Schedule Hell (8)
“Phew, I just wanna hit up a sauna, sweat it out nice and hot, grab some heated eggs on a salt stone, wash it down with icy sikhye to quench my thirst, then crash till noon tomorrow.”
“I wanna eat Dad’s braised short ribs. That tender meat just melts off the bone with every bite, all sweet and salty, and then scoop up some rice and nom nom nom, plus perfectly fermented kimchi... mmph!”
“Cut it out. You’re driving me nuts.”
Kang Jun clamped a hand over Nam Eungyu’s mouth to stop his rampage, then flopped back down limply.
“I can feel my stamina tanking hard lately.”
“The food doesn’t agree with us.”
“The food here’s too damn greasy! I want kimchi! Arghhh!”
The members and I were all hanging on by sheer grit. With our stamina dropping faster than usual, everyone had red ginseng sticks jammed in their mouths.
“Slurp, slurp...”
“Does that stuff actually taste good to him?”
“This is stamina, baby. You don’t know potions?”
“Ooooh yeah~ Potions hit different!”
“You finish your share today?”
“Nah, too bitter.”
“Tsk tsk! You’re not a kid anymore. You’ll collapse at this rate. Better chug it yourself before Manager Noona force-feeds you and you see the light.”
“Ughhh!”
We had to force down stuff like this just to keep going. In Winpuo, the familiar seafood and mild spices went down easy, but Zao’s food was a constant mismatch.
“Now even the smell of spices turns my stomach.”
And the water was an issue too.
“The water tastes so weird.”
“That’s why big stars lug their own water around, huh.”
The company was doing its best to support us, but they couldn’t pour endless cash into a group that hadn’t blown up huge in Zao yet. Balance between earnings and spending was key. At least Melissa’s investment let us hop between spots by plane instead of car. Without it, we might’ve been grinding 10+ hour drives just to hit schedules. Zao was massive—frustratingly so.
“Hyung, any word on when we head home?”
Leader Jeki got updates from Manager Noona first, so the guys always bugged him. But his answer was a downer.
“Schedules keep popping up. No way we’re flying out anytime soon.”
“I miss Mommm~”
“Aww~ Does our baby miss Mommy?”
“Ewww! Gross, hyung!!”
The kids were young and toughing it out on raw endurance.
“Filming and stages are fine, but all this travel’s killing our stamina.”
“We’re just sitting there—why’s it draining us so bad?”
“Right?”
“At least it’s worth it.”
“Heh, yeah.”
Our Zao run had earned us the nickname “Asia’s Princes.” It started with me as bait from Mask Singer, flashing our faces around till word spread. Once our skills got out, momentum built, and schedules snowballed. Now, Airplane’s fandom was solid here too, just like in Winpuo.
“Fanclub name’s so pretty now that I think about it.”
The fan name wing—wings for Airplane. A proper powerhouse now.
“Aaaah!!”
“What? What’s up?”
Jeki suddenly yelped, jolting the slumped members upright.
“Damn. One more schedule added.”
“Ah...”
“......”
Thud! They all collapsed again.
“I wanna go hooome!!!”
“I miss my bed!!!!!!!!!!”
“Kiiiimchiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Two months abroad, and homesickness was hitting the crew hard. I wasn’t faring much better.
I miss them. Miss them like crazy.
I watched Taeyang’s videos, but it wasn’t enough to kill the ache. Missed Jua noona, Jeonghwa too, and Ahyun who’d bawled on the phone last week saying the same. Phone sex with Boksun noona was thrilling but only deepened the thirst. Minyeong noona...
Time to drop off her ‘package’ soon.
Keeping that absurd promise was a hassle, leaving my feelings for her all tangled. I’d kept my word—semen delivery via mail. But not the straightforward way.
Shipping cum? That’s straight-up freaky.
And mailing it cargo-style every time? No thanks. So I got clever. With my spatial movement item, I could teleport in under a second. Sneak to the dorm, handle business solo, package it up, and ship to Minyeong noona.
Gotta squeeze in tons of Taeyang time too.
Truth was, Minyeong’s delivery was just one reason to slip home—not the only one. Missing Taeyang’s growth because of work killed me, so I snuck visits every trip back. Sketchy? Sure, but glasses let me get close without blowing cover. Bonus: spotting Jeonghwa and Jua noona nearby. Best of both worlds.
Watching from afar just makes the loneliness worse...
Couldn’t quit the secret peeks, though. Had to, or the longing would crush me.
If not for that Poni punk, I could’ve spilled everything blindfolded.
Regrettable, but Poni’s warning stood. Get caught revealing my cheats, and memories get wiped, perks stripped.
Last visit, she looked slammed but dropped the warning solid.
Poni rarely showed without a summons lately. Even calls got delayed. Guess my illegal mod snitch fest hadn’t blown over.
Bigger mess than I thought.
Shady crap always tangled up—one pull, and it all unravels. Early on, I fretted Poni’d peg me as the whistleblower. Now? She didn’t suspect a thing.
“Hyung hyung hyung!! There’s a Korean spot nearby!”
Lost in thoughts of a home run, Ki Uyeon came barreling in. Tempting.
“Korean food?”
“Yesss! Let’s go!”
“When? We got time?”
“Today! Only free slot before more schedules. Who knows when we bounce—let’s hit it now!”
“Hmm, everyone in?”
“Duh! Korean food!! Korean!!”
Their eyes were feral, beasts on the verge.
“Ugh, fine. Let’s go.”
“Yesss!! Haesol hyung’s coming too!!!! Woohoo!!”
“Good job, Uyeon!!”
“Sneaky bastards.”
They knew I’d draw eyes away, hence the glee. Didn’t mean ditching disguises, though. Full wrap vs. just a cap? Worlds apart. Zao’s sketchy security meant bodyguards 24/7—who knew when snatchers’d strike? Gunshots echoed at night from god-knows-where. Me as diversion? Essential.
“So gooood!!!!!!!!!”
“This place is a gem.”
Bodyguards in tow, we hit the Korean joint and feasted like kings, belts unbuckled. I snuck home eats sometimes, but the guys? Eyes rolled back at real kimchi, tearing up.
“Eat up, more if you want. On the house.”
“Thank you!!!”
“Boss, this is amazing!”
“Home cooking, baby!”
Turns out the owner was a compatriot. No clue who we were, but hometown vibes hit hard in exile. Loaded with freebies, we shook off some homesickness.
“Oh yeah! How’d Busking? Busking! land? Forgot to check reactions.”
Ki Uyeon, our info hub, piped up.
“Reactions are killer!”
“For real? Good?”
“Obviously! We slayed it. Articles everywhere on our idol glow-up, singing chops shocking folks. Fans loved seeing our faces again.”
“What’s so special about singers who sing well...”
Jeki grumbled, annoyed at the obvious hype.
Ki Uyeon wagged his finger no-no.
“Till now, just Haesol hyung got buzz. But Busking? Busking! showed the whole group’s stacked!! No more ‘talentless’ shade.”
I pulled up reactions late. Uyeon cheered group-wide props, but reality? Uneven spotlight. Wish it spread even, but TV ain’t fair. Jeki topped—his composer chops shone raw. PD’s pet pick, probably. Then Uyeon, variety king. Kang Jun’s vocals next—near my level, sexy tone a fresh hook. But shy-with-strangers Eungyu and rapper Kyungtae hyung got less shine; editing nuked Eungyu’s late chat.
Popularity gaps exist, even if unspoken.
Still, Eungyu’s Zao’s star member.
This tour balanced our fan pull. Eungyu’s face clicked here, drawing crowds (me aside). His local lingo MC gigs helped.
Anyway, we shoved down the homesickness and grinded abroad.