The Rascals Expedition
I couldn't just keep my mouth shut. If I did, everything would unfold exactly as Yoon Ji-ah wanted. As a member of this family, I had every right to ask questions and voice my opinions. Absolutely.
“When’s the filming?”
“This weekend, apparently. They only need you for one day. Your mom thinks it wouldn’t be so bad for you to appear on the show.”
The moment I heard the date, I decided to refuse outright. If it were on a weekday and meant skipping school, maybe. But there was no way I was wasting my precious weekend on some last-minute fill-in gig.
“Hmm, I’ll pass.”
“Why? Doesn’t it sound fun? And it’s your uncle’s request too.”
Yoon Ji-ah started rattling off reasons, clearly trying to persuade me.
“Seo-ah, it could be a valuable experience. I’m not trying to force you into something you hate, but trying it once wouldn’t be bad.”
Even Dad chimed in. The situation was turning against me. Dad had always said things like, ‘If you hold firmly to your own principles, you can learn something from anyone you spend time with.’ So naturally, he had zero objections to stepping into the chaotic world of the entertainment industry. His stance was that it would be a good experience.
Mom seemed to want to help because it involved her brother, but her view of the entertainment world wasn’t exactly positive, so her mind looked tangled. And Yoon Ji-ah… well, she was obviously shoving me toward it with both hands.
“Sis.”
“What.”
“You think I don’t know what you’ve been doing alone in your room lately?”
Her whisper made my heart drop with a thud. Cold sweat trickled down my back.
“…What are you talking about?”
I tried to play it cool and feign ignorance. But my trembling voice completely gave away my anxiety. When the hell did she see? The cringy lines I’d been muttering flashed through my mind like a panorama. I’d thought it was the perfect secret. I’d even sworn it was nuclear-level blackmail material.
Yoon Ji-ah might lack manners, but she never said things without basis. The way she phrased it meant she really knew.
“You don’t seem completely uninterested since you’ve been practicing. So why? Getting shy now that you’re actually about to become a celebrity?”
I’d hoped against hope, but I’d been caught. Completely. Had she planted a listening device in my room? Was there a peephole in the wall? All sorts of horrifying scenarios swirled through my head. That devil was more than capable of it.
Yoon Ji-ah continued with a slight curl at the corner of her mouth.
“A hundred practices are worth less than one real performance. Standing in front of an actual camera would help you way more than practicing alone in front of a mirror every day.”
She was exactly right. I couldn’t find a single word to refute her. Solo practice had clear limits. I was curious myself—how well I could actually perform in the field, whether I’d freeze up in front of the camera.
Whether my future held acting, modeling, or even becoming a YouTuber, I needed to check if I could handle being in front of a camera.
“But why do all the lines have to be…”
“Zzeung… heuheu…”
By deliberately mentioning the lines, she was clearly threatening me: ‘If you don’t appear, I’ll expose every single one of those embarrassing lines you’ve been spitting out.’ Of all people, it had to be the one I least wanted to find out. This would be my lifelong weakness.
The silver lining was that smartphones weren’t widespread yet, so at least there wouldn’t be any video evidence left behind.
“Girls, what are you whispering about?”
“Sis seems too embarrassed to go on the show, so I was giving her some courage.”
Courage my ass. Yoon Ji-ah put on an act of sisterly affection and smiled at Mom. Mom had no idea this wasn’t some wholesome sibling bond—it was outright blackmail. A vicious terrorist act using my dark history as a hostage.
But Mom trusted Yoon Ji-ah. More than she trusted me, the very symbol of trust and faith.
“Seo-ah, even Ji-ah is cheering you on like this. Don’t be too scared—just give it a try. Mom will go with you.”
Enemies on all sides. Dad subtly pressuring me with the value of experience. Mom appealing to emotion with family love as her weapon. And Yoon Ji-ah holding my weakness and threatening me.
‘Annoyance is temporary, but embarrassment is forever.’
Especially if that devil got hold of my dark history—it would spread for a thousand years. Since Yoon Ji-ah had decided to send me out there, my options were already set.
“Fine… I’ll go.”
I eventually declared surrender. Like a defeated soldier, my voice was weak.
“Really? That’s my girl! You made the right choice. Your uncle will be thrilled.”
Mom picked up the phone to deliver the good news to Uncle. Dad ruffled my hair with a ‘That’s more like our daughter.’ Yoon Ji-ah simply nodded as if she’d expected nothing less.
“Good decision, sis. I’ll erase those practice sessions from my memory.”
Instead of answering, I stomped hard on her foot.
“Hey! Don’t step on me!”
“Hey? Is that how you talk to your older sister?”
I am absolutely not taking some pathetic revenge. Really.
“Seo-ah, why aren’t you eating? Are you nervous?”
“…A little?”
Breakfast was laid out in front of me, but it wasn’t going down easily. First broadcast. First studio. First filming. First MC. First variety show. Everything I’d experience today was a first.
I was excited. And nervous. Annoyance was still at the forefront, but that emotion was with me 24/7 anyway, so I might as well ignore it.
This was probably the most nervous I’d been since being born as Yoon Seo-ah.
“It’s okay. You’re just trying out a good experience, so don’t be too nervous, Seo-ah.”
Mom was right. How many people had appeared on a show like this as kids? I already had a unique story from my past. Let’s think positively. If I kept telling myself it was good, it would become good.
“Nervous…? Sis is already on her third bowl.”
“Does it look like I’m eating because I want to?”
“Then?”
“I’m forcing it down. Forcing it. Because I have to go work.”
“At least put the spoon down while you talk.”
“Should I?”
Tap—
I set the spoon down on Yoon Ji-ah’s forehead.
“Hey!”
My little sister Yoon Ji-ah—cold, cool-headed, calm, rational, lofty, and elegant—had incredibly weak tolerance for this sort of thing. Her reactions were extremely dramatic. Maybe that’s why.
“…Seo-ah, that’s enough.”
Since she’d grown up protected under Mom’s skirt, I couldn’t hit her more than twice.
“Huh? Nothing happened. It’s all a misunderstanding.”
“Honestly… When they’re apart, both of them are so mature and well-behaved, but the moment they’re together they start fighting. What am I going to do with you two?”
“Aww, we’re not fighting. Right, Ji-ah?”
“That’s right. I’m the one getting hit one-sidedly.”
“Zzeung heuheu.”
After spending a breakfast that was no different from usual, I felt like some of the tension had eased. With that mindset that the result didn’t matter…
“Today’s broadcast result is the most important. You have to do well here if you want to expand outward.”
“…You really…”
It was perfectly timed, as if she were reading my mind.
“You weren’t expecting something like ‘Don’t feel pressured, just do your best,’ were you? No matter what you do, make sure the broadcasting station people remember your sister. Go tear the whole place apart.”
I almost said, I want to tear your mouth apart. Afraid my true feelings might slip out, I kept my mouth shut as much as possible.
‘I wasn’t originally this violent of a person.’
There was something about having a sister that could shake even the mentality of a reincarnated person living their second life.
After breakfast, Yoon Ji-ah left first, saying she had things to do with Dad. Soon after, we headed out too.
“Seo-ah, do you want something to drink?”
“Um… yogurt?”
It was a day that called for an Americano. But this was the romantic era of 2002. It was a time when the strange notion that minors shouldn’t drink coffee was still firmly in place. My soul, which had drunk iced Americanos like water in my previous life, craved caffeine, but I had to settle for yogurt.
I’d already tasted the bitterness of life from a very young age, so why wasn’t the bitterness of coffee allowed? Wasn’t caffeine something kids like me actually needed? Wasn’t it an essential item for someone like me, trapped in the prison called school and wasting my life under the guise of classes?
While sucking on the yogurt in Mom’s car and pondering my life, time flew by in an instant. When we arrived in front of the KBC Broadcasting Station, I saw Uncle Chae Kang-ho pacing around in the lobby.
“Kang-ho!”
“Noona, you’re here? Wow, our Seo-ah, you’ve grown so much already.”
A line that perfectly fit his self-proclaimed status as a doting uncle. I hoped he wouldn’t say stuff like that during filming too.
“Uncle. We saw each other just a week ago.”
“That’s true. Do kids really grow this much in a week? Anyway, thanks for coming. Sorry you have to go through this because of your uncle.”
It was true that I was suffering because of Uncle, but we were family. In my previous life, family or not, I’d lived only for myself. But in this life, I planned to live happily together with my family.
“We’re all getting old together, so we should help each other out.”
“What? Puhaha, you really haven’t changed.”
Thanks to Uncle, we were able to enter the station without any complicated procedures.
“Whoa, what? Is she a rookie?”
“Was there a child actor like that?”
“She’s so cute… Can’t she come on our program?”
“Is that Chae Kang-ho? I heard Kkureogi Tamheomdae was on the verge of cancellation. They must have put a lot of effort into casting.”
As we passed through the lobby, the station staff we encountered stared at me with curiosity. Fortunately, it seemed my appearance and attitude weren’t the type that only worked on the streets near school. Inside the broadcasting station, it was filled with people looking at me in admiration.
A face that could draw such gazes even from people working in the entertainment industry. As long as I didn’t go through an ugly phase, I could definitely secure the ‘pretty’ part among pretty, good-bodied, rich NEETs.
I heard compliments like this every day, so it didn’t feel particularly new. My lips definitely didn’t curl up. My eyebrows definitely didn’t rise.
“Seo-ah, you look like you’re in a good mood? Are you excited and nervous?”
“Huh? No? I’m completely fine. The only thing I’m interested in is the appearance fee I’ll get when it’s over?”
Mom, impressed by my mature answer, poked my side. Uncle, moved by his well-mannered niece, laughed heartily.
Uncle seemed to know everyone at the station. He greeted every person we met in the hallway and introduced me to them. Was this… the life of a celebrity?
“Hello! I’m Yoon Seo-ah, from Class 3 of the first grade at Cheongdam Elementary School!”
There was no point hiding anything now. I, Yoon Seo-ah. From the prestigious Gangnam 8th school district. I made sure to leave the impression that I was extremely pretty, cute, well-behaved, polite, and came from a wealthy family. While I was busy building my image like that, before I knew it—
“We’re here.”
I had arrived at my waiting room.
Performer Makeup Waiting Room
Kkureogi Tamheomdae
MC Yoon Seo-ah
KBC Korea Broadcasting
