Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Guigok Mountain Lodge Special (4)
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When I walked out into the living room, I saw the staff across from us, looking like they had finished setting up the cameras.
After exchanging brief greetings with the staff, I stood facing the camera.
The members standing next to me seemed busy chatting about the game we were about to play.
That's when Baek Si-woo, who had made eye contact with me, slapped my shoulder and flashed a grin.
“Jeong Eun-ho. I heard from Eun Hae-sol.”
“Heard what.”
“Don’t play dumb. That post on the official account was your doing, right?”
“What post.”
I let out a short, awkward cough from the embarrassment.
“Ugh, I was so tired from all that nonsense, but it worked out. Even Eun Hae-sol’s face lit up.”
Right then, my eyes met Eun Hae-sol’s from behind. He looked flustered and tried to avoid my gaze, only to sneak a peek at me before quickly looking away again.
‘Why’s he acting like that.’
Just then, the PD’s voice came from across the room.
“Alright, everyone!”
At the PD’s voice, we all stopped talking and looked straight ahead.
“Did you all rest well? It’s almost lunchtime, so I bet you’re all starving.”
Just as the PD said, aside from the chicken breast salad we had for breakfast, we hadn’t eaten anything else.
“Now we’re going to have lunch.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a bright smile spread across Baek Si-woo’s face.
“And the lunch you all will be eating is!”
Two staff members carried in trays from inside the room and set them down in front of us.
On top of the trays was….
“Hieeeek.”
Baek Si-woo grabbed his cheeks with both hands and gaped.
“Jackpot.”
“They really laid out a full spread.”
The PD started reading off the menu items on the trays one by one.
“Thick-sliced pork belly, soybean paste stew, kimjang kimchi, wrap veggies, and for dessert to refresh your palates, we’ve even got persimmon punch.”
“Woooow.”
From beside me, I heard Song Yu-bin gulping. At his age, where he was eating well, going from just salad to seeing meat must’ve made his head spin.
Baek Si-woo exclaimed dramatically.
“Wow. So we’re having a meat party? I wanna come here every day.”
“Well, that’s….”
That’s when the PD spoke up.
“Did I say I was just giving it to you?”
It was exactly as I expected.
‘No way they’d just hand over lunch for free.’
From beside me came the members’ voices openly expressing their disappointment.
“PD, no one-bite chance?”
“Just a taste?”
The PD continued unfazed by the reactions.
“You can only get the food if you win the game.”
“What game is it?”
“Before I explain the game, could each of you draw one from this?”
The PD held out a box toward us. It had a hole big enough for a fist on the lid.
We all put our hands in the box with puzzled expressions and drew out slips of paper.
Each member had drawn a different colored slip, and mine was bright red.
That’s when Song Yu-bin spoke up.
“Hyung. Wanna swap with me?”
I hesitated for a moment but shook my head.
“Nah. Let’s just stick with what we got.”
No one could guarantee a better outcome from swapping anyway.
The PD, who had made eye contact with me, gave a strange smile.
“Jeong Eun-ho-ssi. You really sure you don’t want to swap?”
After thinking it over, I nodded.
“Yeah.”
The PD smiled and signaled for us to unfold them, and we all started checking what was written on our slips one by one.
‘This feels ominous. No way….’
The moment I unfolded mine, it read:
[Thick-Sliced Pork Belly]
My head drooped automatically, and a sigh escaped my lips.
“What’d you get?”
“I got wrap veggies.”
“I’ve got kimchi. What about Jae-hyun hyung?”
“Mine’s soybean paste stew.”
The other members had also drawn slips with food items written on them, just like me.
‘They matched the food colors to the paper colors, huh.’
Why did I have to draw the main dish, of all things? The meat, no less.
The pressure was no joke.
‘Should’ve swapped after all.’
Too late for regrets now.
Well, all I had to do was work hard and secure the meat. The real issue was what game it’d be….
Finally, the PD spoke.
“The game you’ll be playing is tag. You’ll play it right here inside this lodge.”
“Who’s it?”
At that moment, someone who had been hiding behind the production crew stuck out their upper body.
The figure that emerged was none other than a mysterious woman in a white dress, covered head to toe in blood-like makeup.
“Gya啊啊啊!”
At the sudden appearance of the ghost, Cha Jae-hyun screamed as if he might faint before snapping out of it and lifting his head.
“Calm down. It’s a person.”
Fortunately, it was just an actress in ghost makeup. The realism was so good, you’d believe she was a real ghost.
“I-Is it really a person?”
“Yes. All you have to do is flee from her with all your might.”
The startled members exchanged glances and let out sighs of relief.
That’s when Cha Jae-hyun laughed like a madman and looked at me.
“I almost passed out.”
“Hyung, I’m right here.”
“Yeah. Good thing you are.”
After reassuring Cha Jae-hyun, we got the game rules from the PD.
“Since the ghost is it, we’ve added a few rules to the tag game.”
A staff member across from us held up a sketchbook with photos of five talismans, each engraved with different patterns.
“Find the five talismans hidden in the lodge and use them to exorcise the ghost for your win. If you all get caught, you lose. If you lose, lunch is just plain rice.”
“No plain rice alternatives? Like ketchup….”
“Nothing like that.”
Harsh.
Song Yu-bin approached with eyes full of expectation, only to retreat with a disappointed look.
“Hmm.”
Leaving the members sunk in sorrow at the news of plain rice for lunch if we failed, I mentally reviewed the rules once more.
So, we had to escape the ghost while collecting all those talismans for the win….
‘It’s basically a mix of treasure hunt and tag.’
Five talismans.
It might not seem like much, but finding them hidden in this huge lodge wouldn’t be easy.
As I racked my brain for likely hiding spots, the PD’s voice rang out.
“But even if you succeed, you might not all make it out alive. Like, you could collect all five but only one person left.”
That had been bugging me from earlier. No way….
“You each got assigned a food item earlier, right? You checked?”
I looked down at the slip in my hand and lifted my head again.
“If the member assigned kimchi gets caught by it! Then no kimchi for you all.”
I’d figured as much….
‘Better to find the talismans as fast as possible without anyone getting eliminated.’
Finishing that thought, I looked up.
At the PD’s shocking statement, the members started murmuring.
“Who can eat rice without kimchi.”
“No way. Koreans need kimchi. I seriously can’t eat rice without it. I’ve eaten so much kimchi that if you prick me, kimchi juice comes out instead of blood….”
“Stop! That’s enough.”
So if I got caught, the meat was gone.
Being in charge of the main dish made my shoulders feel even heavier.
“Who’s got the thick-sliced pork belly?”
Sure enough.
Everyone immediately turned to find the member with the main dish.
“Me.”
As I raised my hand slightly, all the members’ heads snapped toward me.
Baek Si-woo whispered in my ear.
“What’s your 100m time?”
How many seconds was it again.
Recalling my school gym class days, I answered.
“Uh, about 14 seconds?”
“Ooh” reactions erupted.
It was from a while back, so it might be different now, but back then, it was definitely 14 seconds.
“Not bad.”
“Eun-ho ya. You have to survive. We’ll just cheer you on!”
Feeling an inexplicable embarrassment, I threw a question at Cha Jae-hyun, whose eyes met mine.
“What about you, Jae-hyun hyung?”
“Hm?”
“Your 100m time?”
Cha Jae-hyun, who had been pondering something, spoke up.
“Me? Like 13 seconds.”
Exclamations burst out again.
“Wow, for real. That’s fast.”
“I was on the soccer team back in the day.”
“Sweet, soybean stew’s safe.”
Then, as if on cue, the members’ heads turned to the side.
Baek Si-woo spoke up as he looked at Eun Hae-sol standing there blankly.
“Hey, wrap veggies.”
Eun Hae-sol flinched.
“Silver lettuce!”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Silver perilla leaf. No, silver chicory.”
Annoyed, Eun Hae-sol whipped his head away. But mindful of the camera, he plastered on a smile and said.
“What?”
“What’s your 100m time?”
“Ahem! Uh….”
Glancing at us nervously, Eun Hae-sol mumbled in a small voice.
“About 26 seconds?”
A brief silence fell.
Cha Jae-hyun said in a grave tone.
“What. There are people that slow?”
He looked genuinely shocked.
Baek Si-woo, trying to lighten the mood, draped an arm over Eun Hae-sol’s shoulder and replied.
“Hyung was on soccer, this guy’s a different case. Total bookworm vibe from school days, right?”
Eun Hae-sol muttered softly in a timid voice.
“I-I’m different now.”
We all eyed him suspiciously but nodded without a word.
The PD, who had been watching us, smacked the floor with a wad of paper to get our attention.
“Everyone. Think about it. Even if you win by the rules, all that might be left is kimchi! You could end up with just plain rice and kimchi.”
Exclamation marks popped up on the members’ faces. Wait, you’re only realizing this now….
“Then let’s all protect Jeong Eun-ho!”
“If Jeong Eun-ho looks like he’s gonna get caught, block with your body. Got it?”
The pressure hit me again.
After all this, if I got caught, what then.
Right then, Baek Si-woo slapped my back hard.
“Ow!”
“Hey, Jeong Dae-sam!”
“Why am I Jeong Dae-sam….”
Ah, Dae-sam from shortening thick-sliced pork belly to dae-sam.
“Your 100m isn’t BS at 14 seconds, right.”
“Why would I lie about that.”
Baek Si-woo took a deep breath and looked at me intently.
“Dae-sam ah. I love you. Run like your life depends on it, got it?”
“Then you too, buddy. Let’s fight.”
I forced a smile as I watched Baek Si-woo wink and walk off.
That’s when the PD raised his hand and shouted the start.
“Alright, game… start!”