Chapter 11
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Entering the Dorm (1)
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Dragging my heavy suitcase, I came to a stop in front of a building.
We all craned our necks to look up at the sign that read "Rose and Blue Villa."
"So this is where we're going to be living."
The thought of sharing this place with the members from now on stirred up a warm, exciting feeling deep inside me.
The dorm seemed to be a brand-new building. I liked its clean, simple exterior design.
Compared to the old dorm we used to cram into together, this felt like we'd really made it....
I quickly shook my head.
*Don't think about the past.*
A sharp gust of wind slapped across my face.
"Ugh, it's cold."
Shivering in the biting wind, we hurried inside.
Beep beep—
When I punched in the door code and opened the front door, a pleasant space greeted us.
"This place is awesome!"
The moment we stepped inside the dorm, Baek Si-woo bounced around excitedly, shouting at the top of his lungs.
I hauled my suitcase in and looked around.
"Wow, this is seriously nice."
"Yeah, it really hits you that we've debuted.... Achoo!"
Cha Jae-hyun sneezed, looking freezing. The other members stared at him, grinning like it was hilarious.
I quickly scanned the living room.
"How many rooms are there?"
Baek Si-woo tapped away on his smartphone from the sofa and answered.
"Three."
Song Yu-bin shrugged.
"Hmm. With five of us.... Two rooms for pairs, and one single."
So that's how it works.
I was lost in thought, wondering who would get the single room, when—
"Welcome to my home!!"
A bizarre puppet mask shot out from one of the rooms like a bullet.
"Gyaaah!"
The members all screamed in unison and stumbled back.
We stood there dumbfounded, speechless, until the puppet yanked off its hat.
"Welcome~"
The face that emerged belonged to none other than the self-cam director.
"Whoa, you scared us."
Everyone let out sighs of relief.
The director had apparently worn the mask for a while—his hair was a sweaty mess.
He wiped the sweat with his sleeve and said.
"So, everyone. How does it feel to visit the dorm for the first time?"
"Feels great."
"We love the dorm."
The members who had been chattering excitedly just moments ago were gone, replaced by ones putting on contrived reactions the second they spotted the camera.
"Have you decided on roommates yet?"
We all shook our heads. The director shouted as if he'd been waiting for this.
"Alright then, shall we draw for roommates?"
I hadn't expected to decide this so abruptly.
While we stood there baffled, the director came forward holding something—a lottery box.
"People who draw the same shape become roommates! The leftover one gets the single room naturally. First come, first served!"
No sooner had he finished than Baek Si-woo bellowed and lunged forward.
"Wooo! I'm getting the single! Single room!"
Baek Si-woo pulled a slip from the box, pumped his arms excitedly, and returned to his spot.
The rest of us took turns drawing slips one by one.
"Alright! Everyone, reveal!"
I slowly unfolded my paper. The shape drawn inside was....
*A star.*
I glanced around cautiously.
Baek Si-woo and Song Yu-bin were hugging each other. If those two were paired, then the ones left were Cha Jae-hyun and Eun Hae-sol....
Cha Jae-hyun had drawn a circle.
*Oh....*
Cha Jae-hyun grinned.
"Sweet. Single room."
He turned away, humming to himself.
The moment I turned my head, my eyes met Eun Hae-sol's. We were probably thinking the same thing.
"......"
That's when I noticed the camera.
I flashed the most natural smile I could muster and rushed over to Eun Hae-sol.
"Whoa, we're roommates. Room...mates!"
"Hahaha~ Awesome! Hyung!"
I awkwardly stuck out my hand, and Eun Hae-sol forced a smile as he high-fived me.
The director kept going.
"Alright, now that roommates are set. Time for a game."
"A game?"
"The important part is, there are prizes!"
Our heads snapped toward him involuntarily.
"First prize: laptop. Second: mood light. Third: snack set~"
We stared blankly at the gift boxes, then clapped mechanically.
The director gave a thumbs-up.
"Great reactions. The game is... blindfold guess-who."
"First game's a bit intense, huh?"
"Anyone want to go first?"
Baek Si-woo raised his hand right away.
"Me!"
"Perfect. Put on the blindfold."
The director handed Baek Si-woo a blindfold.
Baek Si-woo, now wearing the white rabbit blindfold, started peering around like a meerkat.
Soon he stood in front of us, groping the members' faces with his hands.
Then Baek Si-woo shouted as if he'd figured something out.
"Huh!"
We all looked his way.
"This is Yu-bin's nose."
"Why do you think that?"
"Yu-bin's nostrils are huge."
We silently stared at the member in front of Baek Si-woo, our faces a mix of pity and desperate laughter suppression.
"......"
"...Pfft."
The person Baek Si-woo was touching was none other than Eun Hae-sol.
"Hehe. Yu-bin's nostrils for sure...."
Soon Baek Si-woo stretched Eun Hae-sol's cheeks.
"Whoa, Yu-bin's lost a ton of weight. A ton...."
Baek Si-woo's hands froze as he rubbed Eun Hae-sol's cheeks with both palms.
"What the—skull? You've lost so much weight? You used to be pufferfish Yu-bin. That's why we called you Song Pufferfish. When did you turn into Song Skull?"
Eun Hae-sol's body trembled. The director finally intervened to stop Baek Si-woo.
"So, Baek Si-woo! Who is the member in front of you?"
Baek Si-woo replied cheerfully.
"Song Skull!"
"Wrong!"
The director chimed in with an equally cheerful "wrong!"
Baek Si-woo yanked off the blindfold in a panic and checked the member.
Eun Hae-sol glared down at him, lips pressed tight.
"Whoa. Not Song Skull, but Eun Skull...."
"Baek Si-woo gets 1 point!"
"What? Only one right? Dang, tsk!"
The game proceeded swiftly.
Current scores: Cha Jae-hyun leading with ghostly accuracy at 4 points, Eun Hae-sol at 2, Song Yu-bin at 1.
Cha Jae-hyun muttered.
"Laptop's mine...."
Song Yu-bin, standing beside him, ground his teeth.
"Tch. Guess I get nothing."
Then Baek Si-woo whispered in Song Yu-bin's ear.
"Nah. If Jeong Eun-ho gets 0, we tie for third and split the snacks."
"Snacks split halfsies?"
Baek Si-woo nodded with a meaningful look. Song Yu-bin’s eyes sparkled as he shouted.
"Hyung! Tank last for us!"
...These guys.
Eun Hae-sol said in a bored tone.
"So I get the mood light, then."
At that, Baek Si-woo glanced at me and said.
"Eun Hae-sol, think about it. If Jeong Eun-ho beats your score, you drop to snacks."
"Snack set?"
"Yeah, so let's all pray. Jeong Eun-ho comes last...."
"Yeah. Pray...."
I can hear you, you idiots.
"Alright, everyone mix it up~"
At the director's words, the members shuffled around busily. Footsteps echoed several times before stopping. In the darkness, only the director's voice sounded.
"Game on!"
I approached the members one by one. The moment I grabbed a face.
"...You?"
The member in front said nothing. I said confidently.
"Baek Si-woo, right?"
I knew the second I touched the nose bridge. It was Baek Si-woo—his nose was on the higher side.
*Obvious even to a blind man.*
I touched the next face. Bony cheeks, thin lips, double eyelids. Obviously Eun Hae-sol.
"Eun Hae-sol. Next."
Moved to the side.
"Hmm...."
This one was tricky.
Song Yu-bin? Or Cha Jae-hyun?
I pretended to touch the face while listening closely to the breathing. The instant I heard it, instinct kicked in.
"Cha Jae-hyun. Jae-hyun hyung, right?"
Next one. Last was obvious without touching.
"Song Yu-bin."
I spread my arms and shrugged.
*Got all four right. Tied for first.*
Silence, then the director's voice.
"Take off the blindfold!"
The moment I did.
"?"
The members stared at me in utter disbelief.
"Jeong Eun-ho! 0 points!"
How?
I looked around at them in shock.
They were clutching each other's shoulders, barely holding back laughter.
"Yes! First prize laptop to Cha Jae-hyun!"
Cha Jae-hyun spun gracefully and claimed the laptop. He waved it at the camera in celebration.
"Second prize mood light to Eun Hae-sol~"
Eun Hae-sol took it with a faintly pleased expression.
"Third prize snack set~ to joint winners Baek Si-woo and Song Yu-bin. Woo~"
The awards ceremony ended.
Bummed about no prize, but at least it was fun for the self-cam. That's what I was thinking when—
"Jeong Eun-ho, who came last in the game, has something too, right?"
Of course. Even last place gets something on fan-facing self-cam, yeah?
Smiling, I replied.
"What is it?"
"The penalty~"
Penalty? Before disappointment could set in, the director showed three scrolls.
"Inside one is Eun-ho's penalty. Which will you pick?"
Red, blue, green.
Which one? As I hesitated, the members behind chimed in.
"Red looks good."
"Nah, red's danger color. Green for safety."
"Or flip it—green might be riskier."
"I'd go blue. Our debut song's Blue Sky Below."
Amid the chaos, I picked blue.
Was it my imagination, or did the director's face twitch?
No way self-cam has anything too harsh, right?
I unrolled it. What I saw was....
"What the hell."
[Penalty]
Wear the penalty item.
"Ah, you drew that one."
The director pulled an octopus mask from his bag. A cute one with squinted eyes.
*Fine, that's manageable.*
Then the director signaled. Soon the crew brought in a platter to the living room.
On it: raw octopus sashimi and dipping sauce.
"What's this?"
"Wear that and eat."
"Do I have to go that far?"
The director grinned.
"Of course. Jeong Octopus."
Oh, damn.
I put on the octopus mask and sat before the platter. I snapped the wooden chopsticks apart with a tik, picked up a piece of octopus, and dipped it in sauce.
As I chomped away.
Ding—
A system window popped up in front of me.
"Cough."
I nearly spat out the octopus in my mouth.
[Sub Quest]
- Accept ‘Debut Showcase Safely!’?
- YES / NO
"Whoa, hold up."
There I was, staring at the system window in a daze, octopus mask and all.