Chapter 79
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79
“…Is Seo Ho-yun actually a devil? Wow, my head is spinning from that twist.”
“Hahaha! It’s summer, after all~.”
How delightful. Everyone shook their heads in disbelief. I curled my eyes into a smile, hiding my mouth behind my hand.
“I’m really, really looking forward to it.”
“He’s really, really a psycho…”
“Thanks for the compliment~.”
With the additional proposal accepted without much opposition, I stood up in a good mood.
As I left the meeting room, the manager was staring at me with a look of utter exhaustion.
“Ho-yun, you… you’re going to get struck by divine lightning at this rate.”
“Should I buy a lottery ticket then? In case I get hit?”
“You’ll die if you get hit by lightning, Ho-yun. …But shouldn’t we go tell them now?”
“It’s only fun if it’s a surprise.”
I wouldn’t go so far as to say this was revenge for the last surprise.
‘Though I think Kang Yi-chae noticed.’
No matter how much he flies and crawls, he’s still in the palm of my hand. The manager hesitated.
“Still…”
“Oh, Manager. I’ll do it.”
“Huh?”
“The audition for Please Take Care of the Camera. I’ll go.”
“Wh-what?!!”
The manager’s eyes went wide. Thanks to that, the ‘Seo Ho-yun Rural Healing Program Incident’ he had been agonizing over just moments ago seemed to vanish from his mind. He immediately started making a fuss, overjoyed.
“Why?! Why the sudden change of heart?”
“The script looked interesting.”
I brushed my hair back while spouting utter nonsense. As if I’d go just because a script was interesting. I don’t know the first thing about acting; no matter how good a script was, I normally wouldn’t have even dreamed of auditioning.
But,
‘There’s something I need to check.’
No matter how much I thought about it, that ‘Lee Jeong-hun’ character weighed on my mind. Seeing how the system window kept its mouth shut only at times like this, my suspicions grew deeper.
‘Just how much of my life did they use…?’
If I could just get on speaking terms with Writer Kim Suk-hee at the audition, I could find a way to coax the truth out of her later. Since she’s a complete stranger, I’ll have to approach slowly and carefully.
“Well, I’ll at least do the first audition. The CEO and you put so much effort into it, so I should at least give it a shot, right?”
“…Wow, I’m actually touched.”
“Why?”
“You were thinking of us like this, and here I was, mistakenly thinking you were just a world-class arrogant brat…!”
“……”
“I thought you were a stubborn bull who never listened to the members and only did whatever he wanted…!”
“……Yes.”
The manager pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes. Feeling slightly repulsed, I gave a half-hearted reply and kept walking.
“I can see it, I can see it…! The face of the ten-million-viewer actor, Seo Ho-yun…!!”
“……”
“You really have an idol face, but you also strangely have an actor’s face. Really, truly!”
“Manager, that’s enough~.”
“…Enooough~.”
I’d head straight to the audition hall as soon as the content filming was over. As I organized the schedule and tasks in my head, the manager chuckled.
“Actually, you probably don’t even need to worry about the audition. I’m only telling you this… but the lead for that drama has been cast. He’s from our company.”
“What?”
“If push comes to shove, the CEO can put in a good word with the production team during your audition!”
It was what they called ‘tie-in casting.’
Squeezing a supporting actor in alongside a popular lead.
It’s one of the things drama production teams loathe the most.
‘Hmm….’
I didn’t really want to go that far. No, wait—does this agency even have a star with enough power to pull that off…?
‘Wait.’
Who in our company?
I searched my memory and asked.
“…Who is it?”
“Ahaha! Someone you know~.”
A sense of unease washed over me. The moment that name—the one I had dreaded—came out, my face contorted in an instant.
* * *
“Hello~.”
“Hello!”
We (excluding myself) headed to a rural farmhouse with hearts full of excitement. Unfortunately, it had been raining all morning, and the large van had to move slowly on the narrow slopes, making us a bit late.
As soon as we arrived at the filming location, as if on cue, the rain stopped and the sky turned brilliantly clear.
Jeong Da-jun, seeing the planning team staff already busy preparing for the shoot, didn’t even think to open the car door and instead hurriedly rolled down the window to wave.
“Kyaaa!”
“It’s a vacation~!”
I told them it’s content filming, not a vacation. But I didn’t really feel like stopping them. The scent of grass, rarely found in the city, and the smell of the humid summer wind wafted in.
The members, who got out of the car a beat later, were too busy excitedly looking around to pay attention to anything else.
“Wow! There’s even a field here!”
“Are we going to cook and eat with stuff from here?”
“How did they even find a place like this?”
“They said they rented a variety show location.”
The Team Leader must have pulled some strings. I let out a chilling smile, but no one noticed.
“Should we make bibimbap?”
“Oh, that’s good, that’s good.”
“Do you guys even know how to start a fire?”
“Anyone have a lighter~?”
In an instant, everyone looked at me.
“I don’t have one, okay?”
“I am proud of you.”
Ignoring Jeong Da-jun, who was looking at me with a strangely benevolent gaze, I stepped over the threshold of the old but neatly kept farmhouse. It didn’t look like the cameras were set up yet….
“Let’s do it here.”
I tapped the ground and smiled with satisfaction. I could tell them to set it up around here when the ‘time’ came later.
“Oh, what a throwback.”
While looking around the room, I found some LP records organized on a small bookshelf. A turntable sat next to them.
As I was browsing through the familiar song titles, I noticed the LPs on the right were sticking out messily. When I lifted several at once, I saw a crumpled pack of cigarettes hidden in the corner.
A staff member or cast member from a variety show filmed here before must have left it.
“What are you doing?”
“Gah, you scared me.”
I had pulled it out, straightened the LPs, and was mindlessly looking at it when Kim Seong-hyeon suddenly appeared before me.
“…You.”
‘Uh oh.’
Did he misunderstand?
Since Kim Seong-hyeon was the one who made the biggest fuss about me quitting smoking, I quickly tossed the pack away and held up my hands.
“I’m innocent!”
“……”
“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s really not what it looks like.”
“……Seo Ho-yun.”
Kim Seong-hyeon stared at me for a moment, let out a short sigh, glanced outside, and then carefully closed the door before speaking.
“If you want to smoke… just have one.”
“What?”
“I won’t tell the others.”
Ding!
[????]
Both I and the system window were bewildered. That Kim Seong-hyeon? The same Kim Seong-hyeon who used to threaten me not to cause any scandals if I wanted to be an idol was telling me I could have a smoke?
I stood there speechless, dazed…
“I, I…. Well.”
My voice trembled for a moment.
“Um, you’re….”
Ah, I can’t do this. I tried to hold back my laughter, but I couldn’t. I gritted my teeth and threw out a joke.
“You’re going to… pfft… turn a blind eye just this once…?”
“……”
“And why did you close the door?”
The smell would give it away anyway. The non-smoker’s logic was so hilarious I started cackling, while Kim Seong-hyeon gritted his teeth. He seemed to realize I was teasing him.
“…You’re so annoying, seriously.”
“Seong-hyeon~, can I have just one? Not two?”
“Forget it. Just go away.”
“Eyy~, how about three?”
“I said go.”
As I teased him with a giggle, Kim Seong-hyeon acted annoyed for no reason, picked up the cigarette pack from the floor, and threw it in the trash. Then, as if realizing something, he started rummaging through the trash to pick it back up.
“What are you doing, Kim Seong-hyeon?”
“…If this gets caught on camera, it’ll cause another scandal.”
“Wooooow~!”
Kim Seong-hyeon has learned a lot. As a frustrated Kim Seong-hyeon headed outside, I followed right behind him and stood at the doorway.
“Kim Seong-hyeon!”
“…What?”
He whipped around, expecting something, his face full of trust in me. I crossed my arms, leaned my head against the doorframe, and gave a gentle smile.
“Please don’t tell the kids….”
“……”
“I’m counting on you, Seong-hyeon-ssi~.”
“I really hate how you never miss an opportunity to bite back just because I said one thing….”
Kim Seong-hyeon left, shooting me a sharp look. Seeing him go outside and hand it to the manager made me laugh again.
‘I guess he really did get burned a lot….’
However, I could say this with pride.
I quit smoking!
‘You’re amazing, Seo Ho-yun. As expected of me.’
Neatly folding away any lingering desire for a cigarette, I checked if the turntable worked since I wanted to play some music, just as a staff member walked in with a camera.
After confirming through the gap in the door that the manager was hurriedly stuffing the cigarettes into his pocket, I placed an LP on the turntable.
[~♪♬♫]
“The song is nice.”
The sound of gentle rain, the smooth LP music flowing into my ears, and members who were fun to tease. I leaned my back against the wall with a satisfied smile.
Ah, truly… this is a healing program.
.
.
.
“Ta-da~!”
I played the music and stepped out of the room to find Kang Yi-chae laying something out on the wooden floor with a strangely proud expression.
“The cute Yi-chae had these custom-made! Let’s wear these for the self-produced content!”
“…What are these?”
I was already feeling uneasy. Kang Yi-chae proudly held up a white T-shirt and tossed them to the members one by one.
“Try them on. I prepared a heartfelt message for each member.”
I glanced at the T-shirt he gave me. He said he prepared messages that suited each member, and on my shirt, I saw a large word written in a serious calligraphy font.
[NUISANCE]
“……”
Ding!
[Ah]
[Crazy]
[I seriously love Kang Yi-chae so, so, so much!!!!!]
The system window wailed in delight, while Kim Seong-hyeon, who had been teased mercilessly by me earlier, gave a standing ovation as he put on his own T-shirt.
“I really love this, Yi-chae.”
“Right??”
That guy’s shirt said [LIGHT], so of course he’d wear it without complaint….
“Oh? There’s something written on the back too?”
I looked at the back of my shirt with a sour expression. It said [THE DAWN’S TOP TROLL]. I grabbed Kim Seong-hyeon’s shoulder and spun him around; his said [MY EYES ARE SO DAZZLED I JUST GOT LASIK. PEACE OUT.]
Does this guy, Kang Yi-chae… even realize he’s an idol?
The mastermind behind the T-shirts himself was just wearing his own shirt that said [TOP VISUAL] and puffing out his chest as if it were nothing.
“Kang Yi-chae, where’s your conscience?”
“Why?”
“You’re the top visual?”
“Ah… I knew this would happen.”
Kang Yi-chae, radiating his usual delinquent vibes, smiled proudly and turned around.
[LOL STOP THE UGLY JEALOUSY~]
“……”
I’m exhausted….
Beside me, Seong Ji-won, wearing a [BUDDHA] T-shirt, gave a gentle smile, making me feel even more wronged.
“Why is he normal? I’m a nuisance and he’s a Buddha?”
“Look at the back.”
“Okay!”
[BU: BENEVOLENT]
[DDHA: BUTCHER]
“…I see.”
“Right?”
And Seong Ji-won’s was special; it even had his face along with his game nickname, ‘Let’s Practice Guys!!’ written on it. As I stared blankly, Jeong Da-jun, already wearing his [PUPPY] T-shirt, jumped in.
“Heol! I didn’t see the back! What does mine say, Hyung??”
“…Turn around.”
Too tired to even pick a fight anymore, I watched as Jeong Da-jun spun around in front of me.
[JEONG DA-JUN DEFINITELY PUT THIS ON WITHOUT READING THE BACK]
…it said. In front of me, as I stood speechless, Jeong Da-jun was running around like a puppy, trying to see his own back.
“Hyung, what does it say??”
“……”
“Puhahahahaha!!”
Kang Yi-chae, clutching his stomach and laughing his head off, was truly something else.