Chapter 358
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 358
On the screen, the sky was already beginning to paint the colors of dusk.
Beneath the crimson-stained clouds, Kim Seong-hyeon and Kang Yi-chae, riding a two-person bicycle provided for their mission, stopped pedaling to share an ionic drink.
"You okay?"
Seong-hyeon glanced back, looking concerned. Kang Yi-chae seemed unusually drained. However, the response he got wasn't an answer, but a random question.
"Hyung, how many points have you collected?"
Seong-hyeon tilted his head, sensing something suspicious, but answered honestly.
"I’ll have ten after this. Then I just need to find the code."
"Ah... I see. Then you can afford to take it easy."
"Yeah. ...Why? You want me to buy you something?"
Yi-chae scratched his head, ruffling his hair, and spoke with a lingering trail of thought as if weighing his options.
"Ice cream? I’m craving something sweet."
"Wait here."
Seong-hyeon hopped off the bike, grabbed his wallet, gave Yi-chae a light pat on the shoulder, and strode off. It was a gesture telling him to wait patiently.
A camera quickly followed behind him.
"……."
However, his brisk pace soon slowed, then came to a complete halt.
"...Wait a minute."
【At that moment, the leader suddenly turns around?!】
He began to sprint back the way he came like a madman. The wildly shaking camera feed seemed to testify to his urgency.
"Wait, Seong-hyeon! Why are you running?!"
"Hurry up and follow me!!"
When the production crew following him asked breathlessly, a frantic Seong-hyeon was too busy rushing to give a proper explanation.
"That kid never eats ice cream after exercising!"
By the time he arrived back at the spot where he’d left Yi-chae, no one was there. All that remained was the two-person bicycle, sitting there all alone.
At that moment—
[Vibrate]
A notification popped up on Seong-hyeon’s phone. It was a text from Kang Yi-chae.
[Kang Yi-chae: Sorry lol]
[Kang Yi-chae: I have 10 points too!]
Seong-hyeon stared blankly at the bicycle, which had been meticulously secured with a chain lock around the wheel.
Just then, Yi-chae zoomed past him on a kickboard, shouting:
"Hyung, sorry!"
"Hey! Hey!! You!!"
Seong-hyeon yelled after him at the top of his lungs, but it wasn't enough to stop the figure disappearing into the distance.
"That... that little fox...!"
Seong-hyeon, watching Yi-chae—who was now nothing more than a dot—with hollow eyes, wiped his face with his hands.
[Seong-hyeon-ah......]
Of course, through all this, the Noeuls were just having the time of their lives.
[Go buy some lip balm ♡]
*
"—My secret is that I was born hot!"
【Kang Yi-chae, Secret Code Completed!】
Arriving at the arcade—the opening location for this self-produced content, Unlock My Code—Yi-chae approached the production crew with a swagger. Upon hearing the secret code, he gave a sly smile and swept back his bangs.
"Man, can you even call something like this a secret...?"
[Honestly, Kang Yi-chae's secret code should have been changed to 'I'm annoying as hell but lovable'....
└ For real...]
Just then, Seong Ji-won and Jeong Da-jun, having finished an epic rap battle, entered the arcade. Beside Ji-won, who was humming the chorus of Candies, Da-jun was decked out in every accessory he could find, grooving to his own rhythm.
"Oh, it's Yi-chae hyung!"
"What's with that 'Winner's Necklace'?"
"I just finished rapping with Da-jun. It was pretty good, right?!"
"To be honest, Ji-won hyung only gave it to me because he wanted me to stop," Da-jun interjected, his face suddenly turning serious as he stopped dancing.
Ji-won turned his head away—a bit awkwardly, but shamelessly—pretending he hadn't heard.
The two soon realized that because Yi-chae had arrived first, Kim Seong-hyeon hadn't taken first place.
"I guess things didn't go according to plan."
"It can't be helped... but isn't this better than Ho-yun hyung taking first?"
[Da-jun saying 'Variety shows over dramas!! ㅇ.
[Look at Kang Yi-chae running over to Seong Ji-won to make him practice his 'thug' tone lololol
Yi-chae: Say 'Ah-ang.' Come on, 'Ah-ang.'
Ji-won: Ung. Ah. Ang.
Da-jun: Hyung, are you doing that staccato on purpose?
└ Lmao this trio is so cute I'm losing it]
While the three members were lost in conversation, already anticipating the ending, the arcade door swung open once more.
"—Hey, Kang Yi-chae!!"
Despite clearly hearing his name, Yi-chae acted leisurely on purpose. He waited until Seong-hyeon was right in front of him before curling his eyes into a smile.
"Kang Yi-chae, you brat...!"
"Oh, I see you managed to unlock the bike?"
"You lock it and run away using your own birthday as the code? Do you know how long that took me?!"
"It's our debut date."
At Yi-chae’s grinning response as he leaned against the wall, Seong-hyeon glared at him with burning eyes before scratching the back of his head and flopping down onto a random chair.
"Just you wait. I'm going to give you the deepest crown-of-the-head kiss ever."
【The Dawn's leader, truly sulking for once.】
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[Ah, Kim Seong-hyeon is so cute ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Our leader's only crime was sincerely worrying about and caring for his members... ㅠㅠ... and the reason he failed was because he was trying to buy Yi-chae ice cream...]
[Look at him pouting but still sitting right next to the members. I want to put our little water dumpling in my mouth and swirl him around]
Yi-chae slunk over to Seong-hyeon and poked him in the ribs.
"Hyung, don't be mad. Let's try to trick Ho-yun hyung instead."
"What?"
"We're always getting played by him. Don't you want some payback?"
It wasn't a bad point, but considering he’d just been played just as hard by Yi-chae, Seong-hyeon’s gaze remained icy.
"Kang Yi-chae, where did your conscience go?"
"Hyung, I'll make sure you're exempt from the penalty."
"Deal."
[Kim Seong-hyeon is a member of The Dawn after all....]
Desperate to find any way out of the penalty, Seong-hyeon accepted the proposal without a second thought. Yi-chae gave a satisfied smile and spun around. He approached the production crew, who were busy filming Da-jun beatboxing while Ji-won layered a clumsy rap over it.
"Can we change Ho-yun hyung's secret code a little bit?"
"Pardon?"
"Isn't it a bit boring to end it like this? We need a proper finale."
There was a moment of awkwardness, a brief period of hesitation and deliberation from the staff, but eventually, a small slip of paper was handed over to the hundred-tailed fox.
【Seo Ho-yun's Secret Code - My smile is pretty】
"My smile is preeeetty~~?! Wow, unbelievable."
Reading the line, Yi-chae let out a hollow laugh. He crumpled the paper in one hand and took a new sheet to write something else.
[Seo Ho-yun's Secret Code - I am smart]
Da-jun, who was watching over his shoulder, let out a high-pitched squeal, his cheeks flushing slightly.
"Gasp! If he says that and fails, it'll be so embarrassing!!"
"Exactly! Kyaa!"
[What are you guys doing lololol]
[Lmao the discord rumors are going to flare up again]
Just as Yi-chae folded the note back into a perfect replica and handed it to the crew, Seo Ho-yun arrived at the arcade.
"Ah, I'm late."
"Boo! What happened to all that confidence?"
The maknae jeered at Ho-yun, who had arrived much later than usual but was still walking with a leisurely pace. However, the camera caught Seong-hyeon flinching in the corner.
Ho-yun simply shrugged with an indifferent expression, walked up to the crew, and whispered something.
"Here is Seo Ho-yun's secret code."
"Thanks."
He then unfolded the paper the crew gave him.
[Ahhh, here it comes]
[Why am I the one nervous... (actually laughing)]
"Hmm……."
Ho-yun scanned the paper, his eyes moving slowly, before folding it neatly and stuffing it into his pocket.
【Will Seo Ho-yun be able to get the answer right?!】
"Well, saying that I'm smart……."
[Gulp]
"…isn't exactly wrong—"
He slowly curled his lips into a smile as he looked around at the members.
"—but it's not exactly a secret, so my secret code is 'My smile is pretty'."
[???]
[What, he got it right]
"…W-wait."
[Eh?]
While everyone stood frozen at the sudden turn of events, Yi-chae alone raised his hand and shouted.
"Who is the overall winner of the final mission?!"
Yi-chae’s eyes were narrowed, as if he’d already deduced something. Beside him, Da-jun looked around in confusion, mumbling.
"The winner... is Yi-chae hyung."
"Is it really Kang Yi-chae?"
Seong-hyeon asked, leaning forward as if to cut in. But before the production crew could answer, Ho-yun’s chuckling voice rang out first.
"Kang Yi-chae."
"……!"
"Are you ready to be my slave for the next two weeks?"
As the image of Ho-yun crossing his legs on an arcade game table appeared, the footage suddenly rewound to several hours earlier.
【◁◁◁】
【Seo Ho-yun, the busiest man of the day!】
"I'll be going first, then?"
The footage showed Ho-yun waving a slip of paper with mini-game info and leaving the arcade first, right after the penalties were announced at the very beginning.
【How much do you know about broadcasting? - Broadcast Trend Test】
Upon arriving at the mission location, Ho-yun read the exam paper and instructions on the table, a smirk playing on his lips.
[He probably took a lot from the PD recruitment exams, there's so much overlap lol
'Which Korean movie released this year surpassed 10 million viewers?'
'Calculate the total number of members in Black Call + White Cherry + Lia Purple + The Dawn.'
'Name the event in "Victory is Mine" that was discontinued the year before last.'
Lol, these are actually tricky
└ Tell me about it lol]
He sat down properly, cracked his neck, spun his pen, and began writing down the answers without a moment's hesitation.
[Daaaaamn]
[Look at the speed he's solving these]
[What is he?... Seriously, what is he?]
And he didn't get a single one wrong.
【Seo Ho-yun, with a perfect score, earns 1 point from the crew's bonus and 1 point for participation, totaling 2 points.】
[...He must have memorized them lol]
[...Probably the script lol]
Just as fans were beginning to wonder if it was even possible to know all that—even for someone who only missed one question on the CSAT English exam—the next test appeared.
【Prove your memorization skills – The Room of Memory】
"Please memorize the twelve signs of the Oriental Zodiac in 5 seconds."
"Seo Ho-yun. Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig."
Even when they showed him the lineage of the Joseon Dynasty and made him memorize it, one could argue these were common enough challenges.
"Next, please memorize and recite the first 30 decimal places of Pi. You have one minute to memorize."
However, when Ho-yun answered that without a hitch, the questions started becoming blatant attempts to make him fail.
Ho-yun glanced at the foam board, handed it back to the crew, and let out a smirk.
"Seo Ho-yun. 3.141592653589793238462643383279."
Having spat out the answer in an instant, Ho-yun stood up effortlessly.
"Wait, Ho-yun... how did you memorize that so fast?"
"I memorized it in elementary school to win a school competition. I wanted to increase my allowance."
【This man… what is he?】
[He's so damn cute... lolololololol]
[I desperately, desperately want to see elementary school Ho-yun]
【Following that, with incredible luck, overwhelming speed, and outstanding skill, he cleared the mini-games one by one, quickly racking up 6 points.】
【In Paintball Survival, where he finally encountered the members, he suppressed Jeong Da-jun and Kim Seong-hyeon in an instant, earning 2 more points.】
【It seemed he would take first place in record time, but he suddenly declared his withdrawal in the 'Laughter Suppression Room' after facing Kang Yi-chae.】
【Finally, through the pancake-flipping game, he secured the overall first place.】
【He obtained the secret codes faster than anyone else.】
The scene returned to the present. An excited Da-jun thrust his right hand toward Ho-yun’s chin as if holding a microphone.
"When you realized the secret code was fake, why didn't you immediately correct it and say you were in first place?!"
"Everyone seemed so eager to see me fail. Why shouldn't I want to see everyone else fail too?"
[What is this petty man?]
[He was cool up until the Laughter Suppression Room..........]
Seong-hyeon hovered nearby, still clinging to a shred of hope. The thought of having to kiss these scruffy rascals on the crown of their heads every night for two weeks was a never-ending nightmare.
"Ho-yun, cancel my penalty…."
"Ah, well. I'll have to think about it."
Ho-yun patted Seong-hyeon on the shoulder with a beaming smile.
"Give me a prompt with my name. I'll let you know my decision through an acrostic poem."
"……Your name?"
Though he found the compliance suspicious and untrustworthy, Seong-hyeon had no other choice. He raised an eyebrow and started the prompt in a low voice.
"…Seo?"
"Seo-seong-ida jeongsuri-e (Lingering over the crown of your head,)"
[I'm already nervous]
"……Ho?"
"Ho~ hago ppobbo-hae-juneun geoji? (I'll blow a 'ho~' and give you a kiss, right?)"
[Seong-hyeon almost let out a 'Son of a...' but held it back]
[The other members are also targets of the kiss, but they're cracking up next to them lolololol It's like they have no tomorrow lolololol]
Seong-hyeon didn't want to continue, but behind the camera, the production crew were frantically gesturing for him to keep going.
"……Yun?"
"Yun-gi naneun lip balm-iya? (Is that glossy lip balm?)"
[Hey! lolololol]
[LMAO f*ck]
Ho-yun perfectly finished the poem, playing off the sound Seong-hyeon let out like a resigned sigh.
[Seong-hyeon finally grabbed Ho-yun by the collar. Hey, I'd grab him too! I'd grab him too!!!]
After gently prying the leader's hands off him and chuckling, Ho-yun turned toward Yi-chae, who was hydrating with a grumpy expression.
"Mr. Kang Yi-chae."
"What."
"Get me some water."
"……."
"You know I only drink French water, right?"
"……."