Chapter 254: CSAT
‘It’s the day before the CSAT, so I should go to bed early.’
Fortunately, after leaving that remark, Seohan went straight into the bedroom.
He still looked suspicious of the members’ strange behavior, but instead of digging further into the truth, he quietly went to sleep.
The **CSAT** was tomorrow.
Right now, trivial things like that didn’t matter.
Since he had decided to take it anyway, Seohan planned to do his best, so right before going to bed he hurriedly flipped through his summary notes.
If it hadn’t overlapped with comeback season, he might have prepared much more thoroughly.
In any case, thanks to the youngest member taking the CSAT seriously, the members were finally able to gather safely in the kitchen.
“Shh.”
Just in case the youngest member, who had just fallen asleep, might wake up.
Cha Seongbin raised his index finger to his lips and lowered his voice.
Slide.
Ha Junseo quietly set up the camera while suppressing the sound of his footsteps.
He turned the angle toward the kitchen and quickly finished preparing for the livestream. The Stargram live title was written by Seo Haim.
[We’re packing Seohan’s CSAT lunchbox ><]
“Starting it now…!”
After taking one last deep breath, he pressed the button.
Ding.
A cheerful notification sound announcing the start of the livestream rang out.
Even though it was already past 1 a.m., participants began pouring in rapidly. Comments stacked up so fast it was hard to keep up.
* Oh they’re packing a lunchbox lol
* What’s happening at this hour
* Junseo’s bare face is insane…
* CSAT lunchbox livestream???
Normally they would have wanted to greet everyone loudly as a group, but today everyone looked cautious.
Seo Ian greeted the viewers in a voice that was almost a whisper.
“Hello….”
“Right now we’re all carefully watching Do Seohan’s mood.”
“He just went to sleep…! So we have to stay quiet.”
Half air, half voice. It sounded almost like ASMR.
* What are you guys even doing right now lol
* Even if you stay quiet now, it’ll be chaos when you start cooking later
* Quiet Choco Haim… this feels so strange….
For Jin Sehyun and Seo Haim, it was their first time, so they probably didn’t expect it… but Seohan, who had watched last year’s lunchbox livestream, would definitely notice even the slightest commotion.
This is why you can’t have a hamster that’s too perceptive.
To be extra careful today, they excluded the usual troublemakers from the cooking lineup.
Ha Junseo began speaking in a low voice.
“Today’s menu is…”
“Bulgogi stir-fry and soybean paste soup…!”
“That’s right. The bulgogi has already been marinated, so we just need to stir-fry it now…”
“But wouldn’t it get too cold then?”
“Should we stir-fry it tomorrow morning?”
From that point, their opinions started getting tangled. The voices that had just been ASMR gradually grew louder.
“No, even if we cook it at dawn, it’ll still be cold by lunchtime tomorrow.”
“Hyung, bulgogi gets cold anyway.”
“What if Seohan eats cold bulgogi and cries because he’s sad~.”
* Do Seohan would probably just go “Hmm, it’s cold” and not eat it lol
* Cha Seongbin’s imagination is cuteㅠㅠㅠㅠ
* It might get cold if you cook it now, warm it up in the morning!!
Kang Siwoo quickly scanned the comments.
“Then let’s make the soybean paste soup first. Both dishes will cool anyway, so we’ll have to heat them again in the morning.”
“Right. We prepared all the ingredients here…!”
Sure enough, the second time was different. The Dusty fans reacted enthusiastically, surprised by the unexpected level of preparation.
Kang Siwoo smiled softly and continued.
“Before we start, let’s explain the role distribution….”
“Siwoo-hyung and Junseo-hyung are in charge of cooking!”
* Only two people cooking??
* Then what are the others doing
* Huh?
Kang Siwoo happily placed a hand on Sehyun’s shoulder and added,
“Jin Sehyun is the kitchen assistant.”
“That’s why I prepared everything beforehand. Nice and neat, right?”
Up to this point, it made sense.
“Seongbin-hyung is in charge of talking. Please make sure the audio doesn’t go empty.”
* The rest are basically nonexistent lol
* What is ‘talking 담당’ Seongbin…
* Actually this role distribution makes sense lol
And then—
The camera angle turned toward Seo Ian.
“Our Ian is in charge of visuals. Now, occasionally step in front of the camera and show off your face.”
“Yes!”
* LMAO they completely blocked the troublemakers from the source
* I can’t even argue because looking at his face is fun
* I wanted to see Seo Ian quietly cause trouble though lol
* Showing off his face… yes our soft tofu is something to be proud of
“And our Haim is…”
“What should I do!!!”
“You just have to stay still.”
“……!”
Ha Junseo patted Seo Haim on the back and nodded.
“Staying still is the biggest help you can give~.”
“That’s right!”
* Even Choco Haim agrees lol what does she mean “that’s right”
* That expression with zero emotional damage is killing me
* Actually our kid is secretly strong inside….
Seo Haim beamed and raised her thumb.
“I’ll do my best to stay still!”
“Oh wow, so admirable.”
And so, in the middle of the night, the lunchbox-making began.
With several troublemakers removed, the kitchen had become surprisingly clean.
Jin Sehyun glanced at the camera while slicing the ingredients on the cutting board.
He cut the sweet pumpkin into thin slices—not too thick.
Then he trimmed the onion to a proper thickness to make the soup broth.
Meanwhile, the main chef Kang Siwoo was extracting broth in a deep pot.
The sound of it boiling vigorously already sounded like art.
Right beside him, Cha Seongbin chattered quietly.
“Chef Kang Siwoo cooking today looks especially sexy. Wow, my heart is fluttering.”
“…….”
“So what you’re boiling right now is… water?”
“I’m making broth.”
“Oh, saltwater then~.”
Something felt off.
* Hey kick Cha Seongbin out of the kitchen
* LMAOOOO
* He’s faithfully following the order not to let the audio go empty lol
* He’s the cooking show MC but has zero cooking knowledge….
“Can I taste it?”
“There’s barely anything added yet…?”
“Mmm~. It looks delicious.”
A joint attack from Seo Haim and Cha Seongbin. The soybean paste hadn’t even been added yet, but they were already chatting about how great it smelled.
“I smell soybean paste soup. I’m drooling.”
“I didn’t add soybean paste yet….”
For some reason, Kang Siwoo felt a headache coming on.
* So this is what Siwoo means when he says he’s raising Seo Haim on livestreams lol he looks exhausted
* Be careful guys… Siwoo has a cutting board in his hand… if it were me I’d have smacked them….
Still, at least they were quickly bringing over ingredients.
The fact that they weren’t minus one person in productivity was already fortunate.
While the two focused on cooking, the remaining members began interacting with the viewers.
Seo Haim read the comments with sparkling eyes.
“They’re asking if Seohan studied hard?”
“…Who knows.”
“Do Seohan has been studying Japanese lately.”
“Maybe his second foreign language elective is Japanese.”
* Look at Jin Sehyun casually dropping that lol
* I heard Universe Dust is debuting in Japan, is that true?
* Universe Dust Japan debut ㄷㄷㄷ
* Don’t go overseas stay in Korea… I want you all to myself…
Among the countless foreign-language comments, a few Korean comments desperately tried to get the members’ attention.
They really were preparing for a Japanese debut, so Seo Haim coughed awkwardly and hid her expression.
Better change the topic naturally.
“Dusty, what song do you think we’ll promote next?”
Although promotions for the Title Track had ended, they planned to perform an included track on music broadcasts for one more week.
While dissolving soybean paste with a ladle, Kang Siwoo spoke casually.
“I’ll give you a small spoiler.”
“It’s a pretty cute song!”
* It’s Okay…?
* I think it’s It’s Okay omg my heart is shaking
* Cuteness delivered by a chick-type?? This stock is rising, I love it
The Dusty fans quickly guessed the song from the short hint and grew noisy.
“Will we wear suspenders in the music video? That’s a secret.”
* Suspenders??? Suspenders Do Seohan??? Is this my grave
* Please wear school uniforms too
* The It’s Okay MV outfits are already legendary I’m excited
It was a warm time of communication. Up until that point, the kitchen atmosphere had been perfect.
The soybean paste soup boiling vigorously now spread a savory aroma throughout the kitchen.
Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly despite a few twists and turns.
But…
Something about the comments looked strange.
* ???
* Uh
* That’s bad
* Holy crap
* What’s behind you
Creeeak.
Because everyone was focused on their own tasks, no one heard the door opening quietly.
“……”
The first person to notice the comments was Kang Siwoo, who was stirring the soup.
* Hamster 등장
* Kongjwi you’re screwed
* You said surprise livestream you said surprise livestream you said surprise livestream
No way.
Feeling an ominous shadow, Kang Siwoo slowly turned his head.
“Uh?”
Jin Sehyun, who turned at the same time, dropped the spoon in his hand.
Clink.
A shadowy figure appeared in the kitchen with messy hair.
“…What are you doing right now?”
“GAAAAAH! Why aren’t you sleeping?!”
Do Seohan blinked his eyes.
---
It was a little past 5 p.m.
A crowd had gathered in front of the school gate.
Not wanting to cause unnecessary disturbance, the members had waited in the car. Now, around the time Seohan’s exam should end, they stepped out, pulling their caps down low.
Students would start coming out soon.
Parents waiting anxiously outside the school gate immediately embraced their children as soon as they appeared.
A girl in a school uniform walked out slowly with a gloomy face.
“Good job!”
“Ah… I think I messed up chemistry.”
“It’s okay. We can check the answers later.”
Still, it didn’t seem like she had completely failed, because her voice soon brightened.
“Kyahhh! Gureum!”
Over there, a dog that had come with its owner wagged its tail.
The student ran over and hugged the dog.
Watching that scene from afar, Seo Ian muttered quietly.
“Should we hug him too…?”
“I asked the Producer, and they said they won’t hug him, so we should handle it ourselves.”
“…You asked that?”
Seo Ian turned his head in disbelief at Jin Sehyun’s confident answer.
Right then—
Among the large crowd, a familiar face caught their eyes.
Seo Haim waved her hand brightly.
“Seohan! Over here!”
“Huh?”
Having spotted the members, Seohan walked toward them with a cheerful expression.
He had worked hard to prepare during the past week, so it was a relief to see him looking refreshed.
Ha Junseo lightly tapped Seohan’s bag and asked,
“So, how was the bulgogi?”
They had warmed it up a bit in the morning so he wouldn’t eat it cold, but who knew if it had cooled by lunchtime.
More than anything, it wasn’t something bought from outside—it was cooked by his older members, so that was the worrying part.
Seohan nodded and smiled.
“Yeah, it was good.”
This scene felt strangely familiar.
With a faint smile, Seohan felt a pleasant sense of déjà vu.
When he had quit trainee life and decided late to focus on studying.
Back then, he had studied all night for a year, determined to enter a good university somehow.
It had been quite cold that day too—cold enough to make his fingertips numb.
He had put the lunchbox his mom packed into his bag, walked to the exam site, and filled in the OMR sheet with frozen hands.
His mom had packed the same menu too—bulgogi stir-fry and soybean paste soup.
If someone asked whether the results were the same as back then…
“Did the exam go well?”
At that question, Seohan paused.
Hmm.
Well, you see—
“I think I did well on the questions.”
“……”
“So, what should we eat?”
Ha Junseo coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject.
“On a day like this, it has to be black bean noodles.”
“Let’s go eat black bean noodles!”
“Oh man, it’s going to taste amazing today!”
Seohan chuckled and hurried after them.
“Yeah.”
The tip of his nose felt cold, but inside his parka it was warm.