CH 80

“What do you want to eat?”

“I saw some greens in the field here. We were talking about making bibimbap like I mentioned earlier.”

“Sounds good.”

I really wanted to throw away the T-shirt Kang Ichae had specially made, but the production staff laughed until they were exhausted and insisted I wear it. They must have thought it was a surefire hit, but their grudge against me seemed to be the main driving force.

In the end, I obediently wore the “Troublemaker” T-shirt and started cooking.

“Do we have kimchi?”

“What kind of question is that to ask a Korean?”

As we were always serious about food, we had a very serious conversation while efficiently dividing the tasks.

Jeong Dajun lit the fire on the stove after borrowing a lighter from the staff, then poured clean water over the washed rice. Kang Ichae searched for kimchi, and Kim Seonghyeon neatly sliced some pink sausages…

“Then I’ll go pick some young radishes with Hoyun.”

“Take care~!”

I was glad I dressed comfortably. The rain had stopped, but the humidity in the air made me sweat as I walked a few steps, even though I was wearing a T-shirt and knee-length shorts. The camera staff quickly followed me.

“It’s my first time picking young radishes.”

“Really?”

“…What? Have you done it before?”

“I used to live with my grandmother. She did a lot of fieldwork.”

Seong Jiwon, who had arrived at the field and put down the basket, naturally wore work gloves. The staff went past me and got very close to him, looking for a good shot.

I could bet that they would add subtitles like “Main Vocal’s Unexpected Charm.”

“Here, you too.”

“Thank you.”

I put on the work gloves and stared blankly as Seong Jiwon squatted down and began to pick the radishes diligently.

What… do I just pull it out by grabbing the top? But only the stem came out when I did it, not the root.

“Seo Hoyun.”

“Woah, that surprised me.”

Feeling competitive, I was concentrating on the task when Seong Jiwon suddenly came to my side with a stern expression.

…No need to call me by my full name and look so serious…

After calming my startled heart, I turned my head, and Seong Jiwon showed me how to pick the radishes.

“Don’t just grab the top. Hold the root and pull it out gently. Not with a snap, but with a gentle tug.”

“Snap… tug?”

“Tug.”

“…Snap?”

“…Just go.”

Ding!

[Ah~, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you so bad at something~]

It was my first time doing fieldwork, so it was understandable…

I closed my mouth and pulled out the radishes by holding the root and snapping them out as Seong Jiwon showed me. Then, I started humming a song I had heard earlier on the LP.

“Those childish days of mine~ How much~.”

“…”

“Could they have meant~.”

“Hoyun… it’s not meaningful.”

Seeing Seong Jiwon so annoyed was rare, so I sang even more enthusiastically. As I bravely finished the first verse, with encouragement from the staff’s gaze, Jiwon sighed deeply and quickly moved his hands.

Finally, after finishing the song, I took off my hardly dirty work gloves and proudly wiped my forehead.

“Satisfied~.”

“…”

Seong Jiwon, who was holding a full basket, ignored me and walked past. As I followed him, the delicious smell of food wafted in.

“Hyung! You’re back?”

“We’re making ham and egg pancakes!”

Once we returned and cleaned the young radishes, we mixed them evenly with the cooked rice and transferred them to a large pot. But strangely, there was too much rice.

“What’s going on? Why is there so much rice?”

“It’s all your fault. The young radishes are like a mountain. A mountain.”

“Seonghyeon, why are there so many sausages again? We don’t have enough plates.”

“…I just kept making them?”

Ah, these kids… They’re really Korean.

At this rate, it was not enough only for five people but for fifteen. I quickly counted the number of staff members. It should be enough to feed everyone.

“Make it smaller so we can all have some~.”

“Hurry up and mix it.”

I mixed the cut young radishes and kimchi with sesame oil and red pepper paste. The savory smell tickled my nose. I fed a mouthful to Jeong Dajun, who was drooling next to me while mixing.

There was so much that my arm got sore from mixing, but I managed to fill the bowls. There were really fifteen servings, so I handed the rest to the staff.

“Thank you for your hard work~!”

“You should eat before you work. Oh, have you already eaten?”

“No, not yet….”

“Then it’s a good thing we made a lot.”

Since it was a small to medium-sized entertainment company, the planning team could not staff every position, so there were not only acquaintances but also film and broadcasting major college students who wanted to gain experience.

I didn’t know how sad it would be if only the cast ate well and the staff just watched with grumbling stomachs…

When I first started, I remembered how I ran around the filming site on a single triangle kimbap, and my eyes teared up a bit.

Ding!

[Options:

“…It’s bibimbap made by Hoyun.”

“…Th, thank you?”

The flustered staff members fixed their cameras and awkwardly received their bowls.

Yeah… I was grateful they didn’t say anything weird.

We also set up a table and placed bibimbap, ham and egg pancakes, and spoons on it.

“Wow, it’s really good. Have our… rice-making skills improved?”

“It’s all because of Seo Hoyun. You know how much he nagged us to eat properly.”

“So, you don’t want to put fried eggs on top?”

“I’m sorry!”

Everyone quickly bowed their heads.

The highlight of bibimbap was, of course, the soft-cooked fried egg. I cooked them separately beforehand and placed one in each member’s bowl.

“It’s good because it’s fresh. It’s a bit hot, but the wind is blowing well….”

“It’ll get cooler if we stay still.”

“That’s what my grandma always says…!”

Seong Jiwon shivered and rubbed his arm. Looking at the members, I felt a little better.

Ding!

[You look happy. Is it because the kids are eating well?]

No.

I was looking at them with warm eyes.

“I’m looking forward to it later….”

[…Wow…]

The system window grumbled.

What? What did you want?

What?

“I’m full~.”

After eating the rice, we also finished the ice cream that we had put in the refrigerator beforehand. The concept was healing variety, so it proceeded without any particular mission.

That’s when planning team member Lee Jihyeon came forward and handed out blank sheets of paper to the members.

“Everyone, we still have some time before dinner, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t we write a time capsule in the meantime?”

My eyebrows twitched. I didn’t think I wrote that kind of plan… Catching my hint, Lee Jihyeon quickly understood.

‘It’s for killing time.’

‘It’s good.’

If that was the case, I could see her ambition to make use of even the smallest gaps in time to create touching points.

The members, who knew nothing, looked innocent and had a conversation.

“Time capsule? What’s that?”

“It’s a letter you send to your future self. I used to do it a lot when I was young….”

“Ah~, that.”

Lee Jihyeon smiled and said,

“In the time capsule, you just need to write a simple description of yourself and The Dawn in 5 years.”

“5 years? Not 10 years?”

“Yes, 5 years.”

Ten years later, most of the members would be in their 30s, and it was even uncertain if this lineup would last. The intention was to look back at our peak and reminisce.

Wow, that’s smart.

I nodded my head and slowly took the paper. Some members wrote thoughtfully, while others wrote excitedly. But staring at the blank white page, I couldn’t think of anything to write. I scribbled some pointless words towards the members and hesitated for a moment.

Will I still be here in 5 years?

No, that was unlikely.

According to the system, there was a high probability that I would leave this world and return to my original world once the main scenario was over.

So far, it has taken me only half a year to resolve Kim Seonghyeon and Jeong Dajun’s scenarios. Since two more members were left, I estimated it wouldn’t take more than a year, even considering some leeway.

Well, it might take a bit longer for The Dawn to become a top-tier group…

Anyway, I didn’t plan on taking up to 5 years.

…I sighed as I stared at the sentences I had written and crossed out two lines. Then I added below: Return everything to the way it was.

I didn’t want to live like this.

It seemed I had been too immersed in this short six-month time frame.

It didn’t matter later when the camera would zoom in on the paper since they would probably interpret it as “Our Hoyun wants to find his original motivationsㅎㅎ.”

I approached the other members while holding the folded paper.

“Hey, what did you write?”

“Wow, ack!”

Jeong Dajun quickly covered the paper with both arms and hid it. Then he peeked his head out and glared at me as if I was being a scoundrel.

“Hyung! Don’t look.”

“Seriously, is it a diary?”

I became a little curious since he hid it without any real thought. When I went to Kang Ichae, he rolled his eyes, folded the paper, and waved it around.

“Do you want to see?”

“Yeah.”

“Then show me yours too.”

“…”

“Do you not want to?”

Kang Ichae, who had become more eloquent lately, failed.

As expected, Kim Seonghyeon was completely defenseless. I stealthily approached and snatched the paper.

“Hey!”

Ignoring the flustered Kim Seonghyeon, I slowly read the content.

“Still humble and wishing for the fans to be happy~.”

“Ugh, don’t read it out loud!”

“Ahahaha.”

“You rascal… Your T-shirt really suits you….”

“You shine bright, Kim Seonghyeon.”

I was doing something fitting for the T-shirt. There was more content below, but I couldn’t see all of it. I returned it with a smirk and looked at Seong Jiwon, who had already finished writing and was folding the paper.

“Hoyun, what did you write?”

“Nothing special.”

“Okay, everyone, please put your papers in this box~.”

The staff approached when they saw that everyone had more or less finished writing. We took the offered box, neatly placed the papers inside, and then gathered in the yard.

“Shall we bury it here?”

“How deep do we need to dig?”

“Just dig a little, not too deep.”

While answering, I gently shoveled the dirt and buried the box.

“Alright~, we’ll do some individual interviews now~.”

“Yes~.”

They requested individual interviews as if they couldn’t miss the emotional points.

It seemed they wanted to take us individually, as they called me first.

“I’ll be back.”

“Who wants to watch a horror movie with Ichae here~?”

“Is there a horror movie too?”

Wow.

As expected of Kang Ichae. He noticed everything and set the atmosphere by himself.

Well…

Even so.

I laughed cheerfully.

“Yeah, hyung, I’ll be back.”

“Hyung, bring a Melona~.”

I ignored Jeong Dajun’s habitual ice cream nagging and went outside.

Just then, the rain started to drizzle again. Turning my head, I saw Lee Jihyeon across the room, gesturing quietly with her index finger on her lips.

“We do need to record the time capsule video… but we should give Seo Hoyun a more special interview.”

“Of course.”

Jihyeon and I exchanged a sinister laugh. As soon as we sat in front of the camera, we changed our expressions to look indifferent.

The interview began.

“I feel great. My heart is fluttering.”

“…Hmm. I’ll probably be teasing my dongsaengs.”

“Guys.”

I smiled kindly at the camera.

“Don’t think you’re the only ones capable of pulling off a surprise.”

Jihyeon raised her thumb, approving.

Ding!

[Wow… you’re so two-faced…]

Yeah, I was looking forward to it too.

After finishing the cut, I opened the door, and the guys were startled.

“Wow, give us some warning before you come in!”

“Really scared me.”

“Why are you so scared?”

“We’re at the climax of the horror movie.”

Kim Seonghyeon grumbled. I sat down next to the guys, who were already munching on heaps of snacks.

“Kim Seonghyeon, go and record your cut.”

“Why don’t I want to go alone…?”

Seeing him anxious, I felt satisfied. The horror movie had already passed the first half and was making eerie noises. Jeong Dajun, trembling with fear, stubbornly squeezed between me and Seong Jiwon.

“Go away.”

“I don’t want to!! I don’t want to be at the end. It feels like something’s going to grab me.”

“Even if you’re in the middle, you’ll still get grabbed….”

“Uwaaah!”

As I spoke, I secretly pulled on the back of Dajun’s shirt, making him scream and jump.

“Don’t live like that. You’re really bad, hyung!”

I enjoyed listening to Dajun’s constant grumbling. Seong Jiwon was surprisingly the most composed, and Kang Ichae let out a scream mixed with excitement…

Things will change from now on, kids.

“Be back soon~.”

Jeong Dajun was the last one to go.

“Uhuhuh, I’ll be back…”

“There are staff outside too.”

“Ah, right… that’s true.”

Even so, in reality, Jeong Dajun was the embodiment of fear.

I eagerly poured water into my ramen noodle cup and waited like I was waiting for three minutes. Exactly 2 minutes and 41 seconds later, I heard Dajun’s scream from outside.

“Waaaaah!”

Wow, Jeong Dajun was faster than a ramen noodle cup.