Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 114
Woojoo approached Seo Jihyung, who was lying on the ground, and reached out his hand.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, well… Yeah. I’m fine.”
He looked away at a distant mountain with an embarrassed face, then grabbed Woojoo’s hand and got up.
He seemed a bit upset.
Woojoo could understand why.
He was chased by a goat, and then he lost a chicken fight to a rookie idol here. He looked so pitiful that Woojoo handed him a bottle of water.“Sunbae-nim, have some water.”
“Ah…”
“You look like your throat is burning.”
He glanced at the bottle and then looked up at Woojoo with a strange expression.
“Thank you.”
He nodded and walked over to the VJ.
“Director, what’s the ranking right now?”
“Uh, hold on.” The other person checked his phone and said, “Reflecting the two you just got, your team is now in the lead with fifteen.”
Maxi and Woojoo high-fived.
If they got one more here, it would be their victory.
But then, the VJ said, “Behind you, Team A has ten… Wait, what? They have sixteen now?”
“What?”
“They stole them from Team B.”
“…”
Then, Seo Jihyung, who was groaning, sprang up.
“What did you say? Team A is in the lead now…?”
“Yes, right now.”
“Wow, that’s awesome.”
He grinned and handed Woojoo the bottle of water, then started running toward the back mountain.
He left a cheeky remark as a bonus.
“Hahaha! I’ll go ahead!”
And a minute later, they got a call too.
“Hello…”
-Woojoooooo!
“Yes?”
-Twenty-eight! Twenty-eight!
Oh, geez.
Ye Heeyeon shouted.
-Hurry uppppp! It’s the twenty-eighth spot!
Woojoo ran before he even hung up the phone.
Woojoo ran so fast that he caught up with Seo Jihyung, who had left earlier.
He widened his eyes as Maxi and Woojoo gave him a bright smile.
Woojoo greeted him rudely as a bonus.
“Excuse me!”
“I’ll go first. Trot trot…!”
***
At the same time.
In the dark night, the cast members wandered around the mountain with a huge flash.
The forest where the moonlight shone through the branches.
The wind that blew from somewhere was chilly.
But that annoying sight was heated up by the enthusiasm of over fifty people.
Of course, the atmosphere was different for each of them.
“Just dig anywhere!”
“The soil here looks fresh. What if we dig this and there’s nothing?”
“Ah, I’m hungry. Why does the soil look delicious?”
Team B, who lost the game with six keys, dug the soil with a hoe, holding back their tears.
And Team A and Team C, who figured out the location of the treasure chest, dug the ground passionately.
“Hurry up and dig!”
“Hurry up! Before we get caught up!”
Lee Kangjin, an actor of Team A, led the scene with sweat. The other team members also swung their hoes next to him, who pushed the soil with a big shovel.
They were the leaders.
On the other hand, Team C was struggling alone with Ye Heeyeon.
But even though she was alone, her speed was different.
Model Han Sora urged her members.
“Hurry up! Do it faster! That guy is too fast!”
When Team A was digging hard to widen the gap with Team C, who was chasing hard.
“We’re here!”
Finally, Team C’s reinforcements arrived.
It was Maxi and Woojoo, the leader of New Black.
“Hey! You should have come faster!”
“The road was too confusing. It took us a long time to get here.”
“Here, take this.”
Ye Heeyeon handed the shovel to Woojoo.
The people of Team A, especially the members of Around the World With Dice, tilted their heads at the sight.
It was strange.
Why did the character who wanted to do everything herself when someone else was working willingly hand over the shovel to that idol member?
Soon the question was answered.
“What’s up with him?”
“That, that, what…”
“Why is he so fast?”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a fast speed.
Woojoo was digging at a moderate speed, neither fast nor slow.
But the amount of soil he lifted each time was different.
That slender idol member lifted as much soil as the whole Team A with one dig.
It was a truly strange thing that could not be otherwise.
Of course, if you looked closely, Woojoo’s digging was different from the others.
Unlike those who used only their upper body strength and quickly exhausted their stamina, he used the power of his thighs. Or he applied the principle of leverage when digging.
But no one in this place had the luxury to think about that in detail.
They just stared blankly.
Team A, who were mesmerized by the idol who dug the ground like a skilled laborer, came to their senses when they saw the pile of dirt that the other team was stacking up.
Yang Okbun, who held a hoe, urged Lee Kangjin, “Hey! Dig faster! We’re all being chased by them.”
Team A tried their best again, but the situation was not good.
It was because the rest of Team C joined in.
“Why are you so late?”
“Bijoo disappeared somewhere. He’s a road idiot, you know. He was going to cry alone in the valley, and we brought him here.”
“Whatever, just dig! We’re second right now.”
“Director, please give us a hoe too!”
The fierce competition began as all the members of Team A and Team C gathered in one place.
Thanks to Woojoo’s early digging, the depth of the two teams’ plates was soon similar.
A fierce battle.
When one team dug more, the other team dug more too.
The last-place Team B watched like spectators, chatting with popcorn-like faces, and the production crew captured the fierce competition of the two teams on camera.
“Ah, we’re almost there! We’re almost there!”
“Cheer up!”
“Travel voucher! This is a travel voucher!”
As they shouted loudly, the game was almost over, and both Team A and Team C were noticeably exhausted.
“This doesn’t look like a meter at all.”
“Cheer up! Kangjin, ah! Don’t spread out!”
When Seo Jihyung took over and dug, Team C was also noticeably tired.
And then.
“Let’s sing a work song!”
“A work song?”
“You know, the song we learned from the old lady earlier. The one that the adults played with rubber bands!”
Ah, the members of New Black in Team C started singing while digging.
Crush the Communist Party!
How many millions are you going to South Korea with a spy plane?
Team A was momentarily stunned by the absurd song, and Team C dug more vigorously with the momentum.
Now they were all singing that song.
At that sight, Team B and the production crew couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
And thanks to that momentous song and someone’s amazing digging, the fate of the two teams was decided in no time.
“Woah-!”
It was the victory of Team C, who surrounded Woojoo and jumped around.
***
Back at the village hall.
As Team A and Team B looked at them with envy and regret, the PD called their names.
“Team C, come out and get your reward.”
“Woojoo, you go!”
“Yeah, you go and get it.”
Woojoo walked out feeling nervous for some reason.
A luxury travel voucher.
That was what the panel said, and he received it as the representative.
When Woojoo came back, he saw many eyes full of regret on the panel.
There was a slight awkwardness in the congratulations, but it didn’t last long.
“Great job, everyone! Let’s go eat!”
The PD, Oh Taejun, who had left somewhere, took the celebrities to a nearby vacant lot.
“Wow…”
There was a paradise there.
Drums with bonfires set up, plates of pork belly piled up on each table.
People were so simple.
As the complaints washed away, cheers and pleasant conversations began right away.
Soon, the smell of greasy charcoal-grilled pork belly filled the air with smoky aroma.
They drooled at the smell, but unfortunately, they couldn’t eat right away.
It was because of the comments on the first place.
They each said a word to the camera.
Lee Gyeonwoo talked about the managers, Maxi talked about his parents, and Heysion talked about his grandmother. Then it was their turn.
“I’ll send it to my parents,” Rihyuk answered briefly.
He seemed to skip it like that because it was awkward to mention his complicated family history.
Next was Jiho.
“I want to send it to my sisters.”
Heysion, who was nearby, asked with a mischievous expression, “What about your parents?”
“Oh, my parents are in the sky right now.”
“…”
As the others, including Heysion, froze, Jiho said, “Ah.”
“They’re on a plane right now. They’re coming back after their trip to Macau.”
“Oh, man! You scared me. Why did you do that to me, really…”
Jiho bowed his head to the camera.
“I’m sorry. Dad, Mom. You’re alive, but I’m sorry. But what if this goes on air? I think I’m going to get in trouble.”
“Ask the director to edit it.”
“Wow, can I do that?”
As the others nodded to the timid youngest, he smiled brightly and sent a heart with both hands to the director.
“Dear director, please do me a favor!”
The shooting director, as well as the other staff, burst into laughter.
He patted the youngest on the head without saying anything.
“I want to send it to my parents, too,” Bijoo said. “I’m really happy that I can show my filial piety by sending you on a trip this time, since you’ve worked so hard. Thank you.”
They clapped with their members.
Then Woojoo lightly hugged Bijoo, who came back.
Next, Junghyun also said that he wanted to send his parents as a courtesy.
Finally, the camera turned to Woojoo.
“I want to send my grandmother. She had a hard time raising me. I really wanted to send her on a trip abroad, and I’m so happy. Thank you!”
Then Woojoo sent a heart to their Lady Kim Deoksoon towards the camera.
“I don’t know if I’ll be on the show, but Grandmother’s grandson loves her very much~”
“Hey, can we join too?”
“Me too, I love my dad, mom, and sisters!”
Woojoo smiled as he watched his younger brothers behind him sending big hearts to their families.
It was a really good night.
***
11:30 p.m.
Finally, all the recording was over.
The first floor room of Grandpa Kang Moonsik’s house, where the air conditioner was blowing hard, was where they were going to sleep.
As soon as Woojoo finished showering, the younger ones were enjoying a pillow fight.
“Junghyun Hyung! Catch him!”
“Okay.”
“Ah, that’s cowardly! Why are you two teaming up? Woojoo Hyung! Help me!”
“…I’m lazy.”
“Ugh. Since this happened, let’s all attack that demon king together!”
“Woah!”
“What, why me!”
Woojoo was attacked by a pillow in his sleepiness and joined the fight.
They rolled around for a while with the five of them, and then a sound like ‘yay!’ came from outside.
Grandpa Kang Moonsik’s family and their Team C were playing Go-Stop.
Grandpa’s laughter kept ringing, and he seemed happy to fulfill his wish of playing a game of cards that he had said during the day.
That was good.
As Woojoo thought that, the tension in his body relaxed.
It wasn’t just him, their main vocal had also became one with the warm floor.
“Ah, I’m tired… I need to wash up.”
And then Jiho hit Rihyuk’s back with a pillow. He tried to fight back with a kick, but it didn’t reach.
Woojoo held back from making a joke about him being a sad animal with short legs.
Woojoo was so tired.
They got up at four in the morning, checked the luggage, filmed the opening in Sangam-dong, picked out the talk while moving by car, ran around to get the ingredients in Yeoncheon. Cooked, peeled garlic.
Then Woojoo gave others massages, and he even messed up while doing the final mission.
It was the most exhausting day of all the schedules he had done.
As he lay down on the floor, his eyes closed.
“Guys, how about we play rock-paper-scissors to see who lays out our blankets?”
“I’ll do yours too, Hyung.”
Junghyun spread out his spot.
Everyone else started to lie down on their own mats. Junghyun came to Woojoo’s spot and covered him with a blanket.
It was so heavy, it must have been a country-style blanket.
But thanks to that, Woojoo felt sleepy.
“Guys, should we play rock-paper-scissors to decide who turns off the light?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Aw, you’re so considerate of the old man. We have to suffer because of you.”
“What are you talking about, really. You’ll get scolded by the grandpa and grandma if you say that, Wang Jiho…”
“I’ll turn off the light.”
Darkness engulfed them in an instant.
But as soon as the light was off, Woojoo couldn’t sleep.
Woojoo felt like he was awake in a daze.
He stared at the ceiling pattern for 10 minutes, then he started to play with the shadows in the moonlight.
“Is it just me? I can’t sleep.”
“Me neither.”
“Same here.”
Chop, chop.
Woojoo heard the sound of someone patting their cheeks. It looked like Bijoo was putting on a mask pack.
“I guess it’s because we’re not used to this place. It’s not our home.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s why.”
“Hey, guys. It’s not a home, it’s a lodge.”
“Oh, right.”
A chuckle came from the darkness.
“I feel like this lodge is my home now.”
“Don’t you feel more comfortable in the dorm, Hyung? Ah…! Don’t put your leg on my stomach.”
“It’s my choice.”
“Anyway, you two have the same mental age. So childish. Really.”
“Yeah, Mr. Smarty Pants.”
“…Don’t bother me, I’m going to sleep.”
“He always goes silent when he’s at a disadvantage.”
“I don’t care. Don’t bother me, I’m going to sleep.”
“Junghyun is quiet right now. Are you sleeping, Junghyun?”
“I’m not sleeping, Hyung.”
“What were you doing?”
“I was just thinking about something else.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I was talking about music with Heysion Sunbae earlier. So I was planning the mixtape I’m going to make in the future.”
“Oh, work…”
Woojoo suddenly remembered the reality that he had forgotten for a day.
“Come to think of it, I have to work on the song when I go back to Seoul.”
“Oh, do you have any ideas?”
“No, I mean, I have a lot of beats and melodies, but I don’t have anything that I’m really satisfied with yet. I need to take some time and see.”
“Don’t rush it, Hyung.”
Chop chop. Bijoo spoke as he patted his mask pack.
“I know it’s not a title track, but a B-side. I wish you could work on it without too much pressure.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
“By the way, since we’re talking about the B-side, how about we discuss it among ourselves?”
“Oh, that sounds good.”
They each shared their opinions.
“I don’t know about anything else, but I hope the B-side has some hard choreography. I’ve been practicing a lot of dance lately, and I feel like everyone else is suffering because of me, so I want to go hard…”
“How about a groovy vibe?”
“Let’s make the part distribution more tight and focused…”
It felt strange to talk about the song.
In a good way.
It felt like having an honest conversation in the dark, with a bit of embarrassment and sincerity.
Maybe that was why they chatted for a long time in a daze.
As people started to fall asleep one by one, and only the maknae and Woojoo were left.
The maknae whispered to Woojoo, who was about to fall asleep, “Actually, I was really scared today.”
“What was?”
“There were a lot of strangers, and it was scary. You guys are the only ones I can rely on here. There are no managers. So when I went to get the ingredients with the other seniors earlier.”
“Yeah, then.”
“I was so scared. I mean, it’s not that they were bad or anything, but they had this masked feeling. I guess it’s natural for a broadcast. There’s a difference between the broadcast image and the reality. But I was a bit scared of that. Maybe because I’m still young.”
“Yeah, you’re young. Jiho.”
“Hyung, are you sleepy?”
“…No, I’m not sleepy at all listening to our maknae.”
“Anyway, so I was. Earlier, when I saw Hyung’s face in front of the village hall, I was so happy. What do you call it? It felt like I was surrounded by people with masks, and I finally found someone without a mask?”
“…Oh, I see.”
“Hyung, are you listening?”
“…”
***
At the end of August. On a hot night.
Outside, the unfamiliar sound of crickets was loud, and inside, the laughter of people and the ticking of the clock were ringing.
In a room where five idols were snoring from exhaustion, Woojoo was dreaming.
A dream about music.
In his dream, he was at a masquerade ball.
To be precise, it was the terrace of the ballroom.
Woojoo could see the moonlit garden below, and he heard the sound of crickets and people laughing and talking.
Somewhere, there was also a discordant sound like someone dragging a chair.
But strangely enough, the dream was black and white.
And everyone around him was wearing masks, except him.
And the attendees of the ball treated him like he didn’t exist. They didn’t answer him when he talked to them, they didn’t react when he waved his hand.
It was a weird place.
Woojoo had a dream about the pigs he met on a tourist bus to Pyongyang. They were playing violins, and there was a banner on the ceiling that said ‘Mrs. Kim Deoksoon’s 2976th Rebirth Anniversary’ in Chinese.
And on the highest throne in the ballroom, his grandmother was sitting.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kim Deoksoon!”
The masked people knelt down and kissed his grandmother’s feet, who looked at them and said they were more handsome than her grandson. Then she suddenly started telling them about her life’s hardships.
That was when he realized it was a dream.
There was no way his Kim Deoksoon would say someone else was more handsome than him.
As Woojoo thought that.
The door of the ballroom opened and someone came in.
At that moment, Woojoo opened his eyes wide.
It was as if paint was spreading, the light and color changed from the person who opened the door and came in.
And then the ballroom started to melt like chocolate.
“Ahhh!”
And Woojoo woke up from the dream.
“Huh, hah…”
It was a dream.
As soon as Woojoo realized he was back in reality, he fumbled for his phone on the bedside table.
Recording.
He had to record this.
He hummed the melody that the pigs had played in the dream.
His head was all tangled up.
He had to record this before it flew away.
He had no time, so he called someone who always recorded phone calls.
-Hello.
“Hey, Hyung.”
-What’s up at this hour?
“Seokhwan Hyung. I’m sorry… Is this recording? Listen to this song I’m singing. It’s my own composition.”
-What?
Woojoo sang as he pleased.
He was drowsy.
As he was falling asleep again, he blurted out something to him who was dumbfounded.
“Seokhwan Hyung, I’m sorry. I’ll buy you pork cutlet.”
Then he fell asleep again.
***
In a luxury house in Pyeongchang-dong.
-Seokhwan Hyung, I’m sorry. I’ll buy you pork cutlet.
The man who was drawing the notes of the melody he had just heard on his desk, looked at the phone screen and laughed.
“He’s something else.”
At first he was speechless, but soon he chuckled without realizing it.
He thought he couldn’t stop him.
“I’m not Seokhwan, I’m Gyuhwan…”
He muttered that and glanced at the notebook with the melody.
3:30 a.m.
The one who called him, mistaking him for Yoon Seokhwan, the director, was Seon Woojoo, the producer and composer of Lemon Entertainment.