Chapter 215
Chapter 215
Bae Se-jin spoke calmly.
“Next… is your turn.”
“Y-Yes!”
Seon A-hyun swallowed hard, his face tight with tension, before shouting cautiously.
“I-I nominate Se-jin…!”
“Whaaat? A-hyun, aren’t you just picking me because I suspected you earlier? You shouldn’t let personal feelings get involved in this~”
“N-No, I’m not!”
It was my first time seeing these two bicker.
What was even funnier was that the others were watching the confrontation with sweaty palms.
‘How did it even come to this?’
I looked down at the remaining cards in my hand, lost in profound thought.
When we first stepped into the new dorm we’d moved into, the atmosphere couldn't have been more peaceful.
“It’s huge! I love it!”
“There are still three bathrooms, right?”
“They said this unit had a small extra bathroom added during a renovation. There are four.”
“Oh.”
Since a cleaning company would be coming in anyway, the increase in the number of bathrooms was a very welcome development.
…Though the location of the dorm weighed on my mind a bit.
‘We ended up in SV Village after all….’
The same neighborhood where VTIC’s dorm was located.
We had no choice after the news of us moving to E-Palace leaked. As we prioritized security, the list of candidates narrowed down, and we eventually landed here.
However, there was a significant difference in square footage, and the distance within the complex was quite far, so we wouldn't have any reason to run into them unnecessarily.
‘Let’s check the bedrooms.’
I pushed aside the useless, lingering unease and looked around the dorm.
“Wow! So many rooms! Do I get one to myself??”
“There are four bedrooms. Only one person can have a single room!”
“…!”
Whether he had been listening to their conversation or not, Bae Se-jin suddenly looked startled and muttered with grim determination.
“…I can have a room to myself?”
“Yes! Or we could have a setup where three people share a large room and another person gets the benefit of a single room, but….”
That wouldn't do.
‘That wouldn't look good.’
In fact, we could have rented two units and given everyone their own room. But the reason we insisted on staying in one dorm was to prevent rumors.
It wasn't even our second anniversary yet; if people saw us already using single rooms, it would be easy for them to say we didn't get along.
‘We need to wait at least another year.’
But to intentionally create a triple room just to add one more single room?
People would crawl out of the woodwork, desperate to slap a negative image on the ones using the single rooms.
I stepped in at that point.
“There’s no need to cram ourselves in. Like you said, three double rooms and one single room is better.”
“Yes!”
Kim Rae-bin immediately agreed with a somewhat proud expression, but the words left a bitter taste in my mouth.
‘I want a single room, too.’
It was a shame to kick away the chance to double my odds with my own feet.
“Oh~ This room is nice!”
“T-The bed size has gotten much bigger.”
At any rate, since the dorm was larger and the rooms were bigger, life seemed like it would be a bit more comfortable.
“Ah, right.”
And then, the decisive comment came.
Ryu Cheong-woo gave a thin smile and spoke as if making a joke.
“Shall we give the biggest room to the person who gets the single room?”
“…!”
Surprisingly, this proposal passed with overwhelming support.
“Oh! That sounds great~”
“Hmm, I believe the fans will find the reward quite persuasive when they watch the roommate-related content!”
“Haha, is that so?”
Ryu Cheong-woo himself seemed a bit surprised, but it appeared everyone had been busy imagining themselves in that single room.
As a result, the room assignment game had become ridiculously heated.
“Even reviewing this from a rational standpoint, Cha Yu-jin’s statements over the last two turns have been contradictory. Therefore, the fraud is Cha Yu-jin!”
“No! Think again!”
“He’s right!”
“Now, now. So Rae-bin, you think Yu-jin is lying?”
“That is correct! I shall ‘Verify’ the premise that Cha Yu-jin could not have received a bribe last turn!”
“I hate this!”
As soon as he was nominated, Cha Yu-jin started making a fuss as if he were being forced to drink poison.
‘The problem is that he’s not the only one acting like this.’
Everyone had been like this throughout the turns. I rested my chin on my hand, having given up.
Actually, this was a simple board game that mixed Mafia with a card game.
Actions were determined by the secret job cards drawn at the start, and the person who collected the most money through those actions won.
However, there was one distinguishing feature.
‘As long as you don't get caught, you can do whatever you want.’
You could bluff and perform actions your job didn't allow.
In other words, it was inevitable that all sorts of lies would run rampant.
‘…I picked it because I thought it would be funny.’
The problem was that Keun Se-jin had won the first round with a total bluff.
—S-Se-jin… aren’t you… a member of the National Assembly…?
—…A flower shop owner?
—That’s right~ Ah, ‘You fell for that?’ Yeah, that’s the right phrase for this, isn’t it? Hahaha!
—Ughhh!!
Perhaps because Keun Se-jin’s quote from his music video was so impressive, the meta of the game had been dominated by lies from the next round onward.
Everyone started lying left and right to collect money, and by the third round, it had turned into a complete mess.
“Alright, let’s ‘Verify’ Yu-jin. Show us your card.”
For reference, if your job was ‘Verified’ by someone else, you couldn't earn money for a while, regardless of whether you were telling the truth.
So, everyone who was nominated for ‘Verification’ defended themselves desperately, but…
Well, didn't I say it was a mess?
“Hmm… Yu-jin’s job was ‘Police’! Since he took a bribe last turn, Yu-jin is out!”
“Uuuu….”
“I knew it!”
Now, everyone was getting caught every time they were ‘Verified.’
‘This is a disaster.’
We’d been filming this for over two hours, and it felt like it would all be edited down to about thirty minutes.
Fans might be sad and ask for the full version, but if we actually released it, the atmosphere would turn somber… it was that kind of unfunny, dragged-out mess.
‘At this rate, someone who doesn't seem like they’d lie needs to win to break this cycle.’
This wouldn't do.
‘Next round… I should push for Seon A-hyun to win.’
He was the one least likely to lie.
So, in the fourth round, I gave Seon A-hyun a little push so he could do well.
—I-I’ll buy this…!
—Hmm, I think taking over the shop gives more money.
—I-Is that so? Then I’ll do that…!
And Seon A-hyun steadily grew his funds. Surprisingly, he didn't back down in a verbal spat with Keun Se-jin and succeeded in nominating him for ‘Verification.’
“I-I really, r-really thought about this before deciding… I’d like to verify Se-jin…! The building construction from last turn!”
“Got it, A-hyun.”
Ryu Cheong-woo, who had volunteered to be the moderator because he didn't feel much charm in the single room, immediately checked Keun Se-jin’s card.
I crossed my arms.
‘Is one of them out?’
I naturally thought so, but the words that came out of Ryu Cheong-woo’s mouth were unexpected.
“…! Se-jin… wasn't lying!”
“…!!”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah. His job is capable of building construction.”
This bastard had pulled a double bluff.
“Hey, it would be wrong to lie again this time. I have a conscience too!”
The lies just kept flowing.
Thanks to that, Seon A-hyun, who failed the ‘Verification,’ had to sit out for three turns as a penalty.
“A-hyun is barred from acting this turn as well.”
“Y-Yes….”
“Se-jin can’t earn money for one more turn either.”
“Understood~”
Because of that, an unexpected winner emerged.
“The winner of this round is… Moon-dae!”
That was me.
“Yes, thank you.”
For the record, it was all meaningless.
My total was already behind because Keun Se-jin had targeted me intensely two rounds ago.
‘Damn it.’
Maybe I should have just swept all the money regardless of whether it was fun or not.
Anyway, so who was the final winner…
“The overall first place, who gets to choose their room freely, is Lee Se-jin!”
“Hahaha!”
In the end, that bastard won.
It would probably be fun for the viewers, but… for some reason, it rubbed me the wrong way.
‘Should I poke at him?’
I opened my mouth with a smile.
“Congratulations.”
“Oh~ Moon-dae, Moon-dae, thanks!”
“It’ll be comfortable using the single room.”
“…??”
“This was to pick the person for the single room, after all.”
“That’s right, I’m jealous!”
“I hope you enjoy your pleasant solo life in that big room.”
As I pushed the narrative that he was taking the single room as a given, Keun Se-jin’s expression twitched for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
“Haha, no! Um, it’s not necessarily like that~”
Oh, he’s trying to dodge it.
He had played hard in the game to get screen time for this content, but it seemed he didn't actually want to use the single room.
Most likely, if he used it alone, there was a high chance he’d lose out on screen time in our self-produced content.
‘Is he going to go for the "naturally yielding" angle?’
Then well, there was only one candidate.
“Hey, I’d like to use it too, but… um, I want to give the single room to Cheong-woo hyung! Our leader hyung has really supported this team since our debut!”
“Wait, me?”
“That’s right, hyung~ Shouldn't the eldest, the leader, be the one to use something like this!”
“Ooh!”
“That’s a wonderful choice!”
And just like that, Ryu Cheong-woo snagged the single room without getting a drop of water on his hands.
‘I’m jealous.’
I was inwardly clicking my tongue when I heard a small voice beside me.
“…I’m the eldest….”
Bae Se-jin didn't seem to intend to say it out loud, as he hurriedly shut his mouth when our eyes met.
Come to think of it, Bae Se-jin’s birthday was the earliest. This is why image is so important.
‘…Of course, technically speaking, I’m the real eldest.’
I smacked my lips, watching the chance for a single room fly away.
Well, a double room wasn't a problem either. For one, I ended up with a quiet roommate.
“Then Moon-dae and A-hyun are in one room.”
“P-Please take care of me…!”
“Sure. It’s been a while.”
It was because I ended up sharing a room with Seon A-hyun. As soon as the spots were filled with this lineup, Seon A-hyun’s face lit up.
‘Could it be that this guy also worked hard not for the single room, but to avoid Cha Yu-jin?’
A very persuasive hypothesis crossed my mind, but it wasn't important, so I let it go.
For the record, Keun Se-jin properly reaped what he sowed for shaking up the game in his greed for screen time.
The problem was that an innocent bystander got hit with him.
“Oh, then… the two Se-jin hyungs are in the same room!”
This happened because Cha Yu-jin and Kim Rae-bin chose the same room while shouting at each other to get out.
In the end, Keun Se-jin, who had yielded his choice to Ryu Cheong-woo and thus lost his right to choose… was automatically joined with Bae Se-jin in his room.
“Hyung, please take care of me!”
“S-Sure.”
The two exchanged harmonious greetings a beat late. You’d better be thankful this isn't a live broadcast.
‘They won't fight, right?’
After that one big fight, they were the type to not interfere with each other at all beyond necessary conversation.
And even if they were in the same room, it was the size of our previous dorm’s living room. It was safe to say they wouldn't run into each other much.
‘Well, if I see any signs, I can just swap them.’
The public excuse could be… something funny like their sleeping schedules being so different they were suffering.
“Alright, then we’ll each go unpack in our rooms and come back with more roommate stories!”
“See you later, Loviewers~”
With those ending remarks, the filming for the roommate game concluded.
I shrugged and went into the room designated as mine to unpack.
‘The quality is definitely better.’
It really showed that it had undergone a lot of renovations.
“M-Moon-dae. Let’s have fun and get along…!”
“That would be nice.”
I was already looking forward to a pleasant sleep without noise pollution.
—I’m going to visit! A lot!
—I’ll take the thought.
That conversation was a bit ominous, but I figured it was still better than being Cha Yu-jin’s roommate.
‘That kid talks too much.’
I sighed and sprawled out on the bed.
The only thing I could hear was the sound of Seon A-hyun organizing his French embroidery and dish scrubbers.
‘So peaceful.’
I guess this is the taste of moving.
…For the record, this feeling didn't last a day.
Because the very next day.
I had to get on a plane again and head to LA.
The cause was that damn additional variety show filming, and the content was absolute crap.
It looked like we’d be doing a one-time special stage with a mix of the mentors.
The problem was that Cheong-ryeo was on my team.
‘Fck.’*
It all started with Episode 2 of <K-NOW>, which he appeared in.