Chapter 105: Please Do My Assignment (2)
Dusty Campus, Please Do My Assignment!
I hadn’t heard the full explanation, but it seemed this time’s shoot was an original content filmed with a university campus as the backdrop.
Since the reaction to the last Dusty Corp. self-content was good, I heard Doubles had prepared for this one with gritted teeth.
That made me even more determined to work hard as we arrived at the filming site.
In the car, Seo Haim asked me with a bright smile.
“Seohan, what’s today’s concept?”
“…I’m not doing it twice.”
“Why, why? Can’t you just do the MZ freshman once more?”
“Absolutely not.”
Apparently, the MZ Generation intern meme was still floating around the internet.
It was so humiliating I couldn’t lift my head.
That’s why this time, I planned to follow instructions and film the self-content diligently and “normally.”
Rattle rattle—
After passing over a bumpy road, the car stopped at a sports field.
We couldn’t rent out an entire university, so we had arrived at a high school in a quiet area for the shoot.
Just the fact that they went out of their way to rent this place showed how passionate Doubles was about the self-content.
“It’s a real school!”
“No way, are we using the whole place?”
Chatting together, we climbed the stairs.
On the second floor, a set for the self-content opening had been prepared.
Following the manager hyung’s lead, we slid open the back door of what used to be a classroom.
And then—
The sight before me was beyond my imagination.
“Wow.”
“What is this!”
When did they even prepare all this?
A backdrop with the [Dusty University] logo printed on it, and lockers decorated cutely like a club room.
For self-content, the set was surprisingly elaborate, and I couldn’t help but be impressed.
How much money did they pour into this?!
Is this what a large-scale production…?
Is this the taste of capital?
Doubles was starting to work harder than I’d expected.
“This looks fun!”
“No matter how many times I look, it’s amazing…”
“I really feel like I’m here to film a variety show.”
“Me too.”
The members looked around the set with amused smiles.
With a scale like this… we had to get good view counts.
“Let’s give it our best.”
“Universe Dust will tear this self-content apart…”
I nodded with a pleased smile at the hyungs’ words, and then the youngest staff member shouted energetically.
“We’ll start filming!”
At the same time, the red light on the camera turned on.
“Ahh— I stayed up all night doing my assignment, so I’m so sleepy.”
Wearing a sky-blue varsity jacket, Seo Haim stretched and strolled in.
He was also wearing round glasses I’d never seen him in before.
I wasn’t sure what concept he was going for, but it seemed like a top-of-the-class concept.
With a satisfied face, Seo Haim stroked his chin and spoke.
He was clearly pleased with last night’s work.
“I stayed up all night holding a telescope, and I think I may have found a new planet in the solar system.”
“Excuse me. If you’ve found a new planet in the solar system, you should be going to NASA, not here.”
Unable to hold back, Jin Sehyun, who was sensitive to scientific accuracy, jumped in.
Seo Haim put a finger to his lips and frowned.
“Shh— Be quiet.”
“Congratulations on your job at NASA, sir.”
“I said be quiet.”
Watching the two bicker non-stop, Seo Ian couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Seo Haim’s serious self-introduction continued.
“I’m Seo Haim, a first-year student in the Department of Astronomy at Dusty University!”
“Waaaah!”
It seemed like he grabbed the Astronomy Department first because of the space theme, but his actual knowledge was paper-thin.
Clap clap clap.
As soon as he heard the members’ applause, Seo Haim flapped his varsity jacket and returned to his spot.
Next to step forward was leader Kang Siwoo.
“I’m Kang Siwoo, a third-year student in the Department of Physical Education at Dusty University.”
“Oppa, you’re so cool!”
“That suits you perfectly…”
“Kang Siwoo in the Department of Physical Education?”
“That’s a universal rule.”
If he hadn’t become an idol, I genuinely thought that hyung would’ve ended up as a PE teacher.
A world where Kang Siwoo was a school teacher—
I wouldn’t dare talk during class out of fear.
A fairly normal round of self-introductions so far.
Up until now, things were relatively normal, but then Ha Junseo came from afar, holding a stuffed doll in his arms.
That bright yellow look that would stand out anywhere.
“Huh?”
“Why is Byeoldol here?”
“Hyung, is your concept something like the Department of Doll-Making?”
Our guess was wrong.
With a deadly serious expression, Ha Junseo frowned and muttered quietly.
“I’m doing acupuncture on the doll.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Hyung, what are you doing right now?”
Fwip—
Ha Junseo even made strange sound effects as he emphasized that he was from the Department of Oriental Medicine.
“Fwi-fwi-fwi—”
He went right for the neck.
Byeoldol’s body looked completely limp.
“Hyung… I think Byeoldol’s dead.”
“I can save him.”
“You can’t. Dolls are supposed to be dead.”
Jin Sehyun dropped the truth bomb, calming Ha Junseo down.
“Ah, I told you not to bring stuff like this…”
Still, up to this point, they were at least plausible departments that actually existed…
The next turn, however, was anything but ordinary.
Cha Seongbin appeared with a rose clenched in his mouth from who-knows-where, staring straight at the camera.
Hmph.
His smug, greasy gaze lingered in the air.
Cha Seongbin stroked his chin and grinned slyly.
“I want to hit him…”
I already disliked him.
“I’m Cha Seongbin, currently enrolled in the Department of Loving Our Dustys So Much~”
“Why is he like that, seriously.”
“Ugh, so annoying.”
I shuddered and shook my head.
“Ahhh!”
“Seohan really hates it.”
“Dustys, close your eyes.”
“No need to close them. That hyung’s the best-looking of us.”
Right.
I nodded at Jin Sehyun’s words and added,
“Dustys, close your ears.”
It was probably only possible to say such things because his face could back it up.
If you muted the sound, it wouldn’t be so bad.
Or just watch it at 2x speed.
Because Cha Seongbin started off the self-introductions in such a bizarre way, the next one up, Jin Sehyun, didn’t go the normal route either.
Didn’t everyone say they’d do it straight, not like a variety show?!
With a shameless smile, Jin Sehyun bowed his head.
“I’m Jin Sehyun, a third-year student in the Doppler Effect Department.”
“Cough.”
What the hell.
“That hyung seems subtly crazy.”
Seo Haim rolled his eyes and poked my side.
“Do… do what? Do Seohan?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve got the same ‘Do’ surname?”
As if that would be the case.
“I’m Butterfly Effect… Seo Ian…”
Amid the growing confusion, Seo Ian still didn’t miss his chance to drop a joke, even while gauging the mood.
After doing his bit, Seo Ian awkwardly stepped back.
Is everyone really doing it like this?
“Alright. Next person?”
Now I was the only one left.
Uncomfortable gazes poured in from all sides.
“What about Seohan?”
“If it’s not funny, it’s getting cut~”
Damn it, so much pressure.
Something ending with “Department”…
Something ending with “Department”…
“Pass Department?”
“Nope~ You don’t pass~”
At Cha Seongbin’s merciless evaluation, I hung my head.
“Apple Department?”
“Hurry and apologize to the Dustys.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Something else.”
Why were they doing this to me?
“National Language-Math-Investigation Department…”
“……”
A moment of silence fell.
“I’m not doing it.”
“Hey, hey, Seohan’s sulking.”
“Why are you teasing the kid!”
I wanted to be alone.
Thud thud thud…
“Go ahead and film without me.”
Thump—
I went over to the wall and banged my head against it.
“Seohan’s in the Chemistry Department.”
“Didn’t you say no more jokes?”
“They all failed anyway…”
In the end, I decided to just go with the department I actually attended in my previous life.
That’s just how regression instincts worked.
And so, the chaotic round of self-introductions finally came to an end.
“What do we do now?”
The moment Jin Sehyun casually asked the camera—
Bzzzzt—
An unpleasant mechanical noise blared from the speaker above our heads.
Bzzzzzt—
[Ah… Ah….]
“Whoa, that scared me.”
“I thought Seohan was going for a horror concept just now.”
It was a reaction born from too many similar pranks back in my staff days.
Fortunately, instead of a ghostly voice, a perfectly normal human voice flowed out of the speaker.
[Attention, Dusty University students, we have a special announcement.]
“It’s the broadcasting club, the broadcasting club.”
The speaker finally began explaining the main story of today’s self-content.
A mission to unfold against the backdrop of Dusty University.
Its name: Catch the Professor.
[You all seem like excellent students of Dusty University… but right now, hidden among you is a professor lying in wait for a chance to drag you off to graduate school.]
“…What?”
“The professor looks way too young!”
“This is kind of like a Mafia game, isn’t it?”
“It’s a Mafia game.”
The other members stayed calm, but I couldn’t.
A… a professor hiding among undergrads?
Isn’t that horror?
It could be scarier than a ghost.
I curled in on myself, trembling.
“I’m seriously scared.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m afraid of breathing the same air as a professor.”
“……?”
I was a fresh 18 years old.
But even so, I was the only one here with actual university experience.
And I was even more frightened because I’d had a similar experience.
Back in undergrad, there was a professor who always said this whenever he saw me.
His voice was deep, his manner gentlemanly even during lectures…
But strangely, among graduate students, he had quite the notorious reputation.
“Seohan, your physiognomy… is that of a scholar.”
I wanted the physiognomy of an idol, thank you very much.
“How about walking the path of a scholar?”
I was almost dragged into his lab to start the graduate school track.
Ah, my PTSD is kicking in…
As I pressed my hand to my forehead, the speaker’s explanation continued.
[If you catch the professor and complete the assignments within the time limit, the students of Dusty University win. If you fail the assignments, the professor wins.]
I didn’t yet know what the assignments would be, but it was clearly a typical Mafia-style game.
Was that it?
Just when it seemed the explanation was wrapping up, there was more.
[While you are completing your given assignments, the professor may use one sabotage move per round.]
“Sabotage move?”
“They can’t just do it openly, right?”
Blink—
The TV monitor at the front of the classroom lit up.
And then—
A screen appeared, looking almost too true-to-life.
“What is that…”
Makeup Lecture
Designate one member, who will be unable to do anything for about 10 minutes.
Extended Exam Range
The difficulty of the assignment increases.
Team Project Assignment
During the main assignment, one team project is added.
The members’ faces darkened quickly.
“If you’re tied down for 10 minutes, that’s a big deal.”
“That’s a crazy penalty…”
With a serious face, Cha Seongbin said to me,
“I just don’t want the makeup lecture one.”
“Why?”
“I need to secure screen time.”
An absolute broadcast maniac.
I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
[During the course of completing each assignment, you will be given hints about the professor.]
[Complete all assignments successfully, and graduate from Dusty University before the professor opens the graduate school door!]
Beep—beep-beep—
Along with an urgent alarm, the first assignment appeared on the TV monitor.
[DUSTY COLLEGE OF ARTS, E-05 Building. Time Limit: 10 minutes.]
[Complete the first assignment in the art room!]
[Failure: 3x speed dance.]
“…Huh?”
The faces of the members who had already experienced a 2x speed Spacewalk dance on Weekly Pocket Idol turned pale.
Spacewalk’s choreography was already brutal even at normal tempo, broken down to the nano level.
But 3x speed? That was crossing a line.
“T… three times speed?”
“We have to survive!”
“Wh-whether it’s Spacewalk 3x or You Dusty 3x is a very critical point here…”
“Hyung, no time, come on!”
Jin Sehyun grabbed the arm of Seo Ian, who was muttering gravely.
[09:59]
The time attack on the monitor began.