Oji 1 Night! The Gallery's Heartache
While the warm conversation between Kang Jae-dong and Kim Doyun flowed back and forth, the Actor Gallery was heating up in an entirely different way.
Writer: Anon
He's supposed to be the National MC, so why's he getting all cozy with our Newbie? Even if it's for the show, he shouldn't treat our precious treasure like that, right? Can't we report this?
The Actor Gallery, which had been laughing and crying along with Kim Doyun's appearance on Oji 1 Night, descended into chaos at one particular comment.
Writer: Anon
I'm telling you, this isn't the time to be laughing. We taught him everything from his first steps to speaking, and now he's about to get snatched away just like that?
So this was how Kim Doyun, the Newbie, would fall for National MC Kang Jae-dong's flirting. Every member of the Actor Gallery was anxiously waiting with bated breath.
Writer: Anon
"I guess I still want to chase my dreams."
<< I cried right there.
Thus, peace returned to the Actor Gallery once more.
I looked at Kang Jae-dong.
'He's already asleep.'
It hadn't even been five minutes since our conversation ended.
What incredible sleeping speed.
While I was thinking that—
Rustle—
There was something outside the tent.
Holding my breath in tension at the presence, I listened.
Rustle—
'Something's there!'
The moment I thought that and pulled open the tent flap—
"…."
"…."
Kim Chan-uk was leaning against the tent.
"…!"
Startled at the sight of the open flap, Kim Chan-uk stumbled backward.
"…What?"
"Ah, no, I heard a sound while passing by, so without thinking…"
This guy wasn't normal either. Thinking that, I waved my hand.
"It's late, so go get some sleep too."
The moment I was about to close the flap after saying that—
"W-wait."
Kim Chan-uk hesitated, as if he had something to say.
"If you have something to say, spit it out quickly."
"I wasn't eavesdropping, I just happened to hear it while passing by…"
"What?"
Kim Chan-uk gritted his teeth and continued.
"That thing you said about still wanting to chase your dreams. It was cool!"
"…!"
I covered my face with my palms. He heard that.
How embarrassing. No, why was he even listening?
More than that, was this guy incapable of feeling embarrassment? I was genuinely envious of Kim Chan-uk's thick skin, being able to say and do such embarrassing things so confidently.
With that thought, I shut the tent flap.
The early dawn when even the moon was hiding. My body ached from crouching inside the tent with Kang Jae-dong's large frame.
I wanted to stretch my back and get some fresh air, even just a little.
'I have to be careful not to wake Jae-dong hyung-nim.'
Thinking that, I carefully extended my legs outside the tent.
The dawn air, so fresh it was almost cold, mixed with the scent of pine and seeped into my lungs like menthol.
'So refreshing!'
Feeling like I could finally breathe, I began walking lightly around the area.
Though I felt a bit guilty about using it this way. But what did it matter?
Since entering Oji 1 Night, I hadn't been able to check the Actor Gallery at all.
'I should at least go in and say hello…'
A post proudly occupying the top spot.
"…."
Overwhelmed by shame, I closed the Actor Gallery. The whole world was mocking me!
While thinking that and passing by the thatched house on my way back to the tent—
"…?"
A faint, trembling sound. It was an artificial noise, not the sound of wind.
'What is that?'
Feeling a sense of wrongness, I turned my gaze toward the sound.
Luina Bell, who had been given a small private room to sleep in as a consideration from the production team.
In the quiet room with the camera off, Luina Bell hadn't closed her door and was trembling against the doorframe.
The smile I had seen until evening was nowhere to be found. Sweating coldly and with trembling lips, she looked like an entirely different person, and a sense of dissonance washed over me.
Why? I saw familiar eyes in her. The eyes of an insect fleeing toward light to escape the sensation of being strangled when darkness came.
'If I'm wrong, I'll just be embarrassed, that's all.'
Thinking that, I quietly knocked on the wooden floor in front of her door.
Luina Bell flinched in surprise.
I answered her quietly.
"It's Tofu Man, you bastard."
Luina Bell let out a sigh of relief.
"What? So it was Tofu MAN."
I sat on the porch at her relieved expression.
"If it's okay, would you mind if I lay on the porch for a bit?"
"What! Isn't that outdoor sleeping?"
"The porch counts as outdoor sleeping too, technically. Kang Jae-dong hyung-nim's snoring is too painful to bear."
Half. No, about 80% of that was sincere.
That snoring could rival a tractor engine. No, it would win. I guarantee it.
At my request, Luina Bell smiled and answered.
"Well, that's fine. Ahh. How troublesome it is to live a life loved by everyone. Tofu MAN wouldn't understand."
"Is that so."
Luina Bell said that, then opened the door wide and approached me.
"What? Did you decide you want to sleep outdoors too?"
"Didn't I tell you? I am a body loved by the stars."
At her words, she pointed to the spot beside me.
"There's space."
At that, Luina Bell approached and sat beside me, still wearing her black work boots.
"Tofu MAN should know how blessed you are. You wouldn't understand how great it is to have the seat next to someone loved by all."
"I really don't get it."
"This guy."
I smiled. The unpleasant aura from earlier was no longer visible on Luina Bell.
'Was it my imagination?'
Either way, she looked bright now, so it was fine. She had also secured a generous amount of screen time for me, and honestly, I had grown somewhat fond of her during our banter.
Just as I was thinking that, a rat appeared beside Luina Bell's foot.
'It's a thatched house, after all.'
If I told Luina Bell, she'd probably scream in shock. Maybe she'd even say something like the rat loved her too…
'Still, if she gets startled and screams, it'll be a nuisance.'
Thinking that, I was about to tell her to move without letting on—
Luina Bell's eyes turned toward the rat.
'Ah, shoot…!'
At that moment—
Luina Bell lifted her foot. Before I could say anything, the thick sole of her black work boot crushed the rat with a sickening crunch.
Luina Bell's blue eyes looked pitch black to me.
"Rats… I rather dislike them."
As I stood frozen in shock, Luina Bell's eyes sparkled again as if nothing had happened, and she cheerfully pointed at the sky.
"Ah! Tofu MAN. The sun is already rising, is what it is."
Then, as if it were nothing, she casually kicked the rat's corpse into the bushes under the porch with her toe.
"Today as well, the sun rises for this Luina Bell. What a refreshing morning, is what it is!"
I swallowed at this bizarre scene that was difficult to describe in words.
'I thought she was just eccentric…'
She was actually insane.
The long, long one night in the wilderness was coming to an end.
"Alright, everyone worked hard all night!"
The members and guests gathered again in the front yard of the thatched house.
Here we go, here we go. Oji 1 Night closing time!
After the morning sun rose, as a token of appreciation for their hard work, main host Kang Jae-dong would leave a few words of encouragement for each guest.
Kang Jae-dong began shouting the closing remarks in his booming voice.
"Thanks to our guests today, we really had a fun time! First, our Luina Bell!"
"Yes! Luina Bell, who is loved by everyone, is what it is!"
Luina Bell was making finger hearts as if last night's appearance had been a lie.
The temperature difference was so stark that I wondered if what I had seen was an illusion.
"Aigoo! That tireless positive power! Even after eating silkworm pupae, she showed the miracle of smiling! Amazing! I hope you keep smiling just like this."
"Thank you."
Luina Bell smiled brightly.
Then Kang Jae-dong's gaze turned to Kim Chan-uk.
"And our Chan-uk! At first, you were carefully avoiding getting dirt on yourself, but when I saw you diving face-first into the mudflat, I was really surprised!"
"Thank you."
Kim Chan-uk smiled, looking slightly embarrassed with a flushed face.
"From now on, whether it's idol work or acting, I hope you'll continue to succeed!"
His face was much more relaxed than at the beginning.
'If nothing else, that's a relief.'
Finally, Kang Jae-dong looked at me. Kang Jae-dong gave me a warm smile and patted my shoulder.
"And our actor."
Kang Jae-dong smiled at the camera and spoke.
"You know what I'm going to say without me saying it, right?"
A story meant only for me, one that neither the viewers nor anyone else would understand.
A corner of my heart felt warm. Last night's conversation in the tent hadn't been empty words.
"Ooh, what's this? Do you two have some kind of connection?"
"You all came too, it was fun."
Kim Geun-seok and Lee Seung-woo also added a few words with smiles.
"Thank you!"
Kang Jae-dong shouted while looking at the camera.
"Alright, viewers! I hope you enjoyed the deep taste of the wilderness with us this week too!"
Just as Kang Jae-dong was about to wrap up the closing remarks with his arms spread wide—
"Alright, everyone gather here!"
Kang Jae-dong suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me between himself and Kim Geun-seok—that is, right into the center of the camera frame.
"Uh, uh?"
Before I knew it, I was standing in the center. Kang Jae-dong draped his arm over my shoulder and shouted at the camera.
"Viewers! We'll see you again next week in the wilderness! The spirit of real variety! We are!!! Oji!!!!!"
Kang Jae-dong led the chant energetically.
At that moment, my heart began pounding as if it would burst.
In that cramped, smelly goshiwon room, staring blankly at the variety show world on the TV screen while eating ramen for meals.
The closing chant I had once wanted to shout if I ever became famous.
Now, standing beside Korea's top MC, I was about to shout it myself.
The corners of my mouth kept rising without me realizing it. Staring at the camera—
I shouted.
"1 Niiiiight!!!!"
Along with the cry that echoed through the mountain wilderness, my first variety show debut came to an end.
One week later, the Buan episode of Oji 1 Night broke the all-time highest viewership ratings.