Real Chicken
Yeon-woo gazed at the chickens sitting quietly in a neat little row inside the coop.
"Hmm. They said five or six were roaming the island, so odds are we've rounded them all up with this."
"Does that mean we can eat eggs now?" Han Byeol's eyes sparkled as she asked.
Yeon-woo nodded. "We just caught them, so I don't know if they'll start laying right away, but at least from the next shoot onward we should be able to eat some."
Still captivated by the island, Han Byeol peeked over the wall toward the sea.
"Oppa. Did you set the fish traps too?"
"I set them yesterday. How did you even know there were traps?"
Han Byeol answered as if the question itself were ridiculous. "Because I watched Summer's Table when I was little! It was super popular when I was in elementary school. Everyone in my class watched it."
"Hmm, elementary school..."
Come to think of it, he seemed to recall hearing something similar the day he first met Han Byeol for the White Blood script reading.
"It's still so amazing. That I'm actually appearing on a variety show I used to watch as a kid..."
Yeon-woo nodded. Thinking about it, that made perfect sense.
"Do you like seafood?"
"Yep! I eat pretty much everything!"
"Then something ought to have been caught in the traps by now."
Compared to the ramen or bread scraps they'd used before, this time they had cut off the head of the Spanish mackerel Han So-hyun had caught and used it as bait. Fish heads were a classic, time-tested trap bait—practically a steady seller—so he was quietly hoping something had taken the lure.
"Let's head back to the house for now."
"Okaaay!"
Bringing Han Byeol back to the house, Yeon-woo found the rest of the members sprawled out on the wooden platform in the yard like starfish. The great chicken-capture operation had left everyone running around so much that hunger had finally caught up with them.
Well, we didn't even eat breakfast.
A glance at the clock showed it was a little past one in the afternoon—well past lunchtime.
"I should go check the traps. Everyone must be starving, so shall we start getting a meal ready?"
"Soun's good."
"I usually skip breakfast, so why am I this hungry today?"
An Jun-ho, still lying down, checked the time on his phone and complained to Son Jin-uk. "Hyung. It's not breakfast—we're past lunchtime. It's one o'clock."
"For real? Hey, PD-nim, this is too much. I'm reporting you to the labor board."
Yeon-woo snorted at Son Jin-uk's joke and headed for the front gate to check the traps. The staff were just as empty-stomached, so at his words they began rummaging for bread and whatever else they could scavenge for a quick bite.
In the middle of it all, Han Byeol shot her hand straight up.
"I want to go check the traps too!"
"Yeah? Then grab that rubber tub in the corner and follow me."
"Yes, sir! Captain!"
Han Byeol scampered over, snatched up the tub, and trotted after Yeon-woo as he stepped out the gate. Watching her bounce along with the rubber basin, Yeon-woo couldn't help seeing an overlap with Han So-hyun from Season 1.
Back then we actually caught an octopus...
This season the haul had been decent—webfoot octopus, rockfish, even a big Spanish mackerel—but visually speaking, nothing quite matched an octopus.
Well, visuals aren't the point right now. Just catch something. Everyone's starving.
After a long walk with Han Byeol, they reached the rocks where the traps had been set. Yeon-woo gripped the rope and began hauling one up while Han Byeol clasped her hands together, eyes shining with anticipation.
"Whoa, this feels just like pulling a card in a mobile game."
"Huh?"
"You never know what's gonna come out."
He knew about mobile games—Manager Kim Min-su played them over his shoulder during downtime on set often enough.
"Traps don't have rerolls, and they come up empty a lot."
Yeon-woo heaved on the rope.
"Hmm, feels light..."
"Nooo!"
The trap broke the surface.
"Huh? There's something in there?"
A single dark shape sat inside the trap. Definitely not the Spanish mackerel head they'd used as bait. They hauled the trap onto the rocks and set it down, and the contents became clear.
"Jackpot! This is like pulling a legendary card."
"Hmm... this is giving me serious déjà vu..."
Inside the trap was an octopus—the same kind they had caught in Season 1 and turned into carpaccio. Even the size and shape were roughly the same.
Jin Yu-han, who had been the island's dedicated chef ever since they arrived, was taking a break for this lunch only. To revive old memories, Yeon-woo had taken up the knife himself to remake the octopus carpaccio from Season 1.
Just like last time, the cooking began by blanching the cleaned octopus and putting it in the fridge. After a quick chill to firm it up, he sliced it paper-thin and poured the sauce over the top.
At the sight of the finished dish, Han Byeol's stomach let out a loud gurgle.
"This is the dish I only ever saw on TV when I was in elementary school!"
Her excited words made the other members suddenly feel the full weight of the age gap.
"Elementary school...?"
Son Jin-uk grinned and pointed at the stack of plates on the table. "Han Byeol, make sure you give Auntie So-hyun a side plate too."
"Okay!"
"Aagh, why am I the auntie?!"
While the members bickered, Yeon-woo finished the octopus dish and fell into thought.
Hmm. This'll cover lunch, but what about dinner? I doubt anything else is going to wander into the traps in the next few hours...
Maybe they would have to challenge the production staff to a game with ramen on the line.
Or...
Yeon-woo stared thoughtfully in the direction of the chicken coop at the lower house. Watching him, Han Byeol had the sudden illusion that his eyes were darkening and black aura was pouring off his entire body in thick streams.
Then Yeon-woo murmured quietly to himself.
"Maybe I should quietly take out one of them."
Meanwhile, that same morning—before Han Byeol had even arrived on the island—An Jun-ho and the staff were surrounding the chickens while, on the far side of the island, Yeon-woo was whirling a lasso overhead like a cowboy.
"Yes. So if we go in at this timing, it should be just right."
Gong Min-jeong of Saebyeol Media nodded at the voice of PD Joo Hyun-seok coming through the receiver. The PD had called her first thing in the morning with an urgent request related to the "quest" that had sprung up on Gaeya-do, and as the marketing lead she was the one to handle it.
"Hmm, that does make sense. I'll look into it right away and, if possible, send it over by boat before evening."
"Understood. Then I'll leave it to you."
Gong Min-jeong ended the call with PD Joo and scrolled through her contacts.
"PlayN is still the biggest agency out there, so I should start with them."
She immediately dialed an agency that specialized in casting and advertising placements—a company big enough to rank first or second in the industry.
"Yes, this is Director Choi Ho-seong of PlayN."
"Hello, this is Team Leader Gong Min-jeong of Saebyeol Media."
"Ah, Team Leader Gong, how are you? I was sure I saved your number after our last call, but somehow..."
"Ah, I'm calling from my personal phone instead of the work one because this is urgent. I have a favor to ask."
Phone clamped between her shoulder and ear while she typed, Gong Min-jeong made the request without the slightest hesitation. It didn't matter that the other party was an industry leader. Right now every advertising agency was craning its neck waiting for a call from Saebyeol, so she had nothing to be shy about. Inquiries had quieted down lately once people realized casting requests for Ryu Yeon-woo no longer worked, but originally these agencies had bombarded Saebyeol daily with ad offers for him. In front of Saebyeol, they were still the junior partner.
"Oh, is that so? It would be an honor if I can help. What did you have in mind...?"
"I need a PPL brand we can lock in today."
"Hmm, today? That might be a bit difficult... When you say PPL, may I ask which media it will air on?"
Gong Min-jeong answered calmly. "The media isn't decided yet—could be a broadcast network or YouTube—but the working title is Summer's Table Season 2."
Director Choi finished his mental calculations almost instantly.
"S-Summer's Table? So the cast from Season 1 will be appearing?"
"That's right."
"Just tell me the category and I will have the contract fully executed and call you back before noon today!"
Indirect advertising contracts never normally closed in half a day like roasting beans over a lightning bolt. But if this one went through, it would include not only Son Jin-uk and Han So-hyun but Ryu Yeon-woo—the actor every single advertiser currently ranked as their number-one wish. Whatever category they wanted, no brand would refuse. They would welcome it with both hands open. That was why he answered with such confidence.
Gong Min-jeong smiled faintly. "The category we need for the show is chicken. Any brand is fine. The only condition is that it has to be delivered to an island near Gunsan Port today, so a brand with stores in Gunsan City would be ideal."
"Ah, chicken—I handle several brands in that category, so we can lock one in immediately. I'll clean up the final contract and get back to you right away!"
Just as Yeon-woo had expected, the octopus filled their stomachs for lunch, but by evening there was nothing left to eat. He went down to check the traps on the off chance something had wandered in, but they were empty again.
Hmm. Looks like there's no other choice. We'll have to spill a little blood after all.
Yeon-woo was staring over the wall at the chicken coop of the lower house, his eyes beginning to darken once more, when a message arrived on PD Joo Hyun-seok's phone.
After sending the reply, PD Joo nodded to himself.
I thought same-day casting might be impossible, but I guess this is the power of Saebyeol...
It was an exquisitely timed PPL. Of course, when he had asked Saebyeol to arrange the product placement, he had never expected them to capture every single wild chicken in a single day. He had simply figured that with this many people they might catch one or two. But you couldn't air the slaughter of a live chicken on a healing variety show, and who exactly was going to wring a chicken's neck, pluck it, and butcher it on camera? Even Jin Yu-han, for all his cooking experience, had almost certainly never killed and dressed a live bird.
That was why he had planned the concept of providing fried chicken as a quest-clear reward. He just hadn't expected them to hit a perfect 100 percent completion rate.
If they'd only caught one or two, I was going to replace the rest with games against the production team...
In any case, the members needed to hear the news. PD Joo cleared his throat.
"You all completed the mission the grandmother from the lower house gave you so successfully, right? Well, a reward for all of you has just arrived at the pier. Who wants to go represent us and bring it back?"
"Me me me!"
Han Byeol shot her hand up and sprang to her feet. She had only eaten a few slices of octopus since arriving on the island and must have been starving, yet her energy was still sky-high.
Fifteen minutes after she left with a staffer, the front gate creaked open.
Han Byeol came racing in like an Olympic torchbearer, holding a basket full of chicken boxes high above her head.
"Chicken! The chicken is here!"