Chapter 67

My suggestion to just go and pick was sincere, but the production team vetoed it, saying we had to secure filming consent in advance.

In the end, even the restaurant was finalized under the leadership of Ahn Jiwon and Baek Gyeonwoo.

The MC's instruction to depart immediately after submitting the schedule was just a fake-out for the editing point, so we headed off to rest our sleepy eyes first.

Because, well, it was dawn. Even if we left right away, we'd arrive in the early morning, and securing filming consent required the shops to be open first, right?

So we took a break until daybreak, then boarded the bus the production team had prepared heading to Gangneung.

And when I opened my eyes, we had arrived.

Baek Gyeonwoo, who had been sitting next to me, said,

"You slept well."

"......I didn't sleep last night before coming."

Couldn't sleep because I was writing that letter.......

Anyway, our first schedule was the beach near the coffee street that Ahn Jiwon had recommended.

Since it was early vacation season and a Sunday, we expected quite a few people, but the beach was surprisingly quiet when we arrived.

On top of that, the production team went a step further and rented the whole place out.

The official reason was spoiler prevention, and it was only a small section, of course. Getting caught up in a power trip controversy at this point would be a total disaster.

"Yes, this is Anmok Beach in Gangneung!"

"Shall we look forward to a special Day starting here, famous for its open ocean view and coffee aroma?"

After finishing the cliché opening filming you always see in variety shows, we were given free filming time.

I walked blankly across the white sand with the self camera in hand and thought,

'Can I even milk any screen time from this?'

I wasn't finding this fun myself, so would the viewers find it fun?

No, should I even worry, since I didn't know if this broadcast would ever air or not.......

It struck me anew just how inconvenient it was to be the only one who knew the future.

Still, I couldn't just ignore the production team's gaze. Thinking I should at least try something, I turned my head to look for my teammates.

And I spotted Baek Gyeonwoo.

"......What are you doing?"

Baek Gyeonwoo was inside a coffee cup-shaped structure.

Seeing me, Baek Gyeonwoo gestured without answering. The distance was a bit ambiguous, so I couldn't tell if he couldn't hear me or was just ignoring me.

'Looks like he's telling me to come over.......'

Curious about what on earth this structure was like, I approached without another word. Looking up close, I saw the back was just an ordinary bench.

I sat down next to him and said,

"We're filming, isn't it a bit too obvious you're taking a break?"

"What are you talking about. I said let's take a picture."

"Ah."

So this structure was made as a photo zone.

I took my phone out of my pocket.

For the record, my phone had long been confiscated, and this was a shared phone the production team handed out.

As I framed the two of us in selfie mode, I realized something and said,

"But if I take it as a selfie, the coffee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cup won't show."

"......."

At my words, Baek Gyeonwoo called over Ahn Jiwon, who happened to be approaching.

"Could you take a picture for us?"

Ahn Jiwon briefly looked us over before taking the phone.

And then... well, he took the picture. I think I heard the shutter click about twelve times.

Even after that, Ahn Jiwon kept snapping away for a while before looking at the results and sneering,

"You two really look like you're not close at all!"

After that, we killed time with the standard beach variety show staples—pushing someone into the water, writing in the sand with the sea as the backdrop, and so on.

Then we headed to a café the production team had pre-arranged.

It was a café famous for its ocean view, and it was huge. As soon as we entered, you could see coffee beans displayed at the entrance like in a department store.

While the cameras were being set up inside, I was looking at the beans when Ahn Jiwon approached and asked,

"Hyung, are you planning to buy beans? They said it's okay to pay out of pocket for stuff you take home."

"No, I'm fine. I don't drink coffee."

"......Really?"

Ahn Jiwon, whom I'd expected to disappear quickly, kept standing guard by my side.

A moment later, his voice came through.

"I heard you liked coffee, hyung."

I put the coffee beans down and said,

"From who?"

"Haejun hyung."

"Yoon Haejun?"

'Does this guy have reason to talk to Yoon Haejun?'

I only thought it, didn't ask, but it must ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have shown on my face. Ahn Jiwon voluntarily started explaining.

"After you left, hyung, they restructured the debut team. At that time, a few guys went in and out of the debut team. I was in it too for about a month."

"Ah, I see."

"Yeah."

'He was in the debut team.......'

Well then, I had a story I was immediately more curious about than coffee.

I hesitated, then asked,

"You were on Team A, then?"

"Huh?"

Ahn Jiwon tilted his head before answering.

"Ah, um....... A lot of hyungs who could do producing left. So A and B merged. No. Should I say B disappeared."

"Really?"

That wasn't a shocking fact.

Because the very reason Team B was created was to form a producing team, after all.

Hm.

"Then you must have seen Yuri hyung too."

"Yuri hyung?"

Ahn Jiwon made a thinking sound for a moment, then said,

"That hyung left too. That's why Team B disappeared. You didn't know."

And at the production team's word that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠setup was complete, we had to start filming immediately.

While the café owner came out and explained the origins of the Gangneung coffee street and the café's interior design,

there was only one thought in my head.

'Yuri hyung left the company?'

* * *

Thud.

At the sound of the door opening, Han Neuti lifted his heavy eyelids.

"Ah right, you're not Chaegyeom hyung. Sorry. Go back to sleep."

Just as Jeong Sowol was closing the door to leave, Han Neuti opened his mouth.

"Hey, it's......."

'Wow, why is my voice so hoarse?'

The kid's going to be scared.

Han Neuti hurriedly cleared his throat with a dry cough and continued.

"If you have something to do, do it. Don't mind me."

"Okay."

Jeong Sowol, who came in as if he had been waiting, strode across the room and threw the window wide open.

Then, finding Han Neuti squinting in the sunlight, he explained,

"It's our dorm rule to air the place out every morning."

Actually, no one in the dorm had set ventilation time as an official rule.

It was just that thanks to two people who didn't think about anything, Jeong Sowol's rule became the dorm rule.......

However, Han Neuti, who didn't know the inner workings, was in the middle of thinking that this was very like Seo Cha-gyeom's household.

Listening to the sound of Jeong Sowol, having finished his business, leaving the room without a backward glance, Han Neuti closed his eyes.

And opened them again.

'......Slept well.'

Even when he closed his eyes, his mind was clear, so instead of sleep, only stray thoughts came.

Deciding he didn't need to sleep more, Han Neuti got up from the bed and came out of Seo Cha-gyeom's room.

"Hyung, you're up."

"......Uh, yeah, did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Would you like breakfast?"

"No, I don't eat... You've set a place for me too?"

"Ah, Sowol set it. We can clear it away."

Kim Sanho had only stated a fact literally, but Han Neuti obediently sat down at the table. And picked up his spoon.

Because refusing a meal a seventeen-year-old had set out for you was simply too difficult a thing to do.......

"Ah, it's tasty. Did Sowol make all this?"

"That one is something I bought."

"You... you bought well. The tasty stuff."

Eating the stir-fried seaweed stems Kim Sanho had so considerately purchased, Han Neuti recalled the events of yesterday.

Seeing the bewildered Han Neuti getting into the car, the Sorasum manager had said this.

—Chaegyeom was so, so insistent that I had to give you a ride.

Was my elimination really that much of a foregone conclusion?

Just as he was about to feel deflated, what snapped him out of his thoughts was the manager's next line.

—Neuti, want to sleep over at our kids' dorm and go home tomorrow?

—Excuse me?

—Won't you be lonely if you go home alone right now? You said you live alone.

The manager held the utterly cliché fixed notion that 'people shouldn't be alone.'

And similarly, Han Neuti, who held the fixed notion that one must refuse an adult's kindness at least once, first showed reluctance.

—It's fine. I have, uh, cleaning to do at home.

—Right, so. So I mean, just rest up at our dorm today.

—It's fine.......

In that moment, Han Neuti recalled.

His studio apartment, which would be a complete mess since he had rushed to get ready that morning because of someone who came looking for him at his doorstep.

'Ah, I don't want to go.'

And the sense of emptiness Han Neuti felt was, in truth, just a hair's breadth away from loneliness.

That was how Han Neuti accepted the manager's offer.

When they arrived in front of the dorm, the manager dropped Han Neuti off and promptly left.

Han Neuti scratched the back of his neck and pulled out the note.

'The password is.......'

When he entered the code Seo Cha-gyeom had given him, the door really did open.

—Hyung!

—Hello.

Two younger brothers greeted him.

The window for being shy had passed, so Han Neuti greeted them naturally.

And then.......

He just crashed and slept. Very soundly.

'Anyone would think this is his own house.'

It was just as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought that far.

The doorbell rang.

"Who is it?"

"Ah, our trainee......."

Kim Sanho, who had been pondering, completed his sentence.

"Candidate? Something like that."

Jeong Sowol opened the door, and the man who was a trainee candidate showed himself.

Shortly after, Han Neuti and the man's eyes met.

"......."

The man shouted first.

"Wow, Rei! Hyung, what are you doing here? Gasp, no way."

"......."

"No way......."

"......."

"No way......."

"Hey, what's......?"

"Weren't you eliminated?"

"Ah."

'The production team told me not to get caught!'

But Han Neuti, whose very existence had become a spoiler, had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

As an awkward silence flowed, the man stepped up to break it.

"Ah, me! Nice to meet you. I'm Kim Yuri. Chaegyeom and... well, I was his former company colleague, you know? That......."

"He says to keep your mouth shut, because the fact that he comes and goes from this house is a secret from Chaegyeom hyung."

"That's true, but. You're making it sound a bit misleading, Sanho."

Han Neuti raised an eyebrow.

"Why a secret?"

"Ah, well. Haha......."

The man rolled his eyes.

"Because my existence will be a surprise for him... I think he'll be happier if I show up with a ta-da."

"They said the two of you fought and broke off your friendship."

"Ahaha, yes, it is true, but. It wasn't a serious fight. For real."

"......."

"......Yeah, well... we lost contact and hadn't seen each other for a while, then, uh, I saw him on TV and came looking. Then I met Sanho, and that's how we got connected now. Sanho was very suspicious of me back then, but I'm not a sketchy person. Really, Chaegyeom... used to follow me around like crazy back in the day. Sigh......."

"......."

"But can I come in now?"

"Ah, yes. Come on in."

'But why am I the one giving permission here?'

Wasn't he, himself, more of an outsider than this man who was a trainee candidate?

Even while Han Neuti was pondering this, the man kept chatting away.

"And by the way, I watched the show well! I'm a year younger than you, hyung, so speak comfortably. I'm Yuri, Yuri!"

"Uh, okay."

"Ah, but. Hyung, are you planning to sign a contract?"

"Contract?"

"Aren't you going to debut from here?"

"Huh?"

'......Ah, I can see why he'd think that.'

Even he himself thought he'd been making himself far too comfortable in someone else's house. Han Neuti answered casually.

"No?"

"Gasp."

"No way."

Kim Yuri and Jeong Sowol reacted as if they were somehow the betrayed ones.

But he couldn't just impulsively sign a contract to suit other people's feelings.

Because seven years, or perhaps even longer, was too long a span of time to simply dismiss with the word 'challenge'.

'......Let's go back now.'

It was just as Han Neuti, feeling his identity as an outsider ever more clearly, was about to return to his rightful place.

"Sorry to interrupt,"

Kim Sanho opened his mouth.

"We have to go out and have fun today."

"......Why?"

"Chaegyeom hyung told us to."