Chapter 124
Chapter 124
Kim Sanho, who had rolled a 'Mo' and earned another chance, threw the yut sticks.
"Do."
"I'll move forward one space."
Baek Gyeonwoo, carrying Kim Sanho on his back, moved one space. Luckily, Kim Sanho's legs never touched the ground.
Then my turn came back around.
'Just avoid getting caught.'
If we got caught again here, it wouldn't be fun—it would just drag the mood down.
I threw the yut sticks carefully.
"Geol, geol, geol, geol!"
When a result that could finally be called a result came out, Kim Yuri cheered noisily.
I breathed a sigh of relief and moved three steps.
And I landed on a mission space.
The production crew shouted.
"Okay, you have to say three keywords in three seconds!"
'This should be easy....'
But no matter what it was, when it came 'out of nowhere,' you were bound to panic.
In other words, the crew had shouted the keywords without giving me any time to mentally prepare.
"Three-letter movie title! One, two...."
"Camera. Cat. Yuri Castle."
"......."
The crew looked at me with suspicion and asked.
"Are those real movie titles?"
"Yes."
Honestly... I didn't know.
I just saw the camera, the two cats, and Kim Yuri in front of me and blurted out whatever came to mind.
Still, with so many movies in the world, all of those sounded like plausible titles, right?
My confident attitude caused a brief stir among the crew, and they eventually went to verify.
A moment later, they said, surprised.
"They really do exist. All three of them."
"......."
Honestly, I was surprised too, but I nodded vigorously as if I'd known all along.
But as expected, it wasn't easy to get past content experts.
"Ahem, then please explain what the movie 'Yuri Castle' is about. If you get sixty percent correct, we'll let you pass immediately."
"......It's a beautiful story about a prince... going on an adventure to rescue a princess trapped in Yuri Castle...."
The crew looked at their phone with icy eyes.
And the result came out.
"Yes, you pass."
"......."
They make movies with such trite, simple plots?
Seeing my disbelief, the crew asked with a smile.
"You didn't just make that up, did you?"
"No? It's my favorite movie."
Kim Yuri chimed in.
"Oh, right, right. I witnessed Cha-gyeom crying while watching that movie!"
Look at him, all excited....
At any rate, I passed without incident, and the turn went to Kim Yuri.
I urged Kim Yuri, who was shaking the yut sticks in his hand.
"Just don't roll a Geol."
"Why? I'm not that heavy!"
Why did that hyung so naturally assume I'd be carrying him? He's the bigger one....
Anyway, the yut sticks soon clattered cheerfully.
"Geol."
"Ah!"
"You should've thought nice thoughts."
Baek Gyeonwoo, still carrying Kim Sanho, said it as if it served them right.
"You did that on purpose, hyung?"
"Hey, if I had that kind of power, I would've ended this game already."
Kim Yuri, who had perfectly succeeded at the mission keyword game, came up to me.
I let out a sigh and pointed at my back.
"Get on."
"Oh, you're really going to carry me?"
"Were you going to carry me?"
"No?"
And then Kim Yuri wrapped his arms around my neck and climbed onto my back.
"......."
"Am I heavy?"
"Light as a feather. A 70kg feather."
"Don't know, don't care~."
Kim Yuri pounded my shoulder with his fist.
And when attention shifted to Jeong Sowol's turn, he whispered carefully into my ear so the mic wouldn't pick it up.
"If I'm really heavy, tell me. I'll switch."
"I can manage."
But judging by the tension in his arms around my neck, he was probably straining every muscle to maintain his center of gravity himself.
Meanwhile, Jeong Sowol's result came out.
"It's Yut!"
Jeong Sowol, who had been happy at the high roll, soon clutched his head.
"Ah! No! That'll take me further away from Neuti hyung!"
"What are you going to do by getting closer to me?"
"Carry you!"
"Ugh, no!"
"Just hurry up and throw again."
At Baek Gyeonwoo's words, Jeong Sowol carefully threw the yut sticks.
"Huh? Back-do."
......Wait, if it's back-do.
"You two got caught."
"Is this game even progressing?"
"At this rate, we'll be here all day."
Having literally been caught by stepping backwards, we dejectedly left the yut board.
Honestly... I was glad we got caught. He was heavy after all.
"Do we throw again?"
"We have to."
Jeong Sowol's next result was 'Gae'.
Jeong Sowol landed on a shortcut, and Han Neuti, who had been watching, turned his gaze to the two of us standing blankly outside the board.
And said,
"Are you two even playing?"
"We're slow starters."
"Right on!"
We said that, but at this point, it seemed more meaningful to just generate screen time than to win the 200,000 won....
So what was Han Neuti's result?
"Mo."
"Is this for real?"
"Hyung! Come quick!"
Jeong Sowol jumped up and down calling Han Neuti. He seemed more delighted at finally getting to carry Han Neuti than at the high roll.
Han Neuti said in a dumbfounded voice,
"Wait, really... I have to get on you? You?"
"I got first place in all the push-ups."
Han Neuti's expression became complicated as he looked at Jeong Sowol's bicep, which he proudly showed off while saying that.
But unable to break his stubbornness, Han Neuti eventually got on Jeong Sowol's back.
"......."
"......."
"So-wol, why are you so quiet?"
"Well, I'm... usually the quiet type."
Han Neuti, on Jeong Sowol's back, threw the yut sticks with difficulty.
For the record, Kim Yuri and I sat down outside the board and just watched them.
"Alright, a Geol came out. Team Han Neuti is now two spaces ahead of Team Baek Gyeonwoo! Jeong Sowol? Please move."
"If it's Geol, that's another shortcut. Seems like Neuti hyung's team is now much more Yuri— I mean, has a much bigger advantage over Gyeon-woo now."
"You never know. The charm of yutnori is the world of catching and being caught. Speaking of which, Baek Gyeonwoo just stepped up!"
"Looks like you two are just commentating the game."
The yutnori that followed... fortunately repeated so viciously that we didn't have to worry about screen time.
So, just to state the result.
"The team taking home today's New Year's money is Team Kim Yuri and Seo Cha-gyeom!"
"A beautiful come-from-behind victory."
"It was like the tortoise and the hare."
......We won.
While the other two teams kept eating and being eaten on the shortcuts, the two of us circled the corners and safely arrived at the finish line.
In other words, we never even touched a shortcut. I don't know if that counts as good luck or bad.
We did win, so I guess it's a good thing.
"Then we'll award the New Year's money."
Soon, a red lucky pouch was placed in each of our hands.
"Wow, they really gave it to us."
"Hey, let's use it together."
"I'll manage it! I'll give it back to you hyungs when you're all grown up!"
As I listened to the enthusiastic reactions of the other members, I opened the pouch and saw... an actual 100,000 won bill.
"......It's real money."
"Did you think it'd be fake?"
I thought it would be currency issued by the HAZERD bank....
Anyway, after finishing the yutnori game and while we were tidying up, one of the production crew shouted loudly.
"Filming isn't over yet! We'll be moving back to the studio from earlier!"
"The place from before?"
"Yes!"
'The place from before' must mean the studio where we made dumplings.
'No wonder they ended so abruptly without any closing remarks.'
If you combine the dumpling making and the yutnori segment, wouldn't it easily come out to 40 minutes after editing?
That should be enough content for fans to enjoy during the holiday. Whether it's entertaining is the key, though.
After a brief break, we moved locations.
What greeted us when we arrived inside the studio....
"Huh? Dumplings?"
"We get to eat them too?"
It was dumplings.
I mean the dumplings we had made, fifty per person, including portions for the crew and our staff.
Yes, those dumplings we were already sick of without even eating them.
Of course, the crew hadn't asked us to; we'd said we'd do it, but still, I'd thought I'd have to swear off dumplings for a while.
But now, seeing the beautifully finished dumplings, I felt... a little proud.
"We selected and steamed only the prettiest ones!"
The crew said.
No wonder, I'd thought it was strange since there was no way we'd made them all so uniformly pretty.
"There are also the tangerine-shaped dumplings San-ho hyung made."
"Those were for the President...."
"Where's my piranha dumpling?"
"It burst."
We soon sat down and started tasting the dumplings.
The filling was made under the command of Han Neuti and Jeong Sowol, the two with the most cooking sense among us, referencing an internet recipe, and well, it tasted like ordinary dumplings.
But I knew well that even making ordinary ones is difficult.
Because from living in the dorm and tasting the members' cooking often....
'Hmm.'
I figured it was time to bring up this kind of talk to wrap things up.
"How does it feel spending the holiday together like this?"
Technically, it's not the holiday but a week before, but since fans will watch it on the holiday, it didn't matter.
Jeong Sowol picked up the heart-shaped dumpling I had made and said.
"It was fun. It was my first time playing yutnori, and I want to play again."
"You'd never played yutnori before?"
"I didn't have anyone to play with."
"Yeah, you didn't."
Han Neuti, sitting next to Jeong Sowol, naturally took over the commentary.
"My family doesn't go anywhere for the holidays, so the holidays were just like any other day off... But after meeting our kids, like last Chuseok and now, having these memorable holidays one by one... it feels really nice."
"What did we do for Chuseok?"
"Hey, we watched a movie together...!"
I remembered.
I think we watched a horror movie, but can you really call that holiday-related...?
"I'm experiencing the holiday spirit for the first time."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
After that, one by one, we each shared our thoughts on this content.
And when even I had finished giving my thoughts, the production crew, beaming with warm smiles, said.
"Oh! Cha-gyeom and Yuri, where are you going to spend the prize money?"
"Ah, the prize money."
The prize money....
I definitely had something I'd resolved to spend it on, but I suddenly couldn't remember.
While I pondered, Kim Yuri answered.
"I'm going to spend it on a place where we can all hang out together!"
Hmm, no matter what I'd intended to spend it on, it had suddenly become a situation where I couldn't say 'I'll use it for myself.'
I nodded in agreement.
"I was thinking of doing that from the start, too."
"Don't lie."
"It's the truth— oh!"
I remembered.
What I had been planning to spend the prize money on.
"Right. Your birthday's coming up, so I was going to buy you a present."
"......."
Baek Gyeonwoo, upon hearing my words, scowled fiercely.
And lowered his head.
"......?"
What's this?
The atmosphere turned chilly.
"Why... what's wrong?"
Did I make a slip of the tongue?
I looked around at the crew and members, and everyone was flustered, stealing glances at Baek Gyeonwoo.
Baek Gyeonwoo still had his head down....
"Gyeon-woo?"
He didn't answer even Kim Yuri's question.
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
I could feel his shoulder trembling.
"Are you... crying...?"
"Hey."
Baek Gyeonwoo said in a choked voice.
"Who put wasabi in the dumpling."
* * *
Fans who faced HAZERD's final music show broadcast were in a sullen mood despite the approaching holiday.
—Please bring back the days when idols rotated on music shows for 8 weeks.
—Isn't 3 weeks too short for rookies? They should do 4 weeks, and music shows are preempted for the holiday too ㅠㅠ
—So you're just like the inevitable idols of today after all.
—Sigh,, it's about time for HAZERD to have a comeback though.
There was only one thing that consoled them.
That thing that idols must deliver....
The expectation that there would be holiday special self-made content.
—Honestly, it's something we've been counting on.
—If you don't release Lunar New Year in-house content, Sora Seom is getting demoted back to Sora-f**king-island.
—Hanbok is a must ㅠㅠㅠ If you don't wear hanbok, I won't eat it... well, I will.
—Are we finally getting our first in-house content?
And then Sunday.
A new teaser appeared on Sora Seom's channel.
[HAZERD Lv1: Eating Tteokguk! Playing Yutnori! Getting New Year's Money! | HAZERD Lunar New Year Special Festival]