Survival
Everything was blue all around them: the sky, the sea, even the tall grasses and leaves.
It was the height of summer, and the whole world seemed drowned in blue.
On one side of the beach, where vacationers were splashing in the water and basking in the sun, a bustle of staff dressed in black hurried about setting up cameras and equipment.
And at the center of it all, boys who still looked youthful and young men stood neatly in four lines, waiting for filming to begin.
They were the contestants of Idol Travel, the idol survival audition program produced by cable channel FLu.
In an age when broadcasters were churning out one survival show after another every single year, Idol Travel was billed as a “healing” survival program, made to offer viewers something fresh when they were tired of all the same old formats.
The slogan went something like, “A journey to discover the best idol.”
An audition that began not in a studio, but at a travel destination. A new format, with crisp, refreshing visuals and cinematography.
The concept was to make viewers feel as though they were on a relaxed, fulfilling, varied package tour.
Though for the contestants, this would probably be less “healing” than “killing”...
Baek Yuri, who had flown all the way to Jeju Island at his own expense, stared absently at the blue expanse of the sea with a self-mocking smile.
A cool, salt-laden breeze pushed back the heavy summer air.
“We’re starting filming!”
The cameras switched on, and a square box was placed before the contestants lined up in front of them. Some were excited, some were tense, but all eyes fixed on the box.
In that reassuring voice of someone hosting a rural healing variety show, the PD began his explanation.
“Inside this box are slips with different props written on them. You’ll draw one at a time, like a lottery. After that, we’ll hand each of you a selfie cam and a sticker board to go with the prop you drew.”
An assistant writer stepped forward to demonstrate.
“Apple!”
She drew a slip, read it aloud in a bright voice, and held it up so the camera could catch it clearly.
Then the youngest writer reached into the big box and took out a red apple, handing it to her.
“The props are related to fairy tales and folktales. And the forty contestants who arrived before you are already hiding along the beach with one prop each.”
The PD continued his detailed explanation.
The first mission was “Find Your Partner and Busk.”
For example, the apple the assistant writer had just drawn was a prop tied to Snow White. So the contestant had to find their hidden “partner” out on the beach, the one carrying another prop connected to Snow White.
Something like the magic mirror from the fairy tale, or the poisoned comb.
It was a mission that favored anyone who had read a lot, whether Western fairy tales or old Korean folktales. Someone muttered under their breath, “I’m already doomed!”
Baek Yuri had been a bookworm since childhood, so he listened to the explanation with a little inward relief.
“This mission will be carried out in teams of two. Once you find your partner, the two of you will busk together and collect thirty stickers as quickly as possible.”
The assistant writer then held up a colorful sticker shaped like a heart.
“The vacationers here on the beach all applied in advance. Each person has five stickers. We’ve already informed them that they should stick their labels on whichever team they like best after watching the busking performance. Multiple votes are allowed.”
Baek Yuri looked around the beach in some surprise. He had thought they were just ordinary tourists, but that wasn’t the case at all.
In other words, they had rented out and controlled the entire beach for the shoot. Looking more closely, he could indeed see people holding papers covered in stickers.
There were no real restrictions on the busking itself. They could sing using the sound equipment the production team had already set up, dance, or show off whatever talent they were confident in.
“The first five teams to collect and bring back thirty stickers will…”
The PD paused briefly, as if to build suspense for what came next, then said,
“be given the chance to challenge for center position in the signal song stage!”
Whoa!
No way!
Excited cries erupted from here and there. Even Baek Yuri, who had been standing calmly, widened his eyes in shock.
Center candidate for the signal song?
That was an opportunity absolutely not to be missed.
The signal song center was such an important position that people said if you stood there, you were guaranteed to debut.
Even just becoming a center candidate would get you screen time in the early episodes.
It would let you make a strong impression on viewers from the very beginning, which in turn made it easier to rank high in online voting.
So this is “healing,” huh. As expected...
It feels like this is going to be a killing field from the very first shoot.
The contestants lined up single file and drew their slips one by one.
One contestant pulled out a glass slipper and cheered, “Ah! Ah! Cinderella!”
Those who drew rice sheaves or dried persimmons were asking the others what theirs meant, only to get scolded for being too loud.
The Tortoise and the Hare and The Tiger and the Dried Persimmons, then.
The partner for whoever drew the rice sheaf would be holding another rice sheaf, and the partner for whoever drew dried persimmons would probably be wearing a tiger mascot head or something.
While he was mentally matching everyone else’s fairy tales and folktales, Baek Yuri’s turn arrived before he knew it.
He looked down at the slip he had drawn, then opened it wide so the camera could see clearly. Smiling as if he were delighted by the prop he had received, he read it out brightly.
“Rabbit ear headband! I got it!”
There was no doubt that scenes like this, where forty people drew lots one by one, would mostly be edited out.
So if he wanted to survive the cut, he had to make his reactions big.
Waving the slip, Baek Yuri moved aside and received his prop. He put the headband on immediately, then flashed a V sign at the camera following him and grinned playfully.
The whole time, he was trying to project exactly the kind of atmosphere the production team wanted: This mission is so fun and exciting. I can’t wait to see who my partner will be. I’m enjoying this travel so much, I feel happy and full of anticipation.
If the production team insisted this was “healing,” then that was probably the sort of image they wanted most from the contestants.
Once they had all received their props, selfie cams, and sticker boards, the contestants sprang toward the beach the moment the whistle blew. Their voices rang out as they searched for partners.
Even as he ran, Baek Yuri didn’t forget to explain things to his selfie cam from time to time.
“Hello, I’m Baek Yuri. When I think of rabbits, the first things that come to mind are The Rabbit and the Tortoise, The Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes, and The Tale of Sim Cheong... So I’m guessing my partner is one of the tortoise, the tiger, or the softshell turtle, right?”
Scenes like this might not make it into the main broadcast, but they could always be edited separately and uploaded to MuTube. Nothing could be wasted.
These days, weren’t there more people who preferred to watch clip videos on MuTube or OTT platforms whenever they had time, instead of sitting in front of the TV waiting to catch the live broadcast?
As contestants began finding their partners one by one, Baek Yuri grew increasingly anxious. The tiger had already been taken by the contestant who drew dried persimmons, and he couldn’t see a tortoise or softshell turtle anywhere.
“Are you perhaps from The Rabbit and the Tortoise?”
“Huh? No, I’m not!”
He asked a person wearing a green hat, but that wasn’t it either. While he ran around trying to find his match, someone suddenly shouted loudly.
“Raaaabbiiiiiit!”
Baek Yuri turned toward the voice and saw a figure standing there: very tall, with perfectly balanced features and an unmistakable presence. His skin was pale, and pitch-black hair fell over the nape of his neck.
Even from afar, he gave off an extraordinary aura.
A contestant!
But from head to toe he was soaked through, as though he had fallen into the sea, and looked exactly like some kind of water ghost.
What’s more, he was wearing a robed hanbok top and, beneath it, extravagant floral work pants, which made the whole sight deeply disorienting.
And his sash is tied wrong, too...!
It wasn’t unusual for someone to dress conspicuously on purpose for the first shoot in casual clothes, but this was a little... wasn’t it a bit too unbalanced?
“Raaaabbiiit, teaacher!”
Still, since he was calling out for a rabbit, Baek Yuri figured he must be the partner and hurried over. But the other man had no turtle shell, no softshell-turtle prop, nothing at all.
Had there ever been a folktale called The Rabbit and the Water Ghost?
As he approached in confusion, the other man spoke.
“Teacher! I am Neoul, the Dragon King’s second son, and I have come from the Dragon Palace. I came in search of the rabbit teacher—are you the rabbit teacher?”
The Dragon Palace! It was Sim Cheong!
But why is this suddenly turning into a role-play...?
He stole a glance behind him and saw that one camera, apparently finding the situation amusing, was filming them.
“Um... yes!”
Since it seemed like he had to go along with the role-play, he answered confidently. Then the other man dropped to his knees and began to beg earnestly for a little of his liver.
So this must be something the production team told him to do.
Apparently the prop was being represented by the robe instead of a turtle shell. It did seem strange to be suddenly wearing a hanbok by the seaside. Unless, of course, the production team had given it to him to wear.
So he’s doing a “son of the Dragon King” concept...
Up close, he was a textbook beauty, the sort of face people might have called the peak of a legendary actor’s visuals in his prime.
The prince concept was not at all a stretch.
“Um... this is Sim Cheong, right? But, uh, you look like you fell into the water. Are you okay?”
When he asked to make sure, the man replied with a question of his own: did he know about the turtle general?
What was this. If you asked whether something was right, shouldn’t the answer be “yes” or “no”?
Besides, he’d asked first, hadn’t he? Of course he asked because he knew it.
And if a contestant had fallen into the water, shouldn’t somebody have at least brought them a towel? He was drenched through and through.
While Baek Yuri was still bewildered, the other man kept acting.
“If you give me your liver, I shall surely repay your kindness. In the Dragon Palace, I could let you live a life of luxury and splendor for the rest of your days.”
“Huh? No! I don’t need that...”
Ah.
He wasn’t used to role-play, so he had reflexively answered far too honestly. And in the middle of it all, he had become distracted by the other man kneeling on the stone floor and completely broken the immersion of the scene.
Wouldn’t that hurt, kneeling on something so hard?
No matter how much the production team told him to do it, they should keep it within the bounds of not injuring people. If he wrecked his knees like that, dancing would be a problem.
As you got older, every single joint became precious.
When he urged the man to get up, the other obediently straightened. Then, as though slipping effortlessly back into the scene, he continued with practiced lines.
“Then what must I do for you to give me your liver?”
He must have been an aspiring actor, or already had some acting experience. His facial expressions were excellent.
What am I supposed to say now?
He had to play along with the role-play, but if he suddenly said, “All right, take my liver,” wouldn’t that be weird too? Should he say he’d left it at home? That he didn’t have one? What would sound the least cliché?
In the brief moment that followed, countless thoughts raced through Baek Yuri’s mind.
“If we both debut successfully, I’ll give it to you...!”
Good. Let’s go with a coming-of-age movie vibe.
Rather than acting like rivals and sizing each other up, a picture of mutual encouragement and shared effort would look much better. After all, idols were groups, not individuals.
Satisfied that he had answered well enough, Baek Yuri offered a handshake to the self-proclaimed son of the Dragon King.
Not having the slightest idea how dangerous a joke it was to promise his liver if they succeeded in debuting.