The Audition in the Rice Chest
Park Jihun spoke immediately. "Don't give it to him."
Lazy Afternoon took a step back and asked, "Why the phone all of a sudden?"
The man sighed. "Why do you think? I'm trying to do the mobile check-in for you. You have to do it quickly so we can get in without being late."
Lazy Afternoon tightened his grip on his phone. "I'll do it myself."
"Your hands are shaking right now. We don't have time. I'll do it for you." The sound of the man's footsteps approaching could be heard.
"No. I'll do it."
At that moment, the chat window scrolled rapidly.
Lazy Afternoon kept backing away, refusing to let go of his phone. The man was silent for a moment, then spoke in a slightly softer voice. "What's wrong? Did you hear something weird from somewhere?"
"......"
"Coming all this way wasn't an easy decision for you, either. You said it would be nice to go on a trip, right? I told you all you have to do is help out with Korean customers once you get there."
Lazy Afternoon couldn't answer.
"They provide lodging, meals, and the salary gets deposited right away. It's not even difficult work. They said it's just helping out with Korean customers among people who don't speak Korean."
The man's tone was still gentle. It sounded like he was genuinely worried. "You said things haven't been working out for you lately. You couldn't find a job, and you were running out of money."
Lazy Afternoon bit his lip. It wasn't a lie. He had only a few hundred thousand won in his bank account, and he had failed interview after interview. He had even hurt his back at a construction site he'd rushed to. That was why he had come here, despite the nagging feeling that something was off.
The man spoke again. "If you just hold on for a few months, you'll be able to breathe. What's going to change if you stay in Korea?"
Lazy Afternoon glanced at his phone without realizing it. But Park Jihun was silent. There was only quiet on the other side of the earphones. Only the chat window was scrolling wildly.
The man took another step closer. "You don't have to give me the phone, but let's just go out for now. Everyone is watching. Let's talk outside. It'll be a headache if we're late for check-in."
Lazy Afternoon looked at the senior in front of him. He was a guy he had been close with since high school. He had bought him meals whenever things were tough, and he knew how desperate he was. That was why he had trusted him and come. But Park Jihun had said it wasn't that kind of job. He had even looked into it with a free shamanic reading.
Lazy Afternoon took a slow breath. "I'm not going."
The man stopped moving. "What?"
"I'm not going." This time, his voice was clearer.
The man's voice dropped. "Hey, are you kidding me right now?"
"......"
"You came all this way, and now you're saying you're not going? Does that make any sense?"
Lazy Afternoon bit his lip. "I'm sorry."
"Is 'sorry' the only thing you can say?"
"Still, I can't go."
The moment those words left his mouth, the man's tone changed completely. "This bastard is really something else."
Lazy Afternoon flinched. "What are you going to do when you go back? You're just going to whine about having no money again, right? You're going to ask me to find you a job, aren't you?"
"......"
"I looked into this to help you find a way to survive, and this is how you treat me?"
Lazy Afternoon swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."
"Can you say anything other than that?"
"Still, I'm not going."
The man let out a rough breath. "Fine." He added coldly, "If you don't want to go, don't. There are plenty of people who will go even if you don't."
Lazy Afternoon kept his lips sealed and said nothing. As the man turned to leave, he added, "Don't ever think about seeing my face again."
The footsteps faded away. Only then did Lazy Afternoon open his mouth in a trembling voice. "......The guy just left."
Park Jihun watched the screen. The scenes he had seen earlier were slowly fading. But the man's last words bothered him. *'There are plenty of people who will go even if you don't.'*
Park Jihun said briefly, "Go back home. You'll get a job within a month."
"Really? Thank you so much."
Lazy Afternoon thanked him a few more times and left the Discord. The connection cut off, and a brief silence settled in. Park Jihun opened his DM window.
The recipient was Detective Park Donghyeon. Park Jihun closed the window after sending the message. The chat window was still noisy.
Park Jihun scanned the chat window once. There was nothing more to say that would change anything. He brought up the roulette wheel again. "Next."
The spinning roulette slowly lost speed. *Ding.*
[Reorima]
Park Jihun said, "Reorima. Get on Discord."
A moment later, a woman's voice was heard. "Hello."
"What's the matter?"
Reorima said cautiously, "I have a cat named Ttubi. I'm not sure if I should keep raising him."
The chat window stirred.
Reorima continued, "I have an eight-month-old baby. Yesterday, while I was taking a quick nap, the cat bit the baby's wrist."
Park Jihun asked, "Was the baby hurt badly?"
"They said it wasn't a major injury. But my husband asked if we shouldn't send the cat somewhere else. I want to keep raising him, but after seeing the baby get hurt, I'm wondering if it's okay to do that..."
At that moment, a scene flashed before Park Jihun's eyes. Late afternoon. The baby, crawling on the living room mat, was heading toward the half-open safety gate. Beyond it were the stairs leading down to the first floor. The cat had blocked the baby's path several times. When the baby didn't stop, it finally bit the wrist. The baby cried, and the woman woke up late.
The scene scattered, and Park Jihun said in a calm voice, "It's not the cat's fault."
Reorima asked in a flustered voice, "Yes? What do you mean it's not the cat's fault?"
"It didn't bite on purpose. It bit to make the baby stop."
The chat window slowed down for a moment. Park Jihun asked, "You have stairs in your house, right?"
"......Yes. It's a duplex."
"The safety gate wasn't locked properly."
The other side of the Discord went quiet. Reorima's breathing wavered slightly. "Ah......"
"Ttubi was stopping the baby from leaving the mat and falling down the stairs."
Reorima couldn't say anything for a long time. The chat window exploded late.
Reorima said tearfully, "I misunderstood. I have to tell my husband properly, too. That Ttubi was protecting the baby."
Park Jihun said briefly, "Check the safety gate thoroughly from now on."
"Yes. I'm going to give Ttubi plenty of treats today. Thank you so much."
The Discord connection cut off. The chat window was buzzing with a different meaning than before.
Park Jihun opened his mouth. "Next."
The spinning roulette slowly lost speed.
*Ding.* The arrow stopped.
[RainyThursday]
Park Jihun checked the nickname and said, "RainyThursday. Get on Discord."
A moment later, the Discord connection sound was heard. "Hello." It was a young man.
Park Jihun said immediately, "Speak."
RainyThursday hesitated for a moment before answering, "I'm worried about whether I can keep doing the work I'm doing now."
The chat window went quiet.
Park Jihun asked, "What kind of work do you do?"
"I sing and dance."
The chat window moved immediately.
Park Jihun stared at the screen. A scene flashed before his eyes. Countless cameras. A reflector in the back. A young face reading a script. Adults nodding their heads. *'A child actor?'*
The scene changed. An old practice room. A child standing in front of a mirror. They were repeating the same movement over and over. A sweat-soaked T-shirt. A fluorescent light that didn't turn off until dawn. *'A trainee?'*
Then the scene changed again. A debut group. A flashy showcase. A not-so-bad debut stage. But the reaction didn't last long. Stopped view counts. Buried stage videos. Empty fan signing seats. A settlement statement marked with a minus. An uncertain future for their next activity.
The scene ended there.
"You released your first album, but the reaction was lukewarm. The company hasn't said anything about your next activity either."
"......Yes."
The chat window became noisy.
Park Jihun said briefly, "Don't dig into his personal information." The chat window went quiet.
At that moment, RainyThursday said cautiously, "I want to keep doing it." His voice was trembling slightly. "Ever since I became a trainee, I've lived only looking forward to my debut."
"......"
"I debuted, but I'm wondering if this is the end after just one album."
Park Jihun did not answer.
RainyThursday said again, "The company tells me to wait a little longer, but...... will there be a next time for us?"
"......"
"I want to keep going with my members until the end."
Park Jihun said briefly, "It's difficult right now."
The other side of the Discord went quiet. "......I see, that's how it is."
"There is no next activity in sight right now."
After a long time, RainyThursday said in a voice mixed with a sigh, "Then I guess I should just go to the military quickly."
Park Jihun narrowed his brows. "The military?"
"Yes. There's no reason to delay it any further anyway. I'll have to try something else after I come back."
At that moment, the scene opened again. Strong lighting. Cameras. At first, he thought it was a stage. But there was no microphone. No music could be heard. Instead, someone shouted, "Cue!"
RainyThursday raised his head. Strange clothes. A strange space. A lid closing roughly. *Thump.* Everything went dark. He was curled up inside a narrow wooden box, gasping for air. He scratched the inner wall with his fingernails. His voice didn't leak out properly. Only suffocating, ragged breathing leaked out into the darkness.
A moment later, someone shouted, "Cut!"
A sound that could have been a scream or a cheer. A flood of comments. And someone was asking in a surprised voice, "Who is that person?"
The scene didn't end there. The stopped view counts started moving again. Comments were attached to the buried stage video. People lined up for the empty fan signing seats. And someone said, "He was a member of that group?"
The scene cut off.
Park Jihun said, "Go for an audition first."
RainyThursday asked in a dazed voice, "An audition?"
"Yes."
"What kind of audition......"
Park Jihun cut him off. "The one where you die inside a *rice chest*."
RainyThursday asked in an absurd voice, "......What did you say?"
Park Jihun added briefly, "Find that."