in and not stutter!

You’ve been practicing English hard for this!

Ah, why didn’t I put on makeup today or straighten my hair!

Staring at the four handsome boys, she quickly smoothed down her uniform before responding.

"Yes! It’s a ride at the Lotte World Amusement Park. It spins really fast and launches you around. The DJ is always trying to make it spin even faster so the people he thinks are cute will fly into each other and become a couple. He also laughs when people try to stand up in it and intentionally makes them fall. Lots of visitors have it on their travel plans as it’s recently gotten popular, and lots of couples go there to make things official, too. It’s right here in Seoul. I’m surprised none of you have seen the videos."

"I’ve never seen it on my page."

"Me either."

"I barely use my phone."

"It trends a lot on Korean sites too. You should have seen it too, right, Daniel?" Seo-yeon asked him for support so it wouldn’t seem like she was making things up.

4 sets of eyes turned to stare at Daniel, who laughed before looking away awkwardly.

All he did was practice his rapping and dancing, watch anime and k-dramas, and look up things related to Popstar Academy in his free time.

When would he have time to be browsing the net for trending videos?

"It’s okay. I believe you, and it’s better than nothing, which is what we have. Thank you so much for your help." Ari honestly thanked the girl.

"You’re welcome! Oh, uhm..." as she fidgeted with her phone while her face turned red, Ari laughed.

"Did you want to take a photo with us?"

"Yes, please!"

"Let’s do it."

After asking a passerby to quickly take photos of them, they consulted the train and bus map before beginning their journey to Lotte World.

As they got off the bus and began walking toward the theme park that they could see, Ari suddenly spotted a sign in the Distance that said ’Pop Star Academy Final Destination.’

"Guys, it’s the right spot." Ari pointed the camera towards the sign.

"Obviously. The only person who can’t see that is a blind person."

"What was that?" Ari pointed the camera toward William, who forced a smile.

"I said wow! What a good observation, friend! So smart! With the eyes of a hawk!"

"Thank you! Race you there."

Without waiting for a response, Ari began sprinting toward the sign.

And at the same time, a group of mascot costumes began running too.

"What the-?"

As he turned toward them, he noticed the mascot in the lead, a golden dog wearing a football jersey with a yellow vest over it, was holding a familiar camera as well.

"...Jamie?"

"Woof woof." Jamie barked childishly before putting on even more speed and trying to breeze past Ari, who quickly yanked him by the jersey.

"No, you don’t!"

"Let me go!"

"Not if you run in front of me!"

As the two of them began fighting, quickly forgetting what they were even racing for, Benjamin, who was dressed in a jaguar costume, breezed by and was the first to arrive at the desk where the PD was sitting with a camera crew recording behind her.

"Welcome, contestants! You made it! It’s now the start of your vacation! Are you excited?"

"Yes. Am I the first to arrive? Did we win? What’s the prize?"

"Let’s discuss that later to get maximum dramatic effect. For now, why don’t you go explore until all the other teams make it?"

"Sure."

"Good, good. Here are your tickets. Katie, you take some of the crew and accompany them."

After handing things over, the two teams wandered into the park while PD Emily snickered while looking at Ari.

She couldn’t wait to see his reaction later.

**************

"Is he okay?" Benjamin pointed at Ari, who was lying on a bench in what could only be described as a fainting maiden pose.

He had been fine when he went to use the bathroom, but now, he was collapsed on a bench.

Ari’s eyes were shut tightly, his face had a slight green tinge, one hand clutched his stomach while the other covered his eyes, one leg was folded up while the other dangled off the bench, exposing his slim ankles.

And with the loose fabric of the teal and purple colored hanbok draped all around him, he looked like a collapsed mermaid washed ashore.

Katie, their staff member, was using the seashell hand fan to blow cool air on one side, while Daniel and Jamie were trying to fan him with their hands from the other side.

"Uhm...apparently he’s bad with the disco pang pang ride. The DJ thought his reaction was funny and made it extra fast and bumpy just for him." Vishal explained.

Even he felt a little queasy after the ride and couldn’t imagine people doing it for fun repeatedly, like Benjamin and Jamie, who had been flipping and running around.

"Really. Yo Ari, mate? You alright?" Benjamin asked as he walked over.

"Ben?" Ari asked with a low voice as he sat up slightly.

"It’s me. Wagwan? You look a bit rough, innit?"

"I feel like I’m going to vomit. Is Katie here?"

"Ari. I’m right here. How are you feeling?" Katie said, fanning him desperately while tearing up.

Ari usually had a personality and presence that was larger than life.

It almost made people forget that he was just a high schooler who had recently turned 18.

She had never seen him look so weak and sickly, and even though she thought this sickly, beautiful prince’s appearance really suited him, her motherly instinct, honed by years of fostering small animals, was activated.

"Katie?"

"Yes, Ari? What is it?" Kate moved her head closer so that she could hear what Ari had to say.

"I thought this was the worst ride of my life, but when I remember your driving...Your license...Katie...we really have to revoke it...you shouldn’t be allowed to drive on the roads. It’s not safe." Ari muttered before flopping back down and laying still.

"Puhahaha!" Benjamin burst out laughing as he stared at the kid who had used all of his energy to deliver a critical hit.

Glancing at Katie who had frozen with her mouth open, Benjamin laughed again before taking the fan away from her and teasing her.

"Kate, Kate. Maybe you really should give up your license. Even in his darkest hour, he still remembered to complain about it, yeah?"

"...is it really that bad?" katie asked with an expectant expression that somebody would support her.

"Yes. I’m really worried about you." Ari added simply.

"Absolutely." Jamie nodded grimly. He recalled the roller coaster ride to the hospital.

"Kind of?"

"I can’t say it’s good."

"Uhm...."

As the contestants who had ridden in the car with her chimed in, Kate really wanted to protest her innocence!

Sure, her driving was bad in the past, but it had gotten so much better!

She had only been involved in a few accidents this year!

And most of them weren’t her fault!

Really!

Seriously!

Staring at the culprit who had brought it up, Kate wanted to say something, but when she saw those watery, cat-shaped, sea green eyes looking at her with true concern for her safety, her anger melted away.

Well...maybe it was a little bit her fault.

After Ari felt well enough to walk, the contestants went around exploring the rest of Lotte World, riding more rides, playing the arcade games, and eating a bunch of junk food.

Afterwards, and much to Ari’s nausea, they were taken to a meat buffet, where the boys who had been religiously watching their weight and appearance ate to their hearts’ content before heading back to get a full night’s sleep.

Officially, their vacation had begun!

And as for the reward...

Ari fell to his knees in despair when he found out what the first place prize was.