Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Invitation
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With all our activities wrapped up, we were given a short vacation.
I thought we'd get at least a month, but it was just four days and three nights.
But it couldn't be helped.
We had to prepare for our full-length album and have meetings about the fan meeting.
It was too short for Haru to visit Japan, so the rest of us decided to just drop by our family homes for dinner and come right back.
"You're all coming back right after dinner tonight? Why not stay the night? It's been a while since you've been home, hasn't it?"
But we didn't tell Haru.
We knew he would just feel bad about it.
"I'm just tired."
"If I go, I'll just end up having to help at the restaurant. Besides, it seems like a lot of fans have been visiting lately. It would only get more chaotic if I showed up."
"I'm planning to decorate my space a bit. Since I'll be living here from now on, I want to make it feel like my own."
"My mom, dad, and sister are all busy. There's nothing for me to do at home by myself."
That was Lee Ho-jun, Park Ji-ham, Jung Eun-woo, and me, in that order.
We each successfully came up with our own excuses.
"Really? Well, if that's the case, I guess it can't be helped."
Thankfully, Haru didn't seem to suspect anything.
"By the way, Yoon-seul, your parents invited me over for a meal."
"My house?"
It was the first I'd heard of it, so I was completely taken aback.
My shocked reaction was automatic.
"Yoon-seul looks genuinely surprised. His eyes are about to pop out of his head."
Jung Eun-woo couldn't hold back his laughter as he looked at me.
His reaction was a stark contrast to mine, my thoughts having ground to a complete halt.
"Yoon-seul, you're pretty stunned right now, aren't you?"
I nodded vigorously at Park Ji-ham's question.
"I was shocked too when he told me he went to a karaoke bar with my mom and dad. You should be glad this is happening off-camera. My reaction back then is still being used as a meme on social media."
I think I'd seen that meme while scrolling through social media.
[I almost smacked my boss today. Seriously. He told me to finish task A by the end of the day. So I put everything else aside and did it. But then he suddenly starts yelling at me, asking why I haven't done task B yet and didn't he tell me to do that first. It was so ridiculous, I swear. I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even control my expression. (Screenshot of Park Ji-ham looking flustered)]
It had become a trend to share stories about absurd experiences at work or in stores, ending the post with a screenshot of Park Ji-ham's shocked face upon hearing that Haru had gone to a karaoke bar with his parents.
'It's definitely better than that... but it doesn't make this any less bewildering.'
"Hey, but if you got an invitation, shouldn't they have told me too? How can they invite you without saying a word to their own son? Does that even make sense?"
"I think we just have to accept it at this point. If we go home one day and find Haru there, we should just act like it's normal."
I wholeheartedly agreed with Lee Ho-jun.
"Are you, by any chance, keeping in touch with my parents too?"
"Yeah. Your mother told me to come to the restaurant anytime I want to eat meat. Oh, and your father told me last time that they re-wallpapered your room."
"Hyung, does that mean you're in contact with my mom too?"
"Yep. Ho-jun, your mother said she's going to a gathering today. She said she was going to have a great time bragging about her son. She sounded very cheerful."
"She's going to a gathering today?"
Lee Ho-jun blinked, asking as if it was news to him.
"Yeah. She has a high school reunion at lunch. She was excited to go and brag about you."
"Hey, hyung. Be honest. You're closer to our parents than you are to us, aren't you? You guys don't have a group chat or something, do you?"
"It's not like that."
Haru's eyes curved into a playful smile.
Lee Ho-jun, who had been fiddling with his phone to check if Haru was telling the truth, tilted his head and spoke.
"Huh? The teaser for Twisty Puzzle is out. This means our performance video will be up soon too."
"Looks like it."
"Should we watch it?"
"Let's do it."
Having shared the stage with them, and being survival show contestants ourselves, we were curious.
So, we all turned on the TV to watch the teaser.
"Our TV is strictly for monitoring, huh."
"Yeah, it is."
[Twisty Puzzle Teaser 1-]
Just like with RED CUBE, it began with a spinning cube.
It briefly showed the Twisty Puzzle contestants and then the circumstances of how they were tricked.
[We're going to gather some rookies and play a game, you see?]
As the PD's explanation began, subtitles appeared below.
[Isn't a competition a type of game? We didn't lie. We just phrased it a little differently.]
And so, the participating teams arrived at the studio, truly believing it was for a variety show.
[First, let me start with an apology. Everything you've heard up to this point was a lie.]
The studio was thrown into chaos, but the PD was smiling faintly all by himself.
The sight came across as incredibly detestable to the public.
[What you're thinking right now is correct. Let me reintroduce myself. Congratulations on joining the new idol survival program, Twisty Puzzle.]
Then, a clock appeared on the screen, its minute and hour hands spinning rapidly.
When the clock stopped, it showed clips of the participating teams performing.
In the middle of it all, a member of Creatin lost his balance and slipped on stage.
[Twisty Puzzle]
The screen slowly faded to black, and the program's title appeared, ending the teaser.
↳ lololol This is legendary right from the start. I've never seen an opening like this. Don't contestants usually come in with determined looks after agonizing over whether to join a survival show?
↳ Wow. They really tricked them into coming. Hey, isn't that too harsh on these kids! They must be in their late teens or early twenties if they're rookies. This is employment fraud.
↳ Since this is Teaser 1, I guess Teaser 2 will be up soon.
↳ Wait, did Creatin fall on stage? That's sad. Creatin will probably be last.
Quite a few comments had already been posted.
The view count was climbing rapidly.
"By the way, aren't those the outfits Creatin was wearing when they were on stage with us?"
"I think so. It's unlikely they'd wear similar outfits two times in a row."
"I had no idea. Looks like they almost fell then."
Even though we were right there, we only just learned that a Creatin member had nearly fallen thanks to that video.
"That could have been dangerous."
"I know, right?"
"The dancers must have been blocking our view. If people find out later that he slipped because of the soap bubbles, the production team is going to get a lot of flak. Do they just not care? Whether they get criticized or not?"
Just as Jung Eun-woo said, if it was revealed that the Creatin member had almost fallen because of the soap bubbles from the previous performance, the production team would have to face all sorts of criticism.
"Are they sacrificing themselves for the buzz?"
At my words, Lee Ho-jun shuddered as if he'd gotten goosebumps.
"I literally just got goosebumps. Wow. So now it's not just the contestants, they're sacrificing themselves for the buzz? For the show?"
"That's insane."
"I could never do that."
Everyone shook their heads.
We were all in agreement.
"It's a huge relief he didn't fall. If he'd fallen and gotten hurt, what would they have done?"
"It's a good thing someone caught him from the side. A fall like that would mean a fracture at the very least."
The moment Jae-hee from Creatin started to slip, it could have turned into an accident if Austin and Myeong-seok, who noticed, hadn't supported him from both sides.
"We should always be careful too."
"Right. If you break a bone, you have to be careful for a really long time. Anyway, we're on vacation. What should we do?"
"First, I'm going to buy some clothes."
"Clothes? Why clothes all of a sudden?"
"The fans have been saying they're disappointed that all my casual clothes look the same, so I figured I should buy a few new outfits."
"True. You're pretty bad about that. Looking at the luggage you brought to the dorm, I thought you were just going on an overnight trip."
Jung Eun-woo nodded up and down at my words.
"Then should we all go shopping together? We can buy some things we need for the dorm too."
"Sounds good."
"If we all go out together, won't we attract a crowd?"
"Yeah, Ji-ham has a point. It's probably better to shop online. So, what do we do? There's not much we can do, is there?"
Everyone sank into thought with serious expressions.
We had been given a vacation, but we had no idea what to do with it.
We couldn't come up with anything.
"During the RED CUBE filming, we were so busy preparing for the next stage that all we did was rest. And back when we were promoting before, we were so unpopular that no one recognized us even if we went out without hats. I don't know what we're supposed to do now."
Haru was right.
"Should we just have a fulfilling time at the dorm? I wonder what other celebrities do for fun."
"I've seen them go on trips, go camping, and just live normally. Is there some kind of trick to it? I don't get it."
*Bzzzt.*
Just then, a phone vibrated.
I checked my phone. It was from Kang Ju-hyeok.
[Congrats on first place again today. Anyway, your promotions are over, right? You probably don't have anything to do today, so I'll buy you guys a meal. Bring all your members and come out.]
"I got a text from Ju-hyeok. He wants to buy us a meal and told us all to come out."
"Ju-hyeok? Kang Ju-hyeok? The one from RED CUBE with us?"
I nodded in response to Park Ji-ham's question.
"Yeah."
"It's been a while."
The sudden offer was a bit surprising, but since we were just wondering what to do, I thought it was perfect.
"Right? I'd like to see him, it's been a while. Let's go get some good food. I saw an article saying he already got paid."
Haru stood up, a grin spreading across his face.