The First MT with the Members
After packing up the luggage, following the production crew's guidance, everyone gathered in the living room.
We had gone there thinking we'd play some game, but the production crew dropped something completely unexpected.
“First, we’ll give you all some free time since you’ve worked hard so far.”
The word “free time” made several members’ eyes sparkle.
“Oh, really?”
“Then we don’t have to film?”
Of course not.
“We’ll give you free time, but each of you will have one mission to complete.”
We had expected this, yet it wasn’t truly free time.
“What? Then it’s not free time!”
Na Jae-hyun’s protest as the maknae drew the production crew into further explanation.
“Once you finish your mission quickly, the remaining time will be completely free. Of course, if you draw an easy mission, you’ll finish it fast. Conversely, if you draw a difficult one…”
The production crew trailed off, as if inviting us to imagine the rest for ourselves.
“Members who complete the mission within the free time will receive a penalty exemption, while those who fail will face penalties.”
The production crew’s explanation concluded.
“Then please come into the room to draw your missions.”
So the members entered one by one, checking their assigned tasks.
We had no idea what missions awaited us, but we wanted to draw the easiest ones possible.
“What? You drew an easy one?”
One by one, the members who had entered the room emerged after confirming their missions.
What kind of mission could possibly make them wear such expressions? Some members managed to keep poker faces, others failed utterly, and those who failed were the most unreadable of all.
“Hyung In-hyeok, why are you like that? No, what mission did you even draw?”
Gang In-hyeok had been silent since leaving the room earlier, his expression thoughtful and distant.
“Do Won-woo, come in!”
And finally, my name was called.
* * *
As soon as I stepped into the room, several mission papers lay on the table.
“You may draw one.”
“……”
Honestly, games like this were something I only ever saw on TV variety shows, so actually doing one myself felt strangely novel.
“I’ll draw this one.”
After much deliberation, I chose the paper in the center.
Actually, I rarely spent long thinking before drawing. I usually just picked whatever felt right at the moment.
“You’re going to draw that?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
Yet the production crew, for some hidden reason, kept pressing me on it.
“I won’t change what I’ve already chosen.”
“You won’t regret it?”
“…Yes.”
It was true.
Without changing my mind, I immediately examined the paper.
The content written on it was…
[Make Han I-jae eat durian]
What was this?
I doubted my eyes.
“Make him eat durian?”
Seriously, was it even reasonable to write something like this as a mission?
Where on earth had this idea come from? And not just any idea—specifically to force it on Han I-jae…
“Is this about the durian we bought at the mart earlier?”
“Yes. We added this new mission after getting inspired by seeing all of you buy durian yourselves at the market. What do you think?”
Han I-jae eating durian…?
“I don’t think he’ll eat it.”
A sense of mission failure already began to weigh heavily on me.
It wasn’t something easy like recommending strawberries or tangerines. Durian, of all things. To feed it to him, I would first have to cut the thick, oversized fruit and scoop out the contents.
More importantly, even if I recommended it, the chance he would notice it was a mission and refuse was high.
“If this happens…”
The production crew clicked their tongues.
“So when I told you to draw again earlier, you didn’t listen to me.”
The production crew gave me a pitiful yet wicked smile.
As soon as I heard that, my competitive spirit ignited with unusual intensity.
“It’s fine. I can do it.”
I said that, but my mind raced with ways to make him eat the durian without being caught and in a natural manner.
Yet I had no intention of giving up. After all, I still didn’t know what missions the other members had drawn.
There might even be harder missions than mine.
“Too optimistic of a thought.”
Still, I decided to try.
* * *
As I emerged from the room, the members began observing my reaction.
It was the moment I realized my face must have looked exactly like that when they saw the others come out earlier.
“Did you draw a difficult one?”
Won Ji-an asked, and I quietly nodded.
Then I turned my gaze toward Han I-jae. I had no idea how I was supposed to make him eat durian.
“Why did In-hyeok have to draw durian and make it so hard for people.”
Gang In-hyeok sat on the sofa, staring blankly ahead, completely unaware that I resented him.
“Alright, free time starts!”
After all members had confirmed their missions, the real free time finally began.
Hmm. I wasn’t sure calling this free time was accurate…
“Hmm.”
I decided to think quietly for now.
“If I try to feed him right away, he’ll notice immediately. Maybe it’s better to eat dinner and naturally recommend it as dessert.”
I had thought that far, but honestly, even I laughed at myself.
Because I rarely fed Han I-jae food before, doing something natural was practically impossible.
“Just force it into his mouth?”
But I couldn’t bring myself to do that. I didn’t have the courage to handle the aftermath.
“Now that I think about it, what did Han I-jae draw? As a mission.”
While wondering that, Kwon Hak-jin suddenly called me.
“Won-woo.”
“Yes?”
“There’s a game console here. Want to go see?”
Is there a game console here?
“Really?”
“Yeah. Come see.”
Following Kwon Hak-jin, I found a single game console installed in the room. It had the retro charm of arcade machines.
While thinking there were all kinds of things, Kwon Hak-jin patted my shoulder.
“Do you play games well, Won-woo?”
I shook my head.
Excluding the one time I went to an arcade with Won Ji-an…
I could say I had never played games on such consoles.
“No.”
“You don’t play games like this much?”
“Yes.”
Kwon Hak-jin naturally sat on the chair in front of the console.
“Then let’s play one game.”
Because it was too natural, I almost said “yes.”
But I snapped to my senses.
“A mission?”
“Huh?”
“It’s a mission. Playing games.”
Even though free time had been given, the feeling of it not being free time was strong.
No matter what we did, in each other’s eyes, there was deep distrust and a strong desire not to give penalties.
“Aigoo, it’s really not a mission. If you don’t want to do it, no big deal.”
“……”
I thought for a moment.
“It doesn’t seem like a simple mission like just playing games.”
It might be playing games but needing to meet specific conditions in the game, or increase scores, or something.
Or maybe, as Kwon Hak-jin said, it really wasn’t a mission.
“Want to play, or not?”
“I’ll play.”
In the end, I reluctantly sat next to Kwon Hak-jin.
“No, refusing would be weird too.”
As someone who had read all the novels and knew Kwon Hak-jin’s past, I felt it was hard to refuse such a simple request.
“Oh, then choose a character.”
I roughly picked any character.
The game was a fighting game.
The rules were simple. Attack until the opponent’s HP reaches zero.
[Game Start]
With cheerful background music, every time a character was selected, a hitting sound played.
[Puk, puk, puk!]
Before I knew it, members gathered around to watch the game.
[Puk, ugh, puk puk, kyaah!]
Actually, this wasn’t a game.
It was closer to Kwon Hak-jin’s character unilaterally beating my character.
[Puk, puk puk, 3 Combo!]
When Kwon Hak-jin pushed my character to the very edge of the map and beat him, cheers erupted from the watching members.
And at the moment of the final blow, the game over screen appeared.
“Wow, amazing.”
Na Jae-hyun clapped from behind.
“You didn’t even fight back?”
“……”
“No, Hyung Hak-jin’s HP didn’t decrease even three bars?”
In that situation, the only one comforting me was Won Ji-an.
“It’s okay.”
“……”
“People can’t always do well.”
And finally, the result screen showing scores appeared.
“…This is the first time I’ve received such a score in my life.”
While I bowed my head in shock, pressing my forehead, Kwon Hak-jin, sitting next to me, stood up for the ceremony.
“Congratulations.”
“Hyung, so you succeeded in the mission?”
“No. Because it’s not a mission.”
Kwon Hak-jin shook his head, but it was unclear whether this counted as a mission or not. We would probably find out later when announced.
* * *
“Hoo…”
After losing the game miserably and confirming the unbelievable score with my own eyes, I came out of the room thoroughly shaken.
It was fine. After all, it was just a game. But today I realized how strong my competitive spirit truly was.
“I’ve never lost to someone with such a huge skill gap before.”
Last time when I went to the arcade with Won Ji-an, I was probably evenly matched.
So was Won Ji-an’s game skill similar to mine, or did he just go easy on me.
“…Hmm?”
While going to the kitchen to drink water and opening the fridge, I felt something was different.
After closing the fridge, I turned around again and checked the table.
“The durian…”
The durian I had definitely brought from the car and placed on the table earlier was gone.
“Where did the durian here go?”
To my question, Jeong Hui-min, who happened to be passing by, shrugged his shoulders.
His reaction was as if he didn’t know.
“Durian? Hmm. It’s not in the fridge?”
“It’s not there.”
“Then someone already ate it?”
The most unwelcome sound I heard while listening.
“Why? Is that your mission?”
“Aigoo, what mission is that.”
I maintained my poker face as if nothing had happened. But my mind was occupied with the missing durian.
“Durian disappearance case? Something like that?”
“……”
“Like the deduction game last time, this time too, find the culprit. Good luck.”
Jeong Hui-min raised his thumb as if wishing me good luck and left the kitchen.
Probably Jeong Hui-min, with his sharp eyes, had roughly guessed that my mission was related to the durian.
“…Who is it, really.”
No matter how I looked at it, unless someone carried the durian away entirely, it was hard for it to disappear so completely.
Perhaps that person also received a mission involving the durian. I didn’t know what it was, but…
To complete the mission, I had to find it. And make him eat it.
“Hah.”
Suddenly, a sense of reality hit, but…
“Still, what can’t I do.”
In this situation like thin ice, I had overcome life-threatening situations and debuted, so I thought I could find one durian.
More importantly, thinking that after receiving weird quests like finding Yoon Hyeon-min in an abandoned building, now doing something like finding a durian made my life’s genre feel lighter.
It was fine. I decided to accept everything positively and find the durian.