Chapter 95: Employee Farm Experience (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95: Employee Farm Experience (3)
8:00 PM.
In the city, this would have been a time dedicated to practice, but in the countryside—where the sun had set and the internet was non-existent—it was the perfect hour for a truth game.
At this point, I suspected the System had assigned the "Share a secret story with the members" task knowing full well things would turn out like this.
The members gathered in the living room, their skin looking a bit more hydrated after peeling off their cucumber masks.
"Ah, this kind of thing is best done while holding candles!"
"Isn't that more of a school retreat vibe?"
"It’s about the atmosphere!"
For the sake of Lee Cheong-hyeon and his obsession with atmosphere, I borrowed a phone from the writer, turned on a video titled '[1 Hour] Fire Gazing Time,' and handed it to him.
Holding a cyber-campfire in his hands, Lee Cheong-hyeon immediately shut his mouth.
"What should the order be?"
When I asked, Jeong Seong-bin answered immediately.
"Since we haven't done our 'Compliment of the Week' yet, how about we go around praising the person next to us, and the first person who gets stuck has to go first?"
"Sounds good."
Since he brought it up, Jeong Seong-bin stepped up confidently to go first.
"I want to praise Cheong-hyeon’s spirit of service. I was very moved by how he took charge of building the fire pit because he didn't want the older members to hurt their hands."
"I think he just really wanted to do it himself," Kang Gi-yeon muttered, but Lee Cheong-hyeon accepted the compliment with great joy regardless.
The compliment relay continued smoothly. Perhaps because they had done it a few times at the dorm, everyone praised their fellow members with ease.
Eventually, it was Choi Je-ho’s turn.
The person he had to praise was me. I gestured for him to hurry up and speak.
Choi Je-ho furrowed his brows and let out a low groan.
"Uh..."
"What’s with the silence?"
Choi Je-ho couldn't say a word, as if a piece of rice cake was stuck in his throat.
Couldn't he at least praise me for something that happened today, like Seong-bin did? Something like, 'I-wol, thank you for scrubbing the cauldron lid so hard!'
Though, in Seong-bin's case, it would have been a sincere compliment.
I fiddled with my hands and asked, "Don't tell me there's nothing?"
"No, it's just... you got scolded by Jeong Seong-bin the day before yesterday."
"So, you're saying I only do things that get me scolded, so there's nothing to praise? You're the first one in the hot seat."
I immediately shoved Choi Je-ho into the pit of the truth game.
However, it wasn't exactly a great choice. No one dared to ask him a question.
Well, I suppose you guys are afraid of what might come out of that mouth of his.
‘What kind of topics did the fans react well to when these guys talked?’
First of all, no sane person here would bring up something like first loves.
Questions about school days... he didn't seem to have many friends, so let's skip that.
After some thought, I spoke up.
"If we have a schedule in the countryside or overseas later, who do you want to share a room with?"
I didn't ask this with today in mind. Tonight, we all had to sleep huddled together in one room anyway.
Choi Je-ho answered without hesitation.
"Park Ju-woo."
"Why?"
"He's quiet. Isn't it more comfortable when there's less interaction?"
"I think we need to hear Ju-woo’s opinion on that."
"I like sharing a room with Je-ho Hyung too...!"
What a sweet kid. Park Ju-woo, you're exempt from folding laundry next time.
As for you, Choi Je-ho, you're getting 100 sessions of 'Speaking Prettily' training.
The next protagonist was Jeong Seong-bin, who lost the timing game.
As soon as his turn came, Lee Cheong-hyeon pounced as if he’d been waiting.
"I've been wanting to ask this! Hyung, would you rather have five I-wol Hyungs, or a five-year-old I-wol Hyung?"
Are you guys playing a penalty game with me as the subject?
While I stood there dumbfounded, Jeong Seong-bin began to contemplate seriously.
Beside him, the others started a heated debate.
"Why would you even ask that? It’s obviously a five-year-old I-wol Hyung."
"Why?"
"You can give him early dance education."
Kang Gi-yeon was way too immersed, spouting terrifying things.
I went from twenty-nine back to twenty, so it’s not like I couldn't go back to five, but what was the point of this discussion?
After five long minutes of deep thought, Jeong Seong-bin spoke with a solemn expression.
"I've decided."
"Oh! What are you picking?"
"I'll go with the five-year-old I-wol Hyung."
When Park Ju-woo asked for the reason, Jeong Seong-bin closed his eyes tight and said, "If there are five Hyungs, we’d each have to watch one, but if there’s only one Hyung, all five of us can look after him together...!"
"I'm sorry, but are you planning on co-parenting me?"
I was so flabbergasted that a hollow laugh escaped me.
You idiots. If it were me, I would have multiplied you all by five and made you do five times the events.
Once the floodgates opened, all sorts of bizarre questions poured out.
Thanks to years of being tempered by drinking games, I managed to escape the question hell without getting caught once. Good job, past me.
The day's recording ended with the production crew delivering the wake-up mission.
This was thanks to a prior agreement not to film at night, considering the majority of the team were minors.
Only after the cameras were turned off did the boys wash off their makeup and return to their natural states.
Maybe it was because it wasn't heavy stage makeup, but there wasn't much difference even with bare faces. Or maybe it was just because they were all still young.
By the time I finished washing up and came out, the bedding was already neatly laid out for everyone.
Even though we lived in a dorm, we usually had three people to a room at most; today, it was six in one room. It reminded me intensely of the military.
‘At least the blankets are bright and nice.’
Glancing around, I saw the boys were already tucked under their colorful blankets.
Just as I was about to pull up my own, someone called out to me from the side.
It was Jeong Seong-bin.
"Hyung, are you going to sleep?"
"Yeah, I should."
The company had warned us not to let our dark circles grow before the comeback.
If I knew how to control that, I would have gotten a job at a dermatology clinic.
"You should sleep too. We have to wake up at 6:00 AM tomorrow."
"Yes."
Jeong Seong-bin answered obediently and crawled into his blanket.
Then, thirty seconds later, his head popped out again.
"But, Hyung."
"What?"
"Can I ask why... your back is like that?"
As he spoke, Jeong Seong-bin stole a glance at me.
"Why? Are you worried I was out getting into trouble?"
"No! I never thought that...!"
Jeong Seong-bin waved his hands in a panic.
At the same time, we both quickly checked the surroundings to see if anyone had woken up. Perhaps because the farm work during the day had been exhausting, the others remained motionless.
Even if he said he wasn't suspicious, Seong-bin must have been worried deep down.
It wasn't rare for a debuted idol to disappear because of something that happened in their past.
Moreover, I was a trainee who had joined late at the age of twenty.
It was understandable to be wary of a guy whose school days were a mystery suddenly showing up with a large scar on his back.
But I didn't particularly want to talk about a family history devoid of dreams or hope.
Talking about that kind of stuff only makes everyone feel awkward.
While I was debating how to brush it off, the System appeared above the darkened ceiling.
+
[SYSTEM] 'New Task' is being re-notified.
▷ Share a secret story with the members
▷ Reward: Increased probability of a stable comeback
+
A secret story?
Didn't we share everything during the truth game earlier? What more is there to say?
I was quite puzzled.
While the System could be lazy at times, it was usually consistent about confirming details related to new tasks.
As if reading my thoughts, the System popped up again.
+
[SYSTEM] A work directive from the 'Person in Charge' has arrived.
▶ Assistant Manager Kim! You're not trying to slip away on your own, are you? I'll be hurt if you do. You have to participate in these moments to build teamwork.
+
Ah.
So it was ruled invalid because I was the only one who didn't get caught in the truth game?
I thought that since this would be edited, one member not getting caught wouldn't be noticeable on screen. I was short-sighted.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"
"Huh?"
Jeong Seong-bin, who had been watching my reaction, spoke up urgently.
"Weren't you worried I might have caused trouble?"
"Not at all!"
"No? Then why did you ask?"
"Well, it's nothing much, but..."
Jeong Seong-bin rolled his eyes around for a while before speaking.
"If it's something you don't want to reveal, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help..."
"What?"
"Like talking to the company in advance when deciding on outfit concepts... Ah, I'm not trying to overstep! It's just, I..."
For someone usually so sharp, he was rambling.
I quietly waited for Jeong Seong-bin to finish what he wanted to say.
Then, hesitatingly, he carefully brought out the words he really wanted to say.
"I thought you looked flustered when I mentioned your back earlier. I'm sorry for carelessly touching upon something you might dislike..."
"..."
"It's not much of an excuse, but if you want to make sure something like that doesn't happen again, I want to help."
Only then did I realize why Jeong Seong-bin had been struggling to meet my eyes.
He’d been feeling guilty all this time, thinking he’d hit a sore spot. How are you going to survive in this harsh world with such a functioning conscience?
A chuckle escaped me involuntarily.
"It's not like that. You don't have to worry."
"...Well, that's a relief, then."
"I mean it."
I slowly closed my eyes. I heard the sound of Jeong Seong-bin pulling up his blanket beside me.
"It's not like I got it doing something stupid."
The sound of insects chirping came from outside.
When the chirping paused, I could hear the breathing of someone asleep, and then the insects would start up again.
"...The atmosphere at home was a bit rough, and sometimes it went a bit too far."
I chose and cut my words excessively, but the meaning must have been conveyed. Seong-bin was a smart kid.
I heard more insects in the distance.
The atmosphere of the rural night was so foreign that it created the illusion that my childhood memories didn't belong to me.
It felt like I was reading the faded diary of someone else, someone very old and unrelated to me.
"I just got unlucky back then. I don't see my own back often, so I’d forgotten about it."
I gave a small smirk and turned toward Jeong Seong-bin. He had a complicated expression on his face.
"It's not exactly pretty to look at, so I'll keep it well hidden. Don't let it bother you."
"Hyung..."
I turned my gaze away from Jeong Seong-bin, saying I was tired and we should sleep.
Rural nights are scary. They make a person dive into flashbacks in an instant.
As I tried to turn over to hide my embarrassment, I heard someone sniffing from the opposite side of Jeong Seong-bin.
‘Did someone catch a cold? Or is it allergic rhinitis from the new environment? Or...’
I sat up to find the culprit sniffling in the middle of the night.
At that, several blankets rustled and then went dead silent.
"You there."
"..."
"Don't tell me... was someone else awake?"
Despite my question, the three heads hidden under the blankets didn't budge.
It was then. Another sniffle came from behind Jeong Seong-bin.
No way.
None of you were asleep?
I'm... a bit flustered, guys...