Translator: MarcTempest
Editor: Rxel
Chapter 270
Men Go
At the entrance of the training ground, where drizzle was falling.
The reservists who were walking leisurely stopped when they saw the camera.
‘What are they filming?’
There were celebrities standing there.
Most of them moved on with a bored look, but some of them recognized their faces and looked amazed.
‘It’s New Black.’They sent photos to their friends or acquaintances along with a message saying ‘Hey, I’m here for the mobilization training and I saw New Black.’
They hesitated when they got a reply telling them to go and talk to them.
‘The atmosphere is not good.’
The New Black members had a lost look on their faces.
It seemed like they could see imaginary dark clouds hovering over their heads.
Only Woojoo was smiling brightly in his uniform.
‘Uniform? Is he here for the reservist training too?’
They remembered the legendary story of how he raised a rookie idol as his junior in the army on Shintoki.
That was why they weren’t surprised that Woojoo was a veteran.
But they didn’t understand the situation.
‘Why is he the only one who’s happy to go to the mobilization training?’
While someone was tilting their head, the onlookers started to increase.
When colorful umbrellas gathered to form a mushroom cluster, strangers started to chat with each other.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t know. Maybe filming a show. It looks like TBC…”
“Oh? That person is that person, the PD of Men Go.”
“Men Go?”
“Yeah. That’s right. Men Go, the crazy PD.”
Then they saw a familiar face.
The person who the cast of Men Go always shouted ‘PD!’ and rebelled against.
Someone said, “Now that I think about it… Didn’t they say on Shintoki that he’s going to the army with Woojoo and some other guy?”
“Oh. Yeah! That’s right.”
“Hey, look. There’s a roulette wheel too.”
Woojoo, who was ecstatic. The members, who had a gloomy look on their faces. And the roulette wheel with their names on it. The puzzle was naturally solved.
The reservists’ eyes lit up.
‘I came here for the reservist training, not to see some guys…’ They were about to leave with an annoyed look, but they stopped.
‘I have to see this.’
On the morning of the reservist mobilization training.
Hilarious content appeared.
‘We got tricked again…’
The New Black members looked around, but there was no way out.
“Where are you going, guys?”
“Are you getting wet? I’ll put another umbrella over you.”
Woojoo blocked their way, and Hanjo held a big umbrella over their heads.
They looked like reliable older brothers on the outside, but they had a mischievous expression like water ghosts.
While they were backing away, the PD of Men Go approached them with a brisk walk.
“Hello, everyone!”
“…”
“Good morning, right?”
Maybe the rain that was falling now was from their hearts.
“Thank you for appearing on the special episode of Men Go.”
“Us?”
“Yes.”
PD Do Joongi smiled warmly.
“You know that Woojoo and Hanjo are appearing this time, right? We’ve invited one more member of New Black here!”
“Wow…”
The two leaders clapped their hands together.
“As you can see, we’re going to draw randomly. The lucky winner here will receive basic military training with Hanjo tomorrow. And then you’ll participate in the recording of the main show.”
“Wow…”
Woojoo and Hanjo shook their umbrellas up and down as if they were cheering.
When Rihyuk got splashed with raindrops on his face, he closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath.
Jiho raised his hand.
“How do you do the draw, sir? Roulette? Or lottery? I don’t know what it is, but I’m confident that I can sell those guys well.”
“Jiho. How can you sell your brothers…” Bijoo, who had a hurt expression, said to the PD, “PD-nim, Jiho’s parents wanted to send him to Cheonghak-dong before. Maybe the army would be a good experience for him?”
“Bijoo Hyung is good at cooking. How about taking him as a cook?”
“Junghyun Hyung is the one who uses his body well.”
“Rihyuk Hyung knows a lot about war history. Doesn’t he have the qualities of a true soldier?”
“…Wha, what are you talking about? I don’t like history.”
The PD smiled at the sight of them trying to sell each other out without any loyalty.
“What a nice friendship. But the lottery is purely based on luck. Through this roulette board.”
“So it’s roulette?”
“I was planning to do that, but the installation was complicated. It’s raining and I have to set up a stand too.”
As the members listened with focused faces, the assistant director handed something to Woojoo.
Soon, Woojoo smiled brightly at them.
“Everyone~”
The four of them narrowed their eyes.
‘I want to smack him with a honey bomb.’
‘So mean.’
‘If I can’t trust Woojoo Hyung, who can I trust now….’
Regardless, Woojoo’s face was radiating with light.
“Your fate is up to me.”
“….”
“It’s up to my darts.”
Woojoo showed them the three darts he held in his hand with a snap.
After a brief silence, Rihyuk asked, “Wait a minute. You’re going to entrust this important thing to dart throwing?”
“Do you have any complaints?”
“…Uh, no! Oh, what a brilliant choice…!”
Woojoo grinned at Rihyuk’s hasty recovery.
“The rule is simple. I’ll throw three darts at that board. I’ll send the member who gets hit by two or more of them.”
Then he asked with an innocent face, “Look at this. It’s totally random, right?”
“….”
“It’s really up to luck~”
As he shook the three darts mockingly, the voices of the reservists who were watching from around came to their ears.
“That’s really random.”
“I guess the one who gets hit by two shots is out.”
“They’re all kids. Kids. Sigh, they’ll have a hard time there.”
“I hope they’re lucky. That thing. If they get caught….”
They said they were worried, but their voices were full of laughter.
But what really annoyed and frustrated the New Black members was something else.
‘This is not luck!’
This was something only people who didn’t know Woojoo could say.
He was someone who could fit in any corner like ‘Today’s Master’.
There was nothing he couldn’t do with his body.
Archery, basketball, jiu-jitsu, martial arts, even dice manipulation.
They suddenly remembered Woojoo watching a YouTube video called ‘Dart Championship World Championship’ a while ago.
“Well, shall we start the lottery?”
Woojoo loosened his body by rotating his right shoulder, and the production team moved away with the roulette board.
He blew his breath on the darts and turned his head to the members.
“Do you have anything to say to me?”
Jiho stepped forward urgently.
“Woojoo Hyung, who I always admired.”
“How much did you lose? Jiho-ssi. How much do you admire me?”
“Ha, as much as the sky and the earth….”
“Wrong. I’m Woojoo, but isn’t it unnatural to use adjectives like sky and earth?”
As Jiho trembled, Rihyuk smiled awkwardly and said, “I didn’t express it much, but I always….”
“Then you should have expressed it better, shouldn’t you?”
“….”
“Hahaha!”
Jiho gestured for Rihyuk to come over. The youngest line under the same umbrella shivered together.
“Bijoo-ssi?”
“Wo, Woojoo Hyung! If you don’t take me, I’ll give you more meat side dishes every day!”
“Wow. That’s tempting….”
Woojoo’s face showed a sincere concern as he teased his brothers and made the broadcast content.
A happy expression appeared on Bijoo’s lips.
Ahem, Woojoo’s eyes, who was coughing, turned to Junghyun.
“Junghyun?”
He grinned.
“…Did you just wink at me?”
“Is that weird?”
“You look like you need some magnesium.”
He grinned again.
The writer couldn’t help but laugh behind the script as he saw the bear winking left and right.
Junghyun smiled warmly.
“You know how I feel, right? Hyung?”
“I don’t want to know, but I’ll listen for now.”
“It’s hard to express in words…”
“You’re not thinking about anything right now, are you?”
“Yes.”
Woojoo, who was caught up in someone’s relaxed pace, shook his head and came to his senses.
“I heard the last word well. Now I’ll throw it!”
The playful look on Woojoo’s face, who had taken his stance, faded away like the ebb tide.
He had an expression like a player in a dart tournament.
Even a stranger would say, ‘Wow, he knows how to throw darts.’
Whizz.
The first dart flew in a weak parabola.
Thud!
“Ouch!”
The youngest screamed as the dart hit ‘Wang Jiho’.
“No, no, no! Mom, Noona!”
“It’s only one shot. Jiho. Don’t worry. Let’s cry when it’s two shots.”
As Bijoo comforted him with a smile, Woojoo threw the second dart.
This time, it was Rihyuk.
“…Sigh.”
Fortunately, the third dart hit Junghyun and the military service was avoided.
The spectators looked interested.
Meanwhile, Woojoo whispered to the PD, “This is harder than I thought. PD-nim.”
“Do you want to shorten the distance?”
“No. I’ll try it like this.”
Woojoo, who had been joking around, smiled at them.
Hanjo thought it was hard to hit, but the members knew that Woojoo was having fun.
He also got some airtime.
“Then I’ll throw better this time! Fighting!”
“…”
As Woojoo turned his head after cheering alone, the members shouted ‘fighting’ desperately.
The first dart flew again.
“Oh, that’s me.”
Junghyun stroked his chin.
Then the second dart whizzed by.
“Ugh, why are you doing this to me?”
“Calm down, pirarucu.”
Rihyuk howled.
Finally, the third dart left Woojoo’s hand and flew fast.
Shriek!
The reservists, the members, the production staff and Hanjo’s heads followed the dart at the same time.
Thud!
“No, no, no…!”
Someone collapsed, wailing, as the dart hit ‘Seo Rihyuk’.
He started to cry out loud, looking at the sky like a servant who was exiled overnight.
As the reservists chuckled.
“Hey, but it’s hanging on the edge.”
“Is it Junghyun? Or Rihyuk?”
“It looks like Rihyuk Hyung, but that’s really hanging on the edge.”
At first, it seemed to be stuck in ‘Seo Rihyuk’, but when they looked closer, it was the boundary line between ‘Kim Junghyun’ and ‘Seo Rihyuk’.
PD Do Joongi approached and made a judgment.
“Hmm…”
Then he turned his head with a smile.
“Yes, this is decided! The member of New Black who will participate in the Man Goes special is…”
He shouted, “It’s Junghyun-ssi!”
As Woojoo and Hanjo sang “Welcome to Army”, Junghyun smiled warmly and scratched his head.
“Hmm, I got caught.”
The PD was slightly taken aback by his relaxed reaction.
So were the reservists.
Usually, people would scream and freak out, but he looked calm as if he had just heard the lunch menu.
“When do I have to go?”
“Oh, that… well, we’ll let you know later.”
The PD was rather flustered.
‘This won’t make a good scene…’
He thought he wouldn’t get the footage he needed, but soon his worry subsided.
Someone else was making up for the content.
“Oh, no…”
“Rihyuk Hyung. Rihyuk Hyung.”
“How did I end up on a military variety show… in the army…”
Rihyuk, who had been depressed and couldn’t hear anything during the evaluation, was sitting on the floor and wailing.
Jiho shook his shoulder.
“Rihyuk Hyung, Rihyuk Hyung.”
“Why…”
‘Why do I look like I’m going to the army now!’ He glared at Jiho, who cautiously said to him, “You’re not going, Hyung.”
“…What? Huh? Oh…?”
A round and silly expression appeared on his face, which had always been sharp and cold.
“I’m not going?”
“No.”
“Wow…”
Rihyuk, who was happy and clenched his fists by himself.
But soon he noticed the quiet surroundings and felt the eyes looking down at him.
The reservists who bit their lips, Woojoo who was laughing out loud holding Hanjo’s shoulder, and the members who were giggling.
“…!”
Rihyuk lowered his head in the same posture as he was sitting.
He looked like a turtle hiding in its shell, and everyone burst into laughter.
After seeing off the ‘Men Go’ production team.
The youngest said with a sly face, “Did you plan to take Junghyun Hyung from the beginning?”
“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know everything. They say a dog learns music in three years, but I’ve been your slave for a year and I know.”
Jiho’s words only made him smile.
It was true that he had planned to take Junghyun from the start.
First of all, Rihyuk and Bijoo were out of the physical test.
Their kids who weighed as light as paper airplanes didn’t have the stamina to train.
Jiho passed the physical test, but Woojoo didn’t like it.
He wanted their youngest to stay as a cute maknae.
Just like Jiho’s mother and sisters had raised him so far, he wanted him to see and hear only good things.
So the only one left was Junghyun.
Their kid who was strong in body and mind.
“Oh, I’m going to the army again. I wanted to try it once because our Hyung always talks about the army.”
“Your Hyung is a soldier, right?”
“Yes. He’s a professional soldier. Right now.”
He smiled at Junghyun, who was looking forward to a new experience.
“Let’s do well with Hyung this time. Daegil Season Two, go go?”
“Go go.”
The only thing he lacked was tact.
He was worried about that part, so he asked Hanjo for a favor before entering the training camp.
“Hanjo.”
“Yes?”
“Please take care of Junghyun. He’s good at everything, but sometimes he misses the mood…”
“Don’t worry. I’m good at taking care of my younger brothers.”
“Oh. Right. You are.”
He had caught a wrinkle in front of the worm.
He smiled at the leader of the group who had eight younger brothers below him, and asked him again, “Then I’ll trust you and leave it to you.”
Time flew by at the training camp.
It was different from last year, which felt like a room of time and space.
It was a legitimate break.
Woojoo always felt guilty when he slacked off at work, but having the excuse of being a reservist made him feel more relaxed when he rested.
The country told him to rest, so he rested. Whatever.
More than anything, he was happy to sleep for almost seven hours for three days in a row, escaping from the schedule that chased him by the minute and the nap.
“I’m happy…”
Woojoo walked around with a drowsy smile, and people avoided him at first.
Whatever. He always felt that human happiness came from carbohydrates and sleep.
Someone asked him as he ate a sausage with a happy face in the cafeteria, “So, are you confirmed to appear on Real Men?”
“Yes.”
“I hate it. Really.”
“Ugh. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”
Woojoo chatted with other reservists who became close.
Woojoo thought they would keep their distance because he was a celebrity, but they treated him comfortably.
That was why this reservist training was the epitome of comfort.
On the other hand, Woojoo also fulfilled one of the things he had written on his bucket list.
“Excuse me.”
Woojoo spoke to the active duty assistant who had become friendly over the past few days, and he greeted him with a smile.
“Yes, Sunbae-nim.”
“I have a favor to ask you…”
“Yes, please tell me.”
“Can I call you assistant?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Assistant~”
“…Did you want to try that?”
Woojoo nodded at him, who blinked his eyes for a moment.
He really wanted to try it.
Last year, he saw other guys wearing their uniforms crookedly and saying ‘assistant~’ and he wanted to try it.
He had a personality that couldn’t say ‘hey’ to strangers, so he fulfilled his wish through this opportunity.
As a reward, Woojoo bought him some snacks at the PX and had a brief conversation.
Mainly about how the military life was these days.
“What’s the trend these days… No, what should I say. Is there anything different in the military life these days?”
“The military life is always the same, I think.”
Woojoo was relieved.
Woojoo gave him a memo of the precautions for the training to refer to Junghyun. It would be troublesome if it changed from his time.
He looked at Woojoo as if to ask why he was asking such a thing, and he explained.
“Oh, my kid went to the army.”
“Kid… you mean?”
The assistant who glanced at Woojoo’s face looked at the sky.
His eyes blinked.
He muttered to himself with his mouth, calculating something, and then asked Woojoo with a cautious expression, “…Is that possible?”
Woojoo burst into laughter.
He had to fix this habit of saying ‘my kid, my kid’ in front of others.
“I made a mistake. He’s not my kid, he’s my brother.”
“Oh. Your younger brother went to the army?”
He had to fix this too.
“He’s a member. A member.”
“Oh, I see.”
He understood right away when Woojoo told him the behind story of appearing on Men Go.
But when he heard that their group name was ‘New Black’, he tilted his head.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Your group name is New Black, Sunbae-nim?”
What’s wrong with that?
“I have a friend who is an assistant, and he said that a celebrity came in through the fan mail. A New Black member came to train.”
“Really?” Woojoo asked with wide eyes, “How is he? Is he doing well? Is he not getting hurt by bumping into someone or something?”
“Yes?”
“I’m a little worried about him.”
He looked at Woojoo as if he was talking nonsense.
“He said he’s a complete S-class trainee, and he’s never seen anyone like that before.”
“Wow!”