Chapter 256: Bag Inspection (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 256: Bag Inspection (1)
To ensure things went smoothly, I, the owner of the bag, moved to the center. Naturally, this caused a slight shift in everyone’s seating arrangement.
I even put on the white gloves I’d requested in advance to appeal to my sense of professionalism. Finally, it was time to open my bag.
Just as I was about to touch the zipper, Lee Cheong-hyeon leaned forward, stretching his neck out.
“I’m really curious to see what’s in Hyung’s bag.”
“Why?”
“Because your bag has everything.”
Nods of agreement came from all directions at Lee Cheong-hyeon’s remark.
“He does carry around all sorts of random stuff,” Choi Je-ho added.
I’d rather hear that from anyone but you. Have you ever considered that maybe you just don’t carry enough?
Whether my feelings were hurt or not, the conversation flowed on.
“First, there’ll be my motion sickness medicine… probably two of them.”
“Why is Ju-woo Hyung’s motion sickness medicine in this hyung’s bag?”
“I don’t know. I carry my own, too, but Hyung always makes sure to pack some for me…”
Hearing Park Ju-woo’s answer, Lee Cheong-hyeon shook his head as if he were fed up.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Kang Gi-yeon chimed in.
“Wasn’t the best one the cable ties? The ones that showed up in the ‘In-My-Office’ behind-the-scenes cam.”
“I still remember the MeTube comments from back then,” Jeong Seong-bin muttered to himself.
“I didn’t realize you guys were so interested in my bag.”
I smiled benevolently for the camera as I pulled a tablet out of the bag. I had to remember my Morning Star Smile at all times, after all.
“First is my work tablet. I mainly use it for monitoring or organizing project items. I jot down urgent changes by hand in this… diary, then transfer them to the tablet while traveling in the car.”
After the tablet and diary came the emergency medical kit.
“This is Ju-woo’s motion sickness medicine, this is Cheongsimwon, bandages, and ointment. Just in case, some headache pills; digestive medicine since someone might get an upset stomach; and glucose candies for emergencies.”
“See? I told you my motion sickness medicine was in there…”
“There really are two of them,” Jeong Seong-bin said, picking up the two doses.
Of course there are two, considering the round trip. Do you think you only get motion sickness on the way there?
“Don’t you have anything more… normal?” Lee Cheong-hyeon asked, peeking in from the side. He was probably looking for something like this:
“Cable ties?”
“You still carry those around?”
Is that not it?
I tilted my head and pulled out another item.
“Then, cotton gloves?”
“Are those ‘everyday items’ to you, Hyung?”
“…A mini screwdriver set?”
“I’m asking if that’s an everyday item!”
“Why? This is great. The sizes are very compatible.”
I enthusiastically bragged about my prized possession to the camera. You see, everyone, this is very useful because it has four Phillips heads and additional flat-head bits you can swap out…
However, my passion was buried when Choi Je-ho yanked the bag open, saying they should just move on to the next thing.
“There’s another pouch?” Kang Gi-yeon asked, looking aghast. Since it was the same product as the medical pouch, just a different color, he probably thought I’d stuffed more motion sickness medicine in there.
“This is for personal care. Lip balm, lip cream, hand cream, a toothbrush set… Oh, and mist.”
I lined the products up in order of height. Since we were filming a cosmetics commercial, I turned all the products from other brands so their labels faced away and focused on highlighting the mist, which was our client’s product.
“As for the mist, it’s the Indenia product we’re advertising this time. As you can see, I use it regularly, so it’s about half empty.”
“Hyung sprays it on us sometimes, too!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon smiled, framing his face with his hands like a flower. This brand’s stuff is gentle and good. I’m glad we get to film a sincere advertisement.
*
Various items, including Indenia cosmetics, emerged from the other guys’ bags as well.
In terms of simplicity, Choi Je-ho was the undisputed winner.
From a dust bag so worn out it looked like you could see through the fabric, he pulled out a single Indenia lip balm, a toothbrush set, a contact lens case, and saline solution.
“Don’t people usually carry their glasses too in cases like this?” Kang Gi-yeon raised a very sensible question.
“I only take my lenses out when I’m going to sleep anyway, so whatever.”
But to Choi Je-ho, who was far from a sensible person, it was a meaningless question. The corner of Kang Gi-yeon’s mouth twitched.
“This hyung shouldn’t be filming ‘What’s in My Bag,’ he should be filming ‘Which Bag Should I Get.’”
“We should have bought him a bag for his birthday, right?” Jeong Seong-bin said regretfully after hearing Lee Cheong-hyeon’s comment.
Not long ago, for Choi Je-ho’s birthday, we had all chipped in to buy him a zip-up hoodie, but looking at him now, a bag seemed much more urgent.
“Ah.”
As if remembering something, Choi Je-ho rummaged through the dust bag. A small orange candy emerged from a corner of the bag.
“Anyone want this?”
The candy, of unknown origin, went straight into Lee Cheong-hyeon’s mouth.
Next up was Park Ju-woo, a minimalist who rivaled Choi Je-ho.
The contents were similar up to the toothbrush set, motion sickness medicine, and lip balm, but it wasn’t long before something new appeared.
“What’s this?”
“Oh, some albums I bought recently…”
A flood of albums with intense colors and images on their covers poured out of the small bag. It was as if the bag’s shape had been maintained by the CD cases inside.
“When did you buy so many albums?”
Jeong Seong-bin, Park Ju-woo’s roommate, the team leader, and the one who watched his friend’s spending habits closely, asked with a bewildered face.
“Well, I saw someone was doing a Hongdangmu Market trade near the NBC building, and it turned out to be our music show’s sound director…”
“And?”
“I bought everything the director put up for sale as a bundle.”
It was the kind of coincidence that made you wonder if such a thing was even possible. But if the other party was a sound director, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.
Imagine how many CDs and records he must have at home. And our main vocal, who loves music, just went and bought them all in one go.
I had a lot to say, but I held back because Park Ju-woo looked so happy. Park Ju-woo finished his turn by sending a heartwarming video message to the director, thanking him for selling such precious albums.
Starting with Jeong Seong-bin, the contents began to look more like what you’d expect from an idol’s bag.
Items like makeup for touch-ups, zero-calorie snacks, heated eye masks, and throat lozenges appeared.
The members’ reactions to each item were also great. In the past, they wouldn’t have cared if a custom microphone or a beetle came out of a member’s bag. The group had really changed a lot.
Just then, something tumbled out from among the items Jeong Seong-bin was pulling out. It was a small, navy-colored notebook.
“…What’s this notebook?”
The moment Park Ju-woo tried to pick up the notebook, which had fallen face-down on the table—
“Not that one!”
Jeong Seong-bin shouted. Everyone froze as if someone had hit the pause button.
“I-I was just going to give it back…”
Park Ju-woo explained with startled eyes. Jeong Seong-bin looked just as startled.
“No, I mean, sorry. It’s nothing special.”
Jeong Seong-bin stammered. Had the team leader written his ‘Top Secret’ diary in there? If so, we had to respect his privacy.
“If you don’t want to show it, you don’t have to. This is self-produced content, so we can just edit it out.”
“No, Hyung. It’s not like that…”
After hesitating, Jeong Seong-bin carefully held the notebook out toward the camera. There were Hanja characters written on the front.
【忍三字免殺人】
‘In-sam-ja… I don’t know that one… murder?’
I was bewildered. Why on earth would Spark’s mental pillar and benevolent leader be carrying around such a terrifying notebook?
“The Ginseng-Character-Murder Notebook? It means three ‘Patience’ characters can prevent a murder, right?”
At Lee Cheong-hyeon’s words as he studied the Hanja, Jeong Seong-bin bowed his head in embarrassment. Then, he gave a small nod.
“He definitely wrote it in Hanja so his roommates, Kang Gyeon and Ju-woo Hyung, couldn’t read it.”
“Is that true…?”
“Hyung.”
Park Ju-woo and Kang Gi-yeon glared at Jeong Seong-bin with piercing eyes. They seemed quite betrayed by the fact that he had taken them for fools.
Choi Je-ho, who had been watching all of this quietly, asked, “Who did you want to kill so badly?”
“Hyung! We’re filming, use better words!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon hurriedly covered Choi Je-ho’s mouth. It’s okay, Cheong-hyeon. This whole part is probably going to be edited out anyway.
Even a man of character like Jeong Seong-bin can have a hard time in life. Maybe the names of Jang Jun-hu, Yu Han-su, or Hong Un-seop were scribbled all over the pages.
I was about to give the edit signal to protect the leader’s human rights, but Jeong Seong-bin spoke up shyly.
“I’ll… I’ll just reveal the first page…”
Is it okay to reveal that? That?
Are you going to reveal the list of people you’re planning to eliminate once they hit three ‘Patience’ marks?
I trembled with fear. I couldn’t even begin to guess what Jeong Seong-bin was thinking.
Was he just going all out, trusting the editing? Was he sending a formal warning to UA? That he’d really sue them if they got a third strike?
While a million thoughts raced through my head, the first page of the notebook was heartlessly turned.
The Ginseng-Character-Murder Notebook of Jeong Seong-bin, thus revealed to the world, was…
I-wol Hyung 忍 忍
Je-ho Hyung
Ju-woo 忍
Cheong-hyeon 忍
Gi-yeon 忍
…filled with the names of Spark’s problem children.
“What is this?” Lee Cheong-hyeon asked, as if doubting his own eyes.
“Seong-bin… why me…?” Park Ju-woo’s eyes took on a sorrowful light.
“Hyung, did I do something wrong?” Kang Gi-yeon’s reaction was much the same. He was clearly flustered.
But!
“Seong-bin.”
“…”
“Why am I in such a precarious position?!”
Why me, of all people! What did I do!
Why did I get two strikes when Choi Je-ho didn’t even get one!
What’s the reason! Hold a press conference and explain yourself right now!