“No way…… No, there’s no way they saw it. Did Yoon-i hyung watch our stage? Did he see it?”
After the acceptance speech was over, those words he said really quietly on stage while crying. He muttered it so quietly that he thought no one saw or heard it. But what if hyung saw it?
“Uugh.”
Ka Jerim didn’t know what to do from embarrassment and grabbed Seon Hobeom’s chick doll that was lying around, buried his face deeply into the doll, and kept groaning.
‘What kind of grown man disgustingly says he misses them, misses them.’
Ka Jerim kept muttering, denying reality, saying there’s no way hyung saw that, but his muttering gradually became quiet.
“Jerim-ah? Oh, you.”
Ka Jerim couldn’t resist the wave of sleepiness that came over him and fell asleep right there on the spot.
Park Eden, who had been in the next room and came in at the voice he heard just moments ago, chuckled and took a silent photo of Ka Jerim with his face completely buried in the chick.
“He is cute though.”
Sometimes he seems too much like an adult, but when you see him like this, he’s unmistakably just a kid.
Park Eden covered Ka Jerim’s sleeping body with a blanket and even turned off the lights. Hoping that Ka Jerim would have good dreams even if just for three hours, he quietly closed the door and left.
Buzz―
<Yoon-i Sunbae-nim> – [We miss you too.] >
Even when the message notification rang, Ka Jerim couldn’t see it as he finally put down the burden he had been carrying on his shoulders all day, sleeping soundly for a short time. Of course, after he woke up and saw Go Yoon’s reply, he didn’t know what to do from embarrassment.
“What, Ari-ya. What’s wrong with your head?”
It was later that Seon Hobeom wondered why one side of the chick’s head was slightly flattened.
* * *
After getting first place, there were many changes for Abyss.
Instead of going in as substitute guests or fillers to make up numbers like before, even if not big yet, they got proper guest spots and even Abyss-only corners.
Naturally, each day was busy, and because of the agency’s mindset to row when the water comes in, even after official promotions ended, they had to hurry into working on the next mini album.
“A new song already?”
“What do you mean already. We’re already late so we need to hurry.”
“Give us a vacation!”
Even whining for a vacation was a hopeless cry because this month was already filled up with practice and schedules.
With the relentless hell of spinning schedules and work, the members looked more dead with each passing day, but they tried to cheer up with the fans and support that increased daily.
“Stay here for a moment. I’ll go get our clothes. Those who need to use the bathroom, go.”
Today was another busy day as expected.
While the staff went to get the newly confirmed clothes from the agency, I exchanged messages with Juno hyung while waiting with the members in the car in the parking lot.
<Juno Hyung> – [What time do you finish today?] >
< [There’s no such thing as finishing for usㅠㅠ]
[Areyoufuckingcrazyit’sbeenaweekofthatalreadywhy] >
Seeing him reply instantly without a single space, I broke out in a cold sweat, then hurriedly changed the subject thinking hyung seemed a bit angry.
< [I’m hungry…]
[Theystarvingyou?nofuckthey’reevenstarvningyou?] >
But that was a bad move. Hyung seemed enraged at the fact that they were even starving me, and once again replied incredibly fast with curses.
[‘Juno Sunbae-nim’ has sent a Gifticon! Send a thank you message. (Optional)] >
[(Crepe Cake)] >
[‘Juno Sunbae-nim’ has sent a Gifticon! Send a thank you message. (Optional)] >
[(Health Tonic Snack Package)] >
< [Hyung]
I turned pale at the KakaoTalk messages that continued endlessly after that. This is déjà vu, isn’t it?
[‘Juno Sunbae-nim’ has sent a Gifticon! Send a thank you message. (Optional)] >
[(Walnut Pie Set)] >
< [Hyung, wait]
Flustered by Juno hyung’s Gifticon terror that had been quiet for a while, I kept sending messages to stop him, but hyung didn’t stop sending gifts. When I was about to cry at the Gifticon barrage that continued despite my attempts to stop it, the staff had already come down with all the clothes and were moving around busily.
So I thought we’d be leaving soon, but suddenly a staff member spoke to me.
“Jerim-ah, they’re asking for just you to come up quickly? Did you cause some accident?”
“Don’t we not have time and just need to take the clothes and go?”
“Yeah. That’s true, but Director Gye says to come up for a moment. He has something to say.”
Did I do something wrong? Even as I got out of the car with a nervous face from unnecessary tension, the members were still sleeping soundly, oblivious to the world.
When I went up to the meeting room carrying anxiety in my unnecessarily anxious heart, I discovered Director Gye busily talking on the phone in the meeting room.
“Oh, you’re here. Let me hang up for a moment and call you back.”
Director Gye, who hung up the phone when I arrived, said something really out of the blue.
“Jerim-ah, you know the program <We Got Married>, right?”
“Yes.”
“Would you consider going on it?”
<We Got Married> is a virtual married life of celebrities filmed over a set period. Each season films with a different concept, and although this season’s concept hadn’t been revealed yet, I was flustered because I never thought I would be doing it.
“Director-nim. I’m still a student though?”
Above all, Ka Jerim’s status was that of a student, but Director Gye shook his head as if it didn’t matter.
“It’s not like that. It’s not a regular season, it’s a student couple special that airs before the next season, so only minors like you appear.”
“What?”
When I didn’t understand and frowned slightly, Director Gye added more explanation.
“Yeah. Like a group meeting, everyone gathers together and picks partners by drawing lots or something……”
“Drawing lots?”
Since there had never been drawing lots in any season until now, I was dumbfounded, asking how they pick partners by drawing lots.
However, seeing my expression of disbelief, Director Gye instead burst into laughter calling me naive.
“Don’t worry. They’re only setting up the drawing for the first episode to be broadcast live for reality and to generate buzz. You just draw what’s predetermined and act a little surprised.”
“It’s rigged?”
“Yeah. Of course the partners are predetermined. What if kids who don’t get along end up together?”
When I still hesitated to readily agree, Director Gye told me not to worry, that it was really short content.
“Since it’s a special, we’ll probably only film 4-5 episodes worth, and since everyone’s a student, it’s more of an innocent student couple vibe than a marriage feeling. If you’re really uncomfortable, friend chemistry is good too.”
“If it’s a friend vibe, I think it’ll be okay.”
In the end, I had no choice but to nod at Director Gye’s active appeal. If I could promote the group even a little more by going on <We Got Married>, it seemed better to go on it.
When I said I understood, Director Gye also said it was a good choice, patted my back, and said:
“Do you happen to know ‘Hong Woonhee’?”
“Hong Woonhee?”
“Her stage name is Wooni.”
Wooni? For Wooni, I can only think of Crazy Kaycade. But since I felt like I’d heard it somewhere before, I thought about it carefully.
“Is she by any chance the idol who showed fighting spirit through an injury on stage?”
“Right.”
There was choreography where she had to touch the floor on stage, and while doing that choreography, her wrist ligament stretched and it must have hurt, but she was an idol who finished the choreography until the end. She also became a topic with her fancam video like me.
“I don’t know her personally. We’re not acquainted.”
“If you do it, you’ll probably be paired with Hong Woonhee.”
The group Hong Woonhee belonged to was one that, while not having a reverse chart run like us, had risen in rankings and had more recognition than Abyss.
“That’s good. Rather than awkwardly knowing each other, it’s better to be strangers. Then I’ll let you know when the schedule is set.”
I heard that and nodded that I understood.
Hong Woonhee, Wooni. What does she look like again? I think she was really round and cute-looking.
Since we have to film broadcasts together for a month anyway, I was thinking it would be nice if she had a good personality, when I received a call from the road manager saying it was time to leave and to come down to the parking lot quickly, so I went down right away.
But I was so busy with the schedule that I forgot about it until the day of.
Episode 16
What day is it today again?
When all the members were sleeping, they suddenly woke only me up, took me to the shop, did my hair, makeup, and dressed me. The clothes were different from usual too, so I was puzzled for a moment, but then I felt nauseous from motion sickness and moved around half-asleep.
But then I barely opened my eyes at someone’s hand shaking me.
“What are you doing?”
“……Lee Yeonun? Why are you here?”
The one who woke me was Lee Yeonun.
He looked at me in a daze and panicked asking why I was in this state when I hadn’t even taken drugs or anything, then held my face straight.
“Your hands are cool.”
“Why is your body like a fireball?”
“The schedule has been too busy lately…… Just one painkiller from there.”
No wonder I felt particularly hazy today, I must have had a slight fever and cold.
I ate the medicine Lee Yeonun gave me with water as if chewing it, lightly stretched my stiff body, and asked Lee Yeonun.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“We have filming today. <We Got Married>.”
“You’re filming too?”
“What? I contacted you but you didn’t get it?”
Only then did I realize that the place I arrived at was a filming location, and when I looked around behind Lee Yeonun, he burst into laughter.
“Even though the cast is confidential upon confidential, they really didn’t tell you.”
“It’s really just you, right? You’re not secretly filming me right now, are you?”
I couldn’t let him catch me looking this stupid, so when I said that, Lee Yeonun burst out laughing.
“So suspicious. There’s no camera here, and we’re the only ones in the parking lot since they’re still checking the set. By the way, look at this.”
And Lee Yeonun got in the car following me, then very carefully took something out of his pocket.
“Amazing.”
And I opened my eyes wide seeing it.
“This is a liquid monster that changes color depending on temperature.”
“Cool.”
As I looked at Lee Yeonun’s liquid monster with such fascination, Lee Yeonun shrugged his shoulders proudly, then suddenly said with a deflated face:
“It was hard to bring it secretly.”
“But why secretly? Oh, right.”
Only then did I remember what Lee Yeonun had said last time.
