Chapter 68
Chapter 68
Translator: Penny
Chapter 68
2 Days and 3 Nights.
Once a national variety show, it had captured the attention and love of countless people.
Even past its prime, it was still a highly competitive program.
No other show could match the heartwarming atmosphere created by famous celebrities interacting with rural residents in scenic countryside settings.
‘Reality is key.’
Natural moments, free from staged situations or artificial direction for the sake of broadcasting.
Ha-eun believed that this reality was the decisive factor in the popularity of <2 Days and 3 Nights>.
Therefore, Ha-eun, as a guest, would also be herself as she is.
In other words, she decided to show the audience ‘actress Lee Ha-eun’ rather than a character from a script.
Rather than introducing the character ‘Yeongwol’ from , she would focus on showing what kind of person ‘actress Lee Ha-eun’ is.
Thanks to spending over a decade in the entertainment industry, Ha-eun’s name and face were somewhat known, but her off-screen persona hadn’t been particularly revealed.
Above all, it was important to present a likable image to viewers beyond the TV screen.
‘…Let’s do our best.’
It was undeniable that actors who had been passive or uncooperative during variety show filming like <2 Days and 3 Nights> had suffered a decline in their reputation.
Therefore, she intended to focus on showing an active attitude, striving to do her best in everything.
In addition, Ha-eun was still an 18-year-old high school student.
If a relatively young actress showed a willingness to work hard, she was bound to receive extra points in various ways.
One way or another, an actor’s image is directly linked to the image of the works they appear in.
Ha-eun believed that if she could cultivate a positive image through this <2 Days and 3 Nights> shoot, would also benefit from a positive image.
That was why she ran with great enthusiasm and arrived at the traditional market first as soon as she heard the <2 Days and 3 Nights> PD’s starting signal.
If she earned a good score in this first-come, first-served mission, she might be able to avoid penalties like being dunked in water.
“Chrysanthemum bread is still bread…. I should start by going to a bakery.”
The problem was that she had never been to a traditional market before.
Ha-eun had also never eaten chrysanthemum bread, which she needed to buy.
In fact, she learned that chrysanthemum bread even existed for the first time today.
This was because she had never paid attention to street food, as she thought it would be unhealthy ─ though she couldn’t deny that it tasted great.
This preconceived notion led Ha-eun to believe that chrysanthemum bread was a ‘local specialty made with chrysanthemum flowers.’
As a result, she diligently toured the bakeries in the traditional market, eagerly searching for a chrysanthemum bread menu.
‘…Why can’t I find it?’
Ultimately, the chrysanthemum bread that Ha-eun needed to buy was not found in any of the bakeries she visited.
Arriving at the traditional market first had become meaningless.
To make matters worse, people in the market recognized Ha-eun.
“I won’t take your money, so come here and try this. It’s really delicious.”
“I, I can’t just take something like this for free, sir. I’m sorry, but I’ll just accept your kind─”
“Tsk, you should say thank you and accept it when an adult offers you something. Now, say ah~.”
She was caught by people who wanted her to taste side dishes like seasoned vegetables.
-Gulp.
“That’s right. You eat so heartily.”
“Excuse me, can you take a picture with me? My son is a big fan of yours.”
She couldn’t find the chrysanthemum bread she needed, and instead, she had a series of unexpected photo sessions.
It was hard to refuse the bite-sized foods offered with pure goodwill and fandom towards Ha-eun.
Later, as Ha-eun became increasingly pressed for time, she asked about chrysanthemum bread for the first time at a jokbal restaurant.
Until then, she had tried to find chrysanthemum bread on her own, but she felt that any further delay would hinder the subsequent filming.
“Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to know where I can find a bakery that sells chrysanthemum bread?”
“Huh? I don’t think there’s a bakery in our market that sells chrysanthemum bread?”
“Pardon?”
“If you want to eat chrysanthemum bread, you have to go to a street vendor. Why are you talking about bakeries?”
‘…They sell bread at street vendors?’
The jokbal restaurant owner’s wrinkled finger pointed beyond.
“The guy in the red hat over there is baking chrysanthemum bread right now.”
“Sir, that’s… fish-shaped bread, isn’t it?”
“Fish-shaped bread is chrysanthemum bread. Didn’t you know?”
She really didn’t know.
She really didn’t know that something similar to walnut cookies with only red bean paste inside, let alone chrysanthemum flowers, was chrysanthemum bread.
Soon, she met the jokbal restaurant owner’s puzzled eyes.
She felt a tingling sensation as if she had been hit on the back of the head.
She thought of her own foolishness, searching only for bakeries without even looking at such street vendors.
And so, with her ears turning bright red, she turned around.
She walked creakily to the street vendor with the red hat that the jokbal restaurant owner had pointed to earlier.
“…Please wrap one serving of chrysanthemum bread for me….”
She ordered 2,000 won worth of chrysanthemum bread in a barely audible voice.
Of course, this scene of Ha-eun was also captured on camera by Ha-eun’s VJ.
When she returned to the opening location, carrying the chrysanthemum bread in a paper bag, as expected.
“Ah, she’s coming!”
The other cast members, who had already returned to the opening location, greeted Ha-eun.
Yoo Sung-jae’s worried voice and Jang Seongho’s playful voice were heard alternately after that.
“We thought you got lost, Ha-eun.”
“I thought you were making chrysanthemum bread yourself.”
“…I’m sorry I’m late….”
As a result, the score Ha-eun was able to obtain was 0.
It was a pathetic score that didn’t suit someone who had run out with great enthusiasm and arrived at the traditional market first.
She was frustrated, but she couldn’t show it.
After all, it was all Ha-eun’s fault from start to finish.
Every time she thought of the moment when she had wandered around only looking for bakeries, ignoring the chrysanthemum bread street vendors everywhere, she couldn’t help but squeeze her eyes shut.
Perhaps that was why she kept her mouth shut on the bus she boarded to move to the next filming location.
In the end, the talk revolved around Yoo Sung-jae.
Fortunately, Yoo Sung-jae had some familiarity with the <2 Days and 3 Nights> members, so the conversation never stopped.
Ha-eun, who had been silently watching the talk between Yoo Sung-jae and the other cast members, had only one thought.
‘…I have to get first place in the next mission no matter what.’
Even for the sake of forming a more desirable image of herself.
Furthermore, even to protect the charisma of Yeongwol, the main character of .
No more mistakes could be tolerated.
She scanned a vast watermelon field that began to appear beyond the bus window with a blazing gaze, also for the next mission.
The only mission to do in a watermelon field would be harvesting watermelons.
Therefore, she was only thinking of harvesting as many watermelons as possible to make up for her mistake in the first mission.
“Okay, we’ll arrive at the restaurant in about 10 minutes. Please bear with your hunger a little longer~.”
However, the bus, which had not stopped even after arriving at the watermelon field, passed right by the watermelon field.
She stared at the watermelon field, which was gradually moving further and further away, with a slightly bewildered look.
In the end, Ha-eun arrived at a famous bulgogi restaurant for a late lunch or early dinner.
Until she sat down at a table where various dishes had been set in advance and started eating, the word ‘mission’ was not even mentioned.
All Ha-eun, who had been burning with enthusiasm for the mission just a moment ago, could do was answer the various questions that came up from time to time during the meal.
“How many actors auditioned for the role of Yeongwol?”
“Hmm…. I think there were about 40 people.”
“Were all those people older than Ha-eun?”
“Ah, yes. I don’t think I saw anyone younger than me.”
After that, she continued to talk about , and before she knew it, the meal was over.
She then went outside the restaurant and got back on the bus.
When she returned to the watermelon field she had passed by earlier, she had no doubt that the watermelon harvesting mission would begin.
Perhaps that was why.
“Okay, everyone. It’ll take a while to set up the ping pong table, so please sit down and rest for a while.”
She was once again taken aback by the production team’s preparations to set up a ping pong match instead of a watermelon harvesting mission.
One of the sports that Ha-eun had never tried in her 18 years of life was ping pong.
Of course, she was planning to do her best this time as well, but she didn’t think that Ha-eun, a ping pong novice, would be able to beat anyone.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t show any signs of embarrassment or distress because.
“Okay, rock-paper-scissors to form teams with people who show the same hand! Rock-paper-scissors, if you don’t show, you lose!”
Under the leadership of the MC, Jang Seongho, a rock-paper-scissors game for forming ping pong teams began immediately.
After about three rounds of rock-paper-scissors, the person who ended up on the same team as Ha-eun was, coincidentally, another guest, Yoo Sung-jae.
In other words, in order for Ha-eun to win this ping pong match, she had to rely on Yoo Sung-jae’s ping pong skills.
“Sung-jae, are you good at ping pong?”
She looked at Yoo Sung-jae with a hint of expectation, but.
“I can barely serve. Ha-eun, do you play ping pong?”
“…I’ll be honest. I don’t even know how to hold a racket.”
“We’re doomed.”
As a result, she could only confirm that she would get the lowest score in this ping pong match as well.
Nevertheless, the ping pong match that had to start eventually began.
No advantages were given to the two guests who were clearly ping pong novices.
After all, <2 Days and 3 Nights> was a real variety show.
To make matters worse, all the regular members of <2 Days and 3 Nights> were skilled ping pong players.
As a result, Yoo Sung-jae and Ha-eun were eliminated from the first match with an overwhelming score difference of 3 to 11.
Strictly speaking, it was fun.
The scenes of Yoo Sung-jae somehow managing to serve successfully, and Ha-eun hitting the ball returned by the opponent with all her might, were captured on camera several times.
It would have been a perfect scene, except that the ping pong ball hit by Ha-eun didn’t bounce back on the table and instead flew far away with great force.
“Ugh!! This isn’t baseball, Ha-eun!!”
“…I’m sorry.”
Ha-eun’s smash was like a home run by a fourth batter.
And Yoo Sung-jae, watching Ha-eun’s smash, was in despair.
These were scenes that were enough to make viewers laugh.
The image of the two guests would also be formed closer to likable than unlikable.
However, since the two guests were the targets of today’s penalty.
For now, they had no choice but to accept any penalty willingly.
“But they’re guests, so it’s a bit much for both of them to receive a penalty.”
“Rock-paper-scissors to decide who’s exempt from the penalty! Rock-paper-scissors, if you don’t show, you lose!”
Almost simultaneously, Yoo Sung-jae and Ha-eun quickly reached out their hands and struggled to avoid the penalty for the last time.
And the result of that desperate rock-paper-scissors was.
“Wow, Sung-jae, you’re so mean.”
“A man should let a woman win in these situations! Tsk tsk~~.”
“But, you said men should always show a fist!”
“That’s that, and this is this~.”
Ha-eun’s defeat, showing scissors against Yoo Sung-jae’s fist.
Ha-eun tried to maintain a poker face, pretending to be okay, but she couldn’t hide her trembling eyelids.
Fortunately, today’s penalty was not being dunked in water, but sleeping outdoors.
“Then, when… do we get dunked in water?”
“Hmm…. I think it’ll probably be after harvesting watermelons tomorrow.”
‘…Harvesting watermelons is tomorrow.’
Only then, after hearing even the minor details about the watermelon harvesting mission that Ha-eun had been so eagerly waiting for.
“Um, Ha-eun. Are you really going to be okay?”
“A penalty is a penalty…. There’s nothing I can do. It’s weird to let me off the hook now.”
She began to move towards the hut in the middle of the watermelon field, which was the outdoor sleeping location.
Not long after, Ha-eun arrived at the hut and faced a pre-set yellow one-person tent.
And a total of four infrared cameras installed on the hut’s pillars.
Perhaps to prevent bugs from gathering, no lights were installed.
Maybe that was why.
‘…I can see the stars so well.’
A very beautiful kind of night sky was captured in Ha-eun’s eyes.
Ha-eun, rummaging through her pockets, took out her phone.
-Click.
After that, she took pictures of the beautiful night sky from different angles.
And, she chose only the best photos.
[Lee Ha-eun (Dia)] - (Night sky photos X10)
[Lee Ha-eun (Dia)] - The stars are so visible
[Lee Ha-eun (Dia)] - (Amazed otter emoticon)
She sent them to the Fantasy Home group chat room.
She wanted to show the Fantasy Home members the beautiful scenery full of sparkling stars.
Soon, the reactions of the Fantasy Home members appeared one after another.
Most of them were reactions such as wanting to travel to scenic places like Ha-eun, but.
[Kim Eunhye (Lia)] - Our Ha-eun is definitely the youngest, but she’s like an old person at times like this
[Lee Ha-eun (Dia)] - Old person?
[Kim Eunhye (Lia)] - You know, usually older people share these landscape photos every time they take them
Lia, one of the Fantasy Home members, unintentionally treated Ha-eun like an old soul.
[Lee Ha-eun (Dia)] - ..That’s too much.
Ha-eun was a little hurt.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny