Cheering for the College Entrance Exam
The music video shoot that had begun in the morning was moved from location to location, with costume changes in between, and dragged on until night. And even that wasn’t the end of it; they didn’t finally wrap until the evening of the day after next. For two nights and three days, they’d pushed themselves without any real rest, charging straight ahead like it was nothing.
They’d even taken all the album jacket photos at the music video set, which only made things busier.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you~”
“...We’re grateful for all your effort.”
The members climbed into the car completely spent. Neoul, too, fell asleep the moment he got in. But when he opened his eyes again, the place they’d arrived at was not the dorm—it was the company.
“Everyone, just hang in there a little longer! We’re only filming the college exam cheer video, then you can go home!”
Manager Gwak Yuk-pal tried to rally them. He looked just as exhausted himself, though.
“Whoa. The college entrance exam’s almost here.”
“Time really flies~”
Baek Gi-yeom and Ha On-ha muttered to themselves as they got out of the car.
“A college exam cheer video?”
At Neoul’s question, Baek Yuri answered, “It’s the College Scholastic Ability Test.”
Baek Yuri went on, “It’s a hugely important exam that’s only held once a year. The score determines which universities you can apply to. That’s why we’re filming a video to cheer people on—so it can go up on MyTube the day before the test.”
Neoul, after hearing the explanation, searched “college entrance exam” on the internet. Countless articles and stories poured out at once.
Parents waiting outside while their children took the test, underclassmen coming to cheer and handing out rice cakes and chocolates, police officers giving students a ride to the exam site—things like that.
As Neoul flicked through the articles, his hand suddenly stilled when he saw one headline.
[Seoul student, overwhelmed by psychological pressure, leaps into the Han River the day before the college entrance exam....]
That wasn’t all. There were also people who threw their lives away after the exam was over, or even in the middle of it.
From the articles, it seemed that humans who wanted to go to college spent all twelve years of their school life preparing for this one test and nothing else.
“....”
Neoul thought of the middle school ghost who had been trapped in the school.
When they went up to the empty conference room, the staff handed out a script they’d prepared in advance. It held the sort of very basic lines that always seemed to appear in cheer videos made by other idol groups.
“...We haven’t even debuted yet, and we’re already filming a test-cheering video?”
Lee Gal-chae asked the question.
“Well, you’re all so busy preparing for debut that we haven’t had a chance to give you much content anyway, so we thought it’d be good to upload something like this. The lines can be split between two or three of you. Four people can sit in the front chairs, and the other three can stand in back for the shoot.”
After the explanation, a staff member assigned their places.
Neoul assumed, as always, that he would end up standing in the back with Baek Gi-yeom, but since he was too tall and would get his face cut off, he was told to sit in a chair instead. Ha On-ha and Woo Cheong sat in front as well, while Baek Yuri, Lee Gal-chae, and Yeo Do-bin stood in the back.
Baek Yuri asked the members, “Does anyone want to do the lines?”
“Hyungs, what about rock-paper-scissors? The three winners do it?”
“Cool~”
“Nice...!”
At Woo Cheong’s suggestion, the members agreed at once.
“Rock-paper-scissors?”
When Neoul tilted his head, Baek Yuri explained the rules simply. Thanks to that, Neoul learned yet another new game.
The winners of rock-paper-scissors were Ha On-ha, Woo Cheong, and Baek Yuri.
“If we lose rock-paper-scissors, can we still do ad-libs in the middle?”
At Baek Gi-yeom’s question, the staff member made an okay sign with his fingers. It meant they could just do whatever they liked, for now.
They quickly divided up the lines on the script and memorized them, and then the camera switched on.
Baek Yuri counted them in. “Two, three.”
“Dye with light! Hello~! We’re Jjokbit!”
The slogan meant they would color the world with light. They had practiced it several times, but this was their first time officially greeting people in front of a camera. It still felt awkward, not quite natural in the mouth yet, but they would grow used to it.
“The College Scholastic Ability Test is already just one day away! To all the students who have done their very best for such a long time, you’ve truly worked so hard.”
If their fandom name had already been decided, they would have called them by that. But since there wasn’t one yet, they had no choice but to address them simply as “students taking the test.”
After Baek Yuri, Woo Cheong continued with his line.
“You’re probably really nervous and shaky, but you’ve prepared so hard! I really believe you’ll get good results! Don’t forget your admission ticket and ID, and make sure you’ve got them safely with you!”
Before Ha On-ha could deliver the final line, Baek Gi-yeom blurted out a flood of words.
“It’s good to bring a bottle of water, too. I recommend something lukewarm—not too hot and not too cold! And lunch! Make sure you eat well at lunchtime. Your brain needs carbohydrates to keep turning, you know. But you also don’t want to get too sleepy or feel sick, so just enough of some warm food that’s easy to digest! And make sure you bring a watch so you can keep track of time!”
“Gi-yeom hyung, have you taken the college entrance exam?”
“Yep! Students taking the test, I even marked everything as number one so I could raise my friends’ grades!”
“What about Yuri hyung?”
“I did take it, but I went to college through practical arts.”
Just as Ha On-ha was about to finish for real, the normally quiet Galneoul suddenly opened his mouth.
“Everyone, please live long and healthily.”
“...?!”
“Neoul-ssi...?”
What was that all of a sudden? Galneoul had done it again.
At his out-of-the-blue remark, Baek Yuri’s rabbit eyes went wide. The members, and the staff watching them, all flicked their gaze back and forth in confusion.
But Neoul paid them no mind and kept going.
“After the exam is over, come back and tell us how it went. Please leave a comment.”
The middle school ghost had said there was no one waiting for her. No one waiting at all. Her family only waited for her report card, and only a perfect report card was welcome.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Neoul hoped humans would never end up like that girl.
“If you don’t come, I’ll keep waiting.”
His waiting might mean nothing to them; it might not help at all. Still, he wanted to say he would wait.
“Ah, and. Go to an amusement park, too.”
He’d seen it when he’d searched the exam earlier: students who took the test could buy tickets at a lower price. There wouldn’t be a Hanpuri Concert at any amusement park other than the one called ○○ Land, perhaps, but there seemed to be plenty of other fun things.
If their hearts still felt troubled after going to the amusement park....
“And when you get back... our album will be coming out soon, so please listen to our songs, too. We’re preparing them with all our heart.”
Ha On-ha had called working nonstop like this “putting a person through the grinder.” Neoul had scolded him for such a cruel expression, but all the same, that was how hard they were trying.
“We’ll sing you lots of good songs. If you don’t listen, you’ll be the one missing out.”
Neoul finished speaking and stared at the camera with wide, intense eyes. If anyone still said they were going to die after that, he looked as though he’d chase them all the way to the underworld and drag them back by the collar.
“....”
“....”
For a moment, silence hung in the air. Everyone watched one another’s expressions warily, and then Ha On-ha hurriedly wrapped things up.
“Haha. That’s right~ Our debut song is seriously so good! If you don’t listen, you’ll really miss out! It’s supposed to get cold, so make sure you dress warmly! Please manage your condition well until the very end, and I hope you get the results you want! We’ll be cheering for you~!”
“Okay! Should we all shout ‘fighting’ together?”
Baek Yuri also snapped back to his senses and added, “Fighting!”
They all shouted fighting together, and the camera switched off. The members stared blankly at the staff, wearing dazed expressions as if they still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.
Baek Yuri asked, “Should we retake it...?”
“Uh... oh....”
The staff exchanged looks with one another for a moment. The content team leader raised a hand and voiced his opinion.
“Maybe we can just use it as is...?”
“Most college exam cheer videos are all pretty much the same anyway.... Um. Isn’t this kind of fresh...?”
Live long and healthily. Come back and tell us how it went. The words were rough, unpolished—but to someone, they might still be a comfort.
And so they decided not to retake or edit the video, but upload it to MyTube exactly as it was. It would be Jjokbit’s second official video on their MyTube channel. The first had been the hastily filmed “Leader Selection” video.
* * *
Back at the dorm, after showering, Neoul felt completely drained and flopped straight onto the bed. Just as he was on the verge of falling asleep, his smartphone rang.
Half-dazed, he checked the screen and saw that the caller was Won Hasin. Neoul answered and held the phone beside his ear.
“Yes.”
— Fish! The first-place prize money is in your account!
The 100 million won first-place prize from Idol Travel had been deposited. Even after taxes of 4.4 million won were taken out, that still came to a total of 95.6 million won.
Since this was separate from their settlement payments, it had gone directly into the bank account Won Hasin had set up for Neoul.
“My account?”
— The place where money goes in!
“Did I have something like that?”
— Yeah. Don’t use my card anymore; use your own! I told Song-ssi to deliver the card, okay? Where should I send it?
“Please send it to the dorm.”
— Got it. So... how’s the debut prep going?
“Yes.”
— Hm. Ah, uh, I see! Good. Work hard!
The call clicked off.
“....?”
It felt like he’d been about to say something else, then cut himself off in a hurry.
Neoul lifted one eyebrow and glared at the smartphone. Baek Gi-yeom, toweling off his hair, noticed the look on his face and asked, “What’s wrong with you, Neoul?”
“Ah. He said the prize money came in.”
“Oh. So it finally arrived! Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Neoul put the phone away and closed his eyes. If it was something important, Won Hasin would probably call again later. He was too tired to do anything but rest for now.
Then, all at once, he remembered the coffee truck Halla, the judge, had sent as a gesture of support. The sweet drink she had handed over....
“Teacher Baek Gi-yeom.”
“Hm?”
“How do you send a coffee truck?”
“A coffee truck? Where do you want to send one?”
“I’d like to send one to the college exam site.”
Wouldn’t a sweet drink make people feel a little more at ease?
Baek Gi-yeom cut in. “You just got your prize money and you already want to spend it on someone else? Besides, there isn’t just one test site. Where exactly are you trying to send it?”
“There isn’t just one?”
“Of course not. There are so many students taking the exam all over the country. That’s only natural.”
“Then... several places? As many as possible?”
“Uh... surely you’re not planning to spend all the prize money, are you?”
Baek Gi-yeom narrowed his eyes. Neoul shook his head, looking as though he truly didn’t understand.
“But what about porridge instead of coffee? There may be students who didn’t eat breakfast or couldn’t bring lunch. But do they even have porridge food trucks?”
Without even turning around, Baek Yuri objected, “The intention is good, but I think the front of the school would get really crowded in the morning. Students taking the test won’t have the time to stand in line and pick up food during such a busy rush, either. It might end up obstructing the students who are trying to get to the exam.”
Neoul slumped like a deflated balloon.
Then he jumped when he saw Baek Yuri walking toward him with something in his hands. Baek Yuri had a thin white sheet draped over his face. There were holes cut out for the eyes, nose, and mouth, but that only made it look even stranger.
“What is that?”
“It’s a mask pack.”
Smack!
A cold sheet settled over Neoul’s face.
“Leave just your eyes, nose, and mouth out like that and smooth it on properly for a little while. You’ve been filming without sleep, so your skin must be wrecked. If you don’t take care of it now, you’ll regret it later.”
Baek Yuri handed a pack to Baek Gi-yeom as well, then went into the room and gave one to each of the other members. After that, he came back out to the living room and asked, “Hmm... what if we prepare snacks for the time they finish instead?”
***