âI saw some greens in the field here. We were talking about making bibimbap like I mentioned earlier.â
âSounds good.â
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 âTroublemakerâ T-shirt and started cooking.
âDo we have kimchi?â
âWhat kind of question is that to ask a Korean?â
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 sausagesâŠ
âThen Iâll go pick some young radishes with Hoyun.â
âTake care~!â
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.
âItâs my first time picking young radishes.â
âReally?â
ââŠWhat? Have you done it before?â
âI used to live with my grandmother. She did a lot of fieldwork.â
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 âMain Vocalâs Unexpected Charm.â
âHere, you too.â
âThank you.â
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.
âSeo Hoyun.â
âWoah, that surprised me.â
Feeling competitive, I was concentrating on the task when Seong Jiwon suddenly came to my side with a stern expression.
âŠNo need to call me by my full name and look so seriousâŠ
After calming my startled heart, I turned my head, and Seong Jiwon showed me how to pick the radishes.
âDonât just grab the top. Hold the root and pull it out gently. Not with a snap, but with a gentle tug.â
âSnap⊠tug?â
âTug.â
ââŠSnap?â
ââŠJust go.â
Ding!
[Ah~, itâs been a long time since Iâve seen you so bad at something~]
It was my first time doing fieldwork, so it was understandableâŠ
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.
âThose childish days of mine~ How much~.â
ââŠâ
âCould they have meant~.â
âHoyun⊠itâs not meaningful.â
Seeing Seong Jiwon so annoyed was rare, so I sang even more enthusiastically. As I bravely finished the first verse, with encouragement from the staffâs 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.
âSatisfied~.â
ââŠâ
Seong Jiwon, who was holding a full basket, ignored me and walked past. As I followed him, the delicious smell of food wafted in.
âHyung! Youâre back?â
âWeâre making ham and egg pancakes!â
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.
âWhatâs going on? Why is there so much rice?â
âItâs all your fault. The young radishes are like a mountain. A mountain.â
âSeonghyeon, why are there so many sausages again? We donât have enough plates.â
ââŠI just kept making them?â
Ah, these kids⊠Theyâre 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.
âMake it smaller so we can all have some~.â
âHurry up and mix it.â
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.
âThank you for your hard work~!â
âYou should eat before you work. Oh, have you already eaten?â
âNo, not yetâŠ.â
âThen itâs a good thing we made a lot.â
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 didnât know how sad it would be if only the cast ate well and the staff just watched with grumbling stomachsâŠ
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:
Itâs bibimbap made by HoyunâĄI, uh, I⊠really like the fresh green young radishes. Enjoy it (green drinks. ver)]
ââŠItâs bibimbap made by Hoyun.â
ââŠTh, thank you?â
The flustered staff members fixed their cameras and awkwardly received their bowls.
Yeah⊠I was grateful they didnât say anything weird.
We also set up a table and placed bibimbap, ham and egg pancakes, and spoons on it.
âWow, itâs really good. Have our⊠rice-making skills improved?â
âItâs all because of Seo Hoyun. You know how much he nagged us to eat properly.â
âSo, you donât want to put fried eggs on top?â
âIâm sorry!â
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 memberâs bowl.
âItâs good because itâs fresh. Itâs a bit hot, but the wind is blowing wellâŠ.â
âItâll get cooler if we stay still.â
âThatâs what my grandma always saysâŠ!â
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.
âIâm looking forward to it laterâŠ.â
[âŠWowâŠ]
The system window grumbled.
What? What did you want?
What?
âIâm full~.â
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.
Thatâs when planning team member Lee Jihyeon came forward and handed out blank sheets of paper to the members.
âEveryone, we still have some time before dinner, right?â
âYes.â
âWhy donât we write a time capsule in the meantime?â
My eyebrows twitched. I didnât think I wrote that kind of plan⊠Catching my hint, Lee Jihyeon quickly understood.
âItâs for killing time.â
âItâs good.â
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.
âTime capsule? Whatâs that?â
âItâs a letter you send to your future self. I used to do it a lot when I was youngâŠ.â
âAh~, that.â
Lee Jihyeon smiled and said,
âIn the time capsule, you just need to write a simple description of yourself and The Dawn in 5 years.â
â5 years? Not 10 years?â
âYes, 5 years.â
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, thatâs 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 couldnât 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 Dajunâs scenarios. Since two more members were left, I estimated it wouldnât take more than a year, even considering some leeway.
Well, it might take a bit longer for The Dawn to become a top-tier groupâŠ
Anyway, I didnât plan on taking up to 5 years.
âŠI 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 didnât want to live like this.
It seemed I had been too immersed in this short six-month time frame.
It didnât matter later when the camera would zoom in on the paper since they would probably interpret it as âOur Hoyun wants to find his original motivationsă ă .â
I approached the other members while holding the folded paper.
âHey, what did you write?â
âWow, ack!â
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.
âHyung! Donât look.â
âSeriously, is it a diary?â
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.
âDo you want to see?â
âYeah.â
âThen show me yours too.â
ââŠâ
âDo you not want to?â
Kang Ichae, who had become more eloquent lately, failed.
As expected, Kim Seonghyeon was completely defenseless. I stealthily approached and snatched the paper.
âHey!â
Ignoring the flustered Kim Seonghyeon, I slowly read the content.
âStill humble and wishing for the fans to be happy~.â
âUgh, donât read it out loud!â
âAhahaha.â
âYou rascal⊠Your T-shirt really suits youâŠ.â
âYou shine bright, Kim Seonghyeon.â
I was doing something fitting for the T-shirt. There was more content below, but I couldnât 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.
âHoyun, what did you write?â
âNothing special.â
âOkay, everyone, please put your papers in this box~.â
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.
âShall we bury it here?â
âHow deep do we need to dig?â
âJust dig a little, not too deep.â
While answering, I gently shoveled the dirt and buried the box.
âAlright~, weâll do some individual interviews now~.â
âYes~.â
They requested individual interviews as if they couldnât miss the emotional points.
It seemed they wanted to take us individually, as they called me first.
âIâll be back.â
âWho wants to watch a horror movie with Ichae here~?â
âIs there a horror movie too?â
Wow.
As expected of Kang Ichae. He noticed everything and set the atmosphere by himself.
WellâŠ
Even so.
I laughed cheerfully.
âYeah, hyung, Iâll be back.â
âHyung, bring a Melona~.â
I ignored Jeong Dajunâs 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.
âWe do need to record the time capsule video⊠but we should give Seo Hoyun a more special interview.â
âOf course.â
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.
Seo Hoyun, how do you feel right now?
âI feel great. My heart is fluttering.â
What will Seo Hoyun look like in 5 years?
ââŠHmm. Iâll probably be teasing my dongsaengs.â
Lastly, say something to the members who will watch the video.
âGuys.â
I smiled kindly at the camera.
âDonât think youâre the only ones capable of pulling off a surprise.â
Jihyeon raised her thumb, approving.
Ding!
[Wow⊠youâre so two-facedâŠ]
Yeah, I was looking forward to it too.
After finishing the cut, I opened the door, and the guys were startled.
âWow, give us some warning before you come in!â
âReally scared me.â
âWhy are you so scared?â
âWeâre at the climax of the horror movie.â
Kim Seonghyeon grumbled. I sat down next to the guys, who were already munching on heaps of snacks.
âKim Seonghyeon, go and record your cut.â
âWhy donât I want to go aloneâŠ?â
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.
âGo away.â
âI donât want to!! I donât want to be at the end. It feels like somethingâs going to grab me.â
âEven if youâre in the middle, youâll still get grabbedâŠ.â
âUwaaah!â
As I spoke, I secretly pulled on the back of Dajunâs shirt, making him scream and jump.
âDonât live like that. Youâre really bad, hyung!â
I enjoyed listening to Dajunâs constant grumbling. Seong Jiwon was surprisingly the most composed, and Kang Ichae let out a scream mixed with excitementâŠ
Things will change from now on, kids.
âBe back soon~.â
Jeong Dajun was the last one to go.
âUhuhuh, Iâll be backâŠâ
âThere are staff outside too.â
âAh, right⊠thatâs true.â
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 Dajunâs scream from outside.
âWaaaaah!â
Wow, Jeong Dajun was faster than a ramen noodle cup.