Chapter 159: It’s Fun, Isn’t It? (2)
The solo variety show the company brought in turned out to be a program my hyung was in charge of.
It wasn’t a fixed cast offer, but more of a request to appear in the first episode out of loyalty.
But still.
"A deserted island survival program?"
I really didn’t like the concept of the show.
As someone born and raised in the city, survival-type shows didn’t suit me at all, and on top of that, the filming period was just way too long.
“Ha, wait a second.”
I slowly counted the dates on my fingers that hyung mentioned.
One, two, three….
“For a whole 6 nights and 7 days? Is it overseas?”
“It’s domestic. You know it has to be that long to get enough footage.”
“No, I don’t know that at all.”
That’s insanely long.
Who films domestically for 7 days straight?
When I scowled, hyung looked at me and cautiously added a comment.
“That’s why it’s hard to cast people….”
He trailed off as if it was tough, but I didn’t feel a bit sorry for him.
“Well obviously! Who schedules it like that?”
Unless the appearance fee was massive, they’d continue to have a hard time finding cast.
Who in the planning team came up with this?
They probably needed to be let go.
Anyway, it wasn’t like I worked at SBC, so it wasn’t my business.
I shook my head firmly and stated my position.
Putting aside the hardship, the 6 nights and 7 days schedule was just too much.
I didn’t even have a strong desire to be on variety shows, and skipping practice for that long would make me rusty.
“I’m not doing it.”
“You are doing it.”
“…?”
Apparently, they’d already accepted the offer even before setting up a meeting with the company.
“Are you serious?”
Before coming here, Manager Lee Jaeyoon had only told me something vague.
Just to consider a variety guest appearance, he said.
Did Doubles do their Doubles thing again in the meantime?
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even speak properly.
Right then.
Bzzzzz—
Perfect timing—my phone started to vibrate.
[Kang Siwoo-hyung]
This was probably a call about the meeting.
I let out a short sigh and answered the call. On the other end, Kang Siwoo’s cautious voice came through.
“Seohan, are you in the meeting right now?”
“Yes.”
“How’s it going?”
“They said it’s a deserted island survival program.”
I swallowed the words, Are they crazy?
“Oh, I heard about it too.”
“…They really want me to go?”
“The CEO said you don’t absolutely have to…. But he would really like it if you did.”
“……”
That sounded all too familiar.
“He said he wouldn’t send you on something too grueling…. So don’t worry too much.”
“The CEO told you that…?”
“No, no! The manager!”
Still, hearing that much….
I glanced at hyung, trying to read the room.
“So… is it more of a healing type of deserted island show?”
“It’s survival.”
I was starting to get pissed.
What rookie has the luxury to be picky about programs?
With the company pushing this hard, I had no choice.
Thinking it over again, a deserted island survival? It sounded thrilling and exciting.
Hmm, not bad.
Trying hard to trigger my imagination circuit, I added a comment.
“I like survival games.”
“…Really? That’s great then.”
Anyway, once that conversation wrapped up, I was stuck with hyung listening to the program timeline.
I’d never filmed a survival show like this before, so.
After letting out a deep sigh, I asked the thing I was most curious about.
“Do they really starve us for meals? Or… is that just a concept?”
“Oh, there’ll be plenty to eat.”
Well then, that’s good.
That warmed my heart a bit.
“…Though I don’t know if it’s stuff you’ll like.”
At those follow-up words, my briefly warmed heart turned cold.
Do Seojun bit his lower lip and cleared his throat.
He looked like someone already excited imagining me suffering.
I was starting to get nervous.
Hyung paused for a moment before opening his mouth.
“First of all, you know how to make a fire, right?”
“What?”
“Since it’s a real variety show, you’ve gotta do it once for real.”
Isn’t that super tough for a beginner?
As someone who occasionally watched these types of shows, my head started to spin.
“If you think it’ll be hard, practice at the studio in advance.”
Just as I let out a hollow laugh, Do Seojun nonchalantly added,
“If you rub a few hundred times, the wood’ll catch fire.”
“You talk so prettily when it’s not your problem….”
Is this guy for real?
I frowned in disbelief.
I looked away and scanned the office with my eyes.
Was there a hidden camera filming this or something?
“This isn’t some hidden prank show, right…?”
“Ah, you’re in the denial phase now. Totally normal.”
Hyung rummaged through his pocket for a moment and pulled out his phone.
Tap tap tap—
After searching for something, hyung showed me a chat screen with someone.
Looking closely, the profile picture was familiar.
“That’s your manager, right?”
Doubles Management Team’s Song Jinha.
Hyung placed the phone on the table and added,
“I contacted him about this. Do I look like I’m lying?”
“…Alright, fine.”
I rubbed my face dry and let out a deep sigh.
Of all times, why did it have to be in the freezing winter that I’d film a real survival show on a deserted island?
“I really…have to make fire, huh.”
“Better practice in advance~.”
Maybe it was just me, but Do Seojun’s voice sounded a little too cheerful.
Like someone who had passed the PD recruitment just for this day.
But that wasn’t the end of the things that shocked me.
After a moment’s hesitation, Do Seojun said something even more outrageous.
“And also….”
“What now?”
Hyung scratched his head and pointed at a clipboard.
The name of the content made me question my eyes.
[Caterpillars Are an Excellent Source of Protein.]
What the hell is that?
As I rubbed my eyes and scanned the document, Do Seojun hit me with one more line.
“You know how to eat beondegi, right?”
“No…?”
I don’t even eat the ones sold for people to eat.
“That’s strange… I heard hamsters eat them just fine….”
“What kind of nonsense is that.”
The follow-up was even more absurd.
“It’s not raw. You can grill them over a fire.”
“I seriously can’t believe I have to ask this, but… do those even live on Korean deserted islands?”
“Caterpillars live in regular households too.”
Ugh.
Absolutely not.
“After thinking it over again… this show’s just too big for me to handle. I’m not doing it.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not as gross as you think. Oh! Maybe you’ve never seen one before?”
Of course I haven’t.
I recoiled and leaned back in my seat, but hyung started making a phone call.
Uncharacteristically, he spoke in a sweet voice.
“Ah, Yejin-ssi.”
He mouthed the words before I could even ask.
“She’s our youngest writer.”
“…….”
“Yejin-ssi, could you bring over that thing we talked about earlier for the test?”
“What… is she bringing?”
“The test sample.”
Excuse me?
Why are we even bringing that out?
“…?”
Click—
Not long after the call ended, there was a knock at the door.
“Yes, come in.”
Someone named Yejin-ssi cautiously opened the door and walked in.
She seemed a bit surprised when she saw my face. I nodded lightly in greeting.
“Uh… I was a fan during Boy’s Dream!”
“Ah, thank you.”
Since she said she was a fan, I wanted to give her an autograph or something, but I really wasn’t in the right state of mind.
Because in her hands was a box that looked pretty big.
That’s the… test sample?
“You know it’s dangerous to eat just anything. These are bought for consumption and released onto the ground.”
“…….”
“Oh, you didn’t know? Logically speaking, even if it’s a real variety show, you can’t just eat bugs crawling around the island. There’s a risk of parasites.”
“If you’re going to fake it that much, can’t we just cut the caterpillar-eating part?”
“Scenes like that boost ratings…. You know. It’s hard to make a living.”
His reasoning almost convinced me.
Parasites are dangerous….
I just stared off into space, half resigned.
Hyung nodded and looked back at me.
“Check the sample.”
“Is it… alive?”
“Yeah.”
Hold on.
“Is there a camera?”
“Why?”
“Can I swear?”
If I could, I’d grab something and smack someone right now.
Clueless, Yejin-ssi awkwardly smiled while glancing between us.
The box she set on the table almost seemed like it was squirming.
“Maybe starving is better?”
“Once you see it, you might find it cute, so try opening it.”
“Excuse me. Just because you spit it out doesn’t mean it’s a valid sentence.”
“Open it. Want me to open it if you can’t?”
Hoo….
I took a deep breath to calm myself.
It’d be better if I opened it myself rather than getting startled when someone else did.
“Fine.”
I was ready.
With trembling hands, I reached for the box.
I carefully lifted the cloth covering the box and glanced at Yejin-ssi for any signs.
That sincere expression.
“You’re… quite the actor.”
“Pardon?”
“Please just say it’s acting.”
Screw it.
I squeezed my eyes shut and yanked open the Styrofoam box.
And then.
“Huh?”
The first thing that caught my eye was a white silhouette.
And then my thoughts stopped.
“Uwaaa…aaahhh!”
I screamed and shot backwards.
Hyung’s urgent voice rang out.
“Hey, Do Seohan! It’s whipped cream! Whipped cream!”
“Whipped…?”
Why are you in there?
“Cake…”
With a dazed expression, I looked down at the chocolate ice cream cake.
I had freaked out the moment I saw the white silhouette, so I didn’t get a proper look…. But it was clearly just a normal-looking ice cream cake.
So then.
What the heck….
“Was this really a hidden camera prank…?”
Just as I blinked in disbelief,
“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to Do Seohan~!”
“Seohan-aaah! Happy birthdaaaay!”
Clatter—
The hyungs burst through the door.
[Seohan’s birthday post is up on Stargram!]
He took a pic with his hyungs holding the cake
Looks like the members celebrated early the day before!
(Photo)
He’s full of maknae vibes and it’s so sweet seeing how much the hyungs adore him ㅎㅎㅎ
Happy birthday, Seohan
—Do Seohan with cake on his nose is too cute hahaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Not sure who smeared it, but seriously, it’s freaking adorableㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└There’s some on his cheek too, and he still smiled brightly for the pic… so harmless… so lovely… just perfect
└Do Seohan is so cute it’s driving me insane
—Compared to the pics from Boy’s Dream, he’s grown a bit tallerㅋㅋㅋㅋ They say other people’s kids grow fast, and wow, he really matured already
└(Photo)
└Whoa, damn, he was such a baby back thenㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└Seohanㅠㅠ Stay a student forever, please wear a school uniform againㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Do Seohan could pull off a sexy concept now, let’s make it happen
└Growth spurt baby Hamji
Dusty’s Han Yooyoung scrolled down with a fond smile.
It felt like just yesterday they celebrated Seohan’s birthday during the Stardust Project days, and now he’d debuted and was having his first birthday as an idol.
@imyng1_33
Happy birthday, Do Seohan!
You’re our stage genius, maknae-on-top hamster
May your path ahead be filled with nothing but blooming flowers!
#Snowflower_Blooming_in_December #HappyBirthday_MamSeohan #Stardust #DoSeohan
12:04 AM.
She had been waiting, ready to post a tweet at exactly Seohan o’clock.
Ding—
Her phone rang with a notification.
“Huh?”
She wondered what alarm it was.
Seohan’s one-line birthday party review had just been posted in the fan community.
[The hyungs were delicious and the cake was scary.]