Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Aftermath and the Next Wave
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“We’ll start filming the lunch scene now.”
“Let’s eat first and talk.”
Having dominated the clam-gathering mission, Answer enjoyed a delicious meal in a lounge overlooking the beach as they filmed.
“Writer-nim.”
“Yes, yes! Manager-nim, what can I do for you?”
The junior writer, who I had helped with the meal issue the day before, asked with a welcoming expression.
“One of the performers was injured. Do you happen to have a first-aid kit?”
“Ah! We have a team doctor. Who’s hurt?”
As it turned out, the team doctor was in the middle of an interview elsewhere when Si-ah's father collapsed. They were busy filming a segment about doing their best to ensure the safety of the artists and crew, so they weren't there to help when it actually mattered.
How ironic.
“Oh dear, to think this happened while I was doing the interview... Her wrist is quite swollen. It would be best to put it in a cast...”
“Doctor. I... I have to continue filming.”
The team doctor, who was responsible for on-site health and safety, hesitated at Seol-ah's words but then spoke as if he had no choice.
“Don't practice too hard. And let's have you get treated at a hospital as soon as filming is over.”
“We'll resume filming in ten minutes.”
A pain-relieving spray was applied to Seol-ah's hand, which she had been icing.
“Achoo! Ah, the smell of the spray... ugh... Achoo!”
Yi-na kept sneezing from the smell of the pain relief spray wafting from Seol-ah.
“Hey, are you seriously covering your mouth? Unni did that to save someone's life...”
Seul-bi complained to Yi-na, who was covering her nose and mouth.
“That's not it...”
Yi-na sounded troubled, so I quickly ran to get some tissues.
“Thank you.”
Fwooo-HONK!
“Sorry.”
“...Unni has nothing to be sorry for...”
“Seol-ah-ssi should stand on the far right, and Yi-na-ssi on the left.”
Filming began.
-Viewers, I have some news that is both unfortunate and, in a way, fortunate.
The host, who usually started every scene with a bit of playful teasing, spoke with a serious and respectful expression.
-As you can see from the contestants here, one team is missing. A member of N-Pink's father, who came to watch, suffered a cardiac arrest.
-Fortunately, amidst this misfortune, Answer's Seol-ah-ssi and her manager, who had learned the emergency first aid we covered, stepped in and successfully performed the necessary procedures before he was rushed to the hospital. All the members of N-Pink went with them and have unfortunately withdrawn from this competition.
-Our production team sincerely wishes him a speedy recovery, and we respect and support N-Pink's loyal decision.
-Seol-ah-ssi, you did an amazing job. Thank you.
Seol-ah stepped forward and bowed her head.
“Woooah!”
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Your Girl's rapper, Perry, and a few girls from other teams cheered.
*Can't those girls read the room?*
“Cut! Cut!”
His face flushed, PD Hwang Beom-seok shot up from his chair and yelled.
“Hey! Are you insane... Can't you read the mood? Someone was carried away after their heart stopped, and you're cheering? Are you crazy?”
Hwang Beom-seok looked like he was barely holding back a string of curses.
*Funny, this is the same guy whose mouth wagged like a pervert's in front of Director Lee Sun.*
*Besides, he didn't die. He lived.*
“......”
There had been quite a few who cheered, but now they just lowered their heads and bit their nails.
“Aish... Seol-ah-ssi, come out and bow again. We'll use the audio from the first take and splice it in with a screen transition.”
In the end, Seol-ah bowed again as if it were the first time, and this time, everyone just clapped quietly.
-I'm sure the production team feels the same, but personally, I think this was a truly meaningful event. It confirmed that knowing emergency first aid can save more lives in a crisis.
-Now! Let's get back to what we're here for, shall we? The missions are heading into the final stretch.
***
Filming resumed, and I got a call from Reporter Shin Dong-min.
“Yes, Reporter Shin Dong-min.”
-Timjang-nim Min-jun, thank you so much. This is the second time I've hit a million clicks in a single day since I joined the entertainment desk.
“I'm always grateful as well.”
-Hahaha! You're always so humble. Also, I've nearly finished my investigation into that point-based Ponzi scheme you told me about. I'm planning to run it as an exclusive this week.
“That's a huge relief. Thanks to you, Reporter-nim, the number of victims will be greatly reduced.”
-I've met a lot of people, but I don't think I've ever met anyone with instincts as sharp as yours, Timjang-nim.
“Not at all. It's because of people like you that I'm able to get information so quickly.”
Reporter Shin Dong-min and I exchanged pleasantries for a while longer before we could finally hang up. Then, I clicked on the article.
[Cardiac Arrest Occurs on the Set of Best Idol]
During the filming of 'Best Idol,' the father of a member of the girl group N-Pink collapsed from cardiac arrest while observing. It was revealed that Answer's main vocalist, Seol-ah, and her manager, who had opportunely learned emergency life-saving techniques on the show, took appropriate action with CPR.
The patient has been transported to the hospital and is receiving intensive care. All members of N-Pink have withdrawn from filming and accompanied him to the hospital... Although it was a life-saving segment on a lighthearted variety show, it proved to be an invaluable piece of programming that ultimately saved a life...
<Photo>
A picture of Answer's main vocalist Seol-ah and her manager performing CPR.
-What were the men doing, letting a girl do it?
-Something smells fishy.
-What smell, you idiot? You trying to cry 'viral marketing' again?
-If it's not viral marketing, then why the hell is some skinny girl doing chest compressions when there are so many people around?
-Is there a law that says skinny women can't do it? Female doctors and nurses must feel so wronged.
-I'm a nurse. If someone who's properly trained uses their body weight for the compressions, it's definitely possible. They can't do it for long due to stamina, though. In that respect, Seol-ah-ssi is really cool.
-Is the guy above drowning in conspiracy theories? Who the hell would use someone's cardiac arrest for viral marketing? He's insane.
-That girl got lucky. It's a rare opportunity.
-Wow, 'got lucky'? Why are there so many psychos these days? I'm taking a screenshot and sending it to her company. Just you wait.
-Still, the girl's got good form, doesn't she? Can't tell for sure since it's a photo, but it looks like she's delivering the force properly.
-I sincerely hope for the patient's safe recovery.
-For once, a variety show did something good for society.
There are always twisted people everywhere.
“Aish. Damn, I'm seriously going to sue them!”
Choi Yoo-jun fumed as he stared at his phone.
“...You posted a comment, didn't you?”
“...They're spouting bullshit, those crazy bastards.”
“I told you not to.”
“...Agh.”
“There are plenty of normal people who will defend them without you. Why do you have to get involved? If you get countersued, you'll be identified as an insider, and you'll screw over the company too.”
“Agh... I get it.”
Choi Yoo-jun fiddled with his phone again.
“I deleted it.”
At his words, I checked the article's comments again.
-What were the men doing, letting a girl do it?
-Something smells fishy.
-(This comment has been deleted)
-If it's not viral marketing, then why the hell is some skinny girl doing chest compressions when there are so many people around?
-Is there a law that says skinny women can't do it? Female doctors and nurses must feel so wronged.
-(This comment has been deleted)
-(This comment has been deleted)
-That girl got lucky. It's a rare opportunity.
-(This comment has been deleted)
-Still, the girl's got good form, doesn't she? Can't tell for sure since it's a photo, but it looks like she's delivering the force properly.
-I sincerely hope for the patient's safe recovery.
-For once, a variety show did something good for society.
“Have some restraint. You could end up ruining the artists instead of taking care of them, you know?”
“...I know.”
“And what's with the 'I'm a nurse' comment? Be honest. How many accounts do you have?”
“...Ah, I have a few. There are just too many haters.”
Choi Yoo-jun muttered and let out a hot sigh.
***
Gathered in their room, the members of Your Girl vented their frustrations.
“What kind of insane luck do they have? The more I think about it, the more pissed I get.”
“You think they're getting inside info like us?”
“Maybe? But do they have the connections for that?”
“I haven't seen them being friendly with any of the PDs...”
“Setting that aside. A heart attack? Myocardial infarction? What's up with that?”
“Stop it. We still have the main mission left. They suddenly told us to swap songs. You think they can pull that off too?”
“Right? No way. It took us over a month of insane practice just for our title track.”
“We need to get at least one shot of us practicing. Let's go.”
“Okay.”
Your Girl headed out to the practice area where the cameras were rolling.
It was 2 AM, but all six teams were in the thick of practicing their swapped songs.
“Haa... Seriously, how are we supposed to practice this in one day? It's hard enough just to memorize the lyrics.”
“And we have to dance to it too... Only a genius could pull this off!”
Perhaps because there were no individual mics, a few contestants grumbled in sullen tones, and a sneer played on the lips of the Your Girl members.
“Hey. Look over there.”
Your Girl's Mi-ji jutted her chin toward a corner, signaling to another member.
While all the other teams were practicing the choreography, the members of Answer were practicing the vocals for Your Girl's song, 'Our Own Time.' Seol-ah, wearing braces on both wrists, particularly stood out.
“Pfft! Looks like the main vocal bitch hurt her hands doing CPR. Seems like she's given up on the choreography entirely?”
“Serves her right. She was acting all high and mighty.”
“If I were her, I'd use the injury as an excuse to drop out. Wouldn't that be more beneficial? She's going to get totally humiliated on broadcast.”
“She must be really stupid not to even think of that. This mission is the final nail in the coffin.”
The members of Your Girl snickered as they watched Answer.
***
“Please wear the one with your name on it and come out. We'll start filming in twenty minutes.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
A staff member left some plain-looking rash guards and exited the room.
“Wow, they're really milking this. It's not like this is a PPL competition.”
“Well, getting exposure in various ways is good for us too.”
As Seul-bi grumbled, Seol-ah tore the tag with her name on it and said,
“I saw on my way here, the Your Girl members' outfits are clearly from the premium line. Ours are obviously from the budget line.”
“Huh? But what about aqua shoes?”
“I guess there's no aqua shoe sponsorship.”
“Waaah... That's so cheap. Does that mean we have to go out in our sneakers and then take them off?”
“I guess so.”
Soon, they started changing into the rash guards, and the room descended into a flurry of activity.
“Ugh! What do I do! I think I've really gained weight. My stomach pops out when I breathe.”
“What? You look pretty! It's okay to breathe.”
Ro-si comforted Yi-na, who was trembling as she spoke.
“Aah! No, no! What if my love handles show?”
“I told you to eat less. I knew this would happen when you were grinning from ear to ear, talking about getting PT from Min-jun oppa.”
Even with Seul-bi's teasing, Yi-na was too flustered to retort.
“I think it actually accentuates your curves. It looks good.”
“Really? Ro-si unni, you mean it?”
Ro-si coaxed Yi-na along as they headed to the resort's water park.
***
The members of Answer emerged with nervous expressions, wearing rash guards that clearly showed the curves of their bodies.
Seeing the production staff glancing at them gave me a strange mix of pleasure and displeasure.
“...*Gulp*.”
“...Did you just gulp?”
“Uhhh! I wasn't looking!”
Choi Yoo-jun stammered in a fluster.
“What weren't you looking at?”
“...My eyes just went there on their own.”
“I thought you said you weren't looking?”
“...Please don't tell the artists...”
Choi Yoo-jun gave an awkward laugh.
Most of the contestants had beautiful figures, but Seul-bi's, which looked toned from consistent strength training, and Seol-ah's, slender yet subtly curvaceous, were more than enough to capture the attention of many staff members.
I could tell just how brightly our members shone from the disgruntled looks on the faces of Your Girl.
-Alright then, let's begin the lunch mission: water handball! The rule is, the first team to score three goals wins. It'll be a tournament-style competition...
“Walk sideways. It might not be much faster than walking forward, but you'll be able to conserve energy.”
“Ah... you mean to minimize the water's resistance?”
“Yes.”
“Oh! As expected of our Oppa! That's a great tip!”
Our members entered the pool, which was chest-deep and had goals set up at both ends.
“They're overdoing the PPL. Now they're even doing rash guards.”
Choi Yoo-jun seemed worried that our members' image was being overexposed.
“That's how they make the broadcast look good. Besides, aren't all those sponsors our future advertisers?”
“Ah! I forgot. If we win, we get a sponsorship deal, right?”
In my eyes, I could already picture our members winning overwhelmingly, looking amazing and radiating healthy beauty.
And then.
[Group Trait 'Unyielding Spirit (B)' Activated]
[Ro-si and Seul-bi's 'Soulmates (A)' Activated]