Chapter 106: Wrapping Up the Job (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: Wrapping Up the Job (1)
≫ I’ve seen people drink like that at those old-school hole-in-the-walls.
≫ Holy shit, he can really throw them back.
≫ Look at how pale his skin stays even while drinking like that.
Is there any reason for me to keep watching this? It’s not even like the fans made it.
I appreciated the interest, but I was dying of embarrassment. I wanted to hurl myself out the dorm window.
Just as I was about to tell them to turn it off, a short and blunt comment caught my eye.
≫ 15:38 Drinking Hippo.
the moment I saw that, I made up my mind.
When I quit being an idol, I’m moving to the countryside where the internet doesn’t reach.
The aftermath of my appearance on People Who Drink Alcohol lingered for a long time.
On online communities, people were calling me a "heavyweight" or a "lush" in addition to "Kim Peps." Whenever we went to music shows, fans would express their concern, telling me to watch my drinking.
I wanted to die a little from the shame. That’s why I even did a wholesome "Alcohol Eradication" promotional live broadcast at 7:00 PM.
It stung my heart that the top-rated comment was, "Everyone… don’t do what he does…," but whatever.
And so, my first solo variety appearance vanished into the sunset, leaving me with nothing but a boost to my Self-PR Score and a healthy dose of public humiliation. It was a season of growth.
"Everyone, where are we?"
"Incheon Land!"
To wrap up the promotions that had been chaotic from planning to execution, Spark visited an amusement park to film the final self-produced content of this era.
With a group of guys whose faces were loud enough on their own wearing school uniforms and accompanied by cameras, it was impossible not to draw attention.
Since we were wearing the same uniforms from the music video, I felt intensely embarrassed. I wondered what I was doing with my life at my age.
Meanwhile, Park Ju-woo was drawing even more attention by hunching his shoulders as much as possible.
"Ju-woo, straighten up. You’re going to get a hunchback."
"It’s just… I’m a bit embarrassed."
"About what?"
When I looked at him in confusion, Park Ju-woo covered the wappen on the chest of his shirt with his hand.
"I’m the only one in a middle school uniform…"
"The design is the same; only the hanja is different…"
Walking around like that would only make him stand out more.
Under the pretext of preventing his shoulders from slanting, I handed my backpack over to Park Ju-woo and took his crossbody bag instead.
Only after the bag strap covered the wappen did Park Ju-woo regain his broad smile.
However, Ju-woo’s smile didn’t last long.
After riding a flower-bud-shaped ride that moved up and down, Park Ju-woo returned looking white as a sheet.
The original goal was to film the member who lost the mission looking awkward among the children, but Ju-woo looked so pitiful that it turned into a "Bully One Member" special.
While the "children of the new nation" screamed for the ride to go higher, Park Ju-woo desperately shook his head.
Perhaps feeling sorry for him, the operator let only the bud Ju-woo was on spin around on the ground.
"Ju-woo Hyung, can’t you handle rides?"
Kang Gi-yeon asked as he handed a bottle of water to Ju-woo, who had collapsed onto a bench.
He was a kid who rarely pointed out the elders' weaknesses, so he seemed genuinely surprised by Ju-woo’s ghostly complexion.
"Yeah…"
"Is it the height you don't like?"
"I guess so…"
At Choi Je-ho’s question, Park Ju-woo answered in a completely dejected voice.
Jeong Seong-bin comforted him.
"Don’t worry too much, Ju-woo. It’s okay to be bad at riding things!"
"That’s right. I’m sure there’s something easy you can ride!"
Lee Cheong-hyeon chimed in excitedly. I don't know where he bought them, but he was the only one wearing an animal-ear headband with a mascot doll attached.
"Yeah. You’re doing more than your share as a vocal, so it’s fine if you can’t handle amusement park rides."
Since it was uncomfortable to see Ju-woo looking so discouraged on camera, I patted his shoulder to comfort him.
Only then did Ju-woo seem to relax a bit, and he stood up from the bench.
Right on cue, the PD stepped in.
"Alright, Spark! Shall we move to the next location?"
"Yes!"
"The next ride is… the Tornado!"
Instantly, Park Ju-woo’s face turned as white as the resignation envelopes I used to carry around.
The second round was a group mission.
If everyone successfully performed a 2x speed dance in the middle of the crowd without anyone falling behind, they would earn ride passes.
Naturally, Spark succeeded. Considering their practice hours, it would have been weirder if they failed.
Though Park Ju-woo’s hands trembled when he saw the ride—which looked like a giant pancake flipper spinning ruthlessly…
'Ju-woo, if it’s too hard, you don’t have to push yourself!'
'No, I’ll… I’ll give it a try. Since I’m riding with the members!'
Despite the production team’s consideration, Park Ju-woo mustered his courage and entered. He wasn't even my kid, but I couldn't have been prouder.
Everything was fine up to that point. To be precise, until the ride actually started moving.
The reason for the impending disaster could be summarized as follows:
First, this was only my second time ever visiting an amusement park.
During the first visit for the music video shoot, we only rode stationary or slow-moving rides to prevent anyone from falling out of the frame.
In other words, this was my first time on a dynamic ride.
Second, since I was a pedestrian who relied on public transport, I never had a reason to enjoy speed.
What does speed matter when commuting to Seoul? I was just lucky if the bus didn't stop every five seconds.
Lastly, I didn't even enjoy movies that much.
So, what do they call it… I had no immunity to "jump scares" or sudden situations.
So I didn't realize.
That I…
"Hyung, Iwol Hyung! Are you okay?!"
…was absolutely terrible at riding these things.
It started out bravely enough.
I sat to the right of Park Ju-woo, who was shaking even before the seatbelt was fastened, while Jeong Seong-bin sat to his left.
'You want me to sit next to Ju-woo?'
'He’ll feel safer with someone reliable next to him!'
…Or so they said. So I just sat where Lee Cheong-hyeon told me to.
The Tornado, carrying Lee Cheong-hyeon, Kang Gi-yeon, Jeong Seong-bin, Park Ju-woo, me, and Choi Je-ho, began to move to upbeat music.
And the moment the rotation accelerated.
'I think something’s wrong.'
I had an intuition that I was fucked.
It was fast—way too fast. It felt like a centrifuge trying to separate my internal organs.
I thought I could handle a ride that just spun at a constant speed, since it wasn't like a Viking ship that went high up.
Even the kids in the previous turn were just students in uniforms!
I heard Park Ju-woo groaning beside me.
Since I was in the seat to his right, I tried to reach out and grab his hand, but then.
"Now we’re going higher and faster! Spin it, spin it!"
With the DJ’s spirited commentary, the ride entered its berserk phase.
Are amusement park rides supposed to make your heart stop like this?
Is it normal to feel this much of a threat to my life?
Is this… right?
"Hey, you okay?"
I faintly heard Choi Je-ho’s voice from the side.
But I couldn't answer.
Instead, only a spinning scream remained on my microphone.
"Hyung, have some water."
"Thanks…"
With trembling hands, I took the water bottle Jeong Seong-bin held out.
I wasn't lying when I said I felt like I’d opened the gates of heaven only to have them slammed in my face. I almost met the System in the void.
"Are you okay, Hyung…?"
"No. My heart hurts."
Even Park Ju-woo, sitting next to me on the bench, was worried about me.
It seemed that seeing me on the verge of fainting had made him forget his own fear for a moment.
"Are students actually allowed to ride things like this?"
"Iwol, anyone over 130cm can ride this."
"What? I feel like you’d need to be over 230cm to be safe."
Clutching my startled heart, I struggled to stand up from the bench. My legs were wobbling.
"Oh dear, it’s going to be a problem if you’re struggling this much already."
"Gasp, are we going to ride that?!"
At the PD’s words, Lee Cheong-hyeon’s eyes sparkled as he raised his voice.
Beside him, Kang Gi-yeon was showing incredible focus.
Right, you guys are just thrilled to be at an amusement park.
The two thrill-seekers were busy explaining how high and scary the park's famous rides were.
For today, I desperately wanted to lean on the younger members who possessed such brave hearts.
We rode a few more things after that.
When they rode the K Express, a park staple, I was shown some mercy; Ju-woo and I stayed below to guard the bags. However…
'The final rider for the Rodeo Show is… Iwol!'
'Wait, can’t I ride in his place?!'
'The leader’s heart is noble, but no!'
Because I couldn't focus on the game, I suffered the tragedy of riding a dizzyingly spinning hunk of metal all by myself.
'Iwol Hyung, they say you only have to hold on for a minute! You can do it!'
'Hyung, hang in there! The little kids next to you are watching!'
'Hyung, fighting…!'
'Is that really something that needs this much cheering?'
'Looking at his face, I feel like we have to cheer for him…'
Being surrounded by children, unable to even open my eyes while groaning in pain, was the most humiliating experience I’d had since dance practice. I wanted to tell them all to shut up, but I held it back with peak endurance.
At this point, I didn't even want to know how pathetic I’d look on screen. When I got back, I was going to pull the plug on the dorm’s router.
"Phew…"
"You worked hard, Hyung."
Jeong Seong-bin supported me as I stepped down on shaky legs. Thanks to him, I barely managed to resist the urge to give up on everything and crawl on all fours.
"Wow, we have plenty of footage. Right?"
The PD across from us wore a satisfied smile. The writers nodded in agreement.
I felt like we’d been filming for 20 hours, but when I checked my watch, only two hours had passed.
How is this possible? I felt like I’d crossed the River of the Underworld 360 times.
If they got enough footage in just two hours, just how disgracefully did I behave? My soul was tattered.
Whether I was suffering or not, the PD didn't care. I wondered when I would ever become a pro like that. Truly admirable.
"This Hyung’s eyes have lost their focus."
"Someone give him some water."
While Kang Gi-yeon and Choi Je-ho made their comments, the PD clapped to get our attention.
"We’re going to take a few natural shots for the intro and the cookie video now. For the next hour, consider it free time and enjoy yourselves!"
"Really?"
The boys' faces lit up. It seemed they were secretly disappointed about skipping some rides because of the filming.
"Ah, Iwol, you can rest if you’re tired!"
"No, I should work hard!"
For a moment, I almost forgot my place and got excited. Calm down, heart.
And so, Spark split into the "Attraction Team" and the "Food Court Team."
Choi Je-ho seemed to want to avoid bothering the younger ones, but Lee Cheong-hyeon dragged him along, saying rides are better in even numbers. Seeing him take care of the socially awkward elder was touching, so I handed him some of the pocket money I’d won in the games.
Park Ju-woo and I had a fairly relaxing break.
We shared some bead ice cream—though Ju-woo couldn't take a single bite until I’d captured his "best shot"—and looked at some powerful-looking bubble guns.
We even rode the carousel. We rode it because it would provide shots that the thrill-addicted lunatics couldn't offer, but I can’t forget the benevolent expressions the camera directors had as they watched us from outside the ride.
As the break drew to a close, we sat on a bench to catch our breath and wait for the Attraction Team to return.
The Attraction Team returned to the promised bench right on time.
While they were desperately explaining which ride had ruined their hair, Park Ju-woo went to the restroom.
"Alright, is everyone here?"
"Ju-woo is still…"
I looked toward where Park Ju-woo had disappeared. Then, the PD spoke again.
"No, everyone is here."
"What?"
We all turned toward the PD at the same time.
"From now on, you just need to find your friend Ju-woo, who is waiting for you anxiously!"