Karma on the Silence Retreat

While talking with the staff of Cream Entertainment, the PD of the YouTube variety show walked over to Suyun and greeted her.

Suyun knit her brows slightly at the approach before recalling who the person was.

It's that person I did the busking content shoot with on PD Jeon Tae-yeong's sub-channel... 'Channel Free-Pru'. What was her name again...?

"PD Ga-eun, hello!"

"Ah, yes! Hello. It's been a while, Suyun."

"Ah, PD Kim Ga-eun. Yes, it's been a while."

Suyun quickly caught the name and greeted her. Now that she thought about it, that was indeed her name. A PD of her level shouldn't really need to come out to the field like this, though.

"We really wanted to send you more casting offers after that, but the timing never worked out, which was such a shame. It's so great to see you again like this!"

"Ah, I'm glad to see you again too. How have you been?"

"Oh, you know me! I've been great!"

After exchanging these polite platitudes, Suyun said something along the lines of "Please take good care of us today," and turned back to join the members of Aurora and Group Sound.

"By the way, what kind of show is this again?"

"We've done it once before, so don't worry!"

"Yeah, exactly. We're total veterans at this."

"But Yoonseo, didn't you get penalized three times in a row back then? Or was that someone else?"

"It was Yoonseo. She got the final penalty too."

"Girls, stop being so rowdy. Let's gather quietly. You're making the Group Sound members uncomfortable."

"She's the loudest one here..."

At that, Harin cleared her throat with a loud ahem!

Suyun twirled a strand of her hair. Earlier, Harin had greeted Iseor with such dramatic enthusiasm, it looked like a reunion of long-lost family members.

"Alright, everyone please gather round. We'll begin shooting shortly~"

Moving toward the set at the staff member's call, Suyun thought to herself: Whatever happens, let's just get through this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quietly without getting any penalties. I'm already getting a massive headache from this cosplay situation. If I end up getting hit with a penalty on some weird variety show on top of that, I'll seriously...

It started!

Gathering her fluttering heart, Ayun tapped her phone screen and quickly sent out a tweet. As if most people shared her sentiment, her timeline had already devolved into absolute chaos.

It was only natural. The Group Sound girls' variety show potential had already been proven countless times through their self-produced content. Despite that, none of the Group Sound members except Suyun had ever appeared on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a proper variety show. The only shows they had ever been on were documentaries and Kim Ji-yeon's Music Letter.

But this time was different. It was the channel 'Jeondeyong'.

A YouTube channel run by PD Jeon Tae-yeong, who had created legendary national television programs in the past and now operated his own independent production company, 'Deyon'. With 'Channel Free-Pru'—the sub-channel that produced the busking program Suyun had previously appeared on—under its wing, it was a massive channel averaging over two million views per video. It was truly worthy of being called one of the "major networks of the new era."

On top of that, Silence Retreat was the flagship show of Channel Jeondeyong. The premise was simple: bring a specific group (usually idols) to a retreat-style set, make them do various activities, and have them sing a song in its entirety without getting caught by the patrolling "retreat instructor."

However, because the penalties, the process of getting penalized, and the final penalty were so effective at drawing out the diverse charms of the idols, it was a golden goose of a show, boasting an average of 3 million views and a peak of 32 million views.

To think our girls are participating in a show like this...!

The actor playing the instructor stood with his hands behind his back, throwing a question at Seoha as she wriggled into bed. The instructor's face froze in sheer bewilderment at her bold, deadpan retort. The sweat droplets added via CG perfectly illustrated his state of mind.

Idols who came to variety shows determined to secure screen time and promote themselves, versus a band that basically said, "We don't really know about any of that, we're just going to do whatever we want." Though they were girls of similar ages, their behavioral patterns were night and day. And that wasn't the only funny part.

From doing 180-degree splits to taking selfies with their feet and doing vocal impressions, the Aurora members showcased an array of extraordinary talents. Seeing Aurora show such a raw, unvarnished side of themselves that pushed the boundaries of their idol image, Ayun wondered if this was really okay for their reputation. That was, until the next scene played.

At the exaggeratedly playful provocation, the Group Sound girls huddled together and began to whisper. While the Aurora members watched them, Iseor suddenly spoke up.

Replying with a simple "Is that so?", Suyun pulled something out of her bag to show her talent. It was a tiny, finger-length stick of mysterious purpose. Suyun wedged the stick between her index and middle fingers...

The Group Sound members were behaving in a way that was completely unimaginable for idols. Watching Aurora struggle to maintain control while Group Sound tried to showcase their "talent," Ayun thought to herself: Yep, our girls are definitely a rock band.

The peaceful flow of the video shifted dramatically at a certain point. To be precise, it was from the moment Suyun was dragged away by the instructor to receive a penalty.

The screen showed rapid close-ups of subtle, knowing glances being exchanged. And then, a flashback sequence began. These were clips extracted from Aurora's behind-the-scenes making-of film.

Next, a brief interview segment was inserted.

The scene was rendered in bleak grayscale, accompanied by a slightly comical background track.

After the brief flashback featuring Group Sound's commentary, the eight girls remaining on the set nodded to one another without needing to say a word. It was a scene that made their intentions crystal clear.

It was from that moment on that Suyun was barely able to participate in any of the segments.

Having been dragged to the office countless times, Suyun's face was now covered in scribbles, and her head was adorned with every ridiculous accessory imaginable.

Like someone who had their soul sucked out after getting penalized on a 90s or 2000s variety show—specifically those word-chain games starring national comedians—Suyun sat there completely spaced out, wearing a mountain of absurd props.

Slumped on the floor, looking exactly like that famous meme of the exhausted dog with the caption, "I've been through so much... It's so hard, seriously," a single subtitle floated above Suyun's head.