Chapter 172: Surviving on a Deserted Island (2)
Rattle, rattle, rattle—
The boat swayed along with the high, surging waves.
I couldn’t even sit properly as we bounced up and down chaotically.
“…….”
So, this happened.
I was currently on my way to a deserted island to shoot Surviving on a Deserted Island.
It wasn’t too far from the mainland, so it seemed like we’d arrive soon.
It would’ve been better if the sea had been calm today.
The other cast members riding with me on the wildly shaking boat were also silent.
Everyone looked like they were barely holding back seasickness.
Especially Han Gabin sitting across from me—his face was pale, and his lips were tightly shut.
Since we weren’t close to begin with, it felt awkward to start a conversation.
Just then, Kang Minseop, who freely traversed variety shows as an SBC announcer, came and sat next to me.
“You’re a rookie, right? Is this your first time doing variety?”
His unusually spiked-up hair must’ve been styled at a salon, but the strong wind had completely messed it up.
Even so, as expected of an announcer, his diction came through clearly despite the rough wind.
“Yes. I’m still a rookie, so I don’t have much experience.”
I gave a small bow along with a polite request for his guidance.
I’d seen him often on TV, but this was my first time seeing him up close.
Kang Minseop seemed to have a friendly demeanor, trying to ease the tension for us rookies.
He continued with light small talk that didn’t feel overwhelming.
“Do you get seasick?”
“No, not too badly.”
—or so I said, right before the boat lurched violently and nearly knocked me backward.
“Whoa there.”
Barely catching my balance, I grabbed my stomach with one hand.
Kang Minseop let out a hearty laugh and spoke.
“You’re gonna have a rough time since it’s your first outdoor variety.”
“I’m still lacking in many ways, so I’ll be counting on your help.”
“Just relax~ Take it easy. If anything’s hard, speak up anytime!”
Sure.
It was nice of him to try to make me feel comfortable, but…
“Ugh!”
The boat kept shaking me around, making it hard to answer properly.
Just now, I barely avoided getting tossed overboard—I genuinely feared for my life.
I couldn’t swim.
Looking at those wild waves, the thin life jacket I was wearing didn’t bring me much comfort.
Kang Minseop glanced over at the half-collapsed Han Gabin, then seemed to decide he wouldn’t get much conversation out of him and continued questioning me instead.
“Are you thinking of pursuing variety shows in the future?”
“Isn’t Stardust doing well these days? What’s your goal for the next album?”
“You’re the youngest in the group? Oh, do the older members treat you well?”
Come on.
The cameras weren’t even rolling yet—there was no need to keep firing off topics like this.
I nodded and answered each question in Kang Minseop’s impromptu press conference.
“Yes… they treat me well….”
Hmm.
I was already starting to feel a bit drained.
Sway—
I hugged my arms tightly around my body and turned my head.
“We’re almost there.”
“Yeah… looks like it….”
I could see the island not far away.
“Ack!”
“Whoa, careful!”
Please, let us arrive quickly.
As soon as the crew landed on the island, they began unpacking and preparing for filming.
Even though it was a small production team, the amount of equipment unloaded from the boat was considerable.
During the brief free time we were given, Kang Minseop walked along the empty shore, lost in thought.
Minseop, isn’t it about time you went freelance?
That was something a senior announcer had casually said at a recent drinking party.
It had been weighing on Kang Minseop’s mind lately.
He was already appearing as a regular on three SBC programs.
Including the SBC-exclusive YouTube shows, he’d been earning an absurd appearance fee for years.
Like many announcers who dipped into variety, Kang Minseop was contemplating going freelance.
In fact, several agencies had already approached him behind the scenes.
If season two went well, he could raise his value.
Though the pay was painfully low compared to how tough the show was, Kang Minseop resolved to do his best for the sake of his career.
Of course, a program wouldn’t succeed just because one person worked hard.
Especially since today marked the first episode of season two, he hoped the new guests would do well.
Will they at least pull their weight?
It was particularly concerning since both guests were idols.
From an active idol’s standpoint, they couldn’t exactly ruin their image just to get airtime.
Compared to other cast members, they had to be more cautious with their comments—naturally, that made things less entertaining.
He seemed to talk decently enough, though.
That’s why he tried chatting him up on the way here.
First, Do Seohan from Stardust.
Despite being young, he didn’t seem that nervous and answered calmly.
Although things might change once the cameras start rolling.
“What’s everyone up to….”
With his hands behind his back, Kang Minseop ambled over to where the guests were.
Not far away, Seohan was taking a short break.
“Ugh….”
Didn’t he say he didn’t get seasick?
Seohan was slumped against a stone wall, his head resting on it.
No matter how he looked, he didn’t seem to be in great shape.
“Oh dear.”
He’d probably need at least thirty minutes before he could start speaking properly.
Since it was the first island shoot, that was understandable.
And then—
Kang Minseop’s gaze shifted to the other one.
Despite his rough-looking exterior, he hadn’t uttered a single word yet, so Minseop didn’t even know what his voice sounded like.
That one was Han Gabin from BK, right?
He was now sitting awkwardly beside Do Seohan, nodding off.
“Hyung, are you feeling okay?”
“Me…? I’m fine….”
They were mumbling to each other like that.
“Hm.”
Han Gabin was supposedly being promoted as a variety member by his agency too.
Most of his career so far had been on relaxed studio talk shows,
But today’s shoot was outdoors—on a deserted island, no less.
Kang Minseop pressed his throbbing temples and muttered under his breath.
“With these two feeble kids… how are we supposed to film a survival show?”
He was starting to get worried.
Once preparations were complete,
The main PD clapped his hands and called the cast together.
Though the show was titled a real survival variety, there were so many cameras watching that it hardly felt “real.”
Seohan gulped nervously as the red recording lights turned on all around him.
The opening was finally about to begin.
“Yes, you’ve all been thrown onto a deserted island.”
I’d seen it on the way in—there wasn’t a single pension for tourists here, it was a real deserted island.
Still, since it was a popular filming location, at least we had cell service—that was a relief.
But surviving here with nothing, not even a house, was daunting….
Fortunately, Surviving on a Deserted Island only carried the title of a survival variety show—it was actually a fairly light-hearted survival format.
If you had to rank it by importance, it’d be survival <<< variety.
Yoo Chaekyung, who had worked with the production crew during season one, chuckled and nodded.
“Give us something, please. How are we supposed to survive like this~?”
“You have nothing, right?”
“They even took all our belongings the moment we arrived.”
“No way we can last. Not even a day. How are we going to make fire?”
Following Yoo Chaekyung’s words, Kang Minseop and Lee Beomjin chimed in one after the other.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, the main PD made a proposal.
“Yes, so for all of you who have nothing, the production team has prepared a gift.”
A full-fledged Deserted Island Starter Pack.
“Oh, what’s this? Much more generous than in season one?”
“What are you giving us?”
Yoo Chaekyung’s eyes sparkled as she checked the list.
Even Seohan, who had only watched season one at home, thought the offer was very generous.
Plastic sheets and ropes were provided as basics.
And besides that…
“A tent? We’re getting a tent too?”
“This isn’t a deserted island, it’s a campsite!”
“What great welfare. Did SBC make a lot of money?”
Yoo Chaekyung and Kang Minseop burst into satisfied laughter.
“There’s even a gas burner and ramyeon. Wow~ Are we getting all this for free?”
Of course not.
The main PD crossed his arms in an X over his head and continued his explanation.
“It wouldn’t be fun if we just gave you everything at once, right?”
“So?”
“You’ll play a game to earn the items from the starter pack one by one.”
Hold on a second.
“You want us to split into teams?”
“Should we go with the season one team versus the guest team?”
“Let’s just split according to how we’re standing.”
The production team had no intention of handing over the starter pack to both teams without a fight.
Per Kang Minseop’s suggestion, the teams were split into the returning cast and the guest team….
“Let’s do our best.”
“Yeah, fighting.”
By some twist of fate, Seohan ended up on the same team as Han Gabin.
If they had met a month ago, things might’ve been incredibly awkward—but since the rehearsal incident, that awkwardness had slightly faded.
If anything, I’m the one who should be thankful.
Wondering whether he should thank him later, Seohan held out his hand to Han Gabin.
Yoo Chaekyung looked back at the two of them and smiled slyly.
“Ah, they’re both so young… I guess I’ll have to beat them fair and square, right?”
“Chaekyung, we need to survive too.”
“Let’s go get that ramyeon! Imagine how warm it’ll be to eat it here.”
“Forget that, I want the tent. Let’s enjoy a comfy camping experience on this deserted island.”
What energy.
Well, this was a variety show, after all.
Trying his best to match the regular cast’s energy, Seohan reacted enthusiastically.
His eyes sparkled as he eagerly asked questions.
“So, what kind of game will we play to decide?”
In response, the staff held up a panel.
[Guess the Song]
It was a game where you had to guess both the artist and the title after hearing the intro.
At the same time, Kang Minseop let out a groan.
“Aw man, idols are good at these kinds of games.”
“You never know.”
“But the age range is pretty diverse.”
Han Gabin’s sharp observation made Kang Minseop nod in agreement.
“That’s true. What era are the songs from?”
“It’s random. You’ll draw lots to decide.”
“Ooh, I love the thrill of randomness!”
Rattle rattle—
The youngest writer came running forward, spinning the container filled with lots.
To keep things moving, Kang Minseop spoke up in a loud voice.
“There are a total of eight lots. Our staff has mixed songs from the ’90s, 2000s, early 2010s, and late 2010s.”
“Why aren’t there any from the ’80s?”
“Excuse me, Mr. Lee Beomjin. These kids weren’t even born then.”
“Oh.”
Lee Beomjin scratched his head awkwardly.
Smiling, Kang Minseop turned to the guests.
“Do Seohan, which era would you like?”
“Um… late 2010s.”
“Of course. These kids barely know anything from the ’90s.”
Exactly right.
“Gabin, have you listened to many old songs?”
“Uh… my mom used to play them sometimes…”
“Oh wow, the ‘mom’ comment just came out.”
Yoo Chaekyung pretended to sniffle, lamenting the passage of time.
“I don’t know about the others, but Mr. Lee Beomjin is practically old enough to be their dad.”
“…I guess so.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“Anyway, let’s start with the lot drawing. Should the guests do it?”
Thanks to Kang Minseop’s consideration, Han Gabin nervously stepped forward.
Neither the cast nor crew knew the results of the random draw—Han Gabin picked a lot without hesitation.
And the result was…
“’90s playlist!”
“Waaaaah!”
That was a time when Do Seohan hadn’t even been born.
Please have mercy on this child of 2000….
As the intro of a completely unfamiliar song played, Yoo Chaekyung shot her hand up.
“Answer! ‘First Love’ by D-Wars!”
“That is correct.”
“First love~ only looking at me~ yeah~.”
“Yeah~.”
Utter failure.
The next song was…
“2000s playlist!”
“Seohan, weren’t you crawling around back then?”
“No, if it’s from 2009, I can get it.”
It was actually from 2005, and he didn’t get it.
“Parapampam. Pappa parararam—!”
“Hey!”
While the older cast members were hyped up, the two younger ones stood there awkwardly, reading the room.
Being a bit older than Seohan, Han Gabin seemed to recognize the song, but he was overwhelmed by Yoo Chaekyung’s sheer accuracy in the guessing game.
At this rate…
[2000s playlist.]
“Guys, try pulling a better lot, please….”
[Early 2010s playlist.]
“Weren’t you both trainees around then?”
“…I wasn’t.”
“Oh, Seohan, you’re really young….”
“I’ll definitely get the next one!”
.
.
.
.
By the end of all the games, what the two of them had in their hands was….
Well.
Plastic sheets.
Wood.
Rope.
“…That’s all?”
We were doomed.